Chapter 20 DOWN THE SHAFT¹ AND INTO THE TUNNEL
It was a most exciting idea to think that the iron ladder in the great cement-lined shaft might possiblylead to the tunnel they had been into that morning. Julian had seen water swirling² at the bottom, whenthe tide was in - possibly if they went down it when the tide was going out, there would be no dangerof being trapped!
The storm was very fitful now - sometimes it came back again, and then the wind blew so hard that itseemed as if the buffeted³ light-house must fall! Rain fell in torrents⁴ that night, and during the darkearly hours of the morning, when the tide was in, great waves pounded over the rocks, sending sprayalmost over the top of the light-house. Julian awoke and looked out of the 80bedroom window in awe⁵.
'I hope there's no ship out anywhere near here tonight,' he said, and then gave a sudden exclamation,'What's that - something swept right across the sky!'
'It's the beam from the new light-house at High Cliffs,' said Dick. 'I saw it last night. It must have avery powerful beam, mustn't it, to show even on a night like this?'
They watched for a little while, and then Julian yawned.
'Let's try to go to sleep,' he said. 'We thought we were going away for a nice little holiday - andBANG - we're in the middle of something again!'
'Well, let's hope that we come out of it all right,' said Dick, settling down in his rugs once more.
'I must say that I feel a bit cut off from civilization at the moment. Night, Julian.'
In the morning the storm was still about, and the wind was terrific. Julian ran down to the entrancedoor to see if the milkman could possibly have come - and had seen their message for help.
But no - the paper was still half on their side, flapping on the mat. Obviously the milkman hadn'tdared to cross the rocks that morning, either on foot or by boat!
Dick had looked out of the window to make sure that their boat was still safely moored⁶ to the post -and to his surprise and distress

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1 shaft
n.(工具的)柄，杆状物
参考例句：
He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。 This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

2 swirling
v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

3 buffeted
反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去
参考例句：
to be buffeted by the wind 被风吹得左右摇摆 We were buffeted by the wind and the rain. 我们遭到风雨的袭击。

4 torrents
n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断
参考例句：
The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Sudden rainstorms would bring the mountain torrents rushing down. 突然的暴雨会使山洪暴发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 awe
n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧
参考例句：
The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。 The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

6 moored
adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。 We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

7 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

8 mischief
n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹
参考例句：
Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。 He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

9 sparse
adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的
参考例句：
The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。 The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

10 standing
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。

11 peculiar
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。

12 whine
v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣
参考例句：
You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。 The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

13 smelt
v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼
参考例句：
Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。 Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

14 marvelling
v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 )
参考例句：
\"Yes,'said the clerk, marvelling at such ignorance of a common fact. “是的，\"那人说，很奇怪她竟会不知道这么一件普通的事情。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 Chueh-hui watched, marvelling at how easy it was for people to forget. 觉慧默默地旁观着这一切，他也忍不住笑了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

15 recess
n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）
参考例句：
The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。 Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

16 buck
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。

17 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。

18 alas
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句：
Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！ Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

19 labyrinth
n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路
参考例句：
He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。 The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

20 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

21 scurrying
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )
参考例句：
We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

22 marooned
adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的
参考例句：
During the storm we were marooned in a cabin miles from town. 在风暴中我们被围困在离城数英里的小屋内。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks. 埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。 来自辞典例句

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