胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇079

Lesson 79 A Strange Piece of Wood 一根奇怪的木头

Words:

 

dreary¹ adj. 沉闷的

 

drench² v. 使湿透

 

drift vi. 漂流，漂泊

 

driftwood n. 浮水

 

drill vt. 钻孔，打眼 n./vi. 训练，操练；反复练习；n. 钻头，钻机

 

drizzle³ v. 下毛毛雨n. 细雨

 

drought n. 干旱

 

drowsy⁴ adj. 昏昏欲睡的

 

drudgery⁵ n. 苦工，苦差事

 

dual⁶ adj. 二重的，两层的

 

ductile⁷ adj. 易延展的；柔软的

 

due adj. 预定的，到期的

 

dull adj. 钝的；感觉或理解迟钝的

 

dumb adj. 哑的

 

dumbbell-like adj. 哑铃形状的

 

dump vt. 倾泻，倾倒

 

dungeon⁸ n. 地牢

 

duplicate vt. 复写，复制; adj. 完全相同的，复制的

 

duplicity n. 欺骗，口是心非

 

durable⁹ adj. 持久的，耐用的

 

It was a warm and dreary afternoon at the beach. The only exciting occurrence was the unexpected drizzle. It had drenched¹⁰

my clothes. Since we were experiencing a drought on the island, the rain was a welcome relief.

 

I had just eaten my lunch. I was feeling somewhat drowsy. Suddenly, something in the distance caught my attention. I had spotted¹¹ a strange piece of driftwood. It was drifting in and out of the waves about fifty meters offshore¹². I immediately put on my durable swim fins¹³ and dived into the ocean. Upon reaching it, I noticed something else unusual. The shape of the wood was dumbbell-like and it had s message written on it. My curiosity caused me to drag it to the shore for further examination.

 

“I’m confined in a dungeon,” the message said. “I suffer through drudgery every day. I’m forced to pound and shape ductile metals into armor. I cannot speak because I have been dumb since birth. My drill is a bit dull, but it can still be used to write messages. I hope this piece of wood will be dumped into the ocean so that someone will find it. If you find it, please help me. I am due to be executed by the end of the year. I have not been able to duplicate this message, so you are my only hope.”

 

I thought for a moment. This must be a trick. How can a prisoner have a dual purpose drill in his possession? What a strange case of duplicity!

 

故事发生在海边一个温暖但沉闷的下午。唯一让人高兴的事情就是一场细雨不期而降，它淋湿了我的衣服。岛上正值干旱，所以这场及时雨使旱情得到了缓解。

 

我刚刚吃过午饭，感到有点昏昏欲睡。走到沙滩上，突然，我注意到远处一个什么东西。我辨认出那是一根奇怪的浮木。它漂浮在离岸边大约50米的海浪上，时隐时现。我迅速穿上耐用的潜水脚蹼，潜入海中。到跟前抓住它时，我注意到它有些异常：它的形状像个哑铃，上面还写着留言。好奇心促使我把它拖到岸上再进一步查看。

 

留言是这样写的：我正被囚禁在地牢里，每天我都在服苦役。他们强迫我把易延展的金属打至成盔甲。我不会说话，天生就是哑巴。我的钻头很钝，但仍可用来写留言。我真希望这根木头会被投进大海，这样就会有人发现它。如果你发现了，请你救救我。我预期在今年年底被处死刑。我无法复制留言，所以你是我唯一的希望。

 

我想了片刻，认为这一定是个骗局。一个囚犯如何会有一个有双重功能的钻头呢？多么力气的欺诈案呀！

1 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

2 drench   

v.使淋透，使湿透

参考例句：

• He met a drench of rain.他遇上一场倾盆大雨。
• They turned fire hoses on the people and drenched them.他们将消防水管对着人们，把他们浇了个透。

3 drizzle   

v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨

参考例句：

• The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小，最后变成了毛毛雨。
• Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨，今天果然下起来了。

4 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

5 drudgery   

n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作

参考例句：

• People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
• He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

6 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

7 ductile   

adj.易延展的，柔软的

参考例句：

• Steel in this class is tough，ductile and easily machined.这种钢强韧，延展性好，而且容易加工。
• The metal is very hard and strong and less ductile than before.金属会非常坚硬、坚固，并比以前减少了韧性。

8 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

9 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

10 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

12 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

13 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句