Not a monk3 is there in any of the lone4 monasteries5 of Shoa, not a hermit6 of the many in her cold mountains, not a dwarf7 nor a decrepit8 priest who has renounced9 the society of his fellow-men, but enjoys the reputation of being fully10 competent to blast the harvest at pleasure, to poison the fountain, and to render the able-bodied incapable11. The thoughts of all classes move in a dense12 atmosphere of superstition. Talismans13, written in mystic characters, if mixed with the seeds and leaves of potent15 witch plants, gathered by the hand of the forest recluse16, afford a feeling of security which is not to be extracted from the pages of the Gospel; nor does any one ever venture to mount his mule17 without a preservative18 against the spear of the bandit, or the sharp knife of the heathen.
Savage19 man, obtaining only through the medium of his own wishes and imagination a glimmering20 idea of the invisible and supreme21 Power, seeks some tangible22 object of veneration23, and some ostensible24 source of protection. Thus the Abyssinian, whose vague religious ideas afford him but small consolation25 in the hour of tribulation26, and but little reliance of security or deliverance in the day of danger and distress27, reposes28 implicit29 faith in the doctrine30 of amulets31, which present a substance stamped with a mystic and supernatural character, and one capable of being attached individually to himself. The arms and neck are therefore clothed in a perfect panoply32 of charms against the influence of every misfortune and disease, whether experienced or anticipated; and the tulsim, which is a worked zone studded with minute leathern pockets, containing sacred spells enveloped33 in double and treble wrappers, encircles the waist of every man, woman, and child, throughout the Christian34 dominions35 of Sáhela Selássie, who himself reposes firm faith in their efficacy.
The influence of the evil eye exercises a strong control over the minds of all. Bad spirits are believed to roam about the earth and the waters, and to occupy houses after dark, whence the Amhára never ventures to throw fluid on the ground, lest the dignity of some unseen elf should be violated. The Beza, or sacrifice for the sick, is considered lawful36 and efficacious, and is frequently resorted to. The bullock, as the type of the invalid37, after being driven round his couch amid singing and clamour, is slaughtered38 outside the threshold; or an egg is turned thrice towards the head of the patient, and then broken beside him. Saint Michael is, by many of the more ignorant, supposed to be the Almighty39. The Virgin40 Mary is considered the creatress of the world; and Sunday is understood to have been a saint of surpassing sanctity, greatly superior both to Saint George and to Saint Michael, on which account he claims one day out of the seven, whereas other saints enjoy their festival only once during the month.
No Amhára will venture to destroy a serpent save on Saturday or Sunday, when the sight of one of these reptiles41 is deemed a favourable42 omen43. In common with the heathen Galla, the Christians44 of Shoa make annual votive sacrifices in June to Sár, the evil spirit—notwithstanding its strict prohibition45 by royal proclamation. Three men and a woman, who understand how to deal with the Evil One, having assembled at the place appointed, proceed to perform the ceremony in a house newly swept. A ginger-coloured hen, a red she-goat, or a male Adel goat with a white collar, is sacrificed; and the blood of the victim, having been mixed with grease and butter, is secretly placed during the night in a narrow alley46, when all who step therein are supposed to receive the malady47 of the invalid, who is thus restored to perfect health. During a visit some years ago to Motátit, the king perceived evidences of this pagan ceremony in the streets; and tracing the rite48 to a wealthy individual, who had caused it to be performed in order to free himself of disease, the honour of true religion was speedily vindicated49 by the transfer to the royal coffers of all the worldly substance of the delinquent50.
Under cover of the night, a thread of cotton yarn51 is often stretched by the hired sorcerer completely round some devoted52 tenement53; and the extremities54 having been connected by means of an iron link, well imbued55 in blood, the walls and doorposts are freely sprinkled and bedaubed with gore56. Day dawns upon the incantation, which is believed to be the work of the Devil himself; and among all the assembled multitude, who consider that some heavy calamity57, if not instant death, would follow the act, there is not to be found one individual sufficiently58 bold to remove the spell, and thus deliver the inmates59 from its withering60 influence. Since the king’s arrival in the capital, the appearance of the bloody61 finger on the wall had thrown the inhabitants into the deepest consternation62; and to the astonishment63 of every by-stander, a missionary64 of the Church of England tore away the charm without any evil consequences following his rashness. That very night, however, the defeated necromancer65 planned an attack to rob the clergyman’s premises66, and it was only defeated by the extra vigilance preserved in consequence of the exposure of the impostor.
The drum of the water kelpie is heard by the credulous67 native in the echo of every roaring cataract68, and the wretch69 drowning in the swollen70 torrent71 is believed to be dragged under the overwhelming wave as the favourite food of the malicious72 spirit of the deep. Divers73 plants and herbs possess properties and qualities the most baneful74; and a bunch of the Fegain grass, if skilfully75 cast upon the person of an obnoxious76 enemy, produces dire77 disease and speedy death. Sorcerers and necromancers attaining78 the respectable age of four and five hundred years exist in numbers in many parts of the land, flitting through the air, and riding upon the wings of the wind; and unbidden and invisible guests, such as Thavánan the Tormentor79, enter the banqueting hall, to rob the festive80 board of its choicest viands81.
Hid from mortal gaze, and realising upon earth all the delights of paradise, the magic village of Dooka Stephános forms the never-failing topic of all wonder-loving souls, and the poetic82 fancy of Abyssinia has been fairly exhausted83 in descriptions of this rare scene of blissful enjoyment84. “Its sleep-inviting groves85 and grassy86 lawns are situated87 on the overflowing88 Nile; and there, released from the shackles89 of wedlock90, beautiful females abound91. Potent liquors pour on in never-drying streams, and the earth yields her spontaneous fruits without care or labour. But shrouded92 in magic mist, these Elysian fields open their portals only to those mortals of commanding form and handsome features, on whom the glance of favour has been cast by the bewitching inmates of the enchanted93 garden. Human endeavour is ineffectual to unriddle the mystery in which it is enveloped; and the dread94 art of the sorcerer and his most potent talismans, prove alike unavailing to loosen the spell for the advantage of those on whom Dame95 Nature has bestowed96 a crooked97 figure, or even an ill-starred visage.”
As in the dark ages, dwarfs99 are nevertheless treated with considerable respect, and regarded with the utmost fear. Many of the most learned and praiseworthy in the land are to be found among those who have been created during nature’s freaks. The monarch’s father confessor, a perfect Asmodeus in appearance, is of extremely diminutive100 stature101, but he is possessed102 of singular good feeling, and forms a gratifying contrast to the majority of his countrymen. The chiefs and nobles often select their secretaries and household priests with reference to their bodily imperfections; and the most erudite sage98 in the capital, whose charms and talismans are esteemed103 all-powerful, and who knoweth every plant from the “cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall,” sustains his character for wisdom and for lore104, as much by the deformity of his appearance as by the brilliancy of his understanding.
Sickness and misfortune are usually ascribed to the influence of the evil eye of the Booda, or sorcerer. Long consultations105 are held to discover from whose sinister106 glace the calamity has emanated107; and when suspicion has gradually settled into conviction, the most implacable hatred108 is conceived towards the delinquent; and although concealed109 under that garb110 of indifference111 which the savage can so successfully assume, yet the opportunity of revenge is never suffered to pass unheeded in after-life. Hailoo, the father of Oubié, the Nero-like Dedjasmach of Tigré, added much to his previous notoriety by the extermination112 of all the Boodas who fell within his murderous reach. Superstition exulted113 in reeking114 hecatombs of human victims; and the love and veneration of his subjects knew no bounds on his last summary act of collecting together and roasting to death thirteen hundred miserable115 wretches116, who were suspected to possess, and to have exerted with success, the influence of “the evil eye.”
By the credulous Abyssinian, every blacksmith and worker in iron is held to be endowed with supernatural powers, and to be able to transform himself at pleasure into the likeness117 of a wolf or a hyena118. It is a common practice amongst this class of handicrafts to fasten a metal collar about the neck of the whelps of those animals, and turn them loose; when the badge being retained through life, and occasionally seen, the fabulous119 stories in circulation are strengthened in the eyes of the uninitiated.
The presence of any Christian emblem120, or portion of Holy Writ14, is supposed sufficient to neutralise the labours of the Vulcan. No metal can be welded within sight of the cross; and should any scrap121 of the Bible be worn on the person of the by-standers, the desired figure can never be imparted. Of this belief an instance was afforded shortly after our return from Angollála, when a bar of iron was to be transformed into a tire for the wheel of a gun-carriage. The small draft of air created by a pair of primitive122 native bellows123 proving of none avail, the smiths declared aloud that the phenomenon arose from some holy charm. Badges and emblems124, spells and amulets, were cast aside by all; but the labour was renewed without any better effect, and the artisans stood aghast. A pair of British forge bellows were now produced, and the assembly were requested to don their paper armour125, and to stand round the anvil126. The potent blast poured from the nozzle, and under the brawny127 arm of one of the European soldiers, the sparks flew far and wide. In five minutes the work was completed, to the dismay of the Abyssinian magicians, who came privately128 to request of me that no further public exhibition of the sort might thenceforth be made, lest their name and their glory should be extinguished throughout the land.
点击收听单词发音
1 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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2 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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3 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
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4 lone | |
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
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5 monasteries | |
修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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6 hermit | |
n.隐士,修道者;隐居 | |
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7 dwarf | |
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小 | |
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8 decrepit | |
adj.衰老的,破旧的 | |
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9 renounced | |
v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 );宣布放弃;宣布与…决裂;宣布摒弃 | |
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10 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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11 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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12 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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13 talismans | |
n.护身符( talisman的名词复数 );驱邪物;有不可思议的力量之物;法宝 | |
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14 writ | |
n.命令状,书面命令 | |
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15 potent | |
adj.强有力的,有权势的;有效力的 | |
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16 recluse | |
n.隐居者 | |
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17 mule | |
n.骡子,杂种,执拗的人 | |
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18 preservative | |
n.防腐剂;防腐料;保护料;预防药 | |
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19 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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20 glimmering | |
n.微光,隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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21 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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22 tangible | |
adj.有形的,可触摸的,确凿的,实际的 | |
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23 veneration | |
n.尊敬,崇拜 | |
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24 ostensible | |
adj.(指理由)表面的,假装的 | |
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25 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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26 tribulation | |
n.苦难,灾难 | |
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27 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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28 reposes | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
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29 implicit | |
a.暗示的,含蓄的,不明晰的,绝对的 | |
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30 doctrine | |
n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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31 amulets | |
n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 ) | |
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32 panoply | |
n.全副甲胄,礼服 | |
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33 enveloped | |
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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35 dominions | |
统治权( dominion的名词复数 ); 领土; 疆土; 版图 | |
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36 lawful | |
adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的 | |
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37 invalid | |
n.病人,伤残人;adj.有病的,伤残的;无效的 | |
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38 slaughtered | |
v.屠杀,杀戮,屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39 almighty | |
adj.全能的,万能的;很大的,很强的 | |
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40 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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41 reptiles | |
n.爬行动物,爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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42 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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43 omen | |
n.征兆,预兆;vt.预示 | |
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44 Christians | |
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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45 prohibition | |
n.禁止;禁令,禁律 | |
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46 alley | |
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路 | |
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47 malady | |
n.病,疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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48 rite | |
n.典礼,惯例,习俗 | |
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49 vindicated | |
v.澄清(某人/某事物)受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 );表明或证明(所争辩的事物)属实、正当、有效等;维护 | |
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50 delinquent | |
adj.犯法的,有过失的;n.违法者 | |
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51 yarn | |
n.纱,纱线,纺线;奇闻漫谈,旅行轶事 | |
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52 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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53 tenement | |
n.公寓;房屋 | |
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54 extremities | |
n.端点( extremity的名词复数 );尽头;手和足;极窘迫的境地 | |
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55 imbued | |
v.使(某人/某事)充满或激起(感情等)( imbue的过去式和过去分词 );使充满;灌输;激发(强烈感情或品质等) | |
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56 gore | |
n.凝血,血污;v.(动物)用角撞伤,用牙刺破;缝以补裆;顶 | |
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57 calamity | |
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件 | |
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58 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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59 inmates | |
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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60 withering | |
使人畏缩的,使人害羞的,使人难堪的 | |
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61 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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62 consternation | |
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
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63 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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64 missionary | |
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士 | |
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65 necromancer | |
n. 巫师 | |
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66 premises | |
n.建筑物,房屋 | |
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67 credulous | |
adj.轻信的,易信的 | |
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68 cataract | |
n.大瀑布,奔流,洪水,白内障 | |
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69 wretch | |
n.可怜的人,不幸的人;卑鄙的人 | |
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70 swollen | |
adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀 | |
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71 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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72 malicious | |
adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的 | |
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73 divers | |
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
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74 baneful | |
adj.有害的 | |
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75 skilfully | |
adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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76 obnoxious | |
adj.极恼人的,讨人厌的,可憎的 | |
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77 dire | |
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的 | |
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78 attaining | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的现在分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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79 tormentor | |
n. 使苦痛之人, 使苦恼之物, 侧幕 =tormenter | |
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80 festive | |
adj.欢宴的,节日的 | |
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81 viands | |
n.食品,食物 | |
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82 poetic | |
adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的 | |
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83 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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84 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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85 groves | |
树丛,小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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86 grassy | |
adj.盖满草的;长满草的 | |
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87 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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88 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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89 shackles | |
手铐( shackle的名词复数 ); 脚镣; 束缚; 羁绊 | |
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90 wedlock | |
n.婚姻,已婚状态 | |
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91 abound | |
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于 | |
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92 shrouded | |
v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 );保密 | |
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93 enchanted | |
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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94 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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95 dame | |
n.女士 | |
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96 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97 crooked | |
adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的 | |
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98 sage | |
n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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99 dwarfs | |
n.侏儒,矮子(dwarf的复数形式)vt.(使)显得矮小(dwarf的第三人称单数形式) | |
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100 diminutive | |
adj.小巧可爱的,小的 | |
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101 stature | |
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材 | |
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102 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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103 esteemed | |
adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 );敬重;认为;以为 | |
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104 lore | |
n.传说;学问,经验,知识 | |
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105 consultations | |
n.磋商(会议)( consultation的名词复数 );商讨会;协商会;查找 | |
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106 sinister | |
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 | |
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107 emanated | |
v.从…处传出,传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 );产生,表现,显示 | |
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108 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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109 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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110 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
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111 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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112 extermination | |
n.消灭,根绝 | |
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113 exulted | |
狂喜,欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114 reeking | |
v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象) | |
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115 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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116 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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117 likeness | |
n.相像,相似(之处) | |
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118 hyena | |
n.土狼,鬣狗 | |
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119 fabulous | |
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的 | |
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120 emblem | |
n.象征,标志;徽章 | |
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121 scrap | |
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废 | |
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122 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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123 bellows | |
n.风箱;发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的名词复数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的第三人称单数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫 | |
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124 emblems | |
n.象征,标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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125 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
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126 anvil | |
n.铁钻 | |
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127 brawny | |
adj.强壮的 | |
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128 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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