PIERRE, beside himself with terror, jumped up and ran back to the battery as the one refuge from the horrors encompassing¹ him.

Just as Pierre ran up to the redoubt, he noticed that there was no sound of firing from the battery, but that there were men there doing something or other. He had not time to make out what men they were. He caught sight of the senior officer lying with his back towards him on the earth wall, as though gazing intently at something below; and he noticed one soldier, who, tearing himself away from the men who were holding him, shouted “Mates!” and he saw something else that was strange.

But before he had time to grasp that the colonel had been killed, that the soldier shouting “Mates!” was a prisoner, another soldier was stabbed in the back by a bayonet before his eyes. He had hardly run up into the redoubt when a thin man with a yellow, perspiring² face, in a blue uniform, ran up to him with a sword in his hand, shouting something. Pierre, instinctively³ defending himself, as they came full tilt⁵ against each other, put out his hands and clutched the man (it was a French officer) by the shoulder and the throat. The officer, dropping his sword, seized Pierre by the collar.

For several seconds both gazed with frightened eyes at each other's unfamiliar-looking faces, and both were bewildered, not knowing what they were doing or what they were to do. “Am I taken prisoner or am I taking him prisoner?” each of them was wondering. But the French officer was undoubtedly⁶ more disposed to believe he was taken prisoner, because Pierre's powerful hand, moved by instinctive⁴ terror, was tightening⁷ its grip on his throat. The Frenchman tried to speak, when suddenly a cannon⁸ ball flew with a fearful whiz close over their heads, and it seemed to Pierre that the Frenchman's head had been carried off by it, so swiftly had he ducked it.

点击收听单词发音  

1 encompassing
v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括
参考例句：
Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网 Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网

2 perspiring
v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 )
参考例句：
He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。 来自《简明英汉词典》 So they "went it lively," panting and perspiring with the work. 于是他们就“痛痛快快地比一比”了，结果比得两个人气喘吁吁、汗流浃背。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

3 instinctively
adv.本能地
参考例句：
As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 instinctive
adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的
参考例句：
He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。 Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

5 tilt
v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜
参考例句：
She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。 The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

6 undoubtedly
adv.确实地，无疑地
参考例句：
It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。 He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

7 tightening
上紧，固定，紧密
参考例句：
Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。 It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

8 cannon
n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮
参考例句：
The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。 The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

9 dense
a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的
参考例句：
The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

10 feat
n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的
参考例句：
Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。 He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

11 huddled
挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。 We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

12 twitching
n.颤搐
参考例句：
The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 horrified
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句：
The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。 We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

14 turmoil
n.骚乱，混乱，动乱
参考例句：
His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。 The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

15 seething
沸腾的，火热的
参考例句：
The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。 The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。

16 deafening
adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式
参考例句：
The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。 The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。