Mount Hoffman is the highest part of a ridge9 or spur about fourteen miles from the axis of the main range, perhaps a remnant brought into relief and isolated11 by unequal denudation12.[Pg 150] The southern slopes shed their waters into Yosemite Valley by Tenaya and Dome7 Creeks14, the northern in part into the Tuolumne River, but mostly into the Merced by Yosemite Creek13. The rock is mostly granite15, with some small piles and crests17 rising here and there in picturesque18 pillared and castellated remnants of red metamorphic slates19. Both the granite and slates are divided by joints20, making them separable into blocks like the stones of artificial masonry21, suggesting the Scripture22 “He hath builded the mountains.” Great banks of snow and ice are piled in hollows on the cool precipitous north side forming the highest perennial23 sources of Yosemite Creek. The southern slopes are much more gradual and accessible. Narrow slot-like gorges24 extend across the summit at right angles, which look like lanes, formed evidently by the erosion of less resisting beds. They are usually called “devil’s slides,” though they lie far above the region usually haunted by the devil; for though we read that he once climbed an exceeding high mountain, he cannot be much of a mountaineer, for his tracks are seldom seen above the timber-line.
The broad gray summit is barren and desolate-looking in general views, wasted by ages of gnawing25 storms; but looking at the surface in detail, one finds it covered by thousands[Pg 151] and millions of charming plants with leaves and flowers so small they form no mass of color visible at a distance of a few hundred yards. Beds of azure26 daisies smile confidingly28 in moist hollows, and along the banks of small rills, with several species of eriogonum, silky-leaved ivesia, pentstemon, orthocarpus, and patches of Primula suffruticosa, a beautiful shrubby30 species. Here also I found bryanthus, a charming heathwort covered with purple flowers and dark green foliage31 like heather, and three trees new to me—a hemlock32 and two pines. The hemlock (Tsuga Mertensiana) is the most beautiful conifer I have ever seen; the branches and also the main axis droop33 in a singularly graceful34 way, and the dense35 foliage covers the delicate, sensitive, swaying branchlets all around. It is now in full bloom, and the flowers, together with thousands of last season’s cones37 still clinging to the drooping38 sprays, display wonderful wealth of color, brown and purple and blue. Gladly I climbed the first tree I found to revel39 in the midst of it. How the touch of the flowers makes one’s flesh tingle40! The pistillate are dark, rich purple, and almost translucent41, the staminate blue,—a vivid, pure tone of blue like the mountain sky,—the most uncommonly42 beautiful of all the Sierra tree flowers I have seen. How wonder[Pg 152]ful that, with all its delicate feminine grace and beauty of form and dress and behavior, this lovely tree up here, exposed to the wildest blasts, has already endured the storms of centuries of winters!
The two pines also are brave storm-enduring trees, the mountain pine (Pinus monticola) and the dwarf43 pine (Pinus albicaulis). The mountain pine is closely related to the sugar pine, though the cones are only about four to six inches long. The largest trees are from five to six feet in diameter at four feet above the ground, the bark rich brown. Only a few storm-beaten adventurers approach the summit of the mountain. The dwarf or white-bark pine is the species that forms the timber-line, where it is so completely dwarfed44 that one may walk over the top of a bed of it as over snow-pressed chaparral.
How boundless45 the day seems as we revel in these storm-beaten sky gardens amid so vast a congregation of onlooking46 mountains! Strange and admirable it is that the more savage47 and chilly48 and storm-chafed the mountains, the finer the glow on their faces and the finer the plants they bear. The myriads49 of flowers tingeing50 the mountain-top do not seem to have grown out of the dry, rough gravel51 of disintegration52, but rather they appear as visi[Pg 153]tors, a cloud of witnesses to Nature’s love in what we in our timid ignorance and unbelief call howling desert. The surface of the ground, so dull and forbidding at first sight, besides being rich in plants, shines and sparkles with crystals: mica53, hornblende, feldspar, quartz54, tourmaline. The radiance in some places is so great as to be fairly dazzling, keen lance rays of every color flashing, sparkling in glorious abundance, joining the plants in their fine, brave beauty-work—every crystal, every flower a window opening into heaven, a mirror reflecting the Creator.
From garden to garden, ridge to ridge, I drifted enchanted55, now on my knees gazing into the face of a daisy, now climbing again and again among the purple and azure flowers of the hemlocks56, now down into the treasuries57 of the snow, or gazing afar over domes and peaks, lakes and woods, and the billowy glaciated fields of the upper Tuolumne, and trying to sketch58 them. In the midst of such beauty, pierced with its rays, one’s body is all one tingling59 palate. Who wouldn’t be a mountaineer! Up here all the world’s prizes seem nothing.
The largest of the many glacier60 lakes in sight, and the one with the finest shore scenery, is Tenaya, about a mile long, with an im[Pg 154]posing mountain dipping its feet into it on the south side, Cathedral Peak a few miles above its head, many smooth swelling61 rock-waves and domes on the north, and in the distance southward a multitude of snowy peaks, the fountain-heads of rivers. Lake Hoffman lies shimmering62 beneath my feet, mountain pines around its shining rim29. To the northward63 the picturesque basin of Yosemite Creek glitters with lakelets and pools; but the eye is soon drawn64 away from these bright mirror wells, however attractive, to revel in the glorious congregation of peaks on the axis of the range in their robes of snow and light.
Carlo caught an unfortunate woodchuck when it was running from a grassy65 spot to its boulder66-pile home—one of the hardiest67 of the mountain animals. I tried hard to save him, but in vain. After telling Carlo that he must be careful not to kill anything, I caught sight, for the first time, of the curious pika, or little chief hare, that cuts large quantities of lupines and other plants and lays them out to dry in the sun for hay, which it stores in underground barns to last through the long, snowy winter. Coming upon these plants freshly cut and lying in handfuls here and there on the rocks has a startling effect of busy life on the lonely mountain-top. These little haymakers,[Pg 155] endowed with brain stuff something like our own,—God up here looking after them,—what lessons they teach, how they widen our sympathy!
An eagle soaring above a sheer cliff, where I suppose its nest is, makes another striking show of life, and helps to bring to mind the other people of the so-called solitude—deer in the forest caring for their young; the strong, well-clad, well-fed bears; the lively throng68 of squirrels; the blessed birds, great and small, stirring and sweetening the groves69; and the clouds of happy insects filling the sky with joyous70 hum as part and parcel of the down-pouring sunshine. All these come to mind, as well as the plant people, and the glad streams singing their way to the sea. But most impressive of all is the vast glowing countenance71 of the wilderness72 in awful, infinite repose73.
Toward sunset, enjoyed a fine run to camp, down the long south slopes, across ridges and ravines, gardens and avalanche74 gaps, through the firs and chaparral, enjoying wild excitement and excess of strength, and so ends a day that will never end.
July 27. Up and away to Lake Tenaya,—another big day, enough for a lifetime. The rocks, the air, everything speaking with audible voice or silent; joyful75, wonderful, enchant[Pg 156]ing, banishing76 weariness and sense of time. No longing77 for anything now or hereafter as we go home into the mountain’s heart. The level sunbeams are touching78 the fir-tops, every leaf shining with dew. Am holding an easterly course, the deep cañon of Tenaya Creek on the right hand, Mount Hoffman on the left, and the lake straight ahead about ten miles distant, the summit of Mount Hoffman about three thousand feet above me, Tenaya Creek four thousand feet below and separated from the shallow, irregular valley, along which most of the way lies, by smooth domes and wave-ridges. Many mossy emerald bogs79, meadows, and gardens in rocky hollows to wade80 and saunter through—and what fine plants they give me, what joyful streams I have to cross, and how many views are displayed of the Hoffman and Cathedral Peak masonry, and what a wondrous breadth of shining granite pavement to walk over for the first time about the shores of the lake! On I sauntered in freedom complete; body without weight as far as I was aware; now wading81 through starry82 parnassia bogs, now through gardens shoulder deep in larkspur and lilies, grasses and rushes, shaking off showers of dew; crossing piles of crystalline moraine boulders83, bright mirror pavements, and cool, cheery streams going to[Pg 157] Yosemite; crossing bryanthus carpets and the scoured84 pathways of avalanches85, and thickets86 of snow-pressed ceanothus; then down a broad, majestic stairway into the ice-sculptured lake-basin.
The snow on the high mountains is melting fast, and the streams are singing bank-full, swaying softly through the level meadows and bogs, quivering with sun-spangles, swirling87 in pot-holes, resting in deep pools, leaping, shouting in wild, exulting88 energy over rough boulder dams, joyful, beautiful in all their forms. No Sierra landscape that I have seen holds anything truly dead or dull, or any trace of what in manufactories is called rubbish or waste; everything is perfectly89 clean and pure and full of divine lessons. This quick, inevitable90 interest attaching to everything seems marvelous until the hand of God becomes visible; then it seems reasonable that what interests Him may well interest us. When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched92 to everything else in the universe. One fancies a heart like our own must be beating in every crystal and cell, and we feel like stopping to speak to the plants and animals as friendly fellow mountaineers. Nature as a poet, an enthusiastic workingman, becomes more and more visible the farther and higher[Pg 158] we go; for the mountains are fountains—beginning places, however related to sources beyond mortal ken93.
I found three kinds of meadows: (1) Those contained in basins not yet filled with earth enough to make a dry surface. They are planted with several species of carex, and have their margins94 diversified96 with robust97 flowering plants such as veratrum, larkspur, lupine, etc. (2) Those contained in the same sort of basins, once lakes like the first, but so situated98 in relation to the streams that flow through them and beds of transportable sand, gravel, etc., that they are now high and dry and well drained. This dry condition and corresponding difference in their vegetation may be caused by no superiority of position, or power of transporting filling material in the streams that belong to them, but simply by the basin being shallow and therefore sooner filled. They are planted with grasses, mostly fine, silky, and rather short-leaved, Calamagrostis and Agrostis being the principal genera. They form delightfully100 smooth, level sods in which one finds two or three species of gentian and as many of purple and yellow orthocarpus, violet, vaccinium, kalmia, bryanthus, and lonicera. (3) Meadows hanging on ridge and mountain slopes, not in basins at all, but made and held[Pg 159] in place by masses of boulders and fallen trees, which, forming dams one above another in close succession on small, outspread, channelless streams, have collected soil enough for the growth of grasses, carices, and many flowering plants, and being kept well watered, without being subject to currents sufficiently101 strong to carry them away, a hanging or sloping meadow is the result. Their surfaces are seldom so smooth as the others, being roughened more or less by the projecting tops of the dam rocks or logs; but at a little distance this roughness is not noticed, and the effect is very striking—bright green, fluent, down-sweeping flowery ribbons on gray slopes. The broad shallow streams these meadows belong to are mostly derived102 from banks of snow and because the soil is well drained in some places, while in others the dam rocks are packed close and caulked103 with bits of wood and leaves, making boggy104 patches; the vegetation, of course, is correspondingly varied105. I saw patches of willow106, bryanthus, and a fine show of lilies on some of them, not forming a margin95, but scattered108 about among the carex and grass. Most of these meadows are now in their prime. How wonderful must be the temper of the elastic109 leaves of grasses and sedges to make curves so perfect and fine. Tempered a little[Pg 160] harder, they would stand erect110, stiff and bristly, like strips of metal; a little softer, and every leaf would lie flat. And what fine painting and tinting111 there is on the glumes and pales, stamens and feathery pistils. Butterflies colored like the flowers waver above them in wonderful profusion112, and many other beautiful winged people, numbered and known and loved only by the Lord, are waltzing together high over head, seemingly in pure play and hilarious113 enjoyment114 of their little sparks of life. How wonderful they are! How do they get a living, and endure the weather? How are their little bodies, with muscles, nerves, organs, kept warm and jolly in such admirable exuberant115 health? Regarded only as mechanical inventions, how wonderful they are! Compared with these, Godlike man’s greatest machines are as nothing.
Most of the sandy gardens on moraines are in prime beauty like the meadows, though some on the north sides of rocks and beneath groves of sapling pines have not yet bloomed. On sunny sheets of crystal soil along the slopes of the Hoffman Mountains, I saw extensive patches of ivesia and purple gilia with scarce a green leaf, making fine clouds of color. Ribes bushes, vaccinium, and kalmia, now in flower, make beautiful rugs and borders along the[Pg 161] banks of the streams. Shaggy beds of dwarf oak (Quercus chrysolepis, var. vaccinifolia) over which one may walk are common on rocky moraines, yet this is the same species as the large live oak seen near Brown’s Flat. The most beautiful of the shrubs116 is the purple-flowered bryanthus, here making glorious carpets at an elevation117 of nine thousand feet.
The principal tree for the first mile or two from camp is the magnificent silver fir, which reaches perfection here both in size and form of individual trees, and in the mode of grouping in groves with open spaces between. So trim and tasteful are these silvery, spiry118 groves one would fancy they must have been placed in position by some master landscape gardener, their regularity119 seeming almost conventional. But Nature is the only gardener able to do work so fine. A few noble specimens120 two hundred feet high occupy central positions in the groups with younger trees around them; and outside of these another circle of yet smaller ones, the whole arranged like tastefully symmetrical bouquets122, every tree fitting nicely the place assigned to it as if made especially for it; small roses and eriogonums are usually found blooming on the open spaces about the groves, forming charming pleasure grounds. Higher, the firs gradually become smaller and[Pg 162] less perfect, many showing double summits, indicating storm stress. Still, where good moraine soil is found, even on the rim of the lake-basin, specimens one hundred and fifty feet in height and five feet in diameter occur nearly nine thousand feet above the sea. The saplings, I find, are mostly bent123 with the crushing weight of the winter snow, which at this elevation must be at least eight or ten feet deep, judging by marks on the trees; and this depth of compacted snow is heavy enough to bend and bury young trees twenty or thirty feet in height and hold them down for four or five months. Some are broken; the others spring up when the snow melts and at length attain124 a size that enables them to withstand the snow pressure. Yet even in trees five feet thick the traces of this early discipline are still plainly to be seen in their curved insteps, and frequently in old dried saplings protruding125 from the trunk, partially126 overgrown by the new axis developed from a branch below the break. Yet through all this stress the forest is maintained in marvelous beauty.
Beyond the silver firs I find the two-leaved pine (Pinus contorta, var. Murrayana) forms the bulk of the forest up to an elevation of ten thousand feet or more—the highest timber-belt of the Sierra. I saw a specimen121 nearly five[Pg 163] feet in diameter growing on deep, well-watered soil at an elevation of about nine thousand feet. The form of this species varies very much with position, exposure, soil, etc. On stream-banks, where it is closely planted, it is very slender; some specimens seventy-five feet high do not exceed five inches in diameter at the ground, but the ordinary form, as far as I have seen, is well proportioned. The average diameter when full grown at this elevation is about twelve or fourteen inches, height forty or fifty feet, the straggling branches bent up at the end, the bark thin and bedraggled with amber-colored resin127. The pistillate flowers form little crimson128 rosettes a fourth of an inch in diameter on the ends of the branchlets, mostly hidden in the leaf-tassels; the staminate are about three eighths of an inch in diameter, sulphur-yellow, in showy clusters, giving a remarkably130 rich effect—a brave, hardy131 mountaineer pine, growing cheerily on rough beds of avalanche boulders and joints of rock pavements, as well as in fertile hollows, standing132 up to the waist in snow every winter for centuries, facing a thousand storms and blooming every year in colors as bright as those worn by the sun-drenched trees of the tropics.
A still hardier133 mountaineer is the Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), growing mostly[Pg 164] on domes and ridges and glacier pavements. A thickset, sturdy, picturesque highlander134, seemingly content to live for more than a score of centuries on sunshine and snow; a truly wonderful fellow, dogged endurance expressed in every feature, lasting135 about as long as the granite he stands on. Some are nearly as broad as high. I saw one on the shore of the lake nearly ten feet in diameter, and many six to eight feet. The bark, cinnamon-colored, flakes136 off in long ribbon-like strips with a satiny luster129. Surely the most enduring of all tree mountaineers, it never seems to die a natural death, or even to fall after it has been killed. If protected from accidents, it would perhaps be immortal137. I saw some that had withstood an avalanche from snowy Mount Hoffman cheerily putting out new branches, as if repeating, like Grip, “Never say die.” Some were simply standing on the pavement where no fissure138 more than half an inch wide offered a hold for its roots. The common height for these rock-dwellers is from ten to twenty feet; most of the old ones have broken tops, and are mere139 stumps140, with a few tufted branches, forming picturesque brown pillars on bare pavements, with plenty of elbow-room and a clear view in every direction. On good moraine soil it reaches a height of from forty to[Pg 165] sixty feet, with dense gray foliage. The rings of the trunk are very thin, eighty to an inch of diameter in some specimens I examined. Those ten feet in diameter must be very old—thousands of years. Wish I could live, like these junipers, on sunshine and snow, and stand beside them on the shore of Lake Tenaya for a thousand years. How much I should see, and how delightful99 it would be! Everything in the mountains would find me and come to me, and everything from the heavens like light.
The lake was named for one of the chiefs of the Yosemite tribe. Old Tenaya is said to have been a good Indian to his tribe. When a company of soldiers followed his band into Yosemite to punish them for cattle-stealing and other crimes, they fled to this lake by a trail that leads out of the upper end of the valley, early in the spring, while the snow was still deep; but being pursued, they lost heart and surrendered. A fine monument the old man has in this bright lake, and likely to last a long time, though lakes die as well as Indians, being gradually filled with detritus141 carried in by the feeding streams, and to some extent also by snow avalanches and rain and wind. A considerable portion of the Tenaya basin is already changed into a forested flat and[Pg 166] meadow at the upper end, where the main tributary142 enters from Cathedral Peak. Two other tributaries143 come from the Hoffman Range. The outlet144 flows westward145 through Tenaya Cañon to join the Merced River in Yosemite. Scarce a handful of loose soil is to be seen on the north shore. All is bare, shining granite, suggesting the Indian name of the lake, Pywiack, meaning shining rock. The basin seems to have been slowly excavated146 by the ancient glaciers147, a marvelous work requiring countless148 thousands of years. On the south side an imposing149 mountain rises from the water’s edge to a height of three thousand feet or more, feathered with hemlock and pine; and huge shining domes on the east, over the tops of which the grinding, wasting, molding glacier must have swept as the wind does to-day.
July 28. No cloud mountains, only curly cirrus wisps scarce perceptible, and the want of thunder to strike the noon hour seems strange, as if the Sierra clock had stopped. Have been studying the magnifica fir—measured one near two hundred and forty feet high, the tallest I have yet seen. This species is the most symmetrical of all conifers, but though gigantic in size it seldom lives more than four or five hundred years. Most of the trees die[Pg 167] from the attacks of a fungus150 at the age of two or three centuries. This dry-rot fungus perhaps enters the trunk by way of the stumps of limbs broken off by the snow that loads the broad palmate branches. The younger specimens are marvels151 of symmetry, straight and erect as a plumb-line, their branches in regular level whorls of five mostly, each branch as exact in its divisions as a fern frond152, and thickly covered by the leaves, making a rich plush over all the tree, excepting only the trunk and a small portion of the main limbs. The leaves turn upward, especially on the branchlets, and are stiff and sharp, pointed153 on all the upper portion of the tree. They remain on the tree about eight or ten years, and as the growth is rapid it is not rare to find the leaves still in place on the upper part of the axis where it is three to four inches in diameter, wide apart of course, and their spiral arrangement beautifully displayed. The leaf-scars are conspicuous154 for twenty years or more, but there is a good deal of variation in different trees as to the thickness and sharpness of the leaves.
After the excursion to Mount Hoffman I had seen a complete cross-section of the Sierra forest, and I find that Abies magnifica is the most symmetrical tree of all the noble coniferous company. The cones are grand affairs,[Pg 168] superb in form, size, and color, cylindrical155, stand erect on the upper branches like casks, and are from five to eight inches in length by three or four in diameter, greenish gray, and covered with fine down which has a silvery luster in the sunshine, and their brilliance156 is augmented157 by beads158 of transparent159 balsam which seems to have been poured over each cone36, bringing to mind the old ceremonies of anointing with oil. If possible, the inside of the cone is more beautiful than the outside; the scales, bracts, and seed wings are tinted160 with the loveliest rosy161 purple with a bright lustrous162 iridescence163; the seeds, three fourths of an inch long, are dark brown. When the cones are ripe the scales and bracts fall off, setting the seeds free to fly to their predestined places, while the dead spike-like axes are left on the branches for many years to mark the positions of the vanished cones, excepting those cut off when green by the Douglas squirrel. How he gets his teeth under the broad bases of the sessile cones, I don’t know. Climbing these trees on a sunny day to visit the growing cones and to gaze over the tops of the forest is one of my best enjoyments164.
July 29. Bright, cool, exhilarating. Clouds about .05. Another glorious day of rambling165, sketching166, and universal enjoyment.[Pg 169]
July 30. Clouds .20, but the regular shower did not reach us, though thunder was heard a few miles off striking the noon hour. Ants, flies, and mosquitoes seem to enjoy this fine climate. A few house-flies have discovered our camp. The Sierra mosquitoes are courageous167 and of good size, some of them measuring nearly an inch from tip of sting to tip of folded wings. Though less abundant than in most wildernesses168, they occasionally make quite a hum and stir, and pay but little attention to time or place. They sting anywhere, any time of day, wherever they can find anything worth while, until they are themselves stung by frost. The large, jet-black ants are only ticklish169 and troublesome when one is lying down under the trees. Noticed a borer drilling a silver fir. Ovipositor about an inch and a half in length, polished and straight like a needle. When not in use, it is folded back in a sheath, which extends straight behind like the legs of a crane in flying. This drilling, I suppose, is to save nest building, and the after care of feeding the young. Who would guess that in the brain of a fly so much knowledge could find lodgment? How do they know that their eggs will hatch in such holes, or, after they hatch, that the soft, helpless grubs will find the right sort of nourishment170 in silver fir sap? This domestic[Pg 170] arrangement calls to mind the curious family of gallflies. Each species seems to know what kind of plant will respond to the irritation171 or stimulus172 of the puncture173 it makes and the eggs it lays, in forming a growth that not only answers for a nest and home but also provides food for the young. Probably these gallflies make mistakes at times, like anybody else; but when they do, there is simply a failure of that particular brood, while enough to perpetuate174 the species do find the proper plants and nourishment. Many mistakes of this kind might be made without being discovered by us. Once a pair of wrens175 made the mistake of building a nest in the sleeve of a workman’s coat, which was called for at sundown, much to the consternation176 and discomfiture177 of the birds. Still the marvel91 remains178 that any of the children of such small people as gnats179 and mosquitoes should escape their own and their parents’ mistakes, as well as the vicissitudes180 of the weather and hosts of enemies, and come forth181 in full vigor182 and perfection to enjoy the sunny world. When we think of the small creatures that are visible, we are led to think of many that are smaller still and lead us on and on into infinite mystery.
July 31. Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue;[Pg 171] indeed the body seems one palate, and tingles183 equally throughout. Cloudiness about .05, but our ordinary shower has not yet reached us, though I hear thunder in the distance.
The cheery little chipmunk184, so common about Brown’s Flat, is common here also, and perhaps other species. In their light, airy habits they recall the familiar species of the Eastern States, which we admired in the oak openings of Wisconsin as they skimmed along the zigzag185 rail fences. These Sierra chipmunks186 are more arboreal187 and squirrel-like. I first noticed them on the lower edge of the coniferous belt, where the Sabine and yellow pines meet,—exceedingly interesting little fellows, full of odd, funny ways, and without being true squirrels, have most of their accomplishments188 without their aggressive quarrelsomeness. I never weary watching them as they frisk about in the bushes gathering189 seeds and berries, like song sparrows poising190 daintily on slender twigs191, and making even less stir than most birds of the same size. Few of the Sierra animals interest me more; they are so able, gentle, confiding27, and beautiful, they take one’s heart, and get themselves adopted as darlings. Though weighing hardly more than field mice, they are laborious192 collectors of seeds, nuts, and cones, and are therefore well fed, but never in the least swollen193[Pg 172] with fat or lazily full. On the contrary, of their frisky194, birdlike liveliness there is no end. They have a great variety of notes corresponding with their movements, some sweet and liquid, like water dripping with tinkling195 sounds into pools. They seem dearly to love teasing a dog, coming frequently almost within reach, then frisking away with lively chipping, like sparrows, beating time to their music with their tails, which at each chip describe half circles from side to side. Not even the Douglas squirrel is surer-footed or more fearless. I have seen them running about on sheer precipices196 of the Yosemite walls seemingly holding on with as little effort as flies, and as unconscious of danger, where, if the slightest slip were made, they would have fallen two or three thousand feet. How fine it would be could we mountaineers climb these tremendous cliffs with the same sure grip! The venture I made the other day for a view of the Yosemite Fall, and which tried my nerves so sorely, this little Tamias would have made for an ear of grass.
The woodchuck (Arctomys monax) of the bleak197 mountain-tops is a very different sort of mountaineer—the most bovine198 of rodents199, a heavy eater, fat, aldermanic in bulk and fairly bloated, in his high pastures, like a cow in a clover field. One woodchuck would outweigh200 a[Pg 173] hundred chipmunks, and yet he is by no means a dull animal. In the midst of what we regard as storm-beaten desolation he pipes and whistles right cheerily, and enjoys long life in his skyland homes. His burrow201 is made in disintegrated202 rocks or beneath large boulders. Coming out of his den5 in the cold hoarfrost mornings, he takes a sun-bath on some favorite flat-topped rock, then goes to breakfast in garden hollows, eats grass and flowers until comfortably swollen, then goes a-visiting to fight and play. How long a woodchuck lives in this bracing203 air I don’t know, but some of them are rusty204 and gray like lichen-covered boulders.
August 1. A grand cloudland and five-minute shower, refreshing205 the blessed wilderness, already so fragrant206 and fresh, steeping the black meadow mold and dead leaves like tea.
The waycup, or flicker207, so familiar to every boy in the old Middle West States, is one of the most common of the wood-peckers hereabouts, and makes one feel at home. I can see no difference in plumage or habits from the Eastern species, though the climate here is so different,—a fine, brave, confiding, beautiful bird. The robin208, too, is here, with all his familiar notes and gestures, tripping daintily on open garden spots and high meadows. Over all[Pg 174] America he seems to be at home, moving from the plains to the mountains and from north to south, back and forth, up and down, with the march of the seasons and food supply. How admirable the constitution and temper of this brave singer, keeping in cheery health over so vast and varied a range! Oftentimes, as I wander through these solemn woods, awe-stricken and silent, I hear the reassuring209 voice of this fellow wanderer ringing out, sweet and clear, “Fear not! fear not!”
The mountain quail210 (Oreortyx ricta) I often meet in my walks—a small brown partridge with a very long, slender, ornamental211 crest16 worn jauntily212 like a feather in a boy’s cap, giving it a very marked appearance. This species is considerably213 larger than the valley quail, so common on the hot foothills. They seldom alight in trees, but love to wander in flocks of from five or six to twenty through the ceanothus and manzanita thickets and over open, dry meadows and rocks of the ridges where the forest is less dense or wanting, uttering a low clucking sound to enable them to keep together. When disturbed they rise with a strong birr of wing-beats, and scatter107 as if exploded to a distance of a quarter of a mile or so. After the danger is past they call one another together with a loud piping note—Nature’s beautiful[Pg 175] mountain chickens. I have not yet found their nests. The young of this season are already hatched and away—new broods of happy wanderers half as large as their parents. I wonder how they live through the long winters, when the ground is snow-covered ten feet deep. They must go down towards the lower edge of the forest, like the deer, though I have not heard of them there.
The blue, or dusky, grouse214 is also common here. They like the deepest and closest fir woods, and when disturbed, burst from the branches of the trees with a strong, loud whir of wing-beats, and vanish in a wavering, silent slide, without moving a feather—a stout215, beautiful bird about the size of the prairie chicken of the old west, spending most of the time in the trees, excepting the breeding season, when it keeps to the ground. The young are now able to fly. When scattered by man or dog, they keep still until the danger is supposed to be passed, then the mother calls them together. The chicks can hear the call a distance of several hundred yards, though it is not loud. Should the young be unable to fly, the mother feigns216 desperate lameness217 or death to draw one away, throwing herself at one’s feet within two or three yards, rolling over on her back, kicking and gasping218, so as to de[Pg 176]ceive man or beast. They are said to stay all the year in the woods hereabouts, taking shelter in dense tufted branches of fir and yellow pine during snowstorms, and feeding on the young buds of these trees. Their legs are feathered down to their toes, and I have never heard of their suffering in any sort of weather. Able to live on pine and fir buds, they are forever independent in the matter of food, which troubles so many of us and controls our movements. Gladly, if I could, I would live forever on pine buds, however full of turpentine and pitch, for the sake of this grand independence. Just to think of our sufferings last month merely for grist-mill flour. Man seems to have more difficulty in gaining food than any other of the Lord’s creatures. For many in towns it is a consuming, lifelong struggle; for others, the danger of coming to want is so great, the deadly habit of endless hoarding219 for the future is formed, which smothers220 all real life, and is continued long after every reasonable need has been over-supplied.
On Mount Hoffman I saw a curious dove-colored bird that seemed half woodpecker, half magpie221, or crow. It screams something like a crow, but flies like a woodpecker, and has a long, straight bill, with which I saw it opening the cones of the mountain and white-[Pg 177]barked pines. It seems to keep to the heights, though no doubt it comes down for shelter during winter, if not for food. So far as food is concerned, these bird-mountaineers, I guess, can glean222 nuts enough, even in winter, from the different kinds of conifers; for always there are a few that have been unable to fly out of the cones and remain for hungry winter gleaners.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
ramble
|
|
| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
axis
|
|
| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
majestic
|
|
| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
den
|
|
| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
domes
|
|
| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
dome
|
|
| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
ridges
|
|
| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
ridge
|
|
| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
wondrous
|
|
| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
isolated
|
|
| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
denudation
|
|
| n.剥下；裸露；滥伐；剥蚀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
creeks
|
|
| n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
granite
|
|
| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
crest
|
|
| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
crests
|
|
| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
picturesque
|
|
| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
slates
|
|
| （旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
joints
|
|
| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
masonry
|
|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
scripture
|
|
| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
perennial
|
|
| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
gorges
|
|
| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
gnawing
|
|
| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
azure
|
|
| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
confiding
|
|
| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
confidingly
|
|
| adv.信任地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
shrubby
|
|
| adj.灌木的，灌木一般的，灌木繁茂著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
foliage
|
|
| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
hemlock
|
|
| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
droop
|
|
| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
cone
|
|
| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
cones
|
|
| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
drooping
|
|
| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
revel
|
|
| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
tingle
|
|
| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
translucent
|
|
| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
uncommonly
|
|
| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
dwarf
|
|
| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
dwarfed
|
|
| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
boundless
|
|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
onlooking
|
|
| n.目击，旁观adj.旁观的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
47
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
chilly
|
|
| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
myriads
|
|
| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
tingeing
|
|
| vt.着色，使…带上色彩（tinge的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
51
gravel
|
|
| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
disintegration
|
|
| n.分散，解体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
mica
|
|
| n.云母 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
quartz
|
|
| n.石英 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
hemlocks
|
|
| 由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
57
treasuries
|
|
| n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
sketch
|
|
| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
tingling
|
|
| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
glacier
|
|
| n.冰川，冰河 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
swelling
|
|
| n.肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
shimmering
|
|
| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
northward
|
|
| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
grassy
|
|
| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
boulder
|
|
| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
hardiest
|
|
| 能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的最高级 )； （植物等）耐寒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
groves
|
|
| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
joyous
|
|
| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
avalanche
|
|
| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
joyful
|
|
| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
banishing
|
|
| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
longing
|
|
| n.（for）渴望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
bogs
|
|
| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
wade
|
|
| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
wading
|
|
| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
starry
|
|
| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
boulders
|
|
| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
scoured
|
|
| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
avalanches
|
|
| n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
thickets
|
|
| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
swirling
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
exulting
|
|
| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
marvel
|
|
| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
hitched
|
|
| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
ken
|
|
| n.视野，知识领域 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
margins
|
|
| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
margin
|
|
| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
diversified
|
|
| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
robust
|
|
| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
delightfully
|
|
| 大喜，欣然 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
caulked
|
|
| v.堵（船的）缝( caulk的过去式和过去分词 )；泥…的缝；填塞；使不漏水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
boggy
|
|
| adj.沼泽多的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
willow
|
|
| n.柳树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
scatter
|
|
| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
elastic
|
|
| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
tinting
|
|
| 着色，染色（的阶段或过程） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
profusion
|
|
| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
hilarious
|
|
| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
exuberant
|
|
| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
shrubs
|
|
| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
elevation
|
|
| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
spiry
|
|
| adj.尖端的，尖塔状的，螺旋状的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
119
regularity
|
|
| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
specimens
|
|
| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
specimen
|
|
| n.样本，标本 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
bouquets
|
|
| n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 )；（酒的）芳香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
attain
|
|
| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
protruding
|
|
| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
partially
|
|
| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
resin
|
|
| n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
luster
|
|
| n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
remarkably
|
|
| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
hardy
|
|
| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
hardier
|
|
| 能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的比较级 )； （植物等）耐寒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
highlander
|
|
| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
lasting
|
|
| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
flakes
|
|
| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
immortal
|
|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
fissure
|
|
| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
detritus
|
|
| n.碎石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
tributary
|
|
| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
tributaries
|
|
| n. 支流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
outlet
|
|
| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
excavated
|
|
| v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
glaciers
|
|
| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
imposing
|
|
| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
fungus
|
|
| n.真菌，真菌类植物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
marvels
|
|
| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
frond
|
|
| n.棕榈类植物的叶子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
conspicuous
|
|
| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
cylindrical
|
|
| adj.圆筒形的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
brilliance
|
|
| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
Augmented
|
|
| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
beads
|
|
| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
transparent
|
|
| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
tinted
|
|
| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
rosy
|
|
| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
lustrous
|
|
| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
iridescence
|
|
| n.彩虹色；放光彩；晕色；晕彩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
enjoyments
|
|
| 愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 )； 令人愉快的事物； 享有； 享受 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
rambling
|
|
| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
sketching
|
|
| n.草图 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
courageous
|
|
| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
wildernesses
|
|
| 荒野( wilderness的名词复数 )； 沙漠； （政治家）在野； 不再当政（或掌权） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
ticklish
|
|
| adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
nourishment
|
|
| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
irritation
|
|
| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
stimulus
|
|
| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
puncture
|
|
| n.刺孔，穿孔；v.刺穿，刺破 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
perpetuate
|
|
| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
wrens
|
|
| n.鹪鹩( wren的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
discomfiture
|
|
| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
gnats
|
|
| n.叮人小虫( gnat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
vicissitudes
|
|
| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
vigor
|
|
| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
tingles
|
|
| n.刺痛感( tingle的名词复数 )v.有刺痛感( tingle的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
chipmunk
|
|
| n.花栗鼠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
zigzag
|
|
| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
chipmunks
|
|
| n.金花鼠( chipmunk的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
187
arboreal
|
|
| adj.树栖的；树的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
accomplishments
|
|
| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
poising
|
|
| 使平衡( poise的现在分词 )； 保持（某种姿势）； 抓紧； 使稳定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
twigs
|
|
| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
laborious
|
|
| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
swollen
|
|
| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
frisky
|
|
| adj.活泼的，欢闹的；n.活泼，闹着玩；adv.活泼地，闹着玩地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
tinkling
|
|
| n.丁当作响声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
precipices
|
|
| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
bleak
|
|
| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
bovine
|
|
| adj.牛的；n.牛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
rodents
|
|
| n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
outweigh
|
|
| vt.比...更重，...更重要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
burrow
|
|
| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
disintegrated
|
|
| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
bracing
|
|
| adj.令人振奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
rusty
|
|
| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
refreshing
|
|
| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
flicker
|
|
| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
robin
|
|
| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
quail
|
|
| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
ornamental
|
|
| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
jauntily
|
|
| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
grouse
|
|
| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
feigns
|
|
| 假装，伪装( feign的第三人称单数 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
lameness
|
|
| n. 跛, 瘸, 残废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
gasping
|
|
| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
hoarding
|
|
| n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
smothers
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的第三人称单数 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
221
magpie
|
|
| n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
glean
|
|
| v.收集(消息、资料、情报等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |