LIKE ALL OLD PEOPLE, Kutuzov slept little at night. He often dropped into sudden naps during the daytime, but at night he lay on his bed without undressing, and generally not asleep but thinking.

He was lying like that now on his bedstead, his huge, heavy, misshapen head leaning on his fat hand. He was thinking with his one eye wide open, gazing into the darkness.

Since Bennigsen, who was in correspondence with the Tsar and had more weight than all the rest of the staff, had avoided him, Kutuzov was more at ease so far as not being compelled to lead his soldiers into useless offensive operations. The lesson of Tarutino and the day before the battle, a memory that rankled¹ in Kutuzov's mind, must, he thought, have its effect on them too.

“They ought to understand that we can but lose by taking the offensive. Time and patience, these are my champions!” thought Kutuzov. He knew the apple must not be picked while it was green. It will fall of itself when ripe, but if you pick it green, you spoil the apple and the tree and set your teeth on edge. Like an experienced hunter, he knew the beast was wounded, wounded as only the whole force of Russia could wound it; but whether to death or not, was a question not yet solved. Now from the sending of Lauriston and Bertemy, and from the reports brought by the irregulars, Kutuzov was almost sure that the wound was a deadly one. But more proof was wanted; he must wait.

“They want to run and look how they have wounded him. Wait a bit, you will see. Always man?uvres, attacks,” he thought. “What for? Anything to distinguish themselves. As though there were any fun in fighting. They are like children from whom you can never get a sensible view of things because they all want to show how well they can fight. But that's not the point now. And what skilful² man?uvres all these fellows propose! They think that when they have thought of two or three contingencies³ (he recalled the general plan from Petersburg) that they have thought of all of them. And there is no limit to them!”

The unanswered question, whether the wound dealt at Borodino were mortal or not, had been for a whole month hanging over Kutuzov's head. On one side, the French had taken possession of Moscow. On the other side, in all his being, Kutuzov felt beyond all doubt that the terrible blow for which, together with all the Russians, he had strained all his strength must have been mortal. But in any case proofs were wanted, and he had been waiting for them now a month, and as time went on he grew more impatient. As he lay on his bed through

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1 rankled
v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Her comments still rankled. 她的评价仍然让人耿耿于怀。 The insult rankled in his mind. 这种侮辱使他心里难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 skilful
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的
参考例句：
The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。 He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

3 contingencies
n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一
参考例句：
We must consider all possible contingencies. 我们必须考虑一切可能发生的事。 We must be prepared for all contingencies. 我们要作好各种准备，以防意外。 来自辞典例句

4 sleepless
adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的
参考例句：
The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。 One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

5 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 miseries
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人
参考例句：
They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rumours
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传
参考例句：
The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。 Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

8 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

9 toll
n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)
参考例句：
The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。 The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

10 frigid
adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的
参考例句：
The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。 She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

11 propped
支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。 This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

12 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。

13 aged
adj.年老的，陈年的
参考例句：
He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。 He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

14 pucker
v.撅起，使起皱；n.（衣服上的）皱纹，褶子
参考例句：
She puckered her lips into a rosebud and kissed him on the nose.她双唇努起犹如一朵玫瑰花蕾，在他的鼻子上吻了一下。 Toby's face puckered.托比的脸皱了起来。