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CHAPTER II.—KATHERINE.
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Don’t waste your pity upon me,” wrote old Mr. Chetwynd to his son Raine, an Oxford1 don. “This is not the Euxine, and even if it were, there would be compensation.

I have fallen in love in my old age. She is a little brown-haired, brown-eyed, fresh-coloured English girl, who has come lately to sit by me at table. Owing to her, a change has come o’er the spirit of my meals.

I say and do all kinds of foolish things. I caught myself yesterday brushing my coat before coming down to dinner. I shall be wearing a flower in my buttonhole before long. I am already supplied with bouquets2.

“My young lady’s ignorance is fascinating; it forms a bond between us. The Oxford young ladies, who will tell you of their charming talk with the dear professor, little know what wicked satirical thoughts they have left behind in the dear professor’s breast. But this one actually does not want to teach me anything. Think of it! She is Homeric. I told her she reminded me of Nausicaa. Instead of taking the allusion3 as a text to preach the newest theories of female education, she asked me sweetly who Nausicaa was. It is wonderful! In brief, my dear Raine, if you value the place you hold in your poor old daddy’s heart, you must pay me your promised visit with the utmost celerity.”

He was a striking figure in the pension, this old scholar, whose heart Felicia had won. All the ladies knew that he was a professor, wonderfully learned, and that he was writing a learned book, in which pursuit he spent half his days among the musty manuscripts in the Geneva University Library. In consequence, they looked upon him with a certain awe4. They saw very little of him, except at meals, and then only those who were within easy conversational5 distance profited much by his society. Now and then, on rare occasions, he came into the salon6 after dinner, where he would take a hand at piquet with Mme. Popea, whose conspicuously7 best behaviour on these occasions was a subject of satirical pleasure to the others. But as a general rule he retired8 to his own room and his private avocations9.

As a matter of fact, he was an Oxford scholar of considerable repute, honoured and welcomed in every Common Room. In his middle age he had filled a professorial chair in a Scotch10 University, which after some years he had resigned for reasons of climate and failing health. At present he was engaged on critical work dealing11 with the Swiss Reformers, and involving accurate documentary research. He had already spent the latter part of the summer at Zürich, examining the Zwinglius MSS., and now he was busy with the Calvinistic treasures of Geneva. How long his task would last would depend upon his rate of progress. But as he had let his small house in Oxford for a year, and as the quiet of the Pension Boccard suited him, he had decided12 upon staying at Geneva for a considerable time.

A strange anomaly, with his learning and industry, in the midst of the heterogeneous13 feminine idleness of the Pension. In a vague way all the women felt it. His appearance, too, was strikingly suggestive of a personality inaccessible14 to the trivialities round which their own souls centred. Once a strong, thick-set man, he retained at seventy-two, great breadth of bent15 shoulders. His hair, scanty16 at the top and long, was still black, as were his heavy eyebrows17, beneath which gleamed lustrous18 black eyes. The sombre depth of the latter and the deep furrowings on; his dark, square face gave it, in moments of repose19, a stern expression but when a smile or the play of fancy or interest lit it up, it was like the sunshine breaking upon a granite20 scaur. The very magic of the change had in it something eerie21, incomprehensible. And a rare tenderness could sometimes well from the heart into the eyes, making the old face beautiful; but that was not displayed for the benefit of the ladies of the Pension.

The fresh instincts of the young girl, however, divined the underlying22 tenderness and brought it to the surface. It was a natural intimacy23, which cheered both lives. The old scholar’s genial24 humour, delicate, playful fancy, evoked25 in Felicia spontaneity of merry thought and speech. The meals, which once had been such ordeals26, when eaten under the whirlwind of Mme. Boccard’s half-intelligible platitudes27, became invested with a rare charm. Instead of sitting shy and silent, she laughed and jested with the inconsequence of twenty. The change was so marked, that one day, when a mock quarrel arose between the old man and herself, over the exact halving28 of a pear, Mme. Popea elevated surprised eyebrows, and nudged Frau Schultz her neighbour.

“Voilà bien les femmes! a man—a mummy will suffice—but let it be masculine!”

“And the men, they are all the same,” said Frau Schultz, in her thick South German. “Give them a pretty face, and no matter how old, they are on fire.”

Frau Schultz applied30 herself again seriously to her meal, whilst Madame Popea repeated her own observation to Madame Boccard, who laughed, and prophesied31 a wedding in the pension. But as all this was whispered, it did not reach the ears of the parties concerned, at the other end of the table.

Mrs. Stapleton listened amusedly to the light talk between Mr. Chetwynd and Felicia, though with a certain surprise and wistfulness. Charming and courteous32 as the old man was when the mood for conversation was on him, she had never been able to open in him that light playful vein33. What Frau Schultz had expressed coarsely, Katherine, with a finer nature, felt delicately. It was Felicia’s fresh maidenhood35 that had instinctively36 gladdened the old man—a possession she herself had lost for ever, with which she could gladden no man’s heart. She looked across the table and smiled at her own thought. What did it matter, after all? She had had the roses and lilies in her time, and they had not brought her any great happiness. Her life had been lived. Still, a woman of thirty mourns her lost youth—all the more if it has been a failure—just as an older woman mourns the death of a scrapegrace son. And though Katherine smiled at herself, she wished for some of it back, even to charm such an old, old man as Mr. Chetwynd. There will ever be much that is feminine in woman.

“You haye made a conquest,” she said soon afterwards to Felicia.

“Haven’t I?” laughed the girl. “He is so sweet. Do you know, I think sweet people, when they grow very, very old, become quite young again.”

“Or, in this case, more accurately37, isn’t it that extremes touch?”

“Do you think I am so very young?” asked Felicia, seizing the objective. “I am twenty.”

“Happy girl,” said Katherine, smiling. “But what I meant was, that if you were thirty and he was fifty, you probably would have fewer points of contact.”

“Or, if I were ten and he were eighty, we would play together like kittens,” said Felicia, with girlish irreverence39. “Well, it doesn’t matter. He is the dearest old man in the world, and it was very nice of you to arrange for me to sit next to him.”

“It seems to have brightened you, Felicia.”

“Oh, yes, wonderfully. I was getting so bored and dull and miserable40. It is not very gay now, but I have something to look forward to every day. And your letting me talk to you has made a great difference.”

“I am afraid I am not very entertaining,” said Katherine.

“Sometimes you are so sad,” said Felicia, sympathetically. “I wish I could help you.”

“I am afraid you would have to upheave the universe, my dear.”

Felicia looked at her with such wonderful gravity in her brown eyes that Katherine broke into a laugh.

“Well, you can do it gradually. Begin with my work-basket, will you? and find me a spool41 of No. 100 thread.”

Without overstepping the bounds of kindly42 friendship, they saw much of each other. An imperceptible shadow of reserve in Katherine’s manner, a certain variability of mood, a vein of hardness in her nature ever liable to be exposed by a chance thought, checked in the young girl the impulses of a more generous affection. Katherine was conscious of this; conscious, too, of no efforts to win more from the girl. Now and then she sounded a note of explanation.

Once they were talking of the pension’s dreariness—an endless topic. It happened that Felicia was disposed to take a cheerful view.

“Every cloud has a silver lining43,” she said.

“By way of heightening its blackness, my dear,” said Katherine. “Besides, the lining is turned to heaven and the blackness to earth, so it does not help us much.”

“Oh, why are you so bitter?”

“Bitter?” echoed Katherine, musingly44. “Oh, no! I am not, really. But perhaps it were better that you should think so.”

But for all her refusal to admit Felicia any deeper into her heart, Katherine welcomed her companionship frankly45. She had looked forward almost shudderingly46 to the dreary47 isolation48 of the winter. Whom could she choose as a companion, to exchange a thought with beyond those of ordinary civility? By a process of elimination49 she had arrived at little Miss Bunter, with her canaries, her Family Herald50 and Modern Society, her mild spinsterish chit-chat. It was a depressing prospect51; but Felicia had saved her. Her society relieved the monotony of those terrible dreary, idle days, took her out of herself, stilled for a few odd hours the yearnings for a bright full life—yearnings all the more inwardly gnawing53 by reason of the ever exerted strain to check their outward expression.

She was standing54 before her glass one morning brushing her hair. She had shaken it back loose; it was fair, long, and thick, and she had taken up the brush languidly. She was not feeling well. Frau Schultz had unsuccessfully tried to provoke a quarrel the night before; a little graceful55 experiment in philanthropy that had engaged her attention of late had ignominiously56 failed; the rain was pouring in torrents57 outside; the day contained no hope; a crushing sense of the futility58 of things came over her like a pall59. She had roused herself, given her hair a determined60 shake, and commenced to brush vigorously, looking at herself sideways in the glass. But a weak pity for the weary, delicate face she saw there filled her eyes with tears. Her arm seemed heavy and tired. She dropped the brush and sank down on a chair, and spreading her arms on the toilet-table, buried her face in them.

“Oh I can’t, I can’t!” she cried, with a kind of moan. “What is the good? Why should I get up day after day and go through this weariness? Oh, my God! What a life! Some day it will drive me mad! I wish I were dead.”

The sobs61 came and shook her shoulders, hidden by the spreading mass of hair. She could not help the pity for herself.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. She sprang to her feet, glanced hurriedly at the glass, and touched her face quickly with the powder-puff. In a moment she had recovered.

Felicia entered in response to her acknowledgment of the knock. She had been out in the rain; her cheeks were glowing above the turned-up collar of her jacket.

“Oh, you are only just dressing62. I have been up and about for ages. See, I have brought you some flowers. Where shall I put them?”

Katherine felt gladdened by the little act of kindness. She thanked Felicia, and went about the room collecting a few vases.

“Arrange them for me, dear, whilst I finish my hair.”

She returned to the looking-glass, and Felicia remained by the table busy with the flowers.

“I went as far as the library with Mr. Chetwynd,” said Felicia. “I told him he ought not to go out to-day, but he would go. When ‘Raine,’ as he calls him, comes, I shall have to talk to him seriously about his father.”

“The son has definitely settled to come, then?” asked Katherine, with a hair-pin between her lips.

“Oh, yes. Mr. Chetwynd can talk of nothing else. He will be here quite soon.”

“It will be a good thing,” said Katherine.

“Yes; it will do the dear old man good.”

Ordinarily Katherine would have smiled at the ingenuousness63 of the reply; but this morning her nerves were unstrung.

“I wasn’t thinking of him. I was thinking of ourselves—us women.”

“I wonder what he’ll be like,” said Felicia.

“What does it matter? He will be a man.”

“Oh, it does matter. If he is not nice—”

“My dear child,” said Katherine, wheeling round, “it does not signify whether he has the face of an ogre and the manners of a bear. He will be a man; and it is a man that we want among us!”

The girl shrank away. To look upon mankind as necessary elements in life had never before occurred to her. She would have been quite as excited if a nice girl had been expected at the pension.

“But surely—” she stammered64.

Katherine divined her thought; but she was too much under the power of her mood to laugh it away.

“No!” she cried, with a scorn that she felt to be unjust—and that very consciousness made her accent more passionate65.

“We don’t want a man to come so that one of us can marry him by force! God forbid! Most of us have had enough of marrying and giving in marriage. Heaven help me, I am not as bad as that yet, to throw myself into the arms of the first man who came, so that he could carry me away from this Aceldama. But we want a man here to make us feel ashamed of the meannesses and pettinesses that we women display before each other, and to make us hide them, and appear before each other as creatures to respect. Women are the lesser66 race; we cannot exist by ourselves; we become flaccid and backboneless and small—oh, so small and feeble! I get to despise my sex, to think there is nothing, nothing in us; no reserve of strength, nothing but a mass of nerves and soft, flabby flesh. Oh, my dear child, you don’t know it yet—let us hope you never will know it—this craving67 for a man, the self-contempt of it, to crave68 for nothing more but just to touch the hem29 of his garment to work the miracle of restoring you to the dignity of your womanhood. Ah!”

She waved her arms in a passionate gesture and walked about the room with clenched69 hands. Felicia arranged the flowers mechanically. These things were new to her philosophy. She felt troubled by them, but she kept silent. Katherine continued her parable70, the pent-up disgusts and wearinesses of months finding vehement71 expression.

“Yes, a man, a man. It is good that he is coming. A being without jangling nerves, and with a fresh, broad mind that only sees things in bulk and does not dissect72 the infinitely73 little. He will come here like a sea breeze. It is a physical need among us, a man’s presence now and then, with his heavy frame and deep voice and resonant74 laugh, his strength, his rough ways, his heavy tread, his great hands. Ah! you are young; you think I am telling you dreadful things; you may never know it. It is only women who live alone that can know what it is to yearn52 to have a man’s strong arm, brother or father or husband, to close round you as you cry your poor weak woman’s heart out, and the more humble75, self-abasing longing76, just to long for a man’s voice. What does it matter what the man is like?”

There was a few moments’ silence. Katherine went on with her dressing. The words had relieved her heart, yet she felt ashamed at having spoken so bitterly before the young girl. Maxime debetur—. She thought of the maxim77 and bit her lip. But was she not young too? Were they so far apart in age that they could not meet on common grounds? She looked in the glass. Her charm had not yet gone. Yet she wished she had not spoken.

Felicia finished arranging the flowers, and disposed the four little vases about the room. Then she went up to Katherine and put her arm round her waist.

“I am sorry.”

It was all the girl could say, but it made Katherine turn and kiss her cheek.

“I expect Mr. Chetwynd is going to be very nice if he is anything like his father,” she said in her natural tones. “Forgive me for having been disagreeable. I woke up like it. Sometimes this pension gets on one’s nerves.”

“It is frightfully dull,” assented78 Felicia. “But you are the busiest of anybody. You are always working or reading or going out to nurse poor sick people. I wish I did anything half as useful.5’

“Well, you have made me more cheerful than I was, if that is anything,” replied Katherine.

A little later the old man announced to her the speedy arrival of his son Raine. Katherine listened, made a few polite inquiries79, learned the functions of a college tutor, and the difference between a lecturer and a professor.

“He is a great big fellow,” said the old man. “He would make about ten of me. So don’t expect to see a thin, doubled up, elderly young man in spectacles!”

“Is your son married?” asked Fraulein Klinkhardt, who sat next to Felicia.

She was a fair, florid woman of over thirty, with strongly hewn features and predisposition for bold effects of attire80. The old man, who did not like her, said that her hats were immoral81. A glint of gold on one of her front teeth gave a peculiar82 effect, in the way of suggestion, to her speech.

“He has never told me,” said the old man, with his most courtly smile.

“You will see, she will try to marry him when he comes,” whispered Frau Schultz to Mme. Boccard.

But Fraulein Klinkhardt laughed at the old man’s reply.

“That is a pity, for married men—whom one knows to be married—are always more agreeable.”

“And women, too,” said Mme. Popea with a little grimace83 of satisfaction.

“A bachelor is generally more chivalrous,” said Miss Bunter, who always took things seriously. “He acts more in accordance with his ideals of women.”

“Is Saul also among the prophets?” asked Katherine with a smile, “Miss Bunter among the cynics?”

“Oh, dear! I hope not,” replied Miss Bunter in alarm; “I did not mean that, but a bachelor always seems more romantic. What do you think, Miss Graves?”

“I don’t know,” said Felicia, laughing;

“I like all men when they are nice, and it doesn’t seem to make any difference whether they are married or not. Perhaps it may with very young men,” she added reflectively. “But then very young men are different. For instance, all the young subs in my uncle’s regiment84; it would seem as ridiculous to call them bachelors as to call me a spinster.”

“But you are a spinster, Miss Graves,” said Miss Bunter, mildly platitudinous85.

“Oh, please!—” laughed Felicia. “A spinster is—” she paused in some confusion, “An old maid,” she was going to add, but she remembered it might be a tender point with Miss Bunter. Frau Schultz, however, struck in with her harsh voice,—

“At what age does a woman begin to be a spinster, Miss Graves?”

Frau Schultz’s perverted86 sense of tact38 was of the quality of genius. Old Mr. Chetwynd came to the rescue of the maiden34 ladies.

“In England, when their first banns of marriage are published,” he said.

Mme. Boccard turned to Mme. Popea to have the reply translated into French. Then she explained it volubly to the table.

The question at issue, the relative merits of bachelors and married men, was never beaten out; for at this juncture87, the meal being over, old Mr. Chetwynd rose, turned, and hobbled out’ of the room, taking Felicia with him.

An hour later Katherine was picking her way through the mud up the long unsightly street in the old part of the town that leads to the Hotel de Ville. At the ill-kept gateway88 of a great decayed house, she stopped, and entering, descended89 the steps at a side doorway90 beneath to a room on the basement, whose lunette window was on a level with the roadway. A very old woman opened the door to her knock, and welcomed her with an—

“Ah, Madame! C’est encore vous!” and led her in with many expressions of delight.

It was a poor, squalid enough room, very dark, ill-kept, littered with cooking utensils91, cookery, and strange articles of clothing. An old man lay in the great wooden bedstead, his face barely visible in the dim light which was further obscured by the dingy92 white curtains running on a rope, fixed93 over the bed.

“Jean-Marie.” cried the old woman, “here is Madame come to read to you. Will Madame give herself the trouble to sit down? My daughter has not come in yet, so the room is still unmade.”

The old man raised himself on his elbow and grinned at Katherine.

“One would say it was an angel when Madame comes.”

The old woman broke out again in welcome. It was so good of Madame to come. Jean-Marie could do nothing but talk of her. Really Jean-Marie was right, and she was an angel.

Katherine took the venerable wooden armchair that was placed for her near the stove, accepted graciously the pillow that the old woman took from the bed to make her more comfortable, and after a few minutes’ gossip opened the book she had brought with her and began to read. The old man turned so that he could fix his eyes upon her. His old wife sat on a straight-backed chair at the foot of the bed and listened in deep attention. Katherine read on amid a rapt silence, only broken now and then by an “oh, la! la!” muttered under the breath, at which she could scarcely repress a smile. She was happier now. Her best, kindest, tenderest self only was shown to this poor, broken-down old couple who seemed to worship her.

There was a humour blended with pathos94, too, in the situation that appealed to her. For the book in which their whole souls were concentrated was a French translation of “Robinson Crusoe.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
2 bouquets 81022f355e60321845cbfc3c8963628f     
n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 );(酒的)芳香
参考例句:
  • The welcoming crowd waved their bouquets. 欢迎的群众摇动着花束。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • As the hero stepped off the platform, he was surrounded by several children with bouquets. 当英雄走下讲台时,已被几名手持花束的儿童围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 allusion CfnyW     
n.暗示,间接提示
参考例句:
  • He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
  • She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。
4 awe WNqzC     
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
参考例句:
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
5 conversational SZ2yH     
adj.对话的,会话的
参考例句:
  • The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
  • She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。
6 salon VjTz2Z     
n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室
参考例句:
  • Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗?
  • You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。
7 conspicuously 3vczqb     
ad.明显地,惹人注目地
参考例句:
  • France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
  • She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。
8 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
9 avocations ced84b6cc413c20155f985ee94d0e492     
n.业余爱好,嗜好( avocation的名词复数 );职业
参考例句:
  • Most seem to come from technical avocations, like engineering, computers and sciences. 绝大多数人原有技术方面的爱好,比如工程、计算机和科学。 来自互联网
  • In terms of avocations, there is hardly anything in common between Jenny and her younger sister. 就业余爱好而言,珍妮和她妹妹几乎没什么共同之处。 来自互联网
10 scotch ZZ3x8     
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的
参考例句:
  • Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
  • Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景,真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。
11 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
12 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
13 heterogeneous rdixF     
adj.庞杂的;异类的
参考例句:
  • There is a heterogeneous mass of papers in the teacher's office.老师的办公室里堆满了大批不同的论文。
  • America has a very heterogeneous population.美国人口是由不同种族组成的。
14 inaccessible 49Nx8     
adj.达不到的,难接近的
参考例句:
  • This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
  • The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。
15 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
16 scanty ZDPzx     
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的
参考例句:
  • There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
  • The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。
17 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
18 lustrous JAbxg     
adj.有光泽的;光辉的
参考例句:
  • Mary has a head of thick,lustrous,wavy brown hair.玛丽有一头浓密、富有光泽的褐色鬈发。
  • This mask definitely makes the skin fair and lustrous.这款面膜可以异常有用的使肌肤变亮和有光泽。
19 repose KVGxQ     
v.(使)休息;n.安息
参考例句:
  • Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
  • Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑,即使在睡眠时也是这样。
20 granite Kyqyu     
adj.花岗岩,花岗石
参考例句:
  • They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
  • The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。
21 eerie N8gy0     
adj.怪诞的;奇异的;可怕的;胆怯的
参考例句:
  • It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
  • I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。
22 underlying 5fyz8c     
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
参考例句:
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
23 intimacy z4Vxx     
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行
参考例句:
  • His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切,这有点言过其实。
  • I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。
24 genial egaxm     
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的
参考例句:
  • Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
  • He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友,也是友善待客的主人。
25 evoked 0681b342def6d2a4206d965ff12603b2     
[医]诱发的
参考例句:
  • The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
  • Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤,但仍使人感觉安详。
26 ordeals 1064124844a18f5c55ac38e62732bef4     
n.严峻的考验,苦难的经历( ordeal的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • London had stood triumphant through all her ordeals. 伦敦在经历考验之后仍巍然屹立。 来自辞典例句
  • He's come through some bad personal ordeals. 他个人经历了一些沉痛的考验。 来自辞典例句
27 platitudes e249aa750ccfe02339c2233267283746     
n.平常的话,老生常谈,陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 );滥套子
参考例句:
  • He was mouthing the usual platitudes about the need for more compassion. 他言不由衷地说了些需要更加同情之类的陈腔滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He delivered a long prose full of platitudes. 他发表了一篇充满陈词滥调的文章。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
28 halving c6f26b86dcde43d12ca22a6b8a0bba9a     
n.对分,二等分,减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 );把…减半;对分;平摊
参考例句:
  • You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现,薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
  • Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半,就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网
29 hem 7dIxa     
n.贴边,镶边;vt.缝贴边;(in)包围,限制
参考例句:
  • The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
  • The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。
30 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
31 prophesied 27251c478db94482eeb550fc2b08e011     
v.预告,预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She prophesied that she would win a gold medal. 她预言自己将赢得金牌。
  • She prophesied the tragic outcome. 她预言有悲惨的结果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
32 courteous tooz2     
adj.彬彬有礼的,客气的
参考例句:
  • Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一,但她总是很谦恭有礼。
  • He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善,而且彬彬有礼。
33 vein fi9w0     
n.血管,静脉;叶脉,纹理;情绪;vt.使成脉络
参考例句:
  • The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
  • The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。
34 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
35 maidenhood maidenhood     
n. 处女性, 处女时代
参考例句:
36 instinctively 2qezD2     
adv.本能地
参考例句:
  • As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近,她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》
37 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地,精确地
参考例句:
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
38 tact vqgwc     
n.机敏,圆滑,得体
参考例句:
  • She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
  • Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。
39 irreverence earzi     
n.不尊敬
参考例句:
  • True irreverence is disrespect for another man's god.真正的大不敬是不尊重别人的神。
  • Mark Twain said irreverence is the champion of liberty,if not its only defender.马克·吐温说过,不敬若不是自由唯一的捍卫者,也会是它的拥护者。
40 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
41 spool XvgwI     
n.(缠录音带等的)卷盘(轴);v.把…绕在卷轴上
参考例句:
  • Can you wind this film back on to its spool?你能把这胶卷卷回到卷轴上去吗?
  • Thomas squatted on the forward deck,whistling tunelessly,polishing the broze spool of the anchor winch.托马斯蹲在前甲板上擦起锚绞车的黄铜轴,边擦边胡乱吹着口哨。
42 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
43 lining kpgzTO     
n.衬里,衬料
参考例句:
  • The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
  • Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。
44 musingly ddec53b7ea68b079ee6cb62ac6c95bf9     
adv.沉思地,冥想地
参考例句:
45 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
46 shudderingly 6bd08ef3d20ff11bc83adcaa37343066     
参考例句:
  • Shudderingly, she acknowledged to herself that she dared not face what lay before her. 她害怕地发抖,她承认自己不敢面对眼前的一切。 来自互联网
47 dreary sk1z6     
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的
参考例句:
  • They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
  • She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。
48 isolation 7qMzTS     
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
参考例句:
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
49 elimination 3qexM     
n.排除,消除,消灭
参考例句:
  • Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
  • I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。
50 herald qdCzd     
vt.预示...的来临,预告,宣布,欢迎
参考例句:
  • In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
  • Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。
51 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
52 yearn nMjzN     
v.想念;怀念;渴望
参考例句:
  • We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
  • Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。
53 gnawing GsWzWk     
a.痛苦的,折磨人的
参考例句:
  • The dog was gnawing a bone. 那狗在啃骨头。
  • These doubts had been gnawing at him for some time. 这些疑虑已经折磨他一段时间了。
54 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
55 graceful deHza     
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的
参考例句:
  • His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
  • The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
56 ignominiously 06ad56226c9512b3b1e466b6c6a73df2     
adv.耻辱地,屈辱地,丢脸地
参考例句:
  • Their attempt failed ignominiously. 他们的企图可耻地失败了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She would be scolded, abused, ignominiously discharged. 他们会说她,骂她,解雇她,让她丢尽脸面的。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
57 torrents 0212faa02662ca7703af165c0976cdfd     
n.倾注;奔流( torrent的名词复数 );急流;爆发;连续不断
参考例句:
  • The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Sudden rainstorms would bring the mountain torrents rushing down. 突然的暴雨会使山洪暴发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
58 futility IznyJ     
n.无用
参考例句:
  • She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
  • The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处,这让她很生气。
59 pall hvwyP     
v.覆盖,使平淡无味;n.柩衣,棺罩;棺材;帷幕
参考例句:
  • Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
  • I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。
60 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
61 sobs d4349f86cad43cb1a5579b1ef269d0cb     
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
  • She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。
62 dressing 1uOzJG     
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
参考例句:
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
63 ingenuousness 395b9814a605ed2dc98d4c5c4d79c23f     
n.率直;正直;老实
参考例句:
  • He would acknowledge with perfect ingenuousness that his concession had been attended with such partial good. 他坦率地承认,由于他让步的结果,招来不少坏处。 来自辞典例句
64 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
65 passionate rLDxd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
66 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地
参考例句:
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及,但程度较轻。
67 craving zvlz3e     
n.渴望,热望
参考例句:
  • a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
  • She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐,以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。
68 crave fowzI     
vt.渴望得到,迫切需要,恳求,请求
参考例句:
  • Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
  • You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。
69 clenched clenched     
v.紧握,抓紧,咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
  • She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上,以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
70 parable R4hzI     
n.寓言,比喻
参考例句:
  • This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
  • The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。
71 vehement EL4zy     
adj.感情强烈的;热烈的;(人)有强烈感情的
参考例句:
  • She made a vehement attack on the government's policies.她强烈谴责政府的政策。
  • His proposal met with vehement opposition.他的倡导遭到了激烈的反对。
72 dissect 3tNxQ     
v.分割;解剖
参考例句:
  • In biology class we had to dissect a frog.上生物课时我们得解剖青蛙。
  • Not everyone can dissect and digest the public information they receive.不是每个人都可以解析和消化他们得到的公共信息的。
73 infinitely 0qhz2I     
adv.无限地,无穷地
参考例句:
  • There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
  • The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。
74 resonant TBCzC     
adj.(声音)洪亮的,共鸣的
参考例句:
  • She has a resonant voice.她的嗓子真亮。
  • He responded with a resonant laugh.他报以洪亮的笑声。
75 humble ddjzU     
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低
参考例句:
  • In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见,他将在选举中获胜。
  • Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
76 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
77 maxim G2KyJ     
n.格言,箴言
参考例句:
  • Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
  • "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。
78 assented 4cee1313bb256a1f69bcc83867e78727     
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
  • "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对,”汤姆表示赞同地说,“他们不杀女人——真伟大!
79 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
80 attire AN0zA     
v.穿衣,装扮[同]array;n.衣着;盛装
参考例句:
  • He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
  • Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。
81 immoral waCx8     
adj.不道德的,淫荡的,荒淫的,有伤风化的
参考例句:
  • She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
  • It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。
82 peculiar cinyo     
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。
83 grimace XQVza     
v.做鬼脸,面部歪扭
参考例句:
  • The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
  • Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。
84 regiment JATzZ     
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制
参考例句:
  • As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活,所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
  • They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。
85 platitudinous OO3xu     
adj.平凡的,陈腐的
参考例句:
  • The whole speech was platitudinous nonsense. 整篇讲话都是陈谷子烂芝麻。 来自互联网
  • What troubles me most about this is not the workshop or platitudinous questionnaire the DNA bit. 我最感到苦恼的还不是研讨班,也不是这种陈腐的问卷调查,而是机构DNA这码事。 来自互联网
86 perverted baa3ff388a70c110935f711a8f95f768     
adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 );腐蚀;败坏;使堕落
参考例句:
  • Some scientific discoveries have been perverted to create weapons of destruction. 某些科学发明被滥用来生产毁灭性武器。
  • sexual acts, normal and perverted 正常的和变态的性行为
87 juncture e3exI     
n.时刻,关键时刻,紧要关头
参考例句:
  • The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
  • It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。
88 gateway GhFxY     
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法
参考例句:
  • Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
  • A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。
89 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
90 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
91 utensils 69f125dfb1fef9b418c96d1986e7b484     
器具,用具,器皿( utensil的名词复数 ); 器物
参考例句:
  • Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
  • Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。
92 dingy iu8xq     
adj.昏暗的,肮脏的
参考例句:
  • It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
  • The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。
93 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
94 pathos dLkx2     
n.哀婉,悲怆
参考例句:
  • The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯,看得我们不禁流泪。
  • There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。


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