IN the stillness and the darkness, realization1 soon began to supplement knowledge. The mere2 knowledge of a fact is pale; but when you come to REALIZE your fact, it takes on color. It is all the difference between hearing of a man being stabbed to the heart, and seeing it done. In the stillness and the darkness, the knowledge that I was in deadly danger took to itself deeper and deeper meaning all the time; a something which was realization crept inch by inch through my veins3 and turned me cold.
But it is a blessed provision of nature that at times like these, as soon as a man's mercury has got down to a certain point there comes a revulsion, and he rallies. Hope springs up, and cheerfulness along with it, and then he is in good shape to do something for himself, if anything can be done. When my rally came, it came with a bound. I said to myself that my eclipse would be sure to save me, and make me the greatest man in the kingdom besides; and straightway my mercury went up to the top of the tube, and my solicitudes4 all vanished. I was as happy a man as there was in the world. I was even impatient for tomorrow to come, I so wanted to gather in that great triumph and be the center of all the nation's wonder and reverence5. Besides, in a business way it would be the making of me; I knew that.
Meantime there was one thing which had got pushed into the background of my mind. That was the halfconviction that when the nature of my proposed calamity6 should be reported to those superstitious7 people, it would have such an effect that they would want to compromise. So, by and by when I heard footsteps coming, that thought was recalled to me, and I said to myself, "As sure as anything, it's the compromise. Well, if it is good, all right, I will accept; but if it isn't, I mean to stand my ground and play my hand for all it is worth."
The door opened, and some men-at-arms appeared. The leader said:
"The stake is ready. Come!"
The stake! The strength went out of me, and I almost fell down. It is hard to get one's breath at such a time, such lumps come into one's throat, and such gaspings; but as soon as I could speak, I said:
"But this is a mistake -- the execution is tomorrow."
"Order changed; been set forward a day. Haste thee!"
I was lost. There was no help for me. I was dazed, stupefied; I had no command over myself, I only wandered purposely about, like one out of his mind; so the soldiers took hold of me, and pulled me along with them, out of the cell and along the maze8 of underground corridors, and finally into the fierce glare of daylight and the upper world. As we stepped into the vast enclosed court of the castle I got a shock; for the first thing I saw was the stake, standing9 in the center, and near it the piled fagots and a monk10. On all four sides of the court the seated multitudes rose rank above rank, forming sloping terraces that were rich with color. The king and the queen sat in their thrones, the most conspicuous11 figures there, of course.
To note all this, occupied but a second. The next second Clarence had slipped from some place of concealment12 and was pouring news into my ear, his eyes beaming with triumph and gladness. He said:
"'Tis through ME the change was wrought13! And main hard have I worked to do it, too. But when I revealed to them the calamity in store, and saw how mighty14 was the terror it did engender15, then saw I also that this was the time to strike! Wherefore I diligently16 pretended, unto this and that and the other one, that your power against the sun could not reach its full until the morrow; and so if any would save the sun and the world, you must be slain17 to-day, while your enchantments18 are but in the weaving and lack potency20. Odsbodikins, it was but a dull lie, a most indifferent invention, but you should have seen them seize it and swallow it, in the frenzy21 of their fright, as it were salvation22 sent from heaven; and all the while was I laughing in my sleeve the one moment, to see them so cheaply deceived, and glorifying23 God the next, that He was content to let the meanest of His creatures be His instrument to the saving of thy life. Ah how happy has the matter sped! You will not need to do the sun a REAL hurt -- ah, forget not that, on your soul forget it not! Only make a little darkness -- only the littlest little darkness, mind, and cease with that. It will be sufficient. They will see that I spoke24 falsely, -being ignorant, as they will fancy -- and with the falling of the first shadow of that darkness you shall see them go mad with fear; and they will set you free and make you great! Go to thy triumph, now! But remember -- ah, good friend, I implore25 thee remember my supplication26, and do the blessed sun no hurt. For MY sake, thy true friend."
I choked out some words through my grief and misery27; as much as to say I would spare the sun; for which the lad's eyes paid me back with such deep and loving gratitude28 that I had not the heart to tell him his good-hearted foolishness had ruined me and sent me to my death.
As the soldiers assisted me across the court the stillness was so profound that if I had been blindfold29 I should have supposed I was in a solitude30 instead of walled in by four thousand people. There was not a movement perceptible in those masses of humanity; they were as rigid31 as stone images, and as pale; and dread32 sat upon every countenance33. This hush34 continued while I was being chained to the stake; it still continued while the fagots were carefully and tediously piled about my ankles, my knees, my thighs35, my body. Then there was a pause, and a deeper hush, if possible, and a man knelt down at my feet with a blazing torch; the multitude strained forward, gazing, and parting slightly from their seats without knowing it; the monk raised his hands above my head, and his eyes toward the blue sky, and began some words in Latin; in this attitude he droned on and on, a little while, and then stopped. I waited two or three moments; then looked up; he was standing there petrified36. With a common impulse the multitude rose slowly up and stared into the sky. I followed their eyes, as sure as guns, there was my eclipse beginning! The life went boiling through my veins; I was a new man! The rim37 of black spread slowly into the sun's disk, my heart beat higher and higher, and still the assemblage and the priest stared into the sky, motionless. I knew that this gaze would be turned upon me, next. When it was, l was ready. I was in one of the most grand attitudes I ever struck, with my arm stretched up pointing to the sun. It was a noble effect. You could SEE the shudder38 sweep the mass like a wave. Two shouts rang out, one close upon the heels of the other:
"Apply the torch!"
"I forbid it!"
The one was from Merlin, the other from the king. Merlin started from his place -- to apply the torch himself, I judged. I said:
"Stay where you are. If any man moves -- even the king -- before I give him leave, I will blast him with thunder, I will consume him with lightnings!"
The multitude sank meekly39 into their seats, and I was just expecting they would. Merlin hesitated a moment or two, and I was on pins and needles during that little while. Then he sat down, and I took a good breath; for I knew I was master of the situation now. The king said:
"Be merciful, fair sir, and essay no further in this perilous40 matter, lest disaster follow. It was reported to us that your powers could not attain41 unto their full strength until the morrow; but --"
"Your Majesty42 thinks the report may have been a lie? It WAS a lie."
That made an immense effect; up went appealing hands everywhere, and the king was assailed43 with a storm of supplications that I might be bought off at any price, and the calamity stayed. The king was eager to comply. He said:
"Name any terms, reverend sir, even to the halving44 of my kingdom; but banish45 this calamity, spare the sun!"
My fortune was made. I would have taken him up in a minute, but I couldn't stop an eclipse; the thing was out of the question. So I asked time to consider. The king said:
"How long -- ah, how long, good sir? Be merciful; look, it groweth darker, moment by moment. Prithee how long?"
"Not long. Half an hour -- maybe an hour."
There were a thousand pathetic protests, but I couldn't shorten up any, for I couldn't remember how long a total eclipse lasts. I was in a puzzled condition, anyway, and wanted to think. Something was wrong about that eclipse, and the fact was very unsettling. If this wasn't the one I was after, how was I to tell whether this was the sixth century, or nothing but a dream? Dear me, if I could only prove it was the latter! Here was a glad new hope. If the boy was right about the date, and this was surely the 20th, it WASN'T the sixth century. I reached for the monk's sleeve, in considerable excitement, and asked him what day of the month it was.
Hang him, he said it was the TWENTY-FIRST! It made me turn cold to hear him. I begged him not to make any mistake about it; but he was sure; he knew it was the 21st. So, that feather-headed boy had botched things again! The time of the day was right for the eclipse; I had seen that for myself, in the beginning, by the dial that was near by. Yes, I was in King Arthur's court, and I might as well make the most out of it I could.
The darkness was steadily46 growing, the people becoming more and more distressed47. I now said:
"I have reflected, Sir King. For a lesson, I will let this darkness proceed, and spread night in the world; but whether I blot48 out the sun for good, or restore it, shall rest with you. These are the terms, to wit: You shall remain king over all your dominions49, and receive all the glories and honors that belong to the kingship; but you shall appoint me your perpetual minister and executive, and give me for my services one per cent. of such actual increase of revenue over and above its present amount as I may succeed in creating for the state. If I can't live on that, I sha'n't ask anybody to give me a lift. Is it satisfactory?"
There was a prodigious50 roar of applause, and out of the midst of it the king's voice rose, saying:
"Away with his bonds, and set him free! and do him homage51, high and low, rich and poor, for he is become the king's right hand, is clothed with power and authority, and his seat is upon the highest step of the throne! Now sweep away this creeping night, and bring the light and cheer again, that all the world may bless thee."
But I said:
"That a common man should be shamed before the world, is nothing; but it were dishonor to the KING if any that saw his minister naked should not also see him delivered from his shame. If I might ask that my clothes be brought again --"
"They are not meet," the king broke in. "Fetch raiment of another sort; clothe him like a prince!"
My idea worked. I wanted to keep things as they were till the eclipse was total, otherwise they would be trying again to get me to dismiss the darkness, and of course I couldn't do it. Sending for the clothes gained some delay, but not enough. So I had to make another excuse. I said it would be but natural if the king should change his mind and repent52 to some extent of what he had done under excitement; therefore I would let the darkness grow a while, and if at the end of a reasonable time the king had kept his mind the same, the darkness should be dismissed. Neither the king nor anybody else was satisfied with that arrangement, but I had to stick to my point.
It grew darker and darker and blacker and blacker, while I struggled with those awkward sixth-century clothes. It got to be pitch dark, at last, and the multitude groaned53 with horror to feel the cold uncanny night breezes fan through the place and see the stars come out and twinkle in the sky. At last the eclipse was total, and I was very glad of it, but everybody else was in misery; which was quite natural. I said:
"The king, by his silence, still stands to the terms." Then I lifted up my hands -- stood just so a moment -then I said, with the most awful solemnity: "Let the enchantment19 dissolve and pass harmless away!"
There was no response, for a moment, in that deep darkness and that graveyard54 hush. But when the silver rim of the sun pushed itself out, a moment or two later, the assemblage broke loose with a vast shout and came pouring down like a deluge55 to smother56 me with blessings57 and gratitude; and Clarence was not the last of the wash, to be sure.
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1
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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solicitudes
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| n.关心，挂念，渴望( solicitude的名词复数 ) | |
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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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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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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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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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engender
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| v.产生，引起 | |
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diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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enchantments
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| n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔 | |
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enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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potency
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| n. 效力，潜能 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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glorifying
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| 赞美( glorify的现在分词 )； 颂扬； 美化； 使光荣 | |
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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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25
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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blindfold
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| vt.蒙住…的眼睛；adj.盲目的；adv.盲目地；n.蒙眼的绷带[布等]； 障眼物，蒙蔽人的事物 | |
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30
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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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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thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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43
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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44
halving
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| n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊 | |
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45
banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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48
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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50
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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51
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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52
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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53
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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54
graveyard
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| n.坟场 | |
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55
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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56
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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