PART 2 CHAPTER
27
T HERE’S BEEN A DISASTER IN THE LIBRARY. BOOKS ARE STREWN ACROSS the blue rug, the
father’s small collection and hauled all the way from Goshen when my family bought this farm.
folds of paper sliding out of two pieces of printed cardboard.
For one hundred and seventy-two years, these books were safe in our house. But because my
great-grandson and his wife neglected to turn off the heater in the library when they locked the
front door for the winter, there is this tragedy. A squirrel, attracted to warm air floating up the
defecated where it ate.
difference either. My moldering spirit is now so enfeebled that I’m powerless to frighten even a
varmint.
Then I discovered something I’d never seen before. Splayed open across the top of the old
printed lines. I looked more closely. It was Mary’s handwriting and easily recognized tone. She
must have used the volume at a time when there was no paper. Ma and Pa never opened these
found. I strained to read her words.
T HE W ORST Y EAR E VER
A UTHOR M ISS M ARY S MILEY
January 1, 1865. When Tom left for the war four years ago, Ma begged him to write
every day what was happening to him. I guess she didn’t imagine that we at home
would have anything out of the ordinary to record. How wrong she was. I will set down
in this book how grievous the old year has been and pray that the next will be no worse.
To begin with, I’ve lost both my mother and my brother. Not to death so far—mind
you that might be easier because death brings certainty. Families mourn, and then,
over time, there’s healing
After the Wilderness10 and Spotsylvania battles, we heard that most of the Stonewall
Brigade was killed or captured, but we had no way to know what had happened to Tom.
Finally, we received his brief note from the Fort. At least we were certain he was alive!
And Ma has gone mad. When she heard Tom had been taken, she took to her bed
most every day, and when she was up, she pored over her Bible from dawn until dusk
and prayed for Tom’s safety without any concern for the rest of us or her old life. Then
Folks describe the prison as just this side of Hell. We’ve heard of boys taking ill and
dying there—just like the first years of camp. Mrs. McClean’s son Bill was in the Fort
last spring and was so worn out and poorly fed that he died several weeks after getting
home. And he was traded out after only a few months. This was before Lincoln called
off all prisoner exchanges because the South considered union Black soldiers to be
property, not equal to a Southern soldier in trade. Mrs. McClean’s heart is still
profoundly broken. Such stories add considerably12 to Ma’s burden.
Since 1862 there has been less and less of everything a body requires for living. And
there has been more and more of what might frighten someone to death. All but
crippled Augusta boys are gone, and there’s no one left who’s strong enough to put in
crops by himself. I heard the substitute minister say that one hundred and eighteen
boys from our church are on the battlefield. And all the horses are gone. There can’t be
any farming without horses. Our soldiers, wandering up and down the road in front of
and tatters for clothes that we can’t refuse, but we risk starvation ourselves with each
for eight soldiers. Confederate currency is as useless as leaves fallen from trees. And it
takes more bills to buy something miniscule than the leaves any one tree could shed. I
hear a five-dollar cotton calico frock now costs as much as $500, if there are any frocks
to be had in these parts.
Pa trapped a possum up in the woods for Christmas dinner this year, and we had
potatoes we’d buried in the cellar—although a possum hardly gives enough meat for
more than one person. No one dares carry a hunting rifle for fear that Yanks who ride
through here will think they are guerillas and shoot them dead on the spot, no questions
asked. Ma had another of her terrible headaches and couldn’t help with the dinner. It
the holiday makes their absence strike deeper in the heart. We certainly missed Tom,
and I secretly held Beards close in my thoughts.
I’ve learned to eat some things that would never have touched my lips before. It
food. We can wander up in our woods or in the fields to find eatables. Depending upon
blackberries, and what root vegetables we can grow and store. Tish and I everyday
search on the ground and in the bushes for something digestible. There’s no
possums, sometimes squirrels, have saved our lives. We’ve not tasted sugar or coffee
in the past three years. Nothing from across the seas gets past the union boats barring
the Southern ports.
I guess I’m taking my time getting to the hard parts to tell. I’ll begin with June sixth,
of rifles fifteen miles away reverberated28 all day, starting at nine o’clock in the morning. I
pretending that everything was just fine. I hummed to calm my nerves, but it did little
they took Staunton, the Yankees would continue southwest right past our house on the
way to Lexington to destroy the military institute there. When the firing ceased, Pa went
out on the Staunton road to see if anyone closer to town knew the outcome. He hurried
back with a long face. Staunton’s streets were overcome by union troops. Ma had
arisen from her bed and was fretting in a chair. “Do you know the date, children? It’s
June, the sixth month of the year, the sixth day of the month, and the year is in the
decade starting with a six. 666 is Satan’s mark. We’ve been sent a sign.” Tish rolled her
eyes at me and made a sour face.
None of us slept peacefully that night or the night after, each straining to hear any
There’s no light at night. Candles are impossible to obtain, so that we must go to bed
when the sun sets unless we choose to sit with our hands in our laps in the blackness.
while I was unconscious. Some families have fared without too much hardship, but
room only for meals. She kept her Bible alongside as she chewed in silence. Every now
gold embossed letters Holy Bible.
On Tuesday morning, I told Tish and Pa that I couldn’t stay still another minute. I
kitchen garden hidden behind the barn in the midst of brambles, I was careful to keep
my eyes on the ground, stepping cautiously between the rows of potatoes and squash
vines. I wanted to avoid seeing what he’d nailed earlier in the day to a T-shaped stake
ears. A scarecrow of clothing and straw would attract army foragers’ attention to our
stalks, so Pa had hidden in the brambles with a sturdy slingshot and expertly downed
one of the crows with a stone to the head. No form of meat can be wasted these days,
the stake’s crossbar in the garden to warn other crows. Pa had stepped back to register
the air and lifted on the current. The alarmed cawing could be heard echoing across the
what I wasn’t certain. Compelling my feet to move as rapidly as possible, I moved past
the garden and started the climb through the pasture.
There are no more cattle to graze the grass short in the upper field. They had been
high stems and leaves sent disturbed grasshoppers54 and tiny sweat bees spiraling
between the top of the hill and the clouds.
But calm was forgotten when I arose to return to the house. Toward Staunton a
larger than anything I’d ever seen. A bewildered moment passed until I realized that I
was witnessing the burning of the town. I tore down the big hill to alert the family,
ripping my skirts as I raced through the briars. The town’s destruction struck terror in
my heart for what then might happen to unguarded farms. When I ran hollering onto the
breathless account drew Ma out of her room at the top of the stairs, and she began to
Ma recently has spent more and more time studying the books of the Old and New
They have abandoned the ways of the Lord and are attempting to destroy His
institutions.
With neighbors struggling to get by and feeling low in spirit, social calls have fallen
off in the past two years. Ma has had few distractions69 from time spent cross-referencing
Bible pages with apocalyptic70 religious tracts. When Tish and I mourned so over the
death of Sam Lucas, she tried to console us by advising us to study the Book of
Revelations. She believes that God’s love brings these terrible losses to make us
stronger so that at the end we will be among the multitude summoned before Him on
church when he was home on furlough the last time. “He’ll stand right alongside us on
that glorious day. Oh Lord, if only I knew if Tom was saved,” she insisted. We stopped
At the dinner table she lectured Pa that all of the South’s suffering is for the sake of
purifying her peoples’ faith. That God has risen up these Babylonians in Washington,
these evil forces, to bring judgment on the world for its sin. “Now, Christiana, it’s not
possible for man to know God’s will, nor can we predict the future,” my father said.
But she continued. “For certain, Abe Lincoln is the Antichrist. It’s all prophesied in the
Book of Revelations. Don’t you believe the Bible?” Pa just looked at his hands and
didn’t respond. “The South has been chosen as the New Jerusalem, and this purified
land will be where the Savior returns,” Ma insisted. She scarcely looks like herself these
days, with her lips set tight and her eyes so hard.
mind can be occupied with other thoughts. He’s concerned with our survival. Ma has
and decrease in food she finds evidence of the work of the Horsemen who bring
famine, plague, and civil war. She says they are in our midst already. The fourth, Pale
Sometimes we think Ma rests in her chair, but she’ll be staring at something in the
distance and then will cry out some verse about the hour of judgment.
This was her unfettered state of mind while Pa, Tish, and I feared that at any
moment several thousand enemy troops might come stalking down our road. Pa
Tish and I said, no matter how forcefully or pitifully we pleaded, could discourage this
view.
If Pa had his way in this, Ma might be in true danger. We’ve heard that folks were
sent away to federal prison for saying something only slightly insulting. Ma’s hostile
the cellar where they would hide. If Ma made any outburst, the thick stone walls would
muffle its meaning. Pa and I would stay in the main part of the house.
While we were forming our plan, there were horses’ hooves on the road toward
food and boots that morning. Hastening to the window, I saw quite a number of our men
raced through the door and hollered at Tish, “Take your mother and get to the
basement.” Ma loudly protested but hiding suited both of them better. They were too
There was nothing to be done but sit side-by-side with our father on the library sofa and
wait. I could hardly breathe. He patted my arm, trying to maintain his own composure.
After what seemed days but was probably an hour, faint strains of the “Star-
Spangled Banner” reached our ears. Folks said that invading Yankees like to sing their
quaked. Pa continued to pat my hand, but I could see that he trembled too. The singing
coming from the center of Bethel.
voices and gunfire grew nearer, Pa and I flew toward the back hall, the room farthest
the stairs. I couldn’t tell you how long the dreadful cries and loud reports of rifles
foundation near the porch. I held my breath, every muscle frozen as I pressed into the
that he was frightened too. Eventually most of the clamor moved on down the road
toward Lexington, but the shouts of a few men were still audible near the front of the
get up. Now we could clearly hear Ma’s incoherent howls of rage directed toward our
make out her words.
Then voices were at close range, and footsteps sounded on the porch. A man called
out as he pounded his fist on the door, “Please, can you help us here? If anyone is
there, we need help desperately104. We have a seriously wounded soldier who needs
care.” Pa and I looked at one another. There was such urgency in the tone that the
request seemed sincere.
can’t desert our comrade wounded like this. Can you shelter him and care for his
horse?” He looked over my father’s shoulder and said, “Miss, you remain in the house.
There are dead men on the road—sights you shouldn’t see.”
and Tish came up out of the cellar with Pa’s “All’s safe!” cry, and they hurried into the
parlor to view the unconscious visitor on the floor. Although Ma’s reason seems
destroyed, she was able to move quickly to deal with the wounded boy. She ordered
me to heat water and fetch the mustard plaster, and she commanded Tish to drag a
boy’s face that it was hard to tell how old he was, but when Ma sponged him with warm
revulsion.
The next few days were quiet. All the while, the wounded soldier lay senseless in the
parlor with Ma tending to him. There was no laudanum, morphine, or even whiskey to
be had anywhere and no other potions to ease his pain. The federal blockade on the
coast made sure of that. The patient’s cries of agony added another reason for
sleeplessness123. Before he arrived, we spent nights straining to hear enemy boots and
would sit vigil with him, humming the lullabies we heard as babies and alternating with
“If only I had some honey. This wound needs honey or it will fester, and we’ll lose
He looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “I think I may be able to get you
some. I can’t promise you, but I’ll give it my best effort.” We have no bees, and anyone
meat. The next day, he walked into Bethel with a freshly trapped possum in his
rucksack and returned with a most valuable container of honey to heal our wounded
soldier.
Here’s how it came to be that Ma’s desperate plea was granted: Pa told us that on a
bees near old Mr. Tatternook’s house at the gable end near the roof line. He and Mr.
Lucas immediately suspected that Old Tatternook had captured himself a queen and
had her there under his roof.
No one in the community knows the old man well because he keeps to himself, and
he’s ignored by most. He’s scary looking with a black eye patch and broad-brimmed
Catholic priest with his shiny black suit and white shirt, and she deeply dislikes
indifferent to the passing landscape.
Pa asked Mr. Lucas what he made of the fact that this fellow never attends church.
Reverend McIntyre had reported that when he went to call a few years ago, the old man
said that he has no need for a wrathful God who waits to punish him for every misstep.
Pa replied, “To make things worse, he told Reverend McIntyre some nonsense about
melodies of the whippoorwill, and the pattering rain on the forest floor.” When the
evil. He believes that it’s man’s ignorance of who he really is that causes him to harm
other creatures, and that self-righteous people claiming to speak for God have done the
greatest harm throughout history.
“So, what do you make of this kind of talk?” Pa asked.
Mr. Lucas then reminded Pa of the time when Tatternook warned Homer Reynolds
Reynolds’ blacksmith barn to be shod. And not two days later, eight-year-old Dennis
Pa replied that he thought the incident with Dennis was nothing more than
coincidence.
Mr. Lucas disagreed. “Don’t you recall that Jenny Beard took sick after the old man
knocked at the door and presented Mrs. Beard with herbs to treat typhus? Jenny came
down with a fever the next day, and her mother is convinced that the girl’s life was
close to dying that she made her mind up to ignore suspicious talk about Mr.
Tatternook. I think he knows things the rest of us don’t.”
“Well, I’m reserving judgment until there’s better proof,” Pa said as Mr. Lucas lay the
So it was Old Tatternook that Pa approached to trade his possum for honey. But he
said that when he offered the animal to the old man, he told Pa that he didn’t kill or eat
animals. What Pa had was of no use to him, and Pa would have to go elsewhere to
“If you’ll not have this meat, might I persuade you to share just a little of the honey I
know is hidden in your attic hives? We have a critically injured soldier in our parlor, and
honey is needed to knit his flesh together,” pleaded Pa. “A man’s life is at risk.”
seemed to be weighing the urgency of the request and Pa’s knowledge of his secret
cord and hung to dry from whitewashed154 beams. Bottles of shriveled leaves hand
Mr. Tatternook finally returned with a precious blue Mason jar full of honey wrapped
in an old, checked cloth along with some leaves of feverfew he said would help with
journeyed home.
When he handed his bundle to Ma, a wrinkled note fell out. Flattening159 it on the table,
she read, “Dear Mrs. Smiley, cease worrying about your son. He’ll return to you safely
from prison. You may rest easy. Regards, R. F. Tatternook.”
prison? And he can’t possibly guess Tom’s fate.” She dismissively tossed the note
aside. I snatched it from the floor and read it. Mr. Tatternook is a soothsayer and a
good man. Proof was his knowledge of Ma’s recurring headaches. The note gave me
hope.
for just a fingertip’s worth. Having been without for so long, we deserved just a moment
of indulgence. But Ma was unrelenting. She guarded the jar with fierce protectiveness
house; bedcoverings, petticoats, nightgowns, and summer curtains were torn into
bandaging. Sure that she would come after our last calico dresses, I hid away my
some of Tom’s pants and shirts to replace them. He was inches shorter than Tom, but
with cuffs and sleeves rolled, the clothes were a fine fit. A homemade turban bandage
crafted from brightly colored cloths transformed him into a Turkish sultan from my
geography schoolbook.
After two weeks had passed, Ma burst into the kitchen, her cheeks ruddy with
excitement. “Our patient is awake! He’s finally awake!”
“Are you sure, Ma, or are you just wishing it’s so?” I asked, as I set down my knife
from chopping pine needles for tea.
“Oh, no. Come see! He opened his eyes and smiled at me. For just the briefest
moment,” she said as the three of us headed for the parlor. “What a beautiful smile it
was!” But we found him unconscious again. In the days following, he was awake for
longer and longer periods but couldn’t speak coherently. Stuttering and gesturing, he
finally made it known by signs that he’d like to write something. Tish ran to the library
and grabbed an old textbook, from which she tore pages, and then found a pencil. He
and home place, I wrote a letter that described his condition and location. Franklin
counted on having an extra mouth to feed. Even with his diminished appetite, his
was always a little extra grain to be found in cracks and corners around the mill. And
Tish surreptitiously saved bits of possum meat from her plate to share after a meal
when Pa had been lucky with his traps. She and I took turns reading to Franklin, which
Tish had spelled Ma in the early days, and if you ask me, she liked to be in the parlor
next to him far more than was necessary. She could talk of nothing else. What did we
think his home was like? Did we think he had a wife or sweetheart back in North
She also gathered flowers from the garden every day for our patient. Pa nailed rough
strips of pine where the windowpanes had been shot out, and the bedclothes and
medical materials gave the parlor a disheveled look– but Tish’s roses, daisies, field
blood-matted mess on his scalp, I could see why Tish might be sweet on him. He was a
fine- looking man with the high cheekbones and fair complexion178 of folks from the
lowlands of the Carolinas. Soft brown eyes shone out of a kind face, despite being so
gaunt. We were all very excited when it became certain that he would live, but his sight
useless as well. Perhaps with time he will heal better, but he’ll be far away from Tish
and our doorstep by then.
to room trying to imagine what would catch the eye of a thieving soldier, but there was
However, Tish and I did wrap the silver forks and knives in a flour-sacking dishcloth and
She favored burial next to a fence post as a marker. I preferred a spot under the big
oak where chanterelle foraging is best. It’s a site we know well. She finally agreed that
acorns around to make the ground appear undisturbed. Prayer would have to provide
security for the rest of our possessions. There was worry enough about the family’s
safety without overly much thought for things that could be replaced.
Franklin Spragins’s father came from North Carolina two months later, in early
August, to fetch his son home. By this time, Franklin had recovered enough to sit
upright for an hour or two a day but was still quite weak. Ma had taught him to feed
himself with his one good hand. He still only communicated clearly by scratching out
finely built wagon around combat near Richmond and threaded through the mountains
toward the Valley where battles could spring up at any time. When he saw his son in
our parlor, both men burst into tears. Mr. Spragins clung to him until Franklin seemed
embarrassed by so much emotion and looked to Ma for help. She gently led the man
away to join us where Tish and I were discreetly188 waiting on the porch. Mr. Spragins
Ma, Pa, and he struck up quite a friendship during that time and talked for hours in
the library as Franklin rested in the parlor. One afternoon, I overheard them discuss
didn’t believe the war was about ending slavery or even honoring states’ rights. He
do you think God damns the people of the South for their sins?” Mr. Spragins asked.
“This position is frequently taken by our North Carolina churches, and I’m inclined to
Mr. Spragins said, “So many folks are concerned with the outcome of the November
election—particularly those who pray Abe Lincoln’s defeat will end the war—but they’re
looking for a solution in the wrong place. The war is God’s doing, and until men of the
Ma’s repeated “Amens” could be heard beyond the parlor, and Pa’s echoed hers.
“But when will people of the Confederacy gain this wisdom?” my father wondered.
Mr. Spragins said, “I wish I knew. Obviously, our great losses haven’t been enough
because months later Lincoln won the election.
I think Mr. Spragins was so overjoyed to see his son alive, he failed to notice how
Franklin’s chances for a normal life had been reduced. Mr. Spragins shares Tish’s
wishful view of his son’s future. As he prepared to leave, he spoke with relief of
Franklin’s return home to help with the fieldwork now that all his slaves but one had
mattress in the back of the wagon for Franklin’s comfort, and one morning, as we all
stood on the porch and waved, Mr. Spragins and his son departed. Ma and Tish
watched until the wagon was out of sight, and then they wiped at tears rolling down
their cheeks, Tish for dashed romantic dreams and Ma who was suddenly more aware
of Tom’s absence.
Franklin’s horse boarded with us until early September, as Mr. Spragins couldn’t
both drive the wagon and handle Franklin’s steed. By the time his remaining slave Minis
corners of the barn and the fields for bits of hay and found sufficient to bring her back to
health. Fortunately, the mare was gone by some days when the burning came into the
Valley.
Caring for Franklin Spragins had made Ma better. She was so busy being useful that
would earn her Tom’s safety in the Lord’s eyes. But then an awful thing occurred.
Not long after, the family headed off to church in the buggy for Sunday services. As
the ancient oak tree.
Pa was the first to notice and said, “What the dickens is going on here? The service
should start any minute now. These people will be late to their pews.”
“Over by the tree—that looks like Mr. Blue and Mr. Lucas, but what on earth are they
doing?” Tish asked.
his age, stood at the base of the tree, and the shorter, slightly built Mr. Lucas teetered
on his shoulders. He awkwardly tried to heave himself up onto the lowest sturdy limb, a
knife clutched in his teeth.
alarmed talk suggested that the object was something much more unpleasant.
the tight knot of men below.
Ma spied them and began to scream, “Satan’s fallen angels! They are descending207
upon us! Can’t you see them? You girls take cover! They steal souls, and they’re right
nothing to fear from these ordinary birds. You’ve seen them on the fields picking at deer
carcasses more times than you can count.” But no amount of reasoning would calm
Nature’s housekeepers212 who never kill anything for food. They only clear away natural
deaths and the bad deeds of others.
Pa joined the crowd around the tree, and Ma, Tish, and I watched in horrible
knew that inside were arms, legs, and a lolling head. Everyone was struck dumb. They
stared at the spot where the encased body lay, until several men roused themselves
interment.
seen, and we would demand to know more. Haltingly he began, as Ma whimpered
inconsolably. “Now, Christiana, you and the girls needn’t worry. It’s all over. There’s
nothing here that can harm us.” He stroked her hand. “Not anymore.”
He then explained what the substitute minister, Reverend Brown, had just reported
when he peered from behind a parsonage window curtain, he saw Yankee soldiers
advancing up the road with a hostage. The man’s wrists were bound by rope to the
back of his captors’ wagon. The poor soul stumbled and fell, his sobs for mercy audible
from where the Reverend watched. The hostage was near naked, and his feet left
bloody trails in the road’s dust, the minister had said.
“He watched? Why didn’t he do something to help the man?” I knew the answer the
minute I said this, but I couldn’t help myself.
“What could he do? He had no gun, and he was outnumbered,” Pa said. Then he
proceeded to tell how Brown heard the Yanks declare that the church was a perfect
spot for a mock trial. They took places across the porch steps with an officer as judge
and six others as jury to try the man for murder. He thought their captive must have
killed a Yankee soldier to merit such cruel treatment. Well, the poor fellow was in no
Reverend Brown told the group that the pitiful fellow didn’t utter a word as they
startled leap forward. Before you could blink, Reverend Brown said, the prisoner was
Pa lowered his head and told us, “God bless the poor man’s soul. It seems that we
communion cups as well as the Bible from the pulpit.”
We later read details in The Spectator. The victim was Samuel Creigh from down
around Lewiston, about seventy miles farther toward the western mountains. Some
believed his wife had shot a raiding Yankee who had attacked him. Others thought Mr.
but in recent days some enemy of Creigh’s had reported him to the Yankees in the
Lewiston area. The Yanks found the body stuffed in Creigh’s empty well. He was then
Tish and I had drifted along with the comfortable memory of the sensible mother who
had guided our lives so admirably until recently. Now, after the lynching, she seemed to
lose touch with our world again. We had to face the fact that her unpredictable, angry
behavior was a persistent232 danger to her as well as to us.
Pa summoned Tish and me into the library not long after Ma went off again. He had
seemed preoccupied233 for days. Now he cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses on
his nose. “I’ve been thinking about Ma,” he said at last. “I’m worried we’re running out of
time. More than likely, the soldiers will come this way again. We can’t let your mother
face even one of them.”
This was the topic I’d dreaded most, but Tish seemed to have thought about it.
“What about the basement?” she asked. “We hid there last time. And the soldiers never
even entered the house. Perhaps we’ll have that good fortune again.”
Pa frowned. “That was just a skirmish, and the Yanks were only passing through. We
need to find a place where she won’t be discovered, even if they storm the house.”
heads, and if that’s the case, who knows what may happen. Lucas told me of a man
burned his house to the ground.” Tish’s face drained of color, and I’m sure I looked the
same.
“Do you think we could persuade her to walk to the top of the hill to hide?” Tish
safety. She must have envisioned Ma warmly enfolded by the tree that had weathered
so many storms.
“That won’t do,” I said. “She might refuse to go, Pa can’t carry her that distance, and
how would you keep her there? Bound to a tree?” Tears came to my eyes.
Tish snapped at me. “I’d stay with her.” She paused. “But there would be no shelter.
Mary’s right. It won’t work.”
This conversation was sorely grievous to Pa. He insisted, “Her hiding place should
be here. But I can’t imagine where in the house we might conceal her.” He sighed.
I thought of the small attic cubby over the back addition where I used to hide my
broken china- head dolls. There wasn’t much illumination in that area, as the gable
windows are located at the other end. It also had the advantage of being far from the
central downstairs rooms. Pa and Tish agreed this was a possibility, but it was no better
was simply a less likely place for a soldier to venture.
I steeled myself before I spoke, remembering that Ma’s and our lives hung in the
mercifully quick. You know as well as I that we have few provisions for anyone’s use.”
and guidance. And pray that he keeps the enemy from our door so that we never have
to consider these actions.” He added, “God help your poor mother to come to her
senses in the meantime.” My heart broke to see him so sad. I reached for his hand and
squeezed it. He said in a low tone, as if to himself, “I just can’t reconcile her deep
devotion and her purity of life with the angry, disturbed woman she’s become.”
conversation. There was no solution that any of us could find conscionable, but at least
we now had a plan.
In early September, when the enemy troops had moved from the Staunton area
toward Lynchburg to rip up train lines, and the Confederates were able to restore
telegraph wires from Charlottesville to Staunton, there was the possibility of news
again. And what dreadful news it was!
to learn where our troops were fighting. They set out one morning for town in Mr.
Beard’s wagon drawn by his old mare. Hidden in a barn down on overgrown lane
several miles off the Bethel road, both had been safe from army scavengers. Pa had
brought several bushels of potatoes from this past summer’s harvest, hoping to barter.
But they had little hope of finding something of value. These days there is little to be
purchased or traded in Staunton, thanks to the summer’s occupation of fifteen thousand
union soldiers in this town of an already deprived four thousand. Pa returned empty-
handed.
When he entered the back door, he found Tish and me trying to entertain an agitated
Ma in the kitchen by singing old favorites like “Aura Lee.” “What’s going on here?” he
asked.
“Ma’s been so anxious, we’ve been trying to entertain her. She was convinced you’d
be captured by the Yankees on the road,” Tish said. I placed my hands on Ma’s to calm
their shaking. Even with Pa’s return, she wasn’t consoled.
his news. “You remember Mr. Waddell, the newspaper editor in town? Well, we met him
as he was running out of his office to alert folks on the street about what had just come
recounted how someone in that town had got hold of an issue of the New York
Observer. It had reported Grant’s newest plan for bringing Virginia to its knees. union
troops had been ordered to eat out Virginia clean and clear so that a crow flying over
Grant’s exact words, Waddell said. And Grant has an even more diabolical249 plan in store
for us.”
“We are already eaten out clean and clear,” I said. “There is barely anything left for
humans or crows, as it is. What could be worse?”
“Oh, Mary. There is worse,” he said. “Waddell told us that Grant has also
commanded all Valley barns, mills, stored grain, hay for horses, and crop fields to be
torched, and all animals to be either slaughtered250 or driven off. Yankee soldiers have
already set out from Winchester to march south down the Valley to carry out his plan.”
“God help us,” Tish cried out. She grabbed the edge of the kitchen table to steady
herself.
“How can we survive, and, worse, what will become of Ma if Yankees come this way
again?” I said.
With Pa seated before her, Ma fell into one of her Last Days reveries, addressing
someone none of us could see. “Glory, glory, you say. And what about God’s blessed
manna?” She cocked her head to listen. “Will there be an endless supply, that we may
never suffer hunger? And will we enjoy eternal peace? Oh, precious angel, shine thy
light upon my face as we sing God’s praises in Heaven.” She then recited a list of
Heaven’s glories for us all after Judgment Day. I hoped she envisioned an ample
supply of sugar, bacon, honey, cakes, pies, real coffee, and cotton calico dresses.
Nothing Pa had said registered with her, and I was having my own difficulties absorbing
Two weeks later, a gentle, cool rain had been steadily falling in the late afternoon
pounded up the front steps. As Tish opened the door, he pushed his way past her and
found Pa. “It’s started. The burning has started! The enemy has torched all the barns in
Waynesboro, and they’re headed this way,” he said. “I ’spect they won’t get here until
tomorrow morning but be prepared!” He barely spit the words out before he leaped on
his steed and was down the road to tell the next neighbor.
My eyes nervously took in the room, imagining what a soldier might find desirable,
but there was really nothing to be done outwardly to prepare. The shriveled smoked
ham was hidden in the attic, the silver was buried, and all else of value to an army was
already taken. What to do with Ma was the real problem. Solving it would take every bit
of courage and determination we had.
We kept to ourselves, while Ma persisted with her constant litany of prayer and
with worry, Pa hugged each of us to him. “I’m going to shut myself in the parlor to ask
the Lord’s counsel. While I’m there, you girls might pray for guidance as well,” he told
us, as Tish whimpered.
“Now, Tish, we’ll get through this. Just be calm and trust in your own strength and
God’s divine will.” Pa strode into the parlor and closed the door behind him.
individual anxieties. I couldn’t bear to discard my day dress, afraid I wouldn’t be
prepared if something happened before sunrise.
Near dawn, I heard Pa pacing in their room as I crept in my bare feet downstairs to
of bitter wood smoke. Off to the north, a faint orange glow capped the black hilltops with
I stormed into the house, my cries of alarm drawing Tish and Pa into the upstairs
hallway. Ma’s enquiries of “What’s going on? What are you all so upset about?” came
from the bedroom.
that only we could hear. In a softer voice he said to us, “What in God’s name will we
do? The enemy will be here shortly if you can see fire in the distance.”
Firmly I said, “Remember our plan, Pa. I’ll take two chairs up to the attic, one for her
and another for one of us.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Tish said. “Just like last time. I’ve no desire to confront Yankee
soldiers.”
“But what if the Yankees set the house on fire?” I said. “Promise me you’ll come
downstairs with Ma at the first whiff of smoke, regardless of what you fear from the
Pa removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Putting them back on, he joined me as
I stepped into the bedroom to reason with my mother. Taking a seat on the bed, Pa
“Christiana, my love, Yankee soldiers approach on the road, and you will be safest
waiting with Tish in the attic. Please come with us up the stairs and stay there until I
give a sign.” She glared at him, but he continued. “Tish is coming too. It will be exactly
like the last time. It will be over quickly, and then all will be well. But you’ll need to stay
quiet while they’re here.”
and tell them of the power of the Lord.” An expression of horror crossed my father’s
greet them with word of the true Lord.”
“No, no, Christiana, you’ll bring harm to all of us!” he said.
“Nonsense. His mercy shields me. I’ll be spared any harm.” She threw back the
bedcovers, placed her feet solidly on the floor, and fastened her long robe.
Pa gave me such an exasperated268 look. Ma was clearly not going to go peacefully to
bonfires made of fence rails and posts at a neighboring farm. The sky had become
dawn, there was none.
Tish peered out through the window. Suddenly she yelled, “Oh, my heavens, look at
this! They must be at the Hogshead place now! Whatever will we do?” Orange fingers
of flame clawed at the sky in front of us. It looked as though Hell had split open and was
attempting to suck the town of Bethel in. Cries of desperate animals and gun blasts
moment against his chest as tears coursed down his cheeks. She hadn’t realized that
she wouldn’t confront the soldiers at the door, and when the truth dawned, she twisted
Tina girl. Please be still. Please, please be still.” He held her in a lover’s embrace, trying
down her back and framed her furious face, while her billowing, white cotton robe
trailed down from his arms. “William, what are you doing? You’re siding with Satan
“You go downstairs, Tish, and watch for them. Call up and warn us when they’re
close,” I said as I shoved my sister toward the door. I tore the bed sheets into thick
arms.
toward the space over the back addition. Once there, she was so wearied by resistance
adjusted her in the seat. We were almost useless with weeping. I quickly grasped her
wrists and bound them together as she pleaded, “No, no, Mary, how could you do this
to your mother? Let me loose, let me loose. I pray you to free me.”
“Ma, I beg your forgiveness.” I paused to wipe my eyes. “Someday you’ll understand
that this was necessary to save all of us,” I said as I quickly wound the sheeting around
her waist and tied it to the chair. I secured her to its sturdy frame, but all the time
worried that I might grievously squeeze her.
mother tied in the corner darkness. I dropped the extra strips of sheeting on the floor.
Quivering from head to toe, I told her again, “If there’s the first whiff of smoke in the
house, grab Ma and run. Burning alive is more horrible than anything a Yankee might
do.” I then joined Pa at the front door.
Then, a company of about fifty indigo-clad cavalry soldiers charged into sight, with
flaming torches of oil-soaked rags twisted on long stakes held high. They sang at the
top of their lungs, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, He is
house, dismounted, and secured their horses to the fence near the porch. Pa and I
hastened into the yard, hoping to draw them away from the house. Flickering290 torches
turned the Yankees nearing the big red bank barn into the stuff of nightmares. The farm
animals were long ago claimed by the Confederate army, but Pa’s farming implements291
with a heavy iron padlock. Several soldiers strode toward the house.
“You there, old man,” one spat at Pa. “Where are the keys to the barn padlock?”
Another demanded: “Give them to us or pay with your life!” He raised his rifle as if to
Others were now on the porch, demanding whatever we had in the way of food. One
threadbare uniforms were stained with smoke, oil, blood and who knows what. Several
of them were without footwear. Even if they were Yankees, I ached to think what it must
have been like to charge in combat through fields of shattered corn stalks and knife-like
branches, and then to hike on bloody feet for miles between battles.
“There is no key. It’s lost,” I shouted when I gathered my senses. Pa shot a fierce
look to hush me up. The soldiers sped back to the barn door. One of them drew his
pistol and blasted the lock apart. They then disappeared, shortly to re-emerge with the
that they heaped on a bed of fence rails. Others collected dried cow patties and loose
cracking torches into the pile.
Dampness from the previous night slowed the fire, but eventually small flames
toasted the grasses and spread in a widening circle. More blazing torches were flung
into the open barn doors, and soon an ungodly roar sucked at the air. The barn
great thundering, the wings of the roof collapsed and left only a few skeletal outside
might leap to the house, and if we might lose it as well.
approached the house, pounding up the porch steps. My heart lurched, and Pa and I
shelves onto the floor, eyeing a copy now and then and thrusting an appealing one into
a rucksack. The invaders cast cushions onto the floor, tore paintings from the walls,
ripped curtains down, and upended chairs. Our refusals to meet demands for silver and
valuables further aggravated304 them. The one with the eye patch ordered Pa and me to
them travel from room to room, slamming drawers and cupboards. They exclaimed with
pleasure when they found something to give a mother or sweetheart and swore when
their search was in vain. One came back into the parlor chewing on the last candle that
Ma put aside for an emergency.
“Missy, where are your potatoes and apples? I know you have something to eat in
this house besides tallow wax. Something puts meat on those bones.” He pinched my
upper arm, and his rankness made me gag. Like some of the others, he had what
appeared to be fresh blood on his shirt, and then I remembered the order to kill the
animals. The Hogsheads managed to spare some of their hogs and sheep in the past
been discovered discolored this man’s clothes. Perhaps if I fessed up about the
potatoes in the basement, they’d leave the upper floors unexplored. I held my breath,
listening for oaths coming from the attic. Thank God, there were none.
All but the officer went below in the quest for fruit and vegetables put up in crocks
and stored there for the winter. He headed toward the hall stairs. Footsteps soon
passed from one room to another above our heads. His boots halted at the attic door,
heart thudded so violently our captor would surely hear it. There was silence and then
looking at one another for fear of giving away our thoughts.
knapsacks that bulged with all of this season’s potatoes and the few apples that we had
gathered. The officer grabbed the man by the collar. “Empty your sacks,” the officer
ordered, “and deposit everything that you’ve taken from this house here in the center of
the hall. Leave it all behind now, or you’ll pay later.”
“What the hell?” one soldier demanded.
Another asked, “Have you lost your mind? We need this stuff.”
“Do what I say. Now.” the officer said and placed his hand on his revolver for
emphasis.
There was much cursing as our provisions were spilled out on the floor. The officer
wearily passed his hand over his eyes. “I don’t know how much more of this I can
stand,” he said to no one in particular. If he wasn’t a Yankee, I might have felt sorry for
this man who had forgotten he was the enemy. He was attractive with his light brown,
had seen too much.
Pa and I hadn’t recovered from our shock when the sharp sound of a whistle again
split the air and the intruders departed. Hooves pounded the lane and then the road as
they tore away in a mob, holding aloft torches newly ignited from our burning barn. We
froze, straining to hear if the riders continued down the road past the mill, or if they
distance more and more faintly until they vanished altogether.
With an all’s clear shout from Pa, Tish came down the stairs, guiding a mute and
had just passed. I asked Tish, “What in the world happened up there? That officer
ordered his men to abandon everything they’d taken. It’s a miracle.”
guess hoping to locate something under the floorboards or hidden in the eaves, when
he spied Ma and me huddled back under the roof beams. When the Yankees raced up
the lane, I was forced to gag her. There was just no other choice. I wound a piece of
sheeting around her mouth. Oh, Mary, she didn’t struggle. She just slumped against the
bindings. It broke my heart.” Tish paused to wipe away the tears, and I squeezed her
hand in mine. She continued, “When the officer saw us crouched there in the half dark,
he was speechless for a moment, staring. Imagine what a sight we must have seemed
—a woman gagged and tightly bound in a chair with her daughter at her side! I was
frightened witless, but I begged him to understand that Ma had gone mad with the war’s
anything but the truth. He told me not to be disquieted320 any longer. It was then that he
descended and made his men return our goods.” Tish plunked down onto the bottom
step in relief and grief; her shoulders shook with raw sobs suppressed so long. Now I
understood why the mill had been spared. The good officer knew we would starve
without it and took pity on us again. Pa pulled Ma to him and held her tight, softly
stroking her hair and begging her to forgive him.
Just then, the strong odor of wood smoke tugged me back to what was happening
and several men threw themselves into digging a ditch around the little flames lapping
at the edge of the lawn. Heat from the barn was too intense for a person to stand in its
of water from the stream and splashed it on the edges of the flames nearest the house.
mouths, and a torn strip of petticoat afforded me the same protection. We frantically
inside the house, where we clustered at the windows with dread. If rain had not fallen
the previous night, we might have lost everything. As it was, the combination of the
ditch and the dampness saved our home.
plot.
Stories about the burning spread from neighbor to neighbor like the smoke. Local
folks were abuzz about Old Tatternook and how, when the Yanks came by, he boldly
Mr. Tatternook came to visit a few days later. “These are for your wife,” he told Pa,
as he extended a bundle of dried lemon balm and lavender bound by string. “Tell her to
her anxiety.”
“You heard that she suffers from nerves? I’ll make sure she makes use of these.
Thank you. Come in, Mr. Tatternook, and tell us how you fared during the burning.
We’ve heard stories,” Pa said.
“I’ll stay here by the door, thank you. You hold in your hand all that’s left of my
healing herbs. I saved a few dry bundles while the Yankees gathered tinder. I tried to
warn them, but they wouldn’t listen to a one-eyed old man. One even waved a revolver
at me before incinerating my barn.”
“Warned them of what?” Pa asked.
Tatternook said, “Their end was nigh. I told them to prepare themselves and their
or it’s your own end that will be nigh.’ At that point I gave up and left the barn and them
to Fate.”
He told Pa that he knew they’d be bushwhacked later that day between Bethel and
Staunton, and not one life would be spared. Their shallow graves by the road would be
disguised with leaves and brambles. Everyone in Bethel swears his story is true. But
you never know. So much terrible has happened that truth and fiction no longer seem to
have any particularities between them. I hope the kind officer was not among them.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
spines
|
|
| n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
gnawed
|
|
| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
saga
|
|
| n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
binds
|
|
| v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
rustling
|
|
| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
stomping
|
|
| v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
encyclopedias
|
|
| n.百科全书， （某一学科的）专科全书( encyclopedia的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
scrawl
|
|
| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
solely
|
|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
trickle
|
|
| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
rippled
|
|
| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
swollen
|
|
| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
confiscated
|
|
| 没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
appease
|
|
| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
ration
|
|
| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
foraging
|
|
| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
stew
|
|
| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
sliver
|
|
| n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
acorns
|
|
| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
walnuts
|
|
| 胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
ammunition
|
|
| n.军火，弹药 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
rusty
|
|
| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
dreaded
|
|
| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
reverberated
|
|
| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
fret
|
|
| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
fretting
|
|
| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
huddled
|
|
| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
woolen
|
|
| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
muffle
|
|
| v.围裹；抑制；发低沉的声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
artillery
|
|
| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
unnatural
|
|
| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
sleepless
|
|
| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
bicker
|
|
| vi.(为小事)吵嘴，争吵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
gnawing
|
|
| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
caress
|
|
| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
ascend
|
|
| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
hind
|
|
| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
ailed
|
|
| v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
ripening
|
|
| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
gutted
|
|
| adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
majestic
|
|
| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
affixed
|
|
| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
sinister
|
|
| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
agonized
|
|
| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
pivoted
|
|
| adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
omen
|
|
| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
scything
|
|
| v.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
grasshoppers
|
|
| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
fabric
|
|
| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
crest
|
|
| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
hawks
|
|
| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
plume
|
|
| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
bulged
|
|
| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
prophesied
|
|
| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
tribulations
|
|
| n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
testament
|
|
| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
prophesy
|
|
| v.预言；预示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
tracts
|
|
| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
precipitating
|
|
| adj.急落的，猛冲的v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的现在分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
doom
|
|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
distractions
|
|
| n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
apocalyptic
|
|
| adj.预示灾祸的，启示的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
rants
|
|
| n.夸夸其谈( rant的名词复数 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨v.夸夸其谈( rant的第三人称单数 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
rant
|
|
| v.咆哮；怒吼；n.大话；粗野的话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
vehement
|
|
| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
berates
|
|
| v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
chide
|
|
| v.叱责；谴责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
killing
|
|
| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
recurring
|
|
| adj.往复的，再次发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
shrieking
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
depredations
|
|
| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
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： |
|
|
|
|
86
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
numb
|
|
| adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
hunched
|
|
| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
wringing
|
|
| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
anthem
|
|
| n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
tune
|
|
| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
chaos
|
|
| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
cowered
|
|
| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
gunpowder
|
|
| n.火药 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
seeped
|
|
| v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
puffs
|
|
| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
limestone
|
|
| n.石灰石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
rigid
|
|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
owls
|
|
| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
invaders
|
|
| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
desperately
|
|
| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
hovered
|
|
| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
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： |
|
|
|
|
107
filthy
|
|
| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
slumped
|
|
| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
coaxed
|
|
| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
thwart
|
|
| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
parlor
|
|
| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
mare
|
|
| n.母马，母驴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
famished
|
|
| adj.饥饿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
ribs
|
|
| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
poked
|
|
| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
mattress
|
|
| n.床垫，床褥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
gash
|
|
| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
shredded
|
|
| shred的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
bruises
|
|
| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
swelling
|
|
| n.肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
gore
|
|
| n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
stifle
|
|
| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
sleeplessness
|
|
| n.失眠，警觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
hymns
|
|
| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
soothe
|
|
| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
fretted
|
|
| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
conceals
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
wagon
|
|
| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
swarm
|
|
| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
reined
|
|
| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
horde
|
|
| n.群众，一大群 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
attic
|
|
| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
beak
|
|
| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
shuffling
|
|
| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
blasphemy
|
|
| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
cedar
|
|
| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
belly
|
|
| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
foresight
|
|
| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
reins
|
|
| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
rumbled
|
|
| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
barter
|
|
| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
ushered
|
|
| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
aromatic
|
|
| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
aroma
|
|
| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
clumps
|
|
| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
sage
|
|
| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
whitewashed
|
|
| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
ailments
|
|
| 疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
plank
|
|
| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
soothed
|
|
| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
chronic
|
|
| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
flattening
|
|
| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
spat
|
|
| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
yearned
|
|
| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
secreted
|
|
| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
scrap
|
|
| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
cuffs
|
|
| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
crooked
|
|
| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
cavalry
|
|
| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
languished
|
|
| 长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
converse
|
|
| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
grits
|
|
| n.粗磨粉；粗面粉；粗燕麦粉；粗玉米粉；细石子，砂粒等( grit的名词复数 )；勇气和毅力v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的第三人称单数 )；咬紧牙关 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
agitation
|
|
| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
sobs
|
|
| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
dozing
|
|
| v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
fragrance
|
|
| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
fervently
|
|
| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
moldy
|
|
| adj.发霉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
hoarding
|
|
| n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
lugged
|
|
| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
tiff
|
|
| n.小争吵，生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
stump
|
|
| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
twigs
|
|
| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
mightily
|
|
| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
navigated
|
|
| v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
discreetly
|
|
| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
hazardous
|
|
| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
prospects
|
|
| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
espoused
|
|
| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
concur
|
|
| v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
joyful
|
|
| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
devout
|
|
| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
humility
|
|
| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
labor
|
|
| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
scoured
|
|
| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
wagons
|
|
| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
congregated
|
|
| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
hardy
|
|
| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
elongated
|
|
| v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
horrified
|
|
| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
crouched
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
swirled
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
tugged
|
|
| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
greasy
|
|
| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
demons
|
|
| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
housekeepers
|
|
| n.（女）管家( housekeeper的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
fascination
|
|
| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
severed
|
|
| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
215
collapsed
|
|
| adj.倒塌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
eerily
|
|
| adv.引起神秘感或害怕地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
cemetery
|
|
| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
nervously
|
|
| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
disturbance
|
|
| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
221
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
noose
|
|
| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
223
shrouded
|
|
| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
224
whacked
|
|
| a.精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
225
hacked
|
|
| 生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
226
twitching
|
|
| n.颤搐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
227
writhing
|
|
| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
228
sterling
|
|
| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
229
slaying
|
|
| 杀戮。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
230
dangling
|
|
| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
231
spawns
|
|
| （鱼、蛙等的）子，卵( spawn的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
232
persistent
|
|
| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
233
preoccupied
|
|
| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
234
invective
|
|
| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
235
bastard
|
|
| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
236
stammered
|
|
| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
237
pneumonia
|
|
| n.肺炎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
238
muffling
|
|
| v.压抑，捂住( muffle的现在分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
239
flannel
|
|
| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
240
plunder
|
|
| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
241
lodging
|
|
| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
242
blessings
|
|
| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
243
unwilling
|
|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
244
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
245
rumors
|
|
| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
246
blurted
|
|
| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
247
creases
|
|
| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
248
provender
|
|
| n.刍草；秣料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
249
diabolical
|
|
| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
250
slaughtered
|
|
| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
251
bleak
|
|
| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
252
ashen
|
|
| adj.灰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
253
galloped
|
|
| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
254
exhortation
|
|
| n.劝告，规劝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
255
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
256
tormented
|
|
| 饱受折磨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
257
cedars
|
|
| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
258
rippling
|
|
| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
259
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
260
eerie
|
|
| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
261
tremor
|
|
| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
262
glumly
|
|
| adv.忧郁地，闷闷不乐地；阴郁地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
263
assent
|
|
| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
264
strand
|
|
| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
265
minions
|
|
| n.奴颜婢膝的仆从( minion的名词复数 )；走狗；宠儿；受人崇拜者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
266
backbone
|
|
| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
267
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
268
exasperated
|
|
| adj.恼怒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
269
scent
|
|
| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
270
hogs
|
|
| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
271
murky
|
|
| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
272
squander
|
|
| v.浪费，挥霍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
273
scooped
|
|
| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
274
writhed
|
|
| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
275
shrieked
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
276
sobbed
|
|
| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
277
gasping
|
|
| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
278
propped
|
|
| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
279
wrestled
|
|
| v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
280
bellowed
|
|
| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
281
frantically
|
|
| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
282
maneuver
|
|
| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
283
crumpled
|
|
| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
284
resounded
|
|
| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
285
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
286
roiling
|
|
| v.搅混（液体）( roil的现在分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
287
trampling
|
|
| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
288
swelled
|
|
| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
289
veered
|
|
| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
290
flickering
|
|
| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
291
implements
|
|
| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
292
plows
|
|
| n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
293
plow
|
|
| n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
294
glowered
|
|
| v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
295
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
296
scythes
|
|
| n.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的名词复数 )v.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
297
kindling
|
|
| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
298
perimeter
|
|
| n.周边，周长，周界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
299
devoured
|
|
| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
300
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
301
stunned
|
|
| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
302
spun
|
|
| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
303
stomped
|
|
| v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
304
aggravated
|
|
| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
305
ransacked
|
|
| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
306
thicket
|
|
| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
307
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
308
rummaged
|
|
| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
309
muffled
|
|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
310
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
311
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
312
clumped
|
|
| adj.[医]成群的v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的过去式和过去分词 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
313
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
314
wavy
|
|
| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
315
clattered
|
|
| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
316
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
317
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
318
poking
|
|
| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
319
insanity
|
|
| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
320
disquieted
|
|
| v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
321
racing
|
|
| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
322
shovels
|
|
| n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
323
proximity
|
|
| n.接近，邻近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
324
affixing
|
|
| v.附加( affix的现在分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
325
hampered
|
|
| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
326
impaired
|
|
| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
327
smoldered
|
|
| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
328
stank
|
|
| n. (英)坝，堰，池塘 动词stink的过去式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
329
acrid
|
|
| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
330
burrowed
|
|
| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
331
tinged
|
|
| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
332
nostrils
|
|
| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
333
unearth
|
|
| v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
334
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
335
snarled
|
|
| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |