But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions7 were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights9 and dames10 of his court, and with these retired11 to the deep seclusion12 of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince’s own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress13 to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy14 from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance15 to contagion16. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly17 to grieve, or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons18, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the “Red Death”.
It was towards the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.
It was a voluptuous20 scene, that masquerade. But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held. These were seven—an imperial suite21. In many palaces, however, such suites22 form a long and straight vista23, while the folding doors slide back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view of the whole extent is scarcely impeded24. Here the case was very different, as might have been expected from the duke’s love of the bizarre. The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect. To the right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor which pursued the windings25 of the suite. These windows were of stained glass whose colour varied26 in accordance with the prevailing27 hue28 of the decorations of the chamber29 into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity30 was hung, for example in blue—and vividly31 blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple in its ornaments32 and tapestries33, and here the panes34 were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements35. The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange—the fifth with white—the sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was closely shrouded36 in black velvet37 tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the colour of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet—a deep blood colour. Now in no one of the seven apartments was there any lamp or candelabrum, amid the profusion38 of golden ornaments that lay scattered39 to and fro or depended from the roof. There was no light of any kind emanating40 from lamp or candle within the suite of chambers41. But in the corridors that followed the suite, there stood, opposite to each window, a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier of fire, that projected its rays through the tinted42 glass and so glaringly illumined the room. And thus were produced a multitude of gaudy43 and fantastic appearances. But in the western or black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances45 of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all.
It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum46 swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous47 clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen48 lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar49 a note and emphasis that, at each lapse50 of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained51 to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to harken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged19 and sedate52 passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation53. But when the echoes had fully54 ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded55 the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly, and made whispering vows56, each to the other, that the next chiming of the clock should produce in them no similar emotion; and then, after the lapse of sixty minutes, (which embrace three thousand and six hundred seconds of the Time that flies,) there came yet another chiming of the clock, and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before.
But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel57. The tastes of the duke were peculiar. He had a fine eye for colours and effects. He disregarded the decora of mere58 fashion. His plans were bold and fiery59, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre60. There are some who would have thought him mad. His followers61 felt that he was not. It was necessary to hear and see and touch him to be sure that he was not.
He had directed, in great part, the movable embellishments of the seven chambers, upon occasion of this great fête; and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders. Be sure they were grotesque62. There were much glare and glitter and piquancy63 and phantasm—much of what has been since seen in “Hernani”. There were arabesque64 figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious65 fancies such as the madman fashions. There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams. And these—the dreams—writhed in and about taking hue from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem as the echo of their steps. And, anon, there strikes the ebony clock which stands in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock. The dreams are stiff-frozen as they stand. But the echoes of the chime die away—they have endured but an instant—and a light, half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart. And now again the music swells67, and the dreams live, and writhe66 to and fro more merrily than ever, taking hue from the many tinted windows through which stream the rays from the tripods. But to the chamber which lies most westwardly68 of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture; for the night is waning69 away; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-coloured panes; and the blackness of the sable70 drapery appals71; and to him whose foot falls upon the sable carpet, there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled72 peal73 more solemnly emphatic74 than any which reaches their ears who indulged in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments.
But these other apartments were densely75 crowded, and in them beat feverishly76 the heart of life. And the revel went whirlingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock. And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before. But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps, that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations77 of the thoughtful among those who revelled78. And thus too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly79 sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumour80 of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur81, expressive82 of disapprobation and surprise—then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust.
In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade licence of the night was nearly unlimited83; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince’s indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety84 existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed85 the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance44 of a stiffened86 corpse87 that the closest scrutiny88 must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled89 in blood—and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.
When the eyes of the Prince Prospero fell upon this spectral90 image (which, with a slow and solemn movement, as if more fully to sustain its role, stalked to and fro among the waltzers) he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder91 either of terror or distaste; but, in the next, his brow reddened with rage.
“Who dares,”—he demanded hoarsely92 of the courtiers who stood near him—“who dares insult us with this blasphemous93 mockery? Seize him and unmask him—that we may know whom we have to hang, at sunrise, from the battlements!”
It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly, for the prince was a bold and robust94 man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.
It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke95, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker. But from a certain nameless awe96 with which the mad assumptions of the mummer had inspired the whole party, there were found none who put forth97 hand to seize him; so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince’s person; and, while the vast assembly, as if with one impulse, shrank from the centres of the rooms to the walls, he made his way uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured step which had distinguished98 him from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple—through the purple to the green—through the green to the orange—through this again to the white—and even thence to the violet, ere a decided99 movement had been made to arrest him. It was then, however, that the Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary100 cowardice101, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. He bore aloft a drawn102 dagger103, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained104 the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was a sharp cry—and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate105 in death the Prince Prospero. Then, summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng106 of the revellers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect107 and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped108 in unutterable horror at finding the grave cerements and corpse-like mask, which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible109 form.
And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture110 of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion8 over all.
该作者的其它作品
《Old World Romances》
《The Cask of Amontillado一桶白葡萄酒》
《Tales of Natural Beauty》
该作者的其它作品
《Old World Romances》
《The Cask of Amontillado一桶白葡萄酒》
《Tales of Natural Beauty》
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1 devastated | |
v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词);摧毁;毁灭;在感情上(精神上、财务上等)压垮adj.毁坏的;极为震惊的 | |
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2 pestilence | |
n.瘟疫 | |
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3 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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4 profuse | |
adj.很多的,大量的,极其丰富的 | |
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5 scarlet | |
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
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6 seizure | |
n.没收;占有;抵押 | |
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7 dominions | |
统治权( dominion的名词复数 ); 领土; 疆土; 版图 | |
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8 dominion | |
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图 | |
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9 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
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10 dames | |
n.(在英国)夫人(一种封号),夫人(爵士妻子的称号)( dame的名词复数 );女人 | |
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11 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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12 seclusion | |
n.隐遁,隔离 | |
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13 egress | |
n.出去;出口 | |
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14 frenzy | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
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15 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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16 contagion | |
n.(通过接触的疾病)传染;蔓延 | |
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17 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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18 buffoons | |
n.愚蠢的人( buffoon的名词复数 );傻瓜;逗乐小丑;滑稽的人 | |
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19 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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20 voluptuous | |
adj.肉欲的,骄奢淫逸的 | |
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21 suite | |
n.一套(家具);套房;随从人员 | |
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22 suites | |
n.套( suite的名词复数 );一套房间;一套家具;一套公寓 | |
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23 vista | |
n.远景,深景,展望,回想 | |
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24 impeded | |
阻碍,妨碍,阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25 windings | |
(道路、河流等)蜿蜒的,弯曲的( winding的名词复数 ); 缠绕( wind的现在分词 ); 卷绕; 转动(把手) | |
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26 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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27 prevailing | |
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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28 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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29 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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30 extremity | |
n.末端,尽头;尽力;终极;极度 | |
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31 vividly | |
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地 | |
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32 ornaments | |
n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 );点缀;装饰品;首饰v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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33 tapestries | |
n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 );绣帷,织锦v.用挂毯(或绣帷)装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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34 panes | |
窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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35 casements | |
n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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36 shrouded | |
v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 );保密 | |
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37 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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38 profusion | |
n.挥霍;丰富 | |
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39 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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40 emanating | |
v.从…处传出,传出( emanate的现在分词 );产生,表现,显示 | |
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41 chambers | |
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅 | |
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42 tinted | |
adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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43 gaudy | |
adj.华而不实的;俗丽的 | |
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44 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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45 countenances | |
n.面容( countenance的名词复数 );表情;镇静;道义支持 | |
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46 pendulum | |
n.摆,钟摆 | |
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47 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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48 brazen | |
adj.厚脸皮的,无耻的,坚硬的 | |
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49 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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50 lapse | |
n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 | |
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51 constrained | |
adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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52 sedate | |
adj.沉着的,镇静的,安静的 | |
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53 meditation | |
n.熟虑,(尤指宗教的)默想,沉思,(pl.)冥想录 | |
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54 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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55 pervaded | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56 vows | |
誓言( vow的名词复数 ); 郑重宣布,许愿 | |
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57 revel | |
vi.狂欢作乐,陶醉;n.作乐,狂欢 | |
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58 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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59 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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60 lustre | |
n.光亮,光泽;荣誉 | |
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61 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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62 grotesque | |
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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63 piquancy | |
n.辛辣,辣味,痛快 | |
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64 arabesque | |
n.阿拉伯式花饰;adj.阿拉伯式图案的 | |
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65 delirious | |
adj.不省人事的,神智昏迷的 | |
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66 writhe | |
vt.挣扎,痛苦地扭曲;vi.扭曲,翻腾,受苦;n.翻腾,苦恼 | |
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67 swells | |
增强( swell的第三人称单数 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
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68 westwardly | |
向西,自西 | |
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69 waning | |
adj.(月亮)渐亏的,逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 );(月)亏;变小;变暗淡 | |
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70 sable | |
n.黑貂;adj.黑色的 | |
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71 appals | |
v.使惊骇,使充满恐惧( appal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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72 muffled | |
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
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73 peal | |
n.钟声;v.鸣响 | |
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74 emphatic | |
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 | |
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75 densely | |
ad.密集地;浓厚地 | |
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76 feverishly | |
adv. 兴奋地 | |
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77 meditations | |
默想( meditation的名词复数 ); 默念; 沉思; 冥想 | |
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78 revelled | |
v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉 | |
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79 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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80 rumour | |
n.谣言,谣传,传闻 | |
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81 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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82 expressive | |
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的 | |
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83 unlimited | |
adj.无限的,不受控制的,无条件的 | |
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84 propriety | |
n.正当行为;正当;适当 | |
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85 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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86 stiffened | |
加强的 | |
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87 corpse | |
n.尸体,死尸 | |
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88 scrutiny | |
n.详细检查,仔细观察 | |
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89 dabbled | |
v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 );涉足;浅尝;少量投资 | |
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90 spectral | |
adj.幽灵的,鬼魂的 | |
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91 shudder | |
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 | |
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92 hoarsely | |
adv.嘶哑地 | |
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93 blasphemous | |
adj.亵渎神明的,不敬神的 | |
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94 robust | |
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的 | |
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95 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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96 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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97 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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98 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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99 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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100 momentary | |
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的 | |
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101 cowardice | |
n.胆小,怯懦 | |
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102 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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103 dagger | |
n.匕首,短剑,剑号 | |
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104 attained | |
(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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105 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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106 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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107 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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108 gasped | |
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
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109 tangible | |
adj.有形的,可触摸的,确凿的,实际的 | |
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110 posture | |
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势 | |
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