Therefore Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick flew low toward the west, searching with keen eyes for signs of a Hun army. Vast forests unrolled beneath him in which a German army corps4 might have lain concealed5, so dense6 was the overhanging foliage7 of the great trees. Mountain, meadowland, and desert passed in lovely panorama8; but never a sight of man had the young lieutenant.
Always hoping that he might discover some sign of their passage—a discarded lorry, a broken limber, or an old camp site—he continued farther and farther into the west until well into the afternoon. Above a tree-dotted plain through the center of which flowed a winding9 river he determined10 to turn about and start for camp. It would take straight flying at top speed to cover the distance before dark; but as he had ample gasoline and a trustworthy machine there was no doubt in his mind but that he could accomplish his aim. It was then that his engine stalled.
He was too low to do anything but land, and that immediately, while he had the more open country accessible, for directly east of him was a vast forest into which a stalled engine could only have plunged12 him to certain injury and probable death; and so he came down in the meadowland near the winding river and there started to tinker with his motor.
As he worked he hummed a tune13, some music-hall air that had been popular in London the year before, so that one might have thought him working in the security of an English flying field surrounded by innumerable comrades rather than alone in the heart of an unexplored African wilderness15. It was typical of the man that he should be wholly indifferent to his surroundings, although his looks entirely16 belied17 any assumption that he was of particularly heroic strain.
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick was fair-haired, blue-eyed, and slender, with a rosy18, boyish face that might have been molded more by an environment of luxury, indolence, and ease than the more strenuous19 exigencies20 of life's sterner requirements.
And not only was the young lieutenant outwardly careless of the immediate11 future and of his surroundings, but actually so. That the district might be infested21 by countless22 enemies seemed not to have occurred to him in the remotest degree. He bent23 assiduously to the work of correcting the adjustment that had caused his motor to stall without so much as an upward glance at the surrounding country. The forest to the east of him, and the more distant jungle that bordered the winding river, might have harbored an army of bloodthirsty savages25, but neither could elicit26 even a passing show of interest on the part of Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick.
And even had he looked, it is doubtful if he would have seen the score of figures crouching27 in the concealment28 of the undergrowth at the forest's edge. There are those who are reputed to be endowed with that which is sometimes, for want of a better appellation29, known as the sixth sense—a species of intuition which apprises30 them of the presence of an unseen danger. The concentrated gaze of a hidden observer provokes a warning sensation of nervous unrest in such as these, but though twenty pairs of savage24 eyes were gazing fixedly31 at Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick, the fact aroused no responsive sensation of impending32 danger in his placid33 breast. He hummed peacefully and, his adjustment completed, tried out his motor for a minute or two, then shut it off and descended34 to the ground with the intention of stretching his legs and taking a smoke before continuing his return flight to camp. Now for the first time he took note of his surroundings, to be immediately impressed by both the wildness and the beauty of the scene. In some respects the tree-dotted meadowland reminded him of a park-like English forest, and that wild beasts and savage men could ever be a part of so quiet a scene seemed the remotest of contingencies35.
Some gorgeous blooms upon a flowering shrub36 at a little distance from his machine caught the attention of his aesthetic37 eye, and as he puffed38 upon his cigarette, he walked over to examine the flowers more closely. As he bent above them he was probably some hundred yards from his plane and it was at this instant that Numabo, chief of the Wamabo, chose to leap from his ambush39 and lead his warriors41 in a sudden rush upon the white man.
The young Englishman's first intimation of danger was a chorus of savage yells from the forest behind him. Turning, he saw a score of naked, black warriors advancing rapidly toward him. They moved in a compact mass and as they approached more closely their rate of speed noticeably diminished. Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick realized in a quick glance that the direction of their approach and their proximity42 had cut off all chances of retreating to his plane, and he also understood that their attitude was entirely warlike and menacing. He saw that they were armed with spears and with bows and arrows, and he felt quite confident that notwithstanding the fact that he was armed with a pistol they could overcome him with the first rush. What he did not know about their tactics was that at any show of resistance they would fall back, which is the nature of the native Negroes, but that after numerous advances and retreats, during which they would work themselves into a frenzy44 of rage by much shrieking45, leaping, and dancing, they would eventually come to the point of a determined and final assault.
Numabo was in the forefront, a fact which taken in connection with his considerably46 greater size and more warlike appearance, indicated him as the natural target and it was at Numabo that the Englishman aimed his first shot. Unfortunately for him it missed its target, as the killing47 of the chief might have permanently48 dispersed49 the others. The bullet passed Numabo to lodge50 in the breast of a warrior40 behind him and as the fellow lunged forward with a scream the others turned and retreated, but to the lieutenant's chagrin51 they ran in the direction of the plane instead of back toward the forest so that he was still cut off from reaching his machine.
Presently they stopped and faced him again. They were talking loudly and gesticulating, and after a moment one of them leaped into the air, brandishing52 his spear and uttering savage war cries, which soon had their effect upon his fellows so that it was not long ere all of them were taking part in the wild show of savagery53, which would bolster54 their waning55 courage and presently spur them on to another attack.
The second charge brought them closer to the Englishman, and though he dropped another with his pistol, it was not before two or three spears had been launched at him. He now had five shots remaining and there were still eighteen warriors to be accounted for, so that unless he could frighten them off, it was evident that his fate was sealed.
That they must pay the price of one life for every attempt to take his had its effect upon them and they were longer now in initiating56 a new rush and when they did so it was more skillfully ordered than those that had preceded it, for they scattered57 into three bands which, partially58 surrounding him, came simultaneously59 toward him from different directions, and though he emptied his pistol with good effect, they reached him at last. They seemed to know that his ammunition60 was exhausted61, for they circled close about him now with the evident intention of taking him alive, since they might easily have riddled62 him with their sharp spears with perfect safety to themselves.
For two or three minutes they circled about him until, at a word from Numabo, they closed in simultaneously, and though the slender young lieutenant struck out to right and left, he was soon overwhelmed by superior numbers and beaten down by the hafts of spears in brawny63 hands.
He was all but unconscious when they finally dragged him to his feet, and after securing his hands behind his back, pushed him roughly along ahead of them toward the jungle.
As the guard prodded64 him along the narrow trail, Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick could not but wonder why they had wished to take him alive. He knew that he was too far inland for his uniform to have any significance to this native tribe to whom no inkling of the World War probably ever had come, and he could only assume that he had fallen into the hands of the warriors of some savage potentate65 upon whose royal caprice his fate would hinge.
They had marched for perhaps half an hour when the Englishman saw ahead of them, in a little clearing upon the bank of the river, the thatched roofs of native huts showing above a crude but strong palisade; and presently he was ushered66 into a village street where he was immediately surrounded by a throng67 of women and children and warriors. Here he was soon the center of an excited mob whose intent seemed to be to dispatch him as quickly as possible. The women were more venomous than the men, striking and scratching him whenever they could reach him, until at last Numabo, the chief, was obliged to interfere68 to save his prisoner for whatever purpose he was destined69.
As the warriors pushed the crowd back, opening a space through which the white man was led toward a hut, Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick saw coming from the opposite end of the village a number of Negroes wearing odds70 and ends of German uniforms. He was not a little surprised at this, and his first thought was that he had at last come in contact with some portion of the army which was rumored71 to be crossing from the west coast and for signs of which he had been searching.
A rueful smile touched his lips as he contemplated72 the unhappy circumstances which surrounded the accession of this knowledge for though he was far from being without hope, he realized that only by the merest chance could he escape these people and regain73 his machine.
Among the partially uniformed blacks was a huge fellow in the tunic74 of a sergeant75 and as this man's eyes fell upon the British officer, a loud cry of exultation76 broke from his lips, and immediately his followers77 took up the cry and pressed forward to bait the prisoner.
"Where did you get the Englishman?" asked Usanga, the black sergeant, of the chief Numabo. "Are there many more with him?"
"He came down from the sky," replied the native chief, "in a strange thing which flies like a bird and which frightened us very much at first; but we watched for a long time and saw that it did not seem to be alive, and when this white man left it we attacked him and though he killed some of my warriors, we took him, for we Wamabos are brave men and great warriors."
Usanga's eyes went wide. "He flew here through the sky?" he asked.
"Yes," said Numabo. "In a great thing which resembled a bird he flew down out of the sky. The thing is still there where it came down close to the four trees near the second bend in the river. We left it there because, not knowing what it was, we were afraid to touch it and it is still there if it has not flown away again."
"It cannot fly," said Usanga, "without this man in it. It is a terrible thing which filled the hearts of our soldiers with terror, for it flew over our camps at night and dropped bombs upon us. It is well that you captured this white man, Numabo, for with his great bird he would have flown over your village tonight and killed all your people. These Englishmen are very wicked white men."
"He will fly no more," said Numabo. "It is not intended that a man should fly through the air; only wicked demons78 do such things as that and Numabo, the chief, will see that this white man does not do it again," and with the words he pushed the young officer roughly toward a hut in the center of the village, where he was left under guard of two stalwart warriors.
For an hour or more the prisoner was left to his own devices, which consisted in vain and unremitting attempts to loosen the strands79 which fettered80 his wrists, and then he was interrupted by the appearance of the black sergeant Usanga, who entered his hut and approached him.
"What are they going to do with me?" asked the Englishman. "My country is not at war with these people. You speak their language. Tell them that I am not an enemy, that my people are the friends of the black people and that they must let me go in peace."
Usanga laughed. "They do not know an Englishman from a German," he replied. "It is nothing to them what you are, except that you are a white man and an enemy."
"Then why did they take me alive?" asked the lieutenant.
"Come," said Usanga and he led the Englishman to the doorway81 of the hut. "Look," he said, and pointed82 a black forefinger83 toward the end of the village street where a wider space between the huts left a sort of plaza84.
Here Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick saw a number of Negresses engaged in laying fagots around a stake and in preparing fires beneath a number of large cooking vessels85. The sinister86 suggestion was only too obvious.
Usanga was eyeing the white man closely, but if he expected to be rewarded by any signs of fear, he was doomed87 to disappointment and the young lieutenant merely turned toward him with a shrug89: "Really now, do you beggars intend eating me?"
"Not my people," replied Usanga. "We do not eat human flesh, but the Wamabos do. It is they who will eat you, but we will kill you for the feast, Englishman."
The Englishman remained standing43 in the doorway of the hut, an interested spectator of the preparations for the coming orgy that was so horribly to terminate his earthly existence. It can hardly be assumed that he felt no fear; yet, if he did, he hid it perfectly90 beneath an imperturbable91 mask of coolness. Even the brutal92 Usanga must have been impressed by the bravery of his victim since, though he had come to abuse and possibly to torture the helpless prisoner, he now did neither, contenting himself merely with berating93 whites as a race and Englishmen especially, because of the terror the British aviators94 had caused Germany's native troops in East Africa.
"No more," he concluded, "will your great bird fly over our people dropping death among them from the skies—Usanga will see to that," and he walked abruptly95 away toward a group of his own fighting men who were congregated96 near the stake where they were laughing and joking with the women.
A few minutes later the Englishman saw them pass out of the village gate, and once again his thoughts reverted97 to various futile98 plans for escape.
Several miles north of the village on a little rise of ground close to the river where the jungle, halting at the base of a knoll99, had left a few acres of grassy100 land sparsely101 wooded, a man and a girl were busily engaged in constructing a small boma, in the center of which a thatched hut already had been erected102.
They worked almost in silence with only an occasional word of direction or interrogation between them.
Except for a loin cloth, the man was naked, his smooth skin tanned to a deep brown by the action of sun and wind. He moved with the graceful103 ease of a jungle cat and when he lifted heavy weights, the action seemed as effortless as the raising of empty hands.
When he was not looking at her, and it was seldom that he did, the girl found her eyes wandering toward him, and at such times there was always a puzzled expression upon her face as though she found in him an enigma104 which she could not solve. As a matter of fact, her feelings toward him were not un-tinged with awe105, since in the brief period of their association she had discovered in this handsome, godlike giant the attributes of the superman and the savage beast closely intermingled. At first she had felt only that unreasoning feminine terror which her unhappy position naturally induced.
To be alone in the heart of an unexplored wilderness of Central Africa with a savage wild man was in itself sufficiently106 appalling107, but to feel also that this man was a blood enemy, that he hated her and her kind and that in addition thereto he owed her a personal grudge108 for an attack she had made upon him in the past, left no loophole for any hope that he might accord her even the minutest measure of consideration.
She had seen him first months since when he had entered the headquarters of the German high command in East Africa and carried off the luckless Major Schneider, of whose fate no hint had ever reached the German officers; and she had seen him again upon that occasion when he had rescued her from the clutches of the lion and, after explaining to her that he had recognized her in the British camp, had made her prisoner. It was then that she had struck him down with the butt109 of her pistol and escaped. That he might seek no personal revenge for her act had been evidenced in Wilhelmstal the night that he had killed Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and left without molesting110 her.
No, she could not fathom111 him. He hated her and at the same time he had protected her as had been evidenced again when he had kept the great apes from tearing her to pieces after she had escaped from the Wamabo village to which Usanga, the black sergeant, had brought her a captive; but why was he saving her? For what sinister purpose could this savage enemy be protecting her from the other denizens112 of his cruel jungle? She tried to put from her mind the probable fate which awaited her, yet it persisted in obtruding114 itself upon her thoughts, though always she was forced to admit that there was nothing in the demeanor115 of the man to indicate that her fears were well grounded. She judged him perhaps by the standards other men had taught her and because she looked upon him as a savage creature, she felt that she could not expect more of chivalry116 from him than was to be found in the breasts of the civilized117 men of her acquaintance.
Fr?ulein Bertha Kircher was by nature a companionable and cheerful character. She was not given to morbid118 forebodings, and above all things she craved119 the society of her kind and that interchange of thought which is one of the marked distinctions between man and the lower animals. Tarzan, on the other hand, was sufficient unto himself. Long years of semi-solitude among creatures whose powers of oral expression are extremely limited had thrown him almost entirely upon his own resources for entertainment.
His active mind was never idle, but because his jungle mates could neither follow nor grasp the vivid train of imaginings that his man-mind wrought120, he had long since learned to keep them to himself; and so now he found no need for confiding121 them in others. This fact, linked with that of his dislike for the girl, was sufficient to seal his lips for other than necessary conversation, and so they worked on together in comparative silence. Bertha Kircher, however, was nothing if not feminine and she soon found that having someone to talk to who would not talk was extremely irksome. Her fear of the man was gradually departing, and she was full of a thousand unsatisfied curiosities as to his plans for the future in so far as they related to her, as well as more personal questions regarding himself, since she could not but wonder as to his antecedents and his strange and solitary122 life in the jungle, as well as his friendly intercourse123 with the savage apes among which she had found him.
With the waning of her fears she became sufficiently emboldened124 to question him, and so she asked him what he intended doing after the hut and boma were completed.
"I am going to the west coast where I was born," replied Tarzan. "I do not know when. I have all my life before me and in the jungle there is no reason for haste. We are not forever running as fast as we can from one place to another as are you of the outer world. When I have been here long enough I will go on toward the west, but first I must see that you have a safe place in which to sleep, and that you have learned how to provide yourself with necessaries. That will take time."
"You are going to leave me here alone?" cried the girl; her tones marked the fear which the prospect125 induced. "You are going to leave me here alone in this terrible jungle, a prey126 to wild beasts and savage men, hundreds of miles from a white settlement and in a country which gives every evidence of never having been touched by the foot of civilized men?"
"Why not?" asked Tarzan. "I did not bring you here. Would one of your men accord any better treatment to an enemy woman?"
"Yes," she exclaimed. "They certainly would. No man of my race would leave a defenseless white woman alone in this horrible place."
Tarzan shrugged127 his broad shoulders. The conversation seemed profitless and it was further distasteful to him for the reason that it was carried on in German, a tongue which he detested128 as much as he did the people who spoke129 it. He wished that the girl spoke English and then it occurred to him that as he had seen her in disguise in the British camp carrying on her nefarious130 work as a German spy, she probably did speak English and so he asked her.
"Of course I speak English," she exclaimed, "but I did not know that you did."
Tarzan looked his wonderment but made no comment. He only wondered why the girl should have any doubts as to the ability of an Englishman to speak English, and then suddenly it occurred to him that she probably looked upon him merely as a beast of the jungle who by accident had learned to speak German through frequenting the district which Germany had colonized131. It was there only that she had seen him and so she might not know that he was an Englishman by birth, and that he had had a home in British East Africa. It was as well, he thought, that she knew little of him, as the less she knew the more he might learn from her as to her activities in behalf of the Germans and of the German spy system of which she was a representative; and so it occurred to him to let her continue to think that he was only what he appeared to be—a savage denizen113 of his savage jungle, a man of no race and no country, hating all white men impartially132; and this in truth, was what she did think of him. It explained perfectly his attacks upon Major Schneider and the Major's brother, Hauptmann Fritz.
Again they worked on in silence upon the boma which was now nearly completed, the girl helping133 the man to the best of her small ability. Tarzan could not but note with grudging134 approval the spirit of helpfulness she manifested in the oft-times painful labor135 of gathering136 and arranging the thorn bushes which constituted the temporary protection against roaming carnivores. Her hands and arms gave bloody137 token of the sharpness of the numerous points that had lacerated her soft flesh, and even though she were an enemy Tarzan could not but feel compunction that he had permitted her to do this work, and at last he bade her stop.
"Why?" she asked. "It is no more painful to me than it must be to you, and, as it is solely138 for my protection that you are building this boma, there is no reason why I should not do my share."
"You are a woman," replied Tarzan. "This is not a woman's work. If you wish to do something, take those gourds139 I brought this morning and fill them with water at the river. You may need it while I am away."
"While you are away—" she said. "You are going away?"
"When the boma is built I am going out after meat," he replied. "Tomorrow I will go again and take you and show you how you may make your own kills after I am gone."
Without a word she took the gourds and walked toward the river. As she filled them, her mind was occupied with painful forebodings of the future. She knew that Tarzan had passed a death sentence upon her, and that the moment that he left her, her doom88 was sealed, for it could be but a question of time—a very short time—before the grim jungle would claim her, for how could a lone14 woman hope successfully to combat the savage forces of destruction which constituted so large a part of existence in the jungle?
So occupied was she with the gloomy prophecies that she had neither ears nor eyes for what went on about her. Mechanically she filled the gourds and, taking them up, turned slowly to retrace140 her steps to the boma only to voice immediately a half-stifled scream and shrink back from the menacing figure looming141 before her and blocking her way to the hut.
Go-lat, the king ape, hunting a little apart from his tribe, had seen the woman go to the river for water, and it was he who confronted her when she turned back with her filled gourds. Go-lat was not a pretty creature when judged by standards of civilized humanity, though the shes of his tribe and even Go-lat himself, considered his glossy142 black coat shot with silver, his huge arms dangling143 to his knees, his bullet head sunk between his mighty144 shoulders, marks of great personal beauty. His wicked, bloodshot eyes and broad nose, his ample mouth and great fighting fangs145 only enhanced the claim of this Adonis of the forest upon the affections of his shes.
Doubtless in the little, savage brain there was a well-formed conviction that this strange she belonging to the Tarmangani must look with admiration146 upon so handsome a creature as Go-lat, for there could be no doubt in the mind of any that his beauty entirely eclipsed such as the hairless white ape might lay claim to.
But Bertha Kircher saw only a hideous147 beast, a fierce and terrible caricature of man. Could Go-lat have known what passed through her mind, he must have been terribly chagrined148, though the chances are that he would have attributed it to a lack of discernment on her part. Tarzan heard the girl's cry and looking up saw at a glance the cause of her terror. Leaping lightly over the boma, he ran swiftly toward her as Go-lat lumbered149 closer to the girl the while he voiced his emotions in low gutturals which, while in reality the most amicable150 of advances, sounded to the girl like the growling151 of an enraged152 beast. As Tarzan drew nearer he called aloud to the ape and the girl heard from the human lips the same sounds that had fallen from those of the anthropoid153.
"I will not harm your she," Go-lat called to Tarzan.
"I know it," replied the ape-man, "but she does not. She is like Numa and Sheeta, who do not understand our talk. She thinks you come to harm her."
By this time Tarzan was beside the girl. "He will not harm you," he said to her. "You need not be afraid. This ape has learned his lesson. He has learned that Tarzan is lord of the jungle. He will not harm that which is Tarzan's."
The girl cast a quick glance at the man's face. It was evident to her that the words he had spoken meant nothing to him and that the assumed proprietorship154 over her was, like the boma, only another means for her protection.
"But I am afraid of him," she said.
"You must not show your fear. You will be often surrounded by these apes. At such times you will be safest. Before I leave you I will give you the means of protecting yourself against them should one of them chance to turn upon you. If I were you I would seek their society. Few are the animals of the jungle that dare attack the great apes when there are several of them together. If you let them know that you are afraid of them, they will take advantage of it and your life will be constantly menaced. The shes especially would attack you. I will let them know that you have the means of protecting yourself and of killing them. If necessary, I will show you how and then they will respect and fear you."
"I will try," said the girl, "but I am afraid that it will be difficult. He is the most frightful155 creature I ever have seen." Tarzan smiled. "Doubtless he thinks the same of you," he said.
By this time other apes had entered the clearing and they were now the center of a considerable group, among which were several bulls, some young shes, and some older ones with their little balus clinging to their backs or frolicking around at their feet. Though they had seen the girl the night of the Dum-Dum when Sheeta had forced her to leap from her concealment into the arena156 where the apes were dancing, they still evinced a great curiosity regarding her. Some of the shes came very close and plucked at her garments, commenting upon them to one another in their strange tongue. The girl, by the exercise of all the will power she could command, succeeded in passing through the ordeal157 without evincing any of the terror and revulsion that she felt. Tarzan watched her closely, a half-smile upon his face. He was not so far removed from recent contact with civilized people that he could not realize the torture that she was undergoing, but he felt no pity for this woman of a cruel enemy who doubtless deserved the worst suffering that could be meted158 to her. Yet, notwithstanding his sentiments toward her, he was forced to admire her fine display of courage. Suddenly he turned to the apes.
"Tarzan goes to hunt for himself and his she," he said. "The she will remain there," and he pointed toward the hut. "See that no member of the tribe harms her. Do you understand?"
The apes nodded. "We will not harm her," said Go-lat.
"No," said Tarzan. "You will not. For if you do, Tarzan will kill you," and then turning to the girl, "Come," he said, "I am going to hunt now. You had better remain at the hut. The apes have promised not to harm you. I will leave my spear with you. It will be the best weapon you could have in case you should need to protect yourself, but I doubt if you will be in any danger for the short time that I am away."
He walked with her as far as the boma and when she had entered he closed the gap with thorn bushes and turned away toward the forest. She watched him moving across the clearing, noting the easy, catlike tread and the grace of every movement that harmonized so well with the symmetry and perfection of his figure. At the forest's edge she saw him swing lightly into a tree and disappear from view, and then, being a woman, she entered the hut and, throwing herself upon the ground, burst into tears.
点击收听单词发音
1 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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2 rumor | |
n.谣言,谣传,传说 | |
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3 preposterous | |
adj.荒谬的,可笑的 | |
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4 corps | |
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组 | |
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5 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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6 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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7 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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8 panorama | |
n.全景,全景画,全景摄影,全景照片[装置] | |
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9 winding | |
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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10 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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11 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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12 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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13 tune | |
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
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14 lone | |
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
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15 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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16 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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17 belied | |
v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 );证明(或显示)…为虚假;辜负;就…扯谎 | |
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18 rosy | |
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的 | |
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19 strenuous | |
adj.奋发的,使劲的;紧张的;热烈的,狂热的 | |
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20 exigencies | |
n.急切需要 | |
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21 infested | |
adj.为患的,大批滋生的(常与with搭配)v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 );遍布于 | |
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22 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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23 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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24 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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25 savages | |
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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26 elicit | |
v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
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27 crouching | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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28 concealment | |
n.隐藏, 掩盖,隐瞒 | |
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29 appellation | |
n.名称,称呼 | |
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30 apprises | |
v.告知,通知( apprise的第三人称单数 );评价 | |
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31 fixedly | |
adv.固定地;不屈地,坚定不移地 | |
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32 impending | |
a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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33 placid | |
adj.安静的,平和的 | |
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34 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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35 contingencies | |
n.偶然发生的事故,意外事故( contingency的名词复数 );以备万一 | |
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36 shrub | |
n.灌木,灌木丛 | |
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37 aesthetic | |
adj.美学的,审美的,有美感 | |
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38 puffed | |
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
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39 ambush | |
n.埋伏(地点);伏兵;v.埋伏;伏击 | |
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40 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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41 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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42 proximity | |
n.接近,邻近 | |
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43 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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44 frenzy | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
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45 shrieking | |
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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46 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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47 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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48 permanently | |
adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地 | |
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49 dispersed | |
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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50 lodge | |
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆 | |
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51 chagrin | |
n.懊恼;气愤;委屈 | |
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52 brandishing | |
v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 );炫耀 | |
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53 savagery | |
n.野性 | |
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54 bolster | |
n.枕垫;v.支持,鼓励 | |
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55 waning | |
adj.(月亮)渐亏的,逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 );(月)亏;变小;变暗淡 | |
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56 initiating | |
v.开始( initiate的现在分词 );传授;发起;接纳新成员 | |
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57 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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58 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
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59 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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60 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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61 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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62 riddled | |
adj.布满的;充斥的;泛滥的v.解谜,出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
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63 brawny | |
adj.强壮的 | |
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64 prodded | |
v.刺,戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 );刺激;促使;(用手指或尖物)戳 | |
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65 potentate | |
n.统治者;君主 | |
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66 ushered | |
v.引,领,陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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68 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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69 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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70 odds | |
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别 | |
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71 rumored | |
adj.传说的,谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷 | |
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72 contemplated | |
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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73 regain | |
vt.重新获得,收复,恢复 | |
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74 tunic | |
n.束腰外衣 | |
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75 sergeant | |
n.警官,中士 | |
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76 exultation | |
n.狂喜,得意 | |
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77 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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78 demons | |
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念 | |
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79 strands | |
n.(线、绳、金属线、毛发等的)股( strand的名词复数 );缕;海洋、湖或河的)岸;(观点、计划、故事等的)部份v.使滞留,使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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80 fettered | |
v.给…上脚镣,束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81 doorway | |
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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82 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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83 forefinger | |
n.食指 | |
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84 plaza | |
n.广场,市场 | |
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85 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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86 sinister | |
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 | |
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87 doomed | |
命定的 | |
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88 doom | |
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
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89 shrug | |
v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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90 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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91 imperturbable | |
adj.镇静的 | |
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92 brutal | |
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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93 berating | |
v.严厉责备,痛斥( berate的现在分词 ) | |
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94 aviators | |
飞机驾驶员,飞行员( aviator的名词复数 ) | |
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95 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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96 congregated | |
(使)集合,聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97 reverted | |
恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 ); 重提; 回到…上; 归还 | |
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98 futile | |
adj.无效的,无用的,无希望的 | |
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99 knoll | |
n.小山,小丘 | |
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100 grassy | |
adj.盖满草的;长满草的 | |
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101 sparsely | |
adv.稀疏地;稀少地;不足地;贫乏地 | |
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102 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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103 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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104 enigma | |
n.谜,谜一样的人或事 | |
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105 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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106 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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107 appalling | |
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的 | |
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108 grudge | |
n.不满,怨恨,妒嫉;vt.勉强给,不情愿做 | |
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109 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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110 molesting | |
v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 );干扰;调戏;猥亵 | |
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111 fathom | |
v.领悟,彻底了解 | |
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112 denizens | |
n.居民,住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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113 denizen | |
n.居民,外籍居民 | |
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114 obtruding | |
v.强行向前,强行,强迫( obtrude的现在分词 ) | |
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115 demeanor | |
n.行为;风度 | |
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116 chivalry | |
n.骑士气概,侠义;(男人)对女人彬彬有礼,献殷勤 | |
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117 civilized | |
a.有教养的,文雅的 | |
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118 morbid | |
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的 | |
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119 craved | |
渴望,热望( crave的过去式 ); 恳求,请求 | |
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120 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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121 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) | |
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122 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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123 intercourse | |
n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
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124 emboldened | |
v.鼓励,使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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125 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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126 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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127 shrugged | |
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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128 detested | |
v.憎恶,嫌恶,痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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130 nefarious | |
adj.恶毒的,极坏的 | |
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131 colonized | |
开拓殖民地,移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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132 impartially | |
adv.公平地,无私地 | |
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133 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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134 grudging | |
adj.勉强的,吝啬的 | |
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135 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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136 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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137 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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138 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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139 gourds | |
n.葫芦( gourd的名词复数 ) | |
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140 retrace | |
v.折回;追溯,探源 | |
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141 looming | |
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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142 glossy | |
adj.平滑的;有光泽的 | |
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143 dangling | |
悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 ); 摆动不定; 用某事物诱惑…; 吊胃口 | |
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144 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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145 fangs | |
n.(尤指狗和狼的)长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 );(蛇的)毒牙;罐座 | |
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146 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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147 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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148 chagrined | |
adj.懊恼的,苦恼的v.使懊恼,使懊丧,使悔恨( chagrin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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149 lumbered | |
砍伐(lumber的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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150 amicable | |
adj.和平的,友好的;友善的 | |
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151 growling | |
n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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152 enraged | |
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤 | |
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153 anthropoid | |
adj.像人类的,类人猿的;n.类人猿;像猿的人 | |
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154 proprietorship | |
n.所有(权);所有权 | |
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155 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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156 arena | |
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台 | |
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157 ordeal | |
n.苦难经历,(尤指对品格、耐力的)严峻考验 | |
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158 meted | |
v.(对某人)施以,给予(处罚等)( mete的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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