康慧珍

難詞探意

1. culprit /klprt/ n. 罪犯

2. wretched /retd/ adj. 難受的;悲慘的

3. mat /mt/ n. 小地毯;墊子

4. seep /sip/ v. 滲透

5. mutter /mt（r）/ v. 嘀咕;（私下）抱怨

My alarm goes off at 4 am. Ive been feeling sick all night， not sure if the culprit is the water I took or the awful tasting camp food I fed myself for dinner last night. All I know is that this morning， I feel terrible， and I will continue to feel terrible because I am completely out of water—the clean water I saved in my bottle from yesterday is now frozen， as is everything I left out last night， including my shoes.

I dont want to move， but I know I wont feel any better until I find water. The stars are breathtakingly beautiful， but its far below freezing at 3，500 meters altitude at this hour. Im still feeling wretched， and that， combined with the frigid temperature is making riding very difficult. I cant feel my feet nor hands.

“Fix your own problems，” I yelled at myself. “You are， effectively， alone in the wilderness. Any complaints must be dealt with by yourself.” In this instance， fixyourownproblems means finding a way to restore function to your hands. Its so cold that Im experiencing pain when I grab my brake levers， and I know that isnt a good thing. Unfortunately， Im already wearing everything I own， and I really cant stop moving—I need to get some water. I step off the route and drag my bike through the riverbed towards where the clear water is flowing. I can hardly believe my eyes， but the water is， indeed， moving. Im saved！

My water filter is completely frozen and is of no use， so I get my stove set up quickly to boil a drink. While the stove is on， I set up my ground mat underneath me to keep myself warm. I curl up in my sleeping bag and watch the pot boil， falling asleep sitting upright three times during the process. After getting my first drink of water， I decide that my body is weak right now—to try and ride in my current state is just a poor use of my time. Id better get a bit more rest. I set my alarm for 40 minutes and instantly fall asleep.

When the alarm goes off， the sun is cooking me inside my bag. Its an incredible sensation to feel the warmth seeping down to my bones. Slowly， I drag myself out of my bag. “Lets try this again，” I mutter to myself， as I restart my usual morning routine of porridge and coffee while packing up my bags and preparing the bike to ride.

1. What makes the author feel terrible？

A. Her alarm clock.

B. Food shortage.

C. A lack of clean water.

D. Her frozen shoes.

2. Whats the meaning of the underlined word “frigid” in paragraph 2？

A. Changeable.

B. Very cold.

C. Very dry.

D. Expected.

3. Which word can best describe the author？

A. Easygoing.

B. Warmhearted.

C. Energetic.

D. Purposeful.