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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
CHAPTER 2
The Mail
It was the Dover road that lay, on a Friday night late in November, before the first of the persons with whom this history has business. The Dover road lay, as to him, beyond the Dover mail, as it lumbered1 up Shooter's Hill. He walked uphill in the mire2 by the side of the mail, as the rest of the passengers did; not because they had the least relish3 for walking exercise, under the circumstances, but because the hill, and the harness, and the mud, and the mail, were all so heavy that the horses had three times already come to a stop, beside once drawing the coach across the road, with the mutinous4 intent of taking it back to Blackheath. Reins5 and whip and coachman and guard, however, in combination, had read that article of war which forbad a purpose otherwise strongly in favour of the argument, that some brute6 animals are endued7 with Reason; and the team had capitulated and returned to their duty.
With drooping8 heads and tremulous tails, they mashed9 their way through the thick mud, floundering and stumbling he between whiles, as if they were falling to pieces at the large joints10. As often as the driver rested them and brought them to a stand, with a wary11 `Wo-ho! so-ho then!' the near leader violently shook his head and everything upon it--like an unusually emphatic12 horse, denying that the coach could be got up the hill. Whenever the leader made this rattle13, the passenger started, as a nervous passenger might, and was disturbed in mind.
There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it hat roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none. A clammy and intensely cold mist, made its slow way through the air in ripples14 that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the waves of an unwholesome sea might do. It was dense15 enough to shut out everything from the light of the coach-lamps but these its own workings and a few yards of road; and the reek16 of the labouring horse steamed into it, as if they had made it all.
Two other passengers, besides the one, were plodding17 up the hill by the side of the mail. All three were wrapped to the cheek-bones and over the ears, and wore jack-boots. Not one of the three could have said, from anything he saw, what either of the other two was like; and each was hidden under almost as many wrappers from the eyes of the mind, as from the eyes of the body, of his two companions. In those days, travellers were very shy of being confidential18 on short notice, for anybody on the road might be a robber or in league with robbers. As to the latter, when every posting-house and ale-house could produce somebody in `the Captain's' pay, ranging from the landlord to the lowest stable nondescript, it was the likeliest thing upon the cards. So the guard of the Dover mail thought to himself, that Friday night in November, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, lumbering19 up Shooter's Hill, as he stood on his own particular perch20 behind the mail, beating his feet, and keeping an eye and a hand on the arm-chest before him, where a loaded blunderbuss lay at the top of six or eight loaded horse-pistols, deposited on a substratum of cutlass.
The Dover mail was in its usual genial21 position that the guard suspected the passengers, the passengers suspected one another and the guard, they all suspected everybody else, and the coachman was sure of nothing but the horses; as to which cattle he could with a clear conscience have taken his oath on the two Testaments22 that they were not fit for the journey.
`Wo-ho!' said the coachman. `So, then One more pull and you're at the top and be damned to you, for I have had trouble enough to get you to it--Joe!'
`Halloa' the guard replied.
`What o'clock do you make it, Joe?'
`Ten minutes, good, past eleven.'
`My blood' ejaculated the vexed23 coachman, `and not atop of Shooter's yet! Tst! Yah! Get on with you!'
The emphatic horse, cut short by the whip in a most decided24 negative, made a decided scramble25 for it, and the three other horses followed suit. Once more, the Dover mail struggled on, with the jack-boots of its passengers squashing along by its side. They had stopped when the coach stopped, and they kept close company with it. If any one of the three had had the hardihood to propose to another to walk on a little ahead into the mist and darkness, he would have put himself in a fair way of getting shot instantly as a highwayman.
The last burst carried the mail to the summit of the hill. The horses stopped to breathe again, and the guard got down to skid26 the wheel for the descent, and open the coach-door to let the passengers in.
`Tst Joe!' cried the coachman in a warning voice, looking down from his box.
What do you say, Tom?'
They both listened.
`I say a horse at a canter coming up, Joe.'
`I say a horse at a gallop27, Tom,' returned the guard, leaving his hold of the door, and mounting nimbly to his place. `Gentlemen! In the king's name, all of you!'
With this hurried adjuration28, he cocked his blunderbuss, and stood on the offensive.
The passenger booked by this history, was on the coach-step: getting in; the two other passengers were close behind him, and about to follow. He remained on the step, half in the coach and half out of it; they remained in the road below him. They all looked from the coachman to the guard, and from the guard to the coachman, and listened. The coachman looked back and the guard looked back, and even the emphatic leader pricked29 up his ears and looked back, without contradicting.
The stillness consequent on the cessation of the rumbling30 and labouring of the coach, added to the stillness of he night made it very quiet indeed. The panting of the horses communicated a tremulous motion to the coach, as if it were in a state o] agitation31. The hearts of the passengers beat loud enough perhaps to be heard; but at any rate, the quiet pause was audibly expressive32 of people out of breath, and holding the breath, an' having the pulses quickened by expectation.
The sound of a horse at a gallop came fast and furiously up the hill.
`So-ho!' the guard sang out, as loud as he could roar. `Yo there! Stand! I shall fire!'
The pace was suddenly checked, and, with much splashing and floundering, a man's voice called from the mist, `Is that the Dover mail?'
`Never you mind what it is?' the guard retorted. `Wham are you?'
`Is that the Dover mail?'
`Why do you want to know?'
`I want a passenger, if it is.'
`What passenger?',
`Mr. Jarvis Lorry.'
Our booked passenger showed in a moment that it was his name. The guard, the coachman, and the two other passengers eyed him distrustfully.
`Keep where you are,' the guard called to the voice in the mist, `because, if I should make a mistake, it could never be set right in your lifetime. Gentleman of the name of Lorry answer straight.'
`What is the matter?' asked the passenger, then, with mildly quavering speech. `Who wants me? Is it Jerry?'
(`I don't like Jerry's voice, if it is Jerry,' growled33 the guard to himself. `He's hoarser35 than suits me, is Jerry.')
`Yes, Mr. Lorry.'
`What is the matter?'
`A despatch36 sent after you from over yonder. T. and Co.'
`I know this messenger, guard,' said Mr. Lorry, getting down into the road--assisted from behind more swiftly than politely by the other two passengers, who immediately scrambled37 into he coach, shut the door, and pulled, up the window. `He may come close; there's nothing wrong.'
`I hope there ain't, but I can't make so `Nation sure of that,' said the guard, in gruff soliloquy. `Hallo you!'
`Well! And hallo you!' said Jerry, more hoarsely38 than before.
`Come on at a footpace! d'ye mind me? And if you've got holsters to that saddle o' yourn, don't let me see your hand go nigh 'em. For I'm a devil at a quick mistake, and when I make one it takes the form of Lead. So now let's look at you.'
The figures of a horse and rider came slowly through the eddying39 mist, and came to the side of the mail, where the passenger stood. The rider stooped, and, casting up his eyes at the guard, handed the passenger a small folded paper. The rider's horse was blown, and both horse and rider were covered with mud, from the hoofs40 of the horse to the hat of the man.
`Guard!' said the passenger, in a tone of quiet business confidence.
The watchful41 guard, with his right hand at the stock of his raised blunderbuss, his left at the barrel, and his eye On the horseman, answered curtly42, `Sir.'
`There is nothing to apprehend43. I belong to Tellson's Bank. You must know Tellson's Bank in London. I am going to Paris on business. A crown to drink. I may read this?'
`If so be as you're quick, sir.'
He opened it in the light of the coach-lamp on that side, and read--first to himself and then aloud: `"Wait at Door for Mam'selle." It's not long, you see, guard. Jerry, say that my answer was, RECALLED TO LIFE.'
Jerry started in his saddle. `That`s a Blazing strange answer, too,' said he, at his hoarsest44.
`Take that message back, and they will know that I received this, as well as if I wrote. Make the best of your way. Good night.'
With those words the passenger opened tile coach-door and got in; not at all assisted by his fellow-passengers, who had expeditiously45 secreted46 their watches and purses in their boots, and were now making a general pretence47 of being asleep. With no more definite purpose than to escape the hazard of originating any other kind of action.
The coach lumbered on again, with heavier wreaths of mist closing round it as it began the descent. The guard soon replaced his blunderbuss in his arm-chest, and, having looked to the rest of its contents, and having looked to the supplementary48 pistols that he wore in his belt, looked to a smaller chest beneath his seat, in which there were a few smith's tools, a couple of torches, and a tinder-box. For he was furnished with that completeness that if the coach-lamps had been blown and stormed out, which did occasionally happen, he had only to shut himself up inside, keep the flint and steel sparks well off the straw, and get a light with tolerable safety and ease (if he were lucky) in five minutes.
`Tom!' softly over the coach-roof.
`Hallo, Joe.'
`Did you hear the message?'
`I did, Joe.'
`What did you make of it, Tom?'
`Nothing at all, Joe.'
`That's a coincidence, too,' the guard mused49, `for I made the same of it myself Jerry, left alone in the mist and darkness, dismounted meanwhile, not only to ease his spent horse, but to wipe the mud from his face, and shake the wet out of his hat-brim, which might be capable of holding about half a gallon. After standing50 with the bridle51 over his heavily-splashed arm, until the wheels of the mail were no longer within hearing and the night was quite still again, he turned to walk down the hill.
`After that there gallop from Temple Bar, old lady, I won't trust your fore-legs till I get you on the level,' said this hoarse34 messenger, glancing at his mare52. `"Recalled to life." That's a Blazing strange message. Much of that wouldn't do for you Jerry! I say, Jerry! You'd be in a Blazing bad way, if recalling to life was to come into fashion, Jerry!'
收听单词发音 |
1
lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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mire
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| n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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endued
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| v.授予，赋予（特性、才能等）( endue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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mashed
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| a.捣烂的 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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reek
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| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
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plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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testaments
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| n.遗嘱( testament的名词复数 )；实际的证明 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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skid
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| v.打滑 n.滑向一侧；滑道 ，滑轨 | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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adjuration
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| n.祈求，命令 | |
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pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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hoarser
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| （指声音）粗哑的，嘶哑的( hoarse的比较级 ) | |
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despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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44
hoarsest
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| （指声音）粗哑的，嘶哑的( hoarse的最高级 ) | |
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expeditiously
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| adv.迅速地，敏捷地 | |
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secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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47
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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48
supplementary
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| adj.补充的，附加的 | |
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49
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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51
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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52
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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