The years went past and Andy brought his wall out to the exercise yard cupful by cupful. He played the game with administrator¹ after administrator, and they thought it was because he wanted to keep the library growing. I have no doubt that was part of it, but the main thing Andy wanted was to keep cell 14 in Cellblock 5 a single occupancy.
I doubt if he had any real plans or hopes of breaking out, at least not at first. He probably assumed the wall was ten feet of solid concrete, and that if he succeeded in boring all the way through it, he'd come out thirty feet over the exercise yard. But like I say, I don't think he was worried overmuch about breaking through. His assumption could have run this way: I'm only making a foot of progress every seven years or so; therefore, it would take me seventy years to break through; that would make me one hundred and seven years old.
Here's a second assumption I would have made, had I been Andy: that eventually I would be caught and get a lot of solitary³ time, not to mention a very large black mark on my record. After all, there was the regular weekly inspection⁴ and a surprise toss - which usually came at night - every second week or so. He must have decided⁵ that things couldn't go on for long. Sooner or later, some screw was going to peek⁶ behind Rita Hayworth just to make sure Andy didn't have a sharpened spoon-handle or some marijuana reefers Scotch-taped to the wall.
And his response to that second assumption must have been to hell with it. Maybe he even made a game out of it. How far in can I get before they find out? Prison is a goddam boring place, and the chance or being surprised by an unscheduled inspection in the middle of the night while he had his poster unstuck probably added some spice to his life during the early years.
And I do believe it would have been impossible for him to get away just on dumb luck. Not for twenty-seven years. Nevertheless, I have to believe that for the first two years -until mid-May of 1950, when he helped Byron Hadley get around the tax on his windfall inheritance - that's exactly what he did get by on.
Or maybe he had something more than dumb luck going for him even back then. He had money, and he might have been slipping someone a little squeeze every week to take it easy on him. Most guards will go along with that if the price is right; it's money in their pockets and the prisoner gets to keep his whack-off pictures or his tailormade cigarettes. Also, Andy was a model prisoner - quiet, well-spoken, respectful, non-violent. It's the crazies and the stampeders that get their cells turned upside-down at least once every six months, their

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1 administrator
n.经营管理者，行政官员
参考例句：
The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。 He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

2 ass
n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人
参考例句：
He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。 An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

3 solitary
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。 The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

4 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。

5 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。

6 peek
vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥
参考例句：
Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。 Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

7 mattresses
褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。 The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

8 gratis
adj.免费的
参考例句：
David gives the first consultation gratis.戴维免费提供初次咨询。 The service was gratis to graduates.这项服务对毕业生是免费的。

9 steering
n.操舵装置
参考例句：
He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。 Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

10 dealing
n.经商方法，待人态度
参考例句：
This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。 His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 mascot
n.福神，吉祥的东西
参考例句：
The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。 We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

12 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？

13 shaft
n.(工具的)柄，杆状物
参考例句：
He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。 This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

14 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 blueprints
n.蓝图，设计图( blueprint的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Have the blueprints been worked out? 蓝图搞好了吗？ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 BluePrints description of a distributed component of the system design and best practice guidelines. BluePrints描述了一个分布式组件体系的最佳练习和设计指导方针。 来自互联网

16 uncertainty
n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物
参考例句：
Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。 After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

17 inmate
n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人
参考例句：
I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。 The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

18 irony
n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄
参考例句：
She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。 In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。