A uniform system of architecture pervades2 the houses of Aden, nearly all of which would appear to have arisen out of the ruins of former more extensive edifices4, now buried far below the surface of the accumulated soil. Tiers of loose undressed stone are interlaid, instead of mortar5, with horizontal bands of timber; the walls thus traversed being perforated with pigeon-holes to serve as windows, and surmounted6 by a low parapet concealing7 the terraced roof. Many, occupied by the more wealthy, have attained8 to a third story; but nearly all are destitute9 of ornament10. This is now restricted to the decayed palace of the sultáns of Yemen, where
“In proud state
Each robber chief upheld his armed halls,
Doing his evil will.”
In the thick coating of cement with which the shattered edifice3 is still partially11 encrusted, are the remains12 of various raised devices; and a profusion13 of open fretwork in wood is still observable, interspersed14 with latticed cornices, comprising choice sentences from the Korán.
The shops of Parsee and Mohammadan merchants already extend an assortment15 of European commodities to the notice of the visitor; and in a bazaar16, infested18 like other fish-markets by a legion of cats, are exposed sharks and a variety of the finny tribe. Water from the sweetest well is hawked19 about in dirty skins, instead of the lemonade and sherbet of large oriental towns; and piles of fruit, drugs, dates, molasses, and other abominations, present the same amount of flies, and no abatement20 of the compound of villainous smells, by which the booth of the shrewd and avaricious21 Gentoo is so invariably distinguished22.
In the suburbs, the frail23 cadjan wigwam of the Arab and Somauli population impart the undeviating aspect of the portable encampment of the nomade hordes25. The tattered26 goat-hair awning27 of the bare-footed pilgrim to the shrine28 at El Medina is here; and low crazy cabins of matting or yellow reeds are so slenderly covered in with the leaves of the palm as to form but a scanty29 shelter against the intolerable heat and dust occasioned by periodical blasts of the fiery30 Shimál.
During his diurnal31 reign32, the sun has shone fiercely over the extinct crater33 of Aden, and the relentless34 shower of dust and pebbles35 has kept the inhabitants within their rude dwellings36. But as the declining rays cast a lengthened37 shadow across the narrow alleys38, and the hot puffs39, abating40 in violence, are succeeded by a suffocating41 calm, the hitherto torpid42 population is to be seen abroad. That bronzed and sun-burnt visage, surrounded by long matted locks of raven43 hair—that slender, but wiry and active frame—and that energetic gait and manner, proclaim the untameable descendant of Ishma?l. He nimbly mounts the crupper of his now unladen dromedary, and at a trot45 moves down the bazaar on his way back to the town of Lahedge. A checked kerchief around his brows, and a kilt of dark blue calico about his loins, comprise his slender costume. His arms have been deposited outside the Turkish wall, which stretches its barrier across the isthmus46 from sea to sea, where flying parties of the Foudthli still infest17 the plain; and as he looks back, his meagre ferocious47 aspect, flanked by that tangled48 web of hair, stamps him the roving tenant49 of the desert.
The Arab has changed neither his character nor his habits since the days of the patriarchs, and he affords a standing50 evidence of the truth of the scriptural prophecy. He regards with disdain51 and with proud indifference52 every other portion of mankind, for who can produce so ancient monuments of liberty as he who, with little intermission, has preserved it from the very Deluge53? Is the land of his ancestors invaded? A branch torn by the priest from the venerated54 Nebek (A tree bearing a fruit like the Siberian crab), having been thrust into the fire, is quenched55 in hot blood welling from the divided throat of a ram44 which has only the moment before been slaughtered56 in the name of God the one omnipotent57. Dripping with the crimson58 tide, the emblem59 is solemnly delivered to the nearest warrior60, who hies him forth61 with this his summons for the gathering62 of the wild dans. Down from their rocky fastnesses pour the old and the young, the untried stripling, and the stern veteran with a thousand scars. On, on speeds the messenger with the alarum of coming strife63. Transferred from hand to hand, it rests not in the grasp of any; and in a few brief hours, thousands of wild spirits, calling upon Allah for victory, and thirsting for the blood of the foe64, have mustered65 around the unfurled standard of their prophet.
Thus it was that the numerous hill-forts and strongholds studding the rich province of Assyr, which borders on the Holy Land of the Moslem66, last poured forth their hordes to meet the invader67 of her fair plains, and the despoiler68 of her countless69 flocks. Sixteen thousand warriors70, composing one of the most ancient as well as bravest of the Arab tribes, cast aside spear and falchion, and, armed only with the deadly creese, stole during the night upon the camp of the insatiate Egyptian, and slaughtering71 the greater number, drove Ibrahim Pacha, with the wreck72 of his army, to seek safety in precipitate73 flight to Hode?da.
In yonder fat and sensual money-changer from the city of Surat is presented the very antipodes to the posterity74 of Hagar. In drowsy75 indolence, see him emerge from his treasures of ghee and groceries, among which, scales in hand, he has been patiently squatted76 since earliest dawn at the terrace of his booth, registering his gains in the daily ledger77. Not one spark of animation78 is there. A dark slouching turban, and ample folds of snowy drapery, envelope the sleek79 person of the crafty80 Hindoo, and his lethargic81 motions render it difficult to comprehend how he should have contrived82 to exile himself from his native soil, and in such a forbidding spot, even in pursuit of his idol83, Mammon.
Ajan and Berbera, famous for their early connection with the Greek kings of Egypt, have both contributed largely to the population that now throngs84 the street. The regular and finely-turned features of those Somauli emigrants85 from the opposite coast are at once selected from the group, although some have disguised their hair under a thick plaster of quick-lime, and others are rendered hideous86 by a wig24 of fiery red curls; whilst the dyed ringlets of a third have faded to the complexion87 of a housemaid’s mop, and a fourth, forsooth, is shaven because his locks have been pulled in anger. (It is the practice of the Somauli to shave the head when thus insulted, and to make a vow88 that the hair shall not grow again until they have had their revenge.) All present a curious contrast to the jet black skin and woolly pate89 of the Suha?li, who, in his turn, is destitute of the thick pouting90 lip which adorns91 that stalwart Nubian, swaggering like a great bully92 by his side. At the door of those cadjan cabins, which resemble higglers crates93, not less in size than in form and appearance, groups of withered94 Somauli crones are diligently95 weaving mats, baskets, and fans, of the pliant96 date-leaf; and their laughing daughters, yon tall, slim, and erect97 damsels with the earthen pitchers98 above their plaited tresses, present, on their way up from the well, some of the comeliest99 specimens100 of the ebon race.
“Honesty,” saith the Arab proverb, “is found only amongst poor fools.” The Bedouin has for ages been celebrated101 for his ingenuity102 and daring, and the African offset103 is nothing behind the parent stock. A Somauli thief is perhaps “the cunningest knave104 in the universe.” He has been known to cut away a pile of tobacco so as to leave to the merchant who reposed105 thereon, naught106 but the effigy107 of his own figure: and after entering through the roof of a house, the burglar has taken his exit through the door with chests of treasure, from the top of which the sleeping proprietor108 has been first hoisted109, with his bed, by a tackle lowered through the aperture110, and so left hanging until the morning!
Muffled111 in a Spanish mantilla, see the spouse112 of the bigoted113 Islám taking the air upon the crupper of a donkey, her fat face so scrupulously114 concealed115, that nothing of it is visible save two sloe black eyes which glitter through perforations in the white veil, and impart a similitude to the horned owl116. On the rude steps of the clustering habitations that she has passed, surrounded by rosy-cheeked urchins117, are seated numerous dark-eyed and well-dressed Jewesses. Rachel, although discreet118, and preserving the strictest decorum, is unveiled. Were it possible to prevail upon her to have recourse to daily ablution, in lieu of the hebdomadal immersion119 which celebrates her sabbath eve, her complexion would not be less fair than that of the native of Southern Europe; and in the well-chiselled features and aquiline120 profile of the brunette, are preserved all those marked peculiarities121 which in every part of the world distinguish the scattered122 daughters of Isra?l.
The children of the tribe of Judah are most completely identified with the soil of Aden, and may be regarded as the artisans and manufacturing population. Victims heretofore of the tyranny and intolerant persecution123 which the infidel has ever to expect at the hand of the true believer, they toiled124 and accumulated, but feared lest a display of the fruits of their labour should excite the cupidity125 of a rapacious126 master. Now their prospect127 has brightened, and the remnant of a mighty128 though fallen and dispersed129 people, no longer exists here in poverty and oppression, insulted and despised as they have always been in every part of the Eastern world; but in uninterrupted security ply130 their industrious131 occupation, and under British protection fearlessly practise those rites132 which have been religiously preserved from the time that their priests bore aloft the ark of the covenant133. Stone slabs134 with Hebrew inscriptions135 mark the resting-place of the departed; schools witness the education of the rising generation; and men and women, arrayed in their holiday apparel, sit apart in the synagogue, to listen at each return of their sabbath to the law which had been read since “by way of the wilderness136 of the Red Sea” their fathers “went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.”
点击收听单词发音
1 metropolis | |
n.首府;大城市 | |
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2 pervades | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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4 edifices | |
n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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5 mortar | |
n.灰浆,灰泥;迫击炮;v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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6 surmounted | |
战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 ); 克服(困难); 居于…之上; 在…顶上 | |
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7 concealing | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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8 attained | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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9 destitute | |
adj.缺乏的;穷困的 | |
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10 ornament | |
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物 | |
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11 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
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12 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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13 profusion | |
n.挥霍;丰富 | |
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14 interspersed | |
adj.[医]散开的;点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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15 assortment | |
n.分类,各色俱备之物,聚集 | |
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16 bazaar | |
n.集市,商店集中区 | |
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17 infest | |
v.大批出没于;侵扰;寄生于 | |
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18 infested | |
adj.为患的,大批滋生的(常与with搭配)v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 );遍布于 | |
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19 hawked | |
通过叫卖主动兜售(hawk的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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20 abatement | |
n.减(免)税,打折扣,冲销 | |
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21 avaricious | |
adj.贪婪的,贪心的 | |
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22 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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23 frail | |
adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 | |
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24 wig | |
n.假发 | |
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25 hordes | |
n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 );部落 | |
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26 tattered | |
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的 | |
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27 awning | |
n.遮阳篷;雨篷 | |
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28 shrine | |
n.圣地,神龛,庙;v.将...置于神龛内,把...奉为神圣 | |
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29 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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30 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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31 diurnal | |
adj.白天的,每日的 | |
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32 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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33 crater | |
n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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34 relentless | |
adj.残酷的,不留情的,无怜悯心的 | |
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35 pebbles | |
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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36 dwellings | |
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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37 lengthened | |
(时间或空间)延长,伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38 alleys | |
胡同,小巷( alley的名词复数 ); 小径 | |
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39 puffs | |
n.吸( puff的名词复数 );(烟斗或香烟的)一吸;一缕(烟、蒸汽等);(呼吸或风的)呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
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40 abating | |
减少( abate的现在分词 ); 减去; 降价; 撤消(诉讼) | |
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41 suffocating | |
a.使人窒息的 | |
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42 torpid | |
adj.麻痹的,麻木的,迟钝的 | |
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43 raven | |
n.渡鸟,乌鸦;adj.乌亮的 | |
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44 ram | |
(random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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45 trot | |
n.疾走,慢跑;n.老太婆;现成译本;(复数)trots:腹泻(与the 连用);v.小跑,快步走,赶紧 | |
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46 isthmus | |
n.地峡 | |
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47 ferocious | |
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的 | |
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48 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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49 tenant | |
n.承租人;房客;佃户;v.租借,租用 | |
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50 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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51 disdain | |
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
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52 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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53 deluge | |
n./vt.洪水,暴雨,使泛滥 | |
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54 venerated | |
敬重(某人或某事物),崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55 quenched | |
解(渴)( quench的过去式和过去分词 ); 终止(某事物); (用水)扑灭(火焰等); 将(热物体)放入水中急速冷却 | |
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56 slaughtered | |
v.屠杀,杀戮,屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57 omnipotent | |
adj.全能的,万能的 | |
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58 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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59 emblem | |
n.象征,标志;徽章 | |
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60 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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61 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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62 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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63 strife | |
n.争吵,冲突,倾轧,竞争 | |
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64 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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65 mustered | |
v.集合,召集,集结(尤指部队)( muster的过去式和过去分词 );(自他人处)搜集某事物;聚集;激发 | |
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66 Moslem | |
n.回教徒,穆罕默德信徒;adj.回教徒的,回教的 | |
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67 invader | |
n.侵略者,侵犯者,入侵者 | |
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68 despoiler | |
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69 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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70 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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71 slaughtering | |
v.屠杀,杀戮,屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 ) | |
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72 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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73 precipitate | |
adj.突如其来的;vt.使突然发生;n.沉淀物 | |
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74 posterity | |
n.后裔,子孙,后代 | |
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75 drowsy | |
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的 | |
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76 squatted | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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77 ledger | |
n.总帐,分类帐;帐簿 | |
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78 animation | |
n.活泼,兴奋,卡通片/动画片的制作 | |
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79 sleek | |
adj.光滑的,井然有序的;v.使光滑,梳拢 | |
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80 crafty | |
adj.狡猾的,诡诈的 | |
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81 lethargic | |
adj.昏睡的,懒洋洋的 | |
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82 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
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83 idol | |
n.偶像,红人,宠儿 | |
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84 throngs | |
n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群,挤满( throng的第三人称单数 ) | |
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85 emigrants | |
n.(从本国移往他国的)移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
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86 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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87 complexion | |
n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格 | |
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88 vow | |
n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓 | |
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89 pate | |
n.头顶;光顶 | |
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90 pouting | |
v.撅(嘴)( pout的现在分词 ) | |
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91 adorns | |
装饰,佩带( adorn的第三人称单数 ) | |
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92 bully | |
n.恃强欺弱者,小流氓;vt.威胁,欺侮 | |
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93 crates | |
n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱 | |
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94 withered | |
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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95 diligently | |
ad.industriously;carefully | |
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96 pliant | |
adj.顺从的;可弯曲的 | |
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97 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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98 pitchers | |
大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 ) | |
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99 comeliest | |
adj.英俊的,好看的( comely的最高级 ) | |
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100 specimens | |
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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101 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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102 ingenuity | |
n.别出心裁;善于发明创造 | |
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103 offset | |
n.分支,补偿;v.抵消,补偿 | |
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104 knave | |
n.流氓;(纸牌中的)杰克 | |
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105 reposed | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106 naught | |
n.无,零 [=nought] | |
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107 effigy | |
n.肖像 | |
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108 proprietor | |
n.所有人;业主;经营者 | |
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109 hoisted | |
把…吊起,升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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110 aperture | |
n.孔,隙,窄的缺口 | |
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111 muffled | |
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
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112 spouse | |
n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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113 bigoted | |
adj.固执己见的,心胸狭窄的 | |
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114 scrupulously | |
adv.一丝不苟地;小心翼翼地,多顾虑地 | |
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115 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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116 owl | |
n.猫头鹰,枭 | |
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117 urchins | |
n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 );淘气鬼;猬;海胆 | |
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118 discreet | |
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的 | |
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119 immersion | |
n.沉浸;专心 | |
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120 aquiline | |
adj.钩状的,鹰的 | |
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121 peculiarities | |
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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122 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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123 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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124 toiled | |
长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 ); 艰难缓慢地移动,跋涉 | |
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125 cupidity | |
n.贪心,贪财 | |
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126 rapacious | |
adj.贪婪的,强夺的 | |
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127 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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128 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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129 dispersed | |
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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130 ply | |
v.(搬运工等)等候顾客,弯曲 | |
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131 industrious | |
adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的 | |
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132 rites | |
仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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133 covenant | |
n.盟约,契约;v.订盟约 | |
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134 slabs | |
n.厚板,平板,厚片( slab的名词复数 );厚胶片 | |
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135 inscriptions | |
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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136 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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