These last words justified1 the colonists2' presentiment3. There had been some mournful past, perhaps expiated4 in the sight of men, but from which his conscience had not yet absolved6 him. At any rate the guilty man felt remorse7, he repented8, and his new friends would have cordially pressed the hand which they sought; but he did not feel himself worthy9 to extend it to honest men! However, after the scene with the jaguar10, he did not return to the forest, and from that day did not go beyond the enclosure of Granite11 House.
What was the mystery of his life? Would the stranger one day speak of it? Time alone could show. At any rate, it was agreed that his secret should never be asked from him, and that they would live with him as if they suspected nothing.
For some days their life continued as before. Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett worked together, sometimes chemists, sometimes experimentalists. The reporter never left the engineer except to hunt with Herbert, for it would not have been prudent12 to allow the lad to ramble13 alone in the forest; and it was very necessary to be on their guard. As to Neb and Pencroft, one day at the stables and poultry-yard, another at the corral, without reckoning work in Granite House, they were never in want of employment.
The stranger worked alone, and he had resumed his usual life, never appearing at meals, sleeping under the trees in the plateau, never mingling14 with his companions. It really seemed as if the society of those who had saved him was insupportable to him!
"But then," observed Pencroft, "why did he entreat15 the[Pg 192] help of his fellow-creatures? Why did he throw that paper into the sea?"
"He will tell us why," invariably replied Cyrus Harding.
"When?"
"Perhaps sooner than you think, Pencroft."
And, indeed, the day of confession16 was near.
On the 10th of December, a week after his return to Granite House, Harding saw the stranger approaching, who, in a calm voice and humble17 tone, said to him: "Sir, I have a request to make you."
"Speak," answered the engineer; "but first let me ask you a question."
At these words the stranger reddened, and was on the point of withdrawing. Cyrus Harding understood what was passing in the mind of the guilty man, who doubtless feared that the engineer would interrogate18 him on his past life.
Harding held him back.
"Comrade," said he, "we are not only your companions but your friends. I wish you to believe that, and now I will listen to you."
The stranger pressed his hand over his eyes. He was seized with a sort of trembling, and remained a few moments without being able to articulate a word.
"Sir," said he at last, "I have come to beg you to grant me a favour."
"What is it?"
"You have, four or five miles from here, a corral for your domesticated19 animals. These animals need to be taken care of. Will you allow me to live there with them?"
Cyrus Harding gazed at the unfortunate man for a few moments with a feeling of deep commiseration20; then,—
"My friend," said he, "the corral has only stables hardly fit for animals."
"It will be good enough for me, sir."
"My friend," answered Harding, "we will not constrain21 you in anything. You wish to live at the corral, so be it. You will, however, be always welcome at Granite House. But since you wish to live at the corral we will make the necessary arrangements for your being comfortably established there."
"Never mind that, I shall do very well."[Pg 193]
"My friend," answered Harding, who always intentionally22 made use of this cordial appellation23, "you must let us judge what it will be best to do in this respect."
"Thank you, sir," replied the stranger as he withdrew.
The engineer then made known to his companions the proposal which had been made to him, and it was agreed that they should build a wooden house at the corral, which they would make as comfortable as possible.
That very day the colonists repaired to the corral with the necessary tools, and a week had not passed before the house was ready to receive its tenant24. It was built about twenty feet from the sheds, and from there it was easy to overlook the flock of sheep, which then numbered more than eighty. Some furniture, a bed, table, bench, cupboard, and chest, were manufactured, and a gun, ammunition25, and tools were carried to the corral.
The stranger, however, had seen nothing of his new dwelling26, and he had allowed the settlers to work there without him, whilst he occupied himself on the plateau, wishing, doubtless, to put the finishing stroke to his work. Indeed, thanks to him, all the ground was dug up and ready to be sowed when the time came.
It was on the 20th of December that all the arrangements at the corral were completed. The engineer announced to the stranger that his dwelling was ready to receive him, and the latter replied that he would go and sleep there that very evening.
On this evening the colonists were gathered in the dining-room of Granite House. It was then eight o'clock, the hour at which their companion was to leave them. Not wishing to trouble him by their presence, and thus imposing27 on him the necessity of saying farewells which might perhaps be painful to him, they had left him alone, and ascended28 to Granite House.
Now, they had been talking in the room for a few minutes, when a light knock was heard at the door. Almost immediately the stranger entered, and without any preamble,—
"Gentlemen," said he, "before I leave you, it is right that you should know my history. I will tell it you."
These simple words profoundly impressed Cyrus Harding and his companions.[Pg 194]
The engineer rose.
"We ask you nothing, my friend," said he, "it is your right to be silent."
"It is my duty to speak."
"Sit down, then."
"No, I will stand."
"We are ready to hear you," replied Harding.
The stranger remained standing29 in a corner of the room, a little in the shade. He was bareheaded, his arms folded across his chest, and it was in this posture30 that in a hoarse31 voice, speaking like some one who obliges himself to speak, he gave the following recital32, which his auditors33 did not once interrupt—-
"On the 20th of December, 1854, a steam-yacht, belonging to a Scotch34 nobleman, Lord Glenarvan, anchored off Cape35 Bermouilli, on the western coast of Australia, in the thirty-seventh parallel. On board this yacht were Lord Glenarvan and his wife, a major in the English army, a French geographer36, a young girl, and a young boy. These two last were the children of Captain Grant, whose ship, the Britannia, had been lost, crew and cargo37, a year before. The Duncan was commanded by Captain John Mangles38, and manned by a crew of fifteen men.
"This is the reason the yacht at this time lay off the coast of Australia. Six months before, a bottle, enclosing a document written in English, German, and French, had been found in the Irish sea, and picked up by the Duncan. This document stated in substance that there still existed three survivors40 from the wreck41 of the Britannia, that these survivors were Captain Grant and two of his men, and that they had found refuge on some land, of which the document gave the latitude42, but of which the longitude43, effaced44 by the sea, was no longer legible.
"This latitude was 37° 11′ south, therefore, the longitude being unknown, if they followed the thirty-seventh parallel over continents and seas, they would be certain to reach the spot inhabited by Captain Grant and his two companions. The English Admiralty having hesitated to undertake this search, Lord Glenarvan resolved to attempt everything to find the captain. He communicated with Mary and Robert Grant, who joined him. The Duncan yacht was equipped[Pg 196] for the distant voyage, in which the nobleman's family and the captain's children wished to take part; and the Duncan, leaving Glasgow, proceeded towards the Atlantic, passed through the Straits of Magellan, and ascended the Pacific as far as Patagonia, where, according to a previous interpretation45 of the document, they supposed that Captain Grant was a prisoner among the Indians.
"The Duncan disembarked her passengers on the western coast of Patagonia, and sailed to pick them up again on the eastern coast at Cape Corrientes. Lord Glenarvan traversed Patagonia, following the thirty-seventh parallel, and having found no trace of the captain, he re-embarked46 on the 13th of November, so as to pursue his search through the Ocean.
"After having unsuccessfully visited the islands of Tristan d'Acunha and Amsterdam, situated47 in her course, the Duncan, as I have said, arrived at Cape Bermouilli, on the Australian coast, on the 20th of December, 1854.
"It was Lord Glenarvan's intention to traverse Australia as he had traversed America, and he disembarked. A few miles from the coast was established a farm, belonging to an Irishman, who offered hospitality to the travellers. Lord Glenarvan made known to the Irishman the cause which had brought him to these parts, and asked if he knew whether a three-masted English vessel48, the Britannia, had been lost less than two years before on the west coast of Australia.
"The Irishman had never heard of this wreck; but, to the great surprise of the bystanders, one of his servants came forward and said,—
"'My lord, praise and thank God! If Captain Grant is still living, he is living on the Australian shores.'
"'Who are you?' asked Lord Glenarvan.
"'A Scotchman like yourself, my lord,' replied the man; 'I am one of Captain Grant's crew—one of the castaways of the Britannia.'
"This man was called Ayrton. He was, in fact, the boatswain's mate of the Britannia, as his papers showed. But, separated from Captain Grant at the moment when the ship struck upon the rocks, he had till then believed that the captain with all his crew had perished, and that he, Ayrton, was the sole survivor39 of the Britannia.
"'Only,' added he, 'it was not on the west coast, but on[Pg 197] the east coast of Australia that the vessel was lost; and if Captain Grant is still living, as his document indicates, he is a prisoner among the natives, and it is on the other coast that he must be looked for.'
"This man spoke49 in a frank voice and with a confident look; his words could not be doubted. The Irishman, in whose service he had been for more than a year, answered for his trustworthiness. Lord Glenarvan, therefore, believed in the fidelity50 of this man, and, by his advice, resolved to cross Australia, following the thirty-seventh parallel. Lord Glenarvan, his wife, the two children, the major, the Frenchman, Captain Mangles, and a few sailors composed the little band under the command of Ayrton, whilst the Duncan, under charge of the mate, Tom Austin, proceeded to Melbourne, there to await Lord Glenarvan's instructions.
"They set out on the 23rd of December, 1854.
"It is time to say that Ayrton was a traitor51. He was, indeed, the boatswain's mate of the Britannia; but, after some dispute with his captain, he had endeavoured to incite52 the crew to mutiny and seize the ship, and Captain Grant had landed him, on the 8th of April, 1852, on the west coast of Australia, and then sailed, leaving him there, as was only just.
"Therefore this wretched man knew nothing of the wreck of the Britannia; he had just heard of it from Glenarvan's account. Since his abandonment, he had become, under the name of Ben Joyce, the leader of the escaped convicts; and if he boldly maintained that the wreck had taken place on the east coast, and led Lord Glenarvan to proceed in that direction, it was that he hoped to separate him from his ship, seize the Duncan, and make the yacht a pirate in the Pacific."
Here the stranger stopped for a moment. His voice trembled, but he continued,—
"The expedition set out and proceeded across Australia. It was inevitably53 unfortunate, since Ayrton, or Ben Joyce, as he may be called, guided it, sometimes preceded, sometimes followed by his band of convicts, who had been told what they had to do.
"Meanwhile the Duncan had been sent to Melbourne for repairs. It was necessary, then, to get Lord Glenarvan[Pg 198] to order her to leave Melbourne and go to the east coast of Australia, where it would be easy to seize her. After having led the expedition near enough to the coast, in the midst of vast forests with no resources, Ayrton obtained a letter, which he was charged to carry to the mate of the Duncan—a letter which ordered the yacht to repair immediately to the east coast, to Twofold Bay, that is to say, a few days' journey from the place where the expedition had stopped. It was there that Ayrton had agreed to meet his accomplices54, and two days after gaining possession of the letter, he arrived at Melbourne.
"So far the villain55 had succeeded in his wicked design. He would be able to take the Duncan into Twofold Bay, where it would be easy for the convicts to seize her, and her crew massacred, Ben Joyce would become master of the seas.... But it pleased God to prevent the accomplishment56 of these terrible projects.
"Ayrton, arrived at Melbourne, delivered the letter to the mate, Tom Austin, who read it and immediately set sail; but judge of Ayrton's rage and disappointment, when the next day he found that the mate was taking the vessel, not to the east coast of Australia, to Twofold Bay, but to the east coast of New Zealand. He wished to stop him, but Austin showed him the letter!... And indeed, by a providential error of the French geographer, who had written the letter, the east coast of New Zealand was mentioned as the place of destination.
"All Ayrton's plans were frustrated57! He became outrageous58. They put him in irons. He was then taken to the coast of New Zealand, not knowing what would become of his accomplices, or what would become of Lord Glenarvan.
"The Duncan cruised about on this coast until the 3rd of March. On that day Ayrton heard the report of guns. The guns of the Duncan were being fired, and soon Lord Glenarvan and his companions came on board.
"This is what had happened.
"After a thousand hardships, a thousand dangers, Lord Glenarvan had accomplished59 his journey, and arrived on the east coast of Australia, at Twofold Bay. 'No Duncan!' he telegraphed to Melbourne. They answered, 'Duncan sailed on the 18th instant. Destination unknown.'[Pg 199]
"Lord Glenarvan could only arrive at one conclusion: that his honest yacht had fallen into the hands of Ben Joyce, and had become a pirate vessel!
"However, Lord Glenarvan would not give up. He was a bold and generous man. He embarked in a merchant vessel, sailed to the west coast of New Zealand, traversed it along the thirty-seventh parallel, without finding any trace of Captain Grant; but on the other side, to his great surprise, and by the will of Heaven, he found the Duncan, under command of the mate, who had been waiting for him for five weeks!
"This was on the 3rd of March 1855. Lord Glenarvan was now on board the Duncan, but Ayrton was there also. He appeared before the nobleman, who wished to extract from him all that the villain knew about Captain Grant. Ayrton refused to speak. Lord Glenarvan then told him, that at the first port they put into, he would be delivered up to the English authorities. Ayrton remained mute.
"The Duncan continued her voyage along the thirty-seventh parallel. In the meanwhile, Lady Glenarvan undertook to vanquish60 the resistance of the ruffian.
"At last, her influence prevailed, and Ayrton, in exchange for what he could tell, proposed that Lord Glenarvan should leave him on some island in the Pacific, instead of giving him up to the English authorities. Lord Glenarvan, resolving to do anything to obtain information about Captain Grant, consented.
"Ayrton then related all his life, and it was certain that he knew nothing from the day on which Captain Grant had landed him on the Australian coast.
"Nevertheless, Lord Glenarvan kept the promise which he had given. The Duncan continued her voyage and arrived at Tabor Island. It was there that Ayrton was to be landed, and it was there also that, by a veritable miracle, they found Captain Grant and two men, exactly on the thirty-seventh parallel.
"The convict, then, went to take their place on this desert islet, and at the moment he left the yacht these words were pronounced by Lord Glenarvan:—
"'Here, Ayrton, you will be far from any land, and without any possible communication with your fellow-[Pg 200]creatures. You cannot escape from this islet on which the Duncan leaves you. You will be alone, under the eye of a God who reads the depths of the heart; but you will be neither lost nor forgotten, as was Captain Grant. Unworthy as you are to be remembered by men, men will remember you. I know where you are, Ayrton, and I know where to find you. I will never forget it!'
"And the Duncan, making sail, soon disappeared. This was on the 18th of March 1855.[2]
"Ayrton was alone, but he had no want of either ammunition, weapons, tools, or seeds.
"At his, the convict's disposal, was the house built by honest Captain Grant. He had only to live and expiate5 in solitude61 the crimes which he had committed.
"Gentlemen, he repented, he was ashamed of his crimes and was very miserable62! He said to himself, that if men came some day to take him from that islet, he must be worthy to return amongst them! How he suffered, that wretched man! How he laboured to recover himself by work! How he prayed to be reformed by prayer! For two years, three years, this went on; but Ayrton, humbled63 by solitude, always looking for some ship to appear on the horizon, asking himself if the time of expiation64 would soon be complete, suffered as none other ever suffered! Oh! how dreadful was this solitude, to a heart tormented65 by remorse!
"But doubtless Heaven had not sufficiently66 punished this unhappy man, for he felt that he was gradually becoming a savage67! He felt that brutishness was gradually gaining on him!
"He could not say if it was after two or three years of solitude; but at last he became the miserable creature you found!
"I have no need to tell you, gentlemen, that Ayrton, Ben Joyce, and I, are the same."
[2] The events which have just been briefly68 related are taken from a work which some of our readers have no doubt read, and which is entitled Captain Grant's Children. They will remark on this occasion, as well as later, some discrepancy69 in the dates: but later again, they will understand why the real dates were not at first given.
Cyrus Harding and his companions rose at the end of this account. It is impossible to say how much they were [Pg 201] moved! What misery70, grief, and despair lay revealed before them!
"Ayrton," said Harding, rising, "you have been a great criminal, but Heaven must certainly think that you have expiated your crimes! That has been proved by your having been brought again among your fellow-creatures. Ayrton, you are forgiven! And now you will be our companion?"
Ayrton drew back.
"Here is my hand!" said the engineer.
Ayrton grasped the hand which Harding extended to him, and great tears fell from his eyes.
"Will you live with us?" asked Cyrus Harding.
"Captain Harding, leave me some time longer," replied Ayrton, "leave me alone in the hut in the corral!"
"As you like, Ayrton," answered Cyrus Harding. Ayrton was going to withdraw, when the engineer addressed one more question to him:—
"One word more, my friend. Since it was your intention to live alone, why did you throw into the sea the document which put us on your track?"
"A document?" repeated Ayrton, who did not appear to know what he meant.
"Yes, the document which we found enclosed in a bottle, giving us the exact position of Tabor Island!"
Ayrton passed his hand over his brow, then after having thought, "I never threw any document into the sea!" he answered.
"Never," exclaimed Pencroft.
"Never!"
And Ayrton, bowing, reached the door and departed.
点击收听单词发音
1 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
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2 colonists | |
n.殖民地开拓者,移民,殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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3 presentiment | |
n.预感,预觉 | |
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4 expiated | |
v.为(所犯罪过)接受惩罚,赎(罪)( expiate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5 expiate | |
v.抵补,赎罪 | |
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6 absolved | |
宣告…无罪,赦免…的罪行,宽恕…的罪行( absolve的过去式和过去分词 ); 不受责难,免除责任 [义务] ,开脱(罪责) | |
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7 remorse | |
n.痛恨,悔恨,自责 | |
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8 repented | |
对(自己的所为)感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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10 jaguar | |
n.美洲虎 | |
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11 granite | |
adj.花岗岩,花岗石 | |
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12 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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13 ramble | |
v.漫步,漫谈,漫游;n.漫步,闲谈,蔓延 | |
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14 mingling | |
adj.混合的 | |
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15 entreat | |
v.恳求,恳请 | |
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16 confession | |
n.自白,供认,承认 | |
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17 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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18 interrogate | |
vt.讯问,审问,盘问 | |
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19 domesticated | |
adj.喜欢家庭生活的;(指动物)被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20 commiseration | |
n.怜悯,同情 | |
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21 constrain | |
vt.限制,约束;克制,抑制 | |
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22 intentionally | |
ad.故意地,有意地 | |
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23 appellation | |
n.名称,称呼 | |
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24 tenant | |
n.承租人;房客;佃户;v.租借,租用 | |
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25 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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26 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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27 imposing | |
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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28 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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30 posture | |
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势 | |
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31 hoarse | |
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的 | |
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32 recital | |
n.朗诵,独奏会,独唱会 | |
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33 auditors | |
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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34 scotch | |
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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35 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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36 geographer | |
n.地理学者 | |
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37 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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38 mangles | |
n.轧布机,轧板机,碾压机(mangle的复数形式)vt.乱砍(mangle的第三人称单数形式) | |
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39 survivor | |
n.生存者,残存者,幸存者 | |
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40 survivors | |
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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41 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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42 latitude | |
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区 | |
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43 longitude | |
n.经线,经度 | |
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44 effaced | |
v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;超越;使黯然失色 | |
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45 interpretation | |
n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理 | |
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46 embarked | |
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事 | |
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47 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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48 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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49 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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50 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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51 traitor | |
n.叛徒,卖国贼 | |
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52 incite | |
v.引起,激动,煽动 | |
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53 inevitably | |
adv.不可避免地;必然发生地 | |
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54 accomplices | |
从犯,帮凶,同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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55 villain | |
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 | |
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56 accomplishment | |
n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
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57 frustrated | |
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧 | |
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58 outrageous | |
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 | |
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59 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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60 vanquish | |
v.征服,战胜;克服;抑制 | |
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61 solitude | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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62 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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63 humbled | |
adj. 卑下的,谦逊的,粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下,贬低 | |
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64 expiation | |
n.赎罪,补偿 | |
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65 tormented | |
饱受折磨的 | |
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66 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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67 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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68 briefly | |
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
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69 discrepancy | |
n.不同;不符;差异;矛盾 | |
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70 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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