The RiverClan warriors3 froze, their blueeyes wide with shock.
“What do you mean?” Stonefur rasped. “Graypool was our mother.”
“No, listen…” Fireheart bundled Bluestar against the rock face and stood in front of her. He could still hear the yowls and spitting of the battle on the other side of the rock, but suddenly it seemed to have nothing to do with the confrontation5 in this gully.
“Bluestar gave birth to you in ThunderClan,” he meowed desperately6. “But she couldn’t keep you. Your father, Oakheart, brought you to RiverClan.”
“I don’t believe you!” Stonefur drew his lips back in a vicious snarl7. “It’s a trick.”
“No, wait,” mewed Mistyfoot. “Fireheart doesn’t lie.”
“How would you know?” her brother demanded. “He’s a ThunderClan cat. Why should we trust him?”
He advanced on Fireheart, claws out, and the ThunderClan warrior2 braced8 himself for the attack, but before Stonefur could spring, Bluestar slipped out from behind him and faced the two RiverClan cats.
“My kits10, oh, my kits…” Bluestar’s voice was warm, and when she turned her head Fireheart saw that her eyes were blazing with admiration11. “You’re such fine warriors now. I’m so proud of you.”
Stonefur glanced at Mistyfoot, uncertainty12 showing in his twitching13 ears.
“Leave Bluestar alone,” Fireheart urged quietly.
A sudden yowling interrupted him. “Fireheart! Watch out!” The voice was Graystripe’s.
Fireheart looked up in time to see Leopardstar plunging14 down the rock toward him. Graystripe’s warning gave him just enough time to scramble15 backward, so that her outstretched claws only raked his shoulder. Spitting, she flung herself at him, driving the breath out of his body as she hurled16 him to the ground.
Fireheart gripped the RiverClan leader’s neck with his front paws and felt her powerful hind9 paws raking at his belly17. Pain stabbed through him, and he slashed18 out blindly, feeling his claws score through fur. For a few heartbeats all he could see was Leopardstar’s spotted19 pelt20; his face was pressed into it, half smothering21 him, and he struggled to breathe.
Suddenly Leopardstar jerked her head back, and Fireheart lost his hold on her neck. Her stifling22 weight was lifted off him. Scrambling23 to his paws, he backed against the rock, ready for her to spring at him again. His head whirled with exhaustion24, and he could feel blood pulsing out of a wound on his leg. Suddenly he wasn’t sure that this was a battle he could win.
He looked around for Bluestar, but she had disappeared, and so had Mistyfoot and Stonefur. The RiverClan leader crouched25 on the ground in front of him, breathing hard, bleeding from her neck and side. To Fireheart’s astonishment26, Graystripe stood over her, pinning her down with his front paws.
“I had him,” Leopardstar panted, almost incoherent with fury. “I heard you just now. You warnedhim.”
Graystripe released his leader so she could stagger to her paws again. “I’m sorry, Leopardstar, but Fireheart’s my friend.”
Leopardstar shook drops of blood from her golden tabby fur and glared at the gray warrior. “I was right about you all along,” she hissed27. “You were never loyal to RiverClan. All right, you’ve got a choice. Attack your friendfor me now, or leave my Clan1 for good.”
Graystripe stared at her in dismay. Fireheart’s breath caught in his chest. Was Leopardstar going to force him to fight his former Clan mate? He knew that he didn’t have the strength to beat a cat who was still relatively28 fresh—and much more than that, how could he lift a claw against his best friend?
“Well?” snarled29 Leopardstar. “What are you waiting for?”
Graystripe glanced at Fireheart, his amber30 eyes filled with anguish31. Then he bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Leopardstar. I can’t do it. Punish me if you want.”
“Punish you?” Leopardstar’s face was contorted in fury. “I’ll claw your eyes out; I’ll set you loose in the forest for the foxes to track down. Traitor32! I’ll—”
A chorus of yowling drowned her threats. Fireheart looked up, almost despairing at the thought of more enemies to fight. He could hardly believe what he saw. A wave of ThunderClan cats was streaming over the rock and down into the gully. He spotted Mousefur, Darkstripe, Sandstorm, and Dustpelt, and Swiftpaw leading the other apprentices33. His message had gotten through, and help had come at last!
Leopardstar took one look and fled. The ThunderClan warriors gave chase at once with furious yowls. Fireheart and Graystripe were left looking at each other.
“Thank you,” Fireheart mewed after a few moments.
Graystripe shrugged35 and padded over to him. He was limping slightly, and his fur was torn and thick with dust. “There was no choice,” he whispered. “I couldn’t hurt you, could I?”
Fireheart drew himself up. As his head cleared, he realized that the sounds of battle were fading and a heavy silence was gathering36 over Sunningrocks, filled with the reek37 of blood. “Come on. I’ve got to see what’s happening.”
He turned and padded along the gully, aware that Graystripe was following close behind. Coming to the open ground beyond the rocks, he saw the RiverClan warriors retreating down the slope that led to the river. At the head of the patrol, Blackclaw launched himself into the river and began swimming toward the opposite bank.
Brackenfur and Sandstorm stood nearby, and more ThunderClan cats crouched on top of Sunningrocks, watching their enemies depart. Cloudpaw raised his head and let out a yowl of pure triumph.
Bluestar padded after the retreating cats as far as the RiverClan border, her ears pricked38 with determination. Fireheart saw with a twinge of distress39 that she was following Mistyfoot and Stonefur. “Now that you know the truth, we must talk,” she called after them. “You will be welcome in the ThunderClan camp. I will tell my warriors to bring you to my den4 whenever you want to see me.”
But both warriors turned away from her and stalked down to the edge of the water. Stonefur glanced back before he waded40 out into the river. “Leave us alone,” he growled41. “You’re no mother of ours, whatever you say.”
Leopardstar was the last cat to retreat across the border. “Look there!” she snapped at her warriors, flicking42 her tail toward Graystripe, who was standing43 beside Fireheart. “If it weren’t for that traitor, Sunningrocks would be ours again. He’s no longer a member of RiverClan. If you catch him on our territory, kill him.”
Without waiting for any response, she spun44 around and limped rapidly toward the river.
Graystripe said nothing. He stood as motionless as the rocks behind him, with his head hanging.
Sandstorm padded across to Fireheart. “What happened?” she asked. She was bleeding from a scratch on her shoulder, but her eyes were clear and questioning.
Fireheart longed to go back to camp and curl up in the warriors’ den to share tongues with her, but he knew he had too much to do. “Graystripe saved my life,” he explained. “He pulled Leopardstar off me.”
“So that’s why he can’t go back.” The pale ginger45 she-cat turned her head to watch the last of the RiverClan cats plunging into the river. Then she looked back at Graystripe, her eyes huge with concern. “What is he going to do, then?” she murmured.
Sudden joy stabbed through Fireheart. Whatever Graystripe felt for his kits, if he could not go back to RiverClan, he could come home. Then the joy faded and anxiety twisted Fireheart’s belly. That decision wasn’t his to make. Would Bluestar now allow the gray warrior to come back to the Clan he had left? And how would the other warriors react?
Looking around for his leader, Fireheart saw her padding wearily up the slope, and went to meet her. “Bluestar…”
She raised her head, and he saw that her eyes were puzzled. “They hate me, Fireheart.”
Sorrow flooded over Fireheart. With his own worries about Graystripe, he had almost forgotten what his leader must be suffering. “I’m sorry, Bluestar,” he murmured. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have told them. But I couldn’t think of what else to do.”
“That’s all right, Fireheart.” To his amazement46 Bluestar reached out and gave his shoulder a swift lick. “I always wanted them to know. But I didn’t think they would hate me for what I did.” She let out a long sigh. “Let’s go back to camp.”
She showed no sense of triumph that ThunderClan had succeeded in defending their claim to Sunningrocks. When she reached the place where her warriors were gathered, she said nothing about the victory, not even to congratulate them for fighting so well. Her mind still seemed fixed47 on her kits.
Fireheart fell in beside his leader as she padded up the slope. “Well done,” he meowed to Cloudpaw as his apprentice34 leaped off the rock and landed neatly48 at his side. “You fought like a warrior. So did all of you,” he added, raising his voice as he glanced around, hoping to make up for their leader’s indifference49. “Bluestar and I are both proud of you.”
“Thank StarClan we managed to beat RiverClan off,” mewed Brackenfur.
“No, thank us,”Cloudpaw put in. “Wedid all the fighting. I didn’t notice any StarClan warriors on our side.”
Bluestar turned her head at that and fixed an intent gaze on the white apprentice, her eyes narrowed. Fireheart expected her to rebuke50 him, but her expression showed interest rather than anger. She gave a little nod but said nothing.
As the warriors began to move off toward their camp, Fireheart went to stand beside Graystripe. “Bluestar,” he mewed nervously51, “Graystripe’s here.”
Bluestar’s gaze flickered52 vaguely53 over the gray warrior. For a moment Fireheart was afraid that her mind was drifting again, and she wouldn’t even remember that Graystripe had ever left ThunderClan.
Then Darkstripe shouldered his way forward. “Get off our territory!” he spat54 at Graystripe, adding to Bluestar, “I’ll drive him off, if you want.”
“Wait,” Bluestar ordered with a touch of her old authority. “Fireheart, explain what’s going on.”
He told her how Graystripe had warned him about Leopardstar’s attack and pulled her away when Fireheart was losing their fight. “He brought me to help you when Mistyfoot and Stonefur were attacking you,” he explained. “And I owe him my life. Bluestar, please let him come back into ThunderClan.”
Graystripe looked at his former leader with a glimmer55 of hope in his amber eyes. But before Bluestar could reply, Darkstripe broke in roughly. “He left ThunderClan of his own free will. Why should we let him come crawling back now?”
“I’m not crawling to you or any cat,” Graystripe retorted. He turned to face the gray she-cat again. “But I’d like to come back, if you’ll have me, Bluestar.”
“You can’t take back a traitor!” Darkstripe spat. “He just betrayed his leader—how do you know he won’t betray you the first chance he gets?”
“He did it for Fireheart!” Sandstorm protested.
Darkstripe snorted contemptuously.
Bluestar fixed a cold look on him. “If Graystripe is a traitor,” she meowed, with all the ice of leaf-bare in her voice, “then he’s just the same as the rest of you. The Clan is full of traitors56, so one more won’t make any difference.” She whirled on Fireheart, power and strength seeming to flow back into her body. “You should have let Mistyfoot and Stonefur kill me!” she spat. “Better a quick death at the claws of noble warriors than a life dragged out in a Clan I can’t trust—a Clan doomed57 to destruction by StarClan!”
There were gasps58 from the other cats as she spoke59, and Fireheart realized that few of the Clan had any idea how distrustful and despairing Bluestar had become. He knew there was no point in trying to argue with her now. “Does that mean Graystripe can stay?” he asked.
“Stay or go, whatever he likes,” Bluestar responded indifferently. Her flash of strength ebbed60, leaving her looking more exhausted61 than ever. Slowly, not meeting the troubled gazes of any of her warriors, she padded away in the direction of the camp.
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1
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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confrontation
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| n.对抗，对峙，冲突 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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8
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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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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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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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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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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smothering
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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reek
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| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
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38
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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39
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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42
flicking
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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43
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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45
ginger
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| n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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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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48
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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49
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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50
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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51
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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52
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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54
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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56
traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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59
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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60
ebbed
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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