"It is nothing," he said apologetically. "I have often watched for thirty hours at the Hospice when there has been a storm. We make little difference between night and day up there. The poor people who fall in the snow would not thank us if we did."
Benny laughed, and sitting up in bed, he drank his coffee willingly.
"What time is it, Abbé?"
"It is half-past six o'clock; you have two hours yet. Your brother is already dressed; you will find him in the shed."
Benny put on his engineer's overalls3 and went down. He felt a little excited; perhaps he was actually nervous, but no one would have guessed as much. Whistling a few bars of an ancient waltz almost in as many keys as there were notes, he went out to the shed and set to work to help his brother. It was still black dark, and the great arc lamp shone out weirdly4 at such an hour of the morning.
Jack5 Benson carried an electric torch in one hand and an oil-can in the other. He said that all was well. He had been over the "ship" from stem to stern—there was not a nut which a spanner could tighten6 a hair's-breadth, not a wire that was not taut7. The machine itself seemed to bear witness to the truth of this. Benny himself admitted that she was a picture, while a stranger would have likened her to a great steel bird, with the head of a snout-faced whale and the fins8 of a ravening9 shark. Another image would have made of her a shining torpedo10, with great wings thrust out on either side and a monster propeller11 large enough to have moved a steamship12 at her stern. It seemed ridiculous that those slight stays, those ridiculous bicycle wheels supported her as she stood. Yet that was the truth, for she was light to the point of miracle.
"Shall we run the engine now, Jack?"
Jack thought that they might.
"I'm not too sure of that union we made yesterday, Benny. You'd look handsome if the petrol gave out. Let's run her, and see if it's leaking. You've a good hour yet before you need go up. There's breakfast, too—you'll have to let the Abbé fill you up, for he's cook this morning. Are you ready, old boy? Then let her rip."
He switched off the magnet, gave a few sharp turns to the propeller, and the engine started. Had not the machine been anchored, she would have glided13 off at once, but, being anchored, she heaved and tossed as a ship at sea. Jack was satisfied with the union, and declared that it was not leaking, upon which Benny announced his intention to take a short flight as a final precaution.
They ran the machine out of the shed, and he climbed into his seat, to which a light steel door in the side of the torpedo-like body admitted him. Once again Jack started the engine. Benny glided swiftly over the snow for some thirty yards, then rose swiftly and circled the Park Hotel. There was no wind and it was bitter cold. Of all the visitors, he did not espy14 a single one upon the slopes beneath him. An intense silence prevailed—a silence that was almost ominous15.
They sat to breakfast upon his return, and the abbé served an excellent omelet and some eggs which he had captured in the village last night. If their talk was a little constrained16 and nervous, the circumstances more than justified17 it. Here they were, with their eyes upon a goal so distant that its attainment18 seemed impossible. All the dangers, the risks, the difficulties of such an emprise stared them in the face, and would be remembered. A man's life might be the price of success. Secretly in his heart, Jack wondered if he were speaking to his beloved brother for the last time. It might be that.
Benny, upon his part, said very little. He had a map of the Pennine Alps on the white cloth before him and he studied it closely. His questions concerned the arrangements and the names of the committee of the Aero Club of England, who would be present. He understood that his flight was to be checked at Chamonix and again in the Val d'Anniviers as he returned. There were to be watchers at Zermatt and at the Weisshorn hut, if it could be reached. Twice he was permitted to land for petrol. He made it out that they were sixty-three miles from Mont Blanc as the crow flies, and that would be his first halting-place.
"Marfan and Collot from Paris are to be there," he said, "I had a letter from them. I hope there will be good landing somewhere near the hotel—it wouldn't do to mow19 down the crowd. I've got a spot in my mind, but they may not have in theirs. The petrol, of course, will be all right. émile is seeing to that, and he's a man to trust."
Jack agreed to it. émile was the cleverest airman he knew.
"If you want anything at all, Benny, it may be a couple of plugs. Mind you see they don't blow. The oil's gone through from London, and I had an advice from Chamonix yesterday saying they had stored it. Mind you keep alive in the valley from the Matterhorn, and remember to come up pretty far before you swing and drop. The wind looks like being an easter; you'll have to take care in the last hour."
He agreed, and consented under compulsion to eat his breakfast. Day had broken now at the far end of the Rhone Valley, and the higher peaks were shaping above the mists to pinnacles20 of rose and silver and many shades of purple. Clouds drifted toward Sion and the west; the great chasm21 below them was so filled by the rolling white vapour that it might have been a sea of downy billows; but the day promised warm sunshine and little wind despite Jack's prophecy. Benny liked the look of it altogether; and when, without warning, strains of ridiculous music were to be heard on the path below the chalet, he pushed on his hat and went out.
All the world about him was astir now and eager for the day. Hatless men had emerged from the Palace Hotel, and were darting22 hither and thither23 on skis, or crying the news to girls hidden at their bedroom windows. Caterers for an expected multitude flocked towards the booths they had erected24 on the mountain-side, and prepared to set out their wares25. A perpetual going and coming, the jangling of sleigh bells and the neighing of horses spoke26 of unusual activity at the stables.
Higher up on the slope whence the actual start was to be made, a little throng27 had already gathered. It surveyed the ground, and looked wonderingly toward distant Mont Blanc veiled in the mists. Was it possible that this mad Englishman would attempt to fly as far as that? Incredible! A thing undreamed of—perhaps an affront28 to the Almighty29, who had created the mountains to speak of His power and dominion31.
Benny saw these people as he wheeled his aeroplane out of the shed at eight o'clock, and began to push it up toward the plateau. He thought very little of them, and remembered few of his friends at Andana. A certain pleasure at the interest he had awakened32 was mingled33 already with the desire to hear if Lily Delayne would be present at the start. He knew not quite why it was, but his desire that she should be there became rather a superstition34 than a sentiment. He blamed her no longer for the indifference35 she had displayed during the week, for that was natural to the circumstance; but he associated her presence with the success of his attempt, and was almost ready to say that it would not succeed if she failed him.
Of Lily, however, there was no sign at present. He had to be content with the gossip of Bess Bethune, who was early on the scene, and ready with a thousand questions. Bess promised to tell her uncle, the Cabinet Minister, all about the wonderful machine; and, as she said, "Of course, the Government will buy thousands, especially if you don't do it, because Governments always buy things which fall down." When this offer failed to excite the stolid36 engineer as much as it might have done, she turned to Dr. Orange, and asked him if he were not going to lend Mr. Benson his surgical37 instruments? Her chatter38 was not unmusical, and her presence welcome amid the gloom which now fell upon the company. Perhaps many shared the child's fears. This Englishman was going to his death—there could hardly be a doubt about it.
Benny moved in and out among the people, exchanging a word here, bestowing39 a nod there. He was wrapped up like an Arctic explorer, and resembled a shaggy bear more than a man; but his black eyes were very bright, and his pale cheeks carried a flush of colour foreign to them. Chiefly, perhaps, his attention centred upon the narrow path by which Lily Delayne must come up from her chalet, if she came at all; and he searched it at brief intervals40, even pushing his way through the press of the people that he might inspect it more surely, but always to his disappointment. Of Lily herself there was not a sign, the very blinds of her sitting-room41 were drawn42 down. He fell to wondering if she had left Andana altogether, and he might have rested upon his opinion but for a message brought to him from the chalet just five minutes before the signal to start was given. This was nothing less than a little horse-shoe carved out of wood and set with silver nails. To it was attached a card with the simple words, "Good Luck," and then the initials, "L. C." Benny resolved immediately to make it his "mascot," and he affixed43 it to the prow45 of his machine without a word to anyone.
Such an offering at the altar of superstition set other friends busy, and mascots46 were offered by many hands. Teddy-bears, brought in haste from the bazaar47, squatted48 upon the aluminium49 shell of the aeroplane; pigs and elephants from the same merchant were tied by willing hands wherever a lodgment could be found. The occupation found the company in better mood, and as the moment drew near many who had been silent became eloquent50 enough and forgot their apprehensions51. It was almost with impatience52 that the people heard the long-winded speech of the president for the day. Words would not help Benjamin Benson across the Pennine Alps, they remembered, and some of them did not hesitate to say so aloud. Fortunately, the address came to an end just when the patience of the malcontents was quite exhausted53; and then, with a last salute54 and a word of good cheer to Brother Jack and the Abbé, Benny climbed to his seat and roared to them to let go.
In a sense, it was an undramatic start, and pleased the excitable Frenchmen but little. Their tastes would have dictated55 a flourish of trumpets56 or a salute of twenty-one guns; whereas, in fact, there was no music whatever at this particular moment, and the solitary57 gun which denoted the start boomed heavily and almost with menace. Its echoes had hardly died away in the heights above Vermala when the roar of Benny's engine was to be heard, and immediately upon that the machine, flashing silver in the sunshine, soared above the plateau, and was gone in an instant straight across the mighty30 chasm of the Rhone Valley. Five minutes later the same machine was but a speck58 against the azure59 of the sky.
Benny had made a good ascent60, and was pleased enough with the way his engine ran. The exhaust was firm and regular; he knew the firing to be even; while, as for the lifting power, he was off the ground in twenty yards and had mounted five hundred feet the very first time he circled above the spectators. This gave him confidence, and sent him straight across the valley without further preliminary. To be sure, he cast down one quick glance at the black ring of spectators upon the plateau before the Palace Hotel, searched out for an instant Lily's chalet and tried to believe that the figure in the garden was that of a woman who had inspired him to this day's work; but his reward was a vague impression of a blurred61 scene, and it gave place almost immediately to the wonder and ecstasy62 of the flight itself, and to that desire of a goal which burned him as a fever.
His course lay almost directly to the southwest. Upon his left hand were the tremendous precipices63 of the Janus-faced Weisshorn, the gentler arrête of the Rothhorn, and, behind that again, the black rocks of the Matterhorn. More directly before him were the Becs de Bossons, and the black defile64 of the lower Valley; while the Aiguilles Rouges65, clear and sharp, stood to his right at the moment of departure. Heading for a while down the Valley of the Rhone, he saw the range of the Pennine Alps opening away to the south to disclose Mont Blanc and the triple domes66, now lightly veiled by cloud, but plainly to be discerned at the altitude he had chosen. Here Nature seemed a little kinder, showing him low, rounded mountains upon either side of the valley and great woods of the pines which were but black scars upon the sheer rock. Deeper down lay the heart of the chasm, the towns, which were but so many dots upon a sepia ground, the silver thread of the Rhone itself, and Sion with its puny67 heights whereon proud bishops68 had built their palaces. Over these he passed at a tremendous speed, watched from below by thousands who were invisible to him. He felt already that he was the master even of this majesty—that man had conquered, and to him henceforth must be the dominion.
The day had broken fine, and the sun shone gloriously when he crossed the actual valley and began to fly high above the mountains upon the other side. Warned that height would be his salvation70, he now soared to a great altitude that he might be sure of stable currents and not be drawn down by any of those eddies71 in which aeroplanes founder72 so quickly. Of the latter he had a momentary73 experience at the mouth of the Black Valley, where the cross winds caught him and turned him completely about before he could recover control, so that he was facing Brigue again and looking toward Italy and not toward France. This salutary warning found him more watchful74 afterwards; and when he had put the machine straight he mounted still higher, and found a dead calm, wherein he ignored the bitter cold and quickly left the valley behind him.
Now for the first time Lake Leman was visible to the northwest. He could see its waters shining in the sun and thought he could locate the heights of Caux; but of this he was not sure, and his knowledge of the Alps being very limited, he but guessed at his precise environment. Of Mont Blanc, however, he never lost a clear vision, and heading his ship for that, had eyes for little else.
There were glaciers75 shaping at this point of the journey, and the sun showed him desolate76 fields of snow slashed77 with the jagged bands of ice and often cut by the black rocks of some fearsome arrête. The loneliness of his situation was emphasised by this vision of a world apart; of ravines which the foot of man had never trodden; of heights which the foot of man had never conquered. Descending78 a little, he searched out the dark places with curious eyes, tried to make villages of the tracery below him; said that the zig-zags stood for vines upon the hillside and the black lines for railways. When he heard quite distinctly the whistle of a locomotive upon its way to Martigny, the message appeared to come out of the unknown, a voice from a house of his dreams. It recalled him to a sense of his own situation, to the possibilities of failure and of death. He remembered that he was very cold, and wondered if he would have the physical strength to continue.
It was an unhappy foreboding, and he shook it off as well as he could and tried to remember the speed at which he was flying and the hour at which it would bring him to the Valley of Chamonix. The mighty shape of Mont Blanc had begun to emerge more plainly from the mists at this time, and to show its sloping summit, with the attendant needles very distinctly to be seen. He knew that he must pass right across the great mountain, and then find what landing he could in the valley, and the desire to do this with credit put other thoughts from his head. The Val d'Hauderes was behind him at this time, and the head of his ship pointed79 almost directly to the Aiguilles Rouges, beyond which lay the Valley of Chamonix. When he looked at the chronometer80, fixed44 upon the right-hand side of the frame, he learned that he had already been flying for one hour and twenty minutes; but of his actual direction he could glean81 nothing by the compass, which swung to every point as the ship sagged82 and recovered in the varying currents. This mattered little while the weather remained clear; and when, almost with the swiftness of a vision, the valley came into view he believed his object to be already attained83.
What a glorious revelation was that—the revelation of countless84 spires85 and needles of rock, all dwarfed86 by his altitude, and seeming but a magic forest rising from the eternal snows. Had he been a mountaineer, he would have named many of them, and before all others the Aiguille du Géant, with its numberless satellites. But he had no knowledge of the valley, and all his interest centred upon Mont Blanc. Viewed at such a height, the mighty monarch87 appeared rather a great mound88 of snow above diverging89 rivers of ice than the proud mountain of the school-day fables90; but such was the truth; and when he looked down upon the grand plateau, that spreading field of snow where so many have perished, it reminded him of nothing so much as the plateau at Andana, where his friends awaited him. Benny thought of them with a smile as he headed the ship right over the mountain. It seemed impossible to believe that he had left them just an hour and a half ago.
He flew very close to the summit of Mont Blanc and dropped upon it three weighted bags, each containing his message to the Aero Club of Switzerland. A sense of humour reminded him that those bags would hardly be sought by any climber at this season of the year, and that their very fabric91 might be rotted when the great thaw92 came; but he liked the idea of a message, and would scatter93 others before the flight was done. When they were delivered, he wheeled his machine right-about, and espying94 the white buildings of the valley, he began to go down toward them. Now, for the first time that day, he could realise the immensity of the precipices he had defied and their danger. Vast walls of rock appeared to engulf95 him as he descended96; he could feel a bitter cold wind rising up from the monster glaciers which had become lakes of the clearest blue ice; pine-woods shaped and declared the contours of trees. He became aware of the presence of people in the valley—thousands of them, moving in great throngs97, now this way, now that, as they attempted to follow his movements. In the end he heard a roar of voices swelling98 upward, and this magnified in notes of a falsetto often ridiculous, but unmistakable. Called as by a messenger, he sought out a landing-place, and his eyes searched the snow-fields ceaselessly. Where was émile—the faithful émile? Ah, he stood yonder where the flags were waving. And thither the willing machine swept downward, gliding99 at last with wings outstretched and touching100 the snow as caressingly101 as a young girl may kiss her lover.
The chosen ground was about a mile from the village itself, near Les Pres, on the banks of the Arve. Here a fine spread of snow made descent comparatively safe, and here Benny found his allies, those clever workmen from the French shops whom he had engaged especially for his venture. Immediately they swarmed102 about him, driving the strangers back and appealing to the breathless gendarmes103. As for little émile, he threw himself into the Englishman's arms and kissed him on both cheeks, which resounding104 thwacks would not have disgraced a pantomime. He was followed by normally sane105 members of the Aero Clubs of France and London, who, forgetting their sanity106, capered107 like goats upon the mountain, and uttered incoherent witticisms108 in unknown tongues. Behind them lay the spectators whose "bravos" echoed far up in the mountains—the honest acclamations of those who had seen miracles and would never forget the day. Indeed, it was said that some of the peasants had fled to the churches when the aeroplane first appeared over Mont Blanc. The priests themselves, taught to know better by the Abbé Villari, sent them forth69 with ridicule109. Was there not a lunch to be eaten? And why should they delay?
Benny was frozen to the marrow110 when he rolled out of the shell, and his first request was for a hot drink. When Monsieur Collot of the Swiss Club shrugged111 his shoulders in pitiful desperation, Benny mumbled112 something about a Thermos113 under the driving seat, and émile understanding, the flask114 was brought out and the hot draught115 proffered116. Then the bluff117 engineer, striding to and fro upon the snow, tried to answer all their questions at a breath, while a photographer from the Daily Recorder made frantic118 efforts to snapshot him, and almost cried when he could not.
Yes, Benny admitted it had been a great day. He found the air currents very sure, but had suffered a good deal from the scorching119 sun. There would be no skin on his face for a month, but that did not matter. He could hardly tell them how the big mountains looked from above—his eyes had been too much on his engine; but he thought very little of Mont Blanc as a show when seen up aloft, and he was astonished how flat a country an aeroplane could make even of this Switzerland. As to his prospects120, he would finish if the engine held out and the cold was not too much for him. He had his doubts on the latter score, not upon the former. Pressed to say if his sensations had not been quite abnormal, he admitted that they might have been, and that he had known moments of fear, especially when he came down into the valley. The ether, he said, was a good friend to man when it was warm enough. He quite understood why parsons told them to look upward, for there was nothing like the peace of the heights in all the human story. But for the danger, no man who had known what it was to fly would ever wish to get back to the earth again. Sometimes at great heights he thought he had lost the earth altogether, and might drift away to another planet—which our great great grandchildren may be doing, he added, with a laugh. This Valley of Chamonix was just like a prison for the time being; he felt cabined and confined, wanted to be off and into the blue again; but he would take some food first if they didn't mind, and he hoped the police would keep all hands off his machine. To which émile responded that he would shoot anyone who touched it, and with this amiable121 sentiment, continued his feverish122 task of replenishment123 and overhaul124.
Benny, meanwhile, was led away to the Hotel Londres, where a luncheon125 had been prepared. His appearance, when he had discarded his furs, was droll126 enough; and, surely, this was the first time that high officials of Switzerland had sat down to banquet a man in engineer's overalls! But they did so with pride, and the speech in which the Mayor of Lausanne proposed the aviator's health did credit alike to his discernment and to his generosity127.
It was nearly mid-day when the meal was done, and a quarter-past twelve when Benny pushed his way through the crowds of people and took his seat once more at the tiller of his ship. A hot sun then blazed in the sky, but a murmur128 of winds stirred ever and anon in the valley and warned him that the Rubicon had yet to be crossed. There would be dangerous moments above the Zermatt glaciers, and still graver dangers when he re-entered the Simplon. But he was in better heart to face them, and with a few honest words to the people he arose swiftly, amid a storm of wild cheering, straight up above the River Arve to the west, and the goal.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
ignoble
|
|
| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
enthusiast
|
|
| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
overalls
|
|
| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
weirdly
|
|
| 古怪地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
tighten
|
|
| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
taut
|
|
| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
fins
|
|
| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
ravening
|
|
| a.贪婪而饥饿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
torpedo
|
|
| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
propeller
|
|
| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
steamship
|
|
| n.汽船，轮船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
glided
|
|
| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
espy
|
|
| v.（从远处等）突然看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
ominous
|
|
| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
constrained
|
|
| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
justified
|
|
| a.正当的，有理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
attainment
|
|
| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
mow
|
|
| v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
pinnacles
|
|
| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
chasm
|
|
| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
ERECTED
|
|
| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
wares
|
|
| n. 货物, 商品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
affront
|
|
| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
almighty
|
|
| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
dominion
|
|
| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
stolid
|
|
| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
surgical
|
|
| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
chatter
|
|
| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
bestowing
|
|
| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
sitting-room
|
|
| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
affixed
|
|
| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
prow
|
|
| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
mascots
|
|
| n.吉祥物( mascot的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
bazaar
|
|
| n.集市，商店集中区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
squatted
|
|
| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
aluminium
|
|
| n.铝 (=aluminum) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
impatience
|
|
| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
salute
|
|
| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
dictated
|
|
| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
trumpets
|
|
| 喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
azure
|
|
| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
ascent
|
|
| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
blurred
|
|
| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
ecstasy
|
|
| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
precipices
|
|
| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
defile
|
|
| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
rouges
|
|
| 胭脂，口红( rouge的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
domes
|
|
| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
puny
|
|
| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
bishops
|
|
| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
salvation
|
|
| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
eddies
|
|
| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
Founder
|
|
| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
glaciers
|
|
| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
slashed
|
|
| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
chronometer
|
|
| n.精密的计时器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
glean
|
|
| v.收集(消息、资料、情报等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
sagged
|
|
| 下垂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
attained
|
|
| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
spires
|
|
| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
dwarfed
|
|
| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
monarch
|
|
| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
mound
|
|
| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
diverging
|
|
| 分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
fables
|
|
| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
fabric
|
|
| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
thaw
|
|
| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
scatter
|
|
| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
espying
|
|
| v.看到( espy的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
95
engulf
|
|
| vt.吞没，吞食 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
throngs
|
|
| n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
swelling
|
|
| n.肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
gliding
|
|
| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
caressingly
|
|
| 爱抚地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
swarmed
|
|
| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
gendarmes
|
|
| n.宪兵，警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
resounding
|
|
| adj. 响亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
sane
|
|
| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
sanity
|
|
| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
capered
|
|
| v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
witticisms
|
|
| n.妙语，俏皮话( witticism的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
ridicule
|
|
| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
marrow
|
|
| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
thermos
|
|
| n.保湿瓶，热水瓶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
flask
|
|
| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
proffered
|
|
| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
bluff
|
|
| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
frantic
|
|
| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
scorching
|
|
| adj. 灼热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
prospects
|
|
| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
feverish
|
|
| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
replenishment
|
|
| n.补充(货物) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
overhaul
|
|
| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
luncheon
|
|
| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
droll
|
|
| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
generosity
|
|
| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |