VESPERS
In which Alinardo seems to give valuable information, and William reveals his method of arriving at a probable truth through a series of unquestionable errors.

Later William descended¹ from the scriptorium in good humor. While we were waiting for suppertime, we came upon Alinardo in the cloister². Remembering his request, I had procured³ some chickpeas the day before in the kitchen, and I offered them to him. He thanked me, stuffing them into his toothless, drooling mouth. “You see, boy?” he said. “The other corpse⁴ also lay where the book announced it would be. ... Now wait for the fourth trumpet⁵!”
I asked him why he thought the key to the sequence of crimes lay in the book of Revelation. He looked at me, amazed: “The book of John offers the key to everything!” And he added, with a grimace⁶ of bitterness, “I knew it, I’ve been saying as much for a long time. ... I was the one, you know, to suggest to the abbot ... the one we had then ... to collect as many commentaries on the Apocalypse as possible. I was to have become librarian. … But then the other one managed to have himself sent to Silos, where he found the finest manuscripts, and he came back with splendid booty. ... Oh, he knew where to look; he also spoke⁷ the language of the infidels. ... And so the library was given into his keeping, and not mine. But God punished him, and sent him into the realm of darkness before his time. Ha ha ...” He laughed in a nasty way, that old man who until then, lost in the serenity⁸ of his old age, had seemed to me like an innocent child.
“Who was the monk⁹ you were speaking of?” William asked.
He looked at us,

点击收听单词发音  

1 descended
a.为...后裔的，出身于...的
参考例句：
A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。 The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 cloister
n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝
参考例句：
They went out into the stil,shadowy cloister garden.他们出了房间，走到那个寂静阴沉的修道院的园子里去。 The ancient cloister was a structure of red brick picked out with white stone.古老的修道院是一座白石衬托着的红砖建筑物。

3 procured
v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条
参考例句：
These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

4 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。

5 trumpet
n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘
参考例句：
He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。 The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

6 grimace
v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭
参考例句：
The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。 Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。

7 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 serenity
n.宁静，沉着，晴朗
参考例句：
Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。 She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

9 monk
n.和尚，僧侣，修道士
参考例句：
The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。 Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

10 stunned
adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。 The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

11 embittered
v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
These injustices embittered her even more. 不公平使她更加受苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The artist was embittered by public neglect. 大众的忽视于那位艺术家更加难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 delirium
n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋
参考例句：
In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。 For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

13 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 mule
n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人
参考例句：
A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。 He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

15 jaw
n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训
参考例句：
He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。 A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

16 alas
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句：
Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！ Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

17 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。

18 con
n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的
参考例句：
We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。 The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

19 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。

20 inexplicable
adj.无法解释的，难理解的
参考例句：
It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的，现在已经无法说清楚了。 There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。

21 runaway
n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的
参考例句：
The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。 He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

22 monks
n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。 He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 afterward
adv.后来；以后
参考例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。 Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

24 renounce
v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系
参考例句：
She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。 It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

25 culpable
adj.有罪的，该受谴责的
参考例句：
The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。 Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。