They were dying of hunger; they had not eaten for forty-eight hours, and their last meal had been the flesh of their last Esquimaux dog. Bell could go no farther, and old Johnson felt ready to die. They were on the shore of Baffin's Bay, on the way to Europe. Three miles from land the waves were breaking on the edges of the ice-field. They had to await the uncertain passage of a whaler, and how many days yet?

 

But Heaven took pity on them, for the next day Altamont clearly saw a sail. The anguish⁴ which follows such an appearance of a sail, the tortures of disappointment, are well known. The ship seemed to approach and then to recede⁵. Terrible are the alternations of hope and despair, and too often at the moment the castaways consider themselves saved the sail sinks beneath the horizon.

 

The doctor and his companions went through all these emotions; they had reached the western limit of the ice-field, and yet they saw the ship disappear, taking no note of their presence. They shouted, but in vain.

 

Then the doctor had a last inspiration of that busy mind which had served him in such good stead.

 

A floe⁶ had drifted against the ice-field.

 

"That floe!" he said, pointing to it.

 

They did not catch his meaning.

 

"Let us get on it!" he cried.

 

They saw his plan at once.

 

"Ah, Clawbonny, Dr. Clawbonny!" cried Johnson, kissing the doctor's hands.

 

Bell, with Altamont's aid, ran to the sledge

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1 survivors
幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。 survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 cape
n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风
参考例句：
I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。 She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

4 anguish
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼
参考例句：
She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。 The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

5 recede
vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进
参考例句：
The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。 He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

6 floe
n.大片浮冰
参考例句：
Two penguins are standing on ice floe.两只企鹅站在一块浮冰上。 Somehow the seal manages to reach a tiny ice floe.不知何故，海豹设法到达了一块小浮冰上。

7 sledge
n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往
参考例句：
The sledge gained momentum as it ran down the hill.雪橇从山上下冲时的动力越来越大。 The sledge slid across the snow as lightly as a boat on the water.雪橇在雪原上轻巧地滑行，就象船在水上行驶一样。

8 frail
adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的
参考例句：
Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。 She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

9 Christian
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。 His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

11 semblance
n.外貌，外表
参考例句：
Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。 Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

12 geographical
adj.地理的；地区(性)的
参考例句：
The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。 These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

13 astonishment
n.惊奇，惊异
参考例句：
They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。 I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

14 meridians
n.子午圈( meridian的名词复数 )；子午线；顶点；（权力，成就等的）全盛时期
参考例句：
Meridians are great circles passing through both poles. 经线均为通过两极。 来自辞典例句 The Cutaneous Regions are within the domains of the Twelve Regular Meridians. 十二皮部是十二经脉功能活动反映于体表的部位，也是络脉之气散布之所在。 来自互联网

15 inaccessible
adj.达不到的，难接近的
参考例句：
This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。 The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

16 martyr
n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲
参考例句：
The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。 The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

17 majesty
n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权
参考例句：
The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。 Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

18 chancellor
n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长
参考例句：
They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。 He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

19 misery
n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦
参考例句：
Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。 He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

20 asylum
n.避难所，庇护所，避难
参考例句：
The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。 Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

21 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

22 backwards
adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地
参考例句：
He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。 All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

23 mania
n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好
参考例句：
Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。 Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

24 motive
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。 He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

25 obstinacy
n.顽固；（病痛等）难治
参考例句：
It is a very accountable obstinacy.这是一种完全可以理解的固执态度。 Cindy's anger usually made him stand firm to the point of obstinacy.辛迪一发怒，常常使他坚持自见，并达到执拗的地步。