Sailor Ben's arrival partly drove the New Orleans project from my brain. Besides, there was just then a certain movement on foot by the Centipede Club which helped to engross1 my attention.
Pepper Whitcomb took the Captain's veto philosophically2, observing that he thought from the first the governor wouldn't let me go. I don't think Pepper was quite honest in that.
But to the subject in hand.
Among the few changes that have taken place in Rivermouth during the past twenty years there is one which I regret. I lament3 the removal of all those varnished4 iron cannon5 which used to do duty as posts at the corners of streets leading from the river. They were quaintly6 ornamental7, each set upon end with a solid shot soldered8 into its mouth, and gave to that part of the town a picturesqueness9 very poorly atoned10 for by the conventional wooden stakes that have deposed11 them.
These guns ("old sogers" the boys called them) had their story, like everything else in Rivermouth. When that everlasting12 last war -- the War of 1812, I mean -- came to an end, all the brigs, schooners14, and barks fitted out at this port as privateers were as eager to get rid of their useless twelve-pounders and swivels as they had previously15 been to obtain them. Many of the pieces had cost large sums, and now they were little better than so much crude iron -- not so good, in fact, for they were clumsy things to break up and melt over. The government didn't want them; private citizens didn't want them; they were a drug in the market.
But there was one man, ridiculous beyond his generation, who got it into his head that a fortune was to be made out of these same guns. To buy them all, to hold on to them until war was declared again (as he had no doubt it would be in a few months), and then sell out at fabulous17 prices -- this was the daring idea that addled18 the pate19 of Silas Trefethen, "Dealer20 in E. & W. I. Goods and Groceries," as the faded sign over his shop-door informed the public.
Silas went shrewdly to work, buying up every old cannon he could lay hands on. His back-yard was soon crowded with broken-down gun-carriages, and his barn with guns, like an arsenal21. When Silas's purpose got wind it was astonishing how valuable that thing became which just now was worth nothing at all.
"Ha, ha!" thought Silas. "Somebody else is tryin' hi git control of the market. But I guess I've got the start of him."
So he went on buying and buying, oftentimes paying double the original price of the article. People in the neighboring towns collected all the worthless ordnance22 they could find, and sent it by the cart-load to Rivermouth.
When his barn was full, Silas began piling the rubbish in his cellar, then in his parlor23. He mortgaged the stock of his grocery store, mortgaged his house, his barn, his horse, and would have mortgaged himself, if anyone would have taken him as security, in order to carry on the grand speculation25. He was a ruined man, and as happy as a lark26.
Surely poor Silas was cracked, like the majority of his own cannon. More or less crazy he must have been always. Years before this he purchased an elegant rosewood coffin27, and kept it in one of the spare rooms in his residence. He even had his name engraved28 on the silver-plate, leaving a blank after the word "Died."
The blank was filled up in due time, and well it was for Silas that he secured so stylish29 a coffin in his opulent days, for when he died his worldly wealth would not have bought him a pine box, to say nothing of rosewood. He never gave up expecting a war with Great Britain. Hopeful and radiant to the last, his dying words were, England -- war -- few days -- great profits!
It was that sweet old lady, Dame30 Jocelyn, who told me the story of Silas Trefethen; for these things happened long before my day. Silas died in 1817.
At Trefethen's death his unique collection came under the auctioneer's hammer. Some of the larger guns were sold to the town, and planted at the corners of divers31 streets; others went off to the iron-foundry; the balance, numbering twelve, were dumped down on a deserted32 wharf33 at the foot of Anchor Lane, where, summer after summer, they rested at their ease in the grass and fungi34, pelted35 in autumn by the rain and annually36 buried by the winter snow. It is with these twelve guns that our story has to deal.
The wharf where they reposed37 was shut off from the street by a high fence -- a silent dreamy old wharf, covered with strange weeds and mosses38. On account of its seclusion39 and the good fishing it afforded, it was much frequented by us boys.
There we met many an afternoon to throw out our lines, or play leap-frog among the rusty40 cannon. They were famous fellows in our eyes. What a racket they had made in the heyday42 of their unchastened youth! What stories they might tell now, if their puffy metallic43 lips could only speak! Once they were lively talkers enough; but there the grim sea-dogs lay, silent and forlorn in spite of all their former growlings.
They always seemed to me like a lot of venerable disabled tars44, stretched out on a lawn in front of a hospital, gazing seaward, and mutely lamenting45 their lost youth.
But once more they were destined46 to lift up their dolorous47 voices -- once more ere they keeled over and lay speechless for all time. And this is how it befell.
Jack48 Harris, Charley Marden, Harry49 Blake, and myself were fishing off the wharf one afternoon, when a thought flashed upon me like an inspiration.
"I say, boys!" I cried, hauling in my line hand over hand, "I've got something!"
"What does it pull like, youngster?" asked Harris, looking down at the taut51 line and expecting to see a big perch52 at least.
"O, nothing in the fish way," I returned, laughing; "it's about the old guns."
"What about them?"
"I was thinking what jolly fun it would be to set one of the old sogers on his legs and serve him out a ration16 of gunpowder53."
Up came the three lines in a jiffy. An enterprise better suited to the disposition54 of my companions could not have been proposed.
In a short time we had one of the smaller cannon over on its back and were busy scraping the green rust41 from the touch-hole. The mould had spiked55 the gun so effectually, that for a while we fancied we should have to give up our attempt to resuscitate56 the old soger.
"A long gimlet would clear it out," said Charley Marden, "if we only had one."
I looked to see if Sailor Ben's flag was flying at the cabin door, for he always took in the colors when he went off fishing.
"When you want to know if the Admiral's aboard, jest cast an eye to the buntin', my hearties," says Sailor Ben.
Sometimes in a jocose57 mood he called himself the Admiral, and I am sure he deserved to be one. The Admiral's flag was flying, and I soon procured58 a gimlet from his carefully kept tool-chest.
Before long we had the gun in working order. A newspaper lashed50 to the end of a lath served as a swab to dust out the bore. Jack Harris blew through the touch-hole and pronounced all clear.
Seeing our task accomplished59 so easily, we turned our attention to the other guns, which lay in all sorts of postures60 in the rank grass. Borrowing a rope from Sailor Ben, we managed with immense labor61 to drag the heavy pieces into position and place a brick under each muzzle62 to give it the proper elevation63. When we beheld64 them all in a row, like a regular battery, we simultaneously65 conceived an idea, the magnitude of which struck us dumb for a moment.
Our first intention was to load and fire a single gun. How feeble and insignificant66 was such a plan compared to that which now sent the light dancing into our eyes!
"What could we have been thinking of?" cried Jack Harris. "We'll give 'em a broadside, to be sure, if we die for it!"
We turned to with a will, and before nightfall had nearly half the battery overhauled67 and ready for service. To keep the artillery68 dry we stuffed wads of loose hemp69 into the muzzles70, and fitted wooden pegs71 to the touch-holes.
At recess72 the next noon the Centipedes met in a corner of the school-yard to talk over the proposed lark. The original projectors73, though they would have liked to keep the thing secret, were obliged to make a club matter of it, inasmuch as funds were required for ammunition74. There had been no recent drain on the treasury75, and the society could well afford to spend a few dollars in so notable an undertaking76.
It was unanimously agreed that the plan should be carried out in the handsomest manner, and a subscription77 to that end was taken on the spot. Several of the Centipedes hadn't a cent, excepting the one strung around their necks; others, however, were richer. I chanced to have a dollar, and it went into the cap quicker than lightning. When the club, in view of my munificence78, voted to name the guns Bailey's Battery I was prouder than I have ever been since over anything.
The money thus raised, added to that already in the treasury, amounted to nine dollars -- a fortune in those days; but not more than we had use for. This sum was divided into twelve parts, for it would not do for one boy to buy all the powder, nor even for us all to make our purchases at the same place. That would excite suspicion at any time, particularly at a period so remote from the Fourth of July.
There were only three stores in town licensed79 to sell powder; that gave each store four customers. Not to run the slightest risk of remark, one boy bought his powder on Monday, the next boy on Tuesday, and so on until the requisite80 quantity was in our possession. This we put into a keg and carefully hid in a dry spot on the wharf.
Our next step was to finish cleaning the guns, which occupied two afternoons, for several of the old sogers were in a very congested state indeed. Having completed the task, we came upon a difficulty. To set off the battery by daylight was out of the question; it must be done at night; it must be done with fuses, for no doubt the neighbors would turn out after the first two or three shots, and it would not pay to be caught in the vicinity.
Who knew anything about fuses? Who could arrange it so the guns would go off one after the other, with an interval81 of a minute or so between?
Theoretically we knew that a minute fuse lasted a minute; double the quantity, two minutes; but practically we were at a stand-still. There was but one person who could help us in this extremity82 -- Sailor Ben. To me was assigned the duty of obtaining what information I could from the ex-gunner, it being left to my discretion83 whether or not to intrust him with our secret.
So one evening I dropped into the cabin and artfully turned the conversation to fuses in general, and then to particular fuses, but without getting much out of the old boy, who was busy making a twine84 hammock. Finally, I was forced to divulge85 the whole plot.
The Admiral had a sailor's love for a joke, and entered at once and heartily86 into our scheme. He volunteered to prepare the fuses himself, and I left the labor in his hands, having bound him by several extraordinary oaths -- such as "Hope-I-may-die" and "Shiver-my-timbers" -- not to betray us, come what would.
This was Monday evening. On Wednesday the fuses were ready. That night we were to unmuzzle Bailey's Battery. Mr. Grimshaw saw that something was wrong somewhere, for we were restless and absent-minded in the classes, and the best of us came to grief before the morning session was over. When Mr. Grimshaw announced "Guy Fawkes" as the subject for our next composition, you might have knocked down the Mystic Twelve with a feather.
The coincidence was certainly curious, but when a man has committed, or is about to commit an offence, a hundred trifles, which would pass unnoticed at another time, seem to point at him with convicting fingers. No doubt Guy Fawkes himself received many a start after he had got his wicked kegs of gunpowder neatly87 piled up under the House of Lords.
Wednesday, as I have mentioned, was a half-holiday, and the Centipedes assembled in my barn to decide on the final arrangements. These were as simple as could be. As the fuses were connected, it needed but one person to fire the train. Hereupon arose a discussion as to who was the proper person. Some argued that I ought to apply the match, the battery being christened after me, and the main idea, moreover, being mine. Others advocated the claim of Phil Adams as the oldest boy. At last we drew lots for the post of honor.
Twelve slips of folded paper, upon one of which was written "Thou art the man," were placed in a quart measure, and thoroughly88 shaken; then each member stepped up and lifted out his destiny. At a given signal we opened our billets. "Thou art the man," said the slip of paper trembling in my fingers. The sweets and anxieties of a leader were mine the rest of the afternoon.
Directly after twilight89 set in Phil Adams stole down to the wharf and fixed90 the fuses to the guns, laying a train of powder from the principal fuse to the fence, through a chink of which I was to drop the match at midnight.
At ten o'clock Rivermouth goes to bed. At eleven o'clock Rivermouth is as quiet as a country churchyard. At twelve o'clock there is nothing left with which to compare the stillness that broods over the little seaport91.
In the midst of this stillness I arose and glided92 out of the house like a phantom93 bent94 on an evil errand; like a phantom. I flitted through the silent street, hardly drawing breath until I knelt down beside the fence at the appointed place.
Pausing a moment for my heart to stop thumping95, I lighted the match and shielded it with both hands until it was well under way, and then dropped the blazing splinter on the slender thread of gunpowder.
A noiseless flash instantly followed, and all was dark again. I peeped through the crevice96 in the fence, and saw the main fuse spitting out sparks like a conjurer. Assured that the train had not failed, I took to my heels, fearful lest the fuse might burn more rapidly than we calculated, and cause an explosion before I could get home. This, luckily, did not happen. There's a special Providence97 that watches over idiots, drunken men, and boys.
I dodged98 the ceremony of undressing by plunging99 into bed, jacket, boots, and all. I am not sure I took off my cap; but I know that I had hardly pulled the coverlid over me, when "BOOM!" sounded the first gun of Bailey's Battery.
I lay as still as a mouse. In less than two minutes there was another burst of thunder, and then another. The third gun was a tremendous fellow and fairly shook the house.
The town was waking up. Windows were thrown open here and there and people called to each other across the streets asking what that firing was for.
"BOOM!" went gun number four.
I sprung out of bed and tore off my jacket, for I heard the Captain feeling his way along the wall to my chamber100. I was half undressed by the time he found the knob of the door.
"I say, sir," I cried, "do you hear those guns?"
"Not being deaf, I do," said the Captain, a little tartly101 -- any reflection on his hearing always nettled102 him; "but what on earth they are for I can't conceive. You had better get up and dress yourself."
"I'm nearly dressed, sir."
"BOOM! BOOM!" -- two of the guns had gone off together.
The door of Miss Abigail's bedroom opened hastily, and that pink of maidenly103 propriety104 stepped out into the hail in her night-gown -- the only indecorous thing I ever knew her to do. She held a lighted candle in her hand and looked like a very aged24 Lady Macbeth.
"O Dan'el, this is dreadful! What do you suppose it means?"
"I really can't suppose," said the Captain, rubbing his ear; "but I guess it's over now."
"BOOM!" said Bailey's Battery.
Rivermouth was wide awake now, and half the male population were in the streets, running different ways, for the firing seemed to proceed from opposite points of the town. Everybody waylaid105 everybody else with questions; but as no one knew what was the occasion of the tumult106, people who were not usually nervous began to be oppressed by the mystery.
Some thought the town was being bombarded; some thought the world was coming to an end, as the pious107 and ingenious Mr. Miller108 had predicted it would; but those who couldn't form any theory whatever were the most perplexed109.
In the meanwhile Bailey's Battery bellowed110 away at regular intervals111. The greatest confusion reigned112 everywhere by this time. People with lanterns rushed hither and thither113. The town watch had turned out to a man, and marched off, in admirable order, in the wrong direction. Discovering their mistake, they retraced114 their steps, and got down to the wharf just as the last cannon belched115 forth116 its lightning.
A dense117 cloud of sulphurous smoke floated over Anchor Lane, obscuring the starlight. Two or three hundred people, in various stages of excitement, crowded about the upper end of the wharf, not liking118 to advance farther until they were satisfied that the explosions were over. A board was here and there blown from the fence, and through the openings thus afforded a few of the more daring spirits at length ventured to crawl.
The cause of the racket soon transpired119. A suspicion that they had been sold gradually dawned on the Rivermouthians. Many were exceedingly indignant, and declared that no penalty was severe enough for those concerned in such a prank120; others -- and these were the very people who had been terrified nearly out of their wits -- had the assurance to laugh, saying that they knew all along it was only a trick.
The town watch boldly took possession of the ground, and the crowd began to disperse121. Knots of gossips lingered here and there near the place, indulging in vain surmises122 as to who the invisible gunners could be.
There was no more noise that night, but many a timid person lay awake expecting a renewal123 of the mysterious cannonading. The Oldest Inhabitant refused to go to bed on any terms, but persisted in sitting up in a rocking-chair, with his hat and mittens124 on, until daybreak.
I thought I should never get to sleep. The moment I drifted off in a doze125 I fell to laughing and woke myself up. But towards morning slumber126 overtook me, and I had a series of disagreeable dreams, in one of which I was waited upon by the ghost of Silas Trefethen with an exorbitant127 bill for the use of his guns. In another, I was dragged before a court-martial and sentenced by Sailor Ben, in a frizzled wig128 and three-cornered cocked hat, to be shot to death by Bailey's Battery -- a sentence which Sailor Ben was about to execute with his own hand, when I suddenly opened my eyes and found the sunshine lying pleasantly across my face. I tell you I was glad!
That unaccountable fascination129 which leads the guilty to hover130 about the spot where his crime was committed drew me down to the wharf as soon as I was dressed. Phil Adams, Jack Harris, and others of the conspirators131 were already there, examining with a mingled132 feeling of curiosity and apprehension133 the havoc134 accomplished by the battery.
The fence was badly shattered and the ground ploughed up for several yards round the place where the guns formerly135 lay -- formerly lay, for now they were scattered136 every which way. There was scarcely a gun that hadn't burst. Here was one ripped open from muzzle to breech, and there was another with its mouth blown into the shape of a trumpet137. Three of the guns had disappeared bodily, but on looking over the edge of the wharf we saw them standing138 on end in the tide-mud. They had popped overboard in their excitement.
"I tell you what, fellows," whispered Phil Adams, "it is lucky we didn't try to touch 'em off with punk. They'd have blown us all to finders."
The destruction of Bailey's Battery was not, unfortunately, the only catastrophe139. A fragment of one of the cannon had earned away the chimney of Sailor Ben's cabin. He was very mad at first, but having prepared the fuse himself he didn't dare complain openly.
"I'd have taken a reef in the blessed stove-pipe," said the Admiral, gazing ruefully at the smashed chimney, "if I had known as how the Flagship was agoin' to be under fire."
The next day he rigged out an iron funnel140, which, being in sections, could be detached and taken in at a moment's notice. On the whole, I think he was resigned to the demolition141 of his brick chimney. The stove-pipe was a great deal more shipshape.
The town was not so easily appeased142. The selectmen determined143 to make an example of the guilty parties, and offered a reward for their arrest, holding out a promise of pardon to anyone of the offenders144 who would furnish information against the rest. But there were no faint hearts among the Centipedes. Suspicion rested for a while on several persons -- on the soldiers at the fort; on a crazy fellow, known about town as "Bottle-Nose"; and at last on Sailor Ben.
"Shiver my timbers!" cries that deeply injured individual. "Do you suppose, sir, as I have lived to sixty year, an' ain't got no more sense than to go for to blaze away at my own upper riggin'? It doesn't stand to reason."
It certainly did not seem probable that Mr. Watson would maliciously145 knock over his own chimney, and Lawyer Hackett, who had the case in hand, 'bowed himself out of the Admiral's cabin convinced that the right man had not been discovered.
People living by the sea are always more or less superstitious146. Stories of spectre ships and mysterious beacons147, that lure148 vessels149 out of their course and wreck150 them on unknown reefs, were among the stock legends of Rivermouth; and not a few people in the town were ready to attribute the firing of those guns to some supernatural agency. The Oldest Inhabitant remembered that when he was a boy a dim-looking sort of schooner13 hove to in the offing one foggy afternoon, fired off a single gun that didn't make any report, and then crumbled151 to nothing, spar, mast, and hulk, like a piece of burnt paper.
The authorities, however, were of the opinion that human hands had something to do with the explosions, and they resorted to deep-laid stratagems152 to get hold of the said hands. One of their traps came very near catching153 us. They artfully caused an old brass154 fieldpiece to be left on a wharf near the scene of our late operations. Nothing in the world but the lack of money to buy powder saved us from falling into the clutches of the two watchmen who lay secreted155 for a week in a neighboring sail-loft.
It was many a day before the midnight bombardment ceased to be the town-talk. The trick was so audacious and on so grand a scale that nobody thought for an instant of connecting us lads with it. Suspicion at length grew weary of lighting156 on the wrong person, and as conjecture157 -- like the physicians in the epitaph -- was in vain, the Rivermouthians gave up the idea of finding out who had astonished them.
They never did find out, and never will, unless they read this veracious158 history. If the selectmen are still disposed to punish the malefactors, I can supply Lawyer Hackett with evidence enough to convict Pepper Whitcomb, Phil Adams, Charley Marden, and the other honorable members of the Centipede Club. But really I don't think it would pay now.
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engross
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philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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lament
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varnished
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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quaintly
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ornamental
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soldered
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picturesqueness
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atoned
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deposed
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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schooners
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| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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ration
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fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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addled
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| adj.（头脑）糊涂的，愚蠢的；（指蛋类）变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 )；使混乱；使腐臭；使变质 | |
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pate
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dealer
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arsenal
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ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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aged
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speculation
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lark
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coffin
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engraved
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stylish
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dame
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divers
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deserted
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wharf
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fungi
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pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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annually
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reposed
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mosses
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seclusion
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rusty
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rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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42
heyday
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| n.全盛时期，青春期 | |
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43
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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44
tars
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| 焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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45
lamenting
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| adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 ) | |
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46
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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47
dolorous
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| adj.悲伤的；忧愁的 | |
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48
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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49
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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50
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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51
taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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52
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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53
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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54
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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55
spiked
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| adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的 | |
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56
resuscitate
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| v.使复活，使苏醒 | |
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57
jocose
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| adj.开玩笑的，滑稽的 | |
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58
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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59
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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60
postures
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| 姿势( posture的名词复数 )； 看法； 态度； 立场 | |
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61
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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62
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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63
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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64
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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65
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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66
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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67
overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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68
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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69
hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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70
muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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71
pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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72
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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73
projectors
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| 电影放映机，幻灯机( projector的名词复数 ) | |
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74
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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75
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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76
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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77
subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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78
munificence
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| n.宽宏大量，慷慨给与 | |
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79
licensed
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| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
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80
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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81
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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82
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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83
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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84
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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85
divulge
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| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
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86
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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87
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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88
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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89
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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90
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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91
seaport
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| n.海港，港口，港市 | |
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92
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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93
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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94
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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95
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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96
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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97
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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98
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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99
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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100
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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101
tartly
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| adv.辛辣地，刻薄地 | |
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102
nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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103
maidenly
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| adj. 像处女的, 谨慎的, 稳静的 | |
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104
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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105
waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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107
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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108
miller
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| n.磨坊主 | |
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109
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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110
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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111
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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112
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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113
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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114
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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115
belched
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| v.打嗝( belch的过去式和过去分词 )；喷出，吐出；打（嗝）；嗳（气） | |
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116
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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117
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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118
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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119
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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120
prank
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| n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己 | |
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121
disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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122
surmises
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的第三人称单数 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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123
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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124
mittens
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| 不分指手套 | |
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125
doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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126
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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127
exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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128
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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129
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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130
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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131
conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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132
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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133
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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134
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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135
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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136
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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137
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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138
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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139
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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140
funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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141
demolition
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| n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹 | |
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142
appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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143
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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144
offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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145
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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146
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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147
beacons
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| 灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台 | |
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148
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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149
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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150
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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151
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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152
stratagems
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| n.诡计，计谋( stratagem的名词复数 )；花招 | |
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153
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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154
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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155
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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156
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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157
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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158
veracious
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| adj.诚实可靠的 | |
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