THE FEEDING OF SNAKES AND ELEPHANTS

All wild beasts in their natural state will hunt and kill their food when hungry, and if too lazy to do this,—which is frequently the case with the lion,—they will keep a lookout¹ for the remains² of some other animal’s “kill.” When wild, animals always provide themselves with sufficient food, and appear to have many ways of working off a too heavy meal.

In captivity³ it is very different. They appear to lose their judgment⁴ to a certain extent, and in many cases will overfeed, if given the opportunity, or, in some instances, deliberately⁵ starve themselves for no accountable reason. This is specially⁶ the case with many snakes,—generally the larger ones,—and unless most carefully watched, they will literally⁷ starve themselves to death.

62 Snakes are difficult to feed; they appear to dislike being seen eating, and as they will not eat mammals or birds after rigor⁸ mortis has set in, great care is needed in feeding them. Pythons will sometimes go as long as eight or nine months without feeding, and when this is the case it is necessary to feed them by force.

Very few snakes, especially pythons, will allow themselves to be handled. At certain times, it is true, they will appear either indifferent or—if such a cool condition can be called friendliness—friendly toward their keepers; but this is, in nearly all cases, simply a sign that they are torpid⁹ from cold, and it merely needs the house to be heated a little to show not only that they can be very lively, but very spiteful and vindictive

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1 lookout
n.注意，前途，瞭望台
参考例句：
You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。 It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

2 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 captivity
n.囚禁；被俘；束缚
参考例句：
A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。 He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

4 judgment
n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见
参考例句：
The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。 He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 deliberately
adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地
参考例句：
The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。 They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 specially
adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地
参考例句：
They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。 The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

7 literally
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。 Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 rigor
n.严酷，严格，严厉
参考例句：
Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

9 torpid
adj.麻痹的，麻木的，迟钝的
参考例句：
He just walked and his mind drifted slowly like a torpid stream.他只是埋头走，脑袋里思想都凝滞了，有如一汪流不动的溪水。 Even when he was awake he was completely torpid.他醒着的时候也完全麻木不动。

10 vindictive
adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的
参考例句：
I have no vindictive feelings about it.我对此没有恶意。 The vindictive little girl tore up her sister's papers.那个充满报复心的小女孩撕破了她姐姐的作业。

11 pounce
n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意
参考例句：
Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？ We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

12 reptile
n.爬行动物；两栖动物
参考例句：
The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。 So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

13 tussles
n.扭打，争斗( tussle的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They need no running fights with large, fierce rats or tussles with grown rabbits. 它们不必奔跑着与大又凶的老鼠搏斗了，也不必跟大兔子扭斗了。 来自辞典例句 The magazine has had a series of tussles with Asian governments. 该杂志曾与亚洲多国政府发生争执。 来自互联网

14 subdue
vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制
参考例句：
She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。 He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

15 subdued
adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。 I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

16 molesting
v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵
参考例句：
He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句 He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句

17 recoil
vi.退却，退缩，畏缩
参考例句：
Most people would recoil at the sight of the snake.许多人看见蛇都会向后退缩。 Revenge may recoil upon the person who takes it.报复者常会受到报应。

18 prying
adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开
参考例句：
I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！ She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 jaws
n.口部；嘴
参考例句：
The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

20 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

21 repletion
n.充满，吃饱
参考例句：
It is better to die of repletion than to endure hunger.饱死胜过挨饿。 A baby vomits milk from repletion.婴儿吃饱会吐奶。

22 awaken
vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起
参考例句：
Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。 Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

23 afterward
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。

24 ravenously
adv.大嚼地，饥饿地
参考例句：
We were all ravenously hungry after the walk. 我们散步之后都饿得要命。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The boys dug in ravenously. 男孩们开始狼吞虎咽地吃起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 darted
v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔
参考例句：
The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 swollen
adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀
参考例句：
Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。 A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

27 cannibalism
n.同类相食；吃人肉
参考例句：
The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。 They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

28 procure
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。

29 procured
v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条
参考例句：
These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

30 fascination
n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋
参考例句：
He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。 His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

31 shrilly
尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的
参考例句：
The librarian threw back his head and laughed shrilly. 图书管理员把头往后面一仰，尖着嗓子哈哈大笑。 He half rose in his seat, whistling shrilly between his teeth, waving his hand. 他从车座上半欠起身子，低声打了一个尖锐的唿哨，一面挥挥手。

32 tusks
n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头
参考例句：
The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。 Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

33 squealed
v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 squeal
v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音
参考例句：
The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。 There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

35 strictly
adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地
参考例句：
His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。 The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

36 momentary
adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的
参考例句：
We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。 I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

37 lashed
adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥
参考例句：
The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。 The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 descending
n. 下行 adj. 下降的
参考例句：
The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。 The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

39 plucky
adj.勇敢的
参考例句：
The plucky schoolgirl amazed doctors by hanging on to life for nearly two months.这名勇敢的女生坚持不放弃生命近两个月的精神令医生感到震惊。 This story featured a plucky heroine.这个故事描述了一个勇敢的女英雄。

40 ribs
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
参考例句：
He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。 Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

41 conqueror
n.征服者，胜利者
参考例句：
We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。 They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。

42 pluckiness
参考例句：

43 crackers
adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘
参考例句：
That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。 We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

44 robust
adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的
参考例句：
She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。 China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

45 ailments
疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )
参考例句：
His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。 He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

46 pneumonia
n.肺炎
参考例句：
Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。 Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

47 promptly
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。 She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

48 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

49 hissing
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式
参考例句：
The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。 His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

50 intervals
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息
参考例句：
The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。 Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

51 sleeper
n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺
参考例句：
I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。 But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

52 trumpets
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花
参考例句：
A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。 A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。