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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Lily lay back in the soft,
green grass of the pasture.
White daisies, golden brown-eyed Susans,
prickly blue viper's bugloss, and frilly
Queen Anne's lace surrounded her.
She beckoned1 to him from
what seemed like miles away.
He hiked through the grass
calling her name. She began to
stroll away from him
into the distance. He had
to reach her! He loved her so!
If they couldn't marry, he would
make her his mistress! Nothing could
extinguish the flame of his love!
He would cling to that
until his dying day.
Lying stationary2 was taking
its toll3 on Jack4's circulation.
His feet and hands were numb5.
Something was tickling6 his nose.
He managed to tilt7 away
from the irritant, whatever it was.
He was so thirsty! He tried
to lubricate his lips with saliva8
but had none. His bladder felt
like a separate entity9 that
would overflow10. He could stall
the urge to void no longer
and allowed the urine to
flow out of him.What did
it matter now? He was
as good as dead anyway.
The fort stood in the center
of the pasture. A moat filled
with sharks protected its walls
from any possible intruders.
Jack pedaled his bicycle as fast
as he could. The sharks
whipped back and forth11 so quickly
they created foam12 on the surface
of the water. He had to
cross the drawbridge before
it was raised, segregating13 him
from his regiment14 and his
pregnant wife, Lily. She saw him
approaching and skipped onto
the bridge to greet him.
The bridge was rising.
The sharks were in frenzy15!
He rode as if the hounds
of hell were after him.
He had to reach her!
His right arm was wedged
against a rock. No matter how
hard he tried, he couldn't
wrench16 it free. This was
getting tiresome17. He felt
a stitch in his right side.
That's all he needed now
to die from a ruptured18 appendix!
He had wriggled19 enough to
increase the size of the slot
in which he was trapped.
Were those voices he was hearing?
He wasn't deaf!
When he fought his way
to the surface of consciousness
once again, he was being carried
on a litter over the inverted20
battlefield. Bodies were strewn everywhere.
The stretcherbearers stumbled over
the rough ground but maintained control
of their human cargo21 as they
made their way to the field hospital.
The fuse leading to the dynamite22
in the stern of the oil tanker23
burned so rapidly that Jack knew
the ship would explode before
he could reach the hatch
to extinguish the flame.
The olive green ship was almost
within his reach when it blew up.
He felt as if he were
on a grill24. His face was
aflame. His body felt as if
the skin had been ripped
from it. He wanted to die
before the pain grew worse.
His forehead felt cool.
He opened his eyes slowly, painfully.
A white-clad nurse sponged
his face gently. As she became
aware of his gaze, she stopped
her ministrations and offered
him a sip25 of water.
“Take it easy,” she whispered.
“You mustn't drink too quickly.
Too much, too fast
will give you nasty cramps26.”
Jack was aware of bandages
on his muscular arms and casts
on both legs. Intravenous tubing carried
a clear fluid into his veins27.
Consciousness was still transient.
Dreams of a strange pasture mingled28
with reality and continued to
haunt his sleep. He understood
he was on a hospital ward29,
but where? And how did he get here?
The pretty young nurse was back.
“We cabled your wife.
She knows you were injured
but are on the mend.”
“How did they find me?”
Jack asked.“A patrol looking
for survivors30 found you buried
in the the foxhole31. You were
calling ‘Lily!’They started digging
and there you were. You were
stabilized32 at the field hospital
before they could bring you here.
We scrubbed you up and started
to you with I.V. therapy.
You were very dehydrated and
suffering from urinary retention33
and renal failure. Your kidneys
may never function normally again.
The good news is that
you survived,” she explained.
A stray strand34 of hair fell
across Jack's cheek hiding the tears
that crept from his eyes.
He was grateful to have
his life back. He silently saluted35
his friend. Mike hadn't been so lucky.
The cable from Lily arrived
the next day. “We have a son
stop Born 05 Dec. stop Healthy
stop Named him Michael stop
I love you. Lily stop P.S. Dad
bought the pasture and
deeded it to Michael.”
1 beckoned | |
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2 stationary | |
adj.固定的,静止不动的 | |
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3 toll | |
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟) | |
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4 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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5 numb | |
adj.麻木的,失去感觉的;v.使麻木 | |
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6 tickling | |
反馈,回授,自旋挠痒法 | |
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7 tilt | |
v.(使)倾侧;(使)倾斜;n.倾侧;倾斜 | |
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8 saliva | |
n.唾液,口水 | |
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9 entity | |
n.实体,独立存在体,实际存在物 | |
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10 overflow | |
v.(使)外溢,(使)溢出;溢出,流出,漫出 | |
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11 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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12 foam | |
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫 | |
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13 segregating | |
(使)分开( segregate的现在分词 ); 分离; 隔离; 隔离并区别对待(不同种族、宗教或性别的人) | |
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14 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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15 frenzy | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
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16 wrench | |
v.猛拧;挣脱;使扭伤;n.扳手;痛苦,难受 | |
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17 tiresome | |
adj.令人疲劳的,令人厌倦的 | |
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18 ruptured | |
v.(使)破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 );(使体内组织等)断裂;使(友好关系)破裂;使绝交 | |
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19 wriggled | |
v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等) | |
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20 inverted | |
adj.反向的,倒转的v.使倒置,使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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22 dynamite | |
n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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23 tanker | |
n.油轮 | |
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24 grill | |
n.烤架,铁格子,烤肉;v.烧,烤,严加盘问 | |
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25 sip | |
v.小口地喝,抿,呷;n.一小口的量 | |
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26 cramps | |
n. 抽筋, 腹部绞痛, 铁箍 adj. 狭窄的, 难解的 v. 使...抽筋, 以铁箍扣紧, 束缚 | |
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27 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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28 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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29 ward | |
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开 | |
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30 survivors | |
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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31 foxhole | |
n.(军)散兵坑 | |
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32 stabilized | |
v.(使)稳定, (使)稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33 retention | |
n.保留,保持,保持力,记忆力 | |
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34 strand | |
vt.使(船)搁浅,使(某人)困于(某地) | |
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35 saluted | |
v.欢迎,致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 );赞扬,赞颂 | |
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