Soon after setting out on the following night's march, the accuracy of our estimate[196] was confirmed, for the map showed a main road not far ahead from our supposed position, and this as a matter of fact we crossed within half an hour's trek4. Just beyond the road and a little to the east of our course rose a cone-shaped hill, crowned by what at first looked like an old castle, but which, on a nearer view, resolved itself into a natural outcrop of white rock. It was then 7 o'clock. An hour later we were grateful for the find of a small stream of perfectly5 clear water. This was the first we had discovered since crossing the beautiful valley where we had enjoyed our much-needed bathe thirty odd hours before.
By this time, however, we had become comparatively inured6 to a shortage of water. It was only a fortnight ago that one of the party had collapsed7 after a lesser8 privation. Now we did not even trouble to fill completely the larger of the two serviceable chargals, although it is true there were other reasons which encouraged us in this serenity9. For one thing, now that we were on the southern slopes of the Taurus, we hoped that our water troubles were over. In point of fact, we were to find ourselves sadly disappointed. Then again, we were loth to put such a drag upon our speed as a full chargal certainly was, change hands though it might every half-hour. So far that night we had maintained a pace of four miles an hour. The meat eaten during the[197] previous two days had undoubtedly11 met a very real need, and with the cheese and chupatties, and the longer periods for rest, had given us a sense of renewed vigour12. Time, however, still passed with the same deadly slowness. On the first night that we had started taking the chargals turn and turn about at regular intervals13, more than one of the party had imagined that he had been doing a spell of a full hour, and was horrified14 to hear that in reality it had been only half that length.
On this night the moon rose at about 8.30; there was thus a short period of darkness between sunset and moonlight, and as we should have a three-quarter moon for the whole of the rest of the night, we could afford to rest for twenty minutes when the twilight15 had faded. This was the more desirable, as we were still in difficult country. The surface itself was not as bad as might have been expected, for, after all, we were in the Taurus; but our course was constantly being crossed by steep nullahs. The climb up their farther sides was very fatiguing16.
To avoid some of these, we proceeded, wherever possible, to follow the crest17-line, and as soon as the moon was up the field-glasses once more proved their value by enabling Cochrane to pick out the best route. As time went on, however, the country became more and more broken, until[198] we found it necessary, if endless detours18 were to be avoided, to take the nullahs as they came. After a few more climbs, we almost gave up trying to keep on our proposed course, which was a little E. of S., and nearly decided19 instead to follow down a valley to the S.W., which promised better going. In the end, however, we contented20 ourselves with making a mile and a half an hour in our original direction, and were rewarded by finding in one of the nullahs a little spring of water.
At 11 P.M., having found a fairly sheltered nook (for the wind at night was always cold at this altitude), we took the opportunity of snatching a little sleep. It has to be confessed that some of us also made a premature21 attack on the next day's ration22 of cheese and chupatties. To help level up our loads, these had been shared out already, and after our experience of the joys of a full meal—we allude23 again to the goat—we found having food in our packs a sore temptation. Without the safeguard of common ownership, it ceased to be inviolable. Yet perhaps after all it was best to eat at night, when we were doing all the hard work, and when, in addition, it was cold.
Shortly after midnight we moved on, and were soon cheered by the discovery of a narrow track leading in the right direction, and cleverly avoiding all the difficulties of the broken ground on either side. This we[199] were able to follow at a hard 3½ miles an hour until a little before daybreak. Then seeing lights ahead, we left the main track, thinking it must be leading us on to a village. Immediately around us there was no cover from view, and as the first tinge24 of dawn lit up the countryside, we saw that our only hiding-place would be in the wooded hills on the farther side of the valley in which lay the supposed houses. Proceeding25 at our best speed, we began a race with the sun, punctuated26 only by halts of a few seconds now and then as Cochrane searched anxiously round through the field-glasses; for we could hear herds27 moving about, and other lights had come into view. The descent proved steeper and longer than had been anticipated, and it was not till after five o'clock, and just before sunrise, that we reached the foot of the valley. Here we found we had to cross a stream ten to twelve feet wide, and, on account of the marshy28 ground, at a point not 500 yards away from the lights. These came, as we now saw, from a small group of timber huts, and in our haste to reach cover we plunged29 straight through the stream, to find that only a few yards farther up we might have crossed by stepping-stones in a place where the stream was only a foot deep.
This was no time for vain regrets, so we were soon clambering up the farther slope, which was covered with scattered30 pines. Under cover of these we gave ourselves a[200] couple of minutes' breathing space, for the hill was steep, and then went on over the top of the first ridge31, a thousand feet above the stream, and into a little dip beyond. Here we found a trickle32 of water, and settled down amongst some small trees and thorny33 scrub. The first thing to do was to take off our soaked boots and let them dry; after this a brew34 of cocoa was prepared—well earned by what we reckoned was a 27-mile march in the previous twelve hours. Most of our feet were terribly sore, and Looney spent an hour sewing on bandages before he struggled back into his boots that day.
With the present satisfactory rate of progress we could afford to be rather more liberal with our food; and so the camp fire never died down, for we took it in turns to make "pilaus" all that day. These were made from crushed wheat, and differed from the porridge we had been accustomed to make from it while at Yozgad, in that before boiling it was mixed with a little melted dripping, a supply of which we had obtained from the village. The resulting pilau was a vast improvement on the plain porridge, besides being rather quicker to cook—a consideration in view of the smallness of our cooking-pot. Altogether we must have had five pilaus at this bivouac, but as each when distributed filled only a third of a pint35 mug, we cannot be accused of greed. To[201] avoid all waste we had brought along even the bones of the goat; from these we now made a weak soup, after which the bones themselves were divided out for a last picking, some of us even eating their softer portions. We were out of sight of the huts in the valley which we had so hastily crossed, but could see the top of the hill on the farther side; here was a fairly large walled village, with houses built of stone and roofed with the usual flat mud roofs. Although we could see this with our glasses, we were too far to be observed ourselves, and moreover little sign of life appeared there. That afternoon, however, we had a few anxious moments, when two men came over the next ridge to the south of us: they passed within a hundred yards of where we lay, but appeared not to have seen us.
In the evening, having moved a short distance up the same ridge, we were having a five minutes' halt when two more men, this time on donkeys, came over the crest and almost rode on top of us. They asked, "Who are you? Where are you going?" and "Why hiding?" We did not answer, so they said, "Are you foreigners that you don't understand Turkish?" Then they went on, and so did we. Fortunately, even should they report any suspicions they had, we were in country that was much intersected and in which it would have been difficult for any one[202] to trace us. So difficult, in fact, was the bit of ground which met our view on reaching the top of the range we were on, that it was some minutes before we could make up our minds which would be the best line to follow.
Eventually we decided to make for a ridge which seemed negotiable, and on proceeding came very shortly afterwards to a spring and a goat-track. After drinking all the water we could, we followed the latter. It was as well we did so, for the track took us round the head of a precipitous ravine which might have taken a whole day to cross if we had attempted to pass over direct. On the far side, too, the track still kept the general direction we wanted, namely, some twenty degrees east of south, and so we clung to it steadily36 until 8.30 P.M. We had been marching for three hours, and now following our procedure of the previous night, slept till 9.45, by which time the moon had risen. Before halting, we had seen one or two shepherds' fires ahead, so took the precaution to move fifty yards or so off the track in case there should be any traffic. By this time we had given up keeping a watch on the night halts, though we still did so by day. The reason for this was that sleep was only obtainable during the nights, and we could not afford to let even one member of the party go without it. On this particular occasion it was comparatively[203] warm, considering that we were on an open hillside in the Taurus, and we were much rested by the sleep we obtained.
When we resumed our way we still kept to our friendly path, although it was becoming more and more stony37. A little before midnight we found ourselves in a dilemma38, for, after leading us to the edge of a deep valley which ran at right angles to our course, the track now branched right and left. The problem was which path to follow. If we had stopped to think we might have realised that, in mountainous country, even the most friendly road cannot always take you by a direct route, and that the longest way round is often the shortest way home. However, on this occasion we made an error of judgment39 and went straight ahead. The slope, at first comparatively grassy40 and gradual, became rapidly more rocky and precipitous, until at about 1.30 A.M., after descending41 close upon 1500 feet, we found ourselves on the edge of a yawning gorge42, at the bottom of which foamed43 a raging mountain torrent44. We were not as glad to see this water as usual, for we had crossed a rivulet45 on our way down: at this we had already quenched46 our thirst, although at the time dogs had been barking at us from some shepherds' huts on the valley slope. The difficulty now was to find a practicable path up the farther bank. The torrent itself was passable easily enough, for natural stepping-stones abounded47 in its rock-strewn[204] bed; and in fact we did cross and re-cross it several times in a painful endeavour to make our way a little farther to the west.
Everywhere, however, beyond a rough and narrow ledge48 of rock by the side of the stream, the far bank rose up sheer above us. In the moonlight the scene was wonderful, and we could not help thinking how perfect a place this would have been for a day's halt. But we could not afford to lose precious time, and for the present our whole aim was to leave it as soon as possible. At one spot, having seen a light burning not far from the water's edge, we proceeded very cautiously. It proved to proceed from the stump49 of a tree which some one had probably set on fire to warm himself and had left burning: happily no one was there now. After a two hours' struggle we had to own that we were defeated, and were compelled to climb back out of the gorge and still on the wrong side. Moving along its edge at a higher level, for another two hours we searched in vain for a more likely crossing-place, and were almost in despair when we suddenly heard the voices of men and women below us. Looking down, we saw in the moonlight a party of Turks or Armenians in the act of crossing a fine old bridge which spanned the gorge between two absolutely vertical50 banks in a single semicircular arch of stone. Even now it was[205] some little time before we could pick up the path leading down to it, but when we did so we were agreeably surprised to find that the bridge was not guarded. In the last five hours we had progressed but one mile in the right direction.
When at last we crossed the gorge it was barely an hour to dawn, and we had not followed the mountain road leading up the farther side for long before we had to be on the look-out for a hiding-place. There was little cover higher up the hill; so we turned right-handed and dropped down once more towards the gorge, hoping that after all it would do us the good turn of providing us with water and shade for the day. On the way down, however, we saw a cave hollowed out in the rocky hillside, and as the bank below was very steep, we decided we would not give ourselves a single foot of unnecessary climbing when we started off again next evening. We accordingly entered the cave; but Cochrane and Perce, after ridding themselves of their packs, valiantly51 climbed down again to the water and came back with the two chargals full. So much had all the fruitless clambering taken out of us that we were more tired on this day than after double the distance on the night previous, and, except for taking turns to cook, every one lay like a log in the cave. The latter faced west, and was roofed by two elliptical semi-domes side by side[206] beneath a larger arch in the rock, but being shallow in width compared to the height of the roof, allowed the sun to stream in upon us in the latter part of the afternoon.
On leaving the cave at about 7 P.M., as rugged52 country still lay ahead, we thought it best to work our way obliquely53 up the hill and regain54 the track which had led us up from the bridge over the ravine. To this we clung for the greater part of the night which followed, although it involved passing through several villages. We found ourselves in the first almost before we realised that a village existed there at all: it seemed, however, a city of the dead.
Not a dog barked at our approach, and the narrow crooked55 streets appeared deserted56, until suddenly the white-clad figure of a woman flitted across our path. Fortunately she did not pause to find out who were these strange nocturnal visitors.
Not long afterwards we saw lights ahead, and as we drew nearer found that our road branched to right and left, the latter branch leading towards the lights which seemed to proceed from a village. After the previous night's experience we had no intention of attempting any cross-country going if we could possibly avoid it. Here, indeed, to go on direct would have necessitated57 crossing first a valley of unknown depth, and then an enormous ridge which reared up its[207] black bulk against the clear starry58 sky. It was fairly obvious that the two roads went round either end of this ridge; after that it was a toss-up which was the more likely to lead us towards the sea. In view of the village and of the noisy clatter59 on the stony track of the booted members of the party, Cochrane elected to take the right-hand branch, and this we followed for over a mile. It was leading us due west, and seemed likely to continue to do so for several miles more before the ridge was rounded. The coast opposite our position ran, we knew, rather from N.E. to S.W., and so every mile we marched west added another to our distance from the coast. At the next halt we reconsidered the question of roads, and decided we must go back and risk the village. But it was essential to make less noise, and so, as we once more approached the cross-roads, those not wearing "chariqs" padded their boots with old socks, bits of shirt, and pieces of felt.
It gives some idea of the absolute weariness of body which now was ours, when it is stated that it was only after much forcible persuasion60 from Nobby that those who would have the trouble of tying on the padding could be induced to take this precaution. But in the end wise counsels prevailed, and we succeeded in passing through the village—and it was a large one—without causing any apparent alarm. Looney, however,[208] lost one of his mufti hats with which he had padded one of his boots.
The track now increased in width to as much as ten feet, being roughly levelled out of the solid rock, and running along a ledge above a precipitous ravine. Below us we heard the roar of a mountain stream, and as at one point a rough path had been cut down to water-level, Cochrane descended61 it and fetched up a chargal full of water. It was to prove a serious mistake that we did not fill all our receptacles here. On resuming our way, we were taken by our road over another striking bridge which crossed the ravine a little higher up. This time the arch was a pointed10 one. Once more we found the defile62 unguarded. We were probably in magnificent mountain scenery, but could see little of it, as the moon had not yet risen. Even though after crossing the bridge we waited in the warmth of a little cave till after the time of moonrise, the moon itself did not become visible until two hours later, so steep were the slopes on every side of us. We could see, however, that we were going round the eastern shoulder of the ridge which had blocked our direct route, and this ridge rose sheer from the very edge of the ravine.
Without a road to follow, we should have fared badly indeed. Even with it, the climb from the bridge had been severe, but on proceeding we soon came to the top of the rise and found ourselves walking on a carpet of[209] pine-needles through a beautiful open forest. This was a wonderful contrast to the arid63 wastes or rugged ridges64 across which had been so many of our long and weary marches. Even here, however, the country was soon to resume its more normal aspect. We found ourselves descending into an open valley with no signs of trees or vegetation. Our road, too, dwindled65 to the width and unevenness66 of an ordinary village track, and this it turned out to be, for it led past a few isolated67 huts, and finally at 1 A.M. took us into a village.
A little before, during one of the hourly halts, we had seen in the moonlight a man approaching on a donkey; so we took to our feet and marched again in order to pass him the more quickly. This we did without a single word being exchanged.
In the village we could hear the sound of men talking and laughing together. This was rather disconcerting, as for one thing we had been hoping to find where they obtained their water. Far from finding either well or spring or stream, however, we even had some difficulty in finding the path out of the village. We were about to cut across country, and had gone as far as to climb over a hedge into some vineyards, when we recognised the path to the west of us. It worked along the side of a hill apparently68 towards a saddle in the steep ridge which closed the valley ahead. While we were in the vineyard we felt around for grapes, but the vines were barren; in fact[210] the whole valley seemed waterless. We now regained69 the track and had nearly reached the top of the ridge when our path suddenly took into its head to start descending the valley again. Though we were loth to leave any track so long as it made some pretence70 of going anywhere in our direction, this was too much for our patience, and Cochrane led us due east, so as to cross the bleak71 ridge which bordered the valley on that side and see what the next valley could do for us. But even here our difficulties were not to end: the farther hillside was rocky in the extreme and covered with scrub and stunted72 trees, amongst which we clambered for some two hours without finding any valley to promise easy progress in the direction of the sea. To "Kola" tablets we once more resorted. Finally, an hour before dawn, we lay down as we were, disheartened, without water, and without a road.
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1
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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obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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watershed
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| n.转折点，分水岭，分界线 | |
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trek
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| vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行 | |
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5
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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8
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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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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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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detours
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| 绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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punctuated
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| v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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foamed
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| 泡沫的 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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rivulet
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| n.小溪，小河 | |
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quenched
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| 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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47
abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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49
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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50
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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51
valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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52
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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53
obliquely
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| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
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54
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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55
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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56
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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unevenness
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| n. 不平坦，不平衡，不匀性 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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