Looking southward from the south end of Salt Lake, the two northmost peaks of the Oquirrh Range are seen swelling17 calmly into the cool sky without any marked character, excepting only their snow crowns, and a few weedy-looking patches of spruce and fir, the simplicity18 of their slopes preventing their real loftiness from being appreciated. Gray, sagey plains circle around their bases, and up to a height of a thousand feet or more their sides are tinged19 with purple, which I afterwards found is produced by a close growth of dwarf20 oak just coming into leaf. Higher you may detect faint tintings of green on a gray ground, from young grasses and sedges; then come the dark pine woods filling glacial hollows, and over all the smooth crown of snow.
While standing22 at their feet, the other day, shortly after my memorable23 excursion among the salt waves of the lake, I said: "Now I shall have another baptism. I will bathe in the high sky, among cool wind-waves from the snow." From the more southerly of the two peaks a long ridge24 comes down, bent25 like a bow, one end in the hot plains, the other in the snow of the summit. After carefully scanning the jagged towers and battlements with which it is roughened, I determined27 to make it my way, though it presented but a feeble advertisement of its floral wealth. This apparent barrenness, however, made no great objection just then, for I was scarce hoping for flowers, old or new, or even for fine scenery. I wanted in particular to learn what the Oquirrh rocks were made of, what trees composed the curious patches of forest; and, perhaps more than all, I was animated28 by a mountaineer's eagerness to get my feet into the snow once more, and my head into the clear sky, after lying dormant29 all winter at the level of the sea.
But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks. I had not gone more than a mile from Lake Point ere I found the way profusely30 decked with flowers, mostly compositae and purple leguminosae, a hundred corollas or more to the square yard, with a corresponding abundance of winged blossoms above them, moths31 and butterflies, the leguminosae of the insect kingdom. This floweriness is maintained with delightful32 variety all the way up through rocks and bushes to the snow—violets, lilies, gilias, oenotheras, wallflowers, ivesias, saxifrages, smilax, and miles of blooming bushes, chiefly azalea, honeysuckle, brier rose, buckthorn, and eriogonum, all meeting and blending in divine accord.
Two liliaceous plants in particular, Erythronium grandiflorum and Fritillaria pudica, are marvelously beautiful and abundant. Never before, in all my walks, have I met so glorious a throng of these fine showy liliaceous plants. The whole mountainside was aglow33 with them, from a height of fifty-five hundred feet to the very edge of the snow. Although remarkably34 fragile, both in form and in substance, they are endowed with plenty of deep-seated vitality35, enabling them to grow in all kinds of places—down in leafy glens, in the lee of wind-beaten ledges36, and beneath the brushy tangles37 of azalea, and oak, and prickly roses—everywhere forming the crowning glory of the flowers. If the neighboring mountains are as rich in lilies, then this may well be called the Lily Range.
After climbing about a thousand feet above the plain I came to a picturesque39 mass of rock, cropping up through the underbrush on one of the steepest slopes of the mountain. After examining some tufts of grass and saxifrage that were growing in its fissured40 surface, I was going to pass it by on the upper side, where the bushes were more open, but a company composed of the two lilies I have mentioned were blooming on the lower side, and though they were as yet out of sight, I suddenly changed my mind and went down to meet them, as if attracted by the ringing of their bells. They were growing in a small, nestlike opening between the rock and the bushes, and both the erythronium and the fritillaria were in full flower. These were the first of the species I had seen, and I need not try to tell the joy they made. They are both lowly plants,—lowly as violets,—the tallest seldom exceeding six inches in height, so that the most searching winds that sweep the mountains scarce reach low enough to shake their bells.
The fritillaria has five or six linear, obtuse41 leaves, put on irregularly near the bottom of the stem, which is usually terminated by one large bell-shaped flower; but its more beautiful companion, the erythronium, has two radical42 leaves only, which are large and oval, and shine like glass. They extend horizontally in opposite directions, and form a beautiful glossy43 ground, over which the one large down-looking flower is swung from a simple stem, the petals44 being strongly recurved, like those of Lilium superbum. Occasionally a specimen45 is met which has from two to five flowers hung in a loose panicle. People oftentimes travel far to see curious plants like the carnivorous darlingtonia, the fly-catcher, the walking fern, etc. I hardly know how the little bells I have been describing would be regarded by seekers of this class, but every true flower-lover who comes to consider these Utah lilies will surely be well rewarded, however long the way.
Pushing on up the rugged46 slopes, I found many delightful seclusions—moist nooks at the foot of cliffs, and lilies in every one of them, not growing close together like daisies, but well apart, with plenty of room for their bells to swing free and ring. I found hundreds of them in full bloom within two feet of the snow. In winter only the bulbs are alive, sleeping deep beneath the ground, like field mice in their nests; then the snow-flowers fall above them, lilies over lilies, until the spring winds blow, and these winter lilies wither47 in turn; then the hiding erythroniums and fritillarias rise again, responsive to the first touches of the sun.
I noticed the tracks of deer in many places among the lily gardens, and at the height of about seven thousand feet I came upon the fresh trail of a flock of wild sheep, showing that these fine mountaineers still flourish here above the range of Mormon rifles. In the planting of her wild gardens, Nature takes the feet and teeth of her flocks into account, and makes use of them to trim and cultivate, and keep them in order, as the bark and buds of the tree are tended by woodpeckers and linnets.
The evergreen48 woods consist, as far as I observed, of two species, a spruce and a fir, standing close together, erect49 and arrowy in a thrifty50, compact growth; but they are quite small, say from six to twelve or fourteen inches in diameter, and bout38 forty feet in height. Among their giant relatives of the Sierra the very largest would seem mere51 saplings. A considerable portion of the south side of the mountain is planted with a species of aspen, called "quaking asp" by the wood-choppers. It seems to be quite abundant on many of the eastern mountains of the basin, and forms a marked feature of their upper forests.
Wading52 up the curves of the summit was rather toilsome, for the snow, which was softened54 by the blazing sun, was from ten to twenty feet deep, but the view was one of the most impressively sublime55 I ever beheld56. Snowy, ice-sculptured ranges bounded the horizon all around, while the great lake, eighty miles long and fifty miles wide, lay fully26 revealed beneath a lily sky. The shorelines, marked by a ribbon of white sand, were seen sweeping57 around many a bay and promontory58 in elegant curves, and picturesque islands rising to mountain heights, and some of them capped with pearly cumuli. And the wide prairie of water glowing in the gold and purple of evening presented all the colors that tint21 the lips of shells and the petals of lilies—the most beautiful lake this side of the Rocky Mountains. Utah Lake, lying thirty-five miles to the south, was in full sight also, and the river Jordan, which links the two together, may be traced in silvery gleams throughout its whole course.
Descending59 the mountain, I followed the windings60 of the main central glen on the north, gathering61 specimens62 of the cones63 and sprays of the evergreens64, and most of the other new plants I had met; but the lilies formed the crowning glory of my bouquet—the grandest I had carried in many a day. I reached the hotel on the lake about dusk with all my fresh riches, and my first mountain ramble65 in Utah was accomplished66. On my way back to the city, the next day, I met a grave old Mormon with whom I had previously67 held some Latter-Day discussions. I shook my big handful of lilies in his face and shouted, "Here are the true saints, ancient and Latter-Day, enduring forever!" After he had recovered from his astonishment68 he said, "They are nice."
The other liliaceous plants I have met in Utah are two species of zigadenas, Fritillaria atropurpurea, Calochortus Nuttallii, and three or four handsome alliums. One of these lilies, the calochortus, several species of which are well known in California as the "Mariposa tulips," has received great consideration at the hands of the Mormons, for to it hundreds of them owe their lives. During the famine years between 1853 and 1858, great destitution69 prevailed, especially in the southern settlements, on account of drouth and grasshoppers70, and throughout one hungry winter in particular, thousands of the people subsisted71 chiefly on the bulbs of the tulips, called "sego" by the Indians, who taught them its use.
Liliaceous women and girls are rare among the Mormons. They have seen too much hard, repressive toil53 to admit of the development of lily beauty either in form or color. In general they are thickset, with large feet and hands, and with sun-browned faces, often curiously72 freckled73 like the petals of Fritillaria atropurpurea. They are fruit rather than flower—good brown bread. But down in the San Pitch Valley at Gunnison, I discovered a genuine lily, happily named Lily Young. She is a granddaughter of Brigham Young, slender and graceful74, with lily-white cheeks tinted75 with clear rose, She was brought up in the old Salt Lake Zion House, but by some strange chance has been transplanted to this wilderness76, where she blooms alone, the "Lily of San Pitch." Pitch is an old Indian, who, I suppose, pitched into the settlers and thus acquired fame enough to give name to the valley. Here I feel uneasy about the name of this lily, for the compositors have a perverse77 trick of making me say all kinds of absurd things wholly unwarranted by plain copy, and I fear that the "Lily of San Pitch" will appear in print as the widow of Sam Patch. But, however this may be, among my memories of this strange land, that Oquirrh mountain, with its golden lilies, will ever rise in clear relief, and associated with them will always be the Mormon lily of San Pitch.
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1
orchids
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n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
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2
fiery
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adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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cactus
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n.仙人掌 | |
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geologic
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adj.地质的 | |
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5
sediments
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沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 ); 沉积物 | |
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6
crumbled
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(把…)弄碎, (使)碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 衰落; 坍塌; 损坏 | |
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lavishly
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adv.慷慨地,大方地 | |
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forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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rifts
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n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 );裂隙;分裂;不和 | |
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craters
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n.火山口( crater的名词复数 );弹坑等 | |
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11
mantle
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n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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12
protracted
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adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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13
throng
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n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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majestic
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adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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sage
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n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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cedar
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n.雪松,香柏(木) | |
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swelling
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n.肿胀 | |
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simplicity
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n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
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19
tinged
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v.(使)发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
dwarf
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n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小 | |
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21
tint
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n.淡色,浅色;染发剂;vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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22
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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23
memorable
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adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的 | |
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ridge
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n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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bent
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n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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fully
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adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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animated
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adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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dormant
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adj.暂停活动的;休眠的;潜伏的 | |
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profusely
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ad.abundantly | |
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moths
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n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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delightful
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adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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aglow
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adj.发亮的;发红的;adv.发亮地 | |
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remarkably
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ad.不同寻常地,相当地 | |
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vitality
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n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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ledges
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n.(墙壁,悬崖等)突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 );(平窄的)壁架;横档;(尤指)窗台 | |
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tangles
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(使)缠结, (使)乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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bout
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n.侵袭,发作;一次(阵,回);拳击等比赛 | |
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picturesque
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adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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fissured
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adj.裂缝的v.裂开( fissure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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obtuse
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adj.钝的;愚钝的 | |
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42
radical
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n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
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glossy
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adj.平滑的;有光泽的 | |
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petals
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n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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45
specimen
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n.样本,标本 | |
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46
rugged
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adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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47
wither
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vt.使凋谢,使衰退,(用眼神气势等)使畏缩;vi.枯萎,衰退,消亡 | |
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48
evergreen
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n.常青树;adj.四季常青的 | |
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49
erect
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n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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50
thrifty
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adj.节俭的;兴旺的;健壮的 | |
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51
mere
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adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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52
wading
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(从水、泥等)蹚,走过,跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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53
toil
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vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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54
softened
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(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰 | |
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55
sublime
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adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的 | |
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56
beheld
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v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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57
sweeping
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adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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58
promontory
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n.海角;岬 | |
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59
descending
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n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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60
windings
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(道路、河流等)蜿蜒的,弯曲的( winding的名词复数 ); 缠绕( wind的现在分词 ); 卷绕; 转动(把手) | |
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61
gathering
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n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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62
specimens
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n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人 | |
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63
cones
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n.(人眼)圆锥细胞;圆锥体( cone的名词复数 );球果;圆锥形东西;(盛冰淇淋的)锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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64
evergreens
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n.常青树,常绿植物,万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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65
ramble
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v.漫步,漫谈,漫游;n.漫步,闲谈,蔓延 | |
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accomplished
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adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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67
previously
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adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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68
astonishment
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n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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destitution
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n.穷困,缺乏,贫穷 | |
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70
grasshoppers
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n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 );蝗虫;蚂蚱;(孩子)矮小的 | |
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71
subsisted
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v.(靠很少的钱或食物)维持生活,生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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curiously
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adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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freckled
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adj.雀斑;斑点;晒斑;(使)生雀斑v.雀斑,斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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graceful
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adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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75
tinted
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adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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76
wilderness
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n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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perverse
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adj.刚愎的;坚持错误的,行为反常的 | |
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