First, he would have become more careful than ever. He was too smart to just push ahead at flank speed and try to get out in eight months, or even in eighteen. He must have gone on widening the opening on the crawlspace a little at a time. A hole as big as a teacup by the time he took his New Year's Eve drink that year. A hole as big as a dinner plate by the time he took his birthday drink in 1968. As big as a serving-tray by the time the 1969 baseball season opened.
For a time I thought it should have gone much faster than it apparently¹ did - after he broke through, I mean. It seemed to me that, instead of having to pulverize² the crap and take it out of his cell in the cheater gadgets³ I have described, he could simply let it drop down the shaft⁴. The length of time he took makes me believe that he didn't dare do that. He might have decided⁵ that the noise would arouse someone's suspicions. Or, if he knew about the sewer⁶-pipe, as I believe he must have, he would have been afraid that a falling chunk⁷ of concrete would break it before he was ready, screwing up the cellblock sewage system and leading to an investigation⁸. And an investigation, needless to say, would lead to ruin.
Still and all, I'd guess that, by the time Nixon was sworn in for his second term, the hole would have been wide enough for him to wriggle⁹ through ... and probably sooner than that Andy was a small guy.
Why didn't he go then?
That's where my educated guesses run out, folks; from this point they become progressively wilder. One possibility is that the crawlspace itself was clogged¹⁰

点击收听单词发音  

1 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 pulverize
v.研磨成粉；摧毁
参考例句：
A factory making armaments had been bombed the night before and a residential area not far away had been pulverized.前天晚上，一家兵工厂被炸，不远处的居民区也被夷为平地。 He is set to pulverise his two opponents in the race for the presidency.他决心在总统竞选中彻底击垮他的两个对手。

3 gadgets
n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）
参考例句：
Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册 This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

4 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。

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 sewer
n.排水沟，下水道
参考例句：
They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。 The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

7 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。

8 investigation
n.调查，调查研究
参考例句：
In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。 He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 wriggle
v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒
参考例句：
I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。 Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。

10 clogged
（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞
参考例句：
The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。 The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

11 abide
vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受
参考例句：
You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。 If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

12 syndrome
n.综合病症；并存特性
参考例句：
The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。 Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

13 blueprint
n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划
参考例句：
All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。 The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

14 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

15 mesh
n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络
参考例句：
Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。 This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

16 civilian
adj.平民的，民用的，民众的
参考例句：
There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。 He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

17 ERECTED
adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立
参考例句：
A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。 A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

18 volcanic
adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的
参考例句：
There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。 Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

19 liking
n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢
参考例句：
The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。 I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

20 breaching
攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反
参考例句：
The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。 Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

21 jack
n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克
参考例句：
I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。 He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。