08年8.8第79期托福英语学习:托福词汇79
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!