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CHAPTER VIII
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 In obedience1 to Clare’s expressed wish, Johnstone made no mention that evening of the rather serious adventure on the Salerno road. They had fallen into the habit of shaking hands when they bade each other good-night. When it was time, and the two ladies rose to withdraw, Johnstone suddenly wished that Clare would make some little sign to him—the least thing to show that this particular evening was not precisely2 what all the other evenings had been, that they were drawn3 a little closer together, that perhaps she would change her mind and not dislike him any more for that unknown reason at which he could not even guess.
 
They joined hands, and his eyes met hers. But there was no unusual pressure—no little acknowledgment of a common danger past. The blue eyes looked at him straight and proudly, without softening4, and the fresh lips calmly said good-night. Johnstone remained alone, and in a singularly bad humour for such a good-tempered man. He was angry with Clare for being so cold and indifferent, and he was   ashamed of himself for wishing that she would admire him a little for having knocked down a tipsy carter. It was not much of an exploit. What she had done had been very much more remarkable5. The man would not have killed him, of course, but he might have given him a very dangerous wound with that ugly clasp-knife. Clare’s frock was cut to pieces on one side, and it was a wonder that she had escaped without a scratch. He had no right to expect any praise for what he had done, when she had done so much more.
 
To tell the truth, it was not praise that he wanted, but a sign that she was not indifferent to him, or at least that she no longer disliked him. He was ashamed to own to himself that he was half in love with a young girl who had told him that she did not like him and would never even be his friend. Women had not usually treated him in that way, so far. But the fact remained, that she had got possession of his thoughts, and made him think about his actions when she was present. It took a good deal to disturb Brook6 Johnstone’s young sleep, but he did not sleep well that night.
 
As for Clare, when she was alone, she regretted that she had not just nodded kindly7 to him, and nothing more, when she had said good-night. She knew perfectly8 well that he expected something   of the sort, and that it would have been natural, and quite harmless, without any possibility of consequence. She consoled herself by repeating that she had done quite right, as the vision of Lady Fan rose distinctly before her in a flood of memory’s moonlight. Then it struck her, as the vision faded, that her position was a very odd one. Personally, she liked the man. Impersonally9, she hated and despised him. At least she believed that she did, and that she should, for the sake of all women. To her, as she had known him, he was brave, kind, gentle in manner and speech, boyishly frank. As she had seen him that once, she had thought him heartless, cowardly, and cynical10. She could not reconcile the two, and therefore, in her thoughts, she unconsciously divided him into two individualities—her Mr. Johnstone and Lady Fan’s Brook. There was very little resemblance between them. Oddly enough, she felt a sort of pang11 for him, that he could ever have been the other man whom she had first seen. She was getting into a very complicated frame of mind.
 
They met in the morning and exchanged greetings with unusual coldness. Brook asked whether she were tired; she said that she had done nothing to tire her, as though she resented the question; he said nothing in answer, and they both looked at the sea and thought it extremely   dull. Presently Johnstone went off for a walk alone, and Clare buried herself in a book for the morning. She did not wish to think, because her thoughts were so very contradictory12. It was easier to try and follow some one else’s ideas. She found that almost worse than thinking, but, being very tenacious13, she stuck to it and tried to read.
 
At the midday meal they exchanged commonplaces, and neither looked at the other. Just as they left the dining-room a heavy thunderstorm broke overhead with a deluge14 of rain. Clare said that the thunder made her head ache, and she disappeared on pretence15 of lying down. Mrs. Bowring went to write letters, and Johnstone hung about the reading-room, and smoked a pipe in the long corridor, till he was sick of the sound of his own footsteps. Amalfi was all very well in fine weather, he reflected, but when it rained it was as dismal16 as penny whist, Sunday in London, or a volume of sermons—or all three together, he added viciously, in his thoughts. The German family had fallen back upon the guide book, Mommsen’s History of Rome, and the Gartenlaube. The Russian invalid17 was presumably in his room, with a teapot, and the two English old maids were reading a violently sensational18 novel aloud to each other by turns in the hotel drawing-room. They   stopped reading and got very red, when Johnstone looked in.
 
It was a dreary19 afternoon, and he wished that something would happen. The fight on the preceding day had stirred his blood—and other things perhaps had contributed to his restless state of mind. He thought of Clare’s torn frock, and he wished he had killed the carter outright20. He reflected that, as the man was attacking him with a knife, he himself would have been acquitted21.
 
Late in the afternoon the sky cleared and the red light of the lowering sun struck the crests22 of the higher hills to eastward23. Brook went out and smelled the earth-scented air, and the damp odour of the orange-blossoms. But that did not please him either, so he turned back and went through the long corridor to the platform at the back of the hotel. To his surprise he came face to face with Clare, who was walking briskly backwards24 and forwards, and saw him just as he emerged from the door. They both stood still and looked at each other with an odd little constraint25, almost like anxiety, in their faces. There was a short, awkward silence.
 
“Well?” said Clare, interrogatively, and raising her eyebrows26 a very little, as though wondering why he did not speak.
 
 
“Nothing,” Johnstone answered, turning his face seaward. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”
 
“Oh!—you looked as though you were.”
 
“No,” he said. “I came out to get a breath of air, that’s all.”
 
“So did I. I—I think I’ve been out long enough. I’ll go in.” And she made a step towards the door.
 
“Oh, please, don’t!” he cried suddenly. “Can’t we walk together a little bit? That is, if you are not tired.”
 
“Oh no! I’m not tired,” answered the young girl with a cold little laugh. “I’ll stay if you like—just a few minutes.”
 
“Thanks, awfully27,” said Brook in a shy, jerky way.
 
They began to walk up and down, much less quickly than Clare had been walking when alone. They seemed to have nothing to say to each other. Johnstone remarked that he thought it would not rain again just then, and after some minutes of reflection Clare said that she remembered having seen two thunderstorms within an hour, with a clear sky between, not long ago. Johnstone also thought the matter over for some time before he answered, and then said that he supposed the clouds must have been somewhere in the meantime—an observation   which did not strike either Clare or even himself as particularly intelligent.
 
“I don’t think you know much about thunderstorms,” said Clare, after another silence.
 
“I? No—why should I?”
 
“I don’t know. It’s supposed to be just as well to know about things, isn’t it?”
 
“I dare say,” answered Brook, indifferently. “But science isn’t exactly in my line, if I have any line.”
 
They recrossed the platform in silence.
 
“What is your line—if you have any?” Clare asked, looking at the ground as she walked, and perfectly indifferent as to his answer.
 
“It ought to be beer,” answered Brook, gravely. “But then, you know how it is—one has all sorts of experts, and one ends by taking their word for granted about it. I don’t believe I have any line—unless it’s in the way of out-of-door things. I’m fond of shooting, and I can ride fairly, you know, like anybody else.”
 
“Yes,” said Clare, “you were telling me so the other day, you know.”
 
“Yes,” Johnstone murmured thoughtfully, “that’s true. Please excuse me. I’m always repeating myself.”
 
“I didn’t mean that.” Her tone changed a   little. “You can be very amusing when you like, you know.”
 
“Thanks, awfully. I should like to be amusing now, for instance, but I can’t.”
 
“Now? Why now?”
 
“Because I’m boring you to madness, little by little, and I’m awfully sorry too, for I want you to like me—though you say you never will—and of course you can’t like a bore, can you? I say, Miss Bowring, don’t you think we could strike some sort of friendly agreement—to be friends without ‘liking,’ somehow? I’m beginning to hate the word. I believe it’s the colour of my hair or my coat—or something—that you dislike so. I wish you’d tell me. It would be much kinder. I’d go to work and change it—”
 
“Dye your hair?” Clare laughed, glad that the ice was broken again.
 
“Oh yes—if you like,” he answered, laughing too. “Anything to please you.”
 
“Anything ‘in reason’—as you proposed yesterday.”
 
“No—anything in reason or out of it. I’m getting desperate!” He laughed again, but in his laughter there was a little note of something new to the young girl, a sort of understreak of earnestness.
 
“It isn’t anything you can change,” said   Clare, after a moment’s hesitation28. “And it certainly has nothing to do with your appearance, or your manners, or your tailor,” she added.
 
“Oh well, then, it’s evidently something I’ve done, or said,” Brook murmured, looking at her.
 
But she did not return his glance, as they walked side by side; indeed, she turned her face from him a little, and she said nothing, for she was far too truthful29 to deny his assertion.
 
“Then I’m right,” he said, with an interrogation, after a long pause.
 
“Don’t ask me, please! It’s of no importance after all. Talk of something else.”
 
“I don’t agree with you,” Brook answered. “It is very important to me.”
 
“Oh, nonsense!” Clare tried to laugh. “What difference can it make to you, whether I like you or not?”
 
“Don’t say that. It makes a great difference—more than I thought it could, in fact. One—one doesn’t like to be misjudged by one’s friends, you know.”
 
“But I’m not your friend.”
 
“I want you to be.”
 
“I can’t.”
 
“You won’t,” said Brook, in a lower tone, and almost angrily. “You’ve made up your mind against me, on account of something   you’ve guessed at, and you won’t tell me what it is, so I can’t possibly defend myself. I haven’t the least idea what it can be. I never did anything particularly bad, I believe, and I never did anything I should be ashamed of owning. I don’t like to say that sort of thing, you know, about myself, but you drive me to it. It isn’t fair. Upon my word, it’s not fair play. You tell a man he’s a bad lot, like that, in the air, and then you refuse to say why you think so. Or else the whole thing is a sort of joke you’ve invented—if it is, it’s awfully one-sided, it seems to me.”
 
“Do you really think me capable of anything so silly?” asked Clare.
 
“No, I don’t. That makes it all the worse, because it proves that you have—or think you have—something against me. I don’t know much about law, but it strikes me as something tremendously like libel. Don’t you think so yourself?”
 
“Oh no! Indeed I don’t. Libel means saying things against people, doesn’t it? I haven’t done that—”
 
“Indeed you have! I mean, I beg your pardon for contradicting you like that—”
 
“Rather flatly,” observed Clare, as they turned in their walk, and their eyes met.
 
“Well, I’m sorry, but since we are talking   about it, I’ve got to say what I think. After all, I’m the person attacked. I have a right to defend myself.”
 
“I haven’t attacked you,” answered the young girl, gravely.
 
“I won’t be rude, if I can help it,” said Brook, half roughly. “But I asked you if you disliked me for something I had done or said, and you couldn’t deny it. That means that I have done or said something bad enough to make you say that you will never be my friend—and that must be something very bad indeed.”
 
“Then you think I’m not squeamish? It would have to be something very, very bad.”
 
“Yes.”
 
“Thank you. Well, I thought it very bad. Anybody would, I should fancy.”
 
“I never did anything very, very bad, so you must be mistaken,” answered Johnstone, exasperated30.
 
Clare said nothing, but walked along with her head rather high, looking straight before her. It had all happened before her eyes, on the very ground under her feet, on that platform. Johnstone knew that he had spoken roughly.
 
“I say,” he began, “was I rude? I’m awfully sorry.” Clare stopped and stood still.
 
“Mr. Johnstone, we sha’n’t agree. I will   never tell you, and you will never be satisfied unless I do. So it’s a dead-lock.”
 
“You are horribly unjust,” answered Brook, very much in earnest, and fixing his bright eyes on hers. “You seem to take a delight in tormenting32 me with this imaginary secret. After all, if it’s something you saw me do, or heard me say, I must know of it and remember it, so there’s no earthly reason why we shouldn’t discuss it.”
 
There was again that fascination33 in his eyes, and she felt herself yielding.
 
“I’ll say one thing,” she said. “I wish you hadn’t done it!”
 
She felt that she could not look away from him, and that he was getting her into his power. The colour rose in her face.
 
“Please don’t look at me!” she said suddenly, gazing helplessly into his eyes, but his steady look did not change.
 
“Please—oh, please look away!” she cried, half-frightened and growing pale again.
 
He turned from her, surprised at her manner.
 
“I’m afraid you’re not in earnest about this, after all,” he said, thoughtfully. “If you meant what you said, why shouldn’t you look at me?”
 
She blushed scarlet34 again.
 
“It’s very rude to stare like that!” she said,   in an offended tone. “You know that you’ve got something—I don’t know what to call it—one can’t look away when you look at one. Of course you know it, and you ought not to do it. It isn’t nice.”
 
“I didn’t know there was anything peculiar35 about my eyes,” said Brook. “Indeed I didn’t! Nobody ever told me so, I’m sure. By Jove!” he exclaimed, “I believe it’s that! I’ve probably done it before—and that’s why you—” he stopped.
 
“Please don’t think me so silly,” answered Clare, recovering her composure. “It’s nothing of the sort. As for that—that way you have of looking—I dare say I’m nervous since my illness. Besides—” she hesitated, and then smiled. “Besides, do you know? If you had looked at me a moment longer I should have told you the whole thing, and then we should both have been sorry.”
 
“I should not, I’m sure,” said Brook, with conviction. “But I don’t understand about my looking at you. I never tried to mesmerise any one—”
 
“There is no such thing as mesmerism. It’s all hypnotism, you know.”
 
“I don’t know what they call it. You know what I mean. But I’m sure it’s your imagination.   ”
 
“Oh yes, I dare say,” answered the young girl with affected36 carelessness. “It’s merely because I’m nervous.”
 
“Well, so far as I’m concerned, it’s quite unconscious. I don’t know—I suppose I wanted to see in your eyes what you were thinking about. Besides, when one likes a person, one doesn’t think it so dreadfully rude to look at them—at him—I mean, at you—when one is in earnest about something—does one?”
 
“I don’t know,” said Clare. “But please don’t do it to me. It makes me feel awfully uncomfortable somehow. You won’t, will you?” she asked, with a sort of appeal. “You would make me tell you everything—and then I should hate myself.”
 
“But I shouldn’t hate you.”
 
“Oh yes, you would! You would hate me for knowing.”
 
“By Jove! It’s too bad!” cried Brook. “But as for that,” he added humbly37, “nothing would make me hate you.”
 
“Nothing? You don’t know!”
 
“Yes, I do! You couldn’t make me change my mind about you. I’ve grown to—to like you a great deal too much for that in this short time—a great deal more than is good for me, I believe,” he added, with a sort of rough impulsiveness38. “Not that I’m at all surprised, you   know,” he continued with an attempt at a laugh. “One can’t see a person like you, most of the day, for ten days or a fortnight, without—well, you know, admiring you most tremendously—can one? I dare say you think that might be put into better English. But it’s true all the same.”
 
A silence followed. The warm blood mantled39 softly in the girl’s fair cheeks. She was taken by surprise with an odd little breath of happiness, as it were, suddenly blowing upon her, whence she knew not. It was so utterly40 new that she wondered at it, and was not conscious of the faint blush that answered it.
 
“One gets awfully intimate in a few days,” observed Brook, as though he had discovered something quite new.
 
She nodded, but said nothing, and they still walked up and down. Then his words made her think of that sudden intimacy41 which had probably sprung up between him and Lady Fan on board the yacht, and her heart was hardened again.
 
“It isn’t worth while to be intimate, as you call it,” she said at last, with a little sudden sharpness. “People ought never to be intimate, unless they have to live together—in the same place, you know. Then they can’t exactly help it, I suppose.”
 
“Why should they? One can’t exactly intrench   oneself behind a wall with pistols and say ‘Be my friend if you dare.’ Life would be very uncomfortable, I should think.”
 
“Oh, you know what I mean! Don’t be so awfully literal.”
 
“I was trying to understand,” said Johnstone, with unusual meekness42. “I won’t, if you don’t want me to. But I don’t agree with you a bit. I think it’s very jolly to be intimate—in this sort of way—or perhaps a little more so.”
 
“Intimate enemies? Enemies can be just as intimate as friends, you know.”
 
“I’d rather have you for my intimate enemy than not know you at all,” said Brook.
 
“That’s saying a great deal, Mr. Johnstone.”
 
Again she was pleased in a new way by what he said. And a temptation came upon her unawares. It was perfectly clear that he was beginning to make love to her. She thought of her reflections after she had seen him alone with Lady Fan, and of how she had wished that she could break his heart, and pay him back with suffering for the pain he had given another woman. The possibility seemed nearer now than then. At least, she could easily let him believe that she believed him, and then laugh at him and his acting43. For of course it was acting. How could such a man be earnest? All at once the thought that he should respect her so little   as to pretend to make love to her incensed44 her.
 
“What an extraordinary idea!” she exclaimed rather scornfully. “You would rather be hated, than not known!”
 
“I wasn’t talking generalities—I was speaking of you. Please don’t misunderstand me on purpose. It isn’t kind.”
 
“Are you in need of kindness just now? You don’t exactly strike one in that way, you know. But your people will be coming in a day or two, I suppose. I’ve no doubt they’ll be kind to you, as you call it—whatever that may mean. One speaks of being kind to animals and servants, you know—that sort of thing.”
 
Nothing can outdo the brutality45 of a perfectly unaffected young girl under certain circumstances.
 
“I don’t class myself with either, thank you,” said Brook, justly offended. “You certainly manage to put things in a new light sometimes. I feel rather like that mule46 we saw yesterday.”
 
“Oh—I thought you didn’t class yourself with animals!” she laughed.
 
“Have you any particular reason for saying horridly47 disagreeable things?” asked Brook coldly.
 
There was a pause.
 
“I didn’t mean to be disagreeable—at least   not so disagreeable as all that,” said Clare at last. “I don’t know why it is, but you have a talent for making me seem rude.”
 
“Force of example,” suggested Johnstone.
 
“No, I’ll say that for you—you have very good manners.”
 
“Thanks, awfully. Considering the provocation48, you know, that’s an immense compliment.”
 
“I thought I would be ‘kind’ for a change. By the bye, what are we quarrelling about?” She laughed. “You began by saying something very nice to me, and then I told you that you were like the mule, didn’t I? It’s very odd! I believe you hypnotise me, after all.”
 
“At all events, if we were not intimate, you couldn’t possibly say the things you do,” observed Brook, already pacified49.
 
“And I suppose you would not take the things I say, so meekly50, would you?”
 
“I told you I was a very mild person,” said Johnstone. “We were talking about it yesterday, do you remember?”
 
“Oh yes! And then you illustrated51 your idea of meekness by knocking down the first man we met.”
 
“It was your fault,” retorted Brook. “You told me to stop his beating the mule. So I did. Fortunately you stopped him from sticking a knife into me. Do you know? You have   awfully good nerves. Most women would have screamed and run up a tree—or something. They would have got out of the way, at all events.”
 
“I think most women would have done precisely what I did,” said Clare. “Why should you say that most women are cowards?”
 
“I didn’t,” answered Brook. “But I refuse to quarrel about it. I meant to say that I admired you—I mean, what you did—well, more than anything.”
 
“That’s a sweeping52 sort of compliment. Am I to return it?” She glanced at him and smiled.
 
“You couldn’t, with truth.”
 
“Of course I could. I don’t remember ever seeing anything of that sort before, but I don’t believe that anybody could have done it better. I admired you more than anything just then, you know.” She laughed once more as she added the last words.
 
“Oh, I don’t expect you to go on admiring me. I’m quite satisfied, and grateful, and all that.”
 
“I’m glad you’re so easily satisfied. Couldn’t we talk seriously about something or other? It seems to me that we’ve been chaffing for half an hour, haven’t we?”
 
“It hasn’t been all chaff53, Miss Bowring,” said Johnstone. “At least, not on my side.   ”
 
“Then I’m sorry,” Clare answered. They relapsed into silence, as they walked their beat, to and fro. The sun had gone down, and it was already twilight54 on that side of the mountains. The rain had cooled the air, and the far land to southward was darkly distinct beyond the purple water. It was very chilly55, and Clare was without a shawl, and Johnstone was hatless, but neither of them noticed that it was cool. Johnstone was the first to speak.
 
“Is this sort of thing to go on for ever, Miss Bowring?” he asked gravely.
 
“What?” But she knew very well what he meant.
 
“This—this very odd footing we are on, you and I—are we never going to get past it?”
 
“Oh—I hope not,” answered Clare, cheerfully. “I think it’s very pleasant, don’t you? And most original. We are intimate enough to say all sorts of things, and I’m your enemy, and you say you are my friend. I can’t imagine any better arrangement. We shall always laugh when we think of it—even years hence. You will be going away in a few days, and we shall stay here into the summer and we shall never see each other again, in all probability. We shall always look back on this time—as something quite odd, you know.   ”
 
“You are quite mistaken if you think that we shall never meet again,” said Johnstone.
 
“I mean that it’s very unlikely. You see we don’t go home very often, and when we do we stop with friends in the country. We don’t go much into society. And the rest of the time we generally live in Florence.”
 
“There is nothing to prevent me from coming to Florence—or living there, if I choose.”
 
“Oh no—I suppose not. Except that you would be bored to death. It’s not very amusing, unless you happen to be fond of pictures, and you never said you were.”
 
“I should go to see you.”
 
“Oh—yes—you could call, and of course if we were at home we should be very glad to see you. But that would only occupy about half an hour of one day. That isn’t much.”
 
“I mean that I should go to Florence simply for the sake of seeing you, and seeing you often—all the time, in fact.”
 
“Dear me! That would be a great deal, wouldn’t it? I thought you meant just to call, don’t you know?”
 
“I’m in earnest, though it sounds very funny, I dare say,” said Johnstone.
 
“It sounds rather mad,” answered Clare, laughing a little. “I hope you won’t do anything of the kind, because I wouldn’t see you   more than once or twice. I’d have headaches and colds and concerts—all the things one has when one isn’t at home to people. But my mother would be delighted. She likes you tremendously, you know, and you could go about to galleries together and read Ruskin and Browning—do you know the Statue and the Bust56? And you could go and see Casa Guidi, where the Brownings lived, and you could drive up to San Miniato, and then, you know, you could drive up again and read more Browning and more Ruskin. I’m sure you would enjoy it to any extent. But I should have to go through a terrific siege of colds and headaches. It would be rather hard on me.”
 
“And harder on me,” observed Brook, “and quite fearful for Mrs. Bowring.”
 
“Oh no! She would enjoy every minute of it. You forget that she likes you.”
 
“You are afraid I should forget that you don’t.”
 
“I almost—oh, a long way from quite! I almost liked you yesterday when you thrashed the carter and tied him up so neatly57. It was beautifully done—all those knots! I suppose you learned them on board of the yacht, didn’t you?”
 
“I’ve yachted a good deal,” said Brook.
 
“Generally with that party?” inquired Clare.
 
 
“No. That was the first time. My father has an old tub he goes about in, and we sometimes go together.”
 
“Is he coming here in his ‘old tub’?”
 
“Oh no—he’s lent her to a fellow who has taken her off to Japan, I believe.”
 
“Japan! Is it safe? In an ‘old tub’!”
 
“Oh, well—that’s a way of talking, you know. She’s a good enough boat, you know. My father went to New York in her, last year. She’s a steamer, you know. I hate steamers. They are such dirty noisy things! But of course if you are going a long way, they are the only things.”
 
He spoke31 in a jerky way, annoyed and discomfited58 by her forcing the conversation off the track. Though he was aware that he had gone further than he intended, when he proposed to spend the winter in Florence. Moreover, he was very tenacious by nature, and had rarely been seriously opposed during his short life. Her persistent59 refusal to tell him the cause of her deep-rooted dislike exasperated him, while her frank and careless manner and good-fellowship fascinated him more and more.
 
“Tell me all about the yacht,” she said. “I’m sure she is a beauty, though you call her an old tub.”
 
“I don’t want to talk about yachts,” he answered,   returning to the attack in spite of her. “I want to talk about the chances of seeing you after we part here.”
 
“There aren’t any,” replied the young girl carelessly. “What is the name of the yacht?”
 
“Very commonplace—‘Lucy,’ that’s all. I’ll make chances if there are none—”
 
“You mustn’t say that ‘Lucy’ is commonplace. That’s my mother’s name.”
 
“I beg your pardon. I couldn’t know that. It always struck me that it wasn’t much of a name for a yacht, you know. That was all I meant. He’s a queer old bird, my father; he always says he took it from the Bride of Lammermoor, Heaven knows why. But please—I really can’t go away and feel that I’m not to see you again soon. You seem to think that I’m chaffing. I’m not. I’m very serious. I like you very much, and I don’t see why one should just meet and then go off, and let that be the end—do you?”
 
“I don’t see why not,” exclaimed Clare, hating the unexpected longing60 she felt to agree with him, and tell him to come and stay in Florence as much as he pleased. “Come—it’s too cold here. I must be going in.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 obedience 8vryb     
n.服从,顺从
参考例句:
  • Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
  • Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。
2 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。
3 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
4 softening f4d358268f6bd0b278eabb29f2ee5845     
变软,软化
参考例句:
  • Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的,已经成了个软心肠的人了。
5 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
6 brook PSIyg     
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让
参考例句:
  • In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
  • The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。
7 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
8 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。
9 impersonally MqYzdu     
ad.非人称地
参考例句:
  • "No." The answer was both reticent and impersonally sad. “不。”这回答既简短,又含有一种无以名状的悲戚。 来自名作英译部分
  • The tenet is to service our clients fairly, equally, impersonally and reasonably. 公司宗旨是公正、公平、客观、合理地为客户服务。
10 cynical Dnbz9     
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的
参考例句:
  • The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大,他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
  • He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
11 pang OKixL     
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷
参考例句:
  • She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
  • She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。
12 contradictory VpazV     
adj.反驳的,反对的,抗辩的;n.正反对,矛盾对立
参考例句:
  • The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
  • What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。
13 tenacious kIXzb     
adj.顽强的,固执的,记忆力强的,粘的
参考例句:
  • We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
  • We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。
14 deluge a9nyg     
n./vt.洪水,暴雨,使泛滥
参考例句:
  • This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候,这条小溪能变作洪流。
  • I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。
15 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。
16 dismal wtwxa     
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
参考例句:
  • That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
  • My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
17 invalid V4Oxh     
n.病人,伤残人;adj.有病的,伤残的;无效的
参考例句:
  • He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
  • A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。
18 sensational Szrwi     
adj.使人感动的,非常好的,轰动的,耸人听闻的
参考例句:
  • Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
  • Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。
19 dreary sk1z6     
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的
参考例句:
  • They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
  • She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。
20 outright Qj7yY     
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
参考例句:
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
21 acquitted c33644484a0fb8e16df9d1c2cd057cb0     
宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(自己)作出某种表现
参考例句:
  • The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
  • Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。
22 crests 9ef5f38e01ed60489f228ef56d77c5c8     
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点
参考例句:
  • The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了,他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句
23 eastward CrjxP     
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部
参考例句:
  • The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
  • The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去,他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。
24 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
25 constraint rYnzo     
n.(on)约束,限制;限制(或约束)性的事物
参考例句:
  • The boy felt constraint in her presence.那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。
  • The lack of capital is major constraint on activities in the informal sector.资本短缺也是影响非正规部门生产经营的一个重要制约因素。
26 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
27 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
28 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
29 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的,说实话的,诚实的
参考例句:
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心,他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
30 exasperated ltAz6H     
adj.恼怒的
参考例句:
  • We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
  • Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。
31 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。
32 tormenting 6e14ac649577fc286f6d088293b57895     
使痛苦的,使苦恼的
参考例句:
  • He took too much pleasure in tormenting an ugly monster called Caliban. 他喜欢一味捉弄一个名叫凯列班的丑妖怪。
  • The children were scolded for tormenting animals. 孩子们因折磨动物而受到责骂。
33 fascination FlHxO     
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋
参考例句:
  • He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
  • His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
34 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
35 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
36 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
37 humbly humbly     
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地
参考例句:
  • We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
  • "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的,先生,”约翰恭顺地说道。
38 impulsiveness c241f05286967855b4dd778779272ed7     
n.冲动
参考例句:
  • Advancing years had toned down his rash impulsiveness.上了年纪以后,他那鲁莽、容易冲动的性子好了一些。
  • There was some emotional lability and impulsiveness during the testing.在测试过程中,患者容易冲动,情绪有时不稳定。
39 mantled 723ae314636c7b8cf8431781be806326     
披着斗篷的,覆盖着的
参考例句:
  • Clouds mantled the moon. 云把月亮遮住。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The champagne mantled in the glass. 玻璃杯里的香槟酒面上泛起一层泡沫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
40 utterly ZfpzM1     
adv.完全地,绝对地
参考例句:
  • Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民,把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
  • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
41 intimacy z4Vxx     
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行
参考例句:
  • His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切,这有点言过其实。
  • I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。
42 meekness 90085f0fe4f98e6ba344e6fe6b2f4e0f     
n.温顺,柔和
参考例句:
  • Amy sewed with outward meekness and inward rebellion till dusk. 阿密阳奉阴违地一直缝到黄昏。 来自辞典例句
  • 'I am pretty well, I thank you,' answered Mr. Lorry, with meekness; 'how are you?' “很好,谢谢,”罗瑞先生回答,态度温驯,“你好么?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
43 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
44 incensed 0qizaV     
盛怒的
参考例句:
  • The decision incensed the workforce. 这个决定激怒了劳工大众。
  • They were incensed at the decision. 他们被这个决定激怒了。
45 brutality MSbyb     
n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮
参考例句:
  • The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
  • a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军
46 mule G6RzI     
n.骡子,杂种,执拗的人
参考例句:
  • A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
  • He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。
47 horridly 494037157960bcac9e8209cdc9d6f920     
可怕地,讨厌地
参考例句:
48 provocation QB9yV     
n.激怒,刺激,挑拨,挑衅的事物,激怒的原因
参考例句:
  • He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子,一点就着。
  • They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。
49 pacified eba3332d17ba74e9c360cbf02b8c9729     
使(某人)安静( pacify的过去式和过去分词 ); 息怒; 抚慰; 在(有战争的地区、国家等)实现和平
参考例句:
  • The baby could not be pacified. 怎么也止不住婴儿的哭声。
  • She shrieked again, refusing to be pacified. 她又尖叫了,无法使她平静下来。
50 meekly meekly     
adv.温顺地,逆来顺受地
参考例句:
  • He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时,他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》
51 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。
52 sweeping ihCzZ4     
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的
参考例句:
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
53 chaff HUGy5     
v.取笑,嘲笑;n.谷壳
参考例句:
  • I didn't mind their chaff.我不在乎他们的玩笑。
  • Old birds are not caught with chaff.谷糠难诱老雀。
54 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
55 chilly pOfzl     
adj.凉快的,寒冷的
参考例句:
  • I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
  • I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后,寒气逼人。
56 bust WszzB     
vt.打破;vi.爆裂;n.半身像;胸部
参考例句:
  • I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
  • She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。
57 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
58 discomfited 97ac63c8d09667b0c6e9856f9e80fe4d     
v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词);使狼狈;使挫折;挫败
参考例句:
  • He was discomfited by the unexpected questions. 意料不到的问题使得他十分尴尬。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He will be particularly discomfited by the minister's dismissal of his plan. 部长对他计划的不理会将使他特别尴尬。 来自辞典例句
59 persistent BSUzg     
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的
参考例句:
  • Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
  • She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
60 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。


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