The inside of Gare Saint-Lazare looked like every other train station in Europe, a gaping¹ indoor-outdoor cavern² dotted with the usual suspects—homeless men holding cardboard signs, collectionsof bleary-eyed college kids sleeping on backpacks and zoning out to their portable MP3 players,and clusters of blue-clad baggage porters smoking cigarettes.

　　Sophie raised her eyes to the enormous departure board overhead. The black and white tabsreshuffled, ruffling³ downward as the information refreshed. When the update was finished,Langdon eyed the offerings. The topmost listing read: LYON—RAPIDE—3:06"I wish it left sooner," Sophie said, "but Lyon will have to do." Sooner? Langdon checked hiswatch 2:59 A.M. The train left in seven minutes and they didn't even have tickets yet.

　　Sophie guided Langdon toward the ticket window and said, "Buy us two tickets with your creditcard.""I thought credit card usage could be traced by—""Exactly."Langdon decided⁴ to stop trying to keep ahead of Sophie Neveu. Using his Visa card, he purchasedtwo coach tickets to Lyon and handed them to Sophie.

　　Sophie guided him out toward the tracks, where a familiar tone chimed overhead and a P.A.

　　announcer gave the final boarding call for Lyon. Sixteen separate tracks spread out before them. Inthe distance to the right, at quay⁵ three, the train to Lyon was belching⁶ and wheezing⁷ in preparationfor departure, but Sophie already had her arm through Langdon's and was guiding him in the exactopposite direction. They hurried through a side lobby, past an all-night cafe, and finally out a sidedoor onto a quiet street on the west side of the station.

　　A lone⁸ taxi sat idling by the doorway

点击收听单词发音  

1 gaping
adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大
参考例句：
Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。 The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 cavern
n.洞穴，大山洞
参考例句：
The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。 It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来，我们在一个山洞里避雨。

3 ruffling
弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱
参考例句：
A cool breeze brushed his face, ruffling his hair. 一阵凉风迎面拂来，吹乱了他的头发。 "Indeed, they do not,'said Pitty, ruffling. "说真的，那倒不一定。" 皮蒂皱皱眉头，表示异议。

4 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。

5 quay
n.码头，靠岸处
参考例句：
There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。 The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。

6 belching
n. 喷出，打嗝 动词belch的现在分词形式
参考例句：
The Tartars employed another weapon, the so-called Chinese dragon belching fire. 鞑靼人使用了另一种武器，所谓中国龙喷火器。 Billows of smoke were belching from the chimney. 巨浪似的烟正从烟囱里喷出来。

7 wheezing
v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣
参考例句：
He was coughing and wheezing all night. 他整夜又咳嗽又喘。 A barrel-organ was wheezing out an old tune. 一架手摇风琴正在呼哧呼哧地奏着一首古老的曲子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 lone
adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的
参考例句：
A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。 She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

9 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。

10 flicked
（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）
参考例句：
She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。 I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

11 monotonous
adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的
参考例句：
She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。 His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

12 rue
n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔
参考例句：
You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。 You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

13 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。

14 jaw
n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训
参考例句：
He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。 A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

15 triangular
adj.三角（形）的，三者间的
参考例句：
It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。 One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。

16 shaft
n.(工具的)柄，杆状物
参考例句：
He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。 This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

17 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。

18 rim
n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界
参考例句：
The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。 She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

19 sniffed
v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说
参考例句：
When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 flipped
轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥
参考例句：
The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。 The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

21 shimmer
v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光
参考例句：
The room was dark,but there was a shimmer of moonlight at the window.屋子里很黑，但靠近窗户的地方有点微光。 Nor is there anything more virginal than the shimmer of young foliage.没有什么比新叶的微光更纯洁无瑕了。

22 amazement
n.惊奇，惊讶
参考例句：
All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。 He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

23 outskirts
n.郊外，郊区
参考例句：
Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。 They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

24 grotto
n.洞穴
参考例句：
We reached a beautiful grotto,whose entrance was almost hiden by the vine.我们到达了一个美丽的洞穴，洞的进口几乎被藤蔓遮掩著。 Water trickles through an underground grotto.水沿着地下岩洞流淌。

25 westward
n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西
参考例句：
We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。 Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。