He had been a junior, and it was spring semester. The creative-writing class of which he was a part was focussing on the short story that semester. The teacher was a fellow named Richard Perkins, Jr, who had written two novels which had gotten very good reviews and sold very few copies. Mort had tried one, and thought the good reviews and bad sales had the same root cause: the books were incomprehensible. But the man hadn't been a bad teacher - he had kept them entertained, at least.

There had been about a dozen students in the class. One of them was John Kintner. Kintner was only a freshman², but he had gotten special permission to take the class. And had deserved it, Mort supposed. Southern-fried cracker³ or not, that sucker had been good.

The course required each of them to write either six short stories or three longer ones. Each week, Perkins dittoed off the ones he thought would make for the liveliest discussion and handed them out at the end of the class. The students were supposed, to come the following week prepared to discuss and criticize. It was the usual way to run such a class. And one week Perkins had given them a story from John Kintner. It had been called ... What had it been called?

Mort had turned on the water to fill the coffeemaker, but now he only stood, looking absently out at the fog beyond the window-wall and listening to the running water.

You know damned well what It was called. 'Secret Window, Secret Garden.'

'But it wasn't!' he yelled petulantly⁴ to the empty house. He thought furiously, determined⁵ to shut the hellish little voice up once and for all ... and suddenly it came to him.

'"Crowfoot Mile!" he shrieked⁶. 'The name of the story was "Crowfoot Mile," and it doesn't have anything to do with anything!'

Except that was not quite true, either, and he didn't really need the little, voice hunkered down someplace in the middle of his aching head to point out the fact.

Kintner had turned in three or maybe four stories before disappearing to wherever he had disappeared to (if asked to guess, Mort would have guessed Vietnam - it was where most of them had disappeared to at the end of the sixties -the young men, anyhow). 'Crowfoot Mile' hadn't been the best of Kintner's stories ... but it had been good. Kintner was clearly the best writer in Richard Perkins, Jr's class. Perkins treated the boy almost as an equal, and in Mort Rainey's not-so-humble estimation, Perkins had been right to do so, because he thought Kintner had been quite a bit better than Richard Perkins, Jr. As far as that went, Mort believed he had been better.

点击收听单词发音  

1 perk
n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；
参考例句：
His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。 And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。

2 freshman
n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)
参考例句：
Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。 He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

3 cracker
n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干
参考例句：
Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。 There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

4 petulantly
参考例句：
\"No; nor will she miss now,\" cries The Vengeance, petulantly. “不会的，现在也不会错过，”复仇女神气冲冲地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 shrieked
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。 Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

7 whim
n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想
参考例句：
I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。 He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

8 advertising
n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的
参考例句：
Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗? The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 detergent
n.洗涤剂；adj.有洗净力的
参考例句：
He recommended a new detergent to me.他向我推荐一种新的洗涤剂。 This detergent can remove stubborn stains.这种去污剂能去除难洗的污渍。

10 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。

11 mumbled
含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。 George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

12 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。

13 jealousy
n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌
参考例句：
Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。 I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

14 sophomore
n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的
参考例句：
He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。 I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

15 jejune
adj.枯燥无味的，贫瘠的
参考例句：
They were of great service in correcting my jejune generalizations.他们纠正了我不成熟的泛泛之论，帮了我大忙。 I detected a jejune air that had not inbed me before.我感到一种沉闷的空气，这种感觉是以前从来没有的。

16 rejection
n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃
参考例句：
He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。 The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

17 pessimism
n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者
参考例句：
He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。 There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

18 scrap
n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废
参考例句：
A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。 Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

19 underneath
adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面
参考例句：
Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。 She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

20 paranoia
n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症
参考例句：
Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。 The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

21 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
参考例句：
She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。 Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

22 propped
支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。 This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

23 shameful
adj.可耻的，不道德的
参考例句：
It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。 We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

24 confrontation
n.对抗，对峙，冲突
参考例句：
We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。 After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

25 giggle
n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说
参考例句：
Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。 All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

26 bleakly
无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地
参考例句：
The windows of the house stared bleakly down at her. 那座房子的窗户居高临下阴森森地对着她。 He stared at me bleakly and said nothing. 他阴郁地盯着我，什么也没说。

27 corrosive
adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的
参考例句：
Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。 Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

28 prospect
n.前景，前途；景色，视野
参考例句：
This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。 The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

29 stationery
n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封
参考例句：
She works in the stationery department of a big store.她在一家大商店的文具部工作。 There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.文具一多，心里自会觉得踏实。

30 accusation
n.控告，指责，谴责
参考例句：
I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。 She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

31 frankly
adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说
参考例句：
To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。 Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

32 submissions
n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据
参考例句：
The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句 Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

33 peal
n.钟声；v.鸣响
参考例句：
The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。 A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

34 hoarse
adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的
参考例句：
He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。 He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

35 guts
v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠
参考例句：
I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。 Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 hysterical
adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的
参考例句：
He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。 His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

37 conversational
adj.对话的，会话的
参考例句：
The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。 She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

38 crunched
v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄
参考例句：
Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

39 stolidly
adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地
参考例句：
Too often people sat stolidly watching the noisy little fiddler. 人们往往不动声色地坐在那里，瞧着这位瘦小的提琴手闹腾一番。 来自辞典例句 He dropped into a chair and sat looking stolidly at the floor. 他坐在椅子上，两眼呆呆地望着地板。 来自辞典例句

40 breakdown
n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌
参考例句：
She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。 The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。