Chapter 3

 The overhanging cliff was a rock-shelter and a score or more men were sitting around a fire at its base. The fire presented a most cheering aspect. Gonch could almost feel its warmth and taste the burning flesh whose inviting¹ aroma² now filled his nostrils³. Neither fire nor cooked meat had been his portion for a long time. The men of the rock-shelter were enjoying themselves thoroughly⁴, talking and making strange faces at one another. Hyenas⁵ and wolves laughed when engaged in unusual acts of cruelty. Gonch had often done likewise but in his grimaces⁶ was none of the good-feeling that lighted the features of those he now saw. They were hunters gathered about the fire and searing the flesh of the game they had recently killed; all strong fine-looking young men, warming and enjoying themselves. Each man’s weapons lay close beside him upon the ground. The Muskman’s eyes sparkled as he espied⁷ the lustrous⁸ flint gleaming from every long shaft⁹ and handle. “I have reached my goal at last,” he chuckled¹⁰ softly. “This is the domain¹¹ of the Mammoth¹² Man.”

 

One of the band now detached himself from his fellows and descended¹³ the river bank to drink. He[17] was a young man, an unusually young one to be consorting¹⁴ with hunters and warriors¹⁵. He was on hands and knees bending over the water when something stirred in the bushes above him. Some beast lay concealed¹⁶ close to where the young man or boy was slaking¹⁷ his thirst. Gradually its head and back rose above the green foliage¹⁸, as a large panther preparing to spring.

 

The big cat was in the very act of launching itself upon the lad when a loud yell made it pause. The next moment, a man with uplifted ax bounded down the rock-wall and dashed upon the beast. A terrific commotion¹⁹ ensued as the cave-men seized their weapons and leaped to their feet shouting and yelling. They saw the newcomer charge into the bushes. A giant cat’s head and shoulders rose up to meet him and in a jiffy, man and panther were struggling to the death.

 

The stranger struck one blow. He could not determine its effect nor strike a second, for the beast was upon him. A dozen warriors rushed to his aid. Something crashed down upon his head and when he came to, he was lying upon the ground while somebody wiped his face with a bunch of leaves. The leaves were wet and red. Men’s faces were bending over him. The hunters were jabbering²⁰ and pointing at the body of a large feline²¹ stretched motionless beside him. “The beast would have slain²² you but for him,” said a voice.

 

“Yes, I know,” said another—the boy who wiped the face of the stricken man. “Who is he?”

 

[18]

 

“He came from the sky,” spoke²³ up a third. “I saw him flying through the air. A stranger and yet his ax-blade is the same as ours.”

 

The stranger was by this time sufficiently²⁴ recovered to sit up. The cave-men crowded about him.

 

“Who are you? From where did you come?” asked one.

 

“He smells like a cave-beast,” said another. “Perhaps he came here to hunt.”

 

“To hunt panthers,” the boy laughed. “A queer odor but what of that? He saved me from death.”

 

He was a sturdy lad of about sixteen years, clean-cut and well-muscled. He wore a strip of rawhide²⁵ wound several times about his waist. A skin-pouch filled with large pebbles²⁶ hung from his shoulder.

 

“My name is Gonch,” said the man rubbing his sore head. “The cave-beasts are my enemies. I have not yet washed from my body the taint²⁷ of their killing²⁸. One panther more; what does it matter?”

 

Those about him lifted their eyebrows²⁹ and stared at him who made so light of his prowess.

 

“Killer of flesh-eating beasts? That is good,” said a man, “but he has not yet told us why he comes here.”

 

“Who are you to question a chief?” retorted Gonch scornfully. “I will answer to only one; him I have come to see.”

 

“Who is that?” asked the man abashed³⁰ by the stranger’s authoritative³¹ tone.

 

[19]

 

“The Mammoth Man.” Gonch gazed from one huntsman to another, to see the effect of this. All faces were now turned toward the boy.

 

“I can take you to him,” said the latter. “When you are able to walk, we will go.”

 

“Where?” asked Gonch.

 

The lad pointed³² up the bank to where a line of cliffs extended far into the valley. “He lives there; I live there too. We can go together.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

“Kutnar,” replied the boy. His face expanded in a broad grin. “I can show you where you wish to go as well as anybody, for I am the son of the Mammoth Man.”

1 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

2 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

3 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

4 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

5 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

6 grimaces   

n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Clark winked at the rude child making grimaces. 克拉克先生假装没有看见那个野孩子做鬼脸。 来自辞典例句
• The most ridiculous grimaces were purposely or unconsciously indulged in. 故意或者无心地扮出最滑稽可笑的鬼脸。 来自辞典例句

7 espied   

v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• One day a youth espied her as he was hunting.She saw him and recognized him as her own son, mow grown a young man. 一日，她被一个正在行猎的小伙子看见了，她认出来这个猎手原来是自己的儿子，现在已长成为一个翩翩的少年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In a little while he espied the two giants. 一会儿就看见了那两个巨人。 来自辞典例句

8 lustrous   

adj.有光泽的；光辉的

参考例句：

• Mary has a head of thick,lustrous,wavy brown hair.玛丽有一头浓密、富有光泽的褐色鬈发。
• This mask definitely makes the skin fair and lustrous.这款面膜可以异常有用的使肌肤变亮和有光泽。

9 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

10 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

11 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

12 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

13 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

14 consorting   

v.结伴( consort的现在分词 )；交往；相称；调和

参考例句：

• He' d been consorting with known criminals. 他一直与那些臭名昭着的罪犯有交往。 来自辞典例句
• Mr. Berlusconi's wife publicly accused him of 'consorting with minors' and demanded a divorce. 贝卢斯科尼的妻子公开指责他“与未成年人交往”，并提出离婚。 来自互联网

15 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

16 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

17 slaking   

n.熟化v.满足( slake的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The surface of the concrete floor was coated by a white layer of slaking-lime. “混凝土”地面涂有白色饰面，饰面是以石灰浆涂刷而成。 来自互联网
• Slaking thirst and helping produce saliva, the sweet-and-sour prune makes a good companion on your journey. 青津梅，止渴生津，旅途好伙伴。 来自互联网

18 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

19 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

20 jabbering   

v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴

参考例句：

• What is he jabbering about now? 他在叽里咕噜地说什么呢？
• He was jabbering away in Russian. 他叽里咕噜地说着俄语。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 feline   

adj.猫科的

参考例句：

• As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
• The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉，简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。

22 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

23 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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

24 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

25 rawhide   

n.生牛皮

参考例句：

• At his belt he carried a rawhide whip.他腰间别着生牛皮制成的鞭子。
• The drum skin was tightly strapped over the circle rawhide laces.鼓皮的一圈被生牛皮紧紧地勒住了。

26 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

27 taint   

n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染

参考例句：

• Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
• Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。

28 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

29 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

30 abashed   

adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥，朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

32 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。