Under these circumstances we concluded, warm and pressing as were the invitations for us to stay, that it was time to move on, first to Mount Kenia, and thence into the unknown in search of the mysterious white race which we had set our hearts on discovering. This time we were going to progress by means of the humble8 but useful donkey, of which we had collected no less than a dozen, to carry our goods and chattels9, and, if necessary, ourselves. We had now but two Wakwafis left for servants, and found it quite impossible to get other natives to venture with us into the unknown parts we proposed to explore—and small blame to them. After all, as Mr Mackenzie said, it was odd that three men, each of whom possessed10 many of those things that are supposed to make life worth living—health, sufficient means, and position, etc.—should from their own pleasure start out upon a wild-goose chase, from which the chances were they never would return. But then that is what Englishmen are, adventurers to the backbone11; and all our magnificent muster-roll of colonies, each of which will in time become a great nation, testify to the extraordinary value of the spirit of adventure which at first sight looks like a mild form of lunacy. ‘Adventurer’—he that goes out to meet whatever may come. Well, that is what we all do in the world one way or another, and, speaking for myself, I am proud of the title, because it implies a brave heart and a trust in Providence12. Besides, when many and many a noted13 Croesus, at whose feet the people worship, and many and many a time-serving and word-coining politician are forgotten, the names of those grand-hearted old adventurers who have made England what she is, will be remembered and taught with love and pride to little children whose unshaped spirits yet slumber14 in the womb of centuries to be. Not that we three can expect to be numbered with such as these, yet have we done something—enough, perhaps, to throw a garment over the nakedness of our folly15.
That evening, whilst we were sitting on the veranda16, smoking a pipe before turning in, who should come up to us but Alphonse, and, with a magnificent bow, announce his wish for an interview. Being requested to ‘fire away’, he explained at some length that he was anxious to attach himself to our party—a statement that astonished me not a little, knowing what a coward the little man was. The reason, however, soon appeared. Mr Mackenzie was going down to the coast, and thence on to England. Now, if he went down country, Alphonse was persuaded that he would be seized, extradited, sent to France, and to penal17 servitude. This was the idea that haunted him, as King Charles’s head haunted Mr Dick, and he brooded over it till his imagination exaggerated the danger ten times. As a matter of fact, the probability is that his offence against the laws of his country had long ago been forgotten, and that he would have been allowed to pass unmolested anywhere except in France; but he could not be got to see this. Constitutional coward as the little man was, he infinitely18 preferred to face the certain hardships and great risks and dangers of such an expedition as ours, than to expose himself, notwithstanding his intense longing19 for his native land, to the possible scrutiny20 of a police officer—which is after all only another exemplification of the truth that, to the majority of men, a far-off foreseen danger, however shadowy, is much more terrible than the most serious present emergency. After listening to what he had to say, we consulted among ourselves, and finally agreed, with Mr Mackenzie’s knowledge and consent, to accept his offer. To begin with, we were very short-handed, and Alphonse was a quick, active fellow, who could turn his hand to anything, and cook—ah, he could cook! I believe that he would have made a palatable21 dish of those gaiters of his heroic grandfather which he was so fond of talking about. Then he was a good-tempered little man, and merry as a monkey, whilst his pompous22, vainglorious23 talk was a source of infinite amusement to us; and what is more, he never bore malice24. Of course, his being so pronounced a coward was a great drawback to him, but now that we knew his weakness we could more or less guard against it. So, after warning him of the undoubted risks he was exposing himself to, we told him that we would accept his offer on condition that he would promise implicit25 obedience26 to our orders. We also promised to give him wages at the rate of ten pounds a month should he ever return to a civilized27 country to receive them. To all of this he agreed with alacrity28, and retired29 to write a letter to his Annette, which Mr Mackenzie promised to post when he got down country. He read it to us afterwards, Sir Henry translating, and a wonderful composition it was. I am sure the depth of his devotion and the narration30 of his sufferings in a barbarous country, ‘far, far from thee, Annette, for whose adored sake I endure such sorrow,’ ought to have touched the feelings of the stoniest-hearted chambermaid.
Well, the morrow came, and by seven o’clock the donkeys were all loaded, and the time of parting was at hand. It was a melancholy31 business, especially saying goodbye to dear little Flossie. She and I were great friends, and often used to have talks together—but her nerves had never got over the shock of that awful night when she lay in the power of those bloodthirsty Masai. ‘Oh, Mr Quatermain,’ she cried, throwing her arms round my neck and bursting into tears, ‘I can’t bear to say goodbye to you. I wonder when we shall meet again?’
‘I don’t know, my dear little girl,’ I said, ‘I am at one end of life and you are at the other. I have but a short time before me at best, and most things lie in the past, but I hope that for you there are many long and happy years, and everything lies in the future. By-and-by you will grow into a beautiful woman, Flossie, and all this wild life will be like a far-off dream to you; but I hope, even if we never do meet again, that you will think of your old friend and remember what I say to you now. Always try to be good, my dear, and to do what is right, rather than what happens to be pleasant, for in the end, whatever sneering32 people may say, what is good and what is happy are the same. Be unselfish, and whenever you can, give a helping33 hand to others—for the world is full of suffering, my dear, and to alleviate34 it is the noblest end that we can set before us. If you do that you will become a sweet and God-fearing woman, and make many people’s lives a little brighter, and then you will not have lived, as so many of your sex do, in vain. And now I have given you a lot of old-fashioned advice, and so I am going to give you something to sweeten it with. You see this little piece of paper. It is what is called a cheque. When we are gone give it to your father with this note—not before, mind. You will marry one day, my dear little Flossie, and it is to buy you a wedding present which you are to wear, and your daughter after you, if you have one, in remembrance of Hunter Quatermain.’
Poor little Flossie cried very much, and gave me a lock of her bright hair in return, which I still have. The cheque I gave her was for a thousand pounds (which being now well off, and having no calls upon me except those of charity, I could well afford), and in the note I directed her father to invest it for her in Government security, and when she married or came of age to buy her the best diamond necklace he could get for the money and accumulated interest. I chose diamonds because I think that now that King Solomon’s Mines are lost to the world, their price will never be much lower than it is at present, so that if in after-life she should ever be in pecuniary35 difficulties, she will be able to turn them into money.
Well, at last we got off, after much hand-shaking, hat-waving, and also farewell saluting36 from the natives, Alphonse weeping copiously37 (for he has a warm heart) at parting with his master and mistress; and I was not sorry for it at all, for I hate those goodbyes. Perhaps the most affecting thing of all was to witness Umslopogaas’ distress38 at parting with Flossie, for whom the grim old warrior39 had conceived a strong affection. He used to say that she was as sweet to see as the only star on a dark night, and was never tired of loudly congratulating himself on having killed the Lygonani who had threatened to murder her. And that was the last we saw of the pleasant Mission-house—a true oasis40 in the desert—and of European civilization. But I often think of the Mackenzies, and wonder how they got down country, and if they are now safe and well in England, and will ever see these words. Dear little Flossie! I wonder how she fares there where there are no black folk to do her imperious bidding, and no sky-piercing snow-clad Kenia for her to look at when she gets up in the morning. And so goodbye to Flossie.
After leaving the Mission-house we made our way, comparatively unmolested, past the base of Mount Kenia, which the Masai call ‘Donyo Egere’, or the ‘speckled mountain’, on account of the black patches of rock that appear upon its mighty41 spire42, where the sides are too precipitous to allow of the snow lying on them; then on past the lonely lake Baringo, where one of our two remaining Askari, having unfortunately trodden on a puff-adder, died of snake-bite, in spite of all our efforts to save him. Thence we proceeded a distance of about a hundred and fifty miles to another magnificent snow-clad mountain called Lekakisera, which has never, to the best of my belief, been visited before by a European, but which I cannot now stop to describe. There we rested a fortnight, and then started out into the trackless and uninhabited forest of a vast district called Elgumi. In this forest alone there are more elephants than I ever met with or heard of before. The mighty mammals literally43 swarm44 there entirely45 unmolested by man, and only kept down by the natural law that prevents any animals increasing beyond the capacity of the country they inhabit to support them. Needless to say, however, we did not shoot many of them, first because we could not afford to waste ammunition46, of which our stock was getting perilously47 low, a donkey loaded with it having been swept away in fording a flooded river; and secondly48, because we could not carry away the ivory, and did not wish to kill for the mere49 sake of slaughter50. So we let the great beasts be, only shooting one or two in self-protection. In this district, the elephants, being unacquainted with the hunter and his tender mercies, would allow one to walk up to within twenty yards of them in the open, while they stood, with their great ears cocked for all the world like puzzled and gigantic puppy-dogs, and stared at that new and extraordinary phenomenon—man. Occasionally, when the inspection51 did not prove satisfactory, the staring ended in a trumpet52 and a charge, but this did not often happen. When it did we had to use our rifles. Nor were elephants the only wild beasts in the great Elgumi forest. All sorts of large game abounded53, including lions—confound them! I have always hated the sight of a lion since one bit my leg and lamed54 me for life. As a consequence, another thing that abounded was the dreadful tsetse fly, whose bite is death to domestic animals. Donkeys have, together with men, hitherto been supposed to enjoy a peculiar55 immunity56 from its attacks; but all I have to say, whether it was on account of their poor condition, or because the tsetse in those parts is more poisonous than usual, I do not know, but ours succumbed57 to its onslaught. Fortunately, however, that was not till two months or so after the bites had been inflicted58, when suddenly, after a two days’ cold rain, they all died, and on removing the skins of several of them I found the long yellow streaks59 upon the flesh which are characteristic of death from bites from the tsetse, marking the spot where the insect had inserted his proboscis60. On emerging from the great Elgumi forest, we, still steering61 northwards, in accordance with the information Mr Mackenzie had collected from the unfortunate wanderer who reached him only to die so tragically62, struck the base in due course of the large lake, called Laga by the natives, which is about fifty miles long by twenty broad, and of which, it may be remembered, he made mention. Thence we pushed on nearly a month’s journey over great rolling uplands, something like those in the Transvaal, but diversified63 by patches of bush country.
All this time we were continually ascending64 at the rate of about one hundred feet every ten miles. Indeed the country was on a slope which appeared to terminate at a mass of snow-tipped mountains, for which we were steering, and where we learnt the second lake of which the wanderer had spoken as the lake without a bottom was situated65. At length we arrived there, and, having ascertained66 that there was a large lake on top of the mountains, ascended67 three thousand feet more till we came to a precipitous cliff or edge, to find a great sheet of water some twenty miles square lying fifteen hundred feet below us, and evidently occupying an extinct volcanic68 crater69 or craters70 of vast extent. Perceiving villages on the border of this lake, we descended71 with great difficulty through forests of pine trees, which now clothed the precipitous sides of the crater, and were well received by the people, a simple, unwarlike folk, who had never seen or even heard of a white man before, and treated us with great reverence72 and kindness, supplying us with as much food and milk as we could eat and drink. This wonderful and beautiful lake lay, according to our aneroid, at a height of no less than 11,450 feet above sea-level, and its climate was quite cold, and not at all unlike that of England. Indeed, for the first three days of our stay there we saw little or nothing of the scenery on account of an unmistakable Scotch73 mist which prevailed. It was this rain that set the tsetse poison working in our remaining donkeys, so that they all died.
This disaster left us in a very awkward position, as we had now no means of transport whatever, though on the other hand we had not much to carry. Ammunition, too, was very short, amounting to but one hundred and fifty rounds of rifle cartridges and some fifty shot-gun cartridges. How to get on we did not know; indeed it seemed to us that we had about reached the end of our tether. Even if we had been inclined to abandon the object of our search, which, shadow as it was, was by no means the case, it was ridiculous to think of forcing our way back some seven hundred miles to the coast in our present plight74; so we came to the conclusion that the only thing to be done was to stop where we were—the natives being so well disposed and food plentiful—for the present, and abide75 events, and try to collect information as to the countries beyond.
Accordingly, having purchased a capital log canoe, large enough to hold us all and our baggage, from the headman of the village we were staying in, presenting him with three empty cold-drawn76 brass77 cartridges by way of payment, with which he was perfectly78 delighted, we set out to make a tour of the lake in order to find the most favourable79 place to make a camp. As we did not know if we should return to this village, we put all our gear into the canoe, and also a quarter of cooked water-buck, which when young is delicious eating, and off we set, natives having already gone before us in light canoes to warn the inhabitants of the other villages of our approach.
As we were puddling leisurely80 along Good remarked upon the extraordinary deep blue colour of the water, and said that he understood from the natives, who were great fishermen—fish, indeed, being their principal food—that the lake was supposed to be wonderfully deep, and to have a hole at the bottom through which the water escaped and put out some great fire that was raging below.
I pointed81 out to him that what he had heard was probably a legend arising from a tradition among the people which dated back to the time when one of the extinct parasitic82 volcanic cones83 was in activity. We saw several round the borders of the lake which had no doubt been working at a period long subsequent to the volcanic death of the central crater which now formed the bed of the lake itself. When it finally became extinct the people would imagine that the water from the lake had run down and put out the big fire below, more especially as, though it was constantly fed by streams running from the snow-tipped peaks about, there was no visible exit to it.
The farther shore of the lake we found, on approaching it, to consist of a vast perpendicular84 wall of rock, which held the water without any intermediate sloping bank, as elsewhere. Accordingly we paddled parallel with this precipice85, at a distance of about a hundred paces from it, shaping our course for the end of the lake, where we knew that there was a large village.
As we went we began to pass a considerable accumulation of floating rushes, weed, boughs86 of trees, and other rubbish, brought, Good supposed, to this spot by some current, which he was much puzzled to account for. Whilst we were speculating about this, Sir Henry pointed out a flock of large white swans, which were feeding on the drift some little way ahead of us. Now I had already noticed swans flying about this lake, and, having never come across them before in Africa, was exceedingly anxious to obtain a specimen87. I had questioned the natives about them, and learnt that they came from over the mountain, always arriving at certain periods of the year in the early morning, when it was very easy to catch them, on account of their exhausted88 condition. I also asked them what country they came from, when they shrugged89 their shoulders, and said that on the top of the great black precipice was stony90 inhospitable land, and beyond that were mountains with snow, and full of wild beasts, where no people lived, and beyond the mountains were hundreds of miles of dense91 thorn forest, so thick that even the elephants could not get through it, much less men. Next I asked them if they had ever heard of white people like ourselves living on the farther side of the mountains and the thorn forest, whereat they laughed. But afterwards a very old woman came and told me that when she was a little girl her grandfather had told her that in his youth his grandfather had crossed the desert and the mountains, and pierced the thorn forest, and seen a white people who lived in stone kraals beyond. Of course, as this took the tale back some two hundred and fifty years, the information was very indefinite; but still there it was again, and on thinking it over I grew firmly convinced that there was some truth in all these rumours92, and equally firmly determined93 to solve the mystery. Little did I guess in what an almost miraculous94 way my desire was to be gratified.
Well, we set to work to stalk the swans, which kept drawing, as they fed, nearer and nearer to the precipice, and at last we pushed the canoe under shelter of a patch of drift within forty yards of them. Sir Henry had the shot-gun, loaded with No. 1, and, waiting for a chance, got two in a line, and, firing at their necks, killed them both. Up rose the rest, thirty or more of them, with a mighty splashing; and, as they did so, he gave them the other barrel. Down came one fellow with a broken wing, and I saw the leg of another drop and a few feathers start out of his back; but he went on quite strong. Up went the swans, circling ever higher till at last they were mere specks95 level with the top of the frowning precipice, when I saw them form into a triangle and head off for the unknown north-east. Meanwhile we had picked up our two dead ones, and beautiful birds they were, weighing not less than about thirty pounds each, and were chasing the winged one, which had scrambled96 over a mass of driftweed into a pool of clear water beyond. Finding a difficulty in forcing the canoe through the rubbish, I told our only remaining Wakwafi servant, whom I knew to be an excellent swimmer, to jump over, dive under the drift, and catch him, knowing that as there were no crocodiles in this lake he could come to no harm. Entering into the fun of the thing, the man obeyed, and soon was dodging97 about after the winged swan in fine style, getting gradually nearer to the rock wall, against which the water washed as he did so.
Presently he gave up swimming after the swan, and began to cry out that he was being carried away; and, indeed, we saw that, though he was swimming with all his strength towards us, he was being drawn slowly to the precipice. With a few desperate strokes of our paddles we pushed the canoe through the crust of drift and rowed towards the man as hard as we could, but, fast as we went, he was drawn faster to the rock. Suddenly I saw that before us, just rising eighteen inches or so above the surface of the lake, was what looked like the top of the arch of a submerged cave or railway tunnel. Evidently, from the watermark on the rock several feet above it, it was generally entirely submerged; but there had been a dry season, and the cold had prevented the snow from melting as freely as usual; so the lake was low and the arch showed. Towards this arch our poor servant was being sucked with frightful99 rapidity. He was not more than ten fathoms100 from it, and we were about twenty when I saw it, and with little help from us the canoe flew along after him. He struggled bravely, and I thought that we should have saved him, when suddenly I perceived an expression of despair come upon his face, and there before our eyes he was sucked down into the cruel swirling102 blue depths, and vanished. At the same moment I felt our canoe seized as with a mighty hand, and propelled with resistless force towards the rock.
We realized our danger now and rowed, or rather paddled, furiously in our attempt to get out of the vortex. In vain; in another second we were flying straight for the arch like an arrow, and I thought that we were lost. Luckily I retained sufficient presence of mind to shout out, instantly setting the example by throwing myself into the bottom of the canoe, ‘Down on your faces—down!’ and the others had the sense to take the hint. In another instant there was a grinding noise, and the boat was pushed down till the water began to trickle103 over the sides, and I thought that we were gone. But no, suddenly the grinding ceased, and we could again feel the canoe flying along. I turned my head a little—I dared not lift it—and looked up. By the feeble light that yet reached the canoe, I could make out that a dense arch of rock hung just over our heads, and that was all. In another minute I could not even see as much as that, for the faint light had merged98 into shadow, and the shadows had been swallowed up in darkness, utter and complete.
For an hour or so we lay there, not daring to lift our heads for fear lest the brains should be dashed out of them, and scarcely able to speak even, on account of the noise of the rushing water which drowned our voices. Not, indeed, that we had much inclination104 to speak, seeing that we were overwhelmed by the awfulness of our position and the imminent105 fear of instant death, either by being dashed against the sides of the cavern106, or on a rock, or being sucked down in the raging waters, or perhaps asphyxiated107 by want of air. All of these and many other modes of death presented themselves to my imagination as I lay at the bottom of the canoe, listening to the swirl101 of the hurrying waters which ran whither we knew not. One only other sound could I hear, and that was Alphonse’s intermittent108 howl of terror coming from the centre of the canoe, and even that seemed faint and unnatural109. Indeed, the whole thing overpowered my brain, and I began to believe that I was the victim of some ghastly spirit-shaking nightmare.
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1 depressed | |
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
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2 rusting | |
n.生锈v.(使)生锈( rust的现在分词 ) | |
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3 cartridges | |
子弹( cartridge的名词复数 ); (打印机的)墨盒; 录音带盒; (唱机的)唱头 | |
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4 temperate | |
adj.温和的,温带的,自我克制的,不过分的 | |
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5 crutches | |
n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑 | |
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6 caravan | |
n.大蓬车;活动房屋 | |
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7 garrisoned | |
卫戍部队守备( garrison的过去式和过去分词 ); 派部队驻防 | |
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8 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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9 chattels | |
n.动产,奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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10 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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11 backbone | |
n.脊骨,脊柱,骨干;刚毅,骨气 | |
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12 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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13 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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14 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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15 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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16 veranda | |
n.走廊;阳台 | |
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17 penal | |
adj.刑罚的;刑法上的 | |
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18 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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19 longing | |
n.(for)渴望 | |
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20 scrutiny | |
n.详细检查,仔细观察 | |
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21 palatable | |
adj.可口的,美味的;惬意的 | |
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22 pompous | |
adj.傲慢的,自大的;夸大的;豪华的 | |
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23 vainglorious | |
adj.自负的;夸大的 | |
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24 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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25 implicit | |
a.暗示的,含蓄的,不明晰的,绝对的 | |
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26 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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27 civilized | |
a.有教养的,文雅的 | |
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28 alacrity | |
n.敏捷,轻快,乐意 | |
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29 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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30 narration | |
n.讲述,叙述;故事;记叙体 | |
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31 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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32 sneering | |
嘲笑的,轻蔑的 | |
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33 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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34 alleviate | |
v.减轻,缓和,缓解(痛苦等) | |
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35 pecuniary | |
adj.金钱的;金钱上的 | |
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36 saluting | |
v.欢迎,致敬( salute的现在分词 );赞扬,赞颂 | |
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37 copiously | |
adv.丰富地,充裕地 | |
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38 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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39 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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40 oasis | |
n.(沙漠中的)绿洲,宜人的地方 | |
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41 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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42 spire | |
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点 | |
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43 literally | |
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 | |
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44 swarm | |
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入 | |
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45 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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46 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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47 perilously | |
adv.充满危险地,危机四伏地 | |
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48 secondly | |
adv.第二,其次 | |
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49 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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50 slaughter | |
n.屠杀,屠宰;vt.屠杀,宰杀 | |
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51 inspection | |
n.检查,审查,检阅 | |
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52 trumpet | |
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘 | |
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53 abounded | |
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54 lamed | |
希伯莱语第十二个字母 | |
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55 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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56 immunity | |
n.优惠;免除;豁免,豁免权 | |
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57 succumbed | |
不再抵抗(诱惑、疾病、攻击等)( succumb的过去式和过去分词 ); 屈从; 被压垮; 死 | |
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58 inflicted | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59 streaks | |
n.(与周围有所不同的)条纹( streak的名词复数 );(通常指不好的)特征(倾向);(不断经历成功或失败的)一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 );使布满条纹 | |
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60 proboscis | |
n.(象的)长鼻 | |
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61 steering | |
n.操舵装置 | |
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62 tragically | |
adv. 悲剧地,悲惨地 | |
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63 diversified | |
adj.多样化的,多种经营的v.使多样化,多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 );进入新的商业领域 | |
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64 ascending | |
adj.上升的,向上的 | |
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65 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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66 ascertained | |
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68 volcanic | |
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的 | |
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69 crater | |
n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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70 craters | |
n.火山口( crater的名词复数 );弹坑等 | |
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71 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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72 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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73 scotch | |
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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74 plight | |
n.困境,境况,誓约,艰难;vt.宣誓,保证,约定 | |
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75 abide | |
vi.遵守;坚持;vt.忍受 | |
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76 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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77 brass | |
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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78 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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79 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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80 leisurely | |
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的 | |
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81 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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82 parasitic | |
adj.寄生的 | |
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83 cones | |
n.(人眼)圆锥细胞;圆锥体( cone的名词复数 );球果;圆锥形东西;(盛冰淇淋的)锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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84 perpendicular | |
adj.垂直的,直立的;n.垂直线,垂直的位置 | |
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85 precipice | |
n.悬崖,危急的处境 | |
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86 boughs | |
大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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87 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
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88 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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89 shrugged | |
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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90 stony | |
adj.石头的,多石头的,冷酷的,无情的 | |
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91 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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92 rumours | |
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传 | |
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93 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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94 miraculous | |
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的 | |
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95 specks | |
n.眼镜;斑点,微粒,污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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96 scrambled | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
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97 dodging | |
n.避开,闪过,音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 );回避 | |
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98 merged | |
(使)混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 ); 相融; 融入; 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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99 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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100 fathoms | |
英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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101 swirl | |
v.(使)打漩,(使)涡卷;n.漩涡,螺旋形 | |
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102 swirling | |
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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103 trickle | |
vi.淌,滴,流出,慢慢移动,逐渐消散 | |
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104 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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105 imminent | |
adj.即将发生的,临近的,逼近的 | |
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106 cavern | |
n.洞穴,大山洞 | |
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107 asphyxiated | |
v.渴望的,有抱负的,追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的过去式和过去分词 );有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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108 intermittent | |
adj.间歇的,断断续续的 | |
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109 unnatural | |
adj.不自然的;反常的 | |
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