In the foyer of one of the private theatres a small committee of local barristers who had undertaken to conduct the cases of those who had suffered in the last pogrom against the Jews was reaching the end of its daily task. There were nineteen of them, all juniors, young, progressive and conscientious3 men. The sitting was without formality, and white suits of duck, flannel4 and alpaca were in the majority. They sat anywhere, at little marble tables, and the chairman stood in front of an empty counter where chocolates were sold in the winter.
The barristers were quite exhausted5 by the heat which poured in through the windows, with the dazzling sunlight and the noise of the streets. The proceedings6 went lazily and with a certain irritation7.
A tall young man with a fair moustache and thin hair was in the chair. He was dreaming voluptuously8 how he would be off in an instant on his new-bought bicycle to the bungalow9. He would undress quickly, and without waiting to cool, still bathed in sweat, would fling himself into the clear, cold, sweet-smelling sea. His whole body was enervated10 and tense, thrilled by the thought. Impatiently moving the papers before him, he spoke11 in a drowsy12 voice.
“So, Joseph Moritzovich will conduct the case of Rubinchik... Perhaps there is still a statement to be made on the order of the day?”
His youngest colleague, a short, stout13 Karaite, very black and lively, said in a whisper so that every one could hear: “On the order of the day, the best thing would be iced kvas...”
The chairman gave him a stern side-glance, but could not restrain a smile. He sighed and put both his hands on the table to raise himself and declare the meeting closed, when the doorkeeper, who stood at the entrance to the theatre, suddenly moved forward and said: “There are seven people outside, sir. They want to come in.”
The chairman looked impatiently round the company.
“What is to be done, gentlemen?”
Voices were heard.
“Next time. Basta!”
“Let ‘em put it in writing.”
“If they’ll get it over quickly... Decide it at once.”
“Let ‘em go to the devil. Phew! It’s like boiling pitch.”
“Let them in.” The chairman gave a sign with his head, annoyed. “Then bring me a Vichy, please. But it must be cold.”
The porter opened the door and called down the corridor: “Come in. They say you may.”
Then seven of the most surprising and unexpected individuals filed into the foyer. First appeared a full-grown, confident man in a smart suit, of the colour of dry sea-sand, in a magnificent pink shirt with white stripes and a crimson14 rose in his buttonhole. From the front his head looked like an upright bean, from the side like a horizontal bean. His face was adorned15 with a strong, bushy, martial17 moustache. He wore dark blue pince-nez on his nose, on his hands straw-coloured gloves. In his left hand he held a black walking-stick with a silver mount, in his right a light blue handkerchief.
The other six produced a strange, chaotic18, incongruous impression, exactly as though they had all hastily pooled not merely their clothes, but their hands, feet and heads as well. There was a man with the splendid profile of a Roman senator, dressed in rags and tatters. Another wore an elegant dress waistcoat, from the deep opening of which a dirty Little-Russian shirt leapt to the eye. Here were the unbalanced faces of the criminal type, but looking with a confidence that nothing could shake. All these men, in spite of their apparent youth, evidently possessed19 a large experience of life, an easy manner, a bold approach, and some hidden, suspicious cunning.
The gentleman in the sandy suit bowed just his head, neatly20 and easily, and said with a half-question in his voice: “Mr. Chairman?”
“Yes. I am the chairman. What is your business?”
“We—all whom you see before you,” the gentleman began in a quiet voice and turned round to indicate his companions, “we come as delegates from the United Rostov-Kharkov-and-Odessa-Nikolayev Association of Thieves.”
The barristers began to shift in their seats.
The chairman flung himself back and opened his eyes wide. “Association of what?” he said, perplexed21.
“The Association of Thieves,” the gentleman in the sandy suit coolly repeated. “As for myself, my comrades did me the signal honour of electing me as the spokesman of the deputation.”
“Very ... pleased,” the chairman said uncertainly.
“Thank you. All seven of us are ordinary thieves—naturally of different departments. The Association has authorised us to put before your esteemed23 Committee”—the gentleman again made an elegant bow—“our respectful demand for assistance.”
“I don’t quite understand ... quite frankly24 ... what is the connection...” The chairman waved his hands helplessly. “However, please go on.”
“The matter about which we have the courage and the honour to apply to you, gentlemen, is very clear, very simple, and very brief. It will take only six or seven minutes. I consider it my duty to warn you of this beforehand, in view of the late hour and the 115 degrees that Fahrenheit25 marks in the shade.” The orator26 expectorated slightly and glanced at his superb gold watch. “You see, in the reports that have lately appeared in the local papers of the melancholy27 and terrible days of the last pogrom, there have very often been indications that among the instigators of the pogrom who were paid and organised by the police—the dregs of society, consisting of drunkards, tramps, souteneurs, and hooligans from the slums—thieves were also to be found. At first we were silent, but finally we considered ourselves under the necessity of protesting against such an unjust and serious accusation29, before the face of the whole of intellectual society. I know well that in the eye of the law we are offenders30 and enemies of society. But imagine only for a moment, gentlemen, the situation of this enemy of society when he is accused wholesale31 of an offence which he not only never committed, but which he is ready to resist with the whole strength of his soul. It goes without saying that he will feel the outrage32 of such an injustice33 more keenly than a normal, average, fortunate citizen. Now, we declare that the accusation brought against us is utterly34 devoid35 of all basis, not merely of fact but even of logic36. I intend to prove this in a few words if the honourable37 committee will kindly38 listen.”
“Proceed,” said the chairman.
“Please do ... Please ...” was heard from the barristers, now animated39.
“I offer you my sincere thanks in the name of all my comrades. Believe me, you will never repent40 your attention to the representatives of our ... well, let us say, slippery, but nevertheless difficult, profession. ‘So we begin,’ as Giraldoni sings in the prologue41 to Pagliacci.
“But first I would ask your permission, Mr. Chairman, to quench42 my thirst a little... Porter, bring me a lemonade and a glass of English bitter, there’s a good fellow. Gentlemen, I will not speak of the moral aspect of our profession nor of its social importance. Doubtless you know better than I the striking and brilliant paradox43 of Proudhon: La propriete c’est le vol—a paradox if you like, but one that has never yet been refuted by the sermons of cowardly bourgeois44 or fat priests. For instance: a father accumulates a million by energetic and clever exploitation, and leaves it to his son—a rickety, lazy, ignorant, degenerate45 idiot, a brainless maggot, a true parasite46. Potentially a million rubles is a million working days, the absolutely irrational47 right to labour, sweat, life, and blood of a terrible number of men. Why? What is the ground of reason? Utterly unknown. Then why not agree with the proposition, gentlemen, that our profession is to some extent as it were a correction of the excessive accumulation of values in the hands of individuals, and serves as a protest against all the hardships, abominations, arbitrariness, violence, and negligence48 of the human personality, against all the monstrosities created by the bourgeois capitalistic organisation49 of modern society? Sooner or later, this order of things will assuredly be overturned by the social revolution. Property will pass away into the limbo50 of melancholy memories and with it, alas51! we will disappear from the face of the earth, we, les braves chevaliers d’industrie.”
The orator paused to take the tray from the hands of the porter, and placed it near to his hand on the table.
“Excuse me, gentlemen... Here, my good man, take this,... and by the way, when you go out shut the door close behind you.”
“Very good, your Excellency!” the porter bawled52 in jest.
The orator drank off half a glass and continued: “However, let us leave aside the philosophical53, social, and economic aspects of the question. I do not wish to fatigue54 your attention. I must nevertheless point out that our profession very closely approaches the idea of that which is called art. Into it enter all the elements which go to form art—vocation55, inspiration, fantasy, inventiveness, ambition, and a long and arduous56 apprenticeship57 to the science. From it is absent virtue59 alone, concerning which the great Karamzin wrote with such stupendous and fiery60 fascination61. Gentlemen, nothing is further from my intention than to trifle with you and waste your precious time with idle paradoxes62; but I cannot avoid expounding63 my idea briefly64. To an outsider’s ear it sounds absurdly wild and ridiculous to speak of the vocation of a thief. However, I venture to assure you that this vocation is a reality. There are men who possess a peculiarly strong visual memory, sharpness and accuracy of eye, presence of mind, dexterity65 of hand, and above all a subtle sense of touch, who are as it were born into God’s world for the sole and special purpose of becoming distinguished66 card-sharpers. The pickpockets’ profession demands extraordinary nimbleness and agility68, a terrific certainty of movement, not to mention a ready wit, a talent for observation and strained attention. Some have a positive vocation for breaking open safes: from their tenderest childhood they are attracted by the mysteries of every kind of complicated mechanism—bicycles, sewing machines, clock-work toys and watches. Finally, gentlemen, there are people with an hereditary69 animus70 against private property. You may call this phenomenon degeneracy. But I tell you that you cannot entice58 a true thief, and thief by vocation, into the prose of honest vegetation by any gingerbread reward, or by the offer of a secure position, or by the gift of money, or by a woman’s love: because there is here a permanent beauty of risk, a fascinating abyss of danger, the delightful71 sinking of the heart, the impetuous pulsation72 of life, the ecstasy73! You are armed with the protection of the law, by locks, revolvers, telephones, police and soldiery; but we only by our own dexterity, cunning and fearlessness. We are the foxes, and society—is a chicken-run guarded by dogs. Are you aware that the most artistic74 and gifted natures in our villages become horse-thieves and poachers? What would you have? Life is so meagre, so insipid75, so intolerably dull to eager and high-spirited souls!
“I pass on to inspiration. Gentlemen, doubtless you have had to read of thefts that were supernatural in design and execution. In the headlines of the newspapers they are called ‘An Amazing Robbery,’ or 'An Ingenious Swindle,’ or again ‘A Clever Ruse76 of the Gangsters77.’ In such cases our bourgeois paterfamilias waves his hands and exclaims: 'What a terrible thing! If only their abilities were turned to good—their inventiveness, their amazing knowledge of human psychology78, their self-possession, their fearlessness, their incomparable histrionic powers! What extraordinary benefits they would bring to the country!’ But it is well known that the bourgeois paterfamilias was specially79 devised by Heaven to utter commonplaces and trivialities. I myself sometimes—we thieves are sentimental80 people, I confess—I myself sometimes admire a beautiful sunset in Aleksandra Park or by the sea-shore. And I am always certain beforehand that some one near me will say with infallible aplomb81: 'Look at it. If it were put into picture no one would ever believe it!’ I turn round and naturally I see a self-satisfied, full-fed paterfamilias, who delights in repeating some one else’s silly statement as though it were his own. As for our dear country, the bourgeois paterfamilias looks upon it as though it were a roast turkey. If you’ve managed to cut the best part of the bird for yourself, eat it quietly in a comfortable corner and praise God. But he’s not really the important person. I was led away by my detestation of vulgarity and I apologise for the digression. The real point is that genius and inspiration, even when they are not devoted83 to the service of the Orthodox Church, remain rare and beautiful things. Progress is a law—and theft too has its creation.
“Finally, our profession is by no means as easy and pleasant as it seems to the first glance. It demands long experience, constant practice, slow and painful apprenticeship. It comprises in itself hundreds of supple84, skilful85 processes that the cleverest juggler86 cannot compass. That I may not give you only empty words, gentlemen, I will perform a few experiments before you now. I ask you to have every confidence in the demonstrators. We are all at present in the enjoyment87 of legal freedom, and though we are usually watched, and every one of us is known by face, and our photographs adorn16 the albums of all detective departments, for the time being we are not under the necessity of hiding ourselves from anybody. If any one of you should recognise any of us in the future under different circumstances, we ask you earnestly always to act in accordance with your professional duties and your obligations as citizens. In grateful return for your kind attention we have decided88 to declare your property inviolable, and to invest it with a thieves’ taboo89. However, I proceed to business.”
The orator turned round and gave an order: “Sesoi the Great, will you come this way!”
An enormous fellow with a stoop, whose hands reached to his knees, without a forehead or a neck, like a big, fair Hercules, came forward. He grinned stupidly and rubbed his left eyebrow90 in his confusion.
“Can’t do nothin’ here,” he said hoarsely91.
The gentleman in the sandy suit spoke for him, turning to the committee.
“Gentlemen, before you stands a respected member of our association. His specialty92 is breaking open safes, iron strong boxes, and other receptacles for monetary93 tokens. In his night work he sometimes avails himself of the electric current of the lighting94 installation for fusing metals. Unfortunately he has nothing on which he can demonstrate the best items of his repertoire95. He will open the most elaborate lock irreproachably96... By the way, this door here, it’s locked, is it not?”
Every one turned to look at the door, on which a printed notice hung: “Stage Door. Strictly97 Private.”
“Yes, the door’s locked, evidently,” the chairman agreed.
“Admirable. Sesoi the Great, will you be so kind?”
“‘Tain’t nothin’ at all,” said the giant leisurely98.
He went close to the door, shook it cautiously with his hand, took out of his pocket a small bright instrument, bent99 down to the keyhole, made some almost imperceptible movements with the tool, suddenly straightened and flung the door wide in silence. The chairman had his watch in his hands. The whole affair took only ten seconds.
“Thank you, Sesoi the Great,” said the gentleman in the sandy suit politely. “You may go back to your seat.”
But the chairman interrupted in some alarm: “Excuse me. This is all very interesting and instructive, but ... is it included in your esteemed colleague’s profession to be able to lock the door again?”
“Ah, mille pardons.” The gentleman bowed hurriedly. “It slipped my mind. Sesoi the Great, would you oblige?”
The door was locked with the same adroitness100 and the same silence. The esteemed colleague waddled101 back to his friends, grinning.
“Now I will have the honour to show you the skill of one of our comrades who is in the line of picking pockets in theatres and railway-stations,” continued the orator. “He is still very young, but you may to some extent judge from the delicacy102 of his present work of the heights he will attain103 by diligence. Yasha!” A swarthy youth in a blue silk blouse and long glacé boots, like a gipsy, came forward with a swagger, fingering the tassels104 of his belt, and merrily screwing up his big, impudent105 black eyes with yellow whites.
“Gentlemen,” said the gentleman in the sandy suit persuasively106, “I must ask if one of you would be kind enough to submit himself to a little experiment. I assure you this will be an exhibition only, just a game.”
He looked round over the seated company.
The short plump Karaite, black as a beetle107, came forward from his table.
“At your service,” he said amusedly.
“Yasha!” The orator signed with his head.
Yasha came close to the solicitor108. On his left arm, which was bent, hung a bright-coloured, figured scarf.
“Suppose yer in church or at the bar in one of the halls,—or watchin’ a circus,” he began in a sugary, fluent voice. “I see straight off—there’s a toff... Excuse me, sir. Suppose you’re the toff. There’s no offence—just means a rich gent, decent enough, but don’t know his way about. First—what’s he likely to have about ‘im? All sorts. Mostly, a ticker and a chain. Whereabouts does he keep ‘em? Somewhere in his top vest pocket—here. Others have ‘em in the bottom pocket. Just here. Purse—most always in the trousers, except when a greeny keeps it in his jacket. Cigar-case. Have a look first what it is—gold, silver—with a monogram109. Leather—what decent man’d soil his hands? Cigar-case. Seven pockets: here, here, here, up there, there, here and here again. That’s right, ain’t it? That’s how you go to work.”
As he spoke the young man smiled. His eyes shone straight into the barrister’s. With a quick, dexterous110 movement of his right hand he pointed111 to various portions of his clothes.
“Then again you might see a pin here in the tie. However we do not appropriate. Such gents nowadays—they hardly ever wear a real stone. Then I comes up to him. I begin straight off to talk to him like a gent: ‘Sir, would you be so kind as to give me a light from your cigarette’—or something of the sort. At any rate, I enter into conversation. What’s next? I look him straight in the peepers, just like this. Only two of me fingers are at it—just this and this.” Yasha lifted two fingers of his right hand on a level with the solicitor’s face, the forefinger112 and the middle finger and moved them about.
“D’ you see? With these two fingers I run over the whole pianner. Nothin’ wonderful in it: one, two, three—ready. Any man who wasn’t stupid could learn easily. That’s all it is. Most ordinary business. I thank you.”
The pickpocket67 swung on his heel as if to return to his seat.
“Yasha!” The gentleman in the sandy suit said with meaning weight. “Yasha!” he repeated sternly.
Yasha stopped. His back was turned to the barrister, but be evidently gave his representative an imploring113 look, because the latter frowned and shook his head.
“Yasha!” he said for the third time, in a threatening tone.
“Huh!” The young thief grunted114 in vexation and turned to face the solicitor. “Where’s your little watch, sir?” he said in a piping voice.
“Oh!” the Karaite brought himself up sharp.
“You see—now you say ‘Oh!’” Yasha continued reproachfully. “All the while you were admiring me right hand, I was operatin’ yer watch with my left. Just with these two little fingers, under the scarf. That’s why we carry a scarf. Since your chain’s not worth anything—a present from some mamselle and the watch is a gold one, I’ve left you the chain as a keepsake. Take it,” he added with a sigh, holding out the watch.
“But ... That is clever,” the barrister said in confusion. “I didn’t notice it at all.”
“That’s our business,” Yasha said with pride.
He swaggered back to his comrades. Meantime the orator took a drink from his glass and continued.
“Now, gentlemen, our next collaborator115 will give you an exhibition of some ordinary card tricks, which are worked at fairs, on steamboats and railways. With three cards, for instance, an ace2, a queen, and a six, he can quite easily... But perhaps you are tired of these demonstrations116, gentlemen.”...
“Not at all. It’s extremely interesting,” the chairman answered affably. “I should like to ask one question—that is if it is not too indiscreet—what is your own specialty?”
“Mine... H’m... No, how could it be an indiscretion?... I work the big diamond shops ... and my other business is banks,” answered the orator with a modest smile. “Don’t think this occupation is easier than others. Enough that I know four European languages, German, French, English, and Italian, not to mention Polish, Ukrainian and Yiddish. But shall I show you some more experiments, Mr. Chairman?”
The chairman looked at his watch.
“Unfortunately the time is too short,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be better to pass on to the substance of your business? Besides, the experiments we have just seen have amply convinced us of the talent of your esteemed associates... Am I not right, Isaac Abramovich?”
“Yes, yes ... absolutely,” the Karaite barrister readily confirmed.
“Admirable,” the gentleman in the sandy suit kindly agreed. “My dear Count”—he turned to a blond, curly-haired man, with a face like a billiard-maker on a bank-holiday—“put your instruments away. They will not be wanted. I have only a few words more to say, gentlemen. Now that you have convinced yourselves that our art, although it does not enjoy the patronage117 of high-placed individuals, is nevertheless an art; and you have probably come to my opinion that this art is one which demands many personal qualities besides constant labour, danger, and unpleasant misunderstandings—you will also, I hope, believe that it is possible to become attached to its practice and to love and esteem22 it, however strange that may appear at first sight. Picture to yourselves that a famous poet of talent, whose tales and poems adorn the pages of our best magazines, is suddenly offered the chance of writing verses at a penny a line, signed into the bargain, as an advertisement for ‘Cigarettes Jasmine’—or that a slander119 was spread about one of you distinguished barristers, accusing you of making a business of concocting120 evidence for divorce cases, or of writing petitions from the cabmen to the governor in public-houses! Certainly your relatives, friends and acquaintances wouldn’t believe it. But the rumour121 has already done its poisonous work, and you have to live through minutes of torture. Now picture to yourselves that such a disgraceful and vexatious slander, started by God knows whom, begins to threaten not only your good name and your quiet digestion122, but your freedom, your health, and even your life!
“This is the position of us thieves, now being slandered123 by the newspapers. I must explain. There is in existence a class of scum—passez-moi le mot—whom we call their ‘Mothers’ Darlings.’ With these we are unfortunately confused. They have neither shame nor conscience, a dissipated riff-raff, mothers’ useless darlings, idle, clumsy drones, shop assistants who commit unskilful thefts. He thinks nothing of living on his mistress, a prostitute, like the male mackerel, who always swims after the female and lives on her excrements. He is capable of robbing a child with violence in a dark alley124, in order to get a penny; he will kill a man in his sleep and torture an old woman. These men are the pests of our profession. For them the beauties and the traditions of the art have no existence. They watch us real, talented thieves like a pack of jackals after a lion. Suppose I’ve managed to bring off an important job—we won’t mention the fact that I have to leave two-thirds of what I get to the receivers who sell the goods and discount the notes, or the customary subsidies125 to our incorruptible police—I still have to share out something to each one of these parasites126, who have got wind of my job, by accident, hearsay127, or a casual glance.
“So we call them Motients, which means ‘half,’ a corruption128 of moitié ... Original etymology129. I pay him only because he knows and may inform against me. And it mostly happens that even when he’s got his share he runs off to the police in order to get another dollar. We, honest thieves... Yes, you may laugh, gentlemen, but I repeat it: we honest thieves detest82 these reptiles130. We have another name for them, a stigma131 of ignominy; but I dare not utter it here out of respect for the place and for my audience. Oh, yes, they would gladly accept an invitation to a pogrom. The thought that we may be confused with them is a hundred times more insulting to us even than the accusation of taking part in a pogrom.
“Gentlemen! While I have been speaking I have often noticed smiles on your faces. I understand you. Our presence here, our application for your assistance, and above all the unexpectedness of such a phenomenon as a systematic132 organisation of thieves, with delegates who are thieves, and a leader of the deputation, also a thief by profession—it is all so original that it must inevitably133 arouse a smile. But now I will speak from the depth of my heart. Let us be rid of our outward wrappings, gentlemen, let us speak as men to men.
“Almost all of us are educated, and all love books. We don’t only read the adventures of Roqueambole, as the realistic writers say of us. Do you think our hearts did not bleed and our cheeks did not burn from shame, as though we had been slapped in the face, all the time that this unfortunate, disgraceful, accursed, cowardly war lasted. Do you really think that our souls do not flame with anger when our country is lashed134 with Cossack-whips, and trodden under foot, shot and spit at by mad, exasperated135 men? Will you not believe that we thieves meet every step towards the liberation to come with a thrill of ecstasy?
“We understand, every one of us—perhaps only a little less than you barristers, gentlemen—the real sense of the pogroms. Every time that some dastardly event or some ignominious136 failure has occurred, after executing a martyr137 in a dark corner of a fortress138, or after deceiving public confidence, some one who is hidden and unapproachable gets frightened of the people’s anger and diverts its vicious element upon the heads of innocent Jews. Whose diabolical139 mind invents these pogroms—these titanic140 blood-lettings, these cannibal amusements for the dark, bestial141 souls?
“We all see with certain clearness that the last convulsions of the bureaucracy are at hand. Forgive me if I present it imaginatively. There was a people that had a chief temple, wherein dwelt a bloodthirsty deity142, behind a curtain, guarded by priests. Once fearless hands tore the curtain away. Then all the people saw, instead of a god, a huge, shaggy, voracious143 spider, like a loathsome144 cuttlefish145. They beat it and shoot at it: it is dismembered already; but still in the frenzy146 of its final agony it stretches over all the ancient temple its disgusting, clawing tentacles147. And the priests, themselves under sentence of death, push into the monster’s grasp all whom they can seize in their terrified, trembling fingers.
“Forgive me. What I have said is probably wild and incoherent. But I am somewhat agitated148. Forgive me. I continue. We thieves by profession know better than any one else how these pogroms were organised. We wander everywhere: into public houses, markets, tea-shops, doss-houses, public places, the harbour. We can swear before God and man and posterity149 that we have seen how the police organise28 the massacres150, without shame and almost without concealment151. We know them all by face, in uniform or disguise. They invited many of us to take part; but there was none so vile152 among us as to give even the outward consent that fear might have extorted154.
“You know, of course, how the various strata155 of Russian society behave towards the police? It is not even respected by those who avail themselves of its dark services. But we despise and hate it three, ten times more—not because many of us have been tortured in the detective departments, which are just chambers156 of horror, beaten almost to death, beaten with whips of ox-hide and of rubber in order to extort153 a confession157 or to make us betray a comrade. Yes, we hate them for that too. But we thieves, all of us who have been in prison, have a mad passion for freedom. Therefore we despise our gaolers with all the hatred158 that a human heart can feel. I will speak for myself. I have been tortured three times by police detectives till I was half dead. My lungs and liver have been shattered. In the mornings I spit blood until I can breathe no more. But if I were told that I will be spared a fourth flogging only by shaking hands with a chief of the detective police, I would refuse to do it!
“And then the newspapers say that we took from these hands Judas-money, dripping with human blood. No, gentlemen, it is a slander which stabs our very soul, and inflicts159 insufferable pain. Not money, nor threats, nor promises will suffice to make us mercenary murderers of our brethren, nor accomplices160 with them.”
“Never ... No ... No ... ,” his comrades standing118 behind him began to murmur161.
“I will say more,” the thief continued. “Many of us protected the victims during this pogrom. Our friend, called Sesoi the Great—you have just seen him, gentlemen—was then lodging162 with a Jewish braid-maker on the Moldavanka. With a poker163 in his hands he defended his landlord from a great horde164 of assassins. It is true, Sesoi the Great is a man of enormous physical strength, and this is well known to many of the inhabitants of the Moldavanka. But you must agree, gentlemen, that in these moments Sesoi the Great looked straight into the face of death. Our comrade Martin the Miner—this gentleman here” —the orator pointed to a pale, bearded man with beautiful eyes who was holding himself in the background—“saved an old Jewess, whom he had never seen before, who was being pursued by a crowd of these canaille. They broke his head with a crowbar for his pains, smashed his arm in two places and splintered a rib1. He is only just out of hospital. That is the way our most ardent165 and determined166 members acted. The others trembled for anger and wept for their own impotence.
“None of us will forget the horrors of those bloody167 days and bloody nights lit up by the glare of fires, those sobbing168 women, those little children’s bodies torn to pieces and left lying in the street. But for all that not one of us thinks that the police and the mob are the real origin of the evil. These tiny, stupid, loathsome vermin are only a senseless fist that is governed by a vile, calculating mind, moved by a diabolical will.
“Yes, gentlemen,” the orator continued, “we thieves have nevertheless merited your legal contempt. But when you, noble gentlemen, need the help of clever, brave, obedient men at the barricades170, men who will be ready to meet death with a song and a jest on their lips for the most glorious word in the world—Freedom—will you cast us off then and order us away because of an inveterate171 revulsion? Damn it all, the first victim in the French Revolution was a prostitute. She jumped up on to a barricade169, with her skirt caught elegantly up into her hand and called out: ‘Which of you soldiers will dare to shoot a woman?’ Yes, by God.” The orator exclaimed aloud and brought down his fist on to the marble table top: “They killed her, but her action was magnificent, and the beauty of her words immortal172.
“If you should drive us away on the great day, we will turn to you and say: ‘You spotless Cherubim—if human thoughts had the power to wound, kill, and rob man of honour and property, then which of you innocent doves would not deserve the knout and imprisonment173 for life?’ Then we will go away from you and build our own gay, sporting, desperate thieves’ barricade, and will die with such united songs on our lips that you will envy us, you who are whiter than snow!
“But I have been once more carried away. Forgive me. I am at the end. You now see, gentlemen, what feelings the newspaper slanders174 have excited in us. Believe in our sincerity175 and do what you can to remove the filthy176 stain which has so unjustly been cast upon us. I have finished.”
He went away from the table and joined his comrades. The barristers were whispering in an undertone, very much as the magistrates177 of the bench at sessions. Then the chairman rose.
“We trust you absolutely, and we will make every effort to clear your association of this most grievous charge. At the same time my colleagues have authorised me, gentlemen, to convey to you their deep respect for your passionate178 feelings as citizens. And for my own part I ask the leader of the deputation for permission to shake him by the hand.”
The two men, both tall and serious, held each other’s hands in a strong, masculine grip.
The barristers were leaving the theatre; but four of them hung back a little beside the clothes rack in the hall. Isaac Abramovich could not find his new, smart grey hat anywhere. In its place on the wooden peg179 hung a cloth cap jauntily180 flattened181 in on either side.
“Yasha!” The stern voice of the orator was suddenly heard from the other side of the door. “Yasha! It’s the last time I’ll speak to you, curse you! ... Do you hear?” The heavy door opened wide. The gentleman in the sandy suit entered. In his hands he held Isaac Abramovich’s hat; on his face was a well-bred smile.
“Gentlemen, for Heaven’s sake forgive us—an odd little misunderstanding. One of our comrades exchanged his hat by accident... Oh, it is yours! A thousand pardons. Doorkeeper! Why don’t you keep an eye on things, my good fellow, eh? Just give me that cap, there. Once more, I ask you to forgive me, gentlemen.”
With a pleasant bow and the same well-bred smile he made his way quickly into the street.
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1
rib
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| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
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2
ace
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| n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的 | |
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3
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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4
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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5
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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6
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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7
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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8
voluptuously
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| adv.风骚地，体态丰满地 | |
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9
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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10
enervated
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| adj.衰弱的，无力的v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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12
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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14
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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15
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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16
adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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17
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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18
chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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19
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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20
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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21
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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22
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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23
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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24
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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25
Fahrenheit
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| n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的) | |
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26
orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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27
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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28
organise
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| vt.组织，安排，筹办 | |
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29
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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30
offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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31
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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32
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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33
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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34
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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35
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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36
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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37
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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38
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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39
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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40
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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41
prologue
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| n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕 | |
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42
quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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43
paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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44
bourgeois
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| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
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45
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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46
parasite
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| n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客 | |
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47
irrational
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| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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48
negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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49
organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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50
limbo
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| n.地狱的边缘；监狱 | |
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51
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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52
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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53
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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54
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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55
vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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56
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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57
apprenticeship
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| n.学徒身份；学徒期 | |
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58
entice
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| v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿 | |
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59
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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60
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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61
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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62
paradoxes
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| n.似非而是的隽语，看似矛盾而实际却可能正确的说法( paradox的名词复数 )；用于语言文学中的上述隽语；有矛盾特点的人[事物，情况] | |
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63
expounding
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的现在分词 ) | |
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64
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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65
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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66
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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67
pickpocket
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| n.扒手；v.扒窃 | |
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68
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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69
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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70
animus
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| n.恶意；意图 | |
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71
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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72
pulsation
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| n.脉搏，悸动，脉动；搏动性 | |
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73
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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74
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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75
insipid
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| adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的 | |
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76
ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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77
gangsters
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| 匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 ) | |
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78
psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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79
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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80
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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81
aplomb
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| n.沉着，镇静 | |
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82
detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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83
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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84
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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85
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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86
juggler
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| n. 变戏法者, 行骗者 | |
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87
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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88
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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89
taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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90
eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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91
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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92
specialty
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| n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长 | |
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93
monetary
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| adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的 | |
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94
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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95
repertoire
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| n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表 | |
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96
irreproachably
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| adv.不可非难地，无过失地 | |
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97
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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98
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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99
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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100
adroitness
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101
waddled
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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103
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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104
tassels
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| n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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105
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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106
persuasively
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| adv.口才好地；令人信服地 | |
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107
beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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108
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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109
monogram
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| n.字母组合 | |
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110
dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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111
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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112
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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113
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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114
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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115
collaborator
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| n.合作者，协作者 | |
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116
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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117
patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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118
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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119
slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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120
concocting
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的现在分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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121
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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122
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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123
slandered
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| 造谣中伤( slander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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125
subsidies
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| n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 ) | |
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126
parasites
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| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
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127
hearsay
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| n.谣传，风闻 | |
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128
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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129
etymology
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| n.语源；字源学 | |
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130
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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131
stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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132
systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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133
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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134
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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135
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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136
ignominious
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| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
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137
martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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138
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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139
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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140
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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141
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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142
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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143
voracious
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| adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的 | |
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loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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145
cuttlefish
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| n.乌贼，墨鱼 | |
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146
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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147
tentacles
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| n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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149
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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150
massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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extort
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| v.勒索，敲诈，强要 | |
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extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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158
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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inflicts
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的第三人称单数 ) | |
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accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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168
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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169
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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barricades
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| 路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 ) | |
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inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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174
slanders
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| 诽谤，诋毁( slander的名词复数 ) | |
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175
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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176
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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177
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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178
passionate
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| 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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179
peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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jauntily
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| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
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181
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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