I NOW discovered what a terrible nuisance it is to know only three or four languages, especially when one finds oneself in a country the language of which is a complete mystery. The attendant I had, who had been so thoughtfully provided for me by Mr. Matanovich, professed5 to speak Italian, and he did in fact know a few Italian words, but in his general conversation 209 with me, as was subsequently discovered and explained to me by Pero Pejovich, the language in which he spoke6 consisted pretty much of the following happy mixture: six-tenths of Montenegrin, three-tenths of Albanian and Turkish, with one-tenth Italian! With this polyglot jumble we got on fairly well, as far as hot water, coffee, pipe, tobacco, pranzo; and he learned to appreciate eventually the American word "skedaddle," but when our necessities required further intercourse7, it was perfectly8 hopeless—language was utterly9 useless, and gesticulation the only chance of making oneself understood. But he was a willing poor beggar, and not more dishonest than the majority of his fellows. He had a wholesome10 terror of the Prince's rigorous punishment of theft. "Niente ladri in Montenegro," he used to say, "Principe terrible," turning up his eyes and distorting his countenance11 to a fearful degree.
Now whilst my attendant is preparing and setting out my lunch, I may as well entertain my reader with an account of the customs in war, and mode of fighting of the Montenegrins, by the pen of M. Broniewsky, which is so graphic12, and accords 210 so literally13 with what the Commandant Pero Pejovich related to me at different times, that I cannot think I could do better than transcribe14 it.
"A Montenegrin is always armed, and carries about during his most peaceful occupation a rifle (many of them now have breechloaders), pistol, or yataghan, and a cartouche-box. The Montenegrins spend their leisure time in firing at a target, and are accustomed to this exercise from their boyish years. Being inured15 to hardships and privations, they perform without fatigue16, and in high spirits, very long and forced marches. They climb the steepest rocks with great facility, and bear with the greatest patience hunger, thirst, and every kind of privation. When the enemy is defeated and retiring, they pursue him with such rapidity that they supply the want of cavalry17, which it is impossible to employ in their mountainous country.
"Inhabiting mountains which present, at every step, passes where a handful of brave men may arrest the progress of an army, they are not afraid of a surprise, particularly as they have 211 on their frontier a constant guard, and the whole of their force can be collected within twenty-four hours upon the threatened point. When the enemy is in great force, they burn their villages, devastate18 their fields, and after having enticed19 him into the mountains, they surround and attack him in the most desperate manner.
"When the country is in danger, the Montenegrins forget all personal feelings of private advantage and enmity. They obey the orders of their chief, and like gallant20 Republicans, they consider it a happiness and a grace of God to die in battle. It is in such a case that they appear as real warriors21; but beyond the limits of their country, they are savage22 barbarians23, who destroy everything with fire and sword.
"Their ideas about war are entirely24 different from those adopted by civilized25 nations. They cut off the heads of those enemies whom they take with arms in their hands, and spare only those who surrender before the battle. The property they take from the enemy is considered by them as their own, and as a reward of courage. They literally defend 212 themselves to the last extremity26; a Montenegrin never craves27 for mercy; and whenever one of them is severely28 wounded, and it is impossible to save him from the enemy, his own comrades cut off his head. When at the attack of Clobuk, a little detachment of our troops was obliged to retreat, an officer of stout-make and no longer young fell on the ground from exhaustion29. A Montenegrin perceiving it (the Montenegrins were fighting with the Russians against the French) ran immediately to him, and having drawn30 his yataghan, said 'You are very brave and must wish that I should cut off your head; say a prayer and make a sign of the cross.' The officer horrified31 at the proposition made an effort to rise, and rejoined his comrades with the assistance of the friendly Montenegrin.
"They consider all those taken by the enemy as killed. They carry out of the battle their wounded comrades on their shoulders; and be it said to their honour they acted in the same manner by our officers and soldiers.
"Like the Circassians, they are constantly making forays in small parties, for the plunder of cattle, 213 and consider such expeditions as feats32 of chivalry33, (just as the Scotch34 Highlanders one hundred years ago). Being safe in their habitations, where nobody dares to molest35 them, they continue their depredations36 with impunity37, disregarding the threats of the Divan38, and the hatred39 of their neighbours. Arms, a small loaf of bread, a cheese, some garlic, a little brandy, an old garment, and two pair of sandals, made of raw hide, form all the equipage of a Montenegrin. On the march they do not seek any shelter from rain or cold. In rainy weather, the Montenegrin wraps up his head in his strooka, lies down on the ground, and sleeps very comfortably. Three or four hours' repose40 are quite sufficient for his rest, and the remainder of his time is occupied in constant exertion41.
"It is impossible to retain them in the reserve; and it seems they cannot calmly bear the view of the enemy. When they have expended42 all their cartouches, they humbly43 request every officer they meet with to give them some, and as soon as they have received them, they run headlong into the further line. When there is no enemy in sight, they sing and dance, and go on pillaging44, in which 214 we must give them the credit of being perfect masters; although they are not acquainted with the high sounding names of contribution, requisition, forced loan, &c., &c. They call pillage, simply 'pillage,' and have no hesitation45 in confessing it.
"Their usual manner of fighting is as follows: If they are in great force, they conceal46 themselves in ravines, and send out only a small number of shooters, who by retreating lead the enemy into the ambush47; here, after having surrounded him, they attack him, usually preferring on such occasions swords to fire-arms; because they rely on their personal strength and bravery, in which they generally have the advantage over their enemies. When their numbers are inferior, they choose some advantageous48 position on high rocks, where pronouncing every kind of abuse against their enemies, they challenge them to combat. Their attacks are mostly made during the night, because their principal system is surprise.
"However small their force may be, they always try to wear out the enemy by constantly harassing49 him. The best French voltigeurs in the advanced 215 posts were always destroyed by them; and the enemy's generals found it more advantageous to remain under cover of their cannon50, of which the Montenegrins were not at all fond. However, they soon became accustomed to them, and supported by our rifles, they bravely mounted the batteries.
"The tactics of Montenegrins are confined to being skilful51 marksmen.... In a pitched battle their movements can be ascertained52 only by the direction of their standards. They have certain signal cries, which are uttered when they are to join in a compact body for attacking the weaker points of the enemy. As soon as such a signal is given, they rush furiously onwards, break into the squares, and at all events create a deal of disorder53 in the enemy's ranks. It was a terrible spectacle to see the Montenegrins rushing forward, with heads of slaughtered54 enemies suspended from their necks and shoulders, and uttering savage yells....
"The Russian commander-in-chief had much difficulty in persuading them not to cut off the heads of their prisoners. He finally succeeded in 216 this (chiefly by paying them a ducat for every prisoner) but what he had more difficulty, with the assistance of the Vladika, in persuading them to do, was to embark55 for an expedition on board of ship—a thing which they had never done before.
"Notwithstanding that they were treated with the greatest kindness, they proved very troublesome guests. Whenever the captains invited their chiefs to breakfast, they all entered the cabin, and having observed that more dishes were served to the officers than to common sailors, they wanted to have a similar fare. When the Fortress56 of Curzola was taken the feast of Easter was approaching; they gave the captain no repose, entreating57 him to return to Cattaro; but when it was explained to them that the vessel58 could not advance against the wind, they fell into great despondency.
"When at last the ship approached the entrance of Boccha di Cattaro and they caught a sight of their own black mountains, they uttered joyous59 exclamations60, and began to sing and dance. On taking leave they affectionately embraced the captain and the officers, and invited those to whom they had taken a liking61 to pay them a visit. But when 217 the sailors told them they could not leave the ship without the permission of their superiors, they were much astonished, and said, 'If you like to do a thing, what right has another to forbid you?'"
Does not the foregoing read like a chapter in "Waverley," or in "Rob Roy?" but though it is now a good many years since M. Broniewski wrote the foregoing, the Montenegrin is still much the same, with the exception of cutting off the heads of those killed in battle, which he has given up, principally, I believe, because he has had no fighting of late. But at the period of the last attempted invasion of Montenegro on the Grahovo side, by the Turks in, I think, 1862, heads were cut off as freely as ever, and were liberally paid for by the chieftains; the only difference was that instead of taking them to Cettigne to hang in festoons upon the round tower at the back of the monastery62, they were allowed to rot on the battle-field among the rocks of the Grahovo where scores of them are to be seen lying about to this day.
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1
polyglot
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| adj.通晓数种语言的；n.通晓多种语言的人 | |
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2
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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3
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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4
pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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5
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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6
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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7
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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8
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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9
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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10
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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11
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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12
graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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13
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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14
transcribe
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| v.抄写，誉写；改编(乐曲)；复制，转录 | |
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15
inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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16
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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17
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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18
devastate
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| v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒 | |
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19
enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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21
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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22
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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23
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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24
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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25
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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26
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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27
craves
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| 渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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28
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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29
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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30
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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31
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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32
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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33
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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34
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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35
molest
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| vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏 | |
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36
depredations
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| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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37
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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38
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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39
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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40
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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41
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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42
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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43
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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44
pillaging
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| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 ) | |
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45
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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46
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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47
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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48
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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49
harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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50
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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51
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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52
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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54
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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56
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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57
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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58
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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59
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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60
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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61
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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62
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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