As was noted4 when discussing the case of the boy162 who “goes wrong,” even comparatively slight physical defects, by causing neural5 stress, may contribute directly to the making of the juvenile6 delinquent7. So, too, mental development may be hampered8 by unfavourable conditions of bodily health. This, of course, has long been recognised in a general way. But in essential details it still is a fact far too little appreciated by the majority of parents. Nay9, it is ignored or misunderstood even by some scientific students of the nature of man, as is shown, for example, by the varying views held to-day regarding that widespread human frailty10, laziness.
Only a short time ago, looking through some scientific works bearing on a complicated educational problem, I was greatly struck by two pronouncements concerning laziness. On the one hand I found an eminent11 physiologist12 declaring unreservedly, “The love of work and activity is an acquired characteristic rather than a natural one; for the human tendency is toward the line of least effort.” And opposed to this another authority asserted with equal163 emphasis, “There never was a child born into this world who was born into it lazy.”
To reconcile these statements is a manifest impossibility. Yet it is certain that each of them finds in facts of everyday observation a strong body of evidence to support it. The average child of tender years, as every parent knows, is supremely13 active and energetic. He is always in motion, always busying himself about something, his mind alert and inquiring, his hands ceaselessly occupied in testing, exploring, putting together, and taking to pieces. Left to himself, he often will display an amazing tenacity14 of purpose and vigour15 of performance.
Of one child, less than a year old, a close observer has recorded, “He would over and over again seem to be trying to solve the problem of the hinge to his nursery door, patiently and with riveted16 attention opening and shutting the door. Day after day saw him at his self-appointed task.” Another, fourteen months old, while playing with a tin can, was seen to put the cover on and off “not less than seventy-nine164 times without stopping for a moment.” The incessant18 questioning with which children bombard their parents is another impressive indication of their exuberant19, irrepressible activity and energy. But, for that matter, the whole life of the average child goes to corroborate20 the dictum that the people of this world come into it free from the taint21 of laziness.
When, however, we look at the same child grown to manhood, or even a few years removed from early youth, more often than not his behaviour seems to bear out the contrary view that man is naturally lazy and acquires love of work, if at all, only under strong compulsion. “To get results from my boys, to induce them to apply themselves to their books and their studies,” many a despairing school-teacher has lamented22, “I have to be forever watching and driving them.” In college, office, factory, workshop, and store, one hears the same complaint. There is perpetual waste of time, dawdling23, loitering, gossiping—a seeming passion for the ways of slothful ease165 and aversion from sustained endeavour. To a large extent, too, the history even of those who have won distinction as leaders of thought and action seemingly justifies24 the doctrine25 that mankind is naturally prone26 to idleness rather than to productive activity, and that any tendency in the latter direction is invariably a characteristic acquired in the course of individual development.
Thus Charles Darwin, world-famous for his splendid contributions to the advance of science, was so lazy in boyhood that his father predicted he would turn out a ne’er-do-well and a disgrace to the family. His great contemporary, Sir Charles Lyell, similarly had as a boy a profound dislike for work of any sort. Heinrich Heine, on his own confession27, idled away his time in school, and was “horribly bored” by the instruction given him at G?ttingen. According to an American psychologist, Edgar James Swift, who has made an extensive study of the boyhood of great men, Wordsworth up to the age of seventeen was so lazy as to be “wholly incapable28 of continued166 application to prescribed work.” Of Patrick Henry it is recorded by an early biographer that in boyhood “he was too idle to gain any solid advantage from the opportunities which were thrown in his way.” And, after his schooling29 was done, indolence caused him to fail dismally30 in several business ventures before he took up the study of law.
When James Russell Lowell was a boy his relatives were greatly distressed31 by his laziness, and he was suspended by the authorities of Harvard University “on account of continual neglect of his college duties.” A boyhood friend who had unusual facilities for observation is credited with having repeatedly declared that “there never was so idle a dog as young Humphry,” afterward32 Sir Humphry Davy of scientific renown33. “My master,” Samuel Johnson once remarked, in speaking of his school-boy days, “whipped me very hard. Without that, sir, I should have done nothing.” Balzac, who wrote so many novels, yet did not let one appear until it had undergone repeated revision, confessed that not only in167 boyhood but throughout the years of his literary labours he was tormented34 by longings36 for an existence of pleasure-seeking leisure. Through the lips of his famous character, Raphael de Valentin, here is what he says of himself:
“Since the age of reason until the day when I had finished my task, I observed, read, wrote without ceasing, and my life was like a long imposition; an effeminate lover of oriental indolence, enamoured of my dreams, sensual, I have always worked, refusing to allow myself to taste the joys of Parisian life; gourmand37, I have been temperate38; enjoying movement and sea voyages, longing35 to visit other countries, still finding pleasure, like a child, in making ducks and drakes on the water, I remained constantly seated, pen in hand.”
Taking into consideration facts like these, the evidence would certainly seem to be in favour of the view that, in yielding to a desire for idleness, men are, after all, only following the dictate39 of Nature. But, recalling the intense activity, the abounding40 energy168 of childhood, recalling also the demonstrable truth that in most cases even the laziest of school-boys has had a past characterised by the reverse of laziness, just as he may have, like Darwin, Lyell, and the rest, a future of marvellous accomplishment42, the mind must once more incline to the opposite belief.
It may be, and, as will be shown, it undoubtedly43 is, somewhat of an exaggeration to say that there never has been a congenitally lazy man. But to say this is far nearer the truth than to regard laziness as something rooted in the constitution of our being, and love of activity as merely an acquired characteristic. On the contrary, the sharp contrast between the activity and energy of the average child and the idling propensities44 of the average man, points unmistakably to the development of laziness as a parasitic45 growth interfering46 with the normal processes and tendencies of nature. Laziness, in other words, must be looked upon as essentially47 a pathological condition.
Instead, therefore, of condemning48 the lazy man,169 as the moralists would, it is the part of wisdom to view him as a victim of disease and as standing49 in need of careful treatment. Nature intended him to be vigorous, forceful, a being of achievement; circumstances have made him listless, inert50, responsive but in feeble measure to the spur of honour, ambition, pride, love, or necessity. Sometimes, to be sure, he is contented51 with his laziness, and would almost resent an attempt to rescue him from it; more frequently he writhes52 in secret over a defect which he realises exposes him to the contempt and ridicule53 of his more virile54 fellow-men, and renders his life an empty, profitless existence. As one unhappy victim confessed in a moment of extraordinary self-revelation:
“I begin, but do not finish. When I conceive a work, a feverish55 impatience56 seizes me to reach the desired aim; I should like to attain57 it at once. But to accomplish something, patient and continuous efforts are required. I never accomplish anything.... One dull day, in one of the suburbs, I saw a large piece170 of waste land, more covered with fragments of earthenware58 than with grass. Three or four houses had been commenced, charming little dwellings59 of red brick and white stone; the walls had been there for two or three years, but the floors and ceilings were lacking, the roofs had never been tiled, and one could see across the ever wide-open windows. My mind is in a similar condition—a rough plain with several pretty houses, the roofs of which will never be finished.” (The Fortnightly Review, vol. lxix, p. 763.)
What, then, is the cause of laziness? How should one proceed in the attempt to cure it? Still more important in this complex and severely60 competitive age, with its incessant demand for vigour and effectiveness of performance, what are the preventive measures that may be taken in the interest alike of the individual and society?
Only a few years ago it would have been impossible to answer these questions in any but the vaguest and most general way. It might have been said—indeed, it was said—that laziness is essentially an171 infirmity of the will. No statement could be more correct, but also none could be more futile61 in the absence of any clear appreciation62 of the factors determining the weakness or strength of one’s will-power. For, as somebody has truly said, the will is not an isolated63 entity64, absolutely independent of, and superior to, the organism through which it operates. Having a controlling force, it still is, to a large extent, itself controlled by material as well as by psychical65 circumstances, by bodily states and by the impressions the mind absorbs from the environment. Consequently the solution of the problem of laziness depends at bottom on the ascertainment66 of the factors hurtful to efficient willing.
This task quite recently has been essayed with remarkable68 success, and, especially by a little group of French investigators69, with immediate71 reference to the problem presented by the lazy man. Laziness in all its phases has been studied with the resourcefulness and painstaking72 precision characteristic of the new school of medical psychologists, to whom we are al172ready so heavily indebted for a better understanding of the mind of man both in its normal and its abnormal aspects. And with respect to laziness they have likewise made some interesting and important discoveries.
What, in particular, they have found is that it is usually associated with a peculiarly debilitated73 condition of the nervous system—an “asthenia” marked by a slow heart-beat, low arterial pressure, and poor circulation. The consequence of this is, to quote Théodule Ribot, one of the leaders in the scientific study of laziness, that “the brain shows not so much an indisposition as a real incapacity for concentrating attention, and soon, owing to the fact that its nourishment74 is at the vanishing-point, becomes exhausted75.” A whole series of idlers, tested scientifically, were shown to be suffering from this asthenic condition, which led them instinctively76 to husband their feeble resources by the simple expedient77 of exerting themselves no more than was absolutely necessary. Yet not a few of them were to all173 appearance healthy enough, and, until the medical examination had been made, it was difficult to credit their well-grounded complaint that they really felt “too tired to work,” and at best could do so “only by fits and starts.”
This is not to say that they were all of them “born tired.” Congenitally weak many of them may have been; but the more the investigators familiarised themselves with the asthenia of the lazy, the more they found reason for the belief that, as a rule, it was an acquired and functional78 rather than an inborn79 and organic weakness, although often initiated80 by local troubles organic in nature. Thus, studying laziness in children attending school, it was discovered that quite frequently their inertia81 is connected with the presence of adenoid, or abnormal tissue, growths, in the cavity back of the nose. These growths, by making it extremely hard for the child to breathe properly, deplete82 his vitality83 so that he remains84 undersized and is quickly fatigued85 by intellectual or muscular effort. The natural consequence is that174 he becomes more or less of an idler, bringing upon himself the reproaches and punishments of parents and teachers. What he actually needs is not scoldings or whippings but a slight surgical86 operation.
Often a surprising development of both mental and physical power follows the removal of the adenoids. In one case, reported by Professor Swift, a girl of fourteen grew three inches taller within six months after an operation for adenoids, and at the same time showed an improvement in her school-work that contrasted strikingly with the apathy87 and dulness that had preceded it. Another, three years younger, grew six inches in about four months, and from being a sad idler was transformed into an unexpectedly attractive and bright pupil. A boy of twelve, backward both mentally and physically88, likewise lost his dulness and laziness within an astonishingly short time after the impediment to his breathing had been removed.
Dental defects also contribute materially to the development of laziness and mental retardation89. This175 has been repeatedly demonstrated in individual cases, and at least one psychologist—Professor J. E. Wallace Wallin, of St. Louis—has demonstrated it in the case of a group of children.
These children, twenty-seven in number, were pupils in a Cleveland public school; they were afflicted90 with tooth-decay to a varying extent, and they were mentally backward, being from one to four years retarded91 in their school-work. At Professor Wallin’s direction their teeth and gums were treated, they were taught to use a tooth-brush properly, and to chew their food thoroughly92. Before the dental treatment began they were twice given five psychological tests, to ascertain67 their memory-power, attention-power, etc.; the same tests were twice given to them while the treatment was under way; and, six months after its termination, or just before the close of the school-year 1910–1911, the tests were again given twice.
Comparing the results of the different testings, a progressive and remarkable improvement was found.176 In ability to memorise93, the average improvement for the group was 19 per cent.; in attention power, 60 per cent.; in adding, 35 per cent.; in ability to associate words having an opposite meaning, 129 per cent.; and in general association ability, 42 per cent. More than this, and testifying incontrovertibly to the direct influence of the dental treatment in promoting vigour of thought, only one of the children failed of promotion94, six completed thirty-eight weeks of school-work in twenty-four weeks, and one boy did two years’ work in one year. Yet all of these children, remember, had formerly95 been quite unable to keep up with the work of their grades.
How explain this great improvement? Only on the theory that, by repairing their teeth and drilling them in the rudiments96 of mouth hygiene97, a stop had been put to a disease-process which involved both nervous strain and—through the swallowing of the toxic98 products of tooth-decay—a poisoning of the supply of blood to the brain, with consequent lessening99 of the brain’s ability to function properly.
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Eye trouble, particularly in the way of hypermetropia, or far-sightedness, is another frequent cause of laziness in school-children, and the correction of the defective100 vision often is followed by a marked access of vigour and alertness. In such cases, however, the laziness is usually manifest only in the school-room, the child being active enough at play, when no strain is put on the eyes comparable with that occasioned by reading.
To cite a single instance, a little boy of ten was reported as being so inattentive at school and so uninterested in his work as to yawn and become sleepy when required to read. As no amount of scolding sufficed to turn him from his idle ways, and as he began to complain of headaches and nervousness, he was finally taken to an oculist101. To the surprise of his parents, who had always believed his vision normal, he was found to be suffering from latent hypermetropia; and, on being provided with the proper eye-glasses, he soon demonstrated, by the rapidity with which he improved in his studies and the interest he178 now showed in them, that his laziness had been determined102 by the condition of his eyesight.
In fact, any bodily defect that is of such a character as to impose an excessive strain on the nervous system tends to produce an asthenic condition, with accompanying apathy and indolence. And, even when the local trouble is only temporary, its disappearance103 is not necessarily followed, as it was in the instances just narrated104, by a return to energetic, effective activity. For, in the meantime, the idler may have acquired an unconscious—or, to be more precise, a subconscious105—belief that sustained exertion106 is and always must be beyond his powers. Thus a vicious circle is established, the belief in his incapacity causing him to act in such a way as to intensify107 the asthenic state, and the resultant increased feeling of debility operating, in its turn, to confirm and strengthen his erroneous belief. In other words, he is now suffering chiefly from a “fixed108 idea,” and his condition is that of any psycho-neurotic patient.
On this point all who have made a scientific study179 of laziness are in substantial agreement. We must, flatly affirms the pioneer investigator70 Doctor Maurice de Fleury, “take the indolent for what they nearly always are—neuropaths; and neurosis for what it always is—bad habits of cerebral109 activity.” The longer a man has been an idler, the more deeply rooted, of course, will be his subconscious conviction that exertion is impossible to him; but, according to de Fleury and other investigators, once this conviction is broken down, he will find that he can work, and work to good purpose.
The effecting of a cure, needless to say, is not always easy. It requires co-operation on the part of the patient, and on the physician’s part intelligent and sympathetic use of both physiological110 and psychological methods of treatment. Hygienic measures must be adopted to tone up the nervous system, to improve the circulation, the digestion111, the nutrition—to develop, as far as possible, a general feeling of well-being112. The idler must gradually be trained to occupy himself usefully—not, perhaps,180 for many hours at a time, but for regular stated periods, however short. And to this end, the effort has to be made, from the outset, to awaken113 in him an absorbing interest in the attainment114 of some one specific aim in life, thereby115 replacing his baneful116 fixed idea of incapacity for work with the opposed and beneficial obsession117 of something that he must and can accomplish.
Here we come to what is by far the most important factor in the cure of laziness—the dynamic, regenerative power of some special interest.2 Even your idler, enfeebled by positive organic weakness, may rise superior to himself and achieve marvels118, if only his enthusiasm be sufficiently119 aroused to a definite end. It was thus, for example, with Charles Darwin.
When he was a boy, as was said above, Darwin was colossally120 lazy. He neglected his books, and spent 181his days roaming through the fields, gun in hand. “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family,” was his father’s bitter reproof121. As he grew older, his propensity122 for idling seemed only to increase. In spite of this, hoping against hope that he would yet settle down to serious things, his father entered him at the University of Glasgow, with the idea of fitting him for the practice of medicine. “It is no use,” the boy frankly123 avowed124, after a few months at Glasgow; “I hate the work here, and I cannot possibly be a physician.” So earnest were his protests that he was transferred to Cambridge University, on the understanding that he would study to be a clergyman.
At Cambridge, as good fortune would have it, he entered the natural history class of an eminent and enlightened scholar, Professor Henslow, who sent him 182into the woods and fields to make collections of plants and insects. Free again to roam under the clear blue skies, but this time with a lofty purpose set before his mind, a passion for achievement took possession of him. The boy whom other teachers had found dull and lazy proved himself, under Professor Henslow’s inspiring guidance, a marvel41 of industry and mental vigour. There was no longer any thought of the “last resort” plan of putting him into the ministry125. He would, he told his delighted father, become a naturalist126, and he would work hard.
And he did work hard. Though his health was permanently127 impaired128 by the hardships of a voyage of exploration, so that “for nearly forty years he never knew one day of the health of ordinary men,” and “every day succumbed129 to the exhaustion130 brought on by the slightest effort,” he nevertheless found a way to work with an effectiveness few men of normal health have equalled.
The establishment of regular hours for work—thus gradually forming a work habit which itself con183stituted a sort of fixed idea contrary to the idea of indolence, and the reinforcement of this work habit by enthusiastic pre-occupation with an inspiring theme—such was the secret of Charles Darwin’s mastery over ills more serious than those which have made countless131 men lifelong idlers. What he did is precisely132 what the medical psychologist of to-day prescribes as fundamental in the successful treatment of laziness. Listen to the wise Doctor de Fleury:
“Let it be known that it is often possible in the practice of life to replace an absurd idea by a good fixed one, and to form excellent habits in the place of deplorable manias133. It is precisely in doing this that the psychological treatment of indolence consists; it is this patient work that the doctor of misguided minds ought to undertake.
“To induce [a lazy person] to become possessed134 of a good fixed idea, is not a superhuman work for those who know how to set about it. In fact, the means to be employed remind one of a woman who wishes to make herself loved.
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“Let us consider for a moment the means dictated135 to her by her infallible instinct concerning love affairs. First of all, she dresses herself with care, so as to show off her charms to the full; then she finds opportunities for constantly being seen, increases the number of meetings; her presence must become habitual—in fact, necessary; he must suffer when she is no longer near. She kindles136 the flame of jealousy137, to make it understood that she is an incomparable treasure, and that another will grasp her if he does not stretch forth138 his arm in time.
“Imitate her, you who wish to learn the marvellous art of reclaiming139 the indolent. Help your patient to choose a work really suited to his abilities; embellish140 the idea [of it] with all the hope that it is possible to raise—self-content, worldly importance, glory, and fortune to be conquered. Talk about it without ceasing; like a Wagnerian motive141, repeat it again and again, and soon you will find that the brain seizes the idea, and can no longer exist without this good obsession. Finally, when the idea becomes cher185ished, when the brain loves it as one loves and desires a woman, make it to be understood that it belongs to all, that it is in the air, that another, braver and more manly142, may step in and carry it off....
“Naturally, it is necessary to vary one’s advice according to the character and profession of each patient. I have had the opportunity of treating—for nervous affections and at the same time for indolence—men occupying the most varied143 social positions: students, composers, military officers, men of letters, lawyers, financiers, politicians, poor workmen, and idle, rich people. For each one of them it was necessary to choose a ruling idea, suited to his occupation and in proportion to his strength.”
Treatment by suggestion, then, plus careful preliminary physiological, and if necessary medical, treatment to ameliorate the asthenic condition common to idlers—that is the proper course to pursue in dealing144 with all cases of laziness. And it is also the course to pursue in the more important matter of prevention, a matter which, as the case of Charles186 Darwin strikingly suggests, rests chiefly with fathers and mothers.
Everybody knows that, as things now stand, young men and women choose vocations146 in a haphazard147 way, and too often choose vocations for which Nature has not intended them. What it is equally important to recognise is that even when they do happen to hit on a vocation145 fitted to them, it is only the exceptional man or woman who works anywhere near the limit of his or her capacity. The great majority fritter away much of their time, and may justly be accused of idleness.
The surprising thing about this is that, as has already been pointed17 out, it is seldom one sees anything like real laziness in early childhood. What causes the sharp contrast between the activity of childhood and the frequent apathy of later years? Unfavourable physical conditions cannot be held wholly responsible, especially when it is observed that there always are some people who, like Darwin, contrive148 to work effectively despite serious physical shortcom187ings. One must look a little deeper, and, looking deeper, one finds, as medical psychologists have lately found, that the trouble lies mostly with the parental attitude in childhood and youth.
Too many parents discourage the ceaseless questioning of their children, and thereby deaden that great stimulus149 to effort—curiosity. Too many fail to direct their children’s thoughts into really worth while channels. Too many daily give them an example, not of industrious150 activity, but of half-hearted endeavour. All this goes to create in the child habits inimical to real work; and in proportion as he is afterward, by parent or teacher, forced to work, he finds work burdensome and exhausting. Under this condition, whether or no he is suffering from adenoids, eye trouble, or any other physical cause of nervous strain, he is likely to develop the asthenic state of the true idler, with the result of soon or late feeling that sustained effort is beyond him.
On parents, therefore, ultimately rests the blame for the prevalence of laziness; and for its prevention188 we must likewise look to parents. As a friend, a prominent American medical psychologist, once said to me emphatically:
“There would be far fewer lazy men in the world if parents only appreciated the possibility of so influencing their children in early youth as to confirm them in the tendencies to energetic action and fruitful thinking which they usually display in the first years of life. Instead of neglecting or repressing these tendencies, as so many parents unfortunately do, they should encourage their children in the active use of their minds, should train them in habits of systematic151 and effective thinking, and especially, by observing just what aptitudes152 they most clearly show, should take pains to cultivate in them an abiding153 interest in the subjects for which they seem to have greatest talent.
“If they would only do this, and would at the same time keep a close watch for any symptoms of nerve-strain due to organic or functional disturbances154, correcting these at the earliest possible moment, we189 should hear much less than we do now of the indolence of the average child of school age; and we certainly should be taking a great forward step in the lessening of laziness among grown men and women. For, obviously, a child habituated from infancy155 to the fullest and freest use of his natural powers, will be likely to continue thinking and acting energetically in later life. In this, as in everything else, the law is the same—as the twig156 is bent157, the tree’s inclined.”
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parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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acting
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noted
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neural
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| adj.神经的，神经系统的 | |
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juvenile
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| n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的 | |
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delinquent
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| adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者 | |
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hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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nay
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frailty
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| n.脆弱；意志薄弱 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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physiologist
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| n.生理学家 | |
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supremely
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tenacity
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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pointed
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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corroborate
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| v.支持，证实，确定 | |
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taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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lamented
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dawdling
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| adj.闲逛的，懒散的v.混（时间）( dawdle的现在分词 ) | |
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justifies
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| 证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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doctrine
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prone
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confession
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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33
renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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34
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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35
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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36
longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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37
gourmand
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| n.嗜食者 | |
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38
temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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39
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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40
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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41
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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42
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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43
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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44
propensities
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| n.倾向，习性( propensity的名词复数 ) | |
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45
parasitic
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| adj.寄生的 | |
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46
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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47
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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48
condemning
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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49
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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50
inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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51
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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52
writhes
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的第三人称单数 ) | |
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53
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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54
virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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55
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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56
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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57
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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58
earthenware
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| n.土器，陶器 | |
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59
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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60
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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61
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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62
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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63
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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64
entity
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| n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物 | |
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65
psychical
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| adj.有关特异功能现象的；有关特异功能官能的；灵魂的；心灵的 | |
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66
ascertainment
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| n.探查，发现，确认 | |
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67
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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68
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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69
investigators
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| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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70
investigator
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| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
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71
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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72
painstaking
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| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
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73
debilitated
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| adj.疲惫不堪的，操劳过度的v.使（人或人的身体）非常虚弱( debilitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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75
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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76
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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77
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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78
functional
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| adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的 | |
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79
inborn
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| adj.天生的，生来的，先天的 | |
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80
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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81
inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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82
deplete
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| v.弄空，排除，减轻，减少...体液，放去...的血 | |
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83
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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84
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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85
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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86
surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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87
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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88
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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89
retardation
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| n.智力迟钝，精神发育迟缓 | |
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90
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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91
retarded
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| a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的 | |
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92
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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93
memorise
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| vt.记住，熟记 | |
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94
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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95
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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96
rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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97
hygiene
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| n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic） | |
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98
toxic
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| adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的 | |
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99
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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100
defective
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| adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的 | |
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101
oculist
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| n.眼科医生 | |
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102
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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103
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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104
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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105
subconscious
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| n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的) | |
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106
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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107
intensify
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| vt.加强；变强；加剧 | |
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108
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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109
cerebral
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| adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的 | |
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110
physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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111
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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112
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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113
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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114
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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115
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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116
baneful
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| adj.有害的 | |
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117
obsession
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| n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感) | |
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118
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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119
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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120
colossally
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121
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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122
propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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123
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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124
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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125
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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126
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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127
permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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128
impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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130
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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131
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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132
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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133
manias
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| n.（mania的复数形式） | |
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134
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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135
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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136
kindles
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的第三人称单数 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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137
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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138
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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139
reclaiming
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| v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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140
embellish
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| v.装饰，布置；给…添加细节，润饰 | |
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141
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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142
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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143
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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144
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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145
vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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146
vocations
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| n.（认为特别适合自己的）职业( vocation的名词复数 )；使命；神召；（认为某种工作或生活方式特别适合自己的）信心 | |
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147
haphazard
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| adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的 | |
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148
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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149
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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150
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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151
systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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152
aptitudes
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| （学习方面的）才能，资质，天资( aptitude的名词复数 ) | |
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153
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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154
disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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155
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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156
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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157
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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