"Where'd you hear that about me?" she demanded ominously2.
Thursby shook his ponderous3 head: "It makes no difference—"
"It makes a lot of difference to me!" she cut in, sharply contentious4. "You might's well tell me, because I won't talk to you if you don't."
Butch brushed the brim of his hat an inch above his eyes and threw her a glance of approbation5. Thursby hesitated, his large, mottled face sullen6 and dark in the bluish illumination provided by the single gas-jet wheezing7 above the table. Then reluctantly he gave in.
"Old Inness was in the store this evening. He said—"
"Never mind what he said! I guess I know. Gussie's been shooting off her face about me at home. And of course old Inness hadn't nothing better to do than to run off and tell you everything he knew!"
"Then you don't deny it?" Thursby insisted.
"I don't have to. It's true. No, I don't deny it," she returned, aping his manner to exasperation8.
"How'd you come to lose your job?"
"Mr. Winter insulted me—one of the floor-walkers—if you've got to know."
Thursby's head wagged heavily while he weighed this information, and he regarded his daughter with a baleful, morose9 glare, his fat hands trembling.
"What did you say to this man, Winter?" he asked presently.
"Told him I'd slap his face if he tried anything like that on me again. So he reported me up to the management—lied about me—and I got fired."
There was a long silence, through which Thursby pondered the matter, his thick lips moving inaudibly, while Joan sat upright, maintaining her attitude of independence and defiance10, and Butch, grinning lazily, as if at some private jest, manufactured ring after ring of smoke in the still, close air.
Before her father spoke11 again, Joan became cognizant of Edna and her mother, like twin ghosts in their night-dresses, stealing silently, barefooted, to listen just within the door of the adjoining bedroom.
"And what do you propose to do now?" asked Thursby at length, lifting his weary, haunted gaze to his daughter's face. "What's this about your going on the stage?"
Joan set her jaw12 firmly. "That's what I'm going to do."
Thursby shook his head with decision. "I won't have it," he said.
"Oh, you won't? Well, I'd like to know how you're going to stop me. I'm tired slaving behind a counter for a dog's wages—and that eaten up by fines because I won't go out with the floor-walkers. I'm going to do the best I can for myself. I'm going to be an actress, so's I can make a decent living for Edna and ma and myself."
"A decent living!" Thursby mocked without mirth. "You're old enough to know better than that."
"I'm old enough to know which side my bread's buttered on," the girl flashed back angrily. "I'm through living in this dirty flat and giving up every dollar I make to keep us all from starving. God knows what we'd do if it wasn't for me with a steady job, and Edna working during the season. You don't do anything to help us out: all you get goes on the ponies13. I don't see any reason why I got to consult you if I choose to better myself."
She rose the better to end her tirade14 with a stamp of her foot. Thursby likewise got up, if more sluggishly15, and moved round the table to confront her.
"You don't go on the stage—no!" he said. "That's settled. Understand?"
"Oh, I get you," she replied, with a flirt16 of her head, "but I don't agree with you. I'm going down town first thing tomorrow to try for a job with—with," she hesitated, "Ziegfield's Follies17!"
"You will do nothing of the sort," he insisted fiercely, congested veins18 starting out upon his forehead. "You're my daughter, and those are my orders to you, and you'll obey 'em or I'll know the reason why. You...." He faltered19 as if choking. Then he flung out an arm, with a violent gesture indicating the shrinking woman in the doorway20. "You—your mother was an actress when I married her and took her off the stage. She—she—"
"Don't you dare say a word against my mother!" Joan screamed passionately21 into his louring face. "Don't you dare! You hear me: don't you dare!"
Her infuriated accents were echoed by a smothered23 gasp24 and a spasm25 of sobbing27 from the other room.
Momentarily abashed28 by the sheer force of this defiance, the father fell back a pace. An expression of almost ludicrous disconcertion shadowed his discoloured features. Then slowly, as if thoughtfully, he lifted one hand and deliberately30 tore his collar from its fastening and cast it from him.
At this, hastily jerking his cigarette into the air-shaft, Butch got up, removed his hat and carefully placed it on the mantel, out of harm's way.
"You," said Thursby with apparent difficulty, breathing heavily between his words—"you shan't use that tone to me, young woman, and live in this house. More than that, you'll leave it this very night—now!—unless you promise to give up this fool's notion of the stage."
"Tonight!"
Joan paled; her lips tightened31; but the glint in her eyes wasn't one of fright.
"Tonight!" her father reiterated32 with malicious33 pleasure in what he thought to be evidences of consternation34. "And what's more, you're going to apologize to me now."
"Apologize to you!" Joan caught her breath sharply, and her next words came without premeditation; she was barely conscious, in her rage, that she employed them: "I'll be damned if I do!"
With an inarticulate cry, maddened beyond reason, Thursby lifted a heavy hand and stepped toward her.
Simultaneously35 Butch sprang forward, seized the menacing fist and dragged it down and back, with a movement so swift and deft36 that its purpose was accomplished37 and the hand pinned to the small of Thursby's back actually before he appreciated what was happening.
Even Joan was slow to comprehend the fact of this amazing intervention38....
Nodding emphatically, "Beat it, kid," Butch counselled in a pleasant, unstrained tone—"beat it while the going's good.... Easy, now, guvner!"
Speechless, Joan slipped out into the hall and slammed the door. Stumbling blindly in the murk, she was none the less quick to find the head of the stairway.
On the ground floor, panting and sobbing, she paused to listen. There came from above no sound of pursuit to speed her on; yet on she went, out of the house, to scurry39 away through the midnight hush40 of the squalid street like a hunted thing.
There was no sort of coherence41 in her thoughts, nothing but shreds42 and tatters of rage, fear, and despair, all clouded with a faint and vain regret. She gave no heed43 to the way she went: impulse controlled and blind instinct guided her. But at the corner of Park Avenue she was obliged to pause for breath, and took advantage of that pause to review her plight44 and plan her future.
Her first concern must be to find a lodging45 for the night. Tomorrow could take care of itself....
Uttering a low cry of dismay, the girl clutched at the handbag swinging by its strap46 from her wrist: its latch47 was broken, its wide jaws48 yawned. In a breath she had grasped the empty substance of her most dire49 apprehensions50: the slender fold of bills, handed her when she left the store for the last time that evening, was gone. Whether some sneak-thief had robbed her on a surface-car or in the Broadway rabble52, or whether the lock had been broken, releasing its poor treasure, during her struggle with Austin on the stairs—or afterwards or before—she could not guess. But she was swift to recognize in its bitter fulness the heart-rending futility53 of retracing54 her steps to search for the vanished money—even though it was all that had stood between her and the world, between a common room with food for a week or two and starvation and—the streets.
It was a fact, established and irrefutable in her understanding, that she could never go back....
Diligently55 exploring the bag, she brought to light a scanty56 store of small change: three quarters, a nickel, seven coppers—eighty-seven cents wherewith to face the world!
Further rummaging57 educed58 a handful of odds59 and ends, from which, by the light of a corner lamp, she presently succeeded in sorting out a folded scrap60 of paper bearing a pencilled memorandum61, faint almost to illegibility62, so that only with some difficulty could Joan decipher its legend: "Maizie Dean (Lizzie Fogarty) 289 W. 45 St."
Slowly conning63 the address with mute, moving lips, until she had it by heart, the girl trudged64 on to Madison Avenue and there signalled and boarded a southbound surface-car. It carried few passengers. She had a long seat all to herself, and about fifteen minutes wherein to debate ways and means....
She reckoned it several years since Lizzie Fogarty (predecessor of faithless Gussie Inness, both at the stocking counter and in Joan's confidence) suddenly, and with no warning or explanation, had left the department store and for fully29 eight months thereafter had kept her where-abouts a mystery to her erstwhile associates—though rumours65 were not lacking in support of a shrewd suspicion that she had "gone on the stage." The truth only transpired66 when, one day, she drifted languidly up to the counter behind which she had once served, haughtily67 inspected and selected from goods offered her by a stupefied and indignant Gussie, and promptly68 broke down, confessing the truth amid giggles69 not guiltless of a suspicion of tears. Lizzie was in "vodeveal," partner in a "sister-act"—witness her card—"The Dancing Deans, Maizie & May."
Beyond shadow of doubt she had prospered70. Not only was she amazingly and awfully71 arrayed, but there was in evidence an accomplishment72 believed to be singular to people of great wealth, an "English accent"—or what Joan and Gussie ingenuously73 accepted as such. As practised by Miss Maizie Dean this embellishment consisted merely in broadening every A in the language (when she didn't forget) and speaking rapidly in a high, strained voice. Its effect upon her former associates was to render the wake she ploughed through their ranks phosphorescent with envy.
Departing in good time to spare the girls the censure75 of the floor-walker, she had left with Joan the pencilled address and this counsel: "If ever you dream of goin' into the business, my deah, don't do anythin' before you see me. That ad-dress will always make me, no mattah wheah 'm woikin': and I'd do anythin' in the woild for you. I know you'd make good anywheres—with that shape and them eyes!..."
Of such stuff as this had Joan fashioned her dreams. Confident in the generosity76 of Lizzie Fogarty, she relied implicitly77 upon the willingness of Miss Maizie Dean to help her into the magic circle of "the profession." She had no more doubt that Maizie would make it her business, even at cost of personal inconvenience, to secure her an engagement, than she had that tomorrow's sun would rise upon a world tenanted by one Joan Thursby. Or if such doubt entered her mind by stealth, she fought it down and cast it forth78 with all the power of her will. For in Miss Dean, née Fogarty, now resided her sole immediate79 hope of friendly aid and advice....
Alighting at Forty-fifth Street, Joan hastened westward80, past Fifth Avenue and Sixth to Longacre Square. Here on the corner, she paused to don her coat; for the low-swinging draperies of the painted skies had begun to distil81 upon the city a gentle drizzle82, soft and warm.
Only two hours ago a vortex of vivid animation83, the Square now presented a singular aspect of sleepy emptiness. With its high glittering walls of steel and glass, its polished black paving like moiré silk, its blushing canopy84 of cloud, its air filled with an infinity85 of globular atoms of moisture, swirling86 and weltering in a shimmer87 of incandescence88: it was like a pool of limpid89 light, deep and still. Few moving things were visible: now and again a taxicab, infrequently a surface-car, here and there, singly, a few prowling women, a scattering90 of predacious men.
Of these latter, one who had been skulking91 beneath the shelter of the New York Theatre fire-escapes strolled idly out toward Joan and addressed her in a whisper of loathly intimacy92. Fortunately she did not hear what he said. Even as he spoke she slipped away from the curb93 and like a haunted shadow darted94 across the open space and into the kindly95 obscurity of the side-street.
Number 289 reared its five-storey brown-stone front on the northern side of the street, hard upon Eighth Avenue. Joan inspected it doubtfully. Its three lower tiers of windows were all dark and lightless, but on the fourth floor a single oblong shone with gas-light, while on the fifth as many as three were dully aglow96. The outer doors, at the top of the high, old-style stoop, were closed, and even the most hopeful vision could detect no definite illumination through the fan-light.
Into the heart of Joan a wretched apprehension51 stole and there abode97, cold and crawling. From something in the sedate98 aspect of the house she garnered99 grim and terrible forebodings.
Nevertheless she dared not lose grasp on hope. Mounting the stoop, she sought the bell-pull, and found it just below a small strip of paper glued to the stone; frayed100 and weatherbeaten, it published in letters in faded ink scrawled101 by an infirm hand the information: "Rooms to let furnished."
For some reason which she did not stop to analyze102, this announcement spelled encouragement to Joan. She wrought103 lustily at the bell.
It evoked104 no sound that she could hear. Trembling with expectancy105, she waited several minutes, then pulled again, and once more waited while the cold of dread106 spread from her heart to chill and benumb her hands and feet. She heard never a sound. It was no use—she knew it—yet she rang again and again, frantically107, with determination, in despair. And once she vainly tried the door.
The drizzle had developed into a fine, driving rain that swept aslant108 upon the wings of a new-sprung breeze.
A great weight seemed to be crushing her: a vast, invisible hand relentlessly109 bearing her down to the earth. Only vaguely110 did she recognize in this the symptoms of immense physical fatigue111 added to those of intense emotional strain: she only knew that she was all a-weary for her bed.
Of a sudden, hope and courage both deserted112 her. Tears filled her eyes: she was so lonely and forlorn, so helpless and so friendless. Huddled113 in the shallow recess114 of the doorway, she fought her emotions silently for a time, then broke down altogether and sobbed115 without restraint into her handkerchief. Moments passed uncounted, despair possessing her utterly116.
The street was all but empty. For some time none remarked the disconsolate117 girl. Then a man, with a handbag but without an umbrella, appeared from the direction of Longacre Square, walking with a deliberation which suggested that he was either indifferent to or unconscious of the rain. Turning up the steps of Number 289, he jingled118 absently a bunch of keys. Not until he had reached the platform of the stoop did he notice the woman in the doorway.
Promptly he halted, lifting his brows and pursing his lips in a noiseless whistle—his head cocked critically to one side.
Then through the waning119 tempest of her grief, Joan heard his voice:
"I say! What's the matter?"
Gulping120 down a sob26 and dabbing121 hastily at her eyes with a sodden122 wad of handkerchief, she caught through a veil of tears a blurred123 impression of her interrogator124. A man.... She ceased instantly to cry and shrank hastily out of his way, into the full swing of wind and rain. She said nothing, but eyed him with furtive125 distrust. He made no offer to move.
"See here!" he expostulated. "You're in trouble. Anything I can do?"
Joan felt that she was regaining126 control of herself. She dared to linger and hope rather than to yield to her primitive127 instinct toward flight.
"Nothing," she said with a catch in her voice—"only I—I wanted to see Miss Dean; but nobody answered the bell."
"Oh!" he said thoughtfully—"you wanted to see Miss Dean—yes!"—as though he considered this a thoroughly128 satisfactory explanation. "But Madame Duprat never does answer the door after twelve o'clock, you know. She says people have no right to call on us after midnight. There's a lot in that, too, you know." He wagged his head earnestly. "Really!" he concluded with animation.
His voice was pleasant, his manner sympathetic if something original. Joan found courage to enquire129:
"Do you think—perhaps—she might be in?"
"Oh, she never leaves the house. At least, I've never seen her leave it. I fancy she thinks one of us might move it away if she got out of sight for a minute or so."
Puzzled, Joan persisted: "You really think Miss Dean is in?"
"Miss Dean? Oh, beg pardon! I was thinking of Madame Duprat. Ah ... Miss Dean ... now ... I infer you have urgent business with her—what?"
"Yes, very!" the girl insisted eagerly. "If I could only see her ... I must see her!"
"I'm sure she's in, then!" the man declared in accents of profound conviction. "Possibly asleep. But at home. O positively130!" He inserted a key in the lock and pushed the door open. "If you don't mind coming in—out of the weather—I'll see."
Joan eyed him doubtfully. The light was indifferent, a mere74 glimmer131 from the corner lamp at Eighth Avenue; but it enabled her to see that he was passably tall and quite slender. He wore a Panama hat with dark clothing. His attitude was more explicitly132 impersonal133 than that of any man with whom she had as yet come into contact: she could detect in it no least trace either of condescension134 or of an ingratiating spirit. He seemed at once quite self-possessed and indefinitely preoccupied135, disinterested136, and quite agreeable to be made use of. In short, he engaged her tremendously.
But what more specifically prepossessed her in his favour, and what in the end influenced her to repose137 some slight confidence in the man, was a quality with which the girl herself endowed him: she chose to be reminded in some intangible, elusive138 fashion, of that flower of latter-day chivalry139 who had once whisked her out of persecution140 into his taxicab and to her home. In point of fact, the two were vastly different, and Joan knew it; but, at least, she argued, they were alike in this: both were gentlemen—rare visitants in her cosmos141.
It was mostly through fatigue and helpless bewilderment, however, that she at length yielded and consented to precede him into the vestibule. Here he opened the inner doors, ushering142 Joan into a hallway typical of an old order of dwelling143, now happily obsolescent144. The floor was of tiles, alternately black and white: a hideous145 checker-board arrangement. A huge hat-rack, black walnut146 framing a morbid147 mirror, towered on the one hand; on the other rose a high arched doorway, closed. And there was a vast and gloomy stairway with an upper landing lost in shadows impenetrable to the feeble illumination of the single small tongue of gas flickering148 in an old-fashioned bronze chandelier.
Listening, Joan failed to detect in all the house any sounds other than those made by the young man and herself.
"If you'll be good enough to follow me—"
He led the way to the rear of the hall, where, in the shadow of the staircase, he unlocked a door and disappeared. The girl waited on the threshold of a cool and airy chamber149, apparently150 occupying the entire rear half of the ground floor. At the back, long windows stood open to the night. The smell of rain was in the room.
"Half a minute: I'll make a light."
He moved through the darkness with the assurance of one on old, familiar ground. In the middle of the room a match spluttered and blazed: with a slight plup! a gas drop-light with a green shade leapt magically out of the obscurity, discovering the silhouette151 of a tall, spare figure bending low to adjust the flame; which presently grew strong and even, diffusing152 a warm and steady glow below the green penumbra153 of its shade.
The man turned back with his quaint154 air of deference155. "Now, if you don't mind sitting down and waiting a minute, I'll ask Madame Duprat about Miss—ah—your friend—"
"Miss Dean—Maizie Dean."
"Thank you."
With this he left the girl, and presently she heard his footsteps on the staircase.
She found a deeply cushioned arm-chair, and subsided156 into it with a sigh. The intensity157 of her weariness was indeed a very serious matter with her. Her very wits shirked the labour of grappling with the problem of what she should do if Maizie Dean were not at home....
Wondering incoherently, she stared about her. The rich, subdued158 glow of the shaded lamp suggested more than it revealed, but she was impressed by the generous proportions of the room. The drop-light itself stood on a long, broad table littered with a few books and a great many papers, inkstands, pens, blotters, ash-trays, pipes: all in agreeable disorder159. Beyond this table was one smaller, which supported a type-writing-machine. Against the nearer wall stood a luxurious160, if worn, leather-covered couch. There were two immense black walnut bookcases. The windows at the back disclosed a section of iron-railed balcony.
Joan grew sensitive to an anodynous atmosphere of quiet and comfort....
Drowsily161 she heard a quiet knocking at some door upstairs; then a subdued murmur162 of voices, the closing of a door, footsteps returning down the long staircase. When these last sounded on the tiled flooring, the girl spurred her flagging senses and got up in a sudden flutter of doubt, anxiety, and embarrassment163. The man entering the room found her so—poised in indecision.
"Please do sit down," he said quietly, with a smile that carried reassurance164; and, taking her compliance165 for something granted, passed on to another arm-chair near the long table.
With a docility166 and total absence of distrust that later surprised her to remember, Joan sank back, eyes eloquent167 with the question unuttered by her parted lips.
Her host, lounging, turned to her a face of which one half was in dense168 shadow: a keen, strongly modelled face with deep-set eyes at once whimsical and thoughtful, and a mouth thin-lipped but generously wide. He rested an elbow on the table and his head on a spare, sinewy169 hand, thrusting slender fingers up into hair straight, not long, and rather light in colour.
"I'm sorry to have to report," he said gently, "that 'The Dancing Deans, Maizie and May,' are on the road. So I'm informed by Madame Duprat, at least. They're not expected back for several weeks.... I hope you aren't greatly disappointed."
Her eyes, wide and dark with dismay, told him too plainly that she was. She made no effort to speak, but after an instant of dumb consternation, moved as if to rise.
He detained her with a gesture. "Please don't hurry: you needn't, you know. Of course, if you must, I won't detain you: the door is open, your way clear to the street. But what are you going to do about a place to sleep tonight?"
She stared in surprise and puzzled resentment170. A warm wave of colour temporarily displaced her pallor.
"What makes you so sure I've got no place to sleep?" she asked ungraciously.
He lifted his shoulders slightly and dropped his hand to the table.
"Perhaps I was impertinent," he admitted. "I'm sorry.... But you haven't—have you?"
"No, I haven't," she said sharply. "But what's that—"
"As you quite reasonably imply, it's nothing to me," he interrupted suavely171. "But I'd be sorry to think of you out there—alone—in the rain—when there's no reason why you need be."
"No reason!" she echoed, wondering if she had misjudged him after all.
Without warning the man tilted172 the green lamp-shade until a broad, strong glow flooded her face. A spark of indignation kindled173 in the girl while she endured his brief, impersonal, silent examination. Sheer fatigue alone prevented her from rising and walking out of the room—that, and curiosity.
He replaced the shade, and got out of the chair with a swift movement that seemed not at all one of haste.
"I see no reason," he announced coolly. "I've got to run along now—I merely dropped in to get a manuscript. I think you'll be quite comfortable here—and there's a good bolt on the door. Of course, it's very unconventional, but I hope you'll be kind enough to overlook that, considering the circumstances. And tomorrow, after a good rest, you can make up your mind whether it would be wiser to stick to your first plan or—go home."
He smiled with a vague, disinterested geniality174, and added a pleading "Now don't say no!" when he saw that the girl had likewise risen.
"How do you know I've left home?" she demanded hotly.
"Well"—his smile broadened—"deductive faculty—Sherlock Holmes—Dupin—that sort of tommyrot, you know. But it wasn't such a bad guess—now was it?"
"I don't see how you knew," she muttered sulkily.
He ran his long fingers once or twice through his hair in a manner of great perplexity.
"I can't quite tell, myself."
"It wasn't my fault," she protested with a flash of passion. "I lost my job today, and because I said I wanted to go on the stage, my father put me out of the house."
"Yes," he agreed amiably175; "they always do—don't they? I fancied it was something like that. But there isn't really any reason why you shouldn't go home tomorrow and patch it up—or is there?"
She gulped176 convulsively: "You don't understand—"
"Probably I don't," he conceded. "Still, things may look very much otherwise in the morning. They generally do, I notice. One goes to bed with reluctance177 and wakes up with a headache. All that sort of thing.... But if you'll listen to me a moment—why, then if you want to go, I shan't detain you.... My name is John Matthias. My trade is writing things—plays, mostly: I know it sounds foolish, but then I hate exercise. I live—sleep, that is—ah—elsewhere—down the street. This is merely my work-room. So your stopping here won't inconvenience me in the least...."
He snatched up a mass of papers from the table, folded them hastily and thrust them into a coat pocket.
"That manuscript I was after. Good night. I do hope you'll be comfortable."
Before the amazed girl could collect herself, he had his hat and handbag and was already in the hallway.
She ran after him.
"But, Mr. Matthias—"
He glanced hastily over his shoulder while fumbling178 with the night-latch.
"I can't let you—"
"Oh, but you must—really, you know."
He had the door open.
"But why do you—how can you trust me with all your things?"
"Tut!" he said reprovingly from the vestibule—"nothing there but play 'scripts, and they're not worth anything. You can't get anybody to produce 'em. I know, because I've tried."
He closed the inner door and banged the outer behind him.
Joan, on the point of pursuing to the street, paused in the vestibule, and for a moment stood doubting. Then, with a bewildered look, she returned slowly to the back room, shut herself in, and shot the bolt....
On the platform of the stoop, Mr. Matthias delayed long enough to turn up his coat-collar for the better protection of his linen179, and surveyed with a wry180 grin the slashing181 rush of rain through which he now must needs paddle unprotected.
"Queer thing for a fellow to do," he mused182 dispassionately....
"Daresay I am a bit of an ass22.... I might at least have borrowed my own umbrella.... But that would hardly have been consistent with the egregious183 insanity184 of the performance....
"I wonder why I do these awful things?... If I only knew, perhaps I could reform...."
Running down the steps, he set out at a rapid pace for the Hotel Astor; which in due time received and harboured him for the night.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
browbeaten
|
|
| v.（以言辞或表情）威逼，恫吓( browbeat的过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
ominously
|
|
| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
ponderous
|
|
| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
contentious
|
|
| adj.好辩的，善争吵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
approbation
|
|
| n.称赞；认可 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
wheezing
|
|
| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
exasperation
|
|
| n.愤慨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
morose
|
|
| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
defiance
|
|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
jaw
|
|
| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
ponies
|
|
| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
tirade
|
|
| n.冗长的攻击性演说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
sluggishly
|
|
| adv.懒惰地；缓慢地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
flirt
|
|
| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
follies
|
|
| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
faltered
|
|
| （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： |
|
|
|
|
20
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
passionately
|
|
| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
ass
|
|
| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
smothered
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
gasp
|
|
| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
spasm
|
|
| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
sob
|
|
| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
sobbing
|
|
| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
abashed
|
|
| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
tightened
|
|
| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
reiterated
|
|
| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
malicious
|
|
| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
simultaneously
|
|
| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
deft
|
|
| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
intervention
|
|
| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
scurry
|
|
| vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
coherence
|
|
| n.紧凑；连贯；一致性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
shreds
|
|
| v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
heed
|
|
| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
plight
|
|
| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
lodging
|
|
| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
strap
|
|
| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
latch
|
|
| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
dire
|
|
| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
rabble
|
|
| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
futility
|
|
| n.无用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
retracing
|
|
| v.折回( retrace的现在分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
diligently
|
|
| ad.industriously;carefully | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
scanty
|
|
| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
rummaging
|
|
| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
educed
|
|
| v.引出( educe的过去式和过去分词 )；唤起或开发出（潜能）；推断（出）；从数据中演绎（出） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
scrap
|
|
| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
memorandum
|
|
| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
illegibility
|
|
| n.不清不楚，不可辨认，模糊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
conning
|
|
| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
trudged
|
|
| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
rumours
|
|
| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
transpired
|
|
| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
haughtily
|
|
| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
giggles
|
|
| n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 )；傻笑；玩笑；the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
prospered
|
|
| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
awfully
|
|
| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
accomplishment
|
|
| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
ingenuously
|
|
| adv.率直地，正直地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
censure
|
|
| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
generosity
|
|
| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
implicitly
|
|
| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
distil
|
|
| vt.蒸馏；提取…的精华，精选出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
drizzle
|
|
| v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
animation
|
|
| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
canopy
|
|
| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
infinity
|
|
| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
swirling
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
shimmer
|
|
| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
incandescence
|
|
| n.白热，炽热；白炽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
limpid
|
|
| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
scattering
|
|
| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
skulking
|
|
| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
intimacy
|
|
| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
curb
|
|
| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
darted
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
aglow
|
|
| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
sedate
|
|
| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
garnered
|
|
| v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
frayed
|
|
| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
scrawled
|
|
| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
analyze
|
|
| vt.分析，解析 (=analyse) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
evoked
|
|
| [医]诱发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
expectancy
|
|
| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
frantically
|
|
| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
aslant
|
|
| adv.倾斜地；adj.斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
relentlessly
|
|
| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
fatigue
|
|
| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
huddled
|
|
| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
recess
|
|
| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
sobbed
|
|
| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
disconsolate
|
|
| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
jingled
|
|
| 喝醉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
waning
|
|
| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
gulping
|
|
| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
dabbing
|
|
| 石面凿毛，灰泥抛毛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
sodden
|
|
| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
blurred
|
|
| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
interrogator
|
|
| n.讯问者；审问者；质问者；询问器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
furtive
|
|
| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
regaining
|
|
| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
enquire
|
|
| v.打听，询问；调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
positively
|
|
| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
glimmer
|
|
| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
explicitly
|
|
| ad.明确地，显然地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
impersonal
|
|
| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
condescension
|
|
| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
preoccupied
|
|
| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
disinterested
|
|
| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
elusive
|
|
| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
chivalry
|
|
| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
persecution
|
|
| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
cosmos
|
|
| n.宇宙；秩序，和谐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
ushering
|
|
| v.引，领，陪同( usher的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
obsolescent
|
|
| adj.过时的，难管束的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
hideous
|
|
| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
walnut
|
|
| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
morbid
|
|
| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
flickering
|
|
| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
silhouette
|
|
| n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
diffusing
|
|
| （使光）模糊，漫射，漫散( diffuse的现在分词 )； （使）扩散； （使）弥漫； （使）传播 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
penumbra
|
|
| n.（日蚀）半影部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
quaint
|
|
| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
deference
|
|
| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
subsided
|
|
| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
intensity
|
|
| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
disorder
|
|
| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
luxurious
|
|
| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
drowsily
|
|
| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
reassurance
|
|
| n.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
compliance
|
|
| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
docility
|
|
| n.容易教，易驾驶，驯服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
sinewy
|
|
| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
resentment
|
|
| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
suavely
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
tilted
|
|
| v. 倾斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
kindled
|
|
| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
geniality
|
|
| n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
amiably
|
|
| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
gulped
|
|
| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
reluctance
|
|
| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
fumbling
|
|
| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
wry
|
|
| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
slashing
|
|
| adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
mused
|
|
| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
egregious
|
|
| adj.非常的，过分的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
insanity
|
|
| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |