Duchess.
Thou art very plain.
Bosola.
My trade is to flatter the dead--not the living--I am a tomb-maker.
---WEBSTER.
CHAPTER I. THE STORM
Come, list, and hark! the bell doth towle,
For some but now departing sowle;
The bat, the night-crow, or screech-owle?
To these I hear the wild wolf howle,
In this dark night that seems to scowle;--
All these my blacke-booke shall enrowle,
For hark! still hark! the bell doth towle
For some but new-departed sowle!
The night was wild and stormy. The day had been sultry, with a lurid3, metallic-looking sky, hanging like a vast galvanic plate over the face of nature. As evening drew on, everything betokened5 the coming tempest. Unerring indications of its approach were noted6 by the weatherwise at the hall. The swallow was seen to skim the surface of the pool so closely that he ruffled7 its placid8 mirror as he passed; and then, sharply darting9 round and round, with twittering scream, he winged his rapid flight to his clay-built home, beneath the barn eaves. The kine that had herded10 to the margin11 of the water, and sought, by splashing, to relieve themselves from the keen persecution12 of their myriad13 insect tormentors, wended stallwards, undriven, and deeply lowing. The deer, that at twilight14 had trooped thither15 also for refreshment16, suddenly, "with expanded nostrils17, snuffed the air," and bounded off to their coverts18, amidst the sheltering fernbrake. The rooks "obstreperous20 of wing, in crowds combined," cawed in a way that, as plainly as words could have done, bespoke21 their apprehension22; and were seen, some hovering23 and beating the air with flapping pinion24, others shooting upwards25 in mid19 space, as if to reconnoitre the weather; while others, again, were croaking26 to their mates, in loud discordant27 tone, from the highest branches of the lime-trees; all, seemingly, as anxious and as busy as mariners28 before a gale29 of wind. At sunset, the hazy30 vapors31, which had obscured the horizon throughout the day, rose up in spiral volumes, like smoke from a burning forest, and, becoming gradually condensed, assumed the form of huge, billowy masses, which, reflecting the sun's light, changed, as the sinking orb32 declined, from purple to flame-color, and thence to ashy, angry gray. Night rushed onwards, like a sable33 steed. There was a dead calm. The stillness was undisturbed, save by an intermittent34, sighing wind, which, hollow as a murmur35 from the grave, died as it rose. At once the gray clouds turned to an inky blackness. A single, sharp, intensely vivid flash, shot from the bosom36 of the rack, sheer downwards37, and struck the earth with a report like that of a piece of ordnance38. In ten minutes it was dunnest night, and a rattling39 thunder-storm.
The progress of the storm was watched with infinite apprehension by the crowd of tenantry assembled in the great hall; and loud and frequent were the ejaculations uttered, as each succeeding peal40 burst over their heads. There was, however, one amongst the assemblage who seemed to enjoy the uproar41. A kindred excitement appeared to blaze in his glances, as he looked upon the storm without. This was Peter Bradley. He stood close by the window, and shaded not his eyes, even before the fiercest flashes. A grin of unnatural42 exhilaration played upon his features, and he seemed to exult43 in, and to court, the tempestuous44 horrors, which affected45 the most hardy46 amongst his companions with consternation47, and made all shrink, trembling, into the recesses48 of the room. Peter's conduct was not unobserved, nor his reputation for unholy dealing49 forgotten. To some he was almost as much an object of dread50 as the storm itself.
"Didst ever see the like o' that?" said Farmer Burtenshaw--one of the guests, whose round, honest face good wine had recently empurpled, but fear had now mottled white,--addressing a neighbor. "Didst ever hear of any man that were a Christian51 laughing in the very face o' a thunder-storm, with the lightnin' fit to put out his eyes, and the rattle52 above ready to break the drums o' his ears? I always thought Peter Bradley was not exactly what he ought to be, and now I am sure on it."
"For my part, I think, Neighbor Burtenshaw," returned the other, "that this great burst of weather's all of his raising, for in all my born days I never see'd such a hurly-burly, and hope never to see the like of it again. I've heard my grandfather tell of folk as could command wind and rain; and, mayhap, Peter may have the power--we all know he can do more nor any other man."
"We know, at all events," replied Burtenshaw, "that he lives like no other man; that he spends night after night by himself in that dreary53 churchyard; that he keeps no living thing, except an old terrier dog, in his crazy cottage; and that he never asks a body into his house from one year's end to another. I've never crossed his threshold these twenty years. But," continued he mysteriously, "I happened to pass the house one dark, dismal54 night, and there what dost think I see'd through the window?"
"What--what didst see?"
"Peter Bradley sitting with a great book open on his knees; it were a Bible, I think, and he crying like a child."
"Art sure o' that?"
"The tears were falling fast upon the leaves," returned Burtenshaw; "but when I knocked at the door, he hastily shut up the book, and ordered me to be gone, in a surly tone, as if he were ashamed of being caught in the fact."
"I thought no tear had ever dropped from his eye," said the other. "Why, he laughed when his daughter Susan went off at the hall; and, when she died, folks said he received hush-money to say nought55 about it. That were a bad business, anyhow; and now that his grandson Luke be taken in the fact of housebreaking, he minds it no more, not he, than if nothing had happened."
"Don't be too sure of that," replied Burtenshaw; "he may be scheming summat all this time. Well, I've known Peter Bradley now these two-and-fifty years, and, excepting that one night, I never saw any good about him, and never heard of nobody who could tell who he be, or where he do come from."
"One thing's certain, at least," replied the other farmer--"he were never born at Rookwood. How he came here the devil only knows. Save us! what a crash!--this storm be all of his raising, I tell 'ee."
"He be--what he certainly will be," interposed another speaker, in a louder tone, and with less of apprehension in his manner than his comrade, probably from his nerves being better fortified56 with strong liquor. "Dost thou think, Samuel Plant, as how Providence57 would entrust58 the like o' him with the command of the elements? No--no, it's rank blasphemy59 to suppose such a thing, and I've too much of the true Catholic and apostate60 church about me, to stand by and hear that said."
"Maybe, then, he gets his power from the Prince of Darkness," replied Plant; "no man else could go on as he does--only look at him. He seems to be watching for the thunderbowt."
"I wish he may catch it, then," returned the other.
"Not I," replied Toft; "it would be a good clearance62 to the neighborhood to get rid o' th' old croaking curmudgeon63."
Whether or not Peter overheard the conversation, we pretend not to say, but at that moment a blaze of lightning showed him staring fiercely at the group.
"As I live, he's overheard you, Simon," exclaimed Plant. "I wouldn't be in your skin for a trifle."
"Nor I," added Burtenshaw.
"Let him overhear me," answered Toft; "who cares? he shall hear summat worth listening to. I'm not afraid o' him or his arts, were they as black as Beelzebuth's own; and to show you I'm not, I'll go and have a crack with him on the spot."
"Thou'rt a fool for thy pains, if thou dost, Friend Toft," returned Plant, "that's all I can say."
"Be advised by me, and stay here," seconded Burtenshaw, endeavoring to hold him back.
But Toft would not be advised--
Kings may be blest, but he was glorious,
O'er all the ills of life victorious64.
Staggering up to Peter, he laid a hard grasp upon his shoulder, and, thus forcibly soliciting65 his attention, burst into a loud horse-laugh.
But Peter was, or affected to be, too much occupied to look at him.
"What dost see, man, that thou starest so?"
"It comes, it comes--the rain--the rain--a torrent--a deluge--ha, ha! Blessed is the corpse66 the rain rains on. Sir Piers67 may be drenched68 through his leaden covering by such a downfall as that--splash, splash--fire and water and thunder, all together--is not that fine?--ha, ha! The heavens will weep for him, though friends shed not a tear. When did a great man's heir feel sympathy for his sire's decease? When did his widow mourn? When doth any man regret his fellow? Never! He rejoiceth--he maketh glad in his inmost heart--he cannot help it--it is nature. We all pray for--we all delight in each other's destruction. We were created to do so; or why else should we act thus? I never wept for any man's death, but I have often laughed. Natural sympathy!--out on the phrase! The distant heavens--the senseless trees--the impenetrable stones--shall regret you more than man shall bewail your death with more sincerity69. Ay, 'tis well--rain on--splash, splash: it will cool the hell-fever. Down, down--buckets and pails, ha, ha!"
There was a pause, during which the sexton, almost exhausted70 by the frenzy71 in which he had suffered himself to be involved, seemed insensible to all around him.
"I tell you what," said Burtenshaw to Plant, "I have always thought there was more in Peter Bradley nor appears on the outside. He is not what he seems to be, take my word on it. Lord love you! do you think a man such as he pretends to be could talk in that sort of way--about nat'ral simpering?--no such thing."
When Peter recovered, his insane merriment broke out afresh, having only acquired fury by the pause.
"Look out, look out!" cried he; "hark to the thunder--list to the rain! Marked ye that flash--marked ye the clock-house--and the bird upon the roof? 'tis the rook--the great bird of the house, that hath borne away the soul of the departed. There, there--can you not see it? it sits and croaks72 through storm and rain, and never heeds73 at all--and wherefore should it heed74? See, it flaps its broad black wings--it croaks--ha, ha! It comes--it comes."
And driven, it might be by the terror of the storm, from more secure quarters, a bird, at this instant, was dashed against the window, and fell to the ground.
"That's a call," continued Peter; "it will be over soon, and we must set out. The dead will not need to tarry. Look at that trail of fire along the avenue; dost see yon line of sparkles, like a rocket's tail? That's the path the corpse will take. St. Hermes's flickering75 fire, Robin76 Goodfellow's dancing light, or the blue flame of the corpse-candle, which I saw flitting to the churchyard last week, was not so pretty a sight--ha, ha! You asked me for a song a moment ago--you shall have one now without asking."
And without waiting to consult the inclinations77 of his comrades, Peter broke into the following wild strain with all the fervor78 of a half-crazed improvisatore:
THE CORPSE-CANDLE
Lambere flamma {taphos} et circum funera pasci.
Through the midnight gloom did a pale blue light
To the churchyard mirk wing its lonesome flight:--
Thrice it floated those old walls round--
Thrice it paused--till the grave it found.
Over the grass-green sod it glanced,
Over the fresh-turned earth it danced,
Like a torch in the night-breeze quivering--
Never was seen so gay a thing!
As the midnight dance of that blue light!
Now what of that pale blue flame dost know?
Canst tell where it comes from, or where it will go?
Is it the soul, released from clay,
Over the earth that takes its way,
And tarries a moment in mirth and glee
Or is it the trick of some fanciful sprite,
That taketh in mortal mischance delight,
And the spot where the dead shall be soon laid low?
Ask him who can answer these questions aright;
I know not the cause of that pale blue light!
"I can't say I like thy song, Master Peter," said Toft, as the sexton finished his stave, "but if thou didst see a corpse-candle, as thou call'st thy pale blue flame, whose death doth it betoken4?--eh!"
"Thine own," returned Peter, sharply.
"Mine! thou lying old cheat--dost dare to say that to my face? Why, I'm as hale and hearty82 as ever a man in the house. Dost think there's no life and vigor83 in this arm, thou drivelling old dotard?"
Upon which, Toft seized Peter by the throat with an energy that, but for the timely intervention84 of the company, who rushed to his assistance, the prophet might himself have anticipated the doom85 he prognosticated.
Released from the grasp of Toft, who was held back by the bystanders, Peter again broke forth86 into his eldritch laugh; and staring right into the face of his adversary87, with eyes glistening88, and hands uplifted, as if in the act of calling down an imprecation on his head, he screamed, in a shrill89 and discordant voice, "Soh! you will not take my warning? you revile90 me--you flout91 me! 'Tis well! your fate shall prove a warning to all unbelievers--they shall remember this night, though you will not. Fool! fool!--your doom has long been sealed! I saw your wraith92 choose out its last lodgment on Halloween; I know the spot. Your grave is dug already--ha, ha!" And, with renewed laughter, Peter rushed out of the room.
"Did I not caution thee not to provoke him, friend Toft?" said Plant; "it's ill playing with edge-tools; but don't let him fly off in that tantrum--one of ye go after him."
"That will I," replied Burtenshaw; and he departed in search of the sexton.
"I'd advise thee to make it up with Peter so soon as thou canst, neighbor," continued Plant; "he's a bad friend, but a worse enemy."
"Why, what harm can he do me?" returned Toft, who, however, was not without some misgivings93. "If I must die, I can't help it--I shall go none the sooner for him, even if he speak the truth, which I don't think he do; and if I must, I sha'n't go unprepared--only I think as how, if it pleased Providence, I could have wished to keep my old missus company some few years longer, and see those bits of lasses of mine grow up into women, and respectably provided for. But His will be done. I sha'n't leave 'em quite penniless, and there's one eye at least, I'm sure, won't be dry at my departure." Here the stout94 heart of Toft gave way, and he shed some few "natural tears," which, however, he speedily brushed away. "I'll tell you what, neighbors," continued he, "I think we may all as well be thinking of going to our own homes, for, to my mind, we shall never reach the churchyard to-night."
"That you never will," exclaimed a voice behind him; and Toft, turning round, again met the glance of Peter.
"Come, come, Master Peter," cried the good-natured farmer, "this be ugly jesting--ax pardon for my share of it--sorry for what I did--so give us thy hand, man, and think no more about it."
Peter extended his claw, and the parties were, apparently95, once more upon terms of friendship.
点击收听单词发音
1 ominous | |
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的 | |
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2 rape | |
n.抢夺,掠夺,强奸;vt.掠夺,抢夺,强奸 | |
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3 lurid | |
adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的 | |
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4 betoken | |
v.预示 | |
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5 betokened | |
v.预示,表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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7 ruffled | |
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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8 placid | |
adj.安静的,平和的 | |
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9 darting | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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10 herded | |
群集,纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 ); 放牧; (使)向…移动 | |
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11 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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12 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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13 myriad | |
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量 | |
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14 twilight | |
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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15 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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16 refreshment | |
n.恢复,精神爽快,提神之事物;(复数)refreshments:点心,茶点 | |
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17 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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18 coverts | |
n.隐蔽的,不公开的,秘密的( covert的名词复数 );复羽 | |
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19 mid | |
adj.中央的,中间的 | |
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20 obstreperous | |
adj.喧闹的,不守秩序的 | |
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21 bespoke | |
adj.(产品)订做的;专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 );订(货);证明;预先请求 | |
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22 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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23 hovering | |
鸟( hover的现在分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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24 pinion | |
v.束缚;n.小齿轮 | |
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25 upwards | |
adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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26 croaking | |
v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 );用粗的声音说 | |
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27 discordant | |
adj.不调和的 | |
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28 mariners | |
海员,水手(mariner的复数形式) | |
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29 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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30 hazy | |
adj.有薄雾的,朦胧的;不肯定的,模糊的 | |
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31 vapors | |
n.水汽,水蒸气,无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 );自夸者;幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁(症)v.自夸,(使)蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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32 orb | |
n.太阳;星球;v.弄圆;成球形 | |
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33 sable | |
n.黑貂;adj.黑色的 | |
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34 intermittent | |
adj.间歇的,断断续续的 | |
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35 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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36 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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37 downwards | |
adj./adv.向下的(地),下行的(地) | |
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38 ordnance | |
n.大炮,军械 | |
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39 rattling | |
adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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40 peal | |
n.钟声;v.鸣响 | |
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41 uproar | |
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸 | |
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42 unnatural | |
adj.不自然的;反常的 | |
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43 exult | |
v.狂喜,欢腾;欢欣鼓舞 | |
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44 tempestuous | |
adj.狂暴的 | |
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45 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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46 hardy | |
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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47 consternation | |
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
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48 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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49 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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50 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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51 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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52 rattle | |
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓 | |
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53 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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54 dismal | |
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的 | |
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55 nought | |
n./adj.无,零 | |
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56 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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57 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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58 entrust | |
v.信赖,信托,交托 | |
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59 blasphemy | |
n.亵渎,渎神 | |
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60 apostate | |
n.背叛者,变节者 | |
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61 repent | |
v.悔悟,悔改,忏悔,后悔 | |
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62 clearance | |
n.净空;许可(证);清算;清除,清理 | |
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63 curmudgeon | |
n. 脾气暴躁之人,守财奴,吝啬鬼 | |
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64 victorious | |
adj.胜利的,得胜的 | |
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65 soliciting | |
v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 );(指娼妇)拉客;索求;征求 | |
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66 corpse | |
n.尸体,死尸 | |
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67 piers | |
n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 );(常设有娱乐场所的)突堤;柱子;墙墩 | |
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68 drenched | |
adj.湿透的;充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 );在某人(某物)上大量使用(某液体) | |
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69 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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70 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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71 frenzy | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
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72 croaks | |
v.呱呱地叫( croak的第三人称单数 );用粗的声音说 | |
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73 heeds | |
n.留心,注意,听从( heed的名词复数 )v.听某人的劝告,听从( heed的第三人称单数 ) | |
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74 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
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75 flickering | |
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
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76 robin | |
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟 | |
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77 inclinations | |
倾向( inclination的名词复数 ); 倾斜; 爱好; 斜坡 | |
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78 fervor | |
n.热诚;热心;炽热 | |
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79 blithe | |
adj.快乐的,无忧无虑的 | |
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80 interred | |
v.埋,葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81 coffin | |
n.棺材,灵柩 | |
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82 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
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83 vigor | |
n.活力,精力,元气 | |
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84 intervention | |
n.介入,干涉,干预 | |
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85 doom | |
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
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86 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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87 adversary | |
adj.敌手,对手 | |
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88 glistening | |
adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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89 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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90 revile | |
v.辱骂,谩骂 | |
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91 flout | |
v./n.嘲弄,愚弄,轻视 | |
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92 wraith | |
n.幽灵;骨瘦如柴的人 | |
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93 misgivings | |
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧 | |
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95 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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