Wrykyn went down badly before the Incogs. It generally happens atleast once in a school cricket season that the team collapseshopelessly, for no apparent reason. Some schools do it in nearly everymatch, but Wrykyn so far had been particularly fortunate this year.

　　They had only been beaten once, and that by a mere¹ twenty odd runs ina hard-fought game. But on this particular day, against a notoverwhelmingly strong side, they failed miserably². The weather mayhave had something to do with it, for rain fell early in the morning,and the school, batting first on the drying wicket, found themselvesconsiderably puzzled by a slow left-hander. Morris and Berridge leftwith the score still short of ten, and after that the rout³ began. Bob,going in fourth wicket, made a dozen, and Mike kept his end up, andwas not out eleven; but nobody except Wyatt, who hit out at everythingand knocked up thirty before he was stumped⁴, did anything todistinguish himself. The total was a hundred and seven, and theIncogniti, batting when the wicket was easier, doubled this.

　　The general opinion of the school after this match was that eitherMike or Bob would have to stand down from the team when it wasdefinitely filled up, for Neville-Smith, by showing up well with theball against the Incogniti when the others failed with the bat, madeit practically certain that he would get one of the two vacancies⁵.

　　"If I do" he said to Wyatt, "there will be the biggest bust⁶ of moderntimes at my place. My pater is away for a holiday in Norway, and I'malone, bar the servants. And I can square them. Will you come?""Tea?""Tea!" said Neville-Smith scornfully.

　　"Well, what then?""Don't you ever have feeds in the dorms. after lights-out in thehouses?""Used to when I was a kid. Too old now. Have to look after mydigestion. I remember, three years ago, when Wain's won the footercup, we got up and fed at about two in the morning. All sorts ofluxuries. Sardines

点击收听单词发音  

1 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 miserably
adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地
参考例句：
The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。 It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 rout
n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮
参考例句：
The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。 The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

4 stumped
僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说
参考例句：
Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活，然后很艰难地走出房间。 He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌，半天说不出话来。

5 vacancies
n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺
参考例句：
job vacancies 职位空缺 The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 bust
vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部
参考例句：
I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。 She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

7 sardines
n. 沙丁鱼
参考例句：
The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。 Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

8 marvel
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事
参考例句：
The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。 The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

9 privately
adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地
参考例句：
Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。 The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

10 tact
n.机敏，圆滑，得体
参考例句：
She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。 Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

11 shuffled
v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼
参考例句：
He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。 Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 unintelligibly
难以理解地
参考例句：
The foreigners spoke unintelligibly. 那些外国人说的话令人无法听懂。

13 prodigy
n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆
参考例句：
She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。 He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。

14 jawing
n.用水灌注
参考例句：
I got tired of him jawing away all the time. 他老是唠唠叨叨讲个不停，使我感到厌烦。 来自辞典例句 For heaven's sake, what are you two jawing about? 老天爷，你们两个还在嘟囔些什么？ 来自辞典例句

15 blighted
adj.枯萎的，摧毁的
参考例句：
Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。 She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

16 cadge
v.乞讨
参考例句：
I managed to cadge a ride with a lorry driver.我求一个卡车司机免费载了我一程。 Homeless people forced to cadge in subway stations.无家可归的人们被迫在地铁站里乞讨。

17 awfully
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。 I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

18 dwarfed
vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。 The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 commiseration
n.怜悯，同情
参考例句：
I offered him my commiseration. 我对他表示同情。 Self- commiseration brewed in her heart. 她在心里开始自叹命苦。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

20 fermenting
v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰
参考例句：
The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top. 发酵的葡萄酒已经冒泡，溢了出来。 来自辞典例句 It must be processed through methods like boiling, grinding or fermenting. 它必须通过煮沸、研磨、或者发酵等方法加工。 来自互联网