"Well, did I make it? Make any kind of a record?" asked Tom eagerly, as he brought the trim little craft to a stop, after it had rolled along the ground on the bicycle wheels.
"What do you think you did?" asked Mr. Jackson, who had been busy figuring on a slip of paper.
"Did I get her up to ninety miles an hour?" inquired Tom eagerly. "If I did, I know when the motor wears down a bit smoother that I can make her hit a hundred in the race, easily. Did I touch ninety, Mr. Jackson?"
"Better than that, Tom! Better than that!" cried his father.
"Yes," joined in Mr. Jackson. "Allowing for the difference in our watches, Tom, your father and I figure that you did the course at the rate of one hundred and twelve miles an hour!"
"One hundred and twelve!"
gasped1 the young inventor, hardly able to believe it.
"I made it a hundred and fifteen," said Mr. Swift, who was almost as pleased as was his son, "and Mr. Jackson made it one hundred and eleven; so we split the difference, so to speak. You certainly have a sky racer, Tom, my boy!"
"And I'll need it, too, dad, if I'm to compete with Andy Foger, who may have a machine almost like mine."
"But I thought you were going to object to him if he has," said Mr. Damon, who had hardly recovered from the speedy flight through space.
"Well, I was just providing for a
contingency2, in case my protest was overruled," remarked Tom. "But I'm glad the Humming-Bird did so well on her first trial. I know she'll do better the more I run her. Now we'll get her back in her 'nest,' and I'll look her over, when she cools down, and see if anything has worked loose."
But the trim little craft needed only slight adjustments after her tryout, for Tom had built her to stand up under a terrific strain.
"We'll soon be in shape for the big race," he announced, "and when I bring home that ten thousand dollars I'm going to abandon this sky-scraping business, except for occasional trips."
"What will you do to occupy your mind?" asked Mr. Damon.
"Oh, I'm going to travel," announced Tom. "Then there's my new electric rifle, which I have not perfected yet. I'll work on that after I win the big race."
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收听单词发音
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1
gasped
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| 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： |
- She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
- People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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2
contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 |
参考例句： |
- We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
- A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。
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3
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 |
参考例句： |
- He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
- The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。
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4
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 |
参考例句： |
- There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
- Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。
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5
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 |
参考例句： |
- The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
- They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。
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6
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） |
参考例句： |
- The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
- The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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7
determined
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| 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。
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8
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 |
参考例句： |
- Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
- His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
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9
marvel
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| 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。
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10
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 |
参考例句： |
- A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
- The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
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11
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 |
参考例句： |
- I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
- The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
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12
infringed
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| v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等） |
参考例句： |
- Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 |
参考例句： |
- A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
- The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
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14
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） |
参考例句： |
- \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
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15
doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 |
参考例句： |
- He likes to have a doze after lunch.他喜欢午饭后打个盹。
- While the adults doze,the young play.大人们在打瞌睡，而孩子们在玩耍。
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16
aggravate
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| vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火 |
参考例句： |
- Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
- He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。
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malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) |
参考例句： |
- There is no specific remedy for the malady.没有医治这种病的特效药。
- They are managing to control the malady into a small range.他们设法将疾病控制在小范围之内。
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 |
参考例句： |
- He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
- He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） |
参考例句： |
- We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
- There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
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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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21
dozing
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| v.打瞌睡,假寐
n.瞌睡 |
参考例句： |
- The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
- He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。
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22
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声
adj. 隆隆响的
动词rumble的现在分词 |
参考例句： |
- The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
- The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。
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23
observatory
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| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 |
参考例句： |
- Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
- Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。
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