Iremember that I was screaming even before I brought the car to a halt.  I recall the impact, of course—the slight shudder¹ of the wheel and the nauseating² thud. But what I remember most are my own screams from inside the car. They were ear-shattering, echoing off the closed windows, and they went on until I turned the ignition off and was finally able to push open the door. My screams then turned into panicked prayer. “No, no, no . . .” is all I remember saying.

Barely able to breathe, I ran to the front of the car. I didn’t see any damage:

The car was, as I said, an older model, one structured to withstand more impact than the cars of today. But I didn’t see the body. I had a sudden premonition that I’d run over her, that I’d find her body wedged beneath the car, and as the horrible vision passed in front of my eyes, I felt my stomach muscles constrict³.  Now, I’ll tell you that I’m not the kind of person who is easily rattled⁴—people often comment on my self-control—but I confess that at that moment I put my hands on my knees and nearly vomited⁵. As the feeling finally subsided⁶, I forced myself to look beneath the car. I didn’t see anything.

I ran from side to side, looking for her. I didn’t see her, not right away, and I had a strange sense that maybe I’d been mistaken, that it must have been my imagination.

I started to jog then, checking one side of the road and then the other, hoping against hope that somehow I’d simply grazed her, that maybe she’d merely been knocked unconscious. I looked behind the car and still didn’t find her, and I knew then where she had to be.

As my stomach started doing flip-flops again, my eyes scanned the area in front of the car. My headlights were still on. I took a few hesitant steps forward, and it was then that I spotted⁷ her in the ditch, about twenty yards away.  I debated whether I should run to the nearest house and call an ambulance or whether I should go to her. At the time, the latter seemed like the right thing to do, and as I approached, I found myself moving more and more slowly, as if slowing down would make the outcome less certain.

点击收听单词发音  

1 shudder
v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动
参考例句：
The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。 We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

2 nauseating
adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I had to listen to the whole nauseating story. 我不得不从头到尾听那令人作呕的故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 There is a nauseating smell of rotten food. 有一股令人恶心的腐烂食物的气味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 constrict
v.压缩，收缩，阻塞
参考例句：
Men and women alike have been constricted by traditional sexual roles.男性和女性同样受到传统性别角色的束缚。 Severe migraine can be treated with a drug which constricts the blood vessels.严重的偏头疼可以用一种收缩血管的药物进行治疗。

4 rattled
慌乱的，恼火的
参考例句：
The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。 Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

5 vomited
参考例句：
Corbett leaned against the wall and promptly vomited. 科比特倚在墙边，马上呕吐了起来。 She leant forward and vomited copiously on the floor. 她向前一俯，哇的一声吐了一地。 来自英汉文学

6 subsided
v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上
参考例句：
After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 spotted
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。 Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

8 unnatural
adj.不自然的；反常的
参考例句：
Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？ She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

9 bent
n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
参考例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。 We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

10 thigh
n.大腿；股骨
参考例句：
He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。 The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

11 glaze
v.因疲倦、疲劳等指眼睛变得呆滞，毫无表情
参考例句：
Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the hot cake.在热蛋糕的顶上和周围刷上一层蛋浆。 Tang three-color glaze horses are famous for their perfect design and realism.唐三彩上釉马以其造型精美和形态生动而著名。

12 collapsed
adj.倒塌的
参考例句：
Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。 The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

13 flicker
vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现
参考例句：
There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。 At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

14 prod
vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励
参考例句：
The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。 I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

15 autopsy
n.尸体解剖；尸检
参考例句：
They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。 A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

16 hazy
adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的
参考例句：
We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。 I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

17 moth
n.蛾，蛀虫
参考例句：
A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。 The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

18 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 exhausted
adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的
参考例句：
It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。 Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

20 subconscious
n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)
参考例句：
Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。 My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

21 inhaled
v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。 Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 fervently
adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地
参考例句：
"Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》 O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

23 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

24 vowing
起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）
参考例句：
President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。 President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

25 realization
n.实现；认识到，深刻了解
参考例句：
We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。 He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

26 beckoning
adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 )
参考例句：
An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句 He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句

27 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。