The various tribes of the Crees, or Eythinyuwuk, range from the Rocky Mountains and the plains of the Saskatchewan to the swampy3 shores of Hudson’s Bay. Towards the west and north they border on the Tinné, towards the east and south, on the Ojibbeway or Sauteurs, who belong like them to the great family of the Lenni-lenape Indians, and inhabit the lands between Lake Winipeg and Lake Superior.
About sixty years since, at the time when Napoleon was deluging4 Europe with blood, the Crees likewise played the part of conquerors6, and subdued7 even more extensive, though less valuable domains8.
Provided with fire-arms, which at that time were unknown to their northern and western neighbors, they advanced as far as the Arctic Circle, imposing9 tribute on the various tribes of the Tinné. But their triumphs were not more durable10 than those of the great European conqueror5.
The small-pox broke out among them and swept them away by thousands. Meanwhile the Tinné tribes had remained untouched by this terrible scourge11; and as the agents of the Hudson’s Bay Company, advancing farther and farther to the west and north, had likewise made them acquainted with the use of fire-arms, they in their turn became the aggressors, and drove the Crees before them.320 Their former conquerors now partly migrated to the south, and leaving the forest region, where they had hunted the reindeer12 and the elk13, spread over the prairies of the Saskatchewan, where they now pursued the herds14 of bison, sometimes driving them over a precipice16, or chasing them on foot through the snow. But in their new abodes17 they became engaged in constant feuds18 with their new neighbors the Assiniboins and Blackfeet, who of course resented their intrusion.
The romance in which the manners and character of the Indians are portrayed19 might lead us to attribute to these people a loftiness of soul for which it would be vain to look in the present day, and which without much skepticism we may assert they never really possessed20. Actions prompted only by the caprice of a barbarous people have been considered as the results of refined sentiment; and savage21 cunning, seen through the false medium of prejudice, assumed the nobler proportions of a far-sighted policy. But though the history of the wars of the Indians among themselves and with the Europeans affords but few instances of heroism23, it abounds24 in traits of revolting cruelty, and in pictures of indescribable wretchedness.
118. A HERD15 OF BISON.
A large party of Blackfeet once made a successful foray in the territory of the Crees. But meanwhile the latter surprised the camp where the aggressors had left their wives and children; and thus, when the Blackfeet returned to their tents, they found desolation and death where they looked for a joyful25 welcome. In their despair they cast away their arms and their booty, and retired26 to the mountains, where for three days and nights they wailed27 and mourned.
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119. DRIVING BISON OVER A PRECIPICE.
In the year 1840 a bloody28 war broke out between the Crees and the Blackfeet, arising as in general from a very trifling29 cause. Peace was at length concluded, but while the two nations were celebrating this fortunate event with games and races, a Cree stole a ragged30 blanket, and a new fight immediately began. Returning home, the Blackfeet met a Cree chieftain, with two of his warriors31, and killed them after a short altercation32. Soon after the Crees surprised and murdered some of the Blackfeet, and thus the war raged more furiously than ever. Sir George Simpson, who was travelling through the country at the time, visited the hut of a Cree who had been wounded in the conflict at the peace meeting. As in his flight he bent33 over his horse’s neck, a ball had struck him on the right side, and remained sticking near the articulation34 of the left shoulder. In this condition he had already lain for three-and-thirty days, his left arm frightfully swollen35, and the rest of his body emaciated36 to a skeleton. Near the dying savage, whose glassy eye and contracted features spoke37 of the dreadful pain of which he disdained38 to speak, lay his child, reduced to skin and bones, and expressing by a perpetual moaning the pangs39 of illness and hunger, while most to be pitied perhaps of this wretched family was the wife and mother, who seemed to be sinking under the double load of care and fatigue40. During the night the “medicine-man” was busy beating his magic drum and driving away the evil spirits from the hut.
Although the Crees show great fortitude41 in enduring hunger and the other evils incident to a hunter’s life, yet any unusual accident dispirits them at once, and they seldom venture to meet their enemies in open warfare42, or even to surprise them, unless they have a great advantage in point of numbers. Instances of personal bravery like that of the Esquimaux are rare indeed among them. Superior in personal appearance to the Tinné, they are less honest, and though perhaps not so much given to falsehood as the Tinné, are more turbulent and more prompt to invade the rights of their countrymen, as well as of neighboring nations.
322 Tattooing is almost universal among them. The women are in general content with having one or two lines drawn43 from the corners of the mouth towards the angles of the lower jaw44, but some of the men have their bodies covered with lines and figures. It seems to be considered by most rather as a proof of323 courage than an ornament45, as the operation is both painful and tedious. The lines on the face are formed by dexterously46 running an awl47 under the cuticle48, and then drawing a cord, dipped in charcoal49 and water, through the canal thus formed. The punctures51 on the body are made by needles of various sizes, set in a frame. A number of hawk-bells attached to this frame serve, by their noise, to cover the groans52 of the sufferer, and probably for the same reason the process is accompanied with singing. An indelible stain is produced by rubbing a little finely-powdered willow-charcoal into the puncture50. A half-breed, whose arm was amputated by Sir John Richardson, declared that tatooing was not only the more painful operation of the two, but rendered infinitely53 more difficult to bear by its tediousness, having lasted, in his case, three days.
The Crees are also fond of painting their faces with vermilion and charcoal. In general the dress of the male consists of a blanket thrown over the shoulders, a leathern shirt or jacket, and a piece of cloth tied round the middle. The women have in addition a long petticoat, and both sexes wear a kind of wide hose, which, reaching from the ankle to the middle of the thigh54, are suspended by strings55 to the girdle. These hose, or “Indian stockings,” are commonly ornamented56 with beads57 or ribands, and from their convenience have been universally adopted by the white residents, as an essential part of their winter-clothing. Their shoes, or rather soft boots (for they tie round the ankle), are made of dressed moose-skins; and during the winter they wrap several pieces of blanket round their feet. They are fond of European articles of dress, such as great-coats, shawls, and calicoes, which, however showy they may be at first, are soon reduced to a very filthy58 condition by their custom of greasing the face and hair with soft fat or marrow59. This practice they say preserves the skin soft, and protects it from cold in the winter and the mosquitoes in summer; but it renders their presence disagreeable to Europeans who may chance to be seated near them in a close tent and near a hot fire.
120. WATCHING FOR CREES.
The Cree women are not in general treated harshly by their husbands: a great part of the labor60, however, falls to the lot of the wife. She makes the hut, cooks, dresses the skins, and for the most part carries the heaviest load; but when she is unable to perform her task, the husband does not consider it beneath his dignity to assist her.
The Crees are extremely indulgent to their children. The father never chastises61 them; and the mother, though more hasty in her temper, seldom bestows62 a blow on a troublesome child.
The cradle in use among them is well adapted to their mode of life, and is one of their neatest articles of furniture, being generally ornamented with beads and bits of scarlet63 cloth, but it bears a very strong resemblance in its form to a mummy-case. The infant is placed in this bag, having its lower extremities64 wrapped up in soft sphagnum, or bog-moss, and may be hung up in the tent or to the branch of a tree, without the least danger of tumbling out; or, in a journey may be suspended on the mother’s back by a band which crosses the forehead so as to leave her hands free. The sphagnum forms a soft elastic65 bed, which absorbs moisture very readily, and affords such a protection from the winter cold that its place would be ill supplied by any other material.
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121. A CREE VILLAGE.
The ordinary wigwams, skin tents, or “lodges” of the Tinné and Crees are exactly alike in form, being extended on poles set up in a conical manner; but as a general rule the tents of the latter are more commodious66 and more frequently supplied with a fresh lining67 of the spray of the balsam-fir. They also occasionally erect68 a larger dwelling69 of lattice-work, covered with birch-bark, in which forty men or more can assemble for feasting, debating, or performing some of their religious ceremonies. The entire nation of the Eythinyuwuk cultivate oratory70 more than their northern neighbors, who express themselves more simply and far less fluently.
Vapor baths are in common use with the Crees, and form one of the chief remedies of their medicine-men. The operator shuts himself up with his patient in the small sweating-house—in which red-hot stones besprinkled with water, and having a few leaves of a species of prunus strewed71 around them, produce a damp atmosphere of a stifling72 heat—and shampoos him, singing all the time a kind of hymn73. As long as the medicine-man can hold out, so long must the patient endure the intense heat of the bath, and then, if the invalid74 be able to move, they both plunge75 into the river. If the patient does not recover, he is at least more speedily released from his sufferings by this powerful remedy.
The Crees are a vain, fickle76, improvident77, indolent, and ludicrously boastful race. They are also great gamblers, but, instead of cards or dice22, they play with the stones of a species of prunus. The difficulty lies in guessing the number of stones which are tossed out of a small wooden dish, and the hunters will spend whole nights at this destructive sport, staking their most valuable325 articles. They have, however, a much more manly78 amusement, termed the “cross,” although they do not engage even in it without depositing considerable stakes. An extensive meadow is chosen for this sport, and the articles staked are tied to a post, or deposited in the custody79 of two old men. The combatants being stripped and painted, and each provided with a kind of racket, in shape resembling the letter P, with a handle about two feet long, and a head loosely wrought80 with net-work, so as to form a shallow bag, range themselves on different sides. A ball being now tossed up in the middle, each party endeavors to drive it to their respective goals, and much dexterity81 and agility82 is displayed in the contest. When a nimble runner gets the ball in his cross, he sets off towards the goal with the utmost speed, and is followed by the rest, who endeavor to jostle him and shake it out, but, if hard pressed, he discharges it with a jerk, to be forwarded by his own party or bandied back by their opponents until the victory is decided83 by its passing the goal.
Neither the Esquimaux nor the Tinné have any visible objects of worship, but the Crees carry with them small wooden figures rudely carved, or merely the tops of a few willow-bushes tied together, as the representatives of a malicious84, or at least capricious being, called Kepoochikann. Their most common petition to this being is for plenty of food, but as they do not trust entirely85 to his favor, they endeavor at the same time to propitiate86 the animal, an imaginary representative of the whole race of larger quadrupeds that are objects of the chase.
Though often referring to the Kitche-manito, the “Great Spirit,” or “Master of Life,” they do not believe that he cares for his creatures, and consequently never think of praying to him. They have no legend about the creation, but they speak of a deluge87 caused by an attempt of the fish to drown Woesack-ootchacht, a kind of demi-god, with whom they had quarrelled. Having constructed a raft, this being embarked88 with his family and all kinds of birds and beasts. After the flood had continued for some time, he ordered several waterfowl to dive to the bottom. They were all drowned; but a musk-rat, dispatched on the same errand, returned with a mouthful of mud, out of which Woesack-ootchacht, imitating the mode in which the rats construct their houses, formed a new earth. First a small conical hill of mud appeared above the water; by-and-by, its base gradually spreading out, it became an extensive bank, which the rays of the sun at length hardened into firm land. Notwithstanding the power that Woesack-ootchacht here displayed, his person is held in very little reverence89 by the Indians, who do not think it worth while to make any effort to avert90 his wrath91.
Like the Tinné, the Crees also have a Tartarus and an Elysium. The souls of the departed are obliged to scramble92 with great labor up the sides of a steep mountain, upon attaining93 the summit of which they are rewarded with the prospect94 of an extensive plain abounding95 in all sorts of game, and interspersed96 here and there with new tents pitched in pleasant situations. While they are absorbed in the contemplation of this delightful97 scene, they are descried98 by the inhabitants of the happy land, who, clothed in new skin dresses, approach and welcome, with every demonstration99 of kindness, those Indians who have led326 good lives, but the bad Indians are told to return from whence they came, and without more ceremony are hurled100 down the precipice.
As yet Christianity has made but little progress among the Indians of British North America, its benefits being hitherto confined to the Ojibbeways of Lake Huron, and to a small number of the Crees of the Hudson’s Bay territory. The well-fed Sauteurs of the Winipeg are as disinclined to be converted as the buffalo-hunters of the prairies.
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tattooing
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n.刺字,文身v.刺青,文身( tattoo的现在分词 );连续有节奏地敲击;作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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vapor
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n.蒸汽,雾气 | |
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swampy
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adj.沼泽的,湿地的 | |
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deluging
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v.使淹没( deluge的现在分词 );淹没;被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没;穷于应付 | |
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5
conqueror
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n.征服者,胜利者 | |
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conquerors
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征服者,占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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subdued
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adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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8
domains
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n.范围( domain的名词复数 );领域;版图;地产 | |
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9
imposing
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adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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durable
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adj.持久的,耐久的 | |
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scourge
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n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏 | |
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reindeer
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n.驯鹿 | |
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elk
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n.麋鹿 | |
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14
herds
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兽群( herd的名词复数 ); 牧群; 人群; 群众 | |
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herd
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n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
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precipice
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n.悬崖,危急的处境 | |
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17
abodes
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住所( abode的名词复数 ); 公寓; (在某地的)暂住; 逗留 | |
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18
feuds
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n.长期不和,世仇( feud的名词复数 ) | |
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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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20
possessed
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adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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21
savage
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adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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22
dice
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n.骰子;vt.把(食物)切成小方块,冒险 | |
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23
heroism
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n.大无畏精神,英勇 | |
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24
abounds
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v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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25
joyful
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adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的 | |
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26
retired
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adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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wailed
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v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
bloody
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adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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29
trifling
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adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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30
ragged
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adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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31
warriors
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武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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32
altercation
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n.争吵,争论 | |
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33
bent
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n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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articulation
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n.(清楚的)发音;清晰度,咬合 | |
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swollen
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adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀 | |
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emaciated
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adj.衰弱的,消瘦的 | |
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37
spoke
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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 | |
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38
disdained
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鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 ); 不屑于做,不愿意做 | |
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pangs
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突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 ); 悲痛 | |
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fatigue
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n.疲劳,劳累 | |
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fortitude
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n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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warfare
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n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突 | |
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drawn
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v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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jaw
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n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训 | |
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45
ornament
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v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物 | |
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dexterously
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adv.巧妙地,敏捷地 | |
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47
awl
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n.尖钻 | |
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cuticle
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n.表皮 | |
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49
charcoal
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n.炭,木炭,生物炭 | |
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50
puncture
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n.刺孔,穿孔;v.刺穿,刺破 | |
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51
punctures
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n.(尖物刺成的)小孔( puncture的名词复数 );(尤指)轮胎穿孔;(尤指皮肤上被刺破的)扎孔;刺伤v.在(某物)上穿孔( puncture的第三人称单数 );刺穿(某物);削弱(某人的傲气、信心等);泄某人的气 | |
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52
groans
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n.呻吟,叹息( groan的名词复数 );呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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53
infinitely
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adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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54
thigh
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n.大腿;股骨 | |
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strings
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n.弦 | |
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56
ornamented
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adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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beads
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n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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58
filthy
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adj.卑劣的;恶劣的,肮脏的 | |
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marrow
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n.骨髓;精华;活力 | |
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60
labor
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n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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61
chastises
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v.严惩(某人)(尤指责打)( chastise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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62
bestows
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赠给,授予( bestow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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63
scarlet
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n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
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64
extremities
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n.端点( extremity的名词复数 );尽头;手和足;极窘迫的境地 | |
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elastic
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n.橡皮圈,松紧带;adj.有弹性的;灵活的 | |
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commodious
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adj.宽敞的;使用方便的 | |
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lining
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n.衬里,衬料 | |
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erect
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n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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dwelling
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n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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oratory
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n.演讲术;词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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strewed
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v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 );散落于;点缀;撒满 | |
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stifling
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a.令人窒息的 | |
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hymn
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n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌 | |
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invalid
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n.病人,伤残人;adj.有病的,伤残的;无效的 | |
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75
plunge
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v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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76
fickle
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adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的,不坚定的 | |
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77
improvident
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adj.不顾将来的,不节俭的,无远见的 | |
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manly
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adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地 | |
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custody
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n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留 | |
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80
wrought
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v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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81
dexterity
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n.(手的)灵巧,灵活 | |
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82
agility
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n.敏捷,活泼 | |
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83
decided
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adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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84
malicious
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adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的 | |
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85
entirely
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ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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86
propitiate
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v.慰解,劝解 | |
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87
deluge
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n./vt.洪水,暴雨,使泛滥 | |
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88
embarked
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乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事 | |
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89
reverence
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n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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90
avert
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v.防止,避免;转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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91
wrath
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n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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92
scramble
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v.爬行,攀爬,杂乱蔓延,碎片,片段,废料 | |
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93
attaining
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(通常经过努力)实现( attain的现在分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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94
prospect
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n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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95
abounding
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adj.丰富的,大量的v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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96
interspersed
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adj.[医]散开的;点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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97
delightful
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adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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98
descried
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adj.被注意到的,被发现的,被看到的 | |
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99
demonstration
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n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
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100
hurled
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v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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