小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » Star People » X TRAVELERS’ TALES
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
X TRAVELERS’ TALES
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 here came a frost one night, and it was most exciting in the morning to see the bewitchments everywhere. Sometimes it was whole trees and rows of trees solid gold, and sometimes it was only one tiny branch blazing red by itself out of plain green. It was joyful1 surprises every minute to walk in it. They filled their hands with leaves, more than they could hold, gathered one by one—and each the most beautiful they had found. The Others gave them to the Princess until her hands were brimming; then they filled their own, but they were still for her.
Before they could believe it, they came to the hill that 172was the round top of the world. It was covered with short grass, very slippery to climb but worth while, for from it they could see World-without-end, and Ocean. There were mountains, far away, on three sides, and on the fourth—also far away—was the Ocean, set up on edge. The sharp top line of it came opposite, but everything was below them, with long slopes going wide, and they were up in the middle, directly under the deep blue sky. And they could see frost-bewitchments over all the land.
On the face of the very blue sea were tiny white flecks2 that were ships. They looked as if they were climbing up, or slipping down, on account of the sea being set up on edge.
“Suppose this,” said Miss Phyllisy to Pat and the Kitten (the Princess was looking off, thinking: “What if the finest ship afloat were coming?” and the Others wouldn’t disturb her). “Suppose this: Wouldn’t it be funny if a ship went straight up; and it climbed up until it came to the edge, and then kept going straight on ahead—off into the air?”
“But it couldn’t,” said Pat. “It has to stick right on; and then it keeps rounding over until it is curling under. It does, truly,” she insisted, though they didn’t contradict her, “because I’ve done it—when I came; and it goes 173right along and nobody would know, but still it is curling under; and you would think it was going straight ahead, because—I ought to know, because I’ve been clear under, halfway3 around; and it’s night there now. Now that is really true. Honestly!”
“That is the way it is, honestly,” said the Princess, for she had heard all they said. “You can’t get off. Straight ahead you go and seem to go and keep going; and back you come to the place you started from—if you go long enough, because you’re tied down to it. But it’s a beautiful old Earth to travel on, isn’t it?—and Starland to see besides.”
“Orion could sail straight off in a Star-Ship,” said the Kitten.
“Of course the Star People could go anywhere,” agreed Phyllisy. “How far could they go, truly straight ahead, Dearie?”
“To the other end of Nowhere, and be no nearer the end—I should say. But they don’t go, because their Law says they are to stay in their own Starland.”
“Then they’ll be there at night,” said the Kitten.
“Where would they go?” asked Pat.
“To other Starlands,” said the Princess. And that was a surprising answer, because not one of them supposed 174there could be any others. “The Star People say there are,” the Princess assured them, “and I should think they ought to know.”
“But how would they know, if they never go to them?” Miss Phyllisy objected.
“Partly by seeing. For instance, there are the Far-Away Isles4—two little filmy streaks5 of light away down in the Southern sky, that look like scraps6 of the Milky7 Way. The Star People often talk about them; and from time to time some bit of news comes trickling8 in about outside places, nobody knows how—vague rumors9. It made a story one time, news coming that way,” she ended, looking very attentively11 at a leaf in her hand, and turning it over to examine the back, as if she didn’t know what was expected of her!
But the Others were immediately disposing of their leaves where they would be safe under stones, hopping12 and chirping13 like birds in a bush, to settle themselves on the smooth ledges14 of rock that came through the hill where it was thin on top, and were toasty warm from the sun. And the Princess watched them, smiling to herself, but not saying a word until everybody was comfortable.
“As I told you,” she began, “there are often bits of 175news floating about in Starland—a sort of impression of something, very vague, that comes—nobody knows how,—comets, possibly. And nobody would depend on what they said.”
The Others were very sure they wouldn’t.
“Neither would I,” said the Princess. “And perhaps that isn’t the way it comes. But it comes some way. Sometimes vaguer and other times more distinct. This time, all at once, there sprang up a real, definite rumor10: They were to have a visitor!
“Orion was the person who first spoke15 of it to the Pleiades girls. They were dancing a pretty, twisty dance when he came strolling along and called to them:—
“‘Are you practicing to be ready for company?’
“They didn’t catch what he said, and Taygeta would have stopped, but Maia wouldn’t let them. So Orion waited and watched while they untangled and finished in a straight line; and he might have gone far to see anything so pretty as they were, in their gauzy gowns all a-glimmer with tiny stars.
“‘Now you may talk, if you like,’ said Maia. ‘Alcyone often makes a mistake in that, so I wanted to go straight through it.’
“‘What dance was that?’ asked Orion.
176“‘That’s one of the “Sailor’s Knots,”’ said Taygeta. ‘There’s such a lot of them!’
“‘Yes,’ said Alcyone, ‘and they are a good deal alike and entirely16 different. Any one might be mixed. You have to tie them up, first, and then untangle them.’
“‘She can do it perfectly17 well when she wants to,’ said Maia. ‘All our family know about ocean things; but any one can make her giggle18 and be silly.’
“‘What was it you said as you came?’ asked Merope, quickly. She had tact19 about changing the subject.
“‘I don’t remember. Nothing much,’ said Orion.
“‘Yes, it was,’ said Taygeta. ‘Something about company.’
“‘Oh, yes. Haven’t you heard?’
“‘Heard what?’
“‘Tell us—quick!’ They all spoke together; and they should have known better than to let Orion see how eager they were. It gave him a chance to tease.
“‘Why—some one. Oh, I’m sure you must have heard. You don’t want me to tell it all over again?’
“‘Yes, we do—’
“‘No, we haven’t—’
“‘Now, don’t be so mean—’
“‘Don’t ask him,’ said Maia. ‘He’s dying to tell.’
177“Then they said not another word, but stood in a lovely row, locking arms and balancing on their toes, and looked at him; and Orion looked back at them. Then he pushed his lion’s skin up over his shoulder and spoke to his dogs:—
“‘Come, Sirius! We’d better go and get ready before the Stranger comes,’ and he turned to go. But there were seven girls to stop him, and they were around him in a second.
“‘No, you shall not—’
“‘Now, Orion—’
“‘Oh, please—’
“‘What is it?’ they asked; and he was dying to tell!
“‘I can’t tell you so very much,’ he said. ‘But they say we are to have a visitor from the Far-Away Isles.’
“‘Who says so?’
“‘Who is coming?’
“‘When will he be here?’
“‘What is he coming for?’ They were like seven interrogation points!
“‘I don’t know,’ said Orion. ‘I don’t remember who told me—and I’m not quite sure what. Everybody but you seems to know about it.’
“‘Did you ever know any one so tiresome20?’ asked 178Maia. And six Pleiades girls said they never had, and ‘We’ll have to ask some one else.’
“So, off they went to try to find out what was going to happen; and how anybody knew about it.
“It was a curious thing, but by the time they had talked with the other Star People, they were in the same state as Orion and all the others. No one could tell quite where he had heard it, and no one knew exactly what he had heard; but every one had a perfectly clear impression that a visitor was coming from the Far-Away Isles.
“When they tried to talk a little more definitely about him, they did not altogether agree. Still, there was a strong idea that he was young and splendid and handsome, of course; some one very distinguished21 in his own country.”
“A prince, for instance?” asked Phyllisy.
“More than likely.—
“‘What do you suppose he is coming for?’ asked Maia.
“‘Perhapth, becauth he’th going to all the Thtar-Countrieth,’ said Draco. ‘He couldn’t do that unleth he came here.’
“‘That’s so,’ said Hercules. ‘We’re one of ’em.’
“‘You’re mistaken,’ said Cepheus. ‘He’s heard about the prettiest seven sisters in Starland, and he wants to take his choice of them back with him. You’ll have to 179polish up your stars, girls, and dance your best for him.’ (That was his idea of a joke!)
“‘Indeed we won’t!’ said Electra, with her nose very high. ‘We care nothing about him.’
“‘No,’ said Alcyone. ‘We won’t do one thing!’
“‘Now, don’t you put nonsense into their heads,’ said Cassiopeia to Cepheus. ‘He’s just coming to be friendly, and because he can; and I think it’s lovely. We are going to do everything possible to give him a fine welcome; and the girls will look just as pretty as they can, to be a credit to us all.’
“‘I wish Merope’s star were brighter,’ said Celeno. ‘Do you think there is anything we could do about it?’
“There was one thing they could do: they could talk! And they began that very minute. It seems hardly possible that people could talk so much about so little! No one had thought before that Merope was not quite as she should be. If her star was faint and vanished when one looked hard at it, that was the way of Merope’s star, and that was all there was about it.
“But now, with the thought of stranger eyes, they began to feel that perhaps it was extraordinary that she should be different from her sisters. And the more they thought and talked about it, the more important it seemed to be.
180“Every one had some suggestion to make, except poor Merope herself; she never had given it a thought, and now she declared she didn’t care.
“‘But we care,’ said Maia. ‘It isn’t creditable to our family. What will the Stranger think, to see you different from us?’
“So they talked—and talked—”
“Why didn’t they give her a star?—like Little Bear?” asked the Kitten.
“They would have given it, gladly, but Merope wouldn’t take it; and, what is more, none of them had a star of the right kind to give.”
“They’re terribly particular about them, aren’t they?” said Phyllisy.
“They have to be,” answered the Princess. “But not in the way they were now. Those foolish people went on talking, and fixed22 their eyes and their thoughts on the star until they quite lost their senses, and it seemed the most calamitous23 thing that could happen—that the splendid Stranger should come from the Far-Away Isles and see Merope with the puzzling star above her forehead.
“One night, at this time, Perseus came along by the river, and there he found Merope sitting alone. She was thinking so deeply she didn’t see him until he was close beside her.
 
HE FOUND MEROPE SITTING ALONE
181“‘Where are the rest of you?’ he asked.
“‘Dancing somewhere; I don’t know where. I came here to think.’
“That sounded pretty sad to Perseus, and he tried to say something to cheer her.
“‘I wouldn’t worry about that star. You look all right.’
“‘I wouldn’t mind for myself,’ said Merope; ‘but I’m not going to disgrace my family.’
“It was not long after this that the six Pleiades began to say: ‘Where is Merope?’ and then the other Star People said: ‘Where can Merope be?’—until the whole Sky seemed one great Question; and the nearest it came to an answer was that Perseus had seen her sitting on the bank of the river, quite downcast, but plainly resolved to do something.
“Cassiopeia was so worried, she lost her temper.
“‘I hope you girls are satisfied now’ she said. ‘Persecuting that poor child!—and all for vanity. If anything has happened to her, I don’t know how you’ll forgive yourselves!’
“‘You were in it, too,’ observed Perseus; and she was.
“‘I know it,’ she said, after a pause. ‘That’s how I know how they ought to feel.’
182“‘I don’t see how anything could have happened to her.’ said Orion.
“‘Then where is she?’ asked Perseus. And that was what no one of them could answer; and Starland wasn’t a happy place.”
“They could think she’d run away,” suggested the Kitten.
“Or drowned in the river,” said Miss Phyllisy in a tragic24 voice.
“They couldn’t bear to think it was anything serious; but it was a mystery where she could be. They wandered from place to place, asking one another what it could mean. And everywhere they ran across Little Bear, roaming uneasy and disconsolate25: even old Major was restless.
“‘You don’t suppose the Stranger came and carried her off to the Far-Away Isles, do you?’ asked Andromeda.
“‘No, I do not,’ said Orion, very positively26.
“‘She wouldn’t have gone! She wouldn’t have left us,’ Taygeta declared.
“‘Suppose he took her?’ insisted Andromeda.
“‘Nonsense!’ said Cassiopeia.
“But when the night was gone without any sign of her, and a cloudless night followed and there were only six girls in the group where there should have been seven, 183what could they think? What could keep one of the Star People from her place, unless something really had happened to her? And when they had borne her absence for two cloudless nights, their hearts had grown heavier and heavier, and they had almost given up any hope of seeing their dear Merope again.”
“And they couldn’t hunt for her when it was clear,” said Phyllisy.
“No. They could only stand still and brood over it for two endless nights.
“The third night came, cloudless still. The daylight grew dim until it was nearly gone, and one after another, each star glimmered27 in its place. When——
“Who was it?—coming—far down the Sky?
“The Star People neither spoke nor stirred while Merope came swiftly and slipped into her place just as the last gleam of daylight faded away. And if that didn’t show how faithful and obedient they were, what could?”
“They had to keep all their questions in them,” said Pat.
“Yes, for a while. But about midnight thick clouds spread across the sky; and then Merope might have answered twenty questions at once, if she had had so many mouths.
“‘Where have you been?’ and ‘Why did you go?’
184“‘Has anything hurt you?’
“‘Didn’t you know we would worry?’ That was Cassiopeia.
“‘If you’ll listen, I’ll tell you all about it,’ said Merope. ‘But you all talk at once.’
“‘We won’t,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘Be quiet, everybody! Tell us this minute. Who took you?’
“‘Nobody. I went myself.’
“‘That’s not the way to begin,’ said Orion. ‘Where did you go?’
“‘I went where the stars are made.’
“‘What did you do such a thing as that for?’
“Merope’s arm was around Little Bear, as he sat close beside her, and she drooped28 her head until her chin touched his sharp little ear and bent29 it over.
“‘I wanted a new star,’ she said very softly. ‘Wait—I’ll tell you all about it. I thought you were ashamed of me, and I didn’t want to disgrace you; and I thought and thought until I made up my mind to go where they were made, and get a new one.’
“‘But how could you be gone from your place?’ asked Maia. ‘Don’t you know it’s been clear weather?’
“‘Yes,’ said Merope. ‘But I knew my star was so dull it wasn’t likely I’d be missed. I’m not very important.’
185“‘Yes, you are—just as important as any of us,’ said Taygeta.
“‘And we’ve been almost crazy, missing you,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘Even Major had the fidgets. I think our feelings ought to be considered.’
“‘I know it. I’m sorry now. I didn’t think of that.’
“‘But tell us what you did,’ said Orion. It seemed almost impossible to keep them to the subject.
“‘I will. You know the place—off that way,’ and she pointed30 over the river. ‘I knew all I had to do was to keep going straight on until I came there. So I slipped off quietly, when you were all busy.’
“‘If I’d seen you start, you wouldn’t have gone,—unless I went too,’ said Hercules. ‘It wasn’t safe—a girl all alone.’
“‘But what happened? Did anything frighten you?’
“‘No. Only the dark, and cold.’
“‘Dark! Was it really dark, Merope?’
“‘Well—I never heard anything like that!’ said Cassiopeia.
(“The reason they were so astonished is because it never is dark in Starland. There is always the starlight.” The Princess answered the question the Others didn’t ask, except by looks. “Oh—h!” they murmured.)
186“‘Yes, it was,’ said Merope, ‘part of the time. Not at first. After I crossed the river I went straight on for a good while; it was about like this,’ she waved her hand. ‘It was all right until it was dark—’ Then she stopped talking just at the most interesting place.
“‘Oh, go on, Merope!’ said Alcyone. ‘Where was it dark?’
“‘I don’t believe I can explain it. It came all at once—everywhere—as if I had walked off the edge—into the sea; only there wasn’t any sea. There wasn’t anything!’
“‘There was you, wasn’t there?’ asked Perseus.
“‘Yes. But I knew there wouldn’t be, long.’
“‘I wish you would explain things as you go along,’ said Cassiopeia.
“‘I’ll try,’ said Merope. ‘But it’s very perplexing. It was perfectly dark; you never saw any dark like it—’
“‘You can’t see dark, ever,’ said Orion. ‘That’s what it is.’
“‘That’s what I meant. You couldn’t see it; even my own little stars were out’ (she glanced at her dress), ‘and it was cold—deathly! and not a sound—and I didn’t know which way anything was. I was just colder and colder, and still—and I knew, someway, I was going out.’
187“‘Out where?’ asked Hercules.
“‘Nowhere,’ said Merope. ‘Like a candle.’
“‘Goodness! Weren’t you frightened?’ asked Andromeda.
“‘Yes. And I tried to think what to do, but I couldn’t. I kept growing colder and stiller—I couldn’t move. Then I thought about all of you, and there came a little warmth inside, and I knew the cold couldn’t reach me.’
“‘Because love was stronger than cold or dark?’ suggested Andromeda.
“‘Yes; that was it. Nothing could put it out.’
“‘Then how did you find your way out?’ asked Cepheus, after a minute.
“‘That was easy. When I thought of you and home, something pulled me; so I knew which way you were.’
“‘Then you came back,’ said Taygeta.
“‘No, I didn’t. I couldn’t come without the star. And I thought if I kept going in the direction I started, I’d come to the right place. So I kept on, the way I didn’t want to go.’
“‘Now, I call that downright clever!’ said Draco. ‘It thowth what it ith to uthe your reathon.’
“‘Merope always was the brightest one of our family, really,’ said Maia. ‘What did you do then?’
188“‘Kept on. And after I came out of the dark I was not very far from the new stars.’
“‘Oh, tell us about them!’ said Cassiopeia. ‘How are they made? Tell us every single thing!’
“‘I can’t,’ said Merope. ‘I’m not good at understanding such things. There were a great many—all colors. I think they are made of something very light—and spread out—it was like fog, in places; then, in other places, it was whirling—I don’t know what makes it begin to whirl: then it seemed to thicken up, when it whirled—’
“‘How, thicken up?’ asked Orion.
“‘I can’t explain; but the star-fog collected and drew together into a ball, and that was the star. There were all sizes and kinds. Sometimes there was one in the centre and more little stars whirling around in rings outside it. And trails of fog—I never could describe it. You would have to see for yourself. And they sang. Oh, it was beautiful!’ Then she stopped again, to recall it; and that was trying to the others, because she certainly did not make things very clear to them.
“‘Now, Merope,’ said Cassiopeia, ‘you give your mind to it, and describe things a little better. I wish I’d gone myself. I could tell what I’d seen and heard. What was the singing like?’
189“‘It wasn’t like anything,’ said Merope. ‘That’s why I can’t tell you. It was quite, quite beautiful. Every star—when it whirled—seemed to have its own song—’
“‘Like tops?’ asked Perseus.
“‘Perhaps, a little—’ said Merope, doubtfully; ‘and all the songs made one; and—I don’t know what it said, but I think—’ then she hesitated.
“‘Go on!’ said Maia.
“‘I think it said, they were glad they were alive.’
“‘Of course,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘Then what?’
“‘Then it was time for me to come home.’
“‘Didn’t you dread31 coming through the dark place again?’ asked Electra.
“‘Yes. But I knew I could get through. And it wasn’t so hard as going; all I had to do was to come the way I wanted to. So I just came.’
“‘But, Merope,’ said Andromeda, ‘where is your new star?’
“Then every one of the Star People looked at Merope, and saw—what not one of them had noticed before, they were so glad to have her back—her own, strange, vanishing star still glinted above her forehead.
“‘Couldn’t you find the right kind?’ asked Taygeta.
“‘Weren’t you allowed to have it?’ asked Orion.
190“‘Did you lothe it, coming back?’ asked Draco.
“‘Answer, Merope!’ said Cassiopeia.
“Merope looked confused, and she bent over Little Bear once more (he was a very convenient Little Bear), but she had to speak.
“‘There were plenty of stars,’ she said slowly, ‘and I might have taken one, but when I saw them—all so splendid—they didn’t seem like me; and then I thought you all loved me, and I knew you didn’t care really, for the star; and I liked my own best. So—I just came home.’
“‘We’re glad, Merope,’ said Andromeda. ‘We love you best like this.’
“And every one of the Star People felt the same.”
“We do too, Dearie,”said Phyllisy. “That was the best ending.”
Pat and the Kitten wriggled32 and nodded, and the Princess smiled at them, but she held up her finger for them to wait for the very end.
“Then it was Merope’s turn to ask a question. But it didn’t occur to her until a little later.
“The sisters were dancing—the very prettiest and most twirly of the ‘Sailor’s Knots’—and Merope was the centre of the twist, when she stopped short and asked:—
 
THE SISTERS WERE DANCING—THE VERY PRETTIEST AND MOST TWIRLY OF THE “SAILOR’S KNOTS”
191“‘When will the Stranger be here?’
“The Star People looked at each other in complete astonishment33. They had forgotten all about him.
“‘He isn’t coming,’ said Orion, after a pause.
“‘How do you know he isn’t?’ asked Hercules.
“‘The same way we knew he was,’ answered Orion.
“‘I’d jutht like to know who thtarted that thtory,’ said Draco. ‘I believe it wath a comet!’
“‘So do I,’ said Cassiopeia.”
“Truly was it?” asked the Kitten.
“What do you think?” asked the Princess.
Then all the questions they had kept inside of them began to come out, and they lasted down the hill—very jerky, on account of having to run or slip—and most of the long way back. But there was time beside to gather more leaves to take the place of those they had forgotten and left safe under small stones on the hill-top!
There were thousands and thousands of them fallen, too beautiful to pass over, so it was just as well.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 joyful N3Fx0     
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的
参考例句:
  • She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
  • They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。
2 flecks c7d86ea41777cc9990756f19aa9c3f69     
n.斑点,小点( fleck的名词复数 );癍
参考例句:
  • His hair was dark, with flecks of grey. 他的黑发间有缕缕银丝。
  • I got a few flecks of paint on the window when I was painting the frames. 我在漆窗框时,在窗户上洒了几点油漆。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
4 isles 4c841d3b2d643e7e26f4a3932a4a886a     
岛( isle的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
  • The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。
5 streaks a961fa635c402b4952940a0218464c02     
n.(与周围有所不同的)条纹( streak的名词复数 );(通常指不好的)特征(倾向);(不断经历成功或失败的)一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 );使布满条纹
参考例句:
  • streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
  • Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
6 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
7 milky JD0xg     
adj.牛奶的,多奶的;乳白色的
参考例句:
  • Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
  • I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。
8 trickling 24aeffc8684b1cc6b8fa417e730cc8dc     
n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 );淌;使)慢慢走;缓慢移动
参考例句:
  • Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
  • The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 rumors 2170bcd55c0e3844ecb4ef13fef29b01     
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷
参考例句:
  • Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 rumor qS0zZ     
n.谣言,谣传,传说
参考例句:
  • The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
  • The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。
11 attentively AyQzjz     
adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神
参考例句:
  • She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时,她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着,把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 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。
13 chirping 9ea89833a9fe2c98371e55f169aa3044     
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫,把我们吵醒了。
  • The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。
14 ledges 6a417e3908e60ac7fcb331ba2faa21b1     
n.(墙壁,悬崖等)突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 );(平窄的)壁架;横档;(尤指)窗台
参考例句:
  • seabirds nesting on rocky ledges 海鸟在岩架上筑巢
  • A rusty ironrod projected mournfully from one of the window ledges. 一个窗架上突出一根生锈的铁棒,真是满目凄凉。 来自辞典例句
15 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。
16 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
17 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
18 giggle 4eNzz     
n.痴笑,咯咯地笑;v.咯咯地笑着说
参考例句:
  • Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
  • All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。
19 tact vqgwc     
n.机敏,圆滑,得体
参考例句:
  • She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
  • Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。
20 tiresome Kgty9     
adj.令人疲劳的,令人厌倦的
参考例句:
  • His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
  • He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜,令人生厌。
21 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
22 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
23 calamitous Es8zL     
adj.灾难的,悲惨的;多灾多难;惨重
参考例句:
  • We are exposed to the most calamitous accidents. 我们遭受着极大的灾难。 来自辞典例句
  • Light reveals the subtle alteration of things, the sly or calamitous impermanence or mortal life. 事物的细微变动,人生的狡猾,倏忽无常,一一都在光中显露出来。 来自辞典例句
24 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
参考例句:
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
25 disconsolate OuOxR     
adj.忧郁的,不快的
参考例句:
  • He looked so disconsolate that It'scared her.他看上去情绪很坏,吓了她一跳。
  • At the dress rehearsal she was disconsolate.彩排时她闷闷不乐。
26 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
27 glimmered 8dea896181075b2b225f0bf960cf3afd     
v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • "There glimmered the embroidered letter, with comfort in its unearthly ray." 她胸前绣着的字母闪着的非凡的光辉,将温暖舒适带给他人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
  • The moon glimmered faintly through the mists. 月亮透过薄雾洒下微光。 来自辞典例句
28 drooped ebf637c3f860adcaaf9c11089a322fa5     
弯曲或下垂,发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
  • The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。
29 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。
30 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
31 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
32 wriggled cd018a1c3280e9fe7b0169cdb5687c29     
v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等)
参考例句:
  • He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
33 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533