There seems to be a law, or rather a habit pertaining2 to forest life, into which every one falls, while upon excursions such as ours. Stories occupy the place of books, and tales of the marvellous furnish a substitute for the evening papers. Not that there should be any set rule or system, in regard to the ordering of the matter, but a sort of spontaneous movement, an implied understanding, growing out of the necessities of the position of isolation3 occupied by those who are away from the resources of civilization. The doctor had a genius for story telling, or rather a genius for invention, which required only a moderate development of the organ of credulity on the part of his hearers, to render him unrivalled. There was an appearance of frank earnestness about his manner of relating his adventures, which, however improbable or even impossible as matter of fact they might be, commanded, for the moment, absolute credence4.
"They've a curious fish in the St. Lawrence," said the doctor, as he knocked the ashes from his meerschaum, and refilled it, "known among the fishermen of that river as the LAWYER. I have never seen it among any other of the waters of this country, and never there but once. It never bites at a hook, and is taken only by gill-nets, or the seine. Everybody," he continued, "has visited the Thousand Islands, or if everybody has not, he had better go there at once. He will find them, in the heat of summer, not only the coolest and most healthful retreat, and the pleasantest scenery that the eye ever rested upon, always excepting these beautiful lakes, but the best river fishing I know of on this continent. He will not, to be sure, take the speckled trout5 that we find in this region, but he will be among the black bass6, the pickerel, muscalunge, and striped bass, in the greatest abundance, and ready to answer promptly7 any reasonable demand which he may make upon them. Think of reeling in a twenty-pound pickerel, or a forty-pound muscalunge, on a line three hundred feet in length, playing him for half an hour, and landing him safely in your boat at last! There's excitement for you worth talking about.
"I stopped over night at Cape9 Vincent, last summer, on my way to 'the Thousand Islands,' on a fishing excursion of a week. I was acquainted with an old fisherman of that place, and agreed to go out with him the next morning, to see what luck he had with the fish. I don't think much of that kind of fishing, though it is well enough for those who make a business of it, for the gill-net works, as the old man said, while the fisherman sleeps, and all he gets in that way is clear gain.
"Well, I rose early the next morning to go out with the old fisherman to his gill-nets. It would have done you good, as it did me, to see how merry every living thing was. The birds, how jolly they were, and how refreshing10 the breeze was that came stealing over the water, making one feel as if he would like to shout and hurrah11 in the buoyancy, the brightness, and glory of the morning. But I am not going to be poetical12 about the sunrise, and the singing birds. We went out upon the river just as the sun came up with his great, round, red face, for there was a light smoky haze13 floating above the eastern horizon, and threw his light like a stream of crimson14 flame across the water; and the meadow lark15 perched upon his fence stake, the blackbird upon his alderbush, the brown thrush on the topmost spray of the wild thorn, and the bob-o'-link, as he leaped from the meadow and poised16 himself on his fluttering wings in mid17 air, all sent up a shout of gladness as if hailing the god of the morning.
"We came to the nets and began to draw in. You ought to have seen the fish. There were pickerel from four to ten pounds in weight, white fish, black bass, rock bass, Oswego bass, and pike by the dozen; and, what was a stranger to me, a queer looking specimen18 of the piscatory tribes, half bull-head, and half eel8, with a cross of the lizard19.
"'What on earth is that?' said I, to the fisherman. "'That,' said he, 'is a species of ling; we call it in these parts a LAWYER'
"'A lawyer!' said I; 'why, pray?'
"'I don't know,' he replied, 'unless it's because he ain't of much use, and is the slipriest fish that swims.'
"Mark," continued the doctor, turning to Spalding; "I mean no personality. I am simply giving the old fisherman's words, not my own."
"Proceed with the case," said Spalding, as he sent a column of smoke curling upward from his lips, and with a gravity that was refreshing.
"Well," resumed the doctor, "the LAWYERS were thrown by themselves, and one old fat fellow, weighing, perhaps, five or six pounds, fixed20 his great, round, glassy eyes upon me, and opened his ugly mouth, and I thought I heard him say, interrogatively, 'Well,' as if demanding that the case should proceed at once.
"'Well,' said I, in reply, 'what's out?'
"'What's out!' he answered; 'I'm out—I'm out of my element—out of water—out of court—and in this hot, dry atmosphere, almost out of breath. But what have I been summoned here for? I demand a copy of the complaint.'
"'My dear sir,' said I, 'I'm not a member of the court. I don't belong to the bar—I'm not the plaintiff—I'm not in the profession, nor on the bench. I'm neither sheriff, constable21 nor juror. I'm only a spectator. In the Rackett Woods, among the lakes and streams of that wild region, with a rod and fly, I'm at home with the trout, but;——' "'Oh! ho!' he exclaimed with a chuckle22, 'you're the chap I was consulted about down near the mouth of the Rackett the other day, by a country trout, who was on a journey to visit his relatives in the streams of Canada. He showed me a hole in his jaw23, made by your hook at the mouth of the Bog24 river. I've filed a summons and complaint against you for assault and battery, and beg to notify you of the fact.'
"'I plead the general issue,' said I.
"'There's no such thing known to the code,' he replied.
"'I deny the fact, then,' I exclaimed.
"'That won't do,' he rejoined; "'the complaint is put in under oath, and you must answer by affidavit25, of the truth of your denial.'
"You see my dilemma26. I remembered the circumstance of hooking a noble trout at the place alleged27, and as the affair has been settled, I'll tell you how it was. At the head of Tupper's Lake, one of the most beautiful sheets of water that the sun ever shone upon, lying alone among the mountains, surrounded by old primeval forests, walled in by palisadoes of rocks, and studded with islands, the Bog River enters; this river comes down from the hills away back in the wilderness28, sometimes rushing with a roar over rocks and through gorges29, sometimes plunging30 down precipices31, and sometimes moving with a deep and sluggish32 current across a broad sweep of table land. For several miles back of the lake, and until a few rods of the shore, it is a calm, deep river. It then rushes down a steep, shelving rock some twenty feet into a great rocky basin; then down again over a shelving rock in a fall of twenty feet into another rocky basin; and then again in another fall of twenty or thirty feet, over a steep, shelving rock, shooting with a swift current far out into the lake. These falls constitute a beautiful cascade33, and their roar may be heard of a calm, summer evening, for miles out on the placid34 water.
"At the foot of these falls, in the summer season, the trout congregate35; beautiful large fellows, from one to three pounds in weight; and a fly trailed across the current, or over the eddies36, just at its outer edge, is a thing at which they are tolerably sure to rise. Well, last summer, I was out that way among the lakes that lie sleeping in beauty, and along the streams that flow through the old woods, playing the savage37 and vagabondizing in a promiscuous38 way. The river was low, and a broad rock, smooth and bare, sloping gently to the water's edge, under which the stream whirled as it entered the lake, and above which tall trees towered, casting over it a pleasant shade, presented a tempting39 place to throw the fly. I cast over the current, and trailed along towards the edge of the rock, when a three-pounder rose from his place down in the deep water. He didn't come head foremost, nor glancing upward, but rose square up to the surface, and pausing a single instant, darted40 forward like an arrow and seized the fly. Well, away he plunged41 with the hook in his jaw, bending my elastic42 rod like a reed, the reel hissing43 as the line spun44 away eighty or a hundred feet across the current, and far out into the lake; but he was fast, and after struggling for a time, he partially45 surrendered, and I reeled him in. Slowly, and with a sullen46 struggling, he was drawn47 towards the shore, sometimes with his head out of water, and sometimes diving towards the bottom. At last, he caught sight of me, and with renewed energy he plunged away again, clear across the current and out into the lake. But the tension of the elastic rod working against him steadily48, and always, was too much for his strength, and again I reeled him in, struggling still, though faintly. Slowly, but steadily, I reeled him to my hand. He was just by the edge of the rock, almost within reach of my landing net, when, with a last desperate effort to escape, he plunged towards the bottom, made a dive under the rock, the line came against its edge, slipped gratingly for a moment, snapped, and the fish was gone. He was a beautiful trout, and beautifully he played. He deserved freedom on account of the energy with which he struggled for it.
"You will see, therefore, that, as I said, I was in a dilemma. The action against me was well brought. I could not deny the truth of the facts charged against me in the complaint. In this position of affairs, three alternatives presented themselves; first, a denial of the truth of the complaint, but that involved perjury49; secondly50, admission of the facts charged, but that involved conviction; and, thirdly, a compromise, and the latter one I adopted.
"'Can't this thing be settled,' said I, to the old lawyer fish of the St. Lawrence, 'without litigation? me and my four companions overboard, place us in statu quo, and the action shall be discontinued.'
"'Agreed,' said I, and I reached down to enter upon the performance of my part of the contract.
"'Wait a moment,' said he, curling up his shaky tail, 'the costs—who pays the costs?'
"'The costs!' I replied, 'each pays his own, of course.'
"'Not so fast,' he exclaimed, 'not quite so fast. You must pay the costs, or the suit goes on.'
"There was something human in the tenacity51 with which that old 'lawyer' clung to the idea of costs. There he was gasping52 for breath, his life depending upon the result of the negotiation53, and still he insisted upon the payment of costs as a condition of compromise."
"Probably out of regard for the interest of his client," said
Spalding, gravely; "but proceed with the case."
"'Fisherman,' said I," resumed the Doctor, "'what is the cost of these five lawyers? How much for the fee simple of the lot?'
"'They ain't worth but ninepence,' he replied.
"'Good,' said I, 'here's a shilling, York currency.'
"'Agreed,' said he, and threw in a sucker, by way of change.
"'Anything more?' I asked of the old cormorant54 lawyer.
"'No,' he replied; 'all right—so toss us overboard, and be quick, for my breath is getting a little short.' I threw them over, one at a time, the old fellow last, and as he slipped from my hand into the river, he thrust his ugly face out of the water, and said, coolly, 'Good morning! When you come our way again, drop in.'
"'No,' said I, 'I'll drop a line.' I remembered how I 'dropped in,' over on Long Lake, one day, and had no inclination55 to drop in to the St. Lawrence, especially when there are old lawyer fishes there to summon me for assault and battery on a 'Shatagee trout.'"
"Doctor," said Hank Martin, one of our boatmen, who had been listening to the Doctor's narrative56, "I don't want to be considered for'ard or sassy, but I'd like to know how much of these kinds of stories we hired folks are obligated to believe?"
"Well," replied the Doctor, "there are three of you in all, and between you, you must make up a reasonable case, as Spalding would say, of faith in everything you may hear. This you may do by dividing it up among you."
"Very good," said Martin, with imperturbable57 gravity; "I only wanted a fair understanding of the matter on the start."
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1
lawsuit
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| n.诉讼，控诉 | |
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pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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credence
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| n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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eel
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| n.鳗鲡 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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mid
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| adj.中央的，中间的 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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lizard
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| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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affidavit
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| n.宣誓书 | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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congregate
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| v.(使)集合，聚集 | |
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eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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promiscuous
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| adj.杂乱的，随便的 | |
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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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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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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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perjury
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| n.伪证；伪证罪 | |
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secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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53
negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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cormorant
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| n.鸬鹚，贪婪的人 | |
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55
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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