Face to Face with Guns.docx

Face to Face with Guns.docx

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FacetoFacewithGuns

FacetoFacewithGuns

Likemostcityfolks,I'mcautious.Iscanthestreetandpathwaysforanything—oranyone—unusualbeforepullingintothegarage.Thatnightwasnoexception.But,asIwalkedoutofthegarage,KFCchickeninhand,aportly,unshavenyoungmaninastockingcapanddarknylonjacketemergedfromtheshrubbytheparkingpadandputhispistolbetweenmyeyes.

"Giveitup,mother—,"hethreatened."Giveitup."

"Hey,"Isaid,"justtakeit."AsIspoke,IsettheKFCboxontheplanterbesidethepathway,contrivingasIdidsototossmyhousekeysintoabush.

"Where'syourmoney?

Where'syourmoney?

"hebarked.Everythinghesaidduringourencounterwasrepeated;instinctively,Ididthesame.

"It'sinmywallet.It'sinmywallet,"Isaid.

Hemovedbehindme,puthisgunonmyneckandbegantosearchmytrousers'pockets.

"Where'syourwallet?

"heasked.

"It'sinmybackpocket."

"Where'stherestofyourmoney?

"

"Idon'thaveanymoremoney."

"Where'syourwatch?

"

"Here,"Ireplied,extendingmyleftarmsideways.

Justthen,hispartnerappeared.Slightandshorter,heheldanenlargedbluesteelpistol.Hisdarkeyesshonelikepolishedglass;hisarmsandlegsmovedunexpectedly,asifattachedtounseenwires.

Hisvoicesnapped,"Stoplookingatus.Stoplookingatus."

Hewasn'tstupid.I'veseenenoughcriminaltrialstoknowvictimsofarmedattacksareseldomabletoidentifytheiroffendersbecausetheirattentionfocusesontheguns,ratherthanontheirusers.Iconsciouslynoteddetailsoftheirfaces.

"I'mnotlookingatyou,"Iliedasthebigonerippedthewatchfrommywrist.

"Getdown.Getdown,"thethinoneordered.Hegrabbedmyglassesandtossedthemontothelawn.

Bythen,Iwasflatonmyfaceonthepathway,itsdirtagainstmyforehead.Thebigone'sgundugintothebackofmyhead,thethinone'spistolintomylefttemple.

Ithought,"Iamgoingtodie.ThisisgoingtokillLeslie.Lord,havemercyonme,asinner."

"What'sthis?

"thebigoneasked.

Irolledmyheadtotheright.

"It'sKFCchicken,"Isaid.

"We'lltakeit,"thebigonesnapped.

And,suddenly—wallet,watchandchickeninhand—theirfootstepsfadeddownthedarkenedstreet.

Iturnedtoseetheirshadowsgetintoacarandspeedaway.

Ihadbeenspared,butbywhat?

Mercy?

Ashortattentionspan?

Hunger?

"Howpeculiar,"Ithought,"tohaveyourlifesavedbyfriedchicken.Isaweternity;theysawfood."

Igottomyfeet,foundthekeys,enteredandcalled911.Theoperatortookadescriptionoftherobbersandsentapolicecar.Ipouredastiffdrinkand,soon,twouniformedofficersoftheLAPDarrived.Theytookareportandadmittedthe"importantthing"wasnobodywashurt.

"But,"oneofficersaidonleaving,"takingyourchicken,that'srough."

Later,anofficertelephonedforadditionaldetails.Hesaidthepair'smethodssuggestedtheymightbethesamemenwhohadcommittedanumberofrobberiesintheareaoverthepastfewmonths.Heaskedmetocometothestationandlookthroughmugshots.

So,lastMondayIlookedthroughalbum-sizedbooksofpicturesmostlyofyoungmen—anamazingnumberofthemactuallychildren.

Turningthosepagesandstudyingtheirphotographsislikeflowingonasadcurrentthat,likeBlake'sThames,seemsto"markineveryface,marksofweakness,marksofwoe."

Together,theseyoungmenareakindofriver—onethatisoutofcontrol,eatingatthefoundationsofthingsweholddear:

ourfreedomtomoveabout;thefruitsoflabor;ourownlivesandthoseofpeoplewevalue.Someday,wewillhavetofacethisriverandseekthedepthsofitsdiscontent.

Presently,allwecandoislookatmugshotsandstickourfingersinthedam.

Words:

687

NEWWORDS

cautious

a.takinggreatcaretoescapepossibledanger十分小心的，谨慎的

unusual

a.notexpectedorusual异乎寻常的，不平常的

exception

n.apersonorthingthatisnotincluded除外，例外；除外的人或事

shave

v.removehairfromthefaceoranotherpartofthebodywitharazor剃胡须，剃去……上的毛发

unshaven

a.notrecentlyshaved未剃须的，未修面的，有短髭的

stocking

n.（usu.pl.）长（统）袜，袜子

stockingcap圆锥形绒线帽，针织帽

nylon

a.&n.耐纶（制的），尼龙的；耐纶织品，尼龙织品

▲shrub

n.asmallbush灌木

pad

n.1.（停车的）地方，（简易机场的）飞机起落段

2.垫，衬垫

▲pistol

n.asmallgunthatoneholdsinonehand手枪

▲contrive

v.managetodoormakesomethingalthoughtherearedifficulties设法做到

▲toss

vt.throwintoorthroughtheair扔，抛，掷

bark

v.1.speaktosomeoneinaloudvoicewithanangryoraggressivetone厉声地说，咆哮

2.（usedaboutdogs）makealoud,shortnoiseornoises（狗）吠，叫

instinct

n.naturalhabitofbehavinginaparticularway,withoutthinkingandwithouthavingbeentaught本能，天性

instinctively

ad.（出于）本能地，（出于）天性地

▲wallet

n.asmallcasemadeofcloth,animalskinorplastic,etc.carriedinthepocketandusedforholdingpapermoney,personalpapers,etc.皮夹子

trousers

n.（尤指男子穿的）长裤，西（装）裤

sideway（s）

ad.toortowardsoneside（斜）向一边（或一侧），向旁边

slight

a.1.thinandlight瘦小的

2.small;notgreat;notverybad少量的；轻微的；不严重的

enlarge

vt.makesth.larger扩大，扩展，使增大

polish

v.1.makesth.smoothandshinybyrubbing擦，擦光，擦亮

2.improve使完美，改进

unexpected

a.notexpected;sudden没有料到的，突如其来的

unexpectedly

ad.inawaythatisnotexpected没有料到地，突如其来地

attach

vt.tieorjoinsth.tosth.else系，贴；连接

criminal

a.againstlaw犯罪的，犯法的，刑事的

n.apersonwhoisatfaultinacrime罪犯

victim

n.apersonwhosuffersharmordeathasaresultofsomeoneelse'sactionoranaturalterribleevent,etc.受害者，牺牲者

offend

v.1.breakalaw,etc.违法，违犯

2.makesomeonefeelupsetorangry冒犯，触怒

offender

n.apersonwhooffendsagainstthelaw犯法的人，犯规的人

user

n.apersonwhousesparticulargoods,machinesorservices使用者，用户

detail

n.（oftenpl.）asmallpartorpiece细节，详情

▲rip

vt.removesth.withspeedandviolence,usingone'shands;tear猛力扯掉，移去或去除

wrist

n.thepartofone'sarmatthejointbetweenhandandforearm腕，腕关节

lawn

n.anareaofgrassinagardenorparkthatisregularlycut草坪，草地

dirt

n.matterthatisnotclean,suchasdustorwetearth污物，烂泥，灰尘

forehead

n.thepartofthefaceabovetheeyebrows额，前额

temple

n.eitheroftheflatpartsofone'sheadatthesideoftheforehead太阳穴

lord

n.（intheChristianfaith）GodorJesusChrist上帝，耶稣基督

mercy

n.kindnesstosb.慈悲，怜悯，仁慈

sin

n.wrong;awickedact,especiallyonethatbreaksareligiouslaw（违背道德规范的）罪；罪恶；（违犯宗教戒律的）罪孽

vi.dowrongtocommitasin违反教规，违犯戒律，犯罪

sinner

n.apersonwhosins（宗教、道德上的）罪人

footstep

n.thesoundmadebywalking脚步（声）

span

n.thefulltimeforwhichanythinglasts一段时间，持续时间

fry

vt.cookinhotoilorfat油煎，油炒

eternal

a.withoutend;lastingforever永恒的，永久的，不断的

▲eternity

n.1.thestateortimeafterdeath不朽，来世

2.timewithoutend永恒，无穷

operator

n.1.someonewhoconnectstelephonecalls电话接线员，机务员，话务员

2.someonewhoworksamachine操作员，技工

rob

vt.stealfromaperson,place,etc.抢劫

robber

n.apersonwhostealsfromaperson,place,etc.抢劫者；强盗，盗贼

robbery

n.thecrimeofstealingfromaperson,place,etc.抢劫罪，抢劫（案）

stiffa.1.（usedaboutalcoholicdrink）strong（酒）浓的，烈性的

2.Veryfirm;noteasilybentorfolded;rigid僵硬的，挺的，不易弯曲的

additional

a.extra额外的，另外的

current

n.acontinuousflowingmovementofwater,air,etc.（水、空气等的）流，潮流

a.fromoraboutthepresenttime现时的，当前的

■woe

n.[U]greatsadness哀愁

foundation

n.1.theidea,law,orfactonwhichsth.isbased基础，基本原理，根据

2.anorganizationestablishedwithmoneysothatitmaycontinueintothefuture基金会3.theactoffoundingsth.建立，设立

presently

ad.1.now现在，目前

2.soon不久，一会儿

dam

n.awallbuiltacrossarivertoholdbackthewaterandformalakebehindit坝，堤

PHRASESANDEXPRESSIONS

facetoface（with）

1.closetoandlookingatsomeoneorsomething面对面的／地

2.noescapefromsth.andhaveingtodealwithit无法逃避，只能去处理

pullinto

arriveandstop;moveto（oneside）（车）停靠；驶向（一旁等）

asif

withtheappearanceof;apparently好像

attachto

fixsth.tosth.else;jointo系在……上；连接到……上

ratherthan

insteadof;lesslikely而不

havemercyonsomeone

showkindnesstoanenemy,sinner,onewhodoeswrong,etc.可怜某人

gettoone'sfeet

standup站起来

lookthrough

lookquicklyin;examineorstudycarefully浏览；仔细检查

beoutofcontrol

beimpossibletodealwithorguide失去控制

eat（away）at

damageordestroybitbybit逐渐毁掉，侵蚀

PROPERNAMES

KFC

KentuckyFriedChicken肯德基炸鸡连锁店

Leslie

莱斯利（人名）

LAPD

theLosAngelesPoliceDepartment洛杉矶警察局

Blake

布莱克（1757-1827，英国诗人和版画家）

Thames

（the~）英国英格兰南部泰晤士河（流经牛津、伦敦等