Several days went by, and Rastignac lived in a whirl of gaiety. He dined almost every day with Mme. de Nucingen, and went wherever she went, only returning to the Rue1 Neuve-SainteGenevieve in the small hours. He rose at mid-day, and dressed to go into the Bois with Delphine if the day was fine, squandering2 in this way time that was worth far more than he knew. He turned as eagerly to learn the lessons of luxury, and was as quick to feel its fascination3, as the flowers of the date palm to receive the fertilizing4 pollen5. He played high, lost and won large sums of money, and at last became accustomed to the extravagant6 life that young men lead in Paris. He sent fifteen hundred francs out of his first winnings to his mother and sisters, sending handsome presents as well as the money. He had given out that he meant to leave the Maison Vauquer; but January came and went, and he was still there, still unprepared to go.
One rule holds good of most young men--whether rich or poor. They never have money for the necessaries of life, but they have always money to spare for their caprices--an anomaly which finds its explanation in their youth and in the almost frantic7 eagerness with which youth grasps at pleasure. They are reckless with anything obtained on credit, while everything for which they must pay in ready money is made to last as long as possible; if they cannot have all that they want, they make up for it, it would seem, by squandering what they have. To state the matter simply--a student is far more careful of his hat than of his coat, because the latter being a comparatively costly8 article of dress, it is in the nature of things that a tailor should be a creditor9; but it is otherwise with the hatter; the sums of money spent with him are so modest, that he is the most independent and unmanageable of his tribe, and it is almost impossible to bring him to terms. The young man in the balcony of a theatre who displays a gorgeous waistcoat for the benefit of the fair owners of opera glasses, has very probably no socks in his wardrobe, for the hosier is another of the genus of weevils that nibble10 at the purse. This was Rastignac's condition. His purse was always empty for Mme. Vauquer, always full at the demand of vanity; there was a periodical ebb11 and flow in his fortunes, which was seldom favorable to the payment of just debts. If he was to leave that unsavory and mean abode12, where from time to time his pretensions13 met with humiliation14, the first step was to pay his hostess for a month's board and lodging15, and the second to purchase furniture worthy16 of the new lodgings17 he must take in his quality of dandy, a course that remained impossible. Rastignac, out of his winnings at cards, would pay his jeweler exorbitant18 prices for gold watches and chains, and then, to meet the exigencies19 of play, would carry them to the pawnbroker21, that discreet22 and forbiddinglooking friend of youth; but when it was a question of paying for board or
lodging, or for the necessary implements23 for the cultivation24 of his Elysian fields, his imagination and pluck alike deserted25 him. There was no inspiration to be found in vulgar necessity, in debts contracted for past requirements. Like most of those who trust to their luck, he put off till the last moment the payment of debts that among the bourgeoisie are regarded as sacred engagements, acting26 on the plan of Mirabeau, who never settled his baker's bill until it underwent a formidable transformation27 into a bill of exchange.
It was about this time when Rastignac was down on his luck and fell into debt, that it became clear to the law student's mind that he must have some more certain source of income if he meant to live as he had been doing. But while he groaned28 over the thorny29 problems of his precarious30 situation, he felt that he could not bring himself to renounce31 the pleasures of this extravagant life, and decided32 that he must continue it at all costs. His dreams of obtaining a fortune appeared more and more chimerical33, and the real obstacles grew more formidable. His initiation34 into the secrets of the Nucingen household had revealed to him that if he were to attempt to use this love affair as a means of mending his fortunes, he must swallow down all sense of decency35, and renounce all the generous ideas which redeem36 the sins of youth. He had chosen this life of apparent splendor37, but secretly gnawed38 by the canker worm of remorse39, a life of fleeting40 pleasure dearly paid for by persistent41 pain; like Le Distrait42 of La Bruyere, he had descended43 so far as to make his bed in a ditch; but (also like Le Distrait) he himself was uncontaminated as yet by the mire44 that stained his garments.
"So we have killed our mandarin45, have we?" said Bianchon one day as they left the dinner table.
"Not yet," he answered, "but he is at his last gasp46."
The medical student took this for a joke, but it was not a jest. Eugene had dined in the house that night for the first time for a long while, and had looked thoughtful during the meal. He had taken his place beside Mlle. Taillefer, and stayed through the dessert, giving his neighbor an expressive47 glance from time to time. A few of the boarders discussed the walnuts48 at the table, and others walked about the room, still taking part in the conversation which had begun among them. People usually went when they chose; the amount of time that they lingered being determined49 by the amount of interest that the conversation possessed50 for them, or by the difficulty of the process of digestion51. In winter-time the room was seldom empty before eight o'clock, when the four women had it all to themselves, and made up for the silence previously52 imposed upon them by the preponderating53 masculine element. This evening Vautrin had noticed Eugene's abstractedness, and stayed in the room, though he had seemed to be in a hurry to finish his dinner and go. All through the talk afterwards he had kept out of the sight of the law student, who quite believed that Vautrin had left the room. He now took up his position cunningly in the sitting-room54 instead of going when the last boarders went. He had fathomed55 the young man's thoughts, and felt that a crisis was at hand. Rastignac was, in fact, in a dilemma56, which many another young man must have known.
Mme. de Nucingen might love him, or might merely be playing with him, but in either case Rastignac had been made to experience all the alternations of hope and despair of genuine passion, and all the diplomatic arts of a Parisienne had been employed on him. After compromising herself by continually appearing in public with Mme. de Beauseant's cousin she still hesitated, and would not give him the lover's privileges which he appeared to enjoy. For a whole month she had so wrought57 on his senses, that at last she had made an impression on his heart. If in the earliest days the student had fancied himself to be master, Mme. de Nucingen had since become the stronger of the two, for she had skilfully58 roused and played upon every instinct, good or bad, in the two or three men comprised in a young student in Paris. his was not the result of deep design on her part, nor was she playing a part, for women are in a manner true to themselves even through their grossest deceit, because their actions are prompted by a natural impulse. It may have been that Delphine, who had allowed this young man to gain such an ascendency over her, conscious that she had been too demonstrative, was obeying a sentiment of dignity, and either repented59 of her concessions60, or it pleased her to suspend them. It is so natural to a Parisienne, even when passion has almost mastered her, to hesitate and pause before taking the plunge61; to probe the heart of him to whom she intrusts her future. And once already Mme. de Nucingen's hopes had been betrayed, and her loyalty62 to a selfish young lover had been despised. She had good reason to be suspicious. Or it may have been that something in Eugene's manner (for his rapid success was making a coxcomb63 of him) had warned her that the grotesque64 nature of their position had lowered her somewhat in his eyes. She doubtless wished to assert her dignity; he was young, and she would be great in his eyes; for the lover who had forsaken65 her had held her so cheap that she was determined that Eugene should not think he
r an easy conquest, and for this very reason--he knew that de Marsay had been his predecessor66. Finally, after the degradation67 of submission68 to the pleasure of a heartless young rake, it was so sweet to her to wander in the flower-strewn realms of love, that it was not wonderful that she should wish to dwell a while on the prospect69, to tremble with the vibrations70 of love, to feel the freshness of the breath of its dawn. The true lover was suffering for the sins of the false. This inconsistency is unfortunately only to be expected so long as men do not know how many flowers are mown down in a young woman's soul by the first stroke of treachery.
Whatever her reasons may have been, Delphine was playing with Rastignac, and took pleasure in playing with him, doubtless because she felt sure of his love, and confident that she could put an end to the torture as soon as it was her royal pleasure to do so. Eugene's self-love was engaged; he could not suffer his first passage of love to end in a defeat, and persisted in his suit like a sportsman determined to bring down at least one partridge to celebrate his first Feast of Saint-Hubert. The pressure of anxiety, his wounded self-love, his despair, real or feigned71, drew him nearer and nearer to this woman. All Paris credited him with this conquest, and yet he was conscious that he had made no progress since the day when he saw Mme. de Nucingen for the first time. He did not know as yet that a woman's coquetry is sometimes more delightful72 than the pleasure of secure possession of her love, and was possessed with helpless rage. If, at this time, while she denied herself to love, Eugene gathered the springtide spoils of his life, the fruit, somewhat sharp and green, and dearly bought, was no less delicious to the taste. There were moments when he had not a sou in his pockets, and at such times he thought in spite of his conscience of Vautrin's offer and the possibility of fortune by a marriage with Mlle. Taillefer. Poverty would clamor so loudly that more than once he was on the point of yielding to the cunning temptations of the terrible sphinx, whose glance had so often exerted a strange spell over him.
Poiret and Mlle. Michonneau went up to their rooms; and Rastignac, thinking that he was alone with the women in the dining-room, sat between Mme. Vauquer and Mme. Couture, who was nodding over the woolen73 cuffs74 that she was knitting by the stove, and looked at Mlle. Taillefer so tenderly that she lowered her eyes.
"Can you be in trouble, M. Eugene?" Victorine said after a pause.
"Who has not his troubles?" answered Rastignac. "If we men were sure of being loved, sure of a devotion which would be our reward for the sacrifices which we are always ready to make, then perhaps we should have no troubles."
For answer Mlle. Taillefer only gave him a glance but it was impossible to mistake its meaning.
"You, for instance, mademoiselle; you feel sure of your heart today, but are you sure that it will never change?"
A smile flitted over the poor girl's lips; it seemed as if a ray of light from her soul had lighted up her face. Eugene was dismayed at the sudden explosion of feeling caused by his words.
"Ah! but suppose," he said, "that you should be rich and happy to-morrow, suppose that a vast fortune dropped down from the clouds for you, would you still love the man whom you loved in your days of poverty?"
A charming movement of the head was her only answer.
"Even if he were very poor?"
Again the same mute answer.
"What nonsense are you talking, you two?" exclaimed Mme. Vauquer.
"Never mind," answered Eugene; "we understand each other."
"So there is to be an engagement of marriage between M. le Chevalier Eugene de Rastignac and Mlle. Victorine Taillefer, is there?" The words were uttered in Vautrin's deep voice, and Vautrin appeared at the door as he spoke75.
"Oh! how you startled me!" Mme. Couture and Mme. Vauquer exclaimed together.
"I might make a worse choice," said Rastignac, laughing. Vautrin's voice had thrown him into the most painful agitation76 that he had yet known.
"No bad jokes, gentlemen!" said Mme. Couture. "My dear, let us go upstairs."
Mme. Vauquer followed the two ladies, meaning to pass the evening in their room, an arrangement that economized77 fire and candlelight. Eugene and Vautrin were left alone.
"I felt sure you would come round to it," said the elder man with the coolness that nothing seemed to shake. "But stay a moment! I have as much delicacy78 as anybody else. Don't make up your mind on the spur of the moment; you are a little thrown off your balance just now. You are in debt, and I want you to come over to my way of thinking after sober reflection, and not in a fit of passion or desperation. Perhaps you want a thousand crowns. There, you can have them if you like."
The tempter took out a pocketbook, and drew thence three banknotes, which he fluttered before the student's eyes. Eugene was in a most painful dilemma. He had debts, debts of honor. He owed a hundred louis to the Marquis d'Ajuda and to the Count de Trailles; he had not the money, and for this reason had not dared to go to Mme. de Restaud's house, where he was expected that evening. It was one of those informal gatherings79 where tea and little cakes are handed round, but where it is possible to lose six thousand francs at whist in the course of a night.
"You must see," said Eugene, struggling to hide a convulsive tremor80, "that after what has passed between us, I cannot possibly lay myself under any obligation to you."
"Quite right; I should be sorry to hear you speak otherwise," answered the tempter. "You are a fine young fellow, honorable, brave as a lion, and as gentle as a young girl. You would be a fine haul for the devil! I like youngsters of your sort. Get rid of one or two more prejudices, and you will see the world as it is. Make a little scene now and then, and act a virtuous81 part in it, and a man with a head on his shoulders can do exactly as he likes amid deafening82 applause from the fools in the gallery. Ah! a few days yet, and you will be with us; and if you would only be tutored by me, I would put you in the way of achieving all your ambitions. You should no sooner form a wish than it should be realized to the full; you should have all your desires--honors, wealth, or women. Civilization should flow with milk and honey for you. You should be our pet and favorite, our Benjamin. We would all work ourselves to death for you with pleasure; every obstacle should be removed from your path. You have a few prejudices left; so you think that I am a scoundrel, do you? Well, M. de Turenne, quite as honorable a man as you take yourself to be, had some little private transactions with `andits, and did not feel that his honor was tarnished83. You would rather not lie under any obligation to me, eh? You need not draw back on that account," Vautrin went on, and a smile stole over his lips. "Take these bits of paper and write across this," he added, producing a piece of stamped paper, "Accepted the sum of three thousand five hundred francs due this day twelvemonth, and fill in the date. The rate of interest is stiff enough to silence any scruples84 on your part; it gives you the right to call me a Jew. You can call quits with me on the score of gratitude85. I am quite willing that you should despise me to-day, because I am sure that you will have a kindlier feeling towards me later on. You will find out fathomless86 depths in my nature, enormous and concentrated forces that weaklings call vices87, but you will never find me base or ungrate
ful. In short, I am neither a pawn20 nor a bishop88, but a castle, a tower of strength, my boy."
"What manner of man are you?" cried Eugene. "Were you created to torment89 me?"
"Why no; I am a good-natured fellow, who is willing to do a dirty piece of work to put you high and dry above the mire for the rest of your days. Do you ask the reason of this devotion? All right; I will tell you that some of these days. A word or two in your ear will explain it. I have begun by shocking you, by showing you the way to ring the changes, and giving you a sight of the mechanism90 of the social machine; but your first fright will go off like a conscript's terror on the battlefield. You will grow used to regarding men as common soldiers who have made up their minds to lose their lives for some self-constituted king. Times have altered strangely. Once you could say to a bravo, 'Here are a hundred crowns; go and kill Monsieur So-and-so for me,' and you could sup quietly after turning some one off into the dark for the least thing in the world. But nowadays I propose to put you in the way of a handsome fortune; you have only to nod your head, it won't compromise you in any way, and you hesitate. 'Tis an effeminate age."
1 rue | |
n.懊悔,芸香,后悔;v.后悔,悲伤,懊悔 | |
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2 squandering | |
v.(指钱,财产等)浪费,乱花( squander的现在分词 ) | |
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3 fascination | |
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋 | |
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4 fertilizing | |
v.施肥( fertilize的现在分词 ) | |
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5 pollen | |
n.[植]花粉 | |
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6 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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7 frantic | |
adj.狂乱的,错乱的,激昂的 | |
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8 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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9 creditor | |
n.债仅人,债主,贷方 | |
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10 nibble | |
n.轻咬,啃;v.一点点地咬,慢慢啃,吹毛求疵 | |
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11 ebb | |
vi.衰退,减退;n.处于低潮,处于衰退状态 | |
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12 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
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13 pretensions | |
自称( pretension的名词复数 ); 自命不凡; 要求; 权力 | |
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14 humiliation | |
n.羞辱 | |
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15 lodging | |
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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16 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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17 lodgings | |
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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18 exorbitant | |
adj.过分的;过度的 | |
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19 exigencies | |
n.急切需要 | |
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20 pawn | |
n.典当,抵押,小人物,走卒;v.典当,抵押 | |
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21 pawnbroker | |
n.典当商,当铺老板 | |
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22 discreet | |
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的 | |
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23 implements | |
n.工具( implement的名词复数 );家具;手段;[法律]履行(契约等)v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 );执行;贯彻;使生效 | |
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24 cultivation | |
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成 | |
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25 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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26 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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27 transformation | |
n.变化;改造;转变 | |
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28 groaned | |
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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29 thorny | |
adj.多刺的,棘手的 | |
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30 precarious | |
adj.不安定的,靠不住的;根据不足的 | |
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31 renounce | |
v.放弃;拒绝承认,宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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32 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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33 chimerical | |
adj.荒诞不经的,梦幻的 | |
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34 initiation | |
n.开始 | |
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35 decency | |
n.体面,得体,合宜,正派,庄重 | |
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36 redeem | |
v.买回,赎回,挽回,恢复,履行(诺言等) | |
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37 splendor | |
n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌 | |
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38 gnawed | |
咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 ); (长时间) 折磨某人; (使)苦恼; (长时间)危害某事物 | |
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39 remorse | |
n.痛恨,悔恨,自责 | |
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40 fleeting | |
adj.短暂的,飞逝的 | |
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41 persistent | |
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 | |
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42 distrait | |
adj.心不在焉的 | |
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43 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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44 mire | |
n.泥沼,泥泞;v.使...陷于泥泞,使...陷入困境 | |
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45 Mandarin | |
n.中国官话,国语,满清官吏;adj.华丽辞藻的 | |
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46 gasp | |
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说 | |
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47 expressive | |
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的 | |
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48 walnuts | |
胡桃(树)( walnut的名词复数 ); 胡桃木 | |
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49 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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50 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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51 digestion | |
n.消化,吸收 | |
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52 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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53 preponderating | |
v.超过,胜过( preponderate的现在分词 ) | |
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54 sitting-room | |
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室 | |
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55 fathomed | |
理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 ); 彻底了解; 弄清真相 | |
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56 dilemma | |
n.困境,进退两难的局面 | |
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57 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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58 skilfully | |
adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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59 repented | |
对(自己的所为)感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60 concessions | |
n.(尤指由政府或雇主给予的)特许权( concession的名词复数 );承认;减价;(在某地的)特许经营权 | |
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61 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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62 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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63 coxcomb | |
n.花花公子 | |
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64 grotesque | |
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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65 Forsaken | |
adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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66 predecessor | |
n.前辈,前任 | |
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67 degradation | |
n.降级;低落;退化;陵削;降解;衰变 | |
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68 submission | |
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
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69 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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70 vibrations | |
n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 );震动;感受;(偏离平衡位置的)一次性往复振动 | |
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71 feigned | |
a.假装的,不真诚的 | |
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72 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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73 woolen | |
adj.羊毛(制)的;毛纺的 | |
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74 cuffs | |
n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打,拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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75 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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76 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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77 economized | |
v.节省,减少开支( economize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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79 gatherings | |
聚集( gathering的名词复数 ); 收集; 采集; 搜集 | |
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80 tremor | |
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震 | |
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81 virtuous | |
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的 | |
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82 deafening | |
adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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83 tarnished | |
(通常指金属)(使)失去光泽,(使)变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 ); 玷污,败坏 | |
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84 scruples | |
n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 );顾虑,顾忌v.感到于心不安,有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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85 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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86 fathomless | |
a.深不可测的 | |
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87 vices | |
缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳 | |
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88 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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89 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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90 mechanism | |
n.机械装置;机构,结构 | |
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