“How to get rid of our excessive carbon dioxide without unduly10 wasting our oxygen is a delicate and vital question,” said Challenger, looking round him after the five iron tubes had been laid side by side against the wall. “With longer time for preparation I could have brought the whole concentrated force of my intelligence to bear more fully11 upon the problem, but as it is we must do what we can. The shrubs12 will be of some small service. Two of the oxygen tubes are ready to be turned on at an instant’s notice, so that we cannot be taken unawares. At the same time, it would be well not to go far from the room, as the crisis may be a sudden and urgent one.”
There was a broad, low window opening out upon a balcony. The view beyond was the same as that which we had already admired from the study. Looking out, I could see no sign of disorder13 anywhere. There was a road curving down the side of the hill, under my very eyes. A cab from the station, one of those prehistoric14 survivals which are only to be found in our country villages, was toiling15 slowly up the hill. Lower down was a nurse girl wheeling a perambulator and leading a second child by the hand. The blue reeks16 of smoke from the cottages gave the whole widespread landscape an air of settled order and homely17 comfort. Nowhere in the blue heaven or on the sunlit earth was there any foreshadowing of a catastrophe18. The harvesters were back in the fields once more and the golfers, in pairs and fours, were still streaming round the links. There was so strange a turmoil19 within my own head, and such a jangling of my overstrung nerves, that the indifference20 of those people was amazing.
“Those fellows don’t seem to feel any ill effects,” said I, pointing down at the links.
“Have you played golf?” asked Lord John.
“No, I have not.”
“Well, young fellah, when you do you’ll learn that once fairly out on a round, it would take the crack of doom21 to stop a true golfer. Halloa! There’s that telephone-bell again.”
From time to time during and after lunch the high, insistent22 ring had summoned the Professor. He gave us the news as it came through to him in a few curt4 sentences. Such terrific items had never been registered in the world’s history before. The great shadow was creeping up from the south like a rising tide of death. Egypt had gone through its delirium23 and was now comatose24. Spain and Portugal, after a wild frenzy25 in which the Clericals and the Anarchists26 had fought most desperately27, were now fallen silent. No cable messages were received any longer from South America. In North America the southern states, after some terrible racial rioting, had succumbed28 to the poison. North of Maryland the effect was not yet marked, and in Canada it was hardly perceptible. Belgium, Holland, and Denmark had each in turn been affected29. Despairing messages were flashing from every quarter to the great centres of learning, to the chemists and the doctors of world-wide repute, imploring30 their advice. The astronomers31 too were deluged32 with inquiries33. Nothing could be done. The thing was universal and beyond our human knowledge or control. It was death — painless but inevitable34 — death for young and old, for weak and strong, for rich and poor, without hope or possibility of escape. Such was the news which, in scattered36, distracted messages, the telephone had brought us. The great cities already knew their fate and so far as we could gather were preparing to meet it with dignity and resignation. Yet here were our golfers and laborers37 like the lambs who gambol38 under the shadow of the knife. It seemed amazing. And yet how could they know? It had all come upon us in one giant stride. What was there in the morning paper to alarm them? And now it was but three in the afternoon. Even as we looked some rumour39 seemed to have spread, for we saw the reapers40 hurrying from the fields. Some of the golfers were returning to the club-house. They were running as if taking refuge from a shower. Their little caddies trailed behind them. Others were continuing their game. The nurse had turned and was pushing her perambulator hurriedly up the hill again. I noticed that she had her hand to her brow. The cab had stopped and the tired horse, with his head sunk to his knees, was resting. Above there was a perfect summer sky — one huge vault41 of unbroken blue, save for a few fleecy white clouds over the distant downs. If the human race must die today, it was at least upon a glorious death-bed. And yet all that gentle loveliness of nature made this terrific and wholesale42 destruction the more pitiable and awful. Surely it was too goodly a residence that we should be so swiftly, so ruthlessly, evicted43 from it!
But I have said that the telephone-bell had rung once more. Suddenly I heard Challenger’s tremendous voice from the hall.
“Malone!” he cried. “You are wanted.”
I rushed down to the instrument. It was McArdle speaking from London.
“That you, Mr. Malone?” cried his familiar voice. “Mr. Malone, there are terrible goings-on in London. For God’s sake, see if Professor Challenger can suggest anything that can be done.”
“He can suggest nothing, sir,” I answered. “He regards the crisis as universal and inevitable. We have some oxygen here, but it can only defer44 our fate for a few hours.”
“Oxygen!” cried the agonized45 voice. “There is no time to get any. The office has been a perfect pandemonium46 ever since you left in the morning. Now half of the staff are insensible. I am weighed down with heaviness myself. From my window I can see the people lying thick in Fleet Street. The traffic is all held up. Judging by the last telegrams, the whole world ——”
His voice had been sinking, and suddenly stopped. An instant later I heard through the telephone a muffled47 thud, as if his head had fallen forward on the desk.
“Mr. McArdle!” I cried. “Mr. McArdle!”
There was no answer. I knew as I replaced the receiver that I should never hear his voice again.
At that instant, just as I took a step backwards48 from the telephone, the thing was on us. It was as if we were bathers, up to our shoulders in water, who suddenly are submerged by a rolling wave. An invisible hand seemed to have quietly closed round my throat and to be gently pressing the life from me. I was conscious of immense oppression upon my chest, great tightness within my head, a loud singing in my ears, and bright flashes before my eyes. I staggered to the balustrades of the stair. At the same moment, rushing and snorting like a wounded buffalo49, Challenger dashed past me, a terrible vision, with red-purple face, engorged eyes, and bristling50 hair. His little wife, insensible to all appearance, was slung51 over his great shoulder, and he blundered and thundered up the stair, scrambling52 and tripping, but carrying himself and her through sheer will-force through that mephitic atmosphere to the haven53 of temporary safety. At the sight of his effort I too rushed up the steps, clambering, falling, clutching at the rail, until I tumbled half senseless upon by face on the upper landing. Lord John’s fingers of steel were in the collar of my coat, and a moment later I was stretched upon my back, unable to speak or move, on the boudoir carpet. The woman lay beside me, and Summerlee was bunched in a chair by the window, his head nearly touching54 his knees. As in a dream I saw Challenger, like a monstrous55 beetle56, crawling slowly across the floor, and a moment later I heard the gentle hissing57 of the escaping oxygen. Challenger breathed two or three times with enormous gulps58, his lungs roaring as he drew in the vital gas.
“It works!” he cried exultantly59. “My reasoning has been justified60!” He was up on his feet again, alert and strong. With a tube in his hand he rushed over to his wife and held it to her face. In a few seconds she moaned, stirred, and sat up. He turned to me, and I felt the tide of life stealing warmly through my arteries61. My reason told me that it was but a little respite62, and yet, carelessly as we talk of its value, every hour of existence now seemed an inestimable thing. Never have I known such a thrill of sensuous63 joy as came with that freshet of life. The weight fell away from my lungs, the band loosened from my brow, a sweet feeling of peace and gentle, languid comfort stole over me. I lay watching Summerlee revive under the same remedy, and finally Lord John took his turn. He sprang to his feet and gave me a hand to rise, while Challenger picked up his wife and laid her on the settee.
“Oh, George, I am so sorry you brought me back,” she said, holding him by the hand. “The door of death is indeed, as you said, hung with beautiful, shimmering64 curtains; for, once the choking feeling had passed, it was all unspeakably soothing65 and beautiful. Why have you dragged me back?”
“Because I wish that we make the passage together. We have been together so many years. It would be sad to fall apart at the supreme66 moment.”
For a moment in his tender voice I caught a glimpse of a new Challenger, something very far from the bullying67, ranting68, arrogant69 man who had alternately amazed and offended his generation. Here in the shadow of death was the innermost Challenger, the man who had won and held a woman’s love. Suddenly his mood changed and he was our strong captain once again.
“Alone of all mankind I saw and foretold70 this catastrophe,” said he with a ring of exultation71 and scientific triumph in his voice. “As to you, my good Summerlee, I trust your last doubts have been resolved as to the meaning of the blurring72 of the lines in the spectrum73 and that you will no longer contend that my letter in the Times was based upon a delusion74.”
For once our pugnacious75 colleague was deaf to a challenge. He could but sit gasping77 and stretching his long, thin limbs, as if to assure himself that he was still really upon this planet. Challenger walked across to the oxygen tube, and the sound of the loud hissing fell away till it was the most gentle sibilation.
“We must husband our supply of the gas,” said he. “The atmosphere of the room is now strongly hyperoxygenated, and I take it that none of us feel any distressing78 symptoms. We can only determine by actual experiments what amount added to the air will serve to neutralize79 the poison. Let us see how that will do.”
We sat in silent nervous tension for five minutes or more, observing our own sensations. I had just begun to fancy that I felt the constriction80 round my temples again when Mrs. Challenger called out from the sofa that she was fainting. Her husband turned on more gas.
“In prescientific days,” said he, “they used to keep a white mouse in every submarine, as its more delicate organization gave signs of a vicious atmosphere before it was perceived by the sailors. You, my dear, will be our white mouse. I have now increased the supply and you are better.”
“Yes, I am better.”
“Possibly we have hit upon the correct mixture. When we have ascertained81 exactly how little will serve we shall be able to compute82 how long we shall be able to exist. Unfortunately, in resuscitating83 ourselves we have already consumed a considerable proportion of this first tube.”
“Does it matter?” asked Lord John, who was standing84 with his hands in his pockets close to the window. “If we have to go, what is the use of holdin’ on? You don’t suppose there’s any chance for us?”
Challenger smiled and shook his head.
“Well, then, don’t you think there is more dignity in takin’ the jump and not waitin’ to be pushed in? If it must be so, I’m for sayin’ our prayers, turnin’ off the gas, and openin’ the window.”
“Why not?” said the lady bravely. “Surely, George, Lord John is right and it is better so.”
“I most strongly object,” cried Summerlee in a querulous voice. “When we must die let us by all means die, but to deliberately85 anticipate death seems to me to be a foolish and unjustifiable action.”
“What does our young friend say to it?” asked Challenger.
“I think we should see it to the end.”
“And I am strongly of the same opinion,” said he.
“Then, George, if you say so, I think so too,” cried the lady.
“Well, well, I’m only puttin’ it as an argument,” said Lord John. “If you all want to see it through I am with you. It’s dooced interestin’, and no mistake about that. I’ve had my share of adventures in my life, and as many thrills as most folk, but I’m endin’ on my top note.”
“Granting the continuity of life,” said Challenger.
“A large assumption!” cried Summerlee. Challenger stared at him in silent reproof87.
“Granting the continuity of life,” said he, in his most didactic manner, “none of us can predicate what opportunities of observation one may have from what we may call the spirit plane to the plane of matter. It surely must be evident to the most obtuse88 person” (here he glared a Summerlee) “that it is while we are ourselves material that we are most fitted to watch and form a judgment89 upon material phenomena90. Therefore it is only by keeping alive for these few extra hours that we can hope to carry on with us to some future existence a clear conception of the most stupendous event that the world, or the universe so far as we know it, has ever encountered. To me it would seem a deplorable thing that we should in any way curtail91 by so much as a minute so wonderful an experience.”
“I am strongly of the same opinion,” cried Summerlee.
“Carried without a division,” said Lord John. “By George, that poor devil of a chauffeur92 of yours down in the yard has made his last journey. No use makin’ a sally and bringin’ him in?”
“It would be absolute madness,” cried Summerlee.
“Well, I suppose it would,” said Lord John. “It couldn’t help him and would scatter35 our gas all over the house, even if we ever got back alive. My word, look at the little birds under the trees!”
We drew four chairs up to the long, low window, the lady still resting with closed eyes upon the settee. I remember that the monstrous and grotesque93 idea crossed my mind — the illusion may have been heightened by the heavy stuffiness94 of the air which we were breathing — that we were in four front seats of the stalls at the last act of the drama of the world.
In the immediate95 foreground, beneath our very eyes, was the small yard with the half-cleaned motor-car standing in it. Austin, the chauffeur, had received his final notice at last, for he was sprawling96 beside the wheel, with a great black bruise97 upon his forehead where it had struck the step or mud-guard in falling. He still held in his hand the nozzle of the hose with which he had been washing down his machine. A couple of small plane trees stood in the corner of the yard, and underneath98 them lay several pathetic little balls of fluffy99 feathers, with tiny feet uplifted. The sweep of death’s scythe100 had included everything, great and small, within its swath.
Over the wall of the yard we looked down upon the winding101 road, which led to the station. A group of the reapers whom we had seen running from the fields were lying all pell-mell, their bodies crossing each other, at the bottom of it. Farther up, the nurse-girl lay with her head and shoulders propped102 against the slope of the grassy103 bank. She had taken the baby from the perambulator, and it was a motionless bundle of wraps in her arms. Close behind her a tiny patch upon the roadside showed where the little boy was stretched. Still nearer to us was the dead cab-horse, kneeling between the shafts104. The old driver was hanging over the splash-board like some grotesque scarecrow, his arms dangling105 absurdly in front of him. Through the window we could dimly discern that a young man was seated inside. The door was swinging open and his hand was grasping the handle, as if he had attempted to leap forth106 at the last instant. In the middle distance lay the golf links, dotted as they had been in the morning with the dark figures of the golfers, lying motionless upon the grass of the course or among the heather which skirted it. On one particular green there were eight bodies stretched where a foursome with its caddies had held to their game to the last. No bird flew in the blue vault of heaven, no man or beast moved upon the vast countryside which lay before us. The evening sun shone its peaceful radiance across it, but there brooded over it all the stillness and the silence of universal death — a death in which we were so soon to join. At the present instant that one frail107 sheet of glass, by holding in the extra oxygen which counteracted108 the poisoned ether, shut us off from the fate of all our kind. For a few short hours the knowledge and foresight109 of one man could preserve our little oasis110 of life in the vast desert of death and save us from participation111 in the common catastrophe. Then the gas would run low, we too should lie gasping upon that cherry-coloured boudoir carpet, and the fate of the human race and of all earthly life would be complete. For a long time, in a mood which was too solemn for speech, we looked out at the tragic112 world.
“There is a house on fire,” said Challenger at last, pointing to a column of smoke which rose above the trees. “There will, I expect, be many such — possibly whole cities in flames — when we consider how many folk may have dropped with lights in their hands. The fact of combustion113 is in itself enough to show that the proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere is normal and that it is the ether which is at fault. Ah, there you see another blaze on the top of Crowborough Hill. It is the golf clubhouse, or I am mistaken. There is the church clock chiming the hour. It would interest our philosophers to know that man-made mechanisms114 has survived the race who made it.”
“By George!” cried Lord John, rising excitedly from his chair. “What’s that puff115 of smoke? It’s a train.”
We heard the roar of it, and presently it came flying into sight, going at what seemed to me to be a prodigious116 speed. Whence it had come, or how far, we had no means of knowing. Only by some miracle of luck could it have gone any distance. But now we were to see the terrific end of its career. A train of coal trucks stood motionless upon the line. We held our breath as the express roared along the same track. The crash was horrible. Engine and carriages piled themselves into a hill of splintered wood and twisted iron. Red spurts117 of flame flickered118 up from the wreckage119 until it was all ablaze120. For half an hour we sat with hardly a word, stunned121 by the stupendous sight.
“Poor, poor people!” cried Mrs. Challenger at last, clinging with a whimper to her husband’s arm.
“My dear, the passengers on that train were no more animate122 than the coals into which they crashed or the carbon which they have now become,” said Challenger, stroking her hand soothingly123. “It was a train of the living when it left Victoria, but it was driven and freighted by the dead long before it reached its fate.”
“All over the world the same thing must be going on,” said I as a vision of strange happenings rose before me. “Think of the ships at sea — how they will steam on and on, until the furnaces die down or until they run full tilt124 upon some beach. The sailing ships too — how they will back and fill with their cargoes125 of dead sailors, while their timbers rot and their joints126 leak, till one by one they sink below the surface. Perhaps a century hence the Atlantic may still be dotted with the old drifting derelicts.”
“And the folk in the coal-mines,” said Summerlee with a dismal127 chuckle128. “If ever geologists129 should by any chance live upon earth again they will have some strange theories of the existence of man in carboniferous strata130.”
“I don’t profess6 to know about such things,” remarked Lord John, “but it seems to me the earth will be ‘To let, empty,’ after this. When once our human crowd is wiped off it, how will it ever get on again?”
“The world was empty before,” Challenger answered gravely. “Under laws which in their inception131 are beyond and above us, it became peopled. Why may the same process not happen again?”
“My dear Challenger, you can’t mean that?”
“I am not in the habit, Professor Summerlee, of saying things which I do not mean. The observation is trivial.” Out went the beard and down came the eyelids132.
“Well, you lived an obstinate133 dogmatist, and you mean to die one,” said Summerlee sourly.
“And you, sir, have lived an unimaginative obstructionist and never can hope now to emerge from it.”
“Your worst critics will never accuse you of lacking imagination,” Summerlee retorted.
“Upon my word!” said Lord John. “It would be like you if you used up our last gasp76 of oxygen in abusing each other. What can it matter whether folk come back or not? It surely won’t be in our time.”
“In that remark, sir, you betray your own very pronounced limitations,” said Challenger severely134. “The true scientific mind is not to be tied down by its own conditions of time and space. It builds itself an observatory135 erected136 upon the border line of present, which separates the infinite past from the infinite future. From this sure post it makes its sallies even to the beginning and to the end of all things. As to death, the scientific mind dies at its post working in normal and methodic fashion to the end. It disregards so petty a thing as its own physical dissolution as completely as it does all other limitations upon the plane of matter. Am I right, Professor Summerlee?”
Summerlee grumbled137 an ungracious assent138.
“With certain reservations, I agree,” said he.
“The ideal scientific mind,” continued Challenger —“I put it in the third person rather than appear to be too self-complacent — the ideal scientific mind should be capable of thinking out a point of abstract knowledge in the interval139 between its owner falling from a balloon and reaching the earth. Men of this strong fibre are needed to form the conquerors140 of nature and the bodyguard141 of truth.”
“It strikes me nature’s on top this time,” said Lord John, looking out of the window. “I’ve read some leadin’ articles about you gentlemen controllin’ her, but she’s gettin’ a bit of her own back.”
“It is but a temporary setback,” said Challenger with conviction. “A few million years, what are they in the great cycle of time? The vegetable world has, as you can see, survived. Look at the leaves of that plane tree. The birds are dead, but the plant flourishes. From this vegetable life in pond and in marsh142 will come, in time, the tiny crawling microscopic143 slugs which are the pioneers of that great army of life in which for the instant we five have the extraordinary duty of serving as rear guard. Once the lowest form of life has established itself, the final advent86 of man is as certain as the growth of the oak from the acorn144. The old circle will swing round once more.”
“But the poison?” I asked. “Will that not nip life in the bud?”
“The poison may be a mere145 stratum146 or layer in the ether — a mephitic Gulf147 Stream across that mighty148 ocean in which we float. Or tolerance149 may be established and life accommodate itself to a new condition. The mere fact that with a comparatively small hyperoxygenation of our blood we can hold out against it is surely a proof in itself that no very great change would be needed to enable animal life to endure it.”
The smoking house beyond the trees had burst into flames. We could see the high tongues of fire shooting up into the air.
“It’s pretty awful,” muttered Lord John, more impressed than I had ever seen him.
“Well, after all, what does it matter?” I remarked. “The world is dead. Cremation150 is surely the best burial.”
“It would shorten us up if this house went ablaze.”
“I foresaw the danger,” said Challenger, “and asked my wife to guard against it.”
“Everything is quite safe, dear. But my head begins to throb151 again. What a dreadful atmosphere!”
“We must change it,” said Challenger. He bent152 over his cylinder153 of oxygen.
“It’s nearly empty,” said he. “It has lasted us some three and a half hours. It is now close on eight o’clock. We shall get through the night comfortably. I should expect the end about nine o’clock tomorrow morning. We shall see one sunrise, which shall be all our own.”
He turned on his second tube and opened for half a minute the fanlight over the door. Then as the air became perceptibly better, but our own symptoms more acute, he closed it once again.
“By the way,” said he, “man does not live upon oxygen alone. It’s dinner time and over. I assure you, gentlemen, that when I invited you to my home and to what I had hoped would be an interesting reunion, I had intended that my kitchen should justify154 itself. However, we must do what we can. I am sure that you will agree with me that it would be folly155 to consume our air too rapidly by lighting156 an oil-stove. I have some small provision of cold meats, bread, and pickles157 which, with a couple of bottles of claret, may serve our turn. Thank you, my dear — now as ever you are the queen of managers.”
It was indeed wonderful how, with the self-respect and sense of propriety158 of the British housekeeper159, the lady had within a few minutes adorned160 the central table with a snow-white cloth, laid the napkins upon it, and set forth the simple meal with all the elegance161 of civilization, including an electric torch lamp in the centre. Wonderful also was it to find that our appetites were ravenous162.
“It is the measure of our emotion,” said Challenger with that air of condescension163 with which he brought his scientific mind to the explanation of humble164 facts. “We have gone through a great crisis. That means molecular165 disturbance166. That in turn means the need for repair. Great sorrow or great joy should bring intense hunger — not abstinence from food, as our novelists will have it.”
“That’s why the country folk have great feasts at funerals,” I hazarded.
“Exactly. Our young friend has hit upon an excellent illustration. Let me give you another slice of tongue.”
“The same with savages,” said Lord John, cutting away at the beef. “I’ve seen them buryin’ a chief up the Aruwimi River, and they ate a hippo that must have weighed as much as a tribe. There are some of them down New Guinea way that eat the late-lamented himself, just by way of a last tidy up. Well, of all the funeral feasts on this earth, I suppose the one we are takin’ is the queerest.”
“The strange thing is,” said Mrs. Challenger, “that I find it impossible to feel grief for those who are gone. There are my father and mother at Bedford. I know that they are dead, and yet in this tremendous universal tragedy I can feel no sharp sorrow for any individuals, even for them.”
“And my old mother in her cottage in Ireland,” said I. “I can see her in my mind’s eye, with her shawl and her lace cap, lying back with closed eyes in the old high-backed chair near the window, her glasses and her book beside her. Why should I mourn her? She has passed and I am passing, and I may be nearer her in some other life than England is to Ireland. Yet I grieve to think that that dear body is no more.”
“As to the body,” remarked Challenger, “we do not mourn over the parings of our nails nor the cut locks of our hair, though they were once part of ourselves. Neither does a one-legged man yearn167 sentimentally168 over his missing member. The physical body has rather been a source of pain and fatigue169 to us. It is the constant index of our limitations. Why then should we worry about its detachment from our psychical170 selves?”
“If they can indeed be detached,” Summerlee grumbled. “But, anyhow, universal death is dreadful.”
“As I have already explained,” said Challenger, “a universal death must in its nature be far less terrible than a isolated171 one.”
“Same in a battle,” remarked Lord John. “If you saw a single man lying on that floor with his chest knocked in and a hole in his face it would turn you sick. But I’ve seen ten thousand on their backs in the Soudan, and it gave me no such feelin’, for when you are makin’ history the life of any man is too small a thing to worry over. When a thousand million pass over together, same as happened today, you can’t pick your own partic’lar out of the crowd.”
“I wish it were well over with us,” said the lady wistfully. “Oh, George, I am so frightened.”
“You’ll be the bravest of us all, little lady, when the time comes. I’ve been a blusterous old husband to you, dear, but you’ll just bear in mind that G. E. C. is as he was made and couldn’t help himself. After all, you wouldn’t have had anyone else?”
“No one in the whole wide world, dear,” said she, and put her arms round his bull neck. We three walked to the window and stood amazed at the sight which met our eyes.
Darkness had fallen and the dead world was shrouded172 in gloom. But right across the southern horizon was one long vivid scarlet173 streak174, waxing and waning175 in vivid pulses of life, leaping suddenly to a crimson176 zenith and then dying down to a glowing line of fire.
“Lewes is ablaze!”
“No, it is Brighton which is burning,” said Challenger, stepping across to join us. “You can see the curved back of the downs against the glow. That fire is miles on the farther side of it. The whole town must be alight.”
There were several red glares at different points, and the pile of debris177 upon the railway line was still smoldering178 darkly, but they all seemed mere pin-points of light compared to that monstrous conflagration179 throbbing180 beyond the hills. What copy it would have made for the Gazette! Had ever a journalist such an opening and so little chance of using it — the scoop181 of scoops182, and no one to appreciate it? And then, suddenly, the old instinct of recording183 came over me. If these men of science could be so true to their life’s work to the very end, why should not I, in my humble way, be as constant? No human eye might ever rest upon what I had done. But the long night had to be passed somehow, and for me at least, sleep seemed to be out of the question. My notes would help to pass the weary hours and to occupy my thoughts. Thus it is that now I have before me the notebook with its scribbled184 pages, written confusedly upon my knee in the dim, waning light of our one electric torch. Had I the literary touch, they might have been worthy185 of the occasion, As it is, they may still serve to bring to other minds the long-drawn emotions and tremors186 of that awful night.
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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unduly
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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15
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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reeks
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| n.恶臭( reek的名词复数 )v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的第三人称单数 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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17
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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18
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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19
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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20
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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21
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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22
insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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23
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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comatose
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| adj.昏睡的，昏迷不醒的 | |
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25
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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26
anarchists
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| 无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 ) | |
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27
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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28
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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29
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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30
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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31
astronomers
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| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
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32
deluged
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| v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 )；淹没；被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没；穷于应付 | |
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33
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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34
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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35
scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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36
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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37
laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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38
gambol
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| v.欢呼，雀跃 | |
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39
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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40
reapers
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| n.收割者，收获者( reaper的名词复数 )；收割机 | |
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41
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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42
wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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43
evicted
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| v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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45
agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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46
pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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47
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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48
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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49
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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50
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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51
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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52
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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53
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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54
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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55
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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56
beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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57
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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58
gulps
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| n.一大口（尤指液体）( gulp的名词复数 )v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的第三人称单数 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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59
exultantly
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| adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地 | |
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60
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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61
arteries
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| n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道 | |
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62
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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63
sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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64
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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65
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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66
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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67
bullying
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| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
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68
ranting
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| v.夸夸其谈( rant的现在分词 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨 | |
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69
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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70
foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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72
blurring
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| n.模糊，斑点甚多，（图像的）混乱v.（使）变模糊( blur的现在分词 )；（使）难以区分 | |
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73
spectrum
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| n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列 | |
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74
delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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75
pugnacious
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| adj.好斗的 | |
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76
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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77
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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78
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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79
neutralize
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| v.使失效、抵消，使中和 | |
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80
constriction
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| 压缩； 紧压的感觉； 束紧； 压缩物 | |
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81
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
compute
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| v./n.计算，估计 | |
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83
resuscitating
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| v.使（某人或某物）恢复知觉，苏醒( resuscitate的现在分词 ) | |
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84
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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85
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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86
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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87
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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88
obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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89
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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90
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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91
curtail
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| vt.截短，缩短；削减 | |
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92
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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93
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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94
stuffiness
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| n.不通风，闷热；不通气 | |
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95
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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96
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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97
bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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98
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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99
fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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100
scythe
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| n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割 | |
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101
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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102
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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104
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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105
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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106
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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107
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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108
counteracted
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的过去式 ) | |
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109
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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110
oasis
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| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方 | |
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111
participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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112
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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113
combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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114
mechanisms
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| n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用 | |
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115
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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116
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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117
spurts
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| 短暂而突然的活动或努力( spurt的名词复数 )； 突然奋起 | |
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118
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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120
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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121
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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122
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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123
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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124
tilt
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| v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜 | |
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125
cargoes
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| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
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126
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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127
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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128
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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129
geologists
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| 地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 ) | |
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130
strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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131
inception
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| n.开端，开始，取得学位 | |
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132
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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133
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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134
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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135
observatory
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| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 | |
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136
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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137
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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138
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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139
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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140
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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141
bodyguard
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| n.护卫，保镖 | |
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142
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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143
microscopic
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| adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的 | |
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144
acorn
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| n.橡实，橡子 | |
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145
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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146
stratum
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| n.地层，社会阶层 | |
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147
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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148
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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149
tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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150
cremation
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| n.火葬，火化 | |
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151
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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152
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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153
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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154
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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155
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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156
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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157
pickles
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| n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱 | |
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158
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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159
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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160
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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161
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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162
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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163
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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164
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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165
molecular
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| adj.分子的；克分子的 | |
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166
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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167
yearn
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| v.想念；怀念；渴望 | |
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168
sentimentally
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| adv.富情感地 | |
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169
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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170
psychical
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| adj.有关特异功能现象的；有关特异功能官能的；灵魂的；心灵的 | |
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171
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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172
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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173
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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174
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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175
waning
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| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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176
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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177
debris
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| n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片 | |
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178
smoldering
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 ) | |
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179
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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180
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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181
scoop
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| n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出 | |
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182
scoops
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| n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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183
recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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184
scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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185
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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186
tremors
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| 震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动 | |
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