“There is a party, I suppose?” he said, hesitating.
“No more than usual, my lord,” said the elegant functionary17 in black, who was about to announce him, with a bland18 and soft smile of superiority and a little pity like his master’s for the man who knew no better, “Two or three gentlemen have dropped in to lunch.”
The drawing-room was a large room, with a huge round bow-window giving upon the loch. It was furnished and decorated in the most approved manner, with quantities of pretty things of every costly19 description: for Katie, like her father, betrayed the constitution and temperament20 of wealth, by loving cost almost more than beauty. She was, however, too well instructed to be led into the mistake of making that luxurious21 modern room into the semblance22 of anything ancient or faded, while Mr. Williamson was too fond of everything bright and fresh to be persuaded even by fashion into such an anachronism. There was a faint suspicion in the mirrors and gilding23 and all the conveniences and luxuries, of the style of grandeur24 peculiar25 to the saloon of a splendid steamer, to which the steam-yacht, which was the chief object in the immediate26 prospect27 as seen from the plate-glass window, gave additional likelihood. Walter for his part was strangely startled, when, out of the seriousness of his own lonely thoughts, and the sense of having arrived at a great crisis, he suddenly stepped into the flutter and talk of this large assembly, which was composed of some half-dozen neighbours on the loch, most of them young men in more or less attendance upon Katie, mingled28 with strangers of all classes whom Mr. Williamson had picked up here and there. There was a little pause in the hum of voices at his own name, and a slight stir of interest, various of the guests turning round to look as he came in. The master of the house advanced with a large hand held out, and an effusive29 welcome; but the little lady of Birkenbraes paid Walter the much greater compliment of pursuing her conversation undisturbed, without betraying by a movement that she knew he was there. Katie was not rude. It was not her habit to pay so little attention to a new-comer: she was profoundly conscious of his entrance, and of every step he made among the groups distributed about; but as the matter was a little serious, and his appearance of some importance, she showed a slight stir of mind and thoughts, which could scarcely be called agitation30, in this way. It was only when her father called loudly, “Katie, Katie, do you not see Lord Erradeen?” that she turned, not moving from her place, and suddenly held out her hand with a smile.
“How do you do? I heard you had come,” said Katie; and then returned to her talk. “As for the influence of scenery upon the mind of the common people, I think it has more influence in the Highlands than anywhere, but very little when all is said. You don’t think much of what you see every day, unless, indeed, you think everything of it. You must be totally indifferent, or an enthusiast,” said the philosophical32 young lady.
Walter meanwhile stood before her, almost awkwardly, feeling the rigidity33 upon his countenance34 of a somewhat unmeaning smile.
“And to which class does Miss Williamson belong?” said her companion, who was a virtuous35 young member of parliament, anxious to study national peculiarities36 wherever he might happen to be.
“To neither,” said Katie, with a slight coldness, just enough to mark that she did not consider herself as one of the “common people.” And she turned to Walter with equally marked meaning, “Have you seen the Forresters since you came, Lord Erradeen?”
“I have seen no one,” said Walter, slightly startled by the question. “I came only last night, and am here to-day by your father’s invitation——”
“I know,” said Katie, with greater cordiality. “You speak as if I wanted you to account for yourself. Oh, no! only one must begin the conversation somehow—unless I plunged you at once into my discussion with Mr. Braithwaite (Mr. Braithwaite, Lord Erradeen) about the characteristics of the inhabitants of a mountain country. Do you feel up to it?” she added, with a laugh.
“But you avoid the question,” said the member of parliament. “You say, ‘neither.’ Now, if it is interesting to know what effect these natural phenomena37 have upon the common mind, it is still more interesting when it is a highly cultivated intelligence which is in question.”
“Help me out!” cried Katie, with a glance at Walter. “I have never been educated—no woman is, you know. How are we to know what the highly cultured feel! Papa is not cultured at all—he does not pretend to it, which is why people approve of him; and as for me!” she spread out her hands like a sort of exclamation38. “And Lord Erradeen cannot give you any information either,” she added, demurely39, “for he has not known the loch very long—and I think he does not like it. No, but you shall see one who can really be of some use this afternoon. Don’t you think she is the very person, Lord Erradeen? Oona—for she has lived on the loch, or rather in the loch, all her life.”
“And when shall I see this—nymph is she, or water goddess?” said the genial40 member. “That will indeed be to gather knowledge at the fountain-head.”
“Do you think we may say she is a nymph, Lord Erradeen? Oh yes—what do you call those classical ladies that take care of the water—Naiads? Oona is something of that sort. But better than the classics, for she has water above and water below for a great part of the year. You don’t know how many superstitions41 we have remaining in this wild part of the country. We have ghosts, and wandering Jews, and mysterious lights: Lord Erradeen will tell you——”
Katie paused with the malice42 bright in her eyes. She did not mean to affront43 the recovered attendant who might turn out a suitor, and upon whom it was possible she might be induced to smile; so she paused with a little laugh, and allowed Braithwaite to break in.
“Do you call this a wild part of the country, Miss Williamson? Then what must the cultivated portions look like? I see nothing but beautiful villas44 and palaces, and all the luxuries of art.”
“The comforts of the Saut Market,” said Katie with a shrug45 of her shoulders. “It is more easy to carry them about with you than in Bailie Nicol Jarvie’s time. But there is luncheon46! Papa is always formal about our going in, though I tell him that is out of date nowadays. So you must wait, if you please, Lord Erradeen, and take me.” There was then a pause, until, as they brought up the rear of the procession down-stairs, Katie said, with the slightest pressure on his arm to call his attention, “That is a Member of Parliament in search of information and statistics. If you hear me talk more nonsense than usual you will know why.”
“Do you expect Miss Forrester this afternoon?” asked Walter quite irrelevant47.
Katie’s heart gave a little jump. She did not like to be beat. It was the healthful instinct of emulation48, not any tremor49 of the affections. She gave him a keen glance half of anger, half of enjoyment50, for she loved a fray51.
“Better than that,” she cried gaily52, “we are going down the loch to see her. Don’t you remember Mrs. Forrester’s scones53, Lord Erradeen! You are ungrateful, for I know you have eaten them. But you shall come, too.”
If this had been said on the stairs, Walter, probably, would have given a dignified54 answer to the effect that his engagements would scarcely permit—but they were by this time in the dining-room in the little flutter of taking places which always attends the sitting down of a party, an operation which Katie, with little rapid indications of her pleasure, simplified at once; and Walter found himself seated by her side and engaged in conversation by the enterprising Braithwaite at his other hand before he could utter any remonstrance55. Mr. Braithwaite set it down in his journal that Lord Erradeen was a dull young fellow, petted by the women because he was a lord, no other reason being apparent—and wondered a little at the bad taste of Miss Williamson who ought to have known better. As for Katie, she exerted herself to smooth down Walter’s slightly ruffled56 plumes57. There was no use, she thought, in handing him over at once to Oona by thus wounding his amour propre. She inquired into his travels. She asked where he had disappeared when they all left town.
“I expected we should find you at Auchnasheen for the 12th,” she said. “You are the only man I know who is philosopher enough not to care for the grouse58. One is driven to believe about that time of the year that men can think of nothing else.”
“Perhaps, Katie,” said young Tom of Ellermore, “if you were to speak to Lord Erradeen, whom we don’t know as yet, as we have never had the chance of calling” (here the young men exchanged bows, accompanied by a murmur from Katie, “Mr. Tom Campbell, Ellermore,” while the colour rose in young Tom’s cheek), “perhaps he would be charitable to us others that are not philosophers.”
“Have ye not enough grouse of your own, Tom Campbell?” cried Mr. Williamson, who, in a pause of the conversation, had heard this address. “Man! if I were you I would think shame to look a bird in the face.”
“And why?” cried the young fellow; “that was what they were made for. Do you think otherwise that they would be allowed to breed like that, and eat up everything that grows?”
“Heather,” said the head of the house, “and bracken. Profitable crops, my word!”
Here Walter interrupted the discussion by a polite speech to young Tom, whose eyes blazed with pleasure and excitement at the offer made him.
“But I hope,” he said, “you will join us yourself. It will be like stealing a pleasure to have such an enjoyment, and the master of it not there.”
“I have other work in hand,” Walter said; at which young Tom stared and coloured still more, and a slight movement showed itself along the table, which Mr. Braithwaite, the knowledge-seeker, being newly arrived, did not understand. Tom cried hastily, “I beg your pardon,” and many eyes were turned with sudden interest upon Lord Erradeen. But this was what Walter had anticipated as little as the parliamentary inquirer. He grew so red that Tom Campbell’s healthy blush was thrown into the shade. “I ought rather to say,” he added hastily, “that my time here is too short for amusement.”
There was an uneasy little pause, and then everybody burst into talk. Both the silence and the conversation were significant. Lord Erradeen turned to Katie with an instinctive59 desire for sympathy, but Katie was occupied, or pretended to be so, with her luncheon. It was not here that sympathy on that point was to be found.
“I wonder,” said Katie, somewhat coldly, “that you do not remain longer when you are here. Auchnasheen is very nice, and you ought to know your neighbours, don’t you think, Lord Erradeen? If it is merely business, or duty, that brings you——”
“I wish I knew which it was,” he said in a low tone.
Katie turned and looked at him with those eyes of common-sense in which there is always a certain cynicism.
“I did not think in this century,” she said, “that it was possible for any man not to know why he was doing a thing; but you perhaps like to think that an old family has rules of its own, and ought to keep up the past.”
“I should think,” said Mr. Braithwaite, not discouraged by the lower tone of this conversation, “that the past must have a very strong hold upon any one who can suppose himself a Highland31 chieftain.”
“A Highland chief!” cried Katie, opening her brown eyes wide: and then she laughed, which was a thing strangely offensive to Walter, though he could scarcely have told why.
“I fear,” he said coldly, “that though I am to some extent a Highland laird, I have no pretension60 to be a chief. There is no clan61 Methven that I ever heard of: though indeed I am myself almost a stranger and of no authority.”
“Mrs. Forrester will tell you, Mr. Braithwaite,” said Katie. “She is a sort of queen of the loch. She is one of the old Macnabs who once were sovereign here. These people,” she said, waving her hand towards the various scions62 of the great clan Campbell, “are mushrooms in comparison: which is a comfort to our feelings, seeing that we sink into insignificance63 as creatures of to-day before them. The very original people for highly consolatory64 to the upstarts, for we are just much the same as the middling-old people to them. They are worlds above us all.”
Here Tom of Ellermore leant over his immediate neighbours and reminded Katie that the days were short in October, and that it was a stiff row to the isle65: and the conversation terminated in the hurried retirement66 of the ladies, and selection of rugs and wrappers to make them comfortable. Mr. Williamson had, as he said, “more sense,” than to set out upon any such ridiculous expedition. He stood and watched the preparations, with his thumbs stuck into the arm-holes of his waistcoat.
“Ye had much better take the yacht,” he said. “She could get up steam in half an hour, and take you there in ten minutes, and there is plenty of room for ye all, and the cabin in case of rain. But as ye like! A wilful67 man will have his way. If ye would rather work yourselves than have the work done for ye—and a shower in prospect! But it’s your own affair.”
The party, however, preferred the boats, and Katie put her father’s remonstrance aside with a wave of her hand.
“It is all these boys are ever good for,” she said, “and why would you stop them? Besides, it is far nicer than your mechanical steam, and tea on board, and all the rest of it. Lord Erradeen, you are to steer68. If you don’t know the currents I can tell you. Here is your place beside me: and you can tell me what you have been doing all this time, for there were so many interruptions at lunch I got no good of you,” the young lady said.
Thus Walter was swept along in Katie’s train. As he was quite unaware of any understanding between the girls he was of course ignorant that any special significance could attach to his arrival in this manner at the isle. And for his own part he was pleased by the thought of seeing Oona for the first time in an accidental way, without any responsibility, so to speak, of his own. It was a little chilly70 for a water-party, but on the lochs people are prepared for that and it interferes71 with no one’s pleasure. The afternoon was full of sunshine, and every bit of broken bank, and every island and feathery crest72 of fir-trees, was reflected and beautified in the still water, that broke with a ripple73 the fantastic doubling of every substance, but lent a glory to the colour and brilliancy to every outline. The gay party swept along over reflected woods, themselves all brilliant in reflection, and making the loch as gay as a Venetian canal. On the little landing-place at the isle the whole small population was collected to meet them: Mrs. Forrester in her white cap, shivering slightly, and glad to draw round her the fur cloak which Mysie was putting on her shoulders from behind, “for the sun has not the strength it once had,” she explained, “now that we are just getting round the corner of the year:” Hamish always in his red shirt, kneeling on the little wooden landing which he had wheeled out to receive the party, in order to catch the prow74 of the first boat; and Oona, a little apart, standing69 looking out, with a faint thrill of excitement about her, consequent on having just heard the news of Walter’s arrival, but no expectation to make this excitement tangible75. They made a pretty show upon the little beach, reflected, too, in the clear depths below—the bit of ribbon on the mother’s cap, the knot of pale roses on Oona’s breast, culminating in Mysie’s stronger tints76 on one side, and the red of Hamish’s garment on the other.
“What a pretty picture it would make,” Katie said. “‘Hospitality,’ you ought to call it, or ‘Welcome to the isle.’ But there ought to be a gentleman to make it perfect; either an old gentleman to represent Oona’s father, or a young one for her husband. Don’t you think so, Lord Erradeen?”
It was perhaps at this moment when he was listening with a somewhat distracted look, smiling against the grain, and standing up in the boat to steer, that Oona saw him first. It cannot be denied that the shock was great. In her surprise she had almost made a false step on the slippery shingle77, and Mrs. Forrester grasped her dress with an “Oona! you’ll be in the water if you don’t take more care.” Oona recovered herself with a blush, which she would have given anything in the world to banish78 from her countenance. It was so then! This man, who had, all unawares, produced so much effect upon her life and thoughts, was coming back within her little circle of existence in Katie Williamson’s train! She smiled to herself a moment after, holding her head high, and with a sense of ridicule79 pervading80 the being which had been momentarily transfixed by that keen arrow of surprise and pain. She said to herself that the humour of it was more than any one could have believed, but that all was well. Oh, more than well!—for was not this the thing of all others that was good for her, that would put the matter on the easiest footing?
All this flew through her mind like lightning while the boat came close, amid the friendly shouts and greetings of the crew, all of them “neighbours’ sons.” Mr. Braithwaite, the English observer, sat by admiring while these brotherly salutations were gone through. Perhaps he did not note in his diary that the young aborigines called each other by their Christian81 names, but he did make a remark to that effect in his mind. And then there ensued the little tumult82 of disembarking, in the midst of which Oona, holding out her hand, frankly83 greeted Lord Erradeen. “We heard you had come back,” she said, giving him a look of full and confident composure which puzzled Walter. She meant him, and not him only, to perceive the frankness of a reception in which there was not a shade of embarrassment84, no recollection of the strange moment they had spent together, or of the encounter that had taken place upon the isle. When one pair of eyes look into another with that momentary85 demonstration86 it is a proof of some meaning more than meets the eye. And Walter, whose own eyes were full too of a something, subdued87 and concealed88 so far as possible—a deprecating wistful look in which there was pardon sought (though he had consciously done her no wrong; but in doing wrong at all had he not offended Oona as Dante offended Beatrice, although she might never know of what sins he had been guilty?) and homage89 offered—was still more perplexed90 by that open gaze in which there was nothing of the softness of the look with which Oona had watched him going away, and which had so often recurred91 to his mind since. What did it mean? It gave him welcome, but a welcome that felt like the closing of a door. He was far too much occupied with investigating this problem to remark the corresponding look, the slight, almost imperceptible smile, that passed between Oona and Katie as they met. In the midst of all the cheerful din9, the merry voices on the air, the boats run up upon the beach, the cheerful movement towards the house, such fine shades of feeling and dramatic purpose can make themselves apparent to those who are in the secret, but to no other. A merrier party never ascended92 the slope, and that is saying much. Mrs. Forrester led the way in the highest satisfaction.
“Mysie, ye will stand on no ceremony about following,” she said, “but run on before and see that the tea is masked: but not too much, to get that boiled taste. It is perhaps extravagant93, but I like to have just what you may call the first flavour of the tea. And let the scones be just ready to bring ben, for Miss Williamson must not be kept too late on the water at this time of the year. To tell the truth,” she said, turning with her smiles to the member of parliament, a functionary for whom she had a great respect, counting him more important than a young lord, who after all was in the position of a “neighbour’s son”; “to tell the truth, I have just to be inhospitable at this season and push them away with my own hands: for it is always fresh upon the loch, and a score of young creatures with colds, all because I let them stay half an hour too late, would be a dreadful reflection. This will be your first visit to the loch? Oh, I am sure we are delighted to see you, both Oona and me. We are always pleased to meet with strangers that have an appreciation94. Some people would think it was a very lonely life upon the isle; but I assure you if I could give you a list of all the people that come here! It would be rather a good thing to keep a list now that I think of it, you would see some names that would be a pleasure to any one to see. Yes, I think I must just set up a visiting-book, as if we were living in some grand place in London, say Grosvenor Square. What are you saying, Katie, my dear? Oh yes, I have shaken hands with Lord Erradeen. I am very glad to see him back, and I hope he will stay longer and let us see more of him than last year. This is one of our finest views. I always stop here to point it out to strangers,” she added, pausing, for indeed it was her favourite spot to take breath.
And then the group gathered at the turning, and looked out upon Kinloch Houran, lying in shadow, in the dimness of one of those quick-flying clouds which give so much charm to a Highland landscape. The old grey ruin lying upon the dulled surface, steel blue and cold, of the water, which round the island was dancing in sunshine, gave a curious effectiveness to the landscape.
“It is the ghost-castle.” “It is the haunted house,” said one of the visitors, in a whisper, who would have spoken loud enough but for the presence of Walter, who stood and looked, with great gravity, upon his place of trial. When Katie’s voice became audible at his side, advising him in very distinct tones to restore the old place, Walter felt himself shrink and grow red, as if some villany had been suggested to him. He made no reply. He had thought himself of something of the same description in his first acquaintance with Kinloch Houran; but how different his feelings were now!
The reader already knows what were Mrs. Forrester’s teas. The party filled the pleasant drawing-room in which a fire was burning brightly, notwithstanding the sunshine without, and the scones arrived in bountiful quantity, one supply after another; Mysie’s countenance beaming as “a few more” were demanded; while her mistress did nothing but fill out cups of tea and press her young guests to eat.
“Another cup will not hurt you,” she said. “That is just nonsense about nerves. If it was green tea, indeed, and you were indulging in it at night to keep you off your sleep—but in a fine afternoon like this, and after your row. Now just try one of these scones; you have not tasted this kind. It is hot from the griddle, and we all think my cook has a gift. Mysie, tell Margaret that we will have a few more. And, Oona, it is the cream scones that Katie likes: but you must tell Lord Erradeen to try this kind, just to please me.”
Thus the kind lady ran on. It gave her the profoundest pleasure to see her house filled, and to serve her young guests with these simple delicacies95. “Dear me, it is just nothing. I wish it was better worth taking,” she answered to Mr. Braithwaite’s compliments, who made the usual pretty speeches of the English tourist as to Scotch96 hospitality. Mrs. Forrester felt as if these compliments were a half-reproach to her for so simple an entertainment. “You see,” she said, “it is all we can do; for, besides that there is no gentleman in the house, which is against dinner-giving, we are not well situated97 in the isle for evening visits. The nights are cold at this time of the year, and it is not always easy to strike our bit little landing in the dark; so we have to content ourselves with a poor offering to our friends. And I am sure you are very kind to take it so politely. If my boys were at home, I would have it more in my power to show attention; but if you are going further north, I hope you will make your way to Eaglescairn and see my son, who will be delighted to show you the country about him,” Mrs. Forrester said. The English M.P. could not but think that it was his reputation which had travelled before him, and gained him so delightful98 a reception.
As for the rest of the party, they were fully99 entertained by Oona, who was more than usually lively and bright. She said very little to Lord Erradeen, who was by far the most silent of the assembly, but exerted herself for her other guests, with a little flush upon her which was very becoming, and an excitement completely concealed and kept under, which yet acted upon her like a sort of ethereal stimulant100 quickening all her powers. They were so gay that Mrs. Forrester’s anxiety about their return, which indeed she forgot as soon as they were under her roof, was baffled, and it was not till the glow of the sunset was beginning to die out in the west that the visitors began to move. Then there was a hurrying and trooping out, one group following another, to get to the boats. The landscape had changed since they came, and now the upper end of the loch was all cold and chill in the greyness of early twilight101, though the sky behind in the southward was still glowing with colour. Benlui lay in a soft mist having put off his purple and gold, and drawn102 about him the ethereal violet tones of his evening mantle103; but on the slopes beneath, as they fell towards the margin104 of the water, all colour had died out. Lord Erradeen was one of the last to leave the house, and he was at first but vaguely105 aware of the little movement and sudden pause of the party upon the first turn of the winding106 path. He did not even understand for a moment the eager whisper which came almost more distinctly than a shout through the clear still evening air. It was the voice of young Tom of Ellermore.
“Look there! the light—the light! Who says they do not believe in it?” the young fellow said; and then there was a flutter of exclamations107 and subdued cries of wonder and interest, not without dissentient voices.
“I see some sort of a glimmer108,” said one.
“It is as clear as day,” cried another.
“It must be reflection,” a third said.
Walter raised his eyes; he had no sort of doubt to what they referred. His old house lay dark upon the edge of the dark gleaming loch, silent, deserted109, not a sign of life about the ruined walls; but upon the tower shone the phantasm of the light, now waning110, now rising, as if some unfelt wind blew about the soft light of an unseen lamp. It brought him to himself in a moment, and woke him up from the maze111 of vague thoughts which had abstracted him even in the midst of the gay movement and bustle112. He listened with strange spectatorship, half-stern, half-amused, to all the murmurs113 of the little crowd.
“If you call that light!” said the voice of Katie; “it is some phosphorescence that nobody has examined into, I suppose. Who knows what decayed things are there? That sort of glimmer always comes of decay. Oh, yes, I once went to chemistry lectures, and I know. Besides, it stands to reason. What could it be else?”
“You know very well, Katie, what they say—that it is the summons of the warlock lord.”
“I would like to answer the summons,” cried Katie, with a laugh. “I would send for the health inspector114, from Glasgow, and clear it all out, every old crevice115, and all the perilous116 stuff. That would be the thing to do. As for the warlock lord, papa shall invite him to dinner if you will find out where he is to be met with, Tom.”
“Like the commandant in Don Giovanni,” somebody said; and there was an echoing laugh, but of a feeble kind.
Walter heard this conversation with a sort of forlorn amusement. He was not excited; his blood was rather congealed117 than quickened in his veins118. But he lingered behind, taking no notice of his late companions as they streamed away to the boats. He seemed in a moment to have been parted miles—nay, worlds away from them. When he thought of the interview that was before him, and of the light-hearted strangers making comments upon the legend of the place with laugh and jest, it seemed to him that he and they could scarcely belong to the same race. He lingered, with no heart for the farewells and explanations that would be necessary if he left them formally: and turning round gazed steadfastly119 towards Kinloch Houran from behind the shade of the shrubbery. Here Oona found him, as she rushed back to warn him that the boats were pushing off. She began breathlessly—
“Lord Erradeen, you are called—” then stopped, looked at him, and said no more.
He did not answer her for a moment, but stood still, and listened to the sounds below, the impatient call, the plash of the oars120 in the water, the grating of the keel of the last boat as it was pushed off. Then he looked at Oona, with a smile.
“I am called—?” he said, “but not that way. Now I must go home.”
Her heart beat so that she could scarcely speak. Was this spell to take possession of her again, against her will, without any wish of his, like some enchantment121? She fought against it with all her might.
“If that is so,” she said, “Hamish will put you across, when you please.”
He took no notice of these indifferent words.
“This time,” he said, “it is altogether different. I know what is going to happen, and I am not afraid. But it must come to an end.”
What was it to her if it came to an end or not? She tried to check the quick-rising sympathy, to offer no response.
“They will be late on the water, but I hope they will get home before dark,” she replied.
Then he looked at her wistfully, with a look that melted her very heart.
“Don’t you know that it will never come to an end unless you stand by me?” he cried.
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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ostentation
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| n.夸耀，卖弄 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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bagatelle
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| n.琐事；小曲儿 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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elicit
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| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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17
functionary
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| n.官员；公职人员 | |
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18
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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19
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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20
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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21
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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22
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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23
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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24
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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26
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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27
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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28
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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29
effusive
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| adj.热情洋溢的；感情(过多)流露的 | |
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30
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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31
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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32
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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33
rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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34
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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35
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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36
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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37
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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38
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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39
demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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40
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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41
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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42
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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43
affront
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| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
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44
villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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45
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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46
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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47
irrelevant
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| adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的 | |
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48
emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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49
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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50
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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51
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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52
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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53
scones
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| n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 ) | |
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54
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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55
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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56
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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57
plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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58
grouse
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| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
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59
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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60
pretension
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| n.要求；自命，自称；自负 | |
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61
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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62
scions
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| n.接穗，幼枝( scion的名词复数 )；（尤指富家）子孙 | |
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63
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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64
consolatory
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| adj.慰问的，可藉慰的 | |
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65
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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66
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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67
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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68
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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69
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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70
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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71
interferes
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| vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉 | |
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72
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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73
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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74
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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75
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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76
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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77
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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78
banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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79
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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80
pervading
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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81
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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82
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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83
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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84
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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85
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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86
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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87
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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88
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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89
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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90
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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91
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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92
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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93
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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94
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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95
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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96
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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97
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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98
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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99
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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100
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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101
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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102
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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103
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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104
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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105
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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106
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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107
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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108
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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109
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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110
waning
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| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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111
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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112
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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113
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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114
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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115
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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116
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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117
congealed
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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118
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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119
steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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120
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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121
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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