Things happened as Pencroft had predicted, he being seldom mistaken in his prognostications. The wind rose, and from a fresh breeze it soon increased to a regular gale2; that is to say, it acquired a speed of from forty to forty-five miles an hour, before which a ship in the open sea would have run under close-reefed topsails. Now, as it was nearly six o'clock when the Bonadventure reached the gulf, and as at that moment the tide turned, it was impossible to enter. They were therefore compelled to stand off, for even if he had wished to do so, Pencroft could not have gained the mouth of the Mercy. Hoisting4 the jib to the mainmast by way of a storm-sail, he hove to, putting the head of the vessel5 towards the land.
Fortunately, although the wind was strong, the sea, being sheltered by the land, did not run very high. They had then little to fear from the waves, which always endanger small craft. The Bonadventure would doubtlessly not have capsized, for she was well ballasted; but enormous masses of water falling on the deck, might injure her, if her timbers could not sustain them. Pencroft, as a good sailor, was prepared for anything. Certainly, he had great confidence in his vessel, but nevertheless he awaited the return of day with some anxiety.
During the night, Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett had no opportunity for talking together, and yet the words pronounced in the reporter's ear by the engineer were well worth being discussed, together with the mysterious influence which appeared to reign6 over Lincoln Island. Gideon Spilett did not cease from pondering over this new and inexplicable7 incident,—the appearance of a fire on the coast of the island.[Pg 227] The fire had actually been seen! His companions, Herbert and Pencroft, had seen it with him! The fire had served to signalise the position of the island during that dark night, and they had not doubted that it was lighted by the engineer's hand; and here was Cyrus Harding expressly declaring that he had never done anything of the sort! Spilett resolved to recur8 to this incident as soon as the Bonadventure returned, and to urge Cyrus Harding to acquaint their companions with these strange facts. Perhaps it would be decided9 to make in common a complete investigation10 of every part of Lincoln Island.
However that might be, on this evening no fire was lighted on these yet unknown shores, which formed the entrance to the gulf, and the little vessel stood off during the night.
When the first streaks11 of dawn appeared in the western horizon, the wind, which had slightly fallen, shifted two points, and enabled Pencroft to enter the narrow gulf with greater ease. Towards seven o'clock in the morning, the Bonadventure, weathering the North Mandible Cape12, entered the strait and glided13 on to the waters, so strangely enclosed in the frame of lava14.
"Well," said Pencroft, "this bay would make admirable roads, in which a whole fleet could lie at their ease!"
"What is especially curious," observed Harding, "is that the gulf has been formed by two rivers of lava, thrown out by the volcano, and accumulated by successive eruptions16. The result is that the gulf is completely sheltered on all sides, and I believe that even in the stormiest weather, the sea here must be as calm as a lake."
"No doubt," returned the sailor, "since the wind has only that narrow entrance between the two capes17 to get in by; and besides, the north cape protects that of the south in a way which would make the entrance of gusts18 very difficult. I declare our Bonadventure could stay here from one end of the year to the other, without even dragging at her anchor!"
"It is rather large for her!" observed the reporter.
"Well! Mr. Spilett," replied the sailor, "I agree that it is too large for the Bonadventure; but if the fleets of the union were in want of a harbour in the Pacific, I don't think they would ever find a better place than this!"[Pg 228]
"We are in the shark's mouth," remarked Neb, alluding19 to the form of the gulf.
"Right into its mouth, my honest Neb!" replied Herbert; "but you are not afraid that it will shut upon us, are you?"
"No, Mr. Herbert," answered Neb; "and yet this gulf here doesn't please me much! It has a wicked look!"
"Hallo!" cried Pencroft, "here is Neb turning up his nose at my gulf, just as I was thinking of presenting it to America!"
"But, at any rate, is the water deep enough?" asked the engineer, "for a depth sufficient for the keel of the Bonadventure, would not be enough for those of our iron-clads."
"That is easily found out," replied Pencroft.
And the sailor sounded with a long cord, which served him as a lead-line, and to which was fastened a lump of iron. This cord measured nearly fifty fathoms20, and its entire length was unrolled without finding any bottom.
"There," exclaimed Pencroft, "our iron-clads can come here after all! They would not run aground!"
"Indeed," said Gideon Spilett, "this gulf is a regular abyss; but, taking into consideration the volcanic21 origin of the island, it is not astonishing that the sea should offer similar depressions."
"One would say too," observed Herbert, "that these cliffs were perfectly22 perpendicular23; and I believe that at their foot, even with a line five or six times longer, Pencroft would not find the bottom."
"That is all very well," then said the reporter; "but I must point out to Pencroft that his harbour is wanting in one very important respect!"
"And what is that, Mr. Spilett?"
"An opening, a cutting of some sort, to give access to the interior of the island. I do not see a spot on which we could land."
And, in fact, the steep lava cliffs did not afford a single place suitable for landing. They formed an insuperable barrier, recalling, but with more wildness, the fiords of Norway. The Bonadventure, coasting as close as possible along the cliffs, did not discover even a projection24 which would allow the passengers to leave the deck.
Pencroft consoled himself by saying that with the help[Pg 229] of a mine they could soon open out the cliff when that was necessary, and then, as there was evidently nothing to be done in the gulf, he steered25 his vessel towards the strait and passed out at about two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Ah!" said Neb, uttering a sigh of satisfaction.
One might really say that the honest negro did not feel at his ease in those enormous jaws26.
The distance from Mandible Cape to the mouth of the Mercy was not more than eight miles. The head of the Bonadventure was put towards Granite27 House, and a fair wind filling her sails, she ran rapidly along the coast.
To the enormous lava rocks succeeded soon those capricious sand dunes28, among which the engineer had been so singularly recovered, and which sea-birds frequented in thousands.
About four o'clock, Pencroft, leaving the point of the islet on his left, entered the channel which separated it from the coast, and at five o'clock the anchor of the Bonadventure was buried in the sand at the mouth of the Mercy.
The colonists29 had been absent three days from their dwelling30. Ayrton was waiting for them on the beach, and Jup came joyously31 to meet them, giving vent3 to deep grunts32 of satisfaction.
A complete exploration of the coast of the island had now been made, and no suspicious appearances had been observed. If any mysterious being resided on it, it could only be under cover of the impenetrable forest of the Serpentine33 Peninsula, to which the colonists had not yet directed their investigations34.
Gideon Spilett discussed these things with the engineer, and it was agreed that they should direct the attention of their companions to the strange character of certain incidents which had occurred on the island, and of which the last was the most unaccountable.
However, Harding, returning to the fact of a fire having been kindled35 on the shore by an unknown hand, could not refrain from repeating for the twentieth time to the reporter—
"But are you quite sure of having seen it? Was it not a partial eruption15 of the volcano, or perhaps some meteor?"
"No, Cyrus," answered the reporter; "it was certainly a fire lighted by the hand of man. Besides, question Pencroft[Pg 230] and Herbert. They saw it as I saw it myself, and they will confirm my words."
In consequence therefore, a few days after, on the 25th of April, in the evening, when the settlers were all collected on Prospect36 Heights, Cyrus Harding began by saying,—
"My friends, I think it my duty to call your attention to certain incidents which have occurred in the island, on the subject of which I shall be happy to have your advice. These incidents are, so to speak, supernatural—"
"Supernatural!" exclaimed the sailor, emitting a volume of smoke from his mouth. "Can it be possible that our island is supernatural?"
"No, Pencroft, but mysterious, most certainly," replied the engineer; "unless you can explain that which Spilett and I have until now failed to understand."
"Speak away, captain," answered the sailor.
"Well, have you understood," then said the engineer, "how was it that after falling into the sea, I was found a quarter of a mile into the interior of the island, and that, without my having any consciousness of my removal there?"
"Unless, being unconscious—" said Pencroft.
"That is not admissible," replied the engineer. "But to continue. Have you understood how Top was able to discover your retreat five miles from the cave in which I was lying?"
"The dog's instinct—" observed Herbert.
"Singular instinct!" returned the reporter; "since notwithstanding the storm of rain and wind which was raging during that night, Top arrived at the Chimneys, dry and without a speck37 of mud!"
"Let us continue," resumed the engineer. "Have you understood how our dog was so strangely thrown up out of the waters of the lake, after his struggle with the dugong?"
"No! I confess, not at all," replied Pencroft; "and the wound which the dugong had in its side, a wound which seemed to have been made with a sharp instrument; that can't be understood either."
"Let us continue again," said Harding. "Have you understood, my friends, how that bullet got into the body of the young peccary; how that case happened to be so[Pg 231] fortunately stranded38, without there being any trace of a wreck39; how that bottle containing the document presented itself so opportunely40, during our first sea-excursion; how our canoe, having broken its moorings, floated down the current of the Mercy and rejoined us precisely41 at the very moment we needed it; how after the ape invasion the ladder was so obligingly thrown down from Granite House; and lastly, how the document, which Ayrton asserts was never written by him, fell into our hands?"
As Cyrus Harding thus enumerated42, without forgetting one, the singular incidents which had occurred in the island, Herbert, Neb, and Pencraft stared at each other, not knowing what to reply, for this succession of incidents, grouped thus for the first time, could not but excite their surprise to the highest degree.
"'Pon my word," said Pencroft at last, "you are right, captain, and it is difficult to explain all these things!"
"Well, my friends," resumed the engineer, "a last fact has just been added to these, and it is no less incomprehensible than the others!"
"What is it, captain?" asked Herbert quickly.
"When you were returning from Tabor Island, Pencroft," continued the engineer, "you said that a fire appeared on Lincoln Island?"
"Certainly," answered the sailor.
"And you are quite certain of having seen this fire?"
"As sure as I see you now."
"You also, Herbert?"
"Why, captain," cried Herbert, "that fire was blazing like a star of the first magnitude!"
"But was it not a star?" urged the engineer.
"No," replied Pencroft, "for the sky was covered with thick clouds, and at any rate a star would not have been so low on the horizon. But Mr. Spilett saw it as well as we, and he will confirm our words."
"I will add," said the reporter, "that the fire was very bright, and that it shot up like a sheet of lightning."
"Yes, yes! exactly," added Herbert, "and it was certainly placed on the heights of Granite House."
"Well, my friends," replied Cyrus Harding, "during the[Pg 232] night of the 19th of October, neither Neb nor I lighted any fire on the coast."
"You did not!" exclaimed Pencroft, in the height of his astonishment43, not being able to finish his sentence.
"We did not leave Granite House," answered Cyrus Harding, "and if a fire appeared on the coast, it was lighted by another hand than ours!"
Pencraft, Herbert, and Neb were stupefied. No illusion could be possible, and a fire had actually met their eyes during the night of the 19th of October.
Yes! they were obliged to acknowledge it, a mystery existed! An inexplicable influence, evidently favourable44 to the colonists, but very irritating to their curiosity, was executed always in the nick of time on Lincoln Island. Could there be some being hidden in its profoundest recesses45? It was necessary at any cost to ascertain46 this.
Harding also reminded his companions of the singular behaviour of Top and Jup when they prowled round the mouth of the well, which placed Granite House in communication with the sea, and he told them that he had explored the well, without discovering anything suspicious. The final resolve taken, in consequence of this conversation, by all the members of the colony, was that as soon as the fine season returned they would thoroughly47 search the whole of the island.
But from that day, Pencroft appeared to be anxious. He felt as if the island which he had made his own personal property belonged to him entirely48 no longer, and that he shared it with another master, to whom whether willing or not, he felt subject. Neb and he often talked of those unaccountable things, and both, their natures inclining them to the marvellous, were not far from believing that Lincoln Island was under the dominion49 of some supernatural power.
In the meanwhile, the bad weather came with the month of May, the November of the northern zones. It appeared that the winter would be severe and forward. The preparations for the winter season were therefore commenced without delay.
Nevertheless, the colonists were well prepared to meet the winter, however hard it might be. They had plenty of[Pg 234] felt clothing, and the musmons, very numerous by this time, had furnished an abundance of the wool necessary for the manufacture of this warm material.
It is unnecessary to say that Ayrton had been provided with this comfortable clothing. Cyrus Harding proposed that he should come to spend the bad season with them in Granite House, where he would be better lodged50 than at the corral, and Ayrton promised to do so, as soon as the last work at the corral was finished. He did this towards the middle of April. From that time Ayrton shared the common life, and made himself useful on all occasions; but still humble51 and sad, he never took part in the pleasures of his companions.
For the greater part of this, the third winter which the settlers passed in Lincoln Island, they were confined to Granite House. There were many violent storms and frightful52 tempests, which appeared to shake the rocks to their very foundations. Immense waves threatened to overwhelm the island, and certainly any vessel anchored near the shore would have been dashed to pieces. Twice, during one of these hurricanes, the Mercy swelled53 to such a degree as to give reason to fear that the bridges would be swept away, and it was necessary to strengthen those on the shore, which disappeared under the foaming54 waters, when the sea beat against the beach.
It may well be supposed that such storms, comparable to water-spouts in which were mingled55 rain and snow, would cause great havoc56 on the plateau of Prospect Heights. The mill and the poultry-yard particularly suffered. The colonists were often obliged to make immediate57 repairs, without which the safety of the birds would have been seriously threatened.
During the worst weather, several jaguars58 and troops of quadrumana ventured to the edge of the plateau, and it was always to be feared that the most active and audacious would, urged by hunger, manage to cross the stream, which besides, when frozen, offered them an easy passage. Plantations59 and domestic animals would then have been infallibly destroyed, without a constant watch, and it was often necessary to make use of the guns to keep those dangerous visitors at a respectful distance. Occupation was not wanting[Pg 236] to the colonists, for without reckoning their out-door cares, they had always a thousand plans for the fitting up of Granite House.
They had also some fine sporting excursions, which were made during the frost in the vast Tadorn marsh60. Gideon Spilett and Herbert, aided by Jup and Top, did not miss a shot in the midst of the myriads61 of wild-duck, snipe, teal, and others. The access to these hunting-grounds was easy; besides, whether they reached them by the road to Port Balloon, after having passed the Mercy Bridge, or by turning the rocks from Flotsam Point, the hunters were never distant from Granite House more than two or three miles.
Thus passed the four winter months, which were really rigorous, that is to say, June, July, August, and September. But, in short, Granite House did not suffer much from the inclemency62 of the weather, and it was the same with the corral, which, less exposed than the plateau, and sheltered partly by Mount Franklin, only received the remains63 of the hurricanes, already broken by the forests and the high rocks of the shore. The damages there were consequently of small importance, and the activity and skill of Ayrton promptly64 repaired them, when some time in October he returned to pass a few days in the corral.
During this winter, no fresh inexplicable incident occurred. Nothing strange happened, although Pencroft and Neb were on the watch for the most insignificant65 facts to which they attached any mysterious cause. Top and Jup themselves no longer growled66 round the well or gave any signs of uneasiness. It appeared, therefore, as if the series of supernatural incidents was interrupted, although they often talked of them during the evenings in Granite House, and they remained thoroughly resolved that the island should be searched, even in those parts the most difficult to explore. But an event of the highest importance, and of which the consequence might be terrible, momentarily diverted from their projects Cyrus Harding and his companions.
It was the month of October. The fine season was swiftly returning. Nature was reviving; and among the evergreen67 foliage68 of the conifer? which formed the border of the wood, already appeared the young leaves of the banksias, deodars, and other trees[Pg 237].
It may be remembered that Gideon Spilett and Herbert had, at different times, taken photographic views of Lincoln Island.
Now, on the 17th of this month of October, towards three o'clock in the afternoon, Herbert, enticed69 by the charms of the sky, thought of reproducing union Bay, which was opposite to Prospect Heights, from Cape Mandible to Claw Cape.
The horizon was beautifully clear, and the sea, undulating under a soft breeze, was as calm as the waters of a lake, sparkling here and there under the sun's rays.
The apparatus70 had been placed at one of the windows of the dining-room at Granite House, and consequently overlooked the shore and the bay. Herbert proceeded as he was accustomed to do, and the negative obtained, he went away to fix it by means of the chemicals deposited in a dark nook of Granite House.
Returning to the bright light, and examining it well, Herbert perceived on his negative an almost imperceptible little spot on the sea horizon. He endeavoured to make it disappear by reiterated71 washing, but could not accomplish it.
"It is a flaw in the glass," he thought.
And then he had the curiosity to examine this flaw with a strong magnifier which he unscrewed from one of the telescopes.
But he had scarcely looked at it, when he uttered a cry, and the glass almost fell from his hands.
Immediately running to the room in which Cyrus Harding then was, he extended the negative and magnifier towards the engineer, pointing out the little spot.
Harding examined it; then seizing his telescope he rushed to the window.
The telescope, after having slowly swept the horizon, at last stopped on the looked-for spot, and Cyrus Harding lowering it, pronounced one word only,—
"A vessel!"
And in fact a vessel was in sight, off Lincoln Island!
THE TEMPLE PRESS, PRINTERS, LETCHWORTH
The End
点击收听单词发音
1 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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2 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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3 vent | |
n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄 | |
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4 hoisting | |
起重,提升 | |
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5 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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6 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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7 inexplicable | |
adj.无法解释的,难理解的 | |
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8 recur | |
vi.复发,重现,再发生 | |
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9 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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10 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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11 streaks | |
n.(与周围有所不同的)条纹( streak的名词复数 );(通常指不好的)特征(倾向);(不断经历成功或失败的)一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 );使布满条纹 | |
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12 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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13 glided | |
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
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14 lava | |
n.熔岩,火山岩 | |
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15 eruption | |
n.火山爆发;(战争等)爆发;(疾病等)发作 | |
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16 eruptions | |
n.喷发,爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
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17 capes | |
碎谷; 斗篷( cape的名词复数 ); 披肩; 海角; 岬 | |
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18 gusts | |
一阵强风( gust的名词复数 ); (怒、笑等的)爆发; (感情的)迸发; 发作 | |
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19 alluding | |
提及,暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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20 fathoms | |
英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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21 volcanic | |
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的 | |
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22 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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23 perpendicular | |
adj.垂直的,直立的;n.垂直线,垂直的位置 | |
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24 projection | |
n.发射,计划,突出部分 | |
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25 steered | |
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导 | |
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26 jaws | |
n.口部;嘴 | |
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27 granite | |
adj.花岗岩,花岗石 | |
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28 dunes | |
沙丘( dune的名词复数 ) | |
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29 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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30 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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31 joyously | |
ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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32 grunts | |
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说; 石鲈 | |
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33 serpentine | |
adj.蜿蜒的,弯曲的 | |
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34 investigations | |
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究 | |
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35 kindled | |
(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光 | |
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36 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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37 speck | |
n.微粒,小污点,小斑点 | |
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38 stranded | |
a.搁浅的,进退两难的 | |
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39 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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40 opportunely | |
adv.恰好地,适时地 | |
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41 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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42 enumerated | |
v.列举,枚举,数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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44 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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45 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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46 ascertain | |
vt.发现,确定,查明,弄清 | |
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47 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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48 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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49 dominion | |
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图 | |
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50 lodged | |
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属 | |
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51 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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52 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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53 swelled | |
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
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54 foaming | |
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡 | |
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55 mingled | |
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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56 havoc | |
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱 | |
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57 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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58 jaguars | |
n.(中、南美洲的)美洲虎( jaguar的名词复数 ) | |
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59 plantations | |
n.种植园,大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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60 marsh | |
n.沼泽,湿地 | |
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61 myriads | |
n.无数,极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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62 inclemency | |
n.险恶,严酷 | |
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63 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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64 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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65 insignificant | |
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的 | |
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66 growled | |
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说 | |
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67 evergreen | |
n.常青树;adj.四季常青的 | |
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68 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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69 enticed | |
诱惑,怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70 apparatus | |
n.装置,器械;器具,设备 | |
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71 reiterated | |
反复地说,重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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