1
(Ah little recks the laborer2,
How near his work is holding him to God,
The loving Laborer through space and time.)
After all not to create only, or found only,
But to bring perhaps from afar what is already founded,
To give it our own identity, average, limitless, free,
To fill the gross the torpid3 bulk with vital religious fire,
Not to repel4 or destroy so much as accept, fuse, rehabilitate5,
To obey as well as command, to follow more than to lead,
These also are the lessons of our New World;
While how little the New after all, how much the Old, Old World!
Long and long has the grass been growing,
Long and long has the rain been falling,
Long has the globe been rolling round.
2
Come Muse6 migrate from Greece and Ionia,
Cross out please those immensely overpaid accounts,
That matter of Troy and Achilles' wrath7, and AEneas', Odysseus' wanderings,
Placard "Removed" and "To Let" on the rocks of your snowy Parnassus,
Repeat at Jerusalem, place the notice high on jaffa's gate and on
Mount Moriah,
The same on the walls of your German, French and Spanish castles,
and Italian collections,
For know a better, fresher, busier sphere, a wide, untried domain8
awaits, demands you.
3
Responsive to our summons,
Or rather to her long-nurs'd inclination9,
Join'd with an irresistible10, natural gravitation,
She comes! I hear the rustling11 of her gown,
I scent12 the odor of her breath's delicious fragrance13,
I mark her step divine, her curious eyes a-turning, rolling,
Upon this very scene.
The dame14 of dames15! can I believe then,
Those ancient temples, sculptures classic, could none of them retain her?
Nor shades of Virgil and Dante, nor myriad16 memories, poems, old
associations, magnetize and hold on to her?
But that she's left them all—and here?
Yes, if you will allow me to say so,
I, my friends, if you do not, can plainly see her,
The same undying soul of earth's, activity's, beauty's, heroism's
expression,
Out from her evolutions hither come, ended the strata17 of her former themes,
Hidden and cover'd by to-day's, foundation of to-day's,
Ended, deceas'd through time, her voice by Castaly's fountain,
Silent the broken-lipp'd Sphynx in Egypt, silent all those century-
baffling tombs,
Ended for aye the epics18 of Asia's, Europe's helmeted warriors19, ended
the primitive20 call of the muses21,
Calliope's call forever closed, Clio, Melpomene, Thalia dead,
Ended the stately rhythmus of Una and Oriana, ended the quest of the
holy Graal,
Jerusalem a handful of ashes blown by the wind, extinct,
The Crusaders' streams of shadowy midnight troops sped with the sunrise,
Amadis, Tancred, utterly23 gone, Charlemagne, Roland, Oliver gone,
Palmerin, ogre, departed, vanish'd the turrets24 that Usk from its
waters reflected,
Arthur vanish'd with all his knights25, Merlin and Lancelot and
Galahad, all gone, dissolv'd utterly like an exhalation;
Pass'd! pass'd! for us, forever pass'd, that once so mighty26 world,
now void, inanimate, phantom27 world,
Embroider'd, dazzling, foreign world, with all its gorgeous legends, myths,
Its kings and castles proud, its priests and warlike lords and
courtly dames,
Pass'd to its charnel vault28, coffin'd with crown and armor on,
Blazon'd with Shakspere's purple page,
And dirged by Tennyson's sweet sad rhyme.
I say I see, my friends, if you do not, the illustrious emigre, (having it
is true in her day, although the same, changed, journey'd considerable,)
Making directly for this rendezvous29, vigorously clearing a path for
herself, striding through the confusion,
By thud of machinery30 and shrill31 steam-whistle undismay'd,
Bluff'd not a bit by drain-pipe, gasometers, artificial fertilizers,
Smiling and pleas'd with palpable intent to stay,
She's here, install'd amid the kitchen ware32!
4
But hold—don't I forget my manners?
To introduce the stranger, (what else indeed do I live to chant
for?) to thee Columbia;
In liberty's name welcome immortal33! clasp hands,
And ever henceforth sisters dear be both.
Fear not O Muse! truly new ways and days receive, surround you,
I candidly34 confess a queer, queer race, of novel fashion,
And yet the same old human race, the same within, without,
Faces and hearts the same, feelings the same, yearnings the same,
The same old love, beauty and use the same.
5
We do not blame thee elder World, nor really separate ourselves from thee,
(Would the son separate himself from the father?)
Looking back on thee, seeing thee to thy duties, grandeurs, through
past ages bending, building,
We build to ours to-day.
Mightier35 than Egypt's tombs,
Fairer than Grecia's, Roma's temples,
Prouder than Milan's statued, spired36 cathedral,
More picturesque37 than Rhenish castle-keeps,
We plan even now to raise, beyond them all,
Thy great cathedral sacred industry, no tomb,
A keep for life for practical invention.
As in a waking vision,
E'en while I chant I see it rise, I scan and prophesy38 outside and in,
Its manifold ensemble39.
Around a palace, loftier, fairer, ampler than any yet,
Earth's modern wonder, history's seven outstripping40,
High rising tier on tier with glass and iron facades41,
Gladdening the sun and sky, enhued in cheerfulest hues42,
Bronze, lilac, robin's-egg, marine43 and crimson44,
Over whose golden roof shall flaunt45, beneath thy banner Freedom,
The banners of the States and flags of every land,
A brood of lofty, fair, but lesser46 palaces shall cluster.
Somewhere within their walls shall all that forwards perfect human
life be started,
Tried, taught, advanced, visibly exhibited.
Not only all the world of works, trade, products,
But all the workmen of the world here to be represented.
Here shall you trace in flowing operation,
In every state of practical, busy movement, the rills of civilization,
Materials here under your eye shall change their shape as if by magic,
The cotton shall be pick'd almost in the very field,
Shall be dried, clean'd, ginn'd, baled, spun47 into thread and cloth
before you,
You shall see hands at work at all the old processes and all the new ones,
You shall see the various grains and how flour is made and then
bread baked by the bakers48,
You shall see the crude ores of California and Nevada passing on and
on till they become bullion49,
You shall watch how the printer sets type, and learn what a
composing-stick is,
You shall mark in amazement50 the Hoe press whirling its cylinders51,
shedding the printed leaves steady and fast,
The photograph, model, watch, pin, nail, shall be created before you.
In large calm halls, a stately museum shall teach you the infinite
lessons of minerals,
In another, woods, plants, vegetation shall be illustrated—in
another animals, animal life and development.
One stately house shall be the music house,
Others for other arts—learning, the sciences, shall all be here,
None shall be slighted, none but shall here be honor'd, help'd, exampled.
6
(This, this and these, America, shall be your pyramids and obelisks52,
Your Alexandrian Pharos, gardens of Babylon,
Your temple at Olympia.)
The male and female many laboring53 not,
Shall ever here confront the laboring many,
With precious benefits to both, glory to all,
To thee America, and thee eternal Muse.
And here shall ye inhabit powerful Matrons!
In your vast state vaster than all the old,
Echoed through long, long centuries to come,
To sound of different, prouder songs, with stronger themes,
Practical, peaceful life, the people's life, the People themselves,
Lifted, illumin'd, bathed in peace—elate, secure in peace.
7
Away with themes of war! away with war itself!
Hence from my shuddering54 sight to never more return that show of
blacken'd, mutilated corpses55!
That hell unpent and raid of blood, fit for wild tigers or for
lop-tongued wolves, not reasoning men,
And in its stead speed industry's campaigns,
With thy undaunted armies, engineering,
Thy pennants56 labor1, loosen'd to the breeze,
Thy bugles57 sounding loud and clear.
Away with old romance!
Away with novels, plots and plays of foreign courts,
Away with love-verses sugar'd in rhyme, the intrigues58, amours of idlers,
Fitted for only banquets of the night where dancers to late music slide,
The unhealthy pleasures, extravagant59 dissipations of the few,
With perfumes, heat and wine, beneath the dazzling chandeliers.
To you ye reverent60 sane61 sisters,
I raise a voice for far superber themes for poets and for art,
To exalt62 the present and the real,
To teach the average man the glory of his daily walk and trade,
To sing in songs how exercise and chemical life are never to be baffled,
To manual work for each and all, to plough, hoe, dig,
To plant and tend the tree, the berry, vegetables, flowers,
For every man to see to it that he really do something, for every woman too;
To use the hammer and the saw, (rip, or cross-cut,)
To cultivate a turn for carpentering, plastering, painting,
To work as tailor, tailoress, nurse, hostler, porter,
To invent a little, something ingenious, to aid the washing, cooking,
cleaning,
And hold it no disgrace to take a hand at them themselves.
I say I bring thee Muse to-day and here,
All occupations, duties broad and close,
Toil63, healthy toil and sweat, endless, without cessation,
The old, old practical burdens, interests, joys,
The family, parentage, childhood, husband and wife,
The house-comforts, the house itself and all its belongings64,
Food and its preservation65, chemistry applied66 to it,
Whatever forms the average, strong, complete, sweet-blooded man or
woman, the perfect longeve personality,
And helps its present life to health and happiness, and shapes its soul,
For the eternal real life to come.
With latest connections, works, the inter-transportation of the world,
Steam-power, the great express lines, gas, petroleum67,
These triumphs of our time, the Atlantic's delicate cable,
The Pacific railroad, the Suez canal, the Mont Cenis and Gothard and
Hoosac tunnels, the Brooklyn bridge,
This earth all spann'd with iron rails, with lines of steamships68
threading in every sea,
Our own rondure, the current globe I bring.
8
And thou America,
Thy offspring towering e'er so high, yet higher Thee above all towering,
With Victory on thy left, and at thy right hand Law;
Thou union holding all, fusing, absorbing, tolerating all,
Thee, ever thee, I sing.
Thou, also thou, a World,
With all thy wide geographies, manifold, different, distant,
Rounded by thee in one—one common orbic language,
One common indivisible destiny for All.
And by the spells which ye vouchsafe69 to those your ministers in earnest,
I here personify and call my themes, to make them pass before ye.
Behold70, America! (and thou, ineffable71 guest and sister!)
For thee come trooping up thy waters and thy lands;
Behold! thy fields and farms, thy far-off woods and mountains,
As in procession coming.
Behold, the sea itself,
And on its limitless, heaving breast, the ships;
See, where their white sails, bellying72 in the wind, speckle the
green and blue,
See, the steamers coming and going, steaming in or out of port,
See, dusky and undulating, the long pennants of smoke.
Behold, in Oregon, far in the north and west,
Or in Maine, far in the north and east, thy cheerful axemen,
Wielding73 all day their axes.
Behold, on the lakes, thy pilots at their wheels, thy oarsmen,
How the ash writhes74 under those muscular arms!
There by the furnace, and there by the anvil75,
Behold thy sturdy blacksmiths swinging their sledges76,
Overhand so steady, overhand they turn and fall with joyous77 clank,
Like a tumult78 of laughter.
Mark the spirit of invention everywhere, thy rapid patents,
Thy continual workshops, foundries, risen or rising,
See, from their chimneys how the tall flame-fires stream.
Mark, thy interminable farms, North, South,
Thy wealthy daughter-states, Eastern and Western,
The varied80 products of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia, Texas,
and the rest,
Thy limitless crops, grass, wheat, sugar, oil, corn, rice, hemp81, hops79,
Thy barns all fill'd, the endless freight-train and the bulging82 store-house,
The grapes that ripen83 on thy vines, the apples in thy orchards84,
Thy incalculable lumber85, beef, pork, potatoes, thy coal, thy gold
and silver,
The inexhaustible iron in thy mines.
All thine O sacred union!
Ships, farms, shops, barns, factories, mines,
City and State, North, South, item and aggregate86,
We dedicate, dread87 Mother, all to thee!
Protectress absolute, thou! bulwark88 of all!
For well we know that while thou givest each and all, (generous as God,)
Without thee neither all nor each, nor land, home,
Nor ship, nor mine, nor any here this day secure,
Nor aught, nor any day secure.
9
And thou, the Emblem89 waving over all!
Delicate beauty, a word to thee, (it may be salutary,)
Remember thou hast not always been as here to-day so comfortably
ensovereign'd,
In other scenes than these have I observ'd thee flag,
Not quite so trim and whole and freshly blooming in folds of
stainless90 silk,
But I have seen thee bunting, to tatters torn upon thy splinter'd staff,
Or clutch'd to some young color-bearer's breast with desperate hands,
Savagely91 struggled for, for life or death, fought over long,
'Mid22 cannons92' thunder-crash and many a curse and groan93 and yell, and
rifle-volleys cracking sharp,
And moving masses as wild demons94 surging, and lives as nothing risk'd,
For thy mere95 remnant grimed with dirt and smoke and sopp'd in blood,
For sake of that, my beauty, and that thou might'st dally96 as now
secure up there,
Many a good man have I seen go under.
Now here and these and hence in peace, all thine O Flag!
And here and hence for thee, O universal Muse! and thou for them!
And here and hence O union, all the work and workmen thine!
None separate from thee—henceforth One only, we and thou,
(For the blood of the children, what is it, only the blood maternal97?
And lives and works, what are they all at last, except the roads to
faith and death?)
While we rehearse our measureless wealth, it is for thee, dear Mother,
We own it all and several to-day indissoluble in thee;
Think not our chant, our show, merely for products gross or lucre—
it is for thee, the soul in thee, electric, spiritual!
Our farms, inventions, crops, we own in thee! cities and States in thee!
Our freedom all in thee! our very lives in thee!
点击收听单词发音
1 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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2 laborer | |
n.劳动者,劳工 | |
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3 torpid | |
adj.麻痹的,麻木的,迟钝的 | |
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4 repel | |
v.击退,抵制,拒绝,排斥 | |
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5 rehabilitate | |
vt.改造(罪犯),修复;vi.复兴,(罪犯)经受改造 | |
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6 muse | |
n.缪斯(希腊神话中的女神),创作灵感 | |
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7 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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8 domain | |
n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围 | |
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9 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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10 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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11 rustling | |
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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12 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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13 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
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14 dame | |
n.女士 | |
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15 dames | |
n.(在英国)夫人(一种封号),夫人(爵士妻子的称号)( dame的名词复数 );女人 | |
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16 myriad | |
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量 | |
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17 strata | |
n.地层(复数);社会阶层 | |
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18 epics | |
n.叙事诗( epic的名词复数 );壮举;惊人之举;史诗般的电影(或书籍) | |
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19 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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20 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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21 muses | |
v.沉思,冥想( muse的第三人称单数 );沉思自语说(某事) | |
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22 mid | |
adj.中央的,中间的 | |
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23 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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24 turrets | |
(六角)转台( turret的名词复数 ); (战舰和坦克等上的)转动炮塔; (摄影机等上的)镜头转台; (旧时攻城用的)塔车 | |
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25 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
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26 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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27 phantom | |
n.幻影,虚位,幽灵;adj.错觉的,幻影的,幽灵的 | |
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28 vault | |
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室 | |
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29 rendezvous | |
n.约会,约会地点,汇合点;vi.汇合,集合;vt.使汇合,使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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30 machinery | |
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构 | |
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31 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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32 ware | |
n.(常用复数)商品,货物 | |
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33 immortal | |
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的 | |
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34 candidly | |
adv.坦率地,直率而诚恳地 | |
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35 mightier | |
adj. 强有力的,强大的,巨大的 adv. 很,极其 | |
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36 spired | |
v.(教堂的) 塔尖,尖顶( spire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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38 prophesy | |
v.预言;预示 | |
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39 ensemble | |
n.合奏(唱)组;全套服装;整体,总效果 | |
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40 outstripping | |
v.做得比…更好,(在赛跑等中)超过( outstrip的现在分词 ) | |
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41 facades | |
n.(房屋的)正面( facade的名词复数 );假象,外观 | |
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42 hues | |
色彩( hue的名词复数 ); 色调; 信仰; 观点 | |
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43 marine | |
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵 | |
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44 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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45 flaunt | |
vt.夸耀,夸饰 | |
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46 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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47 spun | |
v.纺,杜撰,急转身 | |
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48 bakers | |
n.面包师( baker的名词复数 );面包店;面包店店主;十三 | |
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49 bullion | |
n.金条,银条 | |
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50 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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51 cylinders | |
n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 );圆柱;汽缸;(尤指用作容器的)圆筒状物 | |
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52 obelisks | |
n.方尖石塔,短剑号,疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
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53 laboring | |
n.劳动,操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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54 shuddering | |
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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55 corpses | |
n.死尸,尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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56 pennants | |
n.校旗( pennant的名词复数 );锦标旗;长三角旗;信号旗 | |
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57 bugles | |
妙脆角,一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食; 号角( bugle的名词复数 ); 喇叭; 匍匐筋骨草; (装饰女服用的)柱状玻璃(或塑料)小珠 | |
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58 intrigues | |
n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 );神秘气氛;引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 );激起…的好奇心 | |
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59 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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60 reverent | |
adj.恭敬的,虔诚的 | |
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61 sane | |
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的 | |
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62 exalt | |
v.赞扬,歌颂,晋升,提升 | |
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63 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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64 belongings | |
n.私人物品,私人财物 | |
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65 preservation | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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66 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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67 petroleum | |
n.原油,石油 | |
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68 steamships | |
n.汽船,大轮船( steamship的名词复数 ) | |
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69 vouchsafe | |
v.惠予,准许 | |
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70 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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71 ineffable | |
adj.无法表达的,不可言喻的 | |
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72 bellying | |
鼓出部;鼓鼓囊囊 | |
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73 wielding | |
手持着使用(武器、工具等)( wield的现在分词 ); 具有; 运用(权力); 施加(影响) | |
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74 writhes | |
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的第三人称单数 ) | |
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75 anvil | |
n.铁钻 | |
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76 sledges | |
n.雪橇,雪车( sledge的名词复数 )v.乘雪橇( sledge的第三人称单数 );用雪橇运载 | |
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77 joyous | |
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的 | |
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78 tumult | |
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹 | |
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79 hops | |
跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花 | |
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80 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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81 hemp | |
n.大麻;纤维 | |
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82 bulging | |
膨胀; 凸出(部); 打气; 折皱 | |
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83 ripen | |
vt.使成熟;vi.成熟 | |
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84 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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85 lumber | |
n.木材,木料;v.以破旧东西堆满;伐木;笨重移动 | |
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86 aggregate | |
adj.总计的,集合的;n.总数;v.合计;集合 | |
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87 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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88 bulwark | |
n.堡垒,保障,防御 | |
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89 emblem | |
n.象征,标志;徽章 | |
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90 stainless | |
adj.无瑕疵的,不锈的 | |
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91 savagely | |
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地 | |
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92 cannons | |
n.加农炮,大炮,火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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93 groan | |
vi./n.呻吟,抱怨;(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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94 demons | |
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念 | |
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95 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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96 dally | |
v.荒废(时日),调情 | |
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97 maternal | |
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的 | |
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