With a new Gorgon—Do not bid me speak;
See, and then speak yourselves.
—Shakspeare.
The little run, which supplied the family of the squatter2 with water, and nourished the trees and bushes that grew near the base of the rocky eminence3, took its rise at no great distance from the latter, in a small thicket4 of cotton-wood and vines. Hither, then, the trapper directed the flight, as to the place affording the only available cover in so pressing an emergency. It will be remembered, that the sagacity of the old man, which, from long practice in similar scenes, amounted nearly to an instinct in all cases of sudden danger, had first induced him to take this course, as it placed the hill between them and the approaching party. Favoured by this circumstance, he succeeded in reaching the bushes in sufficient time and Paul Hover5 had just hurried the breathless Ellen into the tangled6 bush, as Ishmael gained the summit of the rock, in the manner already described, where he stood like a man momentarily bereft7 of sense, gazing at the confusion which had been created among his chattels8, or at his gagged and bound children, who had been safely bestowed9, by the forethought of the bee-hunter, under the cover of a bark roof, in a sort of irregular pile. A long rifle would have thrown a bullet from the height, on which the squatter now stood, into the very cover where the fugitives10, who had wrought11 all this mischief12, were clustered.
The trapper was the first to speak, as the man on whose intelligence and experience they all depended for counsel, after running his eye over the different individuals who gathered about him, in order to see that none were missing.
“Ah! natur' is natur', and has done its work!” he said, nodding to the exulting13 Paul, with a smile of approbation14. “I thought it would be hard for those, who had so often met in fair and foul15, by starlight and under the clouded moon, to part at last in anger. Now is there little time to lose in talk, and every thing to gain by industry! It cannot be long afore some of yonder brood will be nosing along the 'arth for our trail, and should they find it, as find it they surely will, and should they push us to a stand on our courage, the dispute must be settled with the rifle; which may He in heaven forbid! Captain, can you lead us to the place where any of your warriors16 lie?—For the stout18 sons of the squatter will make a manly19 brush of it, or I am but little of a judge in warlike dispositions20!”
“The place of rendezvous21 is many leagues from this, on the banks of La Platte.”
“It is bad—it is bad. If fighting is to be done, it is always wise to enter on it on equal terms. But what has one so near his time to do with ill-blood and hot-blood at his heart! Listen to what a grey head and some experience have to offer, and then if any among you can point out a wiser fashion for a retreat, we can just follow his design, and forget that I have spoken. This thicket stretches for near a mile as it may be slanting23 from the rock, and leads towards the sunset instead of the settlements.”
“Enough, enough,” cried Middleton, too impatient to wait until the deliberative and perhaps loquacious25 old man could end his minute explanation. “Time is too precious for words. Let us fly.”
The trapper made a gesture of compliance26, and turning in his tracks, he led Asinus across the trembling earth of the swale, and quickly emerged on the hard ground, on the side opposite to the encampment of the squatter.
“If old Ishmael gets a squint27 at that highway through the brush,” cried Paul, casting, as he left the place, a hasty glance at the broad trail the party had made through the thicket, “he'll need no finger-board to tell him which way his road lies. But let him follow! I know the vagabond would gladly cross his breed with a little honest blood, but if any son of his ever gets to be the husband of—”
“Hush, Paul, hush,” said the terrified young woman, who leaned on his arm for support; “your voice might be heard.”
The bee-hunter was silent, though he did not cease to cast ominous28 looks behind him, as they flew along the edge of the run, which sufficiently29 betrayed the belligerent30 condition of his mind. As each one was busy for himself, but a few minutes elapsed before the party rose a swell31 of the prairie, and descending32 without a moment's delay on the opposite side, they were at once removed from every danger of being seen by the sons of Ishmael, unless the pursuers should happen to fall upon their trail. The old man now profited by the formation of the land to take another direction, with a view to elude33 pursuit, as a vessel34 changes her course in fogs and darkness, to escape from the vigilance of her enemies.
Two hours, passed in the utmost diligence, enabled them to make a half circuit around the rock, and to reach a point that was exactly opposite to the original direction of their flight. To most of the fugitives their situation was as entirely35 unknown as is that of a ship in the middle of the ocean to the uninstructed voyager: but the old man proceeded at every turn, and through every bottom, with a decision that inspired his followers36 with confidence, as it spoke22 favourably37 of his own knowledge of the localities. His hound, stopping now and then to catch the expression of his eye, had preceded the trapper throughout the whole distance, with as much certainty as though a previous and intelligible38 communion between them had established the route by which they were to proceed. But, at the expiration39 of the time just named, the dog suddenly came to a stand, and then seating himself on the prairie, he snuffed the air a moment, and began a low and piteous whining40.
“Ay—pup—ay. I know the spot—I know the spot, and reason there is to remember it well!” said the old man, stopping by the side of his uneasy associate, until those who followed had time to come up. “Now, yonder, is a thicket before us,” he continued, pointing forward, “where we may lie till tall trees grow on these naked fields, afore any of the squatter's kin41 will venture to molest42 us.”
“This is the spot, where the body of the dead man lay!” cried Middleton, examining the place with an eye that revolted at the recollection.
“The very same. But whether his friends have put him in the bosom43 of the ground or not, remains44 to be seen. The hound knows the scent45, but seems to be a little at a loss, too. It is therefore necessary that you advance, friend bee-hunter, to examine, while I tarry to keep the dogs from complaining in too loud a voice.”
“I!” exclaimed Paul, thrusting his hand into his shaggy locks, like one who thought it prudent46 to hesitate before he undertook so formidable an adventure; “now, heark'ee, old trapper; I've stood in my thinnest cottons in the midst of many a swarm47 that has lost its queen-bee, without winking48, and let me tell you, the man who can do that, is not likely to fear any living son of skirting Ishmael; but as to meddling49 with dead men's bones, why it is neither my calling nor my inclination50; so, after thanking you for the favour of your choice, as they say, when they make a man a corporal in Kentucky, I decline serving.”
The old man turned a disappointed look towards Middleton, who was too much occupied in solacing51 Inez to observe his embarrassment52, which was, however, suddenly relieved from a quarter, whence, from previous circumstances, there was little reason to expect such a demonstration53 of fortitude54.
Doctor Battius had rendered himself a little remarkable55 throughout the whole of the preceding retreat, for the exceeding diligence with which he had laboured to effect that desirable object. So very conspicuous56 was his zeal57, indeed, as to have entirely gotten the better of all his ordinary predilections58. The worthy59 naturalist60 belonged to that species of discoverers, who make the worst possible travelling companions to a man who has reason to be in a hurry. No stone, no bush, no plant is ever suffered to escape the examination of their vigilant61 eyes, and thunder may mutter, and rain fall, without disturbing the abstraction of their reveries. Not so, however, with the disciple62 of Linnaeus, during the momentous63 period that it remained a mooted64 point at the tribunal of his better judgment65, whether the stout descendants of the squatter were not likely to dispute his right to traverse the prairie in freedom. The highest blooded and best trained hound, with his game in view, could not have run with an eye more riveted66 than that with which the Doctor had pursued his curvilinear course. It was perhaps lucky for his fortitude that he was ignorant of the artifice67 of the trapper in leading them around the citadel68 of Ishmael, and that he had imbibed69 the soothing70 impression that every inch of prairie he traversed was just so much added to the distance between his own person and the detested71 rock. Notwithstanding the momentary72 shock he certainly experienced, when he discovered this error, he now boldly volunteered to enter the thicket in which there was some reason to believe the body of the murdered Asa still lay. Perhaps the naturalist was urged to show his spirit, on this occasion, by some secret consciousness that his excessive industry in the retreat might be liable to misconstruction; and it is certain that, whatever might be his peculiar73 notions of danger from the quick, his habits and his knowledge had placed him far above the apprehension74 of suffering harm from any communication with the dead.
“If there is any service to be performed, which requires the perfect command of the nervous system,” said the man of science, with a look that was slightly blustering75, “you have only to give a direction to his intellectual faculties76, and here stands one on whose physical powers you may depend.”
“The man is given to speak in parables,” muttered the single-minded trapper; “but I conclude there is always some meaning hidden in his words, though it is as hard to find sense in his speeches, as to discover three eagles on the same tree. It will be wise, friend, to make a cover, lest the sons of the squatter should be out skirting on our trail, and, as you well know, there is some reason to fear yonder thicket contains a sight that may horrify77 a woman's mind. Are you man enough to look death in the face; or shall I run the risk of the hounds raising an outcry, and go in myself? You see the pup is willing to run with an open mouth, already.”
“Am I man enough! Venerable trapper, our communications have a recent origin, or thy interrogatory might have a tendency to embroil78 us in angry disputation. Am I man enough! I claim to be of the class, mammalia; order, primates79; genus, homo! Such are my physical attributes; of my moral properties, let posterity80 speak; it becomes me to be mute.”
“Physic may do for such as relish81 it; to my taste and judgment it is neither palatable82 nor healthy; but morals never did harm to any living mortal, be it that he was a sojourner83 in the forest, or a dweller84 in the midst of glazed85 windows and smoking chimneys. It is only a few hard words that divide us, friend; for I am of an opinion that, with use and freedom, we should come to understand one another, and mainly settle down into the same judgments86 of mankind, and of the ways of world. Quiet, Hector, quiet; what ruffles87 your temper, pup; is it not used to the scent of human blood?”
The Doctor bestowed a gracious but commiserating88 smile on the philosopher of nature, as he retrograded a step or two from the place whither he had been impelled89 by his excess of spirit, in order to reply with less expenditure90 of breath, and with a greater freedom of air and attitude.
“A homo is certainly a homo,” he said, stretching forth91 an arm in an argumentative manner; “so far as the animal functions extend, there are the connecting links of harmony, order, conformity92, and design, between the whole genus; but there the resemblance ends. Man may be degraded to the very margin93 of the line which separates him from the brute94, by ignorance; or he may be elevated to a communion with the great Master-spirit of all, by knowledge; nay95, I know not, if time and opportunity were given him, but he might become the master of all learning, and consequently equal to the great moving principle.”
The old man, who stood leaning on his rifle in a thoughtful attitude, shook his head, as he answered with a native steadiness, that entirely eclipsed the imposing96 air which his antagonist97 had seen fit to assume—
“This is neither more nor less than mortal wickedness! Here have I been a dweller on the earth for four-score and six changes of the seasons, and all that time have I look'd at the growing and the dying trees, and yet do I not know the reasons why the bud starts under the summer sun, or the leaf falls when it is pinch'd by the frosts. Your l'arning, though it is man's boast, is folly98 in the eyes of Him, who sits in the clouds, and looks down, in sorrow, at the pride and vanity of his creatur's. Many is the hour that I've passed, lying in the shades of the woods, or stretch'd upon the hills of these open fields, looking up into the blue skies, where I could fancy the Great One had taken his stand, and was solemnising on the waywardness of man and brute, below, as I myself had often look'd at the ants tumbling over each other in their eagerness, though in a way and a fashion more suited to His mightiness99 and power. Knowledge! It is his plaything. Say, you who think it so easy to climb into the judgment-seat above, can you tell me any thing of the beginning and the end? Nay, you're a dealer100 in ailings and cures: what is life, and what is death? Why does the eagle live so long, and why is the time of the butterfly so short? Tell me a simpler thing: why is this hound so uneasy, while you, who have passed your days in looking into books, can see no reason to be disturbed?”
The Doctor, who had been a little astounded102 by the dignity and energy of the old man, drew a long breath, like a sullen103 wrestler104 who is just released from the throttling105 grasp of his antagonist, and seized on the opportunity of the pause to reply—
“It is his instinct.”
“And what is the gift of instinct?”
“An inferior gradation of reason. A sort of mysterious combination of thought and matter.”
“And what is that which you call thought?”
“Venerable venator, this is a method of reasoning which sets at nought106 the uses of definitions, and such as I do assure you is not at all tolerated in the schools.”
“Then is there more cunning in your schools than I had thought, for it is a certain method of showing them their vanity,” returned the trapper, suddenly abandoning a discussion, from which the naturalist was just beginning to anticipate great delight, by turning to his dog, whose restlessness he attempted to appease107 by playing with his ears. “This is foolish, Hector; more like an untrained pup than a sensible hound; one who has got his education by hard experience, and not by nosing over the trails of other dogs, as a boy in the settlements follows on the track of his masters, be it right or be it wrong. Well, friend; you who can do so much, are you equal to looking into the thicket? or must I go in myself?”
The Doctor again assumed his air of resolution, and, without further parlance108, proceeded to do as desired. The dogs were so far restrained, by the remonstrances109 of the old man, as to confine their noise to low but often-repeated whinings. When they saw the naturalist advance, the pup, however, broke through all restraint, and made a swift circuit around his person, scenting110 the earth as he proceeded, and then, returning to his companion, he howled aloud.
“The squatter and his brood have left a strong scent on the earth,” said the old man, watching as he spoke for some signal from his learned pioneer to follow; “I hope yonder school-bred man knows enough to remember the errand on which I have sent him.”
Doctor Battius had already disappeared in the bushes and the trapper was beginning to betray additional evidences of impatience111, when the person of the former was seen retiring from the thicket backwards112, with his face fastened on the place he had just left, as if his look was bound in the thraldom113 of some charm.
“Here is something skeery, by the wildness of the creatur's countenance114!” exclaimed the old man relinquishing115 his hold of Hector, and moving stoutly116 to the side of the totally unconscious naturalist. “How is it, friend; have you found a new leaf in your book of wisdom?”
“It is a basilisk!” muttered the Doctor, whose altered visage betrayed the utter confusion which beset117 his faculties. “An animal of the order, serpens. I had thought its attributes were fabulous118, but mighty119 nature is equal to all that man can imagine!”
“What is't? what is't? The snakes of the prairies are harmless, unless it be now and then an angered rattler and he always gives you notice with his tail, afore he works his mischief with his fangs120. Lord, Lord, what a humbling121 thing is fear! Here is one who in common delivers words too big for a humble122 mouth to hold, so much beside himself, that his voice is as shrill123 as the whistle of the whip-poor-will! Courage!—what is it, man?—what is it?”
“A prodigy124! a lusus naturae! a monster, that nature has delighted to form, in order to exhibit her power! Never before have I witnessed such an utter confusion in her laws, or a specimen125 that so completely bids defiance126 to the distinctions of class and genera. Let me record its appearance,” fumbling127 for his tablets with hands that trembled too much to perform their office, “while time and opportunity are allowed—eyes, enthralling128; colour, various, complex, and profound—”
“One would think the man was craz'd, with his enthralling looks and pieball'd colours!” interrupted the discontented trapper, who began to grow a little uneasy that his party was all this time neglecting to seek the protection of some cover. “If there is a reptile129 in the brush, show me the creatur', and should it refuse to depart peaceably, why there must be a quarrel for the possession of the place.”
“There!” said the Doctor, pointing into a dense130 mass of the thicket, to a spot within fifty feet of that where they both stood. The trapper turned his look, with perfect composure, in the required direction, but the instant his practised glance met the object which had so utterly131 upset the philosophy of the naturalist, he gave a start himself, threw his rifle rapidly forward, and as instantly recovered it, as if a second flash of thought convinced him he was wrong. Neither the instinctive132 movement, nor the sudden recollection, was without a sufficient object. At the very margin of the thicket, and in absolute contact with the earth, lay an animate133 ball, that might easily, by the singularity and fierceness of its aspect, have justified134 the disturbed condition of the naturalist's mind. It were difficult to describe the shape or colours of this extraordinary substance, except to say, in general terms, that it was nearly spherical135, and exhibited all the hues136 of the rainbow, intermingled without reference to harmony, and without any very ostensible137 design. The predominant hues were a black and a bright vermilion. With these, however, the several tints138 of white, yellow, and crimson139, were strangely and wildly blended. Had this been all, it would have been difficult to have pronounced that the object was possessed140 of life, for it lay motionless as any stone; but a pair of dark, glaring, and moving eyeballs which watched with jealousy141 the smallest movement of the trapper and his companion, sufficiently established the important fact of its possessing vitality142.
“Your reptile is a scouter143, or I'm no judge of Indian paints and Indian deviltries!” muttered the old man, dropping the butt101 of his weapon to the ground, and gazing with a steady eye at the frightful144 object, as he leaned on its barrel, in an attitude of great composure. “He wants to face us out of sight and reason, and make us think the head of a red-skin is a stone covered with the autumn leaf; or he has some other devilish artifice in his mind!”
“Is the animal human?” demanded the Doctor, “of the genus homo? I had fancied it a non-descript.”
“It's as human, and as mortal too, as a warrior17 of these prairies is ever known to be. I have seen the time when a red-skin would have shown a foolish daring to peep out of his ambushment in that fashion on a hunter I could name, but who is too old now, and too near his time, to be any thing better than a miserable145 trapper. It will be well to speak to the imp24, and to let him know he deals with men whose beards are grown. Come forth from your cover, friend,” he continued, in the language of the extensive tribes of the Dahcotahs; “there is room on the prairie for another warrior.”
The eyes appeared to glare more fiercely than ever, but the mass which, according to the trapper's opinion, was neither more nor less than a human head, shorn, as usual among the warriors of the west, of its hair, still continued without motion, or any other sign of life.
“It is a mistake!” exclaimed the doctor. “The animal is not even of the class, mammalia, much less a man.”
“So much for your knowledge!” returned the trapper, laughing with great exultation146. “So much for the l'arning of one who has look'd into so many books, that his eyes are not able to tell a moose from a wild-cat! Now my Hector, here, is a dog of education after his fashion, and, though the meanest primmer147 in the settlements would puzzle his information, you could not cheat the hound in a matter like this. As you think the object no man, you shall see his whole formation, and then let an ignorant old trapper, who never willingly pass'd a day within reach of a spelling-book in his life, know by what name to call it. Mind, I mean no violence; but just to start the devil from his ambushment.”
The trapper very deliberately148 examined the priming of his rifle, taking care to make as great a parade as possible of his hostile intentions, in going through the necessary evolutions with the weapon. When he thought the stranger began to apprehend149 some danger, he very deliberately presented the piece, and called aloud—
“Now, friend, I am all for peace, or all for war, as you may say. No! well it is no man, as the wiser one, here, says, and there can be no harm in just firing into a bunch of leaves.”
The muzzle150 of the rifle fell as he concluded, and the weapon was gradually settling into a steady, and what would easily have proved a fatal aim, when a tall Indian sprang from beneath that bed of leaves and brush, which he had collected about his person at the approach of the party, and stood upright, uttering the exclamation—
“Wagh!”
点击收听单词发音
1 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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2 squatter | |
n.擅自占地者 | |
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3 eminence | |
n.卓越,显赫;高地,高处;名家 | |
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4 thicket | |
n.灌木丛,树林 | |
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5 hover | |
vi.翱翔,盘旋;徘徊;彷徨,犹豫 | |
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6 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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7 bereft | |
adj.被剥夺的 | |
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8 chattels | |
n.动产,奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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9 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10 fugitives | |
n.亡命者,逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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11 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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12 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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13 exulting | |
vi. 欢欣鼓舞,狂喜 | |
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14 approbation | |
n.称赞;认可 | |
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15 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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16 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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17 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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19 manly | |
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地 | |
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20 dispositions | |
安排( disposition的名词复数 ); 倾向; (财产、金钱的)处置; 气质 | |
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21 rendezvous | |
n.约会,约会地点,汇合点;vi.汇合,集合;vt.使汇合,使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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22 spoke | |
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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23 slanting | |
倾斜的,歪斜的 | |
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24 imp | |
n.顽童 | |
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25 loquacious | |
adj.多嘴的,饶舌的 | |
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26 compliance | |
n.顺从;服从;附和;屈从 | |
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27 squint | |
v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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28 ominous | |
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的 | |
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29 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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30 belligerent | |
adj.好战的,挑起战争的;n.交战国,交战者 | |
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31 swell | |
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
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32 descending | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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33 elude | |
v.躲避,困惑 | |
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34 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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35 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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36 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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37 favourably | |
adv. 善意地,赞成地 =favorably | |
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38 intelligible | |
adj.可理解的,明白易懂的,清楚的 | |
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39 expiration | |
n.终结,期满,呼气,呼出物 | |
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40 whining | |
n. 抱怨,牢骚 v. 哭诉,发牢骚 | |
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41 kin | |
n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的 | |
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42 molest | |
vt.骚扰,干扰,调戏 | |
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43 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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44 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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45 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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46 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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47 swarm | |
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入 | |
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48 winking | |
n.瞬眼,目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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49 meddling | |
v.干涉,干预(他人事务)( meddle的现在分词 ) | |
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50 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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51 solacing | |
v.安慰,慰藉( solace的现在分词 ) | |
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52 embarrassment | |
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫 | |
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53 demonstration | |
n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
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54 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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55 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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56 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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57 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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58 predilections | |
n.偏爱,偏好,嗜好( predilection的名词复数 ) | |
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59 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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60 naturalist | |
n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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61 vigilant | |
adj.警觉的,警戒的,警惕的 | |
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62 disciple | |
n.信徒,门徒,追随者 | |
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63 momentous | |
adj.重要的,重大的 | |
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64 mooted | |
adj.未决定的,有争议的,有疑问的v.提出…供讨论( moot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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66 riveted | |
铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 ); 把…固定住; 吸引; 引起某人的注意 | |
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67 artifice | |
n.妙计,高明的手段;狡诈,诡计 | |
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68 citadel | |
n.城堡;堡垒;避难所 | |
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69 imbibed | |
v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 );喝;吸取;吸气 | |
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70 soothing | |
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的 | |
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71 detested | |
v.憎恶,嫌恶,痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72 momentary | |
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的 | |
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73 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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74 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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75 blustering | |
adj.狂风大作的,狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 );咆哮;(风)呼啸;狂吹 | |
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76 faculties | |
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
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77 horrify | |
vt.使恐怖,使恐惧,使惊骇 | |
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78 embroil | |
vt.拖累;牵连;使复杂 | |
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79 primates | |
primate的复数 | |
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80 posterity | |
n.后裔,子孙,后代 | |
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81 relish | |
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
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82 palatable | |
adj.可口的,美味的;惬意的 | |
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83 sojourner | |
n.旅居者,寄居者 | |
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84 dweller | |
n.居住者,住客 | |
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85 glazed | |
adj.光滑的,像玻璃的;上过釉的;呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式);上釉于,上光;(目光)变得呆滞无神 | |
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86 judgments | |
判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判 | |
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87 ruffles | |
褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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88 commiserating | |
v.怜悯,同情( commiserate的现在分词 ) | |
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89 impelled | |
v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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90 expenditure | |
n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出;使用,消耗 | |
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91 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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92 conformity | |
n.一致,遵从,顺从 | |
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93 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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94 brute | |
n.野兽,兽性 | |
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95 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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96 imposing | |
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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97 antagonist | |
n.敌人,对抗者,对手 | |
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98 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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99 mightiness | |
n.强大 | |
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100 dealer | |
n.商人,贩子 | |
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101 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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102 astounded | |
v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词);愕然;愕;惊讶 | |
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103 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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104 wrestler | |
n.摔角选手,扭 | |
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105 throttling | |
v.扼杀( throttle的现在分词 );勒死;使窒息;压制 | |
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106 nought | |
n./adj.无,零 | |
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107 appease | |
v.安抚,缓和,平息,满足 | |
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108 parlance | |
n.说法;语调 | |
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109 remonstrances | |
n.抱怨,抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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110 scenting | |
vt.闻到(scent的现在分词形式) | |
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111 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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112 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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113 thraldom | |
n.奴隶的身份,奴役,束缚 | |
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114 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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115 relinquishing | |
交出,让给( relinquish的现在分词 ); 放弃 | |
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116 stoutly | |
adv.牢固地,粗壮的 | |
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117 beset | |
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围 | |
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118 fabulous | |
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的 | |
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119 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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120 fangs | |
n.(尤指狗和狼的)长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 );(蛇的)毒牙;罐座 | |
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121 humbling | |
adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 );轻松打败(尤指强大的对手);低声下气 | |
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122 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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123 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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124 prodigy | |
n.惊人的事物,奇迹,神童,天才,预兆 | |
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125 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
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126 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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127 fumbling | |
n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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128 enthralling | |
迷人的 | |
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129 reptile | |
n.爬行动物;两栖动物 | |
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130 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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131 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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132 instinctive | |
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
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133 animate | |
v.赋于生命,鼓励;adj.有生命的,有生气的 | |
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134 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
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135 spherical | |
adj.球形的;球面的 | |
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136 hues | |
色彩( hue的名词复数 ); 色调; 信仰; 观点 | |
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137 ostensible | |
adj.(指理由)表面的,假装的 | |
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138 tints | |
色彩( tint的名词复数 ); 带白的颜色; (淡色)染发剂; 痕迹 | |
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139 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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140 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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141 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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142 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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143 scouter | |
侦察者,负责童子军活动者 | |
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144 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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145 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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146 exultation | |
n.狂喜,得意 | |
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147 primmer | |
adj.循规蹈矩的( prim的比较级 );整洁的;(人)一本正经 | |
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148 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
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149 apprehend | |
vt.理解,领悟,逮捕,拘捕,忧虑 | |
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150 muzzle | |
n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默 | |
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