ANNE FLINCHED¹ in the maze² of hedges under the balcony as she heard footsteps creeping up on her. A stealthy presence, most foul³, like a shift in the wind. She turned and he was there.

His frame was large, his face ruined with scars from battle. But it was not these things that made her shiver. It was his eyes. Their remoteness-rigid, dark pools. His face was buried deep in his dark hood⁴. On the hood, a small black cross.

Not in church, knight⁵? She scowled⁶, her words stabbing with irony⁷.

Do not worry for me. His cold voice crept out from the drawn⁸ hood. I make peace with God in my own way.

He came before her as a supplicant⁹, yet he was possessed¹⁰ of the harshest cruelty. The tunic¹¹ of a knight, but a disgraced one, dressed in rags. Still, she was forced to deal with him.

I do worry for you, Morgaine, Anne said scornfully, for I think you will burn in Hell. Your methods are evil. They pervert¹² the goal you aim to achieve.

I may burn, lady, but I will light the way for others to rest next to God. Perhaps evenyou...

Do not flatter yourself that you are God's agent. Anne sneered¹³. You make my skin crawl that you do my husband's work.

点击收听单词发音  

1 flinched
v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He flinched at the sight of the blood. 他一见到血就往后退。 This tough Corsican never flinched or failed. 这个刚毅的科西嘉人从来没有任何畏缩或沮丧。 来自辞典例句

2 maze
n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑
参考例句：
He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。 She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

3 foul
adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规
参考例句：
Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。 What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

4 hood
n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖
参考例句：
She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。 The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

5 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。

6 scowled
怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。 The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

7 irony
n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄
参考例句：
She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。 In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

8 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 supplicant
adj.恳求的n.恳求者
参考例句：
Her rendering of it fell somewhere between that of teacher and supplicant. 她表达这首诗的方式是介乎教学和祈求之间。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦 He flung himself down in the flat submissive posture of a mere supplicant. 他以一个卑微的哀求者绝对谦恭的姿态猛地趴在地上。 来自辞典例句

10 possessed
adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的
参考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

11 tunic
n.束腰外衣
参考例句：
The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。 Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

12 pervert
n.堕落者，反常者；vt.误用，滥用；使人堕落，使入邪路
参考例句：
Reading such silly stories will pervert your taste for good books.读这种愚昧的故事会败坏你对好书的嗜好。 Do not pervert the idea.别歪曲那想法。

13 sneered
讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。 It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

14 flayed
v.痛打( flay的过去式和过去分词 )；把…打得皮开肉绽；剥（通常指动物）的皮；严厉批评
参考例句：
He was so angry he nearly flayed his horse alive. 他气得几乎把马活活抽死。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The teacher flayed the idle students. 老师严责那些懒惰的学生。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 hooded
adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的
参考例句：
A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。 Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

16 hurl
vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂
参考例句：
The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。 To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

17 coffin
n.棺材，灵柩
参考例句：
When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。 The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

18 unearthed
出土的（考古）
参考例句：
Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。 Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

19 relic
n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物
参考例句：
This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。 He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

20 appetizer
n.小吃，开胃品
参考例句：
We served some crackers and cheese as an appetizer.我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 I would like a cucumber salad for an appetizer.我要一份黄瓜沙拉作开胃菜。

21 bauble
n.美观而无价值的饰物
参考例句：
That little bauble is not to be compared with this enormous jewel.那个小摆设不能与这个大宝石相比较。 A bauble is a showy ornament of little value.廉价珠宝是华而不实的装饰品。

22 everlasting
adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的
参考例句：
These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。 He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。