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大学英语精读第二册 Unit Seven;There's Only Luck

时间:2005-04-20 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:鱼尾巴   字体: [ ]
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TEXT

In this article the author describes what happened to her one night and what happened to her one night and her feelings about it.

There's Only Luck

My mind went numb1 when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage: This can't be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying, "What do you want? Take my wallet," but at the time I thought of nothing.
I remember being vaguely2 annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house - Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen's voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he waas being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the shrubbery. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy's head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy, and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn't crouch3 behind it but screamed instead.
I remember thinking there was something absurdly melodramatic about screaming "Help, help!" at eight o'clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea to the more specific "Help, let me in, please let me in!" But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy's screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.
The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the cops to come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely, "Please go and eat. We're O.K."
I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stiffer sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty and how the President is going to clean up the country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn't change a thing. In a rush all the rage I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these contented4 people standing5 in front of their warm, cozy6 homes talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy and me?
People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were ill-tempered about what was, to them, much ado about nothing. After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to identification. "Typical," said one cop when we couldn't even agree on how tall the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying7 detail, but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn't think that would be much help.
The cops were matter-of-fact about the whole thing. The thin one said, "That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you're told." Jeremy looked properly sheepish.
Then the fat cop same up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the house. "That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys," he said. "If you had gone into the house with them…" His voice trailed off. "They would have hurt her" - he jerked his head toward me - "and killed you both." Jeremy looked happier. "Look," said the fat cop kindly8, "there's no right of wrong in the situation. There's just luck."
All that sleepless9 night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time - no intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right: There's only luck. The next time I might end up dead.
And I'm sure there will be a next time. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Security is an illusion; there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they're fooling themselves.

NEW WORDS

numb
n. having lost the power of feeling or moving 失去感觉的,麻木的
garage
n. building in which a car is kept 汽车库
wallet
n. leather pocket-case for paper money, cards, etc. 皮夹
vaguely
ad. not clearly 模糊地
vague
a.
annoy
vt. make rather angry 使恼怒
gunman
n. a man armed with a gun, esp. a criminal or terrorist 持枪歹徒
shrubbery
n. low bushes forming a mass or group 灌木丛
release
vt. set free 松开;释放
split
vt. divide into parts 劈开
split second
very brief moment of time; instant 瞬间,一刹那
trigger
n. 扳机
crouch
vi. lower the body to the ground 蹲伏
absurdly
ad. foolishly; ridiculously 愚蠢地,荒唐可笑地
absurd
a.
melodramatic
a. exciting in effect, often too much so to be thought real 感情夸张;闹剧式的
plea
n. asking for sth. with strong feelings 恳求
specific
a. definite; not general 明确的;具体的
flee
v. run away (from) 逃走;逃离
baseball
n. 棒球(运动)
bat
n. 球棒,球拍
cop
n. (informal) policeman
noodle
n. (usu. pl.) 面条
stiff
a. severe 严厉
criminal
n. someone who has broken the law 罪犯
penalty
n. punishment 惩罚
rage
n. great anger 狂怒
contented
a. satisfied; happy 满足的
cozy
a. warm and comfortable 暖和舒适的
ill-tempered
a. (often) angry or annoyed 脾气坏的;易怒的
ado
n. trouble and excitement 忙乱
hopeless
a. giving no cause for hope; very bad or unskilled 没有希望的;无能的
identification
n. 鉴别
identify
vt.
horrify
vt. frighten; shock very much 使恐怖;使震惊
detail
n. small, particular fact 细节
matter-of-fact
a. concerned with the facts; practical 注重事实的;讲究实际的
sheepish
a. foolish or embarrassed by awareness10 of a fault 局促不安的
trail
vi. grow gradually weaker, dimmer, etc.
jerk
vt. pull or lift suddenly 猛拉;猛抬
replay
vt. play (match, recording11, etc.) over again 重放
glove
n. 手套
last
vi. go on
relive
vt. experience again, esp. in the imagination
intelligent
a. clever; rational 聪明的;明智的
response
n. action done in answer; answer 反应;回答
respond
vi.
security
n. safety, freedom from danger or fear 安全,平安
secure
a.
illusion
n. false perception; (the seeing of) sth. that does not really exist 错觉;幻觉

PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS

pull out (of)
move out (of) (车,船等)驶出
have (get, catch) hold of
抓住
bring back
restore, reintroduce 恢复
clean up
clean thoroughly12 and remove anything unwanted 彻底打扫;整肃
turn out
appear; come or go out to see or do sth. 出来,出动
in force
in large numbers 大批地,人数众多地
much ado about nothing
a lot of unnecessary explaining, of excitement about things not serious or unimportant 无事生非;小题大作
come to
reach (a particular point) in explaining, etc. 谈到(某一点)
agree on
have the same opinion on
in detail
giving a lot of facts 详细地
trail off
(voice, etc.) become gradually weaker and fade into silence (声音等)逐渐变弱
no way
不可能
prepare for
get ready for
and up 结束,告终

PROPER NAMES

Ruth Reichl
露丝.赖克尔
Jeremy
杰里米(男子名)


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 numb 0RIzK     
adj.麻木的,失去感觉的;v.使麻木
参考例句:
  • His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
  • Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵,催着疲惫的马继续往前走。
2 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
3 crouch Oz4xX     
v.蹲伏,蜷缩,低头弯腰;n.蹲伏
参考例句:
  • I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
  • He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。
4 contented Gvxzof     
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的
参考例句:
  • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
  • The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。
5 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
6 cozy ozdx0     
adj.亲如手足的,密切的,暖和舒服的
参考例句:
  • I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯,因为他们是舒适的。
  • We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
7 horrifying 6rezZ3     
a.令人震惊的,使人毛骨悚然的
参考例句:
  • He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
  • The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了,真不堪细想。
8 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
9 sleepless oiBzGN     
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的
参考例句:
  • The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
  • One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上,我听说了一个传闻,把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。
10 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
参考例句:
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
11 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
12 thoroughly sgmz0J     
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。
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