DOMESTIC AND OTHER BRAWLS1
Tom, who holds himself well in reserve, stood once before an armed and angry white man, defiant2, unflinching, bold.
As I have had the privilege of listening in confidence to both sides of the story, and as the main facts are minutely corroborative3, I judge Tom’s recitation of them to be quite reliable.
He was “mate” at the time of a small cutter, the master of which could teach him very little in practical seamanship. The captain was rather hasty and excitable. Tom never hurries, fusses, or falters4, be the weather never so boisterous5 afloat or the domestic tribulations6 never so wild ashore7. When Nelly, his third wife, tore her hair out by the roots in double handfuls and danced upon it, Tom calmly observed, “That fella make fool belonga himself!” But when she rushed at him, clawing blindly, he promptly8 and without the least consideration for her sex, silenced her for the time being with a stone. The sudden peace after Nelly’s squeals9 and yells of temper was quite a shock; and when she woke her loving-kindnesses to Tom were quite engaging. Tom will ever be master in his own humpy.
To tell of that other incident that caused Tom to look wicked and so bellicose11. The captain of the cutter lost half a crown. His excitement began to simmer at once. A hasty general search was made without result, every nook and corner of the boat and all the captain’s garments and the belongings12 of Tom and the other blacks being ransacked13. The money declined to be found, and the captain, like David of old, refused to be comforted, and further following the fashion of the psalmist, said in his haste all blacks are thieves. Tom put on the stern, sulky, sullen14 aspect that so becomes him, and when he was individually challenged with the theft, disdainfully told his master, “Me no take your money! You lost em yourself!”
This calm, plain statement of fact so angered the boss that, calling Tom a cowardly thief, he yelled, “You take my money! I shoot you!”
It is placing rather a paltry15 valuation even on the life of a black fellow to threaten to shoot him for the sake of half a crown; but the death penalty has been exacted for far less, according to the boastful statements of self-glorifying white men. The boss was raging. He groped in the locker16 for his revolver, while Tom took a side glance at a tomahawk lying on the thwart17.
Presenting the revolver, the boss yelled, “You rogue18, Tom! You steal my money! I shoot you!” Tom changed his sulky demeanour for the pose and look that a camera has preserved, saying, “My word! you shoot one time, straight. Subpose you no shoot one time straight, look out.”
The shot was never fired.
I asked Tom what he would have done suppose the revolver had been fired and he not killed.
“My word! Subpose that fella he no kill me one time, I finish him one time quick alonga tomahawk!”
In the course of the day the half-crown was found under the stern sheets, where the boss had been sitting.
To coolly face death under such circumstances is surely evidence of rare mental repose19.
Once Tom had a jovial20 misunderstanding with his half-brother Willie, who cut a neat wedge out of the rim21 of Tom’s ear with a razor. He had intended, of course, to gash22 Tom’s throat, but Tom was on the alert. In revenge and defence Tom merely sat upon Willie, who is a frail23, thin fellow, but the sitting down was literal and so deliberate and long-continued that Willie was all crumpled24 up and out of shape for a week after. Indeed, the “crick” in his back was chronic25 for a much longer period. Tom was half ashamed of this encounter, and while glorying in the scar with which Willie had decorated him, excused his own conduct in these terms:
“Willie fight alonga razor. He bin26 make mark alonga my ear. My word! Me savage27 then. B’mbi sit down alonga Willie. Willie close up finish. Me bin forget about that fella altogether. When Willie wake up he walk about all asame old man l-o-n-g time!”
With whatsoever28 missile or weapon is at hand Tom is marvellously expert. As we rested in the dim jungle after a long and much entangled30 walk, a shake — a poor, thin thing, about four feet long, wriggled31 up a bank ten or twelve yards off, just ahead of a pursuing dog. On the instant Tom picked up a flake32 of slate33 and threw it with such precision and force that the snake became two — the tail end squirmed back, to be seized and shaken by the dog, and the other disappeared with gory34 flourish under a root.
Most of Tom’s feats35 of marksmanship, though performed with what white men would despise as arms of precision, end seriously. Yet on one occasion the result was broadly farcical. He has a son, known to our little world as Jimmy, who, like his father, is given to occasional sulks, a luxury that even a black boy may become bloated on. Tom does not tolerate that frame of mind in others. The attentions of “divinest melancholy” he likes to monopolise for himself, and when Jimmy becomes pensive36 without just cause, Tom’s mood swerves37 to paternal38 and active indignation — which is very painful to Jimmy.
Jimmy, in the very rapture39 of sulkiness, refused to express pleasure or gratitude40 upon the presentation of a “hand” of ripe bananas. Tom’s wrath41 at his son’s mute obstinacy42 reached the explosive climax43 just as he had peeled a luscious44 banana. He sacrificed it, and Jimmy appeared the next instant with a moustache and dripping beard of squashed fruit as an adornment45 to his astonished face. Then he opened his mouth to pour forth46 his soul in an agonising bleat47. Tom got in a second shot with the banana skin. With a report like unto that which one makes by bursting an air-distended paper bag, the missile plastered Jimmy’s cavernous mouth, smothered48 his squeal10, and sat him down so suddenly that Tom thought his “wind” had stopped for ever. Kneeling beside the boy, he set about kneading his stomach, while Jimmy gasped49 and glared, making horrible grimaces50, as he struggled for breath. Nelly, nervous Nelly, concluding that Tom was determined51 to thump52 the life out of Jimmy, assailed53 him with her bananas and vocal54 efforts of exquisite55 shrillness56. Just as matters were becoming seriously complicated, Jimmy rolled away, scrambled57 to his feet, and fled, yelling, to the camp, firm in the belief that his doting58 father had made an attempt on his young life.
THE LOGIC59 OF THE CAMP
Poor half-caste Jimmy Yaeki Muggie, a pleasant-voiced lad, who always wore in his face the slur60 of conscious shame of birth, died apparently61 from heart failure, an after-effect of rheumatic fever. Tom and Nelly mourned deeply and wrathfully. Smarting under the rod of fate, they sought with indignant mien62 counsel upon the cause of death.
Jimmy was a young fellow. Why should a young man, who had been lusty until a couple of months ago, die? Somebody must have killed him by covert63 means. In the first outburst of grief they blamed me. Tom declared, with passion in his eyes, that I had killed Jimmy by making him drunk. The charge was not absolutely groundless, for when the yellow-faced fellow was chilly64 with a collapse65, I had administered reviving sips66 of whisky-and-water.
Yes, Tom declared in an angry mood, and with the air of one who washed his hands of the whole sad business, the doses of whisky had killed Jimmy. As Tom indulged to the fulness of his heart in the luxury of his woe67, he began to reflect further, and to change his opinion.
He mentioned incidentally that whisky was “good.” “Before you gib em that boy whisky, he close up dead-finish. B’mby he more better.”
Then he began vehemently68 to protest against the malign69 influence of some “no good” boy on the mainland, and Nelly, eager to satisfy her own cravings for some definite cause for the ending of the life of a strong boy, supported Tom’s vague theories quite enthusiastically. To each distinct natural phenomenon blacks assign a real presence. Even toothache, to which he is subject, Tom ascribes to a malignant71 fiend, so he asks for a pin which, without a wince72, he forces into the decaying bicuspid. His theory is that the little “debil-debil” molesting73 it will abandon the tooth to attack furiously the obtrusive74 pin. The affliction upon the camp had certainly been wrought75 by some boy who had been angry with Jimmy. The how and the why and wherefore of such malignant influence mattered not.
There was the dead boy rolled in his blanket, with a petrified76 smile on his thin lips. Obviously death was due to some illicit77 control of the laws of Nature. No one but a black boy could so grossly intercept78 the course of ordinary events as to produce death. Such, at least, was the logic of the camp.
Reflecting still deeper, and always with Nelly’s unswerving corroboration79, Tom began to urge that Jimmy had been poisoned.
“Yes,” said Nelly, quite cheerfully, “some boy bin poison em. What’s the matter that boy want poison Jimmy? Jimmy good fella!”
“Who poison that boy?” I asked.
“Some fella alonga mainland..He no good that fella!”
“He bin sick long time. Poison kill em one time quick!”
Tom dissented81. “Some boy make em poison slow. I know that kind.”
Then he explained. “Some time ‘nother fella tchausey belonga Jimmy. He wan80 make Jimmy shout. Jimmy no wan shout for that boy. They have little bit row.”
“That boy wouldn’t poison Jimmy because he no shout,” I reasoned. Everybody liked Jimmy.”
“Yes,” said Tom. “Sometime he might have row.”
With an air of mystery, Tom continued: “When that boy have row, he get bone belonga dead man, scrape that bone alonga old bottle. When get little heap all asame sugar, put into tea. Jimmy drink tea. B’mby get sick — die long time. Bad poison that.”
Nelly’s grief, which had been shrilly82 expressed at intervals83, became subdued84 as she listened to Tom’s theories. To her mind the whole mystery had been settled. There need be no further anxiety, and only formal expressions of grief.
During the rest of the evening the wailing85 was purely86 official. Tom’s wit had so circumstantially accounted for the event, that it ceased to be solemn.
The next day they dug a hole five feet deep in the clean sand at the back of the humpy, and there Jimmy was laid to rest with the whole of his personal property, the most substantial of which consisted of an enamel87 billy, plate, and mug. The Chinese matting on which he had slept was used to envelop88 the body, and the sand was compressed in the grave.
But Tom and his family had gone. He said — and the deep furrows89 of grief were in his face: “Carn help it. Must go away one month. I bin think about that boy too much.”
TOM’S PHILOSOPHY
Tom had been so long intimately associated with cynical90 white people that several of the more fantastic customs of his race are by him contemned91. Accordingly I was somewhat surprised to discover, after a few weeks of rainless weather, during which the shady pool at the mouth of the creek92 whence the supplies for his camp are drawn93 had decreased in depth, that he had been slyly practising the arts of the rain-maker.
As a matter of fact Tom was not in need of water, but, calculating fellow that he is, he foresaw the probability of having to carry it in buckets from the creek for the house, and to obviate94 such drudgery95 he shrewdly exercised his wit. A thoughtful, designing person is Tom — ever ready to accept the inevitable96, with unruffled aboriginal97 calm, and just as willing — and as competent, too — to assist weary Nature by any of the little arts which he, by close observation of her moods, has acquired, or the knowledge which has been handed down from generation to generation. As it was the season of thunderstorms, he craftily98 so timed his designs that their consummation was not in direct opposition99 to meteorological conditions, but rather in consistency100 with them. Captain Cook found the ENDEAVOUR in a very tight corner on one occasion, out of which he wriggled, and in recording101 the circumstance wrote: “We owed our safety to the interposition of Providence102, a good look-out, and the very brisk manner in which the ship was manned.” In a similar spirit Tom’s art was exemplified. He watched the weather, while he coaxed103 the rain.
Some rain-makers tie a few leaves of the “wee-ree” (CALOPHYLLUM INOPHYLUM) into a loose bundle, which is gently lowered into the diminishing pool, in which he then bathes; but all are presupposed to observe the clouds, so that the chances of the non-professional being able to blaspheme because of non-success are remote. Tom slightly varied104 the customary process, though he accepted no risk of failure. Cutting out a piece of fresh bark from a “wee-ree”-tree, he shaped it roughly to a point at each end, and having anchored it by a short length of home-made string to a root on the bank, allowed it to sink in the water.
A few yards away, towards the centre of the pool, he made a graceful105 arch of one of the canes106 of the jungle (FLAGELLARIA INDICA) by forcing each end firmly into the mud, and from the middle hung an empty bottle. The paraphernalia107 was completed on the Saturday, when the weather was obviously working up to a climax, but I was not made aware of Tom’s plans, and as one of the tanks was empty, on the following Monday, with his assistance, I cleaned it out, remarking to him with cheerful irony108:
“Now we get plenty rain. Every time we clean out this little fella tank rain comes. You look out! Cloud come up now! We no want carry water from creek.”
That night a thunderstorm occurred, during which half an inch of rain fell, to the overflowing109 of the tank.
In the morning Tom smilingly told of his skill as a rain-maker, while admitting that the cleaning out of the little tank had also a certain influence in the right direction. It was, a pleasant, gentle rain, too, nothing of the violent and hasty character such as Tom had designed, but again he had a plausible110 explanation.
“Subpose I bin put that mil-gar in water deep, too much rain altogether. We no want too much rain now. After Christmas plenty.” Tom asserts that the deeper the pool in which the “mil-gar” is submerged the heavier and more continuous the downpour; but as heavy rain is not liked, only vindictive111 boys who have some spite to work off indulge in such wanton interference with the ordinary course of the wet season.
The submerged bark which attracts the rain Tom calls “mil-gar,” and the suspended bottle (a saucer-shaped piece of bark is generally used) serves to catch PAL-BI (hailstones), which, being, uncommon112, are considered weird113 and are eaten in a dare-devil sort of spirit. In this case PAL-BI had but the remotest chance of getting into the bottle, and for that reason (according: to Tom) none tried. “Subpose I bin put bark all asame plate — look out plenty!”
Many natural phenomena114 are associated in the folklore115 of the blacks with untoward116 events. The rainbow (AM-AN-EE) is not regarded by them as a covenant117 that the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh, but as an evil omen70, a cause of sorrow, for to whomsoever shall bathe in the sea when the bow is seen in the cloud evil is certain to befall.
Unprotesting Nelly is assured of this by her own sad experience. In tones of deep conviction, which permit of no manner of doubt, she tells me that AM-AN-EE caused the death of her infant —“brother belonga Jimmy.” She had bogied at Toorgey-Toorgey, when to her dismay the harbinger of disaster appeared to spring out from the sea. In a week the child was born-dead.
Both father and mother have the tenderest thoughts of that breathless image in bronze. I saw it. Its features were refined, the nose sharp and symmetrical, and the mouth a perfect Cupid’s bow. Its expectant repose thrilled me, for it was the realisation of that which Dickens said of little Nell —“a creature waiting for the breath of life.”
No marvel29 they mourned, that Nelly cut her arms with splinters of glass, that she still regards the lovely rainbow with resentment118 tempered by fear.
Tom does not respond to cross-examination. He thinks his own thoughts and says but little. When he is communicative his veracity119 is the less to be trusted. Many a time have I sought his opinions on the serious import of life — to find that he has none. His thoughts are concentrated on things which affect the immediate120 moment. Since he is mentally incapable121 of denying himself the most trivial recreations upon which his wishes have dwelt, restraint is succeeded by despairing, uncontrollable moroseness122 pathetic in its genuineness. How could such a temperament123 reflect upon the future? He is no doctrinaire124; he does not credit existence after death —“When you dead, you finish!”
“But,” I suggested, “plenty of your country men think about another place when you die — finish.”
“Yes, some boy he say when you dead you go long another place. L-o-n-g way. More better place, plenty tucker, no work, sit-down, play about all day. When you come alonga that place father, mother, brother, sit-down — no more can die!”
Then I put a customary question: “Yes, what all go alonga that place like when you die? You father old man when he die. He old man now alonga that good place? Little Jinny young when she die. That fella young along that place? That piccaninny belonga Nelly — piccaninny alonga that place?”
“Yes, all asame when you die you along that place.”
“Good boy and bad boy-rogue, all go one place?
“Yes. Rogue he got one heaby spear right through. Go in here (indicating the middle of his chest), come out alonga back. Sore fella. That spear fight em inside. My word! Carn pull em out. He no die. Too much sore fella!”
DEAD— FINISH
Since the foregoing was penned Tom has realised the supreme125 fact of existence. He is dead, and is buried in dry, hot ground away from the moist green country which he knew so well, and was wont126 to love so ardently127.
Although he was “only a black fellow,” yet was he an Australian by the purest lineage and birth — one whose physique was example of the class that tropical Queensland is capable of producing, a man of brains, a student of Nature who had stored his mind with first-hand knowledge unprinted and now unprintable, a hunter of renown128, and in certain respects “a citizen impossible to replace.”
Given protection from the disastrous129 contact with the raw, unclean edge of civilisation130, he and others, his fellows, might have lived for a score of years longer, and in the meantime possibly the public conscience of Australia might have been aroused, and his and their last days made wholesome131, peaceable, and pleasant.
There is something more to be said about Tom in order that the attempt to show what manner of man he was may be as complete as the inexorable regulation of death permits.
Strong and substantially built, so framed that he looked taller than the limit of his inches, broad-chested, big-limbed, coarse-handed, Tom’s figure differed essentially132 from that of the ordinary type, and as his figure so his style and mental capacity. Serene133 in the face of perils134 of the sea, with all of which he is familiar, he was afraid of no man in daylight, though a child might scare him after dark.
Tom was not as other blacks, for he loved sport. It was not all a question of pot-hunting with him. Apart from the all-compelling force of hunger, he was influenced by the passion of the chase. Therefore was he patient, resourceful, determined, shrewd, observant, and alert. His knowledge of the ways of fish and of the most successful methods of alluring135 them to his hook often astonished me. He saw turtle in the sea when quite beyond visual range of the white man. Many a time and oft has he hurled136 his harpoon137 at what to me was nothingness, and the rush of the line has indicated that the aim was true. He would say when fifty yards of line were out the particular part of the body in which the barbed point was sticking. If it had pierced the shell, then he must play with the game cautiously until it was exhausted139 and he could get in another point in better holding locality. If the point had entered the shoulder, or below the carapace140 to the rear, or one of the flippers, he would haul away, knowing that the barb138 would hold until cut out. When restrained from the sea for a few days he became petulant141 and as sulky as a spoilt child, for, in common with others of the race, he was morally incapable of self-denial. Big and strong and manly142 as he was, he became as an infant when circumstances compelled him to forego an anticipated excursion by water, and rather than stay in comfort and safety on dry land would — if he had so set his mind — venture over six miles of stormy sea in a flattie little more commodious143 than a coffin144. He was, on such an occasion, wont to say, “No matter. Subpose boat drowned, I swim along shore, tie em Nelly along a string,” meaning that in case of a capsize he would swim to dry land, towing his dutiful, trustful spouse145.
Although by nature a true lover of the sea, his knowledge of the plant life of the coast was remarkable146. Among his mental accomplishments147 was a specific title for each plant and tree. His almanac was floral. By the flowering of trees and shrubs149 so he noted150 the time of the year, and he knew many stars by name and could tell when such and such a one would be visible. Yet, though I tried to teach him the alphabet, he never got beyond “F,” which he always pronounced “if.” Perhaps his collapse in literature may have been due to persistent151 efforts to teach him the difference between “F” and “if” vocalised. He may have reasoned that so finicking an accomplishment148 was not worth acquiring. In his own tongue he counted thus:—
Yungl One Bli Two Yacka Any number in excess of two — a great many.
But in English he did not lose himself until he had passed sixty — at least, he was wont to boast of being able to comprehend that number.
Tom was a bit of a dandy in his way, fond of loud colours and proud of his manly figure. When the flour-bag began to sprinkle his moustache he plucked out one by one the tell-tale hairs until his upper lip became almost barren, but remorseless Time was never made to pause. Though many a white hair was extirpated152, Tom was as much at fault as most of us who seek for the secret of perpetual youth, or to evade153 the buffets154 of old Father Time.
Opium155 and rum lured156 Tom away during the last four years of his life. He was sadly degenerated157 when I saw him for the last time, and several months after, in a mainland camp, he quarrelled with his half-brother Willie — the same Willie who many years ago in honourable158 encounter cut a liberal nick out of one of Tom’s ears with a razor. Willie probed Tom between the ribs159 with a spear. While he lay helpless and suffering representatives of the police force visited the spot and the sick man was taken by steamer to a hospital, where he passed away — peradventure, in antagonism160 to his own personal belief, to that “good place” fancied by some of his countrymen, where tucker is plentiful161 and opium and rum unprocurable. And unless in that “good place” there are fish to be caught and turtle and dugong, and sting-rays to be harpooned162, and other sport of the salt sea available, and dim jungles through which a man may wander at will, and all unclad, to chop squirming grubs out of decayed wood and rob the rubbish mounds163 of scrub fowls164 of huge white eggs, and forest country where he may rifle “bees’ nests,” Tom will not be quite happy there. He was ever a free man, given to the habit of roaming. If there are bounds to that “good place,” he will discover them, and will peer over the barricades165 longingly166 and very often.
点击收听单词发音
1 brawls | |
吵架,打架( brawl的名词复数 ) | |
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2 defiant | |
adj.无礼的,挑战的 | |
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3 corroborative | |
adj.确证(性)的,确凿的 | |
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4 falters | |
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的第三人称单数 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃 | |
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5 boisterous | |
adj.喧闹的,欢闹的 | |
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6 tribulations | |
n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 );艰难;苦难的缘由;痛苦 | |
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7 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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8 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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9 squeals | |
n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫,用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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10 squeal | |
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音 | |
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11 bellicose | |
adj.好战的;好争吵的 | |
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12 belongings | |
n.私人物品,私人财物 | |
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13 ransacked | |
v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 );抢劫,掠夺 | |
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14 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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15 paltry | |
adj.无价值的,微不足道的 | |
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16 locker | |
n.更衣箱,储物柜,冷藏室,上锁的人 | |
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17 thwart | |
v.阻挠,妨碍,反对;adj.横(断的) | |
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18 rogue | |
n.流氓;v.游手好闲 | |
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19 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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20 jovial | |
adj.快乐的,好交际的 | |
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21 rim | |
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界 | |
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22 gash | |
v.深切,划开;n.(深长的)切(伤)口;裂缝 | |
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23 frail | |
adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 | |
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24 crumpled | |
adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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25 chronic | |
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的,慢性的;极坏的 | |
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26 bin | |
n.箱柜;vt.放入箱内;[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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27 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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28 whatsoever | |
adv.(用于否定句中以加强语气)任何;pron.无论什么 | |
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29 marvel | |
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
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30 entangled | |
adj.卷入的;陷入的;被缠住的;缠在一起的v.使某人(某物/自己)缠绕,纠缠于(某物中),使某人(自己)陷入(困难或复杂的环境中)( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31 wriggled | |
v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等) | |
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32 flake | |
v.使成薄片;雪片般落下;n.薄片 | |
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33 slate | |
n.板岩,石板,石片,石板色,候选人名单;adj.暗蓝灰色的,含板岩的;vt.用石板覆盖,痛打,提名,预订 | |
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34 gory | |
adj.流血的;残酷的 | |
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35 feats | |
功绩,伟业,技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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36 pensive | |
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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37 swerves | |
n.(使)改变方向,改变目的( swerve的名词复数 )v.(使)改变方向,改变目的( swerve的第三人称单数 ) | |
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38 paternal | |
adj.父亲的,像父亲的,父系的,父方的 | |
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39 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
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40 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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41 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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42 obstinacy | |
n.顽固;(病痛等)难治 | |
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43 climax | |
n.顶点;高潮;v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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44 luscious | |
adj.美味的;芬芳的;肉感的,引与性欲的 | |
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45 adornment | |
n.装饰;装饰品 | |
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46 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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47 bleat | |
v.咩咩叫,(讲)废话,哭诉;n.咩咩叫,废话,哭诉 | |
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48 smothered | |
(使)窒息, (使)透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 ); 覆盖; 忍住; 抑制 | |
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49 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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50 grimaces | |
n.(表蔑视、厌恶等)面部扭曲,鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相,做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 ) | |
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51 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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52 thump | |
v.重击,砰然地响;n.重击,重击声 | |
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53 assailed | |
v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 );困扰;质问;毅然应对 | |
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54 vocal | |
adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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55 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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56 shrillness | |
尖锐刺耳 | |
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57 scrambled | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
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58 doting | |
adj.溺爱的,宠爱的 | |
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59 logic | |
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性 | |
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60 slur | |
v.含糊地说;诋毁;连唱;n.诋毁;含糊的发音 | |
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61 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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62 mien | |
n.风采;态度 | |
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63 covert | |
adj.隐藏的;暗地里的 | |
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64 chilly | |
adj.凉快的,寒冷的 | |
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65 collapse | |
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
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66 sips | |
n.小口喝,一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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68 vehemently | |
adv. 热烈地 | |
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69 malign | |
adj.有害的;恶性的;恶意的;v.诽谤,诬蔑 | |
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70 omen | |
n.征兆,预兆;vt.预示 | |
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71 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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72 wince | |
n.畏缩,退避,(因痛苦,苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动;v.畏缩,退缩,退避 | |
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73 molesting | |
v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 );干扰;调戏;猥亵 | |
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74 obtrusive | |
adj.显眼的;冒失的 | |
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75 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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76 petrified | |
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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77 illicit | |
adj.非法的,禁止的,不正当的 | |
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78 intercept | |
vt.拦截,截住,截击 | |
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79 corroboration | |
n.进一步的证实,进一步的证据 | |
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80 wan | |
(wide area network)广域网 | |
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81 dissented | |
不同意,持异议( dissent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82 shrilly | |
尖声的; 光亮的,耀眼的 | |
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83 intervals | |
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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84 subdued | |
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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85 wailing | |
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的现在分词 );沱 | |
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86 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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87 enamel | |
n.珐琅,搪瓷,瓷釉;(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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88 envelop | |
vt.包,封,遮盖;包围 | |
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89 furrows | |
n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 );(脸上的)皱纹v.犁田,开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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90 cynical | |
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的 | |
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91 contemned | |
v.侮辱,蔑视( contemn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92 creek | |
n.小溪,小河,小湾 | |
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93 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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94 obviate | |
v.除去,排除,避免,预防 | |
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95 drudgery | |
n.苦工,重活,单调乏味的工作 | |
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96 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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97 aboriginal | |
adj.(指动植物)土生的,原产地的,土著的 | |
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98 craftily | |
狡猾地,狡诈地 | |
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99 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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100 consistency | |
n.一贯性,前后一致,稳定性;(液体的)浓度 | |
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101 recording | |
n.录音,记录 | |
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102 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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103 coaxed | |
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱 | |
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104 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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105 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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106 canes | |
n.(某些植物,如竹或甘蔗的)茎( cane的名词复数 );(用于制作家具等的)竹竿;竹杖 | |
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107 paraphernalia | |
n.装备;随身用品 | |
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108 irony | |
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 | |
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109 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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110 plausible | |
adj.似真实的,似乎有理的,似乎可信的 | |
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111 vindictive | |
adj.有报仇心的,怀恨的,惩罚的 | |
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112 uncommon | |
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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113 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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114 phenomena | |
n.现象 | |
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115 folklore | |
n.民间信仰,民间传说,民俗 | |
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116 untoward | |
adj.不利的,不幸的,困难重重的 | |
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117 covenant | |
n.盟约,契约;v.订盟约 | |
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118 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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119 veracity | |
n.诚实 | |
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120 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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121 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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122 moroseness | |
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123 temperament | |
n.气质,性格,性情 | |
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124 doctrinaire | |
adj.空论的 | |
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125 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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126 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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127 ardently | |
adv.热心地,热烈地 | |
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128 renown | |
n.声誉,名望 | |
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129 disastrous | |
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的 | |
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130 civilisation | |
n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
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131 wholesome | |
adj.适合;卫生的;有益健康的;显示身心健康的 | |
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132 essentially | |
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上 | |
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133 serene | |
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的 | |
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134 perils | |
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境) | |
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135 alluring | |
adj.吸引人的,迷人的 | |
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136 hurled | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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137 harpoon | |
n.鱼叉;vt.用鱼叉叉,用鱼叉捕获 | |
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138 barb | |
n.(鱼钩等的)倒钩,倒刺 | |
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139 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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140 carapace | |
n.(蟹或龟的)甲壳 | |
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141 petulant | |
adj.性急的,暴躁的 | |
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142 manly | |
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地 | |
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143 commodious | |
adj.宽敞的;使用方便的 | |
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144 coffin | |
n.棺材,灵柩 | |
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145 spouse | |
n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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146 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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147 accomplishments | |
n.造诣;完成( accomplishment的名词复数 );技能;成绩;成就 | |
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148 accomplishment | |
n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
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149 shrubs | |
灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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150 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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151 persistent | |
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 | |
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152 extirpated | |
v.消灭,灭绝( extirpate的过去式和过去分词 );根除 | |
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153 evade | |
vt.逃避,回避;避开,躲避 | |
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154 buffets | |
(火车站的)饮食柜台( buffet的名词复数 ); (火车的)餐车; 自助餐 | |
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155 opium | |
n.鸦片;adj.鸦片的 | |
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156 lured | |
吸引,引诱(lure的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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157 degenerated | |
衰退,堕落,退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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158 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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159 ribs | |
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹 | |
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160 antagonism | |
n.对抗,敌对,对立 | |
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161 plentiful | |
adj.富裕的,丰富的 | |
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162 harpooned | |
v.鱼镖,鱼叉( harpoon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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163 mounds | |
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆 | |
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164 fowls | |
鸟( fowl的名词复数 ); 禽肉; 既不是这; 非驴非马 | |
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165 barricades | |
路障,障碍物( barricade的名词复数 ) | |
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166 longingly | |
adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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