Having given vent1 to my resentment2, I left Mr. Spurrel motionless, and unable to utter a word. Gines and his companion attended me. It is unnecessary to repeat all the insolence3 of this man. He alternately triumphed in the completion of his revenge, and regretted the loss of the reward to the shrivelled old curmudgeon4 we had just quitted, whom however he swore he would cheat of it by one means or another. He claimed to himself the ingenuity5 of having devised the halfpenny legend, the thought of which was all his own, and was an expedient6 that was impossible to fail. There was neither law nor justice, he said, to be had, if Hunks who had done nothing were permitted to pocket the cash, and his merit were left undistinguished and pennyless.
I paid but little attention to his story. It struck upon my sense, and I was able to recollect7 it at my nearest leisure, though I thought not of it at the time. For the present I was busily employed, reflecting on my new situation, and the conduct to be observed in it. The thought of suicide had twice, in moments of uncommon8 despair, suggested itself to my mind; but it was far from my habitual9 meditations10. At present, and in all cases where death was immediately threatened me from the injustice11 of others, I felt myself disposed to contend to the last.
My prospects12 were indeed sufficiently13 gloomy and discouraging. How much labour had I exerted, first to extricate14 myself from prison, and next to evade15 the diligence of my pursuers; and the result of all, to be brought back to the point from which I began! I had gained fame indeed, the miserable16 fame to have my story bawled17 forth18 by hawkers and ballad-mongers, to have my praises as an active and enterprising villain19 celebrated20 among footmen and chambermaids; but I was neither an Erostratus nor an Alexander, to die contented21 with that species of eulogium. With respect to all that was solid, what chance could I find in new exertions22 of a similar nature? Never was a human creature pursued by enemies more inventive or envenomed. I could have small hope that they would ever cease their persecution23, or that my future attempts would be crowned with a more desirable issue.
They were considerations like these that dictated24 my resolution. My mind had been gradually weaning from Mr. Falkland, till its feeling rose to something like abhorrence25. I had long cherished a reverence26 for him, which not even animosity and subornation on his part could utterly27 destroy. But I now ascribed a character so inhumanly28 sanguinary to his mind; I saw something so fiend-like in the thus hunting me round the world, and determining to be satisfied with nothing less than my blood, while at the same time he knew my innocence29, my indisposition to mischief30, nay31, I might add, my virtues32; that henceforth I trampled33 reverence and the recollection of former esteem35 under my feet. I lost all regard to his intellectual greatness, and all pity for the agonies of his soul. I also would abjure36 forbearance. I would show myself bitter and inflexible37 as he had done. Was it wise in him to drive me into extremity38 and madness? Had he no fears for his own secret and atrocious offences?
I had been obliged to spend the remainder of the night upon which I had been apprehended39, in prison. During the interval40 I had thrown off every vestige41 of disguise, and appeared the next morning in my own person. I was of course easily identified; and, this being the whole with which the magistrates43 before whom I now stood thought themselves concerned, they were proceeding44 to make out an order for my being conducted back to my own county. I suspended the despatch45 of this measure by observing that I had something to disclose. This is an overture46 to which men appointed for the administration of criminal justice never fail to attend.
I went before the magistrates, to whose office Gines and his comrade conducted me, fully47 determined48 to publish those astonishing secrets of which I had hitherto been the faithful depository; and, once for all, to turn the tables upon my accuser. It was time that the real criminal should be the sufferer, and not that innocence should for ever labour under the oppression of guilt49.
I said that “I had always protested my innocence, and must now repeat the protest.”
“In that case,” retorted the senior magistrate42 abruptly50, “what can you have to disclose? If you are innocent, that is no business of ours! We act officially.”
“I always declared,” continued I, “that I was the perpetrator of no guilt, but that the guilt wholly belonged to my accuser. He privately51 conveyed these effects among my property, and then charged me with the robbery. I now declare more than that, that this man is a murderer, that I detected his criminality, and that, for that reason, he is determined to deprive me of life. I presume, gentlemen, that you do consider it as your business to take this declaration. I am persuaded you will be by no means disposed, actively52 or passively, to contribute to the atrocious injustice under which I suffer, to the imprisonment54 and condemnation55 of an innocent man, in order that a murderer may go free. I suppressed this story as long as I could. I was extremely averse56 to be the author of the unhappiness or the death of a human being. But all patience and submission57 have their limits.”
“Give me leave, sir,” rejoined the magistrate, with an air of affected58 moderation, “to ask you two questions. Were you any way aiding, abetting59, or contributing to this murder?”
“No.”
“And pray, sir, who is this Mr. Falkland? and what may have been the nature of your connection with him?”
“Mr. Falkland is a gentleman of six thousand per annum. I lived with him as his secretary.”
“In other words, you were his servant?”
“As you please.”
“Very well, sir; that is quite enough for me. First, I have to tell you, as a magistrate, that I can have nothing to do with your declaration. If you had been concerned in the murder you talk of, that would alter the case. But it is out of all reasonable rule for a magistrate to take an information from a felon60, except against his accomplices61. Next, I think it right to observe to you, in my own proper person, that you appear to me to be the most impudent62 rascal63 I ever saw. Why, are you such an ass53 as to suppose, that the sort of story you have been telling, can be of any service to you, either here or at the assizes, or any where else? A fine time of it indeed it would be, if, when gentlemen of six thousand a year take up their servants for robbing them, those servants could trump64 up such accusations65 as these, and could get any magistrate or court of justice to listen to them! Whether or no the felony with which you stand charged would have brought you to the gallows67, I will not pretend to say: but I am sure this story will. There would be a speedy end to all order and good government, if fellows that trample34 upon ranks and distinctions in this atrocious sort were upon any consideration suffered to get off.”
“And do you refuse, sir, to attend to the particulars of the charge I allege68?”
“Yes, sir, I do.— But, if I did not, pray what witnesses have you of the murder?”
This question staggered me.
“None. But I believe I can make out a circumstantial proof, of a nature to force attention from the most indifferent hearer.”
“So I thought.— Officers, take him from the bar!”
Such was the success of this ultimate resort on my part, upon which I had built with such undoubting confidence. Till now, I had conceived that the unfavourable situation in which I was placed was prolonged by my own forbearance; and I had determined to endure all that human nature could support, rather than have recourse to this extreme recrimination. That idea secretly consoled me under all my calamities69: it was a voluntary sacrifice, and was cheerfully made. I thought myself allied70 to the army of martyrs71 and confessors; I applauded my fortitude72 and self-denial; and I pleased myself with the idea, that I had the power, though I hoped never to employ it, by an unrelenting display of my resources, to put an end at once to my sufferings and persecutions.
And this at last was the justice of mankind! A man, under certain circumstances, shall not be heard in the detection of a crime, because he has not been a participator of it! The story of a flagitious murder shall be listened to with indifference73, while an innocent man is hunted, like a wild beast, to the furthest corners of the earth! Six thousand a year shall protect a man from accusation66; and the validity of an impeachment74 shall be superseded75, because the author of it is a servant!
I was conducted back to the very prison from which a few months before I had made my escape. With a bursting heart I entered those walls, compelled to feel that all my more than Herculean labours served for my own torture, and for no other end. Since my escape from prison I had acquired some knowledge of the world; I had learned by bitter experience, by how many links society had a hold upon me, and how closely the snares76 of despotism beset77 me. I no longer beheld78 the world, as my youthful fancy had once induced me to do, as a scene in which to hide or to appear, and to exhibit the freaks of a wanton vivacity79. I saw my whole species as ready, in one mode or other, to be made the instruments of the tyrant80. Hope died away in the bottom of my heart. Shut up for the first night in my dungeon81, I was seized at intervals82 with temporary frenzy83. From time to time, I rent the universal silence with the roarings of unsupportable despair. But this was a transient distraction84. I soon returned to the sober recollection of myself and my miseries85.
My prospects were more gloomy, and my situation apparently86 more irremediable, than ever. I was exposed again, if that were of any account, to the insolence and tyranny that are uniformly exercised within those walls. Why should I repeat the loathsome87 tale of all that was endured by me, and is endured by every man who is unhappy enough to fall under the government of these consecrated88 ministers of national jurisprudence? The sufferings I had already experienced, my anxieties, my flight, the perpetual expectation of being discovered, worse than the discovery itself, would perhaps have been enough to satisfy the most insensible individual, in the court of his own conscience, if I had even been the felon I was pretended to be. But the law has neither eyes, nor ears, nor bowels89 of humanity; and it turns into marble the hearts of all those that are nursed in its principles.
I however once more recovered my spirit of determination. I resolved that, while I had life, I would never be deserted90 by this spirit. Oppressed, annihilated91 I might be; but, if I died, I would die resisting. What use, what advantage, what pleasurable sentiment, could arise from a tame surrender? There is no man that is ignorant, that to humble92 yourself at the feet of the law is a bootless task; in her courts there is no room for amendment93 and reformation.
My fortitude may to some persons appear above the standard of human nature. But if I draw back the veil from my heart they will readily confess their mistake. My heart bled at every pore. My resolution was not the calm sentiment of philosophy and reason. It was a gloomy and desperate purpose: the creature, not of hope, but of a mind austerely94 held to its design, that felt, as it were, satisfied with the naked effort, and prepared to give success or miscarriage95 to the winds. It was to this miserable condition, which might awaken96 sympathy in the most hardened bosom97, that Mr. Falkland had reduced me.
In the mean time, strange as it may seem, here, in prison, subject to innumerable hardships, and in the assured expectation of a sentence of death, I recovered my health. I ascribe this to the state of my mind, which was now changed, from perpetual anxiety, terror, and alarm, the too frequent inmates98 of a prison, but which I upon this occasion did not seem to bring along with me, to a desperate firmness.
I anticipated the event of my trial. I determined once more to escape from my prison; nor did I doubt of my ability to effect at least this first step towards my future preservation99. The assizes however were near, and there were certain considerations, unnecessary to be detailed100, that persuaded me there might be benefit in waiting till my trial should actually be terminated, before I made my attempt.
It stood upon the list as one of the latest to be brought forward. I was therefore extremely surprised to find it called out of its order, early on the morning of the second day. But, if this were unexpected, how much greater was my astonishment101, when my prosecutor102 was called, to find neither Mr. Falkland, nor Mr. Forester, nor a single individual of any description, appear against me! The recognizances into which my prosecutors103 had entered were declared to be forfeited104; and I was dismissed without further impediment from the bar.
The effect which this incredible reverse produced upon my mind it is impossible to express. I, who had come to that bar with the sentence of death already in idea ringing in my ears, to be told that I was free to transport myself whithersoever I pleased! Was it for this that I had broken through so many locks and bolts, and the adamantine walls of my prison; that I had passed so many anxious days, and sleepless105, spectre-haunted nights; that I had racked my invention for expedients106 of evasion107 and concealment108; that my mind had been roused to an energy of which I could scarcely have believed it capable; that my existence had been enthralled109 to an ever-living torment110, such as I could scarcely have supposed it in man to endure? Great God! what is man? Is he thus blind to the future, thus totally unsuspecting of what is to occur in the next moment of his existence? I have somewhere read, that heaven in mercy hides from us the future incidents of our life. My own experience does not well accord with this assertion. In this instance at least I should have been saved from insupportable labour and undescribable anguish111, could I have foreseen the catastrophe112 of this most interesting transaction.
1 vent | |
n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄 | |
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2 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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3 insolence | |
n.傲慢;无礼;厚颜;傲慢的态度 | |
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4 curmudgeon | |
n. 脾气暴躁之人,守财奴,吝啬鬼 | |
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5 ingenuity | |
n.别出心裁;善于发明创造 | |
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6 expedient | |
adj.有用的,有利的;n.紧急的办法,权宜之计 | |
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7 recollect | |
v.回忆,想起,记起,忆起,记得 | |
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8 uncommon | |
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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9 habitual | |
adj.习惯性的;通常的,惯常的 | |
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10 meditations | |
默想( meditation的名词复数 ); 默念; 沉思; 冥想 | |
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11 injustice | |
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
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12 prospects | |
n.希望,前途(恒为复数) | |
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13 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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14 extricate | |
v.拯救,救出;解脱 | |
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15 evade | |
vt.逃避,回避;避开,躲避 | |
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16 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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17 bawled | |
v.大叫,大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 );放声大哭;大声叫出;叫卖(货物) | |
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18 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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19 villain | |
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 | |
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20 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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21 contented | |
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的 | |
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22 exertions | |
n.努力( exertion的名词复数 );费力;(能力、权力等的)运用;行使 | |
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23 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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24 dictated | |
v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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25 abhorrence | |
n.憎恶;可憎恶的事 | |
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26 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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27 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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28 inhumanly | |
adv.无人情味地,残忍地 | |
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29 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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30 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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31 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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32 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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33 trampled | |
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯 | |
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34 trample | |
vt.踩,践踏;无视,伤害,侵犯 | |
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35 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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36 abjure | |
v.发誓放弃 | |
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37 inflexible | |
adj.不可改变的,不受影响的,不屈服的 | |
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38 extremity | |
n.末端,尽头;尽力;终极;极度 | |
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39 apprehended | |
逮捕,拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 ); 理解 | |
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40 interval | |
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
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41 vestige | |
n.痕迹,遗迹,残余 | |
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42 magistrate | |
n.地方行政官,地方法官,治安官 | |
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43 magistrates | |
地方法官,治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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44 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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45 despatch | |
n./v.(dispatch)派遣;发送;n.急件;新闻报道 | |
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46 overture | |
n.前奏曲、序曲,提议,提案,初步交涉 | |
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47 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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48 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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49 guilt | |
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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50 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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51 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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52 actively | |
adv.积极地,勤奋地 | |
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53 ass | |
n.驴;傻瓜,蠢笨的人 | |
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54 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
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55 condemnation | |
n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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56 averse | |
adj.厌恶的;反对的,不乐意的 | |
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57 submission | |
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
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58 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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59 abetting | |
v.教唆(犯罪)( abet的现在分词 );煽动;怂恿;支持 | |
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60 felon | |
n.重罪犯;adj.残忍的 | |
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61 accomplices | |
从犯,帮凶,同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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62 impudent | |
adj.鲁莽的,卑鄙的,厚颜无耻的 | |
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63 rascal | |
n.流氓;不诚实的人 | |
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64 trump | |
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭 | |
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65 accusations | |
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名 | |
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66 accusation | |
n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
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67 gallows | |
n.绞刑架,绞台 | |
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68 allege | |
vt.宣称,申述,主张,断言 | |
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69 calamities | |
n.灾祸,灾难( calamity的名词复数 );不幸之事 | |
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70 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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71 martyrs | |
n.martyr的复数形式;烈士( martyr的名词复数 );殉道者;殉教者;乞怜者(向人诉苦以博取同情) | |
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72 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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73 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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74 impeachment | |
n.弹劾;控告;怀疑 | |
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75 superseded | |
[医]被代替的,废弃的 | |
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76 snares | |
n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 );圈套;诱人遭受失败(丢脸、损失等)的东西;诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉,诱陷,陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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77 beset | |
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围 | |
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78 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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79 vivacity | |
n.快活,活泼,精神充沛 | |
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80 tyrant | |
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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81 dungeon | |
n.地牢,土牢 | |
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82 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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83 frenzy | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
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84 distraction | |
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 | |
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85 miseries | |
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 );痛苦的事;穷困;常发牢骚的人 | |
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86 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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87 loathsome | |
adj.讨厌的,令人厌恶的 | |
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88 consecrated | |
adj.神圣的,被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣,给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 );奉献 | |
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89 bowels | |
n.肠,内脏,内部;肠( bowel的名词复数 );内部,最深处 | |
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90 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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91 annihilated | |
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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92 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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93 amendment | |
n.改正,修正,改善,修正案 | |
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94 austerely | |
adv.严格地,朴质地 | |
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95 miscarriage | |
n.失败,未达到预期的结果;流产 | |
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96 awaken | |
vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
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97 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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98 inmates | |
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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99 preservation | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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100 detailed | |
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的 | |
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101 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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102 prosecutor | |
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人 | |
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103 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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104 forfeited | |
(因违反协议、犯规、受罚等)丧失,失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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105 sleepless | |
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的 | |
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106 expedients | |
n.应急有效的,权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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107 evasion | |
n.逃避,偷漏(税) | |
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108 concealment | |
n.隐藏, 掩盖,隐瞒 | |
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109 enthralled | |
迷住,吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 ); 使感到非常愉快 | |
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110 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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111 anguish | |
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼 | |
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112 catastrophe | |
n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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