But this was before my day. I remember Washington only as a garden of delights, over which the spring trailed an early robe of green, thickly embroidered9 with gems10 of amethyst11 and ruby12, pearl and sapphire13. The crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, and snowdrops made haste to bloom before the snows had fairly melted. The trees donned their diaphanous14 veils of green earlier in the White House grounds, the lawn of the Smithsonian Institution, and the gentle slopes around the Capitol, than anywhere in less distinguished15 localities. To walk through these incense-laden grounds, to traverse the avenue of blossoming crab-apples, was pure pleasure. The shaded avenues were delightful16 long lanes, where one was sure to meet friends, and where no law of etiquette17 forbade a pause in the public street for a few words of kindly18 inquiry19, or a bit of gossip, or the development of some plan for future meetings. If one's steps tended to the neighborhood of 7th and D streets, nothing was more probable than a meeting with one of Washington's most noted20 citizens,—the superb mastiff of Mr. Gales21, the veteran editor of the National Intelligencer, as the dog gravely bore in a large basket the mail for the office. No attendant was needed by this fine animal. He was fully22 competent to protect his master's private and official correspondence.
He had been taught to express stern disapprobation 5 of Democrats23; so if a pleasant walk with him was desired, it was expedient25 for members of that party to perjure26 themselves and at once announce: "I am an 'Old-Line Whig,' old man," and the dog's tail would wag a cordial welcome.
Omnibuses ran along Pennsylvania Avenue, for the convenience of Senators, Congressmen, and others on their way to the Capitol,—but the saunter along the avenue was so charming that I always preferred it to the People's Line. There were few shops. But such shops! There was Galt's, where the silver, gems, and marbles were less attractive than the cultivated gentleman who sold them; Gautier's, the palace of sweets, with Mrs. Gautier in an arm-chair before her counter to tell you the precise social status of every one of her customers, and what is more, to put you in your own; Harper's, where the dainty, leisurely27 salesman treated his laces with respect, drawing up his cuffs28 lest they touch the ethereal beauties; and the little corner shop of stern Madame Delarue, who imported as many (and no more) hats and gloves as she was willing to sell as a favor to the ladies of the diplomatic and official circles, and whose dark-eyed daughter Léonide (named for her godmother, a Greek lady of rank) was susceptible29 of unreasoning friendships and could be coaxed30 to preserve certain treasures for humbler folk.
Léonide once awoke me in the middle of the night with a note bidding me "come tout31 de suite," for "Maman" was asleep, the boxes had arrived; and she and I could peep at the bonnets32 and choose 6 the best one for myself. Thus it was that I once bore away a "divine creation" of point lace, crêpe, and shaded asters before Madame had seen it. Otherwise it would have been reserved for Miss Harriet Lane or Mrs. Douglas. Madame had to know later; and Léonide was not much in evidence the rest of that season. At Madame Delarue's, if one was very gentil, very convenable33, one might have the services of Fran?ois, the one and only hair-dresser of note, who had adjusted coronets on noble heads, and who could (if he so minded) talk of them agreeably in Parisian French.
All these were little things; but do not pleasant trifles make the sum of pleasant hours? Washington was like a great village in those days of President Pierce and President Buchanan. To obtain the best of the few articles to be purchased was an achievement.
My own pride in the Federal City was such that my heart would swell34 within me at every glimpse of the Capitol: from the moment it rose like a white cloud above the smoke and mists, as I stood on the deck of the steamboat (having run up from my dinner to salute35 Mount Vernon), to the time when I was wont36 to watch from my window for the sunset, that I might catch the moment when a point on the unfinished dome37 glowed like a great blazing star after the sun had really gone down. No matter whether suns rose or set, there was the star of our country,—the star of our hearts and hopes.
I acknowledge that Wisdom is much to be desired of her children, but nowhere is it promised 7 that they will be the happier for gaining her. When my lot was cast in Washington, Wisdom had not taught me that the White House was less beautiful than a classic temple. To be sure, Dickens had called it "like an English club-house,"—that was bad enough,—but Mark Twain had not yet dubbed38 it "a fine, large, white barn with wide handsome grounds around it." "The President lives there," says Washington Hawkins. "It is ugly enough outside, but that is nothing to what it is inside." To my uneducated eye the East Room with its ornate chandeliers, fluted39 pillars, and floriated carpet was an audience chamber fit for a king. A triumph of artistic40 perfection was the equestrian41 statue of the hero of New Orleans, now known to be out of all proportion, and condemned42 as "bad" and "very bad" by Wisdom's instructed children. Raising his hat, indeed! Why, any man in that position would be holding on to the mane with both hands to keep from sliding off. And as for the Capitol—the sacred Capitol! From foundation to turret43 it was to my eye all that genius and patriotism44 could achieve. The splendid marbles at the entrance, the paintings, the bas-reliefs within the rotunda45,—these were things to boast of, to dream of. Not yet had arisen our irreverent humorist to warn us never to enter the dome of the Capitol, "because to get there you must pass through the great rotunda, and to do that you would have to see the marvellous historical paintings that hang there and the bas-reliefs,—and what have you done that you should suffer this?" 8
When our friends came up from Virginia to make us visits, it was delightful to take a carriage and give up days to sight-seeing; to visit the White House and Capitol, the Patent Office with its miscellaneous treasures; to point with pride to the rich gifts from crowned heads which our adored first President was too conscientious47 to accept; to walk among the stones lying around the base of the unfinished monument and read the inscriptions48 from the states presenting them; to spend a day at the Smithsonian Institution, and to introduce our friends to its president, Mr. Henry; and to Mr. Spencer Baird and Mr. Gerard, eminent49 naturalists50, who were giving their lives to the study of birds, beasts, and fishes,—finding them, Mr. Gerard said, "so much more interesting than men," adding hastily, "we do not say ladies," and blushing after the manner of cloistered51 scholars; to tell them interesting things about Mr. Gerard who was a melancholy52 young man, and who had confided53 to me that he had sustained a great sorrow. Had he lost his fortune, or been crossed in love, was he homesick for his native Switzerland? Worse than any one or all of these! He had been sent once to Nantucket in the interests of his profession. There he had found a strange fish, hitherto unknown to science. He had classified its bones and laid them out on his table to count them. In a moment's absence the housemaid had entered and dusted his table.
Then the visits to the galleries of the House and Senate Chamber, and the honor of pointing out the great men to our friends from rural districts; the 9 long listening to interminable speeches, not clearly understood, but heard with a reverent46 conviction that all was coming out right in the end, that everybody was really working for the good of his country, and that we belonged to it all and were parts of it all.
This was the thought behind all other thoughts which glorified54 everything around us, enhanced every fortunate circumstance, and caused us to ignore the real discomforts55 of life in Washington: the cold, the ice-laden streets in winter; the whirlwinds of dust and driving rains of spring; the swift-coming fierceness of summer heat; the rapid atmospheric56 changes which would give us all these extremes in one week, or even one day, until it became the part of prudence57 never to sally forth58 on any expedition without "a fan, an overcoat, and an umbrella."
The social life in Washington was almost as variable as the climate. At the end of every four years the kaleidoscope turned, and lo!—a new central jewel and new colors and combinations in the setting.
But behind this "floating population," as the political circles were termed, there was a fine society in the fifties of "old residents" who never bent59 the knee to Baal. This society was sufficient to itself, never seeking the new, while accepting it occasionally with discretion60, reservations, and much discriminating61 care. The sisters, Mrs. Gales and Mrs. Seaton, wives of the editors of the National Intelligencer, led this society. Mrs. Gales's home was outside the city, 10 and thence every day Mr. Gales was driven in his barouche to his office. His paper was the exponent62 of the Old-Line Whigs (the Republican party was formed later) and in stern opposition63 to the Democrats. It was, therefore, a special and unexpected honor for a Democrat24 to be permitted to drive out to "the cottage" for a glass of wine and a bit of fruit-cake with Mrs. Gales and Mrs. Seaton. Never have I seen these gentlewomen excelled in genial64 hospitality. Mrs. Gales was a superb old lady and a fine conversationalist. She had the courteous65 repose66 born of dignity and intelligence. She was literally67 her husband's right hand,—he had lost his own,—and was the only person who could decipher his left-hand writing. So that when anything appeared from his pen it had been copied by his wife before it reached the type-setter. A fine education this for an intelligent woman; the very best schooling68 for a social life including diplomats69 from foreign countries, politicians of diverse opinions, artists, authors, musicians, women of fashion, to entertain whom required infinite tact70, cleverness, and an intimate acquaintance with the absorbing questions of the day.
Of course the levees and state receptions, which were accessible to all, required none of these things. The role of hostess on state occasions could be filled creditably by any woman of ordinary physical strength, patience, and self-control, who knew when to be silent.
Washington society, at the time of which I write, was comparatively free from non-official men of 11 wealth from other cities who, weary with the monotonous71 round of travel,—to the Riviera, to Egypt, to Monte Carlo,—are attracted by the unique atmosphere of a city holding many foreigners, and devoted72 not to commercial but to social and political interests. The doors of the White House and Cabinet offices being open on occasions to all, they have opportunities denied them in their own homes. Society in Washington in the fifties was peculiarly interesting in that it was composed exclusively of men whose presence argued them to have been of importance at home. They had been elected by the people, or chosen by the President, or selected among the very best in foreign countries; or they belonged to the United States Army or Navy service, or to the descendants of the select society which had gathered in the city early in its history.
During the Fillmore administration there were peculiar73 elements in Washington society. The President was born of poor English parents. At the age of fifteen he was apprentice74 to a wool-carder in Livingston County, New York, representing in his father's mind no higher hope than gradual advancement75 until he should attain76 the proud place of woollen-draper. But at nineteen he had entered a lawyer's office, working all day, teaching and studying at night. When he became President his tastes had been sufficiently77 ripened78 to enable him to gather around him men of literary taste and attainment79. John P. Kennedy, an author and a man of elegant accomplishments80, was Secretary of the Navy. Washington Irving was Kennedy's friend, and often 12 his guest. Lesser81 lights in the world of letters found Washington an agreeable residence. We knew many of these men, and among them none was brighter, wittier82, or more genial than G. P. R. James, the English novelist whose star rose and set before 1860. He was the most prolific83 of writers, "Like an endless chain of buckets in a well," said one; "as fast as one is emptied up comes another."
We were very fond of Mr. James. One day he dashed in, much excited:—
"Have you seen the Intelligencer? By George, it's all true! Six times has my hero, a 'solitary84 horseman,' emerged from a wood! My word! I was totally unconscious of it! Fancy it! Six times! Well, it's all up with that fellow. He has got to dismount and enter on foot: a beggar, or burglar, or pedler, or at best a mendicant85 friar."
"But," suggested one, "he might drive, mightn't he?"
"Impossible!" said Mr. James. "Imagine a hero in a gig or a curricle!"
"Perhaps," said one, "the word 'solitary' has given offence. Americans dislike exclusiveness. They are sensitive, you see, and look out for snobs86."
He made himself very merry over it; but the solitary horseman appeared no more in the few novels he was yet to write.
One day, after a pleasant visit from Mr. James and his wife, I accompanied them at parting to the front door, and found some difficulty in turning the bolt. He offered to assist, but I said no—he was 13 not supposed to understand the mystery of an American front door.
Having occasion a few minutes afterward87 to open the door for another departing guest, there on his knees outside was Mr. James, who laughingly explained that he had left his wife at the corner, and had come back to investigate that mystery. "Perhaps you will tell me," he added, and was much amused to learn that the American door opened of itself to an incoming guest, but positively88 refused without coaxing89 to let him out. "By George, that's fine!" he said, "that'll please the critics in my next." I never knew whether it was admitted, for I must confess that, even with the stimulus90 of his presence, his books were dreary91 reading to my uninstructed taste.
A very lovely and charming actress was prominent in Washington society at this time,—the daughter of an old New York family, Anna Cora (Ogden) Mowatt. She was especially interesting to Virginians, for she had captivated Foushee Ritchie, soon afterward my husband's partner on the editorship of the Richmond Enquirer92. Mr. Ritchie, a confirmed old bachelor, had been fascinated by Mrs. Mowatt's Parthenia (in "Ingomar") and was now engaged to her. He proudly brought to me a pair of velvet93 slippers94 she had embroidered for him, working around them as a border a quotation95 from "Ingomar":—
"Two souls with but a single thought,
Two hearts that beat as one."
14
And oh, how angry he was when an irreverent voice whispered one word, "Soles!"
"Cora must never hear of this," he declared indignantly; "she is, beyond all women, incapable96 of double entendre, of coarse allusion97."
Alas98! I cannot conclude my little story, "And they were married and lived happily ever after." They were married—and lived miserably—and were separated ever after. The single thought was how they could best escape each other—and the two hearts beat as one in the desire for freedom.
"The shadow of the coming war was even then beginning to darken the land and confuse legislation with bitter partisanship99 and continuous attempts at an impossible compromise," but, alas! our eyes were holden so we could not see.
点击收听单词发音
1 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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2 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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3 infested | |
adj.为患的,大批滋生的(常与with搭配)v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 );遍布于 | |
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4 illustrate | |
v.举例说明,阐明;图解,加插图 | |
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5 dilemma | |
n.困境,进退两难的局面 | |
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6 overdue | |
adj.过期的,到期未付的;早该有的,迟到的 | |
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7 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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8 adversary | |
adj.敌手,对手 | |
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9 embroidered | |
adj.绣花的 | |
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10 gems | |
growth; economy; management; and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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11 amethyst | |
n.紫水晶 | |
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12 ruby | |
n.红宝石,红宝石色 | |
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13 sapphire | |
n.青玉,蓝宝石;adj.天蓝色的 | |
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14 diaphanous | |
adj.(布)精致的,半透明的 | |
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15 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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16 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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17 etiquette | |
n.礼仪,礼节;规矩 | |
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18 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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19 inquiry | |
n.打听,询问,调查,查问 | |
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20 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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21 gales | |
龙猫 | |
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22 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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23 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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24 democrat | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士;民主党党员 | |
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25 expedient | |
adj.有用的,有利的;n.紧急的办法,权宜之计 | |
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26 perjure | |
v.作伪证;使发假誓 | |
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27 leisurely | |
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的 | |
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28 cuffs | |
n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打,拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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29 susceptible | |
adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的 | |
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30 coaxed | |
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱 | |
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31 tout | |
v.推销,招徕;兜售;吹捧,劝诱 | |
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32 bonnets | |
n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 );(烟囱等的)覆盖物;(苏格兰男子的)无边呢帽;(女子戴的)任何一种帽子 | |
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33 convenable | |
可召集的,可召唤的 | |
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34 swell | |
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
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35 salute | |
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮 | |
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36 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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37 dome | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
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38 dubbed | |
v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 );把…称为;配音;复制 | |
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39 fluted | |
a.有凹槽的 | |
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40 artistic | |
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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41 equestrian | |
adj.骑马的;n.马术 | |
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42 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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43 turret | |
n.塔楼,角塔 | |
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44 patriotism | |
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义 | |
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45 rotunda | |
n.圆形建筑物;圆厅 | |
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46 reverent | |
adj.恭敬的,虔诚的 | |
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47 conscientious | |
adj.审慎正直的,认真的,本着良心的 | |
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48 inscriptions | |
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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49 eminent | |
adj.显赫的,杰出的,有名的,优良的 | |
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50 naturalists | |
n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 );(文学艺术的)自然主义者 | |
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51 cloistered | |
adj.隐居的,躲开尘世纷争的v.隐退,使与世隔绝( cloister的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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53 confided | |
v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等) | |
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54 glorified | |
美其名的,变荣耀的 | |
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55 discomforts | |
n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 );不愉快,苦恼 | |
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56 atmospheric | |
adj.大气的,空气的;大气层的;大气所引起的 | |
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57 prudence | |
n.谨慎,精明,节俭 | |
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58 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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59 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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60 discretion | |
n.谨慎;随意处理 | |
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61 discriminating | |
a.有辨别能力的 | |
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62 exponent | |
n.倡导者,拥护者;代表人物;指数,幂 | |
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63 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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64 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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65 courteous | |
adj.彬彬有礼的,客气的 | |
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66 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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67 literally | |
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 | |
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68 schooling | |
n.教育;正规学校教育 | |
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69 diplomats | |
n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 );有手腕的人,善于交际的人 | |
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70 tact | |
n.机敏,圆滑,得体 | |
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71 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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72 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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73 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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74 apprentice | |
n.学徒,徒弟 | |
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75 advancement | |
n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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76 attain | |
vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
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77 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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78 ripened | |
v.成熟,使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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79 attainment | |
n.达到,到达;[常pl.]成就,造诣 | |
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80 accomplishments | |
n.造诣;完成( accomplishment的名词复数 );技能;成绩;成就 | |
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81 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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82 wittier | |
机智的,言辞巧妙的,情趣横生的( witty的比较级 ) | |
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83 prolific | |
adj.丰富的,大量的;多产的,富有创造力的 | |
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84 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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85 mendicant | |
n.乞丐;adj.行乞的 | |
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86 snobs | |
(谄上傲下的)势利小人( snob的名词复数 ); 自高自大者,自命不凡者 | |
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87 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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88 positively | |
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实 | |
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89 coaxing | |
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱;“锻炼”效应 | |
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90 stimulus | |
n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物 | |
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91 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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92 enquirer | |
寻问者,追究者 | |
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93 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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94 slippers | |
n. 拖鞋 | |
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95 quotation | |
n.引文,引语,语录;报价,牌价,行情 | |
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96 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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97 allusion | |
n.暗示,间接提示 | |
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98 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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99 Partisanship | |
n. 党派性, 党派偏见 | |
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