Lip-lip continued so to darken his days that White Fang1 becamewickeder and more ferocious2 than it was his natural right to be.
Savageness3 was a part of his make-up, but the savageness thus developedexceeded his make-up. He acquired a reputation for wickedness amongstthe man-animals themselves. Wherever there was trouble and uproar4 incamp, fighting and squabbling or the outcry of a squaw over a bit of stolenmeat, they were sure to find White Fang mixed up in it and usually at thebottom of it. They did not bother to look after the causes of his conduct.
They saw only the effects, and the effects were bad. He was a sneak5 and athief, a mischief-maker, a fomenter6 of trouble; and irate7 squaws told himto his face, the while he eyed them alert and ready to dodge8 any quick-flung missile, that he was a wolf and worthless and bound to come to anevil end.
He found himself an outcast in the midst of the populous9 camp. All theyoung dogs followed Lip-lip's lead. There was a difference between WhiteFang and them. Perhaps they sensed his wild-wood breed, andinstinctively felt for him the enmity that the domestic dog feels for thewolf. But be that as it may, they joined with Lip-lip in the persecution10.
And, once declared against him, they found good reason to continuedeclared against him. One and all, from time to time, they felt his teeth;and to his credit, he gave more than he received. Many of them he couldwhip in single fight; but single fight was denied him. The beginning ofsuch a fight was a signal for all the young dogs in camp to come runningand pitch upon him.
Out of this pack-persecution he learned two important things: how totake care of himself in a mass-fight against him - and how, on a single dog,to inflict11 the greatest amount of damage in the briefest space of time. Tokeep one's feet in the midst of the hostile mass meant life, and this helearnt well. He became cat- like in his ability to stay on his feet. Evengrown dogs might hurtle him backward or sideways with the impact oftheir heavy bodies; and backward or sideways he would go, in the air orsliding on the ground, but always with his legs under him and his feetdownward to the mother earth.
When dogs fight, there are usually preliminaries to the actual combat -snarlings and bristlings and stiff-legged struttings. But White Fang learnedto omit these preliminaries. Delay meant the coming against him of all theyoung dogs. He must do his work quickly and get away. So he learnt togive no warning of his intention. He rushed in and snapped and slashed14 onthe instant, without notice, before his foe15 could prepare to meet him. Thushe learned how to inflict quick and severe damage. Also he learned thevalue of surprise. A dog, taken off its guard, its shoulder slashed open orits ear ripped in ribbons before it knew what was happening, was a doghalf whipped.
Furthermore, it was remarkably16 easy to overthrow17 a dog taken bysurprise; while a dog, thus overthrown18, invariably exposed for a momentthe soft underside of its neck - the vulnerable point at which to strike forits life. White Fang knew this point. It was a knowledge bequeathed tohim directly from the hunting generation of wolves. So it was that WhiteFang's method when he took the offensive, was: first to find a young dogalone; second, to surprise it and knock it off its feet; and third, to drive inwith his teeth at the soft throat.
Being but partly grown his jaws19 had not yet become large enough norstrong enough to make his throat-attack deadly; but many a young dogwent around camp with a lacerated throat in token of White Fang'sintention. And one day, catching20 one of his enemies alone on the edge ofthe woods, he managed, by repeatedly overthrowing21 him and attacking thethroat, to cut the great vein22 and let out the life. There was a great row thatnight. He had been observed, the news had been carried to the dead dog'smaster, the squaws remembered all the instances of stolen meat, and GreyBeaver was beset24 by many angry voices. But he resolutely25 held the door ofhis tepee, inside which he had placed the culprit, and refused to permit thevengeance for which his tribespeople clamoured.
White Fang became hated by man and dog. During this period of hisdevelopment he never knew a moment's security. The tooth of every dogwas against him, the hand of every man. He was greeted with snarls26 by hiskind, with curses and stones by his gods. He lived tensely. He was alwayskeyed up, alert for attack, wary27 of being attacked, with an eye for suddenand unexpected missiles, prepared to act precipitately28 and coolly, to leapin with a flash of teeth, or to leap away with a menacing snarl12.
As for snarling13 he could snarl more terribly than any dog, young or old,in camp. The intent of the snarl is to warn or frighten, and judgment29 isrequired to know when it should be used. White Fang knew how to makeit and when to make it. Into his snarl he incorporated all that was vicious,malignant, and horrible. With nose serrulated by continuous spasms30, hairbristling in recurrent waves, tongue whipping out like a red snake andwhipping back again, ears flattened31 down, eyes gleaming hatred32, lipswrinkled back, and fangs33 exposed and dripping, he could compel a pauseon the part of almost any assailant. A temporary pause, when taken off hisguard, gave him the vital moment in which to think and determine hisaction. But often a pause so gained lengthened34 out until it evolved into acomplete cessation from the attack. And before more than one of thegrown dogs White Fang's snarl enabled him to beat an honourable35 retreat.
An outcast himself from the pack of the part-grown dogs, hissanguinary methods and remarkable36 efficiency made the pack pay for itspersecution of him. Not permitted himself to run with the pack, the curiousstate of affairs obtained that no member of the pack could run outside thepack. White Fang would not permit it. What of his bushwhacking andwaylaying tactics, the young dogs were afraid to run by themselves. Withthe exception of Lip-lip, they were compelled to hunch37 together for mutualprotection against the terrible enemy they had made. A puppy alone by theriver bank meant a puppy dead or a puppy that aroused the camp with itsshrill pain and terror as it fled back from the wolf-cub that had waylaid38 it.
But White Fang's reprisals39 did not cease, even when the young dogshad learned thoroughly40 that they must stay together. He attacked themwhen he caught them alone, and they attacked him when they werebunched. The sight of him was sufficient to start them rushing after him, atwhich times his swiftness usually carried him into safety. But woe41 the dogthat outran his fellows in such pursuit! White Fang had learned to turnsuddenly upon the pursuer that was ahead of the pack and thoroughly torip him up before the pack could arrive. This occurred with greatfrequency, for, once in full cry, the dogs were prone42 to forget themselvesin the excitement of the chase, while White Fang never forgot himself.
Stealing backward glances as he ran, he was always ready to whirl aroundand down the overzealous pursuer that outran his fellows.
Young dogs are bound to play, and out of the exigencies43 of thesituation they realised their play in this mimic44 warfare45. Thus it was that thehunt of White Fang became their chief game - a deadly game, withal, andat all times a serious game. He, on the other hand, being the fastest-footed,was unafraid to venture anywhere. During the period that he waited vainlyfor his mother to come back, he led the pack many a wild chase throughthe adjacent woods. But the pack invariably lost him. Its noise and outcrywarned him of its presence, while he ran alone, velvet-footed, silently, amoving shadow among the trees after the manner of his father and motherbefore him. Further he was more directly connected with the Wild thanthey; and he knew more of its secrets and stratagems46. A favourite trick ofhis was to lose his trail in running water and then lie quietly in a near-bythicket while their baffled cries arose around him.
Hated by his kind and by mankind, indomitable, perpetually warredupon and himself waging perpetual war, his development was rapid andone-sided. This was no soil for kindliness47 and affection to blossom in. Ofsuch things he had not the faintest glimmering48. The code he learned was toobey the strong and to oppress the weak. Grey Beaver23 was a god, andstrong. Therefore White Fang obeyed him. But the dog younger or smallerthan himself was weak, a thing to be destroyed. His development was inthe direction of power. In order to face the constant danger of hurt andeven of destruction, his predatory and protective faculties49 were undulydeveloped. He became quicker of movement than the other dogs, swifterof foot, craftier50, deadlier, more lithe51, more lean with ironlike muscle andsinew, more enduring, more cruel, more ferocious, and more intelligent.
He had to become all these things, else he would not have held his ownnor survive the hostile environment in which he found himself.
收听单词发音 |
1
fang
|
|
| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
ferocious
|
|
| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
savageness
|
|
| 天然，野蛮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
uproar
|
|
| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
sneak
|
|
| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
fomenter
|
|
| 挑唆者，煽动者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
7
irate
|
|
| adj.发怒的，生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
dodge
|
|
| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
populous
|
|
| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
persecution
|
|
| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
inflict
|
|
| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
snarl
|
|
| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
snarling
|
|
| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
slashed
|
|
| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
foe
|
|
| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
remarkably
|
|
| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
overthrow
|
|
| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
overthrown
|
|
| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
overthrowing
|
|
| v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
vein
|
|
| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
beaver
|
|
| n.海狸，河狸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
beset
|
|
| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
resolutely
|
|
| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
snarls
|
|
| n.（动物的）龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 )；愤怒叫嚷（声）；咆哮（声）；疼痛叫声v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
wary
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
precipitately
|
|
| adv.猛进地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
spasms
|
|
| n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
fangs
|
|
| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
lengthened
|
|
| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
honourable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
hunch
|
|
| n.预感，直觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
waylaid
|
|
| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
reprisals
|
|
| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
woe
|
|
| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
prone
|
|
| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
exigencies
|
|
| n.急切需要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
mimic
|
|
| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
warfare
|
|
| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
stratagems
|
|
| n.诡计，计谋( stratagem的名词复数 )；花招 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
kindliness
|
|
| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
glimmering
|
|
| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
faculties
|
|
| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
craftier
|
|
| 狡猾的，狡诈的( crafty的比较级 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
lithe
|
|
| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |