Sophie scrutinized¹ Langdon in the back of the taxi. He's joking. "The Holy Grail?"Langdon nodded, his expression serious. "Holy Grail is the literal meaning of Sangreal. The phrasederives from the French Sangraal, which evolved to Sangreal, and was eventually split into twowords, San Greal."Holy Grail. Sophie was surprised she had not spotted² the linguistic³ ties immediately. Even so,Langdon's claim still made no sense to her. "I thought the Holy Grail was a cup. You just told methe Sangreal is a collection of documents that reveals some dark secret.""Yes, but the Sangreal documents are only half of the Holy Grail treasure. They are buried with theGrail itself... and reveal its true meaning. The documents gave the Knights⁴ Templar so much powerbecause the pages revealed the true nature of the Grail."The true nature of the Grail? Sophie felt even more lost now. The Holy Grail, she had thought, wasthe cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper and with which Joseph of Arimathea later caughtHis blood at the crucifixion. "The Holy Grail is the Cup of Christ," she said. "How much simplercould it be?""Sophie," Langdon whispered, leaning toward her now, "according to the Priory of Sion, the HolyGrail is not a cup at all. They claim the Grail legend—that of a chalice⁵—is actually an ingeniouslyconceived allegory. That is, that the Grail story uses the chalice as a metaphor⁶ for something else,something far more powerful." He paused. "Something that fits perfectly⁷ with everything yourgrandfather has been trying to tell us tonight, including all his symbologic references to the sacredfeminine."Still unsure, Sophie sensed in Langdon's patient smile that he empathized with her confusion, andyet his eyes remained earnest. "But if the Holy Grail is not a cup," she asked, "what is it?"Langdon had known this question was coming, and yet he still felt uncertain exactly how to tellher. If he did not present the answer in the proper historical background, Sophie would be left witha vacant air of bewilderment—the exact expression Langdon had seen on his own editor's face afew months ago after Langdon handed him a draft of the manuscript he was working on.

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1 scrutinized
v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

2 spotted
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。 Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 linguistic
adj.语言的，语言学的
参考例句：
She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。 The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

4 knights
骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马
参考例句：
stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事 He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

5 chalice
n.圣餐杯；金杯毒酒
参考例句：
He inherited a poisoned chalice when he took over the job as union leader.他接手工会领导职务，看似风光，实则会给他带来很多麻烦。 She was essentially feminine,in other words,a parasite and a chalice.她在本质上是个女人，换句话说，是一个食客和一只酒杯。

6 metaphor
n.隐喻，暗喻
参考例句：
Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。 In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

7 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。 Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 tugged
v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。 A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 nervously
adv.神情激动地，不安地
参考例句：
He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。 He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

10 picketing
[经] 罢工工人劝阻工人上班，工人纠察线
参考例句：
mass picketing of the factory 罢工工人集体对工厂的封锁 "And my chaps were also there to prevent picketing! “我的人也是防着女工们要拦厂！ 来自子夜部分

11 buck
n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃
参考例句：
The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。 The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

12 credible
adj.可信任的，可靠的
参考例句：
The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。 Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

13 bibliography
n.参考书目；(有关某一专题的)书目
参考例句：
There is a useful bibliography at the end of each chapter.在每一章后附有一份有用的参考书目。 The production of this bibliography is totally automated.这个目录的编制过程全是自动化的。

14 premise
n.前提；v.提论，预述
参考例句：
Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。 We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

15 persuasive
adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的
参考例句：
His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。 The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

16 spawned
（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产
参考例句：
The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。 The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

17 relics
[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸
参考例句：
The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。 Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

18 endorsed
vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品
参考例句：
The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 harry
vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼
参考例句：
Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。 Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

20 plunged
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降
参考例句：
The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。 She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

21 metallic
adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的
参考例句：
A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。 He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

22 rigid
adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的
参考例句：
She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。 The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

23 wielding
手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）
参考例句：
The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。 He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

24 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。 His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

25 gathering
n.集会，聚会，聚集
参考例句：
He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。 He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。