To make her foster-child, her Inn-mate Man,
Forget the glories he hath known.
It's a queer thing that all these imitation beers taste to us exactly as real beer did the first time we tasted it (we were seven years old) and shuddered7. “Two glasses of cider,” we said to the comely8 serving maid. Alas9
That nature yet remembers
There is a nice point of etiquette11 involved in lunching in a crowded chop house. Does the fact of having bought and eaten a moderate meal entitle one to sit with one's companion for a placid12 talk and smoke afterward13? Or is one compelled to relinquish14 the table as soon as one is finished, to make place for later comers? These last are standing15 menacingly near by, gazing bitterly upon us as we look over the card and debate the desirability of having some tapioca pudding. But our presiding Juno has already settled the matter, and made courtesy a matter of necessity. “These gentlemen will be through in a moment,” she says to the new candidates. Our companion, the amiable16 G—— W——, was just then telling us of a brand of synthetic[Pg 177] whiskey now being distilled17 by a famous tavern18 of the underworld. The superlative charm of this beverage19 seems to be the extreme rigidity20 it imparts to the persevering21 communicant. “What does it taste like?” we asked. “Rather like gnawing22 furniture,” said G—— W——. “It's like a long, healthy draught23 of shellac. It seems to me that it would be less trouble if you offered the barkeep fifty cents to hit you over the head with a hammer. The general effect would be about the same, and you wouldn't feel nearly so bad in the morning.”
A windy day, and perishing chill, we thought as we strolled through the gloomy caverns24 and crypts underneath25 the Brooklyn Bridge. Those twisted vistas26 seen through the archways give an impression of wrecked27 Louvain. A great bonfire was burning in the middle of the street. Under the Pearl Street elevated the sunlight drifted through the girders in a lively chequer, patterning piles of gray-black snow with a criss-cross of brightness. We had wanted to show our visitor Franklin Square, which he, as a man of letters, had always thought of as a trimly gardened plot surrounded by quiet little old-fashioned houses with brass28 knockers, and famous authors tripping in and out. As we stood examining the fa?ade of Harper and Brothers, our friend grew nervous. He was carrying under his arm the dummy29 of an “export catalogue” for a big brass foundry, that being his line of work. “They'll think we're free verse poets[Pg 178] trying to get up courage enough to go in and submit a manuscript,” he said, and dragged us away.
A windy day, we had said in the grimy recesses30 of Cliff and Dover streets. (Approaching this sentiment for the third time, perhaps we may be permitted to accomplish our thought and say what we had in mind.) But up on the airy decking of the Brooklyn Bridge, where we repaired with G—— W—— for a brief stroll, the afternoon seemed mild and tranquil31. It is a mistake to assume that the open spaces are the windier. The subway is New York's home of ?olus, and most of the gusts32 that buffet33 us on the streets are merely hastening round a corner in search of the nearest subway entrance so that they can get down there where they feel they belong. Up on the bridge it was plain to perceive that the March sunshine had elements of strength. The air was crisp but genial34. A few pedestrians35 were walking resolutely36 toward the transpontine borough37; the cop on duty stood outside his little cabin with the air of one ungrieved by care. Behind us stood the high profiles of the lower city, sharpened against the splendidly clear blue sky which is New York's special blessing38. On the water moved a large tug39, towing barges40. Smoke trailed behind it in the same easy and comfortable way that tobacco reek41 gushes42 over a man's shoulder when he walks across a room puffing43 his pipe.
The bridge is a curiously44 delightful45 place to[Pg 179] watch the city from. Walking toward the central towers seems like entering a vast spider's web. The footway between the criss-cross cables draws one inward with a queer fascination46, the perspective diminishing the network to the eye so that it seems to tighten47 round you as you advance. Even when there is but little traffic the bridge is never still. It is alive, trembling, vibrant48, the foot moves with a springy recoil49. One feels the lift and strain of gigantic forces, and looks in amazement50 on the huge sagging51 hawsers52 that carry the load. The bars and rods quiver, the whole lively fabric53 is full of a tremor54, but one that conveys no sense of insecureness. It trembles as a tree whispers in a light air.
And of the view from the bridge, it is too sweeping55 to carry wholly in mind. Best, one thinks, it is seen in a winter dusk, when the panes56 of Manhattan's mountains are still blazing against a crystal blue-green sky, and the last flush of an orange sunset lingers in the west. Such we saw it once, coming over from Brooklyn, very hungry after walking in most of the way from Jamaica, and pledged in our own resolve not to break fast until reaching a certain inn on Pearl Street where they used to serve banana omelets. Dusk simplifies the prospect57, washes away the lesser58 units, fills in the foreground with obliterating59 shadow, leaves only the monstrous60 sierras of Broadway jagged against the vault61.[Pg 180] It deepens this incredible panorama62 into broad sweeps of gold and black and peacock blue which one may file away in memory, tangled63 eyries of shining windows swimming in empty air. As seen in the full brilliance64 of noonday the bristle65 of detail is too bewildering to carry in one clutch of the senses. The eye is distracted by the abysses between buildings, by the uneven66 elevation67 of the summits, by the jumbled68 compression of the streets. In the vastness of the scene one looks in vain for some guiding principle of arrangement by which vision can focus itself. It is better not to study this strange and disturbing outlook too minutely, lest one lose what knowledge of it one has. Let one do as the veteran prowlers of the bridge: stroll pensively69 to and fro in the sun, taking man's miracles for granted, exhilarated and content.
点击收听单词发音
1 blustering | |
adj.狂风大作的,狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 );咆哮;(风)呼啸;狂吹 | |
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2 hardiness | |
n.耐劳性,强壮;勇气,胆子 | |
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3 hissing | |
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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4 rosy | |
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的 | |
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5 grill | |
n.烤架,铁格子,烤肉;v.烧,烤,严加盘问 | |
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6 homely | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
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7 shuddered | |
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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8 comely | |
adj.漂亮的,合宜的 | |
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9 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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10 fugitive | |
adj.逃亡的,易逝的;n.逃犯,逃亡者 | |
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11 etiquette | |
n.礼仪,礼节;规矩 | |
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12 placid | |
adj.安静的,平和的 | |
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13 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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14 relinquish | |
v.放弃,撤回,让与,放手 | |
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15 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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16 amiable | |
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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17 distilled | |
adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 );从…提取精华 | |
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18 tavern | |
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店 | |
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19 beverage | |
n.(水,酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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20 rigidity | |
adj.钢性,坚硬 | |
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21 persevering | |
a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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22 gnawing | |
a.痛苦的,折磨人的 | |
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23 draught | |
n.拉,牵引,拖;一网(饮,吸,阵);顿服药量,通风;v.起草,设计 | |
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24 caverns | |
大山洞,大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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25 underneath | |
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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26 vistas | |
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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27 wrecked | |
adj.失事的,遇难的 | |
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28 brass | |
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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29 dummy | |
n.假的东西;(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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30 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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31 tranquil | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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32 gusts | |
一阵强风( gust的名词复数 ); (怒、笑等的)爆发; (感情的)迸发; 发作 | |
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33 buffet | |
n.自助餐;饮食柜台;餐台 | |
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34 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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35 pedestrians | |
n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 ) | |
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36 resolutely | |
adj.坚决地,果断地 | |
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37 borough | |
n.享有自治权的市镇;(英)自治市镇 | |
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38 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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39 tug | |
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船 | |
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40 barges | |
驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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41 reek | |
v.发出臭气;n.恶臭 | |
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42 gushes | |
n.涌出,迸发( gush的名词复数 )v.喷,涌( gush的第三人称单数 );滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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43 puffing | |
v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
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44 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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45 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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46 fascination | |
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋 | |
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47 tighten | |
v.(使)变紧;(使)绷紧 | |
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48 vibrant | |
adj.震颤的,响亮的,充满活力的,精力充沛的,(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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49 recoil | |
vi.退却,退缩,畏缩 | |
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50 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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51 sagging | |
下垂[沉,陷],松垂,垂度 | |
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52 hawsers | |
n.(供系船或下锚用的)缆索,锚链( hawser的名词复数 ) | |
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53 fabric | |
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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54 tremor | |
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震 | |
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55 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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56 panes | |
窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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57 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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58 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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59 obliterating | |
v.除去( obliterate的现在分词 );涂去;擦掉;彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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60 monstrous | |
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的 | |
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61 vault | |
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室 | |
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62 panorama | |
n.全景,全景画,全景摄影,全景照片[装置] | |
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63 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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64 brilliance | |
n.光辉,辉煌,壮丽,(卓越的)才华,才智 | |
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65 bristle | |
v.(毛发)直立,气势汹汹,发怒;n.硬毛发 | |
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66 uneven | |
adj.不平坦的,不规则的,不均匀的 | |
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67 elevation | |
n.高度;海拔;高地;上升;提高 | |
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68 jumbled | |
adj.混乱的;杂乱的 | |
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69 pensively | |
adv.沉思地,焦虑地 | |
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