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Chapter 2
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 And now what was I to do?  The absolute magnitude of my misfortune only loomed1 upon me by degrees.  The twenty minutes allowed by that stern old paterfamilias were already gone and I had done nothing towards dressing2.  And indeed it was impossible that I should do anything that would be of avail.  I could not go down to dinner in my stocking feet, nor could I put on my black dress trousers, over a pair of mud-painted top-boots.  As for those iron-soled horrors—; and then I gave one of them a kick with the side of my bare foot which sent it half way under the bed.
 
But what was I to do?  I began washing myself and brushing my hair with this horrid4 weight upon my mind.  My first plan was to go to bed, and send down word that I had been taken suddenly ill in the stomach; then to rise early in the morning and get away unobserved.  But by such a course of action I should lose all chance of any further acquaintance with those pretty girls!  That they were already aware of the extent of my predicament, and were now enjoying it—of that I was quite sure.
 
What if I boldly put on the shooting-boots, and clattered6 down to dinner in them?  What if I took the bull by the horns, and made, myself, the most of the joke?  This might be very well for the dinner, but it would be a bad joke for me when the hour for dancing came.  And, alas7!  I felt that I lacked the courage.  It is not every man that can walk down to dinner, in a strange house full of ladies, wearing such boots as those I have described.
 
Should I not attempt to borrow a pair?  This, all the world will say, should have been my first idea.  But I have not yet mentioned that I am myself a large-boned man, and that my feet are especially well developed.  I had never for a moment entertained a hope that I should find any one in that house whose boot I could wear.  But at last I rang the bell.  I would send for Jack8, and if everything failed, I would communicate my grief to him.
 
I had to ring twice before anybody came.  The servants, I well knew, were putting the dinner on the table.  At last a man entered the room, dressed in rather shabby black, whom I afterwards learned to be the butler.
 
“What is your name, my friend?” said I, determined9 to make an ally of the man.
 
“My name?  Why Larry sure, yer honer.  And the masther is out of his sinses in a hurry, becase yer honer don’t come down.”
 
“Is he though?  Well now, Larry; tell me this; which of all the gentlemen in the house has got the largest foot?”
 
“Is it the largest foot, yer honer?” said Larry, altogether surprised by my question.
 
“Yes; the largest foot,” and then I proceeded to explain to him my misfortune.  He took up first my top-boot, and then the shooting-boot—in looking at which he gazed with wonder at the nails;—and then he glanced at my feet, measuring them with his eye; and after this he pronounced his opinion.
 
“Yer honer couldn’t wear a morsel10 of leather belonging to ere a one of ’em, young or ould.  There niver was a foot like that yet among the O’Conors.”
 
“But are there no strangers staying here?”
 
“There’s three or four on ’em come in to dinner; but they’ll be wanting their own boots I’m thinking.  And there’s young Misther Dillon; he’s come to stay.  But Lord love you—” and he again looked at the enormous extent which lay between the heel and the toe of the shooting apparatus11 which he still held in his hand.  “I niver see such a foot as that in the whole barony,” he said, “barring my own.”
 
Now Larry was a large man, much larger altogether than myself, and as he said this I looked down involuntarily at his feet; or rather at his foot, for as he stood I could only see one.  And then a sudden hope filled my heart.  On that foot there glittered a shoe—not indeed such as were my own which were now resting ingloriously at Ballyglass while they were so sorely needed at Castle Conor; but one which I could wear before ladies, without shame—and in my present frame of mind with infinite contentment.
 
“Let me look at that one of your own,” said I to the man, as though it were merely a subject for experimental inquiry12.  Larry, accustomed to obedience13, took off the shoe and handed it to me.
 
My own foot was immediately in it, and I found that it fitted me like a glove.
 
“And now the other,” said I—not smiling, for a smile would have put him on his guard; but somewhat sternly, so that that habit of obedience should not desert him at this perilous14 moment.  And then I stretched out my hand.
 
“But yer honer can’t keep ’em, you know,” said he.  “I haven’t the ghost of another shoe to my feet.”  But I only looked more sternly than before, and still held out my hand.  Custom prevailed.  Larry stooped down slowly, looking at me the while, and pulling off the other slipper15 handed it to me with much hesitation16.  Alas! as I put it to my foot I found that it was old, and worn, and irredeemably down at heel;—that it was in fact no counterpart at all to that other one which was to do duty as its fellow.  But nevertheless I put my foot into it, and felt that a descent to the drawing-room was now possible.
 
“But yer honer will give ’em back to a poor man?” said Larry almost crying.  “The masther’s mad this minute becase the dinner’s not up.  Glory to God, only listhen to that!”  And as he spoke17 a tremendous peal18 rang out from some bell down stairs that had evidently been shaken by an angry hand.
 
“Larry,” said I—and I endeavoured to assume a look of very grave importance as I spoke—“I look to you to assist me in this matter.”
 
“Och—wirra sthrue then, and will you let me go? just listhen to that,” and another angry peal rang out, loud and repeated.
 
“If you do as I ask you,” I continued, “you shall be well rewarded.  Look here; look at these boots,” and I held up the shooting-shoes new from Burlington Arcade19.  “They cost thirty shillings—thirty shillings! and I will give them to you for the loan of this pair of slippers20.”
 
“They’d be no use at all to me, yer honer; not the laist use in life.”
 
“You could do with them very well for to-night, and then you could sell them.  And here are ten shillings besides,” and I held out half a sovereign which the poor fellow took into his hand.
 
I waited no further parley21 but immediately walked out of the room.  With one foot I was sufficiently22 pleased.  As regarded that I felt that I had overcome my difficulty.  But the other was not so satisfactory.  Whenever I attempted to lift it from the ground the horrid slipper would fall off, or only just hang by the toe.  As for dancing, that would be out of the question.
 
“Och, murther, murther,” sang out Larry, as he heard me going down stairs.  “What will I do at all?  Tare and ’ounds; there, he’s at it agin, as mad as blazes.”  This last exclamation23 had reference to another peal which was evidently the work of the master’s hand.
 
I confess I was not quite comfortable as I walked down stairs.  In the first place I was nearly half an hour late, and I knew from the vigour24 of the peals25 that had sounded that my slowness had already been made the subject of strong remarks.  And then my left shoe went flop26, flop, on every alternate step of the stairs.  By no exertion27 of my foot in the drawing up of my toe could I induce it to remain permanently28 fixed29 upon my foot.  But over and above and worse than all this was the conviction strong upon my mind that I should become a subject of merriment to the girls as soon as I entered the room.  They would understand the cause of my distress30, and probably at this moment were expecting to hear me clatter5 through the stone hall with those odious31 metal boots.
 
However, I hurried down and entered the drawing-room, determined to keep my position near the door, so that I might have as little as possible to do on entering and as little as possible in going out.  But I had other difficulties in store for me.  I had not as yet been introduced to Mrs. O’Conor; nor to Miss O’Conor, the squire’s unmarried sister.
 
“Upon my word I thought you were never coming,” said Mr. O’Conor as soon as he saw me.  “It is just one hour since we entered the house.  Jack, I wish you would find out what has come to that fellow Larry,” and again he rang the bell.  He was too angry, or it might be too impatient to go through the ceremony of introducing me to anybody.
 
I saw that the two girls looked at me very sharply, but I stood at the back of an arm-chair so that no one could see my feet.  But that little imp3 Tizzy walked round deliberately32, looked at my heels, and then walked back again.  It was clear that she was in the secret.
 
There were eight or ten people in the room, but I was too much fluttered to notice well who they were.
 
“Mamma,” said Miss O’Conor, “let me introduce Mr. Green to you.”
 
It luckily happened that Mrs. O’Conor was on the same side of the fire as myself, and I was able to take the hand which she offered me without coming round into the middle of the circle.  Mrs. O’Conor was a little woman, apparently33 not of much importance in the world, but, if one might judge from first appearance, very good-natured.
 
“And my aunt Die, Mr. Green,” said Kate, pointing to a very straight-backed, grim-looking lady, who occupied a corner of a sofa, on the opposite side of the hearth34.  I knew that politeness required that I should walk across the room and make acquaintance with her.  But under the existing circumstances how was I to obey the dictates35 of politeness?  I was determined therefore to stand my ground, and merely bowed across the room at Miss O’Conor.  In so doing I made an enemy who never deserted36 me during the whole of my intercourse37 with the family.  But for her, who knows who might have been sitting opposite to me as I now write?
 
“Upon my word, Mr. Green, the ladies will expect much from an Adonis who takes so long over his toilet,” said Tom O’Conor in that cruel tone of banter38 which he knew so well how to use.
 
“You forget, father, that men in London can’t jump in and out of their clothes as quick as we wild Irishmen,” said Jack.
 
“Mr. Green knows that we expect a great deal from him this evening.  I hope you polk well, Mr. Green,” said Kate.
 
I muttered something about never dancing, but I knew that that which I said was inaudible.
 
“I don’t think Mr. Green will dance,” said Tizzy; “at least not much.”  The impudence39 of that child was, I think, unparalleled by any that I have ever witnessed.
 
“But in the name of all that’s holy, why don’t we have dinner?”  And Mr. O’Conor thundered at the door.  “Larry, Larry, Larry!” he screamed.
 
“Yes, yer honer, it’ll be all right in two seconds,” answered Larry, from some bottomless abyss.  “Tare an’ ages; what’ll I do at all,” I heard him continuing, as he made his way into the hall.  Oh what a clatter he made upon the pavement,—for it was all stone!  And how the drops of perspiration40 stood upon my brow as I listened to him!
 
And then there was a pause, for the man had gone into the dining-room.  I could see now that Mr. O’Conor was becoming very angry, and Jack the eldest41 son—oh, how often he and I have laughed over all this since—left the drawing-room for the second time.  Immediately afterwards Larry’s footsteps were again heard, hurrying across the hall, and then there was a great slither, and an exclamation, and the noise of a fall—and I could plainly hear poor Larry’s head strike against the stone floor.
 
“Ochone, ochone!” he cried at the top of his voice—“I’m murthered with ’em now intirely; and d— ’em for boots—St. Peter be good to me.”
 
There was a general rush into the hall, and I was carried with the stream.  The poor fellow who had broken his head would be sure to tell how I had robbed him of his shoes.  The coachman was already helping42 him up, and Peter good-naturedly lent a hand.
 
“What on earth is the matter?” said Mr. O’Conor.
 
“He must be tipsy,” whispered Miss O’Conor, the maiden43 sister.
 
“I aint tipsy at all thin,” said Larry, getting up and rubbing the back of his head, and sundry44 other parts of his body.  “Tipsy indeed!”  And then he added when he was quite upright, “The dinner is sarved—at last.”
 
And he bore it all without telling!  “I’ll give that fellow a guinea to-morrow morning,” said I to myself—“if it’s the last that I have in the world.”
 
I shall never forget the countenance45 of the Miss O’Conors as Larry scrambled46 up cursing the unfortunate boots—“What on earth has he got on?” said Mr. O’Conor.
 
“Sorrow take ’em for shoes,” ejaculated Larry.  But his spirit was good and he said not a word to betray me.
 
We all then went in to dinner how we best could.  It was useless for us to go back into the drawing-room, that each might seek his own partner.  Mr. O’Conor “the masther,” not caring much for the girls who were around him, and being already half beside himself with the confusion and delay, led the way by himself.  I as a stranger should have given my arm to Mrs. O’Conor; but as it was I took her eldest daughter instead, and contrived47 to shuffle48 along into the dining-room without exciting much attention, and when there I found myself happily placed between Kate and Fanny.
 
“I never knew anything so awkward,” said Fanny; “I declare I can’t conceive what has come to our old servant Larry.  He’s generally the most precise person in the world, and now he is nearly an hour late—and then he tumbles down in the hall.”
 
“I am afraid I am responsible for the delay,” said I.
 
“But not for the tumble I suppose,” said Kate from the other side.  I felt that I blushed up to the eyes, but I did not dare to enter into explanations.
 
“Tom,” said Tizzy, addressing her father across the table, “I hope you had a good run to-day.”  It did seem odd to me that young lady should call her father Tom, but such was the fact.
 
“Well; pretty well,” said Mr. O’Conor.
 
“And I hope you were up with the hounds.”
 
“You may ask Mr. Green that.  He at any rate was with them, and therefore he can tell you.”
 
“Oh, he wasn’t before you, I know.  No Englishman could get before you;—I am quite sure of that.”
 
“Don’t you be impertinent, miss,” said Kate.  “You can easily see, Mr. Green, that papa spoils my sister Eliza.”
 
“Do you hunt in top-boots, Mr. Green?” said Tizzy.
 
To this I made no answer.  She would have drawn49 me into a conversation about my feet in half a minute, and the slightest allusion50 to the subject threw me into a fit of perspiration.
 
“Are you fond of hunting, Miss O’Conor?” asked I, blindly hurrying into any other subject of conversation.
 
Miss O’Conor owned that she was fond of hunting—just a little; only papa would not allow it.  When the hounds met anywhere within reach of Castle Conor, she and Kate would ride out to look at them; and if papa was not there that day,—an omission51 of rare occurrence,—they would ride a few fields with the hounds.
 
“But he lets Tizzy keep with them the whole day,” said she, whispering.
 
“And has Tizzy a pony52 of her own?”
 
“Oh yes, Tizzy has everything.  She’s papa’s pet, you know.”
 
“And whose pet are you?” I asked.
 
“Oh—I am nobody’s pet, unless sometimes Jack makes a pet of me when he’s in a good humour.  Do you make pets of your sisters, Mr. Green?”
 
“I have none.  But if I had I should not make pets of them.”
 
“Not of your own sisters?”
 
“No.  As for myself, I’d sooner make a pet of my friend’s sister; a great deal.”
 
“How very unnatural53,” said Miss O’Conor, with the prettiest look of surprise imaginable.
 
“Not at all unnatural I think,” said I, looking tenderly and lovingly into her face.  Where does one find girls so pretty, so easy, so sweet, so talkative as the Irish girls?  And then with all their talking and all their ease who ever hears of their misbehaving?  They certainly love flirting55, as they also love dancing.  But they flirt54 without mischief56 and without malice57.
 
I had now quite forgotten my misfortune, and was beginning to think how well I should like to have Fanny O’Conor for my wife.  In this frame of mind I was bending over towards her as a servant took away a plate from the other side, when a sepulchral58 note sounded in my ear.  It was like the memento59 mori of the old Roman;—as though some one pointed60 in the midst of my bliss61 to the sword hung over my head by a thread.  It was the voice of Larry, whispering in his agony just above my head—
 
“They’s disthroying my poor feet intirely, intirely; so they is!  I can’t bear it much longer, yer honer.”  I had committed murder like Macbeth; and now my Banquo had come to disturb me at my feast.
 
“What is it he says to you?” asked Fanny.
 
“Oh nothing,” I answered, once more in my misery62.
 
“There seems to be some point of confidence between you and our Larry,” she remarked.
 
“Oh no,” said I, quite confused; “not at all.”
 
“You need not be ashamed of it.  Half the gentlemen in the county have their confidences with Larry;—and some of the ladies too, I can tell you.  He was born in this house, and never lived anywhere else; and I am sure he has a larger circle of acquaintance than any one else in it.”
 
I could not recover my self-possession for the next ten minutes.  Whenever Larry was on our side of the table I was afraid he was coming to me with another agonised whisper.  When he was opposite, I could not but watch him as he hobbled in his misery.  It was evident that the boots were too tight for him, and had they been made throughout of iron they could not have been less capable of yielding to the feet.  I pitied him from the bottom of my heart.  And I pitied myself also, wishing that I was well in bed upstairs with some feigned63 malady64, so that Larry might have had his own again.
 
And then for a moment I missed him from the room.  He had doubtless gone to relieve his tortured feet in the servants’ hall, and as he did so was cursing my cruelty.  But what mattered it?  Let him curse.  If he would only stay away and do that, I would appease65 his wrath66 when we were alone together with pecuniary67 satisfaction.
 
But there was no such rest in store for me.  “Larry, Larry,” shouted Mr. O’Conor, “where on earth has the fellow gone to?”  They were all cousins at the table except myself, and Mr. O’Conor was not therefore restrained by any feeling of ceremony.  “There is something wrong with that fellow to-day; what is it, Jack?”
 
“Upon my word, sir, I don’t know,” said Jack.
 
“I think he must be tipsy,” whispered Miss O’Conor, the maiden sister, who always sat at her brother’s left hand.  But a whisper though it was, it was audible all down the table.
 
“No, ma’am; it aint dhrink at all,” said the coachman.  “It is his feet as does it.”
 
“His feet!” shouted Tom O’Conor.
 
“Yes; I know it’s his feet,” said that horrid Tizzy.  “He’s got on great thick nailed shoes.  It was that that made him tumble down in the hall.”
 
I glanced at each side of me, and could see that there was a certain consciousness expressed in the face of each of my two neighbours;—on Kate’s mouth there was decidedly a smile, or rather, perhaps, the slightest possible inclination68 that way; whereas on Fanny’s part I thought I saw something like a rising sorrow at my distress.  So at least I flattered myself.
 
“Send him back into the room immediately,” said Tom, who looked at me as though he had some consciousness that I had introduced all this confusion into his household.  What should I do?  Would it not be best for me to make clean breast of it before them all?  But alas!  I lacked the courage.
 
The coachman went out, and we were left for five minutes without any servant, and Mr. O’Conor the while became more and more savage69.  I attempted to say a word to Fanny, but failed.  Vox faucibus haesit.
 
“I don’t think he has got any others,” said Tizzy—“at least none others left.”
 
On the whole I am glad I did not marry into the family, as I could not have endured that girl to stay in my house as a sister-in-law.
 
“Where the d— has that other fellow gone to?” said Tom.  “Jack, do go out and see what is the matter.  If anybody is drunk send for me.”
 
“Oh, there is nobody drunk,” said Tizzy.
 
Jack went out, and the coachman returned; but what was done and said I hardly remember.  The whole room seemed to swim round and round, and as far as I can recollect70 the company sat mute, neither eating nor drinking.  Presently Jack returned.
 
“It’s all right,” said he.  I always liked Jack.  At the present moment he just looked towards me and laughed slightly.
 
“All right?” said Tom.  “But is the fellow coming?”
 
“We can do with Richard, I suppose,” said Jack.
 
“No—I can’t do with Richard,” said the father.  “And will know what it all means.  Where is that fellow Larry?”
 
Larry had been standing71 just outside the door, and now he entered gently as a mouse.  No sound came from his footfall, nor was there in his face that look of pain which it had worn for the last fifteen minutes.  But he was not the less abashed72, frightened and unhappy.
 
“What is all this about, Larry?” said his master, turning to him.  “I insist upon knowing.”
 
“Och thin, Mr. Green, yer honer, I wouldn’t be afther telling agin yer honer; indeed I wouldn’t thin, av’ the masther would only let me hould my tongue.”  And he looked across at me, deprecating my anger.
 
“Mr. Green!” said Mr. O’Conor.
 
“Yes, yer honer.  It’s all along of his honer’s thick shoes;” and Larry, stepping backwards73 towards the door, lifted them up from some corner, and coming well forward, exposed them with the soles uppermost to the whole table.
 
“And that’s not all, yer honer; but they’ve squoze the very toes of me into a jelly.”
 
There was now a loud laugh, in which Jack and Peter and Fanny and Kate and Tizzy all joined; as too did Mr. O’Conor—and I also myself after a while.
 
“Whose boots are they?” demanded Miss O’Conor senior, with her severest tone and grimmest accent.
 
“’Deed then and the divil may have them for me, Miss,” answered Larry.  “They war Mr. Green’s, but the likes of him won’t wear them agin afther the likes of me—barring he wanted them very particular,” added he, remembering his own pumps.
 
I began muttering something, feeling that the time had come when I must tell the tale.  But Jack with great good nature, took up the story and told it so well, that I hardly suffered in the telling.
 
“And that’s it,” said Tom O’Conor, laughing till I thought he would have fallen from his chair.  “So you’ve got Larry’s shoes on—”
 
“And very well he fills them,” said Jack.
 
“And it’s his honer that’s welcome to ’em,” said Larry, grinning from ear to ear now that he saw that “the masther” was once more in a good humour.
 
“I hope they’ll be nice shoes for dancing,” said Kate.
 
“Only there’s one down at the heel I know,” said Tizzy.
 
“The servant’s shoes!”  This was an exclamation made by the maiden lady, and intended apparently only for her brother’s ear.  But it was clearly audible by all the party.
 
“Better that than no dinner,” said Peter.
 
“But what are you to do about the dancing?” said Fanny, with an air of dismay on her face which flattered me with an idea that she did care whether I danced or no.
 
In the mean time Larry, now as happy as an emperor, was tripping round the room without any shoes to encumber74 him as he withdrew the plates from the table.
 
“And it’s his honer that’s welcome to ’em,” said he again, as he pulled off the table-cloth with a flourish.  “And why wouldn’t he, and he able to folly75 the hounds betther nor any Englishman that iver war in these parts before,—anyways so Mick says!”
 
Now Mick was the huntsman, and this little tale of eulogy76 from Larry went far towards easing my grief.  I had ridden well to the hounds that day, and I knew it.
 
There was nothing more said about the shoes, and I was soon again at my ease, although Miss O’Conor did say something about the impropriety of Larry walking about in his stocking feet.  The ladies however soon withdrew,—to my sorrow, for I was getting on swimmingly with Fanny; and then we gentlemen gathered round the fire and filled our glasses.
 
In about ten minutes a very light tap was heard, the door was opened to the extent of three inches, and a female voice which I readily recognised called to Jack.
 
Jack went out, and in a second or two put his head back into the room and called to me—“Green,” he said, “just step here moment, there’s a good fellow.”  I went out, and there I found Fanny standing with her brother.
 
“Here are the girls at their wits’ ends,” said he, “about your dancing.  So Fanny has put a boy upon one of the horse and proposes that you should send another line to Mrs. Meehan at Ballyglass.  It’s only ten miles, and he’ll be back in two hours.”
 
I need hardly say that I acted in conformity77 with this advice, I went into Mr. O’Conor’s book room, with Jack and his sister, and there scribbled78 a note.  I was delightful79 to feel how intimate I was with them, and how anxious they were to make me happy.
 
“And we won’t begin till they come,” said Fanny.
 
“Oh, Miss O’Conor, pray don’t wait,” said I.
 
“Oh, but we will,” she answered.  “You have your wine to drink, and then there’s the tea; and then we’ll have a song two.  I’ll spin it out; see if I don’t.”  And so we went to the front door where the boy was already on his horse—her own nag80 as I afterwards found.
 
“And Patsey,” said she, “ride for your life; and Patsey, whatever you do, don’t come back without Mr. Green’s pumps—his dancing-shoes you know.”
 
And in about two hours the pumps did arrive; and I don’t think I ever spent a pleasanter evening or got more satisfaction out of a pair of shoes.  They had not been two minutes on my feet before Larry was carrying a tray of negus across the room in those which I had worn at dinner.
 
“The Dillon girls are going to stay here,” said Fanny as I wished her good night at two o’clock.  “And we’ll have dancing every evening as long as you remain.”
 
“But I shall leave to-morrow,” said I.
 
“Indeed you won’t.  Papa will take care of that.”
 
And so he did.  “You had better go over to Ballyglass yourself to-morrow,” said he, “and collect your own things.  There’s no knowing else what you may have to borrow of Larry.”
 
I stayed there three weeks, and in the middle of the third I thought that everything would be arranged between me and Fanny.  But the aunt interfered81; and in about a twelvemonth after my adventures she consented to make a more fortunate man happy for his life.

The End



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 loomed 9423e616fe6b658c9a341ebc71833279     
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近
参考例句:
  • A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
  • The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 dressing 1uOzJG     
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
参考例句:
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
3 imp Qy3yY     
n.顽童
参考例句:
  • What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包!
  • There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。
4 horrid arozZj     
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的
参考例句:
  • I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
  • The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
5 clatter 3bay7     
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声
参考例句:
  • The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
  • Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。
6 clattered 84556c54ff175194afe62f5473519d5a     
发出咔哒声(clatter的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手,刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
  • His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软,刀子当啷一声掉到地上。
7 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
8 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
9 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。
10 morsel Q14y4     
n.一口,一点点
参考例句:
  • He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
  • The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。
11 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。
12 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。
13 obedience 8vryb     
n.服从,顺从
参考例句:
  • Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
  • Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。
14 perilous E3xz6     
adj.危险的,冒险的
参考例句:
  • The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
  • We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机,我们如今已安然无恙。
15 slipper px9w0     
n.拖鞋
参考例句:
  • I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。
  • The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。
16 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。
17 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。
18 peal Hm0zVO     
n.钟声;v.鸣响
参考例句:
  • The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
  • A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。
19 arcade yvHzi     
n.拱廊;(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道
参考例句:
  • At this time of the morning,the arcade was almost empty.在早晨的这个时候,拱廊街上几乎空无一人。
  • In our shopping arcade,you can find different kinds of souvenir.在我们的拱廊市场,你可以发现许多的纪念品。
20 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
21 parley H4wzT     
n.谈判
参考例句:
  • The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
  • The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。
22 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
23 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
24 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。
25 peals 9acce61cb0d806ac4745738cf225f13b     
n.(声音大而持续或重复的)洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 );隆隆声;洪亮的钟声;钟乐v.(使)(钟等)鸣响,(雷等)发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • She burst into peals of laughter. 她忽然哈哈大笑起来。
  • She went into fits/peals of laughter. 她发出阵阵笑声。 来自辞典例句
26 flop sjsx2     
n.失败(者),扑通一声;vi.笨重地行动,沉重地落下
参考例句:
  • The fish gave a flop and landed back in the water.鱼扑通一声又跳回水里。
  • The marketing campaign was a flop.The product didn't sell.市场宣传彻底失败,产品卖不出去。
27 exertion F7Fyi     
n.尽力,努力
参考例句:
  • We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力,累得大汗淋漓。
  • She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡,她浑身发热。
28 permanently KluzuU     
adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地
参考例句:
  • The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
  • The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
29 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。
30 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
31 odious l0zy2     
adj.可憎的,讨厌的
参考例句:
  • The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
  • His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。
32 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。
33 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
34 hearth n5by9     
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面
参考例句:
  • She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来,在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
  • She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里,打开电灯。
35 dictates d2524bb575c815758f62583cd796af09     
n.命令,规定,要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 );口授;支配;摆布
参考例句:
  • Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
36 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
37 intercourse NbMzU     
n.性交;交流,交往,交际
参考例句:
  • The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
  • There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。
38 banter muwzE     
n.嘲弄,戏谑;v.取笑,逗弄,开玩笑
参考例句:
  • The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。
  • She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。
39 impudence K9Mxe     
n.厚颜无耻;冒失;无礼
参考例句:
  • His impudence provoked her into slapping his face.他的粗暴让她气愤地给了他一耳光。
  • What knocks me is his impudence.他的厚颜无耻使我感到吃惊。
40 perspiration c3UzD     
n.汗水;出汗
参考例句:
  • It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了,我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
  • The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。
41 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
42 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
43 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
44 sundry CswwL     
adj.各式各样的,种种的
参考例句:
  • This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
  • We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。
45 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同
参考例句:
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
46 scrambled 2e4a1c533c25a82f8e80e696225a73f2     
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
47 contrived ivBzmO     
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的
参考例句:
  • There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
  • The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。
48 shuffle xECzc     
n.拖著脚走,洗纸牌;v.拖曳,慢吞吞地走
参考例句:
  • I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
  • Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。
49 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
50 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。
51 omission mjcyS     
n.省略,删节;遗漏或省略的事物,冗长
参考例句:
  • The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
  • The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。
52 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
53 unnatural 5f2zAc     
adj.不自然的;反常的
参考例句:
  • Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗?
  • She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。
54 flirt zgwzA     
v.调情,挑逗,调戏;n.调情者,卖俏者
参考例句:
  • He used to flirt with every girl he met.过去他总是看到一个姑娘便跟她调情。
  • He watched the stranger flirt with his girlfriend and got fighting mad.看着那个陌生人和他女朋友调情,他都要抓狂了。
55 flirting 59b9eafa5141c6045fb029234a60fdae     
v.调情,打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真,她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子! 来自子夜部分
56 mischief jDgxH     
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹
参考例句:
  • Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
  • He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
57 malice P8LzW     
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋
参考例句:
  • I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
  • There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。
58 sepulchral 9zWw7     
adj.坟墓的,阴深的
参考例句:
  • He made his way along the sepulchral corridors.他沿着阴森森的走廊走着。
  • There was a rather sepulchral atmosphere in the room.房间里有一种颇为阴沉的气氛。
59 memento nCxx6     
n.纪念品,令人回忆的东西
参考例句:
  • The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
  • My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。
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 bliss JtXz4     
n.狂喜,福佑,天赐的福
参考例句:
  • It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
  • He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴,因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。
62 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
63 feigned Kt4zMZ     
a.假装的,不真诚的
参考例句:
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
  • He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。
64 malady awjyo     
n.病,疾病(通常做比喻)
参考例句:
  • There is no specific remedy for the malady.没有医治这种病的特效药。
  • They are managing to control the malady into a small range.他们设法将疾病控制在小范围之内。
65 appease uVhzM     
v.安抚,缓和,平息,满足
参考例句:
  • He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
  • The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。
66 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
67 pecuniary Vixyo     
adj.金钱的;金钱上的
参考例句:
  • She denies obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.她否认通过欺骗手段获得经济利益。
  • She is so independent that she refused all pecuniary aid.她很独立,所以拒绝一切金钱上的资助。
68 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。
69 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
70 recollect eUOxl     
v.回忆,想起,记起,忆起,记得
参考例句:
  • He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
  • She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。
71 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
72 abashed szJzyQ     
adj.窘迫的,尴尬的v.使羞愧,使局促,使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥,朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
73 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
74 encumber 3jGzD     
v.阻碍行动,妨碍,堆满
参考例句:
  • He never let a woman encumber him for any length of time.他从来不让一个女人妨碍他太久的时间。
  • They can't encumber us on the road.他们不会在路上拖累大家。
75 folly QgOzL     
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
参考例句:
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
76 eulogy 0nuxj     
n.颂词;颂扬
参考例句:
  • He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
  • Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。
77 conformity Hpuz9     
n.一致,遵从,顺从
参考例句:
  • Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法?
  • The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。
78 scribbled de374a2e21876e209006cd3e9a90c01b     
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
  • He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前,他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。
79 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
80 nag i63zW     
v.(对…)不停地唠叨;n.爱唠叨的人
参考例句:
  • Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
  • Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。
81 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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