LAWYER GOOCH bestowed1 his undivided attention upon the engrossing2 arts of his profession. But one flight of fancy did he allow his mind to entertain. He was fond of likening his suite3 of office rooms to the bot- tom of a ship. The rooms were three in number, with a door opening from one to another. These doors could also be closed.
"Ships," Lawyer Gooch would say, "are constructed for safety, with separate, water-tight compartments4 in their bottoms. If one compartment5 springs a leak it fills with water; but the good ship goes on unhurt. Were it not for the separating bulkheads one leak would sink the vessel6. Now it often happens that while I am occu- pied with clients, other clients with conflicting interests call. With the assistance of Archibald -- an office boy with a future -- I cause the dangerous influx7 to be diverted into separate compartments, while I sound with my legal plummet8 the depth of each. If neces- sary, they may be haled into the hallway and permitted to escape by way of the stairs, which we may term the lee scuppers. Thus the good ship of business is kept afloat; whereas if the element that supports her were allowed to mingle9 freely in her hold we might be swamped -- ha, ha, ha!
The law is dry. Good jokes are few. Surely it might be permitted Lawyer Gooch to mitigate10 the bore of briefs, the tedium11 of torts and the prosiness of processes with even so light a levy12 upon the good property of humour.
Lawyer Gooch's practice leaned largely to the settle- ment of marital13 infelicities. Did matrimony languish14 through complications, he mediated15, soothed16 and arbi- trated. Did it suffer from implications, he readjusted, defended and championed. Did it arrive at the extremity18 of duplications, he always got light sentences for his clients.
But not always was Lawyer Gooch the keen, armed, wily belligerent19, ready with his two-edged sword to lop off the shackles20 of Hymen. He had been known to build up instead of demolishing21, to reunite instead of severing22, to lead erring23 and foolish ones back into the fold instead of scattering24 the flock. Often had he by his eloquent25 and moving appeals sent husband and wife, weeping, back into each other's arms. Frequently he had coached childhood so successfully that, at the psychological moment (and at a given signal) the plaintive27 pipe of "Papa, won't you turn home adain to me and muvver?" had won the day and upheld the pillars of a tottering28 home.
Unprejudiced persons admitted that Lawyer Gooch received as big fees from these revoked29 clients as would have been paid him had the cases been contested in court. Prejudiced ones intimated that his fees were doubled. because the penitent30 couples always came back later for the divorce, anyhow.
There came a season in June when the legal ship of Lawyer Gooch (to borrow his own figure) was nearly becalmed. The divorce mill grinds slowly in June. It is the month of Cupid and Hymen.
Lawyer Gooch, then, sat idle in the middle room of his clientless suite. A small anteroom connected -- or rather separated -- this apartment from the hallway. Here was stationed Archibald, who wrested31 from visitors their cards or oral nomenclature which he bore to his master while they waited.
Suddenly, on this day, there came a great knocking at the outermost32 door.
Archibald, opening it, was thrust aside as superfluous33 by the visitor, who without due reverence34 at once pene- trated to the office of Lawyer Gooch and threw himself with good-natured insolence35 into a comfortable chair facing that gentlemen.
"You are Phineas C. Gooch, attorney-at-law?" said the visitor, his tone of voice and inflection making his words at once a question, an assertion and an accusation36.
Before committing himself by a reply, the lawyer esti- mated his possible client in one of his brief but shrewd and calculating glances.
The man was of the emphatic37 type -- large-sized, active, bold and debonair38 in demeanour, vain beyond a doubt, slightly swaggering, ready and at ease. He was well- clothed, but with a shade too much ornateness. He was seeking a lawyer; but if that fact would seem to saddle him with troubles they were not patent in his beaming eye and courageous39 air.
"My name is Gooch," at length the lawyer admitted. Upon pressure he would also have confessed to the Phineas C. But he did not consider it good practice to volunteer information. "I did not receive your card," he continued, by way of rebuke40, "so I -- "
"I know you didn't," remarked the visitor, coolly; "And you won't just yet. Light up?" He threw a leg over an arm of his chair, and tossed a handful of rich- hued41 cigars upon the table. Lawyer Gooch knew the brand. He thawed42 just enough to accept the invitation to smoke.
"You are a divorce lawyer," said the cardless visitor. This time there was no interrogation in his voice. Nor did his words constitute a simple assertion. They formed a charge -- a denunciation -- as one would say to a dog: "You are a dog." Lawyer Gooch was silent under the imputation43.
"You handle," continued the visitor, "all the various ramifications44 of busted-up connubiality45. You are a surgeon, we might saw, who extracts Cupid's darts46 when he shoots 'em into the wrong parties. You furnish patent, incandescent47 lights for premises48 where the torch of Hymen has burned so low you can't light a cigar at it. Am I right, Mr. Gooch?"
"I have undertaken cases," said the lawyer, guardedly, "in the line to which your figurative speech seems to refer. Do you wish to consult me professionally, Mr. -- " The lawyer paused, with significance.
"Not yet," said the other, with an arch wave of his cigar, "not just yet. Let us approach the subject with the caution that should have been used in the original act that makes this pow-wow necessary. There exists a matrimonial jumble49 to be straightened out. But before I give you names I want your honest -- well, anyhow, your professional opinion on the merits of the mix-up. I want you to size up the catastrophe50 -- abstractly -- you understand? I'm Mr. Nobody; and I've got a story to tell you. Then you say what's what. Do you get my wireless51?"
"You want to state a hypothetical case?" suggested Lawyer Gooch.
"That's the word I was after. 'Apothecary52' was the best shot I could make at it in my mind. The hypo- thetical goes. I'll state the case. Suppose there's a woman -- a deuced fine-looking woman -- who has run away from her husband and home? She's badly mashed53 on another man who went to her town to work up some real estate business. Now, we may as well call this woman's husband Thomas R. Billings, for that's his name. I'm giving you straight tips on the cognomens. The Lothario chap is Henry K. Jessup. The Billingses lived in a little town called Susanville -- a good many miles from here. Now, Jessup leaves Susanville two weeks ago. The next day Mrs. Billings follows him. She's dead gone on this man Jessup; you can bet your law library on that."
Lawyer Gooch's client said this with such unctuous54 satisfaction that even the callous55 lawyer experienced a slight ripple56 of repulsion. He now saw clearly in his fatuous57 visitor the conceit58 of the lady-killer, the egoistic complacency of the successful trifler.
"Now," continued the visitor, "suppose this Mrs. Billings wasn't happy at home? We'll say she and her husband didn't gee59 worth a cent. They've got incom- patibility to burn. The things she likes, Billings wouldn't have as a gift with trading-stamps. It's Tabby and Rover with them all the time. She's an educated woman in science and culture, and she reads things out loud at meetings. Billings is not on. He don't appreciate pro- gress and obelisks60 and ethics61, and things of that sort. Old Billings is simply a blink when it comes to such things. The lady is out and out above his class. Now, lawyer, don't it look like a fair equalization of rights and wrongs that a woman like that should be allowed to throw down Billings and take the man that can appreciate her?
"Incompatibility," said Lawyer Gooch, "is undoubt- edly the source of much marital discord62 and unhappiness. Where it is positively63 proved, divorce would seem to be the equitable64 remedy. Are you -- excuse me -- is this man Jessup one to whom the lady may safely trust her future?"
"Oh, you can bet on Jessup," said the client, with a confident wag of his head. "Jessup's all right. He'll do the square thing. Why, he left Susanville just to keep pwple from talking about Mrs. Billings. But she fol- lowed him up, and now, of course, he'll stick to her. When she gets a divorce, all legal and proper, Jessup the proper thing."
"And now," said Lawyer Gooch, "continuing the hypo- if you prefer, and supposing that my services should ired in the case, what -- "
The client rose impulsively65 to his feet.
"Oh, dang the hypothetical business," he exclaimed, impatiently. "Let's let her drop, and get down to straight talk. You ought to know who I am by this time. I want that woman to have her divorce. I'll pay for it. The day you set Mrs. Billings free I'll pay you five hundred dollars."
Lawyer Gooch's client banged his fist upon the table to punctuate66 his generosity67.
"If that is the case -- " began the lawyer.
"Lady to see you, sir," bawled68 Archibald, bouncing in from his anteroom. He had orders to always announce immediately any client that might come. There was no sense in turning business away.
Lawyer Gooch took client number one by the arm and led him suavely69 into one of the adjoining rooms. "Favour me by remaining here a few minutes, sir," said he. "I will return and resume our consultation70 with the least possible delay. I am rather expecting a visit from a very wealthy old lady in connection with a will. I will not keep you waiting long."
The breezy gentleman seated himself with obliging acquiescence71, aud took up a magazine. The lawyer returned to the middle office, carefully closing behind him the connecting door.
"Show the lady in, Archibald," he said to the office boy, who was awaiting the order.
A tall lady, of commanding presence and sternly hand- some, entered the room. She wore robes -- robes; not clothes -- ample and fluent. In her eye could be per- ceived the lambent flame of genius and soul. In her hand was a green bag of the capacity of a bushel, and an umbrella that also seemed to wear a robe, ample and fluent. She accepted a chair.
"Are you Mr. Phineas C. Gooch, the lawyer?" she asked, in formal and unconciliatory tones.
"I am," answered Lawyer Gooch, without circum- locution. He never circumlocuted when dealing72 with a woman. Women circumlocute. Time is wasted when both sides in debate employ the same tactics.
"As a lawyer, sir," began the lady, "you may have acquired some knowledge of the human heart. Do you believe that the pusillanimous73 and petty conventions of our artificial social life should stand as an obstacle in the way of a noble and affectionate heart when it finds its true mate among the miserable74 and worthless wretches75 in the world that are called men?"
"Madam," said Lawyer Gooch, in the tone that he used in curbing76 his female clients, "this is an office for conducting the practice of law. I am a lawyer, not a philosopher, nor the editor of an 'Answers to the Lovelorn' column of a newspaper. I have other clients waiting. I will ask you kindly77 to come to the point."
"Well, you needn't get so stiff around the gills about it," said the lady, with a snap of her luminous78 eves and a startling gyration79 of her umbrella. "Business is what I've come for. I want your opinion in the matter of a suit for divorce, as the vulgar would call it, but which is really only the readjustment of the false and ignoble80 con- ditions that the short-sihhted laws of man have interposed between a loving --"
"I beg your pardon, madam," interrupted Lawyer Gooch, with some impatience81, "for reminding you again that this is a law office. Perhaps Mrs. Wilcox -- "
"Mrs. Wilcox is all right," cut in the lady, with a hint of asperity82. "And so are Tolstoi, and Mrs. Gertrude Atherton, and Omar Khayyam, and Mr. Edward Bok. I've read 'em all. I would like to discuss with you the divine right of the soul as opposed to the freedom-destroy- ing restrictions83 of a bigoted84 and narrow-minded society. But I will proceed to business. I would prefer to lay the matter before you in an impersonal85 way until vou pass upon its merits. That is to describe it as a sup- posable instance, without -- "
"You wish to state a hypothetical case?" said Lawyer Gooch.
"I was going to say that," said the lady, sharply. "Now, suppose there is a woman who is all soul and heart and aspirations86 for a complete existence. This woman has a husband who is far below her in intellect, in taste -- in everything. Bah! he is a brute87. He despises literature. He sneers88 at the lofty thoughts of the world's great thinkers. He thinks only of real estate and such sordid89 things. He is no mate for a woman with soul. We will say that this unfortunate wife one day meets with her ideal -a man with brain and heart and force. She loves him. Although this man feels the thrill of a new-found affinity90 he is too noble, too honourable91 to declare himself. He flies from the presence of his beloved. She flies after him, trampling92, with superb indifference93, upon the fetters94 with which an unenlightened social system would bind95 her. Now, what will a divorce cost? Eliza Ann Timmins, the poetess of Sycamore Gap, got one for three hundred and forty dollars. Can I -- I mean can this lady I speak of get one that cheap?"
"Madam," said Lawyer Gooch, "your last two or three sentences delight me with their intelligence and clearness. Can we not now abandon the hypothetical and come down to names and business?"
"I should say so," exclaimed the lady, adopting the practical with admirable readiness. "Thomas R. Bil- lings is the name of the low brute who stands between the happiness of his legal -- his legal, but not his spiri- tual -- wife and Henry K. Jessup, the noble man whom nature intended for her mate. I," concluded the client, with an air of dramatic revelation, "am Mrs. Billings!"
"Gentlemen to see you, sir," shouted Archibald, invad- ing the room almost at a handspring. Lawyer Gooch arose from his chair.
"Mrs. Billings," he said courteously96, "allow me to conduct you into the adjoining office apartment for a few minutes. I am expecting a very wealthy old gentleman on busines connected with a will. In a very short while I will join you, and continue our consultation."
With his accustomed chivalrous97 manner, Lawyer Gooch ushered98 his soulful client into the remaining unoccupied room, and came out, closing the door with circumspection99.
The next visitor introduced by Archibald was a thin, nervous, irritable-looking man of middle age, with a worried and apprehensive100 expression of countenance101. He carried in one hand a small satchel102, which he set down upon the floor beside the chair which the lawyer placed for him. His clothing was of good quality, but it was worn without regard to neatness or style, and appeared to be covered with the dust of travel.
"You make a specialty103 of divorce cases," he said, in, an agitated104 but business-like tone.
"I may say," began Lawyer Gooch, "that my prac- tice has not altogether avoided -- "
"I know you do," interrupted client number three. "You needn't tell me. I've heard all about you. I have a case to lay before you without necessarily disclosing any connection that I might have with it -- that is -- "
"You wish," said Lawyer Gooch, "to state a hvpo- thetical case.
"You may call it that. I am a plain man of business. I will be as brief as possible. We will first take up hypothetical woman. We will say she is married uncon- genially105. In many ways she is a superior woman. Phys- ically she is considered to be handsome. She is devoted106 to what she calls literature -- poetry and prose, and such stuff. Her husband is a plain man in the business walks of life. Their home has not been happy, although the husband has tried to make it so. Some time ago a man -- a stranger -- came to the peaceful town in which they lived and engaged in some real estate operations. This woman met him, and became unaccountably infatu- ated with him. Her attentions became so open that the man felt the community to be no safe place for him, so he left it. She abandoned husband and home, and followed him. She forsook- her home, where she was provided with every comfort, to follow this man who had inspired her with such a strange affection. Is there any- thing more to be deplored," concluded the client, in a trembling voice, "than the wrecking107 of a home by a woman's uncalculating folly108?"
Lawyer Gooch delivered the cautious opinion that there was not.
"This man she has gone to join," resumed the visitor, "is not the man to make her happy. It is a wild and foolish self-deception that makes her think he will. Her husband, in spite of their many disagreements, is the only one capable of dealing with her sensitive and peculiar109 nature. But this she does not realize now."
"Would you consider a divorce the logical cure in the case you present?" asked Lawyer Gooch, who felt that the conversation was wandering too far from the field of business.
"A divorce!" exclaimed the client, feelingly - almost tearfully. "No, no-not that. I have read, Mr. Gooch, of many instances where your sympathy and kindly inter- est led you to act as a mediator110 between estranged111 hus- band and wife, and brought them together again. Let us drop the hypothetical case -- I need conceal112 no longer that it is I who am the sufferer in this sad affair -- the names you shall have -- Thomas R. Billings and wife -- and Henry K. Jessup, the man with whom she is infatuated."
Client number three laid his hand upon Mr. Gooch's arm. Deep emotion was written upon his careworn113 face. "For Heaven's sake", he said fervently114, "help me in this hour of trouble. Seek, out Mrs. Billings, and persuade her to abandon this distressing115 pursuit of her lamentable116 folly. Tell her, Mr. Gooch, that her husband is willing to receive her back to his heart and home -- promise her anything that will induce her to return. I have heard of your success in these matters. Mrs. Bil- lings cannot be very far away. I am worn out with travel and weariness. Twice during the pursuit I saw her, but various circumstances prevented our having an inter- view. Will you undertake this mission for me, Mr. Gooch, and earn my everlasting117 gratitude118?"
"It is true," said Lawver Gooch, frowning slightly at the other's last words, but immediately calling up an expression of virtuous119 benevolence120, "that on a number of occasions I have been successful in persuading couples who sought the severing of their matrimonial bonds to think better of their rash intentions and return to their homes reconciled. But I assure you that the work is often exceedingly difficult. The amount of argument, perseverance121, and, if I may be allowed to say it, eloquence122 that it requires would astonish you. But this is a case in which my sympathies would be wholly enlisted123. I feel deeply for you sir, and I would be most happy to see husband and wife reunited. But my time," concluded the lawyer, looking at his watch as if suddenly reminded of the fact, "is valuable."
"I am aware of that," said the client, "and if you will take the case and persuade Mrs. Billings to return home and leave the man alone that she is following -- on that day I will pay you the sum of one thousand dollars. I have made a little money in real estate during the recent boom in Susanville, and I will not begrudge124 that amount."
"Retain your seat for a few moments, please," said Lawyer Gooch, arising, and again consulting his watch. "I have another client waiting in an adjoining room whom I had very nearly forgotten. I will return in the briefest possible space."
The situation was now one that fully26 satisfied Lawyer Gooch's love of intricacy and complication. He revelled125 in cases that presented such subtle problems and possi- bilities. It pleased him to think that he was master of the happiness and fate of the three individuals who sat, uncon- cious of one another's presence, within his reach. His old figure of the ship glided126 into his mind. But now the figure failed, for to have filled every compartment of an actual vessel would have been to endanger her safety; with his compartments full, his ship of affairs could but sail on to the advantageous127 port of a fine, fat fee. The thing for him to do, of course, was to wring128 the best bargain he could from some one of his anxious cargo129.
First he called to the office boy: "Lock the outer door, Archibald, and admit no one." Then he moved, with long, silent strides into the room in which client number one waited. That gentleman sat, patiently scanning the pictures in the magazine, with a cigar in his mouth and his feet upon a table.
"Well," he remarked, cheerfully, as the lawyer entered, "have you made up your mind? Does five hundred dollars go for getting the fair lady a divorce?"
"You mean that as a retainer?" asked Lawyer Gooch, softly interrogative.
"Hey? No; for the whole job. It's enough, ain't it?"
"My fee," said Lawyer Gooch, "would be one thousand five hundred dollars. Five hundred dollars down, and the remainder upon issuance of the divorce."
A loud whistle came from client number one. His feet descended130 to the floor.
"Guess we can't close the deal," he said, arising, "I cleaned up five hunderd dollars in a little real estate dicker down in Susanville. I'd do anything I could to free the lady, but it out-sizes my pile."
"Could you stand one thousand two hundred dollars?" asked the lawyer, insinuatingly131.
"Five hundred is my limit, I tell you. Guess I'll have to hunt up a cheaper lawyer." The client put on his hat.
"Out this way, please," said Lawyer Gooch, opening the door that led into the hallway.
As the gentleman flowed out of the compartment and down the stairs, Lawyer Gooch smiled to himself. "Exit Mr. Jessup," he murmured, as he fingered the Henry Clay tuft of hair at his ear. "And now for the forsaken132 husband." He returned to the middle office, and assumed a businesslike manner.
"I understand," he said to client number three, "that you agree to pay one thousand dollars if I bring about, or am instrumental in bringing about, the return of Mrs. Billings to her home, and her abandonment of her infatu- ated pursuit of the man for whom she has conceived such a violent fancy. Also that the case is now unreservedly in my hands on that basis. Is that correct?"
"Entirely133", said the other, eagerly. And I can produce the cash any time at two hours' notice."
Lawyer Gooch stood up at his full height. His thin figure seemed to expand. His thumbs sought the arm- holes of his vest. Upon his face was a look of sym- pathetic benignity134 that he always wore during such undertakings135.
"Then, sir," he said, in kindly tones, "I think I can promise you an early relief from your troubles. I have that much confidence in my powers of argument and persuasion136, in the natural impulses of the human heart toward good, and in the strong influence of a husband's unfaltering love. Mrs. Billinos, sir, is here -- in that room -- the lawyer's long arm pointed137 to the door. "I will call her in at once; and our united pleadings -- "
Lawyer Gooch paused, for client number three had leaped from his chair as if propelled by steel springs, and clutched his satchel.
"What the devil," he exclaimed, harshly, "do vou mean? That woman in there! I thought I shook her off forty miles back."
He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
"Stop!" cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement138. "What would you do? Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife. Our combined entreaties139 cannot fail to -- "
"Billings!" shouted the now thoroughly140 moved client. "I'll Billings you, you old idiot!"
Turning, he hurled141 his satchel with fury at the lawyer's head. It struck that astounded142 peacemaker between the eyes, causing him to stagger backward a pace or two. When Lawyer Gooch recovered his wits he saw that his client had disappeared. Rushing to the window, he leaned out, and saw the recreant143 gathering144 himself up from the top of a shed upon which he had dropped from the second-story window. Without stopping to collect his hat he then plunged145 downward the remaining ten feet to the alley146, up which he flew with prodigious147 celerity until the surrounding building swallowed him up from view.
Lawyer Gooch passed his hand tremblingly across his brow. It was a habitual148 act with him, serving to clear his thoughts. Perhaps also it now seemed to soothe17 the spot where a very hard alligator-hide satchel had struck.
The satchel lay upon the floor, wide open, with its con- tents spilled about. Mechanically, Lawyer Gooch stooped to gather up the articles. The first was a collar; and the omniscient149 eye of the man of law perceived, wonder- ingly, the initials H.K.J. marked upon it. Then came a comb, a brush, a folded map, and a piece of soap. lastly, a handful of old business letters, addressed -- every one of them -- to "Henry K. Jessup, Esq."
Lawyer Gooch closed the satchel, and set it upon the table. He hesitated for a moment, and then put on his hat and walked into the office boy's anteroom.
"Archibald," he said mildly, as he opened the hall door, "I am going around to the Supreme150 Court rooms. In five minutes you may step into the inner office, and inform the lady who is waiting there that" -- here Lawyer Gooch made use of the vernacular151 -- "that there's nothing doing."
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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engrossing
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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compartments
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compartment
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vessel
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influx
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plummet
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mingle
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mitigate
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tedium
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levy
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marital
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languish
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| vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎 | |
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mediated
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| 调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生 | |
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soothed
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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extremity
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belligerent
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shackles
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demolishing
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severing
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erring
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scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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revoked
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| adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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31
wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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32
outermost
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| adj.最外面的，远离中心的 | |
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33
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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34
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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35
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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36
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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37
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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38
debonair
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| adj.殷勤的，快乐的 | |
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39
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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40
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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41
hued
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| 有某种色调的 | |
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42
thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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43
imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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44
ramifications
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| n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 ) | |
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45
connubiality
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| n.夫妇关系 | |
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46
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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47
incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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48
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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49
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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50
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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51
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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52
apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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53
mashed
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| a.捣烂的 | |
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54
unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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55
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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56
ripple
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| 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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57
fatuous
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| adj.愚昧的；昏庸的 | |
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58
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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59
gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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60
obelisks
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| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
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61
ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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62
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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63
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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64
equitable
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| adj.公平的；公正的 | |
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65
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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66
punctuate
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| vt.加标点于；不时打断 | |
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67
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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68
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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69
suavely
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70
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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71
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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72
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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73
pusillanimous
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| adj.懦弱的，胆怯的 | |
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74
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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75
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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76
curbing
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| n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 ) | |
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77
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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78
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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79
gyration
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| n.旋转 | |
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80
ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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81
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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82
asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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83
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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84
bigoted
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| adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的 | |
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85
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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86
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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87
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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88
sneers
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| 讥笑的表情（言语）( sneer的名词复数 ) | |
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89
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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90
affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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91
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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92
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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93
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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94
fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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95
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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96
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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97
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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98
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
circumspection
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| n.细心，慎重 | |
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100
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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101
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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102
satchel
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| n.(皮或帆布的)书包 | |
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103
specialty
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| n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长 | |
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104
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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105
genially
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| adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地 | |
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106
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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107
wrecking
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| 破坏 | |
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108
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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109
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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110
mediator
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| n.调解人，中介人 | |
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111
estranged
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| adj.疏远的，分离的 | |
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112
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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113
careworn
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| adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的 | |
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114
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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115
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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116
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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117
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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118
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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119
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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120
benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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121
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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122
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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123
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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124
begrudge
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| vt.吝啬，羡慕 | |
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125
revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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126
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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127
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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128
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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129
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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130
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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131
insinuatingly
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132
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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133
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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134
benignity
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| n.仁慈 | |
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135
undertakings
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| 企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务 | |
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136
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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137
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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138
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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139
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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140
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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141
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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142
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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143
recreant
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| n.懦夫；adj.胆怯的 | |
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144
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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145
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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146
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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147
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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148
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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149
omniscient
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| adj.无所不知的；博识的 | |
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150
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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151
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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