Part 1 Holston 7

Part 1 Holston

7

Holston was a dozen paces up the hill, still marveling at the bright grass at his feet and the brilliant

sky above, when the first pang¹ lurched in his stomach. It was a writhing² cramp³, something like

intense hunger. At first, he worried he was going too fast, first with the cleaning and now with his

impatient shuffling⁴ in that cumbersome⁵ suit. He didn’t want to take it off until he was over the hill,

out of sight, maintaining whatever illusion the walls in the cafeteria held. He focused on the tops of

the skyscrapers⁶ and resigned himself to slowing down, to calming down. One step at a time. Years

and years of running up and down thirty flights of stairs should have made this nothing.

Another cramp, stronger this time. Holston winced⁷ and stopped walking, waiting for it to pass.

When did he eat last? Not at all yesterday. Stupid. When did he last use the bathroom? Again, he

couldn’t remember. He might need to get the suit off earlier than he’d hoped. Once the wave of

nausea⁸ passed, he took a few more steps, hoping to reach the top of the hill before the next bout⁹ of

pain. He only got another dozen steps in before it hit him, more severe this time, worse than anything

he’d ever felt. Holston retched from the intensity¹⁰ of it, and now his dry stomach was a blessing¹¹. He

clutched his abdomen¹² as his knees gave out in a shiver of weakness. He crashed to the ground and

groaned¹³. His stomach was burning, his chest on fire. He managed to crawl forward a few feet, sweat

dripping from his forehead and splashing on the inside of his helmet. He saw sparks in his vision; the

entire world went bright white, several times, like lightning strikes. Confused and senseless, he

crawled ever upward, moving laboriously¹⁴, his startled mind still focused on his last clear goal:

cresting¹⁶ that hill.

Again and again, his view shimmered¹⁷, his visor letting in a solid bright light before it flickered¹⁸

away. It became difficult to see. Holston ran into something before him, and his arm folded, his

shoulder crashing to the ground. He blinked and gazed forward, up the hill, waiting for a clear sight

of what lay ahead, but saw only infrequent strobes of green grass.

And then his vision completely disappeared. All was black. Holston clawed at his face, even as his

stomach tangled¹⁹ in a new torturous²⁰ knot. There was a glow, a blinking in his vision, so he knew he

wasn’t blind. But the blinking seemed to be coming from inside his helmet. It was his visor that had

become suddenly blind, not him.

Holston felt for the latches²¹ on the back of the helmet. He wondered if he’d used up all his air. Was

he asphyxiating²³? Being poisoned by his own exhalations? Of course! Why would they give him more

air than he needed for the cleaning? He fumbled²⁴ for the latches with his bulky gloves. They weren’t

meant for this. The gloves were part of his suit, his suit a single piece zipped up twice at the back and

Velcroed over. It wasn’t meant to come off, not without help. Holston was going to die in it, poison

himself, choke on his own gases, and now he knew true fear of containment²⁵, a true sense of being

closed in. The silo was nothing to this as he scrambled²⁶ for release, as he writhed²⁷ in pain inside his

tailored coffin²⁸. He squirmed and pounded at the latches, but his padded fingers were too big. And the

blindness made it worse, made him feel smothered²⁹ and trapped. Holston retched again in pain. He

bent³⁰ at the waist, hands spread in the dirt, and felt something sharp through his glove.

He fumbled for the object and found it: a jagged rock. A tool. Holston tried to calm himself. His

years of enforcing calm, of soothing³¹ others, of bringing stability to chaos³², came back to him. He

gripped the rock carefully, terrified of losing it to his blindness, and brought it up to his helmet. There

was a brief thought of cutting away his gloves with the rock, but he wasn’t sure his sanity³³ or air

would last that long. He jabbed the point of the rock at his armored neck, right where the latch²² should

have been. He heard the crack as it landed. Crack. Crack. Pausing to probe with his padded finger,

retching again, Holston took more careful aim. There was a click instead of a crack. A sliver³⁴ of light

intruded³⁵ as one side of the helmet came free. Holston was choking on his exhalations, on the stale

and used air around him. He moved the rock to his other hand and aimed for the second latch. Two

more cracks before it landed, and the helmet popped free.

Holston could see. His eyes burned from the effort, from not being able to breathe, but he could

see. He blinked the tears away and tried to suck in a deep, crisp, revitalizing lungful of blue air.

What he got instead was like a punch to the chest. Holston gagged. He threw up spittle and

stomach acid, the very lining³⁶ of him trying to flee. The world around him had gone brown. Brown

grass and gray skies. No green. No blue. No life.

He collapsed³⁷ to one side, landing on his shoulder. His helmet lay open before him, the visor black

and lifeless. There was no looking through the visor. Holston reached for it, confused. The outside of

the visor was coated silver, the other side was nothing. No glass. A rough surface. Wires leading in

and out of it. A display gone dark. Dead pixels.

He threw up again. Wiping his mouth feebly, looking down the hill, he saw the world with his

naked eyes as it was, as he’d always known it to be. Desolate³⁸ and bleak³⁹. He let go of the helmet,

dropping the lie he had carried out of the silo with him. He was dying. The toxins⁴⁰ were eating him

from the inside. He blinked up at the black clouds overhead, roaming like beasts. He turned to see

how far he had gotten, how far it was to the crest¹⁵ of the hill, and he saw the thing he had stumbled

into while crawling. A boulder⁴¹, sleeping. It hadn’t been there in his visor, hadn’t been a part of the lie

on that little screen, running one of the programs Allison had discovered.

Holston reached out and touched the object before him, the white suit flaking⁴² away like brittle⁴³

rock, and he could no longer support his head. He curled up in pain from the slow death overtaking

him, holding what remained of his wife, and thought, with his last agonizing⁴⁴ breath, what this death

of his must look like to those who could see, this curling and dying in the black crack of a lifeless

brown hill, a rotting city standing⁴⁵ silent and forlorn over him.

What would they see, anyone who had chosen to watch?

1 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

2 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

3 cramp   

n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚

参考例句：

• Winston stopped writing,partly because he was suffering from cramp.温斯顿驻了笔，手指也写麻了。
• The swimmer was seized with a cramp and had to be helped out of the water.那个在游泳的人突然抽起筋来，让别人帮着上了岸。

4 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

6 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

7 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

8 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

9 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

10 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

11 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

12 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

13 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 laboriously   

adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地

参考例句：

• She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句

15 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

16 cresting   

n.顶饰v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的现在分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The old man stood with his back to the fire, cresting up erect. 老人背火昂然而立。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Various shapes of returns like triangular, semi-circular are available for cresting your own office. 极富创意的办公桌，有着不同形装如三角形、半圆形、曲尺形及四边形，以创造您个人品位的办公室。 来自互联网

17 shimmered   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea shimmered in the sunlight. 阳光下海水闪烁着微光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A heat haze shimmered above the fields. 田野上方微微闪烁着一层热气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

19 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

20 torturous   

adj. 痛苦的

参考例句：

• His breathing was torturous.他的呼吸充满痛苦。
• This is a torturous agonizing way to kill someone.这是一种让人受尽折磨、痛苦难忍的杀人方法。

21 latches   

n.（门窗的）门闩( latch的名词复数 )；碰锁v.理解( latch的第三人称单数 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上）

参考例句：

• The virus latches onto the red blood cells. 这种病毒附着在红细胞上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The opposite end latches onto the pathogen. 相对的一端锁在病原体上。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器

22 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

23 asphyxiating   

v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的现在分词 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人

参考例句：

24 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

25 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

26 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

28 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

29 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

30 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

31 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

32 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

33 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

34 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

35 intruded   

n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于

参考例句：

• One could believe that human creatures had never intruded there before. 你简直会以为那是从来没有人到过的地方。 来自辞典例句
• The speaker intruded a thin smile into his seriousness. 演说人严肃的脸上掠过一丝笑影。 来自辞典例句

36 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

37 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

38 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

39 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

40 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

42 flaking   

刨成片，压成片； 盘网

参考例句：

• He received ointment for his flaking skin. 医生给他开了治疗脱皮的软膏。
• The paint was flaking off the walls. 油漆从墙上剥落下来。

43 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

44 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

45 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。