to the ground, clutching at his throat. His hand was still clenched4 round the whistle lanyard, and the little train kept up its mournful howl of warning. Fifty yards to go! The golden hair hung forlornly forward, obscuring the face. The ropes on the wrists and ankles showed clearly. The breasts offered themselves to the screaming engine. Bond ground his teeth and shut his mind to the dreadful impact that would come any minute now. He leaped to the left again and got off three shots. He thought two of them had hit, but then something slammed a great blow into the muscle of his left shoulder and he spun5 across the cab and crashed to the iron floor, his face over the edge of the footplate. And it was from there, only inches away, that he saw the front wheels scrunch6 through the body on the line, saw the blonde head severed7 from the body, saw the china-blue eyes give him a last blank stare, saw the fragments of the showroom dummy8 disintegrate9 with a sharp crackling of plastic and the pink splinters shower down the embankment.
James Bond choked back the sickness that rose from his stomach into the back of his throat. He staggered to his feet, keeping low. He reached up for the accelerator lever and pushed it upwards10. A pitched battle with the train at a standstill would put the odds11 even more against him. He hardly felt the pain in his shoulder. He edged round the right-band side of the tender. Four guns boomed. He flung his head back under cover. Now the hoods12 were shooting, but wildly because of the interference of the surrey top. But Bond had had time to see one glorious sight. In the brake van, Scaramanga had slid from his throne and was down on his knees, his head moving to and fro like a wounded animal. Where in hell had Bond hit him? And now what? How was he going to deal with the four hoods, just as badly obscured from him as he was from them?
Then a voice from the back of the train-it could only be from the brake van-Felix Leiter's voice-called out above the shriek13 of the engine's whistle, "Okay, you four guys. Toss your guns over the side. Now! Quick!" There came the crack of a shot. "I said quick. There's Mr. Gengerella gone to meet his maker14. Okay, then. And now hands behind your heads. That's better. Right. Okay, James. The battle's over. Are you okay? If so, show yourself. There's still the final curtain, and we've got to move quick."
Bond rose carefully. He could hardly believe it! Leiter must have been riding on the buffers15 behind the brake van. He wouldn't have been able to show himself earlier for fear of Bond's gunfire. Yes! There he was! His fair hair tousled by the wind, a long-barrelled pistol using his upraised steel hook as a rest, standing16 astride the now supine body of Scaramanga beside the brake wheel. Bond's shoulder had begun to hurt like hell. He shouted, with the anger of tremendous relief, "Goddamn you, Leiter. Why in hell didn't you show up before? I might have got hurt."
Leiter laughed. "That'll be the day! Now listen, shamus. Get ready to jump. The longer you wait, the farther you've got to walk home. I'm going to stay with these guys for a while and hand them over to the law in Green Island." He shook his head to show this was a lie. "Now get goin'. It's The Morass17. The landing'll be soft. Stinks19 a bit, but we'll give you an eau-de-cologne spray when you get home. Right?"
The train ran over a small culvert, and the song of the wheels changed to a deep boom. Bond looked ahead. In the distance was the spidery ironwork of the Orange River bridge. The still shrieking20 tram was losing steam. The gauge21 said nineteen miles per hour. Bond looked down at the dead Rasta. In death, his face was as horrible as it had been in Me. The bad teeth, sharpened from eating sugar cane22 from childhood, were bared in a frozen snarl23. Bond took a quick glance under the surrey roof. Hendriks' slumped body lolled with the movement of the tram. The sweat of the day still shone on the doughy24 cheeks. Even as a corpse25 he didn't ask for sympathy. In the seat behind him, Leiter's bullet had torn through the back of Gengerel-la's head and removed most of his face. The three gangsters26 now gazed up at James Bond with whipped eyes. They hadn't expected all this. This was to have been a holiday. The calypso shirts said so. Scaramanga, the undefeated, the undefeatable, had said so. Until minutes before, his golden gun had backed up his word. Now, suddenly, everything was different. As the Arabs say when a great sheikh has gone, has removed his protection, "Now there is no more shade!" They were covered with guns from the front and the rear. The train stretched out its iron stride towards nowhere they had ever heard of before. The whistle moaned. The sun beat down. The dreadful stink18 of The Great Morass assailed27 their nostrils28. This was abroad. This was bad news, really bad. The Tour Director had left them to fend29 for themselves. Two of them had been killed. Even their guns were gone. The tough faces, as white moons, gazed in supplication30 up at Bond. Louie Paradise's voice was cracked and dry with terror. "A million bucks31, mister, if you get us out of this. Swear on my mother. A million."
The faces of Sam Binion and Hal Garfinkel lit up. Here was hope!
"And a million."
"And another! On my baby son's head!"
The voice of Felix Leiter bellowed32 angrily. There was a note of panic in it. "Jump. Damn you, James! Jump!"
James Bond stood up in the cabin, not listening to the voices supplicating33 from under the yellow surrey roof. These men had wanted to watch him being murdered. They had been prepared to murder him themselves. How many dead men had each one of them got on his tally34 sheet? Bond got down on the step of the cabin, chose his moment, and threw himself clear of the clinker track and into the soft embraces of a stinking35 mangrove36 pool.
His explosion into the mud released the stench of hell. Great bubbles of marsh37 gas wobbled up to the surface and burst glutinously38. A bird screeched39 and clattered40 off through the foliage41. James Bond waded42 out onto the edge of the embankment. Now his shoulder was really hurting. He knelt down and was as sick as a cat.
When he raised his head, it was to see Leiter hurl43 himself off the brake van, now a good two hundred yards away. He seemed to land clumsily. He didn't get up. And now, within yards of the long iron bridge over the sluggish44 river, another figure leaped from the train into a clump45 o: mangrove. It was a tall, chocolate-clad figure. There was no doubt about it! It was Scaramanga! Bond cursed feebly Why in hell hadn't Leiter put a finishing bullet through the man's head? Now there was unfinished business. The cards had only been reshuffled. The end game had still to be played!
The screaming progress of the driverless train changed to a roar as the track took to the trestles of the long bridge. Bond watched it vaguely46, wondering when it would run out of steam. What would tie three gangsters do now? Take to the hills? Get the train under control and go on to Green Harbour and try and take the Thunder Bird across to Cuba? Immediately the answer came! Halfway47 across the bridge, the engine suddenly reared up like a bucking48 stallion. At the same time there came a crash of thunder and a vast sheet of flame, and the bridge buckled49 downwards in the centre like a bent50 leg. Chunks51 of torn iron sprayed upwards and sideways, and there was a splintering crash as the main stanchions gave and slowly bowed down towards the water. Through the jagged gap, the beautiful Belle52, a smashed toy, folded upon itself and, with a giant splintering of iron and woodwork and a volcano of spray and steam, thundered into the river.
A deafening53 silence fell. Somewhere behind Bond, a wakened tree frog tinkled54 uncertainly. Four white egrets flew down and over the wreck55, their necks outstretched inquisitively56. In the distance, black dots materialized high up in the sky and circled lazily closer. The sixth sense of the turkey buzzards had told them that the distant explosion was disaster-something that might yield a meal. The sun hammered down on the silver rails, and a few yards away from where Bond lay, a group of yellow butterflies danced in the shimmer57. Bond got slowly to his feet, and parting the butterflies, began walking slowly but purposefully up the line towards the bridge. First Felix Leiter, and then after the big one that had got away.
Leiter lay in the stinking mud. His left leg was at a hideous58 angle. Bond went down to him, his finger to his lips. He knelt beside him and said softly, "Nothing much I can do for now, pal59. I'll give you a bullet to bite on and get you into some shade. There'll be people coming before long. Got to get on after that bastard60. He's somewhere up there by the bridge. What made you think he was dead?"
Leiter, groaned61, more in anger with himself than from the pain. "There was blood all over the place." The voice was a halting whisper between clenched teeth. "His shirt was soaked in it. Eyes closed. Thought if he wasn't cold he'd go with the others on the bridge." He smiled faintly. "How did you dig the River Kwai stunt63? Go off all right?"
Bond raised a thumb. "Fourth of July. The crocs'll be sitting down to table right now. But that damned dummy! Gave me a nasty turn. Did you put her there?"
"Sure. Sorry, boy. Mr. S. told me to. Made an excuse to spike64 the bridge this morning. No idea your girl friend was a blonde or that you'd fall for the spiel."
"Bloody65 silly of me, I suppose. Thought he'd got hold of her last night. Anyway, come on. Here's your bullet. Bite the lead. The story-books say it helps. This is going to hurt, but I must haul you under cover and out of the sun." Bond got his hands under Leiter's armpits and, as gently as he could, dragged him to a dry patch under a big mangrove bush above swamp level. The sweat of pain poured down Leiter's face. Bond propped66 him up against the roots. Leiter gave a groan62 and his head fell back. Bond looked thoughtfully down at him. A faint was probably the best thing that could have happened. He took Leiter's gun out of his waistband and put it beside his left, and only, hand. Bond still might get into much trouble. If he did, Scaramanga would come after Felix.
Bond crept off along the line of mangroves towards the bridge. For the time being, he would have to keep more or less in the open. He prayed that, nearer the river, the swamp would yield to drier land so that he could work down towards the sea and then cut back towards the river and hope to pick up the man's tracks.
It was one o'clock and the sun was high. James Bond was tired and very thirsty, and his shoulder wound throbbed68 with his pulse. The wound was beginning to give him a fever. One dreams all day as well as all night, and now, as he stalked his prey69, he found, quizzically, that much of his mind was taken up with visualizing70 the champagne71 buffet72 waiting for them all, the living and the dead, at Green Island. For the moment, he indulged himself. The buffet would be laid out under the trees, as he saw it, adjoining the terminal station, which would probably be on the same lines as Thunderbird Halt. There would be long trestle tables, spotless tablecloths73, rows of glasses and plates and cutlery, and great dishes of cold lobster74 salad, cold meat cuts. And mounds75 of fruit-pineapple and such -to make the decor look Jamaican and exotic. There might be a hot dish, he thought. Something like roast stuffed sucking-pig with rice and peas-too hot for the day, decided76 Bond, but a feast for most of Green Island when the rich "tourists" had departed. And there would be drink! Champagne in frosted silver coolers, rum punches, Tom Collinses, whisky sours, and, of course, great beakers of iced water that would only have been poured when the train whistled its approach to the gay little station. Bond could see it all. Every detail of it under the shade of the great ficus trees. The white-gloved, uniformed coloured waiters enticing77 him to take more and more; beyond, the dancing waters of the harbour; in the background the hypnotic throb67 of the calypso band, the soft, enticing eyes of the girls. And, ruling, ordering all, the tall, fine figure of the gracious host, a thin cigar between his teeth, the wide white Stetson tilted78 low over his brow, offering Bond just one more goblet79 of iced champagne.
James Bond stumbled over a mangrove root, threw out his right hand for support from the bush, missed, tripped again, and fell heavily. He lay for a moment measuring the noise he must have made. It wouldn't have been much. The inshore wind from the sea was feathering the swamp. A hundred yards away the river added its undertone of sluggish turbulence80. There were cricket and bird noises. Bond got to his knees and then to his feet. What in hell had he been thinking of? Come on, you bloody fool! There's work to be done! He shook his head to clear it. Gracious host! Goddamn it! He was on his way to kill the gracious host! Goblets81 of iced champagne? That'd be the day! He shook his head angrily. He took several very deep slow breaths. He knew the symptoms. This was nothing worse than acute nervous exhaustion82 with-he gave himself that amount of grace-a small fever added. All he had to do was to keep his mind and his eyes in focus. For God's sake, no more daydreaming83! With a new, sharpened resolve he kicked the mirages84 out of his mind and looked to his geography.
There were perhaps a hundred yards to go to the bridge. On Bond's left, the mangroves were sparser85 and the black mud was dry and cracked. But there were still soft patches. Bond put up the collar of his coat to hide the white shirt. He covered another twenty yards beside the rail and then struck off left into the mangroves. He found that if he kept close to the roots of the mangroves the going wasn't too bad. At least there were no dry twigs86 or leaves to crack and rustle87. He tried to keep as nearly as possible parallel with the river, but thick patches of bushes made him make small detours88 and he had to estimate his direction by the dryness of the mud and the slight rise of the land towards the riverbank. His ears weie pricked89 like an animal's for the smallest sound. His eyes strained into the greenery ahead. Now the mud was pitted with burrows90 of land crabs91, and there were occasional remnants of their shells, victims of big birds or mongoose. For the first time, mosquitoes and sandflies began to attack him. Fearing the noise, he dared only to dab92 at them softly with his handkerchief that was soon soaked with the blood they had sucked from him and wringing93 with the white man's sweat that attracted them.
Bond estimated that he had penetrated94 two hundred yards into the swamp when he heard the single, controlled cough.
点击收听单词发音
1 downwards | |
adj./adv.向下的(地),下行的(地) | |
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2 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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3 slumped | |
大幅度下降,暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 ); 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
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4 clenched | |
v.紧握,抓紧,咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5 spun | |
v.纺,杜撰,急转身 | |
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6 scrunch | |
v.压,挤压;扭曲(面部) | |
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7 severed | |
v.切断,断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 );断,裂 | |
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8 dummy | |
n.假的东西;(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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9 disintegrate | |
v.瓦解,解体,(使)碎裂,(使)粉碎 | |
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10 upwards | |
adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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11 odds | |
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别 | |
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12 hoods | |
n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 );头巾;(汽车、童车等的)折合式车篷;汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 );头巾;(汽车、童车等的)折合式车篷;汽车发动机罩 | |
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13 shriek | |
v./n.尖叫,叫喊 | |
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14 maker | |
n.制造者,制造商 | |
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15 buffers | |
起缓冲作用的人(或物)( buffer的名词复数 ); 缓冲器; 减震器; 愚蠢老头 | |
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16 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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17 morass | |
n.沼泽,困境 | |
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18 stink | |
vi.发出恶臭;糟透,招人厌恶;n.恶臭 | |
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19 stinks | |
v.散发出恶臭( stink的第三人称单数 );发臭味;名声臭;糟透 | |
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20 shrieking | |
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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21 gauge | |
v.精确计量;估计;n.标准度量;计量器 | |
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22 cane | |
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的 | |
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23 snarl | |
v.吼叫,怒骂,纠缠,混乱;n.混乱,缠结,咆哮 | |
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24 doughy | |
adj.面团的,苍白的,半熟的;软弱无力 | |
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25 corpse | |
n.尸体,死尸 | |
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26 gangsters | |
匪徒,歹徒( gangster的名词复数 ) | |
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27 assailed | |
v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 );困扰;质问;毅然应对 | |
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28 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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29 fend | |
v.照料(自己),(自己)谋生,挡开,避开 | |
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30 supplication | |
n.恳求,祈愿,哀求 | |
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31 bucks | |
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 );钱;(英国十九世纪初的)花花公子;(用于某些表达方式)责任v.(马等)猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 );抵制;猛然震荡;马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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32 bellowed | |
v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的过去式和过去分词 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫 | |
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33 supplicating | |
v.祈求,哀求,恳求( supplicate的现在分词 ) | |
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34 tally | |
n.计数器,记分,一致,测量;vt.计算,记录,使一致;vi.计算,记分,一致 | |
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35 stinking | |
adj.臭的,烂醉的,讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 );发臭味;名声臭;糟透 | |
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36 mangrove | |
n.(植物)红树,红树林 | |
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37 marsh | |
n.沼泽,湿地 | |
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38 glutinously | |
黏的,胶质的; 粘 | |
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39 screeched | |
v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 );发出粗而刺耳的声音;高叫 | |
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40 clattered | |
发出咔哒声(clatter的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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41 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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42 waded | |
(从水、泥等)蹚,走过,跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43 hurl | |
vt.猛投,力掷,声叫骂 | |
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44 sluggish | |
adj.懒惰的,迟钝的,无精打采的 | |
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45 clump | |
n.树丛,草丛;vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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46 vaguely | |
adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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47 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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48 bucking | |
v.(马等)猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 );抵制;猛然震荡;马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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49 buckled | |
a. 有带扣的 | |
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50 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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51 chunks | |
厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 ); (某物)相当大的数量或部分 | |
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52 belle | |
n.靓女 | |
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53 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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54 tinkled | |
(使)发出丁当声,(使)发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 ); 叮当响着发出,铃铃响着报出 | |
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55 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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56 inquisitively | |
过分好奇地; 好问地 | |
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57 shimmer | |
v./n.发微光,发闪光;微光 | |
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58 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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59 pal | |
n.朋友,伙伴,同志;vi.结为友 | |
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60 bastard | |
n.坏蛋,混蛋;私生子 | |
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61 groaned | |
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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62 groan | |
vi./n.呻吟,抱怨;(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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63 stunt | |
n.惊人表演,绝技,特技;vt.阻碍...发育,妨碍...生长 | |
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64 spike | |
n.长钉,钉鞋;v.以大钉钉牢,使...失效 | |
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65 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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66 propped | |
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67 throb | |
v.震颤,颤动;(急速强烈地)跳动,搏动 | |
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68 throbbed | |
抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 ); (心脏、脉搏等)跳动 | |
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69 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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70 visualizing | |
肉眼观察 | |
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71 champagne | |
n.香槟酒;微黄色 | |
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72 buffet | |
n.自助餐;饮食柜台;餐台 | |
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73 tablecloths | |
n.桌布,台布( tablecloth的名词复数 ) | |
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74 lobster | |
n.龙虾,龙虾肉 | |
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75 mounds | |
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆 | |
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76 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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77 enticing | |
adj.迷人的;诱人的 | |
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78 tilted | |
v. 倾斜的 | |
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79 goblet | |
n.高脚酒杯 | |
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80 turbulence | |
n.喧嚣,狂暴,骚乱,湍流 | |
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81 goblets | |
n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
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82 exhaustion | |
n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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83 daydreaming | |
v.想入非非,空想( daydream的现在分词 ) | |
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84 mirages | |
n.海市蜃楼,幻景( mirage的名词复数 ) | |
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85 sparser | |
adj.稀疏的,稀少的( sparse的比较级 ) | |
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86 twigs | |
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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87 rustle | |
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
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88 detours | |
绕行的路( detour的名词复数 ); 绕道,兜圈子 | |
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89 pricked | |
刺,扎,戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 ); 刺伤; 刺痛; 使剧痛 | |
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90 burrows | |
n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘(洞穴),挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 );翻寻 | |
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91 crabs | |
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
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92 dab | |
v.轻触,轻拍,轻涂;n.(颜料等的)轻涂 | |
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93 wringing | |
淋湿的,湿透的 | |
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94 penetrated | |
adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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