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Chapter 3.
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One of Mariam's earliest memories was the sound of awheelbarrow's squeaky iron wheels bouncing over rocks. Thewheelbarrow came once a month, filled with rice, flour, tea,sugar, cooking oil, soap, toothpaste. It was pushed by two ofMariam's half brothers, usually Muhsin and Ramin, sometimesRamin and Farhad. Up the dirt track, over rocks and pebbles,around holes and bushes, the boys took turns pushing untilthey reached the stream. There, the wheelbarrow had to beemptied and the items hand-carried across the water. Then theboys would transfer the wheelbarrow across the stream andload it up again. Another two hundred yards of pushingfollowed, this time through tall, dense1 grass and around thicketsof shrubs2. Frogs leaped out of their way. The brothers wavedmosquitoes from their sweaty faces.
"He has servants," Mariam said. "He could send a servant.""His idea of penance," Nana said.
The sound of the wheelbarrow drew Mariam and Nanaoutside. Mariam would always remember Nana the way shelooked on Ration3 Day: a tall, bony, barefoot woman leaning inthe doorway4, her lazy eye narrowed to a slit5, arms crossed ina defiant6 and mocking way. Her short-cropped, sunlit hairwould be uncovered and uncombed. She would wear anill-fitting gray shirt buttoned to the throat. The pockets werefilled with walnut-sized rocks.
The boys sat by the stream and waited as Mariam and Nanatransferred the rations7 to thekolba They knew better than toget any closer than thirty yards, even though Nana's aim waspoor and most of the rocks landed well short of their targets.
Nana yelled at the boys as she carried bags of rice inside, andcalled them names Mariam didn't understand. She cursed theirmothers, made hateful faces at them. The boys never returnedthe insults.
Mariam felt sorry for the boys. How tired their arms and legsmust be, she thought pityingly, pushing that heavy load. Shewished she were allowed to offer them water. But she saidnothing, and if they waved at her she didn't wave back. Once,to please Nana, Mariam even yelled at Muhsin, told him hehad a mouth shaped like a lizard's ass-and was consumed laterwith
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收听单词发音

1
dense
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a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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2
shrubs
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灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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3
ration
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n.定量(pl.)给养,口粮;vt.定量供应 | |
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4
doorway
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n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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5
slit
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n.狭长的切口;裂缝;vt.切开,撕裂 | |
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defiant
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adj.无礼的,挑战的 | |
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rations
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定量( ration的名词复数 ); 配给量; 正常量; 合理的量 | |
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guilt
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n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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lapse
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n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 | |
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bleating
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v.(羊,小牛)叫( bleat的现在分词 );哭诉;发出羊叫似的声音;轻声诉说 | |
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flute
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n.长笛;v.吹笛 | |
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grassy
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adj.盖满草的;长满草的 | |
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dough
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n.生面团;钱,现款 | |
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kindle
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v.点燃,着火 | |
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flattened
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[医](水)平扁的,弄平的 | |
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stew
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n.炖汤,焖,烦恼;v.炖汤,焖,忧虑 | |
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ginger
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n.姜,精力,淡赤黄色;adj.淡赤黄色的;vt.使活泼,使有生气 | |
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belly
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n.肚子,腹部;(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分,膛 | |
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hip
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n.臀部,髋;屋脊 | |
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twigs
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细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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sipped
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v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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darting
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v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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alder
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n.赤杨树 | |
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beads
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n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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mosque
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n.清真寺 | |
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enchanting
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a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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spoke
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n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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gratitude
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adj.感激,感谢 | |
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coveted
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adj.令人垂涎的;垂涎的,梦寐以求的v.贪求,觊觎(covet的过去分词);垂涎;贪图 | |
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rattled
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慌乱的,恼火的 | |
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numb
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adj.麻木的,失去感觉的;v.使麻木 | |
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watery
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adj.有水的,水汪汪的;湿的,湿润的 | |
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arthritic
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adj.关节炎的 | |
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broached
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v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 );打开并开始用;用凿子扩大(或修光);(在桶上)钻孔取液体 | |
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schooling
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n.教育;正规学校教育 | |
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fret
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v.(使)烦恼;(使)焦急;(使)腐蚀,(使)磨损 | |
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rejection
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n.拒绝,被拒,抛弃,被弃 | |
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Chapter 2.
下一章:
Chapter 4.
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