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5 First Night in London
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There is often a flaw in the best-laid plans. George Lomax had made one mistake—there was a weak spot in his preparations. The weak spot was Bill.
Bill Eversleigh was an extremely nice lad. He was a good cricketer and a scratch golfer, he had pleasant manners, and an amiable1 disposition2, but his position in the Foreign Office had been gained, not by brains, but by good connections. For the work he had to do he was quite suitable. He was more or less George’s dog. He did no responsible or brainy work. His part was to be constantly at George’s elbow, to interview unimportant people whom George didn’t want to see, to run errands, and generally to make himself useful. All this Bill carried out faithfully enough. When George was absent, Bill stretched himself out in the biggest chair and read the sporting news, and in so doing he was merely carrying out a time-honoured tradition.
Being accustomed to send Bill on errands, George had dispatched him to the union Castle offices to find out when the Granarth Castle was due in. Now, in common with most well-educated young Englishmen, Bill had a pleasant, but quite inaudible voice. Any elocution master would have found fault with his pronunciation of the word Granarth. It might have been anything. The Clerk took it to be Carnfrae. The Carnfrae Castle was due in on the following Thursday. He said so. Bill thanked him and went out. George Lomax accepted the information and laid his plans accordingly. He knew nothing about[Pg 34] union Castle liners, and took it for granted that James McGrath would duly arrive on Thursday.
Therefore, at the moment he was buttonholing Lord Caterham on the steps of the club on Wednesday morning, he would have been greatly surprised to learn that the Granarth Castle had docked at Southampton the preceding afternoon.
At two o’clock that afternoon Anthony Cade, travelling under the name of Jimmy McGrath, stepped out of the boat train at Waterloo, hailed a taxi, and after a moment’s hesitation4 ordered the driver to proceed to the Blitz Hotel.
“One might as well be comfortable,” said Anthony to himself, as he looked with some interest out of the taxi windows.
It was exactly fourteen years since he had been in London.
He arrived at the hotel, booked a room, and then went for a short stroll along the Embankment. It was rather pleasant to be back in London again. Everything was changed of course. There had been a little restaurant there—just past Blackfriars Bridge—where he had dined fairly often, in company with other earnest lads. He had been a
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1
amiable
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adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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2
disposition
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n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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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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hesitation
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n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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socialist
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n.社会主义者;adj.社会主义的 | |
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retraced
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v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 );回忆;回顾;追溯 | |
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pallid
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adj.苍白的,呆板的 | |
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chubby
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adj.丰满的,圆胖的 | |
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engraved
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v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的过去式和过去分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中) | |
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baron
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n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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ushered
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v.引,领,陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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conceal
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v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
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monarchy
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n.君主,最高统治者;君主政体,君主国 | |
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abeyance
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n.搁置,缓办,中止,产权未定 | |
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majesty
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n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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16
fixed
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adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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memoirs
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n.回忆录;回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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soothingly
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adv.抚慰地,安慰地;镇痛地 | |
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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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diplomats
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n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 );有手腕的人,善于交际的人 | |
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21
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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amazement
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n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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tempt
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vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣 | |
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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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attentively
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adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神 | |
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erect
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n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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mused
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v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事) | |
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lollipop
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n.棒棒糖 | |
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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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30
stipulated
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vt.& vi.规定;约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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feverishly
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adv. 兴奋地 | |
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feverish
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adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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33
crabbed
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adj.脾气坏的;易怒的;(指字迹)难辨认的;(字迹等)难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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illegible
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adj.难以辨认的,字迹模糊的 | |
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determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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revel
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vi.狂欢作乐,陶醉;n.作乐,狂欢 | |
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revels
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n.作乐( revel的名词复数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉 | |
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mansions
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n.宅第,公馆,大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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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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tableau
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n.画面,活人画(舞台上活人扮的静态画面) | |
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inscription
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n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文 | |
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standing
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n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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doorway
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n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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squat
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v.蹲坐,蹲下;n.蹲下;adj.矮胖的,粗矮的 | |
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brutal
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adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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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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idiomatic
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adj.成语的,符合语言习惯的 | |
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hissed
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发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 ); 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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villain
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n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 | |
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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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51
vehement
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adj.感情强烈的;热烈的;(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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eugenic
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adj.优生的 | |
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snarled
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v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说 | |
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effete
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adj.无生产力的,虚弱的 | |
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clemency
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n.温和,仁慈,宽厚 | |
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brotherhood
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n.兄弟般的关系,手中情谊 | |
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brandished
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v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 );炫耀 | |
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mighty
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adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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collapsed
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adj.倒塌的 | |
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doughty
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adj.勇猛的,坚强的 | |
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foul
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adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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delegation
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n.代表团;派遣 | |
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grill
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n.烤架,铁格子,烤肉;v.烧,烤,严加盘问 | |
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twitching
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n.颤搐 | |
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supple
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adj.柔软的,易弯的,逢迎的,顺从的,灵活的;vt.使柔软,使柔顺,使顺从;vi.变柔软,变柔顺 | |
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abruptly
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adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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spoke
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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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intensity
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n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
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applied
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adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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perusal
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n.细读,熟读;目测 | |
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illegibility
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n.不清不楚,不可辨认,模糊 | |
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eyelids
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n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 );眼睛也不眨一下;不露声色;面不改色 | |
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drooping
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adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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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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adventurous
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adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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rustle
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v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
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denser
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adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
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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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thoroughly
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adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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faculties
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n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
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bent
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n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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stifling
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a.令人窒息的 | |
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desperately
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adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
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tinkle
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vi.叮当作响;n.叮当声 | |
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extricated
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v.使摆脱困难,脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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respite
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n.休息,中止,暂缓 | |
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