There was not a breath of air stirring; a heavy mist was lying over the river. It was like a layer of cotton placed on the water. The banks themselves were indistinct, hidden behind strange fogs. But day was breaking and the hill was becoming visible. In the dawning light of day the plaster houses began to appear like white spots. Cocks were crowing in the barnyard.
On the other side of the river, hidden behind the fogs, just opposite Frette, a slight noise from time to time broke the dead silence of the quiet morning. At times it was an indistinct plashing, like the cautious advance of a boat, then again a sharp noise like the
rattle1 of an
oar2 and then the sound of something dropping in the water. Then silence.
Sometimes whispered words, coming perhaps from a distance, perhaps from quite near, pierced through these
opaque3 mists. They passed by like wild birds which have slept in the rushes and which fly away at the first light of day, crossing the mist and uttering a low and timid sound which wakes their brothers along the shores.
Suddenly along the bank, near the village, a barely perceptible shadow appeared on the water. Then it grew, became more distinct and, coming out of the foggy curtain which hung over the river, a flatboat, manned by two men, pushed up on the grass.
The one who was rowing rose and took a pailful of fish from the bottom of the boat, then he threw the dripping net over his shoulder. His companion, who had not made a motion, exclaimed: “Say, Mailloche, get your gun and see if we can't land some rabbit along the shore.”
The other one answered: “All right. I'll be with you in a minute.” Then he disappeared, in order to hide their catch.
The man who had stayed in the boat slowly filled his pipe and lighted it. His name was Labouise, but he was called Chicot, and was in
partnership5 with Maillochon, commonly called Mailloche, to practice the doubtful and undefined profession of junk-gatherers along the shore.
They were a low order of sailors and they
navigated6 regularly only in the months of famine. The rest of the time they acted as junk-gatherers. Rowing about on the river day and night, watching for any
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收听单词发音
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1
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 |
参考例句： |
- The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
- She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。
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2
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 |
参考例句： |
- The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
- The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。
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3
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 |
参考例句： |
- The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
- Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。
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4
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 |
参考例句： |
- He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
- An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。
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5
partnership
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| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 |
参考例句： |
- The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
- Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
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6
navigated
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| 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： |
- He navigated the plane through the clouds. 他驾驶飞机穿越云层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The ship was navigated by the North Star. 那只船靠北极星来导航。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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7
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 |
参考例句： |
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
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8
ambushing
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| v.埋伏( ambush的现在分词 )；埋伏着 |
参考例句： |
- The militia succeeded in ambushing the invading enemy soldiers. 民兵们成功地伏击了入侵的敌军。 来自互联网
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9
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 |
参考例句： |
- Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
- That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。
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fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 |
参考例句： |
- Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
- The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。
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scavenger
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| n.以腐尸为食的动物，清扫工 |
参考例句： |
- He's just fit for a job as scavenger.他只配当个清道夫。
- He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are.它不是食腐动物，也不像有些鲨鱼那样，只知道游来游去满足食欲。
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) |
参考例句： |
- He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
- The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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burrows
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| n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻 |
参考例句： |
- The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
- A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句
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wardens
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| n.看守人( warden的名词复数 )；管理员；监察员；监察官 |
参考例句： |
- Air raid wardens in tin hats self-importantly stalked the streets. 空袭民防队员戴着钢盔神气活现地走在街上昂首阔步。 来自辞典例句
- The game wardens tranquillized the rhinoceros with a drugged dart. 猎物保护区管理员用麻醉射器让犀牛静了下来。 来自辞典例句
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bent
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| 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。
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trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 |
参考例句： |
- They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
- The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 |
参考例句： |
- He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
- I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。
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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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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 |
参考例句： |
- It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
- Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
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20
thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 |
参考例句： |
- He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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21
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 |
参考例句： |
- They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
- The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。
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22
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 |
参考例句： |
- The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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bray
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| n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫 |
参考例句： |
- She cut him off with a wild bray of laughter.她用刺耳的狂笑打断了他的讲话。
- The donkey brayed and tried to bolt.这头驴嘶叫着试图脱缰而逃。
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oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 |
参考例句： |
- Blood was oozing out of the wound on his leg. 血正从他腿上的伤口渗出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The wound had not healed properly and was oozing pus. 伤口未真正痊瘉，还在流脓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 |
参考例句： |
- The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
- Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 |
参考例句： |
- The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
- The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。
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winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 |
参考例句： |
- He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
- He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 |
参考例句： |
- She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
- She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 |
参考例句： |
- The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
- The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 |
参考例句： |
- The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
- The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。
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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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