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CHAPTER VII “LOVE IS THE ONLY CONVENTION”
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 Claudia was spending the week-end out of town at Holme Court, Wargrave, where one of her aunts, Mrs. Armesby Croft, always spent a good part of the summer. Gilbert had also been invited and her brother Jack1, but Jack had refused to go.
 
She was coming down the stairs on the Friday morning and heard a familiar whistling. Jack’s door was open, and the musical-comedy tune—rather flat—proceeded from his room.
 
“Jack, I do wish you wouldn’t whistle so flat. Can’t you get your whistle manicured, or something?”
 
“Hallo! Claud, that you? Come in, I’m nearly all there.”
 
The late hours he habitually2 kept had not yet left any mark on Jack Iverson. This morning he looked wonderfully young and fresh, although he had not tumbled into bed until past three. Youth has a magnificent elasticity3, and he looked like a modern god that has tubbed and shaved and is ready for a good breakfast.
 
“Why aren’t you coming down to Wargrave?” inquired Claudia, sauntering into his apartment. “It’s just the week-end for the river.”
 
“Maybe I am going on the river,” said Jack, with a knowing air, settling his tie in the mirror. “I’ve had on seven ties this morning. How’s this one?”
 
“Looks all right. I don’t notice anything wrong, so I suppose it’s all right. That’s the test of men’s dressing4, isn’t it? Why not Wargrave?”
 
[76]
 
“Because, though Aunt Margaret is a clinking good sort and keeps a jolly good table, she is not a ravishing companion. You’re only my sister, and—’nuff said.”
 
Claudia looked at him, and her lip curled. “That means you are going up the river with a ravishing companion, I suppose?”
 
“Thou supposeth rightly, oh, wise one! She’s just the most fascinating thing you ever struck.”
 
“Which musical comedy?” queried5 Claudia, running her eyes over the collection of invitation cards and pretty women on his mantelshelf. The portraits had inscriptions6 on them of considerable fervour, and she noticed a family resemblance in the handwritings, which were either sprawly or very dashing, with huge flourishes at the end like a stockwhip in action.
 
“Never you mind. But she’s a duck, the very thing for a steam-launch. Got the neatest thing in ankles you ever saw. Beastly taking a woman with thick ankles on the river. They’re best hidden under a dinner-table.”
 
“Can she talk about anything?” asked Claudia curiously7, picking up a photograph of a smile and a shoulder.
 
“She can talk well enough when she wants to. Oh! I know you, Claudia, we’ve had this discussion before. I’ve told you I don’t like clever women. I hate a girl who wants to impress you and talks like a smart novel. Give me a nice, affectionate little thing who’s got a string of funny stories and doesn’t make too many demands on a fellow. She’s worth a hundred clever women, with their soaring nonsense.”
 
“Is she?” Claudia looked at him thoughtfully as he put his watch in his waistcoat. “I often wonder why you and men like you prefer to spend your time with—well, affectionate little things, rather than with girls in your own set. Personally, I can’t understand your taste. I[77] am sure these girls have common ways and petty thoughts. I couldn’t stand a musical-comedy man for five minutes.”
 
“Oh! that’s different. The men are awful bounders; you’re quite right. I’d like to see one of them make up to you!”
 
“Why is it so different?”
 
“Well, it is. I can’t explain things like that to you, but it is. You’re brainy, old girl, and I don’t pretend to be brainy. A lot of good brains do a woman, unless she’s a schoolmistress. Not that Ruby8 is stupid. She’s—well, she’s bright, if you know what I mean. She knows how to get what she wants, and knows her way about.”
 
“The cleverness of the gamin,” observed Claudia coolly.
 
“Well, anyway, she’s clever enough for me. You can be easy and comfortable with her, and she’s an amusing companion. Doesn’t go in for moods and all that nonsense. I like ’em bright and chirpy, I confess. If you girls only knew how your confounded moods and fancies bore a fellow. Why, look at you. You’re full of whims9 and fancies. You can be an awfully10 good companion if you like—none better; but one never knows what you will want the next moment. You women expect us to transpose ourselves to your key every few minutes. It’s a damned nuisance, Claudia. Take my advice, don’t try too many moods on with Gilbert.”
 
“You think there is much in common between you and Gilbert?” Claudia’s voice was sarcastic11.
 
“Yes more than you think,” flashed out Jack unexpectedly. “Oh! I know all about his brains, but otherwise he’s much the same as me. He doesn’t care enough about women generally to make a study of ’em.”
 
“I’m glad of that.”
 
“He’s too indifferent, and I’m too lazy,” continued young Iverson, bent12 on pursuing his train of thought.[78] “I daresay women are nice to me because I’ve got plenty of money—you are right in some cases—but as long as they are nice, what matters?”
 
“From your point of view, not at all, if you only want a woman as a mere13 plaything, to smile automatically the moment you appear, and produce a funny story when you turn a handle. You want a doll, Jack, not a woman, a pretty, jointed14 doll, that squeaks15 ‘darling’ when you come up to it, and which you can pick up when you like and drop when you like.”
 
“My dear girl,” said Jack, with a condescending16 smile “you can’t understand. Women never do understand these things. They talk a lot about sex nowadays, but it’s all talk. The proposition is quite a simple one, if you women wouldn’t wrap it up with complexities17.”
 
“Well, I’m glad I don’t understand,” she returned warmly. “And if I were a man I don’t think I should understand either. I hope I should be more fastidious.” She pounced18 on a jeweller’s morocco case. “Hallo! May I look, Jack?”
 
Jack nodded. He rather liked Claudia when she was not too brainy and analytical19.
 
She opened the case with a click. It contained a very handsome pendant with pearl drop and a big ruby in the centre.
 
“Pretty, isn’t it?” said Jack complacently20. “The ruby was my own idea—her name—d’yer see?”
 
“Quite subtle,” said Claudia gravely; “but I daresay, if you explain it, she’ll see the point.”
 
“Eh? Oh, well! they like a little present occasionally. And if you saw her pleasure at anything you give her—well, you feel you want to go and buy her the whole shopfull at once.”
 
“H’m. I think I was wrong in suggesting she was not clever. Let’s go down to breakfast, Jacky.”
 
“You see,” said Jack confidentially21, as they went down[79] the stairs, “a fellow likes to be appreciated. You remember that, my dear, now you are going to be married. Don’t have any moods, and always be appreciative22 and bright. That does the trick every time. Take my advice.”
 
“Thank you. I’ll be sure and remember. Appreciative and bright. I might have it framed.”
 
“Don’t you fancy I don’t know anything about women. You’re a nut, Claudia, I admire you no end, but really you make too great demands on a chap. Come on, I could eat a tin can this morning.”
 
Later that day Claudia was lying very comfortably in a big wicker chair under an old elm-tree at Holme Court, when Gilbert arrived. He looked noticeably tired and fagged, for the week had been a very hot one, and he had been hard at it. He did not specially23 remark the pretty picture she made in her cool white linen24 against the green background, but he appreciated the shade of the elm. His chambers25 were abominably26 stuffy27.
 
“Poor boy!” said Claudia softly. “You’re tired, I can see. I’ll be soothing28. You don’t want me to tell funny stories, do you?”
 
Gilbert’s eyes opened in blank surprise, but he caught the twinkle in her eyes, and the smouldering laugh in the corners of her mouth as she watched him. He knew there was a joke somewhere, but he was much too hot and tired to worry it out. Instead he looked at Claudia’s mouth, which was soft and red, with a most provocative29 pout30.
 
“It’s too warm even to laugh. But it’s nice and cool here.” He dropped into a chair with a huge sigh of content.
 
“We are all alone here,” said Claudia happily. “The others have gone on the river, but I waited for you.” There was no one in sight except a couple of birds hopping31 about in search of a worm. “I am going to give you[80] some tea out here, and then we will go down and get one of the boats out.” She dropped a kiss on his hair, which already had several silver threads in it. “I thought I’d stop and mother a poor tired boy! Somehow—wasn’t it ridiculous of me?—I fancied you would like to have me all to yourself.” She laughed a little. “It’s rather nice to have someone to pet and fuss over. I’ve never had anyone who would let me do it. Mother hates us even to kiss her—we do it once a year, at Christmas, when we thank her for her present—and Pat is too tom-boyish to like being petted. I had to fall back on Billie. He can stand any amount of it, but still—well, he’s only a dog.”
 
“Does that mean I have cut out Billie,” said Gilbert lazily. Her hands, with their soft, rather mesmeric finger-tips, gave him agreeable sensations in keeping with idle hours and summer days.
 
“No, it doesn’t. As a matter of fact I feel so happy that I could pet the whole world!”
 
“A tall order! But, I say, I’d rather you didn’t do it to the masculine half. They might misunderstand your mothering instinct.”
 
She laughed and dropped another kiss on his hair before she went back to her seat among the cushions. Involuntarily he put up his hand and smoothed his hair, which was in no way disturbed. It was thick and straight, and spoke32 of his abundant energy.
 
“Gilbert! Don’t brush my kisses off. You are ungallant.”
 
“Sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to brush them off, but a man hates the idea that his hair has got ruffled33.”
 
“That’s because you are afraid of looking ridiculous! Men are very dignified34 animals, aren’t they? I believe you’re a particularly dignified, conventional specimen35!”
 
The maid was approaching with the tea-tray. As she came across the lawn, the silver caught the rays of the[81] sun and threw them back in radiant shafts36 of light. The maid’s cap and apron37 seemed dazzlingly white against the green and blue of the sky and garden.
 
“Of course, I’m conventional,” responded Gilbert. “Haven’t you discovered that before? Only weak people are unconventional.”
 
Claudia pondered this saying as she watched the maid arrange the table.
 
“I don’t believe that is altogether true,” she said at length, taking hold of the teapot.
 
“Of course not. Nothing is altogether true and nothing is altogether false. Plenty of milk, please.”
 
“I don’t believe I have a conventional, tidy mind. I can imagine myself doing quite unconventional things, and I don’t believe I should realize they were unconventional till I looked back.”
 
“That’s having no mind at all.” He looked at her teasingly. “The little pink abominations out of the cake-basket, please.”
 
“And then you’d be terribly shocked and put on your barrister air, and say ‘Didn’t you know that ...?’ You don’t altogether hold a brief for conventionality, do you?”
 
“It’s the safest and most convenient path,” he said, stirring his tea. “Personally, I have no quarrel with convention.”
 
“Don’t you believe that circumstances may sometimes force you to do unconventional things when convention means death to the spirit?”
 
“I make allowances for weakness, because weakness is the rule and strength the exception. The world gets weaker-willed and more neurotic38 every day. That’s why one hears so much talk of ‘individuality,’ ‘independence,’ et cetera. More cake, please.”
 
Claudia shook her head, not at the request for more cake, but at his dicta.
 
[82]
 
“That’s not right. You are making no allowance for temperament39. Sometimes it’s really brave to be unconventional.”
 
“More often weak and cowardly,” retorted Gilbert, “and the unconventional people usually put other people in a hopeless mess.”
 
“I don’t believe you were ever tempted40 to do anything unconventional.” Claudia looked at him, and it crossed her mind that he was very unlike her mother’s friends.
 
“No, I don’t pretend to have withstood great temptations in that line. ‘Trespassers will be prosecuted’ doesn’t enrage41 me. I put the same notice-board on my own property, and am content.”
 
“I see. Will that notice-board cover—your wife?” She was smiling at him, but there was a hint of earnest in the dark eyes.
 
“Most certainly, madam. The rest of the world may admire you—from a safe distance.” He found her looking very pretty behind the silver, the sun through the green branches just flecking her hair. “I warn you I should not make a complaisant42 husband if I found someone trespassing43.” He laughed as he said it, but there was a decided44 champ of his jaws45, which she noticed and secretly admired.
 
“And I shouldn’t be marrying you if I thought you would,” she replied, with a sudden touch of fire in her voice. “One sees so much of that and it is so—so horrible. One despises the husband more than the wife.” Then she went on more slowly. “I think most women feel the same about it, although they say they want perfect freedom in such matters. Women are playing a game of bluff46 nowadays. They don’t want a husband to be complaisant.”
 
He looked across at her, and his mother’s warnings came back to him. Claudia like her mother? Why,[83] she had just naively47 acknowledged that she only wanted to be dominated by a strong man. Geoffrey Iverson had always been a slackster. A weak man makes a Circe. If a man cannot hold a woman, he deserves and must expect to lose her. Life to-day is not so far removed from savagery48 after all. The strong man always wins. And had he not won so far all along the line? Had he not taken and kept all that he needed? His mother did not understand that there was no cause to fear. A palmist had once told him that he possessed49 an indomitable will. He knew that she was right. His thoughts flew back, induced by the peace and quiet, to the last few years at the Bar. He had out-distanced all his rivals. Men who had eaten their dinners at the same time as he were still unknown, briefless. And some of them had shown brilliant promise, some of them had worked hard, too. He knew that already, although he was so young, there was a rumour50 that he might shortly be taking silk.
 
Claudia, her chin propped51 on the palm of her hand, had been watching him, and with a woman’s swift uncanny intuition she knew that he had ceased to think of her, that she had lost touch with him. With a touch of jealousy52 she cried:
 
“Gilbert, come back to me. Of what were you thinking?”
 
He came back at once, but without the faintest comprehension that she had felt left out in the cold, had divined that she had a serious rival.
 
“Suppose I say I was thinking of nothing in particular?”
 
She shook her head. “It wouldn’t be true. You were thinking of something that pleased you and—and interested you enormously. Your eyes were dark with thought, and there was a glint in them—— Ah! you were back in your chambers with your briefs?”
 
He laughed.
 
[84]
 
“Yes, I was right. You had deliberately53 left this sweet, sunny garden and—and me, and gone back to those stuffy chambers. We haven’t seen one another for four days, and you’d gone back to your work.”
 
There was an edge to her voice that roused him.
 
“Claudia, dear, I am very happy here with you, but one can’t control one’s thoughts or shut watertight doors on one’s affairs. A woman’s life is different. Men cannot help mingling54 their business with their pleasure.”
 
“You mean we have nothing else to think of but you?” She threw up her head at an angle which was particularly becoming, and showed the softness and whiteness of her throat in the collarless dress.
 
“No,” he said, “but you haven’t any big objective in life. My dear Claudia, if you understood the keen competition nowadays, you wouldn’t mind a man’s thoughts straying back to the fray55. You don’t really, you are much too clever to want a stupid, love-sick swain who can talk or think of nothing else but love. You have said many times that you are in complete sympathy with my ambitions. Don’t be feminine and illogical. I was flattering myself”—he put his hand on hers with his most engaging smile—“that I had won a super-feminine and logical wife.”
 
“I am in sympathy with you Gilbert.” She carefully kept her eyes from his face, as though that would break the chain of her thoughts. “And I don’t want you to be a stupid, love-sick swain, but——” How could she make him understand without seeming petty and unreasonable56? “Gilbert,” she went on quickly, determined57 to say frankly58 what she was thinking, “is everything in your life subservient59 to your work? Sometimes you talk as if everything else—as though we were the rungs upon which you mounted the ladder. When you talk of wasting time—things being trivial and not worth while—your face becomes so contemptuous and hard[85] and engrossed60 it makes me frightened. I want you to have a career; I wouldn’t have married an idle man. I will help you in every way I can; I shan’t expect impossible attention—but, Gilbert, I want our marriage to mean something to you, a big something.”
 
She paused for breath, and he opened his lips to speak, but she signed to him to be silent.
 
“Let me finish. I couldn’t bear to think that your work was everything to you, and that I—I was merely the Hausfrau that bore your name and sat at your table. It might be enough for some women, but it wouldn’t be enough for me. I warn you that if you ever let me drop into the background of life I—I don’t know what I might not do. I told you just now that I wasn’t conventional. Love is the only convention that I own. Gilbert, tell me something quite truthfully. If I am asking things you can’t give me, let us break off the engagement before it is too late. I want”—her voice broke a little and her eyes were dimmed with feeling—“I want a great deal of love. I’ve never had it, you know, and I—I’m so hungry. If I didn’t love you, I shouldn’t be talking like this. You know I love you; but you—you—Gilbert——”
 
She had risen from her seat and faced him. She was very much in earnest, and her mouth trembled like a child’s. Her full, rounded bosoms61 under the linen and lace heaved with her quick heart-beats; her eyes asked piteously for love.
 
She was very beautiful in that moment. She was young and fresh and fragrant62, with not a touch of artifice63 about her. There was no man alive that would not have been touched by her beautiful, pleading eyes. She promised so much. The hint of passion in her eyes and colouring would have allured64 any man, and Gilbert was by nature a passionate65 animal. Passion and ambition had[86] warred from his youth, and he had deliberately crushed out his warm human instincts. Until he met Claudia they had been absolutely under control. Now, as on the night he had proposed to her, something swept over him like a huge wave and swamped his brain. He only knew that he desired this girl and that he had never been thwarted66 in anything he had set his heart upon. He did love her; what more could she want? She was young and immature67; she did not understand that man’s feelings may be the deeper for not finding constant expression. Later, when they were married, she would understand better.
 
He forgot they were in the garden of Holme Court—in his cooler moments he was desperately68 afraid of any demonstrations69 of affection—and he sprang to his feet and caught her in his strong arms. He showered kisses on her passionate, trembling lips, kisses that sent a wild thrill of fearful joy through her, that made the placid70, sunny garden rock and reel before her eyes, and gave her a vivid glimpse of what marriage might mean. And no man had ever roused her passions before. This man had always had the power to do so since the dinner-party when he had held her hand in his and asked if he might claim the privileges of old friendship and call her Claudia. Something had stirred uneasily then.
 
“If—if he has this power over me, if he can rouse the woman in me,” she reasoned, “he must be the right man, the man I should marry.” It was the simple, true mating of Nature. Surely, surely all would be well?
 
“You do—you do love me very much, don’t you? I am more to you than your work?”
 
Her lips had intoxicated71 him so that he would have told her any lie so that she did not elude72 him. But he really thought he was speaking the truth, that there was something more than mere sex attraction between them.
 
“Yes, yes,” he cried fiercely, with the conquering note[87] of the male; “can’t you feel?—don’t you know?—kiss me, kiss me——”
 
It was several minutes before they went back to the pink abominations and the more sober discussion of their wedding.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 habitually 4rKzgk     
ad.习惯地,通常地
参考例句:
  • The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。
  • Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰,我来到他的椅子跟前。
3 elasticity 8jlzp     
n.弹性,伸缩力
参考例句:
  • The skin eventually loses its elasticity.皮肤最终会失去弹性。
  • Every sort of spring has a definite elasticity.每一种弹簧都有一定的弹性。
4 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。
5 queried 5c2c5662d89da782d75e74125d6f6932     
v.质疑,对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 );询问
参考例句:
  • She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事?”琴向觉民问道,她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
6 inscriptions b8d4b5ef527bf3ba015eea52570c9325     
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记
参考例句:
  • Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
  • The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了,石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。
7 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
8 ruby iXixS     
n.红宝石,红宝石色
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
  • On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。
9 WHIMS ecf1f9fe569e0760fc10bec24b97c043     
虚妄,禅病
参考例句:
  • The mate observed regretfully that he could not account for that young fellow's whims. 那位伙伴很遗憾地说他不能说出那年轻人产生怪念头的原因。
  • The rest she had for food and her own whims. 剩下的钱她用来吃饭和买一些自己喜欢的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
10 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
11 sarcastic jCIzJ     
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的
参考例句:
  • I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
  • She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。
12 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
13 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
14 jointed 0e57ef22df02be1a8b7c6abdfd98c54f     
有接缝的
参考例句:
  • To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. 若是拥抱她,那感觉活像拥抱一块木疙瘩。 来自英汉文学
  • It is possible to devise corresponding systematic procedures for rigid jointed frames. 推导出适合于钢架的类似步骤也是可能的。
15 squeaks c0a1b34e42c672513071d8eeca8c1186     
n.短促的尖叫声,吱吱声( squeak的名词复数 )v.短促地尖叫( squeak的第三人称单数 );吱吱叫;告密;充当告密者
参考例句:
  • The upper-middle-classes communicate with each other in inaudible squeaks, like bats. 那些上中层社会的人交谈起来象是蚊子在哼哼,你根本听不见。 来自辞典例句
  • She always squeaks out her ideas when she is excited. 她一激动总是尖声说出自己的想法。 来自互联网
16 condescending avxzvU     
adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的
参考例句:
  • He has a condescending attitude towards women. 他对女性总是居高临下。
  • He tends to adopt a condescending manner when talking to young women. 和年轻女子说话时,他喜欢摆出一副高高在上的姿态。
17 complexities b217e6f6e3d61b3dd560522457376e61     
复杂性(complexity的名词复数); 复杂的事物
参考例句:
  • The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
  • The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。
18 pounced 431de836b7c19167052c79f53bdf3b61     
v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 );猛扑;一眼看出;抓住机会(进行抨击)
参考例句:
  • As soon as I opened my mouth, the teacher pounced on me. 我一张嘴就被老师抓住呵斥了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The police pounced upon the thief. 警察向小偷扑了过去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
19 analytical lLMyS     
adj.分析的;用分析法的
参考例句:
  • I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
  • As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。
20 complacently complacently     
adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地
参考例句:
  • He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
  • "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装,"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
21 confidentially 0vDzuc     
ad.秘密地,悄悄地
参考例句:
  • She was leaning confidentially across the table. 她神神秘秘地从桌子上靠过来。
  • Kao Sung-nien and Wang Ch'u-hou talked confidentially in low tones. 高松年汪处厚两人低声密谈。
22 appreciative 9vDzr     
adj.有鉴赏力的,有眼力的;感激的
参考例句:
  • She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
  • We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。
23 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
24 linen W3LyK     
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的
参考例句:
  • The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
  • Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。
25 chambers c053984cd45eab1984d2c4776373c4fe     
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅
参考例句:
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间:Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
26 abominably 71996a6a63478f424db0cdd3fd078878     
adv. 可恶地,可恨地,恶劣地
参考例句:
  • From her own point of view Barbara had behaved abominably. 在她看来,芭芭拉的表现是恶劣的。
  • He wanted to know how abominably they could behave towards him. 他希望能知道他们能用什么样的卑鄙手段来对付他。
27 stuffy BtZw0     
adj.不透气的,闷热的
参考例句:
  • It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
  • It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热,我们感到空气都是潮的。
28 soothing soothing     
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的
参考例句:
  • Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
  • His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。
29 provocative e0Jzj     
adj.挑衅的,煽动的,刺激的,挑逗的
参考例句:
  • She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
  • His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。
30 pout YP8xg     
v.撅嘴;绷脸;n.撅嘴;生气,不高兴
参考例句:
  • She looked at her lover with a pretentious pout.她看着恋人,故作不悦地撅着嘴。
  • He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted.他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。
31 hopping hopping     
n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
  • I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。
32 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。
33 ruffled e4a3deb720feef0786be7d86b0004e86     
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
  • All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。
34 dignified NuZzfb     
a.可敬的,高贵的
参考例句:
  • Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中,他始终沉默以保持尊严。
  • He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。
35 specimen Xvtwm     
n.样本,标本
参考例句:
  • You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
  • This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。
36 shafts 8a8cb796b94a20edda1c592a21399c6b     
n.轴( shaft的名词复数 );(箭、高尔夫球棒等的)杆;通风井;一阵(疼痛、害怕等)
参考例句:
  • He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把,摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下,并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句
37 apron Lvzzo     
n.围裙;工作裙
参考例句:
  • We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
  • She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。
38 neurotic lGSxB     
adj.神经病的,神经过敏的;n.神经过敏者,神经病患者
参考例句:
  • Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
  • There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响,如焦虑和神经质的行为。
39 temperament 7INzf     
n.气质,性格,性情
参考例句:
  • The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
  • Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
40 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
41 enrage UoQxz     
v.触怒,激怒
参考例句:
  • She chose a quotation that she knew would enrage him.她选用了一句明知会激怒他的引语。
  • He started another matter to enrage me,but I didn't care.他又提出另一问题,想以此激怒我,可我并没在意。
42 complaisant cbAyX     
adj.顺从的,讨好的
参考例句:
  • He has a pretty and complaisant wife.他有个漂亮又温顺的妻子。
  • He is complaisant to her.他对她百依百顺。
43 trespassing a72d55f5288c3d37c1e7833e78593f83     
[法]非法入侵
参考例句:
  • He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
  • Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。
44 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。
45 jaws cq9zZq     
n.口部;嘴
参考例句:
  • The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
  • The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
46 bluff ftZzB     
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗
参考例句:
  • His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
  • John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。
47 naively c42c6bc174e20d494298dbdd419a3b18     
adv. 天真地
参考例句:
  • They naively assume things can only get better. 他们天真地以为情况只会变好。
  • In short, Knox's proposal was ill conceived and naively made. 总而言之,诺克斯的建议考虑不周,显示幼稚。
48 savagery pCozS     
n.野性
参考例句:
  • The police were shocked by the savagery of the attacks.警察对这些惨无人道的袭击感到震惊。
  • They threw away their advantage by their savagery to the black population.他们因为野蛮对待黑人居民而丧失了自己的有利地位。
49 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
50 rumour 1SYzZ     
n.谣言,谣传,传闻
参考例句:
  • I should like to know who put that rumour about.我想知道是谁散布了那谣言。
  • There has been a rumour mill on him for years.几年来,一直有谣言产生,对他进行中伤。
51 propped 557c00b5b2517b407d1d2ef6ba321b0e     
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
  • This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。
52 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
53 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。
54 mingling b387131b4ffa62204a89fca1610062f3     
adj.混合的
参考例句:
  • There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间,已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
  • The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。
55 fray NfDzp     
v.争吵;打斗;磨损,磨破;n.吵架;打斗
参考例句:
  • Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢?
  • Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。
56 unreasonable tjLwm     
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的
参考例句:
  • I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
  • They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
57 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。
58 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
59 subservient WqByt     
adj.卑屈的,阿谀的
参考例句:
  • He was subservient and servile.他低声下气、卑躬屈膝。
  • It was horrible to have to be affable and subservient.不得不强作欢颜卖弄风骚,真是太可怕了。
60 engrossed 3t0zmb     
adj.全神贯注的
参考例句:
  • The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
  • No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。
61 bosoms 7e438b785810fff52fcb526f002dac21     
胸部( bosom的名词复数 ); 胸怀; 女衣胸部(或胸襟); 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形
参考例句:
  • How beautifully gold brooches glitter on the bosoms of our patriotic women! 金光闪闪的别针佩在我国爱国妇女的胸前,多美呀!
  • Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty. 我们寻个僻静的地方,去痛哭一场吧。
62 fragrant z6Yym     
adj.芬香的,馥郁的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
  • The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。
63 artifice 3NxyI     
n.妙计,高明的手段;狡诈,诡计
参考例句:
  • The use of mirrors in a room is an artifice to make the room look larger.利用镜子装饰房间是使房间显得大一点的巧妙办法。
  • He displayed a great deal of artifice in decorating his new house.他在布置新房子中表现出富有的技巧。
64 allured 20660ad1de0bc3cf3f242f7df8641b3e     
诱引,吸引( allure的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • They allured her into a snare. 他们诱她落入圈套。
  • Many settlers were allured by promises of easy wealth. 很多安家落户的人都是受了诱惑,以为转眼就能发财而来的。
65 passionate rLDxd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
66 thwarted 919ac32a9754717079125d7edb273fc2     
阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过
参考例句:
  • The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
  • Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。
67 immature Saaxj     
adj.未成熟的,发育未全的,未充分发展的
参考例句:
  • Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅,不夠成熟。
  • The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。
68 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
69 demonstrations 0922be6a2a3be4bdbebd28c620ab8f2d     
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威
参考例句:
  • Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
  • The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。
70 placid 7A1yV     
adj.安静的,平和的
参考例句:
  • He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
  • You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。
71 intoxicated 350bfb35af86e3867ed55bb2af85135f     
喝醉的,极其兴奋的
参考例句:
  • She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
  • They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉,东南西北全然不辨。
72 elude hjuzc     
v.躲避,困惑
参考例句:
  • If you chase it,it will elude you.如果你追逐着它, 它会躲避你。
  • I had dared and baffled his fury.I must elude his sorrow.我曾经面对过他的愤怒,并且把它挫败了;现在我必须躲避他的悲哀。


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