Yuuichi Tam
Could you teach me the meaning of this sentence? The beetle was walking up the mountain to go home. "Indeed it would have taken a monkey or a bird to climb the place which the beetle was now walking up. It was a smooth, flat part of the mountain-side, steep as a wall." This content is from a novel "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle" I couldn't understand this sentence. And what shape is this mountain? The author said it was smooth and flat but steep.
May 4, 2016 6:58 PM
Answers · 4
The mountain-side is steep, meaning it would be difficult to go up and most animals would probably not be able to do it, except maybe a monkey (because monkeys are generally considered to be agile and good at climbing), or a bird (because birds can simply fly to reach the top of the mountain). We can't really tell what the shape of the entire mountain is, but the author describes that a part of the mountain-side is flat (which means it is level), smooth (which means there are no raised areas or indentations), and steep like a wall (which means it has such a sharp incline, it's vertical like a wall).
May 4, 2016
Indeed, you needed to have a monkey It takes a monkey = you need (to have) a monkey Smooth and flat is like a mirror steep is like vertical
May 4, 2016
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