I guess you can see why Andy went a little wonky when Tommy told him that story, and why he wanted to see the warden¹ right away. Elwood Blatch had been serving a six-to-twelve rap when Tommy knew him four years before. By the time Andy heard all of this, in 1963, he might be on the verge² of getting out ... or already out. So those were the two prongs of the spit Andy was roasting on - the idea that Blatch might still be in on one hand, and the very real possibility that he might be gone like the wind on the other.
There were inconsistencies in Tommy's story, but aren't there always in real life? Blatch told Tommy the man who got sent up was a hotshot lawyer, and Andy was a banker, but those are two professions that people who aren't very educated could easily get mixed up. And don't forget that twelve years had gone by between the time Blatch was reading the clippings about the trial and the time he told the tale to Tommy Williams. He also told Tommy he got better than a thousand dollars from a footlocker Quentin had in his closet, but the police said at Andy's trial that there had been no sign of burglary. I have a few ideas about that. First, if you take the cash and the man it belonged to is dead, how are you going to know anything was stolen, unless someone else can tell you it was there to start with? Second, who's to say Blatch wasn't lying about that part of it? Maybe he didn't want to admit killing⁴ two people for nothing. Third, maybe there were signs of burglary and the cops either overlooked them - cops can be pretty dumb - or deliberately⁵ covered them up so they wouldn't screw the DA's case. The guy was running for public office, remember, and he needed a conviction to run on. An unsolved burglary-murder would have done him no good at all.
But of the three, I like the middle one best. I've known a few Elwood Blatches in my time at Shawshank - the trigger-pullers with the crazy eyes. Such fellows want you to think they got away with die equivalent of the Hope Diamond on every caper⁶, even if they got caught with a two-dollar Timex and nine bucks⁷ on the one they're doing time for.
And there was one thing in Tommy's story that convinced Andy beyond a shadow of a doubt. Blatch hadn't hit Quentin at

点击收听单词发音  

1 warden
n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人
参考例句：
He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。 The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

2 verge
n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

3 pro
n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者
参考例句：
The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。 Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

4 killing
n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财
参考例句：
Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。 Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 deliberately
adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地
参考例句：
The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。 They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 caper
v.雀跃，欢蹦；n.雀跃，跳跃；续随子，刺山柑花蕾；嬉戏
参考例句：
The children cut a caper in the yard.孩子们在院子里兴高采烈地乱蹦乱跳。 The girl's caper cost her a twisted ankle.小姑娘又蹦又跳，结果扭伤了脚踝。

7 bucks
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句：
They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。 They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 random
adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句：
The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。 On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

9 prick
v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛
参考例句：
He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。 He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

10 scudding
n.刮面v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Clouds were scudding across the sky. 云飞越天空。 来自辞典例句 China Advertising Photo Market-Like a Rising Wind and Scudding Clouds. 中国广告图片市场：风起云涌。 来自互联网

11 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》

12 refreshing
adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的
参考例句：
I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。 The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

13 imprisoned
下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。 They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

14 halfway
adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途
参考例句：
We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。 In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

15 mellowly
柔软且甜地，成熟地
参考例句：

16 woe
n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌
参考例句：
Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。 A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

17 chuckle
vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑
参考例句：
He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。 I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

18 slant
v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向
参考例句：
The lines are drawn on a slant.这些线条被画成斜线。 The editorial had an antiunion slant.这篇社论有一种反工会的倾向。