"The Outlying Pickets1 of the New World"
Our friends at home may well rejoice with us, for we are at our goal, and up to a point, at least, we have shown that the statement of Professor Challenger can be verified. We have not, it is true, ascended2 the plateau, but it lies before us, and even Professor Summerlee is in a more chastened mood. Not that he will for an instant admit that his rival could be right, but he is less persistent3 in his incessant4 objections, and has sunk for the most part into an observant silence. I must hark back, however, and continue my narrative5 from where I dropped it. We are sending home one of our local Indians who is injured, and I am committing this letter to his charge, with considerable doubts in my mind as to whether it will ever come to hand.
When I wrote last we were about to leave the Indian village where we had been deposited by the Esmeralda. I have to begin my report by bad news, for the first serious personal trouble (I pass over the incessant bickerings between the Professors) occurred this evening, and might have had a tragic6 ending. I have spoken of our English-speaking half-breed, Gomez--a fine worker and a willing fellow, but afflicted7, I fancy, with the vice8 of curiosity, which is common enough among such men. On the last evening he seems to have hid himself near the hut in which we were discussing our plans, and, being observed by our huge negro Zambo, who is as faithful as a dog and has the hatred9 which all his race bear to the half-breeds, he was dragged out and carried into our presence. Gomez whipped out his knife, however, and but for the huge strength of his captor, which enabled him to disarm10 him with one hand, he would certainly have stabbed him. The matter has ended in reprimands, the opponents have been compelled to shake hands, and there is every hope that all will be well. As to the feuds11 of the two learned men, they are continuous and bitter. It must be admitted that Challenger is provocative12 in the last degree, but Summerlee has an acid tongue, which makes matters worse. Last night Challenger said that he never cared to walk on the Thames Embankment and look up the river, as it was always sad to see one's own eventual13 goal. He is convinced, of course, that he is destined14 for Westminster Abbey. Summerlee rejoined, however, with a sour smile, by saying that he understood that Millbank Prison had been pulled down. Challenger's conceit15 is too colossal16 to allow him to be really annoyed. He only smiled in his beard and repeated "Really! Really!" in the pitying tone one would use to a child. Indeed, they are children both--the one wizened17 and cantankerous18, the other formidable and overbearing, yet each with a brain which has put him in the front rank of his scientific age. Brain, character, soul--only as one sees more o
f life does one understand how distinct is each.
The very next day we did actually make our start upon this remarkable19 expedition. We found that all our possessions fitted very easily into the two canoes, and we divided our personnel, six in each, taking the obvious precaution in the interests of peace of putting one Professor into each canoe. Personally, I was with Challenger, who was in a beatific20 humor, moving about as one in a silent ecstasy21 and beaming benevolence22 from every feature. I have had some experience of him in other moods, however, and shall be the less surprised when the thunderstorms suddenly come up amidst the sunshine. If it is impossible to be at your ease, it is equally impossible to be dull in his company, for one is always in a state of half-tremulous doubt as to what sudden turn his formidable temper may take.
For two days we made our way up a good-sized river some hundreds of yards broad, and dark in color, but transparent23, so that one could usually see the bottom. The affluents24 of the Amazon are, half of them, of this nature, while the other half are whitish and opaque25, the difference depending upon the class of country through which they have flowed. The dark indicate vegetable decay, while the others point to clayey soil. Twice we came across rapids, and in each case made a portage of half a mile or so to avoid them. The woods on either side were primeval, which are more easily penetrated26 than woods of the second growth, and we had no great difficulty in carrying our canoes through them. How shall I ever forget the solemn mystery of it? The height of the trees and the thickness of the boles exceeded anything which I in my town-bred life could have imagined, shooting upwards28 in magnificent columns until, at an enormous distance above our heads, we could dimly discern the spot where they threw out their side-branches into Gothic upward curves which coalesced29 to form one great matted roof of verdure, through which only an occasional golden ray of sunshine shot downwards30 to trace a thin dazzling line of light amidst the majestic31 obscurity. As we walked noiselessly amid the thick, soft carpet of decaying vegetation the hush32 fell upon our souls which comes upon us in the twilight33 of the Abbey, and even Professor Challenger's full-chested notes sank into a whisper. Alone, I should have been ignorant of the names of these giant growths, but our men of science pointed34 out the cedars35, the great silk cotton trees, and the redwood trees, with all that profusion36 of various plants which has made this continent the chief supplier to the human race of those gifts of Nature which depend upon the vegetable world, while it is the most backward in those products which come from animal life. Vivid orchids37 and wonderful colored lichens38 smoldered39 upon the swarthy tree-trunks and where a wandering shaft40 of light fell full upon t
he golden allamanda, the scarlet41 star-clusters of the tacsonia, or the rich deep blue of ipomaea, the effect was as a dream of fairyland. In these great wastes of forest, life, which abhors42 darkness, struggles ever upwards to the light. Every plant, even the smaller ones, curls and writhes43 to the green surface, twining itself round its stronger and taller brethren in the effort. Climbing plants are monstrous44 and luxuriant, but others which have never been known to climb elsewhere learn the art as an escape from that somber45 shadow, so that the common nettle46, the jasmine, and even the jacitara palm tree can be seen circling the stems of the cedars and striving to reach their crowns. Of animal life there was no movement amid the majestic vaulted47 aisles48 which stretched from us as we walked, but a constant movement far above our heads told of that multitudinous world of snake and monkey, bird and sloth49, which lived in the sunshine, and looked down in wonder at our tiny, dark, stumbling figures in the obscure depths immeasurably below them. At dawn and at sunset the howler monkeys screamed together and the parrakeets broke into shrill50 chatter51, but during the hot hours of the day only the full drone of insects, like the beat of a distant surf, filled the ear, while nothing moved amid the solemn vistas52 of stupendous trunks, fading away into the darkness which held us in. Once some bandy-legged, lurching creature, an ant-eater or a bear, scuttled53 clumsily amid the shadows. It was the only sign of earth life which I saw in this great Amazonian forest.
And yet there were indications that even human life itself was not far from us in those mysterious recesses54. On the third day out we were aware of a singular deep throbbing55 in the air, rhythmic56 and solemn, coming and going fitfully throughout the morning. The two boats were paddling within a few yards of each other when first we heard it, and our Indians remained motionless, as if they had been turned to bronze, listening intently with expressions of terror upon their faces.
"What is it, then?" I asked.
"Drums," said Lord John, carelessly; "war drums. I have heard them before."
"Yes, sir, war drums," said Gomez, the half-breed. "Wild Indians, bravos, not mansos; they watch us every mile of the way; kill us if they can."
"How can they watch us?" I asked, gazing into the dark, motionless void.
The half-breed shrugged57 his broad shoulders.
"The Indians know. They have their own way. They watch us. They talk the drum talk to each other. Kill us if they can."
By the afternoon of that day--my pocket diary shows me that it was Tuesday, August 18th--at least six or seven drums were throbbing from various points. Sometimes they beat quickly, sometimes slowly, sometimes in obvious question and answer, one far to the east breaking out in a high staccato rattle58, and being followed after a pause by a deep roll from the north. There was something indescribably nerve-shaking and menacing in that constant mutter, which seemed to shape itself into the very syllables59 of the half-breed, endlessly repeated, "We will kill you if we can. We will kill you if we can." No one ever moved in the silent woods. All the peace and soothing60 of quiet Nature lay in that dark curtain of vegetation, but away from behind there came ever the one message from our fellow-man. "We will kill you if we can," said the men in the east. "We will kill you if we can," said the men in the north.
All day the drums rumbled61 and whispered, while their menace reflected itself in the faces of our colored companions. Even the hardy62, swaggering half-breed seemed cowed. I learned, however, that day once for all that both Summerlee and Challenger possessed63 that highest type of bravery, the bravery of the scientific mind. Theirs was the spirit which upheld Darwin among the gauchos64 of the Argentine or Wallace among the head-hunters of Malaya. It is decreed by a merciful Nature that the human brain cannot think of two things simultaneously65, so that if it be steeped in curiosity as to science it has no room for merely personal considerations. All day amid that incessant and mysterious menace our two Professors watched every bird upon the wing, and every shrub67 upon the bank, with many a sharp wordy contention68, when the snarl69 of Summerlee came quick upon the deep growl70 of Challenger, but with no more sense of danger and no more reference to drum-beating Indians than if they were seated together in the smoking-room of the Royal Society's Club in St. James's Street. Once only did they condescend71 to discuss them.
"Miranha or Amajuaca cannibals," said Challenger, jerking his thumb towards the reverberating72 wood.
"No doubt, sir," Summerlee answered. "Like all such tribes, I shall expect to find them of poly-synthetic speech and of Mongolian type."
"Polysynthetic certainly," said Challenger, indulgently. "I am not aware that any other type of language exists in this continent, and I have notes of more than a hundred. The Mongolian theory I regard with deep suspicion."
"I should have thought that even a limited knowledge of comparative anatomy73 would have helped to verify it," said Summerlee, bitterly.
Challenger thrust out his aggressive chin until he was all beard and hat-rim. "No doubt, sir, a limited knowledge would have that effect. When one's knowledge is exhaustive, one comes to other conclusions." They glared at each other in mutual74 defiance75, while all round rose the distant whisper, "We will kill you--we will kill you if we can."
That night we moored76 our canoes with heavy stones for anchors in the center of the stream, and made every preparation for a possible attack. Nothing came, however, and with the dawn we pushed upon our way, the drum-beating dying out behind us. About three o'clock in the afternoon we came to a very steep rapid, more than a mile long--the very one in which Professor Challenger had suffered disaster upon his first journey. I confess that the sight of it consoled me, for it was really the first direct corroboration77, slight as it was, of the truth of his story. The Indians carried first our canoes and then our stores through the brushwood, which is very thick at this point, while we four whites, our rifles on our shoulders, walked between them and any danger coming from the woods. Before evening we had successfully passed the rapids, and made our way some ten miles above them, where we anchored for the night. At this point I reckoned that we had come not less than a hundred miles up the tributary78 from the main stream.
It was in the early forenoon of the next day that we made the great departure. Since dawn Professor Challenger had been acutely uneasy, continually scanning each bank of the river. Suddenly he gave an exclamation79 of satisfaction and pointed to a single tree, which projected at a peculiar80 angle over the side of the stream.
"What do you make of that?" he asked.
"It is surely an Assai palm," said Summerlee.
"Exactly. It was an Assai palm which I took for my landmark81. The secret opening is half a mile onwards upon the other side of the river. There is no break in the trees. That is the wonder and the mystery of it. There where you see light-green rushes instead of dark-green undergrowth, there between the great cotton woods, that is my private gate into the unknown. Push through, and you will understand."
It was indeed a wonderful place. Having reached the spot marked by a line of light-green rushes, we poled out two canoes through them for some hundreds of yards, and eventually emerged into a placid82 and shallow stream, running clear and transparent over a sandy bottom. It may have been twenty yards across, and was banked in on each side by most luxuriant vegetation. No one who had not observed that for a short distance reeds had taken the place of shrubs83, could possibly have guessed the existence of such a stream or dreamed of the fairyland beyond.
For a fairyland it was--the most wonderful that the imagination of man could conceive. The thick vegetation met overhead, interlacing into a natural pergola, and through this tunnel of verdure in a golden twilight flowed the green, pellucid84 river, beautiful in itself, but marvelous from the strange tints85 thrown by the vivid light from above filtered and tempered in its fall. Clear as crystal, motionless as a sheet of glass, green as the edge of an iceberg86, it stretched in front of us under its leafy archway, every stroke of our paddles sending a thousand ripples87 across its shining surface. It was a fitting avenue to a land of wonders. All sign of the Indians had passed away, but animal life was more frequent, and the tameness of the creatures showed that they knew nothing of the hunter. Fuzzy little black-velvet monkeys, with snow-white teeth and gleaming, mocking eyes, chattered88 at us as we passed. With a dull, heavy splash an occasional cayman plunged89 in from the bank. Once a dark, clumsy tapir stared at us from a gap in the bushes, and then lumbered90 away through the forest; once, too, the yellow, sinuous91 form of a great puma92 whisked amid the brushwood, and its green, baleful eyes glared hatred at us over its tawny93 shoulder. Bird life was abundant, especially the wading94 birds, stork95, heron, and ibis gathering96 in little groups, blue, scarlet, and white, upon every log which jutted97 from the bank, while beneath us the crystal water was alive with fish of every shape and color.
For three days we made our way up this tunnel of hazy98 green sunshine. On the longer stretches one could hardly tell as one looked ahead where the distant green water ended and the distant green archway began. The deep peace of this strange waterway was unbroken by any sign of man.
"No Indian here. Too much afraid. Curupuri," said Gomez.
"Curupuri is the spirit of the woods," Lord John explained. "It's a name for any kind of devil. The poor beggars think that there is something fearsome in this direction, and therefore they avoid it."
On the third day it became evident that our journey in the canoes could not last much longer, for the stream was rapidly growing more shallow. Twice in as many hours we stuck upon the bottom. Finally we pulled the boats up among the brushwood and spent the night on the bank of the river. In the morning Lord John and I made our way for a couple of miles through the forest, keeping parallel with the stream; but as it grew ever shallower we returned and reported, what Professor Challenger had already suspected, that we had reached the highest point to which the canoes could be brought. We drew them up, therefore, and concealed99 them among the bushes, blazing a tree with our axes, so that we should find them again. Then we distributed the various burdens among us--guns, ammunition100, food, a tent, blankets, and the rest--and, shouldering our packages, we set forth101 upon the more laborious102 stage of our journey.
An unfortunate quarrel between our pepper-pots marked the outset of our new stage. Challenger had from the moment of joining us issued directions to the whole party, much to the evident discontent of Summerlee. Now, upon his assigning some duty to his fellow-Professor (it was only the carrying of an aneroid barometer), the matter suddenly came to a head.
"May I ask, sir," said Summerlee, with vicious calm, "in what capacity you take it upon yourself to issue these orders?"
Challenger glared and bristled103.
"I do it, Professor Summerlee, as leader of this expedition."
"I am compelled to tell you, sir, that I do not recognize you in that capacity."
"Indeed!" Challenger bowed with unwieldy sarcasm104. "Perhaps you would define my exact position."
"Yes, sir. You are a man whose veracity105 is upon trial, and this committee is here to try it. You walk, sir, with your judges."
"Dear me!" said Challenger, seating himself on the side of one of the canoes. "In that case you will, of course, go on your way, and I will follow at my leisure. If I am not the leader you cannot expect me to lead."
Thank heaven that there were two sane106 men--Lord John Roxton and myself--to prevent the petulance107 and folly108 of our learned Professors from sending us back empty-handed to London. Such arguing and pleading and explaining before we could get them mollified! Then at last Summerlee, with his sneer109 and his pipe, would move forwards, and Challenger would come rolling and grumbling110 after. By some good fortune we discovered about this time that both our savants had the very poorest opinion of Dr. Illingworth of Edinburgh. Thenceforward that was our one safety, and every strained situation was relieved by our introducing the lame111 of the Scotch112 zoologist113, when both our Professors would form a temporary alliance and friendship in their detestation and abuse of this common rival.
Advancing in single file along the bank of the stream, we soon found that it narrowed down to a mere66 brook114, and finally that it lost itself in a great green morass115 of sponge-like mosses116, into which we sank up to our knees. The place was horribly haunted by clouds of mosquitoes and every form of flying pest, so we were glad to find solid ground again and to make a circuit among the trees, which enabled us to outflank this pestilent morass, which droned like an organ in the distance, so loud was it with insect life.
On the second day after leaving our canoes we found that the whole character of the country changed. Our road was persistently117 upwards, and as we ascended the woods became thinner and lost their tropical luxuriance. The huge trees of the alluvial118 Amazonian plain gave place to the Phoenix119 and coco palms, growing in scattered120 clumps121, with thick brushwood between. In the damper hollows the Mauritia palms threw out their graceful122 drooping123 fronds124. We traveled entirely125 by compass, and once or twice there were differences of opinion between Challenger and the two Indians, when, to quote the Professor's indignant words, the whole party agreed to "trust the fallacious instincts of undeveloped savages126 rather than the highest product of modern European culture." That we were justified127 in doing so was shown upon the third day, when Challenger admitted that he recognized several landmarks128 of his former journey, and in one spot we actually came upon four fire-blackened stones, which must have marked a camping-place.
The road still ascended, and we crossed a rock-studded slope which took two days to traverse. The vegetation had again changed, and only the vegetable ivory tree remained, with a great profusion of wonderful orchids, among which I learned to recognize the rare Nuttonia Vexillaria and the glorious pink and scarlet blossoms of Cattleya and odontoglossum. Occasional brooks129 with pebbly130 bottoms and fern-draped banks gurgled down the shallow gorges131 in the hill, and offered good camping-grounds every evening on the banks of some rock-studded pool, where swarms132 of little blue-backed fish, about the size and shape of English trout133, gave us a delicious supper.
On the ninth day after leaving the canoes, having done, as I reckon, about a hundred and twenty miles, we began to emerge from the trees, which had grown smaller until they were mere shrubs. Their place was taken by an immense wilderness134 of bamboo, which grew so thickly that we could only penetrate27 it by cutting a pathway with the machetes and billhooks of the Indians. It took us a long day, traveling from seven in the morning till eight at night, with only two breaks of one hour each, to get through this obstacle. Anything more monotonous135 and wearying could not be imagined, for, even at the most open places, I could not see more than ten or twelve yards, while usually my vision was limited to the back of Lord John's cotton jacket in front of me, and to the yellow wall within a foot of me on either side. From above came one thin knife-edge of sunshine, and fifteen feet over our heads one saw the tops of the reeds swaying against the deep blue sky. I do not know what kind of creatures inhabit such a thicket136, but several times we heard the plunging137 of large, heavy animals quite close to us. From their sounds Lord John judged them to be some dorm of wild cattle. Just as night fell we cleared the belt of bamboos, and at once formed our camp, exhausted138 by the interminable day.
Early next morning we were again afoot, and found that the character of the country had changed once again. Behind us was the wall of bamboo, as definite as if it marked the course of a river. In front was an open plain, sloping slightly upwards and dotted with clumps of tree-ferns, the whole curving before us until it ended in a long, whale-backed ridge139. This we reached about midday, only to find a shallow valley beyond, rising once again into a gentle incline which led to a low, rounded sky-line. It was here, while we crossed the first of these hills, that an incident occurred which may or may not have been important.
Professor Challenger, who with the two local Indians was in the van of the party, stopped suddenly and pointed excitedly to the right. As he did so we saw, at the distance of a mile or so, something which appeared to be a huge gray bird flap slowly up from the ground and skim smoothly140 off, flying very low and straight, until it was lost among the tree-ferns.
"Did you see it?" cried Challenger, in exultation141. "Summerlee, did you see it?"
His colleague was staring at the spot where the creature had disappeared.
"What do you claim that it was?" he asked.
"To the best of my belief, a pterodactyl."
Summerlee burst into derisive142 laughter "A pter-fiddlestick!" said he. "It was a stork, if ever I saw one."
Challenger was too furious to speak. He simply swung his pack upon his back and continued upon his march. Lord John came abreast143 of me, however, and his face was more grave than was his wont144. He had his Zeiss glasses in his hand.
"I focused it before it got over the trees," said he. "I won't undertake to say what it was, but I'll risk my reputation as a sportsman that it wasn't any bird that ever I clapped eyes on in my life."
So there the matter stands. Are we really just at the edge of the unknown, encountering the outlying pickets of this lost world of which our leader speaks? I give you the incident as it occurred and you will know as much as I do. It stands alone, for we saw nothing more which could be called remarkable.
And now, my readers, if ever I have any, I have brought you up the broad river, and through the screen of rushes, and down the green tunnel, and up the long slope of palm trees, and through the bamboo brake, and across the plain of tree-ferns. At last our destination lay in full sight of us. When we had crossed the second ridge we saw before us an irregular, palm-studded plain, and then the line of high red cliffs which I have seen in the picture. There it lies, even as I write, and there can be no question that it is the same. At the nearest point it is about seven miles from our present camp, and it curves away, stretching as far as I can see. Challenger struts145 about like a prize peacock, and Summerlee is silent, but still sceptical. Another day should bring some of our doubts to an end. Meanwhile, as Jose, whose arm was pierced by a broken bamboo, insists upon returning, I send this letter back in his charge, and only hope that it may eventually come to hand. I will write again as the occasion serves. I have enclosed with this a rough chart of our journey, which may have the effect of making the account rather easier to understand.
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pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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feuds
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| n.长期不和，世仇( feud的名词复数 ) | |
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provocative
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| adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的 | |
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eventual
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| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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wizened
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| adj.凋谢的；枯槁的 | |
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cantankerous
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| adj.爱争吵的，脾气不好的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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beatific
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| adj.快乐的，有福的 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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affluents
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| n.富裕的，富足的( affluent的名词复数 ) | |
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opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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penetrated
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| 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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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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coalesced
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| v.联合，合并( coalesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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cedars
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| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
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profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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orchids
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| n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
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38
lichens
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| n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 ) | |
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smoldered
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的过去式 ) | |
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40
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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41
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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42
abhors
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| v.憎恶( abhor的第三人称单数 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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43
writhes
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的第三人称单数 ) | |
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44
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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45
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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46
nettle
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| n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼 | |
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47
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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48
aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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49
sloth
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| n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散 | |
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50
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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51
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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52
vistas
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| 长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景 | |
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53
scuttled
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| v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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54
recesses
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| 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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55
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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56
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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57
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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58
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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59
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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60
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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61
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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62
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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63
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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64
gauchos
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| n.南美牧人( gaucho的名词复数 ) | |
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65
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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66
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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67
shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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68
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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69
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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70
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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71
condescend
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| v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑 | |
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72
reverberating
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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73
anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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74
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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75
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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76
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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77
corroboration
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| n.进一步的证实，进一步的证据 | |
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78
tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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79
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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80
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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81
landmark
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| n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标 | |
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82
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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83
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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84
pellucid
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| adj.透明的，简单的 | |
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85
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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86
iceberg
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| n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人 | |
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87
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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88
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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89
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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90
lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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91
sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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92
puma
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| 美洲豹 | |
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93
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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94
wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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95
stork
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| n.鹳 | |
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96
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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97
jutted
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| v.（使）突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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98
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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99
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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100
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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101
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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102
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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103
bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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104
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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105
veracity
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| n.诚实 | |
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106
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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107
petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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108
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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109
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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110
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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111
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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112
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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113
zoologist
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| n.动物学家 | |
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114
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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115
morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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116
mosses
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| n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式 | |
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117
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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118
alluvial
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| adj.冲积的；淤积的 | |
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119
phoenix
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| n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生 | |
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120
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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121
clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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122
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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123
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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124
fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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125
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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126
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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127
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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128
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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129
brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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130
pebbly
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| 多卵石的，有卵石花纹的 | |
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131
gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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132
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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133
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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134
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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135
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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136
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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137
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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138
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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139
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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140
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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141
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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142
derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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143
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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144
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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145
struts
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| （框架的）支杆( strut的名词复数 )； 支柱； 趾高气扬的步态； （尤指跳舞或表演时）卖弄 | |
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