As a consequence of this dryness and deadness of the gorse, and to some extent of the heather-tops, heath fires have raged this spring in England with a fierceness and commonness I have never seen equalled. Every year, of course, especially about Eastertide, when furze and heather are normally at their driest, owing to the winter sleep, heath fires are frequent enough in times of drought on all sandy moorlands; but, as a rule, they cease altogether for the year when the gorse begins to burgeon13 and the heath to send up its long green summer shoots. As the sap mounts in the plants, and the spiky14 leaves grow green, the amount of moisture in stem and branches suffices to preserve the commons and moors15 from the danger of burning. This summer, however, the dead dry gorse-bushes catch a spark like tinder; and in the district where I live, among pines and heather, we have been nightly surrounded for many weeks by constant heath fires. Sometimes, perhaps, they are kindled16 of malice17 prepense, or out of pure boyish mischief18; more often, however, I fancy they are due to mere19 human carelessness in flinging down a match among the arid20 fuel. A bicyclist’s cigarette thrown lightly by the roadside, a labourer’s pipe turned out casually21 upon the footpath—any such small thing is enough to set it going; and once lighted, the flames spread before the wind with astonishing rapidity, licking up with their fiery22 tongues whole leagues of dry gorse, and leaping with frantic23 glee and in crackling haste from bough to bough of the pines and hollies24.
It is a strange sight, indeed, to see at night one of these lurid25 deluges26, sweeping27 onward28 irresistibly29, amid clouds of smoke and loud snapping of boughs30, on its work of devastation31. Terrible as it all is, it is yet beautiful while it lasts: the red sibilant flames, the fierce glare on the sky, the beaters beating it down on its leeward32 edge with branches of pine-trees, and silhouetted33 in black against the bright glow of the fire, all unite to make up a weird34 and intensely impressive picture. But to the beasts and birds whose home is on the moor, it is a cataclysm35 inexpressible, appalling36, unthinkable. Lizards37 run before the advancing phalanx of flames in trembling terror till it catches them by the hundred, and calcines them as they run into fine white ashes; rats squeal38 from their holes in the bank with piteous screams of agony, as they are slowly roasted alive by the remorseless inundation39; rabbits wait in silence in their stifling40 burrows41, and are burned without one sound, for, true to their instincts, they prefer to meet death in their own scorching42 homes, rather than expose themselves to the dogs who follow every fire, and pounce43 with mad joy on hapless creatures that run for dear life from its devouring44 onslaught.
Next day—ah! next day—the area over which the flames have swept is pitiful to behold45: blackened soil, charred46 bushes, naked boughs of burnt fir-trees. Among them, one morning, I saw a poor belated squirrel, exposed on the open, and picking his way painfully over the smoking ground. Beneath his paws the loose black peat still smouldered sullenly47. With dazed and doubtful steps, like a stupefied thing, he picked his way among the burning tufts. He had lost his mate, no doubt—his mate, and his little ones. The whole world he knew had been blotted48 out and effaced49 in one wild half-hour of indescribable terrors. Now he walked gingerly on tip-toe over the burning soil, as you and I might walk over the ashes of Mayfair if a fissure50 eruption51 had spread hot sheets of lava52 above the site of London. Just such a catastrophe53 to my squirrel was that awful night’s work. He was stunned54 and mazed55 by it. I thought, indeed, for a time, he was half dead and roasted, till a dog ran after him; then, quick as lightning, he darted56 up a charred tree, and looked down from the bare boughs upon his baffled pursuer. But none of the usual sly triumph was there in his look; the manifold experiences of that deadly night had killed all slyness and all archness out of him for ever. He wandered like a ghost among the blackened branches; his universe was gone; his life was blasted. I never saw a more pathetic sight, nor one that brought home to me in sadder colours the ruthlessness of nature.

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1
accusation
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n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
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2
moor
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n.荒野,沼泽;vt.(使)停泊;vi.停泊 | |
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3
hardy
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adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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4
forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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5
bough
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n.大树枝,主枝 | |
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disconsolate
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adj.忧郁的,不快的 | |
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7
staple
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n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类 | |
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8
pollen
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n.[植]花粉 | |
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9
hardiest
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能吃苦耐劳的,坚强的( hardy的最高级 ); (植物等)耐寒的 | |
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10
provender
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n.刍草;秣料 | |
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11
shrub
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n.灌木,灌木丛 | |
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12
incapable
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adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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13
burgeon
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v.萌芽,发芽;迅速发展 | |
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14
spiky
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adj.长而尖的,大钉似的 | |
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15
moors
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v.停泊,系泊(船只)( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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16
kindled
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(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光 | |
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17
malice
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n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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18
mischief
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n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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19
mere
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adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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20
arid
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adj.干旱的;(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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21
casually
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adv.漠不关心地,无动于衷地,不负责任地 | |
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22
fiery
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adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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23
frantic
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adj.狂乱的,错乱的,激昂的 | |
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24
hollies
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n.冬青(常绿灌木,叶尖而硬,有光泽,冬季结红色浆果)( holly的名词复数 );(用作圣诞节饰物的)冬青树枝 | |
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25
lurid
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adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的 | |
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26
deluges
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v.使淹没( deluge的第三人称单数 );淹没;被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没;穷于应付 | |
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27
sweeping
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adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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28
onward
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adj.向前的,前进的;adv.向前,前进,在先 | |
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29
irresistibly
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adv.无法抵抗地,不能自持地;极为诱惑人地 | |
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30
boughs
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大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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31
devastation
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n.毁坏;荒废;极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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32
leeward
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adj.背风的;下风的 | |
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33
silhouetted
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显出轮廓的,显示影像的 | |
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34
weird
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adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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35
cataclysm
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n.洪水,剧变,大灾难 | |
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36
appalling
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adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的 | |
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37
lizards
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n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
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38
squeal
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v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音 | |
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39
inundation
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n.the act or fact of overflowing | |
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40
stifling
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a.令人窒息的 | |
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41
burrows
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n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘(洞穴),挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 );翻寻 | |
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42
scorching
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adj. 灼热的 | |
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43
pounce
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n.猛扑;v.猛扑,突然袭击,欣然同意 | |
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44
devouring
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吞没( devour的现在分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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45
behold
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v.看,注视,看到 | |
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46
charred
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v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式);烧焦 | |
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47
sullenly
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不高兴地,绷着脸,忧郁地 | |
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48
blotted
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涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 ); (用吸墨纸)吸干 | |
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49
effaced
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v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;超越;使黯然失色 | |
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50
fissure
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n.裂缝;裂伤 | |
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51
eruption
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n.火山爆发;(战争等)爆发;(疾病等)发作 | |
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52
lava
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n.熔岩,火山岩 | |
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53
catastrophe
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n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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54
stunned
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adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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55
mazed
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迷惘的,困惑的 | |
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56
darted
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v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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