"Couldn't honourably6 do otherwise," retorted Osbody.
"Honour be hanged! We're not heroes of a sporting novel. Look at the crowd of Foxes round the ropes. They've come to laugh at us!"
"Perhaps they'll cheer us before we've finished."
"Rubbish! We're all as soft as putty. Given football a miss whenever possible. Hated the muddy misery7 of it. The Merry Men will tie us into every kind of knot."
"Rather!" agreed Niblo. "Where's the sense of piling up imaginary goals against your own side, Grain? Grouse9 when they're actually scored, not before."
"You're living in a fool's paradise," retorted Grain. "Go on kidding yourselves that you're an International side. All I can say is, that you don't jolly well look it. More like a row of plucked turkeys outside a poulterer's shop."
His bitter comments were interrupted by the arrival of the Merry Men, looking fit as fiddles10 in their white shirts and blue knickers. Rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed, full of vim11 and confidence, they formed a striking contrast to their shivering opponents. Judging by appearances, there would only be one team in the picture that afternoon.
Osbody, as captain, met Arkness in the centre of the field. "Who's to referee12?" he inquired. "I forgot to ask about that."
"That's all right," Robin13 answered cheerily. "Thought we'd have a good 'un while we were about it. I've asked Forge to take the whistle."
"You never dared!" cried Osbody, evidently taken aback.
"Why not? Forge doesn't bite. What better 'ref.' could we have? He'll see fair play to the last kick."
"Who said there was going to be any play that wasn't fair?" asked Osbody, ungraciously.
"Not I, you thin-skinned beggar. All I meant was that Forge knows the rules backwards14 way. He'll hold the scales even and favour neither side."
"That's as may be," remarked Grain. He had come up behind them with his customary cheek to butt15 into the conversation. "Some people know how to wangle things. Even school-captains swallow butter occasionally."
Robin looked at Grain with cold contempt. "Here comes Forge," he said. "Time to start. If you'll ask your men to stand back, Osbody, we'll toss for ends."
A cordial cheer greeted Forge, who concealed16 an amused smile with difficulty as he saw, through the corner of his eye, the long faces the Squirms were pulling at his appearance. Doubtless they would have preferred a milder and shorter-sighted referee.
Dick shook hands with both captains in a manner of becoming gravity. It might have been a First League match, so seriously did he take it.
"Good afternoon, chaps," he said. "Ideal afternoon for footer. Winning the toss won't help either of you much. Hope we'll have a pleasant game."
The news that Dick was refereeing17 quickly spread. It was a totally unexpected honour for a junior match. Usually the captain was too busy leather-hunting himself to take any notice of scratch games. That he had decided18 to referee this contest between the Merry Men and the Squirms excited curiosity, resulting in a rapid thickening of the ring of spectators round the ropes.
It was all very depressing to the Squirms. They had hoped against hope that the crowd of onlookers19 would be small, having a lively fear that they were bound to make fools of themselves. The advent20 of the captain as referee had turned the limelight full on them, and more than half Foxenby would now be present to deride21 their floundering efforts at football.
"Arkness did it on purpose, the crafty22 bounder," they told one another. "This is his revenge for the tournament licking. Nice figures of fun we'll look after a bit."
"Buck23 up, chaps, and put all in," Osbody counselled them. "We're eleven against eleven, after all. Use your weight and knock some of the steam out of them at the start."
With Niblo in goal, and himself at left full-back, the captain of the Squirms really made a gallant24 attempt to save his side from immediate25 humiliation26. Doing the work of three players, he nipped in time after time to throw the Merry Men's scoring schemes awry27. His only mistake in the first fifteen minutes was to bring Robin down somewhat roughly when a goal seemed certain. Forge took a charitable view of the foul28 and merely awarded an ordinary free kick. This Niblo, who was playing a surprisingly good game, fisted away with convincing force.
"We're doing top-hole, chaps," Osbody told the Squirms. "Get farther down the field, you forwards, and chance your luck more."
Grain could play decently enough at centre-forward when he liked, but was lazy by nature and a confirmed grumbler29.
"Talking's easy," he sneered30. "Fat lot of attacking you'd do yourself if you'd two sugar babies instead of players at each side of you."
"I see. Plenty for them to kick at, you mean. Hadn't you better get back towards goal, 'Body, before the squibs go off?"
Truly, Osbody had been caught napping. The ball had been restarted while he was talking, and Dave and Robin had lured32 the other full-back into a booby-trap. He zigzagged33 in bewilderment towards Niblo, whose toes he trod on, with the result that the hampered34 goalkeeper had the mortification35 of seeing the ball lobbed past him for the first goal of the match.
"You clumsy clown!" he cried to the faulty fullback. "Either keep off my toes or get off the field. You gave them that goal!"
Bad temper is the worst opponent a goalkeeper can have. While he remained cool Niblo had kept goal excellently well; now that he was hot and cross he could do nothing right. Robin beat him again with quite a simple shot; Dave bagged a couple more in as many minutes, and the thrashing which the Squirms themselves had expected began in real earnest. Niblo's sole occupation seemed to be that of picking the ball from the back of the net and booting it savagely36 back to the centre of the field.
Osbody wiped his forehead in miserable37 perplexity. "Nine goals to nil," he said. "This is sheer slaughter38, Niblo. Steady, old man, steady!"
"Right, 'Body, old son," answered Niblo. "I lost my head, but they're all on top of me. Can't you go to your old place and draw them off me a bit?"
Grain watched the change with cynical40 approval. "Time you came to give me a hand," he said. "The Professor's no more use behind me than a draughty keyhole."
"Have a pot at goal whenever you can, Grain. We must get a chalk or two, or it'll be 'thirty—nil' on the hall notice-board."
Between them they managed to get a move on, juggling41 the ball into the Merry Men's penalty-area by deft42 touches which won applause. Osbody was then in a splendid scoring position, and ought to have shot without hesitation43. Probably wishing, however, to put Grain in a better temper, he unselfishly gave his grumbling44 colleague the ball, saying to him: "Let fly first time, Grain."
It was what is known as a gift-goal. The Merry Men's custodian45 had slipped and fallen, and Grain had only to lift the ball gently into the net. But the excitement of the moment must have unnerved him, for instead of shooting he trod on the ball, which flew up and hit him in the face.
The next moment, to the accompaniment of a loud roar of laughter, he had sprawled46 full length in the mud.
There was mud on this particular patch of the field, too. It was facetiously47 called the "Nigger Pond", because on most days a pool of black water was present there.
If Grain had been in the habit of practising more he would have remembered this patch and kept clear of it. But now he was wholly in it from head to foot, sending a fountain of black drops over Osbody also, and (what was worse still from his captain's standpoint) spoiling all chance of a score by accidentally fisting the ball over the goal-line.
When, at last, he managed to raise himself dolefully to his feet, who was there on the field who could have refrained from grinning at him? Black he was, but not in any way comely48. His appearance was that of a golliwog too tightly stuffed with sawdust—an irresistibly49 comical sight.
The spectators exploded with mirth; the Squirms laughed even louder than the Merry Men; Forge himself could not keep a straight face, and laughed aloud with the rest. Only Grain failed to see the broad humour of the thing.
"Keep it up, you blinking idiots!" he snorted, as he flung the mud from his blazing eyes. "Pretty cads you all are to make game of a fellow's misery."
"Cut off and change, Grain," Dick advised him.
"Nonsense," Dick returned. "Take it in good part, youngster. Your side needs you. Play the game."
Grain ran off sulkily, and at half-time, when the Merry Men had a dozen goals to their credit, he had washed off the mud and made himself presentable in a clean costume from the emergency kit51.
"That's right, kid," Dick said to him. "You're going in again. Better luck next time."
Grain grunted52 something in an off-hand manner—a piece of surly cheek which Dick tactfully ignored. But the captain of the school decided to keep a watchful53 eye on this unmannerly young Squirm, whose ways were far from being ways of pleasantness.
The bulk of the crowd had melted away at half-time, the game being too one-sided to hold their attention. It was just target practice for the Merry Men's forwards and halves, and runaway54 victories quickly pall55 on unbiassed spectators.
But it gradually became evident that the play was becoming too warm for some of the combatants. Cries of "Stop that, you dirty cad!" were audible at intervals56, and Dick had at last to push himself unceremoniously between two sparring opponents, one of whom was painfully hopping57 up and down on a bruised58 leg.
"That'll do, Storm—that's enough, Grain," said Dick. "This is a football-field, not a rat-pit."
"Rot!" said Grain. "You fell over my foot. I'm as much hurt as you."
"Better temper, please," said Dick, restarting the game. But this time he paid less heed60 to the play in general than to the movements of Grain in particular. Very soon he saw something which confirmed his suspicions. Pretending to head a ball which was nowhere near him, Grain scraped some skin off Arkness's knees with his boot, while striking the back of his hand against Tom Jaye's nose, causing that organ to bleed a little.
Dick promptly61 blew his whistle and ran to the scene. "Free kick against you, Grain," he announced. "Don't be more like a windmill than you can help. It's dangerous!"
Grain smiled in a supercilious62 sort of way, and, folding his arms like a gladiator, contemptuously watched Dave take the free kick. To show how utterly63 a word in season was lost on him, the next minute he literally64 jumped, knees up, into Allan a Dale's back, sending that lightly-built and altogether harmless Merry Man somersaulting over the ropes.
Grain's immediate answer was an uplifted fist and a vicious blow at Robin's face.
Robin saved his beauty, not to mention a considerable amount of sticking-plaster, by ducking swiftly and taking the hard smack66 on his shoulder. There were cries of indignant disgust from players and spectators alike.
"How's that for dirty play, referee?" somebody shouted.
Dick needed no such reminder67 of his duty. Like an avenging68 force he fell upon Grain and gripped the Squirm's arm.
"Clear off the field, Grain!" he commanded. "Out of it. March!"
"Ridiculous," protested Grain. "I only charged a man off the ball."
But Grain did argue. To the awed70 amazement71 of both Squirms and Merry Men, he fired a lot of audacious back-talk at the grimly-silent captain.
"You can't send me off, Forge," he declared. "Haven't power to. This isn't a league match or a cup-tie. You weren't asked to referee—at least, not by our side. I've done no harm; why should I go?"
"Never mind the why and the wherefore," snapped the captain. "Take yourself off."
Grain looked round at the frightened faces watching him, and had a mind to show them what a devil-may-care fellow he was.
He was asking for trouble there, and did not seek in vain. Round the back of his neck Forge's fingers fastened like a vice73. He next felt himself lifted over the ropes as though he were no more than a bag of shavings, and at a furious and undignified speed he was hustled74 to the gate of the football-field and pitched into the lane.
HE NEXT FELT HIMSELF LIFTED OVER THE ROPES
HE NEXT FELT HIMSELF LIFTED OVER THE ROPES
After that the game was better and brighter. Nobody said anything, but everybody felt that a spirit of mischief76 had been erased77 from the match. Osbody fell back to defend again, and he and Niblo put up so stout78 a defence that the Merry Men could only score twice more before Dick's whistle blew for time.
Still, twenty-three goals to none represented a terrible drubbing for the Squirms, and one that made their tournament victory seem a very feeble triumph indeed.
Yet nobody seemed the least inclined to rub the licking in. The Squirms, with one conspicuous79 exception, had played a clean game, and kept their tempers in humiliating circumstances. Just, then, as they were trooping dejectedly from the field, they were electrified80 by hearing Robin's familiar treble calling out:
Forge turned to listen in smiling approval as the Merry Men whole-heartedly gave three cheers. Osbody blushed like a girl and gazed apprehensively82 round at the Squirms, wondering how they would take this totally unexpected outburst. Then, swinging his arm round his head, he cried to them:
"Three cheers for the winners, you chaps."
What matter that the Squirms' cheers were but throaty croaks83 compared with the full-voiced hurrahs of the Merry Men? They did their best in an unaccustomed part, plainly realizing that their honourable84 foes85 had treated them in a thoroughly86 sporting spirit. Not to have responded in a similar vein87 would have disgraced them in Foxenby's eyes.
Glancing at one another sheepishly, they made haste to leave the field, but were overtaken by Dick Forge, who accommodated his pace to theirs.
"You chaps look down in the mouth," the captain said, briskly. "Don't be. You've no need. There's quite decent footer in some of you. All you require is practice. You've played particularly well, Osbody. Ditto you, Niblo."
The two leading Squirms flushed with unconcealed delight at this compliment from Foxenby's greatest footballer.
"True. Served you right. You loafed about indoors, getting flabbier than jellyfish, while Arkness and Co. hardened themselves outside. I am pretty keen on footer, as you know, boys. When a Fox has legs to stand on I like to see him chasing a ball with them, even if he never catches up with it. Now, tell me, are you chaps game to stick together and practise footer every week, for the honour of Foxenby?"
A quick little catching89 of breath was audible here and there. What could the Squirms do when the great captain of Foxenby was pleading with them thus? His whole heart was in his voice—his deadly earnestness could not be mistaken. The meanest boy amongst them knew how passionately90 Forge loved Foxenby, and his pure devotion to its interests was infectious.
"Why, of course, Forge, we'll practise like the very dickens—won't we, you chaps?" said Osbody, turning on them a pair of eyes that shone with new resolution.
"Rather!" they answered, in somewhat tremulous chorus.
"Good biz," commented Forge, as he turned aside into Rooke's House. "It bucks91 me up no end to hear you say so."
点击收听单词发音
1 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
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2 brawn | |
n.体力 | |
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3 outgrown | |
长[发展] 得超过(某物)的范围( outgrow的过去分词 ); 长[发展]得不能再要(某物); 长得比…快; 生长速度超过 | |
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4 grotesque | |
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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5 grumbled | |
抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声 | |
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6 honourably | |
adv.可尊敬地,光荣地,体面地 | |
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7 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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8 stinking | |
adj.臭的,烂醉的,讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 );发臭味;名声臭;糟透 | |
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9 grouse | |
n.松鸡;v.牢骚,诉苦 | |
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10 fiddles | |
n.小提琴( fiddle的名词复数 );欺诈;(需要运用手指功夫的)细巧活动;当第二把手v.伪造( fiddle的第三人称单数 );篡改;骗取;修理或稍作改动 | |
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11 vim | |
n.精力,活力 | |
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12 referee | |
n.裁判员.仲裁人,代表人,鉴定人 | |
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13 robin | |
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟 | |
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14 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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15 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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16 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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17 refereeing | |
[计]仲裁,审稿工作,稿件评审 | |
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18 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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19 onlookers | |
n.旁观者,观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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20 advent | |
n.(重要事件等的)到来,来临 | |
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21 deride | |
v.嘲弄,愚弄 | |
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22 crafty | |
adj.狡猾的,诡诈的 | |
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23 buck | |
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
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24 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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25 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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26 humiliation | |
n.羞辱 | |
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27 awry | |
adj.扭曲的,错的 | |
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28 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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29 grumbler | |
爱抱怨的人,发牢骚的人 | |
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30 sneered | |
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31 gallop | |
v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔;飞速发展 | |
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32 lured | |
吸引,引诱(lure的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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33 zigzagged | |
adj.呈之字形移动的v.弯弯曲曲地走路,曲折地前进( zigzag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34 hampered | |
妨碍,束缚,限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35 mortification | |
n.耻辱,屈辱 | |
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36 savagely | |
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地 | |
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37 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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38 slaughter | |
n.屠杀,屠宰;vt.屠杀,宰杀 | |
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39 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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40 cynical | |
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的 | |
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41 juggling | |
n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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42 deft | |
adj.灵巧的,熟练的(a deft hand 能手) | |
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43 hesitation | |
n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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44 grumbling | |
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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45 custodian | |
n.保管人,监护人;公共建筑看守 | |
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46 sprawled | |
v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词);蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着) | |
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47 facetiously | |
adv.爱开玩笑地;滑稽地,爱开玩笑地 | |
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48 comely | |
adj.漂亮的,合宜的 | |
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49 irresistibly | |
adv.无法抵抗地,不能自持地;极为诱惑人地 | |
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50 whined | |
v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 );哀诉,诉怨 | |
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51 kit | |
n.用具包,成套工具;随身携带物 | |
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52 grunted | |
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说 | |
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53 watchful | |
adj.注意的,警惕的 | |
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54 runaway | |
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的 | |
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55 pall | |
v.覆盖,使平淡无味;n.柩衣,棺罩;棺材;帷幕 | |
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56 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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57 hopping | |
n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
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58 bruised | |
[医]青肿的,瘀紫的 | |
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59 hacked | |
生气 | |
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60 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
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61 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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62 supercilious | |
adj.目中无人的,高傲的;adv.高傲地;n.高傲 | |
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63 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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64 literally | |
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 | |
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65 lout | |
n.粗鄙的人;举止粗鲁的人 | |
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66 smack | |
vt.拍,打,掴;咂嘴;vi.含有…意味;n.拍 | |
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67 reminder | |
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示 | |
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68 avenging | |
adj.报仇的,复仇的v.为…复仇,报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 );为…报复 | |
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69 backbone | |
n.脊骨,脊柱,骨干;刚毅,骨气 | |
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70 awed | |
adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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72 defiant | |
adj.无礼的,挑战的 | |
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73 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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74 hustled | |
催促(hustle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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75 withering | |
使人畏缩的,使人害羞的,使人难堪的 | |
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76 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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77 erased | |
v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;清除 | |
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79 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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80 electrified | |
v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 );使兴奋 | |
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81 hip | |
n.臀部,髋;屋脊 | |
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82 apprehensively | |
adv.担心地 | |
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83 croaks | |
v.呱呱地叫( croak的第三人称单数 );用粗的声音说 | |
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84 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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85 foes | |
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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86 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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87 vein | |
n.血管,静脉;叶脉,纹理;情绪;vt.使成脉络 | |
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88 stammered | |
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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89 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
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90 passionately | |
ad.热烈地,激烈地 | |
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91 bucks | |
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 );钱;(英国十九世纪初的)花花公子;(用于某些表达方式)责任v.(马等)猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 );抵制;猛然震荡;马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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