The only possible or thinkable place where to begin this exploration of these seventy-eight miles is Lynmouth, situated9 six miles from Glenthorne, where the coast-line of Somerset is left behind. The one reasonable criticism of this plan is that, arrived at Lynmouth, you have the culmination10 of all the beauties of this beautiful district, and that every other place (except Clovelly) is apt to suffer by comparison.
Hardy11 explorers from the neighbourhood of London (of whom I count myself one) will find3 their appreciation13 of this coast greatly enhanced by traversing the whole distance to it by cycle. You come by this means through a varied14 country; from the level lands of Middlesex and Berkshire, through the chalk districts of Wilts15; and so, gradually entering the delightful16 West, to the steep hills and rugged rustic17 speech of Somerset. It is a better way than being conveyed by train, and being deposited at last—you do not quite know how—at Lynton station.
Of course, the ideal way to arrive at Lynmouth is by motor-car, and there, as you come down the salmon-coloured road from Minehead and Porlock, the garage of the Tors Hotel faces you, the very first outpost of the place, expectantly with open doors. But, good roads, or indeed any kind of roads, only rarely approaching the coast of North Devon, it is merely at the coast-towns and villages, and not in a continual panorama18, that the motorist will here come in touch with the sea.
To give a detailed19 exposition of the route by which I came, per cycle, to Lynmouth might be of interest, but it would no doubt be a little beside the mark in these pages. Only let the approach across Exmoor be described.
I come to Lynmouth in the proper spirit for such scenery: not hurriedly, but determined21 to take things luxuriously23, for to see Lynmouth in a fleeting24, dusty manner is to do oneself and the place alike an injustice25. But the best of intentions are apt to be set at nought26 by circumstances, and circumstances make sport with all explorers.4 Thus leaving Dulverton at noon of a blazing July day, and making for Exmoor, there is at once a long, long ascent27 above the valley of the infant Exe to be walked, at a time when but a few steps involve even the most lathy of tourists in perspiration28. And then, at a fork of the roads in a lonely situation, where guidance is more than usually necessary, a hoary29 signpost, lichened30 with the weather of generations and totally illegible31, mocks the stranger. It is, of course, inevitable32 in such a situation as this that, of the two roads, the one which looks the likeliest should be the wrong one; and the likely road in this instance leads presently into a farmyard—and nowhere else. This is where you perspire33 most copiously34, and think things unutterable. Then come the treeless, furze-covered and bracken-grown expanses of Winsford common and surrounding wide-spreading heaths, where the Exmoor breed of ponies35 roam at large; and you think you are on Exmoor. To all intents, you are, but, technically36, Exmoor is yet a long way ahead.
It is blazing hot in these parts in summer, and yet, if you be an explorer worthy37 the name, you must needs turn aside, left and right; first to see Torr Steps, a long, primitive38 bridge of Celtic origin, crossing the river Barle, generally spoken of by the country-folk as “Tarr” steps, just as they would call a hornet a “harnet,” as evidenced in the old rustic song beginning,
“A harnet zet in a holler tree,
A proper spiteful twoad was he”;
5 for it must be recollected40 that, although on the way to the North Devon coast, and near it, we are yet in Zummerzet. Secondly41, an invincible42 curiosity to see what the village of Exford is like takes you off to the right. Cycling, you descend43 that long steep hill in a flash, but on the way back, in the close heat, arrive at the conclusion that Exford was not worth the mile and a half walk uphill again.
And so to Simonsbath, a tiny village in the middle of the moor20 and in a deep hollow where the river Barle prattles44 by. Unlike the moor above and all around, Simonsbath is deeply wooded. Simon himself is a half-mythical personage, one Simund, or Sigismund, of Anglo-Saxon times, according to some accounts a species of Robin45 Hood12 outlaw46, and to others the owner of the manor47 in those days. “Bath” does not necessarily indicate bathing, and in this case it merely means a pool.
The traveller coming to Simonsbath in July finds himself in an atmosphere of “Baa,” and presently discovers hundreds of Earl Fortescue’s sheep being sheared48. Then rising out of Simonsbath by a weariful, sun-scorched road, come the rounded treeless hills and the heathery hollows, where Exe Head lies on the left hand, with Chapman Barrows and the source of the river Lyn near by, in a wilderness49, where the purple hills look solemnly down upon bogs50, prehistoric51 tumuli, and hut-circles. Here, in the words of Westcote, writing in 1620, “we will, with an easy pace,6 ascend52 the mount of Hore-oke-ridge39, not far from whence we shall find the spring of the rivulet53 Lynne.” Hoar Oak Stone, on this ridge, is a prominent landmark54.
Presently, at Brendon Two Gates (where there is but one gate), we pass out of Exmoor and Somerset and into Devon, at something under six miles from Lynmouth. Alongside the unfenced road across the wild common, as far as Brendon Rectory, the sheep lie in hundreds. Then suddenly the road drops down into the deep gorge55 of Farley Water, and comes, with many a twist, to Bridge Ball, a picturesque56 hamlet with a water-mill. One more little rise, and then the road descends57 all the way to Lynmouth, through the splendidly romantic scenery of the Lyn valley and Watersmeet, where the streams of East and West Lyn unite.
Circumstances have by this time made the traveller, who promised himself a luxurious22 and leisurely58 journey, a hot, dusty and wearied pilgrim. To such, the sudden change from miles of sun-burnt heights is irresistibly59 inviting60. To sit beneath the shade of those overhanging alders61, those graceful62 hazels, oaks, and silver birches, reclining on some mossy shelf of rock, and watch the Lyn awhile, foaming63 here in white cataracts64 over the boulders65 in its path, or smoothly66 gliding67 over the deep pools, whose tint68 is touched to a brown-sherry hue69 by the peat held in solution, is a delight. It is a delightful spot, to which the tall foxgloves, standing70 pink in the half-light under the7 mossy stems of the trees, lend a suggestion of fairyland.
WATERSMEET.
The road winds away down the valley, its every turn revealing increasingly grand hillsides, clothed with dwarf71 woods, and here and there a grey crag: very like the Cheddar Gorge, with an unaccustomed mantle72 of greenery. Descending73 this fairest of introductions to the North Devon coast, past the confluence74 at Watersmeet, where slender trees incline their trunks together by the waterfall, like horses amiably75 nuzzling, one comes by degrees within the “region of influence”—as they phrase it in the world of international politics—of the holiday-maker at Lynmouth, who is commonly so lapped in luxury there, and rendered so indolent by the soft airs of Devon, that Watersmeet forms the utmost bounds to which he will penetrate76 in this direction, when on foot. And when those who undertake so much do at length arrive here, they want refreshment77, which they appear to obtain down below the road, beside the stream, at a rustic cottage styling itself “Myrtleberry,” claiming, according to a modest notice on the rustic stone wall bordering the road, to have supplied in one year 8,000 teas and 1,700 luncheons78. There thus appears to be an opening for a philosophic79 discussion of “Scenery as an Influence upon Appetite.” The place is so far below the road that, the observer is amused to see, tradesmen’s supplies are carried to it in a box conveyed by aerial wires.
And so at length into Lynmouth, seated at the point where the rushing Lyn tumbles, slips, and8 slides at last into the sea. One misses something in approaching the place, nor does one ever find it there. It is something that can readily be spared, being indeed nothing less than the usual squalid fringe that seems so inevitable an introduction to towns and villages, no matter how large or small. There are no introductory gasworks in the approaches to Lynmouth; no dustbins, advertisement-hoardings, or flagrant, dirty domestic details that usually herald80 civilisation81. The customary accumulated refuse is astonishingly absent: mysteriously etherialised and abolished; but how is it done? In what manner do the local authorities magic it away? Do they pronounce some incantation, and then, with a mystic pass or two, abolish it?

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1
rugged
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adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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2
coves
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n.小海湾( cove的名词复数 );家伙 | |
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3
littoral
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adj.海岸的;湖岸的;n.沿(海)岸地区 | |
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4
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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5
hazardous
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adj.(有)危险的,冒险的;碰运气的 | |
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6
utterly
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adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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7
incompatible
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adj.不相容的,不协调的,不相配的 | |
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8
thoroughly
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adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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9
situated
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adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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10
culmination
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n.顶点;最高潮 | |
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hardy
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adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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12
hood
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n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖 | |
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13
appreciation
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n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 | |
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14
varied
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adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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15
wilts
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(使)凋谢,枯萎( wilt的第三人称单数 ) | |
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16
delightful
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adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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17
rustic
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adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬 | |
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18
panorama
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n.全景,全景画,全景摄影,全景照片[装置] | |
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19
detailed
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adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的 | |
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20
moor
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n.荒野,沼泽;vt.(使)停泊;vi.停泊 | |
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21
determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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22
luxurious
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adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的 | |
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23
luxuriously
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adv.奢侈地,豪华地 | |
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24
fleeting
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adj.短暂的,飞逝的 | |
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25
injustice
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n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
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nought
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n./adj.无,零 | |
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27
ascent
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n.(声望或地位)提高;上升,升高;登高 | |
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28
perspiration
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n.汗水;出汗 | |
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29
hoary
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adj.古老的;鬓发斑白的 | |
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30
lichened
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adj.长满地衣的,长青苔的 | |
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31
illegible
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adj.难以辨认的,字迹模糊的 | |
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32
inevitable
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adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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33
perspire
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vi.出汗,流汗 | |
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34
copiously
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adv.丰富地,充裕地 | |
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35
ponies
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矮种马,小型马( pony的名词复数 ); £25 25 英镑 | |
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36
technically
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adv.专门地,技术上地 | |
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37
worthy
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adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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primitive
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adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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39
ridge
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n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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40
recollected
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adj.冷静的;镇定的;被回忆起的;沉思默想的v.记起,想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
secondly
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adv.第二,其次 | |
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42
invincible
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adj.不可征服的,难以制服的 | |
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43
descend
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vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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44
prattles
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v.(小孩般)天真无邪地说话( prattle的第三人称单数 );发出连续而无意义的声音;闲扯;东拉西扯 | |
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45
robin
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n.知更鸟,红襟鸟 | |
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46
outlaw
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n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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47
manor
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n.庄园,领地 | |
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48
sheared
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v.剪羊毛( shear的过去式和过去分词 );切断;剪切 | |
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49
wilderness
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n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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50
bogs
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n.沼泽,泥塘( bog的名词复数 );厕所v.(使)陷入泥沼, (使)陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 );妨碍,阻碍 | |
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51
prehistoric
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adj.(有记载的)历史以前的,史前的,古老的 | |
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52
ascend
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vi.渐渐上升,升高;vt.攀登,登上 | |
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53
rivulet
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n.小溪,小河 | |
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54
landmark
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n.陆标,划时代的事,地界标 | |
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55
gorge
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n.咽喉,胃,暴食,山峡;v.塞饱,狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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56
picturesque
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adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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57
descends
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v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 );下去;下降;下斜 | |
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58
leisurely
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adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的 | |
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59
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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60
inviting
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adj.诱人的,引人注目的 | |
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61
alders
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n.桤木( alder的名词复数 ) | |
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62
graceful
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adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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63
foaming
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adj.布满泡沫的;发泡 | |
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64
cataracts
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n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 );白内障 | |
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65
boulders
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n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 );巨砾;(受水或天气侵蚀而成的)巨石;漂砾 | |
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66
smoothly
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adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地 | |
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67
gliding
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v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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68
tint
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n.淡色,浅色;染发剂;vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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hue
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n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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70
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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71
dwarf
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n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小 | |
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72
mantle
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n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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73
descending
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n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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74
confluence
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n.汇合,聚集 | |
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75
amiably
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adv.和蔼可亲地,亲切地 | |
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76
penetrate
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v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解 | |
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77
refreshment
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n.恢复,精神爽快,提神之事物;(复数)refreshments:点心,茶点 | |
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78
luncheons
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n.午餐,午宴( luncheon的名词复数 ) | |
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philosophic
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adj.哲学的,贤明的 | |
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80
herald
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vt.预示...的来临,预告,宣布,欢迎 | |
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81
civilisation
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n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
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