“There used to be a great many more witches than there are now,” remarked Mr. Thimblefinger. “I reckon it’s because folks have more business of their own to attend to; or, it may be a change in the climate. I hear old people say that the winters are colder now than they used to be, and the summers hotter. Maybe that has something to do with it. Anyhow, something has happened to thin the witches out.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Rabbit; “I’ve noticed that they are scarcer than they used to be, but I never inquired into the whys and wherefores. They never bothered me, and I never bothered them.”
“Well, when I first came here,” said Mr. Thimblefinger, “I noticed Jimmy Jay-Bird bringing sand and
mortar1 every Friday, and it occurred to me that he was preparing to lay the foundations of a witch’s house in this country. So I says to myself, says I, ‘I’ll keep an eye on Jimmy, and see [Pg 166] where he gets in and out; for, surely, he doesn’t come by way of the spring.’ But Jimmy Jay-Bird was pretty slick, and it was some time before I found out where he came down and went out. By some means or other, he had discovered the big hollow poplar on the spring branch, and he was coming and going that way.”
“I know where it is,” said Buster John.
“Yes,” replied Mr. Thimblefinger. “It is the oldest and the biggest tree in the whole country next door. But as soon as I found that Jimmy Jay-Bird was using it as a passageway, I drove a
peg2 in the hole and put an end to his schemes, whatever they may have been. I don’t know where he carries his sand and mortar now, and I don’t care.
“But I didn’t start out to tell anything about Jimmy Jay-Bird,” continued Mr. Thimblefinger, after pausing a moment. “I was thinking about the way a witch was caught by a boy no bigger and not much older than our young friend here.”
“Tell us about it, please!” cried Buster John enthusiastically.
“Well,” said Mr. Thimblefinger, “it’s not much of a story. You can’t take a handful of [Pg 167] facts and make a story of them unless you know how to fling them together. The best I can do is to tell it just as it happened as near as I can remember.
“When I was a little bit of a fellow—now don’t laugh!” cried Mr. Thimblefinger, seeing Mr. Rabbit
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收听单词发音
1
mortar
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n.灰浆,灰泥;迫击炮;v.把…用灰浆涂接合 |
参考例句: |
- The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
- The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。
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2
peg
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n.木栓,木钉;vt.用木钉钉,用短桩固定 |
参考例句: |
- Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
- He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
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3
wink
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n.眨眼,使眼色,瞬间;v.眨眼,使眼色,闪烁 |
参考例句: |
- He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
- The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间,那颗卫星就消失了。
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4
rims
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n.(圆形物体的)边( rim的名词复数 );缘;轮辋;轮圈 |
参考例句: |
- As she spoke, the rims of her eyes reddened a little. 说时,眼圈微红。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
- Her eyes were a little hollow, and reddish about the rims. 她的眼睛微微凹陷,眼眶有些发红。 来自辞典例句
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5
whooping
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发嗬嗬声的,发咳声的 |
参考例句: |
- Whooping cough is very prevalent just now. 百日咳正在广泛流行。
- Have you had your child vaccinated against whooping cough? 你给你的孩子打过百日咳疫苗了吗?
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6
tilt
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v.(使)倾侧;(使)倾斜;n.倾侧;倾斜 |
参考例句: |
- She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
- The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平,有点儿歪.
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7
clattering
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发出咔哒声(clatter的现在分词形式) |
参考例句: |
- Typewriters keep clattering away. 打字机在不停地嗒嗒作响。
- The typewriter was clattering away. 打字机啪嗒啪嗒地响着。
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8
scurrying
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v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句
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9
whine
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v.哀号,号哭;n.哀鸣 |
参考例句: |
- You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
- The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上,一声尖厉的呼啸,跳飞开去。
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10
growl
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v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣 |
参考例句: |
- The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫,尾巴也跟着摇摆。
- The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。
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11
whacked
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a.精疲力尽的 |
参考例句: |
- She whacked him with her handbag. 她用手提包狠狠地打他。
- He whacked me on the back and I held both his arms. 他用力拍拍我的背,我抱住他的双臂。
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12
axe
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n.斧子;v.用斧头砍,削减 |
参考例句: |
- Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利,你要当心。
- The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。
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13
creek
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n.小溪,小河,小湾 |
参考例句: |
- He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
- People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
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14
galloping
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adj. 飞驰的, 急性的
动词gallop的现在分词形式 |
参考例句: |
- The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下,它就奔驰起来了。
- Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速,日新月异。
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15
beheld
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v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 |
参考例句: |
- His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
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16
ragged
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adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 |
参考例句: |
- A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
- Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
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17
forefinger
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n.食指 |
参考例句: |
- He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
- He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。
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