Gahan of Gathol watched every play with eagle eye. The match was an unimportant one, being but to settle some petty dispute between two chiefs, and was played with professional jetan players for points only. No one was killed and there was but little blood spilled. It lasted about an hour and was terminated by the chief of the losing side deliberately5 permitting himself to be out-pointed6, that the game might be called a draw.
Again the trumpet sounded, this time announcing the second and last game of the afternoon. While this was not considered an important match, those being reserved for the fourth and fifth days of the games, it promised to afford sufficient excitement since it was a game to the death. The vital difference between the game played with living men and that in which inanimate pieces are used, lies in the fact that while in the latter the mere7 placing of a piece upon a square occupied by an opponent piece terminates the move, in the former the two pieces thus brought together engage in a duel8 for possession of the square. Therefore there enters into the former game not only the strategy of jetan but the personal prowess and bravery of each individual piece, so that a knowledge not only of one's own men but of each player upon the opposing side is of vast value to a chief.
In this respect was Gahan handicapped, though the loyalty9 of his players did much to offset10 his ignorance of them, since they aided him in arranging the board to the best advantage and told him honestly the faults and virtues11 of each. One fought best in a losing game; another was too slow; another too impetuous; this one had fire and a heart of steel, but lacked endurance. Of the opponents, though, they knew little or nothing, and now as the two sides took their places upon the black and orange squares of the great jetan board Gahan obtained, for the first time, a close view of those who opposed him. The Orange Chief had not yet entered the field, but his men were all in place. Val Dor turned to Gahan. "They are all criminals from the pits of Manator," he said. "There is no slave among them. We shall not have to fight against a single fellow-countryman and every life we take will be the life of an enemy."
"It is well," replied Gahan; "but where is their Chief, and where the two Princesses?"
"They are coming now, see?" and he pointed across the field to where two women could be seen approaching under guard.
As they came nearer Gahan saw that one was indeed Tara of Helium, but the other he did not recognize, and then they were brought to the center of the field midway between the two sides and there waited until the Orange Chief arrived.
Floran voiced an exclamation12 of surprise when he recognized him. "By my first ancestor if it is not one of their great chiefs," he said, "and we were told that slaves and criminals were to play for the stake of this game."
His words were interrupted by the keeper of The Towers whose duty it was not only to announce the games and the stakes, but to act as referee13 as well.
"Of this, the second game of the first day of the Jeddak's Games in the four hundred and thirty-third year of O-Tar, Jeddak of Manator, the Princesses of each side shall be the sole stakes and to the survivors14 of the winning side shall belong both the Princesses, to do with as they shall see fit. The Orange Princess is the slave woman Lan-O of Gathol; the Black Princess is the slave woman Tara, a princess of Helium. The Black Chief is U-Kal of Manataj, a volunteer player; the Orange Chief is the dwar U-Dor of the 8th Utan of the jeddak of Manator, also a volunteer player. The squares shall be contested to the death. Just are the laws of Manator! I have spoken."
The initial move was won by U-Dor, following which the two Chiefs escorted their respective Princesses to the square each was to occupy. It was the first time Gahan had been alone with Tara since she had been brought upon the field. He saw her scrutinizing15 him closely as he approached to lead her to her place and wondered if she recognized him: but if she did she gave no sign of it. He could not but remember her last words—"I hate you!" and her desertion of him when he had been locked in the room beneath the palace by I-Gos, the taxidermist, and so he did not seek to enlighten her as to his identity. He meant to fight for her—to die for her, if necessary—and if he did not die to go on fighting to the end for her love. Gahan of Gathol was not easily to be discouraged, but he was compelled to admit that his chances of winning the love of Tara of Helium were remote. Already had she repulsed16 him twice. Once as jed of Gathol and again as Turan the panthan. Before his love, however, came her safety and the former must be relegated17 to the background until the latter had been achieved.
Passing among the players already at their stations the two took their places upon their respective squares. At Tara's left was the Black Chief, Gahan of Gathol; directly in front of her the Princess' Panthan, Floran of Gathol; and at her right the Princess' Odwar, Val Dor of Helium. And each of these knew the part that he was to play, win or lose, as did each of the other Black players. As Tara took her place Val Dor bowed low. "My sword is at your feet, Tara of Helium," he said.
She turned and looked at him, an expression of surprise and incredulity upon her face. "Val Dor, the dwar!" she exclaimed. "Val Dor of Helium—one of my father's trusted captains! Can it be possible that my eyes speak the truth?"
"It is Val Dor, Princess," the warrior18 replied, "and here to die for you if need be, as is every wearer of the Black upon this field of jetan today. Know Princess," he whispered, "that upon this side is no man of Manator, but each and every is an enemy of Manator."
She cast a quick, meaning glance toward Gahan. "But what of him?" she whispered, and then she caught her breath quickly in surprise. "Shade of the first jeddak!" she exclaimed. "I did but just recognize him through his disguise."
"And you trust him?" asked Val Dor. "I know him not; but he spoke fairly, as an honorable warrior, and we have taken him at his word."
"You have made no mistake," replied Tara of Helium. "I would trust him with my life—with my soul; and you, too, may trust him."
Happy indeed would have been Gahan of Gathol could he have heard those words; but Fate, who is usually unkind to the lover in such matters, ordained19 it otherwise, and then the game was on.
U-Dor moved his Princess' Odwar three squares diagonally to the right, which placed the piece upon the Black Chief's Odwar's seventh. The move was indicative of the game that U-Dor intended playing—a game of blood, rather than of science—and evidenced his contempt for his opponents.
Gahan followed with his Odwar's Panthan one square straight forward, a more scientific move, which opened up an avenue for himself through his line of Panthans, as well as announcing to the players and spectators that he intended having a hand in the fighting himself even before the exigencies20 of the game forced it upon him. The move elicited21 a ripple22 of applause from those sections of seats reserved for the common warriors23 and their women, showing perhaps that U-Dor was none too popular with these, and, too, it had its effect upon the morale24 of Gahan's pieces. A Chief may, and often does, play almost an entire game without leaving his own square, where, mounted upon a thoat, he may overlook the entire field and direct each move, nor may he be reproached for lack of courage should he elect thus to play the game since, by the rules, were he to be slain25 or so badly wounded as to be compelled to withdraw, a game that might otherwise have been won by the science of his play and the prowess of his men would be drawn26. To invite personal combat, therefore, denotes confidence in his own swordsmanship, and great courage, two attributes that were calculated to fill the Black players with hope and valor27 when evinced by their Chief thus early in the game.
U-Dor's next move placed Lan-O's Odwar upon Tara's Odwar's fourth—within striking distance of the Black Princess.
Another move and the game would be lost to Gahan unless the Orange Odwar was overthrown28, or Tara moved to a position of safety; but to move his Princess now would be to admit his belief in the superiority of the Orange. In the three squares allowed him he could not place himself squarely upon the square occupied by the Odwar of U-Dor's Princess. There was only one player upon the Black side that might dispute the square with the enemy and that was the Chief's Odwar, who stood upon Gahan's left. Gahan turned upon his thoat and looked at the man. He was a splendid looking fellow, resplendent in the gorgeous trappings of an Odwar, the five brilliant feathers which denoted his position rising defiantly29 erect30 from his thick, black hair. In common with every player upon the field and every spectator in the crowded stands he knew what was passing in his Chief's mind. He dared not speak, the ethics31 of the game forbade it, but what his lips might not voice his eyes expressed in martial32 fire, and eloquently33: "The honor of the Black and the safety of our Princess are secure with me!"
Gahan hesitated no longer. "Chief's Odwar to Princess' Odwar's fourth!" he commanded. It was the courageous34 move of a leader who had taken up the gauntlet thrown down by his opponent.
The warrior sprang forward and leaped into the square occupied by U-Dor's piece. It was the first disputed square of the game. The eyes of the players were fastened upon the contestants35, the spectators leaned forward in their seats after the first applause that had greeted the move, and silence fell upon the vast assemblage. If the Black went down to defeat, U-Dor could move his victorious36 piece on to the square occupied by Tara of Helium and the game would be over—over in four moves and lost to Gahan of Gathol. If the Orange lost U-Dor would have sacrificed one of his most important pieces and more than lost what advantage the first move might have given him.
Physically37 the two men appeared perfectly38 matched and each was fighting for his life, but from the first it was apparent that the Black Odwar was the better swordsman, and Gahan knew that he had another and perhaps a greater advantage over his antagonist39. The latter was fighting for his life only, without the spur of chivalry40 or loyalty. The Black Odwar had these to strengthen his arm, and besides these the knowledge of the thing that Gahan had whispered into the ears of his players before the game, and so he fought for what is more than life to the man of honor.
It was a duel that held those who witnessed it in spellbound silence. The weaving blades gleamed in the brilliant sunlight, ringing to the parries of cut and thrust. The barbaric harness of the duelists lent splendid color to the savage41, martial scene. The Orange Odwar, forced upon the defensive42, was fighting madly for his life. The Black, with cool and terrible efficiency, was forcing him steadily43, step by step, into a corner of the square—a position from which there could be no escape. To abandon the square was to lose it to his opponent and win for himself ignoble44 and immediate45 death before the jeering46 populace. Spurred on by the seeming hopelessness of his plight47, the Orange Odwar burst into a sudden fury of offense48 that forced the Black back a half dozen steps, and then the sword of U-Dor's piece leaped in and drew first blood, from the shoulder of his merciless opponent. An ill-smothered cry of encouragement went up from U-Dor's men; the Orange Odwar, encouraged by his single success, sought to bear down the Black by the rapidity of his attack. There was a moment in which the swords moved with a rapidity that no man's eye might follow, and then the Black Odwar made a lightning parry of a vicious thrust, leaned quickly forward into the opening he had effected, and drove his sword through the heart of the Orange Odwar—to the hilt he drove it through the body of the Orange Odwar.
A shout arose from the stands, for wherever may have been the favor of the spectators, none there was who could say that it had not been a pretty fight, or that the better man had not won. And from the Black players came a sigh of relief as they relaxed from the tension of the past moments.
I shall not weary you with the details of the game—only the high features of it are necessary to your understanding of the outcome. The fourth move after the victory of the Black Odwar found Gahan upon U-Dor's fourth; an Orange Panthan was on the adjoining square diagonally to his right and the only opposing piece that could engage him other than U-Dor himself.
It had been apparent to both players and spectators for the past two moves, that Gahan was moving straight across the field into the enemy's country to seek personal combat with the Orange Chief—that he was staking all upon his belief in the superiority of his own swordsmanship, since if the two Chiefs engage, the outcome decides the game. U-Dor could move out and engage Gahan, or he could move his Princess' Panthan upon the square occupied by Gahan in the hope that the former would defeat the Black Chief and thus draw the game, which is the outcome if any other than a Chief slays50 the opposing Chief, or he could move away and escape, temporarily, the necessity for personal combat, or at least that is evidently what he had in mind as was obvious to all who saw him scanning the board about him; and his disappointment was apparent when he finally discovered that Gahan had so placed himself that there was no square to which U-Dor could move that it was not within Gahan's power to reach at his own next move.
U-Dor had placed his own Princess four squares east of Gahan when her position had been threatened, and he had hoped to lure51 the Black Chief after her and away from U-Dor; but in that he had failed. He now discovered that he might play his own Odwar into personal combat with Gahan; but he had already lost one Odwar and could ill spare the other. His position was a delicate one, since he did not wish to engage Gahan personally, while it appeared that there was little likelihood of his being able to escape. There was just one hope and that lay in his Princess' Panthan, so, without more deliberation he ordered the piece onto the square occupied by the Black Chief.
The sympathies of the spectators were all with Gahan now. If he lost, the game would be declared a draw, nor do they think better of drawn games upon Barsoom than do Earth men. If he won, it would doubtless mean a duel between the two Chiefs, a development for which they all were hoping. The game already bade fair to be a short one and it would be an angry crowd should it be decided53 a draw with only two men slain. There were great, historic games on record where of the forty pieces on the field when the game opened only three survived—the two Princesses and the victorious Chief.
They blamed U-Dor, though in fact he was well within his rights in directing his play as he saw fit, nor was a refusal on his part to engage the Black Chief necessarily an imputation54 of cowardice55. He was a great chief who had conceived a notion to possess the slave Tara. There was no honor that could accrue56 to him from engaging in combat with slaves and criminals, or an unknown warrior from Manataj, nor was the stake of sufficient import to warrant the risk.
But now the duel between Gahan and the Orange Panthan was on and the decision of the next move was no longer in other hands than theirs. It was the first time that these Manatorians had seen Gahan of Gathol fight, but Tara of Helium knew that he was master of his sword. Could he have seen the proud light in her eyes as he crossed blades with the wearer of the Orange, he might easily have wondered if they were the same eyes that had flashed fire and hatred57 at him that time he had covered her lips with mad kisses, in the pits of the palace of O-Tar. As she watched him she could not but compare his swordplay with that of the greatest swordsman of two worlds—her father, John Carter, of Virginia, a Prince of Helium, Warlord of Barsoom—and she knew that the skill of the Black Chief suffered little by the comparison.
Short and to the point was the duel that decided possession of the Orange Chief's fourth. The spectators had settled themselves for an interesting engagement of at least average duration when they were brought almost standing49 by a brilliant flash of rapid swordplay that was over ere one could catch his breath. They saw the Black Chief step quickly back, his point upon the ground, while his opponent, his sword slipping from his fingers, clutched his breast, sank to his knees and then lunged forward upon his face.
And then Gahan of Gathol turned his eyes directly upon U-Dor of Manator, three squares away. Three squares is a Chief's move—three squares in any direction or combination of directions, only provided that he does not cross the same square twice in a given move. The people saw and guessed Gahan's intention. They rose and roared forth58 their approval as he moved deliberately across the intervening squares toward the Orange Chief.
O-Tar, in the royal enclosure, sat frowning upon the scene. O-Tar was angry. He was angry with U-Dor for having entered this game for possession of a slave, for whom it had been his wish only slaves and criminals should strive. He was angry with the warrior from Manataj for having so far out-generaled and out-fought the men from Manator. He was angry with the populace because of their open hostility59 toward one who had basked60 in the sunshine of his favor for long years. O-Tar the jeddak had not enjoyed the afternoon. Those who surrounded him were equally glum—they, too, scowled61 upon the field, the players, and the people. Among them was a bent62 and wrinkled old man who gazed through weak and watery63 eyes upon the field and the players.
As Gahan entered his square, U-Dor leaped toward him with drawn sword with such fury as might have overborne a less skilled and powerful swordsman. For a minute the fighting was fast and furious and by comparison reducing to insignificance64 all that had gone before. Here indeed were two magnificent swordsmen, and here was to be a battle that bade fair to make up for whatever the people felt they had been defrauded65 of by the shortness of the game. Nor had it continued long before many there were who would have prophesied66 that they were witnessing a duel that was to become historic in the annals of jetan at Manator. Every trick, every subterfuge67, known to the art of fence these men employed. Time and again each scored a point and brought blood to his opponent's copper68 hide until both were red with gore69; but neither seemed able to administer the coup70 de grace.
From her position upon the opposite side of the field Tara of Helium watched the long-drawn battle. Always it seemed to her that the Black Chief fought upon the defensive, or when he assumed to push his opponent, he neglected a thousand openings that her practiced eye beheld71. Never did he seem in real danger, nor never did he appear to exert himself to quite the pitch needful for victory. The duel already had been long contested and the day was drawing to a close. Presently the sudden transition from daylight to darkness which, owing to the tenuity of the air upon Barsoom, occurs almost without the warning twilight72 of Earth, would occur. Would the fight never end? Would the game be called a draw after all? What ailed52 the Black Chief?
Tara wished that she might answer at least the last of these questions for she was sure that Turan the panthan, as she knew him, while fighting brilliantly, was not giving of himself all that he might. She could not believe that fear was restraining his hand, but that there was something beside inability to push U-Dor more fiercely she was confident. What it was, however, she could not guess.
Once she saw Gahan glance quickly up toward the sinking sun. In thirty minutes it would be dark. And then she saw and all those others saw a strange transition steal over the swordplay of the Black Chief. It was as though he had been playing with the great dwar, U-Dor, all these hours, and now he still played with him but there was a difference. He played with him terribly as a carnivore plays with its victim in the instant before the kill. The Orange Chief was helpless now in the hands of a swordsman so superior that there could be no comparison, and the people sat in open-mouthed wonder and awe73 as Gahan of Gathol cut his foe74 to ribbons and then struck him down with a blow that cleft75 him to the chin.
In twenty minutes the sun would set. But what of that?
点击收听单词发音
1 trumpet | |
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘 | |
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2 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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3 discords | |
不和(discord的复数形式) | |
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4 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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5 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
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6 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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7 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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8 duel | |
n./v.决斗;(双方的)斗争 | |
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9 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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10 offset | |
n.分支,补偿;v.抵消,补偿 | |
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11 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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12 exclamation | |
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词 | |
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13 referee | |
n.裁判员.仲裁人,代表人,鉴定人 | |
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14 survivors | |
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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15 scrutinizing | |
v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的现在分词 ) | |
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16 repulsed | |
v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 );驳斥;拒绝 | |
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17 relegated | |
v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 );使降职;转移;把…归类 | |
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18 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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19 ordained | |
v.任命(某人)为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 );授予(某人)圣职;(上帝、法律等)命令;判定 | |
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20 exigencies | |
n.急切需要 | |
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21 elicited | |
引出,探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22 ripple | |
n.涟波,涟漪,波纹,粗钢梳;vt.使...起涟漪,使起波纹; vi.呈波浪状,起伏前进 | |
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23 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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24 morale | |
n.道德准则,士气,斗志 | |
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25 slain | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
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26 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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27 valor | |
n.勇气,英勇 | |
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28 overthrown | |
adj. 打翻的,推倒的,倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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29 defiantly | |
adv.挑战地,大胆对抗地 | |
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30 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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31 ethics | |
n.伦理学;伦理观,道德标准 | |
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32 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
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33 eloquently | |
adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地) | |
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34 courageous | |
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的 | |
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35 contestants | |
n.竞争者,参赛者( contestant的名词复数 ) | |
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36 victorious | |
adj.胜利的,得胜的 | |
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37 physically | |
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律 | |
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38 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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39 antagonist | |
n.敌人,对抗者,对手 | |
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40 chivalry | |
n.骑士气概,侠义;(男人)对女人彬彬有礼,献殷勤 | |
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41 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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42 defensive | |
adj.防御的;防卫的;防守的 | |
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43 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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44 ignoble | |
adj.不光彩的,卑鄙的;可耻的 | |
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45 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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46 jeering | |
adj.嘲弄的,揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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47 plight | |
n.困境,境况,誓约,艰难;vt.宣誓,保证,约定 | |
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48 offense | |
n.犯规,违法行为;冒犯,得罪 | |
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49 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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50 slays | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的第三人称单数 ) | |
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51 lure | |
n.吸引人的东西,诱惑物;vt.引诱,吸引 | |
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52 ailed | |
v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 );感到不舒服;处境困难;境况不佳 | |
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53 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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54 imputation | |
n.归罪,责难 | |
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55 cowardice | |
n.胆小,怯懦 | |
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56 accrue | |
v.(利息等)增大,增多 | |
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57 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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58 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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59 hostility | |
n.敌对,敌意;抵制[pl.]交战,战争 | |
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60 basked | |
v.晒太阳,取暖( bask的过去式和过去分词 );对…感到乐趣;因他人的功绩而出名;仰仗…的余泽 | |
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61 scowled | |
怒视,生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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63 watery | |
adj.有水的,水汪汪的;湿的,湿润的 | |
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64 insignificance | |
n.不重要;无价值;无意义 | |
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65 defrauded | |
v.诈取,骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66 prophesied | |
v.预告,预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67 subterfuge | |
n.诡计;藉口 | |
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68 copper | |
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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69 gore | |
n.凝血,血污;v.(动物)用角撞伤,用牙刺破;缝以补裆;顶 | |
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70 coup | |
n.政变;突然而成功的行动 | |
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71 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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72 twilight | |
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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73 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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74 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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75 cleft | |
n.裂缝;adj.裂开的 | |
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