HIS VISOR WAS UP, a cold expression on his scarred face. I fastened on the hard-set eyes of Black Cross, the man I hated more than any other in this world.

Twice, I spat¹ at him.

Twice what, innkeeper?

Twice I have to rid the world of the scum who killed my wife and child.

I rushed toward him, hurtling my sword at his neck.

The Tafur put his visor down and stood his ground, pinning back my strongest thrust with ease. I hacked² at him again and again. Each time he parried my blade.

You have caused meshame , Black Cross said. Through his visor's narrow slits³ I could see his pupils darting⁴ from side to side.

With a ferocious⁵ howl, he leaped and swung his blade down on me with the power of a mangonel. I darted⁶ backward, the wind from his blade only inches from my face.

The Tafur did not even stop to regain⁷ his breath. He swung again, backhanded, aiming to slice through my legs. The mighty⁸ force of his blow almost drove my own blade into my thigh⁹.

Slowly I forced his blade upward, but it took all of my strength. I felt like a boy straining against the power of a fully¹⁰ grown man.

You are every bit the fool your reputation speaks. Black Cross chuffed. When I kill you, Stephen will take the lanceand the lives of your men. Your severed¹¹ head will be at the foot of your whore's bed.

He sliced at me again, each blow harder to

点击收听单词发音  

1 spat
n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声
参考例句：
Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。 There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

2 hacked
生气
参考例句：
I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。 I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

3 slits
n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子
参考例句：
He appears to have two slits for eyes. 他眯着两眼。 "You go to--Halifax,'she said tensely, her green eyes slits of rage. "你给我滚----滚到远远的地方去！" 她恶狠狠地说，那双绿眼睛冒出了怒火。

4 darting
v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔
参考例句：
Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句

5 ferocious
adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的
参考例句：
The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。 The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

6 darted
v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔
参考例句：
The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 regain
vt.重新获得，收复，恢复
参考例句：
He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。 The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

8 mighty
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。 The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

9 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。

10 fully
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。 They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 severed
v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂
参考例句：
The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》 We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 fend
v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开
参考例句：
I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。 He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

13 waning
adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡
参考例句：
Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。 The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 butted
对接的
参考例句：
Two goats butted each other. 两只山羊用角顶架。 He butted against a tree in the dark. 他黑暗中撞上了一棵树。

15 reverberating
回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射
参考例句：
The words are still ringing [reverberating] in one's ears. 言犹在耳。 I heard a voice reverberating: "Crawl out! I give you liberty!" 我听到一个声音在回荡：“爬出来吧，我给你自由！”

16 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。

17 scamper
v.奔跑，快跑
参考例句：
She loves to scamper through the woods of the forest.她喜欢在森林里的树林中穿梭嬉戏。 The flash sent the foxes scampering away.闪光惊得狐狸四处逃窜。

18 sniffed
v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说
参考例句：
When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 corpse
n.尸体，死尸
参考例句：
What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。 The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

20 patchwork
n.混杂物；拼缝物
参考例句：
That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。 She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

21 peril
n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物
参考例句：
The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。 The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

22 annoyance
n.恼怒，生气，烦恼
参考例句：
Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？ I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

23 boulder
n.巨砾；卵石，圆石
参考例句：
We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。 He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

24 flailed
v.鞭打( flail的过去式和过去分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克
参考例句：
The boys flailed around on the floor. 男孩子们在地板上任意地动来动去。 The prisoner's limbs flailed violently because of the pain. 那囚犯因为疼痛，四肢剧烈地抖动着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

26 groaning
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式
参考例句：
She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。 The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

27 hoisting
起重，提升
参考例句：
The hoisting capacity of that gin pole (girder pole, guy derrick) is sixty tons. 那个起重抱杆（格状抱杆、转盘抱杆）的起重能力为60吨。 来自口语例句 We must use mechanical hoisting to load the goods. 我们必须用起重机来装载货物。

28 exhaustion
n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述
参考例句：
She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。 His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。