Spanish Town, May Pen, Alligator7 Pond, Black River, Whitehouse Inn, where they had luncheon-the miles unrolled under the fierce sun until, late the afternoon, a stretch of good straight road brought them among the spruce little villas8, each with its patch of brownish lawn, its bougainvillaea and its single bed of canna lilies and crotons, which make up the "smart" suburbs of the modes little coastal9 township that is, in the vernacular10, Sav' La Mar.
Except for the old quarter on the waterfront, it is not a typically Jamaican town, or a very attractive one. The villas, built for the senior staff of the Frome sugar estates, are drably respectable, and the small straight streets smack11 of a most un-Jamaican bout12 of town planning around the 1920s. Bond stopped at the first garage, took in petrol, and put Mary Goodnight into a hired car for the return trip. He had told her nothing of his assignment, and she had asked no questions when Bond told her vaguely13 that it was "something to do with Cuba." Bond said he would keep in touch when he could, and get back to her when his job was done, and then, businesslike, she was off back down the dusty road and Bond drove slowly down to the waterfront. He identified Love Lane, a narrow street of broken-down shops and houses that meandered14 back into the town from the jetty. He circled the area to get the neighbouring geography clear in his mind and parked the car in a deserted15 area near the spit of sand on which fishing canoes were drawn16 up on raised stilts17. He locked the car and sauntered back and into Love Lane. There were a few people about, poor people of the fisherman class. Bond bought a packet of Royal Blend at a small general store that smelled of spices. He asked where Number three-and-a-half was and got a look of polite curiosity. "Further up de street. Mebbe a chain. Big house on de right." Bond moved over to the shady side and strolled on. He slit18 open the packet with his thumbnail and lit a cigarette to help the picture of an idle tourist examining a corner of old Jamaica. There was only one big house on the right. He took some time lighting19 the cigarette while he examined it.
It must once have had importance, perhaps as the private house of a merchant. It was of two storeys with balconies running all the way round and it was wooden built with silvering shingles20, but the gingerbread tracery beneath the eaves was broken in many places and there was hardly a scrap22 of paint left on the jalousies that closed off all the upstairs windows and most of those below. The patch of "yard" bordering the street was inhabited by a clutch of vulturine-necked chickens that pecked at nothing and three skeletal Jamaican black-and-tan mongrels. They gazed lazily across the street at Bond and scratched and bit at invisible flies. But, in the background, there was one very beautiful lignum vitae tree in full blue blossom. Bond guessed that it was as old as the house-perhaps fifty years. It certainly owned the property by right of strength and adornment23. In its delicious black shade a girl in a rocking chair sat reading a magazine. At the range of about thirty yards she looked tidy and pretty. Bond strolled up the opposite side of the street until a corner of the house hid the girl. Then he stopped and examined the house more closely.
Wooden steps ran up to an open front door, over whose lintel, whereas few of the other buildings in the street bore numbers, a big enamelled metal sign announced "3-1/2" in white on dark blue. Of the two broad windows that bracketed the door, the left-hand one was shuttered, but the right-hand one was a single broad sheet of rather dusty glass through which tables and chairs and a serving counter could be seen. Over the door a swinging sign said dreamland cafe in sun-bleached letters, and round this window were advertisements for Red Stripe beer, Royal Blend, Four Aces2 cigarettes, and Coca-Cola. A hand-painted sign said snax and, underneath25, HOT COCK SOUP FRESH DAILY.
Bond walked across the street and up the steps and parted the bead26 curtain that hung over the entrance. He walked over to the counter and was inspecting its contents -a plate of dry-looking ginger21 cakes, a pile of packeted banana crisps, and some jars-when he heard quick steps outside. The girl from the garden came in. The beads27 clashed softly behind her. She was an octoroon, pretty, as in Bond's imagination the word octoroon suggested. She had bold, brown eyes, slightly uptilted at the corners, beneath a fringe of silken black hair. (Bond reflected that there would be Chinese blood somewhere in her heredity.) She was dressed in a short frock of shocking pink which went well with the coffee and cream of her skin. Her wrists and ankles were tiny. She smiled politely. The eyes flirted28. "Evenin'."
"Good evening. Could I have a Red Stripe?"
"Sure." She went behind the counter. She gave him a quick glimpse of fine bosoms29 as she bent30 to the door of the icebox-a glimpse not dictated31 by the geography of the place. She nudged the door shut with a knee, deftly32 uncapped the bottle, and put it on the counter beside an almost clean glass. "That'll be one and six."
Bond paid. She rang the money into the cash register. Bond drew up a stool to the counter and sat down. She rested her arms on the wooden top and looked across at him. "Passing through?"
"More or less. I saw this place was for sale in yesterday's Gleaner33. I thought I'd take a look at it. Nice big house. Does it belong to you?"
She laughed. It was a pity, because she was a pretty girl, but the teeth had been sharpened by munching34 raw sugar cane35. "What a hope! I'm sort of, well sort of manager. There's the cafe"-she pronounced it caif-"and mebbe you heard we got other attractions."
Bond looked puzzled. "What sort?"
"Girls. Six bedrooms upstairs. Very clean. It only cost a pound. There's Sarah up there now. Care to meet up with her?"
"Not today, thanks. It's too hot. But do you only have one at a time?"
"There's Lindy, but she's engaged. She's a big girl. If you like them big, she'll be free in half an hour." She glanced at a kitchen clock on the wall behind her. "Around six o'clock. It'll be cooler then."
"I prefer girls like you. What's your name?"
She giggled36. "I only do it for love. I told you I just manage the place. They call me Tiffy."
"That's an unusual name. How did you come by it?"
"My momma had six girls. Called them all after flowers. Violet, Rose, Cherry, Pansy, and Lily. Then when I came, she couldn't think of any more flower names so she called me Artificial." Tiffy waited for him to laugh. When he didn't, she went on. "When I went to school they all said it was a wrong name and laughed at me and shortened it to Tiffy and that's how I've stayed."
"Well, I think it's a very pretty name. My name's Mark."
She flirted. "You a saint too?"
"No one's ever accused me of it. I've been up at Frome doing a job. I like this part of the island and it crossed my mind to find some place to rent. But I want to be closer to the sea than this. I'll have to look around a bit more. Do you rent rooms by the night?"
She reflected. "Sure. Why not. But you may find it a bit noisy. There's sometime a customer who's taken some drinks too many. And there's not too much plumbing37." She leaned closer and lowered her voice. "But I wouldn't have advised you to rent the place. The shingles are in bad shape. Cost you mebbe five hunnerd, mebbe a thousand, to get the roof done."
"It's nice of you to tell me that. But why's the place being sold? Trouble with the police?"
"Not so much. We operate a respectable place. But in the Gleaner, after Mr Brown, that's my boss, you read that et ux?" "Yes."
"Well, seems that means 'and his wife.' And Mistress Brown, Mistress Agatha Brown, she was Church of England, but she just done gone to the Catholics. And it seems they don't hold with places like three and one-half, not even when they're decently run. And their church here, just up the street, seems that needs a new roof like here. So Mistress Brown figures to kill two birds with the same stone and she goes on at Mr. Brown to close the place down and sell it and with her portion she goin' fix the roof for the Catholics."
"That's a shame. It seems a nice quiet place. What's going to happen to you?"
"Guess I'll move to Kingston. Live with one of my sisters and mebbe work in one of the big stores-Issa's mebbe, or Nathan's. Sav' La Mar is sort of quiet." The brown eyes became introspective. "But I'll sure miss the place. Folks have fun here and Love Lane's a pretty street. We're all friends up and down the Lane. It's got sort of, sort of. . . ." "Atmosphere."
"Right. That's what it's got. Like sort of old Jamaica. Like it must have been in the old days. Everyone's friends with each other. Help each other when they have trouble. You'd be surprised how often the girls do it for free if the man's a good feller, regular customer sort of, and he's short." The brown eyes gazed inquiringly at Bond to see if he understood the strength of the evidence.
"That's nice of them. But it can't be good for business." She laughed. "This ain't no business, Mister Mark. Not while I'm running it. This is a public service, like water and electricity and health and education and. . . ." She broke off and glanced over her shoulder at the clock which said 5:45. "Hell! You got me talking so much I've forgot Joe and May. It's their supper." She went to the cafe window and wound it down. At once, from the direction of the lignum vitae tree, two large black birds, slightly smaller than ravens38, whirled in, circled the interior of the cafe amidst a metallic39 clangour of song unlike the song of any other bird in the world, and untidily landed on the counter within reach of Bond's hand. They strutted40 up and down imperiously, eyeing Bond without fear from bold, golden eyes and went through a piercing repertoire41 of tinny whistles and trills, some of which required them to ruffle42 themselves up to almost twice their normal size.
Tiffy went back behind the bar, took two pennies out of her purse, rang them up on the register, and took two ginger cakes out of the flyblown display case. She broke off bits and fed the two birds, always the smaller of the two, the female, first, and they greedily seized the pieces from her fingers and, holding the scraps43 of the wooden counter with a claw, tore them into smaller fragments and devoured44 them. When it was all over, and Tiffy had chided them both for pecking her fingers, they made small, neat white messes on the counter and looked pleased with themselves. Tiffy took a cloth and cleaned up the messes. She said, "We call them kling-klings but learned folk call them Jamaican grackles. They're very friendly folk. The doctor-bird, the humming bird with the streamer tail, is the Jamaican national bird, but I like these best. They're not so beautiful, but they're the friendliest birds and they're funny besides. They seem to know it. They're like naughty black thieves."
The kling-klings eyed the cake stand and complained stridently that their supper was over. James Bond produced twopence and handed it over. "They're wonderful. Like mechanical toys. Give them a second course from me."
Tiffy rang up the money and took out two more cakes. "Now listen, Joe and May. This nice gemmun's been nice to Tiffy and he's now being nice to you. So don't you peck my fingers and make messes or mebbe he won't visit us again. "She was halfway45 through feeding the birds when she cocked an ear. There was the noise of creaking boards somewhere overhead and then the sound of quiet footsteps treading stairs. All of a sudden Tiffy's animated46 face became quiet and tense. She whispered to Bond: "That's Lindy's man. Important man. He's a good customer here. But he don't like me because I won't go with him. So he can talk rough sometimes. And he don't like Joe and May because he reckons they make two much noise." She shooed the birds in the direction of the open window, but they saw there was half their cake to come and they just fluttered into the air and then down to the counter again. Tiffy appealed to Bond, "Be a good friend and just sit quiet whatever he says. He likes to get people mad. And then. . . ." She stopped. "Will you have another Red Stripe, mister?"
Bead curtains swished in the shadowy back of the room.
Bond had been sitting with his chin propped47 on his right hand. He now dropped the hand to the counter and sat back. The Walther PPK inside the waistband of his trousers to the left of his flat stomach signalled its presence to his skin. The fingers of his right hand curled slightly, ready to receive its butt48. He moved his left foot off the rail of the stool onto the floor. He said, "That'd be fine." He unbuttoned his coat with his left hand and then, with the same hand, took out his handkerchief and wiped his face with it. "It always gets extra hot around six before the Undertaker's Wind has started to blow."
"Mister, the undertaker's right here. You care to feel his wind?"
James Bond turned his head slowly. Dusk had crept into the big room and all he could see was a pale, tall outline. The man was carrying a suitcase. He put it down on the floor and came forward. He must have been wearing rubber-soled shoes for his feet made no sound. Tiffy moved nervously49 behind the counter and a switch clicked. Half a dozen low-voltage bulbs came to life in rusty50 brackets around the walls.
Bond said easily, "You made me jump."
Scaramanga came up and leant against the counter. The description in Records was exact, but it had not caught the catlike menace of the big man, the extreme breadth of the shoulders, and the narrow waist, or the cold immobility of the eyes that now examined Bond with an expression of aloof51 disinterest. He was wearing a well-cut, single-breasted tan suit and co-respondent shoes in brown and white. Instead of a tie, he wore a high stock in white silk secured by a gold pin the shape of a miniature pistol. There should have been something theatrical52 about the getup but, perhaps because of the man's fine figure, there wasn't.
He said, "I sometimes make 'em dance. Then I shoot their feet off." There was no trace of a foreign accent underneath the American.
Bond said, "That sounds rather drastic. What do you do it for?"
"The last time it was five thousand dollars. Seems like you don't know who I am. Didn't the cool cat tell you?" Bond glanced at Tiffy. She was standing53 very still, her hands by her sides. The knuckles54 were white.
Bond said, "Why should she? Why would I want to know?"
There was a quick flash of gold. The small black hole looked directly at Bond's navel. "Because of this. What are you doing here, stranger? Kind of a coincidence finding a city slicker at three and one-half. Or at Sav' La Mar for the matter of that. Not by any chance from the police? Or any of then- friends?"
"Kamerad!" Bond raised his hands in mock surrender. He lowered them and turned to Tiffy. "Who is this man? A one-man takeover bid for Jamaica? Or a refugee from a circus? Ask him what he'd like to drink. Whoever he is, it was a good act." James Bond knew that he had very nearly pulled the trigger of the gun. Hit a gunman in his vanity. ... He had a quick vision of himself writhing55 on the floor, his right hand without the power to reach for his own weapon. Tiffy's pretty face was no longer pretty. It was a taut56 skull57. She stared at James Bond. Her mouth opened but no sound came from the gaping58 lips. She liked him and she knew he was dead. The kling-klings, Joe and May, smelled the same electricity. With a tremendous din24 of metallic squawks, they fled for the open window, like black thieves escaping into the night.
The explosions from the Colt .45 were deafening59. The two birds disintegrated60 against the violet backdrop of the dusk, the scraps of feathers and pink flesh blasting out of the yellow light of the cafe into the limbo61 of the deserted street like shrapnel.
There was a moment of deafening silence. James Bond didn't move. He sat where he was, waiting for the tension of the deed to relax. It didn't. With an inarticulate scream, that was half a filthy62 word, Tiffy took James Bond's bottle of Red Stripe off the counter and clumsily flung it. There came a distant crash of glass from the back of the room. Then, having made her puny63 gesture, Tiffy fell to her knees behind the counter and went into sobbing64 hysterics.
James Bond drank down the rest of his beer and got slowly to his feet. He walked towards Scaramanga and was about to pass him when the man reached out a languid left arm and caught him at the biceps. He held the snout of his gun to his nose, sniffing65 delicately. The expression in the dead brown eyes was faraway. He said, "Mister, there's something quite extra about the smell of death. Care to try it?" He held out the glittering gun as if he was offering James Bond a rose.
Bond stood quite still. He said, "Mind your manners. Take your hand off me."
Scaramanga raised his eyebrows66. The flat, leaden gaze seemed to take in Bond for the first time.
He released his grip.
James Bond went on round the edge of the counter. When he came opposite the other man, he found the eyes were now looking at him with faint, scornful curiosity. Bond stopped. The sobbing of the girl was the crying of a small dog. Somewhere down the street a sound system-a loudspeaker record player-began braying67 calypso.
Bond looked the man in the eye. He said, "Thanks. I've tried it. I recommend the Berlin vintage Nineteen forty-five." He smiled a friendly, only slightly ironical68 smile. "But I expect you were too young to be at that tasting."
点击收听单词发音
1 hack | |
n.劈,砍,出租马车;v.劈,砍,干咳 | |
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2 aces | |
abbr.adjustable convertible-rate equity security (units) 可调节的股本证券兑换率;aircraft ejection seat 飞机弹射座椅;automatic control evaluation simulator 自动控制评估模拟器n.擅长…的人( ace的名词复数 );精于…的人;( 网球 )(对手接不到发球的)发球得分;爱司球 | |
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3 mar | |
vt.破坏,毁坏,弄糟 | |
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4 navigate | |
v.航行,飞行;导航,领航 | |
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5 punctures | |
n.(尖物刺成的)小孔( puncture的名词复数 );(尤指)轮胎穿孔;(尤指皮肤上被刺破的)扎孔;刺伤v.在(某物)上穿孔( puncture的第三人称单数 );刺穿(某物);削弱(某人的傲气、信心等);泄某人的气 | |
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6 demurred | |
v.表示异议,反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7 alligator | |
n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
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8 villas | |
别墅,公馆( villa的名词复数 ); (城郊)住宅 | |
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9 coastal | |
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的 | |
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10 vernacular | |
adj.地方的,用地方语写成的;n.白话;行话;本国语;动植物的俗名 | |
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11 smack | |
vt.拍,打,掴;咂嘴;vi.含有…意味;n.拍 | |
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12 bout | |
n.侵袭,发作;一次(阵,回);拳击等比赛 | |
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13 vaguely | |
adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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14 meandered | |
(指溪流、河流等)蜿蜒而流( meander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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16 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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17 stilts | |
n.(支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的)桩子,支柱( stilt的名词复数 );高跷 | |
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18 slit | |
n.狭长的切口;裂缝;vt.切开,撕裂 | |
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19 lighting | |
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光 | |
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20 shingles | |
n.带状疱疹;(布满海边的)小圆石( shingle的名词复数 );屋顶板;木瓦(板);墙面板 | |
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21 ginger | |
n.姜,精力,淡赤黄色;adj.淡赤黄色的;vt.使活泼,使有生气 | |
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22 scrap | |
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废 | |
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23 adornment | |
n.装饰;装饰品 | |
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24 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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25 underneath | |
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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26 bead | |
n.念珠;(pl.)珠子项链;水珠 | |
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27 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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28 flirted | |
v.调情,打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 bosoms | |
胸部( bosom的名词复数 ); 胸怀; 女衣胸部(或胸襟); 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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30 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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31 dictated | |
v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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32 deftly | |
adv.灵巧地,熟练地,敏捷地 | |
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33 gleaner | |
n.拾穗的人;割捆机 | |
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34 munching | |
v.用力咀嚼(某物),大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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35 cane | |
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的 | |
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36 giggled | |
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37 plumbing | |
n.水管装置;水暖工的工作;管道工程v.用铅锤测量(plumb的现在分词);探究 | |
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38 ravens | |
n.低质煤;渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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39 metallic | |
adj.金属的;金属制的;含金属的;产金属的;像金属的 | |
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40 strutted | |
趾高气扬地走,高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41 repertoire | |
n.(准备好演出的)节目,保留剧目;(计算机的)指令表,指令系统, <美>(某个人的)全部技能;清单,指令表 | |
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42 ruffle | |
v.弄皱,弄乱;激怒,扰乱;n.褶裥饰边 | |
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43 scraps | |
油渣 | |
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44 devoured | |
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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45 halfway | |
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途 | |
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46 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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47 propped | |
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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49 nervously | |
adv.神情激动地,不安地 | |
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50 rusty | |
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的 | |
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51 aloof | |
adj.远离的;冷淡的,漠不关心的 | |
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52 theatrical | |
adj.剧场的,演戏的;做戏似的,做作的 | |
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53 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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54 knuckles | |
n.(指人)指关节( knuckle的名词复数 );(指动物)膝关节,踝v.(指人)指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 );(指动物)膝关节,踝 | |
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55 writhing | |
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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56 taut | |
adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的 | |
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57 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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58 gaping | |
adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大 | |
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59 deafening | |
adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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60 disintegrated | |
v.(使)破裂[分裂,粉碎],(使)崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61 limbo | |
n.地狱的边缘;监狱 | |
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62 filthy | |
adj.卑劣的;恶劣的,肮脏的 | |
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63 puny | |
adj.微不足道的,弱小的 | |
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64 sobbing | |
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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65 sniffing | |
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说 | |
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66 eyebrows | |
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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67 braying | |
v.发出驴叫似的声音( bray的现在分词 );发嘟嘟声;粗声粗气地讲话(或大笑);猛击 | |
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68 ironical | |
adj.讽刺的,冷嘲的 | |
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