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Chapter 5
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Templin leaned forward, tense. "If he had no enemies, why did he have no friends? You, for example, knew him longer and better than most. Why is it that you weren't his friend?"

Jathong looked unhappy, as if being forced to say something he wanted not to say. "Pendleton was kava—I cannot explain it. The concept is difficult. You would not understand."

He might be running the danger of throwing too many questions at Jathong, Eckert realized, and having him freeze up or turn vague. But it couldn't be helped. They had made no progress at all by subtlety2, and time would eventually run out.

He tried to broach3 the next question delicately. "Did Pendleton know any of the women of your race?"

"He knew some of the women, as he knew the men."

The answer didn't tell Eckert what he wanted to know. "Was he in love with any woman?" It sounded crude the way he put it, but it was hard to think of any other way of asking it.

Jathong looked at him incredulously, as if Eckert had asked him if Pendleton had had two heads.

"That would have been impossible. None of our women would have—could have—been in love with menshar Pendleton."

One line of inquiry4 just gone phht, Eckert thought. But Pendleton wasn't one to let a broken heart get him down anyway.

"Why not?" Templin cut in harshly. "He wasn't hard to look at and he would have made a good husband."

Jathong diplomatically turned around to face Templin. "I have told you once—Pendleton was kava. It would have been quite impossible."

The answer to what had happened to Pendleton probably lay in Jathong's inability to explain his own terms, Eckert believed. One could get just so close, and then the definitions became vague and useless.

He asked a few more questions and finally dismissed Jathong. The interview, like all the others he and Templin had held during the last week, had been worthless. They knew nothing more than they had when they landed.

"I still think they're lying," Templin said almost savagely5. "Or perhaps the ones who really know something haven't come around."

Eckert got his pipe and sat near the doorway6, letting the sunlight streaming through the foliage7 of a nearby tree dapple his face with a checkerboard pattern of modulated8 lights and velvety9 shadows.

"If they're evading11 us or if they're lying, then the society is a dangerous one for us. But I still can't believe it. They're not warlike. They don't seem to have many weapons and definitely none of an advanced type."

"How could anybody know for sure?"

Eckert methodically knocked the cold ashes out of his pipe and added more tobacco. "Easy. Despite what you read in story books, no civilization lives simply, governs itself simply, and yet possesses 'super-blasters.' The sword-and-blaster combination just doesn't exist. Any weapon above the level of bows and arrows or knives is the product of a well advanced technology. Along with weapons, of course, you have to have good communications. Now take an ordinary radio and think of the degree of knowledge, technology, and industrialization that would have to exist to supply it. There's nothing like that here."

Templin came over to the warmth streaming in through the doorway. "It almost seems that they're acting12 in concert, though—as if there were some kind of plot, where, by prearrangement, everybody knows exactly what to say."

"You're wrong again. You can practically smell a dictatorship or a tyranny, which is the only situation in which almost one hundred per cent of the population will follow the same line through fear of the consequences if they don't. In a situation like that, the people are frightened, unhappy. You can hardly say that's the case on Tunpesh."

"No," Templin admitted, "you couldn't. But, still, you have to admit that the answers we've received so far are just too unanimous—and too sketchy13. All agree that Pendleton was a fine fellow; all agree that he had no native friends."

Eckert nodded. "I'll go along with that. And I think it's time we did something about it. Tonight we'll have to start eliminating certain ideas."

He took a small case from their pile of luggage and opened it. Inside was a small, battery-powered box with various dials set on the front and the usual electrodes and nerve probes protruding14 from the sides and the top.

Templin looked at it with surprise.

"That will be dangerous to use, won't it?"

"It might be more dangerous not to. Time is getting to be a factor and we have to make some progress. We have a safety margin15 of a sort in that we can erase16 memories of its use, but the procedure is still risky17."

"Who do we use it on?"

"As long as we're going to use it," Eckert said grimly, "we might as well start at the top."

When they had started out, the investigation18 had seemed fairly simple to Eckert. There were two possibilities—either Pendleton had committed suicide or he had been murdered. Knowing Pendleton's record, the first possibility had seemed remote. A few weeks on Tunpesh had convinced him that the second possibility was also remote. One or the other had to be eliminated. The second would be the easiest.

There were other reasons as well. Templin was still convinced that Pendleton had been killed, and Templin was an emotional man with access to powerful weapons. The question was not what he might eventually do, but when.

The night looked as if it would be another rainy one. It was cooler than usual and dark clouds were scudding20 across the starlit sky. Eckert and Templin stood in the shadows of the house, watching the dark lane for any casual strollers. Eckert looked at his watch. A few minutes more and Nayova would come out for his evening walk.

Eckert had just started to think longingly21 of his bed and the warmth inside his house when the door opened and Nayova appeared in the opening. Eckert held his breath while the chieftain stood uncertainly in the doorway, testing the night air, and then let it out slowly when Nayova started down the lane.

They closed in on him.

"The menshars from Earth," he said without alarm. "Is there something you wish?"

"We would like you to come with us to our house for a while," Eckert started in.

Nayova looked puzzled. "I do not understand. Would not tomorrow do as well?"

"I'm afraid it'll have to be tonight."

Nayova was obviously not quite sure of their threat.

"No, I...."

Eckert caught him before he touched the ground. Templin took the rag off the butt22 of the needle gun, lifted the ruler's feet, and they disappeared into the brush along the lane.

They would have to sneak23 back to the house, Eckert knew, and hope that nobody saw them lugging24 the unconscious native. He laughed a little grimly to himself. Templin had expected cloak-and-dagger. It looked as if he was going to get more than his share of it, after all.

Once inside the house, Eckert arranged the electrodes and the small nerve probes on Nayova, who had come to.

"I am sorry," Eckert said formally, "but we find this necessary. You understand that we have to find out all we can about Pendleton. We have no choice."

He found it difficult to look the ruler in the face, even with the realization25 that this was strictly26 in the line of duty and that the chieftain would not be hurt.

"But I have cooperated with you in every way possible!" Nayova protested. "I have told you everything we know!"

"That's right," Templin said bluntly. "And now we're going to ask you the same questions."

Nayova looked blank for a moment and then reddened as he understood.

Templin turned to the dials on the little square box.

"We would like to know," Eckert said politely, "where you were two weeks ago at this time of night."

Nayova looked surprised. "You know that I was at the halera, the coming-of-age ceremony. You were there with me, as my guests. You should assuredly know I was there."

Eckert looked over at Templin, who nodded shortly. It had been a standard question, to test the apparatus27.

"Did Pendleton have any enemies here on Tunpesh?"

Nayova emphatically shook his head. "To the best of my knowledge, menshar Pendleton had no enemies here. He would have none."

Templin's face showed its disappointment.

"Who were his friends?"

"He had no friends."

Templin glowered28 angrily, but he said nothing.

Eckert frowned. The same answer—Pendleton had had no enemies and yet he had had no friends.

"Would you say he was well liked here?"

"I would say no."

"Why not?"

A shrug29. "It is hard to explain and you would not be able to understand."

"Did somebody here kill Pendleton?"

Eckert could hear Templin suck in his breath.

"No."

"Ask him that again," Templin cut in.

"Did somebody kill Pendleton?"

"No."

"Did Pendleton kill himself?"

A trace of disgust showed on Nayova's face.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I do not know."

Templin gestured to Eckert to take the box. "Let me ask him." He came around and faced the native. "Why did your people kill Pendleton?"

"We did not kill him. We had no reason to wish him harm."

"Do you expect us to believe that Pendleton killed himself? We knew him better than that."

"You may believe whatever you wish. But men change and perhaps he did. We did not kill him. Such an act would have been repugnant to us."

"I think that's enough," Eckert said calmly.

Templin bit his lip as Eckert touched another dial on the machine. Nayova suddenly jerked, looked blank, and slumped30 in the chair.

Eckert took off the electrodes. "Help me take him back, will you, Ray?"

They carried Nayova to his house, stayed with him until he showed signs of recovering, and then left.

"Why didn't you use a drug?" Templin demanded.

"Possible allergy31 or serum32 reaction. We don't know enough about these people to take chances—they're humanoid, not human."

"They can fool machines, though, can't they?"

Eckert didn't reply.

"All right, I know they can't," Templin said grudgingly33. "He was telling the truth all the time, wasn't he?"

Eckert nodded. "I never did think he was lying. They don't seem to be the type; their culture doesn't allow for it."

They were silent for a while, walking quietly in the lanes between the shuttered, seemingly untenanted houses.

"I'm glad," Templin said quietly. "It's off my mind. It's hard to believe that anybody here would ... deliberately34 kill somebody else."

Templin's reactions would be worth something now for Eckert to study. They wouldn't be inhibited35 by his conviction that the natives had murdered his best friend. Just what reactions and emotions he would display, Eckert wasn't sure, nor how Templin's psychology36, so similar to Pendleton's, would help solve the problem.

They had eliminated one possibility, but that still left them with the one they had started with.

Why had Pendleton taken the short way out?

A breeze scampered37 through the open door and played tag with the papers on the desk. Eckert swore without annoyance38 and calmly started chasing those that had been blown on the floor.

"What did Pendleton have to say in his reports?" Templin sat in the doorway, his eyes barely open. He had begun taking siestas39 in the early afternoon, after their usual light lunch. It was pleasant to sit on the worn wood and feel the warmth of sun and smell the crisp freshness of the outdoors, or maybe watch the kids playing in the lane, catching40 the butterflies that floated past in the afternoon air.

"About what you'd expect. Mostly reports on the industry, climate, system of government, and general anthropological41 information that he thought might prove interesting. As far as I can see, he didn't lack enthusiasm for making the reports. If anything, he grew more enthusiastic as time went on. He practically wrote us treatises42 on every phase of life on Tunpesh."

Templin's eyes closed all the way.

"Any indication in his reports that he didn't like it here?"

"Just the other way around. Everything points to the fact that he liked the climate, the people, the way they lived."

"I don't blame him," Templin murmured. "This is a lovely place to be. The climate is wonderful, the people are happy, hard-working. The society itself seems to be—perfect. Sometimes you can't help but compare it too damn favorably to Earth."

Eckert shoved the papers to one side and came over to where Templin sat. He felt rather lazy himself. The warmth and sunshine corroded43 ambition, as it did in most climates like this.

"You know, there isn't any crime here," Templin continued. He laughed to himself. "Except the minor44 crime wave we caused when we landed here five months ago. No criminals, no villains45 foreclosing mortgages, no gamblers bleeding the gullible46 white, and nobody trying to sell gold bricks. I can't get over it."

A butterfly flapped into the sunlight that glistened47 on his tunic48, like a drop of water on a piece of black velvet10. It hung there for a moment and then was off, its wings flashing.

Eckert watched it go in a sort of torpor49. It was pleasant to relax and slip the leash50 off your thoughts quietly and see where they took you. Maybe it was a sort of letdown. They had expected six months of danger in a potentially criminal culture, and instead it had been paradise.

As Templin said, you couldn't help but compare it to Earth. No greed, no belligerency, no contempt for the rights of others. No cynicism, no sarcasm51, and no trampling52 crowds in the stores. The little important things....

"Where did you go last night, Ray?"

Templin stirred. "A community meeting. Almost like a Quaker meeting. You get up and say what you think. The one last night was about some local government issues. They talked it over, decided53 what to do, and how much each person should contribute. The original democracy, Ted1."

Eckert was wide awake. "I wonder why I wasn't invited." He felt slightly put out that Templin should have been asked to something like that and he hadn't been.

"I wasn't invited," Templin said. "I invited myself."

"Have you noticed," Eckert mused54, "we haven't been invited to too many functions lately?"

"They know we're busy," Templin said lazily. "They're too polite to ask us to go some place if they thought we were busy doing something else."

"You like it here, don't you, Ray?"

Templin brushed idly at a marauding mosquito. "It took me pretty long to warm up to it, but I guess I do."

They only had a month left, Eckert knew—a month to do practically nothing but lie in the sun and watch the people. Oh, they could go through the motions of investigating and look over Pendleton's old records and reports, but there was nothing in them of any value.

He yawned and sat down and settled his back against the door frame. It began to look as if they'd never find out why Pendleton had done what he had. And it didn't seem to matter, somehow.

Eckert opened the door slowly. Templin was asleep on the bed, the sunlight lying in bands across his tanned, bare back. He had on a strip of white cloth, knotted at the waist in imitation of what the natives wore.

It was mussed now, and the knot had started to come loose.

He looked a lot healthier than he had when they had first landed. More peaceful, more content. He appeared to have gained ten pounds and shed, five years in the last six months.

And now the vacation was over. It was time to go back.

"Ray," Eckert called out to him softly.

Templin didn't stir, but continued his soft and very regular breathing.

Eckert found a book and dropped it on the floor with a thud. Templin woke up, but didn't move.

"What do you want, Ted?"

"How did you know it was me?"

Templin chuckled55, as if it were hugely funny. "Riddles56 yet. Who else would it be? No Tunpeshan would be rude enough to wake somebody up in the middle of a nap, so it had to be you."

"You know what you would have done if somebody had awakened57 you like that five months ago?"

Templin tried to nod, but was slightly handicapped by the bed underneath58 him. "I would have pulled my trusty atomgun and plugged him."

Eckert went over to where they kept their luggage and started pulling the boxes out from the wall. "Well, I've got good news for you. A liner just landed to pick us up. They were going through this sector59 and they got an order from the Service to stop by for us. Some cargo-wallopers will be here in a few minutes to help us with our gear."

"Ted."

Eckert paused.

"Yes?"

"I'm not going back."

"Why not?" Eckert's face had a look of almost clinical curiosity on it.

"Why should I? I like it here. I want to live here the rest of my life."

The pieces began to fall in place.

"I'm not so sure you'd like it, Ray. Not after a while. All your friends are back on Earth. Everybody you know is back there. It's just the novelty of something new and something different here. I've felt that way a lot of times in different cultures and different societies. You'd change your mind after a while."

"Those aren't reasons, Ted. Why should I go back to a world where most of the people are unhappy at some time and a few people all the time? As far as I'm concerned, Tunpesh is my home now, and I don't intend to leave it."

Eckert was fascinated. It was like a case history unfolding right before his eyes.

"Are you sure you would enjoy it here for the rest of your life? Have you made any friends to take the place of those back home?"

"It takes time to become acquainted, even more time to make friends," Templin said defensively.

"You can't desert the Service," Eckert pointed60 out. "You still have your duty."

Templin laughed in his pillow. "It won't work, Ted. Duty's just a catch word, a jingo phrase. They can get along without me and you know it."

"What about Pendleton, Ray? He died here, you know, in mysterious circumstances."

"Would going back help him any? He wasn't murdered; we know that. And why do people commit suicide? For what one of several thousand possible reasons did Pendleton? We don't know. We'll never know. And if we did know, what good would it do?"

He had changed a lot in six months, Eckert saw.

Too much.

"What if I told you I knew why Pendleton killed himself?" Eckert asked. "And that you would do the same if you stayed here?"

"Don't use it, Ted. It's poor psychology. It won't work."

The pieces made a perfect picture. But Templin was going back whether he wanted to or not. The only difficulty was that, deep underneath, Eckert sympathized with him. Perhaps if he had been younger, less experienced....

"Then you won't go back with us?"

Templin closed his eyes and rolled over on his back. "No."

There was dead silence. Templin could smell the piny scent61 of the woods and feel the warmth of soft sunlight that lanced through the blinds. Some place far away, there was the faint chatter62 of kids at play, but outside of that it was quiet.

Too quiet.

Templin opened his eyes in sudden alarm. "Ted! Don't!" He caught the gas full in the face and tumbled back on the bed, unconscious.

Eckert opened the hatch to the observation cabin as quietly as he could. Templin was seated on one of the pneumatic couches, staring soberly at a small yellow star in the black sky. He didn't look up.

"It's me, Ray," Eckert said.

Templin didn't move.

"I suppose I owe you an apology," Eckert began, "but I had to gas you to get you to leave. Otherwise you wouldn't have left. And the same thing would have happened to you that happened to Don Pendleton."

"You're sure of that?" Templin asked bitterly.

"Reasonably. You're a lot like Pendleton, you know. In fact, that's why you were selected to go—not so much because you knew him as the fact that psychologically you were a lot like him. We thought that by studying your response to situations there, we would have a picture of what Pendleton's must have been."

Templin didn't want to talk about it, Eckert realized, but it had to be explained to him.

"Do you want to know why Pendleton killed himself?"

Templin shrugged63 listlessly.

"I suppose we should have seen it right away," Eckert continued. "Any race that is so happy with their way of life that they show no curiosity about strangers, the way they live, or what possessions they have, must have something to be happy about. Tunpesh is something that might happen only once in a thousand civilizations, maybe less, Ray.

"The environment is perfection and so are the people, or at least as near to perfection as it's possible to get. An intelligent people who have as much technology as they desire, living simply with themselves and each other. A fluke of nature, perhaps. No criminals, no insane, no neurotics64. A perfect cultural pattern. Tunpesh is a paradise. You didn't want to leave, neither did I, and neither did Pendleton."

Templin turned on him. "So it was paradise. Would it have been criminal if I had stayed there? Who would it have hurt?"

"It would have hurt you," Eckert said gravely. "Because the Tunpeshans would never have accepted you. We're too different, Ray. We're too aggressive, too pushy65, too persistent66. We're not—perfect. You see, no matter how long we stayed there, we would never have fit in. We lived in a harsh society and we bear the scars of it. Our own environment has conditioned us, and we can't change. Oh, we could try, but it would crop up in little ways. Because of that, the natives could never genuinely like us. We'd never belong. Their own cultural pattern wouldn't allow them to accept us.

"Their cultural pattern is like the Fire and the Sword that were placed outside the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve were driven out, to keep it sacrosanct67. If you're an outsider, you stay outside. You can never come in."

He paused a moment, waiting for Templin to say something. Templin didn't.

"The natives have a word for it, Kava. It means, I suppose, different—not necessarily inferior, just different. We should have seen it as time went on. We weren't invited places; they seemed to avoid us. A natural reaction for them, I guess I have to admit."

Eckert cleared his throat huskily. "You see, what happened to Pendleton," he continued awkwardly, "is that he fell in love with paradise, but paradise would have nothing to do with him. By the time three years were up, he knew that he was an outcast in Eden. And he couldn't leave, to come back and try to forget. He was stranded68 in paradise and had to look forward to spending four more years there as a pariah69. He couldn't do it. And neither could you."

He was quiet for a moment, thinking of the cool, scented70 air and the warm sunshine and the happy kids playing on the grassy71 lanes.

"I suppose it didn't affect you at all, did it?" Templin asked venomously.

A shadow crossed Eckert's face. "You should know better than that, Ray. Do you think I'll ever forget it? Do you think I'll ever be satisfied with my own culture again?"

"What are you going to do about it?"

"It's dangerous to human beings, Ray. Looking at it brutally72, their culture has killed two of our people as surely as if Tunpesh were populated by murderous savages73. We'll probably send a larger commission, throw it open to commerce, try to change it."

Templin gripped the sides of the couch, his face strained and tense with anxiety. "What happens to it depends on the report you make, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does."

"Then make up something in your report. Say the climate is bad for Earthmen. Say anything, but don't let them change Tunpesh!"

Eckert looked at him for a long moment, remembering.

"Okay, Ray," he said slowly. "We'll leave paradise alone. Strictly alone. It'll be put on the quarantine list."

He turned and left.

Behind him, Templin swiveled around in his chair and gazed bleakly74 at the tiny mote19 of yellow fading in the blackness of space.

The End

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ted 9gazhs     
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
参考例句:
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
2 subtlety Rsswm     
n.微妙,敏锐,精巧;微妙之处,细微的区别
参考例句:
  • He has shown enormous strength,great intelligence and great subtlety.他表现出充沛的精力、极大的智慧和高度的灵活性。
  • The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience.大多数听众都没有觉察到他讲话的微妙之处。
3 broach HsTzn     
v.开瓶,提出(题目)
参考例句:
  • It's a good chance to broach the subject.这是开始提出那个问题的好机会。
  • I thought I'd better broach the matter with my boss.我想我最好还是跟老板说一下这事。
4 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
5 savagely 902f52b3c682f478ddd5202b40afefb9     
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地
参考例句:
  • The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
  • He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。
6 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
7 foliage QgnzK     
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶
参考例句:
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
  • Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。
8 modulated b5bfb3c5c3ebc18c62afa9380ab74ba5     
已调整[制]的,被调的
参考例句:
  • He carefully modulated his voice. 他小心地压低了声音。
  • He had a plump face, lemur-like eyes, a quiet, subtle, modulated voice. 他有一张胖胖的脸,狐猴般的眼睛,以及安详、微妙和富于抑扬顿挫的嗓音。
9 velvety 5783c9b64c2c5d03bc234867b2d33493     
adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的
参考例句:
  • a velvety red wine 醇厚的红葡萄酒
  • Her skin was admired for its velvety softness. 她的皮肤如天鹅绒般柔软,令人赞叹。
10 velvet 5gqyO     
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的
参考例句:
  • This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
  • The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。
11 evading 6af7bd759f5505efaee3e9c7803918e5     
逃避( evade的现在分词 ); 避开; 回避; 想不出
参考例句:
  • Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割,是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
  • Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。
12 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
13 sketchy ZxJwl     
adj.写生的,写生风格的,概略的
参考例句:
  • The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
  • Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。
14 protruding e7480908ef1e5355b3418870e3d0812f     
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的现在分词 );凸
参考例句:
  • He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
  • There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句
15 margin 67Mzp     
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
参考例句:
  • We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
16 erase woMxN     
v.擦掉;消除某事物的痕迹
参考例句:
  • He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
  • Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。
17 risky IXVxe     
adj.有风险的,冒险的
参考例句:
  • It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险,但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
  • He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。
18 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
19 mote tEExV     
n.微粒;斑点
参考例句:
  • Seeing the mote in one's neighbor's eye,but not the beam in one's own.能看见别人眼里的尘埃,看不见自己眼里的木头。
  • The small mote on her forehead distinguishes her from her twin sister.她额头上的这个小斑点是她与其双胞胎妹妹的区别。
20 scudding ae56c992b738e4f4a25852d1f96fe4e8     
n.刮面v.(尤指船、舰或云彩)笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Clouds were scudding across the sky. 云飞越天空。 来自辞典例句
  • China Advertising Photo Market-Like a Rising Wind and Scudding Clouds. 中国广告图片市场:风起云涌。 来自互联网
21 longingly 2015a05d76baba3c9d884d5f144fac69     
adv. 渴望地 热望地
参考例句:
  • He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
  • Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情,一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。
22 butt uSjyM     
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶
参考例句:
  • The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
  • He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。
23 sneak vr2yk     
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝);偷偷摸摸做;n.潜行;adj.暗中进行
参考例句:
  • He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
  • I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。
24 lugging cce6bbbcf49c333a48fe60698d0047ab     
超载运转能力
参考例句:
  • I would smile when I saw him lugging his golf bags into the office. 看到他把高尔夫球袋拖进办公室,我就笑一笑。 来自辞典例句
  • As a general guide, S$1 should be adequate for baggage-lugging service. 一般的准则是,如有人帮你搬运行李,给一新元就够了。 来自互联网
25 realization nTwxS     
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解
参考例句:
  • We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
  • He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。
26 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
27 apparatus ivTzx     
n.装置,器械;器具,设备
参考例句:
  • The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
  • They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。
28 glowered a6eb2c77ae3214b63cde004e1d79bc7f     
v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He just glowered without speaking. 他一言不发地皱眉怒视我。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He glowered at me but said nothing. 他怒视着我,却一言不发。 来自辞典例句
29 shrug Ry3w5     
v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)
参考例句:
  • With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩,走出了房间。
  • I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。
30 slumped b010f9799fb8ebd413389b9083180d8d     
大幅度下降,暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 ); 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句:
  • Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
  • The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上,疲惫得睡着了。
31 allergy 8Vpza     
n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症
参考例句:
  • He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
  • The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。
32 serum 8seyS     
n.浆液,血清,乳浆
参考例句:
  • The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
  • Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质,共11种,称为补体。
33 grudgingly grudgingly     
参考例句:
  • He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
34 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
35 inhibited Fqvz0I     
a.拘谨的,拘束的
参考例句:
  • Boys are often more inhibited than girls about discussing their problems. 男孩子往往不如女孩子敢于谈论自己的问题。
  • Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑,变得羞怯而压抑。
36 psychology U0Wze     
n.心理,心理学,心理状态
参考例句:
  • She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
  • He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。
37 scampered fe23b65cda78638ec721dec982b982df     
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
38 annoyance Bw4zE     
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼
参考例句:
  • Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气?
  • I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。
39 siestas 0073dbdf7491483fe113664851870644     
n.(气候炎热国家的)午睡,午休( siesta的名词复数 )
参考例句:
40 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
41 anthropological anthropological     
adj.人类学的
参考例句:
  • These facts of responsibility are an anthropological datums- varied and multiform. 这些道德事实是一种人类学资料——性质不同,形式各异。 来自哲学部分
  • It is the most difficult of all anthropological data on which to "draw" the old Negro. 在所有的人类学资料中,最困难的事莫过于“刻划”古代的黑人。 来自辞典例句
42 treatises 9ff9125c93810e8709abcafe0c3289ca     
n.专题著作,专题论文,专著( treatise的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Many treatises in different languages have been published on pigeons. 关于鸽类的著作,用各种文字写的很多。 来自辞典例句
  • Many other treatises incorporated the new rigor. 许多其它的专题论文体现了新的严密性。 来自辞典例句
43 corroded 77e49c02c5fb1fe2e59b1a771002f409     
已被腐蚀的
参考例句:
  • Rust has corroded the steel rails. 锈侵蚀了钢轨。
  • Jealousy corroded his character. 嫉妒损伤了他的人格。
44 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。
45 villains ffdac080b5dbc5c53d28520b93dbf399     
n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 );罪犯;(小说、戏剧等中的)反面人物;淘气鬼
参考例句:
  • The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
46 gullible zeSzN     
adj.易受骗的;轻信的
参考例句:
  • The swindlers had roped into a number of gullible persons.骗子们已使一些轻信的人上了当。
  • The advertisement is aimed at gullible young women worried about their weight.这则广告专门针对担心自己肥胖而易受骗的年轻女士。
47 glistened 17ff939f38e2a303f5df0353cf21b300     
v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
48 tunic IGByZ     
n.束腰外衣
参考例句:
  • The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
  • Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢,年轻人。
49 torpor CGsyG     
n.迟钝;麻木;(动物的)冬眠
参考例句:
  • The sick person gradually falls into a torpor.病人逐渐变得迟钝。
  • He fell into a deep torpor.他一下子进入了深度麻痹状态。
50 leash M9rz1     
n.牵狗的皮带,束缚;v.用皮带系住
参考例句:
  • I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳,但被狗挡住了路。
  • The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带,想挣脱开去。
51 sarcasm 1CLzI     
n.讥讽,讽刺,嘲弄,反话 (adj.sarcastic)
参考例句:
  • His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
  • She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。
52 trampling 7aa68e356548d4d30fa83dc97298265a     
踩( trample的现在分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯
参考例句:
  • Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
  • They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。
53 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
54 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
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:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
55 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。
56 riddles 77f3ceed32609b0d80430e545f553e31     
n.谜(语)( riddle的名词复数 );猜不透的难题,难解之谜
参考例句:
  • Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看,口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
  • But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句
57 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到
参考例句:
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
58 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
59 sector yjczYn     
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形
参考例句:
  • The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
  • The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。
60 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
61 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
62 chatter BUfyN     
vi./n.喋喋不休;短促尖叫;(牙齿)打战
参考例句:
  • Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
  • I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。
63 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
64 neurotics 386dac4a06943ce4c5de2e9864069a87     
n.神经官能症的( neurotic的名词复数 );神经质的;神经过敏的;极为焦虑的
参考例句:
  • Freud focused on neurotics, but his conclusions were relevant to mankind as a whole. 弗洛伊德着力研究神经病,但他的结论与整个人类相关。 来自互联网
65 pushy tSix8     
adj.固执己见的,一意孤行的
参考例句:
  • But she insisted and was very pushy.但她一直坚持,而且很急于求成。
  • He made himself unpopular by being so pushy.他特别喜欢出风头,所以人缘不好。
66 persistent BSUzg     
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的
参考例句:
  • Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
  • She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
67 sacrosanct mDpy2     
adj.神圣不可侵犯的
参考例句:
  • In India,the cow is a sacrosanct animal.牛在印度是神圣的动物。
  • Philip Glass is ignorant of establishing an immutable, sacrosanct urtext.菲利普·格拉斯不屑于创立不变的、神圣的原始文本。
68 stranded thfz18     
a.搁浅的,进退两难的
参考例句:
  • He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里, 身无分文,一筹莫展。
  • I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市,既没有钱,又没有朋友。
69 pariah tSUzv     
n.被社会抛弃者
参考例句:
  • Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿,汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
  • His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。
70 scented a9a354f474773c4ff42b74dd1903063d     
adj.有香味的;洒香水的;有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去,终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
71 grassy DfBxH     
adj.盖满草的;长满草的
参考例句:
  • They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
  • Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。
72 brutally jSRya     
adv.残忍地,野蛮地,冷酷无情地
参考例句:
  • The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
  • A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。
73 savages 2ea43ddb53dad99ea1c80de05d21d1e5     
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
  • That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。
74 bleakly 8f18268e48ecc5e26c0d285b03e86130     
无望地,阴郁地,苍凉地
参考例句:
  • The windows of the house stared bleakly down at her. 那座房子的窗户居高临下阴森森地对着她。
  • He stared at me bleakly and said nothing. 他阴郁地盯着我,什么也没说。


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