PART 1 CHAPTER
21
those days would be. This would be our third winter with an unknown number stretching ahead.
My mind drifted to the crude log and mud shelter we boys had cobbled together in last winter’s
camp. With a makeshift chimney and fire pit, we’d kept passably warm. I continued to dream
Their commander then made a wrong turn at a crossroads near Mine Run, we learned later
from captives, which is why a line of blue-jacketed soldiers appeared out of nowhere. They
emerged from the forest on the hill above us, and we stared, dumbstruck by the sight. Their
shock and ours quickly changed to panic. They couldn’t retreat, blocked by their own soldiers,
horses, wagons, artillery, and cannons. We were completely exposed in a valley boxed by rocky
hills and by forests on their ridges16, our artillery wagons stretched out on the low road. There had
Runners pitched forward on the slope’s slick wet grass, tripping like dominoes those who
charged behind them. Knots of our soldiers struggled to rise, only to be targets for Yankee
shooters who had come to their senses. Bullets were pinging everywhere. My breath came in
readying their rifles. Beards, Blue, and Zeke ran nearby, following our sergeant’s lead. But
Tayloe was behind us, lower on the hill. I heard him cry out, and when I looked around, he had
mouth; getting to him would be almost impossible in the shower of metal. But I wheeled around,
kept my head low, and ran down to where he lay. Tayloe’s face was turned to the right away
hair hid his eyes, and the ruddiness of his cheeks had vanished. Now blood ran from a rip in his
scalp, oozing27 scarlet28 across his skull29 and over his collar. My breath stopped. First Sam and then
Tayloe, the two who had been with me in this hell the longest. Placing my hand on the back of
knocked him unconscious, and torn several inches of skin aside above one ear. “Tom? You’re a
of here? My ankle hurts, too.” The bullets passed overhead with renewed fury.
“Play dead. That’s the only hope right now,” I said, flattening37 myself next to him. “If we
stand up, it’s over.”
at Company D to goddamn hurry up. He was a short, wiry fellow with hair that flew in tufts over
Catholic, although you’d never know it by the cussings we received. The entire company trusted
him. He never forgot that we were his sacred duty to protect. Now he ran down the hill and
simultaneously42 fired his rifle at the enemy. “Run! I’ll cover you,” he screamed. We rose, bent at
mother, I’ve lost my leg,” he bellowed45. When I turned to grab him, he flailed46 at me with his rifle
butt47. “Get the hell out of here, you idiot.” His leg was still attached, but crimson48 leaked from a
“Do what he said, Tayloe. I’ll deal with the sergeant,” I hollered. Then I turned to
McGinniss. “Straighten out that leg, and let’s see if it’s broken,” I ordered, kneeling by his side
“You goddamn fool, it’s not broken, it’s shot off,” he yelled. “Get your hands off me. Ow,
Ow!”
“It’s not shot off. Stick your goddamn leg out,” I yelled back. “We can get you to cover
the air, popping me in the leg and arm as Yankee shooters missed their target. “I need to look at
it!” I insisted. He finally agreed. The bullet had torn all the way through his thigh but seemed to
have missed the bone.
Tayloe had crept back down the hillside and seized McGinniss’s rifle to return fire. I grabbed
McGinniss under his arms and pulled him along while he struggled on his good leg. He was
Tayloe snapped, “No way in hell, Sergeant.” After what seemed an eternity’s climb to the
hill’s crest, Zeke raced out and helped drag McGinniss behind a stout fallen oak. Tayloe and I
made it to cover behind the trees, and I scooted over to McGinniss. I tore the Sergeant’s ripped
pants from his injured leg. Tourniquet53 strips could be made with the fabric54. “Help me with this,”
I said to Zeke. All the while, bullets bounced off the trunks and branches above our heads. I
his head. “Listen for a second. What have the Yanks got hold of?” Above the ordinary rhythm of
rifle fire there now was a steady stream of louder rat-a-tat-tats that ricocheted off the trees and
never relented.
made our clumsy way across brambles and fallen limbs to the hospital area. Every few steps,
McGinniss dug his fingernails into my arm. He bit his lip until it bled and moaned even though
we stepped as carefully as we could. “Write my wife,” he groaned. “Tell her that I loved her ’til
the end . . . will see her in Heaven.” His head fell forward.
“What? You’re giving up? You’re too brave for that,” I told him. “You need to see Ireland
He attempted a faint smile, “Goddamn you, Smiley.” We gently settled him on the ground
with the other wounded as medical staff passed among them, and we raced back to our broad
log. He wouldn’t die, but we knew the camp doctor would amputate his leg to prevent gangrene.
gun smoke. Bullets rained down without pause. Beards and the others were grim-faced as they
reloaded their rifles after each shot. I leaned against a tree to gather my thoughts and surveyed
gun with six brass65 barrels pointing through the foliage66. It was more delicate than a cannon6 and
larger than a rifle. I’d never seen such a weapon.
anger, but it mostly felt like an intention larger than myself. Grabbing my rifle, I called out,
the brush, leaping over fallen limbs, and circling the curving ridge behind the rapid blasts. Every
hundred feet, I searched upward through the bare branches, seeking the sun behind rather than in
front of where we began. Our noisy progress was undetectable in the midst of the artillery blasts.
When the infernal machine came within sight, we hid behind a giant sycamore. The rest of the
Yankee force was far to the right of the blasts, distant from where we were. But through the gray
mechanical hopper. Two other men rotated the barrels with a hand crank.
“Let’s take it,” I mouthed to Zeke. We both shouldered our rifles and on a count of three,
fired together. The four Yanks ducked in surprise, so intent were they on reloading and aiming
the machine that they never suspected our presence. A second volley from our rifles struck one
gun. Two artillerymen frantically72 fiddled73 with it, turning the barrels and snapping the trigger.
The third grabbed up his rifle and was set to take fire toward us when the other two convinced
him to flee. We waited until they were out of sight and then rushed to the weapon. It would do
“Do you think we can get this back to our side? The boys will never believe us when we tell
them what we discovered,” Zeke said.
“We can try. The monster weighs as much as two men,” I said as I leaned against the gun
carriage. Zeke was tinkering with the hopper and the hand crank, trying to figure out how the
thing worked. “Come on, you can look at it later.”
in our direction. And our hopes were greater than our strength, anyway. The two of us would
the space we had crossed earlier. Not before they got to us. Zeke and I fled through the woods,
back to the ridge held by our men. That was the only time I laid eyes on what I later learned was
a Gatling gun, the first semiautomatic weapon.
After it was too dark to shoot, Zeke and I picked our way through downed branches toward
the surgery tent. I held aloft a lighted stick wrapped with a flaming rag, and Beards and Blue
arms and legs discarded in buckets by the soiled hospital tent made a gruesome display. The
salty smell of blood sullied the evening air. “He’s gone home to Augusta, fellows,” the nurse
told us. “He was a brave man when we operated. He squeezed the devil out of my hand, and I’ll
wounded just an hour ago.”
“It’s good news for McGinniss that he’s going home, but what in the hell will we do now?” I
asked as we walked toward the flickering79 campfires. “No one else is tough enough to replace
him.”
“We don’t have many to choose from; not like we used to. But we’ll vote. It will work out,”
Beards said.
“I guess so, but you tell the company.”
As we drew closer, one fellow cleaning his rifle called out to us, “What’s going on with the
Sergeant? Did he make it?”
Beards didn’t answer but strode to the center of the group. He cleared his throat loudly to
signal he had something important to say and solemnly waited for quiet. All eyes turned toward
him.
“McGinniss lost the leg, and he won’t be coming back. Do you fellows have any suggestions
for a replacement80?”
Tayloe called out, “I nominate Private Tom Smiley to be Sergeant of Company D, thanks to
his heroic actions today.”
My face reddened. Then another voice said, “We need someone who has a cooler head, who
thinks before he acts. Is Tom that man? I’m not so sure.”
You’ve seen it yourself. Look around at what’s left of our group. Is there anyone else here who
would have done what he did today?” That silenced the boys for a minute.
“I suppose you’re right,” someone said. “His courage and quick thinking saved a bunch of
lives.”
“Well, what about it, Tom?” asked Beards.
I could feel my ears burn. “I’d be honored, but a lot of you deserve it more than I do.”
Zeke stood. “That seals it. I second the nomination82. I move that we vote now.” He counted
He’d never shown signs of the emptiness I felt.
![](../../../skin/default/image/4.jpg)
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regiment
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n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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trudged
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vt.& vi.跋涉,吃力地走(trudge的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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cavalry
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n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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artillery
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n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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cannons
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n.加农炮,大炮,火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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cannon
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n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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rumbling
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n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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corrugated
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adj.波纹的;缩成皱纹的;波纹面的;波纹状的v.(使某物)起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词) | |
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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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wagons
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n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 );铁路货车;小手推车 | |
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beads
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n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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thaw
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v.(使)融化,(使)变得友善;n.融化,缓和 | |
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13
dense
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a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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14
unaware
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a.不知道的,未意识到的 | |
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ridge
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n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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ridges
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n.脊( ridge的名词复数 );山脊;脊状突起;大气层的)高压脊 | |
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trenches
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深沟,地沟( trench的名词复数 ); 战壕 | |
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barricades
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路障,障碍物( barricade的名词复数 ) | |
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throbbing
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a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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sergeant
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n.警官,中士 | |
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21
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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fiery
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adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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23
upwards
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adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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24
ragged
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adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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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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aquiline
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adj.钩状的,鹰的 | |
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27
oozing
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v.(浓液等)慢慢地冒出,渗出( ooze的现在分词 );使(液体)缓缓流出;(浓液)渗出,慢慢流出 | |
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28
scarlet
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n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
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29
skull
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n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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ribs
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n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹 | |
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underneath
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adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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texture
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n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理 | |
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groaned
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v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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groggy
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adj.体弱的;不稳的 | |
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mumbled
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含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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smearing
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污点,拖尾效应 | |
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flattening
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n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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crest
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n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖 | |
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flailing
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v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 );用连枷脱粒;(臂或腿)无法控制地乱动;扫雷坦克 | |
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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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wrath
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n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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simultaneously
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adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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scuttled
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v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 );快跑,急走 | |
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epithets
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n.(表示性质、特征等的)词语( epithet的名词复数 ) | |
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bellowed
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v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的过去式和过去分词 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫 | |
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flailed
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v.鞭打( flail的过去式和过去分词 );用连枷脱粒;(臂或腿)无法控制地乱动;扫雷坦克 | |
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butt
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n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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crimson
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n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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pallid
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adj.苍白的,呆板的 | |
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thigh
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n.大腿;股骨 | |
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clumps
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n.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的名词复数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声v.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声 | |
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growl
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v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣 | |
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tourniquet
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n.止血器,绞压器,驱血带 | |
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fabric
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n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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puncture
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n.刺孔,穿孔;v.刺穿,刺破 | |
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gush
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v.喷,涌;滔滔不绝(说话);n.喷,涌流;迸发 | |
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collapsed
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adj.倒塌的 | |
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tilted
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v. 倾斜的 | |
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spotted
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adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的 | |
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thicket
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n.灌木丛,树林 | |
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crooked
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adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的 | |
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grunted
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(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说 | |
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mangled
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vt.乱砍(mangle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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squinting
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斜视( squint的现在分词 ); 眯着眼睛; 瞟; 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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brass
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n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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foliage
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n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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ripened
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v.成熟,使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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eyebrow
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n.眉毛,眉 | |
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dodging
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n.避开,闪过,音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 );回避 | |
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sleek
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adj.光滑的,井然有序的;v.使光滑,梳拢 | |
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quelled
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v.(用武力)制止,结束,镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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frantically
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ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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fiddled
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v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 );篡改;骗取;修理或稍作改动 | |
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mechanism
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n.机械装置;机构,结构 | |
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racing
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n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
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cumbersome
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adj.笨重的,不便携带的 | |
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clogging
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堵塞,闭合 | |
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mound
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n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫 | |
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flickering
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adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
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replacement
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n.取代,替换,交换;替代品,代用品 | |
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defense
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n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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nomination
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n.提名,任命,提名权 | |
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squatted
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v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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assent
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v.批准,认可;n.批准,认可 | |
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afterward
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adv.后来;以后 | |
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