CHAPTER 15
Leafpaw burst out of the tunnelthat led under the Thunderpath. Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw followed, with Firestar stumbling between them. For a moment, the light was blinding, and Leafpaw screwed up her eyes. Then they adjusted to the cold daylight after the shadows in the tunnel, and she looked around at the ShadowClan cats lying exhausted2 on the narrow strip of grass beside the deserted3 Thunderpath.
Tallpoppy’s kits4 mewled as they huddled6 close to their mother. Littlecloud hurried from one cat to another, helpless without any of his supplies, and Blackstar stood staring at his Clan1 as if he couldn’t believe what was happening to them. His white pelt7 was stained with blood, and his black paws were pricked8 with bark and splinters.
“You should lie down,” Leafpaw urged him. “There are no monsters here.”
“We can’t stay in the open!” Brambleclaw objected.
“We have to rest before we go on,” Leafpaw insisted.
“Yes, but he lost a life when the tree fell,” Leafpaw explained.
“I’m taking my warriors14 home,” Mistyfoot called from where the RiverClan cats had gathered at the edge of the grassy15 space.
“Will you help us get ShadowClan to Sunningrocks first?” Firestar asked.
“Sunningrocks?” Blackstar narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want to take us there?”
“It’s where ThunderClan lives now, and you’ll be safe from Twolegs there,” Firestar meowed. “Cinderpelt has herbs for your injured cats, and there’s room for you all to rest.”
And where else can ShadowClan go?Leafpaw thought grimly. There was hardly a place left in the forest that hadn’t been taken over by Twolegs.
“Okay,” Mistyfoot nodded. “We’ll go with you as far as Sunningrocks. But just because you’ve welcomed ShadowClan onto ThunderClan territory doesn’t mean they’re welcome in ours.”
“We’ll be patrolling the border!” Hawkfrost warned, his eyes cold as ice.
Squirrelpaw glared at him. “How can you worry about borders at a time like this? When will you realize what our journey meant, for allthe Clans16?”
Brambleclaw silenced her with a glance. “ShadowClan will not cross the border,” he promised.
“Of course we won’t,” snapped Blackstar.
Brambleclaw turned to Leafpaw. “How long before we can leave?”
When Leafpaw hesitated, Firestar lifted his head. “I’m growing stronger,” he insisted. “We can go soon.”
“Littlecloud?” she called to the ShadowClan medicine cat. “Can everyone make it to Sunningrocks?”
“I think so, if we travel slowly,” the small tabby tom replied.
Leafpaw looked up at the sky. The sun was a fiery17 ball, sinking toward the treetops. “We should try to get back before it’s dark,” she told Brambleclaw. “Before it’s too cold.”
“Okay,” Brambleclaw mewed. “We’ll rest long enough for everyone to catch their breath, then we’ll move on.”
“Tallpoppy?” Leafpaw matched her pace to the limping ShadowClan queen’s. “Are your kits all right?”
Tallpoppy gazed at her three kits, carried now by warriors, and nodded. “Just scratches,” she murmured.
“We can clean them and treat them with marigold when we get to Sunningrocks,” Leafpaw promised.
Mistyfoot padded close beside Tallstar, pressing against the WindClan leader’s flank whenever he stumbled. Brackenfur carried one of Tallpoppy’s kits, and Tornear followed the ShadowClan apprentices19, nudging them gently forward whenever they slowed their step.
“It’s as if we don’t belong to different Clans anymore,” Leafpaw whispered, catching20 up with Squirrelpaw.
Her sister nodded. “This is what it was like on the journey to the sun-drown-place.”
But as the cats limped onto the sloping surface of Sunningrocks, the old rifts21 returned. ShadowClan climbed to the top of the rock, while RiverClan halted beside the trees. Brackenfur placed the kit5 beside Tallpoppy and rejoined the ThunderClan cats as they padded slowly up the slope. He pressed his golden-brown flank against Sorreltail’s, supporting her as her exhausted paws swayed beneath her. Tallstar lay down close to the base of the rock, too tired to climb any farther. Onewhisker, Tornear, and Crowpaw gathered around him.
“How did it go?” Whitepaw rushed over to Brightheart and pressed her nose into her flank. She drew back quickly. “You’re bleeding!”
“You’re alive!” Cody hurried down from the overhang, with Birchkit stumbling after her. She pressed her muzzle23 against Leafpaw’s.
Ferncloud appeared at the lip of the nursery and stared in bewilderment at the cats crowding onto the rock. “What happened?”
“Everyone’s safe.” Brambleclaw shouldered his way to the front of the patrol. “That’s the main thing.”
“Thank StarClan.” The ThunderClan queen sighed.
Cinderpelt clambered out of her hollow. “Where’s Firestar?”
“I’m here,” Firestar croaked, weaving his way to the front. Leafpaw followed him closely, aware that he was still shaking.
“Firestar lost a life,” she murmured before Cinderpelt could say anything.
“What about the ShadowClan camp?” Frostfur demanded. “Did you save it?”
“We cannot fight the monsters,” Firestar meowed bleakly24. “We could do nothing except help ShadowClan escape before their camp was destroyed.”
“You’ll be safe here for now,” Firestar told the ShadowClan leader.
Blackstar’s eyes glimmered27 with relief for a moment. Then he turned to his medicine cat. “Littlecloud,” he meowed. “Do what you can to help your Clanmates.”
The small tabby tom began to pace quickly around the ShadowClan cats. He leaned down and sniffed28 Tallpoppy, then began to lick her flank. “There are many splinters here,” he mewed, lifting his head.
Cinderpelt looked at the bloodstained pelts30 around her. “Fetch everything we have,” she told Leafpaw. “We just have to hope it will be enough.”
Leafpaw heard pawsteps following her as she hurried to the crevice31 where they stored their medicine supplies. It was Cody.
“There are so many injuries!” The kittypet’s eyes were wide and frightened.
“But we’re all still alive,” Leafpaw pointed32 out, reaching down into the gully with her paw. She pulled out the first bundle of herbs she touched. “Can you take out splinters?”
“I can do more than that,” Cody answered. “Come on, Birchkit!” she called, and they padded toward a group of ShadowClan kits trembling with fear and cold.
“Is this kittypet a medicine cat?” Blackstar growled.
“It’s okay,” Leafpaw called out. “She knows what she’s doing.”
Cody soothed33 each kit with a reassuring34 lick, then encouraged Birchkit to distract them while she searched their fur for cuts and splinters.
Leafpaw pushed her paw back into the crevice. She hoped there were enough berries to make poultices for all the cats who needed one. To her surprise she found the hiding place was better stocked than she had expected. She pulled out as much marigold as she could find and reached back in for the berries.
Cinderpelt appeared behind her and nodded when she saw the pile of herbs growing on the rock. “I went back to the ravine while you were away and brought as much as I could carry,” she explained. She paused and looked at the mass of ShadowClan cats milling fretfully at the top of the slope, their faces bewildered and frightened. “Help ShadowClan first,” she ordered. “There are too many for Littlecloud to manage alone, and I can cope with Tallstar and our own wounded.”
“Will Blackstar mind if I help?” Leafpaw asked. The ShadowClan leader sat with his elders, his eyes fixed35 on Cody as she tackled another kit.
“You persuaded him to let Cody help,” Cinderpelt reminded her.
“But she’s not a ThunderClancat…” Leafpaw mewed.
Cinderpelt gazed at her through narrowed eyes. “Blackstar’s no fool. He knows his cats need our help.”
Leafpaw nodded. Summoning up her courage, she padded toward the ShadowClan cats and called to Littlecloud, “Can I help?”
The look in Littlecloud’s eyes gave away his relief and gratitude36. But before he could reply, Blackstar rounded on Leafpaw, his eyes as hard as the Moonstone. “We can take care of our own cats, thank you.”
“But you’ve already allowed Cody to help, and I have herbs,” she offered, forcing herself to sound calm.
“Littlecloud will manage,” Blackstar insisted.
Leafpaw shuffled37 her paws, torn between her duties as a medicine cat and nervous respect for Blackstar’s wishes. Then Littlecloud mewed loudly, “Blackstar, we need those herbs.”
Blackstar flattened38 his ears, but Littlecloud held his gaze. “With Leafpaw I can help our Clanmates twice as fast.”
“Can I help too?” Mothwing padded across the rock to join them. “Mistyfoot said it would be okay.”
“Thanks, Mothwing,” Leafpaw whispered. She left the bundle of herbs at Mothwing’s paws and hurried back to the crevice to fetch more. Cinderpelt was still there and had begun mixing a salve on a dried oak leaf.
“This is ready to use,” she muttered through a mouthful of half-crushed berries. “Come back when you need more.”
Leafpaw went back and dropped the salve beside Littlecloud, who was examining Runningnose’s pelt. “Rub this in after you’ve pulled out the splinters,” she told him. “It’ll stop any infection.” She gazed around at the ShadowClan cats. “Where would you like me to start?”
“The elders heal slowly, so they should be treated as soon as possible,” Littlecloud advised without looking up.
Leafpaw went over to Boulder41, who was lying beside Runningnose, his eyes glazed42 with shock. She nodded politely at him, and when he did not respond, she leaned down and began to lick his flank. The old cat sighed quietly as she pulled out a splinter with her teeth and rubbed in a tiny drop of salve.
Leafpaw worked on one cat after another till her paws ached with tiredness. As the moon began to brighten in the sky, she glanced up the slope toward her father. “Cody, can you take over here?” she asked. “There are only one or two apprentices left, and I want to see how Firestar is.”
“Of course. You go right ahead.”
Firestar was lying beside Sandstorm, washing dried blood from between his claws. “How are you?” Leafpaw whispered, touching43 her muzzle to his.
“I’m fine,” he purred, his eyes soft and clear.
“Are you sure?” She searched his face. For all her connection with StarClan, she would never know what it felt like to lose a life. “D-did StarClan tell you we should leave the forest now?”
“They told me only to go back and do what I must to protect my Clan,” Firestar told her. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”
Leafpaw heard the RiverClan cats gathering44 on the slope behind her. “We’re returning to our camp,” Mistyfoot announced to Firestar. “But we know that the time has come to make a decision about leaving the forest.”
Leafpaw held her breath. The fate of all four Clans hung like a cobweb, fragile to the gentlest breath of wind.
“I’m sure many of you have noticed that the river is drying up,” Mistyfoot went on.
Onewhisker padded forward. “The Twolegs have changed the course of the water,” he meowed. “Our warriors have seen them digging great holes around the gorge45 to channel the river away.”
Mistyfoot just blinked at him as if the reason for the disappearance46 of the river no longer mattered. “Leopardstar told me that if the ShadowClan camp was destroyed, then we must accept that the Twolegs are coming.” She held Firestar’s gaze steadily47. “RiverClan will leave the forest with the other Clans.”
Leafpaw felt her shoulders sag48 with relief. At last Firestar would have his wish, and all four Clans would leave together.
Firestar hauled himself to his paws, his eyes brightening. “Onewhisker, tell your Clanmates that ThunderClan and RiverClan will travel with them.” He turned his face toward Blackstar. “Will ShadowClan join us?”
Blackstar hesitated, but Firestar was in no mood to wait for an answer.
“You can’t still plan to live among the Twolegs after you have seen what they are capable of?” he hissed49.
Blackstar nodded slowly. “ShadowClan will travel with you,” he meowed. “After all, we have no home and no territory now.”
Firestar lifted his head to address all the cats on the rock. “We will leave at dawn!”
Mews of approval echoed through the air, and Leafpaw felt a tingle50 of excitement. Whatever the journey held—wherever they were going—nothing could be worse than to stay in this place with Twolegs and their monsters closing in on all sides. She glanced at Cody, still busy among the ShadowClan cats. Would there be time to escort her home first? Or had she become such a part of the Clan that she’d go with them?
“Where will we go?” Tornear was the first to ask, but his question echoed around the gathering.
Firestar looked expectantly at Brambleclaw. The tabby warrior13 looked down at his paws. Squirrelpaw, standing51 beside him, pressed her flank against his. Leafpaw tipped her head to one side, puzzled. They looked like a pair of unprepared apprentices who had just been asked the best way to catch water voles
“As you know, Midnight’s sign never came,” Brambleclaw began, dragging the words out as if they stuck in his throat like thorns. “So we don’t know exactly where we should go. But we could head toward the sun-drown-place.”
“If there’s been no sign before we get there, we could find Midnight again and ask her,” Squirrelpaw put in.
“How do we get to this sun-drown-place?” Blackstar called.
“We traveled two different routes—” Brambleclaw broke off and looked uncertainly at Squirrelpaw.
“And you don’t know which one to take?” Firestar suggested
“We…” Brambleclaw faltered52. “We should head for Highstones first,” he meowed at last. “Away from the Twolegs.”
“Very well,” Firestar agreed. “We shall meet at the edge of WindClan’s territory at dawn.”
Mistyfoot and Tallstar nodded.
“Then it’s decided53.” Firestar turned to Blackstar. “It would be easier for us all if ShadowClan would sleep at Sunningrocks tonight,” he meowed, choosing his words carefully. “We could make an earlier start if you were to rest here.”
“As if they’ve got any other place to go!” Sorreltail muttered in Leafpaw’s ear.
“But we will sleep apart from ThunderClan, and a guard will be posted,” Blackstar warned.
“These cats have just saved your Clan!” Mistyfoot exclaimed. “Do you think ThunderClan brought you here only to attack you?”
“Let’s hear whether Leopardstar agrees with your plan to leave the forest before you start making judgments55 on my decisions,” Blackstar retorted.
Leafpaw winced56. She glanced at her sister, but Squirrelpaw was no longer listening. She was staring into the forest, her face filled with anxiety.
Leafpaw padded quietly to her side. “Are you okay?”
“I just hope StarClan sends us a sign soon,” Squirrelpaw mewed.
“I’m sure they will do what they can.”
Squirrelpaw stared earnestly into her eyes. “You’re right. Even without a sign, I know StarClan will be protecting us and guiding us wherever we go.”
Leafpaw blinked. She wished she were that certain. There had been no sign of StarClan when ShadowClan had needed them most. It was only luck—and the other Clans’ courage—that had gotten those cats out alive. More and more, it looked as if StarClan was powerless to help, and the cats would have to rely on one another, nothing else, to survive.
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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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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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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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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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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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croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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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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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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trekked
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| v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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rifts
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| n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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bleakly
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| 无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地 | |
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gasped
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| 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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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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glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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pelts
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| n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走 | |
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crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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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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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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40
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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41
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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42
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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46
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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47
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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48
sag
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| v.下垂，下跌，消沉；n.下垂，下跌，凹陷，[航海]随风漂流 | |
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49
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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50
tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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51
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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52
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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53
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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