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CHAPTER IV
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“Him who goodness will not mend, evil will not mend.”—Arabic Proverb.
Zarah stood at the point of the great V which cleft1 the outer ring of the mountains, and from which started the path leading down to the plateau.
That the dying Sheikh’s daughter was expected there was no doubt, as showed the bonfires upon the mountain’s highest peaks, streaking2 the purple, starlit sky with orange flames; yet, save for the Arab who stood patiently near the spear which marked the beginning of the hidden path, with the camels which had brought them safely and at full speed across the desert and the quicksands, there was neither sign of life nor shout of greeting nor firing of rifles in salutation.
She looked back across the limitless, billowing desert, showing under the stars like a great ocean of endless, unbroken waves frozen into immobility as they surged from north to south, by some magician’s hand. She laughed softly at the thought of the civilization she had dropped, as one drops an outworn cloak from about the shoulders, and had left for ever upon the outskirts3 of the great desert of which she was the child. She looked ahead into the future and down the narrow path dividing her from the dying man, over whose kingdom in the heart of the mountains she would so shortly rule.
Giving no thought to her father in her utter selfishness, she laughed aloud in sheer delight at the picture conjured4 up by her ambition, laughed until the sweet, soft notes were flung against the rocks by the hot wind from the south and carried through the cleft down to the open[59] space where they were thrown in echo, from this side to that side over the sparkling waters until they broke and were lost in the baying of the great dogs which, eyes red with hate and ruffs upstanding, fought to get out of the kennels6 so as to reach the woman they hated.
She shivered at the sound, although the hot wind from the south enfolded her like a blanket, and, suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to see some living creature in the place of death and shadows, took a quick step forward, then shrank behind a rock.
Upon a ledge8, high up on the mountainside, to which it seemed that only a goat could possibly have climbed, sat blind Yussuf, singing to himself: “‘The corn passeth from hand to hand, but it cometh at last to the mill.’”
He sang the words of the proverb as he sat staring down at Zarah the Cruel as though he had eyes in the scarred face with which to see her.
“It cometh at last to the mill! It cometh at last to the mill!”
He repeated the words over and over again whilst the rosary of Mecca slipped between his sensitive fingers, and the girl, steeped in the superstition9 of her race, spread hers in the gesture to ward7 off misfortune and touched an amulet10 of good luck which hung about her neck.
Did he know she was there? Had he come, ironically, to welcome her and to bid her hasten to her father’s side, as had bidden the man who had awaited her at Hutah with swiftest camels? Or had he, dire11 figure of ill omen12, been set upon her path by Fate this night, when the scorching13 wind blew from the south heralding14 the storm? There was no time to ponder the question; there was only just time enough in which to register a vow15 to lay some cunning trap into which the blind man should set his feet and find his death as though by dire mischance. No! there was no time, for she suddenly fathomed16 the meaning of the intense silence and stillness, and, gathering17 her draperies about her, slipped as noiselessly as some tiger[60] cat under the ledge upon which the blind man sat, and down the steep path.
She did not look up, she did not look back, else might she have seen the face of Yussuf the blind turned in her direction, with the scarred mouth twisted in a smile. She sped as quickly as the path would allow her, spurred by the thought of the men who, gathered round their dying chief, only waited for the failing heart to cease beating to acclaim18 one of themselves as his successor in her place.
She knew full well the man who would be chosen if she failed to reach her father in time. Even Al-Asad, half-caste, bloodthirsty, ambitious, as physically19 powerful as the lion after which he had been named, outcast from the Benoo-Harb tribe, but more through the fact that his father had been a Nubian slave than for the crimes he had committed in the light-heartedness of youth.
As she ran she conjured up a picture of the man who had taken blind Yussuf’s place at her father’s right hand and who had dared to look at her with something more than the respect due to the Sheikh’s daughter in his handsome eyes.
There was no sign of any man as she fled across the plateau, neither—the hour for sleep having come for the women and children—was there sound of life, but a great light shone through the barred windows of the Hall of Judgment20 far up on the mountainside. She raced up the steps and stood, breathless, in the doorway21, unseen by the men gathered about the man whom they loved and who lay dying of the wounds received in the last great fight with the Bedouins, who had fallen upon the brigands22 as they peacefully returned, with much spoil, from raiding a caravan23 journeying towards Oman.
Knowing the effect of mystery upon her race, she wrapped herself in her great white cloak, pulled the veils about her face and a yashmak beneath her eyes, which flashed with no soft light. She cursed beneath her breath when the men rose and spoke24 together, looking towards[61] Al-Asad, who stared down at the Sheikh lying so quietly at his feet.
She had arrived too late; her father had died without blessing25 her and proclaiming her his successor.
She cared nothing about the blessing, but she knew that without the proclamation she stood no earthly chance against the claim Al-Asad would enforce through sheer brute26 force.
Superstition helped her in her need.
She believed that the soul lingered in the body for three days after the heart had ceased to beat, and she acted unhesitatingly, fearlessly, upon the belief.
She bent27 and picked up a lance lying upon the ground, and raised it above her head just as, without seeing her in the shadows, the men moved in a body towards Al-Asad.
She pitted her indomitable will against the mighty28 power of death, she flung it across the space which divided her from her father, and, for a fraction of time, pulled him back to the world he had loved exceeding well.
“Hail! father!” she shouted.
“Hail! father!” she shouted again as the men turned swiftly in her direction, then moved hastily backwards29 when the right hand of the man whom they supposed dead, moved.
Motionless from fear, they stared at, without recognizing, Zarah as she stood, tall and straight, in the shadows, wrapped in white from head to foot, her eyes half closed under the supreme30 effort she was making, her right hand raised, holding a spear ready for throwing.
She bent a little forward as she made one last bid for power, and at the sonorousness31 of her voice, which sounded like the calling of the evil one in the mountains, the men touched the amulets32 around their necks.
“Hail! father!” she shouted once again, until her words seemed to beat like wings against the walls, which had been built by holy hands. “Speak, father, ere thou passeth on. Speak! Speak! Speak!”
[62]
Al-Asad, the lion-hearted, backed against the wall as the Sheikh, his feet upon the edge of the world to come, slowly turned his head towards his daughter; the others flung the end of their cloaks across their eyes, touching33 their amulets. The girl stood quite still, her face dead white, her nostrils34 pinched, her breath whistling between her closed teeth.
“Farewell, daughter. Rule wisely in my stead. Take only from those who have more than is necessary for life. Lift up the fallen, help the needy35, spare not in charity towards my brother Yussuf, with whose safekeeping I charge thee lest evil befall thee. Throw thou the spear ere I close my eyes, as a sign that thou steppest into my shoes, O my daughter.”
The Sheikh’s words rang clear as a bell but as though from a long distance; his eyes did not waver as the spear, thrown with unerring aim, flashed across the room; he whispered “Mercedes,” and closed them for ever as it buried itself in the cushions at his feet.
Zarah the Cruel had triumphed for a moment over death, but she had caught the look of dismay on Al-Asad’s face and the stealthy movement of the men’s hands towards their cummerbunds. Without hesitating, with no intention of allowing a second to elapse before driving her victory home, she passed slowly up the room towards the dais, unarmed, fearless in the strength of her tremendous personality.
She took no notice of the men as, wrapped in her cloak and veils, she slowly ascended36 the steps of the dais and knelt to kiss her father; she looked down upon him for a moment, then taking a massive gold ring from the first finger of his right hand, slipped it on her own, and rose to her feet.
“’Tis she,” whispered Bowlegs. “’Tis Zarah the Cruel!”
“Nay, brother, it cannot be; she was a child bordering upon womanhood. This is a woman grown, who is as the[63] gazelle in her walk and as the jasmine in her perfume. Maybe ’tis the spirit of her mother, who has come to meet her lord, or perchance——”
They stopped speaking, and took a step nearer the centre of the dais as Zarah played her trump37 card.
She dropped the veils from her head, the yashmak from before her face, and the cloak from her shoulders, standing5 revealed in the garments she had donned at Hutah in the oasis38 of Hareek.
She was ravenous39 from hunger and almost dead with fatigue40, but she stood without a tremor41, glittering from head to foot in the jewels which embroidered42 the voluminous orange-satin trousers, the golden, travel-stained sandals, and the bolero, which allowed the satin skin to show at the waist. Her face was white, her crimson43 mouth parted in a slight smile; her yellow eyes passed slowly from one face to the other and on to the next of those fierce, unscrupulous men, who watched her for a while and then, with all the inconstancy of the Arab, reverted44, with the exception of Al-Asad, to their former allegiance as they succumbed45 to the call of her beauty.
A sudden, tremendous shout of reception and of welcome went up:
“Ahlan wasahlan! Ahlan wasahlan!”
They shouted the words over and over again, until the women and children wakened on the far side of the mountains and the birds, which inhabited the secluded46 spot, rose twittering and screaming in clouds, to be whirled this way and that way by the wind from the south, which seemed, in its suffocating47 heat, to have swept across the open mouth of hell.
Slowly Zarah the beautiful, the relentless48, raised her right hand, upon which shone her father’s ring, above her head to quell49 the tumult50, and, as a great silence fell, stretched it out to the men, who, with the exception of Al-Asad, rushed forward and, kneeling, touched her sandalled foot, acknowledging her as chief.
[64]
She had won.
There was no tenderness, no love, in her eyes as she looked down upon them, neither was there softness in her heart as she looked into the future. She would rule the men with an iron hand and drive them with a whip of steel, favouring those who did her bidding, treading beneath her heel those who rebelled until she ground them in the dust. She would be their hadeeyah, the woman to lead them into battle, even as had led Ayesha, the wife of Mohammed, the Prophet of Allah, the one and only God; she would make the mountain home a corner of paradise and her dwelling51 a place of gold and precious stones, as a frame to her beauty.
“I stand in my father’s place, O men!” she cried. “I have taken the reigns52 of government from the Sheikh’s fingers, which are locked in those of death. Obey me and I will raise you to heights you—nay, not one of you—have dreamed of; rebel, and I will set your bodies upon the highest peak as food for vultures. I will go forth53 with you, lead you—nay, give ear until I have come to the end of my words, for I will not speak again. Yea! I will lead you forth and bring you back with gold and cattle and fair women, until the fame of these rocks is spread from the north to the south and from the east to the west. I will have none but the beautiful, none but the brave, about me to do my bidding. I——”
She stopped short at a sound from the far end of the hall and raised her head. Yussuf, blind, scarred, terrible to behold54, stared back at her from the shadows of the door, challenging her proud statement with his empty orbits, repudiating55 her words without a sound or movement.
“ ... save for Yussuf the Blind,” she concluded slowly, as she raged inwardly at the man’s temerity56, “whom I must needs take to my heart in obedience57 to my father’s dying wish.”
She gave no outward sign of the rage which swept her[65] as she finished speaking, but she looked round for someone upon whom to vent58 her wrath59 and found him in Al-Asad, who leant against the wall, watching her from out the corner of his eyes.
“Thou!” she said, her voice cutting across the silence like a whip. “Whyfore standest thou when others kneel?”
“The lion does not flee before the gazelle!” replied Al-Asad, who had loved her from the first moment he had seen her.
Zarah made a little motion of her hand which brought the men to their feet, then beckoned60 Al-Asad, who walked slowly towards her and into the trap she had set for him. She had more than one weapon in her armoury and more than one form of punishment in her mind.
That the man loved her, in his savage61 way, she had always known; that he had worked to succeed the dead Sheikh and thereby62 to force her into becoming his own woman if she wished to rule, she had guessed intuitively, and in a second of time had thought out a plan in which, through his humiliation63, she could revenge herself for the insult.
She was well above medium height, but seemed small beside Al-Asad as he towered above her, mighty arms folded across his breast, looking down upon her beauty.
He was a magnificent animal, with all an animal’s instincts and a dog’s fidelity64, but she feared him not a bit. She looked up at the handsome face with the almost negroid lips and into the flashing eyes and down into the heart, as childish as it was vain, and smiled and raised her hand when he made a quick step forward.
“I am footsore,” she said softly. “I have cut my sandals upon the rocky path.”
She may have heard the sharp intake65 of breath, but she took no notice when the men turned, the one to the other, as Al-Asad knelt. His fingers trembled in the[66] tumult of his love for the beautiful woman as he unfastened the knotted ribbons of her sandals, his heart leapt as he bent and kissed the little foot, leaving his manhood in the dust beneath it. He sprang to his feet, holding the golden sandal against his breast, shrinking back against the wall at the men’s laughter, in which the woman he loved joined.
“Neither does the gazelle fear the dead lion,” she mocked as he fled from the hall out into the night and up to his dwelling upon the mountainside, where he flung himself full length upon the ground with the golden sandal against his lips.
“I love thee, love thee, love thee!” he whispered, “and will serve thee to my last hour and with all my strength. If I cannot be thy king, thy master, I will be thy slave. One day perchance, thou too wilt66 waken to love and learn what suffering means.”
If he had but known, love had come to her, love for the white man, causing her to suffer through the chafe67 of the chains which bound her.
Zarah watched the great figure as he fled past blind Yussuf and through the doorway out into the night, then smiled, and stooping, lifted her cloak and spread it across the dead Sheikh.
“I will sleep in the bed of my fathers,” she said curtly68. “Bring me meat and wine to my bedchamber. To-morrow I will commit my dead father to the sands and will then make choice, amongst the slaves, for those who will attend me both night and day. Obey me, and it will be well with all of you; resist me, and your lives will be even darker than this night of storm.”
The men, so long held upon the leash69 by the dead Sheikh, so long baffled in their fierce desires, shouted their praises as they made a way for her. She passed them without looking at them, glittering with jewels, superb in her strength.
She climbed the steps leading to the dwelling wherein[67] her father had slept, and up to the roof, and, leaning on the balustrade, raised her face to the sky which showed sullen70 and starless.
Great sandstorms do not sweep the deserts of Arabia bringing devastation71 in their path, but the hot wind from the south will lift the topmost layer of sand hundreds of feet into the air, where it hangs like a pall72 across the heavens, causing men to hide their faces and cattle to flee for shelter from the terrific heat which descends73 from it, scorching the earth.
She walked to the corner of the roof from which, through the cleft in the rocks, the red sands of the desert could be seen stretching in great waves away to the south. She stared down and drew her hands across her eyes, and stared again; drew back with a half-uttered cry of fear, then moved forward, leaning far over the coping, looking down.
At the very edge of the quicksands and as far out across the great waste as eye could see, white shapes danced, and whirled, and bowed, retreating, advancing, whirling hand in hand, flinging their white raiment up to the sky, which hung, like a dun-coloured ceiling, low down above their caperings.
The scorching, sand-laden wind blew against her lips and through her hair and seemed to press like a great bar of red-hot iron against the satin skin which showed beneath her bodice, and yet she stood looking down, watching the light flicker75 this way and that way over the quicksands, and the ghostly forms running up in pairs, in ones, in twos, in files up and down and over the sand-waves until they melted into the far distance.
She had heard the tale of the half-starved, half-witted, degenerate76 races which are supposed to inhabit the mysterious, unexplored depths of the great desert; living like lizards77, worshipping the elements, inter-marrying until brain and body are sapped of strength, and for the first time she felt grateful for the ring of quaking sand which[68] kept her safe from robbers, beasts, and such foul78 creatures as those which danced so merrily under the lowering sky.
She loved beauty, she loved strength, and watched with a shudder79 until the last white figure, leaping and bounding, had followed its fellows back to the unexplored regions of the desert, then knelt and bowed her beautiful head almost to the ground.
But she knelt before the scorching flames of the love which had sprung up in her heart for Ralph Trenchard as she had lain in his arms. Not for a day, nor for an hour of a day, had he been out of her thoughts since the morning of the accident. She lay awake at night thinking of the handsome face bent down to hers; she thrilled at the thought of his arms about her; she had thought of him unceasingly as she raced death to reach her father; she had sworn by the beard of the Prophet, which being a soulless woman she had no right to do, to bring him some day to her mountain home and for ever to her feet.
She stretched out her arms and called him by name, scorched80 by the hot wind which had twisted the sand into dancing shapes, sending them capering74 and leaping this way and that way, in the cross-eddies from the east, a ghostly phenomenon seen once in a lifetime, if that.
She ran to the side and looked out across the desert, which lay silent, foreboding, empty, and shivered under a sudden premonition of evil.
“Where are you?” she cried, beating her hands upon the burning stones. “Where are you? I love you, love you, love you, and I am calling you.”
There was no answer.
At that very moment Ralph Trenchard rode into the holiday camp pitched by Helen Raynor and her grandfather—Egypt’s Water Finder. They had pitched it some fifty miles west of Ismailiah whilst they waited to[69] start upon an expedition into Arabia, which had for its object the discovery of water hidden in the heart of a range of mountains, as described upon vellum inscribed81 by the Holy Palladius.

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1 cleft awEzGG     
n.裂缝;adj.裂开的
参考例句:
  • I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
  • He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间,他与他的哥哥分离。
2 streaking 318ae71f4156ab9482b7b884f6934612     
n.裸奔(指在公共场所裸体飞跑)v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 );使布满条纹
参考例句:
  • Their only thought was of the fiery harbingers of death streaking through the sky above them. 那个不断地在空中飞翔的死的恐怖把一切别的感觉都赶走了。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • Streaking is one of the oldest tricks in the book. 裸奔是有书面记载的最古老的玩笑之一。 来自互联网
3 outskirts gmDz7W     
n.郊外,郊区
参考例句:
  • Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
  • They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。
4 conjured 227df76f2d66816f8360ea2fef0349b5     
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现
参考例句:
  • He conjured them with his dying breath to look after his children. 他临终时恳求他们照顾他的孩子。
  • His very funny joke soon conjured my anger away. 他讲了个十分有趣的笑话,使得我的怒气顿消。
5 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
6 kennels 1c735b47bdfbcac5c1ca239c583bbe85     
n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处,养狗场;狗窝( kennel的名词复数 );养狗场
参考例句:
  • We put the dog in kennels when we go away. 我们外出时把狗寄养在养狗场。
  • He left his dog in a kennels when he went on holiday. 他外出度假时把狗交给养狗场照管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开
参考例句:
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时,我要点根火把,抵挡蚊虫。
8 ledge o1Mxk     
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁
参考例句:
  • They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
  • Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上,摔倒了。
9 superstition VHbzg     
n.迷信,迷信行为
参考例句:
  • It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
  • Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。
10 amulet 0LyyK     
n.护身符
参考例句:
  • We're down here investigating a stolen amulet.我们来到这里调查一个失窃的护身符。
  • This amulet is exclusively made by Father Sum Lee.这个护身符是沙姆.李长老特制的。
11 dire llUz9     
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的
参考例句:
  • There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
  • We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了,但是我们渡过了困难。
12 omen N5jzY     
n.征兆,预兆;vt.预示
参考例句:
  • The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
  • Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了?
13 scorching xjqzPr     
adj. 灼热的
参考例句:
  • a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
  • a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评
14 heralding 689c5c3a0eba0f7ed29ba4b16dab3463     
v.预示( herald的现在分词 );宣布(好或重要)
参考例句:
  • It is the heralding of a new age of responsibilities. 那预示着一个充满责任的新时期的开始。 来自互联网
  • Streaks of faint light were rising, heralding a new day. 几道淡淡的晨曦正在升起,预示新的一天的来临。 来自互联网
15 vow 0h9wL     
n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓
参考例句:
  • My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿,每星期日都去做礼拜。
  • I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。
16 fathomed 52a650f5a22787075c3e396a2bee375e     
理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 ); 彻底了解; 弄清真相
参考例句:
  • I have not yet quite fathomed her meaning. 我当时还没有完全揣摸出她是什么意思。
  • Have you fathomed out how to work the video yet? 你弄清楚如何操作录像机了吗?
17 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
18 acclaim NJgyv     
v.向…欢呼,公认;n.欢呼,喝彩,称赞
参考例句:
  • He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
  • His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。
19 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
20 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
21 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
22 brigands 17b2f48a43a67f049e43fd94c8de854b     
n.土匪,强盗( brigand的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They say there are brigands hiding along the way. 他们说沿路隐藏着土匪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The brigands demanded tribute from passing vehicles. 土匪向过往车辆勒索钱财。 来自辞典例句
23 caravan OrVzu     
n.大蓬车;活动房屋
参考例句:
  • The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
  • Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。
24 spoke XryyC     
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。
25 blessing UxDztJ     
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
参考例句:
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
26 brute GSjya     
n.野兽,兽性
参考例句:
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲,它咬人。
27 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
28 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
29 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
30 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
31 sonorousness e96efcf278b05f994b7093c13bebb99d     
n.圆润低沉;感人;堂皇;响亮
参考例句:
32 amulets f77e48fcf4600f8cbb307bca4e363b32     
n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法:“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
  • However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然,所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网
33 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
34 nostrils 23a65b62ec4d8a35d85125cdb1b4410e     
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。
35 needy wG7xh     
adj.贫穷的,贫困的,生活艰苦的
参考例句:
  • Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷,但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
  • They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。
36 ascended ea3eb8c332a31fe6393293199b82c425     
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》
37 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
参考例句:
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。
38 oasis p5Kz0     
n.(沙漠中的)绿洲,宜人的地方
参考例句:
  • They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
  • The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。
39 ravenous IAzz8     
adj.极饿的,贪婪的
参考例句:
  • The ravenous children ate everything on the table.饿极了的孩子把桌上所有东西吃掉了。
  • Most infants have a ravenous appetite.大多数婴儿胃口极好。
40 fatigue PhVzV     
n.疲劳,劳累
参考例句:
  • The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
  • I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。
41 tremor Tghy5     
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震
参考例句:
  • There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
  • A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。
42 embroidered StqztZ     
adj.绣花的
参考例句:
  • She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
  • She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。
43 crimson AYwzH     
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色
参考例句:
  • She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
  • Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。
44 reverted 5ac73b57fcce627aea1bfd3f5d01d36c     
恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 ); 重提; 回到…上; 归还
参考例句:
  • After the settlers left, the area reverted to desert. 早期移民离开之后,这个地区又变成了一片沙漠。
  • After his death the house reverted to its original owner. 他死后房子归还给了原先的主人。
45 succumbed 625a9b57aef7b895b965fdca2019ba63     
不再抵抗(诱惑、疾病、攻击等)( succumb的过去式和过去分词 ); 屈从; 被压垮; 死
参考例句:
  • The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
  • After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后,该城终于屈服了。
46 secluded wj8zWX     
adj.与世隔绝的;隐退的;偏僻的v.使隔开,使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时,喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑,有茅草房顶和宁静的花园,漂亮极了,简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
47 suffocating suffocating     
a.使人窒息的
参考例句:
  • After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后,她感到自己毫无自由。
  • That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了,我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。
48 relentless VBjzv     
adj.残酷的,不留情的,无怜悯心的
参考例句:
  • The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
  • Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。
49 quell J02zP     
v.压制,平息,减轻
参考例句:
  • Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
  • The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。
50 tumult LKrzm     
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹
参考例句:
  • The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。
  • His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。
51 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
52 reigns 0158e1638fbbfb79c26a2ce8b24966d2     
n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 );君主统治时期;任期;当政期
参考例句:
  • In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首,但不治国事。 来自辞典例句
53 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
54 behold jQKy9     
v.看,注视,看到
参考例句:
  • The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
  • The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。
55 repudiating 5a90b9ae433c7d568b77f1202094163a     
v.(正式地)否认( repudiate的现在分词 );拒绝接受;拒绝与…往来;拒不履行(法律义务)
参考例句:
  • Instead of repudiating what he had done, he gloried in it. 他不但没有否定自己做过的事,反而引以为荣。 来自辞典例句
  • He accused the government of tearing up(ie repudiating)the negotiated agreement. 他控告政府撕毁(不履行)协议。 来自互联网
56 temerity PGmyk     
n.鲁莽,冒失
参考例句:
  • He had the temerity to ask for higher wages after only a day's work.只工作了一天,他就蛮不讲理地要求增加工资。
  • Tins took some temerity,but it was fruitless.这件事做得有点莽撞,但结果还是无用。
57 obedience 8vryb     
n.服从,顺从
参考例句:
  • Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
  • Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。
58 vent yiPwE     
n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄
参考例句:
  • He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
  • When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时,发动机就会停转。
59 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
60 beckoned b70f83e57673dfe30be1c577dd8520bc     
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
  • The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
61 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
62 thereby Sokwv     
adv.因此,从而
参考例句:
  • I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市,因此对它不怎么熟悉。
  • He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民,因而得到了投票权。
63 humiliation Jd3zW     
n.羞辱
参考例句:
  • He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
  • He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。
64 fidelity vk3xB     
n.忠诚,忠实;精确
参考例句:
  • There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
  • His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。
65 intake 44cyQ     
n.吸入,纳入;进气口,入口
参考例句:
  • Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
  • There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。
66 wilt oMNz5     
v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎;(指人)疲倦,衰弱
参考例句:
  • Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
  • Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。
67 chafe yrIzD     
v.擦伤;冲洗;惹怒
参考例句:
  • The foaming waves chafe against the rocky shore.汹涌的波涛猛烈地冲击着礁岸。
  • A stiff collar may chafe your neck.硬的衣领会擦伤你的脖子。
68 curtly 4vMzJh     
adv.简短地
参考例句:
  • He nodded curtly and walked away. 他匆忙点了一下头就走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The request was curtly refused. 这个请求被毫不客气地拒绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
69 leash M9rz1     
n.牵狗的皮带,束缚;v.用皮带系住
参考例句:
  • I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳,但被狗挡住了路。
  • The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带,想挣脱开去。
70 sullen kHGzl     
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句:
  • He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
  • Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐,因为昨晚没睡好。
71 devastation ku9zlF     
n.毁坏;荒废;极度震惊或悲伤
参考例句:
  • The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
  • There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
72 pall hvwyP     
v.覆盖,使平淡无味;n.柩衣,棺罩;棺材;帷幕
参考例句:
  • Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
  • I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。
73 descends e9fd61c3161a390a0db3b45b3a992bee     
v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 );下去;下降;下斜
参考例句:
  • This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
74 capering d4ea412ac03a170b293139861cb3c627     
v.跳跃,雀跃( caper的现在分词 );蹦蹦跳跳
参考例句:
  • The lambs were capering in the fields. 羊羔在地里欢快地跳跃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The boy was Capering dersively, with obscene unambiguous gestures, before a party of English tourists. 这个顽童在一群英国旅游客人面前用明显下流的动作可笑地蹦蹦跳跳着。 来自辞典例句
75 flicker Gjxxb     
vi./n.闪烁,摇曳,闪现
参考例句:
  • There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
  • At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时,光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现,几乎并不灿烂。
76 degenerate 795ym     
v.退步,堕落;adj.退步的,堕落的;n.堕落者
参考例句:
  • He didn't let riches and luxury make him degenerate.他不因财富和奢华而自甘堕落。
  • Will too much freedom make them degenerate?太多的自由会令他们堕落吗?
77 lizards 9e3fa64f20794483b9c33d06297dcbfb     
n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外,没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
  • Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗? 来自辞典例句
78 foul Sfnzy     
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规
参考例句:
  • Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
  • What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气!
79 shudder JEqy8     
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动
参考例句:
  • The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材,他浑身一阵战栗。
  • We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。
80 scorched a5fdd52977662c80951e2b41c31587a0     
烧焦,烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(植物)枯萎,把…晒枯; 高速行驶; 枯焦
参考例句:
  • I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
  • The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。
81 inscribed 65fb4f97174c35f702447e725cb615e7     
v.写,刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 );内接
参考例句:
  • His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
  • The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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