JEANLIN was now well and able to walk; but his legs had united so badly that he limped on both the right and left sides, and moved with the gait of a duck, though running as fast as formerly1 with the skill of a mischievous2 and thieving animal.
On this evening, in the dusk on the Réquillart road, Jeanlin, accompanied by his inseparable friends, Bébert and Lydie, was on the watch. He had taken ambush3 in a vacant space, behind a paling opposite an obscure grocery shop, situated5 at the corner of a lane. An old woman who was nearly blind displayed there three or four sacks of lentil sand beans, black with dust; and it was an ancient dried codfish, hanging by the door and stained with fly-blows, to which his eyes were directed. Twice already he had sent Bébert to unhook it. But each time someone had appeared at the bend in the road. Always intruders in the way, one could not attend to one’s affairs.
A gentleman went by on horseback, and the children flattened7 themselves at the bottom of the paling, for they recognized M. Hennebeau. Since the strike he was often thus seen along the roads, riding alone amid the rebellious8 settlements, ascertaining9, with quiet courage, the condition of the country. And never had a stone whistled by his ears; he only met men who were silent and slow to salute10 him; most often he came upon lovers, who cared nothing for politics and took their fill of pleasure in holes and corners. He passed by on his trotting11 mare12 with head directed straight forward, so as to disturb nobody, while his heart was swelling13 with an unappeased desire amid this gormandizing of free love. He distinctly saw these small rascals14, the little boys on the little girl in a heap. Even the youngsters were already amusing themselves in their misery15! His eyes grew moist, and he disappeared, sitting stiffly on his saddle, with his frock-coat buttoned up in a military manner.
“Damned luck!” said Jeanlin. “This will never finish. Go on, Bébert! Hang on to its tail!”
But once more two men appeared, and the child again stifled16 an oath when he heard the voice of his brother Zacharie narrating17 to Mouquet how he had discovered a two-franc piece sewn into one of his wife’s petticoats. They both grinned with satisfaction, slapping each other on the shoulder. Mouquet proposed a game of crosse for the next day; they would leave the Avantage at two o’clock, and go to the Montoire side, near Marchiennes. Zacharie agreed. What was the good of bothering over the strike? as well amuse oneself, since there’s nothing to do. And they turned the corner of the road, when étienne, who was coming along the canal, stopped them and began to talk.
“Are they going to bed here?” said Jeanlin, in exasperation18. “Nearly night; the old woman will be taking in her sacks.”
Another miner came down towards Réquillart. étienne went off with him, and as they passed the paling the child heard them speak of the forest; they had been obliged to put off the rendezvous19 to the following day, for fear of not being able to announce it in one day to all the settlements.
“I say, there,” he whispered to his two mates, “the big affair is for to-morrow. We’ll go, eh? We can get off in the afternoon.”
And the road being at last free, he sent Bébert off.
“Courage! hang on to its tail. And look out! the old woman’s got her broom.”
Fortunately the night had grown dark. Bébert, with a leap, hung on to the cod6 so that the string broke. He ran away, waving it like a kite, followed by the two others, all three galloping20. The woman came out of her shop in astonishment21, without understanding or being able to distinguish this band now lost in the darkness.
These young rascals had become the terror of the country. They gradually spread themselves over it like a horde23 of savages25. At first they had been satisfied with the yard at the Voreux, tumbling into the stock of coal, from which they would emerge looking like negroes, playing at hide-and-seek amid the supply of wood, in which they lost themselves as in the depths of a virgin26 forest. Then they had taken the pit-bank by assault; they would seat themselves on it and slide down the bare portions still boiling with interior fires; they glided28 among the briers in the older parts, hiding for the whole day, occupied in the quiet little games of mischievous mice. And they were constantly enlarging their conquests, scuffling among the piles of bricks until blood came, running about the fields and eating without bread all sorts of milky29 herbs, searching the banks of the canals to take fish from the mud and swallow them raw and pushing still farther, they travelled for kilometres as far as the thickets30 of Vandame, under which they gorged31 themselves with strawberries in the spring, with nuts and bilberries in summer. Soon the immense plain belonged to them.
What drove them thus from Montsou to Marchiennes, constantly on the roads with the eyes of young wolves, was the growing love of plunder33. Jeanlin remained the captain of these expeditions, leading the troop on to all sorts of prey34, ravaging35 the onion fields, pillaging36 the orchards37, attacking shop windows. In the country, people accused the miners on strike, and talked of a vast organized band. One day, even, he had forced Lydie to steal from her mother, and made her bring him two dozen sticks of barley-sugar, which Pierronne kept in a bottle on one of the boards in her window; and the little girl, who was well beaten, had not betrayed him because she trembled so before his authority. The worst was that he always gave himself the lion’s share. Bébert also had to bring him the booty, happy if the captain did not hit him and keep it all.
For some time Jeanlin had abused his authority. He would beat Lydie as one beats one’s lawful38 wife, and he profited by Bébert’s credulity to send him on unpleasant adventures, amused at making a fool of this big boy, who was stronger than himself, and could have knocked him over with a blow of his fist. He felt contempt for both of them and treated them as slaves, telling them that he had a princess for his mistress and that they were unworthy to appear before her. And, in fact, during the past week he would suddenly disappear at the end of a road or a turning in a path, no matter where it might be, after having ordered them with a terrible air to go back to the settlement. But first he would pocket the booty.
This was what happened on the present occasion.
“Give it up,” he said, snatching the cod from his mate’s hands when they stopped, all three, at a bend in the road near Réquillart.
Bébert protested.
“I want some, you know. I took it.”
“Eh! what!” he cried. “You’ll have some if I give you some. Not tonight, sure enough; tomorrow, if there’s any left.”
He pushed Lydie, and placed both of them in line like soldiers shouldering arms. Then, passing behind them:
“Now, you must stay there five minutes without turning. By God! if you do turn, there will be beasts that will eat you up. And then you will go straight back, and if Bébert touches Lydie on the way, I shall know it and I shall hit you.”
Then he disappeared in the shadow, so lightly that the sound of his naked feet could not be heard. The two children remained motionless for the five minutes without looking round, for fear of receiving a blow from the invisible. Slowly a great affection had grown up between them in their common terror. He was always thinking of taking her and pressing her very tight between his arms, as he had seen others do and she, too, would have liked it, for it would have been a change for her to be so nicely caressed39. But neither of them would have allowed themselves to disobey. When they went away, although the night was very dark, they did not even kiss each other; they walked side by side, tender and despairing, certain that if they touched one another the captain would strike them from behind.
étienne, at the same hour, had entered Réquillart. The evening before Mouquette had begged him to return, and he returned, ashamed, feeling an inclination40 which he refused to acknowledge, for this girl who adored him like a Christ. It was, besides, with the intention of breaking it off. He would see her, he would explain to her that she ought no longer to pursue him, on account of the mates. It was not a time for pleasure; it was dishonest to amuse oneself thus when people were dying of hunger. And not having found her at home, he had decided41 to wait and watch the shadows of the passers-by.
Beneath the ruined steeple the old shaft42 opened, half blocked up. Above the black hole a beam stood erect43, and with a fragment of roof at the top it had the profile of a gallows44; in the broken walling of the curbs45 stood two trees — a mountain ash and a plane — which seemed to grow from the depths of the earth. It was a corner of abandoned wildness, the grassy46 and fibrous entry of a gulf47, embarrassed with old wood, planted with hawthorns48 and sloe-trees, which were peopled in the spring by warblers in their nests. Wishing to avoid the great expense of keeping it up, the Company, for the last ten years, had proposed to fill up this dead pit; but they were waiting to install an air-shaft in the Voreux, for the ventilation furnace of the two pits, which communicated, was placed at the foot of Réquillart, of which the former winding-shaft served as a conduit. They were content to consolidate49 the tubbing by beams placed across, preventing extraction, and they had neglected the upper galleries to watch only over the lower gallery, in which blazed the furnace, the enormous coal fire, with so powerful a draught50 that the rush of air produced the wind of a tempest from one end to the other of the neighbouring mine. As a precaution, in order that they could still go up and down, the order had been given to furnish the shaft with ladders; only, as no one took charge of them, the ladders were rotting with dampness, and in some places had already given way. Above, a large brier stopped the entry of the passage, and, as the first ladder had lost some rungs, it was necessary, in order to reach it, to hang on to a root of the mountain ash, and then to take one’s chance and drop into the blackness.
étienne was waiting patiently, hidden behind a bush, when he heard a long rustling52 among the branches. He thought at first that it was the scared flight of a snake. But the sudden gleam of a match astonished him, and he was stupefied on recognizing Jeanlin, who was lighting54 a candle and burying himself in the earth. He was seized with curiosity, and approached the hole; the child had disappeared, and a faint gleam came from the second adder51. étienne hesitated a moment, and then let himself go, holding on to the roots. He thought for a moment that he was about to fall down the whole five hundred and eighty metres of the mine, but at last he felt a rung, and descended55 gently. Jeanlin had evidently heard nothing. étienne constantly saw the light sinking beneath him, while the little one’s shadow, colossal56 and disturbing, danced with the deformed57 gait of his distorted limbs. He kicked his legs about with the skill of a monkey, catching58 on with hands, feet, or chin where he rungs were wanting. Ladders, seven metres in length, followed one another, some still firm, others shaky, yielding and almost broken; the steps were narrow and green, so rotten that one seemed to walk in moss59; and as one went down the heat grew suffocating,:he heat of an oven proceeding60 from the air-shaft which was, fortunately, not very active now the strike was on, or when the furnace devoured61 its five thousand kilograms of coal a day, one could not have risked oneself here without scorching62 one’s hair.
“What a dammed little toad63!” exclaimed étienne in a stifled voice; “where the devil is he going to?”
Twice he had nearly fallen. His feet slid on the damp wood. If he had only had a candle like the child! but he truck himself every minute; he was only guided by the vague gleam that fled beneath him. He had already reached the twentieth ladder, and the descent still continued. Then he counted them: twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, and he still went down and down. His head seemed to be swelling with the heat, and he thought that he was falling into a furnace. At last he reached a landing-place, and he saw the candle going off along a gallery. Thirty ladders, that made about two hundred and ten metres.
“Is he going to drag me about long?” he thought. “He must be going to bury himself in the stable.”
But on the left, the path which led to the stable was closed by a landslip. The journey began again, now more painful and more dangerous. Frightened bats flew about and clung to the roof of the gallery. He had to hasten so as not to lose sight of the light; only where the child passed with ease, with the suppleness64 of a serpent, he could not glide27 through without bruising65 his limbs. This gallery, like all the older passages, was narrow, and grew narrower every day from the constant fall of soil; at certain places it was a mere66 tube which would eventually be effaced67. In this strangling labour the torn and broken wood became a peril68, threatening to saw into his flesh, or to run him through with the points of splinters, sharp as swords. He could only advance with precaution, on his knees or belly69, feeling in the darkness before him. Suddenly a band of rats stamped over him, running from his neck to his feet in their galloping flight.
“Blast it all! haven’t we got to the end yet?” he grumbled70, with aching back and out of breath.
They were there. At the end of a kilometre the tube enlarged, they reached a part of the gallery which was admirably preserved. It was the end of the old haulage passage cut across the bed like a natural grotto71. He was obliged to stop, he saw the child afar, placing his candle between two stones, and putting himself at ease with the quiet and relieved air of a man who is glad to be at home again. This gallery-end was completely changed into a comfortable dwelling72. In a corner on the ground a pile of hay made a soft couch; on some old planks73, placed like a table, there were bread, potatoes, and bottles of gin already opened; it was a real brigand74’s cavern75, with booty piled up for weeks, even useless booty like soap and blacking, stolen for the pleasure of stealing. And the child, quite alone in the midst of this plunder, was enjoying it like a selfish brigand.
“I say, then, is this how you make fun of people?” cried étienne, when he had breathed for a moment. “You come and gorge32 yourself here, when we are dying of hunger up above?”
Jeanlin, astounded76, was trembling. But recognizing the young man, he quickly grew calm.
“Will you come and dine with me?” he said at last. “Eh? a bit of grilled77 cod? You shall see.”
He had not let go his cod, and he began to scrape off the fly-blows properly with a fine new knife, one of those little dagger78 knives, with bone handles, on which mottoes are inscribed79. This one simply bore the word “Amour.”
“You have a fine knife,” remarked étienne.
“It’s a present from Lydie,” replied Jeanlin, who neglected to add that Lydie had stolen it, by his orders, from a huckster at Montsou, stationed before the Tete-Coupée Bar.
Then, as he still scraped, he added proudly:
“Isn’t it comfortable in my house? It’s a bit warmer than up above, and it feels a lot better!”
étienne had seated himself, and was amused in making him talk. He was no longer angry, he felt interested in this debauched child, who was so brave and so industrious80 in his vices81. And, in fact, he tasted a certain comfort in the bottom of this hole; the heat was not too great, an equal temperature reigned82 here at all seasons, the warmth of a bath, while the rough December wind was chapping the skins of the miserable83 people on the earth. As they grew old, the galleries became purified from noxious84 gases, all the fire-damp had gone, and one only smelled now the odour of old fermented85 wood, a subtle ethereal odour, as if sharpened with a dash of cloves86. This wood, besides, had become curious to look at, with a yellowish pallor of marble, fringed with whitish thread lace, flaky vegetations which seemed to drape it with an embroidery87 of silk and pearls. In other places the timber was bristling88 with toadstools. And there were flights of white moths89, snowy flies and spiders, a decolorized population for ever ignorant of the sun.
“Then you’re not afraid?” asked étienne.
Jeanlin looked at him in astonishment.
“Afraid of what? I am quite alone.”
But the cod was at last scraped. He lighted a little fire of wood, brought out the pan and grilled it. Then he cut a loaf into two. It was a terribly salt feast, but exquisite90 all the same for strong stomachs.
étienne had accepted his share.
“I am not astonished you get fat, while we are all growing lean. Do you know that it is beastly to stuff yourself like this? And the others? you don’t think of them!”
“Oh! why are the others such fools?”
“Well, you’re right to hide yourself, for if your father knew you stole he would settle you.”
“What! when the bourgeois91 are stealing from us! It’s you who are always saying so. If I nabbed this loaf at Maigrat’s you may be pretty sure it’s a loaf he owed us.”
The young man was silent, with his mouth full, and felt troubled. He looked at him, with his muzzle92, his green eyes, his large ears, a degenerate93 abortion94, with an obscure intelligence and savage24 cunning, slowly slipping back into the animality of old. The mine which had made him had just finished him by breaking his legs.
“And Lydie?” asked étienne again; “do you bring her here sometimes?”
Jeanlin laughed contemptuously.
“The little one? Ah, no, not I; women blab.”
And he went on laughing, filled with immense disdain95 for Lydie and Bébert. Who had ever seen such boobies? To think that they swallowed all his humbug96, and went away with empty hands while he ate the cod in this warm place, tickled97 his sides with amusement. Then he concluded, with the gravity of a little philosopher:
“Much better be alone, then there’s no falling out.” étienne had finished his bread. He drank a gulp98 of the gin. For a moment he asked himself if he ought not to make a bad return for Jeanlin’s hospitality by bringing him up to daylight by the ear, and forbidding him to plunder any more by the threat of telling everything to his father. But as he examined this deep retreat, an idea occurred to him. Who knows if there might not be need for it, either for mates or for himself, in case things should come to the worst up above! He made the child swear not to sleep out, as had sometimes happened when he forgot himself in his hay, and taking a candle-end, he went away first, leaving him to pursue quietly his domestic affairs.
Mouquette, seated on a beam in spite of the great cold, had grown desperate in waiting for him. When she saw him she leapt on to his neck; and it was as though he had plunged99 a knife into her heart when he said that he wished to see her no more. Good God! why? Did she not love him enough? Fearing to yield to the desire to enter with her, he drew her towards the road, and explained to her as gently as possible that she was compromising him in the eyes of his mates, that she was compromising the political cause. She was astonished; what had that got to do with politics? At last the thought occurred to her that he blushed at being seen with her. She was not wounded, however; it was quite natural; and she proposed that he should rebuff her before people, so as to seem to have broken with her. But he would see her just once sometimes. In distraction100 she implored101 him; she swore to keep out of sight; she would not keep him five minutes. He was touched, but still refused. It was necessary. Then, as he left her, he wished at least to kiss her. They had gradually reached the first houses of Montsou, and were standing22 with their arms round one another beneath a large round moon, when a woman passed near them with a sudden start, as though she had knocked against a stone.
“Who is that?” asked étienne, anxiously.
“It’s Catherine,” replied Mouquette. “She’s coming back from Jean-Bart.”
The woman now was going away, with lowered head and feeble limbs, looking very tired. And the young man gazed at her, in despair at having been seen by her, his heart aching with an unreasonable102 remorse103. Had she not been with a man? Had she not made him suffer with the same suffering here, on this Réquillart road, when she had given herself to that man? But, all the same, he was grieved to have done the like to her.
“Shall I tell you what it is?” whispered Mouquette, in tears, as she left him. “If you don’t want me it’s because you want someone else.”
On the next day the weather was superb; it was one of those clear frosty days, the beautiful winter days when the hard earth rings like crystal beneath the feet. Jeanlin had gone off at one o’clock, but he had to wait for Bébert behind the church, and they nearly set out without Lydie, whose mother had again shut her up in the cellar, and only now liberated104 her to put a basket on her arm, telling her that if she did not bring it back full of dandelions she should be shut up with the rats all night long. She was frightened, therefore, and wished to go at once for salad. Jeanlin dissuaded105 her; they would see later on. For a long time Poland, Rasseneur’s big rabbit, had attracted his attention. He was passing before the Avantage when, just then, the rabbit came out on to the road. With a leap he seized her by the ears, stuffed her into the little girl’s basket, and all three rushed away. They would amuse themselves finely by making her run like a dog as far as the forest.
But they stopped to gaze at Zacharie and Mouquet, who, after having drunk a glass with two other mates, had begun their big game of crosse. The stake was a new cap and a red handkerchief, deposited with Rasseneur. The four players, two against two, were bidding for the first turn from the Voreux to the Paillot farm, nearly three kilometres; and it was Zacharie who won, with seven strokes, while Mouquet required eight. They had placed the ball, the little boxwood egg, on the pavement with one end up. Each was holding his crosse, the mallet106 with its bent107 iron, long handle, and tight-strung network. Two o’clock struck as they set out. Zacharie, in a masterly manner, at his first stroke, composed of a series of three, sent the ball more than four hundred yards across the beetroot fields; for it was forbidden to play in the villages and on the streets, where people might be killed. Mouquet, who was also a good player, sent off the ball with so vigorous arm that his single stroke brought the ball a hundred and fifty metres behind. And the game went on, backwards108 and forwards, always running, their feet bruised109 by the frozen ridges110 of the ploughed fields.
At first Jeanlin, Bébert, and Lydie had trotted111 behind the players, delighted with their vigorous strokes. Then they remembered Poland, whom they were shaking up in the basket; and, leaving the game in the open country, they took out the rabbit, inquisitive112 to see how fast she could run. She went off, and they fled after her; it was a chase lasting113 an hour at full speed, with constant turns, with shouts to frighten her, and arms opened and closed on emptiness. If she had not been at the beginning of pregnancy114 they would never have caught her again.
As they were panting the sound of oaths made them turn their heads. They had just come upon the crosse party again, and Zacharie had nearly split open his brother’s skull115. The players were now at their fourth turn. From the Paillot farm they had gone off to the Quatre-Chemins, then from the Quatre-Chemins to Montoire; and now they were going in six strokes from Montoire to Pré-des-Vaches. That made two leagues and a half in an hour; and, besides, they had had drinks at the Estaminet Vincent and at the Trois-Sages Bar. Mouquet this time was ahead. He had two more strokes to play, and his victory was certain, when Zacharie, grinning as he availed himself of his privilege, played with so much skill that the ball rolled into a deep pit. Mouquet’s partner could not get it out; it was a disaster. All four shouted; the party was excited, for they were neck to neck; it was necessary to begin again. From the Pré-des-Vaches it was not two kilometres to the point of Herbes-Rousses, in five strokes. There they would refresh themselves at Lerenard’s.
But Jeanlin had an idea. He let them go on, and pulled out of his pocket a piece of string which he tied to one of Poland’s legs, the left hind4 leg. And it was very amusing. The rabbit ran before the three young rascals, waddling116 along in such an extraordinary manner that they had never laughed so much before. Afterwards they fastened it round her neck, and let her run off; and, as she grew tired, they dragged her on her belly or on her back, just like a little carriage. That lasted for more than an hour. She was moaning when they quickly put her back into the basket, near the wood at Cruchot, on hearing the players whose game they had once more came across.
Zacharie, Mouquet, and the two others were getting over the kilometres, with no other rest than the time for a drink at all the inns which they had fixed117 on as their goals. From the Herbes-Rousses they had gone on to Buchy, then to Croix-de-Pierre, then to Chamblay. The earth rang beneath the helter-skelter of their feet, rushing untiringly after the ball, which bounded over the ice; the weather was good, they did not fall in, they only ran the risk of breaking their legs. In the dry air the great crosse blows exploded like firearms. Their muscular hands grasped the strung handle; their entire bodies were bent forward, as though to slay118 an ox. And this went on for hours, from one end of the plain to the other, over ditches and hedges and the slopes of the road, the low walls of the enclosures. One needed to have good bellows119 in one’s chest and iron hinges in one’s knees. The pike-men thus rubbed off the rust53 of the mine with impassioned zeal120. There were some so enthusiastic at twenty-five that they could do ten leagues. At forty they played no more; they were too heavy.
Five o’clock struck; the twilight121 was already coming on. One more turn to the Forest of Vandame, to decide who had gained the cap and the handkerchief. And Zacharie joked, with his chaffing indifference122 for politics; it would be fine to tumble down over there in the midst of the mates. As to Jeanlin, ever since leaving the settlement he had been aiming at the forest, though apparently123 only scouring124 the fields. With an indignant gesture he threatened Lydie, who was full of remorse and fear, and talked of going back to the Voreux to gather dandelions. Were they going to abandon the meeting? he wanted to know what the old people would say. He pushed Bébert, and proposed to enliven the end of the journey as far as the trees by detaching Poland and pursuing her with stones. His real idea was to kill her; he wanted to take her off and eat her at the bottom of his hole at Réquillart. The rabbit ran ahead, with nose in the air and ears back; a stone grazed her back, another cut her tail, and, in spite of the growing darkness, she would have been done for if the young rogues125 had not noticed étienne and Maheu standing in the middle of a glade126. They threw themselves on the animal in desperation, and put her back in the basket. Almost at the same minute Zacharie, Mouquet, and the two others, with their last blow at crosse, drove the ball within a few metres of the glade. They all came into the midst of the rendezvous.
Through the whole country, by the roads and pathways of the flat plain, ever since twilight, there had been a long procession, a rustling of silent shadows, moving separately or in groups towards the violet thickets of the forest. Every settlement was emptied, the women and children themselves set out as if for a walk beneath the great clear sky. Now the roads were growing dark; this walking crowd, all gliding127 towards the same goal, could no longer be distinguished128. But one felt it, the confused tramping moved by one soul. Between the hedges, among the bushes, there was only a light rustling, a vague rumour129 of the voices of the night.
M. Hennebeau, who was at this hour returning home mounted on his mare, listened to these vague sounds. He had met couples, long rows of strollers, on this beautiful winter night. More lovers, who were going to take their pleasure, mouth to mouth, behind the walls. Was it not what he always met, girls tumbled over at the bottom of every ditch, beggars who crammed130 themselves with the only joy that cost nothing? And these fools complained of life, when they could take their supreme131 fill of this happiness of love! Willingly would he have starved as they did if he could begin life again with a woman who would give herself to him on a heap of stones, with all her strength and all her heart. His misfortune.was without consolation132, and he envied these wretches133. With lowered head he went back, riding his horse at a slackened pace, rendered desperate by these long sounds, lost in the depth of the black country, in which he heard only kisses.
收听单词发音 |
1
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
mischievous
|
|
| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
ambush
|
|
| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
hind
|
|
| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
cod
|
|
| n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
rebellious
|
|
| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
ascertaining
|
|
| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
salute
|
|
| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
trotting
|
|
| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
mare
|
|
| n.母马，母驴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
swelling
|
|
| n.肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
rascals
|
|
| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
stifled
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
narrating
|
|
| v.故事( narrate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
exasperation
|
|
| n.愤慨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
rendezvous
|
|
| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
galloping
|
|
| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
horde
|
|
| n.群众，一大群 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
glide
|
|
| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
glided
|
|
| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
milky
|
|
| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
thickets
|
|
| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
gorged
|
|
| v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的过去式和过去分词 )；作呕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
gorge
|
|
| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
plunder
|
|
| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
ravaging
|
|
| 毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
pillaging
|
|
| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
orchards
|
|
| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
lawful
|
|
| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
caressed
|
|
| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
inclination
|
|
| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
shaft
|
|
| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
gallows
|
|
| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
curbs
|
|
| v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
grassy
|
|
| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
hawthorns
|
|
| n.山楂树( hawthorn的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
consolidate
|
|
| v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
adder
|
|
| n.蝰蛇；小毒蛇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
rustling
|
|
| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
rust
|
|
| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
colossal
|
|
| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
deformed
|
|
| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
moss
|
|
| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
devoured
|
|
| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
scorching
|
|
| adj. 灼热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
toad
|
|
| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
suppleness
|
|
| 柔软； 灵活； 易弯曲； 顺从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
bruising
|
|
| adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
effaced
|
|
| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
belly
|
|
| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
grumbled
|
|
| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
grotto
|
|
| n.洞穴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
planks
|
|
| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
brigand
|
|
| n.土匪，强盗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
cavern
|
|
| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
astounded
|
|
| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
grilled
|
|
| adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
dagger
|
|
| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
inscribed
|
|
| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
industrious
|
|
| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
vices
|
|
| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
reigned
|
|
| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
noxious
|
|
| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
fermented
|
|
| v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
cloves
|
|
| n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
embroidery
|
|
| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
bristling
|
|
| a.竖立的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
moths
|
|
| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
bourgeois
|
|
| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
muzzle
|
|
| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
degenerate
|
|
| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
abortion
|
|
| n.流产，堕胎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
disdain
|
|
| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
humbug
|
|
| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
tickled
|
|
| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
gulp
|
|
| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
plunged
|
|
| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
distraction
|
|
| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
implored
|
|
| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
unreasonable
|
|
| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
remorse
|
|
| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
liberated
|
|
| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
dissuaded
|
|
| 劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
mallet
|
|
| n.槌棒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
backwards
|
|
| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
bruised
|
|
| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
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： |
|
|
|
|
111
trotted
|
|
| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
inquisitive
|
|
| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
lasting
|
|
| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
pregnancy
|
|
| n.怀孕，怀孕期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
skull
|
|
| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
waddling
|
|
| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
slay
|
|
| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
bellows
|
|
| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
twilight
|
|
| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
scouring
|
|
| 擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
rogues
|
|
| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
glade
|
|
| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
gliding
|
|
| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
rumour
|
|
| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
crammed
|
|
| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
wretches
|
|
| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |