小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » Robin Linnet » CHAPTER II
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER II
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
MR. JACKSON, a tall, short-sighted clergyman with the green moustache, and classical tutor at St. Stephen’s College, was accustomed to dine en gar?on every Saturday night in Hall, instead of en famille at home, and after two or three glasses of port, play a rubber of whist in the room of one of his colleagues. To-night the gathering1 was planned to take place at Mr. Butler’s rooms in the Fellows’ Buildings, and it was with great pleasure that he had heard his host ask Waters and Alison to complete the four. They were all Classical dons, tutors and lecturers, and it was completely characteristic of them that they continued to play whist rather than bridge, which they considered a debased and easy variety of dummy3 whist. All four had minds of the same academic calibre, and they constituted in this very Conservative college the stronghold and inner defences of Conservatism. Chief among its tenets was the doctrine4 that Latin and Greek were the sole and essential instruments of education that should be used on the mind of the young, just as cricket and football and rowing were a young man’s proper physical exercises. In later life you could play golf and lawn-tennis and croquet, even as in later life you could learn{28} French and Italian, in which, no doubt, there were many light and agreeable pieces of literature to be enjoyed. But until you had attained5 to maturity6 all these minor7 diversions had best be eschewed8. “A fellow,” as Mr. Jackson was fond of saying, “who can write a decent set of Greek Iambics, or translate a piece of Gibbon into Thucydidean Greek, has a trained mind, which can without difficulty acquire any other subject of human knowledge with which his profession makes it desirable that he should be acquainted.”

This creed10 Mr. Jackson put into practice every day of the term. Greek was the special subject that he taught, and week by week his pupils, besides attending his lectures, which just now were concerned with the Peloponnesian war, made renderings11 of English verse into Iambics and English prose into its possible equivalent in Thucydidean or Platonic13 Greek. The point of these exercises really was to cram14 into the rendering12 as many tags from classical authors as could be dragged in. When a set of Iambics were plentifully15 besprinkled with phrases and unusual usages from ?schylus or Sophocles, Mr. Jackson considered them a good effort of scholarship, and never paused to reflect whether it might not be merely a specimen17 of the most comical Baboo Greek.

Everything connected with classical Greek was an unrivalled instrument of education in his regard, and thus his pupils were also thoroughly18 instructed in Greek history. They might be as ignorant as a sucking child on the subject of French, Italian or English history; their claims, as regards history, to be educated rested solely19 on their knowledge of Greek history. Similarly it was nice to know dates; he had no objection to anyone being aware of the year in which Constantinople fell into the hands of Osman, or England into those of{29} William the Conqueror20. But it was necessary to salvation21 to have on the tip of your tongue the date of the death of Pericles. Subsequently, in Greek history, the classical age ceased, and that nation and language had not the good luck to interest Mr. Jackson any further at all.

His loyal conspirator22 and coadjutor in keeping the Greek flag flying was Waters, who was to make one of the four to-night, and since his host Butler held the same views with regard to Latin as he to Greek, and had asked Alison, his Latin fellow-conspirator, to complete the table, Jackson felt justified23 in expecting a pleasant evening. It was not that he intended or expected that anybody would talk “shop” with regard to education; simply he felt happier and more at ease in the presence of classical scholars than in that of mathematicians24 or natural scientists. With natural scientists he had, however, a bond in common (when they did not bring into prominence25 their doleful heresy26 that natural science or natural history could possibly be considered an instrument of education), for he himself had for years been an enthusiastic collector of fresh-water shells. But that was his hobby, over which he unbent his mind, laying no claim to be an educated man because he had a very considerable knowledge of this branch of conchology, any more than Butler considered it a title to culture that he had a completer knowledge of Handel’s music than any living man, or probably any dead one, including Handel himself.

Jackson strolled along the broad gravel27 path towards Butler’s rooms, passing groups of undergraduates on the way, to some of whom, his own pupils, he nodded; practically he knew none others, even by sight. Jim and Birds were among those he knew, who, since smoking in the court was forbidden, discreetly28 held their{30} cigarettes behind their backs as Mr. Jackson passed them. But though short-sighted, he had a keen sense of smell, and pleasantly enough made a rather neat Latin quotation29 about incense30.

From Butler’s room came the loud resonance31 of a piano, which quite drowned the noise of his knocking, and entering, he found that sardonic32 colleague deeply engaged at his piano on the last movement of Handel’s Occasional Overture33. Butler’s method of playing was to put his face very near the music, plant a firm foot on the loud pedal, and add the soft pedal for passages marked piano. He preserved an iron and unshakable tempo34, counting the requisite35 number of beats to each bar in an audible voice, and not stopping till he got to the end of his piece unless the book fell off the music-rest, when he turned the page. When that occurred, he continued counting while he picked it up.

To-night no such interruption occurred, and it was not till he had reached the last loud chord that he observed Jackson’s appearance.

“That’s a glorious thing you were playing,” observed he pleasantly, as he put his cap and gown in the window-seat. “Glorious. They can’t write such music now.”

Butler gave a short sarcastic36 laugh.

“They can’t indeed,” he said. “Modern music is just trash: there’s no other word for it. The other day when I was up in town I went—good evening, Waters—I went to a concert in order to hear Handel’s violin sonata37, and had to sit through a piece of Debussy. If it hadn’t been for the question of manners, I should have put back my head and howled like a dog.”

“And had to grin like a dog instead,” suggested Waters, stroking his short black beard, which was{31} streaked39 with grey. The applicability of the classical English epithet40 “silver-sabled” to his beard consoled him for those signs of the middle years.

“No, I assure you, grinning was beyond me,” said this musical sufferer, “though I admit the neatness of your quotation. It was a mere16 confused noise like nothing so much as the protracted41 tuning42 of the orchestra. But, it’s no use getting angry with stuff that doesn’t merit the faintest attention.”

Jackson put his head on one side, his favourite attitude when pronouncing critical judgments43.

“I’m not altogether so sure that I agree with you,” he said, “I’m not speaking about Debussy because I’ve never heard of him before, but I think some modern music is uncommonly44 fine. But you’re such a confounded purist, my dear fellow.”

“Certainly I can’t find time for the second best,” said Butler. “There’s nothing been written in the last fifty years that has a chance of living.”

“A sweeping45 statement, rather,” said Waters. “I was considerably46 impressed by the festival at Bayreuth two years ago: in fact I’m going again in August. There are certain parts of Tristan and Isolde that are very moving. Can’t I persuade you to come with me?”

Jackson laughed.

“Not if you were Peitho herself would you persuade him,” he said. “What was that phrase of yours, Butler, when you heard Tristan in London. ‘Three hours of neurasthenic cacophany,’ I think you called it.”

“I believe I did,” said Butler, gratified that his dictum should be remembered. “But if I did, I understated it. Ah, here is our coffee: I wonder why Alison doesn’t come.”

“He went to see the Master about something con{32}nected with the May-week concert,” said Waters. “He told us he might be a little late. I can’t quite agree with our host about Wagner, but I do cordially agree with him that there’s a cult9 of the incompetent47 sprung up, who make up for their want of artistic48 ability by sheer bizarre impertinence. Debussy I make no doubt is one of them (though like Jackson I never heard a note of him), and the modern impressionists and post-impressionists and cubists are others. If I may adapt Butler’s phrase I should have no hesitation49 in describing their canvasses50 as ‘Three feet of neurasthenic daubings.’ But of course their scribblings are merely pour rire.”

Jackson put his head on one side again.

“I don’t know that there’s much more to be said for any modern art,” he answered. “I myself am unable to give even the most admired modern painters a place in the pictorial51 tripos. Sargent, for instance: I don’t consider his portraits more than mere posters, pieces of scenic52 painting if you will, dabbed53 on, without any finish, like a copy of Greek prose without any accents. Ha, here’s Alison: now we’ll get to work.”

It was curious to note now, immediately on the advent54 of the players to make up their table at whist, all these lesser55 problems and pronouncements with regard to the position of Wagner, Sargent and Debussy in the realms of art were immediately dismissed for the greater preoccupation. For those middle-aged56 men, in spite of their gently-fossilized existence, their indulgent contempt for anything that was not immediately “Cambridge,” their general pessimism57 about modern effort, retained a certain streak38 of boyishness and gusto, in that they were genuinely fond of games, both the milder and more sedentary ones that they themselves{33} played, and those better suited to the robust58 vigour59 of their pupils, accepting the importance of them as a clause in the creed that made Cambridge just precisely60 what it was. Their theories about them, just as about education, might be all cut and dried, and the sap as completely be gone out of them as out of the pressed flowers in some botancial collection (which they would unanimously have alluded61 to as a Hortus Siccus), but they did believe in them.

There was no elasticity62 or any possible growth or development that could come to those fibrous stems and crackling petals63, but they believed in their creed and would have opposed with tooth and nail of conviction any suggested reform or innovation. For Cambridge, so long as the forts of classics and cricket stood secure, was to them an institution as abiding64 as the moon, and no criticism concerning it could be taken seriously, any more than you could take seriously a person who said that he would have preferred the colour of the moon to be pea-green or magenta65. But Cambridge could only remain a permanent and perfect phenomenon, if it remained exactly as it was. Whatever in the world of flux66 and change might alter and crumble67, Cambridge must present an unalterable front to the corroding68 centuries. Whatever change came there, must, in the very nature of things, be a change for the worse.

Of the great ancient fortress69 of Cambridge, St. Stephen’s College was beyond doubt the most impregnable bastion. Founded by Henry VII., it had had a glorious record of opposition70 to every reform and innovation that had assaulted its grey walls. When first railways began to knit England together, St. Stephen’s had headed every defensive71 man?uvre to keep their baleful facilities away from the sanctuary72.{34} St. Stephen’s collective spirit did not wish to “run up” to London in two or three hours: it preferred the sequestering73 methods of the stage-coach. Till some forty years ago it had consisted entirely74 of fellows and undergraduates who had been scholars of St. Stephen’s School, and at the conclusion of their enjoyment75 of Henry VII.’s endowment there, proceeded for the rest of their lives, if so disposed, to be supported by Henry VII. at St. Stephen’s College. They entered it as scholars, became fellows in due course, and taught to the succeeding generation precisely what they had learned.

Then had come that overwhelming assault on the tradition of centuries, which our four whist-players thought bitterly of even till to-day, when the college was thrown open to boys from other schools who, instead of necessarily taking up classics, went in for all sorts of debased subjects such as natural science and medicine. But there was no help for it: that particular gate of the bastion had to be opened, and scientists moral and physical, even students of modern languages, mingled76 with the white-robed classical choir77. But the spirit of the more loyal-hearted portion of the garrison78 remained unbroken, and sturdily, long after the rest of Cambridge blazed with electric light, St. Stephen’s, owing chiefly to the determined79 stand made by Jackson and Butler, moved in its accustomed dusk of candles and oil lamps.

The introduction of bath-rooms provoked a not less gallant80 opposition: in the time of Henry VII. hot baths were unheard of, and if nowadays you wanted one, you could get a can of hot water from the kitchen. And it was only under the severest pressure that those debasing paraphernalia81 squeezed their way in. Not for a moment is it implied that Jackson and his friends{35} were like bats who preferred the dark, or like cats who disliked water, but only that they disliked any change, and preferred things precisely as they were....

The game proceeded in the utmost harmony and with academic calm, and was interspersed82 with neat quotations83. For instance, when at the conclusion of a hand, Waters said approvingly to his partner, “You saw my call all right,” Jackson without a moment’s thought replied, “Yes, Waters, one clear call for me.” Or when hearts were trumps84, and Butler proved only to have one of that suit, he paused, without applying his lit match to his pipe, to say, “Eructavit cor meum.” As that one happened to be the ace2, it was quickly and sharply that Alison said, “But your heart is inditing85 of a good matter.” Even when apt quotation failed, something academic was fragrant86 in their most ordinary remarks, as when, spades being turned up as trumps for the third time running, Butler referred to “the prevalence of those agricultural implements,” or when his partner found that his hand contained seven diamonds, he called it “a jewel song.” There was not one atom of pose or desire for effect in those little mots, their minds thought like that, and their tongues faithfully expressed their impressions.

The third of these pleasant rubbers came to an end about a quarter to eleven, and, a “senatus consultum” being taken, it was resolved not to begin a new one, but to relax into conversation.

“Non semper arcum,” said Butler, rising. “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, you will help yourselves, please. I think you said, Alison, that when we had finished Sarah Battling, you wanted to tell us what the Master spoke87 to you about.”

Alison was busy making a curious drink that he found refreshing88, which was a mixture of port and soda89{36} water (called Alison’s own) in exactly equal proportions. There must be just as much port as there was water, neither more nor less, else some recondite90 flavour was missed. He was a man of about forty-five, clean-shaven and alert: his great acquirement was an inward knowledge of Cicero’s letters so amazing, that when once he set a piece of Latin translation in a college examination, composed not at all by Cicero, but by himself, even the Master had been deceived, and asked him out of which of Cicero’s letters he had taken that piece. In other respects he played lawn-tennis, and was responsible, as precentor, for the music of the College services in chapel91.

“Yes, it is a matter of some importance,” he said. “The Choral Society, of course, are giving their annual sacred concert in chapel during May-week, and they have most unfortunately selected Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ for performance. The Master tells me that he is inclined absolutely to refuse to give permission for it, but asked me first to consult some of you. I told him I should meet you three to-night, and he said that he desired no better subcommittee.”

“Is his objection to it on the score of Elgar, Elgar’s score one might say,” asked Butler, “or on that of Gerontius? If on that of the composer, I am disposed to agree with him. I know nothing about Gerontius, as a literary production, except that a hymn92 which we occasionally sing in chapel with a vulgar tune93, is excerpted from it, I believe.”

Jackson chuckled94.

“On the score of Elgar, Elgar’s score,” he repeated. “Very neat, Butler. I know the hymn you mean, ‘Praise to the Holiest in the Height.’ It goes admirably into Greek iambics.{37}”

“Equally well into Latin elegiacs,” said Alison. “No, the Master has no feeling against Elgar’s music: that wasn’t his point. But he could not see himself permitting the performance in chapel of a libretto95 so markedly, so pugnaciously96 Roman Catholic. I am bound to confess that there’s something to be said for his view. What do you say, Jackson? You are our spiritual pastor97.”

Jackson took his stand by the fire-place, and put his head on one side.

“Well, if I’m bound to speak as from a rostrum,” he said, “I shall be disposed to ask for notice of that question. It’s an uncommonly nice point, and the question, of course, on which it all hinges is how far the purpose of a libretto is extinguished by being treated musically. I remember going to see Gounod’s Faust, of which the libretto contains some frankly98 intolerable situations. But somehow when treated musically they did not strike me as actually indecent.”

“The indecency of the music would be enough for me,” said Butler incisively99. “Nothing else but that would strike me.”

“Ah, there’s our purist again. But just now the question is not so much of Purism as Puritanism.”

“After all, we sing ‘Praise to the Holiest’ in chapel,” remarked Alison. “I have known the Master join in it.”

Butler drew in his breath with a hissing100 inspiration as of pain at that recollection.

“Yes, yes, sufficient unto the day—usually Trinity Sunday—is the Master’s singing of that hymn,” he remarked. “If the Master proposed to sing the whole of the ‘Dream of Gerontius’ himself I would be steadfast101 in prayer that it should not be given at all. But he has not threatened that, I gather.{38}”

Waters extracted a few crumbs102 of biscuit that had fallen in his silver-sabled beard.

“I think Jackson has hit the nail on the head,” he remarked. “The question is how far music purges103 the libretto. In my view it doesn’t: it merely emphasizes it. Another appeal, the musical, is added. I admit the inconsistency of singing a hymn that comes out of Gerontius, but you do not remedy that inconsistency by adding to it the far greater one of giving, as Alison neatly104 phrased it, a pugnaciously Roman Catholic work in a Church of England chapel.”

“And those who vote for the motion, that is the exclusion105 of Gerontius?” asked Alison.

He counted hands.

“The ayes have it,” he announced. “I think we may conclude that Gerontius will have to seek another dormitory.”

“To sleep, perchance to dream,” suggested Waters.

 

This point being settled, the unrest in Ireland and possible Labour troubles were lightly touched on, but such subjects had very little concern for these sheltered lives, and presently, even before Alison had drunk his tumbler of Alison’s Own, more exhilarating topics came under discussion. There was a proposal to be brought by some Junior Don at the next College meeting that the dinner hour should, during the summer months, be postponed106, from 7.30 till 8; this aroused Butler’s gloomiest apprehensions107.

“That young Mackenzie is a most undesirable108 man,” he said. “We made a great mistake when we elected him to a Fellowship.”

“Considering the degrees he took,” said Jackson. “A first in mathematics one year, a first in mechanical science the next, and a fellowship dissertation109 which{39} appears to be the most valuable contribution ever made to the subject of engines for aeroplanes, I don’t see what else we could do. I regretted the necessity as much as you.”

“I refuse to admit the necessity,” said Butler. “As the greatest classical college of the University, what have we to do with aeroplanes? I hope it is not our business to further the exploitation of mechanical toys.”

Jackson assumed the “rostrum” again.

“I don’t altogether agree with you,” he said, “about their being mechanical toys. There may be something in them after all. But I do agree with you that the study and construction of them should be conducted at their proper place and not at a University. One of Mackenzie’s gliders110, or so I think he calls them, came sailing in yesterday through the open window of my lecture-room, followed a moment afterwards by Mackenzie himself without a word of apology. I think, however, he caught my next sentence, ‘After this most unseemly interruption’.... He was meant to in any case. I had a good mind to chuck a Thucydides through the window of his lecture-room and see what he made of that.”

“He wouldn’t make much of Thucydides,” said Butler witheringly. “He said to me the other day that he thanked God he hadn’t wasted a minute of his life in learning Greek. Latin he appeared to have learned for his own amusement: he liked reading Horace, he told me.”

“Turning the classics into a mere hobby,” said Waters, “and reading, I make no doubt, without notes or a dictionary, much as you read a French novel.”

“Amazing!” said Jackson, with his head on one side. “And the worst of it all is that he seems to have got some sort of hold over the undergraduates which is{40} altogether irregular and unseemly. They talk to him as if he was a slightly senior undergraduate himself. No sort of good can come out of such relationships. A don is a teacher, and an undergraduate is a learner. They must both keep their proper places or the whole University system is undermined.”

“That’s the danger in having young men as fellows,” said Alison, “who have no sense of their positions and dignity. There’s too much of that sort of thing. And it’s the same at other colleges.”

Jackson took up his cap and gown.

“Well, I think we know how to put a pretty firm foot down on it here,” he said. “Master Mackenzie will find that his gliders and his dinner at eight aren’t looked very warmly on. By the way, young Linnet played a fine innings the other day against Middlesex, and he showed me up an uncommonly good piece of Greek prose this week. Cricket and Greek. I wish the undergraduates would stick to them. Then we shouldn’t have much bother with fellows like Mackenzie.”

Waters took his watch from his pocket and absently wound it up, instead of looking at the time.

“I was dipping into a play by that obscene Scandinavian dramatist the other day,” he said, “and found a line about the younger generation knocking at the door. Hedda Gabler was it?—anyhow there was a vast lot of gabble.”

“Obscene?” said Alison. “Isn’t that rather a strong word?”

“It was rather strong stuff: that is why I chose the word.”

“I should have said that piffle was nearer the mark,” said Jackson with an air of complete finality.

“I beg to second that motion, if we’re talking about Ibsen,” said Butler. “But I propose as an amendment{41} that we don’t talk about Ibsen. Why talk about Ibsen?”

“Well, we won’t,” said Waters. “I delete the obscene Scandinavian, and remark on my own account that the younger generation does seem to me to be knocking at the door.”

Jackson put on his gown.

“Sport your oak, then, my dear fellow,” he said, “and go on with your Plato. And shut your windows against Mackenzie’s gliders. Cambridge is all right, there’s life in the old dog yet, and a good set of teeth too, if there’s going to be any question of its dinner. Well, I must go. Very pleasant evening, Butler. Good-night, all of you.”

His firm step descended111 the uncarpeted flight of stairs outside in gradual diminuendo, and Alison, as it was Saturday night, took another glass of “his own,” before going to bed.

“Linnet’s a very attractive fellow,” he said. “I like both him and Lethbridge. But some of those first and second year men are rather a poisonous lot. You know the crew I mean, they run that new paper called Camouflage112.”

“Camouflage?” asked Butler.

“Yes, French word, with an allusion113 to the Cam, I conjecture114. I looked it up in a dictionary. It’s the art of concealment115 with intent to deceive, to put it generally. ‘Evasion,’ you might possibly render it by ‘Evasion.’ Haven’t you come across the paper?”

“I am afraid that my reading does not embrace those usually very callow periodicals,” said Butler. “Pray widen my restricted horizon.”

“Well, I have glanced at a number or two of it. I should suppress it if I was the Vice-Chancellor, but I{42} don’t deny it’s got a good deal of cleverness. It’s all misdirected cleverness. There was a really very neat piece of Platonic dialogue directed against the teaching of classical languages. There was an interview in the style of the Daily Mail with Villon, that French vagabond rhymster, you know. There was also a poem called ‘Ode to a Pair of Trousers’ couched in Swinburnian language of almost licentious116 passion. The key to it lay in the last stanza117, in which you found out that it was supposed to be written by the poet on a frosty morning after a cold bath. That explained the ‘softness of thy warm embrace, the clinging of thy leg,’ and the rest of it. The poet merely wanted to get his clothes on again. Rather neat, rather in the C.S.C. style.”

“I cannot at the moment recall anything of Calverley’s that seems to resemble your very vivid précis,” said Butler icily. “And with your permission, I think I will not invest money or time in the purchase and perusal118 of Camouflage. But without hearing more I am completely in accord with your inclination119 to suppress it.”

Alison’s second indulgence in port and water had roused him to a certain Liberalism that usually hibernated120.

“I wish sometimes we could get more into touch with the undergraduates,” he said. “We know about their games to some extent, and we know what their classical reading consists of, and we look over their compositions. But there our knowledge of them and their education abruptly121 ceases, unless they get into trouble through not keeping chapels122, or making a row, or smoking in the quadrangle. You, for instance, just now, Butler, wanted to know no more about Camouflage or its authors.{43}”

Butler poured himself out a glass of whisky and soda. This, too, was in celebration of Saturday night.

“My dear fellow,” he said, “your admirable description of the Ode was quite enough for me as regards Camouflage. I should like it immediately suppressed. As for the authors, you yourself said they were a poisonous lot.”

“I know I did. But I wonder if one could not learn more about the poison, and perhaps supply an antidote123. Indeed, what if it isn’t poison?”

“I am content to take your word that it is,” said Butler, yawning. Conversation about undergraduates always bored him, for it was not they, to his mind, whom Cambridge connoted. Cambridge meant to him the life lived by himself and his colleagues, the mild scholarly discussion, the gentle, ignorant patronization or criticism of the outer world, the leisure, the port, the dignity of the community of teachers. Naturally his life was concerned also with undergraduates, but only to the extent that he taught and lectured them at fixed124 hours, and when necessary rebuked125.

But more advanced ideas still floated vaguely126 in Alison’s mind, as he rose to go.

“Sometimes I have certain doubts about our educational system,” he observed.

“Get rid of them,” said Butler, booming from his impregnable fortress.

 

While this decorous pleasure-party of the Olympians was in progress, another by no means less pleasurable, though far less Olympian, had been going on partly in Birds’s room, partly in Jim’s, just across the passage. Two or three people had strolled in to see Birds after Hall, two or three more to see Jim, with the effect that there had been an amalgamation127 and a game of poker128.{44} Those who did not care to play poker, refreshed themselves with cigarettes and conversation and whisky and soda, and a rather neat booby-trap had been set over the door into Birds’s bedroom. Jelf of the poisonous set, and editor of Camouflage, had devised this, and subsequently forgetting about it, and going into Birds’s bedroom to fetch another glass, had got caught by it himself, and was now brushing carbolic tooth powder out of his hair. Then Birds, who at the moment was playing poker in Jim’s room, had come in, and by way of reprisal129 had thrown the rest of the tooth-powder in Jelf’s face, who had sneezed without intermission for ten minutes.

But the ragging had not gone further than that, and now the party had broken up, leaving only Jelf and Badsley with the owners of the rooms. Jelf was a tall, merry-faced, ugly boy, whose hair when not pink with tooth-powder was black. He wore it long and lanky130, with the design, which perfectly131 succeeded, of annoying those who conformed to the custom of short hair. He wore extraordinarily132 shabby clothes and professed133 views of the wildest immorality134 for analogous135 reasons.

“And if I find long black hairs in my brush to-morrow,” said Birds, alluding136 to these incidents, “I shall make you eat them. Why don’t you get your hair cut like ordinary people?”

“Because then I should no longer annoy ordinary people. I say, Camouflage is going to be lovely next week. I’ve written a defence of Polygamy. There’s a polygamous tribe in West Africa whose average length of life is seventy-eight. I attribute that to polygamy.”

“Don’t believe it,” said Birds.

“You haven’t read my article yet, so you do{45}n’t know. It’s style that makes you believe things, and I’ve put it very convincingly with quotations from Taylor’s ‘Anthropology’ and the ‘Golden Bough,’ and Legros’ Travels. No one will turn the passages up, and if they did they wouldn’t find them, because they don’t exist. But it’s all damned scientifically put.”

“Do you mean you made the whole thing up?” asked Jim.

“Yes, my child. As I say, it’s all a question of style. You’ll believe it all right. And then there’s another rather neat rag, if you’ll promise not to tell anybody.”

“Right.”

“I’ve printed a French poem by Victor Hugo, and signed it with my initials.”

“What’s the point?”

“Why, I shall take a copy very diffidently to Butler, and ask him what he thinks of my French. And I bet you five to one that he says that I had better learn prosody137 before I attempt to write French verse, or words to that effect. Anyone take it?”

It seemed so perfectly certain that Butler would say words to that effect that not the wildest gambler would entertain such a hazard.

“And then you’ll tell him?” asked Jim.

“Of course not, but it’ll leak out somehow. I shall tell Mackenzie and he’ll do the rest. I wonder why the dons object to me so much? At least, I know why. They think I’m pulling their sacred legs. The Ode to the Trousers annoyed them awfully138. They thought it was going to be obscene, and suffered a bitter disappointment.”

Robin139 sat down on the floor.

“Don’t see what you’re playing at,” he said. “I{46}t’s perfectly easy to be unpopular, and you take such a lot of trouble about it.”

“There you’re wrong,” said Jelf. “You couldn’t be unpopular if you tried, Birds. Your hair is nice and short and you’ve a clean face and shave every morning, and play cricket and are exactly like everybody else.”

“Sooner be like that than like you,” said Robin politely.

“You couldn’t be like me, if you tried, simply because you can’t think for yourself. You accept all that you’ve been brought up in, like a dear little good boy, eating the dinner that’s given him, and saying his grace afterwards. Being born an Englishman together with Eton and Cambridge has made you precisely what you are, which is exactly the same as Badders and Jim. You do what you’re told without ever asking why. Britannia rules the waves, and church is at eleven on Sunday morning, but you may play lawn-tennis in the afternoon.”

Jelf got up and waved his arms wildly.

“You’re all cast in one mould,” he said, “and Lord, how I should like to break it. Here you sit, you and Badders and Jim, and Badders is going to be a schoolmaster, because his father was, and Jim is going to be a clergyman for the same reason, and you’re going to be a bloody140 lord. Gosh! That’s why you get on so well, simply because you never think. And you never think because you can’t. Happy England! Our national stupidity is the basis of our national prosperity.”

“That comes out of ‘Intentions,’” remarked Badsley.

“I daresay it does, but anyhow, they’re not good intentions, which are invariably fatal. But none of you have got any intentions at all, except to be smug{47} and comfortable and stereotyped141. There’s Badders with his girls, and Birds with his cricket, and Jim—well, I don’t know what Jim’s with. He’s usually with Birds.”

“After all, we seem to annoy you without taking any trouble about it,” remarked Badsley, “and you have to take a great deal of trouble to annoy anybody. You’ve got to grow your hair long, and copy out Victor Hugo, and run a paper that nobody reads.”

“But I can’t help it: I must make a protest against respectability. Respectability carried to such a pitch as St. Stephen’s carries it to is simply indecent. Nobody ever gets drunk except me, and I not frequently because I hate feeling unwell afterwards. It’s so degrading to be sick even in a good cause. Why don’t we keep mistresses? Why does nobody do anything that he shouldn’t according to collegiate standards? Atheism142 too: Why no atheists? And all the time I’ve got a horrible feeling that I’m really just the same as any of you.”

“You need not, I assure you,” said Birds in the Butler voice, “be under any mistaken misapprehensions about that.”

“But I am. I argue and protest, but at bottom——”

“Oh, kick it, somebody,” said Badsley.

Jim went and stood in front of the fireplace with his head on one side.

“The question is how we shall make Jelf more like us,” he said. “Shall we begin by cutting his hair or shaving him, or——”

There was a wild rush across the room and Jelf jumped out of the window on to the grass outside.

“Cowards!” he said, and ran to his room and locked himself in.

Birds, who had just failed to catch Jelf before he{48} jumped out of the window, came back into the room.

“And the rum thing is that though he talks such awful piffle, he’s about right,” he said. “We don’t think. I say, his Victor Hugo rag is rather a good one.”

“Top-hole. But what is there to think about except the things that everybody thinks about?”

“Dunno. But somehow he finds them. Do you remember when there was flue here before Easter, and he went round with a handcart and a bell, calling out, ‘Bring out your dead’? That did me a lot of good.”

Badsley yawned.

“I’m going to be a schoolmaster because the governor is,” he remarked, “and Jim’s going to be a clergyman, and Birds is going to be a lord. Jelf’s about right. And to-morrow will be Sunday, so I’m going to bed to-day!”

Birds and Jim were left alone, and Birds began undressing.

“I think I shall begin by being an atheist,” he said. “How am I to start? But it is true that we all do what everybody else does. Are you going to breakfast with me to-morrow, or I with you? I forget whose turn it is.”

“Yours. And we can’t think, at least I can’t. If I sat down to think I shouldn’t know what to think about. All the same——”

Jim took a turn up and down the room, trying to frame words to the idea in his mind.

“He’s rather Puck-like, is Jelf,” he said. “I don’t think he’s really human. He thinks that people who aren’t epigrammatic, don’t feel. I doubt if he likes anybody—really likes, I mean. You aren’t good for much if you don’t.{49}”

“That’s what makes him want to pull things down,” said Birds, following vaguely the train of thought. “He can destroy all right; he makes you think nothing’s up to much. But he doesn’t give you anything instead. Lord! I wish I’d been a bit quicker and caught him before he went through the window.”

He strolled whistling away into his own room.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
2 ace IzHzsp     
n.A牌;发球得分;佼佼者;adj.杰出的
参考例句:
  • A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
  • He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。
3 dummy Jrgx7     
n.假的东西;(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头
参考例句:
  • The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹,只是一个假货。
  • The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。
4 doctrine Pkszt     
n.教义;主义;学说
参考例句:
  • He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
  • The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。
5 attained 1f2c1bee274e81555decf78fe9b16b2f     
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况)
参考例句:
  • She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
  • Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。
6 maturity 47nzh     
n.成熟;完成;(支票、债券等)到期
参考例句:
  • These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
  • This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。
7 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
8 eschewed a097c9665434728005bf47a98e726329     
v.(尤指为道德或实际理由而)习惯性避开,回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I eschewed upbraiding, I curtailed remonstrance. 我避免责备,少作规劝。 来自辞典例句
  • Moreover, she has a business plan, an accessory eschewed by cavalier counterparts. 此外,她还有商业计划,这是彬彬有礼的男设计师们回避的一点。 来自互联网
9 cult 3nPzm     
n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜
参考例句:
  • Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书,但有一定的崇拜者。
  • The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。
10 creed uoxzL     
n.信条;信念,纲领
参考例句:
  • They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
  • Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。
11 renderings 8a4618ebf038a0afc6e34b50d256c554     
n.(戏剧或乐曲的)演奏( rendering的名词复数 );扮演;表演;翻译作品
参考例句:
  • Research about the usability of architectural renderings supports this notion. 关于建筑渲染的可用性研究支持上面提到的这种观点。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • Note: Attached Bugatti renderings are for illustrative purposes only. 注:附加布加迪渲染是仅用于说明的目的。 来自互联网
12 rendering oV5xD     
n.表现,描写
参考例句:
  • She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
  • His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。
13 platonic 5OMxt     
adj.精神的;柏拉图(哲学)的
参考例句:
  • Their friendship is based on platonic love.他们的友情是基于柏拉图式的爱情。
  • Can Platonic love really exist in real life?柏拉图式的爱情,在现实世界里到底可能吗?
14 cram 6oizE     
v.填塞,塞满,临时抱佛脚,为考试而学习
参考例句:
  • There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
  • The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的,再也挤不进去人了。
15 plentifully f6b211d13287486e1bf5cd496d4f9f39     
adv. 许多地,丰饶地
参考例句:
  • The visitors were plentifully supplied with food and drink. 给来宾准备了丰富的食物和饮料。
  • The oil flowed plentifully at first, but soon ran out. 起初石油大量涌出,但很快就枯竭了。
16 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
17 specimen Xvtwm     
n.样本,标本
参考例句:
  • You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
  • This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。
18 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
19 solely FwGwe     
adv.仅仅,唯一地
参考例句:
  • Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
  • The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。
20 conqueror PY3yI     
n.征服者,胜利者
参考例句:
  • We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。
  • They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。
21 salvation nC2zC     
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困
参考例句:
  • Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
  • Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。
22 conspirator OZayz     
n.阴谋者,谋叛者
参考例句:
  • We started abusing him,one conspirator after another adding his bitter words.我们这几个预谋者一个接一个地咒骂他,恶狠狠地骂个不停。
  • A conspirator is not of the stuff to bear surprises.谋反者是经不起惊吓的。
23 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的,有理的
参考例句:
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
24 mathematicians bca28c194cb123ba0303d3afafc32cb4     
数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗? 来自英汉文学
  • Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分
25 prominence a0Mzw     
n.突出;显著;杰出;重要
参考例句:
  • He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
  • This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。
26 heresy HdDza     
n.异端邪说;异教
参考例句:
  • We should denounce a heresy.我们应该公开指责异端邪说。
  • It might be considered heresy to suggest such a notion.提出这样一个观点可能会被视为异端邪说。
27 gravel s6hyT     
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
参考例句:
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
28 discreetly nuwz8C     
ad.(言行)审慎地,慎重地
参考例句:
  • He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇,一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
  • Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么,有意避开了。
29 quotation 7S6xV     
n.引文,引语,语录;报价,牌价,行情
参考例句:
  • He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
  • The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。
30 incense dcLzU     
v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气
参考例句:
  • This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
  • In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。
31 resonance hBazC     
n.洪亮;共鸣;共振
参考例句:
  • Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
  • The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。
32 sardonic jYyxL     
adj.嘲笑的,冷笑的,讥讽的
参考例句:
  • She gave him a sardonic smile.她朝他讥讽地笑了一笑。
  • There was a sardonic expression on her face.她脸上有一种嘲讽的表情。
33 overture F4Lza     
n.前奏曲、序曲,提议,提案,初步交涉
参考例句:
  • The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
  • His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。
34 tempo TqEy3     
n.(音乐的)速度;节奏,行进速度
参考例句:
  • The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
  • They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。
35 requisite 2W0xu     
adj.需要的,必不可少的;n.必需品
参考例句:
  • He hasn't got the requisite qualifications for the job.他不具备这工作所需的资格。
  • Food and air are requisite for life.食物和空气是生命的必需品。
36 sarcastic jCIzJ     
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的
参考例句:
  • I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
  • She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。
37 sonata UwgwB     
n.奏鸣曲
参考例句:
  • He played a piano sonata of his own composition.他弹奏了一首自作的钢琴奏鸣曲。
  • The young boy played the violin sonata masterfully.那个小男孩的小提琴奏鸣曲拉得很熟练。
38 streak UGgzL     
n.条理,斑纹,倾向,少许,痕迹;v.加条纹,变成条纹,奔驰,快速移动
参考例句:
  • The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
  • Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹?
39 streaked d67e6c987d5339547c7938f1950b8295     
adj.有条斑纹的,不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 );使布满条纹
参考例句:
  • The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白,脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句
40 epithet QZHzY     
n.(用于褒贬人物等的)表述形容词,修饰语
参考例句:
  • In "Alfred the Great","the Great"is an epithet.“阿尔弗雷德大帝”中的“大帝”是个称号。
  • It is an epithet that sums up my feelings.这是一个简洁地表达了我思想感情的形容词。
41 protracted 7bbc2aee17180561523728a246b7f16b     
adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争,我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
42 tuning 8700ed4820c703ee62c092f05901ecfc     
n.调谐,调整,调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
43 judgments 2a483d435ecb48acb69a6f4c4dd1a836     
判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判
参考例句:
  • A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
  • He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。
44 uncommonly 9ca651a5ba9c3bff93403147b14d37e2     
adv. 稀罕(极,非常)
参考例句:
  • an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
  • My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。
45 sweeping ihCzZ4     
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的
参考例句:
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
46 considerably 0YWyQ     
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上
参考例句:
  • The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
  • The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。
47 incompetent JcUzW     
adj.无能力的,不能胜任的
参考例句:
  • He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
  • He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。
48 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
49 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
50 canvasses 5253681b88c7a06c50d5c4b666cc3160     
n.检票员,游说者,推销员( canvass的名词复数 )v.(在政治方面)游说( canvass的第三人称单数 );调查(如选举前选民的)意见;为讨论而提出(意见等);详细检查
参考例句:
  • He canvasses by singing, and the votes have really increased a lot. 他唱歌为自己拉票,票数还真是增长了不少呢。 来自互联网
  • Even the canvasses on the restaurant's walls are up for sale. 连餐厅墙上的绘画作品也能出售。 来自互联网
51 pictorial PuWy6     
adj.绘画的;图片的;n.画报
参考例句:
  • The had insisted on a full pictorial coverage of the event.他们坚持要对那一事件做详尽的图片报道。
  • China Pictorial usually sells out soon after it hits the stands.《人民画报》往往一到报摊就销售一空。
52 scenic aDbyP     
adj.自然景色的,景色优美的
参考例句:
  • The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
  • The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。
53 dabbed c669891a6c15c8a38e0e41e9d8a2804d     
(用某物)轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 ); 轻而快地擦掉(或抹掉); 快速擦拭; (用某物)轻而快地涂上(或点上)…
参考例句:
  • She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. 她轻轻擦了几下眼睛,擤了擤鼻涕。
  • He dabbed at the spot on his tie with a napkin. 他用餐巾快速擦去领带上的污点。
54 advent iKKyo     
n.(重要事件等的)到来,来临
参考例句:
  • Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
  • The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。
55 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地
参考例句:
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及,但程度较轻。
56 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
57 pessimism r3XzM     
n.悲观者,悲观主义者,厌世者
参考例句:
  • He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
  • There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。
58 robust FXvx7     
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的
参考例句:
  • She is too tall and robust.她个子太高,身体太壮。
  • China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道,中国希望保持经济强势增长,以减少贫困和失业状况。
59 vigour lhtwr     
(=vigor)n.智力,体力,精力
参考例句:
  • She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情,有朝气。
  • At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。
60 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
61 alluded 69f7a8b0f2e374aaf5d0965af46948e7     
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中,你提到了某个阴谋。
  • She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。
62 elasticity 8jlzp     
n.弹性,伸缩力
参考例句:
  • The skin eventually loses its elasticity.皮肤最终会失去弹性。
  • Every sort of spring has a definite elasticity.每一种弹簧都有一定的弹性。
63 petals f346ae24f5b5778ae3e2317a33cd8d9b     
n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
  • The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
64 abiding uzMzxC     
adj.永久的,持久的,不变的
参考例句:
  • He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
  • He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。
65 magenta iARx0     
n..紫红色(的染料);adj.紫红色的
参考例句:
  • In the one photo in which she appeared, Hillary Clinton wore a magenta gown.在其中一张照片中,希拉里身着一件紫红色礼服。
  • For the same reason air information is printed in magenta.出于同样的原因,航空资料采用品红色印刷。
66 flux sg4zJ     
n.流动;不断的改变
参考例句:
  • The market is in a constant state of flux.市场行情在不断变化。
  • In most reactors,there is a significant flux of fast neutrons.在大部分反应堆中都有一定强度的快中子流。
67 crumble 7nRzv     
vi.碎裂,崩溃;vt.弄碎,摧毁
参考例句:
  • Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
  • Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂,意志永不动摇。
68 corroding 81181f26793e525ddb60be5a5847af9e     
使腐蚀,侵蚀( corrode的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • That sour nature has started corroding those metal parts. 那酸质已开始腐蚀那金属部件。
  • He was driven by a corroding rage for "perfection". 他受追求“完美境界”的极端热情所驱策。
69 fortress Mf2zz     
n.堡垒,防御工事
参考例句:
  • They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
  • The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。
70 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
71 defensive buszxy     
adj.防御的;防卫的;防守的
参考例句:
  • Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题,使她警觉起来。
  • The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。
72 sanctuary iCrzE     
n.圣所,圣堂,寺庙;禁猎区,保护区
参考例句:
  • There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
  • Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
73 sequestering 291d581ff3779bbedbe412d580940f13     
v.使隔绝,使隔离( sequester的现在分词 );扣押
参考例句:
  • Once installed the wood at further reducing carbon through the sequestering process. 本木料一旦植入,将通过一系列物理化学过程进一步有效降低碳量。 来自互联网
  • Sequestration and dispersion force of different kinds of sequestering a-gent are tested. 本文分别测定了几种不同类型络合剂的络合能力和分散能力。 来自互联网
74 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。
75 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣;享有;享用
参考例句:
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
76 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系]
参考例句:
  • The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
  • The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候,这一男一女就开始交往了。
77 choir sX0z5     
n.唱诗班,唱诗班的席位,合唱团,舞蹈团;v.合唱
参考例句:
  • The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
  • The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。
78 garrison uhNxT     
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防
参考例句:
  • The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
  • The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。
79 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
80 gallant 66Myb     
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的
参考例句:
  • Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
  • These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。
81 paraphernalia AvqyU     
n.装备;随身用品
参考例句:
  • Can you move all your paraphernalia out of the way?你可以把所有的随身物品移开吗?
  • All my fishing paraphernalia is in the car.我的鱼具都在汽车里。
82 interspersed c7b23dadfc0bbd920c645320dfc91f93     
adj.[医]散开的;点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
  • The grass was interspersed with beds of flowers. 草地上点缀着许多花坛。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
83 quotations c7bd2cdafc6bfb4ee820fb524009ec5b     
n.引用( quotation的名词复数 );[商业]行情(报告);(货物或股票的)市价;时价
参考例句:
  • The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
84 trumps 22c5470ebcda312e395e4d85c40b03f7     
abbr.trumpets 喇叭;小号;喇叭形状的东西;喇叭筒v.(牌戏)出王牌赢(一牌或一墩)( trump的过去式 );吹号公告,吹号庆祝;吹喇叭;捏造
参考例句:
  • On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
85 inditing 5d1c2077b2dd233367d09bf96f01bf80     
v.写(文章,信等)创作,赋诗,创作( indite的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The inditing experiments of searching-root writers and the attempts of avant-grade authors embody these two aspects. 这两个层面又集中体现在寻根派作家的创作实践与先锋作家群的尝试中。 来自互联网
  • Network literature has definite appreciating values, meanwhile, it has obvious aesthetic defects in inditing. 网络文学在具有一定的观赏性的同时,也有着不可回避的创作审美缺陷。 来自互联网
86 fragrant z6Yym     
adj.芬香的,馥郁的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
  • The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。
87 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。
88 refreshing HkozPQ     
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的
参考例句:
  • I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
  • The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼,特别解乏提神。
89 soda cr3ye     
n.苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
  • I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
90 recondite oUCxf     
adj.深奥的,难解的
参考例句:
  • Her poems are modishly experimental in style and recondite in subject-matter.她的诗在风格上是时髦的实验派,主题艰深难懂。
  • To a craftsman,the ancient article with recondite and scholastic words was too abstruse to understand.可是对一个车轮师父而言,这些之乎者也的文言文是太深而难懂的。
91 chapel UXNzg     
n.小教堂,殡仪馆
参考例句:
  • The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
  • She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午,她在小教堂的演出,可以说是登峰造极。
92 hymn m4Wyw     
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌
参考例句:
  • They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌,赞美上帝。
  • The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。
93 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
94 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
95 libretto p9NzU     
n.歌剧剧本,歌曲歌词
参考例句:
  • The printed libretto was handsomely got up.这本印刷的歌剧剧本装帧得很美观。
  • On the other hand,perhaps there is something to be said for the convenience of downloading a libretto in one's own home rather than looking for it in a library or book store.但是反过来看,或许尤为重要的是如果网
96 pugnaciously 32e00e0b40732bc150b0f136b73dc4e8     
参考例句:
97 pastor h3Ozz     
n.牧师,牧人
参考例句:
  • He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
  • We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师:教会的事是由五位执事管理的。
98 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
99 incisively af4848b0f0c0a4cc2ff16c4dcb88bdac     
adv.敏锐地,激烈地
参考例句:
  • Incisively, she said, "I have no idea." 斩截地:“那可不知道。” 来自汉英文学 - 围城
  • He was incisively critical. 他受到了尖锐的批评。 来自互联网
100 hissing hissing     
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
  • His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
101 steadfast 2utw7     
adj.固定的,不变的,不动摇的;忠实的;坚贞不移的
参考例句:
  • Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
  • He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。
102 crumbs crumbs     
int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式
参考例句:
  • She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
  • Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊,天哪!都这会儿啦?
103 purges 8473af04e66433ec93381f0362f6b552     
清除异己( purge的名词复数 ); 整肃(行动); 清洗; 泻药
参考例句:
  • Mandelshtam perished in the purges of the 1930s, Akhmatova remained silent. 曼杰利什坦姆在30年代的清洗中死去,阿赫玛托娃也销声匿迹。
  • He purges his subconscious and meditates only on God. 他净化他的潜意识且只思念上帝。
104 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
105 exclusion 1hCzz     
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行
参考例句:
  • Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
  • He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球,其他运动一概不参加。
106 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。
107 apprehensions 86177204327b157a6d884cdb536098d8     
疑惧
参考例句:
  • He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
  • But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而,随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。
108 undesirable zp0yb     
adj.不受欢迎的,不良的,不合意的,讨厌的;n.不受欢迎的人,不良分子
参考例句:
  • They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
  • Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。
109 dissertation PlezS     
n.(博士学位)论文,学术演讲,专题论文
参考例句:
  • He is currently writing a dissertation on the Somali civil war.他目前正在写一篇关于索马里内战的论文。
  • He was involved in writing his doctoral dissertation.他在聚精会神地写他的博士论文。
110 gliders a7deb46dbc14e35d759f16adee20c410     
n.滑翔机( glider的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The albatross is the king of gliders. 信天翁是滑翔鸟类之王。 来自《用法词典》
  • For three summers, may bested and improved their gliders. 他们花了三个夏天不断地测试、改进。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
111 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
112 camouflage NsnzR     
n./v.掩饰,伪装
参考例句:
  • The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
  • The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。
113 allusion CfnyW     
n.暗示,间接提示
参考例句:
  • He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
  • She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。
114 conjecture 3p8z4     
n./v.推测,猜测
参考例句:
  • She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
  • This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。
115 concealment AvYzx1     
n.隐藏, 掩盖,隐瞒
参考例句:
  • the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
  • Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来,待危险过去后再出来。
116 licentious f3NyG     
adj.放纵的,淫乱的
参考例句:
  • She felt uncomfortable for his licentious act.她对他放肆的行为感到有点不舒服。
  • The licentious monarch helped bring about his country's downfall.这昏君荒淫无道,加速了这个国家的灭亡。
117 stanza RFoyc     
n.(诗)节,段
参考例句:
  • We omitted to sing the second stanza.我们漏唱了第二节。
  • One young reporter wrote a review with a stanza that contained some offensive content.一个年轻的记者就歌词中包含有攻击性内容的一节写了评论。
118 perusal mM5xT     
n.细读,熟读;目测
参考例句:
  • Peter Cooke undertook to send each of us a sample contract for perusal.彼得·库克答应给我们每人寄送一份合同样本供阅读。
  • A perusal of the letters which we have published has satisfied him of the reality of our claim.读了我们的公开信后,他终于相信我们的要求的确是真的。
119 inclination Gkwyj     
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好
参考例句:
  • She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
  • I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。
120 hibernated 3dbc170372129d5b9a165429caaaf93a     
(某些动物)冬眠,蛰伏( hibernate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The insects have hibernated in beech mast on the ground. 一些昆虫在地上的山毛榉果实中冬眠。
  • Like most of the omnivorous animals, they hibernated only after storing enough energy. 跟大多数杂食性动物,它们只在储存了足够的能量后才冬眠。
121 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
122 chapels 93d40e7c6d7bdd896fdd5dbc901f41b8     
n.小教堂, (医院、监狱等的)附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 );(在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的)礼拜仪式
参考例句:
  • Both castles had their own chapels too, which was incredible to see. 两个城堡都有自己的礼拜堂,非常华美。 来自互联网
  • It has an ambulatory and seven chapels. 它有一条走廊和七个小教堂。 来自互联网
123 antidote 4MZyg     
n.解毒药,解毒剂
参考例句:
  • There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
  • Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。
124 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
125 rebuked bdac29ff5ae4a503d9868e9cd4d93b12     
责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The company was publicly rebuked for having neglected safety procedures. 公司因忽略了安全规程而受到公开批评。
  • The teacher rebuked the boy for throwing paper on the floor. 老师指责这个男孩将纸丢在地板上。
126 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。
127 amalgamation Zz9zAK     
n.合并,重组;;汞齐化
参考例句:
  • We look towards the amalgamation of some of the neighborhood factories.我们指望合并一些里弄工厂。
  • The proposed amalgamation of the two institutes has mow fallen through.这两个研究所打算合并的事现在已经落空了。
128 poker ilozCG     
n.扑克;vt.烙制
参考例句:
  • He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌,把钱都输光了。
  • I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了,可以玩些花样。
129 reprisal iCSyW     
n.报复,报仇,报复性劫掠
参考例句:
  • There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
  • They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。
130 lanky N9vzd     
adj.瘦长的
参考例句:
  • He was six feet four,all lanky and leggy.他身高6英尺4英寸,瘦高个儿,大长腿。
  • Tom was a lanky boy with long skinny legs.汤姆是一个腿很细的瘦高个儿。
131 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
132 extraordinarily Vlwxw     
adv.格外地;极端地
参考例句:
  • She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
  • The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨,大海出奇地宁静。
133 professed 7151fdd4a4d35a0f09eaf7f0f3faf295     
公开声称的,伪称的,已立誓信教的
参考例句:
  • These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
  • Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。
134 immorality 877727a0158f319a192e0d1770817c46     
n. 不道德, 无道义
参考例句:
  • All the churchmen have preached against immorality. 所有牧师都讲道反对不道德的行为。
  • Where the European sees immorality and lawlessness, strict law rules in reality. 在欧洲人视为不道德和无规则的地方,事实上都盛行着一种严格的规则。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
135 analogous aLdyQ     
adj.相似的;类似的
参考例句:
  • The two situations are roughly analogous.两种情況大致相似。
  • The company is in a position closely analogous to that of its main rival.该公司与主要竞争对手的处境极为相似。
136 alluding ac37fbbc50fb32efa49891d205aa5a0a     
提及,暗指( allude的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字,但是我确信他是暗指你的。
  • But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。
137 prosody IRGxA     
n.诗体论,作诗法
参考例句:
  • Both developed doctrine of prosody.他们作诗都有自己的理论。
  • The prosody of Beowulf is based on alliteration,not end rhymes.《贝奥武甫》的诗体采用头韵而不用尾韵。
138 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。
139 robin Oj7zme     
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟
参考例句:
  • The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
  • We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟,知道春天要到了。
140 bloody kWHza     
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染
参考例句:
  • He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
  • He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
141 stereotyped Dhqz9v     
adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的
参考例句:
  • There is a sameness about all these tales. They're so stereotyped -- all about talented scholars and lovely ladies. 这些书就是一套子,左不过是些才子佳人,最没趣儿。
  • He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past. 它们是恐怖电影和惊险小说中的老一套的怪物,并且与我们的祖先有着明显的(虽然可能没有科学的)联系。
142 atheism vvVzU     
n.无神论,不信神
参考例句:
  • Atheism is the opinion that there is no God.无神论是认为不存在上帝的看法。
  • Atheism is a hot topic.无神论是个热门话题。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533