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08年8.8第79期托福英语学习:托福词汇79

2008-11-12来源:

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

  Words:

  dreary adj. 沉闷的

  drench 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

  drizzle v. 下毛毛雨n. 细雨

  drought n. 干旱

  drowsy adj. 昏昏欲睡的

  drudgery n. 苦工,苦差事

  dual adj. 二重的,两层的

  ductile 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

  dungeon 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

  durable 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 drenched

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 spotted a strange piece of driftwood. It was drifting in and out of the waves about fifty meters offshore. I immediately put on my durable swim fins 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!