The two voyagers were neither of the same race nor of the same species, yet they worked together without words, as if they had established some bond which gave them a rapport5 transcending6 the need for speech.
Dalgard Nordis was a son of the Colony; his kind had not originated on this planet. He was not as tall nor as heavily built as those Terran outlaw7 ancestors who had fled political enemies across the Galaxy8 to establish a foothold on Astra, and there were other subtle differences between his generation and the parent stock.
Thin and wiry, his skin was brown from the gentle toasting of the summer sun, making the fairness of his closely cropped hair even more noticeable. At his side was his long bow, carefully wrapped in water-resistant flying-dragon skin, and from the belt which supported his short breeches of tanned duocorn hide swung a two-foot blade—half wood-knife, half sword. To the eyes of his Terran forefathers10 he would have presented a barbaric picture. In his own mind he was amply clad and armed for the man-journey which[6] was both his duty and his heritage to make before he took his place as a full adult in the Council of Free Men.
In contrast to Dalgard's smooth skin, Sssuri was covered with a fluffy11 pelt12 of rainbow-tipped gray fur. In place of the human's steel blade, he wore one of bone, barbed and ugly, as menacing as the spear now resting in the bottom of the outrigger. And his round eyes watched the sea with the familiarity of one whose natural home was beneath those same waters.
The mouth of the cove was narrow, but after they negotiated it they found themselves in a pocket of bay, sheltered and calm, into which trickled13 a lazy stream. The gray-blue of the seashore sand was only a fringe beyond which was turf and green stuff. Sssuri's nostril15 flaps expanded as he tested the warm breeze, and Dalgard was busy cataloguing scents16 as they dragged their craft ashore14. They could not have found a more perfect place for a camp site.
Once the canoe was safely beached, Sssuri picked up his spear and, without a word or backward glance, waded17 out into the sea, disappearing into the depths, while his companion set about his share of camp tasks. It was still early in the summer—too early to expect to find ripe fruit. But Dalgard rummaged18 in his voyager's bag and brought out a half-dozen crystal beads19. He laid these out on a flat-topped stone by the stream, seating himself cross-legged beside it.
To the onlooker20 it would appear that the traveler was meditating21. A wide-winged living splotch of color fanned by overhead; there was a distant yap of sound. Dalgard neither looked nor listened. But perhaps a minute later what he awaited arrived. A hopper, its red-brown fur sleek22 and gleaming in the sun, its eternal curiosity drawing it, peered cautiously from the bushes. Dalgard made mind touch. The hoppers did not really think—at least not on the levels where communication was possible for the colonists23—but sen[7]sations of friendship and good will could be broadcast, primitive24 ideas exchanged.
The small animal, its humanlike front pawhands dangling25 over its creamy vest, came out fully9 into the open, black eyes flicking26 from the motionless Dalgard to the bright beads on the rock. But when one of those paws shot out to snatch the treasure, the traveler's hand was already cupped protectingly over the hoard27. Dalgard formed a mental picture and beamed it at the twenty-inch creature before him. The hopper's ears twitched28 nervously29, its blunt nose wrinkled, and then it bounded back into the brush, a weaving line of moving grass marking its retreat.
Dalgard withdrew his hand from the beads. Through the years the Astran colonists had come to recognize the virtues30 of patience. Perhaps the mutation31 had begun before they left their native world. Or perhaps the change in temperament32 and nature had occurred in the minds and bodies of that determined33 handful of refugees as they rested in the frozen cold sleep while their ship bore them through the wide, uncharted reaches of deep space for centuries of Terran time. How long that sleep had lasted the survivors34 had never known. But those who had awakened35 on Astra were different.
And their sons and daughters, and the sons and daughters of two more generations were warmed by a new sun, nourished by food grown in alien soil, taught the mind contact by the amphibian36 mermen with whom the space voyagers had made an early friendship—each succeeding child more attuned37 to the new home, less tied to the far-off world he had never seen or would see. The colonists were not of the same breed as their fathers, their grandfathers, or great-grandfathers. So, with other gifts, they had also a vast, time-consuming patience, which could be a weapon or a tool, as they pleased—not forgetting the instantaneous call to action which was their older heritage.
The hopper returned. On the rock beside the shin[8]ing things it coveted38, it dropped dried and shriveled fruit. Dalgard's fingers separated two of the gleaming marbles, rolled them toward the animal, who scooped39 them up with a chirp40 of delight. But it did not leave. Instead it peered intently at the rest of the beads. Hoppers had their own form of intelligence, though it might not compare with that of humans. And this one was enterprising. In the end it delivered three more loads of fruit from its burrow41 and took away all the beads, both parties well pleased with their bargains.
Sssuri splashed out of the sea with as little ado as he had entered. On the end of his spear twisted a fish. His fur, slicked flat to his strongly muscled body, began to dry in the air and fluff out while the sun awoke prismatic lights on the scales which covered his hands and feet. He dispatched the fish and cleaned it neatly42, tossing the offal back into the water, where some shadowy things arose to tear at the unusual bounty43.
"This is not hunting ground." His message formed in Dalgard's mind. "That finned44 one had no fear of me."
"We were right then in heading north; this is new land." Dalgard got to his feet.
On either side, the cliffs, with their alternate bands of red, blue, yellow, and white strata45, walled in this pocket. They would make far better time keeping to the sea lanes, where it was not necessary to climb. And it was Dalgard's cherished plan to add more than just an inch or two to the explorers' map in the Council Hall.
Each of the colony males was expected to make his man-journey of discovery sometimes between his eighteenth and twentieth year. He went alone or, if he formed an attachment46 with one of the mermen near his own age, accompanied only by his knife brother. And from knowledge so gained the still-small group[9] of exiles added to and expanded their information about their new home.
Caution was drilled into them. For they were not the first masters of Astra, nor were they the masters now. There were the ruins left by Those Others, the race who had populated this planet until their own wars had completed their downfall. And the mermen, with their traditions of slavery and dark beginnings in the experimental pens of the older race, continued to insist that across the sea—on the unknown western continent—Those Others still held onto the remnants of a degenerate47 civilization. Thus the explorers from Homeport went out by ones and twos and used the fauna48 of the land as a means of gathering49 information.
Hoppers could remember yesterday only dimly, and instinct took care of tomorrow. But what happened today sped from hopper to hopper and could warn by mind touch both merman and human. If one of the dread50 snake-devils of the interior was on the hunting trail, the hoppers sped the warning. Their vast curiosity brought them to the fringe of any disturbance51, and they passed the reason for it along. Dalgard knew there were a thousand eyes at his service whenever he wanted them. There was little chance of being taken by surprise, no matter how dangerous this journey north might be.
"The city—" He formed the words in his mind even as he spoke52 them aloud. "How far are we from it?"
The merman hunched53 his slim shoulders in the shrug54 of his race. "Three days' travel, maybe five. And it"—though his furred face displayed no readable emotion, the sensation of distaste was plain—"was one of the accursed ones. To such we have not returned since the days of falling fire—"
Dalgard was well acquainted with the ruins which lay not many miles from Homeport. And he knew that that sprawling55, devastated56 metropolis57 was not taboo58 to the merman. But this other mysterious settlement he had recently heard of was still shunned59 by the sea[10] people. Only Sssuri and a few others of youthful years would consider a journey to explore the long-forbidden section their traditions labeled as dangerous land.
The belief that he was about to venture into questionable60 territory had made Dalgard evasive when he reported his plans to the Elders three days earlier. But since such trips were, by tradition, always thrusts into the unknown, they had not questioned him too much. All in all, Dalgard thought, watching Sssuri flake61 the firm pink flesh from the fish, he might deem himself lucky and this quest ordained62. He went off to hack63 out armloads of grass and fashion the sleep mats for the sun-warmed ground.
They had eaten and were lounging in content on the soft sand just beyond the curl of the waves when Sssuri lifted his head from his folded arms as if he listened. Like all those of his species, his vestigial ears were hidden deep in his fur and no longer served any real purpose; the mind touch served him in their stead. Dalgard caught his thought, though what had aroused his companion was too rare a thread to trouble his less acute senses.
"Runners in the dark—"
Dalgard frowned. "It is still sun time. What disturbs them?"
To the eye Sssuri was still listening to that which his friend could not hear.
"They come from afar. They are on the move to find new hunting grounds."
Dalgard sat up. To each and every scout64 from Homeport the unusual was a warning, a signal to alert mind and body. The runners in the night—that furred monkey race of hunters who combed the moonless dark of Astra when most of the higher fauna were asleep—were very distantly related to Sssuri's species, though the gap between them was that between highly civilized65 man and the jungle ape. The runners were harmless and shy, but they were noted66 also for clinging stubbornly to one particular district genera[11]tion after generation. To find such a clan67 on the move into new territory was to be fronted with a puzzle it might be well to investigate.
"A snake-devil—" he suggested tentatively, forming a mind picture of the vicious reptilian68 danger which the colonists tried to kill on sight whenever and wherever encountered. His hand went to the knife at his belt. One met with weapons only that hissing69 hatred70 motivated by a brainless ferocity which did not know fear.
But Sssuri did not accept that explanation. He was sitting up, facing inland where the thread of valley met the cliff wall. And seeing his absorption, Dalgard asked no distracting questions.
"No, no snake-devil—" after long moments came the answer. He got to his feet, shuffling72 through the sand in the curious little half dance which betrayed his agitation73 more strongly than his thoughts had done.
"The hoppers have no news," Dalgard said.
Sssuri gestured impatiently with one outflung hand. "Do the hoppers wander far from their own nest mounds74? Somewhere there—" he pointed to the left and north, "there is trouble, bad trouble. Tonight we shall speak with the runners and discover what it may be."
Dalgard glanced about the camp with regret. But he made no protest as he reached for his bow and stripped off its protective casing. With the quiver of heavy-duty arrows slung75 across his shoulder he was ready to go, following Sssuri inland.
The easy valley path ended less than a quarter of a mile from the sea, and they were fronted by a wall of rock with no other option than to climb. But the westering sun made plain every possible hand and foot hold on its surface.
When they stood at last on the heights and looked ahead, it was across a broken stretch of bare rock with the green of vegetation beckoning76 from at least a mile beyond. Sssuri hesitated for only a moment or two,[12] his round, almost featureless head turning slowly, until he fixed77 on a northeasterly course—striking out unerringly as if he could already sight the goal. Dalgard fell in behind, looking over the country with a wary78 eye. This was just the type of land to harbor flying dragons. And while those pests were small, their lightning-swift attack from above made them foes79 not to be disregarded. But all the flying things he saw were two moth80 birds of delicate hues81 engaging far over the sun-baked rock in one of their graceful82 winged dances.
They crossed the heights and came to the inland slope, a drop toward the central interior plains of the continent. As they plowed83 through the high grasses Dalgard knew they were under observation. Hoppers watched them. And once through a break in a line of trees he saw a small herd84 of duocorns race into the shelter of a wood. The presence of those two-horned creatures, so like the pictures he had seen of Terran horses, was insurance that the snake-devils did not hunt in this district, for the swift-footed duocorns were never found within a day's journey of their archenemies.
Late afternoon faded into the long summer twilight85 and still Sssuri kept on. As yet they had come across no traces of Those Others. Here were none of the domed86 farm buildings, the monorail tracks, the other relics87 one could find about Homeport. This wide-open land could have been always a wilderness88, left to the animals of Astra for their own. Dalgard speculated upon that, his busy imagination supplying various reasons for such tract71. Then the voiceless communication of his companion provided an explanation.
"This was barrier land."
"What?"
Sssuri turned his head. His round eyes which blinked so seldom stared into Dalgard's as if by the intensity89 of that gaze he could drive home deeper his point.
"What lies to the north was protected in the days before the falling fire. Even Those"—the distorted mer[13]men symbol for Those Others was sharpened by the very hatred of all Sssuri's kind, which had not paled during the generations since their escape from slavery to Astra's one-time masters—"could not venture into some of their own private places without special leave. It is perhaps true that the city we are seeking is one of those restricted ones and that this wilderness is a boundary for it."
Dalgard's pace slowed. To venture into a section of land which had been used as a barrier to protect some secret of Those Others was a highly risky90 affair. The first expedition sent out from Homeport after the landing of the Terran refugee ship had been shot down by robot-controlled guns still set against some long-dead invader91. Would this territory be so guarded? If so they had better go carefully now—
Sssuri suddenly struck off at an angle, heading not northeast now, but directly north. The brush lands along the foot of the cliffs gave way to open fields, bare except for the grass rippled92 by the wind. It was not the type of country to attract the night runners, and Dalgard wondered a little. They should discover water, preferably a shallow stream, if they wanted to find what the monkey creatures liked best.
Within a quarter-hour he knew that Sssuri was not going wrong. Cradled in a sudden dip in the land was the stream Dalgard had been looking for. A hopper lifted a dripping muzzle93 from the shore ripples94 and stared at them. Dalgard contacted the animal. It was its usual curious self, nothing had alarmed or excited its interest. And he did not try to establish more than a casual contact as they made their way down the bank to the edge of the stream, Sssuri splashing in ankle-deep for the sheer pleasure of feeling liquid curl about his feet and legs once more.
Water dwellers95 fled from their passing and insects buzzed and hovered96. Otherwise they moved through a deserted97 world. The stream bed widened and small islands of gravel98, swept together in untidy piles by[14] the spring floods, arose dry topped, some already showing the green of venturesome plants.
"Here—" Sssuri stopped, thrusting the butt99 of his spear into the shore of one such islet. He dropped cross-legged on his choice, there to remain patiently until those he sought would come with the dark. Dalgard withdrew a little way downstream and took up a similar post. The runners were shy, not easy to approach. And they would come more readily if Sssuri were alone.
Here the murmur100 of the stream was loud, rising above the rustle101 of the wind-driven grass. And the night was coming fast as the sun, hidden by the cliff wall, sank into the sea. Dalgard, knowing that his night sight was far inferior to that of the native Astran fauna, resignedly settled himself for an all-night stay, not without a second regretful memory of the snug102 camp by the shore.
Twilight and then night. How long before the runners would make their appearance? He could pick up the sparks of thought which marked the coming and going of hoppers, most hurrying off to their mud-plastered nests, and sometimes a flicker103 from the mind of some other night creature. Once he was sure he touched the avid104, raging hunger which marked a flying dragon, though they were not naturally hunters by darkness.
Dalgard made no move to contact Sssuri. The merman must be left undisturbed in his mental quest for the runners.
The scout lay back on his miniature island and stared up into the sky, trying to sort out all the myriad105 impressions of life about him. It was then that he saw it....
An arrow of fire streaking106 across the black bowl of Astra's night sky. A light so vivid, so alien, that it brought him to his feet with a chill prickle of apprehension107 along his spine108. In all his years as a scout and woodsman, in all the stories of his fellows and his[15] elders at Homeport—he had never seen, never heard of the like of that!
And through his own wonder and alert alarm, he caught Sssuri's added puzzlement.
"Danger—" The merman's verdict fed his own unease.
Danger had crossed the night, from east to west. And to the west lay what they had always feared. What was going to happen now?
点击收听单词发音
1 cove | |
n.小海湾,小峡谷 | |
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2 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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3 steering | |
n.操舵装置 | |
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4 wielded | |
手持着使用(武器、工具等)( wield的过去式和过去分词 ); 具有; 运用(权力); 施加(影响) | |
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5 rapport | |
n.和睦,意见一致 | |
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6 transcending | |
超出或超越(经验、信念、描写能力等)的范围( transcend的现在分词 ); 优于或胜过… | |
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7 outlaw | |
n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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8 galaxy | |
n.星系;银河系;一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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9 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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10 forefathers | |
n.祖先,先人;祖先,祖宗( forefather的名词复数 );列祖列宗;前人 | |
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11 fluffy | |
adj.有绒毛的,空洞的 | |
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12 pelt | |
v.投掷,剥皮,抨击,开火 | |
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13 trickled | |
v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 );淌;使)慢慢走;缓慢移动 | |
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14 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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15 nostril | |
n.鼻孔 | |
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16 scents | |
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉 | |
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17 waded | |
(从水、泥等)蹚,走过,跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18 rummaged | |
翻找,搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 ); 已经海关检查 | |
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19 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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20 onlooker | |
n.旁观者,观众 | |
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21 meditating | |
a.沉思的,冥想的 | |
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22 sleek | |
adj.光滑的,井然有序的;v.使光滑,梳拢 | |
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23 colonists | |
n.殖民地开拓者,移民,殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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24 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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25 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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26 flicking | |
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的现在分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等) | |
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27 hoard | |
n./v.窖藏,贮存,囤积 | |
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28 twitched | |
vt.& vi.(使)抽动,(使)颤动(twitch的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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29 nervously | |
adv.神情激动地,不安地 | |
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30 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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31 mutation | |
n.变化,变异,转变 | |
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32 temperament | |
n.气质,性格,性情 | |
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33 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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34 survivors | |
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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35 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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36 amphibian | |
n.两栖动物;水陆两用飞机和车辆 | |
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37 attuned | |
v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 );调音 | |
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38 coveted | |
adj.令人垂涎的;垂涎的,梦寐以求的v.贪求,觊觎(covet的过去分词);垂涎;贪图 | |
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39 scooped | |
v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 );(敏捷地)抱起;抢先获得;用铲[勺]等挖(洞等) | |
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40 chirp | |
v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫 | |
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41 burrow | |
vt.挖掘(洞穴);钻进;vi.挖洞;翻寻;n.地洞 | |
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42 neatly | |
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地 | |
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43 bounty | |
n.慷慨的赠予物,奖金;慷慨,大方;施与 | |
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44 finned | |
adj.有鳍的,有鳍状物的 | |
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45 strata | |
n.地层(复数);社会阶层 | |
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46 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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47 degenerate | |
v.退步,堕落;adj.退步的,堕落的;n.堕落者 | |
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48 fauna | |
n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物,动物区系 | |
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49 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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50 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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51 disturbance | |
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调 | |
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52 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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53 hunched | |
(常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦)耸肩弓身的,伏首前倾的 | |
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54 shrug | |
v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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55 sprawling | |
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着) | |
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56 devastated | |
v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词);摧毁;毁灭;在感情上(精神上、财务上等)压垮adj.毁坏的;极为震惊的 | |
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57 metropolis | |
n.首府;大城市 | |
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58 taboo | |
n.禁忌,禁止接近,禁止使用;adj.禁忌的;v.禁忌,禁制,禁止 | |
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59 shunned | |
v.避开,回避,避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60 questionable | |
adj.可疑的,有问题的 | |
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61 flake | |
v.使成薄片;雪片般落下;n.薄片 | |
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62 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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63 hack | |
n.劈,砍,出租马车;v.劈,砍,干咳 | |
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64 scout | |
n.童子军,侦察员;v.侦察,搜索 | |
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65 civilized | |
a.有教养的,文雅的 | |
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66 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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67 clan | |
n.氏族,部落,宗族,家族,宗派 | |
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68 reptilian | |
adj.(像)爬行动物的;(像)爬虫的;卑躬屈节的;卑鄙的n.两栖动物;卑劣的人 | |
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69 hissing | |
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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70 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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71 tract | |
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林) | |
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72 shuffling | |
adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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73 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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74 mounds | |
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆 | |
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75 slung | |
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往 | |
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76 beckoning | |
adj.引诱人的,令人心动的v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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77 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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78 wary | |
adj.谨慎的,机警的,小心的 | |
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79 foes | |
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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80 moth | |
n.蛾,蛀虫 | |
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81 hues | |
色彩( hue的名词复数 ); 色调; 信仰; 观点 | |
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82 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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83 plowed | |
v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 );犁耕;费力穿过 | |
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84 herd | |
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
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85 twilight | |
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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86 domed | |
adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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87 relics | |
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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88 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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89 intensity | |
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
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90 risky | |
adj.有风险的,冒险的 | |
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91 invader | |
n.侵略者,侵犯者,入侵者 | |
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92 rippled | |
使泛起涟漪(ripple的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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93 muzzle | |
n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默 | |
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94 ripples | |
逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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95 dwellers | |
n.居民,居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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96 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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97 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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98 gravel | |
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石 | |
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99 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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100 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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101 rustle | |
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
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102 snug | |
adj.温暖舒适的,合身的,安全的;v.使整洁干净,舒适地依靠,紧贴;n.(英)酒吧里的私房 | |
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103 flicker | |
vi./n.闪烁,摇曳,闪现 | |
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104 avid | |
adj.热心的;贪婪的;渴望的;劲头十足的 | |
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105 myriad | |
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量 | |
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106 streaking | |
n.裸奔(指在公共场所裸体飞跑)v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 );使布满条纹 | |
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107 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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108 spine | |
n.脊柱,脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊 | |
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