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CHAPTER VI THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
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General Gordon expected Bob’s arrival in Coblenz from day to day, but this did not prevent his surprise when, on leaving the house one February afternoon, he met Bob, Alan and Elizabeth descending1 at his door-step.

“Bob!” cried the elder officer, catching2 his son’s hands in his, and scanning face and figure for signs of the ravages3 of pain and illness. “You don’t look so bad, my boy. I’m no end glad to see you. Who’s this?”

He had turned toward Alan, but at one glimpse of Elizabeth he forgot the Britisher entirely4 and stood mutely staring.

“Major—I mean to say—General—I with Mr. Bob come,” Elizabeth faltered5 flushing with painful uncertainty6 as to the welcome that would be accorded her.

Bob, too, looked at his father a little anxiously, wondering if he would be obliged to send the little German woman back to Berlin, but General Gordon’s first words, as a slow smile lighted up his face, at once reassured7 him.

“Well, Elizabeth, I think you’re destined8 to stick by the Gordon family. You’ve come back to us?”

“General—could I—can I—for you work once more again?” Elizabeth entreated9, her English deserting her as it always did in moments of strong feeling or excitement. Her gentle, pleading eyes were raised to Bob’s father, who did not hesitate to reply, as he laid a friendly hand on her shoulder.

“Do you think I could refuse you, after what you have done for my children? Stay here and welcome.”

Suddenly remembering Alan, who stood silently watching this scene, to him somewhat incomprehensible, General Gordon broke off to say:

“Bob, ask your friend to excuse my bad manners. What is your name, Captain?”

“Alan Leslie, Cousin James, so please you,” replied Alan, his eyes twinkling with a childish, never-failing love of surprising people. “There’s no limit to what Bob can bring home with him.”

After this meeting only a few hours elapsed before General Gordon took his son out to Badheim hospital, where Bob was expected to complete his convalescence10. The long, tedious journey from Archangel, especially the day spent in Berlin, had set him back more than he liked to admit, and he foresaw that active duty would have to be postponed11 a few weeks longer. Alan, likewise, found his leg and foot very painful and willingly enough accepted an American surgeon’s advice to delay his departure to England.

“Now that I know I’m sure to get there, I can be patient,” he said to Bob, all his old, care-free spirits restored at the near approach of home and freedom. “It won’t be half bad to stay on a bit with you, and, besides, I’d like to see your sister. Arthur’s always talking about her. When you all come back to England to stop with us I don’t want to be the only one of the family who doesn’t know her.”

There were more introductions to be made at Badheim hospital, when Lucy had got over her first delight at seeing Bob so nearly well and at actually having him there in her charge. A few gay words from Alan’s careless lips swept away the momentary12 seriousness that fell upon her in her boundless13 gratitude14 at Bob’s return. She presented her brother and Alan to Armand and Michelle, a thrill of pleasure warming her from all the sad misgivings15 of past days.

Bob had to describe Elizabeth’s reappearance and all that followed. Lucy could not curb16 her impatience17 long to hear the whole of her brother’s adventures since the unlucky twenty-third of December—or so Bob accounted it, thinking regretfully of Rittermann still flying free. Lucy inwardly rejoiced at the disaster that had brought him out of the frozen North. In less than a day she had gleaned18 from him the greater part of the happenings of the past two months. Also, not strange to anyone who knew the extent of Bob’s and Lucy’s confidence, she had told him of her selfish repinings at the delayed return to America, and as many incidents as she had time for of the daily life at the little hospital buried in the forest.

In the midst of one of these conversations, as Bob lay back in solid comfort on a long chair by a window overlooking the clearing, Lucy started up at seeing a well-known figure mount the hospital steps.

“Oh, Bob, look—it’s Larry.”

Bob was out of his chair in a second and, unmindful of Lucy’s cautions, made for the door and met his friend on the threshold.

“Well, Bob! And all right, too—not a thing wrong with you,” cried Larry, catching Bob’s shoulders and giving him a shake in his relief and satisfaction. “If I’d listened to Lucy, some of these days we’ve been through, I’d have imagined you’d come back in little pieces. She’s a pessimist19 where you’re concerned. Come in and sit down, idiot—I’ll be giving you a relapse,” said Larry, all in one breath, as he led Bob back to his chair.

“It’s great to see you, Larry,” declared Bob, sinking down obediently, though he added, as a protest against further coddling, “I’m not so helpless, you know. A little tired now because Alan Leslie and I had to run and dodge20 through Berlin to escape Spartacan bullets.”

“No! Let’s hear about it. Are things so bad there? Coblenz seems as quiet as a graveyard21.”

“I’ll tell you the whole yarn22 presently. I want you to meet my cousin. Lucy, see if Alan’s anywhere around. I think you and he will get along, Larry. There’s something wonderfully alike in your way of looking at things—a sort of happy-go-luckiness——”

“I suppose you mean that he doesn’t expect to shoulder the responsibilities for his regiment23, or to capture the entire Bolshevik army by himself,” retorted Larry. “He was with you in Berlin, you said? Now I see why you got out alive.”

Bob laughed at him. “It sounds natural to hear you going for me, Larry,” he said. “I don’t mean that Alan won’t plunge24 into danger—you do it, too, in spite of that cautious talk. I mean he won’t bother to think things out, but takes them calmly as they come. He’s a fine chap to have along in a tight place. You can’t phase him—he’s always prepared for the worst.”

“Like Lucy,” remarked Larry, looking toward the door through which she had disappeared. “That girl has no end of sand, Bob. She went on working without a murmur—except once in a while to me—when no one knew just how things were with you. She’s been through a lot in the past two years. I hope you can all go home soon.”

“We can’t, though—not Father nor I. And what is the use in Lucy’s going home when Father is stationed here? But we’ll go to England before long. The Leslies want us to come.”

“Hooray, will you?” cried Larry, with what seemed quite disproportionate satisfaction until he explained, “I’m going there myself in a month or two. They’ve offered me the chance to finish at Oxford25 the year I lost at Yale when war began.”

On the Sunday following Bob’s and Alan’s arrival the two convalescents declared themselves longing26 for a little exercise. Lucy and Michelle, finding it hard work to keep them quiet inside the hospital, proposed a short walk through the forest.

“Seems to be your one idea of amusement here—a walk in the forest,” said Larry, who had come out to dinner and, together with Armand, volunteered to join the party.

“It is,” said Lucy. With faint irony27 she added, “Perhaps you’d rather take a walk around and around the clearing?”

“You will see it is pleasant in the wood,” put in Michelle. “And there we often meet the little Boche children of Franz the bucheron.”

“You and Bob and Lucy have all sorts of queer friends, Mlle. de la Tour,” observed Alan, walking cautiously on the uneven28 ground, for his foot hurt him. “When I first saw Bob in Archangel he was having an all-day talk with a wild-looking Bolshevik who pretended to be something different——”

“He was, too, if you mean Androvsky,” interrupted Bob.

“And no sooner do we get to Berlin,” continued Alan, unheeding, “than he finds an old German friend and fetches her along to Coblenz.”

“Oh, but Elizabeth is pro-Ally, Alan,” protested Lucy eagerly. “She has been for two years. Can’t you get that through your head?”

“It took me a long time to do so,” said Michelle, smiling. “You remember, Lucy, how I would not believe?”

“Yes, I don’t blame you.” Lucy caught her friend’s arm with swift recollection of Chateau-Plessis and the days of captivity29. “But once you knew her you couldn’t help trusting her.”

“Poor old thing, she felt lost in Prussia,” said Bob, remembering the entreaty30 of Elizabeth’s eyes and voice in the midst of the Berlin hurly-burly. “She wants awfully31 to go back to America.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have her bring friend husband along, if I were you, Bob,” advised Larry. “I didn’t take much to Karl.”

“Even before the war I hated him,” said Bob thoughtfully. “He’s given me some awful moments! I never want to set eyes on him again.”

“That Franz isn’t so unlike him—he has the same sly look,” commented Larry. “And a kind of sour smile as though he had swallowed something bitter.”

“Perhaps smiling at American officers gives him a sick feeling,” said Alan. “What do you have to do with him?”

“Nothing,” said Lucy, “except that he supplies the hospital with wood. But he lives in the forest near the mineral spring, so we often see him, for Michelle and I like to play with his children. They are children, you know Boche or not—and quite cunning.”

“Cunning—I wager32 they are. Cunning as foxes,” declared Alan, feeling a fresh grudge33 against his late enemies as the old wound in his knee gave him a sharp twinge.

“No, I mean cunning in the American sense,” explained Lucy, laughing. “For us it means—well—pretty, amusing—or, what else, Bob?”

“Anything that children are—or kittens or puppies,” supplemented Bob vaguely34.

“Captain Beattie always objected to my using cunning that way,” said Lucy, “but he never could give me the right word to take its place. Oh, look, here comes Adelheid.”

They had no more than left the hospital clearing to enter the forest, through which the bright afternoon sun fell in delicate shafts35 on the snow-covered ground, but Adelheid had grown bolder now, and sought her friends almost at the hospital doors.

“Good-day, young ladies,” she greeted Lucy and Michelle, running up with a beaming smile, her flaxen braids streaming. “And meinen Herrn, good-day to you,” she stammered36, bobbing a stiff little curtsey to the four officers, her fluent tongue checked by a sudden return of shyness.

“Where are the boys, Adelheid?” asked Lucy, taking her hand. “Have you lost them in the woods again?”

“Ach, no, Fr?ulein, I will not do that any more, for Papachen whipped me,” cried the child, looking up with friendly confidence into Lucy’s face. “He is cross now, Papachen. I think he is angry about something. I don’t know what.”

Larry asked Michelle, “Is Franz as afraid as ever of leaving Adelheid alone with you? Something funny there.”

“Yes, Captain Eaton, he calls her often away from us—although when he himself is with her he lets her stay as long as she pleases. He even smiles and approves Lucy’s kindness to the little ones.”

“What is it he’s afraid she will tell?” Larry pondered.

“She has told us all sorts of tales, but nothing he could fear to have known, unless he is ashamed of his poverty,” Michelle answered thoughtfully. “What most puzzles me is the sad, anxious face of the children’s maman. She has some grief more than everyday cares. She looks frightened.”

“Probably the old Boche beats her as he does this poor little Bocheling,” surmised38 Alan, who had listened to Michelle’s words. “You speak English very well indeed, Mademoiselle. Have you ever been in England?”

“Yes, before the war,” Michelle nodded, “but not for very long. Armand speaks better than I.”

“It’s time you both came again,” suggested the Britisher. “The war’s over.”

“Is it, I wonder?” said Bob with sudden misgivings.

Alan gave him an exasperated39 glance. “Are you going to beg in again, you trouble-hunter?” he demanded. “Will you believe it, Captain Eaton, I had no sooner got my feet unfrozen, up in that beastly Arctic hole, than this bally cousin of mine began asking me questions about the organization of the enemy and who was leading them. As though I wasn’t fed-up enough with Bolshies not to discuss them in my leisure hours.“

“He’s always like that,” said Larry, laughing. “You think you have a peaceful moment only to find he’s discovered some horrid40 mission and embarked41 on it. He has a future before him—I don’t deny that. But we’ll have the easier time of it.”

“You have a right to speak feelingly, Larry,” said Bob, smiling. “You’ve been my rescuer more than once.”

Bob was growing light-hearted, except for his moments of doubt and uncertainty. His leg was really better to-day. Larry and Alan were getting on together as well as he had prophesied42, and he foresaw a pleasant fireside for Larry at Highland43 House during his year in England.
Larry Stood With Lucy by the Door

Larry Stood With Lucy by the Door

They approached the woodcutter’s clearing and came to the spring, which still bubbled clear, though a thin film of ice clung to the edges of the stone. Bob bent44 over the basin, watching the water spurt45 up endlessly from the sandy bottom, where grains of sand danced in the rapid stream and green mosses46 stirred their delicate tendrils. Larry stood with Lucy by the door of the rustic47 shed. From the cottage chimney rose a waving white smoke-column.

“Hello, who’s that?” he asked, pointing.

“Oh, oh!” cried Adelheid, who had peered out too, and now shook her little head sadly, a cloud dimming her brightness. “Mamachen will not be pleased. It is the Herr Johann.”

At the child’s earnest words the whole party looked curiously48 through the trees at the man who was nearing the threshold of Franz’ cottage, treading the snow with a quick, light step. He was tall and blond, dressed like a hunter, with straight knickerbockers, short jacket and Tyrolean cap. His clothes seemed good, his manner assured, and as he reached the cottage door he called, “Franz! Franz! It is I.”

The woodcutter appeared from behind the cottage, brushing off the bark which clung to him after piling up his fagots.

“Good-day, Herr Johann,” he said, his loud voice carrying far in the winter solitude49. Hurrying to the cottage door he flung it open and signed to the stranger to enter.

“Been heaping up your fagots, eh?” inquired Herr Johann, lingering a moment at the door-step to glance at the neat piles of wood, fruits of the woodcutter’s daily toil50. “Ah, Franz, my good fellow, you’ll be rich yet.”

“Be pleased to enter,” invited Franz, holding open the door. The two disappeared inside and the door was closed.

“Who is Herr Johann, Adelheid?” asked Bob. “Do you know him?”

“Yes, Herr Officer,” the little girl responded, her face still troubled. “He is a gentleman whom Papachen has served for many years. Oh, in the war, and long ago! But now when he comes—I don’t know why—my mother is more than ever unhappy. She cries and Papachen grows angry. The last time Herr Johann came she begged Papachen not to go with him into the forest, but he would go and said only, 'Do you want always to be poor and hungry?’ Herr Johann heard and laughed. And he gave Wilhelm a mark, but Mamachen took it from him.”

“Is that all you can tell?” inquired Larry. “Hasn’t he another name besides Herr Johann?”

“I am sure he has, but I do not know it. I have never dared talk to him. He seems a great man, very proud.”

“She’s hit it there,” remarked Larry. “What is the great man doing here? I don’t suppose he comes after wood.”

“That straight figure has worn the uniform of a Prussian officer,” said Armand, still looking toward the cottage door. “And he seems not to have lost the habit of giving orders.”

“What is a hunter doing in the winter forest?” asked Alan. “The chance of finding a few rabbits in a hollow can’t allure51 our friend Boche from very far.”

“Gives us something to wonder about, anyway,” said Larry.

“Still, if he is hunting, it’s not so strange that he should stop to get warm in Franz’ cottage,” declared Lucy, unwilling52 to be disturbed.

“No, but why should the child’s mother feel badly about that?” objected Bob.

“And the man has been here often. He had the air of coming to a rendezvous,” added Armand.

“He spoke53 to Franz like a master,” said Michelle, leaning against a pine tree, her clear, grave eyes looking off into the distance.

“Adelheid,” Bob demanded, “how do you know that Herr Johann is a gentleman? How do you know he is not a poor hunter, or a woodcutter like your father?”

“Ach, Herr Officer, no!” protested Adelheid, visibly shocked. “He is a Herr, a rich man to be treated with respect. You have only to hear him talk——”

“A great man, in her eyes, is someone in a good coat who gives orders in a loud voice,” said Alan.

“This wonderful Johann looks to me like a cocky young lieutenant54 who doesn’t yet know he’s demobilized. Adelheid, you’re shivering.” He dropped on one knee to the child’s height and, studying the little figure wrapped in its tattered55 shawl, added in fragmentary German, “Run home and don’t stand here in the snow.”

“I’ve made her new stockings,” said Lucy, taking Adelheid’s cold little hand. “But the boys seem to wear everything and leave Adelheid only the old rags. They are terribly poor.”

“Are you coming to the cottage, Fr?ulein?” coaxed56 Adelheid. Then, suddenly remembering Herr Johann, she cried fearfully, “Oh, no, no, do not come now! The Herr Johann fills both rooms, walking up and down to talk, and it is better not to disturb him.”

“Much better,” agreed Bob. “Though I’d rather like to ask him a few questions. Shall we go back to the hospital? I’m getting cold standing57 here in ambush58.”

“Here comes the quarry59, I expect,” said Alan as the cottage door reopened.

He and the others, about to turn back through the wood, paused a moment to watch the unknown come out, still talking to Franz, who followed at his heels. The two little boys peeped timidly around from behind their father’s legs.

“Sehr gut60!” exclaimed Herr Johann, a touch of impatience in his tone, in spite of his words. “Till Tuesday, then——” He approached the woodcutter and spoke close to his ear. Franz shook his head, denying something with energy. Herr Johann appeared satisfied, gave Franz a curt37 nod and started briskly off across the clearing, leaving the woodcutter bowing to his back, his old cloth cap in his hand.

“He’s politer to Herr Johann than to us,” remarked Larry, watching the German’s clumsy courtesies with surprised amusement. “'Till Tuesday.’ I can’t see the attraction.”

“Good-bye!” cried Adelheid, with a sudden prick61 of conscience at seeing her father glance inquiringly about the clearing. She flashed a brief smile at her friends and ran through the trees into the open, to where Franz stood awaiting her beside the cottage door.

“He is always afraid that she has gone to the hospital to see us,” declared Michelle, as Adelheid with slowing steps followed her father into the cottage. “Oh, there is something strange about it all.”

“Why, Michelle, it can’t be anything. It seems queer to us because we can’t follow it,” Lucy protested, half amused and half annoyed at her friend’s seriousness. “What could happen here? It’s so peaceful I sometimes forget we are in Germany.”

“Yes, that’s the trouble. We forget it too easily,” said Bob, as they walked back through the forest. “It’s safer in these days to keep your eyes open.”

This time Alan had no fault to find with Bob’s suspicious tone, and he echoed Michelle’s words of a moment before, “It looks queer. But I give it up. They can’t be plotting to recruit an army of pine trees.”

Larry seemed unwilling to commit himself, though he did not share at all Lucy’s impatience and apprehension62. He walked along the forest aisles63 at her side, his eyes raised thoughtfully to the tree-tops, where the last rays of sunset still lingered, though twilight64 had begun to deepen between the trunks and touch with violet shadows the snowy ground. The profound stillness seemed to augur65 future troubles.

However, Herr Johann had no power to dampen anyone’s spirits for long. The officers were conscious enough of the upper hand now in any dealings with the Boches. Their only lingering dread66 was that some last trick on the enemy’s part might delay the settlement of peace and the troops’ home-coming. That indefinite alarm thrust aside, they were inclined to treat Franz’ little schemes lightly, and to be mildly amused at the prospect67 of discovering his secret.

“Leslie, you ought not to leave us yet,” said Larry to Alan. “You’ll miss all the fun. There’s a mystery in this forest now. I think I’ve solved it, though. Franz is the Kaiser, incognito68; Herr Johann is the Kronprinz, and Wilhelm is the heir of the Hohenzollerns.”

“Some weak points there, Eaton,” said Alan, laughing. “Since when does the All-Highest treat his wayward son so politely?”

“Anyway, Adelheid couldn’t have kept it all to herself,” said Lucy, smiling. “She would have told us, just as she did about the little farm in Alsace. That must have been hard for those children, leaving their home.”

Armand flashed a quizzical glance at her. “So it was, Mademoiselle. And very hard, too, for the French when Germany wrested69 Alsace from France and gave the French people their choice between exile or German dominion70. The woodcutter’s children must help pay the debt.”

Lucy was silent. Once more she felt, as she had often done in the old days with Michelle, that the French had suffered and endured beyond the power to rally and forget their wrongs as young America could do.

In a moment Alan said lightly, “The only way, Eaton, for me to go home in peace, leaving the mystery unsolved, is for you all to promise to come over before the year is up and tell me the whole tale. We’ll sit around a roaring English fire——”

“Or on an English lawn,” put in Lucy, thinking of Janet Leslie and Highland House. “The winter won’t last forever, Alan.”

“Whichever you like,” Alan nodded. “And we’ll forget for an hour that German forests, occupied cities, surly woodcutters and proud Herrs exist on earth. Is it a promise?”

“Promises are queer things,” said Lucy thoughtfully. “I’ve promised to do lots of things that never happened.”

“If wishing is a promise, you have our word,” said Michelle, with the pretty, unaffected warmth that sometimes lighted her gravity.

“But, Alan, if we should go there I’m afraid you’ll still be disappointed,” Lucy insisted. “We shan’t have a thing to tell you, unless Larry makes it up.”

“I can always do that,” agreed Larry. “But perhaps I shan’t have to. What’s got into you lately, Lucy? You used to be as keen as Bob in scenting71 trouble and looking for dark days ahead at sight of a Boche whisker. Now there’s no stirring you. You’re stodgy72. Good English word, Leslie?”

“Scotch, old bean,” said Alan. “Perhaps Lucy’s a bit fed—up with it all and wants to turn her back on it. That’s my feeling.”

“Is it, Alan? That’s just how I feel!” cried Lucy in eager agreement. “I’m sick of it. I don’t long for any more adventures. I want to go home.”

“If your dog were around now, he’d begin to howl,” said Larry. “Don’t look so dismal73, Lucy. Why, we have all sorts of luck.”

“Oh, I know. I’m not dismal,” said Lucy, smiling at her own earnestness. “Only I hate to hear you talking as though the Germans weren’t really beaten. If the war commenced again I think I’d be the biggest coward on either side.”

“Don’t worry,” said Larry. “It will take more than Franz to recommence it.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 descending descending     
n. 下行 adj. 下降的
参考例句:
  • The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
  • The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置,然后再下山。
2 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
3 ravages 5d742bcf18f0fd7c4bc295e4f8d458d8     
劫掠后的残迹,破坏的结果,毁坏后的残迹
参考例句:
  • the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
  • It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。
4 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
5 faltered d034d50ce5a8004ff403ab402f79ec8d     
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃
参考例句:
  • He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
  • "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着:“这孩子脑袋真长。”
6 uncertainty NlFwK     
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物
参考例句:
  • Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
  • After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后,压力开始产生影响了。
7 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 destined Dunznz     
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的
参考例句:
  • It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
  • The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。
9 entreated 945bd967211682a0f50f01c1ca215de3     
恳求,乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求,时而威胁,但这一切看来都没有用。
  • 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题,”医生请求道,“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
10 convalescence 8Y6ze     
n.病后康复期
参考例句:
  • She bore up well during her convalescence.她在病后恢复期间始终有信心。
  • After convalescence he had a relapse.他于痊愈之后,病又发作了一次。
11 postponed 9dc016075e0da542aaa70e9f01bf4ab1     
vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发)
参考例句:
  • The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
  • The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。
12 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
13 boundless kt8zZ     
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
  • His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。
14 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
15 misgivings 0nIzyS     
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧
参考例句:
  • I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
  • Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后, 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧! 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
16 curb LmRyy     
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制
参考例句:
  • I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
  • You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
17 impatience OaOxC     
n.不耐烦,急躁
参考例句:
  • He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢,他显得不耐烦。
  • He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。
18 gleaned 83f6cdf195a7d487666a71e02179d977     
v.一点点地收集(资料、事实)( glean的过去式和过去分词 );(收割后)拾穗
参考例句:
  • These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
  • A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
19 pessimist lMtxU     
n.悲观者;悲观主义者;厌世
参考例句:
  • An optimist laughs to forget.A pessimist forgets to laugh.乐观者笑着忘却,悲观者忘记怎样笑。
  • The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.悲观者在每个机会中都看到困难,乐观者在每个困难中都看到机会。
20 dodge q83yo     
v.闪开,躲开,避开;n.妙计,诡计
参考例句:
  • A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪,才没被车从身上辗过。
  • The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。
21 graveyard 9rFztV     
n.坟场
参考例句:
  • All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
  • Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。
22 yarn LMpzM     
n.纱,纱线,纺线;奇闻漫谈,旅行轶事
参考例句:
  • I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
  • The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
23 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。
24 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
25 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。
26 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。
27 irony P4WyZ     
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄
参考例句:
  • She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
  • In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
28 uneven akwwb     
adj.不平坦的,不规则的,不均匀的
参考例句:
  • The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
  • The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。
29 captivity qrJzv     
n.囚禁;被俘;束缚
参考例句:
  • A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
  • He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。
30 entreaty voAxi     
n.恳求,哀求
参考例句:
  • Mrs. Quilp durst only make a gesture of entreaty.奎尔普太太仅做出一种哀求的姿势。
  • Her gaze clung to him in entreaty.她的眼光带着恳求的神色停留在他身上。
31 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
32 wager IH2yT     
n.赌注;vt.押注,打赌
参考例句:
  • They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
  • I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。
33 grudge hedzG     
n.不满,怨恨,妒嫉;vt.勉强给,不情愿做
参考例句:
  • I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
  • I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。
34 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
35 shafts 8a8cb796b94a20edda1c592a21399c6b     
n.轴( shaft的名词复数 );(箭、高尔夫球棒等的)杆;通风井;一阵(疼痛、害怕等)
参考例句:
  • He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把,摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下,并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句
36 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
37 curt omjyx     
adj.简短的,草率的
参考例句:
  • He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
  • He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。
38 surmised b42dd4710fe89732a842341fc04537f6     
v.臆测,推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 );揣测;猜想
参考例句:
  • From the looks on their faces, I surmised that they had had an argument. 看他们的脸色,我猜想他们之间发生了争执。
  • From his letter I surmised that he was unhappy. 我从他的信中推测他并不快乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 exasperated ltAz6H     
adj.恼怒的
参考例句:
  • We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
  • Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。
40 horrid arozZj     
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的
参考例句:
  • I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
  • The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
41 embarked e63154942be4f2a5c3c51f6b865db3de     
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事
参考例句:
  • We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
  • She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。
42 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》
43 highland sdpxR     
n.(pl.)高地,山地
参考例句:
  • The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
  • The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林,一直都是黑熊的避难所。
44 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。
45 spurt 9r9yE     
v.喷出;突然进发;突然兴隆
参考例句:
  • He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
  • After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿,莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。
46 mosses c7366f977619e62b758615914b126fcb     
n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式
参考例句:
  • Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
  • The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。
47 rustic mCQz9     
adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬
参考例句:
  • It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
  • We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。
48 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
49 solitude xF9yw     
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
参考例句:
  • People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
  • They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。
50 toil WJezp     
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事
参考例句:
  • The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
  • Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。
51 allure 4Vqz9     
n.诱惑力,魅力;vt.诱惑,引诱,吸引
参考例句:
  • The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
  • The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。
52 unwilling CjpwB     
adj.不情愿的
参考例句:
  • The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
  • His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。
53 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
54 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
55 tattered bgSzkG     
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的
参考例句:
  • Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
  • Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。
56 coaxed dc0a6eeb597861b0ed72e34e52490cd1     
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱
参考例句:
  • She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer. 她哄着那匹马让它再靠近了一点。
  • I coaxed my sister into taking me to the theatre. 我用好话哄姐姐带我去看戏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
57 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。
58 ambush DNPzg     
n.埋伏(地点);伏兵;v.埋伏;伏击
参考例句:
  • Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
  • Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。
59 quarry ASbzF     
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找
参考例句:
  • Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
  • This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。
60 gut MezzP     
n.[pl.]胆量;内脏;adj.本能的;vt.取出内脏
参考例句:
  • It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
  • My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。
61 prick QQyxb     
v.刺伤,刺痛,刺孔;n.刺伤,刺痛
参考例句:
  • He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时,他感到剧烈的疼痛。
  • He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳,气球就爆了。
62 apprehension bNayw     
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑
参考例句:
  • There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑,于是她越来越担心。
  • She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。
63 aisles aisles     
n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊
参考例句:
  • Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期,原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
  • They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近,并且很快就坐了下来。
64 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
65 augur 7oHyF     
n.占卦师;v.占卦
参考例句:
  • Does this news augur war?这消息预示将有战争吗?
  • The signs augur well for tomorrow's weather.种种征候预示明天天气良好。
66 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
67 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。
68 incognito ucfzW     
adv.匿名地;n.隐姓埋名;adj.化装的,用假名的,隐匿姓名身份的
参考例句:
  • He preferred to remain incognito.他更喜欢继续隐姓埋名下去。
  • He didn't want to be recognized,so he travelled incognito.他不想被人认出,所以出行时隐瞒身分。
69 wrested 687939d2c0d23b901d6d3b68cda5319a     
(用力)拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 ); 费力取得; (从…)攫取; ( 从… ) 强行取去…
参考例句:
  • The usurper wrested the power from the king. 篡位者从国王手里夺取了权力。
  • But now it was all wrested from him. 可是现在,他却被剥夺了这一切。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
70 dominion FmQy1     
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图
参考例句:
  • Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
  • In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里,当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。
71 scenting 163c6ec33148fedfedca27cbb3a29280     
vt.闻到(scent的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Soames, scenting the approach of a jest, closed up. 索来斯觉察出有点调侃的味儿来了,赶快把话打断。 来自辞典例句
  • The pale woodbines and the dog-roses were scenting the hedgerows. 金银花和野蔷薇把道旁的树也薰香了。 来自辞典例句
72 stodgy 4rsyU     
adj.易饱的;笨重的;滞涩的;古板的
参考例句:
  • It wasn't easy to lose puppy fat when Mum fed her on stodgy home cooking.母亲给她吃易饱的家常菜,她想减掉婴儿肥可是很难。
  • The gateman was a stodgy fellow of 60.看门人是个六十岁的矮胖子。
73 dismal wtwxa     
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
参考例句:
  • That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
  • My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。


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