The herd65 of swine, however, throve apace. To the manner born, nothing came amiss to them, and I believe they even enjoyed the many quaint66 tricks played upon them by the monkeys, and the ceaseless antagonism67 of the dogs. But the father of the family was a sore trial to our energetic carpenter. Chips had a sneaking68 regard for pigs, and knew more than anybody on board about them; but that big boar, he said, made him commit more sin with his tongue in one day than all the other trying details of his life put together. For Denis’s tusks69 grew amazingly, and his chief amusement consisted in rooting about until he found a splinter in the decks underneath71 which he could insert a tusk70. Then he would lie down or crouch72 on his knees, and fidget away at that sliver73 of pine until he had succeeded in ripping a long streak74 up; and if left undisturbed for a few minutes, he would gouge75 quite a large hollow out of the deck. No ship’s decks that ever I saw were so full of patches as ours were, and despite all our watchfulness76 they were continually increasing. It became a regular part of the carpenter’s duties to capture Denis periodically by lassoing him, lash37 him up to the pin-rail by his snout, and with a huge pair of pincers snap off those fast-growing tusks as[125] close down to the jaw77 as possible. In spite of this heroic treatment, Denis always seemed to find enough of tusk left to rip up a sliver of deck if ever he could find a quiet corner; and the carpenter was often heard to declare that the cunning beast was a lineal descendant of a survivor39 of the demon-possessed herd of Gadara.
In the case of the pigs, though, there were compensations. By the time we arrived off Mauritius, a rumour78 went round that on Friday a pig was to be killed, and great was the excitement. The steward swelled79 with importance as, armed with the cabin carving-knife, he strode forward and selected two of the first litter of piglets, the Bombay born, for sacrifice. He had plenty of voluntary helpers from the watch below, who had no fears for the quality of this meat, and only trembled at the thought that perchance the old man might bear malice80 in the matter of the fowls and refuse to send any pork in our direction. Great was the uproar81 as the chosen ones were seized by violent hands, their legs tied with spun-yarn, and their throats exposed to the stern purpose of the steward. Unaware82 that the critical eye of Chips was upon him, he made a huge gash83 across the victim’s throat, and then plunged the knife in diagonally until the whole length of the blade disappeared. “Man alive,” said Chips, “ye’re sewerly daft. Thon’s nay84 wye to stick a pig. If ye haena shouldert the puir beastie A’am a hog85 mysel’.” “You mind your own business, Carpenter,” replied the steward, with dignity; “I don’t want anybody to show me how to do my work.” “Gie me nane o’[126] yer impidence, ye feckless loon,” shouted Chips. “A’am tellin’ ye thon’s spilin’ guide meat for want o’ juist a wee bit o’ knowin’ how. Hae! lat me show ye if ye’re thick heid’s able to tak’ onythin’ in ava.” And so speaking, he brushed the indignant steward aside, at the same time drawing his pocket-knife. The second pig was laid out, and Chips, as delicately as if performing tracheotomy, slit86 his weasand. The black puddings were not forgotten, but I got such a distaste for that particular delicacy87 from learning how they were made (I hadn’t the slightest idea before) that I have never been able to touch one since.
Chips now took upon himself the whole direction of affairs, and truly he was a past-master in the art and mystery of the pork-butcher. He knew just the temperature of the water, the happy medium between scalding the hair on and not scalding it off; knew, too, how to manipulate chitterlings and truss the carcass up till it looked just as if hanging in a first-class pork shop. But the steward was sore displeased88. For it is a prime canon of sea etiquette89 not to interfere90 with another man’s work, and in the known incapacity of the cook, whose duty the pigkilling should ordinarily have been, the steward came next by prescriptive right. However, Chips, having undertaken the job, was not the man to give it up until it was finished, and by universal consent he had a right to be proud of his handiwork. That Sunday’s dinner was a landmark91, a date to reckon from, although the smell from the galley at suppertime on Saturday and breakfast-time on Sunday made[127] us all quite faint and weak from desire, as well as fiercely resentful of the chaffy92 biscuit and filthy93 fragments of beef that were a miserable94 substitute for a meal with us.
But thenceforward the joy of good living was ours every Sunday until we reached home. Ten golden epochs, to be looked forward to with feverish95 longing96 over the six hungry days between each. And when off the Western Islands, Chips tackled the wicked old Madrassee sow single-handed, in the pride of his prowess allowing no one to help him although she was nearly as large as himself—ah! that was the culminating point. Such a feast was never known to any of us before, for in spite of her age she was succulent and sapid, and, as the Irish say, there was “lashins and lavins.” When we arrived in the East India Docks, we still had, besides the two progenitors97 of our stock, eight fine young porkers, such a company as would have been considered a most liberal allowance on leaving home for any ship I have ever sailed in before or since. As for Denis and Jenny, I am afraid to estimate their giant proportions. They were not grossly fat, but enormously large—quite the largest pigs I have ever seen—and when they were lifted ashore98 by the hydraulic99 crane, and landed in the railway truck for conveyance100 to Cellardyke, to taste the joys of country life on Captain Smith’s farm, there was a rush of spectators from all parts of the dock to gaze open-mouthed upon these splendid specimens101 of ship-bred swine. But few could be got to believe that, eleven months before, the pair of them had[128] been carried on board in one sack by an undersized man, and that their sole sustenance102 had been “hard-tack” and pea-soup.

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1
palatable
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| adj.可口的,美味的;惬意的 | |
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promiscuous
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| adj.杂乱的,随便的 | |
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secrete
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| vt.分泌;隐匿,使隐秘 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员 | |
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sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的,冷笑的,讥讽的 | |
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7
kin
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| n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的 | |
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8
provender
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| n.刍草;秣料 | |
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9
fiat
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| n.命令,法令,批准;vt.批准,颁布 | |
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slain
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| 杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
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11
chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热(尤指皮肤)( chafe的现在分词 );擦痛;发怒;惹怒 | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 ); 禽肉; 既不是这; 非驴非马 | |
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fowl
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| n.家禽,鸡,禽肉 | |
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14
musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物,香猫 | |
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scent
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| n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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16
demise
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| n.死亡;v.让渡,遗赠,转让 | |
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17
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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18
utterly
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| adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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19
abominable
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| adj.可厌的,令人憎恶的 | |
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20
heartily
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| adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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21
noted
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| adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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22
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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23
clearance
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| n.净空;许可(证);清算;清除,清理 | |
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24
steadily
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| adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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25
gale
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| n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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modicum
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| n.少量,一小份 | |
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gumption
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| n.才干 | |
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28
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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29
fore
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| adv.在前面;adj.先前的;在前部的;n.前部 | |
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30
proceedings
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| n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
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31
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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32
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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33
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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34
transcending
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| 超出或超越(经验、信念、描写能力等)的范围( transcend的现在分词 ); 优于或胜过… | |
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35
aquatic
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| adj.水生的,水栖的 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的,火热的 | |
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lash
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| v.系牢;鞭打;猛烈抨击;n.鞭打;眼睫毛 | |
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38
slay
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| v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮 | |
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39
survivor
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| n.生存者,残存者,幸存者 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 ); 配给量; 正常量; 合理的量 | |
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42
superstition
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| n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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43
impatience
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| n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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44
prospect
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| n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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45
galley
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| n.(飞机或船上的)厨房单层甲板大帆船;军舰舰长用的大划艇; | |
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46
harpooning
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| v.鱼镖,鱼叉( harpoon的现在分词 ) | |
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47
copper
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| n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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coppers
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| 铜( copper的名词复数 ); 铜币 | |
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49
corpse
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| n.尸体,死尸 | |
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50
gaping
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| adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大 | |
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51
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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52
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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53
insufficient
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| adj.(for,of)不足的,不够的 | |
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54
wholesale
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| n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售 | |
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55
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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56
bustles
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| 热闹( bustle的名词复数 ); (女裙后部的)衬垫; 撑架 | |
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57
drawn
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| v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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58
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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59
formulate
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| v.用公式表示;规划;设计;系统地阐述 | |
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60
notch
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| n.(V字形)槽口,缺口,等级 | |
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61
jeering
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| adj.嘲弄的,揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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62
growl
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| v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣 | |
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63
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 );精致;精美的食物;周到 | |
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64
poultry
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| n.家禽,禽肉 | |
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65
herd
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| n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
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66
quaint
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| adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的 | |
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67
antagonism
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| n.对抗,敌对,对立 | |
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68
sneaking
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| a.秘密的,不公开的 | |
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69
tusks
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| n.(象等动物的)长牙( tusk的名词复数 );獠牙;尖形物;尖头 | |
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70
tusk
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| n.獠牙,长牙,象牙 | |
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71
underneath
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| adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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72
crouch
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| v.蹲伏,蜷缩,低头弯腰;n.蹲伏 | |
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73
sliver
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| n.裂片,细片,梳毛;v.纵切,切成长片,剖开 | |
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74
streak
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| n.条理,斑纹,倾向,少许,痕迹;v.加条纹,变成条纹,奔驰,快速移动 | |
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75
gouge
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| v.凿;挖出;n.半圆凿;凿孔;欺诈 | |
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76
watchfulness
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| 警惕,留心; 警觉(性) | |
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77
jaw
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| n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言,谣传,传闻 | |
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79
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
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80
malice
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| n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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81
uproar
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| n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸 | |
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82
unaware
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| a.不知道的,未意识到的 | |
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83
gash
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| v.深切,划开;n.(深长的)切(伤)口;裂缝 | |
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84
nay
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| adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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85
hog
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| n.猪;馋嘴贪吃的人;vt.把…占为己有,独占 | |
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86
slit
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| n.狭长的切口;裂缝;vt.切开,撕裂 | |
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87
delicacy
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| n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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88
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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89
etiquette
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| n.礼仪,礼节;规矩 | |
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90
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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91
landmark
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| n.陆标,划时代的事,地界标 | |
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92
chaffy
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| adj.多糠的,如糠的,无用的 | |
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93
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的;恶劣的,肮脏的 | |
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94
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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95
feverish
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| adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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96
longing
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| n.(for)渴望 | |
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97
progenitors
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| n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 );先驱;前辈;原本 | |
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98
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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99
hydraulic
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| adj.水力的;水压的,液压的;水力学的 | |
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100
conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让,让与;转让证书;传送;运送;表达;(正)运输工具 | |
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101
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人 | |
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102
sustenance
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| n.食物,粮食;生活资料;生计 | |
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