THE journey between dimensions was more violent than Artemis remembered. There was no time to reflect on various scenery changes, and barely time for his senses to register sights, sounds or temperature changes. They were ripped from their own dimension and dragged through wormholes of space and time with only their consciousnesses intact. Only once did they materialize for the briefest second.
The landscape was grey, bleak1 and pockmarked, and in the distance Artemis could see a blue planet camouflaged2 by cloud cover.
I'm on the moon, thought Artemis, then they were gone again, drawn3 by the lure4 of Hybras.
It was an unnatural5 feeling, this out-of-body, out-of-mind travel. How am I still aware? thought Artemis. How is any of this possible?
And stranger still, when he concentrated, Artemis could feel the thoughts of the others swirling6 around him. It was mostly broad emotions, such as fear or excitement. But after a bit of mental twiddling, Artemis detected specific thoughts too.
There was Holly7, wondering if her weapon would arrive intact. Typical soldier. And there was No.l, fretting8 inces-santly, not about the journey itself but about someone who would be waiting for him in Hybras. Abbot. A demon9 named Abbot.
Artemis reached out and found Qwan floating in the ether. His mind was formidable, juggling10 complex compu-tations and philosophical11 puzzles.
You are keeping the mind active, young human.
Artemis's consciousness realized that this thought was directed at him. The warlock had felt his clumsy probe.
Artemis could feel a difference between his mind and the others. They had something different. An alien energy. It was difficult to explain a feeling without senses, but for some reason it seemed to be blue. A blue plasma12, electric and alive. Artemis allowed this rich feeling to flow through his mind and was instantly jolted13 by its energy,
Magic, he realized. Magic is in the mind. Now this was something worth knowing. Artemis retreated to his own mind-space, but he took a sample of the blue plasma with him. You never know when a touch of magic would come in useful.
They materialized on Hybras, inside the crater14 itself. Their arrival was accompanied by a flash of displaced energy. The group lay on the soot15-blackened slopes, panting and steam-ing. The ground beneath them was warm to the touch, and the acrid16 stink17 of sulphur stung their nostrils18. The eupho-ria of materialization soon dissipated.
Artemis breathed experimentally, the air from his mouth blowing up small dust eddies20. Volcanic21 gas made his eyes water, and flat flakes22 of ash instantly coated every exposed patch of skin.
'This could be hell,' he commented.
'Hell or Hybras,' said No.l, climbing to his knees. 'I got some of this ash on a tunic23 before. It never comes out.'
Holly was up too, running a systems check on her equip-ment.
'My Neutrino is fine. But I can't get a lock on a communications signal. We're on our own. And I seem to have lost the bomb.'
Artemis kneeled, his knees cracking through the ash crust, releasing the heat below. He glanced at his watch and caught sight of his own face. His hair was grey with ash, and for a second he thought he was looking at his father.
A thought struck him. I look like my father, a father I may never see again. Mother. Butler. I have only one friend left.
'Holly,' he said. 'Let me look at you.'
Holly did not look up from her wrist computer.
'No time right now, Artemis.'
Artemis padded across to her, walking gingerly on the thin crust.
'Holly, let me look at you,' he said again, holding her shoulders.
Something in Artemis's voice made Holly stop what she was doing and pay attention. This was not a tone Artemis Fowl24 used very often. It could almost class as tenderness.
'I just need to make sure you're still you. Things get mixed up between dimensions. On my last trip, I switched fingers.'
He held up his hand for her to see. 'Strange, I know. But you seem to be fine. All present and correct.'
Something flashed in the corner of Artemis's eye. There was a metal case half buried in the ash further up the crater wall.
'The bomb,' sighed Artemis. 'I thought we'd lost it in transit25. There was a flash when we landed.'
Qwan hurried across to the bomb. 'No. That was energy displacement26. Mostly mine. Magic is almost another being. It flows where it will. Some of mine did not flow back to me in time, and ignited on re-entry. I am happy to say that the rest of my power is fired up and ready to go.'
Artemis was struck by how much of this prehistoric27 being's language was similar to NASA jargon28. No wonder we don't have a chance against the fairies, he thought. They were solving dimensional equations when we were still knocking stones together.
Artemis helped the warlock to heave the bomb from the ash's grip. The timer had been knocked for six by the time-jump and now read over five thousand hours. Finally, a stroke of luck.
Artemis used Butler's picks to examine the bomb's workings. Maybe he could disarm29 it if he had a few months, a couple of computers and some laser tools. Without those things, there was about as much chance of him disarming30 this weapon, as there was of a squirrel making a paper aero-plane.
'This bomb is perfectly31 operational,' he said to Qwan. 'Only the timer was affected32.'
The warlock stroked his beard. 'That makes sense. That instrument is relatively33 simple, compared to the complex-ity of our bodies. The dimension tunnel would have no trouble reassembling it. The timer is another matter. It will be affected by any time-flares we run across here. It could blow at any second, or never.'
Not never, thought Artemis. I may not be able to disarm this thing, but I can certainly blow it, when I need to.
Holly peered at the deadly device. 'Is there any way we can dispose of it?'
Qwan shook his head. 'Inanimate objects cannot travel unaccompanied in the time tunnel. We, on the other hand, could get sucked back in at any moment. We need to get some silver on us immediately.'
Holly glanced at Artemis. 'Maybe some of us want to get sucked back in.'
'Maybe you do,' said Qwan. 'But under certain condi-tions. If you just let yourselves go, who knows where you'll end up. Or when. Your natural space and time will attract you, but with the spell deteriorating35, you could arrive encased in rock a mile below the surface, or stranded36 on the moon.'
This was a sobering thought. It was one thing to have a quick tourist's look at the surface of the moon. It was quite another to be stuck there forever. Not that you would know anything about it after the first minute.
'So we're stuck here?' said Holly. 'Come on, Artemis. You have a plan. You always have a plan.'
The others gathered round Artemis. There was some-thing about him that made people assume that he was the leader. Perhaps it was the way he assumed it himself. Also, in this instance, he was the tallest person in the group.
He smiled briefly37. So this is how Butler feels all the time.
'We all have our reasons for wanting to go back,' he began. 'Holly and I have left loved ones behind. Friends and family we would dearly love to see again. Number One and Qwan, you need to get your People out of this dimen-sion. The spell is unravelling38, and soon nowhere on this island will be safe. If my calculations are correct, and I feel certain that they are, then not even silver can anchor you here for much longer. Now, you can go when the spell dictates39, or we can decide when to make the jump.'
Qwan did his sums in his head. 'Not possible. It took seven warlocks and a volcano to move the island here. To get us back I would need seven magical beings. Warlocks preferably. And of course, a live volcano, which we don't have.'
'Does it have to be a volcano? Wouldn't any energy source do?'
'Theoretically,' agreed Qwan. 'So, you're saying we could use the bomb?'
'It's possible.'
'Highly unlikely, but possible. I still need seven magical beings.'
'But the spell is already cast,' argued Artemis. 'The infra-structure is there. Couldn't you do it with fewer?'
Qwan wagged a finger at Artemis. 'You are a smart Mud Boy. Yes, maybe I could do it with fewer. Of course we would not know until we arrived.'
'How many?'
'Five. Five at the absolute least.'
Holly ground her teeth. 'We only have three, and Number One's a novice40. So we need to find two demons41 with magic on this island.'
'Impossible,' snapped Qwan. 'Once an imp34 warps42, that's the end of any magic they might have. Only warlocks, like myself and Number One, do not warp43. So we keep our magic.'
Artemis brushed ash from his jacket.
'Our first priority is to get out of this crater and find some silver. I suggest we leave the bomb here. The temper-ature is not enough to ignite it, and if it does explode, the volcano will absorb some of the force. If we are going to find some other magical creature, we will undoubtedly44 have a better chance outside this crater. At any rate, the sulphur is giving me a headache.'
Artemis did not wait for agreement. He turned and made for the crater lip. After a moment, the others followed, struggling with each footfall through the crust of ash. It reminded Artemis of a giant sand dune45 he'd trudged46 up with his father once. Here, falling would have harsher consequences.
It was a difficult and treacherous47 hike. The ash concealed48 grooves49 in the rock and small crevasses50 that vented51 warm air from the volcano. Colourful fungi52 grew in clusters around these vents53, and they glowed in the crater shadows like coral night lights.
Nobody spoke54 much during the climb. No.l muttered his way through large tracts55 of the dictionary, but the others realized that this was his way of keeping his chin up.
Artemis glanced upwards56 occasionally. The sky was dawn red and glowed above him like a lake of blood.
That's a cheery metaphor57, thought Artemis. Maybe it says something about my character that a lake of blood is the only image I can come up with.
No.l 's build was best suited for the steep climb. He had a low centre of gravity, and could rest on his stumpy tail if need be. His thick feet anchored him securely and armoured plates covering his body protected him from sparks or bruising58 in the event of a fall.
Qwan was clearly suffering. The old warlock had been a statue for the past ten thousand years and was still work-ing the kinks out of his bones. Magic soothed59 the process somewhat, but even magic could not completely erase60 the pain. He winced61 each time his foot punctured62 the soot crust.
Finally the group reached the summit. If time had passed it was impossible to tell how much. The sky still had the same red tinge63, and all timepieces had virtually stopped.
Holly jogged the last few steps, then raised her right hand, fingers closed in a fist.
'That means halt,' Artemis told the others. 'It's a mili-tary thing. Human soldiers use the exact same sign.'
Holly poked64 her head above the rim19 for a moment, then returned to the group.
'What does it mean if there are a lot of demons on their way up the mountain?'
Qwan smiled. 'It means our brother demons saw the flash of our arrival and are coming to greet us.'
'And what does it mean if they are all armed with cross-bows?'
'Hmm,' mused65 Qwan. 'That could be a touch more serious.'
'How bad can they be?' asked Artemis. 'We've faced trolls together.'
'It's fine,' said Holly, powering up her handgun. 'They're not so big. We're going to be fine. Really.'
Artemis frowned. Holly only bothered reassuring66 him when they were in deep trouble.
'That bad?' he said.
Holly whistled, shaking her head. 'You have no idea.'
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1
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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camouflaged
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| v.隐蔽( camouflage的过去式和过去分词 )；掩盖；伪装，掩饰 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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juggling
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| n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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plasma
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| n.血浆，细胞质，乳清 | |
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jolted
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| （使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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soot
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| n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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displacement
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| n.移置，取代，位移，排水量 | |
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prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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disarming
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| adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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imp
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| n.顽童 | |
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deteriorating
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| 恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 ) | |
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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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unravelling
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| 解开，拆散，散开( unravel的现在分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚 | |
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dictates
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| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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novice
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| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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warps
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| n.弯曲( warp的名词复数 )；歪斜；经线；经纱v.弄弯，变歪( warp的第三人称单数 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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warp
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| vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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dune
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| n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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crevasses
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| n.破口，崩溃处，裂缝( crevasse的名词复数 ) | |
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51
vented
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| 表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fungi
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| n.真菌，霉菌 | |
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vents
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| （气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩 | |
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54
spoke
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| 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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tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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metaphor
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| n.隐喻，暗喻 | |
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bruising
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| adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式) | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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erase
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| v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
punctured
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| v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
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63
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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64
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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