Tod had other and more successful rivals than Homer Simpson. One of the most important was a young man called Earle Shoop.
Earle was a cowboy from a small town in Arizona. He worked occasionally in horse-operas and spent the rest of his time in front of a saddlery store on Sunset Boulevard. In the window of this store was an enormous Mexican saddle covered with carved silver, and around it was arranged a large collection of torture instruments. Among other things there were fancy, braided quirts, spurs with great spiked1 wheels, and double bits that looked as though they could break a horse’s jaw2 without trouble. Across the back of the window ran a low shelf on which was a row of boots, some black, some red and some a pale yellow. All of the boots had scalloped tops and very high heels.
Earle always stood with his back to the window, his eyes fixed3 on a sign on the roof of a one-story building across the street that read: “Malted Milks Too Thick For A Straw.” Regularly, twice every hour, he pulled a sack of tobacco and a sheaf of papers from his shirt pocket and rolled a cigarette. Then he tightened4 the cloth of his trousers by lifting his knee and struck a match along the underside of his thigh5.
He was over six feet tall. The big Stetson hat he wore added five inches more to his height and the heels of his boots still another three. His polelike appearance was further exaggerated by the narrowness of his shoulders and by his lack of either hips6 or buttocks. The years he had spent in the saddle had not made him bowlegged. In fact his legs were so straight that his dungarees, bleached7 very light blue by the sun and much washing, hung down without a wrinkle, as though they were empty.
Tod could see why Faye thought him handsome. He had a two-dimensional face that a talented child might have drawn9 with a ruler and a compass. His chin was perfectly10 round and his eyes, which were wide apart, were also round. His thin mouth ran at right angles to his straight, perpendicular11 nose. His reddish tan complexion12 was the same color from hairline to throat, as though washed in by an expert, and it completed his resemblance to a mechanical drawing.
Tod had told Faye that Earle was a dull fool. She agreed laughing, but then said that he was “criminally handsome,” an expression she had picked up in the chatter13 column of a trade paper.
Meeting her on the stairs one night, Tod asked if she would go to dinner with him.
“I can’t. I’ve got a date. But you can come along.”
“With Earle?”
“Yes, with Earle,” she repeated, mimicking14 his annoyance15.
“No, thanks.”
She misunderstood, perhaps on purpose, and said, “He’ll treat this time.”
Earle was always broke and whenever Tod went with them he was the one who paid.
“That isn’t it, and you damn well know it.”
“Oh, isn’t it?” she asked archly, then, absolutely sure of herself, added, “Meet us at Hodge’s around five.”
Hodge’s was the saddlery store. When Tod got there, he found Earle Shoop at his usual post, just standing16 and just looking at the sign across the street. He had on his ten-gallon hat and his high-heeled boots. Neatly17 folded over his left arm was a dark gray jacket. His shirt was navy-blue cotton with large polka dots, each the size of a dime8. The sleeves of his shirt were not rolled, but pulled to the middle of his forearm and held there by a pair of fancy, rose armbands. His hands were the same clean reddish tan as his face.
“Lo, thar,” was the way he returned Tod’s salute19.
Tod found his Western accent amusing. The first time he had heard it, he had replied, “Lo, thar, stranger,” and had been surprised to discover that Earle didn’t know he was being kidded. Even when Tod talked about “cayuses,” “mean hombres” and “rustlers,” Earle took him seriously.
“Howdy, partner,” Tod said.
Next to Earle was another Westerner in a big hat and boots, sitting on his heels and chewing vigorously on a little twig20. Close behind him was a battered21 paper valise held together by heavy rope tied with professional-looking knots.
Soon after Tod arrived a third man came along. He made a thorough examination of the merchandise in the window, then turned and began to stare across the street like the other two.
He was middle-aged22 and looked like an exercise boy from a racing23 stable. His face was completely covered with a fine mesh24 of wrinkles, as though he had been sleeping with it pressed against a roll of rabbit wire. He was very shabby and had probably sold his big hat, but he still had his boots.
“Lo, boys,” he said.
“Lo, Hink,” said the man with the paper valise.
Tod didn’t know whether he was included in the greeting, but took a chance and replied.
“Howdy.”
Hink prodded25 the valise with his toe.
“Coin’ some place, Calvin?” he asked.
“Azusa, there’s a rodeo.”
“Who’s running it?”
“A fellow calls himself ‘Badlands jack18.’”
“That grifter! . . . You goin’, Earle?”
“Nope.”
“I gotta eat,” said Calvin.
Hink carefully considered all the information he had received before speaking again.
“Mono’s makin’ a new Buck26 Stevens,” he said. “Will Ferris told me they’d use more than forty riders.”
Calvin turned and looked up at Earle.
“Still got the piebald vest?” he asked slyly.
“Why?”
“It’ll cinch you a job as a road agent.”
Tod understood that this was a joke of some sort because Calvin and Hink chuckled27 and slapped their thighs28 loudly while Earle frowned.
There was another long silence, then Calvin spoke29 again. “Ain’t your old man still got some cows?” he asked Earle. But Earle was wary30 this time and refused to answer. Calvin winked31 at Tod, slowly and elaborately, contorting one whole side of his face.
“That’s right, Earle,” Hink said. “Your old man’s still got some stock. Why don’t you go home?”
They couldn’t get a rise out of Earle, so Calvin answered the question.
“He dassint. He got caught in a sheep car with a pair of rubber boots on.”
It was another joke. Calvin and Hink slapped their thighs and laughed, but Tod could see that they were waiting for something else. Earle, suddenly, without even shifting his weight, shot his foot out and kicked Calvin solidly in the rump. This was the real point of the joke. They were delighted by Earle’s fury. Tod also laughed. The way Earle had gone from apathy32 to action without the usual transition was funny. The seriousness of his violence was even funnier.
A little while later, Faye drove by in her battered Ford33 touring car and pulled into the curb34 some twenty feet away. Calvin and Hink waved, but Earle didn’t budge35. He took his time, as befitted his dignity. Not until she tooted her horn did he move. Tod followed a short distance behind him.
“Hi, cowboy,” said Faye gaily36.
“Lo, honey,” he drawled, removing his hat carefully and replacing it with even greater care. Faye smiled at Tod and motioned for them both to climb in. Tod got in the back. Earle unfolded the jacket he was carrying, slapped it a few times to remove the wrinkles, then put it on and adjusted its collar and shaped the roll of its lapels. He then climbed in beside Faye. She started the car with a jerk. When she reached LaBrea, she turned right to Hollywood Boulevard and then left along it. Tod could see that she was watching Earle out of the corner of her eye and that he was preparing to speak.
“Get going,” she said, trying to hurry him.
“What is it?”
“Looka here, honey, I ain’t got any dough37 for supper.” She was very much put out.
“But I told Tod we’d treat him. He’s treated us enough times.”
“That’s all right,” Tod interposed. “Next time’ll do. I’ve got plenty of money.”
“No, damn it,” she said without looking around. “I’m sick of it.”
She pulled into the curb and slammed on the brakes.
“It’s always the same story,” she said to Earle.
He adjusted his hat, his collar and his sleeves, then spoke. “We’ve got some grub at camp.”
“Beans, I suppose.”
“Nope.”
She prodded him.
“Well, what’ve you got?”
“Mig and me’s set some traps.”
Faye laughed.
“Rat traps, eh? We’re going to eat rats.”
Earle didn’t say anything.
“Listen, you big, strong, silent dope,” she said, “either make sense, or God damn it, get out of this car.”
“They’re quail38 traps,” he said without the slightest change in his wooden, formal manner.
She ignored his explanation.
“Talking to you is like pulling teeth. You wear me out.” Tod knew that there was no hope for him in this quarrel. He had heard it all before.
“I didn’t mean nothing,” Earle said. “I was only funning. I wouldn’t feed you rats.”
She slammed off the emergency brake and started the car again. At Zacarias Street, she turned into the hills. After climbing steadily39 for a quarter of a mile, she reached a dirt road and followed it to its end. They all climbed out, Earle helping40 Faye.
“Give me a kiss,” she said, smiling her forgiveness.
He took his hat off ceremoniously and placed it on the hood41 of the car, then wrapped his long arms around her. They paid no attention to Tod, who was standing off to one side watching them. He saw Earle close his eyes and pucker42 up his lips like a little boy. But there was nothing boyish about what he did to her. When she had had as much as she wanted, she pushed him away.
“You, too?” she called gaily to Tod, who had turned his back.
“Oh, some other time,” he replied, imitating her casualness.
She laughed, then took out a compact and began to fix her mouth. When she was ready, they started along a little path that was a continuation of the dirt road. Earle led, Faye came next and Tod brought up the rear.
It was full spring. The path ran along the bottom of a narrow canyon43 and wherever weeds could get a purchase in its steep banks they flowered in purple, blue and yellow. Orange poppies bordered the path. Their petals44 were wrinkled like crepe and their leaves were heavy with talcumlike dust.
They climbed until they reached another canyon. This one was sterile45, but its bare ground and jagged rocks were even more brilliantly colored than the flowers of the first. The path was silver, grained with streaks46 of rose-gray, and the walls of the canyon were turquoise47, mauve, chocolate and lavender. The air itself was vibrant48 pink.
They stopped to watch a humming bird chase a blue jay. The jay flashed by squawking with its tiny enemy on its tail like a ruby49 bullet. The gaudy50 birds burst the colored air into a thousand glittering particles like metal confetti.
When they came out of this canyon, they saw below them a little green valley thick with trees, mostly eucalyptus51, with here and there a poplar and one enormous black live-oak. Sliding and stumbling down a dry wash, they made for the valley.
Tod saw a man watching their approach from the edge of the wood. Faye also saw him and waved.
“Hi, Mig!” she shouted.
“Chinita!” he called back.
She ran the last ten yards of the slope and the man caught her in his arms.
He was toffee-colored with large Armenian eyes and pouting52 black lips. His head was a mass of tight, ordered curls. He wore a long-haired sweater, called a “gorilla” in and around Los Angeles, with nothing under it. His soiled duck trousers were held up by a red bandanna53 handkerchief. On his feet were a pair of tattered54 tennis sneakers.
They moved on to the camp which was located in a clearing in the center of the wood. It consisted of little more than a ramshackle hut patched with tin signs that had been stolen from the highway and a stove without legs or bottom set on some rocks. Near the hut was a row of chicken coops.
Earle started a fire under the stove while Faye sat down on a box and watched him. Tod went over to look at the chickens. There was one old hen and a half a dozen game cocks. A great deal of pains had been taken in making the coops, which were of grooved55 boards, carefully matched and joined. Their floors were freshly spread with peat moss56.
The Mexican came over and began to talk about the cocks. He was very proud of them.
“That’s Hermano, five times winner. He’s one of Street’s Butcher Boys. Pepe and El Negro are still stags. I fight them next week in San Pedro. That’s Villa57, he’s a blinker, but still good. And that one’s Zapata, twice winner, a Tassel58 Dom he is. And that’s Jujutla. My champ.”
He opened the coop and lifted the bird out for Tod. “A murderer is what the guy is. Speedy and how!”
The cock’s plumage was green, bronze and copper59. Its beak60 was lemon and its legs orange.
“He’s beautiful,” Tod said.
“I’ll say.”
Mig tossed the bird back into the coop and they went back to join the others at the fire.
“When do we eat?” Faye asked.
Miguel tested the stove by spitting on it. He next found a large iron skillet and began to scour61 it with sand. Earle gave Faye a knife and some potatoes to peel, then picked up a burlap sack.
“I’ll get the birds,” he said.
Tod went along with him. They followed a narrow path that looked as though it had been used by sheep until they came to a tiny field, covered with high, tufted grass. Earle stopped behind a gum bush and held up his hand to warn Tod.
A mocking bird was singing near by. Its song was like pebbles62 being dropped one by one from a height into a pool of water. Then a quail began to call, using two soft guttural notes. Another quail answered and the birds talked back and forth63. Their call was not like the cheerful whistle of the Eastern bobwhite. It was full of melancholy64 and weariness, yet marvelously sweet. Still another quail joined the duet. This one called from near the center of the field. It was a trapped bird, but the sound it made had no anxiety in it, only sadness, impersonal65 and without hope.
When Earle was satisfied that no one was there to spy on his poaching, he went to the trap. It was a wire basket about the size of a washtub with a small door in the top. He stooped over and began to fumble66 with the door. Five birds ran wildly along the inner edge and threw themselves at the wire. One of them, a cock, had a dainty plume67 on his head that curled forward almost to his beak.
Earle caught the birds one at a time and pulled their heads off before dropping them into his sack. Then he started back. As he walked along, he held the sack under his left arm. He lifted the birds out with his right hand and plucked them one at a time. Their feathers fell to the ground, point first, weighed down by the tiny drop of blood that trembled on the tips of their quills68.
The sun went down before they reached the camp again. It grew chilly69 and Tod was glad of the fire. Faye shared her seat on the box with him and they both leaned forward into the heat.
Mig brought a jug70 of tequila from the hut. He filled a peanut butter jar for Faye and passed the jug to Tod. The liquor smelled like rotten fruit, but he liked the taste. When he had had enough, Earle took it and then Miguel. They continued to pass it from hand to hand.
Earle tried to show Faye how plump the game was, but she wouldn’t look. He gutted71 the birds, then began cutting them into quarters with a pair of heavy tin shears72. Faye held her hands over her ears in order not to hear the soft click made by the blades as they cut through flesh and bone. Earle wiped the pieces with a rag and dropped them into the skillet where a large piece of lard was already sputtering73.
For all her squeamishness, Faye ate as heartily74 as the men did. There was no coffee and they finished with tequila. They smoked and kept the jug moving. Faye tossed away the peanut butter jar and drank like the others, throwing her head back and tilting75 the jug.
Tod could sense her growing excitement. The box on which they were sitting was so small that their backs touched and he could feel how hot she was and how restless. Her neck and face had turned from ivory to rose. She kept reaching for his cigarettes.
Earle’s features were hidden in the shadow of his big hat, but the Mexican sat full in the light of the fire. His skin glowed and the oil in his black curls sparkled. He kept smiling at Faye in a manner that Tod didn’t like. The more he drank, the less he liked it.
Faye kept crowding Tod, so he left the box to sit on the ground where he could watch her better. She was smiling back at the Mexican. She seemed to know what he was thinking and to be thinking the same thing. Earle, too, became aware of what was passing between them. Tod heard him curse softly and saw him lean forward into the light and pick up a thick piece of firewood.
Mig laughed guiltily and began to sing.
“Las palmeras lloran por to ausencia, Las laguna se seco — ay! La cerca de alambre que estaba en El patio76 tambien se cayo!”
His voice was a plaintive77 tenor78 and it turned revolutionary song into a sentimental79 lament80, sweet cloying81. Faye joined in when he began another stanza82. She didn’t know the words, but she was able to carry melody and to harmonize.
“Pues mi madre las cuidaba, ay! Toditito se acabo — ay!”
Their voices touched in the thin, still air to form a minor83 chord and it was as though their bodies had touched. The song was transformed again. The melody remained the same, but the rhythm broke and its beat became ragged84. It was a rumba now.
Earle shifted uneasily and played with his stick. Tod saw her look at him and saw that she was afraid, but instead of becoming wary, she grew still more reckless. She took a long pull at the jug and stood up. She put one hand on each of her buttocks and began to dance.
Mig seemed to have completely forgotten Earle. He clapped his hands, cupping them to make a hollow, drum-like sound, and put all he felt into his voice. He had changed to a more fitting song.
“Tony’s wife, The boys in Havana love Tony’s wife . . . ”
Faye had her hands clasped behind her head now and she rolled her hips to the broken beat. She was doing the “bump.”
“Tony’s wife, They’re fightin’ their duels85 about Tony’s wife . . . ”
Perhaps Tod had been mistaken about Earle. He was using his club on the back of the skillet, using it to bang out the rhythm.
The Mexican stood up, still singing, and joined her in the dance. They approached each other with short mincing86 steps. She held her skirt up and out with her thumbs and forefingers87 and he did the same with his trousers. They met head on, blue-black against pale gold, and used their heads to pivot88, then danced back to back with their buttocks touching89, their knees bent90 and wide apart. While Faye shook her breasts and her head, holding the rest of her body rigid91, he struck the soft ground heavily with his feet and circled her. They faced each other again and made believe they were cradling their behinds in a shawl.
Earle pounded the skillet harder and harder until it rang like an anvil92. Suddenly he, too, jumped up and began to dance. He did a crude hoe-down. He leaped into the air and knocked his heels together. He whooped93. But he couldn’t become part of their dance. Its rhythm was like a smooth glass wall between him and the dancers. No matter how loudly he whooped or threw himself around, he was unable to disturb the precision with which they retreated and advanced, separated and came together again.
Tod saw the blow before it fell.. He saw Earle raise his stick and bring it down on the Mexican’s head. He heard the crack and saw the Mexican go to his knees still dancing, his body unwilling94 or unable to acknowledge the interruption.
Faye had her back to Mig when he fell, but she didn’t turn to look. She ran. She flashed by Tod. He reached for her ankle to pull her down, but missed. He scrambled95 to his feet and ran after her.
If he caught her now, she wouldn’t escape. He could hear her on the hill a little way ahead of him. He shouted to her, a deep, agonized96 bellow97, like that a hound makes when it strikes a fresh line after hours of cold trailing. Already he could feel how it would be when he pulled her to the ground.
But the going was heavy and the stones and sand moved under his feet. He fell prone98 with his face in a clump99 of wild mustard that smelled of the rain and sun, clean, fresh and sharp. He rolled over on his back and stared up at the sky. The violent exercise had driven most of the heat out of his blood, but enough remained to make him tingle101 pleasantly. He felt comfortably relaxed, even happy.
Somewhere farther up the hill a bird began to sing. He listened. At first the low rich music sounded like water dripping on something hollow, the bottom of a silver pot perhaps, then like a stick dragged slowly over the strings102 of a harp100. He lay quietly, listening.
When the bird grew silent, he made an effort to put Faye out of his mind and began to think about the series of cartoons he was making for his canvas of Los Angeles on fire. He was going to show the city burning at high noon, so that the flames would have to compete with the desert sun and thereby103 appear less fearful, more like bright flags flying from roofs and windows than a terrible holocaust104. He wanted the city to have quite a gala air as it burned, to appear almost gay. And the people who set it on fire would be a holiday crowd.
The bird began to sing again. When it stopped, Faye was forgotten and he only wondered if he weren’t exaggerating the importance of the people who come to California to die. Maybe they weren’t really desperate enough to set ‘a single city on fire, let alone the whole country. Maybe they were only the pick of America’s madmen and not at all typical of the rest of the land.
He told himself that it didn’t make any difference because he was an artist, not a prophet. His work would not be judged by the accuracy with which it foretold105 a future event but by its merit as painting. Nevertheless, he refused to give up the role of Jeremiah. He changed “pick of America’s madmen” to “cream” and felt almost certain that the milk from which it had been skimmed was just as rich in violence. The Angelenos would be first, but their comrades all over the country would follow. There would be civil war.
He was amused by the strong feeling of satisfaction this dire106 conclusion gave him. Were all prophets of doom107 and destruction such happy men?
He stood up without trying to answer. When he reached the dirt road at the top of the canyon Faye and the car were gone.
1 spiked | |
adj.有穗的;成锥形的;有尖顶的 | |
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2 jaw | |
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训 | |
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3 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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4 tightened | |
收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)变紧; (使)绷紧; 加紧 | |
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5 thigh | |
n.大腿;股骨 | |
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6 hips | |
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的 | |
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7 bleached | |
漂白的,晒白的,颜色变浅的 | |
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8 dime | |
n.(指美国、加拿大的钱币)一角 | |
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9 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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10 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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11 perpendicular | |
adj.垂直的,直立的;n.垂直线,垂直的位置 | |
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12 complexion | |
n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格 | |
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13 chatter | |
vi./n.喋喋不休;短促尖叫;(牙齿)打战 | |
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14 mimicking | |
v.(尤指为了逗乐而)模仿( mimic的现在分词 );酷似 | |
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15 annoyance | |
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼 | |
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16 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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17 neatly | |
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地 | |
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18 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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19 salute | |
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮 | |
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20 twig | |
n.小树枝,嫩枝;v.理解 | |
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21 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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22 middle-aged | |
adj.中年的 | |
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23 racing | |
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
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24 mesh | |
n.网孔,网丝,陷阱;vt.以网捕捉,啮合,匹配;vi.适合; [计算机]网络 | |
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25 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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26 buck | |
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
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27 chuckled | |
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28 thighs | |
n.股,大腿( thigh的名词复数 );食用的鸡(等的)腿 | |
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29 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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30 wary | |
adj.谨慎的,机警的,小心的 | |
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31 winked | |
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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32 apathy | |
n.漠不关心,无动于衷;冷淡 | |
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33 Ford | |
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过 | |
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34 curb | |
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制 | |
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35 budge | |
v.移动一点儿;改变立场 | |
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36 gaily | |
adv.欢乐地,高兴地 | |
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37 dough | |
n.生面团;钱,现款 | |
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38 quail | |
n.鹌鹑;vi.畏惧,颤抖 | |
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39 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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40 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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41 hood | |
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖 | |
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42 pucker | |
v.撅起,使起皱;n.(衣服上的)皱纹,褶子 | |
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43 canyon | |
n.峡谷,溪谷 | |
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44 petals | |
n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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45 sterile | |
adj.不毛的,不孕的,无菌的,枯燥的,贫瘠的 | |
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46 streaks | |
n.(与周围有所不同的)条纹( streak的名词复数 );(通常指不好的)特征(倾向);(不断经历成功或失败的)一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 );使布满条纹 | |
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47 turquoise | |
n.绿宝石;adj.蓝绿色的 | |
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48 vibrant | |
adj.震颤的,响亮的,充满活力的,精力充沛的,(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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49 ruby | |
n.红宝石,红宝石色 | |
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50 gaudy | |
adj.华而不实的;俗丽的 | |
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51 eucalyptus | |
n.桉树,桉属植物 | |
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52 pouting | |
v.撅(嘴)( pout的现在分词 ) | |
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53 bandanna | |
n.大手帕 | |
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54 tattered | |
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的 | |
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55 grooved | |
v.沟( groove的过去式和过去分词 );槽;老一套;(某种)音乐节奏 | |
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56 moss | |
n.苔,藓,地衣 | |
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57 villa | |
n.别墅,城郊小屋 | |
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58 tassel | |
n.流苏,穗;v.抽穗, (玉米)长穗须 | |
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59 copper | |
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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60 beak | |
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻 | |
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61 scour | |
v.搜索;擦,洗,腹泻,冲刷 | |
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62 pebbles | |
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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63 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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64 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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65 impersonal | |
adj.无个人感情的,与个人无关的,非人称的 | |
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66 fumble | |
vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等,摸索 | |
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67 plume | |
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰 | |
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68 quills | |
n.(刺猬或豪猪的)刺( quill的名词复数 );羽毛管;翮;纡管 | |
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69 chilly | |
adj.凉快的,寒冷的 | |
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70 jug | |
n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂 | |
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71 gutted | |
adj.容易消化的v.毁坏(建筑物等)的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 );取出…的内脏 | |
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72 shears | |
n.大剪刀 | |
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73 sputtering | |
n.反应溅射法;飞溅;阴极真空喷镀;喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 );发劈啪声;喷出;飞溅出 | |
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74 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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75 tilting | |
倾斜,倾卸 | |
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76 patio | |
n.庭院,平台 | |
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77 plaintive | |
adj.可怜的,伤心的 | |
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78 tenor | |
n.男高音(歌手),次中音(乐器),要旨,大意 | |
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79 sentimental | |
adj.多愁善感的,感伤的 | |
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80 lament | |
n.悲叹,悔恨,恸哭;v.哀悼,悔恨,悲叹 | |
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81 cloying | |
adj.甜得发腻的 | |
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82 stanza | |
n.(诗)节,段 | |
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83 minor | |
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修 | |
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84 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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85 duels | |
n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 );竞争,斗争 | |
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86 mincing | |
adj.矫饰的;v.切碎;切碎 | |
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87 forefingers | |
n.食指( forefinger的名词复数 ) | |
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88 pivot | |
v.在枢轴上转动;装枢轴,枢轴;adj.枢轴的 | |
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89 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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90 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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91 rigid | |
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的 | |
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92 anvil | |
n.铁钻 | |
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93 whooped | |
叫喊( whoop的过去式和过去分词 ); 高声说; 唤起 | |
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94 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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95 scrambled | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
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96 agonized | |
v.使(极度)痛苦,折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 );苦斗;苦苦思索;感到极度痛苦 | |
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97 bellow | |
v.吼叫,怒吼;大声发出,大声喝道 | |
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98 prone | |
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的 | |
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99 clump | |
n.树丛,草丛;vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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100 harp | |
n.竖琴;天琴座 | |
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101 tingle | |
vi.感到刺痛,感到激动;n.刺痛,激动 | |
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102 strings | |
n.弦 | |
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103 thereby | |
adv.因此,从而 | |
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104 holocaust | |
n.大破坏;大屠杀 | |
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105 foretold | |
v.预言,预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106 dire | |
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的 | |
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107 doom | |
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
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