I.

Bru-a-a-a.

I listened, not understanding.

Wa-ra-ra-ra.

“Good Lord!” said I, still only half awake. “What an infernal shindy!”

Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra Ta-ra-rra-ra.

“It’s enough,” said I, “to wake ——” and stopped short. Where was I?

Ta-rra-rara — louder and louder.

“It’s either some new invention ——”

Toora-toora-toora! Deafening¹!

“No,” said I, speaking loud in order to hear myself. “That’s the Last Trump².”

Tooo-rraa!
II.

The last note jerked me out of my grave like a hooked minnow.

I saw my monument (rather a mean little affair, and I wished I knew who’d done it), and the old elm tree and the sea view vanished like a puff³ of steam, and then all about me — a multitude no man could number, nations, tongues, kingdoms, peoples — children of all the ages, in an amphitheatral space as vast as the sky. And over against us, seated on a throne of dazzling white cloud, the Lord God and all the host of his angels. I recognised Azrael by his darkness and Michael by his sword, and the great angel who had blown the trumpet⁴ stood with the trumpet still half raised.
III.

“Prompt,” said the little man beside me. “Very prompt. Do you see the angel with the book?”

He was ducking and craning his head about to see over and under and between the souls that crowded round us. “Everybody’s here,” he said. “Everybody. And now we shall know —

“There’s Darwin,” he said, going off at a tangent. “He’ll catch it! And there — you see?— that tall, important-looking man trying to catch the eye of the Lord God, that’s the Duke. But there’s a lot of people one doesn’t know.

“Oh! there’s Priggles, the publisher. I have always wondered about printers’ overs. Priggles was a clever man . . . But we shall know now — even about him.

“I shall hear all that. I shall get most of the fun before . . . My letter’s S.”

He drew the air in between his teeth.

“Historical characters, too. See? That’s Henry the Eighth. There’ll be a good bit of evidence. Oh, damn! He’s Tudor.”

点击收听单词发音  

1 deafening
adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式
参考例句：
The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。 The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

2 trump
n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭
参考例句：
He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。 The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 puff
n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气
参考例句：
He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。 They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

4 trumpet
n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘
参考例句：
He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。 The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

5 heed
v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心
参考例句：
You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。 For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

6 countless
adj.无数的，多得不计其数的
参考例句：
In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。 I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 scripture
n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段
参考例句：
The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。 They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

8 scowled
怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。 The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

9 acoustic
adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的
参考例句：
The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。 Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

10 marvel
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事
参考例句：
The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。 The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

11 lustful
a.贪婪的；渴望的
参考例句：
Adelmo agreed and duly submitted to Berengar's lustful advances. 阿德尔摩同意了并适时地顺从了贝仁格情欲的增长。 The lustful scenes of the movie were abhorrent to the old lady. 电影里淫荡的画面让这老妇人厌恶。

12 devastated
v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的
参考例句：
The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。 His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 mortar
n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合
参考例句：
The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。 The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

14 vengeance
n.报复，报仇，复仇
参考例句：
He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。 For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

15 smote
v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )
参考例句：
Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

16 eyebrows
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。 His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

17 slain
杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)
参考例句：
The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。 His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

18 nethermost
adj.最下面的
参考例句：
Put your clothes in the nethermost drawer. 把你的衣服放在最下面的抽屉里。 来自辞典例句

19 iniquities
n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 )；极不公正
参考例句：
The preacher asked God to forgive us our sins and wash away our iniquities. 牧师乞求上帝赦免我们的罪过，涤荡我们的罪孽。 来自辞典例句 If thou, Lord shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 3主―耶和华啊，你若究察罪孽，谁能站得住呢？ 来自互联网

20 recording
n.录音，记录
参考例句：
How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？ I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

21 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。

22 flattened
[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的
参考例句：
She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。 I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

23 apprehension
n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑
参考例句：
There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。 She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

24 defiance
n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗
参考例句：
He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。 He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

25 fully
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。 They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

26 preposterous
adj.荒谬的，可笑的
参考例句：
The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。 It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

27 agog
adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地
参考例句：
The children were all agog to hear the story.孩子们都渴望着要听这个故事。 The city was agog with rumors last night that the two had been executed.那两人已被处决的传言昨晚搞得全城沸沸扬扬。

28 repent
v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔
参考例句：
He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。 Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

29 dexterous
adj.灵敏的；灵巧的
参考例句：
As people grow older they generally become less dexterous.随着年龄的增长，人通常会变得不再那么手巧。 The manager was dexterous in handling his staff.那位经理善于运用他属下的职员。

30 filthy
adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的
参考例句：
The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。 You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

31 celestial
adj.天体的；天上的
参考例句：
The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。 Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

32 scowling
怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )
参考例句：
There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

33 marvelled
v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 gashing
v.划伤，割破( gash的现在分词 )
参考例句：

35 flayed
v.痛打( flay的过去式和过去分词 )；把…打得皮开肉绽；剥（通常指动物）的皮；严厉批评
参考例句：
He was so angry he nearly flayed his horse alive. 他气得几乎把马活活抽死。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The teacher flayed the idle students. 老师严责那些懒惰的学生。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

36 discomforts
n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼
参考例句：
Travellers in space have to endure many discomforts in their rockets. 宇宙旅行家不得不在火箭中忍受许多不舒适的东西 来自《用法词典》 On that particular morning even these discomforts added to my pleasure. 在那样一个特定的早晨，即使是这种种的不舒适也仿佛给我增添了满足感。 来自辞典例句

37 abruptly
adv.突然地，出其不意地
参考例句：
He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。 I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

38 behold
v.看，注视，看到
参考例句：
The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。 The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

39 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

40 cynical
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的
参考例句：
The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。 He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

41 stark
adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地
参考例句：
The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。 He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

42 delusions
n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想
参考例句：
the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想 She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行，她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句

43 thither
adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的
参考例句：
He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。 He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

44 austere
adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的
参考例句：
His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。 The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。