Thus I dreamed that my wife was expecting me somewhere--at Guerande, I believe--and that I was going to join her by rail. As we passed through a tunnel a deafening9 roll thundered over our head, and a sudden subsidence blocked up both issues of the tunnel, leaving our train intact in the center. We were walled up by blocks of rock in the heart of a mountain. Then a long and fearful agony commenced. No assistance could possibly reach us; even with powerful engines and incessant10 labor11 it would take a month to clear the tunnel. We were prisoners there with no outlet12, and so our death was only a question of time.
My fancy had often dwelt on that hideous drama and had constantly varied13 the details and touches. My actors were men, women and children; their number increased to hundreds, and they were ever furnishing me with new incidents. There were some provisions in the train, but these were soon exhausted14, and the hungry passengers, if they did not actually devour15 human flesh, at least fought furiously over the last piece of bread. Sometimes an aged16 man was driven back with blows and slowly perished; a mother struggled like a she-wolf to keep three or four mouthfuls for her child. In my own compartment17 a bride and bridegroom were dying, clasped in each other's arms in mute despair.
The line was free along the whole length of the train, and people came and went, prowling round the carriages like beasts of prey18 in search of carrion19. All classes were mingled20 together. A millionaire, a high functionary21, it was said, wept on a workman's shoulder. The lamps had been extinguished from the first, and the engine fire was nearly out. To pass from one carriage to another it was necessary to grope about, and thus, too, one slowly reached the engine, recognizable by its enormous barrel, its cold, motionless flanks, its useless strength, its grim silence, in the overwhelming night. Nothing could be more appalling22 than this train entombed alive with its passengers perishing one by one.
I gloated over the ghastliness of each detail; howls resounded23 through the vault24; somebody whom one could not see, whose vicinity was not even suspected, would suddenly drop upon another's shoulder. But what affected25 me most of all was the cold and the want of air. I have never felt so chilled; a mantle26 of snow seemed to enwrap me; heavy moisture rained upon my skull27; I was gasping28; the rocky vault seemed to crush my chest; the whole mountain was seemingly weighing upon me.
Suddenly a cry of deliverance sounded. For some time past we fancied that we could hear a dull sound, and we tried to hope that men were at work and that help was coming, but it came not thus. One of the passengers, however, had discovered an air shaft29 in the tunnel, and, crowding round, we all saw this shaft, above which we could discern a blue patch about the size of a wafer. That blue patch filled us with rapture30, for it was the sky. We stretched ourselves and stood on tiptoes to breathe more freely. Then we distinguished31 some black specks33 moving about, specks that must surely be workmen about to deliver us. A furious clamor arose. The cry "Saved! Saved!" burst from every mouth, while trembling arms were uplifted toward the tiny azure34 patch above.
That roar of voices aroused me. Where was I? In the tunnel, of course. I was lying at full length; hard walls were pressing against my ribs35. Then I attempted to rise and struck my head roughly. Was it the rock closing in on all sides? The blue speck32 had vanished--aye, the sky had disappeared and I was still suffocating37, shivering, with chattering38 teeth.
All at once I remembered. Intense horror raised my hair on end. I felt the hideous truth freeze me from head to foot like ice. I had shaken off the long coma39 which for many hours had stricken me with corpselike rigidity40. Yes, I could move; my hands could feel the boards of my coffin41; my lips parted; words came to me, and instinctively42 I called out Marguerite's name. It was a scream I raised. In that deal box my voice took so hoarse43 and weird44 a sound that it terrified me. Oh, my God, was this thing true? I was able to walk, speak, cry out that I was living, and yet my voice could not be heard; I was entombed under the earth.
I made a desperate effort to remain calm and reflect. Was there no means of getting out? Then my dream began afresh in my troubled brain. The fanciful air shaft with the blue bit of sky overhead was mingled with the real grave in which I was lying. I stared at the darkness with widely opened eyes; perhaps I might discover a hole, a slit45, a glimmer46 of light, but only sparks of fire flitted through that night, with rays that broadened and then faded away. I was in a somber47 abyss again. With returning lucidity48 I struggled against these fatal visions. Indeed, I should need all my reason if I meant to try to save myself.
The most immediate49 peril50 lay in an increasing sense of suffocation51. If I had been able to live so long without air it was owing to suspended animation52, which had changed all the normal conditions of my existence, but now that my heart beat and my lungs breathed I should die, asphyxiated53, if I did not promptly54 liberate55 myself. I also suffered from cold and dreaded57 lest I should succumb58 to the mortal numbness59 of those who fall asleep in the snow, never to wake again. Still, while unceasingly realizing the necessity of remaining calm, I felt maddening blasts sweep through my brain, and to quiet my senses I exhorted60 myself to patience, trying to remember the circumstances of my burial. Probably the ground had been bought for five years, and this would be against my chances of selfdeliverance, for I remembered having noticed at Nantes that in the trenches61 of the common graves one end of the last lowered coffins62 protruded63 into the next open cavity, in which case I should only have had to break through one plank64. But if I were in a separate hole, filled up above me with earth, the obstacles would prove too great. Had I not been told that the dead were buried six feet deep in Paris? How was I to get through the enormous mass of soil above me? Even if I succeeded in slitting65 the lid of my bier open the mold would drift in like fine sand and fill my mouth and eyes. That would be death again, a ghastly death, like drowning in mud.
However, I began to feel the planks66 carefully. The coffin was roomy, and I found that I was able to move my arms with tolerable ease. On both sides the roughly planed boards were stout67 and resistive. I slipped my arm onto my chest to raise it over my head. There I discovered in the top plank a knot in the wood which yielded slightly at my pressure. Working laboriously68, I finally succeeded in driving out this knot, and on passing my finger through the hole I found that the earth was wet and clayey. But that availed me little. I even regretted having removed the knot, vaguely69 dreading70 the irruption of the mold. A second experiment occupied me for a while. I tapped all over the coffin to ascertain71 if perhaps there were any vacuum outside. But the sound was everywhere the same. At last, as I was slightly kicking the foot of the coffin, I fancied that it gave out a clearer echoing noise, but that might merely be produced by the sonority72 of the wood.
At any rate, I began to press against the boards with my arms and my closed fists. In the same way, too, I used my knees, my back and my feet without eliciting73 even a creak from the wood. I strained with all my strength, indeed, with so desperate an effort of my whole frame, that my bruised74 bones seemed breaking. But nothing moved, and I became insane.
Until that moment I had held delirium75 at bay. I had mastered the intoxicating76 rage which was mounting to my head like the fumes77 of alcohol; I had silenced my screams, for I feared that if I again cried out aloud I should be undone78. But now I yelled; I shouted; unearthly howls which I could not repress came from my relaxed throat. I called for help in a voice that I did not recognize, growing wilder with each fresh appeal and crying out that I would not die. I also tore at the wood with my nails; I writhed79 with the contortions80 of a caged wolf. I do not know how long this fit of madness lasted, but I can still feel the relentless81 hardness of the box that imprisoned82 me; I can still hear the storm of shrieks83 and sobs84 with which I filled it; a remaining glimmer of reason made me try to stop, but I could not do so.
Great exhaustion85 followed. I lay waiting for death in a state of somnolent86 pain. The coffin was like stone, which no effort could break, and the conviction that I was powerless left me unnerved, without courage to make any fresh attempts. Another suffering-hunger--was presently added to cold and want of air. The torture soon became intolerable. With my finger I tried to pull small pinches of earth through the hole of the dislodged knot, and I swallowed them eagerly, only increasing my torment87. Tempted36 by my flesh, I bit my arms and sucked my skin with a fiendish desire to drive my teeth in, but I was afraid of drawing blood.
Then I ardently88 longed for death. All my life long I had trembled at the thought of dissolution, but I had come to yearn89 for it, to crave90 for an everlasting91 night that could never be dark enough. How childish it had been of me to dread56 the long, dreamless sleep, the eternity of silence and gloom! Death was kind, for in suppressing life it put an end to suffering. Oh, to sleep like the stones, to be no more!
With groping hands I still continued feeling the wood, and suddenly I pricked92 my left thumb. That slight pain roused me from my growing numbness. I felt again and found a nail--a nail which the undertaker's men had driven in crookedly93 and which had not caught in the lower wood. It was long and very sharp; the head was secured to the lid, but it moved. Henceforth I had but one idea--to possess myself of that nail--and I slipped my right hand across my body and began to shake it. I made but little progress, however; it was a difficult job, for my hands soon tired, and I had to use them alternately. The left one, too, was of little use on account of the nail's awkward position.
While I was obstinately94 persevering95 a plan dawned on my mind. That nail meant salvation96, and I must have it. But should I get it in time? Hunger was torturing me; my brain was swimming; my limbs were losing their strength; my mind was becoming confused. I had sucked the drops that trickled97 from my punctured98 finger, and suddenly I bit my arm and drank my own blood! Thereupon, spurred on by pain, revived by the tepid99, acrid100 liquor that moistened my lips, I tore desperately101 at the nail and at last I wrenched102 it off!
I then believed in success. My plan was a simple one; I pushed the point of the nail into the lid, dragging it along as far as I could in a straight line and working it so as to make a slit in the wood. My fingers stiffened103, but I doggedly104 persevered105, and when I fancied that I had sufficiently106 cut into the board I turned on my stomach and, lifting myself on my knees and elbows thrust the whole strength of my back against the lid. But although it creaked it did not yield; the notched107 line was not deep enough. I had to resume my old position--which I only managed to do with infinite trouble--and work afresh. At last after another supreme108 effort the lid was cleft109 from end to end.
I was not saved as yet, but my heart beat with renewed hope. I had ceased pushing and remained motionless, lest a sudden fall of earth should bury me. I intended to use the lid as a screen and, thus protected, to open a sort of shaft in the clayey soil. Unfortunately I was assailed110 by unexpected difficulties. Some heavy clods of earth weighed upon the boards and made them unmanageable; I foresaw that I should never reach the surface in that way, for the mass of soil was already bending my spine111 and crushing my face.
Once more I stopped, affrighted; then suddenly, while I was stretching my legs, trying to find something firm against which I might rest my feet, I felt the end board of the coffin yielding. I at once gave a desperate kick with my heels in the faint hope that there might be a freshly dug grave in that direction.
It was so. My feet abruptly112 forced their way into space. An open grave was there; I had only a slight partition of earth to displace, and soon I rolled into the cavity. I was saved!
I remained for a time lying on my back in the open grave, with my eyes raised to heaven. It was dark; the stars were shining in a sky of velvety113 blueness. Now and then the rising breeze wafted114 a springlike freshness, a perfume of foliage115, upon me. I was saved! I could breathe; I felt warm, and I wept and I stammered116, with my arms prayerfully extended toward the starry117 sky. O God, how sweet seemed life!
点击收听单词发音
1 eternity | |
n.不朽,来世;永恒,无穷 | |
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2 regained | |
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地 | |
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3 morbid | |
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的 | |
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4 propensity | |
n.倾向;习性 | |
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5 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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6 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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7 conjured | |
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现 | |
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8 catastrophes | |
n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 );灾难;不幸事件;困难 | |
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9 deafening | |
adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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10 incessant | |
adj.不停的,连续的 | |
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11 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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12 outlet | |
n.出口/路;销路;批发商店;通风口;发泄 | |
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13 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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14 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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15 devour | |
v.吞没;贪婪地注视或谛听,贪读;使着迷 | |
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16 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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17 compartment | |
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间 | |
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18 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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19 carrion | |
n.腐肉 | |
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20 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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21 functionary | |
n.官员;公职人员 | |
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22 appalling | |
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的 | |
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23 resounded | |
v.(指声音等)回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 );产生回响;(指某处)回荡着声音 | |
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24 vault | |
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室 | |
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25 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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26 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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27 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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28 gasping | |
adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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29 shaft | |
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物 | |
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30 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
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31 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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32 speck | |
n.微粒,小污点,小斑点 | |
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33 specks | |
n.眼镜;斑点,微粒,污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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34 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
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35 ribs | |
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹 | |
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36 tempted | |
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词) | |
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37 suffocating | |
a.使人窒息的 | |
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38 chattering | |
n. (机器振动发出的)咔嗒声,(鸟等)鸣,啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的,啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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39 coma | |
n.昏迷,昏迷状态 | |
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40 rigidity | |
adj.钢性,坚硬 | |
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41 coffin | |
n.棺材,灵柩 | |
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42 instinctively | |
adv.本能地 | |
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43 hoarse | |
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的 | |
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44 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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45 slit | |
n.狭长的切口;裂缝;vt.切开,撕裂 | |
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46 glimmer | |
v.发出闪烁的微光;n.微光,微弱的闪光 | |
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47 somber | |
adj.昏暗的,阴天的,阴森的,忧郁的 | |
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48 lucidity | |
n.明朗,清晰,透明 | |
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49 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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50 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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51 suffocation | |
n.窒息 | |
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52 animation | |
n.活泼,兴奋,卡通片/动画片的制作 | |
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53 asphyxiated | |
v.渴望的,有抱负的,追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的过去式和过去分词 );有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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54 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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55 liberate | |
v.解放,使获得自由,释出,放出;vt.解放,使获自由 | |
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56 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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57 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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58 succumb | |
v.屈服,屈从;死 | |
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59 numbness | |
n.无感觉,麻木,惊呆 | |
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60 exhorted | |
v.劝告,劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61 trenches | |
深沟,地沟( trench的名词复数 ); 战壕 | |
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62 coffins | |
n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 );使某人早亡[死,完蛋,垮台等]之物 | |
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63 protruded | |
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64 plank | |
n.板条,木板,政策要点,政纲条目 | |
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65 slitting | |
n.纵裂(缝)v.切开,撕开( slit的现在分词 );在…上开狭长口子 | |
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66 planks | |
(厚)木板( plank的名词复数 ); 政纲条目,政策要点 | |
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68 laboriously | |
adv.艰苦地;费力地;辛勤地;(文体等)佶屈聱牙地 | |
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69 vaguely | |
adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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70 dreading | |
v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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71 ascertain | |
vt.发现,确定,查明,弄清 | |
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72 sonority | |
n.响亮,宏亮 | |
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73 eliciting | |
n. 诱发, 引出 动词elicit的现在分词形式 | |
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74 bruised | |
[医]青肿的,瘀紫的 | |
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75 delirium | |
n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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76 intoxicating | |
a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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77 fumes | |
n.(强烈而刺激的)气味,气体 | |
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78 undone | |
a.未做完的,未完成的 | |
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79 writhed | |
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80 contortions | |
n.扭歪,弯曲;扭曲,弄歪,歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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81 relentless | |
adj.残酷的,不留情的,无怜悯心的 | |
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82 imprisoned | |
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83 shrieks | |
n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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84 sobs | |
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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85 exhaustion | |
n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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86 somnolent | |
adj.想睡的,催眠的;adv.瞌睡地;昏昏欲睡地;使人瞌睡地 | |
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87 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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88 ardently | |
adv.热心地,热烈地 | |
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89 yearn | |
v.想念;怀念;渴望 | |
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90 crave | |
vt.渴望得到,迫切需要,恳求,请求 | |
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91 everlasting | |
adj.永恒的,持久的,无止境的 | |
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92 pricked | |
刺,扎,戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 ); 刺伤; 刺痛; 使剧痛 | |
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93 crookedly | |
adv. 弯曲地,不诚实地 | |
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94 obstinately | |
ad.固执地,顽固地 | |
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95 persevering | |
a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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96 salvation | |
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困 | |
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97 trickled | |
v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 );淌;使)慢慢走;缓慢移动 | |
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98 punctured | |
v.在(某物)上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 );刺穿(某物);削弱(某人的傲气、信心等);泄某人的气 | |
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99 tepid | |
adj.微温的,温热的,不太热心的 | |
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100 acrid | |
adj.辛辣的,尖刻的,刻薄的 | |
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101 desperately | |
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
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102 wrenched | |
v.(猛力地)扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 );扭伤;使感到痛苦;使悲痛 | |
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103 stiffened | |
加强的 | |
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104 doggedly | |
adv.顽强地,固执地 | |
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105 persevered | |
v.坚忍,坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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107 notched | |
a.有凹口的,有缺口的 | |
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108 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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109 cleft | |
n.裂缝;adj.裂开的 | |
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110 assailed | |
v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 );困扰;质问;毅然应对 | |
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111 spine | |
n.脊柱,脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊 | |
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112 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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113 velvety | |
adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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114 wafted | |
v.吹送,飘送,(使)浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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115 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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116 stammered | |
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117 starry | |
adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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