AFTER this things are vague in my mind, only an impression of
distress1 and gloom. I got a letter from my cousin and friend, Hal Lesesne, telling of the successive falling back which was so terrible to them all. He had been so long in the forts around Charleston, and so greatly desired to see active service in Virginia, and now,
alas2, things were so black, no one could help fearing. “But be assured,” he said, “we are fighting every step of the way, and make the enemy pay dearly for their gain.” When I got that letter he had already fallen, killed in the very last battle of the war, Averysboro, I think. This was a great sorrow to me; and the surrender was just crushing and
numbing3 to all my being. Men began to come in on their way home from the front, worn, weary, gaunt, and hungry. They had lived days and days and fought on a handful of
parched4 corn. Their shoes were worn out, their uniforms
ragged5; only their spirit was undimmed, and that made them suffer so in the sense of failure.{249}
My dear brother Charley finally came, a ghost of his former self, shoulders bowed down by marching with his heavy knapsack. He looked so ill and changed, we were not surprised when we found he had typhoid fever. He had been taken in and
kindly6 nursed by friends on his way home, but he was a pitiful sight.
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收听单词发音
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1
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 |
参考例句： |
- Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
- Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
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2
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) |
参考例句： |
- Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
- Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
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3
numbing
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| adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- Watching television had a numbing effect on his mind. 看电视使他头脑麻木。
- It was numbing work, requiring patience and dedication. 这是一种令人麻木的工作，需要有耐心和忘我精神。 来自辞典例句
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4
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 |
参考例句： |
- Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
- The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。
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5
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 |
参考例句： |
- A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
- Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
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6
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 |
参考例句： |
- Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
- A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
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