In the prow4 they talked of it also, but they did not draw from it the same conclusions. There, among the ship's crew, Dingo passed merely for a dog that knew how to read, and perhaps even write, better than more than one sailor on board. As for talking, if he did not do it, it was probably for good reasons that he kept silent.
"But, one of these fine days," says the steersman, Bolton, "one fine day that dog will come and ask us how we are heading; if the wind is to the west-north-west-half-north, and we will have to answer him! There are animals that speak! Well, why should not a dog do as much if he took it into his head? It is more difficult to talk with a beak6 than with a mouth!"
"No doubt," replied the boatswain, Howik. "Only it has never been known."
It would have astonished these brave men to tell them that, on the contrary, it had been known, and that a certain Danish servant possessed7 a dog which pronounced distinctly twenty words. But whether this animal comprehended what he said was a mystery. Very evidently this dog, whose glottis was organized in a manner to enable him to emit regular sounds, attached no more sense to his words than do the paroquets, parrots, jackdaws, and magpies9 to theirs. A phrase with animals is nothing more than a kind of song or spoken cry, borrowed from a strange language of which they do not know the meaning.
However that might be, Dingo had become the hero of the deck, of which fact he took no proud advantage. Several times Captain Hull repeated the experiment. The wooden cubes of the alphabet were placed before Dingo, and invariably, without an error, without hesitation11, the two letters, S and V, were chosen from among all by the singular animal, while the others never attracted his attention.
As for Cousin Benedict, this experiment was often renewed before him, without seeming to interest him.
"Meanwhile," he condescended12 to say one day, "we must not believe that the dogs alone have the privilege of being intelligent in this manner. Other animals equal them, simply in following their instinct. Look at the rats, who abandon the ship destined13 to founder14 at sea; the beavers15, who know how to foresee the rising of the waters, and build their dams higher in consequence; those horses of Nicomedes, of Scanderberg, and of Oppien, whose grief was such that they died when their masters did; those asses16, so remarkable17 for their memory, and many other beasts which have done honor to the animal kingdom. Have we not seen birds, marvelously erect18, that correctly write words dictated19 by their professors; cockatoos that count, as well as a reckoner in the Longitude21 Office, the number of persons present in a parlor22? Has there not existed a parrot, worth a hundred gold crowns, that recited the Apostle's Creed23 to the cardinal24, his master, without missing a word? Finally, the legitimate25 pride of an entomologist should be raised to the highest point, when he sees simple insects give proofs of a superior intelligence, and affirm eloquently26 the axiom:
"'In minimis maximus Deus,'
those ants which, represent the inspectors27 of public works in the largest cities, those aquatic28 argyronetes which manufacture diving-bells, without having ever learned the mechanism29; those fleas30 which draw carriages like veritable coachmen, which go through the exercise as well as riflemen, which fire off cannon31 better than the commissioned artillerymen of West Point? No! this Dingo does not merit so many eulogies32, and if he is so strong on the alphabet, it is, without doubt, because he belongs to a species of mastiff, not yet classified in zoological science, the canis alphabeticus of New Zealand."
In spite of these discourses33 and others of the envious34 entomologist, Dingo lost nothing in the public estimation, and continued to be treated as a phenomenon in the conversations of the forecastle.
All this time, it is probable that Negoro did not share the enthusiasm of the ship in regard to the animal. Perhaps he found it too intelligent. However, the dog always showed the same animosity against the head cook, and, doubtless, would have brought upon itself some misfortune, if it had not been, for one thing, "a dog to defend itself," and for another, protected by the sympathy of the whole crew.
So Negoro avoided coming into Dingo's presence more than ever. But Dick Sand had observed that since the incident of the two letters, the reciprocal antipathy35 between the man and the dog was increased. That was truly inexplicable36.
On February 10th, the wind from the northeast, which, till then, had always succeeded those long and overwhelming calms, during which the "Pilgrim" was stationary37, began to abate38 perceptibly. Captain Hull then could hope that a change in the direction of the atmospheric39 currents was going to take place. Perhaps the schooner40 would finally sail with the wind. It was still only nineteen days since her departure from the port of Auckland. The delay was not yet of much account, and, with a favorable wind, the "Pilgrim," well rigged, would easily make up for lost time. But several days must still elapse before the breezes would blow right from the west.
This part of the Pacific was always deserted41. No vessel42 showed itself in these parts. It was a latitude43 truly forsaken44 by navigators. The whalers of the southern seas were not yet prepared to go beyond the tropic. On the "Pilgrim," which peculiar45 circumstances had obliged to leave the fishing grounds before the end of the season, they must not expect to cross any ship bound for the same destination.
As to the trans-pacific packet-boats, it has been already said that they did not follow so high a parallel in their passages between Australia and the American continent.
However, even if the sea is deserted, one must not give up observing it to the extreme limits of the horizon. Monotonous46 as it may appear to heedless minds, it is none the less infinitely47 varied48 for him who knows how to comprehend it. Its slightest changes charm the imagination of one who feels the poetry of the ocean. A marine49 herb which floats up and down on the waves, a branch of sargasso whose light track zebras, the surface of the waters, and end of a board, whose history he would wish to guess, he would need nothing more. Facing this infinite, the mind is no longer stopped by anything. Imagination runs riot. Each of those molecules50 of water, that evaporation51 is continually changing from the sea to the sky, contains perhaps the secret of some catastrophe53. So, those are to be envied, whose inner consciousness knows how to interrogate54 the mysteries of the ocean, those spirits who rise from its moving surface to the heights of heaven.
Besides, life always manifests itself above as well as below the seas. The "Pilgrim's" passengers could see flights of birds excited in the pursuit of the smallest fishes, birds which, before winter, fly from the cold climate of the poles. And more than once, Dick Sand, a scholar of Mrs. Weldon's in that branch as in others, gave proofs of marvelous skill with the gun and pistol, in bringing down some of those rapid-winged creatures.
There were white petrels here; there, other petrels, whose wings were embroidered55 with brown. Sometimes, also, companies of damiers passed, or some of those penquins whose gait on land is so heavy and so ridiculous. However, as Captain Hull remarked, these penquins, using their stumps56 like true fins57, can challenge the most rapid fishes in swimming, to such an extent even, that sailors have often confounded them with bonitoes.
Higher, gigantic albatrosses beat the air with great strokes, displaying an extent of ten feet between the extremities58 of their wings, and then came to light on the surface of the waters, which they searched with their beaks59 to get their food.
All these scenes made a varied spectacle, that only souls closed to the charms of nature would have found monotonous.
That day Mrs. Weldon was walking aft on the "Pilgrim," when a rather curious phenomenon attracted her attention. The waters of the sea had become reddish quite suddenly. One might have believed that they had just been stained with blood; and this inexplicable tinge60 extended as far as the eye could reach.
"Dick," she said to the young novice, "Do you see that singular color of the waters of the Pacific? Is it due to the presence of a marine herb?"
"No, Mrs. Weldon," replied Dick Sand, "that tinge is produced by myriads61 of little crustaceans62, which generally serve to nourish the great mammifers. Fishermen call that, not without reason, 'whales' food.'"
"Crustaceans!" said Mrs. Weldon. "But they are so small that we might almost call them sea insects. Perhaps Cousin Benedict would be very much enchanted63 to make a collection of them." Then calling: "Cousin Benedict!" cried she.
Cousin Benedict appeared out of the companion-way almost at the same time as Captain Hull.
"Cousin Benedict," said Mrs. Weldon, "see that immense reddish field which extends as far as we can see."
"Hold!" said Captain Hull. "That is whales' food. Mr. Benedict, a fine occasion to study this curious species of crustacea."
"Phew!" from the entomologist.
"How—phew!" cried the captain. "But you have no right to profess20 such indifference64. These crustaceans form one of the six classes of the articulates, if I am not mistaken, and as such——"
"Phew!" said Cousin Benedict again, shaking his lead.
"For instance——I find you passably disdainful for an entomologist!"
"Entomologist, it may be," replied Cousin Benedict, "but more particularly hexapodist, Captain Hull, please remember."
"At all events," replied Captain Hull, "if these crustaceans do not interest you, it can't be helped; but it would be otherwise if you possessed a whale's stomach. Then what a regale65! Do you see, Mrs. Weldon, when we whalers, during the fishing season, arrive in sight of a shoal of these crustaceans, we have only time to prepare our harpoons67 and our lines. We are certain that the game is not distant."
"Is it possible that such little beasts can feed such large ones?" cried Jack.
"Ah! my boy," replied Captain Hull, "little grains of vermicelli, of flour, of fecula powder, do they not make very good porridge? Yes; and nature has willed that it should be so. When a whale floats in the midst of these red waters, its soup is served; it has only to open its immense mouth. Myriads of crustaceans enter it. The numerous plates of those whalebones with which the animal's palate is furnished serve to strain like fishermen's nets; nothing can get out of them again, and the mass of crustaceans is ingulfed in the whale's vast stomach, as the soup of your dinner in yours."
"You think right, Jack," observed Dick Sand, "that Madam Whale does not lose time in picking these crustaceans one by one, as you pick shrimps68."
"I may add," said Captain Hull, "that it is just when the enormous gourmand69 is occupied in this way, that it is easiest to approach it without exciting its suspicion. That is the favorable moment to harpoon66 it with some success."
At that instant, and as if to corroborate70 Captain Hull, a sailor's voice was heard from the front of the ship:
"A whale to larboard!"
Captain Hull strode up.
"A whale!" cried he.
And his fisherman's instinct urging him, he hastened to the "Pilgrim's" forecastle.
Mrs. Weldon, Jack, Dick Sand, Cousin Benedict himself, followed him at once.
In fact, four miles to windward a certain bubbling indicated that a huge marine mammifer was moving in the midst of the red waters. Whalers could not be mistaken in it. But the distance was still too considerable to make it possible to recognize the species to which this mammifer belonged. These species, in fact, are quite distinct.
Was it one of those "right" whales, which the fishermen of the Northern Ocean seek most particularly? Those cetaceans, which lack the dorsal71 fin5, but whose skin covers a thick stratum72 of lard, may attain73 a length of eighty feet, though the average does not exceed sixty, and then a single one of those monsters furnishes as much as a hundred barrels of oil.
Was it, on the contrary, a "humpback," belonging to the species of baloenopters, a designation whose termination should at least gain it the entomologist's esteem75? These possess dorsal fins, white in color, and as long as half the body, which resemble a pair of wings—something like a flying whale.
Had they not in view, more likely, a "finback" mammifer, as well known by the name "jubarte," which is provided with a dorsal fin, and whose length may equal that of the "right" whale?
Captain Hull and his crew could not yet decide, but they regarded the animal with more desire than admiration76.
If it is true that a clockmaker cannot find himself in a room in the presence of a clock without experiencing the irresistible77 wish to wind it up, how much more must the whaler, before a whale, be seized with the imperative78 desire to take possession of it? The hunters of large game, they say, are more eager than the hunters of small game. Then, the larger the animal, the more it excites covetousness79. Then, how should hunters of elephants and fishers of whalers feel? And then there was that disappointment, felt by all the "Pilgrim's" crew, of returning with an incomplete cargo80.
Meanwhile, Captain Hull tried to distinguish the animal which had been signaled in the offing. It was not very visible from that distance. Nevertheless, the trained eye of a whaler could not be deceived in certain details easier to discern at a distance.
In fact, the water-spout81, that is, that column of vapor52 and water which the whale throws back by its rents, would attract Captain Hull's attention, and fix it on the species to which this cetacean belonged.
"That is not a 'right' whale," cried he. "Its water-spout would be at once higher and of a smaller volume. On the other hand, if the noise made by that spout in escaping could be compared to the distant noise of a cannon, I should be led to believe that that whale belongs to the species of 'humpbacks;' but there is nothing of the kind, and, on listening, we are assured that this noise is of quite a different nature. What is your opinion on this subject, Dick?" asked Captain Hull, turning toward the novice.
"I am ready to believe, captain," replied Dick Sand, "that we have to do with a jubarte. See how his rents throw that column of liquid violently into the air. Does it not seem to you also—which would confirm my idea—that that spout contains more water than condensed vapor? And, if I am not mistaken, it is a special peculiarity82 of the jubarte."
"In fact, Dick," replied Captain Hull, "there is no longer any doubt possible! It is a jubarte which floats on the surface of these red waters."
"That's fine," cried little Jack.
"Yes, my boy! and when we think that the great beast is there, in process of breakfasting, and little suspecting that the whalers are watching it."
"I would dare to affirm that it is a jubarte of great size," observed
Dick Sand.
"Truly," replied Captain Hull, who was gradually becoming more excited.
"I think it is at least seventy feet long!"
"Good!" added the boatswain. "Half a dozen whales of that size would suffice to fill a ship as large as ours!"
"Yes, that would be sufficient," replied Captain Hull, who mounted on the bowsprit to see better.
"And with this one," added the boatswain, "we should take on board in a few hours the half of the two hundred barrels of oil which we lack."
"Yes!—truly—yes!" murmured Captain Hull.
"That is true," continued Dick Sand; "but it is sometimes a hard matter to attack those enormous jubartes!"
"Very hard, very hard!" returned Captain Hull. "Those baloenopters have formidable tails, which must not be approached without distrust. The strongest pirogue would not resist a well-given blow. But, then, the profit is worth the trouble!"
"Bah!" said one of the sailors, "a fine jubarte is all the same a fine capture!"
"And profitable!" replied another.
It was evident that these brave sailors were growing excited in looking at the whale. It was a whole cargo of barrels of oil that was floating within reach of their hands. To hear them, without doubt there was nothing more to be done, except to stow those barrels in the "Pilgrim's" hold to complete her lading. Some of the sailors, mounted on the ratlines of the fore-shrouds, uttered longing74 cries. Captain Hull, who no longer spoke10, was in a dilemma84. There was something there, like an irresistible magnet, which attracted the "Pilgrim" and all her crew.
"Mama, mama!" then cried little Jack, "I should like to have the whale, to see how it is made."
"Ah! you wish to have this whale, my boy? Ah! why not, my friends?" replied Captain Hull, finally yielding to his secret desire. "Our additional fishermen are lacking, it is true, but we alone——"
"Yes! yes!" cried the sailors, with a single voice.
"This will not be the first time that I have followed the trade of harpooner," added Captain Hull, "and you will see if I still know how to throw the harpoon!"
点击收听单词发音
1 hull | |
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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2 novice | |
adj.新手的,生手的 | |
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3 instinctive | |
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
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4 prow | |
n.(飞机)机头,船头 | |
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5 fin | |
n.鳍;(飞机的)安定翼 | |
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6 beak | |
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻 | |
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7 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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8 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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9 magpies | |
喜鹊(magpie的复数形式) | |
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10 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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11 hesitation | |
n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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12 condescended | |
屈尊,俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 ); 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
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13 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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14 Founder | |
n.创始者,缔造者 | |
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15 beavers | |
海狸( beaver的名词复数 ); 海狸皮毛; 棕灰色; 拼命工作的人 | |
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16 asses | |
n. 驴,愚蠢的人,臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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17 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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18 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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19 dictated | |
v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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20 profess | |
v.声称,冒称,以...为业,正式接受入教,表明信仰 | |
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21 longitude | |
n.经线,经度 | |
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22 parlor | |
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅 | |
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23 creed | |
n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
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24 cardinal | |
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的 | |
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25 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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26 eloquently | |
adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地) | |
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27 inspectors | |
n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 );(英国公共汽车或火车上的)查票员;(警察)巡官;检阅官 | |
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28 aquatic | |
adj.水生的,水栖的 | |
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29 mechanism | |
n.机械装置;机构,结构 | |
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30 fleas | |
n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 );爱财如命;没好气地(拒绝某人的要求) | |
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31 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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32 eulogies | |
n.颂词,颂文( eulogy的名词复数 ) | |
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33 discourses | |
论文( discourse的名词复数 ); 演说; 讲道; 话语 | |
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34 envious | |
adj.嫉妒的,羡慕的 | |
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35 antipathy | |
n.憎恶;反感,引起反感的人或事物 | |
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36 inexplicable | |
adj.无法解释的,难理解的 | |
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37 stationary | |
adj.固定的,静止不动的 | |
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38 abate | |
vi.(风势,疼痛等)减弱,减轻,减退 | |
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39 atmospheric | |
adj.大气的,空气的;大气层的;大气所引起的 | |
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40 schooner | |
n.纵帆船 | |
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41 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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42 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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43 latitude | |
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区 | |
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44 Forsaken | |
adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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45 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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46 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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47 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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48 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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49 marine | |
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵 | |
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50 molecules | |
分子( molecule的名词复数 ) | |
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51 evaporation | |
n.蒸发,消失 | |
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52 vapor | |
n.蒸汽,雾气 | |
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53 catastrophe | |
n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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54 interrogate | |
vt.讯问,审问,盘问 | |
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55 embroidered | |
adj.绣花的 | |
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56 stumps | |
(被砍下的树的)树桩( stump的名词复数 ); 残肢; (板球三柱门的)柱; 残余部分 | |
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57 fins | |
[医]散热片;鱼鳍;飞边;鸭掌 | |
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58 extremities | |
n.端点( extremity的名词复数 );尽头;手和足;极窘迫的境地 | |
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59 beaks | |
n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 );鹰钩嘴;尖鼻子;掌权者 | |
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60 tinge | |
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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61 myriads | |
n.无数,极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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62 crustaceans | |
n.甲壳纲动物(如蟹、龙虾)( crustacean的名词复数 ) | |
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63 enchanted | |
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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64 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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65 regale | |
v.取悦,款待 | |
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66 harpoon | |
n.鱼叉;vt.用鱼叉叉,用鱼叉捕获 | |
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67 harpoons | |
n.鱼镖,鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖,鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 ) | |
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68 shrimps | |
n.虾,小虾( shrimp的名词复数 );矮小的人 | |
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69 gourmand | |
n.嗜食者 | |
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70 corroborate | |
v.支持,证实,确定 | |
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71 dorsal | |
adj.背部的,背脊的 | |
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72 stratum | |
n.地层,社会阶层 | |
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73 attain | |
vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
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74 longing | |
n.(for)渴望 | |
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75 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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76 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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77 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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78 imperative | |
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的 | |
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79 covetousness | |
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80 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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81 spout | |
v.喷出,涌出;滔滔不绝地讲;n.喷管;水柱 | |
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82 peculiarity | |
n.独特性,特色;特殊的东西;怪癖 | |
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83 salute | |
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮 | |
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84 dilemma | |
n.困境,进退两难的局面 | |
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85 hurrah | |
int.好哇,万岁,乌拉 | |
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