The old men say their fathers told them that soon after the fields were left to themselves a change began to be visible. It became green everywhere in the first spring, after London ended, so that all the country looked alike.
The meadows were green, and so was the rising wheat which had been sown, but which neither had nor would receive any further care. Such arable1 fields as had not been sown, but where the last stubble had been ploughed up, were overrun with couch-grass, and where the short stubble had not been ploughed, the weeds hid it. So that there was no place which was not more or less green; the footpaths2 were the greenest of all, for such is the nature of grass where it has once been trodden on, and by-and-by, as the summer came on, the former roads were thinly covered with the grass that had spread out from the margin3.
In the autumn, as the meadows were not mown, the grass withered4 as it stood, falling this way and that, as the wind had blown it; the seeds dropped, and the bennets became a greyish-white, or, where the docks and sorrel were thick, a brownish-red. The wheat, after it had ripened5, there being no one to reap it, also remained standing6, and was eaten by clouds of sparrows, rooks, and pigeons, which flocked to it and were undisturbed, feasting at their pleasure. As the winter came on, the crops were beaten down by the storms, soaked with rain, and trodden upon by herds7 of animals.
Next summer the prostrate8 straw of the preceding year was concealed9 by the young green wheat and barley10 that sprang up from the grain sown by dropping from the ears, and by quantities of docks, thistles, oxeye daisies, and similar plants. This matted mass grew up through the bleached11 straw. Charlock, too, hid the rotting roots in the fields under a blaze of yellow flower. The young spring meadow-grass could scarcely push its way up through the long dead grass and bennets of the year previous, but docks and thistles, sorrel, wild carrots, and nettles12, found no such difficulty.
Footpaths were concealed by the second year, but roads could be traced, though as green as the sward, and were still the best for walking, because the tangled13 wheat and weeds, and, in the meadows, the long grass, caught the feet of those who tried to pass through. Year by year the original crops of wheat, barley, oats, and beans asserted their presence by shooting up, but in gradually diminished force, as nettles and coarser plants, such as the wild parsnips, spread out into the fields from the ditches and choked them.
Aquatic14 grasses from the furrows15 and water-carriers extended in the meadows, and, with the rushes, helped to destroy or take the place of the former sweet herbage. Meanwhile, the brambles, which grew very fast, had pushed forward their prickly runners farther and farther from the hedges till they had now reached ten or fifteen yards. The briars had followed, and the hedges had widened to three or four times their first breadth, the fields being equally contracted. Starting from all sides at once, these brambles and briars in the course of about twenty years met in the centre of the largest fields.
Hawthorn16 bushes sprang up among them, and, protected by the briars and thorns from grazing animals, the suckers of elm-trees rose and flourished. Sapling ashes, oaks, sycamores, and horse-chestnuts, lifted their heads. Of old time the cattle would have eaten off the seed leaves with the grass so soon as they were out of the ground, but now most of the acorns17 that were dropped by birds, and the keys that were wafted18 by the wind, twirling as they floated, took root and grew into trees. By this time the brambles and briars had choked up and blocked the former roads, which were as impassable as the fields.
No fields, indeed, remained, for where the ground was dry, the thorns, briars, brambles, and saplings already mentioned filled the space, and these thickets19 and the young trees had converted most part of the country into an immense forest. Where the ground was naturally moist, and the drains had become choked with willow20 roots, which, when confined in tubes, grow into a mass like the brush of a fox, sedges and flags and rushes covered it. Thorn bushes were there, too, but not so tall; they were hung with lichen21. Besides the flags and reeds, vast quantities of the tallest cow-parsnips or “gicks” rose five or six feet high, and the willow herb with its stout22 stem, almost as woody as a shrub23, filled every approach.
By the thirtieth year there was not one single open place, the hills only excepted, where a man could walk, unless he followed the tracks of wild creatures or cut himself a path. The ditches, of course, had long since become full of leaves and dead branches, so that the water which should have run off down them stagnated24, and presently spread out into the hollow places and by the corner of what had once been fields, forming marshes26 where the horsetails, flags, and sedges hid the water.
As no care was taken with the brooks27, the hatches upon them gradually rotted, and the force of the winter rains carried away the weak timbers, flooding the lower grounds, which became swamps of larger size. The dams, too, were drilled by water-rats, and the streams percolating28 through, slowly increased the size of these tunnels till the structure burst, and the current swept on and added to the floods below. Mill-dams stood longer, but, as the ponds silted29 up, the current flowed round and even through the mill-houses, which, going by degrees to ruin, were in some cases undermined till they fell.
Everywhere the lower lands adjacent to the streams had become marshes, some of them extending for miles in a winding30 line, and occasionally spreading out to a mile in breadth. This was particularly the case where brooks and streams of some volume joined the rivers, which were also blocked and obstructed31 in their turn, and the two, overflowing32, covered the country around; for the rivers brought down trees and branches, timbers floated from the shore, and all kinds of similar materials, which grounded in the shallows or caught against snags, and formed huge piles where there had been weirs34.
Sometimes, after great rains, these piles swept away the timbers of the weir33, driven by the irresistible35 power of the water, and then in its course the flood, carrying the balks36 before it like battering37 rams38, cracked and split the bridges of solid stone which the ancients had built. These and the iron bridges likewise were overthrown39, and presently quite disappeared, for the very foundations were covered with the sand and gravel40 silted up.
Thus, too, the sites of many villages and towns that anciently existed along the rivers, or on the lower lands adjoining, were concealed by the water and the mud it brought with it. The sedges and reeds that arose completed the work and left nothing visible, so that the mighty41 buildings of olden days were by these means utterly42 buried. And, as has been proved by those who have dug for treasures, in our time the very foundations are deep beneath the earth, and not to be got at for the water that oozes43 into the shafts44 that they have tried to sink through the sand and mud banks.
From an elevation45, therefore, there was nothing visible but endless forest and marsh25. On the level ground and plains the view was limited to a short distance, because of the thickets and the saplings which had now become young trees. The downs only were still partially46 open, yet it was not convenient to walk upon them except in the tracks of animals, because of the long grass which, being no more regularly grazed upon by sheep, as was once the case, grew thick and tangled. Furze, too, and heath covered the slopes, and in places vast quantities of fern. There had always been copses of fir and beech47 and nut-tree covers, and these increased and spread, while bramble, briar, and hawthorn extended around them.
By degrees the trees of the vale seemed as it were to invade and march up the hills, and, as we see in our time, in many places the downs are hidden altogether with a stunted48 kind of forest. But all the above happened in the time of the first generation. Besides these things a great physical change took place; but before I speak of that, it will be best to relate what effects were produced upon animals and men.
In the first years after the fields were left to themselves, the fallen and over-ripe corn crops became the resort of innumerable mice. They swarmed49 to an incredible degree, not only devouring50 the grain upon the straw that had never been cut, but clearing out every single ear in the wheat-ricks that were standing about the country. Nothing remained in these ricks but straw, pierced with tunnels and runs, the home and breeding-place of mice, which thence poured forth51 into the fields. Such grain as had been left in barns and granaries, in mills, and in warehouses52 of the deserted53 towns, disappeared in the same manner.
When men tried to raise crops in small gardens and enclosures for their sustenance55, these legions of mice rushed in and destroyed the produce of their labour. Nothing could keep them out, and if a score were killed, a hundred more supplied their place. These mice were preyed56 upon by kestrel hawks57, owls58, and weasels; but at first they made little or no appreciable59 difference. In a few years, however, the weasels, having such a superabundance of food, trebled in numbers, and in the same way the hawks, owls, and foxes increased. There was then some relief, but even now at intervals60 districts are invaded, and the granaries and the standing corn suffer from these depredations61.
This does not happen every year, but only at intervals, for it is noticed that mice abound62 very much more in some seasons than others. The extraordinary multiplication63 of these creatures was the means of providing food for the cats that had been abandoned in the towns, and came forth into the country in droves. Feeding on the mice, they became, in a very short time, quite wild, and their descendants now roam the forest.
In our houses we still have several varieties of the domestic cat, such as the tortoise-shell, which is the most prized, but when the above-mentioned cats became wild, after a while the several varieties disappeared, and left but one wild kind. Those which are now so often seen in the forest, and which do so much mischief64 about houses and enclosures, are almost all greyish, some being striped, and they are also much longer in the body than the tame. A few are jet black; their skins are then preferred by hunters.
Though the forest cat retires from the sight of man as much as possible, yet it is extremely fierce in defence of its young, and instances have been known where travellers in the woods have been attacked upon unwittingly approaching their dens54. Dropping from the boughs65 of a tree upon the shoulders, the creature flies at the face, inflicting66 deep scratches and bites, exceedingly painful, and sometimes dangerous, from the tendency to fester. But such cases are rare, and the reason the forest cat is so detested67 is because it preys68 upon fowls69 and poultry70, mounting with ease the trees or places where they roost.
Almost worse than the mice were the rats, which came out of the old cities in such vast numbers that the people who survived and saw them are related to have fled in fear. This terror, however, did not last so long as the evil of the mice, for the rats, probably not finding sufficient food when together, scattered71 abroad, and were destroyed singly by the cats and dogs, who slew72 them by thousands, far more than they could afterwards eat, so that the carcases were left to decay. It is said that, overcome with hunger, these armies of rats in some cases fell upon each other, and fed on their own kindred. They are still numerous, but do not appear to do the same amount of damage as is occasionally caused by the mice, when the latter invade the cultivated lands.
The dogs, of course, like the cats, were forced by starvation into the fields, where they perished in incredible numbers. Of many species of dogs which are stated to have been plentiful73 among the ancients, we have now nothing but the name. The poodle is extinct, the Maltese terrier, the Pomeranian, the Italian greyhound, and, it is believed, great numbers of crosses and mongrels have utterly disappeared. There was none to feed them, and they could not find food for themselves, nor could they stand the rigour of the winter when exposed to the frost in the open air.
Some kinds, more hardy74 and fitted by nature for the chase, became wild, and their descendants are now found in the woods. Of these, there are three sorts which keep apart from each other, and are thought not to interbreed. The most numerous are the black. The black wood-dog is short and stoutly75 made, with shaggy hair, sometimes marked with white patches.
There can be no doubt that it is the descendant of the ancient sheep-dog, for it is known that the sheep-dog was of that character, and it is said that those who used to keep sheep soon found their dogs abandon the fold, and join the wild troops that fell upon the sheep. The black wood-dogs hunt in packs of ten or more (as many as forty have been counted), and are the pest of the farmer, for, unless his flocks are protected at night within stockades76 or enclosures, they are certain to be attacked. Not satisfied with killing77 enough to satisfy hunger, these dogs tear and mangle78 for sheer delight of blood, and will destroy twenty times as many as they can eat, leaving the miserably79 torn carcases on the field. Nor are the sheep always safe by day if the wood-dogs happen to be hungry. The shepherd is, therefore, usually accompanied by two or three mastiffs, of whose great size and strength the others stand in awe80. At night, and when in large packs, starving in the snow, not even the mastiffs can check them.
No wood-dog, of any kind, has ever been known to attack man, and the hunter in the forest hears their bark in every direction without fear. It is, nevertheless, best to retire out of their way when charging sheep in packs, for they then seem seized with a blind fury, and some who have endeavoured to fight them have been thrown down and seriously mauled. But this has been in the blindness of their rush; no instance has ever been known of their purposely attacking man.
These black wood-dogs will also chase and finally pull down cattle, if they can get within the enclosures, and even horses have fallen victims to their untiring thirst for blood. Not even the wild cattle can always escape, despite their strength, and they have been known to run down stags, though not their usual quarry81.
The next kind of wild wood-dog is the yellow, a smaller animal, with smooth hair inclining to a yellow colour, which lives principally upon game, chasing all, from the hare to the stag. It is as swift, or nearly as swift, as the greyhound, and possesses greater endurance. In coursing the hare, it not uncommonly82 happens that these dogs start from the brake and take the hare, when nearly exhausted83, from the hunter’s hounds. They will in the same way follow a stag, which has been almost run down by the hunters, and bring him to bay, though in this case they lose their booty, dispersing84 through fear of man, when the hunters come up in a body.
But such is their love of the chase, that they are known to assemble from their lairs85 at the distant sound of the horn, and, as the hunters ride through the woods, they often see the yellow dogs flitting along side by side with them through bush and fern. These animals sometimes hunt singly, sometimes in couples, and as the season advances, and winter approaches, in packs of eight or twelve. They never attack sheep or cattle, and avoid man, except when they perceive he is engaged in the chase. There is little doubt that they are the descendants of the dogs which the ancients called lurchers, crossed, perhaps, with the greyhound, and possibly other breeds. When the various species of dogs were thrown on their own resources, those only withstood the exposure and hardships which were naturally hardy, and possessed86 natural aptitude87 for the chase.
The third species of wood-dog is the white. They are low on the legs, of a dingy88 white colour, and much smaller than the other two. They neither attack cattle nor game, though fond of hunting rabbits. This dog is, in fact, a scavenger89, living upon the carcases of dead sheep and animals, which are found picked clean in the night. For this purpose it haunts the neighbourhood of habitations, and prowls in the evening over heaps of refuse, scampering90 away at the least alarm, for it is extremely timid.
It is perfectly91 harmless, for even the poultry do not dread92 it, and it will not face a tame cat, if by chance the two meet. It is rarely met with far from habitations, though it will accompany an army on the march. It may be said to remain in one district. The black and yellow dogs, on the contrary, roam about the forest without apparent home. One day the hunter sees signs of their presence, and perhaps may, for a month afterwards, not so much as hear a bark.
This uncertainty93 in the case of the black dog is the bane of the shepherds; for, not seeing or hearing anything of the enemy for months altogether, in spite of former experience their vigilance relaxes, and suddenly, while they sleep, their flocks are scattered. We still have, among tame dogs, the mastiff, terrier, spaniel, deerhound, and greyhound, all of which are as faithful to man as ever.
1 arable | |
adj.可耕的,适合种植的 | |
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2 footpaths | |
人行小径,人行道( footpath的名词复数 ) | |
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3 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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4 withered | |
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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5 ripened | |
v.成熟,使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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7 herds | |
兽群( herd的名词复数 ); 牧群; 人群; 群众 | |
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8 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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9 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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10 barley | |
n.大麦,大麦粒 | |
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11 bleached | |
漂白的,晒白的,颜色变浅的 | |
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12 nettles | |
n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
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13 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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14 aquatic | |
adj.水生的,水栖的 | |
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15 furrows | |
n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 );(脸上的)皱纹v.犁田,开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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16 hawthorn | |
山楂 | |
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17 acorns | |
n.橡子,栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
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18 wafted | |
v.吹送,飘送,(使)浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19 thickets | |
n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 );丛状物 | |
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20 willow | |
n.柳树 | |
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21 lichen | |
n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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23 shrub | |
n.灌木,灌木丛 | |
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24 stagnated | |
v.停滞,不流动,不发展( stagnate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25 marsh | |
n.沼泽,湿地 | |
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26 marshes | |
n.沼泽,湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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27 brooks | |
n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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28 percolating | |
n.渗透v.滤( percolate的现在分词 );渗透;(思想等)渗透;渗入 | |
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29 silted | |
v.(河流等)为淤泥淤塞( silt的过去式和过去分词 );(使)淤塞 | |
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30 winding | |
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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31 obstructed | |
阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 ); 堵塞; 阻碍; 阻止 | |
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32 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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33 weir | |
n.堰堤,拦河坝 | |
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34 weirs | |
n.堰,鱼梁(指拦截游鱼的枝条篱)( weir的名词复数 ) | |
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35 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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36 balks | |
v.畏缩不前,犹豫( balk的第三人称单数 );(指马)不肯跑 | |
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37 battering | |
n.用坏,损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 ) | |
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38 rams | |
n.公羊( ram的名词复数 );(R-)白羊(星)座;夯;攻城槌v.夯实(土等)( ram的第三人称单数 );猛撞;猛压;反复灌输 | |
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39 overthrown | |
adj. 打翻的,推倒的,倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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40 gravel | |
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石 | |
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41 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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42 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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43 oozes | |
v.(浓液等)慢慢地冒出,渗出( ooze的第三人称单数 );使(液体)缓缓流出;(浓液)渗出,慢慢流出 | |
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44 shafts | |
n.轴( shaft的名词复数 );(箭、高尔夫球棒等的)杆;通风井;一阵(疼痛、害怕等) | |
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45 elevation | |
n.高度;海拔;高地;上升;提高 | |
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46 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
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47 beech | |
n.山毛榉;adj.山毛榉的 | |
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48 stunted | |
adj.矮小的;发育迟缓的 | |
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49 swarmed | |
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 ); 云集; 成群地移动; 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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50 devouring | |
吞没( devour的现在分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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51 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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52 warehouses | |
仓库,货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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53 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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54 dens | |
n.牙齿,齿状部分;兽窝( den的名词复数 );窝点;休息室;书斋 | |
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55 sustenance | |
n.食物,粮食;生活资料;生计 | |
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56 preyed | |
v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 );掠食;折磨;(人)靠欺诈为生 | |
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57 hawks | |
鹰( hawk的名词复数 ); 鹰派人物,主战派人物 | |
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58 owls | |
n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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59 appreciable | |
adj.明显的,可见的,可估量的,可觉察的 | |
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60 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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61 depredations | |
n.劫掠,毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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62 abound | |
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于 | |
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63 multiplication | |
n.增加,增多,倍增;增殖,繁殖;乘法 | |
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64 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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65 boughs | |
大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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66 inflicting | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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67 detested | |
v.憎恶,嫌恶,痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68 preys | |
v.掠食( prey的第三人称单数 );掠食;折磨;(人)靠欺诈为生 | |
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69 fowls | |
鸟( fowl的名词复数 ); 禽肉; 既不是这; 非驴非马 | |
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70 poultry | |
n.家禽,禽肉 | |
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71 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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72 slew | |
v.(使)旋转;n.大量,许多 | |
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73 plentiful | |
adj.富裕的,丰富的 | |
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74 hardy | |
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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75 stoutly | |
adv.牢固地,粗壮的 | |
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76 stockades | |
n.(防御用的)栅栏,围桩( stockade的名词复数 ) | |
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77 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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78 mangle | |
vt.乱砍,撕裂,破坏,毁损,损坏,轧布 | |
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79 miserably | |
adv.痛苦地;悲惨地;糟糕地;极度地 | |
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80 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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81 quarry | |
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找 | |
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82 uncommonly | |
adv. 稀罕(极,非常) | |
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83 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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84 dispersing | |
adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式 | |
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85 lairs | |
n.(野兽的)巢穴,窝( lair的名词复数 );(人的)藏身处 | |
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86 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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87 aptitude | |
n.(学习方面的)才能,资质,天资 | |
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88 dingy | |
adj.昏暗的,肮脏的 | |
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89 scavenger | |
n.以腐尸为食的动物,清扫工 | |
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90 scampering | |
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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91 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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92 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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93 uncertainty | |
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物 | |
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