That night, while Miles studied the file in the kitchen, Jonah had his first nightmare in weeks.

It took Miles a moment to register the sound. He’d studied the file until nearly two in the morning; that, coupled with the all-night shift the evening before and everything that had happened during the day, had drained him completely, and his body seemed to rebel when he heard Jonah’s cries. Like being forced to move through a room filled with wet cotton, consciousness returned slowly, and even as he moved toward Jonah’s room, it was more of a Pavlovian response than a desire to comfort his son.

It was early in the morning, a few minutes before dawn. Miles carried Jonah to the porch; by the time his cries finally stopped, the sun was already up.  Because it was Saturday and he didn’t have to go to school, Miles carried Jonah back to the bedroom and started a pot of coffee. His head was pounding, so he took two aspirin¹ and washed them down with orange juice.  He felt as if he had a hangover.

While the coffee was brewing², Miles retrieved³ the file and the notes he’d made the night before; he wanted to go over them one more time before heading into work. Jonah surprised him, however, by returning to the kitchen before he had a chance to do so. He padded in, his eyes puffy as he rubbed them, then sat at the table.

“Why are you up?” Miles asked. “It’s still early.”

“I’m not tired,” Jonah answered.

“You look tired.”

“I had a bad dream.”

Jonah’s words caught Miles off-guard. Jonah never remembered having the dreams before.

“You did?”

Jonah nodded. “I dreamed you were in an accident. Like Mommy was.” Miles went to Jonah’s side. “It was just a dream,” he said. “Nothing happened, okay?”

Jonah wiped his nose with the back of his hand. In his race car pajamas⁴, he looked younger than he was.

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, not at all. Why would you think I’m mad?”

“You didn’t talk to me at all yesterday.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t mad at you. I was just trying to figure out some stuff.”

“About Mommy?”

点击收听单词发音  

1 aspirin
n.阿司匹林
参考例句：
The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。 She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

2 brewing
n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式
参考例句：
It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。 She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

3 retrieved
v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）
参考例句：
Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

4 pajamas
n.睡衣裤
参考例句：
At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。 He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

5 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 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。

7 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。

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 strands
n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 stiffened
加强的
参考例句：
He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。 She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

11 testimony
n.证词；见证，证明
参考例句：
The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。 He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

12 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 clenched
v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。 She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 bail
v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人
参考例句：
One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。 She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

15 darted
v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔
参考例句：
The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 stunt
n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长
参考例句：
Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。 Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

17 shrugged
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。 She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 justified
a.正当的，有理的
参考例句：
She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。 The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

19 lawsuit
n.诉讼，控诉
参考例句：
They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。 He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

20 intimidation
n.恐吓，威胁
参考例句：
The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。 The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

21 brutality
n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮
参考例句：
The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。 a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

22 whatsoever
adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么
参考例句：
There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。 All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

23 escalate
v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级
参考例句：
It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。 Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

24 lenient
adj.宽大的，仁慈的
参考例句：
The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。 It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

25 corroborate
v.支持，证实，确定
参考例句：
He looked at me anxiously,as if he hoped I'd corroborate this.他神色不安地看着我，仿佛他希望我证实地的话。 It appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.看来他所说的和我叙述的相符。

26 curb
n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制
参考例句：
I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。 You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

27 briefly
adv.简单地，简短地
参考例句：
I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。 He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

28 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。