"They're dead!" Sister Sandrine stammered¹ into the telephone in her Saint-Sulpice residence. Shewas leaving a message on an answering machine. "Please pick up! They're all dead!"The first three phone numbers on the list had produced terrifying results—a hysterical² widow, adetective working late at a murder scene, and a somber³ priest consoling a bereaved⁴ family. Allthree contacts were dead. And now, as she called the fourth and final number—the number she wasnot supposed to call unless the first three could not be reached—she got an answering machine.

　　The outgoing message offered no name but simply asked the caller to leave a message.

　　"The floor panel has been broken!" she pleaded as she left the message. "The other three are dead!"Sister Sandrine did not know the identities of the four men she protected, but the private phonenumbers stashed⁵ beneath her bed were for use on only one condition.

　　If that floor panel is ever broken, the faceless messenger had told her, it means the upper echelonhas been breached⁶. One of us has been mortally threatened and been forced to tell a desperate lie.

　　Call the numbers. Warn the others. Do not fail us in this.

　　It was a silent alarm. Foolproof in its simplicity⁷. The plan had amazed her when she first heard it. Ifthe identity of one brother was compromised, he could tell a lie that would start in motion amechanism to warn the others. Tonight, however, it seemed that more than one had beencompromised.

　　"Please answer," she whispered in fear. "Where are you?""Hang up the phone," a deep voice said from the doorway⁸.

　　Turning in terror, she saw the massive monk

点击收听单词发音  

1 stammered
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

2 hysterical
adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的
参考例句：
He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。 His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

3 somber
adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的
参考例句：
He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。 His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

4 bereaved
adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）
参考例句：
The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。 an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织

5 stashed
v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起
参考例句：
She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。 She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 breached
攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反
参考例句：
These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。 Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

7 simplicity
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
参考例句：
She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。 The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

8 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

9 monk
n.和尚，僧侣，修道士
参考例句：
The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。 Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

10 defiantly
adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地
参考例句：
Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 lashing
n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥
参考例句：
The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》