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CHAPTER III BOYHOOD AT PORT HURON, MICHIGAN
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THE new home found by the Edison family at Port Huron, where Alva spent his brief boyhood before he became a telegraph operator and roamed the whole middle West of that period, was unfortunately destroyed by fire just after the close of the Civil War. A smaller but perhaps more comfortable home was then built by Edison's father on some property he had bought at the near-by village of Gratiot, and there his mother spent the remainder of her life in confirmed invalidism1, dying in 1871. Hence the pictures and postal2 cards sold largely to souvenir-hunters as the Port Huron home do not actually show that in or around which the events now referred to took place.
It has been a romance of popular biographers, based upon the fact that Edison began his career as a newsboy, to assume that these earlier years were spent in poverty and privation, as indeed they usually are by the "newsies" who swarm3 and shout their papers in our large cities. While it seems a pity to destroy this erroneous idea, suggestive of a heroic climb from the depths to the heights, nothing could be further from the truth. Socially the Edison family stood high in Port Huron at a time when there was relatively4 more wealth and general activity than to-day. The town in its pristine5 prime was a great lumber6 centre, and hummed with the industry of numerous sawmills. An incredible quantity of lumber was made there yearly until the forests near-by vanished and the industry with them. The wealth of the community, invested largely in this business and in allied7 transportation companies, was accumulated rapidly and as freely spent during those days of prosperity in St. Clair County, bringing with it a high standard of domestic comfort. In all this the Edisons shared on equal terms.
Thus, contrary to the stories that have been so widely published, the Edisons, while not rich by any means, were in comfortable circumstances, with a well-stocked farm and large
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invalidism
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病弱,病身; 伤残 | |
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postal
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adj.邮政的,邮局的 | |
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swarm
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n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入 | |
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relatively
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adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
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pristine
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adj.原来的,古时的,原始的,纯净的,无垢的 | |
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lumber
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n.木材,木料;v.以破旧东西堆满;伐木;笨重移动 | |
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allied
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adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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orchard
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n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场 | |
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sustenance
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n.食物,粮食;生活资料;生计 | |
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dealer
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n.商人,贩子 | |
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mercurial
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adj.善变的,活泼的 | |
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temperament
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n.气质,性格,性情 | |
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vagaries
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n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 );异想天开;异常行为;难以预测的情况 | |
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incessantly
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ad.不停地 | |
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sanguine
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adj.充满希望的,乐观的,血红色的 | |
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winding
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n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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prospect
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n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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lookout
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n.注意,前途,瞭望台 | |
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enjoyment
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n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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grove
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n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
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observatory
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n.天文台,气象台,瞭望台,观测台 | |
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preoccupied
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adj.全神贯注的,入神的;被抢先占有的;心事重重的v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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peculiar
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adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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scholastic
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adj.学校的,学院的,学术上的 | |
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noted
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adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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addled
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adj.(头脑)糊涂的,愚蠢的;(指蛋类)变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 );使混乱;使腐臭;使变质 | |
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uncommon
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adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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schooling
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n.教育;正规学校教育 | |
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anatomy
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n.解剖学,解剖;功能,结构,组织 | |
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melancholy
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n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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decided
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adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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mathematician
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n.数学家 | |
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mathematicians
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数学家( mathematician的名词复数 ) | |
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aged
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adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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allure
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n.诱惑力,魅力;vt.诱惑,引诱,吸引 | |
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redundantly
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多余地,冗余地 | |
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inclinations
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倾向( inclination的名词复数 ); 倾斜; 爱好; 斜坡 | |
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inclination
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n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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ward
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n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开 | |
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predilection
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n.偏好 | |
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heresy
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n.异端邪说;异教 | |
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domain
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n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围 | |
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delightful
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adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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truant
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n.懒惰鬼,旷课者;adj.偷懒的,旷课的,游荡的;v.偷懒,旷课 | |
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disastrous
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adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的 | |
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motive
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n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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outfit
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n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装 | |
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filament
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n.细丝;长丝;灯丝 | |
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applied
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adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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iconoclastic
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adj.偶像破坏的,打破旧习的 | |
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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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investigator
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n.研究者,调查者,审查者 | |
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diabolical
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adj.恶魔似的,凶暴的 | |
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intervention
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n.介入,干涉,干预 | |
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weird
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adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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transformation
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n.变化;改造;转变 | |
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fiery
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adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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philosophic
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adj.哲学的,贤明的 | |
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accomplishment
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n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
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gleaned
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v.一点点地收集(资料、事实)( glean的过去式和过去分词 );(收割后)拾穗 | |
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analytical
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adj.分析的;用分析法的 | |
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ardent
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adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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distress
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n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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embryonic
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adj.胚胎的 | |
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apparently
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adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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scant
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adj.不充分的,不足的;v.减缩,限制,忽略 | |
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reluctance
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n.厌恶,讨厌,勉强,不情愿 | |
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concession
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n.让步,妥协;特许(权) | |
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versatile
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adj.通用的,万用的;多才多艺的,多方面的 | |
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steadily
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adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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wagon
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n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车 | |
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lettuce
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n.莴苣;生菜 | |
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indefatigable
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adj.不知疲倦的,不屈不挠的 | |
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persistence
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n.坚持,持续,存留 | |
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industrious
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adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的 | |
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wholesale
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n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售 | |
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experimentation
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n.实验,试验,实验法 | |
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apparatus
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n.装置,器械;器具,设备 | |
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earnings
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n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得 | |
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quench
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vt.熄灭,扑灭;压制 | |
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passionate
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adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的 | |
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precocious
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adj.早熟的;较早显出的 | |
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stimulus
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n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物 | |
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devoted
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adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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rudiments
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n.基础知识,入门 | |
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herald
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vt.预示...的来临,预告,宣布,欢迎 | |
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appreciation
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n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 | |
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mere
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adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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attested
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adj.经检验证明无病的,经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 );证实;声称…属实;使宣誓 | |
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patronage
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n.赞助,支援,援助;光顾,捧场 | |
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distinguished
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adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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proprietor
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n.所有人;业主;经营者 | |
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dense
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a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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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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depot
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n.仓库,储藏处;公共汽车站;火车站 | |
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determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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afterward
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adv.后来;以后 | |
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celebrated
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adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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lugged
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vt.用力拖拉(lug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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judgment
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n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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drawn
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v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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outskirts
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n.郊外,郊区 | |
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savings
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n.存款,储蓄 | |
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costly
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adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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qualitative
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adj.性质上的,质的,定性的 | |
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fraught
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adj.充满…的,伴有(危险等)的;忧虑的 | |
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perpendicular
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adj.垂直的,直立的;n.垂直线,垂直的位置 | |
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lurch
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n.突然向前或旁边倒;v.蹒跚而行 | |
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promptly
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adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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enraged
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使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤 | |
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scorched
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烧焦,烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(植物)枯萎,把…晒枯; 高速行驶; 枯焦 | |
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baubles
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n.小玩意( bauble的名词复数 );华而不实的小件装饰品;无价值的东西;丑角的手杖 | |
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philosophically
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adv.哲学上;富有哲理性地;贤明地;冷静地 | |
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rendering
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n.表现,描写 | |
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hissing
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n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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consonants
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n.辅音,子音( consonant的名词复数 );辅音字母 | |
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perfectly
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adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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prospered
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成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pry
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vi.窥(刺)探,打听;vt.撬动(开,起) | |
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journalism
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n.新闻工作,报业 | |
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specialty
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n.(speciality)特性,特质;专业,专长 | |
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peculiarities
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n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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peccadilloes
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n.轻罪,小过失( peccadillo的名词复数 ) | |
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resentment
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n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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publicity
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n.众所周知,闻名;宣传,广告 | |
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zest
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n.乐趣;滋味,风味;兴趣 | |
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consecutively
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adv.连续地 | |
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curiously
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adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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mechanism
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n.机械装置;机构,结构 | |
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thoroughly
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adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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boiler
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n.锅炉;煮器(壶,锅等) | |
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deluge
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n./vt.洪水,暴雨,使泛滥 | |
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ordeal
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n.苦难经历,(尤指对品格、耐力的)严峻考验 | |
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brass
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n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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junction
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n.连接,接合;交叉点,接合处,枢纽站 | |
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136
awaken
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vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
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137
soot
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n.煤烟,烟尘;vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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138
collapsed
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adj.倒塌的 | |
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139
figs
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figures 数字,图形,外形 | |
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140
raisins
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n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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141
satchel
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n.(皮或帆布的)书包 | |
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142
illustrated
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adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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143
retired
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adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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144
apprehensive
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adj.担心的,恐惧的,善于领会的 | |
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145
stump
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n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走 | |
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146
demurred
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v.表示异议,反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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147
dilated
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adj.加宽的,扩大的v.(使某物)扩大,膨胀,张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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148
profusely
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ad.abundantly | |
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149
folly
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n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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150
graceful
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adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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151
graveyard
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n.坟场 | |
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152
cholera
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n.霍乱 | |
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153
epidemic
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n.流行病;盛行;adj.流行性的,流传极广的 | |
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154
previously
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adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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155
twig
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n.小树枝,嫩枝;v.理解 | |
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156
monotonous
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adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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157
graveyards
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墓地( graveyard的名词复数 ); 垃圾场; 废物堆积处; 收容所 | |
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158
Founder
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n.创始者,缔造者 | |
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159
cypress
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n.柏树 | |
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160
alleged
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a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
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161
enveloped
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v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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162
bent
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n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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163
regiment
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n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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164
sentry
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n.哨兵,警卫 | |
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165
awakened
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v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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166
cramped
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a.狭窄的 | |
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