多功能英语阅读12 The Last Charge

The Last Charge

Sergeant¹ Davidson, the descendant of European immigrants, began to sweat

as the roaring hot sun began to bear down on him. Sweat leaked out from the

bumps of his spine² and began to darken sections of his light gray Confederate

Army uniform. Davidson sighed with fatigue³. Everything reeled before his eyes.

Small drops of sweat trickled⁴ down his coarse face, as well as down his back.

Davidson had his Confederate Infantry⁵ cap tilted⁶ slightly, hoping to keep the

burning sun rays in the drought from scorching⁷ his already well tanned face,

especially his nose which had begun to have dead skin peel, owing to an awful

sunburn.

As he licked his dry lips, he began to reflect on the beginning of the war.

Upon hearing of the attack on Fort Sumter, Davidson eagerly enlisted⁸ in the

Confederate army of Georgia the very next day. Growing up, ha had idolized his

grandfather for having fought in the Revolutionary war and expelling the British.

Now, he saw himself in his grandfather's position. Only, the tyrant⁹ was not

King George, but rather Abraham Lincoln. In fact, he tried his hardest to stay

out of the political situation as a whole. He never cared much for Democrats¹⁰ or

Republicans, tariffs¹¹ or taxes.

Davidson grew up in a poor household near a swamp, the oldest of four other

children. All boys. The Davidsons were so poor, that the boys could not even

finish secondary school, but rather worked long hours on their barren field to

help the family's pitiful financial situation. All of the boys had little literacy.

Later when he joined the army in the turbulent colonial period, Davidson sent almost

all of his pay home to help his parent's debt. Since the Davidsons were so poor they

had to rely on their sons working to pay the bills. So by no means could they ever

afford a slave, even though it wasn't abnormal at all. They were like most

Southerners. Since Davidson could never possibly own a slave, like most Confederate

soldiers, he certainly wasn't fighting to preserve a practice that he would have no

chance at being a part of. But if not for shaking off the yoke¹² of slavery, then for

what?

State's Rights? Personal hatred¹³? Rivalry¹⁴ that could never be reconciled? Morality?

Fellowship? Salvation¹⁵ of the soul in repression¹⁶? Davidson wanted one thing: Glory. He

wanted to be hailed a hero the same way his grandfather was. Yet, as most Americans

learned, no matter what side they fought on, there wasn't much glory in seeing a man's

insides blown out. Nor in seeing worms nesting in the mouths of dead soldiers and

crippled soldiers with bandages and stitches all over their bodies. And neither in

witnessing wild wolves feasting on the livers and kidneys of the corpses¹⁷ of Union and

Confederate dead alike. Their hearts wrenched¹⁸ at the horreble sight.

Yet, Davidson and his comrades managed to march on to break the siege and

reclaim¹⁹ a lost position in the flank. They were fueled by the belief that they would

endure until final conquest.

The young Davidson, who had absolutely no rigorous military training before

he volunteered, was dispatched to the battlefield and learned quickly the rules of

survival on the battlefield.

As he lay huddled²⁰ in the trench²¹ with the other recruits, he turned his head around

to gaze up at the aky. It was a cloudless day, which only made it more unbearably²² hot.

Davidson's ice blue eyes focused on the sun's radiance, only to look away quickly before

they damaged. The young Sergeant began to worry. The dynamic momentrm of the war had

consumed him to the point where he truly had no idea what state they were in.

Now, he was simply a skeleton of his former self. His outline was there, but the will

for battle on the inside, was gone. The war was lost and what would happen to him? Could

he really become an ordinary civilian²³ and go back to the lowliest, thankless jobs to pay

his debts? He had no one to really go back to. No lover. No friends, since they had all

been killed in combat. It had been with him every day he woke up and every night when he

fell asleep.

Before he could contemplate²⁴ his future any longer, the Lieutenant²⁵ stood up. He hoisted²⁶

a flag into the air and screamed "Charge!" And so, they obeyed. The rebel yell of slogans

rose up once again as they rushed to sweep the Union position. Davidson at last knew that

this was his destiny. To meet death in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, as it had been

to their predecessors²⁷ for centuries.

However, fate would rob even that from Sergeant Davidson. For as they neared thier

target, the Union troops unveiled a new weapon. The first machine gun. From a hundred

yards away, the bullets sliced through the vulnerable Confederate charge and the attack

was quickly repelled²⁸. Davidson along with all the rest was simply ripped to shreds²⁹. The

American soldiers slaughtered³⁰ other American soldiers in the new way of war. Cold,

impersonal³¹, and mechanized.

Davidson and his comrades were struck down in matter of minutes. Out of decency³²,

the Union troops buried the platoon in a separate grave for each. Then, the northern

soldiers went back to their camp and waited for the next enemy to come by.

And so, the flesh and blood of the old fashioned soldiers had come face to face

with the iron and steel of the mechanized warriors³³ of tomorrow... only to be crushed

under the grinding wheels of the prolonged war.

1 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

2 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

3 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

4 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

6 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

7 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

8 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

12 yoke   

n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶

参考例句：

• An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
• The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。

13 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

14 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

15 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

16 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

17 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

18 wrenched   

v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
• He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

20 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

21 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

22 unbearably   

adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌

参考例句：

• It was unbearably hot in the car. 汽车里热得难以忍受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She found it unbearably painful to speak. 她发现开口说话痛苦得令人难以承受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

24 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

25 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

26 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

27 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

29 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

30 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 impersonal   

adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的

参考例句：

• Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。

32 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

33 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。