The summons from the bishop¹ came by e-mail early Thursday morning, and was confirmed by a brief phone conversation in which nothing of substance was discussed. By 9:00 a.m., Keith and Dana were once again on the road, this time headed southwest on Interstate 35 to Wichita. As he drove, Keith recalled the same journey only a week earlier, same car, same radio station, but with a very different passenger. He had finally convinced Dana that Boyette was crazy enough to stalk her. The man had been arrested innumerable times, so he wasn't the craftiest² criminal on the prowl. Until he was caught, Keith would not let his wife out of his sight.

Keith was ignoring the office and the church. Dana's nonprofit work and jam-packed daily planners had been placed aside. Only the family mattered at the moment. If they had the flexibility³, and the money, Keith and Dana would have loaded up the boys and taken a long trip. She was concerned about her husband. He had witnessed a uniquely disturbing event, a tragedy that would haunt him forever, and though he'd been thoroughly⁴ unable to stop it or intervene in any manner, he was nonetheless burdened by it. He had told her several times how dirty he felt when the execution was over, how he wanted to go somewhere and take a shower, to cleanse⁵ himself of the perspiration⁶ and grime and fatigue⁷ and complicity. He wasn't sleeping and he wasn't eating, and around the boys he worked hard to carry on the usual banter⁸ and games, but it was forced. Keith was detached, and as the days passed, she was beginning to realize that he was not snapping out of it. He seemed to have forgotten about the church. He had not mentioned a sermon or anything related to the upcoming Sunday. There was a pile of phone messages on his desk, all waiting to be returned. He'd corralled their assistant minister into presiding over the Wednesday night dinner, blaming it on a migraine. He'd never had a migraine, never faked being ill, and never asked someone to pinch-hit in any situation. When he wasn't reading about the Drumm case, or researching the death penalty, he was watching cable news, some of the same segments over and over. Something was

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 craftiest
狡猾的，狡诈的( crafty的最高级 )
参考例句：
The craftiest fox can't escape the skilled hunter. 狐狸再狡猾也斗不过好猎手。

3 flexibility
n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性
参考例句：
Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。 The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

4 thoroughly
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。 The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

5 cleanse
vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗
参考例句：
Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。 Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

6 perspiration
n.汗水；出汗
参考例句：
It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。 The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

7 fatigue
n.疲劳，劳累
参考例句：
The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。 I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

8 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。

9 brewing
n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式
参考例句：
It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。 She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

10 grotesque
adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）
参考例句：
His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。 Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

11 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。

12 bulged
凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物）
参考例句：
His pockets bulged with apples and candy. 他的口袋鼓鼓地装满了苹果和糖。 The oranges bulged his pocket. 桔子使得他的衣袋胀得鼓鼓的。

13 hips
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的
参考例句：
She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。 They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 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。

16 killer
n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者
参考例句：
Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。 The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

17 hardiest
能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的最高级 )； （植物等）耐寒的
参考例句：
This trip will season even the hardiest traveller. 这个旅行会让最坚硬的旅行者适应。

18 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。

19 crumb
n.饼屑，面包屑，小量
参考例句：
It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。 Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。

20 narrative
n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的
参考例句：
He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。 Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

21 chastised
v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的过去式 )
参考例句：
He chastised the team for their lack of commitment. 他指责队伍未竭尽全力。 The Securities Commission chastised the firm but imposed no fine. 证券委员会严厉批评了那家公司，不过没有处以罚款。 来自辞典例句

22 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。

23 violation
n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯
参考例句：
He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。 He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

24 confidential
adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的
参考例句：
He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。 We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

25 overloaded
a.超载的，超负荷的
参考例句：
He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。 She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

26 spine
n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊
参考例句：
He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。 His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

27 stiffen
v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬
参考例句：
The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。 I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

28 plowed
v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过
参考例句：
They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句 He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

29 pry
vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)
参考例句：
He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。 We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

30 investigation
n.调查，调查研究
参考例句：
In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。 He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

31 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
参考例句：
She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。 Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

32 obstruction
n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物
参考例句：
She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。 The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

33 expunged
v.擦掉( expunge的过去式和过去分词 )；除去；删去；消除
参考例句：
Details of his criminal activities were expunged from the file. 他犯罪活动的详细情况已从档案中删去。 His name is expunged from the list. 他的名字从名单中被除掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

34 savage
adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人
参考例句：
The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。 He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

35 prospect
n.前景，前途；景色，视野
参考例句：
This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。 The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

36 prosecution
n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营
参考例句：
The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。 He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

37 Christian
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。 His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

38 sagging
下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度
参考例句：
The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。 We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

39 lobe
n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶
参考例句：
Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。 The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

40 initiating
v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员
参考例句：
He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

41 mandate
n.托管地；命令，指示
参考例句：
The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。 The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

42 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

43 premature
adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的
参考例句：
It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。 The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

44 averted
防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移
参考例句：
A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。 Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

45 jerseys
n.运动衫( jersey的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The maximum quantity of cotton jerseys this year is about DM25,000. 平方米的羊毛地毯超过了以往的订货。 来自口语例句 The NBA is mulling the prospect of stitching advertising logos onto jerseys. 大意：NBA官方正在酝酿一个大煞风景的计划——把广告标志绣上球服！ 来自互联网

46 reconciliation
n.和解，和谐，一致
参考例句：
He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。 Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

47 sanctuary
n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区
参考例句：
There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。 Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

48 denomination
n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位
参考例句：
The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。 Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

49 publicity
n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告
参考例句：
The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。 He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

50 inviting
adj.诱人的，引人注目的
参考例句：
An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。 The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

51 loathed
v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢
参考例句：
Baker loathed going to this red-haired young pup for supplies. 面包师傅不喜欢去这个红头发的自负的傻小子那里拿原料。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self! 因此，他厌恶不幸的自我尤胜其它！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

52 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

53 subdued
adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。 I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

54 scripture
n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段
参考例句：
The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。 They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

55 perplexed
adj.不知所措的
参考例句：
The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。 The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

56 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。

57 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

58 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。

59 pastor
n.牧师，牧人
参考例句：
He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。 We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

60 relished
v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望
参考例句：
The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句 Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

61 lighter
n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级
参考例句：
The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。 The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

62 oblivious
adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的
参考例句：
Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。 He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

63 hymn
n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌
参考例句：
They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。 The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

64 terse
adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的
参考例句：
Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。 The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

65 itinerary
n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划
参考例句：
The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。 The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

66 arduous
adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的
参考例句：
We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。 The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

67 deposition
n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物
参考例句：
It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。 This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

68 ordeal
n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验
参考例句：
She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。 Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

69 investigators
n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )
参考例句：
This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。 The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》