Sam Rockford turned his head to bring one ear—evidently his best—to bear on the black, tunnel-like opening in the side of the mountain. His listening attitude was imitated by the others.
There were a few moments of tense silence, even Ruddy
standing1 at “attention” in response to a lifted finger on the part of Rick. Then Uncle Tod remarked:
“I don’t hear anything but the wind.”
“Reckon that’s all it was,” said Sam, gloomily. “I thought, for a minute, I heard the water coming back through the tunnel,” he went on.
“Is that what’s the trouble?” asked Mr. Campbell, with a more ready understanding of western matters than that
possessed2 by Rick or Chot.
“That’s it—yes, sir,” answered Uncle Tod, and this time his voice was almost as gloomy as that of Sam Rockford’s. “We’re up against a dry mine, and the ore is of such a nature that water is the only thing that will make it pay. A dry mine—that’s what we’re up against.”
“But why did you tackle a dry mine?” asked Mr. Campbell.
“’Twa’n’t dry when we tackled it,” sadly observed Sam. “It was as good a
prospect3 as heart could wish when I spent my money and yours in it, wa’n’t it Uncle Tod?” he appealed.
“It sure was, Sam,” agreed the other.
“And then, all of a sudden, the water petered out,” went on Mr. Rockford, gloomily shaking his head. “I sent word to Jake Teeter to give you the message,” he added.
“Yes, and Jake did—in his usual mysterious way,” said Uncle Tod.
“Oh, was that the message wrapped in a cabbage leaf?” asked Rick, eagerly. “We’ve been wondering about that.”
“Yes,” said Uncle Tod. “There wasn’t any need of letting me know in that crazy, old-time Indian fashion, but Jake Teeter always was that way—he never comes right out and says anything straight. If he wanted to let you know he’d been to the post office and got a letter for you, and you happened to be in with a crowd of others, what do you reckon Jake’d do?” asked Uncle Tod.
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收听单词发音
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1
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 |
参考例句： |
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
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2
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 |
参考例句： |
- He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
- He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
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3
prospect
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| 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。
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4
contraband
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| n.违禁品，走私品 |
参考例句： |
- Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
- The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。
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5
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 |
参考例句： |
- He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
- I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
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6
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 |
参考例句： |
- He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
- I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。
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7
briefly
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| 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。
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8
sneaked
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| v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 |
参考例句： |
- I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
- She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。
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9
rumors
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| 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： |
- Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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10
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 |
参考例句： |
- "Oh, but I like rascals. "唔，不过我喜欢流氓。
- "They're all second-raters, black sheep, rascals. "他们都是二流人物，是流氓，是恶棍。
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11
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 |
参考例句： |
- The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
- She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。
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12
decided
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| 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。
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13
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 |
参考例句： |
- She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
- She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
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14
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
- "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！
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15
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
- She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
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16
prospecting
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| n.探矿 |
参考例句： |
- The prospecting team ploughed their way through the snow. 探险队排雪前进。
- The prospecting team has traversed the length and breadth of the land. 勘探队踏遍了祖国的山山水水。
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17
fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 |
参考例句： |
- He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
- The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。
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18
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 |
参考例句： |
- He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
- Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。
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19
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 |
参考例句： |
- The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
- There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。
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20
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 |
参考例句： |
- A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
- He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。
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21
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） |
参考例句： |
- They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
- The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。
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22
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 |
参考例句： |
- He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
- People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
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23
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 |
参考例句： |
- He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
- The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。
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24
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 |
参考例句： |
- A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
- The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。
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25
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 |
参考例句： |
- The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
- Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。
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