Sophie felt a wild excitement as she cradled the cryptex and began dialing in the letters. An ancientword of wisdom frees this scroll¹. Langdon and Teabing seemed to have stopped breathing as theylooked on.

　　S... O... F...

　　"Carefully," Teabing urged. "Ever so carefully."...I... A.

　　Sophie aligned² the final dial. "Okay," she whispered, glancing up at the others. "I'm going to pull itapart.""Remember the vinegar," Langdon whispered with fearful exhilaration. "Be careful."Sophie knew that if this cryptex were like those she had opened in her youth, all she would need todo is grip the cylinder³ at both ends, just beyond the dials, and pull, applying slow, steady pressurein opposite directions. If the dials were properly aligned with the password, then one of the endswould slide off, much like a lens cap, and she could reach inside and remove the rolled papyrusdocument, which would be wrapped around the vial of vinegar. However, if the password they hadentered were incorrect, Sophie's outward force on the ends would be transferred to a hinged leverinside, which would pivot⁵ downward into the cavity and apply pressure to the glass vial, eventuallyshattering it if she pulled too hard.

　　Pull gently, she told herself.

　　Teabing and Langdon both leaned in as Sophie wrapped her palms around the ends of the cylinder.

　　In the excitement of deciphering the code word, Sophie had almost forgotten what they expected tofind inside. This is the Priory keystone. According to Teabing, it contained a map to the Holy Grail,unveiling the tomb of Mary Magdalene and the Sangreal treasure... the ultimate treasure trove⁶ ofsecret truth.

　　Now gripping the stone tube, Sophie double-checked that all of the letters were properly alignedwith the indicator⁷. Then, slowly, she pulled. Nothing happened. She applied⁸ a little more force.

　　Suddenly, the stone slid apart like a well-crafted telescope. The heavy end piece detached in herhand. Langdon and Teabing almost jumped to their feet. Sophie's heart rate climbed as she set theend cap on the table and tipped the cylinder to peer inside.

点击收听单词发音  

1 scroll
n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡
参考例句：
As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。 He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

2 aligned
adj.对齐的，均衡的
参考例句：
Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

3 cylinder
n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸
参考例句：
What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？ The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

4 papyrus
n.古以纸草制成之纸
参考例句：
The Egyptians wrote on papyrus.埃及人书写用薄草纸。 Since papyrus dries up and crumble,very few documents of ancient Egypt have survived.因草片会干裂成粉末所以古埃及的文件很少保存下来。

5 pivot
v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的
参考例句：
She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。 If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

6 trove
n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西
参考例句：
He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。 The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

7 indicator
n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器
参考例句：
Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。 His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

8 applied
adj.应用的；v.应用，适用
参考例句：
She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。 This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 slumping
大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的现在分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句：
Hong Kong's slumping economy also caused a rise in bankruptcy applications. 香港经济低迷，破产申请个案随之上升。 And as with slumping, over-arching can also be a simple postural habit. 就像弯腰驼背，过度挺直也可能只是一种习惯性姿势。

11 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。

12 onward
adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先
参考例句：
The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。 He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

13 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 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。

15 knight
n.骑士，武士；爵士
参考例句：
He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。 A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

16 interred
v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The body was interred at the cemetery. 遗体埋葬在公墓里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

18 streaked
adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹
参考例句：
The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句