"The most Wonderful Things have Happened"
The most wonderful things have happened and are continually happening to us. All the paper that I possess consists of five old note-books and a lot of scraps1, and I have only the one stylographic pencil; but so long as I can move my hand I will continue to set down our experiences and impressions, for, since we are the only men of the whole human race to see such things, it is of enormous importance that I should record them whilst they are fresh in my memory and before that fate which seems to be constantly impending2 does actually overtake us. Whether Zambo can at last take these letters to the river, or whether I shall myself in some miraculous3 way carry them back with me, or, finally, whether some daring explorer, coming upon our tracks with the advantage, perhaps, of a perfected monoplane, should find this bundle of manuscript, in any case I can see that what I am writing is destined4 to immortality5 as a classic of true adventure.
On the morning after our being trapped upon the plateau by the villainous Gomez we began a new stage in our experiences. The first incident in it was not such as to give me a very favorable opinion of the place to which we had wandered. As I roused myself from a short nap after day had dawned, my eyes fell upon a most singular appearance upon my own leg. My trouser had slipped up, exposing a few inches of my skin above my sock. On this there rested a large, purplish grape. Astonished at the sight, I leaned forward to pick it off, when, to my horror, it burst between my finger and thumb, squirting blood in every direction. My cry of disgust had brought the two professors to my side.
"Most interesting," said Summerlee, bending over my shin. "An enormous blood-tick, as yet, I believe, unclassified."
"The first-fruits of our labors," said Challenger in his booming, pedantic6 fashion. "We cannot do less than call it Ixodes Maloni. The very small inconvenience of being bitten, my young friend, cannot, I am sure, weigh with you as against the glorious privilege of having your name inscribed7 in the deathless roll of zoology8. Unhappily you have crushed this fine specimen9 at the moment of satiation."
Professor Challenger raised his great eyebrows11 in protest, and placed a soothing12 paw upon my shoulder.
"You should cultivate the scientific eye and the detached scientific mind," said he. "To a man of philosophic13 temperament14 like myself the blood-tick, with its lancet-like proboscis15 and its distending16 stomach, is as beautiful a work of Nature as the peacock or, for that matter, the aurora17 borealis. It pains me to hear you speak of it in so unappreciative a fashion. No doubt, with due diligence, we can secure some other specimen."
"There can be no doubt of that," said Summerlee, grimly, "for one has just disappeared behind your shirt-collar."
Challenger sprang into the air bellowing18 like a bull, and tore frantically19 at his coat and shirt to get them off. Summerlee and I laughed so that we could hardly help him. At last we exposed that monstrous20 torso (fifty-four inches, by the tailor's tape). His body was all matted with black hair, out of which jungle we picked the wandering tick before it had bitten him. But the bushes round were full of the horrible pests, and it was clear that we must shift our camp.
But first of all it was necessary to make our arrangements with the faithful negro, who appeared presently on the pinnacle21 with a number of tins of cocoa and biscuits, which he tossed over to us. Of the stores which remained below he was ordered to retain as much as would keep him for two months. The Indians were to have the remainder as a reward for their services and as payment for taking our letters back to the Amazon. Some hours later we saw them in single file far out upon the plain, each with a bundle on his head, making their way back along the path we had come. Zambo occupied our little tent at the base of the pinnacle, and there he remained, our one link with the world below.
And now we had to decide upon our immediate22 movements. We shifted our position from among the tick-laden bushes until we came to a small clearing thickly surrounded by trees upon all sides. There were some flat slabs23 of rock in the center, with an excellent well close by, and there we sat in cleanly comfort while we made our first plans for the invasion of this new country. Birds were calling among the foliage24--especially one with a peculiar25 whooping27 cry which was new to us--but beyond these sounds there were no signs of life.
Our first care was to make some sort of list of our own stores, so that we might know what we had to rely upon. What with the things we had ourselves brought up and those which Zambo had sent across on the rope, we were fairly well supplied. Most important of all, in view of the dangers which might surround us, we had our four rifles and one thousand three hundred rounds, also a shot-gun, but not more than a hundred and fifty medium pellet cartridges28. In the matter of provisions we had enough to last for several weeks, with a sufficiency of tobacco and a few scientific implements29, including a large telescope and a good field-glass. All these things we collected together in the clearing, and as a first precaution, we cut down with our hatchet30 and knives a number of thorny31 bushes, which we piled round in a circle some fifteen yards in diameter. This was to be our headquarters for the time--our place of refuge against sudden danger and the guard-house for our stores. Fort Challenger, we called it.
IT was midday before we had made ourselves secure, but the heat was not oppressive, and the general character of the plateau, both in its temperature and in its vegetation, was almost temperate32. The beech33, the oak, and even the birch were to be found among the tangle34 of trees which girt us in. One huge gingko tree, topping all the others, shot its great limbs and maidenhair foliage over the fort which we had constructed. In its shade we continued our discussion, while Lord John, who had quickly taken command in the hour of action, gave us his views.
"So long as neither man nor beast has seen or heard us, we are safe," said he. "From the time they know we are here our troubles begin. There are no signs that they have found us out as yet. So our game surely is to lie low for a time and spy out the land. We want to have a good look at our neighbors before we get on visitin' terms."
"But we must advance," I ventured to remark.
"By all means, sonny my boy! We will advance. But with common sense. We must never go so far that we can't get back to our base. Above all, we must never, unless it is life or death, fire off our guns."
"But YOU fired yesterday," said Summerlee.
"Well, it couldn't be helped. However, the wind was strong and blew outwards35. It is not likely that the sound could have traveled far into the plateau. By the way, what shall we call this place? I suppose it is up to us to give it a name?"
There were several suggestions, more or less happy, but Challenger's was final.
"It can only have one name," said he. "It is called after the pioneer who discovered it. It is Maple36 White Land."
Maple White Land it became, and so it is named in that chart which has become my special task. So it will, I trust, appear in the atlas37 of the future.
The peaceful penetration38 of Maple White Land was the pressing subject before us. We had the evidence of our own eyes that the place was inhabited by some unknown creatures, and there was that of Maple White's sketch-book to show that more dreadful and more dangerous monsters might still appear. That there might also prove to be human occupants and that they were of a malevolent39 character was suggested by the skeleton impaled40 upon the bamboos, which could not have got there had it not been dropped from above. Our situation, stranded41 without possibility of escape in such a land, was clearly full of danger, and our reasons endorsed42 every measure of caution which Lord John's experience could suggest. Yet it was surely impossible that we should halt on the edge of this world of mystery when our very souls were tingling43 with impatience44 to push forward and to pluck the heart from it.
We therefore blocked the entrance to our zareba by filling it up with several thorny bushes, and left our camp with the stores entirely45 surrounded by this protecting hedge. We then slowly and cautiously set forth46 into the unknown, following the course of the little stream which flowed from our spring, as it should always serve us as a guide on our return.
Hardly had we started when we came across signs that there were indeed wonders awaiting us. After a few hundred yards of thick forest, containing many trees which were quite unknown to me, but which Summerlee, who was the botanist47 of the party, recognized as forms of conifera and of cycadaceous plants which have long passed away in the world below, we entered a region where the stream widened out and formed a considerable bog48. High reeds of a peculiar type grew thickly before us, which were pronounced to be equisetacea, or mare's-tails, with tree-ferns scattered49 amongst them, all of them swaying in a brisk wind. Suddenly Lord John, who was walking first, halted with uplifted hand.
"Look at this!" said he. "By George, this must be the trail of the father of all birds!"
An enormous three-toed track was imprinted50 in the soft mud before us. The creature, whatever it was, had crossed the swamp and had passed on into the forest. We all stopped to examine that monstrous spoor. If it were indeed a bird--and what animal could leave such a mark?-its foot was so much larger than an ostrich's that its height upon the same scale must be enormous. Lord John looked eagerly round him and slipped two cartridges into his elephant-gun.
"I'll stake my good name as a shikarree," said he, "that the track is a fresh one. The creature has not passed ten minutes. Look how the water is still oozing51 into that deeper print! By Jove! See, here is the mark of a little one!"
Sure enough, smaller tracks of the same general form were running parallel to the large ones.
"But what do you make of this?" cried Professor Summerlee, triumphantly52, pointing to what looked like the huge print of a five-fingered human hand appearing among the three-toed marks.
"Wealden!" cried Challenger, in an ecstasy53. "I've seen them in the Wealden clay. It is a creature walking erect54 upon three-toed feet, and occasionally putting one of its five-fingered forepaws upon the ground. Not a bird, my dear Roxton--not a bird."
"A beast?"
"No; a reptile--a dinosaur55. Nothing else could have left such a track. They puzzled a worthy56 Sussex doctor some ninety years ago; but who in the world could have hoped--hoped--to have seen a sight like that?"
His words died away into a whisper, and we all stood in motionless amazement57. Following the tracks, we had left the morass58 and passed through a screen of brushwood and trees. Beyond was an open glade59, and in this were five of the most extraordinary creatures that I have ever seen. Crouching60 down among the bushes, we observed them at our leisure.
There were, as I say, five of them, two being adults and three young ones. In size they were enormous. Even the babies were as big as elephants, while the two large ones were far beyond all creatures I have ever seen. They had slate-colored skin, which was scaled like a lizard's and shimmered61 where the sun shone upon it. All five were sitting up, balancing themselves upon their broad, powerful tails and their huge three-toed hind-feet, while with their small five-fingered front-feet they pulled down the branches upon which they browsed62. I do not know that I can bring their appearance home to you better than by saying that they looked like monstrous kangaroos, twenty feet in length, and with skins like black crocodiles.
I do not know how long we stayed motionless gazing at this marvelous spectacle. A strong wind blew towards us and we were well concealed64, so there was no chance of discovery. From time to time the little ones played round their parents in unwieldy gambols65, the great beasts bounding into the air and falling with dull thuds upon the earth. The strength of the parents seemed to be limitless, for one of them, having some difficulty in reaching a bunch of foliage which grew upon a considerable-sized tree, put his fore-legs round the trunk and tore it down as if it had been a sapling. The action seemed, as I thought, to show not only the great development of its muscles, but also the small one of its brain, for the whole weight came crashing down upon the top of it, and it uttered a series of shrill66 yelps67 to show that, big as it was, there was a limit to what it could endure. The incident made it think, apparently68, that the neighborhood was dangerous, for it slowly lurched off through the wood, followed by its mate and its three enormous infants. We saw the shimmering69 slaty70 gleam of their skins between the tree-trunks, and their heads undulating high above the brush-wood. Then they vanished from our sight.
I looked at my comrades. Lord John was standing71 at gaze with his finger on the trigger of his elephant-gun, his eager hunter's soul shining from his fierce eyes. What would he not give for one such head to place between the two crossed oars72 above the mantelpiece in his snuggery at the Albany! And yet his reason held him in, for all our exploration of the wonders of this unknown land depended upon our presence being concealed from its inhabitants. The two professors were in silent ecstasy. In their excitement they had unconsciously seized each other by the hand, and stood like two little children in the presence of a marvel63, Challenger's cheeks bunched up into a seraphic smile, and Summerlee's sardonic73 face softening74 for the moment into wonder and reverence75.
"Nunc dimittis!" he cried at last. "What will they say in England of this?"
"My dear Summerlee, I will tell you with great confidence exactly what they will say in England," said Challenger. "They will say that you are an infernal liar26 and a scientific charlatan76, exactly as you and others said of me."
"In the face of photographs?"
"Faked, Summerlee! Clumsily faked!"
"Ah, there we may have them! Malone and his filthy Fleet Street crew may be all yelping78 our praises yet. August the twenty-eighth-the day we saw five live iguanodons in a glade of Maple White Land. Put it down in your diary, my young friend, and send it to your rag."
"And be ready to get the toe-end of the editorial boot in return," said Lord John. "Things look a bit different from the latitude79 of London, young fellah my lad. There's many a man who never tells his adventures, for he can't hope to be believed. Who's to blame them? For this will seem a bit of a dream to ourselves in a month or two. WHAT did you say they were?"
"Iguanodons," said Summerlee. "You'll find their footmarks all over the Hastings sands, in Kent, and in Cussex. The South of England was alive with them when there was plenty of good lush green-stuff to keep them going. Conditions have changed, and the beasts died. Here it seems that the conditions have not changed, and the beasts have lived."
"If ever we get out of this alive, I must have a head with me," said Lord John. "Lord, how some of that Somaliland-Uganda crowd would turn a beautiful pea-green if they saw it! I don't know what you chaps think, but it strikes me that we are on mighty80 thin ice all this time."
I had the same feeling of mystery and danger around us. In the gloom of the trees there seemed a constant menace and as we looked up into their shadowy foliage vague terrors crept into one's heart. It is true that these monstrous creatures which we had seen were lumbering81, inoffensive brutes82 which were unlikely to hurt anyone, but in this world of wonders what other survivals might there not be--what fierce, active horrors ready to pounce83 upon us from their lair84 among the rocks or brushwood? I knew little of prehistoric85 life, but I had a clear remembrance of one book which I had read in which it spoke86 of creatures who would live upon our lions and tigers as a cat lives upon mice. What if these also were to be found in the woods of Maple White Land!
It was destined that on this very morning--our first in the new country--we were to find out what strange hazards lay around us. It was a loathsome87 adventure, and one of which I hate to think. If, as Lord John said, the glade of the iguanodons will remain with us as a dream, then surely the swamp of the pterodactyls will forever be our nightmare. Let me set down exactly what occurred.
We passed very slowly through the woods, partly because Lord Roxton acted as scout88 before he would let us advance, and partly because at every second step one or other of our professors would fall, with a cry of wonder, before some flower or insect which presented him with a new type. We may have traveled two or three miles in all, keeping to the right of the line of the stream, when we came upon a considerable opening in the trees. A belt of brushwood led up to a tangle of rocks--the whole plateau was strewn with boulders89. We were walking slowly towards these rocks, among bushes which reached over our waists, when we became aware of a strange low gabbling and whistling sound, which filled the air with a constant clamor and appeared to come from some spot immediately before us. Lord John held up his hand as a signal for us to stop, and he made his way swiftly, stooping and running, to the line of rocks. We saw him peep over them and give a gesture of amazement. Then he stood staring as if forgetting us, so utterly90 entranced was he by what he saw. Finally he waved us to come on, holding up his hand as a signal for caution. His whole bearing made me feel that something wonderful but dangerous lay before us.
Creeping to his side, we looked over the rocks. The place into which we gazed was a pit, and may, in the early days, have been one of the smaller volcanic91 blow-holes of the plateau. It was bowl-shaped and at the bottom, some hundreds of yards from where we lay, were pools of green-scummed, stagnant92 water, fringed with bullrushes. It was a weird93 place in itself, but its occupants made it seem like a scene from the Seven Circles of Dante. The place was a rookery of pterodactyls. There were hundreds of them congregated94 within view. All the bottom area round the water-edge was alive with their young ones, and with hideous95 mothers brooding upon their leathery, yellowish eggs. From this crawling flapping mass of obscene reptilian96 life came the shocking clamor which filled the air and the mephitic, horrible, musty odor which turned us sick. But above, perched each upon its own stone, tall, gray, and withered97, more like dead and dried specimens than actual living creatures, sat the horrible males, absolutely motionless save for the rolling of their red eyes or an occasional snap of their rat-trap beaks99 as a dragon-fly went past them. Their huge, membranous100 wings were closed by folding their fore-arms, so that they sat like gigantic old women, wrapped in hideous web-colored shawls, and with their ferocious101 heads protruding102 above them. Large and small, not less than a thousand of these filthy creatures lay in the hollow before us.
Our professors would gladly have stayed there all day, so entranced were they by this opportunity of studying the life of a prehistoric age. They pointed103 out the fish and dead birds lying about among the rocks as proving the nature of the food of these creatures, and I heard them congratulating each other on having cleared up the point why the bones of this flying dragon are found in such great numbers in certain well-defined areas, as in the Cambridge Green-sand, since it was now seen that, like penguins104, they lived in gregarious105 fashion.
Finally, however, Challenger, bent106 upon proving some point which Summerlee had contested, thrust his head over the rock and nearly brought destruction upon us all. In an instant the nearest male gave a shrill, whistling cry, and flapped its twenty-foot span of leathery wings as it soared up into the air. The females and young ones huddled107 together beside the water, while the whole circle of sentinels rose one after the other and sailed off into the sky. It was a wonderful sight to see at least a hundred creatures of such enormous size and hideous appearance all swooping108 like swallows with swift, shearing109 wing-strokes above us; but soon we realized that it was not one on which we could afford to linger. At first the great brutes flew round in a huge ring, as if to make sure what the exact extent of the danger might be. Then, the flight grew lower and the circle narrower, until they were whizzing round and round us, the dry, rustling110 flap of their huge slate-colored wings filling the air with a volume of sound that made me think of Hendon aerodrome upon a race day.
"Make for the wood and keep together," cried Lord John, clubbing his rifle. "The brutes mean mischief111."
The moment we attempted to retreat the circle closed in upon us, until the tips of the wings of those nearest to us nearly touched our faces. We beat at them with the stocks of our guns, but there was nothing solid or vulnerable to strike. Then suddenly out of the whizzing, slate-colored circle a long neck shot out, and a fierce beak98 made a thrust at us. Another and another followed. Summerlee gave a cry and put his hand to his face, from which the blood was streaming. I felt a prod112 at the back of my neck, and turned dizzy with the shock. Challenger fell, and as I stooped to pick him up I was again struck from behind and dropped on the top of him. At the same instant I heard the crash of Lord John's elephant-gun, and, looking up, saw one of the creatures with a broken wing struggling upon the ground, spitting and gurgling at us with a wide-opened beak and blood-shot, goggled113 eyes, like some devil in a medieval picture. Its comrades had flown higher at the sudden sound, and were circling above our heads.
"Now," cried Lord John, "now for our lives!"
We staggered through the brushwood, and even as we reached the trees the harpies were on us again. Summerlee was knocked down, but we tore him up and rushed among the trunks. Once there we were safe, for those huge wings had no space for their sweep beneath the branches. As we limped homewards, sadly mauled and discomfited114, we saw them for a long time flying at a great height against the deep blue sky above our heads, soaring round and round, no bigger than wood-pigeons, with their eyes no doubt still following our progress. At last, however, as we reached the thicker woods they gave up the chase, and we saw them no more.
A most interesting and convincing experience," said Challenger, as we halted beside the brook115 and he bathed a swollen116 knee. "We are exceptionally well informed, Summerlee, as to the habits of the enraged117 pterodactyl."
Summerlee was wiping the blood from a cut in his forehead, while I was tying up a nasty stab in the muscle of the neck. Lord John had the shoulder of his coat torn away, but the creature's teeth had only grazed the flesh.
"It is worth noting," Challenger continued, "that our young friend has received an undoubted stab, while Lord John's coat could only have been torn by a bite. In my own case, I was beaten about the head by their wings, so we have had a remarkable118 exhibition of their various methods of offence."
"It has been touch and go for our lives," said Lord John, gravely, "and I could not think of a more rotten sort of death than to be outed by such filthy vermin. I was sorry to fire my rifle, but, by Jove! there was no great choice."
"We should not be here if you hadn't," said I, with conviction.
"It may do no harm," said he. "Among these woods there must be many loud cracks from splitting or falling trees which would be just like the sound of a gun. But now, if you are of my opinion, we have had thrills enough for one day, and had best get back to the surgical119 box at the camp for some carbolic. Who knows what venom120 these beasts may have in their hideous jaws121?"
But surely no men ever had just such a day since the world began. Some fresh surprise was ever in store for us. When, following the course of our brook, we at last reached our glade and saw the thorny barricade122 of our camp, we thought that our adventures were at an end. But we had something more to think of before we could rest. The gate of Fort Challenger had been untouched, the walls were unbroken, and yet it had been visited by some strange and powerful creature in our absence. No foot-mark showed a trace of its nature, and only the overhanging branch of the enormous ginko tree suggested how it might have come and gone; but of its malevolent strength there was ample evidence in the condition of our stores. They were strewn at random123 all over the ground, and one tin of meat had been crushed into pieces so as to extract the contents. A case of cartridges had been shattered into matchwood, and one of the brass124 shells lay shredded125 into pieces beside it. Again the feeling of vague horror came upon our souls, and we gazed round with frightened eyes at the dark shadows which lay around us, in all of which some fearsome shape might be lurking126. How good it was when we were hailed by the voice of Zambo, and, going to the edge of the plateau, saw him sitting grinning at us upon the top of the opposite pinnacle.
"All well, Massa Challenger, all well!" he cried. "Me stay here. No fear. You always find me when you want."
His honest black face, and the immense view before us, which carried us half-way back to the affluent127 of the Amazon, helped us to remember that we really were upon this earth in the twentieth century, and had not by some magic been conveyed to some raw planet in its earliest and wildest state. How difficult it was to realize that the violet line upon the far horizon was well advanced to that great river upon which huge steamers ran, and folk talked of the small affairs of life, while we, marooned128 among the creatures of a bygone age, could but gaze towards it and yearn129 for all that it meant!
One other memory remains130 with me of this wonderful day, and with it I will close this letter. The two professors, their tempers aggravated131 no doubt by their injuries, had fallen out as to whether our assailants were of the genus pterodactylus or dimorphodon, and high words had ensued. To avoid their wrangling132 I moved some little way apart, and was seated smoking upon the trunk of a fallen tree, when Lord John strolled over in my direction.
"I say, Malone," said he, "do you remember that place where those beasts were?"
"Very clearly."
"A sort of volcanic pit, was it not?"
"Exactly," said I.
"Did you notice the soil?"
"Rocks."
"But round the water--where the reeds were?"
"It was a bluish soil. It looked like clay."
"Exactly. A volcanic tube full of blue clay."
"What of that?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing, nothing," said he, and strolled back to where the voices of the contending men of science rose in a prolonged duet, the high, strident note of Summerlee rising and falling to the sonorous133 bass134 of Challenger. I should have thought no more of Lord John's remark were it not that once again that night I heard him mutter to himself: "Blue clay--clay in a volcanic tube!" They were the last words I heard before I dropped into an exhausted135 sleep.
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scraps
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impending
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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destined
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immortality
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pedantic
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inscribed
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zoology
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specimen
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filthy
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eyebrows
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soothing
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philosophic
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temperament
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proboscis
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distending
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aurora
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bellowing
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frantically
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monstrous
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pinnacle
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immediate
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slabs
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foliage
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peculiar
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liar
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whooping
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cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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30
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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31
thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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33
beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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36
maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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37
atlas
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| n.地图册，图表集 | |
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38
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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39
malevolent
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| adj.有恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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40
impaled
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| 钉在尖桩上( impale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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42
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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43
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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44
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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45
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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46
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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47
botanist
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| n.植物学家 | |
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48
bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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49
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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50
imprinted
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| v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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51
oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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52
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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53
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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54
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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55
dinosaur
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| n.恐龙 | |
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56
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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57
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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58
morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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59
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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60
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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61
shimmered
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
browsed
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| v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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63
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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64
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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65
gambols
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| v.蹦跳，跳跃，嬉戏( gambol的第三人称单数 ) | |
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66
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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67
yelps
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| n.（因痛苦、气愤、兴奋等的）短而尖的叫声( yelp的名词复数 )v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的第三人称单数 ) | |
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68
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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69
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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70
slaty
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| 石板一样的，石板色的 | |
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71
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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73
sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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74
softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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75
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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76
charlatan
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| n.骗子；江湖医生；假内行 | |
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77
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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78
yelping
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 ) | |
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79
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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80
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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81
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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82
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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83
pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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84
lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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85
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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86
spoke
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| 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 | |
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87
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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88
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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89
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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90
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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91
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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92
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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93
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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94
congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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96
reptilian
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| adj.（像）爬行动物的；（像）爬虫的；卑躬屈节的；卑鄙的n.两栖动物；卑劣的人 | |
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97
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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98
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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99
beaks
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| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
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100
membranous
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| adj.膜的，膜状的 | |
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101
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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102
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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103
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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104
penguins
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| n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 ) | |
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105
gregarious
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| adj.群居的，喜好群居的 | |
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106
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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107
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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108
swooping
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 ) | |
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109
shearing
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| n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切 | |
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110
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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111
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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112
prod
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| vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励 | |
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113
goggled
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| adj.戴护目镜的v.睁大眼睛瞪视， （惊讶的）转动眼珠( goggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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115
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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116
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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117
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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118
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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119
surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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120
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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121
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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122
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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123
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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124
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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125
shredded
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| shred的过去式和过去分词 | |
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126
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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127
affluent
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| adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的 | |
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128
marooned
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| adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的 | |
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129
yearn
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| v.想念；怀念；渴望 | |
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130
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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131
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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132
wrangling
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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133
sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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134
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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