“Beasts of venerie, persecuted1 for their cases, or ‘dommage feasance’ are martens, squirrels, foxes, badgers2 and otters3. . . . The fox planteth his dwelling4 in the steep cliffs by the sea side; where he possesseth holds so many in number, so dangerous for access, and so full of windings5, as in a manner it falleth out a matter impossible to disseize him of that his ancient inheritage. True it is, that sometimes when he marcheth abroad on foraging6 to revictual his ‘male pardus’ the captain hunters, discovering his sallies by their espyal, do lay their soldier-like hounds, his born enemies, in ambush7 between him and home, and so with har and tue pursue him to the death. Then master reynard ransacketh every corner of his wily sconce, and bestirreth the utmost of his nimble stumps8 to quit his coat from their jaws9. He crosseth brooks10, to make them lose the scent11; he slippeth into coverts12, to steal out of sight; he casteth and coasteth the country to get the start of the way; and if he be so met, as he finds himself overmatched, he abideth and biddeth them battle, first sending the mire13 of his tail against their eyes in lieu of shot, and then manfully closing at hand-blows, with the sword of his teeth, not forgetting the whiles to make an honourable14 retreat with his face towards the enemy; by which means having once reached his fortress15, he then gives the fico to all that his adversaries16 can by siege, force, mine, sword, assault, or famine, attempt against him.”
Fox-Cubs.
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1 persecuted | |
(尤指宗教或政治信仰的)迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 ); 烦扰,困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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2 badgers | |
n.獾( badger的名词复数 );獾皮;(大写)獾州人(美国威斯康星州人的别称);毛鼻袋熊 | |
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3 otters | |
n.(水)獭( otter的名词复数 );獭皮 | |
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4 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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5 windings | |
(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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6 foraging | |
v.搜寻(食物),尤指动物觅(食)( forage的现在分词 );(尤指用手)搜寻(东西) | |
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7 ambush | |
n.埋伏(地点);伏兵;v.埋伏;伏击 | |
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8 stumps | |
(被砍下的树的)树桩( stump的名词复数 ); 残肢; (板球三柱门的)柱; 残余部分 | |
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9 jaws | |
n.口部;嘴 | |
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10 brooks | |
n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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11 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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12 coverts | |
n.隐蔽的,不公开的,秘密的( covert的名词复数 );复羽 | |
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13 mire | |
n.泥沼,泥泞;v.使...陷于泥泞,使...陷入困境 | |
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14 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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15 fortress | |
n.堡垒,防御工事 | |
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16 adversaries | |
n.对手,敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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