Sophie wondered how long it would take Fache to figure out she had not left the building. Seeingthat Langdon was clearly overwhelmed, Sophie questioned whether she had done the right thing bycornering him here in the men's room.

　　What else was I supposed to do?

　　She pictured her grandfather's body, naked and spread-eagle on the floor. There was a time whenhe had meant the world to her, yet tonight, Sophie was surprised to feel almost no sadness for theman. Jacques Saunière was a stranger to her now. Their relationship had evaporated in a singleinstant one March night when she was twenty-two. Ten years ago. Sophie had come home a fewdays early from graduate university in England and mistakenly witnessed her grandfather engagedin something Sophie was obviously not supposed to see. It was an image she barely could believeto this day.

　　If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...

　　Too ashamed and stunned¹ to endure her grandfather's pained attempts to explain, Sophieimmediately moved out on her own, taking money she had saved, and getting a small flat withsome roommates. She vowed² never to speak to anyone about what she had seen. Her grandfathertried desperately³ to reach her, sending cards and letters, begging Sophie to meet him so he couldexplain. Explain how!? Sophie never responded except once—to forbid him ever to call her or tryto meet her in public. She was afraid his explanation would be more terrifying than the incidentitself.

　　Incredibly, Saunière had never given up on her, and Sophie now possessed⁴ a decade's worth ofcorrespondence unopened in a dresser drawer. To her grandfather's credit, he had never oncedisobeyed her request and phoned her.

　　Until this afternoon.

　　"Sophie?" His voice had sounded startlingly old on her answering machine. "I have abided by yourwishes for so long... and it pains me to call, but I must speak to you. Something terrible hashappened."Standing⁵ in the kitchen of her Paris flat, Sophie felt a chill to hear him again after all these years.

　　His gentle voice brought back a flood of fond childhood memories.

　　"Sophie, please listen." He was speaking English to her, as he always did when she was a little girl.

点击收听单词发音  

1 stunned
adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。 The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

2 vowed
起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。 I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

3 desperately
adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地
参考例句：
He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。 He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 possessed
adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的
参考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 erased
v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除
参考例句：
He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 longing
n.（for）渴望
参考例句：
Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。 His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

8 countless
adj.无数的，多得不计其数的
参考例句：
In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。 I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

9 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 ploy
n.花招，手段
参考例句：
I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。 Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。

11 cryptic
adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的
参考例句：
She made a cryptic comment about how the film mirrored her life.她隐晦地表示说这部电影是她人生的写照。 The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.新的保险单在编写时没有隐秘条款或秘密条款。

12 aptitude
n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资
参考例句：
That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。 As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。

13 fanatic
n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的
参考例句：
Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。 I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。

14 crosswords
纵横填字谜( crossword的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Doing crosswords gives the mind some exercise. 做纵横字谜游戏能锻炼脑筋。 He spends all his time on crosswords and other trifles. 他把所有的时间都用在做纵横填字游戏和其他无聊的活动上。

15 crossword
n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏
参考例句：
He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。 Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。

16 ciphers
n.密码( cipher的名词复数 )；零；不重要的人；无价值的东西
参考例句：
The ciphers unlocked the whole letter. 解密码的方法使整封信的意义得到说明。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The writers often put their results in ciphers or anagrams. 写信人常常把成果写成密码或者搞成字谜。 来自辞典例句

17 devoured
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光
参考例句：
She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。 The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

18 judicial
adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的
参考例句：
He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。 Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

19 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。

20 random
adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句：
The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。 On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

21 mesh
n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络
参考例句：
Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。 This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

22 embedded
a.扎牢的
参考例句：
an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术 He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

23 illuminated
adj.被照明的；受启迪的
参考例句：
Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。 the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

24 graceful
adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的
参考例句：
His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了! The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

25 arabesque
n.阿拉伯式花饰；adj.阿拉伯式图案的
参考例句：
I like carpets with arabesque patterns.我喜欢带有阿拉伯式花饰的地毯。 The Arabesque solution is the answer to a designer's desire for uniqueness.阿拉伯风为设计师渴望独一无二给出了答案。

26 dome
n.圆屋顶，拱顶
参考例句：
The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。 They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

27 sanctuary
n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区
参考例句：
There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。 Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

28 caravan
n.大蓬车；活动房屋
参考例句：
The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。 Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

29 custody
n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留
参考例句：
He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。 He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

30 vaguely
adv.含糊地，暖昧地
参考例句：
He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。 He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

31 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
参考例句：
She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。 Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

32 dealing
n.经商方法，待人态度
参考例句：
This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。 His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

33 postponed
vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）
参考例句：
The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。 The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

34 whatsoever
adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么
参考例句：
There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。 All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

35 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。