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“Suddenly I was aware of something new. The air in front of me had lost its crystal clearness. It was full of long, ragged1 wisps of something which I can only compare to very fine cigarette smoke. It hung about in wreaths and coils, turning and twisting slowly in the sunlight. As the monoplane shot through it, I was aware of a faint taste of oil upon my lips, and there was a greasy2 scum upon the woodwork of the machine. Some infinitely3 fine organic matter appeared to be suspended in the atmosphere. There was no life there. It was inchoate4 and diffuse5, extending for many square acres and then fringing off into the void. No, it was not life. But might it not be the remains6 of life? Above all, might it not be the food of life, of monstrous7 life, even as the humble8 grease of the ocean is the food for the mighty9 whale? The thought was in my mind when my eyes looked upwards10 and I saw the most wonderful vision that ever man has seen. Can I hope to convey it to you even as I saw it myself last Thursday?
“Conceive a jelly-fish such as sails in our summer seas, bell- shaped and of enormous size—far larger, I should judge, than the dome11 of St. Paul’s. It was of a light pink colour veined with a delicate green, but the whole huge fabric12 so tenuous13 that it was but a fairy outline against the dark blue sky. It pulsated14 with a delicate and regular rhythm. From it there depended two long, drooping15, green tentacles16, which swayed slowly backwards17 and forwards. This gorgeous vision passed gently with noiseless dignity over my head, as light and fragile as a soap-bubble, and drifted upon its stately way.
“I had half-turned my monoplane, that I might look after this beautiful creature, when, in a moment, I found myself amidst a perfect fleet of them, of all sizes, but none so large as the first. Some were quite small, but the majority about as big as an average balloon, and with much the same curvature at the top. There was in them a delicacy18 of texture19 and colouring which reminded me of the finest Venetian glass. Pale shades of pink and green were the prevailing20 tints21, but all had a lovely iridescence22 where the sun shimmered23 through their dainty forms. Some hundreds of them drifted past me, a wonderful fairy squadron of strange argosies of the sky—creatures whose forms and substance were so attuned24 to these pure heights that one could not conceive anything so delicate within actual sight or sound of earth.
1 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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2 greasy | |
adj. 多脂的,油脂的 | |
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3 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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4 inchoate | |
adj.才开始的,初期的 | |
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5 diffuse | |
v.扩散;传播;adj.冗长的;四散的,弥漫的 | |
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6 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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7 monstrous | |
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的 | |
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8 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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9 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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10 upwards | |
adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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11 dome | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
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12 fabric | |
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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13 tenuous | |
adj.细薄的,稀薄的,空洞的 | |
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14 pulsated | |
v.有节奏地舒张及收缩( pulsate的过去式和过去分词 );跳动;脉动;受(激情)震动 | |
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15 drooping | |
adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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16 tentacles | |
n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 );触角;触须;触毛 | |
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17 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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18 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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19 texture | |
n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理 | |
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20 prevailing | |
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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21 tints | |
色彩( tint的名词复数 ); 带白的颜色; (淡色)染发剂; 痕迹 | |
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22 iridescence | |
n.彩虹色;放光彩;晕色;晕彩 | |
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23 shimmered | |
v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 attuned | |
v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 );调音 | |
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