Short Story: ‘The Boarded Window’ by Ambrose Bierce

1.drooping adj.下垂的,无力的

例句:His encouraging words revived my drooping spirits.
      他令人鼓舞的话使我颓丧的精神振作起来。

2.unconsciousness n.无意识,意识不清,人事不省

例句:He slipped onto unconsciousness.
       他陷入昏迷状态。

3.affect vt.影响

例句:The tax increases have affected us all.
      加税已经影响了我们所有的人。

4.strain v.拉紧

例句:They strained the wire between two posts.
      他们拉紧了两根电线杆之间的电线。

5.stretch vt.vi.伸展; 拉紧

例句:Rubber stretches easily.
      橡胶的延展性很好。

     He rose and stretched himself.
     他站起身, 伸了伸懒腰。

6.incite vt.刺激, 激励, 煽动

例句:Insults incite resentment.
      侮辱激起仇恨。

      The captain's example incited the men to bravery.
      船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

1.Something other than years had been the cause of his aging.

other than除了

例句:Does anybody other than yourself know this?
      除你本人之外还有别人知道这事吗?

绝不是

例句:I have never known him behave other than selfishly.
      我知道他一向自私自利。

2.She had died so many years before him that local tradition noted very little of her existence.


so that引导结果状语从句

3.She was in no condition to be left alone while he went to find help.

in no condition身体状况不适合

例句:You is in no condition to outside.
      你绝不能出去。

      He is in no condition to attend school.
       他的情况不适于上学。

安布罗斯·比尔斯(1842—1914)是对早期科幻文学创作有所贡献的作家之一。比尔斯曾在美国南北战争中服役于联盟军,战争结束后,他在旧金山成为一名记者,同时,也成为当时美国西海岸地区主要的作家。他的小说集有《战士和平民的故事》(1891)、怎能如此)(1893)和《在生活中)(1898)等三部。比尔斯对神秘、恐怖题材的小说创作兴趣浓厚。 比尔斯借现实主义手法服务于幻想小说的创作,他善于用平淡朴素的语言描绘古怪奇异的消失现象和最神秘可怕的事件,并将它们构筑于普普人的平常事务中。故事的感染力从现实与幻觉的紧张冲突中凸现出来。在许多年后,比尔斯的这一创作技巧才被为数不多的后世作家继承。 比尔斯的许多小说带有一点心理分析的味道,这使他的故事读来更有一种逼真如现的感觉。