Brambles rustled² at the edge of a wood as a cat emerged into the open. Watchful³ eyes flicked⁴ to each side; then the cat strode out across a wide stretch of meadow grass, heading toward another belt of trees in the distance. Bright newleaf sun shone down on a landscape patched with fields and hedges. Twoleg dens⁵ clustered together beside a Thunderpath.

Even so early in the season, the sun was hot, and the cat’s ears flicked in irritation⁷ as flies buzzed around them. It will be cooler under the trees, the traveler thought, pausing for a moment to flex⁸ tired paws. And there’s not much farther to go. Just beyond that range of hills . . .

But before the cat reached the inviting⁹ shade of the wood, a loud hiss¹⁰ sounded and a second cat leaped out from under a nearby hedge: a tough, lean tom with a gray pelt¹¹ and one bitten ear.

“What are you doing here?” the tom demanded. “If you’re looking for somewhere to rest, keep looking.

This is my place. And the prey¹² around here is mine.” The traveling cat halted and looked the tom up and down with narrowed eyes. “Your place? You mean, you live in this hedge?”

“No, I’m from the farm over there.” The tom waved his tail in the direction of a large Twoleg den

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1 prologue
n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕
参考例句：
A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.不幸的婚姻是痛苦的开始。 The prologue to the novel is written in the form of a newspaper account.这本小说的序言是以报纸报道的形式写的。

2 rustled
v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 watchful
adj.注意的，警惕的
参考例句：
The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。 It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

4 flicked
（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）
参考例句：
She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。 I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

5 dens
n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋
参考例句：
Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句 In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句

6 den
n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室
参考例句：
There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。 The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

7 irritation
n.激怒，恼怒，生气
参考例句：
He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。 Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

8 flex
n.皮线，花线；vt.弯曲或伸展
参考例句：
We wound off a couple of yards of wire for a new lamp flex.我们解开几码电线作为新的电灯花线。 He gave his biceps a flex to impress the ladies.他收缩他的肱二头肌以吸引那些女士们的目光。

9 inviting
adj.诱人的，引人注目的
参考例句：
An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。 The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

10 hiss
v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满
参考例句：
We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。 Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

11 pelt
v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火
参考例句：
The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。 Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。

12 prey
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
参考例句：
Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。 The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

13 tilted
v. 倾斜的
参考例句：
Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。 She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

14 wary
adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的
参考例句：
He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。 Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

15 tinged
v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
memories tinged with sadness 略带悲伤的往事 white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣

16 twitched
vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。 The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 nibbling
v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬
参考例句：
We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。 He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 crouch
v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏
参考例句：
I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。 He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

19 crest
n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖
参考例句：
The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。 He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

20 scarlet
n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的
参考例句：
The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。 The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

21 warriors
武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )
参考例句：
I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。 The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

22 glimmering
n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句 Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

23 vengeance
n.报复，报仇，复仇
参考例句：
He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。 For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。