Silas awoke with a start.

　　He had no idea what had awoken him or how long he had been asleep. Was I dreaming? Sitting upnow on his straw mat, he listened to the quiet breathing of the Opus Dei residence hall, the stillnesstextured only by the soft murmurs¹ of someone praying aloud in a room below him. These werefamiliar sounds and should have comforted him.

　　And yet he felt a sudden and unexpected wariness².

　　Standing, wearing only his undergarments, Silas walked to the window. Was I followed? Thecourtyard below was deserted³, exactly as he had seen it when he entered. He listened. Silence. Sowhy am I uneasy? Long ago Silas had learned to trust his intuition. Intuition had kept him alive as achild on the streets of Marseilles long before prison... long before he was born again by the hand ofBishop Aringarosa. Peering out the window, he now saw the faint outline of a car through thehedge. On the car's roof was a police siren. A floorboard creaked in the hallway. A door latchmoved.

　　Silas reacted on instinct, surging across the room and sliding to a stop just behind the door as itcrashed open. The first police officer stormed through, swinging his gun left then right at whatappeared an empty room. Before he realized where Silas was, Silas had thrown his shoulder intothe door, crushing a second officer as he came through. As the first officer wheeled to shoot, Silasdove for his legs. The gun went off, the bullet sailing above Silas's head, just as he connected withthe officer's shins, driving his legs out from under him, and sending the man down, his head hittingthe floor. The second officer staggered to his feet in the doorway⁵, and Silas drove a knee into hisgroin, then went clambering over the writhing⁶ body into the hall.

　　Almost naked, Silas hurled⁷ his pale body down the staircase. He knew he had been betrayed, but bywhom? When he reached the foyer, more officers were surging through the front door. Silas turnedthe other way and dashed deeper into the residence hall. The women's entrance. Every Opus Deibuilding has one.

点击收听单词发音  

1 murmurs
n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕
参考例句：
They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句 They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句

2 wariness
n. 注意,小心
参考例句：
The British public's wariness of opera is an anomaly in Europe. 英国公众对歌剧不大轻易接受的态度在欧洲来说很反常。 There certainly is a history of wariness about using the R-word. 历史表明绝对应当谨慎使用“衰退”一词。

3 deserted
adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的
参考例句：
The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。 The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

4 bishop
n.主教，（国际象棋）象
参考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。 Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

5 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。

6 writhing
（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )
参考例句：
She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。 He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

7 hurled
v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂
参考例句：
He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。 The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 winding
n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈
参考例句：
A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。 The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

9 boiler
n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等)
参考例句：
That boiler will not hold up under pressure.那种锅炉受不住压力。 This new boiler generates more heat than the old one.这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。

10 clattered
发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。 His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。

11 ribs
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹
参考例句：
He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。 Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

12 loomed
v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近
参考例句：
A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。 The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 spun
v.纺，杜撰，急转身
参考例句：
His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。 Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。