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FOREWORD
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Very early in my life, possibly because of the insatiable curiosity that was born in me, I came to dislike the performances of trained animals. It was my curiosity that spoiled for me this form of amusement, for I was led to seek behind the performance in order to learn how the performance was achieved. And what I found behind the brave show and glitter of performance was not nice. It was a body of cruelty so horrible that I am confident no normal person exists who, once aware of it, could ever enjoy looking on at any trained-animal turn.
Now I am not a namby-pamby. By the book reviewers and the namby-pambys I am esteemed1 a sort of primitive2 beast that delights in the spilled blood of violence and horror. Without arguing this matter of my general reputation, accepting it at its current face value, let me add that I have indeed lived life in a very rough school and have seen more than the average man’s share of inhumanity and cruelty, from the forecastle and the prison, the slum and the desert, the execution-chamber and the lazar-house, to the battlefield and the military hospital. I have seen horrible deaths and mutilations. I have seen imbeciles hanged, because, being imbeciles, they did not possess the hire of lawyers. I have seen the hearts and stamina3 of strong men broken, and I have seen other men, by ill-treatment, driven to permanent and howling madness. I have witnessed the deaths of old and young, and even infants, from sheer starvation. I have seen men and women beaten by whips and clubs and fists, and I have seen the rhinoceros-hide whips laid around the naked torsos of black boys so heartily4 that each stroke stripped away the skin in full circle. And yet, let me add finally, never have I been so appalled5 and shocked by the world’s cruelty as have I been appalled and shocked in the midst of happy, laughing, and applauding audiences when trained-animal turns were being performed on the stage.
One with a strong stomach and a hard head may be able to tolerate much of the unconscious and undeliberate cruelty and torture of the world that is perpetrated in hot blood and stupidity. I have such a stomach and head. But what turns my head and makes my
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1
esteemed
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adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 );敬重;认为;以为 | |
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2
primitive
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adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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3
stamina
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n.体力;精力;耐力 | |
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heartily
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adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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appalled
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v.使惊骇,使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的;丧胆的 | |
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gorge
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n.咽喉,胃,暴食,山峡;v.塞饱,狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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torment
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n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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attained
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(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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possessed
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adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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inured
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adj.坚强的,习惯的 | |
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brutality
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n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮 | |
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emboldened
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v.鼓励,使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inevitable
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adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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humane
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adj.人道的,富有同情心的 | |
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preamble
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n.前言;序文 | |
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misery
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n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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alleviate
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v.减轻,缓和,缓解(痛苦等) | |
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lesser
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adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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bloody
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adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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opaqueness
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[化] 不透明性,不透明度 | |
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everlasting
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adj.永恒的,持久的,无止境的 | |
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remains
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n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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disapproval
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n.反对,不赞成 | |
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promenade
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n./v.散步 | |
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catering
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n. 给养 | |
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