One bad winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows.

creep ^{v. 蹑手蹑脚地走}

• Nevertheless, I managed to creep down into the living-room for two days before anyone found me out.
• Back I go to the hotel and creep up to my room. ^{我回到旅馆，蹑手蹑脚地进了房间。}
• The boys felt tired, so they put out the fire and crept into their tent.

Curiosity swallowed him. ^拟人

• A gentle breeze caressed my cheeks and soothed my heart.

All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little.

stall ^{n.an enclosed area in a building for an animal such as a horse or cow 牲口棚，马厩，牛棚}

• ...market stalls selling local fruits. ^{…出售当地水果的市场摊位。}
• With the balcony blocked off, patrons filled most of the stalls. ^{楼厅包厢被封闭了，赞助人几乎坐满了舞台前方的座位。}
• She went into the shower stall, turned on the water, and grabbed the soap. ^{她走进淋浴间，打开水，抓起香皂。}
• That was ill done, Hans, you should have led the calf, and put it in the stall. ^{这样做是不对的，汉斯，你应该牵着小牛，把它放到牲口棚里去。}

stand to do sth.  ^{to be likely to do or have something 可能…}

• You stand to make a lot from this deal. ^{你很可能会从这笔生意中大赚一笔。}
• I stand to be corrected. ^{我讲得不对，请予修正。}
• I could stand to lose a few pounds, too. ^{这样我还可以减掉几磅。}
• If so, then you can probably stand to be a little nicer. ^{如果是这样，那么你就很可能要变得再友好一点了。}

little ^{adv. 后置修饰 lose；几乎不(hardly)}

• As always, he said little. ^{他和平时一样，少言寡语。}
• He uttered little indecipherable sounds. ^{他声音很小，听不清楚。}
• She had little maternal instinct. ^{她几乎没有母性。}

We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbours, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district.

low ^{adv. 这里指地势低地}

• The plane flew low.
• A plane passed low overhead. ^{一架飞机从头上低空飞过。}
• He hit his head on the low ceiling. ^{他的头碰了低矮的天花板。}
• The sun was low in the sky. ^{太阳低挂在天空。}

As the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing.

put … out of order ^{使…出故障}

• But recall that today's drives have very large caches and can put write operations out of order.^{但是，考虑一下，现在的磁盘都有很大的缓存，可被乱序写入。}
• He keeps fiddling with the dials on the radio, he is sure to put it out of order. ^{他老是玩弄收音机上的刻度盘，一定会把它弄坏的。}

be out of order  ^{出故障了、坏了}

• The bell had been out of order for many years. 
• The toilets are all out of order. ^{这些抽水马桶都坏了。}
• The phone is out of order. ^{电话坏了。}
• That lathe went out of order at times. ^{那台车床有时发生故障。}

So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. ——John F. Kennedy

• … find out how they were managing to deal with it.^{课文补全（managed to do）}

From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours, and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point.

… get a sweeping view ^俯瞰

• From an attic window, we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours. ^{从阁楼的窗口，我们可以一览无遗地眺望他们的土地与我们衔接处的河面。}
• The observation deck in the sphere offers a sweeping view of the city. ^{球型观景台能将整座城市尽收眼底。}

critical juncture ^紧要关头

• We are at a critical juncture. ^{我们正处在一个关键的时刻。}
• This is a critical juncture. ^{此时，是一个临界点。}
• The Six-Party Talks are now at a critical juncture. ^{目前，六方会谈处于关键阶段。}
• Today marks a critical juncture in our endeavor. ^{今天是我们一切努力的关键时刻。}

…, when the flood was at its height … ^{课文写法替换}
…, at the height of the flood 

… the height of ... ^{…的顶峰状态}

• August is the height of summer. 
• The storm is at its height.
• The height of the mountain did not discourage them. ^{山高并没有使他们泄气。}

take turns (in) doing sth. ^轮流…

• There is only one computer, so we have to take turns (in) using it.
• The male and female birds take turns in sitting on the eggs. ^{雄鸟和雌鸟轮流伏窝。}
• She told them to take turns to ride the bike. ^{她告诉他们轮流骑自行车。}

The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down.

sign ^{n.迹象、征兆}

• They are prepared to hand back a hundred prisoners of war a day as a sign of good will. ^{作为一种友好的表示，他们准备一天遣返100名战犯。}
• His face and movements rarely betrayed a sign of nerves. ^{他的表情和行为很少流露出紧张的迹象。}
• The snow showed no sign of melting. ^{雪没有一点融化的迹象。}

Next came a horse, swimming bravely, but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted.

全部倒装^{（把全部谓语置于主语之前。）}

表示位置或次序的状语置于句首，只要满足两个条件，要用全部倒装。这种倒装主要目的是为了突出句末的主语。

不能倒装

• Off he went. ^{主语不能是代词}
• On the hill John saw Mary. ^{谓语是及物动词}

prevent its landing ^{阻止它(文中的马)的登陆}

• … prevent it from landing anywhere … ^{课文写法替换}

Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage.

Noah’s ark ^诺亚方舟

• the Genesis ^创世纪
• the New Testament ^{新约 (Christians 写的)}
• the Old Testament ^{旧约(Jews 写的)} 
• deluge ^大洪水

We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood, for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged.

sound ^{adj. in good condition and not damaged in any way 完好的}

• The floor was completely sound. Is the building structurally sound?
• When we bought the house, it was structurally sound. ^{当我们买下这房子时，其结构完好无损。}
• Although the car is basically sound, I was worried about certain areas. ^{虽然这辆汽车基本状况完好，但我担心某几个部分。}

stout = sturdy ^{adj.strong and thick 粗壮的，结实的}

• stout boots for climbing 
• a stout walking-stick
• She was a short, sturdy woman in her early sixties. ^{她是一位六十出头、矮小结实的女人。}
•   It was a good table too, sturdily constructed of elm. ^{它也是一张很好的桌子，榆木做的，很结实。}

The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boat hooks, in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank.

wade  ^{n/v. 跋涉（涉水）；可涉水而过的地方}

• Her mother came to find them, wading across a river to reach them. ^{她的母亲蹚过河来找他们。}
• The lake was not frozen sufficiently to bear her, but it was low enough that she could wade through it. ^{湖面尚未完全结冰，不足以承受她的重量，但水位又足够低，她还是能够趟过湖去的。}
• Sometimes they had to wade waist-deep through mud. ^{有时他们得通过齐腰深的泥浆。}

in the hope of / that … ^{有这样地希望…（引出同位语）}

• Police are carrying out a house-to-house search in the hope of finding the missing girl.
• The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks, in the hope of being (=because they hope to be) able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank.
• The Swedes were the first to recognize that public officials like civil servants, police officers, health inspectors or tax-collectors can make mistakes or act over-zealously in the belief (=because they believe) that they are serving the public.
• In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest; but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery (=because she suddenly discovered) that her front door was open.
• They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics for years, in the belief that (=because they believe that) they may one day need just those very things.
• Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought (=because they think) that they have cheated of the best things that life has to offer. 

grapple ^{v. to take a firm hold of sb./sth. and struggle with them 紧紧抓住，扭住，扭打}

• They managed to grapple him to the ground.
• He was grappling with an alligator in a lagoon. ^{他当时正与环礁湖里的一只鳄鱼搏斗。}
• Passers-by grappled with the man after the attack. ^{袭击之后过路人便与这男人扭打起来。}

We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.

miracle ^{n.奇迹，不可思议的事}

• It is a miracle no one was killed. ^{没有人死亡真是个奇迹。}
• Short of a miracle, we're certain to lose. ^{除非发生奇迹，否则我们输定了。}
• The transformation has been nothing short of a miracle. ^{这种变化堪称奇迹。}