For a time in sheer exuberance12 of animal spirit he raced swiftly through the middle terrace, swinging perilously13 across wide spans from one jungle giant to the next, and then he clambered upward to the swaying, lesser boughs14 of the upper terrace where the moon shone full upon him and the air was stirred by little breezes and death lurked15 ready in each frail16 branch. Here he paused and raised his face to Goro, the moon. With uplifted arm he stood, the cry of the bull ape quivering upon his lips, yet he remained silent lest he arouse his faithful Waziri who were all too familiar with the hideous17 challenge of their master.
And then he went on more slowly and with greater stealth and caution, for now Tarzan of the Apes was seeking a kill. Down to the ground he came in the utter blackness of the close-set boles and the overhanging verdure of the jungle. He stooped from time to time and put his nose close to earth. He sought and found a wide game trail and at last his nostrils18 were rewarded with the scent19 of the fresh spoor of Bara, the deer. Tarzan's mouth watered and a low growl20 escaped his patrician21 lips. Sloughed22 from him was the last vestige23 of artificial caste—once again he was the primeval hunter—the first man—the highest caste type of the human race. Up wind he followed the elusive24 spoor with a sense of perception so transcending25 that of ordinary man as to be inconceivable to us. Through counter currents of the heavy stench of meat eaters he traced the trail of Bara; the sweet and cloying26 stink27 of Horta, the boar, could not drown his quarry28's scent—the permeating29, mellow30 musk31 of the deer's foot.
Presently the body scent of the deer told Tarzan that his prey32 was close at hand. It sent him into the trees again—into the lower terrace where he could watch the ground below and catch with ears and nose the first intimation of actual contact with his quarry. Nor was it long before the ape-man came upon Bara standing33 alert at the edge of a moon-bathed clearing. Noiselessly Tarzan crept through the trees until he was directly over the deer. In the ape-man's right hand was the long hunting knife of his father and in his heart the blood lust34 of the carnivore. Just for an instant he poised35 above the unsuspecting Bara and then he launched himself downward upon the sleek36 back. The impact of his weight carried the deer to its knees and before the animal could regain37 its feet the knife had found its heart. As Tarzan rose upon the body of his kill to scream forth38 his hideous victory cry into the face of the moon the wind carried to his nostrils something which froze him to statuesque immobility and silence. His savage eyes blazed into the direction from which the wind had borne down the warning to him and a moment later the grasses at one side of the clearing parted and Numa, the lion, strode majestically39 into view. His yellow-green eyes were fastened upon Tarzan as he halted just within the clearing and glared enviously40 at the successful hunter, for Numa had had no luck this night.
From the lips of the ape-man broke a rumbling41 growl of warning. Numa answered but he did not advance. Instead he stood waving his tail gently to and fro, and presently Tarzan squatted42 upon his kill and cut a generous portion from a hind43 quarter. Numa eyed him with growing resentment44 and rage as, between mouthfuls, the ape-man growled45 out his savage warnings. Now this particular lion had never before come in contact with Tarzan of the Apes and he was much mystified. Here was the appearance and the scent of a man-thing and Numa had tasted of human flesh and learned that though not the most palatable46 it was certainly by far the easiest to secure, yet there was that in the bestial47 growls48 of the strange creature which reminded him of formidable antagonists49 and gave him pause, while his hunger and the odor of the hot flesh of Bara goaded51 him almost to madness. Always Tarzan watched him, guessing what was passing in the little brain of the carnivore and well it was that he did watch him, for at last Numa could stand it no longer. His tail shot suddenly erect52 and at the same instant the wary53 ape-man, knowing all too well what the signal portended54, grasped the remainder of the deer's hind quarter between his teeth and leaped into a nearby tree as Numa charged him with all the speed and a sufficient semblance55 of the weight of an express train.
Tarzan's retreat was no indication that he felt fear. Jungle life is ordered along different lines than ours and different standards prevail. Had Tarzan been famished56 he would, doubtless, have stood his ground and met the lion's charge. He had done the thing before upon more than one occasion, just as in the past he had charged lions himself; but tonight he was far from famished and in the hind quarter he had carried off with him was more raw flesh than he could eat; yet it was with no equanimity57 that he looked down upon Numa rending58 the flesh of Tarzan's kill. The presumption59 of this strange Numa must be punished! And forthwith Tarzan set out to make life miserable60 for the big cat. Close by were many trees bearing large, hard fruits and to one of these the ape-man swung with the agility61 of a squirrel. Then commenced a bombardment which brought forth earthshaking roars from Numa. One after another as rapidly as he could gather and hurl62 them, Tarzan pelted63 the hard fruit down upon the lion. It was impossible for the tawny64 cat to eat under that hail of missiles—he could but roar and growl and dodge65 and eventually he was driven away entirely66 from the carcass of Bara, the deer. He went roaring and resentful; but in the very center of the clearing his voice was suddenly hushed and Tarzan saw the great head lower and flatten67 out, the body crouch68 and the long tail quiver, as the beast slunk cautiously toward the trees upon the opposite side.
Immediately Tarzan was alert. He lifted his head and sniffed69 the slow, jungle breeze. What was it that had attracted Numa's attention and taken him soft-footed and silent away from the scene of his discomfiture70? Just as the lion disappeared among the trees beyond the clearing Tarzan caught upon the down-coming wind the explanation of his new interest—the scent spoor of man was wafted71 strongly to the sensitive nostrils. Caching the remainder of the deer's hind quarter in the crotch of a tree the ape-man wiped his greasy72 palms upon his naked thighs73 and swung off in pursuit of Numa. A broad, well-beaten elephant path led into the forest from the clearing. Parallel to this slunk Numa, while above him Tarzan moved through the trees, the shadow of a wraith. The savage cat and the savage man saw Numa's quarry almost simultaneously74, though both had known before it came within the vision of their eyes that it was a black man. Their sensitive nostrils had told them this much and Tarzan's had told him that the scent spoor was that of a stranger—old and a male, for race and sex and age each has its own distinctive75 scent. It was an old man that made his way alone through the gloomy jungle, a wrinkled, dried up, little old man hideously77 scarred and tattooed78 and strangely garbed79, with the skin of a hyena80 about his shoulders and the dried head mounted upon his grey pate81. Tarzan recognized the ear-marks of the witch-doctor and awaited Numa's charge with a feeling of pleasurable anticipation82, for the ape-man had no love for witch-doctors; but in the instant that Numa did charge, the white man suddenly recalled that the lion had stolen his kill a few minutes before and that revenge is sweet.
The first intimation the black man had that he was in danger was the crash of twigs83 as Numa charged through the bushes into the game trail not twenty yards behind him. Then he turned to see a huge, black-maned lion racing84 toward him and even as he turned, Numa seized him. At the same instant the ape-man dropped from an overhanging limb full upon the lion's back and as he alighted he plunged85 his knife into the tawny side behind the left shoulder, tangled86 the fingers of his right hand in the long mane, buried his teeth in Numa's neck and wound his powerful legs about the beast's torso. With a roar of pain and rage, Numa reared up and fell backward upon the ape-man; but still the mighty87 man-thing clung to his hold and repeatedly the long knife plunged rapidly into his side. Over and over rolled Numa, the lion, clawing and biting at the air, roaring and growling88 horribly in savage attempt to reach the thing upon its back. More than once was Tarzan almost brushed from his hold. He was battered89 and bruised90 and covered with blood from Numa and dirt from the trail, yet not for an instant did he lessen91 the ferocity of his mad attack nor his grim hold upon the back of his antagonist50. To have loosened for an instant his grip there, would have been to bring him within reach of those tearing talons92 or rending fangs93, and have ended forever the grim career of this jungle-bred English lord. Where he had fallen beneath the spring of the lion the witch-doctor lay, torn and bleeding, unable to drag himself away and watched the terrific battle between these two lords of the jungle. His sunken eyes glittered and his wrinkled lips moved over toothless gums as he mumbled94 weird95 incantations to the demons96 of his cult98.
For a time he felt no doubt as to the outcome—the strange white man must certainly succumb99 to terrible Simba—whoever heard of a lone76 man armed only with a knife slaying100 so mighty a beast! Yet presently the old black man's eyes went wider and he commenced to have his doubts and misgivings102. What wonderful sort of creature was this that battled with Simba and held his own despite the mighty muscles of the king of beasts and slowly there dawned in those sunken eyes, gleaming so brightly from the scarred and wrinkled face, the light of a dawning recollection. Gropingly backward into the past reached the fingers of memory, until at last they seized upon a faint picture, faded and yellow with the passing years. It was the picture of a lithe103, white-skinned youth swinging through the trees in company with a band of huge apes, and the old eyes blinked and a great fear came into them—the superstitious104 fear of one who believes in ghosts and spirits and demons.
And came the time once more when the witch-doctor no longer doubted the outcome of the duel105, yet his first judgment106 was reversed, for now he knew that the jungle god would slay101 Simba and the old black was even more terrified of his own impending107 fate at the hands of the victor than he had been by the sure and sudden death which the triumphant108 lion would have meted109 out to him. He saw the lion weaken from loss of blood. He saw the mighty limbs tremble and stagger and at last he saw the beast sink down to rise no more. He saw the forest god or demon97 rise from the vanquished110 foe111, and placing a foot upon the still quivering carcass, raise his face to the moon and bay out a hideous cry that froze the ebbing112 blood in the veins113 of the witch-doctor.
点击收听单词发音
1 depredations | |
n.劫掠,毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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2 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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3 imperative | |
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的 | |
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4 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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5 myriad | |
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量 | |
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6 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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7 denizens | |
n.居民,住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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8 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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9 sleepless | |
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的 | |
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10 wraith | |
n.幽灵;骨瘦如柴的人 | |
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11 vaulted | |
adj.拱状的 | |
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12 exuberance | |
n.丰富;繁荣 | |
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13 perilously | |
adv.充满危险地,危机四伏地 | |
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14 boughs | |
大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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15 lurked | |
vi.潜伏,埋伏(lurk的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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16 frail | |
adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 | |
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17 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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18 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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19 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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20 growl | |
v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣 | |
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21 patrician | |
adj.贵族的,显贵的;n.贵族;有教养的人;罗马帝国的地方官 | |
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22 sloughed | |
v.使蜕下或脱落( slough的过去式和过去分词 );舍弃;除掉;摒弃 | |
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23 vestige | |
n.痕迹,遗迹,残余 | |
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24 elusive | |
adj.难以表达(捉摸)的;令人困惑的;逃避的 | |
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25 transcending | |
超出或超越(经验、信念、描写能力等)的范围( transcend的现在分词 ); 优于或胜过… | |
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26 cloying | |
adj.甜得发腻的 | |
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27 stink | |
vi.发出恶臭;糟透,招人厌恶;n.恶臭 | |
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28 quarry | |
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找 | |
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29 permeating | |
弥漫( permeate的现在分词 ); 遍布; 渗入; 渗透 | |
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30 mellow | |
adj.柔和的;熟透的;v.变柔和;(使)成熟 | |
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31 musk | |
n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物,香猫 | |
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32 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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33 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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34 lust | |
n.性(淫)欲;渴(欲)望;vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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35 poised | |
a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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36 sleek | |
adj.光滑的,井然有序的;v.使光滑,梳拢 | |
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37 regain | |
vt.重新获得,收复,恢复 | |
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38 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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39 majestically | |
雄伟地; 庄重地; 威严地; 崇高地 | |
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40 enviously | |
adv.满怀嫉妒地 | |
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41 rumbling | |
n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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42 squatted | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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43 hind | |
adj.后面的,后部的 | |
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44 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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45 growled | |
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说 | |
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46 palatable | |
adj.可口的,美味的;惬意的 | |
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47 bestial | |
adj.残忍的;野蛮的 | |
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48 growls | |
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 );低声咆哮着说 | |
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49 antagonists | |
对立[对抗] 者,对手,敌手( antagonist的名词复数 ); 对抗肌; 对抗药 | |
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50 antagonist | |
n.敌人,对抗者,对手 | |
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51 goaded | |
v.刺激( goad的过去式和过去分词 );激励;(用尖棒)驱赶;驱使(或怂恿、刺激)某人 | |
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52 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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53 wary | |
adj.谨慎的,机警的,小心的 | |
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54 portended | |
v.预示( portend的过去式和过去分词 );预兆;给…以警告;预告 | |
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55 semblance | |
n.外貌,外表 | |
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56 famished | |
adj.饥饿的 | |
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57 equanimity | |
n.沉着,镇定 | |
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58 rending | |
v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 );分裂;(因愤怒、痛苦等而)揪扯(衣服或头发等);(声音等)刺破 | |
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59 presumption | |
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定 | |
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60 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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61 agility | |
n.敏捷,活泼 | |
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62 hurl | |
vt.猛投,力掷,声叫骂 | |
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63 pelted | |
(连续地)投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 ); 连续抨击; 攻击; 剥去…的皮 | |
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64 tawny | |
adj.茶色的,黄褐色的;n.黄褐色 | |
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65 dodge | |
v.闪开,躲开,避开;n.妙计,诡计 | |
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66 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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67 flatten | |
v.把...弄平,使倒伏;使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
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68 crouch | |
v.蹲伏,蜷缩,低头弯腰;n.蹲伏 | |
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69 sniffed | |
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说 | |
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70 discomfiture | |
n.崩溃;大败;挫败;困惑 | |
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71 wafted | |
v.吹送,飘送,(使)浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72 greasy | |
adj. 多脂的,油脂的 | |
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73 thighs | |
n.股,大腿( thigh的名词复数 );食用的鸡(等的)腿 | |
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74 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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75 distinctive | |
adj.特别的,有特色的,与众不同的 | |
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76 lone | |
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
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77 hideously | |
adv.可怕地,非常讨厌地 | |
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78 tattooed | |
v.刺青,文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 );连续有节奏地敲击;作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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79 garbed | |
v.(尤指某类人穿的特定)服装,衣服,制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80 hyena | |
n.土狼,鬣狗 | |
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81 pate | |
n.头顶;光顶 | |
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82 anticipation | |
n.预期,预料,期望 | |
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83 twigs | |
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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84 racing | |
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
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85 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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86 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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87 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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88 growling | |
n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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89 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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90 bruised | |
[医]青肿的,瘀紫的 | |
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91 lessen | |
vt.减少,减轻;缩小 | |
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92 talons | |
n.(尤指猛禽的)爪( talon的名词复数 );(如爪般的)手指;爪状物;锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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93 fangs | |
n.(尤指狗和狼的)长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 );(蛇的)毒牙;罐座 | |
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94 mumbled | |
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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96 demons | |
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念 | |
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97 demon | |
n.魔鬼,恶魔 | |
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98 cult | |
n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜 | |
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99 succumb | |
v.屈服,屈从;死 | |
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100 slaying | |
杀戮。 | |
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101 slay | |
v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮 | |
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102 misgivings | |
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧 | |
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103 lithe | |
adj.(指人、身体)柔软的,易弯的 | |
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104 superstitious | |
adj.迷信的 | |
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105 duel | |
n./v.决斗;(双方的)斗争 | |
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106 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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107 impending | |
a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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108 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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109 meted | |
v.(对某人)施以,给予(处罚等)( mete的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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110 vanquished | |
v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 );战胜;克服;抑制 | |
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111 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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112 ebbing | |
(指潮水)退( ebb的现在分词 ); 落; 减少; 衰落 | |
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113 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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