Their Habits—The Gavial and the Tiger—Mode of Seizing their Prey3—Their Voice—Their Preference of Human Flesh—Alligator2 against Alligator—Wonderful Tenacity4 of Life—Tenderness of the Female Cayman for her Young—The Crocodile of the Nile—Its Longevity—Enemies of the Crocodile—Torpidity5 of Crocodiles during the Dry Season—Their Awakening6 from their Lethargy with the First Rains—‘Tickling a Crocodile.’
There was a time, long before man appeared upon the scene, when huge Crocodiles swarmed7 in the rivers of England, and, for aught we know, basked8 on the very spot where now their grim representatives can hardly be said to adorn10 the grounds of Sydenham Palace.
But the day when the ferocious11, bone-harnessed Saurians lorded it in the European streams has passed, never to return; the diminished warmth of what are now the temperate12 regions of the globe having long since confined them to the large rivers and lagunes of the torrid zone. The scourge13 and terror of all that lives in the waters which they frequent, they may with full justice be called the very images of depravity, as perhaps no animals in existence bear in their countenance14 more decided15 marks of cruelty and malice16. The depressed17 head, so significant of a low cerebral18 development; the vast maw, garnished19 with formidable rows of conical teeth, entirely20 made for snatch and swallow; the elongated21 mud-coloured body, with333 its long lizard22-like tail, resting on short legs, stamp them with a peculiar23 frightfulness25, and proclaim the baseness of their instincts.
The short-snouted, broad-headed Alligators, or Caymen, belong to the New World; the Gavials, distinguished26 by their straight, long, and narrow jaw27, are exclusively Indian; while the oblong-headed Crocodiles are not only found in Africa and Asia, but likewise infest28 the swamps and rivers of America. All these animals, however, though different in form and name, have everywhere similar habits and manners; so that, in general, what is remarked of the one may be applied29 to the others.
ALLIGATOR.
CAPYBARA.
Formed for an aquatic30 life they are very active in the water, darting31 along with great rapidity by means of their strong muscular tail and their webbed hind32 feet. They sometimes bask9 in the sunbeams on the banks of the rivers, but oftener float on the surface, where, concealing33 their head and feet, they appear like the rough trunk of a tree, both in shape and colour, and thus are enabled the more easily to deceive and catch their prey.
In America, many a slow-paced Capybara, or water-pig, coming in the dusk of evening to slake34 its thirst in the lagune, has been suddenly seized by an insidious35 Alligator; and the Gangetic Gavial is said to make even the tiger his prey. When the latter quits the thick cover of the jungle to drink at the stream, the Gavial, concealed36 under water, steals along the bank, and, suddenly emerging, furiously attacks the tiger, who never declines the combat; and though in the struggle the Gavial frequently loses his eyes and receives dreadful wounds on the head, he at length drags his adversary37 into the water, and there devours38 him.29
334 In order to observe the manner in which the Alligator seizes its prey, Richard Schomburgk frequently tied a bird or some large fish to a piece of wood, and then turned it adrift upon the stream. Scarcely had the Cayman perceived his victim than he slowly and cautiously approached, without even rippling39 the surface of the water, and then curving his back, hurled40 his prey, by a stroke of his tail, into his wide-extended jaws41.
On the American streams, the stillness of the night is often interrupted by the clacking of the Cayman’s teeth, and the lashing42 of his tail upon the waters. The singular and awful sound of his voice can also readily be distinguished from that of all the other beasts of the wilderness43. It is like a suppressed sigh, bursting forth44 all of a sudden, and so loud as to be heard above a mile off. First, one emits this horrible noise; then another answers him; and far and wide the repetition of the sound proclaims that the Caymen are awake. When these hideous45 creatures have once tasted the flesh of man, they are said, like the cannibals of the Feejee Islands, to prefer it to that of any animal.
During Humboldt’s stay at Angostura, a monstrous46 Cayman seized an Indian by the leg while he was busy pushing his boat ashore47 in a shallow lagune, and immediately dragged him down into the deeper water. The cries of the unfortunate victim soon attracted a large number of spectators, who witnessed the astonishing courage with which he searched in his pocket for a knife. Not finding a weapon, he then seized the reptile48 by the head, and pressed his fingers into its eyes—a method which saved Mungo Park’s negro from a similar fate. In this case, however, the monster did not let go his hold, but disappearing under the surface with the Indian, came up again with him as soon as he was drowned, and dragged the body to a neighbouring island.
‘One Sunday evening,’ says Waterton, ‘some years ago, as I was walking with Don Felipe de Yriarte, Governor of Angostura, on the bank of the Orinoco—“Stop here a minute or two, Don Carlos,” said he to me, “while I recount a sad accident. One fine evening, last year, as the people of Angostura were sauntering up and down in the Alameda, I was within twenty yards of this place, when I saw a large Cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry him down, before anybody had it335 in his power to assist him. The screams of the poor fellow were terrible, as the Cayman was running off with him. He plunged49 into the river with his prey; we instantly lost sight of him, and never saw or heard him more.”’
Humboldt also relates that, during the inundations of the Orinoco, alligators will sometimes make their appearance in the very streets of Angostura, where they have been known to attack and drag away a human prey.
Even among each other, these ferocious animals frequently engage in deadly conflict. Thus, Richard Schomburgk once saw a prodigiously50 large Cayman seize one of a smaller species (Champsa vallifrons) by the middle of the body, so that the head and tail projected on both sides of its muzzle52. Now both of them disappeared under the surface, so that only the agitated53 waters of the otherwise calm river announced the death-struggle going on beneath; and then again the monsters reappeared, wildly beating the surface; so that it was hardly possible to distinguish here a tail, or there a monstrous head, in the seething54 whirlpool. At length, however, the tumult55 subsided56, and the large Cayman was seen leisurely57 swimming to a sand-bank, where he immediately began to feed upon his prey.
The same traveller relates an interesting example of the Cayman’s tenacity of life. One of them having been wounded with a strong harpoon58, was dragged upon a sand-bank. Here the rays of the sun seemed to infuse new life into the monster, for, awakening from his death-like torpidity, he suddenly snapped about him with such rage that Schomburgk and his assistants thought it prudent59 to retreat to a safer distance. Seizing a long and mighty60 pole, the bravest of the Indians now went towards the Cayman, who awaited the attack with wide-extended jaws, and plunged the stake deep into his maw—a morsel61 which the brute62 did not seem to relish63. Meanwhile two other Indians approached him from behind, and kept striking him with thick clubs upon the extremity64 of the tail. At every blow upon this sensitive part, the monster bounded in the air and extended his frightful24 jaws, which were each time immediately regaled with a fresh thrust of the pole. After a long and furious battle, the Cayman, who measured twelve feet in length, was at last slain65. Another remarkable66 instance of the vitality67 of the common crocodile is mentioned336 by Sir E. Tennent. A gentleman at Galle having caught on a baited hook an unusually large one, it was disembowelled by his coolies, the aperture68 in the stomach being left expanded by a stick placed across it. On returning, in the afternoon, with a view to secure the head, they found that the creature had crawled for some distance, and made its escape into the water.
We all know the intense hatred69 which sailors bear to the shark, and with what savage70 delight they drag one on board, and hack71 him to pieces with their knives before life is extinct; but the American Indian is a no less inveterate72 enemy of the Cayman, and, when occasion offers, lets him feel the full extent of his inventive cruelty. Among the Javanese, on the contrary, we find the crocodile considered as a sacred animal, on account of his clearing the rivers and lagunes of putrefying substances; and the friendship even seems to be reciprocal, as Bennett saw Javanese convicts busy working up to their middle in water, quite near the monsters.
Like the sea-turtles, the crocodiles generally deposit their eggs, which are about the size of those of a goose, and covered with a calcareous shell, in holes made in the sand, leaving them to be hatched by the warm rays of the tropical sun. In some parts of America, however, they have been observed to resort to a more ingenious method, denoting a degree of provident73 instinct which could hardly have been expected in a cold-blooded reptile. Raising a small hillock on the banks of the river, and hollowing it out in the middle, they collect a quantity of leaves and other vegetable matters, in which they deposit their eggs. These are covered with the leaves, and are hatched by the heat extricated74 during their putrefaction75, along with that of the atmosphere.
Callous76 to every other generous sentiment, the female Cayman continues for some time after their birth to watch over her young with great care. One day, as Richard Schomburgk, accompanied by an Indian, was busy fishing on the banks of the Essequibo, he suddenly heard in the water a strange noise, resembling the mewing of young cats. With eager curiosity he climbed along the trunk of a tree overhanging the river, about three feet above the water, and saw beneath him a brood of young alligators, about a foot and a half long. On his seizing and lifting one of them out of the water, the mother, a337 creature of prodigious51 size, suddenly emerged with an appalling77 roar, making desperate efforts to reach her wriggling78 and screeching79 offspring, and increasing in rage every time Schomburgk tantalised her by holding it out to her. Having been wounded with an arrow, she retired80 for a few moments, and then again returned with redoubled fury, lashing the waters into foam81 by the repeated strokes of her tail. Schomburgk now cautiously retreated, as in case of a fall into the water below, he would have had but little reason to expect a friendly reception, the monster pertinaciously82 following him to the bank, but not deeming it advisable to land, as here it seemed to feel its helplessness. The scales of the captured young one were quite soft and pliable83, as it was only a few days old, but it already had the peculiar musk-like smell which characterises the full-grown reptile.
The sight of the first crocodile he meets with, lying on a flat sand-bank of the Nile, is a great event in the traveller’s life in Egypt. With all the eagerness of curiosity he first seizes his telescope to have a look at the monster, and then his gun, to drive, if possible, a bullet through its harnessed skin. But long before the enemy approaches, the wary84 reptile creeps slowly into the river, and plunging85 into the water, mocks all further pursuit. If the sportsman wishes to become better acquainted with the leviathan, he must wander farther to the South. The thousands of crocodile mummies piled up in the pits of Monfaloot, prove that in ancient times the dreaded86 reptile must have been common in the land of the Pharaohs; at present this can only be affirmed of the Sudan, where one may reckon with certainty upon finding a crocodile upon every sand-bank of the two Niles. The favourite resorts of the crocodile are quiet places in the rivers, where it can bask undisturbed in the sun; the cataracts87 it seems are not to its taste. It is no lover of change, for old men affirm that since their childhood they have seen the same crocodile invariably make its appearance upon the same island, nor is there reason to doubt their word, as the reptile attains88 an extreme old age. A life of a hundred years is exceptional with man, with the crocodile it is probably but a part of its existence. At its birth the animal issues from an egg not bigger than that of a goose; it grows very slowly like all amphibia, and yet reaches the enormous length of twenty338 feet. When bursting its shell it is scarce nine inches long; after a year it attains the double, sometimes the triple length, and then grows slower. On comparing the full-grown with the new-born crocodile, one can hardly conceive how this neat little creature can ever expand to such a size.
In spite of its unwieldy appearance, the crocodile is by no means awkward in its movements. The web uniting the four toes of its hind feet, and its long oar-like tail, enable it to catch fish without difficulty, but also on land it is far from being slow. According to Brehm, an excellent observer, it moves in every direction with the greatest ease, and is able to turn in a circle, the diameter of which is about equal to its length—so that running backwards89 and forwards, so warmly recommended by the inventors of fables90, as the best means to escape the reptile, would hardly be of use. Fortunately, the crocodile on land never gives occasion to show the fallacy of this method, as it invariably runs away at the approach of man. During his journeys in Fassokl, Dr. Penney disturbed a crocodile which had hidden itself in a heap of dried leaves. The animal fled at the approach of the riders, and ran bellowing92 in a direct line to the river, which was several miles distant. It was impossible to come up to it with the swiftest dromedaries.
The chief food of the gigantic reptile consists of fishes, but nothing living, which it can reach and master, comes amiss to its voracity93. Land animals it generally surprises while drinking. Slowly it approaches, swimming under the surface of the water; then suddenly darts94 its head forward, seizes its prey, drags it into the water, and leisurely devours it, though as some believe not before the carcass is in a certain state of putrefaction. Its human victims are generally those whom it seizes while wading95 into the river to fetch water. The dogs in the neighbourhood of the Nile hate and fear the crocodile. While a dog born in the interior of the country will approach the stream without any signs of shyness, the others are extremely cautious, drink quickly, having all the time an attentive96 eye upon the water. Their hatred shows itself in their rage at sight of a great lizard.
But the natives also testify on every occasion their but too well-founded fear of the harnessed monster, for in all Sudan there is not a village on the banks of the two rivers which has339 not to deplore97 the loss of more than one of its inhabitants from the insidious attack of the crocodile.
According to the natives, the hideous reptile possesses a true friend in a small bird (Hyas Ægyptiacus), called by the Arabs Rhafihr-el-Timsach, or the ‘crocodile’s guardian98’—a not inappropriate name, though the bird performs the part of a guardian not from any friendly feeling but accidentally. It lives on the islands and flat banks of the Nile and its tributaries99, and being extremely swift has no reason to fear the crocodile. It runs without the least hesitation100 over the back of the sleeping monster, feeds on the leeches101 and water-insects that may have settled there, and seems to consider it as harmless as a log of wood. Its habit of uttering a piercing cry at the sight of man betrays his approach to the crocodile, who generally awakes and creeps into the water.
The young of the crocodiles have no less numerous enemies than those of the snakes. Many an egg is destroyed in the hot sand by small carnivora, or birds, before it can be hatched; and as soon as the young creep out of the broken shell, and instinctively102 move to the waters, the herons, cranes and other long-legged wading birds gobble up many of them, so that their span of life is short indeed. In the water they are not only the prey of various sharp-toothed fishes, but even of the males of their own species, while the females do all they can to protect them. Even man not only kills the crocodile in self-defence, or for the sake of sport, but for the purpose of regaling upon its flesh. In the Siamese markets, crocodiles, large and small, may be seen hanging in the butchers’ stalls; and Captain Stokes,30 who more than once supped off alligators’ steaks, informs us that the meat is by no means bad.
According to one of those zoological fables which by frequent repetition usurp103 the authority of facts, the Ichneumon or Pharaoh’s Rat, a small animal closely resembling the weasel tribe, is supposed to be the most dangerous enemy of the full grown crocodile. It is said to creep into the maw of the unwieldy reptile when asleep, to penetrate104 into its stomach, to tear its heart, and then with its sharp teeth to cut its way out of the dead Leviathan’s body. In plain truth the Ichneumon340 is a far more dangerous enemy to rats, mice, lizards105, snakes and little birds, than to the huge crocodile, and instead of being esteemed106 for his imaginary service as he is supposed to have been by the ancient Egyptians, is detested107 by the fellah as the active plunderer108 of his pigeon cots and hen roosts. A similar fable91 relates that in the rivers of America, a tortoise of the genus Cinyxis, after having been swallowed by the alligator, and thanks to its shelly case arriving unharmed in its stomach, eats its way out again with its sharp beak109, thus putting the monster to an excruciating death.
I have already mentioned, in the chapter on the Llanos, that in many tropical countries the aridity110 of the dry season produces a similar torpidity in reptile life to that which is caused by the cold of winter in the higher latitudes111. In Ceylon, when the tanks become exhausted112, the marsh-crocodiles are sometimes encountered wandering in search of water in the jungle; but generally, during the extreme drought, they bury themselves in the sand, where they remain in a state of torpor113, till released by the recurrence114 of the rains. Sir Emerson Tennent, whilst riding across the parched115 bed of a tank, was shown the recess116, still bearing the form and impress of the crocodile, out of which the animal had been seen to emerge the day before. A story was also related to him of an officer who, having pitched his tent in a similar position, had been disturbed during the night by feeling a movement of the earth below his bed, from which, on the following day, a crocodile emerged, making its appearance from beneath the matting.
Like the rattlesnake, crocodiles seem to possess the power of fascinating their prey, or rather of completely depriving their victims of all presence of mind, by the terror which they inspire. In Sumatra, Marsden once saw a large crocodile in a river, looking up to an overhanging tree, on which a number of small monkeys were sitting. The poor creatures were so beside themselves for fright, that instead of escaping to the land, which they might easily have done, they hurried towards the extremities117 of the branches, and at length fell into the water, where the dreadful monster was awaiting them.
Crocodiles sometimes indulge in strange wanderings. Chamisso mentions one having been drifted to Eap, one of the Carolines, where it was killed after having devoured118 a woman;341 and about thirty years ago, the inhabitants of one of the Feejee Islands were equally astonished and alarmed at seeing a large crocodile emerge from the lagune, and lazily creep on shore. At first they took it for some marine119 deity120; but it soon proved that its visit was not of a beneficent nature, as it seized and devoured nine of them at various intervals121. After many unavailing attempts to destroy the monster, it was at length caught with a sling122 passed over the bough123 of a large tree, the other end of the rope being held at a distance by fourteen men who lay concealed, while one of the party offered himself as a bait to entice124 the reptile to run into the snare125. Captain Fitzroy (‘Voyage of the Beagle’), who relates the fact, supposes that the animal must have been drifted all the way from the East Indies—a voyage which, in fact, is not more surprising than to see a turtle land upon the shores of the North Sea, or a sperm126 whale flounder about in the Thames.
Like many other of the lower animals, the crocodile, when surprised, endeavours to save himself by feigning127 death. Sir Emerson Tennent relates an amusing anecdote128 of one that was found sleeping several hundred yards from the water. ‘The terror of the poor wretch129 was extreme when he awoke and found himself discovered and completely surrounded. He was a hideous creature, and evidently of prodigious strength, had he been in a condition to exert it; but consternation130 completely paralysed him. He started to his feet, and turned round in a circle, hissing131 and clacking his bony jaws, with his ugly green eye intently fixed132 upon us. On being struck, he lay perfectly133 quiet and apparently134 dead. Presently he looked round cunningly, and made a rush towards the water; but on a second blow he lay again motionless. We tried to rouse him, but without effect; pulled his tail, slapped his back, struck his hard scales, and teased him in every way, but all in vain: nothing would induce him to move, till, accidentally, my son, a boy of twelve years old, tickled135 him gently under the arm, and in an instant he drew it close to his side, and turned to avoid a repetition of the experiment. Again he was touched under the other arm, and the same emotion was exhibited, the great monster twisting about like an infant to avoid being tickled.’
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1
alligators
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| n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 ) | |
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alligator
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| n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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torpidity
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| n.麻痹 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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basked
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| v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的过去式和过去分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽 | |
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bask
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| vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于 | |
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adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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cerebral
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| adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的 | |
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garnished
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| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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elongated
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| v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lizard
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| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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frightfulness
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| 可怕； 丑恶； 讨厌； 恐怖政策 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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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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infest
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| v.大批出没于；侵扰；寄生于 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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aquatic
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| adj.水生的，水栖的 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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slake
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| v.解渴，使平息 | |
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insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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devours
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| 吞没( devour的第三人称单数 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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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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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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48
reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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49
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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50
prodigiously
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| adv.异常地，惊人地，巨大地 | |
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51
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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52
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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53
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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54
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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55
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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56
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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57
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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58
harpoon
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| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
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59
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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60
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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61
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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62
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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63
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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64
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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65
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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66
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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67
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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68
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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69
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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70
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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71
hack
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| n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳 | |
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72
inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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73
provident
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| adj.为将来做准备的，有先见之明的 | |
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74
extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
putrefaction
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| n.腐坏，腐败 | |
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76
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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77
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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78
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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79
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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80
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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81
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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82
pertinaciously
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| adv.坚持地；固执地；坚决地；执拗地 | |
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83
pliable
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| adj.易受影响的；易弯的；柔顺的，易驾驭的 | |
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84
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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85
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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86
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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87
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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88
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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89
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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90
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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91
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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92
bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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93
voracity
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| n.贪食，贪婪 | |
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94
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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95
wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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96
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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97
deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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98
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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99
tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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100
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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101
leeches
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| n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生 | |
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102
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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103
usurp
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| vt.篡夺，霸占；vi.篡位 | |
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104
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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105
lizards
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| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
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106
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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107
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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108
plunderer
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| 掠夺者 | |
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109
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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110
aridity
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| n.干旱，乏味；干燥性；荒芜 | |
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111
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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112
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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113
torpor
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| n.迟钝；麻木；（动物的）冬眠 | |
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114
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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115
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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116
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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117
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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118
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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119
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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120
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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121
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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122
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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123
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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124
entice
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| v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿 | |
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125
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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126
sperm
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| n.精子，精液 | |
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127
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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128
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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129
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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130
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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131
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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132
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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133
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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134
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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135
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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