‘Sir!’ answered the orderly-sergeant, dashing into the hut at the loud, imperative3 summons.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ demanded General Shields, for it was he. ‘What is the meaning of it, sir?’ he thundered, as Sergeant Cox simply stared at him without attempting to reply.
‘Of this,’ vociferated the general, pointing to the table. ‘Look at that ham! Look at those crackers5! Observe the jam! Where is the milk?’
‘Ham, sir! Yes, sir. Jam, sir! No, sir. Milk—crackers, sir,’ stuttered the unfortunate Cox, ruefully regarding the denuded7 table, the lacerated ham, and the empty mugs, which but a few moments before he had himself seen filled with rich creamy milk.
A loud snort burst from Lucius, who, between the angry face of the general and the utter amazement8 of the orderly, found the situation too much for him, and would simply have suffocated9 had not this timely explosion of mirth suddenly relieved him. Fortunately the sound was swallowed up in the shout of laughter which, at the same moment, broke from the other two officers, in the midst of which Ephraim found time to whisper hurriedly:
‘It’s too funny, Luce. But hold up. Don’t ye do that agen, or we’re ruined shore and certain.’
‘Ha! ha! ha!’ roared one of the officers, a stout10, good-humoured-looking brigadier. ‘Evidently a foraging11 party has been beforehand with us. By George! general, it’s a mercy they left us so much as a single cracker6. You had better have taken my advice and had breakfast outside, notwithstanding the tendency of the bugs14 to drop uninvited into the coffee. Ha! ha!’
The angry look died out of General Shields’s eyes, the wrinkles at the root of his nose smoothened out again, and after a momentary15 struggle he gave way and joined heartily16 in the laughter of his subordinates. ‘Well, well, it can’t be helped now,’ he said—‘it is the fortune of war; but if I can lay hands on the rascal17 who has played us this trick, I’ll—I’ll feed him on jam till he’s so sick of it, he won’t be in a hurry to plunder18 his general again.’ He broke into fresh laughter, till, remembering the presence of the orderly, he restrained himself, and inquired sharply, ‘What are you doing there?’
Orderly-sergeant Cox, who, now that his terror and confusion had been sent to the right-about by the hilarity19 of the officers, would have given a good deal 95to be able to express his own feelings in the same way, saluted20 silently, swung on his heel, and made for the door.
‘Stop!’ ordered the general, and Cox swung round again, managing by a violent effort to dismiss the grin which he had allowed to overspread his features the moment he had turned his back.
‘Any news of Colonel Spriggs?’ asked General Shields.
‘Can’t say, sir.’
‘Very good. My compliments to him, when he returns, if he returns, and I wish to see him at once.’
‘Here, sir?’
‘Anywhere. Wherever I happen to be. I can be found, I suppose.’
‘I believe that beggar knows more of this than he cares to say,’ observed General Shields, mournfully regarding the remains22 of the ham.
‘Oh, not he,’ laughed the fat brigadier; ‘I never saw a fellow look so utterly23 flabbergasted. No, no, general, your thieves have come and gone through this window. See, here are some of the spoils dropped both inside and out.’
Ephraim nudged Lucius gently, as much as to say: ‘Now you see my object in scattering24 the crackers there. It was to distract attention from our hiding-place.’ And Lucius answered by a responsive nudge, which signified comprehension.
‘There are the thieves, or I am much mistaken,’ continued the brigadier, as his eye fell on the soldiers who were resting on their arms at the edge of the 96wood. ‘But I imagine it would be hopeless to try and get an admission out of them.’
‘Better make the best of what is left,’ said General Shields. ‘Fall to, gentlemen. It is half-past six now, and news from the bridge should soon reach us.’
Only half-past six! The boys heard this announcement with surprise. True, they had dropped from the clouds very shortly after daybreak; but the long light of the summer morning, and the crowding of so many events into a short space, had confused their sense of time, and they had imagined it to be much later.
The day had begun early for more than Lucius and Ephraim. Movements were afoot which were destined26 to bring about very important results, and the news from the bridge, which the Federal general so calmly anticipated, was likely, when it arrived, to disturb his equilibrium27 a good deal more than the loss of his breakfast.
For the last four and thirty days, Stonewall Jackson had been making matters very lively for the northern invaders28. He was considerably29 outnumbered, but with such consummate30 skill did he handle his forces, that he was able to attack and beat the Federal generals in detail, one after another; nor, chase him up and down as they would, could they ever succeed in effecting a combination of their entire armies against him. Indeed, the rapidity of Jackson’s movements astounded31 the Federals, for scarcely did they receive reliable news of him in one place than he was upon them in another, and considering the number and vigour32 of their marvellous forced marches, it is no wonder that his brigades proudly christened themselves ‘Stonewall Jackson’s Foot Cavalry33.’
After defeating Milroy, Jackson had rushed through the valley to Winchester, where he fell upon General Banks so fiercely and suddenly that the latter was driven in the wildest confusion clear across the Potomac. The dashing Confederate leader then retreated up the valley by the great turnpike, hotly pursued by Frémont, who could not, however, succeed in bringing him to bay. Shields, meanwhile, had moved up the south-eastern bank of the Shenandoah, and, by co-operation with him, Frémont thought at last to crush the daring rebel. But by a master-stroke Jackson burned the bridge at the mouth of Elk34 Run Valley, over which Shields would have led his troops—for owing to heavy rains the Shenandoah was not fordable—and took up his position at Port Republic, a little village situated35 on the south fork of the river. Shields, therefore, advanced to Lewiston, the farm of a General Lewis, and there awaited instructions from Frémont, who was but a few miles off at Harrisonburg. But he might as well have been a thousand miles away, for between the two generals rolled the impassable Shenandoah, and the building of bridges in face of an enemy so vigilant36 and daring as Stonewall Jackson was a proposition that could not be seriously considered. Nevertheless, communication had been somehow effected, and it so happened that, on the very night that Ephraim and Lucius left Staunton in the balloon, the Federal generals had arranged a combined attack upon the restless Jackson for the next day. Frémont was to advance from Harrisonburg to Cross Keys and engage the Confederate left under Ewell, while at the same moment Shields, by a successful dash across the bridge 98at Port Republic, was to carry the little town and crumple37 up the rebel right. But Jackson’s cool head and war-trained mind had foreseen this combination, and his own plans had been formed to keep Shields just where he was on the south-eastern bank of the river until Frémont had been disposed of. When therefore the boys took refuge in the loft38, and the Federal officers turned their attention to their desecrated39 breakfast, Frémont and Ewell were already confronting one another at Cross Keys, while Shields’s cavalry were on their way to rush the bridge at Port Republic and clear the road for the passage of the infantry40 and artillery41. For some time the officers devoted42 themselves exclusively to their breakfast, but at last General Shields broke the silence by observing, ‘I think we shall fix Jackson this bout1.’
‘If the bridge at Port Republic can be carried,’ agreed the brigadier cautiously.
‘If!’ repeated Shields with some irritation43. ‘There is no if about it, sir. It must be carried. It cannot fail to be. The whole attention of the enemy will be by this time centred on their left to repulse44 Frémont’s demonstration45 at Cross Keys. By ten o’clock my headquarters will be at Port Republic.’
The brigadier did not answer, but he thought his own thoughts. He was not above learning a lesson, even from an enemy, and his experience of Stonewall Jackson as a leader and strategist led him to believe that this confident, even boastful tone was not justified46 in the face of recent happenings in the valley. However, he was silent in the presence of his commanding officer.
‘Jackson will not expect an attack on the bridge,’ 99went on Shields, enclosing a slice of ham between two biscuits. ‘He will know nothing of the movement until he finds himself driven out of Port Republic, and then it will be too late.—By the way,’ he broke off, ‘that reconnaissance yesterday was shamefully47 muddled48.’
‘It was,’ agreed the brigadier; ‘and if you will excuse my saying so, I thought it rather an error of judgment49 to entrust50 it to Colonel Spriggs. You remember his appearance at Bull Run.’
‘His disappearance51, you mean,’ corrected General Shields with a grim smile. ‘Well, perhaps it was; but I couldn’t well help myself.’
‘I am at a loss to know why we are bothered with such a fellow,’ put in the third officer, a staff colonel.
‘Yes, heartily confound all these political generals and colonels,’ said Shields. ‘If those meddling52 carpet warriors53 would only mind their own business, and leave us to manage ours in the field, instead of incessantly54 pulling the ropes, we should have another story to tell. This fellow Spriggs and others like him are pitched into colonelcies and even higher commands by their friends the politicians, while the real soldiers go begging for a place, or, rather than do nothing, serve their country unostentatiously in the ranks.’
‘He has good stuff in his regiment55, too,’ said the brigadier. ‘The “Trailing Terrors,” or whatever ridiculous name he calls them by, are stark56 fighters when they get a chance, or are properly led.’
‘Which they never will be, so long as Spriggs is in command of them,’ answered Shields testily57. ‘I’ve made the most urgent representations about the fellow, and no notice has been taken. I daren’t relieve 100him of his command on my own responsibility, though I am supposed to be at the head of this army.’ He laughed rather bitterly.
‘Such a fellow is a disgrace to us all,’ remarked the brigadier emphatically. ‘A bully58, a fire-eater, and a’——
‘A dirty coward,’ finished Shields for him. ‘You may as well say it at once. I agree with you. He is a disgrace to us—he and a few more like him—a discredit59 to the whole North. The actions of the ruffianly crew of whom he is a most admirable example do more to inflame60 the South against us than anything else. Confound them!’ he fumed61; ‘it is beyond their comprehension that even war may be waged in a gentlemanly fashion.’
‘You’ve got to start with a gentleman, though, you must remember,’ laughed the brigadier.
‘I know,’ said Shields discontentedly. ‘Oh, hang him! I wish I were well rid of him. He is reported missing since last night, and it may be that some obliging rebel has done what I have not the power to do—relieved him of his command by a timely and well-aimed bullet.’
‘Not while there was a tree between him and Johnny Reb,’ chuckled62 the brigadier. ‘I am afraid you must not look forward to any such easy solution of your difficulties with him.’
‘Pah!’ ejaculated General Shields in deep disgust. ‘I’——
The sentence was never finished, for at that moment the door was flung open, and Orderly-sergeant Cox, advancing into the hut and saluting63, announced:
‘Colonel Spriggs!’
Closely following on the orderly’s heels came the subject of the above instructive conversation, and it was with something like a thrill of dismay that the watchers in the loft recognised in him the red-faced tyrant64 from whose clutches they had so recently escaped. Ephraim gave Luce’s arm a warning squeeze, and if they had been quiet before, they lay doubly still now.
General Shields returned the colonel’s salute with exceeding stiffness and the scantiest65 courtesy. ‘You were reported missing, sir,’ he observed drily. ‘I congratulate you on your reappearance after the fight.’ At which the brigadier put up his hand to his mouth to conceal66 a smile.
Colonel Spriggs, however, did not appear to perceive the sarcasm67. ‘Yes, general,’ he replied, ‘it was pretty warm work while it lasted. The Rebs got us in a tight place, and I fear that a considerable number of my poor lads have stayed behind on the field. But no matter, sir. The “Trailing Terrors,” with Josiah B. Spriggs ahead, will go on till the last man is annihilated68.’
‘I wish you might be annihilated to start with,’ thought General Shields within himself. Aloud he said: ‘Your reconnaissance was a complete failure, colonel.’
‘It was, sir,’ acknowledged the colonel. ‘I admit it. But it was not my fault. I made the most superhuman efforts to induce the men to advance in the face of the most withering69 musketry fire it has ever been my lot to stand up to. But they refused.’
‘I thought you said they would follow you anywhere,’ remarked General Shields caustically70.
‘Oh! Ah! yes, certainly; so I did,’ answered Spriggs, a little flustered71. ‘But the circumstances were exceptional. All that men could do they did. I myself’——
‘I see,’ interrupted the general. ‘How many men do you suppose you lost?’
‘Company D was pretty well cut to pieces, and of the rest—but really at present I cannot give you accurate information. In leading a charge through the woods I was struck by a spent ball, which yet had sufficient force to stun72 me. My men passed over me as I lay, and when I came to myself I was alone. What came of that charge I cannot tell you; but, doubtless, the men, deprived of their leader, and convinced already of the desperate nature of the enterprise, would naturally fall back.’
‘No doubt,’ acquiesced73 General Shields; ‘and, no doubt also, your failure to rejoin your regiment completed the disaster, while at the same time it gave rise to the report that you had been killed.—And may I be forgiven for devoutly74 wishing you had been,’ he added mentally.
‘My failure to rejoin my regiment was due to the fact that I could not find it, sir,’ answered the colonel with some heat, for thick-skinned as he was, he could not fail at last to detect the undertone of contempt in the general’s voice. ‘Am I to understand, sir, that you imply that I have in any way failed in my duty?’
‘I imply nothing, colonel,’ replied General Shields. ‘I may be permitted to say this, though, that I wish most earnestly that your “Trailing Terrors,” as I understand you call your men, would now and again trail in the direction of the enemy instead of so persistently75 keeping their backs turned to them.’
‘General,’ began Spriggs, but General Shields held up his hand.
‘And I am not to be taken as implying,’ he went on, ‘that your men are any less courageous76 than others under my command. Bad soldiers, properly led, may win a battle. Good soldiers, improperly77 led, will very usually lose one.’
At this stinging speech Colonel Spriggs’s red, bloated face became purple. Here was an implication with a vengeance78, and there was but one inference to be drawn79 from it. Moreover, Spriggs dared not attempt to reply, for he knew well enough that General Shields detested80 him, and only waited for the opportunity of direct and irrefragable proof of his cowardice81 to make short work of him. Therefore he swallowed his wrath82 and merely mumbled83 something about having done his best. But he registered a vow84 in his heart that four and twenty hours should not pass without a letter from him to his friends the politicians, in which General Shield’s name should figure with a very black mark indeed against it.
‘I do not doubt that you do your best, sir,’ returned the general; ‘I do not doubt it at all.’
The irony85 of the tone was sharp almost to fierceness, and Colonel Spriggs judged it wiser to give the conversation a rapid turn. It was with something like humility86 that he remarked:
‘I have a report to make, general, concerning an incident that occurred as I was making my way back to the lines this morning.’
‘Proceed, sir,’ said the general stiffly.
104‘I had fallen in with some of our fellows,’ began the colonel, ‘not my own men, and we were just casting about for some means to provide ourselves with some breakfast—which I may tell you we did not succeed in getting,’ he added, casting a longing87 look at the table.
‘Help yourself, sir,’ said General Shields with cold courtesy. Spriggs did not require any urging, but rapidly made an attack upon the remains of the feast, talking as he ate.
‘We had approached one edge of a clearing on the other side of these woods,’ resumed Spriggs, ‘when an exclamation88 from one of the men called my attention to a singular, I may say, a phenomenal sight. It was nothing less than a balloon, descending89 into the clearing.’
‘A balloon!’ echoed the three officers.
‘Yes, gentlemen, a balloon. It instantly became clear to me that this was a device of the enemy for the purpose of reconnoitring the position of the national forces, and I thanked my stars that I was on the spot with a handful of brave men to stop their treasonable devices.’
The brigadier’s hand again went up to his mouth, and General Shields inquired in a dry voice: ‘Am I to understand, colonel, that what you saw was a species of air galley90, filled with desperate rebels?’
‘Ah! no,’ replied the colonel, considerably taken aback; ‘I told you it was a balloon. Its occupants were two in number.’
‘Two!’ interjected General Shields. ‘You and your brave handful would make short work of them, eh?’
‘We did, sir,’ answered Spriggs with a ferocious91 grin. ‘No sooner had they landed than I rushed up to them, and after a determined92 struggle, during which I was once thrown to the ground, succeeded in overpowering them.’
At this extraordinary farrago of truth and lies, the two boys interchanged nudges.
‘The ruffians were armed to the teeth,’ went on Spriggs, ‘and in the balloon car we found a perfect armament. They had evidently meant mischief93. I had them searched, and on the person of one of them were found plans of our positions, and papers loaded with accurate statistics of the number and disposition94 of our forces.’
Ephraim’s mouth pursed up as though he were about to whistle, so great was his amazement; and as the colonel paused to take a drink of coffee, General Shields said interrogatively: ‘You doubtless have those papers with you now?’
‘Ah! no,’ answered Spriggs in some confusion. ‘I destroyed them at once, lest by any inadvertence they should fall into the hands of the enemy.’
‘You did wrong, sir,’ said General Shields with asperity95. ‘Those papers should have been brought to camp and handed to the provost-marshal. Well, go on with your story.’
‘It is finished in a word,’ resumed Spriggs. ‘I regret to say that owing to the extreme carelessness of the men, the two prisoners took to their heels and escaped into the woods, while I was absorbed in the contents of the papers.’
General Shields gave vent25 to an exclamation of impatience96. This man tried him almost beyond his powers of endurance.
‘Of course I sent the men in pursuit of the spies,’ said the colonel, concluding his surprising statement. ‘They did not belong to my regiment, and they did not reappear; so I finally made my way to the camp to report the circumstances to you.’
General Shields thought for a moment. Then he said brusquely: ‘Thank you. I do not think there is any more to be said. If you have finished your breakfast, you will oblige me by joining the remains of your command, which you will find some two miles to the rear of Lewiston.’
Spriggs rose and saluted. ‘General,’ he said, ‘I do not like to admit myself beaten. The woods are full of our men, and it is well-nigh impossible that those two spies should have passed our pickets97. With your permission I will take half a company and thoroughly98 beat the woods. As likely as not I shall run them down.’
‘Certainly, colonel, you have my full permission,’ answered General Shields with great alacrity99. ‘You have probably heard,’ he added, with curling lip, ‘that an advance on Port Republic is just now in progress. But I will not allow a little thing like that to interfere100 with your laudable desire to volunteer for a dangerous service.’
Colonel Spriggs bit his lip, and down went another black mark against General Shields. But his desire for revenge, and a chance to exhibit his petty tyranny, assisted him to accept the snub in silence, and he simply replied: ‘I am obliged to you, sir. I will start as soon as possible.’
‘By the way, what did you do with the balloon?’ inquired Shields.
‘Left it where it was,’ answered the colonel. ‘I could not very well do otherwise.’
‘Hm!’ said Shields. ‘Well, I’ll see about it later. Good-morning, sir.’
Spriggs saluted again, but at the door he turned. ‘I suppose, general,’ he inquired, ‘that if I come up with those two spies, you give me full discretionary powers?’
General Shields, who was already deep in thought, heard the question without grasping its significance, and muttered absently, ‘Yes, oh yes, of course,’ whereupon Spriggs immediately left the hut.
Three or four minutes later, the general, coming out of his reverie, and having still the sound of the question in his ears, exclaimed suddenly: ‘Discretionary powers! What do you mean by that?’
‘It is very evident,’ answered the brigadier. ‘And you have given him full permission to hang the two fellows out of hand.’
‘Confound the man!’ muttered the general, walking quickly to the door. But Spriggs was already out of sight. ‘Well,’ he said, returning, ‘it does not matter much, for after all they are spies, and it is a hundred to one that he never finds them.’
To the two listeners in the loft it mattered a good deal, but unfortunately their position made protest out of the question.
‘The sight of that red-faced bully always sets my right foot tingling101, so great is my desire to kick him,’ went on the general, irritably102.
‘His incompetence103 is on a par12 with his cowardice. Imagine now his allowing those two men to escape.’
‘His anxiety to retake them was very genuine,’ said 108the brigadier. ‘It seems to me,’ he commented shrewdly, ‘that there is a personal motive104 underlying105 his zeal106, though what, or why, it is difficult to say.—What are you staring at, general?’ he broke off. ‘Why, good gracious!’
Alas107 and alas! From the loft was proceeding108 a most singular shower. Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! one after another in regular succession, a cascade109 of biscuits descended110 from the planking to the floor, each as it fell shivering into fragments after the fashion of the renowned111 Humpty Dumpty. No wonder that the general stared.
‘Ha! ha! ha! ho! ho! ho!’ roared the jovial112 brigadier. ‘I never thought of that. That is where your breakfast vanished to, general. And where the crackers are, there also is the ham, I’ll bet a trifle.’
‘Come out of that, whoever you are!’ ordered the general sternly. ‘Come out of that at once.’
This denouement113 was due to the unfortunate Lucius, who, in wriggling114 into a more comfortable position, had burst open the front of his tunic115, in which a quantity of biscuits had been bestowed116. As the first of these touched the floor, Ephraim grasped his comrade by the back of the neck and pinned him down as in a vice13. Then as the general’s loud command rang out, he put his mouth close to Luce’s ear, and just breathed into it: ‘Lie low, Luce, lie low. I see a way out er this muss. Don’t move now for the life of ye, whatever ye see me do.’
‘Come out of that, I say,’ repeated the general. ‘Do you want me to come and fetch you?’
This being the very last thing that Ephraim desired, he slowly uncoiled his long length, and swinging upon the rafter, dropped to the floor, where he stood the very picture of sheepishness, his mouth wide open, and a most comical expression—half-humorous, half-terrified appeal in his big gray eyes. But he took care to leave the piece of ham behind him.
The fat brigadier retreated to the wall of the hut, and laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks.
‘Well, if this doesn’t beat everything I ever saw or heard of!’ he gasped117. ‘What will you do with him, general? Shall I take him to the provost-marshal for a round dozen, or will you have him shot right away? For my part, I think he deserves the rest of the breakfast for his impudence118.’
‘Silence!’ said the general severely119, though his eyes twinkled.—’ What were you doing there?’ he demanded of Ephraim.
The Grizzly120 drew himself up and saluted. ‘I beg yewr parding, ginrul,’ he answered in a weak, whining122 tone; ‘I war jest parsing123 the windy, and when I looked in and see that right down, first-clarse spread, I tell yew121 I jest felt I had ter hev some.’
Lucius quivered with amazement. The Grizzly was coming out in a new line. The soft Southern voice with its clipped syllables124 was gone, and in its place was the slow drawl and marked nasal twang of the New Englander. The very expression of the face was changed, though this Lucius could not see. The natural shrewdness was gone out of it, and only good-humoured, dull vacancy125 reigned126 in its stead.
‘Upon my word, you are a nice young man,’ said the general, smiling in spite of himself at Ephraim’s ridiculous appearance. ‘What do you mean, sir, by making free with my breakfast? Don’t you know I could have you court-martialed and shot for this?’
‘Oh lordy, lordy! don’t you do that, ginrul,’ whined127 Ephraim, seemingly in a paroxysm of terror. ‘I’ll never dew it again. Yew don’t know how hungry I war. Lemme off, ginrul! Lemme off!’ He clasped his hands supplicatingly.
The brigadier exploded again, and Shields, with a good-natured laugh, said: ‘Well, we’ll consider what is to be done with you. Who are you, and to what regiment do you belong?’
‘Number twenty, Company D, the “Trailing Terrors,”’ drawled Ephraim.
‘What! You are one of Spriggs’s “Trailing Terrors,” are you? By Jove! you look it. Why did you not come out just now when your commanding officer was here?’
‘Bekase he war telling lies!’ boldly answered Ephraim to the supreme128 astonishment129 of Lucius; ‘and I never could abide130 lies.’
‘Lies!’ echoed General Shields. ‘What do you mean, sir? Are you aware that you are speaking of your superior officer?’
‘I know that, ginrul,’ replied Ephraim, adding with a subdued131 grin: ‘I ain’t saying nuthing worse about him than I’ve heard this morning. All the same, he war telling lies about that balloon. I war thar, so I guess I should know.’
‘You were there!’ repeated General Shields. ‘I understood the colonel to say that none of his men were on hand.’
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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crackers
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| adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘 | |
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cracker
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| n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干 | |
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denuded
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| adj.[医]变光的，裸露的v.使赤裸( denude的过去式和过去分词 )；剥光覆盖物 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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suffocated
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| （使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气 | |
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foraging
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| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
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par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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bugs
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| adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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salute
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| 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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22
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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23
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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24
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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27
equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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30
consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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31
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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32
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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33
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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34
elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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35
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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36
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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37
crumple
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| v.把...弄皱，满是皱痕，压碎，崩溃 | |
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38
loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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39
desecrated
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| 毁坏或亵渎( desecrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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41
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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42
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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43
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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44
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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45
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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46
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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47
shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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48
muddled
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| adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子 | |
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49
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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50
entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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51
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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52
meddling
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 ) | |
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53
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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54
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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55
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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56
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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57
testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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58
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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59
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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60
inflame
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| v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎 | |
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61
fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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62
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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64
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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65
scantiest
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| adj.（大小或数量）不足的，勉强够的( scanty的最高级 ) | |
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66
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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67
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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68
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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69
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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70
caustically
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| adv.刻薄地；挖苦地；尖刻地；讥刺地 | |
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71
flustered
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| adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词) | |
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72
stun
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| vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹 | |
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73
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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75
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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76
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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77
improperly
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| 不正确地，不适当地 | |
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78
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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79
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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80
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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82
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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83
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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85
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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86
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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87
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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88
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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89
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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90
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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91
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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92
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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93
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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94
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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95
asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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96
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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97
pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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98
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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99
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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100
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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101
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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102
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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103
incompetence
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| n.不胜任，不称职 | |
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104
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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105
underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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106
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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107
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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108
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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109
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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110
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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111
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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112
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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113
denouement
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| n.结尾，结局 | |
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114
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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115
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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116
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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118
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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119
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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120
grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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121
yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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122
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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123
parsing
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| n.分[剖]析，分解v.从语法上描述或分析（词句等）( parse的现在分词 ) | |
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124
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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125
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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126
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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127
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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128
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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129
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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130
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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131
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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