I CAME TO-not to the rush of water, or anything heavenly, but to a low, dangerous, rumbling¹ sound.

I opened my eyes. It was still night. I had fallen into a deep ravine, far below the level of the road. My back was twisted against a tree and I could barely move. A wound ached horribly on the side of my head.

Again, I heard the deep rumbling from the woods.

Who's there? I called. Who is it?

There was no reply. I focused on the spot in the darkness, trying to make out any shape. Who would be out here in the night? Not anyone I wanted to meet.

Then, I focused on a set of eyes. Eyes not human at all, but large as prayer stones: yellow, narrow, fuming². My blood froze.

Then it moved! I heard the brush crunch³ under its feet. The thing took a step out of the forest and came clear.

Dark, hairy...

Blessed Jesus Christ!It was a boar! Not twenty paces away.

Its yellow eyes were trained on me, inspecting me as if I were its next meal. I heard a snort. Then it was deathly still.

The thing was about to charge! I was certain of it.

I tried to clear my head. I could not possibly fight such a beast.Withwhat? Its breadth alone was twice mine. It could slash⁴ me to pieces with its razory tusks⁵.

My heart was pounding, the only sound I heard other than the beast's low growl⁶. It took another step toward me. The boar's murderous eyes never left my own, deliberate and tracking.

God help me ,what could I do? I couldn't flee. It would run me down in my first steps. There was no one to shout to for help.

I searched for a strong tree to climb, but I didn't want to move, to set it off. The beast seemed to study me, bucking⁷ its head, snorting its deadly intent. I could smell its fierce, hot breaths, the blood from past conflicts matted in its hair.

I grabbed the knife at my belt. I didn't know if it would snap against the beast's hide.

The boar snorted twice and flashed its teeth at me, its jowls red and dripping. I did not want to die. Not like this...Please ,God , do not make me fight this thing.

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1 rumbling
n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词
参考例句：
The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。 The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

2 fuming
愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟
参考例句：
She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. 她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。 I was fuming at their inefficiency. 我正因为他们效率低而发火。

3 crunch
n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声
参考例句：
If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。 People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

4 slash
vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩
参考例句：
The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。 Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

5 tusks
n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头
参考例句：
The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。 Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

6 growl
v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣
参考例句：
The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。 The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

7 bucking
v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句：
a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马 That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

8 hind
adj.后面的，后部的
参考例句：
The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。 Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

9 repel
v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥
参考例句：
A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。 Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

10 snarling
v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说
参考例句：
"I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

11 snarl
v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮
参考例句：
At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。 The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

12 jaws
n.口部；嘴
参考例句：
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。 The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

13 thigh
n.大腿；股骨
参考例句：
He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。 The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

14 goring
v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的现在分词 )
参考例句：
General Goring spoke for about two hours. 戈林将军的发言持续了大约两个小时。 来自英汉非文学 - 新闻报道 Always do they talk that way with their arrogance before a goring. 他们挨牛角之前，总是这样吹大牛。 来自辞典例句

15 abdomen
n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)
参考例句：
How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？ He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

16 slashed
v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减
参考例句：
Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。 He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 socket
n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口
参考例句：
He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。 The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

18 defense
n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩
参考例句：
The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。 The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

19 seeped
v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出
参考例句：
The rain seeped through the roof. 雨水透过房顶渗透。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Icy air seeped in through the paper and the room became cold. 寒气透过了糊窗纸。屋里骤然冷起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

20 growls
v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说
参考例句：
The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网

21 crumpled
adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。 She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

22 skull
n.头骨；颅骨
参考例句：
The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。 He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

23 depleted
adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。 Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

24 exhausted
adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的
参考例句：
It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。 Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。