时间:2018-12-18 作者:英语课 分类:现代大学英语精读


英语课

  Text A Mercy at Appomattox

I'm not a Civil War buff. I've never heard the old battlefields like Gettysburg and Chickamauga calling to me to walk over them and re-enact what happened there. The story is just too sad.

But one Civil War site did keep beckoning 1 to me — not one where the armies fought but the one where they stopped fighting: Appomattox.

To see it I flew to Richmond and drove west across southern Virginia, choosing a route that would take me over terrain 2 that Gen. Robert E. Lee covered with his Confederate army in its last week.

For nine months Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had been dug in near Petersburg, south of Richmond. On April 2nd, his railroad lifeline cut by the North, Lee retreated. But Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was in close pursuit, and by April 6th it was all over. Union troops routed almost a fifth of Lee's army at Sayler's Creek 3 and took some 7000 prisoners. Hearing the news, Lee said, "My God! Has the army been dissolved?" It largely had. Hungry and exhausted 4, huge numbers of soldiers had dropped out, and the army was down to 30,000 men when Lee, hurrying west, received a note from Grant calling on him to surrender.

Outnumbered and almost encircled, Lee considered his dwindling 5 options. One officer suggested that the troops could disperse 6 and carry on as guerrillas. Lee refused; further fighting, he explained, would only inflict 7 needless pain on regions of the South that had been spared the havoc 8 of war. "There is nothing left me but to go and see General Grant," he said, "and I would rather die a thousand deaths." On April 9th, Lee sent his aide, Lt. Col. Charles Marshall, into the nearby village of Appomattox Court House to find a suitable place for the two men to meet.

My schoolboy memory was that Grant and Lee actually met in a courthouse. They didn't, as I learned on my visit; in 19th-century southern Virginia, certain towns that served as the county seat had the words Court House appended to their name. But in fact, when Colonel Marshall rode into town it was Palm Sunday and the courthouse was closed. Almost nothing was stirring. Only about 100 people — half of them slaves — lived in the village, and many white homeowners, hearing the rumble 9 of armies, had left. One who remained, a merchant named Wilmer McLean, was persuaded by Colonel Marshall to allow his home to be used for the surrender.

Lee arrived first, wearing full dress uniform, with a sash and a presentation sword. Grant, who had outraced his baggage wagon 10, was in his customary field uniform, with muddy trousers tucked into muddy boots. Seated in McLean's parlor 11, the two men chatted amiably 12 about their Army days in the Mexican War. Finally, Lee brought up "the object of our present meeting." Grant took out a pencil, rapidly wrote out the terms of surrender, and handed the paper to Lee.

"This will have a very happy effect on my army," Lee said after reading the terms, which, far from hounding the enemy with reprisals 13, simply let them all go home. Lee mentioned that many of his men owned their horses and asked if those horses could be kept. Grant agreed. He said he assumed that most of the men were small farmers, and without their horses he doubted that they would be able to put in a crop to get through the next winter.

"This will do much toward conciliating our people," Lee replied. In parting, he told Grant that he would be returning some Union prisoners because he didn't have any provisions for them — or, in fact, for his own men. Grant said he would send 25,000 rations 14 to Lee's army.

When word of the surrender reached the nearby Union headquarters it touched off a spree of cannon 15 firing. Grant put an end to it. "The war is over — the rebels are our countrymen again," he told his staff. He felt that he couldn't exult 16 in the downfall of a foe 17 who had fought so long and valiantly 18. Catching 19 the clemency 20 of the moment, the Union troops decided 21 not to wait for the official delivery of food to the defeated enemy. They went to the Confederate camps and emptied their haversacks of the beef, bacon, sugar and other delicacies 22 that the rebels had long gone without.

On April 12, four years to the day after the attack on Fort Sumter which started the war, Lee's Confederate troops marched into the village and stacked their arms. Here the final act of healing that runs through the whole Appomattox story took place, set in motion by another remarkable 23 figure — Joshua L. Chamberlain, the Union general designated to receive the surrender. A Bowdoin College professor who left to enlist 24 in the army, Chamberlain won a battlefield commission for repeated acts of bravery and was wounded six times, once so severely 25 that an army doctor gave him up for dead.

Now, with his soldiers standing 26 at attention, General Chamberlain watched the first ragged 27 Confederate soldiers coming up the road, led by Gen. John B. Gordon.

"The momentous 28 meaning of this occasion impressed me deeply," Chamberlain later wrote. "I resolved to mark it by some token of recognition: which could be no other than a salute 29 of arms. I was well aware of the criticisms that would follow. My main reason, however, was one for which I sought no authority nor asked forgiveness. Before us in proud humiliation 30 stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils 31 and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing there before us, thin, worn and famished 32, but erect 33, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond. Was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured?"

Responding to his command, "instantly our whole line, regiment 34 by regiment, gave the soldier's salutation, from the 'order arms' to the old 'carry'— the marching salute. Gordon, at the head of the column, riding with heavy spirit and downcast face, caught the sound of shifting arms, looked up and, taking the meaning, wheeled superbly, making with himself and with his horse one uplifted figure, with profound salutation as he dropped the point of his sword to the boot toe; then facing to his own command, he gave word for his successive brigades to pass us with the same position .., honor answering honor. On our part, not a sound of trumpet 35 more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, but an awed 36 stillness rather, and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead!"

From early morning until late afternoon the saluting 37 soldiers of the South marched past the saluting Union soldiers, stacked their rifles and tattered 38 Confederate flags and started for home. Counting the Union troops, almost 100,000 men had been in Appomattox Court House. A few days later they were all gone.

"After the surrender the village went right back into its cocoon," I was told by Ron Wilson, historian of Appomattox Court House, which is now a National Park Service site consisting of the reconstructed McLean house and courthouse and more than 20 smaller buildings. He and I were sitting on the porch of the restored Clover Hill Tavern 39 where printing presses ordered by Grant had printed 28,231 parole passes for the Confederate soldiers. We were looking across a vista 40 of overwhelming stillness. The road that the surrendering rebels took into the village climbed across countryside so recognizable from 19th-century paintings that I almost expected to see them coming down the road again.

Today the site gets roughly 110,000 tourists a year. "They come to Appomattox because they really want to — it's off the usual path," said superintendent 41 John B. Montgomery "They're looking for inspiration. The story we try to tell is not the final battle. It's the reconciliation 42 of the country and the generous terms offered by Grant. He didn't play the conquering hero."

That theme of forgiveness and reconciliation kept booming in my ears through the stillness at Appomattox. "Grant and Lee had to look far into the future," said Wilson. "They knew that the energies that had been given to divisions for so many years would have to be devoted 43 to rebuilding the country. There was no vindictiveness 44."

Three people were strongly alive to me there. Two of them, Lee and Grant, continued to radiate powerful qualities that Americans still honor: one, symbolizing 45 nobility and the aristocratic tradition of the old South, and the other symbolizing the self-made common man of the new North, Midwest and West.

The third person was the inescapable Lincoln. Appomattox was, finally, his show. I could almost see him standing over the little table in the McLean house where Grant sat scribbling 46 his terms. I knew that Lincoln had often spoken of wanting a merciful peace, but I didn't know whether he and Grant had found time to discuss it. Ron Wilson said they had met just two weeks earlier — on the River Queen, in the James River — and had talked at length about the rapidly approaching end of the war and the disarray 47 it was bound to bring.

"You just know," Wilson told me, "that Lincoln said, 'Let'em down easy.'



1 beckoning
adj.引诱人的,令人心动的v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的现在分词 )
  • An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句
  • He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句
2 terrain
n.地面,地形,地图
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。
3 creek
n.小溪,小河,小湾
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
4 exhausted
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
5 dwindling
adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )
  • The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句
6 disperse
vi.使分散;使消失;vt.分散;驱散
  • The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
  • The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。
7 inflict
vt.(on)把…强加给,使遭受,使承担
  • Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
  • Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。
8 havoc
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱
  • The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
  • This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。
9 rumble
n.隆隆声;吵嚷;v.隆隆响;低沉地说
  • I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
  • We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定,天要下雨了。
10 wagon
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
11 parlor
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
  • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
  • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店?
12 amiably
adv.和蔼可亲地,亲切地
  • She grinned amiably at us. 她咧着嘴向我们亲切地微笑。
  • Atheists and theists live together peacefully and amiably in this country. 无神论者和有神论者在该国和睦相处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 reprisals
n.报复(行为)( reprisal的名词复数 )
  • They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
  • They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 rations
定量( ration的名词复数 ); 配给量; 正常量; 合理的量
  • They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
  • The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。
15 cannon
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮
  • The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
  • The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。
16 exult
v.狂喜,欢腾;欢欣鼓舞
  • Few people would not exult at the abolition of slavery.奴隶制被废除了,人们无不为之欢乐鼓舞。
  • Let's exult with the children at the drawing near of Children's Day.六一儿童节到了,让我们陪着小朋友们一起欢腾。
17 foe
n.敌人,仇敌
  • He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
  • A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌,友是友,必须分清界限。
18 valiantly
adv.勇敢地,英勇地;雄赳赳
  • He faced the enemy valiantly, shuned no difficulties and dangers and would not hesitate to lay down his life if need be. 他英勇对敌,不避艰险,赴汤蹈火在所不计。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Murcertach strove valiantly to meet the new order of things. 面对这个新事态,默克塔克英勇奋斗。 来自辞典例句
19 catching
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
20 clemency
n.温和,仁慈,宽厚
  • The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题,将由国王决定。
  • They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。
21 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
22 delicacies
n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 );精致;精美的食物;周到
  • Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后,狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
23 remarkable
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
24 enlist
vt.谋取(支持等),赢得;征募;vi.入伍
  • They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
  • The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会,支持他们的正义斗争。
25 severely
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
26 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
27 ragged
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
28 momentous
adj.重要的,重大的
  • I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合,我深感荣幸。
  • The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。
29 salute
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮
  • Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
  • The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。
30 humiliation
n.羞辱
  • He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
  • He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。
31 toils
  • It did not declare him to be still in Mrs. Dorset's toils. 这并不表明他仍陷于多赛特夫人的情网。
  • The thief was caught in the toils of law. 这个贼陷入了法网。
32 famished
adj.饥饿的
  • When's lunch?I'm famished!什么时候吃午饭?我饿得要死了!
  • My feet are now killing me and I'm absolutely famished.我的脚现在筋疲力尽,我绝对是极饿了。
33 erect
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的
  • She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头,把背挺得笔直。
  • Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。
34 regiment
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制
  • As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活,所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
  • They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。
35 trumpet
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
36 awed
adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声,人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
37 saluting
v.欢迎,致敬( salute的现在分词 );赞扬,赞颂
  • 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢,先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
  • He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎,马上就和她攀谈起来了,连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句
38 tattered
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的
  • Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
  • Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。
39 tavern
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店
  • There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
  • Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。
40 vista
n.远景,深景,展望,回想
  • From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去,远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
  • These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路,未来看不到一点儿希望。
41 superintendent
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
42 reconciliation
n.和解,和谐,一致
  • He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
  • Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。
43 devoted
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
44 vindictiveness
恶毒;怀恨在心
  • I was distressed to find so much vindictiveness in so charming a creature. 当我发现这样一个温柔可爱的女性报复心居然这么重时,我感到很丧气。 来自辞典例句
  • Contradictory attriButes of unjust justice and loving vindictiveness. 不公正的正义和报复的相矛盾的特点。 来自互联网
45 symbolizing
v.象征,作为…的象征( symbolize的现在分词 )
  • This symbol later evolved into a common hieroglyphic symbolizing victory. 这幕场景后来逐渐演化为象征胜利的普通象形文字。 来自时文部分
  • Mooncakes reunion, is symbolizing the Mid-Autumn festival will feed. 月饼象征着团圆,是中秋佳节必食之品。 来自互联网
46 scribbling
n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
  • Once the money got into the book, all that remained were some scribbling. 折子上的钱只是几个字! 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • McMug loves scribbling. Mama then sent him to the Kindergarten. 麦唛很喜欢写字,妈妈看在眼里,就替他报读了幼稚园。 来自互联网
47 disarray
n.混乱,紊乱,凌乱
  • His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后,他的个人生活一片混乱。
  • Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。
学英语单词
AAP (analyst assistance program)
air operating electric light
airbrushed
albizzin
amberized
antiartillery
autobike
balancing procedure
basal cell carcinoma of face
bearing holder
Bogatyrëvo
boot-leg
British Accounting Association
Brocard point
bucephala islandicas
Camellia parafurfuracea
carbon circuit breaker
centrifugal tar extractor
cinnabar moths
computer literacies
creepage distance
cushioned-seat coach
Darcy law of resistance
denomination currency
diddlysquats
discretionary wiring machine
double break contact
ductile fracture
dynamic balance test
e and m leads
ectopocystis
esophageal sarcoma
feareth
filsting
for-loop block
French type machinist's hammer
full-point
fuselis
hexachaetous
high frequency feeder
home monitoring
honeybush
impracticalities
intrinsicates
jeans' radiation law
kerb-crawlers
Kopites
Kārvāndar, Rūdkhāneh-ye
liability to outsiders
Lumsum
made mountains of molehills
magnetic isoanomalous line
malakoplakia of genitourinary system
male - pattern baldness
Mboula
microdosimetricspectra
microfilariae
Mitsuze-tōge
nasty-looking
non-contact magnetic recording
non-hazardous area
nonsister chromatids
officery
on all sides
opercular fold
perseverances
Piliophen
piquant sauce
Plexus venosus vesicalis
postdiction
precision thermometer
Puccinia scleriae
pulsus aequalis
radio frequency energy
rag-and-bone
reductios
retractable bit
reviviscible
rigger brush
ringing generator
sambas
SearchMash
sequential testing
single-phase three wire system
skandas
solar spectrum
songvid
spatial disequilibrium
squarenesses
stared out
Tar River
td.
think ... up
transabled
translation operation
tubularian
u-shaped adapter
upthrust bearing
vitamin K-1
VSIP
wall gecko
water-rot