‘Run along, Wroxie, dear, it’s past bedtime!’ a maternal2 voice from the opposite chair suddenly expostulated.
‘But, mother, I must do my Scripture-lesson, and I’ve nearly finished!’
238‘What have you to do, Wroxie?’ I inquired, appointing myself arbitrator on the instant.
‘I have to learn these eight verses of the hundred and nineteenth Psalm3!’
‘Well, read them aloud to us, and then run off to bed!’ I commanded.
She read. I am afraid I had no ears for any of the later verses. For among the very first words that she read were these: ‘I rejoice at Thy Word as one that findeth great spoil.’ I had read those familiar words hundreds of times, but it was like passing a closed door. But to-night my memories of the great historic sieges supplied me with the key. ‘As one that findeth great spoil’ ... ‘findeth great spoil’ ... ‘great spoil.’ That one word ‘spoil’ supplied me with the magic key. I applied4 it; the door flew open; and I saw that in the text which I had never seen before. The lesson came to an end; the girlish tones subsided5; the reader kissed me good-night, and scampered6 off to bed, her mother leaving the room in her company; and I was left once more to my own imaginings.
But my fancy flew in quite a fresh direction. The text had done for my imprisoned7 mind what Noah did for the imprisoned dove. It had opened a window of escape, and I was at liberty to go where I had never been before. ‘Spoil!’—at the sound of that magic word the doors of truth swung open as 239the great door of the robbers’ dungeon8 in The Forty Thieves yielded to the sound of ‘Open, Sesame!’ A landscape may be mirrored in a dewdrop; and here, in this arresting phrase, I suddenly discovered all the picturesque9 colour and stirring movement of a great siege. I saw the bastions and the drawbridges; the fortified10 walls and the frowning ramparts; the lofty parapets and the stately towers. I watched the fierce assault of the besiegers and the tumultuous sally of the garrison12. I heard the clash and din13 of strife14. I marked the long, grim struggle against impending15 starvation. And then, at last, I saw the white flag flown. The proud city has fallen; the garrison has surrendered; the gates are thrown open to the investing forces; and the conqueror16 rides triumphantly17 in to seize his splendid prize! His followers18 fall eagerly upon their booty, and grasp with greedy hands at every glint of treasure that presents itself to their rapacious19 eyes. Spoil; spoil; Spoil! ‘I rejoice at Thy Word as one that findeth great spoil!’
I
Now the most notable point about this metaphor20 is that the city only yields up its treasure after long resistance. The besieger11 does not find the city waiting with open gates to welcome him. It slams 240those gates in his face; bars, bolts, and barricades21 them; and settles down to keep him at bay as long as possible. The stubbornness of its brave resistance lends an added sweetness to the final triumph of its conqueror; but, whilst it lasts, that resistance is very baffling and vexatious. All the best things in life follow the same strange law. See how the soil resists the farmer! It stiffens22 itself against his approach, so that only in the sweat of his brow can he plough and harrow it. It garrisons23 itself with swarms24 of insect pests, so that his attempts to subjugate25 it shall be rendered as ineffective and unfruitful as possible. It extends eager hospitality to every noxious26 seed that falls upon its surface. It encourages all the farmer’s enemies, and fights against all his allies. Labour makes the harvest sweeter, it is true; but whilst it is in progress it is none the less exhausting. It is only by breaking down the obstinate27 resistance of the unwilling28 soil that the farmer achieves the golden triumph of harvest-time. The miner passes through the same trying experience. The earth has nothing to gain by holding her gold and her diamonds, her copper29 and her coal, in such a tight clutch. Yet she makes the work of the miner a desperate and dangerous business. He takes his life in his hand as he descends30 the shaft31. The peril32 and the toil33 add a greater value to the booty, I confess; but the work of the 241dark mine is none the less trying on that account. He who would grasp the treasures that lie buried in the bowels34 of the earth must first break down the most determined35 and dogged resistance. And the treasures of the mind also follow this curious law. There is no royal road to learning. Knowledge resists the intruder. It presents an exterior37 that is altogether revolting, and only the brave persist in the attack. The text-books of the schools are rarely set to music; they do not tingle38 with romance. They look as dry as dust, and they are often even more arid39 than they look. I remember that, in my college days, the student who sat next to me on the old familiar benches suddenly died. He was brilliant; I was not. And when I heard that he had gone, the first thought that occurred to me was a peculiar40 one. Had all his knowledge perished with him? I asked myself. I thought of the problems that he had mastered, but with which I was still grappling. Could he not have bequeathed to me the fruits of his patient and hard-won victories? No; it could not be. The city must be patiently besieged41 and gallantly42 stormed before it will surrender. The coveted44 diploma may be all the sweeter afterwards as a result of so long and persistent45 a struggle; but that fact does not at the time relieve the tedium46 or lessen47 the intolerable drudgery48. Knowledge seems so good and so desirable a thing; yet it resists the 242aspiring student with such pitiless and unsympathetic pertinacity49.
Even love behaves in the same way. The lady keeps her lover at arm’s length. She would rather die than not be his, but she must guard her modesty50 at all hazards. She must not make herself too cheap. She assumes a frigidity51 that is in hopeless conflict with the warmth of her real sentiments. Her apparent indifference53 and repeated rebuffs nearly drive her poor wooer to distraction54. Her kisses are all the sweeter later on when she is delightfully56 and avowedly57 his own; but whilst the siege of her affections lasts the torment58 almost wrecks59 his reason. It is really no hypocrisy60 on her part. It is the recognition of a true instinct. All the best things resist us, and their resistance has to be overcome. And the psalmist declares that even the divine Word treated him in the selfsame way. It did not entice61, allure62, fascinate; that is usually the policy of evil things. No; it repelled63, resisted, dared him! And it was not until he had conquered that hostility64 that he entered into his triumph. It was in the carcase of the fierce lion he had previously65 destroyed that Samson found the honey that was so sweet to his taste. We generally find our spoil in the cities that slammed their great gates in our faces.
243II
But the city capitulates for all that. It may hold out stubbornly, and for long, but it always yields at the last. It was so ordained66. The soil was meant to resist the farmer; but it was also meant to yield to the farmer at length, and to furnish him with his proud and delightful55 prize. The minerals are hidden so cleverly, and buried so deeply, not that they may successfully elude67 the vigilance and skill of the heroic miner, but in order that he may justly prize the precious metals when they fall at last into his hands. The student’s tedious struggle after knowledge is made so painful a process, not to deter36 or defeat him, but so that, side by side with the acquisition of learning, he may develop those faculties68 of brain and intellect which can alone qualify him to wield69 with wisdom the erudition that he is now so laboriously70 amassing71. The lady treats her poor lover with such seeming disdain72, not by any means to dishearten him, but that she may make quite sure that his ardour is no mere73 passing whim74, but a deep and enduring attachment75. In each case capitulation is agreed upon if only the besieger is sufficiently76 gallant43 and persistent. The best things, and even the holiest things, ‘hold us off that they may draw us on’—to use Tennyson’s expressive77 phrase.
244To cite a single example, what a wonder-story is that of the Syro-Phoenician woman! The Master conceals78 Himself from her; treats her anguish79 with apparent indifference; preserves a frigid52 silence in face of her passionate80 entreaty81; and offers exasperating82 rebuffs in reply to her desperate arguments! But did He design to destroy her faith? Let us see! Like a gallant besieger, she sat down before the city with indomitable courage and patience. Beaten back at one gate, she instantly stormed another. Resisted at one redoubt, she mustered83 all her forces in the effort to reduce a second. And at last ‘Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt84!’ The capitulation was a predetermined policy; but the courage and pertinacity of the besieger must be tested to the utmost before the gates can be finally thrown open.
III
And then the victors fly upon the spoil! The repelling85 Word yields, and is found to contain wealth beyond the dreams of avarice86. ‘I rejoice at Thy Word as one that findeth great spoil.’ Spoil! We have all felt the thrill of those tremendous pages in which Gibbon describes the sack of Rome by the all-victorious Goths. We seem to have witnessed 245with our own eyes the glittering wealth of the queenly city poured at the feet of the rapacious conqueror. Or, in Prescott’s stately stories, we have watched the fabulous87 hoards88 of Montezuma, and the heaped-up gold of Atahuallpa, piled at the feet of Cortes and Pizarro. Or if, forsaking90 the shining spoils of the Goths in Europe and the gleaming argosies which the Spaniards brought from the West, we turn to a later date and an Eastern clime, we instinctively91 recall the glowing periods of Macaulay in his story of the conquests of Clive. After his amazing victory at Plassey, ‘the treasury92 of Bengal was thrown open to him. There were piled up, after the usage of Indian princes, immense masses of coin. Clive walked between heaps of gold and silver, crowned with rubies93 and diamonds, and was at liberty to help himself. He accepted between two and three hundred thousand pounds.’ He was afterwards accused of greed. He replied by describing the countless94 wealth by which he was that day surrounded. Vaults95 piled with gold and with jewels were at his mercy. ‘To this day,’ he exclaimed, ‘I stand astonished at my own moderation!’
Here, then, is the magic key that opens to us the secret in the psalmist’s mind. ‘I rejoice at Thy Word as one that findeth great spoil.’ The besiegers pour into the city. Every house is ransacked96. In the most unlikely places the citizens have concealed97 246their treasures, and in the most unlikely places, therefore, the invaders98 come upon their spoils. Out from queer old drawers and cupboards, out of strange old cracks and crannies, the precious hoard89 is torn. As the besiegers rush from house to house you hear the shout and the laughter with which another and yet another find is greeted. So was it with his conquest of the Word, the psalmist tells us. At first it resisted and repelled him. But afterwards its gates were opened to his challenge. He entered the city and began his search for spoil. And, lo, from out of every promise and precept99, out of every innocent-looking clause or insignificant100 phrase, the treasures of truth came pouring, until he found himself possessed101 at length of a wealth compared with which the pomp of princes is the badge of beggary.
点击收听单词发音
1 narratives | |
记叙文( narrative的名词复数 ); 故事; 叙述; 叙述部分 | |
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2 maternal | |
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的 | |
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3 psalm | |
n.赞美诗,圣诗 | |
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4 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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5 subsided | |
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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6 scampered | |
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7 imprisoned | |
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8 dungeon | |
n.地牢,土牢 | |
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9 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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10 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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11 besieger | |
n. 围攻者, 围攻军 | |
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12 garrison | |
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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13 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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14 strife | |
n.争吵,冲突,倾轧,竞争 | |
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15 impending | |
a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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16 conqueror | |
n.征服者,胜利者 | |
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17 triumphantly | |
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地 | |
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18 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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19 rapacious | |
adj.贪婪的,强夺的 | |
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20 metaphor | |
n.隐喻,暗喻 | |
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21 barricades | |
路障,障碍物( barricade的名词复数 ) | |
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22 stiffens | |
(使)变硬,(使)强硬( stiffen的第三人称单数 ) | |
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23 garrisons | |
守备部队,卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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24 swarms | |
蜂群,一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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25 subjugate | |
v.征服;抑制 | |
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26 noxious | |
adj.有害的,有毒的;使道德败坏的,讨厌的 | |
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27 obstinate | |
adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的 | |
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28 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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29 copper | |
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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30 descends | |
v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 );下去;下降;下斜 | |
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31 shaft | |
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物 | |
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32 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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33 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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34 bowels | |
n.肠,内脏,内部;肠( bowel的名词复数 );内部,最深处 | |
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35 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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36 deter | |
vt.阻止,使不敢,吓住 | |
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37 exterior | |
adj.外部的,外在的;表面的 | |
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38 tingle | |
vi.感到刺痛,感到激动;n.刺痛,激动 | |
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39 arid | |
adj.干旱的;(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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40 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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41 besieged | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42 gallantly | |
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地 | |
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43 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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44 coveted | |
adj.令人垂涎的;垂涎的,梦寐以求的v.贪求,觊觎(covet的过去分词);垂涎;贪图 | |
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45 persistent | |
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 | |
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46 tedium | |
n.单调;烦闷 | |
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47 lessen | |
vt.减少,减轻;缩小 | |
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48 drudgery | |
n.苦工,重活,单调乏味的工作 | |
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49 pertinacity | |
n.执拗,顽固 | |
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50 modesty | |
n.谦逊,虚心,端庄,稳重,羞怯,朴素 | |
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51 frigidity | |
n.寒冷;冷淡;索然无味;(尤指妇女的)性感缺失 | |
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52 frigid | |
adj.寒冷的,凛冽的;冷淡的;拘禁的 | |
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53 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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54 distraction | |
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 | |
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55 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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56 delightfully | |
大喜,欣然 | |
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57 avowedly | |
adv.公然地 | |
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58 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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59 wrecks | |
n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 );(事故中)遭严重毁坏的汽车(或飞机等);(身体或精神上)受到严重损伤的人;状况非常糟糕的车辆(或建筑物等)v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 );使(船舶)失事,使遇难,使下沉 | |
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60 hypocrisy | |
n.伪善,虚伪 | |
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61 entice | |
v.诱骗,引诱,怂恿 | |
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62 allure | |
n.诱惑力,魅力;vt.诱惑,引诱,吸引 | |
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63 repelled | |
v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 );使厌恶;排斥;推开 | |
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64 hostility | |
n.敌对,敌意;抵制[pl.]交战,战争 | |
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65 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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66 ordained | |
v.任命(某人)为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 );授予(某人)圣职;(上帝、法律等)命令;判定 | |
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67 elude | |
v.躲避,困惑 | |
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68 faculties | |
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
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69 wield | |
vt.行使,运用,支配;挥,使用(武器等) | |
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70 laboriously | |
adv.艰苦地;费力地;辛勤地;(文体等)佶屈聱牙地 | |
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71 amassing | |
v.积累,积聚( amass的现在分词 ) | |
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72 disdain | |
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
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73 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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74 whim | |
n.一时的兴致,突然的念头;奇想,幻想 | |
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75 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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76 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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77 expressive | |
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的 | |
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78 conceals | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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79 anguish | |
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼 | |
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80 passionate | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的 | |
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81 entreaty | |
n.恳求,哀求 | |
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82 exasperating | |
adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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83 mustered | |
v.集合,召集,集结(尤指部队)( muster的过去式和过去分词 );(自他人处)搜集某事物;聚集;激发 | |
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84 wilt | |
v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎;(指人)疲倦,衰弱 | |
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85 repelling | |
v.击退( repel的现在分词 );使厌恶;排斥;推开 | |
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86 avarice | |
n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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87 fabulous | |
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的 | |
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88 hoards | |
n.(钱财、食物或其他珍贵物品的)储藏,积存( hoard的名词复数 )v.积蓄并储藏(某物)( hoard的第三人称单数 ) | |
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89 hoard | |
n./v.窖藏,贮存,囤积 | |
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90 forsaking | |
放弃( forsake的现在分词 ); 弃绝; 抛弃; 摒弃 | |
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91 instinctively | |
adv.本能地 | |
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92 treasury | |
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
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93 rubies | |
红宝石( ruby的名词复数 ); 红宝石色,深红色 | |
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94 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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95 vaults | |
n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 );地下室;撑物跳高;墓穴 | |
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96 ransacked | |
v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 );抢劫,掠夺 | |
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97 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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98 invaders | |
入侵者,侵略者,侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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99 precept | |
n.戒律;格言 | |
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100 insignificant | |
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的 | |
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101 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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