In des Wonnemeeres
wogendem Schwall,
in der Duft-Wellen
t?nendem Schall,
in des Weltathems
wehendem All—
ertrinken—versinken
We thus realise to ourselves in the experiences of the truly ?sthetic hearer the tragic artist himself when he proceeds like a luxuriously35 fertile divinity of individuation to create his figures (in which sense his work can hardly be understood as an "imitation of nature")—and when, on the other hand, his vast Dionysian impulse then absorbs the entire world of phenomena, in order to anticipate beyond it, and through its annihilation, the highest artistic primal36 joy, in the bosom of the Primordial37 Unity38. Of course, our ?sthetes have nothing to say about this return in fraternal union of the two art-deities to the original home, nor of either the Apollonian or Dionysian excitement of the hearer,[Pg 170] while they are indefatigable39 in characterising the struggle of the hero with fate, the triumph of the moral order of the world, or the disburdenment of the emotions through tragedy, as the properly Tragic: an indefatigableness which makes me think that they are perhaps not ?sthetically excitable men at all, but only to be regarded as moral beings when hearing tragedy. Never since Aristotle has an explanation of the tragic effect been proposed, by which an ?sthetic activity of the hearer could be inferred from artistic circumstances. At one time fear and pity are supposed to be forced to an alleviating40 discharge through the serious procedure, at another time we are expected to feel elevated and inspired at the triumph of good and noble principles, at the sacrifice of the hero in the interest of a moral conception of things; and however certainly I believe that for countless41 men precisely42 this, and only this, is the effect of tragedy, it as obviously follows therefrom that all these, together with their interpreting ?sthetes, have had no experience of tragedy as the highest art. The pathological discharge, the catharsis of Aristotle, which philologists43 are at a loss whether to include under medicinal or moral phenomena, recalls a remarkable44 anticipation45 of Goethe. "Without a lively pathological interest," he says, "I too have never yet succeeded in elaborating a tragic situation of any kind, and hence I have rather avoided than sought it. Can it perhaps have been still another of the merits of the ancients that the deepest pathos46 was with them merely ?sthetic play, whereas with us the truth of nature must[Pg 171] co-operate in order to produce such a work?" We can now answer in the affirmative this latter profound question after our glorious experiences, in which we have found to our astonishment47 in the case of musical tragedy itself, that the deepest pathos can in reality be merely ?sthetic play: and therefore we are justified in believing that now for the first time the proto-phenomenon of the tragic can be portrayed with some degree of success. He who now will still persist in talking only of those vicarious effects proceeding48 from ultra-?sthetic spheres, and does not feel himself raised above the pathologically-moral process, may be left to despair of his ?sthetic nature: for which we recommend to him, by way of innocent equivalent, the interpretation49 of Shakespeare after the fashion of Gervinus, and the diligent50 search for poetic51 justice.
Thus with the re-birth of tragedy the ?sthetic hearer is also born anew, in whose place in the theatre a curious quid pro18 quo was wont52 to sit with half-moral and half-learned pretensions,—the "critic." In his sphere hitherto everything has been artificial and merely glossed53 over with a semblance54 of life. The performing artist was in fact at a loss what to do with such a critically comporting55 hearer, and hence he, as well as the dramatist or operatic composer who inspired him, searched anxiously for the last remains56 of life in a being so pretentiously57 barren and incapable58 of enjoyment59. Such "critics," however, have hitherto constituted the public; the student, the school-boy, yea, even the most harmless womanly creature,[Pg 172] were already unwittingly prepared by education and by journals for a similar perception of works of art. The nobler natures among the artists counted upon exciting the moral-religious forces in such a public, and the appeal to a moral order of the world operated vicariously, when in reality some powerful artistic spell should have enraptured60 the true hearer. Or again, some imposing61 or at all events exciting tendency of the contemporary political and social world was presented by the dramatist with such vividness that the hearer could forget his critical exhaustion62 and abandon himself to similar emotions, as, in patriotic63 or warlike moments, before the tribune of parliament, or at the condemnation64 of crime and vice:—an estrangement65 of the true aims of art which could not but lead directly now and then to a cult8 of tendency. But here there took place what has always taken place in the case of factitious arts, an extraordinary rapid depravation of these tendencies, so that for instance the tendency to employ the theatre as a means for the moral education of the people, which in Schiller's time was taken seriously, is already reckoned among the incredible antiquities66 of a surmounted67 culture. While the critic got the upper hand in the theatre and concert-hall, the journalist in the school, and the press in society, art degenerated68 into a topic of conversation of the most trivial kind, and ?sthetic criticism was used as the cement of a vain, distracted, selfish and moreover piteously unoriginal sociality, the significance of which is suggested by the Schopenhauerian parable69 of the porcupines70, so that there[Pg 173] has never been so much gossip about art and so little esteem71 for it. But is it still possible to have intercourse72 with a man capable of conversing73 on Beethoven or Shakespeare? Let each answer this question according to his sentiments: he will at any rate show by his answer his conception of "culture," provided he tries at least to answer the question, and has not already grown mute with astonishment.
On the other hand, many a one more nobly and delicately endowed by nature, though he may have gradually become a critical barbarian74 in the manner described, could tell of the unexpected as well as totally unintelligible75 effect which a successful performance of Lohengrin, for example, exerted on him: except that perhaps every warning and interpreting hand was lacking to guide him; so that the incomprehensibly heterogeneous76 and altogether incomparable sensation which then affected77 him also remained isolated78 and became extinct, like a mysterious star after a brief brilliancy. He then divined what the ?sthetic hearer is.

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1
attentive
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adj.注意的,专心的;关心(别人)的,殷勤的 | |
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2
purely
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adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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3
portrayed
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v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 );描述;描绘;描画 | |
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4
recollect
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v.回忆,想起,记起,忆起,记得 | |
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5
exalted
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adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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6
omniscience
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n.全知,全知者,上帝 | |
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7
faculty
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n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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8
cult
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n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜 | |
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9
penetrating
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adj.(声音)响亮的,尖锐的adj.(气味)刺激的adj.(思想)敏锐的,有洞察力的 | |
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10
motives
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n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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11
swelling
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n.肿胀 | |
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12
actively
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adv.积极地,勤奋地 | |
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13
thereby
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adv.因此,从而 | |
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14
conspicuousness
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显著,卓越,突出; 显著性 | |
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15
artistic
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adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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16
epic
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n.史诗,叙事诗;adj.史诗般的,壮丽的 | |
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17
strictly
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adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
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18
pro
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n.赞成,赞成的意见,赞成者 | |
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19
justification
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n.正当的理由;辩解的理由 | |
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20
attained
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(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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21
beholds
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v.看,注视( behold的第三人称单数 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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22
tragic
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adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
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23
justified
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a.正当的,有理的 | |
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24
annihilate
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v.使无效;毁灭;取消 | |
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25
shudders
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n.颤动,打颤,战栗( shudder的名词复数 )v.战栗( shudder的第三人称单数 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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26
derive
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v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自 | |
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27
collapse
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vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
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28
apex
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n.顶点,最高点 | |
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29
apparently
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adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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30
stimulating
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adj.有启发性的,能激发人思考的 | |
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31
expedients
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n.应急有效的,权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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32
phenomena
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n.现象 | |
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33
bosom
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n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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34
lust
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n.性(淫)欲;渴(欲)望;vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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35
luxuriously
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adv.奢侈地,豪华地 | |
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36
primal
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adj.原始的;最重要的 | |
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37
primordial
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adj.原始的;最初的 | |
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38
unity
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n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
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39
indefatigable
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adj.不知疲倦的,不屈不挠的 | |
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40
alleviating
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减轻,缓解,缓和( alleviate的现在分词 ) | |
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41
countless
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adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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42
precisely
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adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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43
philologists
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n.语文学( philology的名词复数 ) | |
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44
remarkable
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adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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45
anticipation
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n.预期,预料,期望 | |
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46
pathos
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n.哀婉,悲怆 | |
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47
astonishment
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n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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48
proceeding
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n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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49
interpretation
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n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理 | |
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50
diligent
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adj.勤勉的,勤奋的 | |
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51
poetic
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adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的 | |
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52
wont
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adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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53
glossed
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v.注解( gloss的过去式和过去分词 );掩饰(错误);粉饰;把…搪塞过去 | |
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54
semblance
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n.外貌,外表 | |
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55
comporting
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v.表现( comport的现在分词 ) | |
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56
remains
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n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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57
pretentiously
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58
incapable
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adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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59
enjoyment
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n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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60
enraptured
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v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61
imposing
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adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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62
exhaustion
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n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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63
patriotic
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adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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64
condemnation
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n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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65
estrangement
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n.疏远,失和,不和 | |
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66
antiquities
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n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 );古迹;古人们;古代的风俗习惯 | |
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67
surmounted
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战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 ); 克服(困难); 居于…之上; 在…顶上 | |
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68
degenerated
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衰退,堕落,退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
parable
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n.寓言,比喻 | |
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70
porcupines
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n.豪猪,箭猪( porcupine的名词复数 ) | |
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71
esteem
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n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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72
intercourse
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n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
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73
conversing
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v.交谈,谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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74
barbarian
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n.野蛮人;adj.野蛮(人)的;未开化的 | |
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75
unintelligible
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adj.无法了解的,难解的,莫明其妙的 | |
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76
heterogeneous
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adj.庞杂的;异类的 | |
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77
affected
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adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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78
isolated
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adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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