You don't need me to explain the luck, I guess. The WPA concrete I checked out for myself. I invested some time and a couple of stamps and wrote first to the University of Maine History Department and then to a fellow whose address they were able to give me. This fellow had been foreman of the WPA project that built the Shawshank Max Security Wing.
The wing, which contains Cellblocks 3,4, and 5, was built in the years 1934-37. Now, most people don't think of cement and concrete as 'technological¹ developments', the way we think of cars and oil furnaces and rocket-ships, but they really are. There was no modern cement until 1870 or so, and no modern concrete until after the turn of the century. Mixing concrete is as delicate a business as making bread. You can get it too watery² or not watery enough. You can get the sand-mix too thick or too thin, and the same is true of the gravel-mix. And back in 1934, the science of mixing the stuff was a lot less sophisticated than it is today.
The walls of Cellblock 5 were solid enough, but they weren't exactly dry and toasty. As a matter of fact, they were and are pretty damned dank. After a long wet spell they would sweat and sometimes even drip. Cracks had a way of appearing, some an inch deep, and were routinely mortared over.
Now here comes Andy Dufresne into Cellblock 5. He's a man who graduated from the University of Maine's school of business, but he's also a man who took two or three geology courses along the way. Geology had, in fact, become his chief hobby. I imagine it appealed to his patient, meticulous³ nature. A ten-thousand-year ice age here.
A million years of mountain-building there. Tectonic plates grinding against each other deep under the earth's skin over the millennia⁴. Pressure. Andy told me once that all of geology is the study of pressure.
And time, of course.
He had time to study those walls. Plenty of time. When the cell door slams and the lights go out, there's nothing else to look at.
First-timers usually had a hard time adjusting to the confinement⁵ of prison life. They get screw-fever, they have to be hauled down to the infirmary and sedated

点击收听单词发音  

1 technological
adj.技术的；工艺的
参考例句：
A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。 Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

2 watery
adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的
参考例句：
In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。 Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

3 meticulous
adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的
参考例句：
We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。 She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。

4 millennia
n.一千年，千禧年
参考例句：
For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。 In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

5 confinement
n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限
参考例句：
He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。 The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

6 sedated
v.使昏昏入睡，使镇静( sedate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She's sedated,but she's probably scared out of her mind. 她很安静，但是她可能已经吓疯了。 来自电影对白 Are you telling me the porn actually sedated you? 你是要告诉我，那毛片的确让你镇静下来吗？ 来自电影对白

7 flip
vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的
参考例句：
I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。 Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

8 wink
n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁
参考例句：
He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。 The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

9 desperately
adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地
参考例句：
He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。 He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

10 sculptor
n.雕刻家，雕刻家
参考例句：
A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。 The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

11 chunk
n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）
参考例句：
They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。 The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

12 bunk
n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话
参考例句：
He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。 Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

13 wreck
n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难
参考例句：
Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。 No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

14 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 inspection
n.检查，审查，检阅
参考例句：
On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。 The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

16 inspections
n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅
参考例句：
Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。 Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 excavating
v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘
参考例句：
A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》 A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

18 gadget
n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿
参考例句：
This gadget isn't much good.这小机械没什么用处。 She has invented a nifty little gadget for undoing stubborn nuts and bolts.她发明了一种灵巧的小工具用来松开紧固的螺母和螺栓。

19 burrow
vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞
参考例句：
Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。 The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

20 hack
n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳
参考例句：
He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。 Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

21 muffle
v.围裹；抑制；发低沉的声音
参考例句：
Mother made an effort to muffle her emotions.母亲努力控制自己的感情。 I put my hand over my mouth to muffle my words,so only my friend could hear. 我把手挡在嘴上，遮住声音，仅让我的朋友听到。

22 pulverized
adj.[医]雾化的，粉末状的v.将…弄碎( pulverize的过去式和过去分词 )；将…弄成粉末或尘埃；摧毁；粉碎
参考例句：
We pulverized the opposition. 我们彻底击败了对手。 He pulverized the opposition with the force of his oratory. 他能言善辩把对方驳得体无完肤。 来自辞典例句

23 chunks
厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分
参考例句：
a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块 Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

24 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。

25 pebble
n.卵石，小圆石
参考例句：
The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。 The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。

26 cuff
n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口
参考例句：
She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。 Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

27 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

28 twitch
v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛
参考例句：
The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。 I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。

29 cascading
流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流
参考例句：
First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓 Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

30 dodge
v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计
参考例句：
A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。 The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。