A Caucus Race

    A Caucus¹ Race
Alice was² very cold after being³ in the pool⁴, and all the animals and birds were cold and unhappy⁵.
    Alice did⁶ not wonder⁸ about it when they began to speak to her.
    "The best thing if you are cold," the Dodo said⁹, "is to have a race--a Caucus race."None¹⁰ of the other birds or animals said anything, but the Dodo was waiting for a question, so Alice asked, "What is a Caucus race?""I could¹¹ tell you," the Dodo said, "but the best thing is to do it."The Dodo made¹² marks¹³ to show where to run.
    There was no place to begin running¹⁴. There was no place to run to. There was no 'One, two, three, go!" They began running when they liked, and they stopped when they liked. Only the Dodo knew when the race was over. When everybody¹⁶ was hot again and happy, the Dodo called out: "The race is over!"Then they all stood¹⁷ round the Dodo and asked, "Who has won⁷?"The Dodo could not answer at once. He sat¹⁸ for a long time with a finger to his head, and at last he said:
    Everybody has won. Everybody must have a prize¹⁹.
    "But who is to give the prizes²⁰?" the Mouse and a lot of other animals asked.
    "She is," the Dodo said, looking at Alice.
    "Prizes! Prizes!" all the birds and animals cried, standing²¹ round Alice.
    Alice was not ready for this, but she put her hand in her pocket²². She found²³ a small box of very small sweets in it. (It was a good thing that the water had²⁴ not got²⁵ into it.) There was just one sweet for each of the birds and animals.
    "But she must have a prize herself²⁶, you know." the Mouse said.
    "Yes," the Dodo answered. He told Alice to find another prize in her pocket.
    "I only have the box," Alice said.
    "Give it to me." The Dodo put his hand out, and Alice put the box into it.
    They all stood round Alice again, and the Dodo gave²⁷ her the box, saying²⁸: "Please take this very beautiful box with our thanks."The next thing was to eat the sweets. There was some noise and crying about this. The sweets were too small for the big birds: they did not last. They were too big for the small birds. "Quick! Pat²⁹ them on their backs!" Alice cried.
    At last the sweets were all gone, and the birds and animals sat round in a ring and waited for something to happen.
    "If Dinah were here, I should be very happy," Alice said. She said it to herself, but her new friends heard the words.
    "And who is Dinah, may I ask?" the Dodo said.
    Alice was always ready to speak about her friend the cat.
    "Dinah's our cat. She's very nice. And she's very quick. You should see her catching³⁰ mice³¹. She's very good at catching birds too. --Oh, why have they all gone?"All the animals and birds had gone. Alice was alone³² again. " They don't like me to speak about Dinah," she told herself. "Nobody³³ likes Dinah down here, but she's the best cat of all. I wonder if I shall³⁴ ever¹⁵ see her again."Alice began to cry again because she was alone, but she heard little feet coming towards³⁵ her, and she stopped crying. " Perhaps³⁶ it's the Mouse," she thought³⁷.

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

3 being   

n.存在；生存；生命存在，生命，人， 本质；art.在，有，是

参考例句：

• Can you explain to me the purpose of being?你能对我解释一下存在的目的吗？
• What is the purpose of our being?我们生存的目的是什么？

4 pool   

n.水塘(池)，游泳池，撞球；vi.形成池塘；vt.集中，积累

参考例句：

• The swimming pool was opened to the public on July 1.游泳池于七月一日对外开放。
• At the end of half an hour the pool was nearly dry.这样过了半小时，坑里的水差不多舀光了。

5 unhappy   

adj.不幸的，不愉快的，不幸福的

参考例句：

• With all his money,he is unhappy.尽管他有那么多钱，他也并不愉快。
• I'm unhappy about the work you did for me.你替我做这件事我不太满意。

6 did   

v.动词do的过去式

参考例句：

• How many goals did you score in the last game?上一场比赛你们进了几个球？
• Why did you choose basketball in the first place?你为何首先选择篮球呢？

7 won   

vt.赢得(为win的过去式)

参考例句：

• We won the game in the end.我们最终赢得了比赛。
• We won the football game.我们赢得了足球赛的胜利。

8 wonder   

v.惊奇；惊讶；(对...)感到怀疑

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is late.我想知道他为什么迟到。
• No wonder it's a wonder.怪不得这是一个奇迹。

9 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

10 none   

adv.一点也不；prep.没人，毫无；pron.没有人，没有任何东西

参考例句：

• Remember that none is perfect.记住没有任何人是完美的。
• There's almost none left.几乎一个没剩。

11 could   

v.能，可能(can的过去式)；aux.v.(can的过去式)能；可以

参考例句：

• Could I open the window?我可以打开窗子吗？
• I could wait ten minutes.我可以等十分钟。

12 made   

v.make的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They were not made in china.它们不是中国制造的。
• The monkey made a long arm for the peach.猴子伸臂去摘桃子。

13 marks   

标志

参考例句：

• Coursework accounts for 40% of the final marks. 课程作业占最后总成绩的40%。
• The film marks her directorial debut. 这部电影是她作为导演初露头角的标志。

14 running   

n.赛跑，流出，运转；adj.流动的，跑着的，连续的

参考例句：

• I like running.我喜欢跑步。
• The water is running out.水流出来了。

15 ever   

adv.曾经；永远；不断地；在任何时候；究竟

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to hangzhou?你曾经去过杭州吗？
• I will be young and strong and beautiful for ever.我将永远年轻、强壮，永远漂亮。

16 everybody   

pron.每人，人人(=everyone)

参考例句：

• Christmas is a holiday for everybody.圣诞节是所有人的节日。
• It is difficult to find a time that suits everybody.很难找到一个对每人都合适的时间。

17 stood   

vbl.stand的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She stood up when they came in.当他们进来时，她站了起来。
• The child stood by the side of his mother.孩子站在母亲身边。

18 sat   

v.（sit的过去式，过去分词）坐

参考例句：

• He sat on a chair.他坐在椅子上。
• The mother sat by the sick child all night long.妈妈整夜守在生病的孩子身旁。

19 prize   

n.奖，奖品，战利品；v.珍视，捕获

参考例句：

• He won a prize for good behaviour at school.他因在校的表现好而获奖。
• He hopes from his very heart that he will win a prize.他满心希望获奖。

20 prizes   

n.奖赏( prize的名词复数 )；值得竞争的东西；难能可贵的事物；难以争取的重要事物v.珍视，珍惜( prize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There will be games and prizes galore. 将有很多游戏和奖品。
• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 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。

22 pocket   

n.口袋，钱袋，钱，容器，孤立地区；vt.装…在口袋里，隐藏，抑制，私吞，搁置

参考例句：

• The letter has been in my pocket all the time.这封信一直揣在我口袋里。
• I wish to change some pocket money.我希望换些零钱。

23 found   

v.建立，创立，创办；vbl.(find的过去分词)找到

参考例句：

• I found him at home.我发现他在家。
• The United Nations was found in 1945.联合国于1945年成立。

24 had   

vbl.have的过去式和过去分词；conj.有

参考例句：

• I just had a good idea!我有个好主意！
• The boy had a small branch of a tree in his hand.这个男孩手上拿一条小树枝。

25 got   

v.(get的过去式)得到，猜到，明白

参考例句：

• I just got some bad news.我刚得到一些坏消息。
• I have got far too much work to do.我要做的事太多了。

26 herself   

pron.她自己

参考例句：

• The little girl wrote the letter all by herself. 这小女孩自己写了这封信。
• She should do her homework herself.她应该自己做作业。

27 gave   

vbl.（give的过去式）给予，产生，发表

参考例句：

• He asked for money and I gave him some.他要钱，我给了他一些。
• I gave you a map so you wouldn't get lost. 我给你一张地图，这样你就不会迷路了。

28 saying   

n.谚语，俗话，格言；动词say的现在分词

参考例句：

• Saying and doing are two things.说和做是两码事。
• I know a chinese saying.我知道一句中国谚语。

29 pat   

n.轻拍，拍打声；vt.轻拍，拍打；vi.轻跑，轻击；adv.适时，彻底；adj.油腔滑调的，恰好的，合适的

参考例句：

• Could you hear the pat?你能听到轻轻的拍击声吗？
• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。

30 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

31 mice   

n.（mouse的复数形式）老鼠

参考例句：

• I like fish and mice.我喜欢鱼和老鼠。
• Mice are small grey animals.老鼠是灰色的小动物。

32 alone   

adj.单独的，孤独的；adv.单独地，独自地；仅仅

参考例句：

• He often makes a round trip to the hospital alone.他经常一个人往返医院。
• It is dangerous for a girl to go out alone at night.一个女孩夜里单独外出是危险的。

33 nobody   

pron.无人，没有任何人

参考例句：

• Nobody is in the house.没有人在房子里。
• Nobody knows where she lives.没有人知道她住哪里。

34 shall   

v.aux.（主要用于第一人称）将

参考例句：

• I shall always love you.我将永远爱你。
• Which club shall we join?我们要参加哪个社团？

35 towards   

prep.朝，向，致力于，有助于，对于；大约，将近

参考例句：

• The house will be ready towards the end of the year.这房子在年底以前可以造好。
• He is friendly towards me.他对我友好。

36 perhaps   

adv.也许，可能

参考例句：

• Perhaps it will rain in the afternoon.下午可能有雨。
• Perhaps I can help you.也许我能帮帮你的忙吧。

37 thought   

n.想法，思想，思维，思潮，关心，挂念；v.vbl.think的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• It was just a thought.这仅仅是一个想法。
• She thought he had a cold.她认为他感冒了。