Rahim Khan slowly uncrossed his legs and leaned against the bare wall in the wary¹, deliberate way of a man whose every movement triggers spikes² of pain. Outside, a donkey was braying³ and some one was shouting something in Urdu. The sun was beginning to set, glittering red through the cracks between the ramshackle buildings.

It hit me again, the enormity of what I had done that winter and that following summer. The names rang in my head: Hassan, Sohrab, Ali, Farzana, and Sanaubar. Hearing Rahim Khan speak Ali's name was like finding an old dusty music box that hadn't been opened in years; the melody began to play immediately: Who did you eat today, Babalu? Who did you eat, you slant-eyed Babalu? I tried to conjure⁴ Ali's frozen face, to really see his tranquil⁵ eyes, but time can be a greedy thing--sometimes it steals all the details for itself.

"Is Hassan still in that house now??I asked.

Rahim Khan raised the teacup to his parched⁶ lips and took a sip⁷. He then fished an envelope from the breast pocket of his vest and handed it to me. "For you.?

I tore the sealed envelope. Inside, I found a Polaroid photograph and a folded letter. I stared at the photograph for a full minute.

A tall man dressed in a white turban and a green-striped chapan stood with a little boy in front of a set of wrought-iron gates. Sunlight slanted⁸ in from the left, casting a shadow on half of his rotund face. He was squinting⁹ and smiling at the camera, showing a pair of missing front teeth. Even in this blurry¹⁰ Polaroid, the man in the chapan

点击收听单词发音  

1 wary
adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的
参考例句：
He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。 Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

2 spikes
n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划
参考例句：
a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁 There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 braying
v.发出驴叫似的声音( bray的现在分词 )；发嘟嘟声；粗声粗气地讲话（或大笑）；猛击
参考例句：
A donkey was braying on the hill behind the house. 房子后面的山上传来驴叫声。 来自互联网 What's the use of her braying out such words? 她粗声粗气地说这种话有什么用呢？ 来自互联网

4 conjure
v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法
参考例句：
I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。 I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

5 tranquil
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的
参考例句：
The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。 The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

6 parched
adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干
参考例句：
Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。 The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

7 sip
v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量
参考例句：
She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。 Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

8 slanted
有偏见的； 倾斜的
参考例句：
The sun slanted through the window. 太阳斜照进窗户。 She had slanted brown eyes. 她有一双棕色的丹凤眼。

9 squinting
斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看
参考例句：
"More company," he said, squinting in the sun. "那边来人了，"他在阳光中眨巴着眼睛说。 Squinting against the morning sun, Faulcon examined the boy carefully. 对着早晨的太阳斜起眼睛，富尔康仔细地打量着那个年轻人。

10 blurry
adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的
参考例句：
My blurry vision makes it hard to drive. 我的视力有点模糊，使得开起车来相当吃力。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The lines are pretty blurry at this point. 界线在这个时候是很模糊的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 exuded
v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的过去式和过去分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情
参考例句：
Nearby was a factory which exuded a pungent smell. 旁边是一家散发出刺鼻气味的工厂。 来自辞典例句 The old drawer exuded a smell of camphor. 陈年抽屉放出樟脑气味。 来自辞典例句

12 thigh
n.大腿；股骨
参考例句：
He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。 The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

13 hip
n.臀部，髋；屋脊
参考例句：
The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。 The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

14 blurred
v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离
参考例句：
She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。 Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 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。

17 killings
谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发
参考例句：
His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。 The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

18 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。

19 decency
n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重
参考例句：
His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。 Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

20 bazaar
n.集市，商店集中区
参考例句：
Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。 We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

21 vendor
n.卖主；小贩
参考例句：
She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。 He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

22 thighs
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》

23 ministry
n.(政府的)部；牧师
参考例句：
They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。 We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

24 vice
n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的
参考例句：
He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。 They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

25 virtue
n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力
参考例句：
He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。 You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

26 bruise
n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤
参考例句：
The bruise was caused by a kick.这伤痕是脚踢的。 Jack fell down yesterday and got a big bruise on his face.杰克昨天摔了一跤，脸上摔出老大一块淤斑。

27 orphan
n.孤儿；adj.无父母的
参考例句：
He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。 The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

28 orphans
孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。 Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

29 cemetery
n.坟墓，墓地，坟场
参考例句：
He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。 His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

30 corpses
n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

31 rumor
n.谣言，谣传，传说
参考例句：
The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。 The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

32 interrogated
v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询
参考例句：
He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。 Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 liar
n.说谎的人
参考例句：
I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！ She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

34 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。

35 muzzle
n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默
参考例句：
He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。 The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

36 slumps
萧条期( slump的名词复数 )； （个人、球队等的）低潮状态； （销售量、价格、价值等的）骤降； 猛跌
参考例句：
Deflation could emerge from simultaneous slumps in the world's three major economies. 如果世界经济三大主体同时衰退，通货紧缩就会出现。 This is the cycle of economic booms and slumps. 这是经济繁荣和经济萧条的周期变化。

37 loyalty
n.忠诚，忠心
参考例句：
She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。 His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

38 pretext
n.借口，托词
参考例句：
He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。 He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

39 evicted
v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。 They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

40 trespasser
n.侵犯者；违反者
参考例句：
The worst they'd ever dealt with was an occasionally trespasser or small-time thief. 他们过去对付的充其量是一个偶尔闯入者或是小偷小摸者。 In such event the offending member or guest shall be trespasser. 在此情况下，违例的会员或嘉宾一概视作擅自进入论。

41 orphanage
n.孤儿院
参考例句：
They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。 They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

42 Christians
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。 His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

43 limbo
n.地狱的边缘；监狱
参考例句：
His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。 I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

44 promising
adj.有希望的，有前途的
参考例句：
The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。 We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

45 shrubs
灌木( shrub的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。 These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

46 tangles
（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
Long hair tangles easily. 长头发容易打结。 Tangles like this still interrupted their intercourse. 像这类纠缠不清的误会仍然妨碍着他们的交情。

47 swooping
俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The wind were swooping down to tease the waves. 大风猛扑到海面上戏弄着浪涛。 And she was talking so well-swooping with swift wing this way and that. 而她却是那样健谈--一下子谈到东，一下子谈到西。

48 bastards
私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙
参考例句：
Those bastards don't care a damn about the welfare of the factory! 这批狗养的，不顾大局！ 来自子夜部分 Let the first bastards to find out be the goddam Germans. 就让那些混账的德国佬去做最先发现的倒霉鬼吧。 来自演讲部分

49 bellowed
v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫
参考例句：
They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。 He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时，他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

50 shameful
adj.可耻的，不道德的
参考例句：
It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。 We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。