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CHAPTER VII.
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 Degrees of Readers—General Improvement—Newspaper Press—Newspaper Press National—Agricultural Readers—General desire for Amusement—Supply of real Knowledge.
 
Our readers can scarcely have failed to make for themselves the deduction1 which naturally arises out of this survey of the progress of popular literature—that there always have been, still are, and always will be, various classes of readers and purchasers; and that the invariable progress of knowledge and intelligence—from the learned to the rich, from the rich to the middle classes, from the middle classes to the multitude—has produced as invariably a corresponding change in the number of books published, their quality, and their price. As the rich began to gather knowledge, books ceased to be wholly adapted to the learned or professional student; as the burgesses began to employ their leisure in reading, books ceased to be dependent upon courtly influence; as the multitude acquired the rudiments2 of instruction, books became less conventional, and began to adapt themselves to all classes. But it cannot, without a judicial3 blindness, be assumed that we are arrived at that state in which there are no degrees of intellectual advancement4. It is said, to use the language of the most popular journal of our day, that the masses "do not yet feel the assurance that, if they go in {287} thousands to the counters of the great publishing houses, as they congregate5 around the more plebeian6 shops, they will get the exact article they want, or what they consider value for their money." Here is the point. The masses, who are yet more imperfectly educated than some of their own class, and most of the class above them, would not consider, as they have never yet considered, solid and instructive reading "value for their money." Unquestionably "books to please the million must not only be good but attractive." The chief popular labour of the last quarter of a century has been to convert the ponderous7 ores of learning into the fine gold of knowledge. The multitude have been reached in many directions; and the influences of "good but attractive" books have penetrated8 where the books themselves have not yet had a direct influence. But the multitude stand precisely9 in the same relation to works of instruction, even the most attractive, as they do to Mechanics' Institutes and Athen?ums. In Manchester and its dependencies, in 1851, there were 3447 members of these Institutions, and 1793 pupils in classes.[35] But the great mass of the youth of both sexes in Manchester were frequenting the Casinos. Here they neither drank, nor danced, nor gambled: they listened to recitations and comic songs at a penny an hour. They wanted mere10 amusement, and they found it. It is the same with the great bulk of the readers of cheap books. "It is most {288} worthy11 of note," says the writer just mentioned, whose anxiety for cheap literature we honour and appreciate, "that, when there has been no doubt of the substantial value of the commodity issued from the Row or Albemarle Street, the sale of the books has been by no means equivocal." Certainly not. Macaulay and Layard have found large numbers of purchasers, and will find them, in their cheap form. But are these purchasers what are called, in the same breath, "the multitude"—"the needy"? Not at all. Even the most successful of the periodical works above a penny—'Chambers' Journal,' 'Household Words,'—reach only the advanced guard of this class. Mr. Dickens collected around him at Birmingham such an audience as never before waited upon an author. He read his beautiful, humanizing 'Christmas Carol' to two thousand working-men. They felt every point—they laughed, or they grew serious, with understanding. But are we to suppose that the whole mass of the mechanical classes—men, women, and children—throughout the kingdom, would rush by millions to buy 'The Christmas Carol' at a penny or two—at a price that would compensate12 in fame what was wanting in profit? Its sterling13 merit—its nature, its simplicity14, its purity, its quiet humour—require a far higher amount of taste and cultivation15 to appreciate than the immaturity16 of mind to which the coarseness and imbecility of the penny journals are acceptable. An author of less popular acceptation published a poem at a farthing, but we {289} never heard that he employed a steam-press in its production. The multitude have their own weekly literature, and we have seen what it is. Are the novels of the author of 'Pelham' to be speedily found in every cottage of the farm-labourer, and in every garret of the Lancashire cotton-spinner? The time may come, but it is not as yet. If a despotic government, in the desire to disseminate17 knowledge, were to follow the example which our free Government has set with regard to the 'School-books published by authority of the Commissioners18 of National Education in Ireland,' they might produce sound popular literature as cheap again as the most adventurous19 of publishers. But if they left competition free to what they considered unsound knowledge—if they permitted the lowest-priced Fiction, however bad or indifferent, to circulate without their unequal competition—we believe the free-traders would beat the monopolists in point of numbers; and it would be found an easier task, even with every commercial disadvantage of price, to "tickle20 and excite the palate" than "strengthen the constitution."
Do such considerations as these make us hopeless of the steady progress of a sound as well as cheap popular literature? Decidedly no. There is improvement all around us. The halfpenny ballad21 of Seven Dials is not yet extinct; but let the collectors look sharply about them, for that relic22 of the chap-books, with the woodcuts that have served every generation, will soon be gone. In its {290} place has come the decent penny book of a hundred songs. The shades of Scott, and Moore, and Campbell will not quarrel with this new popularity. There are "flash" songs; but they are not for the penny buyers. Thackeray has described the dens23 in which these abominations are current. The whole aspect of the humbler press has changed within these few years. Unquestionably the people have changed. Visit, if you can, the interior of that marvellous human machine, the General Post-Office, on a Friday evening, from half-past five to six o'clock. Look with awe24 upon the tons of newspapers that are crowding in to be distributed through the habitable globe. Think silently how potent25 a power is this for good or for evil. You turn to one of the boxes of the letter-sorters, and your guide will tell you, "this work occupies not half the time it formerly26 did, for everybody writes better." General education furnishes the solution of the otherwise doubtful origin of the improvement, in all the more manifest characteristics of improvement, of all popular literature.
In 1801 the annual circulation of newspapers in England and Wales was 15 millions, and in Scotland 1 million. In 1853 the annual circulation of England and Wales was 72 millions, and of Scotland 8 millions, that of Ireland being also about 8 millions. In September, 1836, the stamp-duty on newspapers was reduced to one penny. Immediately previous to the reduction the annual circulation of newspapers in Great Britain was about 29 millions. {291} The increase, therefore, in seventeen years, has been 51 millions. We have cast up the twenty-two folio pages of the 'Return of the number of Newspaper Stamps, at one penny, issued in 1853,' and we find these results, as derived27 from the stamps, excluding supplements, used by 913 newspapers in England, 18 in Wales, 146 in Scotland, and 121 in Ireland, making a total number of 1198. But it must be borne in mind that about one-half of the publications in this return, called newspapers, are not newspapers in any sense of the word. Every publication can be stamped as a newspaper, for which the proprietor28 and printer give the necessary legal securities; and thus hundreds of price-currents, catalogues, and circulars—and many literary journals which are only partially29 stamped, and which none but political pedants30, calling for a definition, term newspapers—find their way into this Official Return. There are, in round numbers, 600 newspapers proper in the United Kingdom. There are in London 14 daily papers, 6 twice and thrice a week, and 71 weekly; and about 500 provincial31 papers in the United Kingdom. Of the London Daily Papers, about 24 millions are annually32 circulated, of which the 'Times' has the lion's share of 14 millions. There are four weekly papers, published at the surpassingly cheap rate of threepence, which circulate 13 millions. The 'Illustrated33 London News' has a circulation of 4 millions; and eleven other leading weekly papers issue, annually, 6 millions. There {292} are 6 religious papers, which have a circulation of about a million and a quarter. Thus, 36 London publications engross34 48 million stamps, out of 71 millions. Of the Provincial English Press there are 26 great towns which number 80 papers, and these 80 consume 13 millions of stamps. We have, therefore, only 10 millions more to distribute amongst the entire newspaper press of England. The Welsh annual circulation is under a million.
We have abstracted from the Official Return the number of stamps used annually by papers published in great cities and towns, especially the large marts of commerce and manufactures:—
Towns. Number of Aggregate35
separate annual
papers. sale.
Birmingham 3 871,000
Bristol 4 596,075
Cambridge 2 216,500
Carlisle 2 263,500
Derby 4 249,700
Doncaster 2 178,500
Exeter 3 398,315
Hereford 2 278,000
Hull36 2 347,000
Leeds 3 1,107,875
Leicester 4 240,500
Liverpool 8 1,702,588
Manchester 3 1,741,300
Newcastle 4 684,542
Norwich 3 419,950
Nottingham 3 324,000
Oxford37 3 252,000
Plymouth 4 309,500
Preston 3 469,500
Sheffield 3 580,950
Stamford 1 571,826
Stafford 1 384,000
Sunderland 4 191,142
Wolverhampton 3 181,500
Worcester 3 320,052
York 3 465,200
80 13,245,015
{293}
The altered tone and ability of newspapers would open too wide a subject to be here dwelt upon in detail. One of the weekly threepenny papers has attained38 an enormous sale—a sale of 4? millions annually—by discarding what was offensive to public morals, under the management of a man of letters who has a reputation to maintain. The Satirists and Paul Prys are gone. The extension of the mental labourers for newspapers, in proportion to the extension of the demand, has followed the same course as that of every other production of the press, from the days of the first printers. At the beginning of the present century the local newspapers "had no editorial comments whatever,"[36] and scarcely an original paragraph. The conductors of our 500 provincial journals are now watching for every particle of news in their own districts; reporting public meetings; waiting for electric telegraphs; pondering upon grave questions of social economy; and, to the best of their judgment39, fairly representing the course of events. How much of this intelligent and honourable40 spirit they owe to the London Newspaper Press is not {294} for us to decide. We believe the newspaper influence upon the people to be for good, because the Newspaper Press is National. A witness, giving evidence before the select Committee on Newspaper Stamps, 1851, said, "If the Committee were to look at 'The Weekly Dispatch' twenty years ago, its general character was very much worse than it is now. Then it was a so-called radical41, almost a blasphemous42, scurrilous43, and contemptible44 paper, but with an enormous circulation. Now other papers have so much improved, that 'The Weekly Dispatch' has been compelled, in its own defence, very materially to change its tone." But what improved the "other papers," and compelled them to seek honest means of "an enormous circulation"? We answer—The advanced intelligence of the people. Books had begun their own work in the career of public enlightenment. Now, newspapers and books are working together for the same object. It is desired by some to make newspapers supersede45 books, by abolishing the stamp, and thus converting all popular literature into news. We have no faith in the process. An American told the Committee on Stamps that "the only knowledge which the working-classes would appreciate is contained in newspapers; they address themselves much more to politics than to science or literature." The witness had his own country in his mind, where the assertion is to some extent true. But in the American newspapers, almost universally, there is something more than "politics." All over {295} the union the newspapers are filled, week by week, by the piracy46 of modern English literature, especially of English fiction. Whether the "working classes" read the politics, and neglect the literature, maybe doubted. If politics are independent of science and literature, the study is worth little. It is degrading. We doubt if this disposition47, carried to excess, will make a wise people, or a happy people. The opinion of an American is worth little upon such a question in England. There is no parallel in the condition of the people of the United States. The geographical48 position, and the separate constitutions of individual states, necessarily demand many newspapers. Thus the newspapers of the United States, even with their large circulation, are essentially49 local. The English papers, we repeat, are national. The papers of the capital are the papers of the empire. They chiefly, with their wonderful organization, supply the material for the twenty-seven millions of these islands, and the other millions of our race spread over the habitable globe in our colonies, to learn, to consider, to know their rights, to perform their duties. Could this unequalled instrument of knowledge be kept efficiently50 at work, while every petty printer of every parish was ready to make a venture for a thousand penny subscribers to his Argus or his Luminary51, without incurring52 any of the prodigious53 cost of a London daily morning paper? If the time should come when the land should be filled with penny newspapers, {296} it would be the same with newspapers as it is now with the weekly unstamped sheets. Quantity, not quality, would be the criterion of excellence54. The lower grade of literary labourers would be multiplied tenfold. Unscrupulous employers would rise up on every side, who would go for the "immondices" if decency55 failed; and for disorder56 if tranquillity57 were growing unprofitable. The rich would be set against the poor, and the poor against the rich. Those who now organise58 strikes by their eloquence59 would work more effectually with their pen; and employers would not be without their organs to defend harshness and oppression. Sects60 would denounce each other in weekly journals, to be sold by the pew-opener; and the Snoreum Vestry would enter upon a wordy war with their neighbours of Muggleton. Let us "study to be quiet."
It is proposed to establish penny newspapers for the especial benefit of the agricultural labourers. How are they to be circulated? If postage is to be paid in addition to the price, there is little gained over the present system; for there are published, weekly, about 300,000 newspapers at 3d. If they do not go by post, how are they to reach the scattered61 hamlets? This is really the difficulty, with regard to all periodical literature, in raising up agricultural labourers into a population of readers. It is satisfactory to know that the keys to knowledge—the power of reading and writing—are being as freely imparted to the rural population as {297} to those of towns. There is progress. In 1841 the proportion, to all marriages, of those who signed the marriage-register with marks, was—men, 33 per cent.; women, 49 per cent. In 1853 the proportion was—men, 30 per cent.; women, 45 per cent. In 1863 the effect of the education of the last ten years will be tested upon the same principle. But it is to be noted62, in the Registrar-General's Returns for 1853, that in the Agricultural South-Eastern Division, as well as in other agricultural districts, there was slight difference in the proportion between males and females; while in the North-Western Manufacturing Division the number of females who could not write was nearly double that of the males. In the South-Eastern Division, comprising the rural parts of Surrey and Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire, in the cases of 11,537 marriages, 3457 men and 3749 women signed with marks. In the North-Western Division, comprising Cheshire and Lancashire, in the cases of 24,877 marriages, 8729 men and 15,443 women signed with marks. There cannot be a greater proof of the influence of a resident clergy63, looking diligently64 to National Schools, and perhaps stimulated65 by the zeal66 of dissent67 in the same useful direction, than this fact. It makes us hopeful of the eventual68 advance of the rural population to the condition of a reading people. But the question always arises—What are they to read? What will they read? Is the edge of the cup not only to be honeyed, but is the whole cup to be {298} filled with sweets? How are we to find the mean between what is dry and what is useless—what is plain and what is childish? A witness of well-known intelligence told the Committee on Newspaper Stamps that in his village he tried the experiment of reading 'The Times' to an evening-class of adult labourers, and that he could not read twenty lines without feeling that there were twenty words in it which none of his auditors69 understood. He wanted, therefore, cheap newspapers, that would be so written as not to puzzle the hearers or readers by such words as "operations," "channel," or " fleet." For ourselves, we would rather endure as much book ignorance as we endured in the first quarter of this century, than believe that knowledge might be promoted by writing down to the intelligence of the least instructed class; and that they could be raised up into enlightenment upon this plan of Mr. Hickson, to have newspapers that would reach their minds like "school-primers, containing words of one or two syllables70." Such partial enlightenment would be general degradation71.
Upon looking around upon all the various phases of Cheap Literature which now present themselves in these kingdoms, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that, in proportion as the number of readers has increased, the desire of the mass of the population has been rather for passing amusement than solid instruction. There is one very obvious reason for this. The people of this country work harder {299} than any other people, not only from the absolute necessity of the competition around them, but through the energy of their race. It cannot, therefore, in the nature of things, be expected that much of the reading of all classes should be other than for amusement. Further, when we consider how recent has been the training for any reading amongst a large proportion of those who have become readers, we can scarcely look for a great amount of serious application in their short leisure after a hard working-day. The entertainment which is now presented to all, whether it be in the shape of a shilling novel or a penny journal, is not debasing; it may enfeeble the intellect, but it does not taint72 it. How are we to deal with this universal desire for amusement? Not, we think, by any direct efforts at its counteraction73, either by individuals or societies. We have before us three volumes, just completed, of a most excellent penny weekly publication of 'The Society for Promoting Christian74 Knowledge,' entitled 'The Home Friend.' It is cheap, even by comparison with the cheapest of the class. It consists of twenty-four octavo pages, and is excellently printed on superior paper. The old patronising style of such works is given up. It deals with grave subjects in an agreeable spirit. In the preface to the first volume, the editor rejoices that the Society is enabled to publish a work attainable75 by "the tenant76 of the lowliest cottage, which a century ago could only be purchased by the opulent few." But it is not a {300} matter of congratulation that this work, like others professing77 the same aims, has not had any great success, from the absolute want of buyers. It was thought that the members of the Society could have commanded a great weekly circulation amongst their neighbours. The average sale never went beyond 12,000. What, then, is to be the course of the real friends of popular instruction? We think it is, to let the existing cheap literature purify itself. We have got beyond the scurrilous stage—the indecent stage—the profane78 stage—the seditious stage. Let us hope that the frivolous79 stage, in which we are now to some extent abiding80, will in time pass on to a higher taste, and a sounder mental discipline. "Confidence," said Chatham, "is a plant of slow growth." So is taste; so is a love of knowledge for its own sake. Let us make real instruction as attractive as we can; but let us have no compromises under the pretence81 of gilding82 the pill. Study is study, and amusement is amusement. Let the people learn, and learn they will, in time; but let us abandon all the old, childish attempts of cheating them into learning. The circle of those who are attaining83 sound knowledge is steadily84 widening. Already, as the circle has widened, the means of acquiring information have been offered to "the masses," and even to "the needy," at a rate of cheapness quite unequalled by any previous attempts to make sound knowledge popular. We now especially allude85 to 'The Penny Cyclop?dia'—a work of which the literature and {301} engravings alone cost the publisher, as he has recorded, the large sum of 42,000l. Those who affect to believe that nothing has been done for the cheapening of books, should recollect86 that, before the existence of this Cyclop?dia, no great work of reference of this nature could be obtained under 40l. But 'The Penny Cyclop?dia,' large as was its sale, was not profitable; it involved an enormous loss. The writer, in his 'Struggles of a Book,' has stated that the paper-duty operated as a burthen upon 'The Penny Cyclop?dia' to the extent of 32,000l. He adds,—"Had that sum of 32,000l. been actually saved to me, I should not have been a pound richer by the publication of 'The Penny Cyclop?dia.' But with the saving I should not have been to that amount poorer." Compared with the vast outlay87, 'The Penny Cyclop?dia' was set at too low a price for the probable demand. The class of buyers for instruction was not large enough to carry off 40,000 copies, which would have yielded adequate profit. The very word "Penny" was then repulsive88, and implied something low, as apprehended89 by the rich vulgar. Moreover, the book occupied eleven years in its issue, and its sale fell from 50,000 at the beginning to less than 20,000 in the end. No work that occupied more than four or five years in its completion was ever successful in this country. In the publication of 'The English Cyclop?dia,' which is founded upon 'The Penny Cyclop?dia,' a more prudent90 course has {302} been adopted. The new book is issued in four divisions, which will form four separate Cyclop?dias of Geography, Natural History, Sciences, and Biography, each of which will be completed in little more than two years from its commencement. Comparing the two books—'The Penny' and 'The English'—we can readily see the vast augmentations of knowledge during twenty years that render the complete re-modelling of such a work absolutely necessary. In every branch of exact knowledge this re-modelling has become indispensable; and upon other works of instruction many earnest labourers are so engaged. Publishers cannot now afford to let their books, especially their educational books, remain without improvement. It is thus that, in spite of the tendency to light reading, the supply of real knowledge is kept up. Those who find an ally of knowledge in the purer and more ennobling fiction, such as our literature, past and present, abundantly supplies, are gradually brought into the extending circle of earnest readers. The great region beyond is still little cultivated; but even there the subsoil-plough has been at work, and there is some grain amidst the weeds. The weeds cannot be rooted out by any sudden husbandry.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 deduction 0xJx7     
n.减除,扣除,减除额;推论,推理,演绎
参考例句:
  • No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
  • His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。
2 rudiments GjBzbg     
n.基础知识,入门
参考例句:
  • He has just learned the rudiments of Chinese. 他学汉语刚刚入门。
  • You do not seem to know the first rudiments of agriculture. 你似乎连农业上的一点最起码的常识也没有。
3 judicial c3fxD     
adj.司法的,法庭的,审判的,明断的,公正的
参考例句:
  • He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
  • Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。
4 advancement tzgziL     
n.前进,促进,提升
参考例句:
  • His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
  • The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。
5 congregate jpEz5     
v.(使)集合,聚集
参考例句:
  • Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间,让读者可以聚集和交谈。
  • This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。
6 plebeian M2IzE     
adj.粗俗的;平民的;n.平民;庶民
参考例句:
  • He is a philosophy professor with a cockney accent and an alarmingly plebeian manner.他是个有一口伦敦土腔、举止粗俗不堪的哲学教授。
  • He spent all day playing rackets on the beach,a plebeian sport if there ever was one.他一整天都在海滩玩壁球,再没有比这更不入流的运动了。
7 ponderous pOCxR     
adj.沉重的,笨重的,(文章)冗长的
参考例句:
  • His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
  • It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态,很容易使人小看了他。
8 penetrated 61c8e5905df30b8828694a7dc4c3a3e0     
adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
  • They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。
9 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
10 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。
11 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
12 compensate AXky7     
vt.补偿,赔偿;酬报 vi.弥补;补偿;抵消
参考例句:
  • She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
  • Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。
13 sterling yG8z6     
adj.英币的(纯粹的,货真价实的);n.英国货币(英镑)
参考例句:
  • Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率?
  • Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺,这有助于减轻通胀压力。
14 simplicity Vryyv     
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯
参考例句:
  • She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
  • The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
15 cultivation cnfzl     
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成
参考例句:
  • The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
  • The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃,不值得耕种。
16 immaturity 779396dd776272b5ff34c0218a6c4aba     
n.不成熟;未充分成长;未成熟;粗糙
参考例句:
  • It traces the development of a young man from immaturity to maturity. 它描写一位青年从不成熟到成熟的发展过程。 来自辞典例句
  • Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. 不成熟就是不经他人的指引就无法运用自身的理解力。 来自互联网
17 disseminate VtKxS     
v.散布;传播
参考例句:
  • We should disseminate science and promote the scientific spirit.普及科学知识,弘扬科学精神。
  • We sincerely welcome all countries to disseminate their languages in China.我们真诚地欢迎世界各国来华推广本国语言。
18 commissioners 304cc42c45d99acb49028bf8a344cda3     
n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 );长官;委员;政府部门的长官
参考例句:
  • The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有5名委员,是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
19 adventurous LKryn     
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 
参考例句:
  • I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
  • He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。
20 tickle 2Jkzz     
v.搔痒,胳肢;使高兴;发痒;n.搔痒,发痒
参考例句:
  • Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
  • I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。
21 ballad zWozz     
n.歌谣,民谣,流行爱情歌曲
参考例句:
  • This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
  • This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。
22 relic 4V2xd     
n.神圣的遗物,遗迹,纪念物
参考例句:
  • This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
  • He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。
23 dens 10262f677bcb72a856e3e1317093cf28     
n.牙齿,齿状部分;兽窝( den的名词复数 );窝点;休息室;书斋
参考例句:
  • Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
  • In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句
24 awe WNqzC     
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
参考例句:
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
25 potent C1uzk     
adj.强有力的,有权势的;有效力的
参考例句:
  • The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
  • We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。
26 formerly ni3x9     
adv.从前,以前
参考例句:
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
27 derived 6cddb7353e699051a384686b6b3ff1e2     
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取
参考例句:
  • Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 proprietor zR2x5     
n.所有人;业主;经营者
参考例句:
  • The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
  • The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。
29 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲
参考例句:
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静,宵禁部分解除。
30 pedants e42fd4df25fc5afd8f02677f099d7d48     
n.卖弄学问的人,学究,书呆子( pedant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Only pedants believe in the advantage of obfuscation. 只有书呆子才相信使人困惑会有好处。 来自辞典例句
  • Those cold-blooded pedants are not insensible. 那些冷血腐儒,都不是没有知觉。 来自辞典例句
31 provincial Nt8ye     
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人
参考例句:
  • City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
  • Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。
32 annually VzYzNO     
adv.一年一次,每年
参考例句:
  • Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
  • They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
33 illustrated 2a891807ad5907f0499171bb879a36aa     
adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
  • The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。
34 engross 0ZEzS     
v.使全神贯注
参考例句:
  • I go into bookshops and engross myself in diet books and cookbooks.我走进书店,聚精会神地读关于饮食的书以及食谱。
  • If there was one piece of advice I would offer to improve your reading rate it would be simply to engross yourself in the material you are studying.如果让我给你一个忠告来提高你的阅读速度的话,那就是全神贯注的研究你的资料。
35 aggregate cKOyE     
adj.总计的,集合的;n.总数;v.合计;集合
参考例句:
  • The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
  • The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。
36 hull 8c8xO     
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳
参考例句:
  • The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
  • The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。
37 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
38 attained 1f2c1bee274e81555decf78fe9b16b2f     
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况)
参考例句:
  • She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
  • Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。
39 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
40 honourable honourable     
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的
参考例句:
  • I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号,我可担当不起。
  • I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。
41 radical hA8zu     
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的
参考例句:
  • The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
  • She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。
42 blasphemous Co4yV     
adj.亵渎神明的,不敬神的
参考例句:
  • The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作,命令全数焚毀。
  • The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。
43 scurrilous CDdz2     
adj.下流的,恶意诽谤的
参考例句:
  • Scurrilous and untrue stories were being invented.有人正在捏造虚假诽谤的故事。
  • She was often quite scurrilous in her references to me.她一提起我,常常骂骂咧咧的。
44 contemptible DpRzO     
adj.可鄙的,可轻视的,卑劣的
参考例句:
  • His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬,言语粗俗。
  • That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。
45 supersede zrXwz     
v.替代;充任
参考例句:
  • We must supersede old machines by new ones.我们必须以新机器取代旧机器。
  • The use of robots will someday supersede manual labor.机器人的使用有一天会取代人力。
46 piracy 9N3xO     
n.海盗行为,剽窃,著作权侵害
参考例句:
  • The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
  • They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。
47 disposition GljzO     
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署
参考例句:
  • He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
  • He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。
48 geographical Cgjxb     
adj.地理的;地区(性)的
参考例句:
  • The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
  • These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。
49 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
参考例句:
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
50 efficiently ZuTzXQ     
adv.高效率地,有能力地
参考例句:
  • The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
  • Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。
51 luminary Hwtyv     
n.名人,天体
参考例句:
  • That luminary gazed earnestly at some papers before him.那个大好佬在用心细看面前的报纸。
  • Now that a new light shone upon the horizon,this older luminary paled in the west.现在东方地平线上升起了一轮朝阳,这弯残月就在西边天际失去了光泽。
52 incurring ccc47e576f1ce5fe49a4f373b49987ba     
遭受,招致,引起( incur的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。
  • He spoke to the Don directly, taking a chance on incurring Michael's ill will. 他直接向老头子谈自己的意见,这显然要冒引起迈克尔反感的风险。 来自教父部分
53 prodigious C1ZzO     
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的
参考例句:
  • This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
  • He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。
54 excellence ZnhxM     
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德
参考例句:
  • His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
  • My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。
55 decency Jxzxs     
n.体面,得体,合宜,正派,庄重
参考例句:
  • His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
  • Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
56 disorder Et1x4     
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
参考例句:
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
57 tranquillity 93810b1103b798d7e55e2b944bcb2f2b     
n. 平静, 安静
参考例句:
  • The phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that his philosophical tranquillity vanished. 这个令人惶惑不安的现象,扰乱了他的旷达宁静的心境。
  • My value for domestic tranquillity should much exceed theirs. 我应该远比他们重视家庭的平静生活。
58 organise organise     
vt.组织,安排,筹办
参考例句:
  • He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
  • It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。
59 eloquence 6mVyM     
n.雄辩;口才,修辞
参考例句:
  • I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
  • The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。
60 sects a3161a77f8f90b4820a636c283bfe4bf     
n.宗派,教派( sect的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别,刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句
61 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
62 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
63 clergy SnZy2     
n.[总称]牧师,神职人员
参考例句:
  • I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望,我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
  • All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。
64 diligently gueze5     
ad.industriously;carefully
参考例句:
  • He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
  • He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。
65 stimulated Rhrz78     
a.刺激的
参考例句:
  • The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
  • The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。
66 zeal mMqzR     
n.热心,热情,热忱
参考例句:
  • Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们,于是他们从军了。
  • They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作,以期完成这个项目。
67 dissent ytaxU     
n./v.不同意,持异议
参考例句:
  • It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
  • He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。
68 eventual AnLx8     
adj.最后的,结局的,最终的
参考例句:
  • Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
  • Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。
69 auditors 7c9d6c4703cbc39f1ec2b27542bc5d1a     
n.审计员,稽核员( auditor的名词复数 );(大学课程的)旁听生
参考例句:
  • The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
  • a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议
70 syllables d36567f1b826504dbd698bd28ac3e747     
n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a word with two syllables 双音节单词
  • 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓,它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
71 degradation QxKxL     
n.降级;低落;退化;陵削;降解;衰变
参考例句:
  • There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
  • Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。
72 taint MIdzu     
n.污点;感染;腐坏;v.使感染;污染
参考例句:
  • Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
  • Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。
73 counteraction 4fcda7215c5dcfe4d220dcc95c86e6d5     
反对的行动,抵抗,反动
参考例句:
  • Thirdly, the metaphoric language means the counteraction of moralism. 第三,这种比喻性语言意味着对道德丰义的反拨。
  • In center column of core, magnetic flux density is reduced by counteraction. 通过磁通在磁芯中柱的相互抵消作用,降低磁芯的磁通密度。
74 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
75 attainable ayEzj8     
a.可达到的,可获得的
参考例句:
  • They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
  • If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的,则目标必须是清晰的,能达到的,可以行动的,以及可供检验的。
76 tenant 0pbwd     
n.承租人;房客;佃户;v.租借,租用
参考例句:
  • The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
  • The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。
77 professing a695b8e06e4cb20efdf45246133eada8     
声称( profess的现在分词 ); 宣称; 公开表明; 信奉
参考例句:
  • But( which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 只要有善行。这才与自称是敬神的女人相宜。
  • Professing Christianity, he had little compassion in his make-up. 他号称信奉基督教,却没有什么慈悲心肠。
78 profane l1NzQ     
adj.亵神的,亵渎的;vt.亵渎,玷污
参考例句:
  • He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
  • His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。
79 frivolous YfWzi     
adj.轻薄的;轻率的
参考例句:
  • This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
  • He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。
80 abiding uzMzxC     
adj.永久的,持久的,不变的
参考例句:
  • He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
  • He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。
81 pretence pretence     
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰
参考例句:
  • The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
  • He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。
82 gilding Gs8zQk     
n.贴金箔,镀金
参考例句:
  • The dress is perfect. Don't add anything to it at all. It would just be gilding the lily. 这条裙子已经很完美了,别再作任何修饰了,那只会画蛇添足。
  • The gilding is extremely lavish. 这层镀金极为奢华。
83 attaining da8a99bbb342bc514279651bdbe731cc     
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的现在分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况)
参考例句:
  • Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
  • By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。
84 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
85 allude vfdyW     
v.提及,暗指
参考例句:
  • Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
  • She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。
86 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。
87 outlay amlz8A     
n.费用,经费,支出;v.花费
参考例句:
  • There was very little outlay on new machinery.添置新机器的开支微乎其微。
  • The outlay seems to bear no relation to the object aimed at.这费用似乎和预期目的完全不相称。
88 repulsive RsNyx     
adj.排斥的,使人反感的
参考例句:
  • She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。
  • The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。
89 apprehended a58714d8af72af24c9ef953885c38a66     
逮捕,拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 ); 理解
参考例句:
  • She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
  • The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。
90 prudent M0Yzg     
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的
参考例句:
  • A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
  • You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。


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