I remember the first time Andy Dufresne got in touch with me for something; I remember like it was yesterday. That wasn't the time he wanted Rita Hayworth, though.
That came later. In that summer of 1948 he came around for something else.
Most of my deals are done right there in the exercise yard, and that's where this one went down. Our yard is big, much bigger than most. It's a perfect square, ninety yards on a side. The north side is the outer wall, with a guardtower at either end. The guards up there are armed with binoculars¹ and riot guns. The main gate is in that north side. The truck loading-bays are on the south side of the yard. There are five of them. Shawshank is a busy place during the work-week - deliveries in, deliveries out. We have the license-plate factory, and a big industrial laundry that does all the prison wetwash, plus that of Kittery Receiving Hospital and the Eliot Sanatorium. There's also a big automotive garage where mechanic inmates² fix prison, state, and municipal vehicles - not to mention the private cars of the screws, the administration officers ... and, on more than one occasion, those of the parole board.
The east side is a thick stone wall full of tiny slit³ windows. Cellblock 5 is on the other side of that wail⁴. The west side is Administration and the infirmary. Shawshank has never been as overcrowded as most prisons, and back in '48 it was only filled to something like two-thirds capacity, but at any given time there might be eighty to a hundred and twenty cons⁵ on the yard - playing toss with a football or a baseball, shooting craps, jawing⁶ at each other, making deals. On Sunday the place was even more crowded; on Sunday the place would have looked like a country holiday ... if there had been any women.
It was on a Sunday that Andy first came to me. I had just finished talking to Elmore Armitage, a fellow who often came in handy to me, about a radio when Andy walked up. I knew who he was, of course; he had a reputation for being a snob⁷

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1 binoculars
n.双筒望远镜
参考例句：
He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。 If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜，我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。

2 inmates
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )
参考例句：
One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 slit
n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂
参考例句：
The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。 He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

4 wail
vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸
参考例句：
Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。 One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

5 cons
n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 jawing
n.用水灌注
参考例句：
I got tired of him jawing away all the time. 他老是唠唠叨叨讲个不停，使我感到厌烦。 来自辞典例句 For heaven's sake, what are you two jawing about? 老天爷，你们两个还在嘟囔些什么？ 来自辞典例句

7 snob
n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人
参考例句：
Going to a private school had made her a snob.上私立学校后，她变得很势利。 If you think that way, you are a snob already.如果你那样想的话，你已经是势利小人了。

8 bogs
n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍
参考例句：
Whenever It'shows its true nature, real life bogs to a standstill. 无论何时，只要它显示出它的本来面目，真正的生活就陷入停滞。 来自名作英译部分 At Jitra we went wading through bogs. 在日得拉我们步行着从泥水塘里穿过去。 来自辞典例句

9 coffins
n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物
参考例句：
The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句 Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

10 rumours
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传
参考例句：
The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。 Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

11 snobby
a.虚荣的
参考例句：
Can I really tell my snobby friends that I now shop at-egads-Walmart? 天呐，我真得好意思告诉那帮势利的朋友们我在沃尔玛买东西？

12 lethal
adj.致死的；毁灭性的
参考例句：
A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。 She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

13 flick
n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动
参考例句：
He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。 By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

14 flicked
（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）
参考例句：
She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。 I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

15 bail
v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人
参考例句：
One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。 She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

16 gild
vt.给…镀金，把…漆成金色，使呈金色
参考例句：
The sun transform the gild cupola into dazzling point of light.太阳将这些镀金的圆屋顶变成了闪耀的光点。 With Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney primed to flower anew,Owen can gild the lily.贝巴和鲁尼如今蓄势待发，欧文也可以为曼联锦上添花。

17 neatly
adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地
参考例句：
Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。 The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

18 fiat
n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布
参考例句：
The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。 He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

19 squat
v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的
参考例句：
For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。 He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

20 sift
v.筛撒，纷落，详察
参考例句：
Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。 Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

21 pebbles
[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。 Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

22 quartz
n.石英
参考例句：
There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。 The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

23 milky
adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的
参考例句：
Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。 I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

24 mica
n.云母
参考例句：
It could not pass through material impervious to water such as mica.它不能通过云母这样的不透水的物质。 Because of its layered structure,mica is fissile.因为是层状结构，云母很容易分成片。

25 shale
n.页岩，泥板岩
参考例句：
We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。 Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

26 silted
v.（河流等）为淤泥淤塞( silt的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）淤塞
参考例句：
The riverbed is silted up, so there's no outlet for the floodwater. 河道淤塞，水无出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The river is silted up and the water flows sluggishly. 河道淤塞，水流迟滞。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

27 granite
adj.花岗岩，花岗石
参考例句：
They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。 The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

28 limestone
n.石灰石
参考例句：
Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。 Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

29 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。