THE THIRD CELL PHONE number found Pace at some undisclosed location. The man with no home had been in D.C. less and less in recent weeks. Of course he was off putting out another fire, nixing another round of nasty litigation for another wayward client, though he didn't admit this. Didn't have to. Clay knew him well enough by now to know that he was a fireman in demand. There was no shortage of bad products out there.

Clay was surprised at how comforting it was to hear Pace's voice. He explained that he was in New York, whom he was with, and why he was there. Pace's first word sealed the deal. "Brilliant," he said. "Just brilliant."

"You know him?"

"Everybody in this business knows Patton French," Pace said. "I've never had to deal with him, but he's a legend."

Clay gave the terms of the offer from French. Pace quickly caught up and then began thinking ahead. "If you refile in Biloxi, Mississippi, Ackerman's stock will take another hit," he said. "They're under tremendous pressure right now—pressure from their banks and their shareholders². This is brilliant, Clay. Do it!"

"Okay. Done."

"And watch the New York Times in the morning. Big story about Dyloft. The first medical report is out. It's devastating³."

"Great."

He got a beer from the mini-bar—$8.00 but who cared—and for a long time sat in front of the window and watched the frenzy⁴ on Fifth Avenue. It was not entirely⁵ comforting to be forced to rely on Max Pace for advice, but there was simply no one else to turn to. No one, not even his father, had ever been presented with such a choice: "Let's move your five thousand cases over here and put them together with my five thousand cases, and we'll do not two but one class action, and I'll plunk down a million or so for the medical screenings while you double your advertising⁶ plan, and we'll rake forty percent off the top, then expenses, and make us a fortune. Whatta you say, Clay?"

In the past month he'd made more money than he'd ever dreamed of earning. Now, as things spun

点击收听单词发音  

1 sip
v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量
参考例句：
She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。 Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

2 shareholders
n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。 the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

3 devastating
adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的
参考例句：
It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。 Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 frenzy
n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动
参考例句：
He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。 They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

5 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。

6 advertising
n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的
参考例句：
Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗? The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 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。

8 dice
n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险
参考例句：
They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。 A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。

9 filthy
adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的
参考例句：
The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。 You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

10 sneak
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行
参考例句：
He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。 I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

11 fatigued
adj. 疲乏的
参考例句：
The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。 The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑，疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。

12 chaos
n.混乱，无秩序
参考例句：
After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。 The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 ominous
adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的
参考例句：
Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。 There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

14 veal
n.小牛肉
参考例句：
She sauteed veal and peppers,preparing a mixed salad while the pan simmered.她先做的一道菜是青椒煎小牛肉，趁着锅还在火上偎着的机会，又做了一道拼盘。 Marinate the veal in white wine for two hours.把小牛肉用白葡萄酒浸泡两小时。

15 lapsed
adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失
参考例句：
He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。 He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 sips
n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
You must administer them slowly, allowing the child to swallow between sips. 你应慢慢给药，使小儿在吸吮之间有充分的时间吞咽。 来自辞典例句 Emission standards applicable to preexisting stationary sources appear in state implementation plans (SIPs). 在《州实施计划》中出现了固定污染的排放标准。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 partnership
n.合作关系，伙伴关系
参考例句：
The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。 Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

18 bloody
adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染
参考例句：
He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。 He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

19 negotiations
协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过
参考例句：
negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判 Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

20 banter
n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑
参考例句：
The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。 She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。

21 unleashing
v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Company logos: making people's life better by unleashing Cummins power. 公司理念：以康明斯动力建设更美好的生活！ 来自互联网 Sooner or later the dam will burst, unleashing catastrophic destruction. 否则堤坝将崩溃，酿成灾难。 来自互联网

22 defendant
n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的
参考例句：
The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。 The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

23 growled
v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说
参考例句：
\"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》 He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 garb
n.服装，装束
参考例句：
He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。 Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

25 complimentary
adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的
参考例句：
She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。 The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

26 lawsuits
n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句 I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

27 lawsuit
n.诉讼，控诉
参考例句：
They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。 He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

28 boxer
n.制箱者，拳击手
参考例句：
The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。 He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

29 gulped
v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住
参考例句：
He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。 She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下，似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

31 malignant
adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的
参考例句：
Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。 He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

32 mumbled
含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。 George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

33 inquiries
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听
参考例句：
He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。 I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

34 authorized
a.委任的，许可的
参考例句：
An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

35 Amended
adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。 He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

36 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

37 horrified
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句：
The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。 We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

38 verge
n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。