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After the laundry my sister and her husband grubstaked me into the Klondike. It was the first gold rush into that region, the early fall rush of 1897. I was twenty-one years old, and in splendid physical condition. I remember, at the end of the twenty-eight-mile portage across Chilcoot from Dyea Beach to Lake Linderman, I was packing up with the Indians and out-packing many an Indian. The last pack into Linderman was three miles. I back-tripped it four times a day, and on each forward trip carried one hundred and fifty pounds. This means that over the worst trails I daily travelled twenty-four miles, twelve of which were under a burden of one hundred and fifty pounds.
Yes, I had let career go hang, and was on the adventure-path again in quest of fortune. And of course, on the adventure-path, I met John Barleycorn. Here were the chesty men again, rovers and adventurers, and while they didn't mind a grub famine, whisky they could not do without. Whisky went over the trail, while the flour lay cached and untouched by the trail-side.
As good fortune would have it, the three men in my party were not drinkers. Therefore I didn't drink save on rare occasions and disgracefully when with other men. In my personal medicine chest was a quart of whisky. I never drew the
cork1 till six months
afterward2, in a lonely camp, where, without anaesthetics, a doctor was compelled to operate on a man. The doctor and the patient emptied my bottle between them and then proceeded to the operation.
Back in California a year later, recovering from
scurvy3, I found that my father was dead and that I was the head and the sole bread-winner of a household. When I state that I had passed coal on a
steamship4 from Behring Sea to British Columbia, and travelled in the steerage from there to San Francisco, it will be understood that I brought nothing back from the Klondike but my scurvy.
Times were hard. Work of any sort was difficult to get. And work of any sort was what I had to take, for I was still an unskilled labourer. I had no thought of career. That was over and done with. I had to find food for two mouths beside my own and keep a roof over our heads—yes, and buy a winter suit, my one suit being decidedly summery. I had to get some sort of work immediately. After that, when I had caught my breath, I might think about my future.
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收听单词发音
1
cork
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n.软木,软木塞 |
参考例句: |
- We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
- Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。
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2
afterward
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adv.后来;以后 |
参考例句: |
- Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
- Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
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3
scurvy
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adj.下流的,卑鄙的,无礼的;n.坏血病 |
参考例句: |
- Vitamin C deficiency can ultimately lead to scurvy.缺乏维生素C最终能道致坏血病。
- That was a scurvy trick to play on an old lady.用那样的花招欺负一个老太太可真卑鄙。
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4
steamship
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n.汽船,轮船 |
参考例句: |
- The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
- It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大,汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。
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5
pawn
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n.典当,抵押,小人物,走卒;v.典当,抵押 |
参考例句: |
- He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
- It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。
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6
pawned
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v.典当,抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 );以(某事物)担保 |
参考例句: |
- He pawned his gold watch to pay the rent. 他抵当了金表用以交租。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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7
legacy
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n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 |
参考例句: |
- They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
- He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
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8
pawnbroker
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n.典当商,当铺老板 |
参考例句: |
- He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's.他从当铺赎回手表。
- She could get fifty dollars for those if she went to the pawnbroker's.要是她去当铺当了这些东西,她是可以筹出50块钱的。
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9
peddled
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(沿街)叫卖( peddle的过去式和过去分词 ); 兜售; 宣传; 散播 |
参考例句: |
- He has peddled the myth that he is supporting the local population. 他散布说他支持当地群众。
- The farmer peddled his fruit from house to house. 那个农民挨家挨户兜售他的水果。
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10
redeem
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v.买回,赎回,挽回,恢复,履行(诺言等) |
参考例句: |
- He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
- The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。
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11
toil
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vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 |
参考例句: |
- The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
- Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。
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12
invalids
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病人,残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- The invention will confer a benefit on all invalids. 这项发明将有助于所有的残疾人。
- H?tel National Des Invalids is a majestic building with a golden hemispherical housetop. 荣军院是有着半球形镀金屋顶的宏伟建筑。
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13
forgo
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v.放弃,抛弃 |
参考例句: |
- Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够,他不得不放弃做准备工作。
- She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵,她愿意放弃生日宴请。
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14
frivolous
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adj.轻薄的;轻率的 |
参考例句: |
- This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
- He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。
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15
romped
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v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的过去式和过去分词 );(尤指在赛跑或竞选等中)轻易获胜 |
参考例句: |
- Children romped on the playground. 孩子们在操场上嬉笑玩闹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- John romped home well ahead of all the other runners. 约翰赛马跑时轻而易举地战胜了所有的选手。 来自辞典例句
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16
mowed
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v.刈,割( mow的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敌人被机枪的火力扫倒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人们割了大片草地的草,然后在上面播种。 来自辞典例句
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17
alas
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int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) |
参考例句: |
- Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
- Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
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18
vacancy
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n.(旅馆的)空位,空房,(职务的)空缺 |
参考例句: |
- Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
- The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。
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19
procure
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vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条 |
参考例句: |
- Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗?
- I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。
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20
wielded
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手持着使用(武器、工具等)( wield的过去式和过去分词 ); 具有; 运用(权力); 施加(影响) |
参考例句: |
- The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道,好人受气
- He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者,但实际上是别人掌握实权。
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21
serial
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n.连本影片,连本电视节目;adj.连续的 |
参考例句: |
- A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
- Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗?
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22
Portuguese
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n.葡萄牙人;葡萄牙语 |
参考例句: |
- They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
- Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。
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23
budged
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v.(使)稍微移动( budge的过去式和过去分词 );(使)改变主意,(使)让步 |
参考例句: |
- Old Bosc had never budged an inch--he was totally indifferent. 老包斯克一直连动也没有动,他全然无所谓。 来自辞典例句
- Nobody budged you an inch. 别人一丁点儿都算计不了你。 来自辞典例句
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24
frankly
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adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 |
参考例句: |
- To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
- Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
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25
eligible
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adj.有条件被选中的;(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 |
参考例句: |
- He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
- Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。
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26
brutality
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n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮 |
参考例句: |
- The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
- a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军
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