Nothing is more pathetic in human nature than its faculty3 of self-deception. Winding4 up the alarm clock (the night before) I meditate5 as to the exact time to elect for its disturbing buzz. If I set it at[Pg 112] 6:30 that will give me plenty of time to shave and reach the station with leisure for a pleasurable cup of coffee. But (so frail6 is the human will) when I wake at 6:30 I will think to myself, “There is plenty of time,” and probably turn over for “another five minutes.” This will mean a hideous7 spasm8 of awakening9 conscience about 7:10—an unbathed and unshaven tumult10 of preparation, malisons on the shoe manufacturers who invented boots with eyelets all the way up, a frantic11 sprint12 to Sixteenth Street and one of those horrid13 intervals14 that shake the very citadel15 of human reason when I ponder whether it is safer to wait for a possible car or must start hotfoot for the station at once. All this is generally decided16 by setting the clock for 6:50. Then, if I am spry, I can be under way by 7:20 and have a little time to be philosophical17 at the corner of Sixteenth and Pine. Of the vile18 seizures19 of passion that shake the bosom20 when a car comes along, seems about to halt, and then passes without stopping—of the spiritual scars these crises leave on the soul of the victim, I cannot trust myself to speak. It does not always happen, thank goodness. One does not always have to throb21 madly up Sixteenth, with head retorted over one's shoulder to see if a car may still be coming, while the legs make what speed they may on sliddery paving. Sometimes the car does actually appear and one buffets22 aboard and is buried in a brawny23 human mass. There is a stop, and one wonders fiercely[Pg 113] whether a horse is down ahead, and one had better get out at once and run for it. Tightly wedged in the heart of the car, nothing can be seen. It is all very nerve-racking, and I study, for quietness of mind, the familiar advertising24 card of the white-bearded old man announcing “It is really very remarkable25 that a cigar of this quality can be had for seven cents.”
Suppose, however, that fortune is with me. I descend26 at Market Street, and the City Hall dial, shining softly in the fast paling blue of morning, marks 7:30. Now I begin to enjoy myself. I reflect on the curious way in which time seems to stand still during the last minutes before the departure of a train. The half-hour between 7 and 7:30 has vanished in a gruesome flash. Now follow fifteen minutes of exquisite27 dalliance. Every few moments I look suddenly and savagely28 at the clock to see if it can be playing some saturnine29 trick. No, even now it is only 7:32. In the lively alertness of the morning mind a whole wealth of thought and accurate observation can be crammed30 into a few seconds. I halt for a moment at the window of that little lunchroom on Market Street (between Sixteenth and Fifteenth) where the food comes swiftly speeding from the kitchen on a moving belt. I wonder whether to have breakfast there. It is such fun to see a platter of pale yellow scrambled31 eggs sliding demurely32 beside the porcelain33 counter and[Pg 114] whipped dextrously off in front of you by the presiding waiter. But the superlative coffee of the Broad Street Station lunch counter generally lures34 me on.
What mundane35 joy can surpass the pleasure of approaching the station lunch counter, with full ten minutes to satisfy a morning appetite! “Morning, colonel,” says the waiter, recognizing a steady customer. “Wheatcakes and coffee,” you cry. With one deft36 gesture, it seems, he has handed you a glass brimming with ice water and spread out a snowy napkin. In another moment here is the coffee, with the generous jug37 of cream. You splash in a large lump of ice to make it cool enough to drink. Perhaps the seat next you is empty, and you put your books and papers on it, thus not having to balance them gingerly on your knees. All round you is a lusty savour of satisfaction, the tinkle38 of cash registers, napkins fluttering and flashing across the counters, coloured waiters darting39 to and fro, great clouds of steam rising where the big dish covers are raised on the cooking tables. You see the dark-brown coffee gently quivering in the glass gauge40 of the nickel boiler41. Then here come the wheatcakes. Nowhere else on earth, I firmly believe, are they cooked to just that correct delicacy42 of golden brown colour; nowhere else are they so soft and light of texture43, so hot, so beautifully overlaid with a smooth, almost intangible suggestion of crispness. Two[Pg 115] golden butter pats salute44 the eye, and a jug of syrup45. It is now 7:38.
As everyone knows, the correct thing is to start immediately on the first cake, using only syrup. The method of dealing46 with the other two is classic. One lifts the upper one and places a whole pat of butter on the lower cake. Then one replaces the upper cake upon the lower, leaving the butter to its fate. In that hot and enviable embrace the butter liquefies and spreads itself, gently anointing the field of coming action. Upon the upper shield one smilingly distributes the second butter pat, knifed off into small slices for greater speed of melting. By the time the first cake has been eaten, with the syrup, the other two will be ready for manifest destiny. The butter will be docile47 and submissive. Now, after again making sure of the time (7:40) the syrup is brought into play and the palate has the congenial task of determining whether the added delight of melting butter outweighs48 the greater hotness and primal49 thrill of the first cake which was glossed50 with the syrup only. You drain your coffee to the dregs; gaze pityingly on those rushing in to snap up a breakfast before the 8 o'clock leaves for New York, pay your check, and saunter out to the train. It is 7:43.
This, to be sure, is only the curtain-raiser to the pleasures to follow. This has been a physical and carnal pleasure. Now follow delights of the mind.[Pg 116] In the great gloomy shed wafts51 and twists of thick steam are jetting upward, heavily coiled in the cold air. In the train you smoke two pipes and read the morning paper. Then you are set down at Haverford. It is like a fairyland of unbelief. Trees and shrubbery are crusted and sheathed52 in crystal, lucid53 like chandeliers in the flat, thin light. Along the fence, as you go up the hill, you marvel54 at the scarlet55 berries in the hedge, gleaming through the glassy ribs56 of the bushes. The old willow57 tree by the Conklin gate is etched against the sky like a Japanese drawing—it has a curious greenish colour beneath that gray sky. There is some mystery in all this. It seems more beautiful than a merely mortal earth vexed58 by sinful men has any right to be. There is some ice palace in Hans Andersen which is something like it. In a little grove59, the boughs60, bent61 down with their shining glaziery, creak softly as they sway in the moving air. The evergreens62 are clotted63 with lumps and bags of transparent64 icing, their fronds65 sag66 to the ground. A pale twinkling blueness sifts67 over distant vistas68. The sky whitens in the south and points of light leap up to the eye as the wind turns a loaded branch.
A certain seriousness of demeanour is noticeable on the generally unfurrowed brows of student friends. Midyears are on and one sees them walking, freighted with precious and perishable69 erudition, toward the halls of trial. They seem a[Pg 117] little oppressed with care, too preoccupied70 to relish71 the entrancing pallor of this crystallized Eden. One carries, gravely, a cushion and an alarm clock. Not such a bad theory of life, perhaps—to carry in the crises of existence a cushion of philosophy and an alarum of resolution.
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illuminated
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adj.被照明的;受启迪的 | |
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precocious
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adj.早熟的;较早显出的 | |
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faculty
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n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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winding
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n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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meditate
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v.想,考虑,(尤指宗教上的)沉思,冥想 | |
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frail
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adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 | |
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hideous
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adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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spasm
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n.痉挛,抽搐;一阵发作 | |
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awakening
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n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的 | |
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tumult
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n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹 | |
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frantic
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adj.狂乱的,错乱的,激昂的 | |
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sprint
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n.短距离赛跑;vi. 奋力而跑,冲刺;vt.全速跑过 | |
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horrid
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adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的 | |
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intervals
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n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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citadel
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n.城堡;堡垒;避难所 | |
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decided
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adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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philosophical
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adj.哲学家的,哲学上的,达观的 | |
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vile
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adj.卑鄙的,可耻的,邪恶的;坏透的 | |
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seizures
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n.起获( seizure的名词复数 );没收;充公;起获的赃物 | |
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bosom
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n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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throb
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v.震颤,颤动;(急速强烈地)跳动,搏动 | |
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buffets
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(火车站的)饮食柜台( buffet的名词复数 ); (火车的)餐车; 自助餐 | |
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23
brawny
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adj.强壮的 | |
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advertising
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n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的 | |
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remarkable
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adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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descend
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vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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exquisite
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adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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savagely
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adv. 野蛮地,残酷地 | |
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saturnine
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adj.忧郁的,沉默寡言的,阴沉的,感染铅毒的 | |
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crammed
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adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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scrambled
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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 | |
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demurely
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adv.装成端庄地,认真地 | |
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porcelain
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n.瓷;adj.瓷的,瓷制的 | |
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lures
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吸引力,魅力(lure的复数形式) | |
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mundane
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adj.平凡的;尘世的;宇宙的 | |
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deft
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adj.灵巧的,熟练的(a deft hand 能手) | |
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jug
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n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂 | |
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tinkle
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vi.叮当作响;n.叮当声 | |
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darting
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v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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gauge
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v.精确计量;估计;n.标准度量;计量器 | |
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boiler
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n.锅炉;煮器(壶,锅等) | |
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delicacy
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n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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texture
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n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理 | |
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salute
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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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syrup
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n.糖浆,糖水 | |
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dealing
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n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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docile
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adj.驯服的,易控制的,容易教的 | |
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48
outweighs
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v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 );在重要性或价值方面超过 | |
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49
primal
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adj.原始的;最重要的 | |
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50
glossed
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v.注解( gloss的过去式和过去分词 );掩饰(错误);粉饰;把…搪塞过去 | |
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51
wafts
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n.空中飘来的气味,一阵气味( waft的名词复数 );摇转风扇v.吹送,飘送,(使)浮动( waft的第三人称单数 ) | |
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52
sheathed
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adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的;覆盖的;铠装的;装鞘了的v.将(刀、剑等)插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 );包,覆盖 | |
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53
lucid
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adj.明白易懂的,清晰的,头脑清楚的 | |
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54
marvel
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vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
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55
scarlet
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n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
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56
ribs
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n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹 | |
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57
willow
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n.柳树 | |
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58
vexed
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adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论 | |
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59
grove
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n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
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60
boughs
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大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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61
bent
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n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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evergreens
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n.常青树,常绿植物,万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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clotted
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adj.凝结的v.凝固( clot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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transparent
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adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的 | |
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65
fronds
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n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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66
sag
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v.下垂,下跌,消沉;n.下垂,下跌,凹陷,[航海]随风漂流 | |
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67
sifts
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v.筛( sift的第三人称单数 );筛滤;细查;详审 | |
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68
vistas
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长条形景色( vista的名词复数 ); 回顾; 展望; (未来可能发生的)一系列情景 | |
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69
perishable
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adj.(尤指食物)易腐的,易坏的 | |
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70
preoccupied
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adj.全神贯注的,入神的;被抢先占有的;心事重重的v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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71
relish
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n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
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