I WAS so tired that even my fears were not able to keep me awake long.

When I next came to myself, I seemed to have been asleep a very long time. My first thought was, "Well, what an astonishing dream I've had! I reckon I've waked only just in time to keep from being hanged or drowned or burned or something.... I'll nap again till the whistle blows, and then I'll go down to the arms factory and have it out with Hercules."

But just then I heard the harsh music of rusty¹ chains and bolts, a light flashed in my eyes, and that butterfly, Clarence, stood before me! I gasped² with surprise; my breath almost got away from me.

"What!" I said, "you here yet? Go along with the rest of the dream! scatter³!"

But he only laughed, in his light-hearted way, and fell to making fun of my sorry plight⁴.

"All right," I said resignedly, "let the dream go on; I'm in no hurry."

"Prithee what dream?"

"What dream? Why, the dream that I am in Arthur's court -- a person who never existed; and that I am talking to you, who are nothing but a work of the imagination."

"Oh, la, indeed! and is it a dream that you're to be burned to-morrow? Ho-ho -- answer me that!"

The shock that went through me was distressing⁵. I now began to reason that my situation was in the last degree serious, dream or no dream; for I knew by past experience of the lifelike intensity⁶ of dreams, that to be burned to death, even in a dream, would be very far from being a jest, and was a thing to be avoided, by any means, fair or foul⁷, that I could contrive⁸. So I said beseechingly⁹:

"Ah, Clarence, good boy, only friend I've got, -for you ARE my friend, aren't you? -- don't fail me; help me to devise some way of escaping from this place!"

点击收听单词发音  

1 rusty
adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的
参考例句：
The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。 I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

2 gasped
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》

3 scatter
vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散
参考例句：
You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。 Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

4 plight
n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定
参考例句：
The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。 She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

5 distressing
a.使人痛苦的
参考例句：
All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。 It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

6 intensity
n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度
参考例句：
I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。 The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

7 foul
adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规
参考例句：
Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。 What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

8 contrive
vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出
参考例句：
Can you contrive to be here a little earlier?你能不能早一点来？ How could you contrive to make such a mess of things?你怎么把事情弄得一团糟呢？

9 beseechingly
adv. 恳求地
参考例句：
She stood up, and almost beseechingly, asked her husband,'shall we go now?" 她站起身来，几乎是恳求似地问丈夫：“我们现在就走吧？” Narcissa began to cry in earnest, gazing beseechingly all the while at Snape. 纳西莎伤心地哭了起来，乞求地盯着斯内普。

10 blench
v.退缩，畏缩
参考例句：
She blenched before her accuser.她在指控者面前畏缩了。 She blenched at the thought of picking up the dead animal.在想到拾起动物尸体时她退缩了。

11 cowering
v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 )
参考例句：
He turned his baleful glare on the cowering suspect. 他恶毒地盯着那个蜷缩成一团的嫌疑犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He stood over the cowering Herb with fists of fury. 他紧握着两个拳头怒气冲天地站在惊魂未定的赫伯面前。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 malice
n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋
参考例句：
I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。 There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

14 dungeon
n.地牢，土牢
参考例句：
They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。 He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

15 bides
v.等待，停留( bide的第三人称单数 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待；面临
参考例句：
He is a man who bides by a bargain. 他是个守信用的人。 来自互联网 I cherish his because in me it bides. 我爱他的心，因为他在我体内安眠。 来自互联网

16 refreshing
adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的
参考例句：
I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。 The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

17 wrought
v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的
参考例句：
Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。 It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

18 humbug
n.花招，谎话，欺骗
参考例句：
I know my words can seem to him nothing but utter humbug.我知道，我说的话在他看来不过是彻头彻尾的慌言。 All their fine words are nothing but humbug.他们的一切花言巧语都是骗人的。

19 ass
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。

20 idiotic
adj.白痴的
参考例句：
It is idiotic to go shopping with no money.去买东西而不带钱是很蠢的。 The child's idiotic deeds caused his family much trouble.那小孩愚蠢的行为给家庭带来许多麻烦。

21 superstitions
迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。 Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

22 slumped
大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句：
Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。 The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

23 crumble
vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁
参考例句：
Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。 Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

24 recoiled
v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回
参考例句：
She recoiled from his touch. 她躲开他的触摸。 Howard recoiled a little at the sharpness in my voice. 听到我的尖声，霍华德往后缩了一下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 asylum
n.避难所，庇护所，避难
参考例句：
The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。 Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

26 alias
n.化名；别名；adv.又名
参考例句：
His real name was Johnson,but he often went by the alias of Smith.他的真名是约翰逊，但是他常常用化名史密斯。 You can replace this automatically generated alias with a more meaningful one.可用更有意义的名称替换这一自动生成的别名。

27 rudiments
n.基础知识，入门
参考例句：
He has just learned the rudiments of Chinese. 他学汉语刚刚入门。 You do not seem to know the first rudiments of agriculture. 你似乎连农业上的一点最起码的常识也没有。

28 supreme
adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的
参考例句：
It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。 He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

29 calamity
n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件
参考例句：
Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。 The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

30 enchantments
n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔
参考例句：
The high security vaults have enchantments placed on their doors. 防范最严密的金库在门上设有魔法。 来自互联网 Place items here and pay a fee to receive random enchantments. 把物品放在这里并支付一定的费用可以使物品获得一个随机的附魔。 来自互联网

31 discrepancy
n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾
参考例句：
The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。 There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

32 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。

33 savages
未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )
参考例句：
There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。 That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

34 plagiarism
n.剽窃，抄袭
参考例句：
Teachers in America fight to control cheating and plagiarism.美国老师们努力对付欺骗和剽窃的问题。 Now he's in real trouble.He's accused of plagiarism.现在他是真遇到麻烦了。他被指控剽窃。

35 subdued
adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。 I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

36 distressed
痛苦的
参考例句：
He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。 The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

37 marrow
n.骨髓；精华；活力
参考例句：
It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。 He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

38 lodged
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属
参考例句：
The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 vaporing
n.说大话，吹牛adj.蒸发的，自夸的v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的现在分词 )
参考例句：
PTFE based dielectric is metallized by vacuum vaporing, vacuum sputtering and chemical plating respectively. 采用真空蒸发、溅射和化学镀铜的方法分别对研制的PTFE基复合介质进行了金属化处理。 来自互联网

40 scoffing
n. 嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄 v. 嘲笑, 嘲弄, 愚弄, 狼吞虎咽
参考例句：
They were sitting around the table scoffing. 他们围坐在桌子旁狼吞虎咽地吃着。 He the lid and showed the wonderful the scoffing visitors. 他打开盖子给嘲笑他们的老人看这些丰富的收获。

41 naught
n.无，零 [=nought]
参考例句：
He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。 I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

42 perplexed
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。

43 determined
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。

44 perils
极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）
参考例句：
The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。 With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

45 complexion
n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格
参考例句：
Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。 Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

46 shuddered
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动
参考例句：
He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

47 doom
n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定
参考例句：
The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。 The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

48 colossal
adj.异常的，庞大的
参考例句：
There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。 Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

49 climax
n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点
参考例句：
The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。 His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

50 sublime
adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的
参考例句：
We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。 Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

51 smother
vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息
参考例句：
They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。 We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。

52 blot
vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍
参考例句：
That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。 The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

53 collapse
vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。