The sexton stood in the porch of Milford meeting-house pulling lustily at the bell-rope. The old people of the village came stooping along the street. Children with bright faces tripped merrily beside their parents or mimicked5 a graver gait in the conscious dignity of their Sunday clothes. Spruce bachelors looked sidelong at the pretty maidens6, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier than on week-days. When the throng8 had mostly streamed into the porch, the sexton began to toll9 the bell, keeping his eye on the Reverend Mr. Hooper’s door. The first glimpse of the clergyman’s figure was the signal for the bell to cease its summons.
“But what has good Parson Hooper got upon his face?” cried the sexton, in astonishment10.
All within hearing immediately turned about and beheld12 the semblance13 of Mr. Hooper pacing slowly his meditative14 way toward the meeting-house. With one accord they started, expressing more wonder than if some strange minister were coming to dust the cushions of Mr. Hooper’s pulpit.
“Are you sure it is our parson?” inquired Goodman Gray of the sexton.
“Of a certainty it is good Mr. Hooper,” replied the sexton. “He was to have exchanged pulpits with Parson Shute of Westbury, but Parson Shute sent to excuse himself yesterday, being to preach a funeral sermon.”
The cause of so much amazement15 may appear sufficiently16 slight. Mr. Hooper, a gentlemanly person of about thirty, though still a bachelor, was dressed with due clerical neatness, as if a careful wife had starched17 his band and brushed the weekly dust from his Sunday’s garb18. There was but one thing remarkable in his appearance. Swathed about his forehead and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil. On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely19 concealed21 his features except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept22 his sight further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things. With this gloomy shade before him good Mr. Hooper walked onward23 at a slow and quiet pace, stooping somewhat and looking on the ground, as is customary with abstracted men, yet nodding kindly24 to those of his parishioners who still waited on the meeting-house steps. But so wonder-struck were they that his greeting hardly met with a return.
“I can’t really feel as if good Mr. Hooper’s face was behind that piece of crape,” said the sexton.
“I don’t like it,” muttered an old woman as she hobbled into the meeting-house. “He has changed himself into something awful only by hiding his face.”
“Our parson has gone mad!” cried Goodman Gray, following him across the threshold.
A rumor25 of some unaccountable phenomenon had preceded Mr. Hooper into the meeting-house and set all the congregation astir. Few could refrain from twisting their heads toward the door; many stood upright and turned directly about; while several little boys clambered upon the seats, and came down again with a terrible racket. There was a general bustle26, a rustling27 of the women’s gowns and shuffling28 of the men’s feet, greatly at variance29 with that hushed repose30 which should attend the entrance of the minister. But Mr. Hooper appeared not to notice the perturbation of his people. He entered with an almost noiseless step, bent31 his head mildly to the pews on each side and bowed as he passed his oldest parishioner, a white-haired great-grandsire, who occupied an arm-chair in the centre of the aisle32. It was strange to observe how slowly this venerable man became conscious of something singular in the appearance of his pastor33. He seemed not fully34 to partake of the prevailing35 wonder till Mr. Hooper had ascended36 the stairs and showed himself in the pulpit, face to face with his congregation except for the black veil. That mysterious emblem37 was never once withdrawn38. It shook with his measured breath as he gave out the psalm40, it threw its obscurity between him and the holy page as he read the Scriptures41, and while he prayed the veil lay heavily on his uplifted countenance42. Did he seek to hide it from the dread43 Being whom he was addressing?
Such was the effect of this simple piece of crape that more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meeting-house. Yet perhaps the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister as his black veil to them.
Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive44 influences rather than to drive them thither45 by the thunders of the word. The sermon which he now delivered was marked by the same characteristics of style and manner as the general series of his pulpit oratory46, but there was something either in the sentiment of the discourse47 itself or in the imagination of the auditors48 which made it greatly the most powerful effort that they had ever heard from their pastor’s lips. It was tinged49 rather more darkly than usual with the gentle gloom of Mr. Hooper’s temperament50. The subject had reference to secret sin and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal20 from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient51 can detect them. A subtle power was breathed into his words. Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them behind his awful veil and discovered their hoarded52 iniquity53 of deed or thought. Many spread their clasped hands on their bosoms55. There was nothing terrible in what Mr. Hooper said — at least, no violence; and yet with every tremor56 of his melancholy57 voice the hearers quaked. An unsought pathos58 came hand in hand with awe59. So sensible were the audience of some unwonted attribute in their minister that they longed for a breath of wind to blow aside the veil, almost believing that a stranger’s visage would be discovered, though the form, gesture and voice were those of Mr. Hooper.
At the close of the services the people hurried out with indecorous confusion, eager to communicate their pent-up amazement, and conscious of lighter61 spirits the moment they lost sight of the black veil. Some gathered in little circles, huddled62 closely together, with their mouths all whispering in the centre; some went homeward alone, wrapped in silent meditation63; some talked loudly and profaned64 the Sabbath-day with ostentatious laughter. A few shook their sagacious heads, intimating that they could penetrate65 the mystery, while one or two affirmed that there was no mystery at all, but only that Mr. Hooper’s eyes were so weakened by the midnight lamp as to require a shade.
After a brief interval66 forth67 came good Mr. Hooper also, in the rear of his flock. Turning his veiled face from one group to another, he paid due reverence68 to the hoary69 heads, saluted70 the aged72" target="_blank">middle-aged71 with kind dignity as their friend and spiritual guide, greeted the young with mingled73 authority and love, and laid his hands on the little children’s heads to bless them. Such was always his custom on the Sabbath-day. Strange and bewildered looks repaid him for his courtesy. None, as on former occasions, aspired74 to the honor of walking by their pastor’s side. Old Squire75 Saunders — doubtless by an accidental lapse76 of memory — neglected to invite Mr. Hooper to his table, where the good clergyman had been wont60 to bless the food almost every Sunday since his settlement. He returned, therefore, to the parsonage, and at the moment of closing the door was observed to look back upon the people, all of whom had their eyes fixed77 upon the minister. A sad smile gleamed faintly from beneath the black veil and flickered78 about his mouth, glimmering80 as he disappeared.
“How strange,” said a lady, “that a simple black veil, such as any woman might wear on her bonnet81, should become such a terrible thing on Mr. Hooper’s face!”
“Something must surely be amiss with Mr. Hooper’s intellects,” observed her husband, the physician of the village. “But the strangest part of the affair is the effect of this vagary82 even on a sober-minded man like myself. The black veil, though it covers only our pastor’s face, throws its influence over his whole person and makes him ghost-like from head to foot. Do you not feel it so?”
“Truly do I,” replied the lady; “and I would not be alone with him for the world. I wonder he is not afraid to be alone with himself.”
“Men sometimes are so,” said her husband.
The afternoon service was attended with similar circumstances. At its conclusion the bell tolled83 for the funeral of a young lady. The relatives and friends were assembled in the house and the more distant acquaintances stood about the door, speaking of the good qualities of the deceased, when their talk was interrupted by the appearance of Mr. Hooper, still covered with his black veil. It was now an appropriate emblem. The clergyman stepped into the room where the corpse84 was laid, and bent over the coffin85 to take a last farewell of his deceased parishioner. As he stooped the veil hung straight down from his forehead, so that, if her eye-lids had not been closed for ever, the dead maiden7 might have seen his face. Could Mr. Hooper be fearful of her glance, that he so hastily caught back the black veil? A person who watched the interview between the dead and living scrupled86 not to affirm that at the instant when the clergyman’s features were disclosed the corpse had slightly shuddered87, rustling the shroud88 and muslin cap, though the countenance retained the composure of death. A superstitious89 old woman was the only witness of this prodigy90.
From the coffin Mr. Hooper passed into the chamber91 of the mourners, and thence to the head of the staircase, to make the funeral prayer. It was a tender and heart-dissolving prayer, full of sorrow, yet so imbued92 with celestial93 hopes that the music of a heavenly harp94 swept by the fingers of the dead seemed faintly to be heard among the saddest accents of the minister. The people trembled, though they but darkly understood him, when he prayed that they and himself, and all of mortal race, might be ready, as he trusted this young maiden had been, for the dreadful hour that should snatch the veil from their faces. The bearers went heavily forth and the mourners followed, saddening all the street, with the dead before them and Mr. Hooper in his black veil behind.
“Why do you look back?” said one in the procession to his partner.
“I had a fancy,” replied she, “that the minister and the maiden’s spirit were walking hand in hand.”
“And so had I at the same moment,” said the other.
That night the handsomest couple in Milford village were to be joined in wedlock95. Though reckoned a melancholy man, Mr. Hooper had a placid96 cheerfulness for such occasions which often excited a sympathetic smile where livelier merriment would have been thrown away. There was no quality of his disposition97 which made him more beloved than this. The company at the wedding awaited his arrival with impatience98, trusting that the strange awe which had gathered over him throughout the day would now be dispelled99. But such was not the result. When Mr. Hooper came, the first thing that their eyes rested on was the same horrible black veil which had added deeper gloom to the funeral and could portend100 nothing but evil to the wedding. Such was its immediate11 effect on the guests that a cloud seemed to have rolled duskily from beneath the black crape and dimmed the light of the candles. The bridal pair stood up before the minister, but the bride’s cold fingers quivered in the tremulous hand of the bridegroom, and her death-like paleness caused a whisper that the maiden who had been buried a few hours before was come from her grave to be married. If ever another wedding were so dismal101, it was that famous one where they tolled the wedding-knell.
After performing the ceremony Mr. Hooper raised a glass of wine to his lips, wishing happiness to the new-married couple in a strain of mild pleasantry that ought to have brightened the features of the guests like a cheerful gleam from the hearth102. At that instant, catching103 a glimpse of his figure in the looking-glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others. His frame shuddered, his lips grew white, he spilt the untasted wine upon the carpet and rushed forth into the darkness, for the Earth too had on her black veil.
The next day the whole village of Milford talked of little else than Parson Hooper’s black veil. That, and the mystery concealed behind it, supplied a topic for discussion between acquaintances meeting in the street and good women gossipping at their open windows. It was the first item of news that the tavernkeeper told to his guests. The children babbled104 of it on their way to school. One imitative little imp4 covered his face with an old black handkerchief, thereby105 so affrighting his playmates that the panic seized himself and he wellnigh lost his wits by his own waggery.
It was remarkable that, of all the busybodies and impertinent people in the parish, not one ventured to put the plain question to Mr. Hooper wherefore he did this thing. Hitherto, whenever there appeared the slightest call for such interference, he had never lacked advisers106 nor shown himself averse107 to be guided by their judgment108. If he erred109 at all, it was by so painful a degree of self-distrust that even the mildest censure110 would lead him to consider an indifferent action as a crime. Yet, though so well acquainted with this amiable111 weakness, no individual among his parishioners chose to make the black veil a subject of friendly remonstrance112. There was a feeling of dread, neither plainly confessed nor carefully concealed, which caused each to shift the responsibility upon another, till at length it was found expedient113 to send a deputation of the church, in order to deal with Mr. Hooper about the mystery before it should grow into a scandal. Never did an embassy so ill discharge its duties. The minister received them with friendly courtesy, but became silent after they were seated, leaving to his visitors the whole burden of introducing their important business. The topic, it might be supposed, was obvious enough. There was the black veil swathed round Mr. Hooper’s forehead and concealing114 every feature above his placid mouth, on which, at times, they could perceive the glimmering of a melancholy smile. But that piece of crape, to their imagination, seemed to hang down before his heart, the symbol of a fearful secret between him and them. Were the veil but cast aside, they might speak freely of it, but not till then. Thus they sat a considerable time, speechless, confused and shrinking uneasily from Mr. Hooper’s eye, which they felt to be fixed upon them with an invisible glance. Finally, the deputies returned abashed115 to their constituents116, pronouncing the matter too weighty to be handled except by a council of the churches, if, indeed, it might not require a General Synod.
But there was one person in the village unappalled by the awe with which the black veil had impressed all besides herself. When the deputies returned without an explanation, or even venturing to demand one, she with the calm energy of her character determined117 to chase away the strange cloud that appeared to be settling round Mr. Hooper every moment more darkly than before. As his plighted118 wife it should be her privilege to know what the black veil concealed. At the minister’s first visit, therefore, she entered upon the subject with a direct simplicity119 which made the task easier both for him and her. After he had seated himself she fixed her eyes steadfastly120 upon the veil, but could discern nothing of the dreadful gloom that had so overawed the multitude; it was but a double fold of crape hanging down from his forehead to his mouth and slightly stirring with his breath.
“No,” said she, aloud, and smiling, “there is nothing terrible in this piece of crape, except that it hides a face which I am always glad to look upon. Come, good sir; let the sun shine from behind the cloud. First lay aside your black veil, then tell me why you put it on.”
Mr. Hooper’s smile glimmered121 faintly.
“There is an hour to come,” said he, “when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crape till then.”
“Your words are a mystery too,” returned the young lady. “Take away the veil from them, at least.”
“Elizabeth, I will,” said he, “so far as my vow123 may suffer me. Know, then, this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude124 and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends. No mortal eye will see it withdrawn. This dismal shade must separate me from the world; even you, Elizabeth, can never come behind it.”
“What grievous affliction hath befallen you,” she earnestly inquired, “that you should thus darken your eyes for ever?”
“If it be a sign of mourning,” replied Mr. Hooper, “I, perhaps, like most other mortals, have sorrows dark enough to be typified by a black veil.”
“But what if the world will not believe that it is the type of an innocent sorrow?” urged Elizabeth. “Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret sin. For the sake of your holy office do away this scandal.”
The color rose into her cheeks as she intimated the nature of the rumors125 that were already abroad in the village. But Mr. Hooper’s mildness did not forsake126 him. He even smiled again — that same sad smile which always appeared like a faint glimmering of light proceeding127 from the obscurity beneath the veil.
“If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough,” he merely replied; “and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” And with this gentle but unconquerable obstinacy128 did he resist all her entreaties129.
At length Elizabeth sat silent. For a few moments she appeared lost in thought, considering, probably, what new methods might be tried to withdraw her lover from so dark a fantasy, which, if it had no other meaning, was perhaps a symptom of mental disease. Though of a firmer character than his own, the tears rolled down her cheeks. But in an instant, as it were, a new feeling took the place of sorrow: her eyes were fixed insensibly on the black veil, when like a sudden twilight130 in the air its terrors fell around her. She arose and stood trembling before him.
“And do you feel it, then, at last?” said he, mournfully.
She made no reply, but covered her eyes with her hand and turned to leave the room. He rushed forward and caught her arm.
“Have patience with me, Elizabeth!” cried he, passionately131. “Do not desert me though this veil must be between us here on earth. Be mine, and hereafter there shall be no veil over my face, no darkness between our souls. It is but a mortal veil; it is not for eternity132. Oh, you know not how lonely I am, and how frightened to be alone behind my black veil! Do not leave me in this miserable133 obscurity for ever.”
“Lift the veil but once and look me in the face,” said she.
“Never! It cannot be!” replied Mr. Hooper.
“Then farewell!” said Elizabeth.
She withdrew her arm from his grasp and slowly departed, pausing at the door to give one long, shuddering134 gaze that seemed almost to penetrate the mystery of the black veil. But even amid his grief Mr. Hooper smiled to think that only a material emblem had separated him from happiness, though the horrors which it shadowed forth must be drawn39 darkly between the fondest of lovers.
From that time no attempts were made to remove Mr. Hooper’s black veil or by a direct appeal to discover the secret which it was supposed to hide. By persons who claimed a superiority to popular prejudice it was reckoned merely an eccentric whim135, such as often mingles136 with the sober actions of men otherwise rational and tinges137 them all with its own semblance of insanity138. But with the multitude good Mr. Hooper was irreparably a bugbear. He could not walk the street with any peace of mind, so conscious was he that the gentle and timid would turn aside to avoid him, and that others would make it a point of hardihood to throw themselves in his way. The impertinence of the latter class compelled him to give up his customary walk at sunset to the burial-ground; for when he leaned pensively139 over the gate, there would always be faces behind the gravestones peeping at his black veil. A fable140 went the rounds that the stare of the dead people drove him thence. It grieved him to the very depth of his kind heart to observe how the children fled from his approach, breaking up their merriest sports while his melancholy figure was yet afar off. Their instinctive141 dread caused him to feel more strongly than aught else that a preternatural horror was interwoven with the threads of the black crape. In truth, his own antipathy142 to the veil was known to be so great that he never willingly passed before a mirror nor stooped to drink at a still fountain lest in its peaceful bosom54 he should be affrighted by himself. This was what gave plausibility143 to the whispers that Mr. Hooper’s conscience tortured him for some great crime too horrible to be entirely concealed or otherwise than so obscurely intimated. Thus from beneath the black veil there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity144 of sin or sorrow, which enveloped145 the poor minister, so that love or sympathy could never reach him. It was said that ghost and fiend consorted146 with him there. With self-shudderings and outward terrors he walked continually in its shadow, groping darkly within his own soul or gazing through a medium that saddened the whole world. Even the lawless wind, it was believed, respected his dreadful secret and never blew aside the veil. But still good Mr. Hooper sadly smiled at the pale visages of the worldly throng as he passed by.
Among all its bad influences, the black veil had the one desirable effect of making its wearer a very efficient clergyman. By the aid of his mysterious emblem — for there was no other apparent cause — he became a man of awful power over souls that were in agony for sin. His converts always regarded him with a dread peculiar147 to themselves, affirming, though but figuratively, that before he brought them to celestial light they had been with him behind the black veil. Its gloom, indeed, enabled him to sympathize with all dark affections. Dying sinners cried aloud for Mr. Hooper and would not yield their breath till he appeared, though ever, as he stooped to whisper consolation148, they shuddered at the veiled face so near their own. Such were the terrors of the black veil even when Death had bared his visage. Strangers came long distances to attend service at his church with the mere122 idle purpose of gazing at his figure because it was forbidden them to behold149 his face. But many were made to quake ere they departed. Once, during Governor Belcher’s administration, Mr. Hooper was appointed to preach the election sermon. Covered with his black veil, he stood before the chief magistrate150, the council and the representatives, and wrought151 so deep an impression that the legislative152 measures of that year were characterized by all the gloom and piety153 of our earliest ancestral sway.
In this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable154 in outward act, yet shrouded155 in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved and dimly feared; a man apart from men, shunned156 in their health and joy, but ever summoned to their aid in mortal anguish157. As years wore on, shedding their snows above his sable158 veil, he acquired a name throughout the New England churches, and they called him Father Hooper. Nearly all his parishioners who were of mature age when he was settled had been borne away by many a funeral: he had one congregation in the church and a more crowded one in the churchyard; and, having wrought so late into the evening and done his work so well, it was now good Father Hooper’s turn to rest.
Several persons were visible by the shaded candlelight in the death-chamber of the old clergyman. Natural connections he had none. But there was the decorously grave though unmoved physician, seeking only to mitigate159 the last pangs160 of the patient whom he could not save. There were the deacons and other eminently161 pious162 members of his church. There, also, was the Reverend Mr. Clark of Westbury, a young and zealous163 divine who had ridden in haste to pray by the bedside of the expiring minister. There was the nurse — no hired handmaiden of Death, but one whose calm affection had endured thus long in secrecy164, in solitude, amid the chill of age, and would not perish even at the dying-hour. Who but Elizabeth! And there lay the hoary head of good Father Hooper upon the death-pillow with the black veil still swathed about his brow and reaching down over his face, so that each more difficult gasp165 of his faint breath caused it to stir. All through life that piece of crape had hung between him and the world; it had separated him from cheerful brotherhood166 and woman’s love and kept him in that saddest of all prisons his own heart; and still it lay upon his face, as if to deepen the gloom of his darksome chamber and shade him from the sunshine of eternity.
For some time previous his mind had been confused, wavering doubtfully between the past and the present, and hovering167 forward, as it were, at intervals168, into the indistinctness of the world to come. There had been feverish169 turns which tossed him from side to side and wore away what little strength he had. But in his most convulsive struggles and in the wildest vagaries170 of his intellect, when no other thought retained its sober influence, he still showed an awful solicitude171 lest the black veil should slip aside. Even if his bewildered soul could have forgotten, there was a faithful woman at his pillow who with averted172 eyes would have covered that aged face which she had last beheld in the comeliness173 of manhood.
At length the death-stricken old man lay quietly in the torpor174 of mental and bodily exhaustion175, with an imperceptible pulse and breath that grew fainter and fainter except when a long, deep and irregular inspiration seemed to prelude176 the flight of his spirit.
The minister of Westbury approached the bedside.
“Venerable Father Hooper,” said he, “the moment of your release is at hand. Are you ready for the lifting of the veil that shuts in time from eternity?”
Father Hooper at first replied merely by a feeble motion of his head; then — apprehensive177, perhaps, that his meaning might be doubtful — he exerted himself to speak.
“Yea,” said he, in faint accents; “my soul hath a patient weariness until that veil be lifted.”
“And is it fitting,” resumed the Reverend Mr. Clark, “that a man so given to prayer, of such a blameless example, holy in deed and thought, so far as mortal judgment may pronounce, — is it fitting that a father in the Church should leave a shadow on his memory that may seem to blacken a life so pure? I pray you, my venerable brother, let not this thing be! Suffer us to be gladdened by your triumphant178 aspect as you go to your reward. Before the veil of eternity be lifted let me cast aside this black veil from your face;” and, thus speaking, the Reverend Mr. Clark bent forward to reveal the mystery of so many years.
But, exerting a sudden energy that made all the beholders stand aghast, Father Hooper snatched both his hands from beneath the bedclothes and pressed them strongly on the black veil, resolute179 to struggle if the minister of Westbury would contend with a dying man.
“Never!” cried the veiled clergyman. “On earth, never!”
“Dark old man,” exclaimed the affrighted minister, “with what horrible crime upon your soul are you now passing to the judgment?”
Father Hooper’s breath heaved: it rattled180 in his throat; but, with a mighty181 effort grasping forward with his hands, he caught hold of life and held it back till he should speak. He even raised himself in bed, and there he sat shivering with the arms of Death around him, while the black veil hung down, awful at that last moment in the gathered terrors of a lifetime. And yet the faint, sad smile so often there now seemed to glimmer79 from its obscurity and linger on Father Hooper’s lips.
“Why do you tremble at me alone?” cried he, turning his veiled face round the circle of pale spectators. “Tremble also at each other. Have men avoided me and women shown no pity and children screamed and fled only for my black veil? What but the mystery which it obscurely typifies has made this piece of crape so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend, the lover to his best-beloved; when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely182 treasuring up the secret of his sin, — then deem me a monster for the symbol beneath which I have lived and die. I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a black veil!”
While his auditors shrank from one another in mutual183 affright, Father Hooper fell back upon his pillow, a veiled corpse with a faint smile lingering on the lips. Still veiled, they laid him in his coffin, and a veiled corpse they bore him to the grave. The grass of many years has sprung up and withered184 on that grave, the burial-stone is moss-grown, and good Mr. Hooper’s face is dust; but awful is still the thought that it mouldered185 beneath the black veil.
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1
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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imp
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| n.顽童 | |
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mimicked
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| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的过去式和过去分词 )；酷似 | |
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maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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starched
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| adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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22
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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23
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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24
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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25
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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26
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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27
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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28
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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29
variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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30
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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31
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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32
aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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33
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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34
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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35
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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36
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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38
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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39
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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40
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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41
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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42
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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43
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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44
persuasive
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| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
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45
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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46
oratory
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| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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47
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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48
auditors
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| n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生 | |
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49
tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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51
omniscient
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| adj.无所不知的；博识的 | |
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52
hoarded
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| v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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54
bosom
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|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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55
bosoms
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|
| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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56
tremor
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|
| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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57
melancholy
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|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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58
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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59
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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60
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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61
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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62
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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63
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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64
profaned
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| v.不敬( profane的过去式和过去分词 )；亵渎，玷污 | |
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65
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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66
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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67
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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68
reverence
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|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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69
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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70
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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71
middle-aged
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|
| adj.中年的 | |
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72
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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73
mingled
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|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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74
aspired
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|
| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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76
lapse
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|
| 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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77
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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78
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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79
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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80
glimmering
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|
| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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81
bonnet
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|
| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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82
vagary
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|
| n.妄想，不可测之事，异想天开 | |
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83
tolled
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| 鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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84
corpse
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|
| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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85
coffin
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|
| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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86
scrupled
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|
| v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
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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88
shroud
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|
| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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89
superstitious
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|
| adj.迷信的 | |
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90
prodigy
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|
| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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91
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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92
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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93
celestial
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|
| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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94
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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95
wedlock
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|
| n.婚姻，已婚状态 | |
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96
placid
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|
| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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97
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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98
impatience
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|
| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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99
dispelled
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|
| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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100
portend
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| v.预兆，预示；给…以警告 | |
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101
dismal
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|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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102
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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103
catching
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|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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104
babbled
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|
| v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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105
thereby
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|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
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106
advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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107
averse
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|
| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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108
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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109
erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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110
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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111
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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112
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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113
expedient
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|
| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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114
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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115
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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116
constituents
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| n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素 | |
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117
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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118
plighted
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| vt.保证，约定（plight的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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119
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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120
steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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121
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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122
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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123
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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124
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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125
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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126
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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127
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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128
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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129
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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130
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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131
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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132
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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133
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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134
shuddering
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|
| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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135
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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136
mingles
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| 混合，混入( mingle的第三人称单数 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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137
tinges
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| n.细微的色彩，一丝痕迹( tinge的名词复数 ) | |
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138
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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139
pensively
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| adv.沉思地，焦虑地 | |
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140
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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141
instinctive
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|
| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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142
antipathy
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|
| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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143
plausibility
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|
| n. 似有道理, 能言善辩 | |
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144
ambiguity
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|
| n.模棱两可；意义不明确 | |
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145
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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146
consorted
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| v.结伴( consort的过去式和过去分词 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
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147
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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148
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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149
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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150
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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151
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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152
legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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153
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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154
irreproachable
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| adj.不可指责的，无过失的 | |
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155
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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156
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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157
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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158
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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159
mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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160
pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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161
eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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162
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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163
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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164
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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165
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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166
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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167
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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168
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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169
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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170
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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171
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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172
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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173
comeliness
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| n. 清秀, 美丽, 合宜 | |
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174
torpor
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| n.迟钝；麻木；（动物的）冬眠 | |
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175
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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176
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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177
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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178
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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179
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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180
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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181
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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182
loathsomely
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| adv.令人讨厌地，可厌地 | |
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183
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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184
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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185
mouldered
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| v.腐朽( moulder的过去式和过去分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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