Nay15, more. If you watch the ivy itself in its various stages, you will see how the self-same plant adapts its different parts from time to time to every variation in the surrounding conditions. Here in the copse, left to itself, as nature made it, it spreads vaguely16 along the ground at first with its lower branches, developing small leaves as it goes, narrow-lobed and angular, which are pressed flat against the soil in such a way as to utilize all possible air and sunshine. They cover the ground without mutual17 interference. And they are evergreen19, too, so as to make the best of the scanty20 light that struggles through the trees in early spring and late autumn, while the oaks and ashes are all bare and leafless. But the main stem, prying21 about, soon finds out for itself some upright bank or trunk, up which it climbs, adhering to its host by the aid of its innumerable short root-like excrescences. Here its foliage assumes still the same type as on the ground, but is not quite so closely appressed to the support, nor yet so sharply angular. The mode of the mosaic, too, has altered a little to suit the altered circumstances; the leaves now stand out more freely from the stem, yet in such a way as not to interfere18 with or overshadow each other. By-and-by, however, the ivy, as it grows, reaches the top of the bank, or some convenient flowering place on the friendly trunk; and then it begins to send up quite different blossoming branches. These rise straight into the air, without support on any side; unlike the creeping stems, they are stout22 enough and strong enough to stand alone—to bear their own weight and that of the prospective23 flowers and berries. Besides, they wish to be seen from all sides at once, so as to attract from far and near a whole circle of amicable24 birds and insects. And now observe that on these upright flowering branches the shape of the leaves changes entirely25, so that you would hardly recognize them at first sight for ivy. They stand round the branch on all sides equally, and therefore have no longer any need to fit in and dovetail with one another. Each leaf is now somewhat oval in form, though sharply pointed26; there are no more lobes27 or angles; and the outline as a whole is far fuller and usually unbroken. Yet they still avoid standing in one another’s light, and are so arranged in spirals round the stem as to interfere as little as possible with one another’s freehold.
The little yellowish-green flowers which top these branches appear in late autumn. They are not particularly conspicuous, and their petals28 are insignificant29; yet they distil30 abundant honey on a disk in the centre, and they breathe forth31 a curious half-putrescent scent32, which seems highly attractive to many carrion33 flies and other foul34 feeders. Hence you will find that butterflies seldom or never visit them; but they are frequented and fertilized35 by hundreds of smaller insects, for whose sake the copious36 honey is stored on the open disk, where it is easily accessible to even the stumpiest proboscis37. Ivy, in short, is a democratic flower: it lays by no rich store of secret nectar in hidden recesses38, like the honeysuckle or the nasturtium, where none but the Norman-nosed aristocrats39 of the insect world can reach it; it is all for the common plebs. “A fair field and no favour” is the motto it acts upon. When the berries have been thus fertilized, they lie by over winter, slowly ripening40 and swelling41, to blacken at last in the succeeding summer. The ripe fruit is then eaten by birds, such as hawfinches and certain of the thrush tribe, which disperse42 the hard nut-like seeds undigested. Black or dark blue are rare colours for flowers, but common for fruits; partly perhaps because birds are less fond of bright reds and yellows than the ?sthetic insects; but partly also because such dusky hues43 are readily seen on a tree or bush against the snows of winter, the grey brown of late autumn, or the delicate wan8 green of early spring foliage.

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1
ivy
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n.常青藤,常春藤 | |
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2
exquisitely
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adv.精致地;强烈地;剧烈地;异常地 | |
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mosaic
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n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的 | |
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abrupt
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adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的 | |
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stony
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adj.石头的,多石头的,冷酷的,无情的 | |
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mantles
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vt.&vi.覆盖(mantle的第三人称单数形式) | |
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conspicuous
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adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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wan
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(wide area network)广域网 | |
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utilize
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vt.使用,利用 | |
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demesne
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n.领域,私有土地 | |
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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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foliage
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n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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prostrate
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v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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beget
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v.引起;产生 | |
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nay
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adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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vaguely
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adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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17
mutual
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adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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18
interfere
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v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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19
evergreen
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n.常青树;adj.四季常青的 | |
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20
scanty
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adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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21
prying
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adj.爱打听的v.打听,刺探(他人的私事)( pry的现在分词 );撬开 | |
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23
prospective
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adj.预期的,未来的,前瞻性的 | |
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amicable
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adj.和平的,友好的;友善的 | |
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25
entirely
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ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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26
pointed
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adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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lobes
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n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 );(器官的)叶;肺叶;脑叶 | |
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petals
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n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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insignificant
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adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的 | |
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30
distil
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vt.蒸馏;提取…的精华,精选出 | |
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forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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scent
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n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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33
carrion
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n.腐肉 | |
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34
foul
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adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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35
Fertilized
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v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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copious
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adj.丰富的,大量的 | |
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37
proboscis
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n.(象的)长鼻 | |
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recesses
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n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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39
aristocrats
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n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 ) | |
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40
ripening
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v.成熟,使熟( ripen的现在分词 );熟化;熟成 | |
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41
swelling
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n.肿胀 | |
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42
disperse
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vi.使分散;使消失;vt.分散;驱散 | |
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43
hues
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色彩( hue的名词复数 ); 色调; 信仰; 观点 | |
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