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CHAPTER XI
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 “Yes, I am quite satisfied with things on the whole,” said Lady Condor1. “Dear Roger, you need not snort. Of course you are a pessimist2, so nice! One of the lucky people who never expect anything, so are never disappointed. Or you always expect everything bad, is it? and you are never disappointed, because you think everything is bad! It doesn’t sound right somehow, but you know what I mean.”
“Certainly! It is quite clear,” said North, with commendable3 gravity.
They were both calling at Thorpe, one cold afternoon early in October. Ruth had a big log fire burning in the grate, in the room which still seemed to belong to Dick Carey. Its warmth mingled4 with the scent5 from big bowls-full of late autumn roses, lent a pleasing illusion of summer. Lady Condor, wonderful to behold6 in the very latest thing in early autumn hats, on which every conceivable variety of dahlia seemed gathered together, sat by the fire talking of many things.
“So nice of you to understand!” she exclaimed, 227nodding at North genially7. “That is the charm of talking to some one with brains. But where was I? Oh yes! I am quite satisfied with things, because I see the end of this horrible adoration8 of money. The Pithians have far surpassed my wildest hopes. It has become positively9 discreditable to be very wealthy. At last everyone begins to realize how truly vulgar has been their idea. I have always resented this kow-towing down to money. It gets the wrong people in everywhere, and no wonder the country goes to the dogs, as my poor dear father used to say. Now why have we got Dunlop Rancid as our member? Because he has brains to help govern? Certainly not! He is our member because his father made a large fortune in buttons—or was it bones?—perhaps it was bone buttons. But something like that. And he subscribed10 largely to the party funds, so he represents us, and when he took me into dinner last week he didn’t know where King Solomon’s Islands were. Nor did I! But of course that was different. My dear”—she looked suddenly at Violet Riversley—“why on earth don’t you make Fred stand for Parliament? He has a fund of common sense which would be invaluable11 to the country, and he has only to write a big cheque for the party funds and there he will be.”
228Violet Riversley was curled—almost crunched—up in the armchair opposite her Ladyship. She lifted her head when directly questioned and laughed a little. It was not a nice laugh. It fell across the warm sweet-scented room like a note from a jarred string.
“Why should one bother?” she said. “The country is welcome to go to the dogs for all I care. I’m sorry for the dogs, that’s all.”
There was a little silence, a sense of discomfort12. The bitterness underlying13 the words made them forceful—of account. Lady Condor felt they were in bad taste, and North got up, frowning irritably14, and moved away to the window. Violet, however, was paying no attention to either of them. She was looking at Ruth, with her golden eyes full of something approaching malice15.
“You go on playing with your little bits of kindness and your toys, and think everything in the garden is lovely!” She laughed again, that little hateful laugh. “And what do you suppose is really going on all the time! You human beings are the biggest fraud on the face of the earth!”
Ruth started a little at the pronoun. Her serenity16 was disturbed; she looked worried.
“You talk of righteousness, and justice, and brotherhood17, and all the rest of the rotten humbug,” 229Violet Riversley went on, “and hold up your hands in horror when other people transgress18 against your paper ideals. But every nation is out for what it can make, every people will wade19 through oceans of blood and torture and infamy20 if it thinks it can reap any benefit from it. And why not? Survival of the fittest, that is nature’s law. But why can’t you say so? Instead of all this hypocrisy21 and pretence22 of high morals. You make me sick! What possible right have you to howl at the Germans? You are all the same—England and France and America—the whole lot of you. You have all taken by force or fraud. You have all driven out by arms and plots weaker peoples than yourselves. I don’t blame you for that—weaker people should go—it is the law of nature. But don’t go round whining23 about how good you are to them. You are just about as good to them as you are to your animals or anything else weaker than yourselves. Why can’t you have the courage of your brutality24, and your lust25, and your strength. It might be worth something then. You might be great. As it is you are only contemptible—the biggest fraud on the face of creation.”
She faltered26 suddenly, and stopped. Ruth’s eyes had met hers steadily27, all the time she had been speaking; and now her hostess spoke28 slowly 230and quietly, as one speaks to a little child when one wants to impress something upon it.
“Why do you talk like that, Violet Riversley?” she asked. “You know you do not think like that yourself.”
North, standing29 by the window, watched, with the fingers of a horrible anxiety gripping him. His daughter’s face in the leaping firelight looked like a twisted distorted mask. Lady Condor, open-mouthed, comically perplexed30, stared from one to the other, for once speechless.
“It is the truth.” Violet Riversley uttered the words slowly, it seemed with difficulty.
“You do not think so,” answered Ruth, still as one who would impress a fact on a child. Then she rose from her chair. “Come!” she said, with a strange note of command in her voice, “I know you will all like to walk round the place before tea.”
Violet passed her hand across her eyes, much as a person will do when waking from the proverbial forty winks31. She stood up, and shivered a little.
Ruth was talking, after a fashion unusual to her, almost forcing the conversation into certain channels. “Yes, of course, you are very right, Lady Condor,” she said. “No man can be valued truly until you see what he can do just 231with his brain and his character and his own two hands. Now I can give Violet a really fine character for work. As a matter of fact I am filled with jealousy32. She can milk quicker than I can. I think because she learnt when she was quite young. Mr. Carey taught her.”
“Poor dear Dick! He did teach the children such queer things,” said Lady Condor, allowing herself to be assisted out of her comfortable chair by the fire without protest. “But who was it learnt to milk? Some one quite celebrated33. Was it Marie Antoinette? Or was it Queen Elizabeth? It must be just milking time; let us go, dear Violet, and see you milk. It will interest us so much,” she added, with that amazing tact34 which no one except those who knew her best ever realized.
Violet followed them into the garden without speaking. Her eyes had a curious vacant look; she moved like a person walking in her sleep.
Lady Condor took Ruth’s arm and dropped behind the others on the way to the farmyard. “My dear,” she said, “I don’t know what’s the matter, but I see you wish to create a diversion. Poor dear Violet, I have never heard her talk such nonsense before. Rather unpleasant nonsense too, wasn’t it? Can it be she has fallen in love with one of those dreadful 232Socialist creatures? I believe they can sometimes be quite attractive, and the young women of the present day are so outré, you never know who or what they will take up with. Besides, I believe they wash nowadays. The Socialists36 I mean, of course. In my day they thought it showed independence to appear dirty and without any manners. So funny, was it not? But I met one the other day who was charming. Quite good looking and well dressed, even his boots. Or, let me see, was he a Theosophist? There are so many ‘ists’ now, it is difficult not to get them mixed up. But where was I? Oh yes—dear Violet! Where can she have got those queer ideas from? I do hope she is not attracted by some ‘ist.’ I so often notice that when a woman gets queer opinions there is either a man, or the want of a man, at the bottom of it. And it cannot be the latter with dear Violet. Ah, now here we are. Don’t the dear things look pretty? And you have such a lovely milking shed for them. Violet, you really must show me how you milk. I should like to begin myself. But don’t you have to lean your head against the cow?—and it would ruin my dahlias.”
“Come and see the real dahlias instead,” said Violet, laughing. “Yours are the most wonderful imitation I have ever seen. I don’t 233believe you could tell them from the real ones. Where did you get them? Madame Elsa?”
Her voice and manner were wholly natural again. North looked palpably relieved, but when his daughter had disappeared with Lady Condor towards the flower garden he turned anxiously to Ruth.
“Does she often talk like that?” he asked. “It is so unlike her—so absolutely unlike—” He stopped, his eyes searched Ruth’s, and for a moment there was silence. “What is it?” he asked.
They were wandering now, aimlessly, back to the house.
“If I were to tell you what I think,” said Ruth slowly, “you would call me mad.”
“You don’t mind that.” He spoke impatiently. “Tell me.”
“Not yet—wait. Did anything strike you when she burst out like that just now?”
North did not answer. He had ridden over and still held his whip in his right hand. He struck the fallen rustling37 leaves backwards38 and forwards with it as he walked, with the sharp whish expressive39 of annoyance40 and irritation41.
“You women are enough to drive a man crazy between you,” he said.
This being plainly no answer to her question Ruth simply waited.
234“How often has she talked in that strain?” North asked at length.
“Twice only, before to-day.”
“And you—call her back to herself—as you did just now?”
“Yes.”
They had reached the terrace, and he stood facing her. He searched her eyes with his as he had done before.
“It is not possible,” he said, but the words lacked conviction.
Ruth said nothing. Her eyes were troubled, but they met his steadily.
Then at last North told her. “It might have been Karl von Sch?de speaking,” he said.
“Come indoors,” she said gently.
He followed her into the warm rose-scented room and sat down by the fire, shivering. She threw more logs upon it, and the flames shot up, many-hued, rose and amber42, sea-green and heliotrope43.
“Tell me what you think, what you know,” said North.
Ruth looked into the leaping mass of flame, her face very grave. Her voice was very low, hardly above a whisper.
“I think the hatred44 in which Karl von Sch?de passed into the next world has found a physical 235instrument through which to manifest here,” she said.
“And that instrument is—good God!” North’s voice was sharp with horror. “It isn’t possible—the whole thing is ridiculous. But go on. I heard to-day. That has happened twice before you say. You suspected then, of course. Is there anything else?”
And even as he spoke, things, little things, that Violet had said and done, came back to him. The shrinking of the dogs, his own words—“She is not herself”—took on new meaning.
“There is a blight45 upon the farm since she came,” said Ruth. “The joy and peace are not here as they were. Perhaps you would not feel it, coming so seldom.”
“Yes, I noticed it. But Violet has not made for peace of late. I thought it was just her being here.”
“The children don’t care to come as they did, and there have been quarrels. The creatures are not so tame. Nothing is doing quite so well. These are little things, but taken all together they make a big whole.”
“Anyway it’s not fair on you,” said North shortly. “The place is too good to spoil, and you——”
In that moment, the supreme46 selfishness with which he and his had used her for their own 236benefit, as some impersonal47 creature, that could not be weary or worried or overtaxed, came home to him. He felt suddenly ashamed.
Ruth smiled at him. “No,” she said. “The farm, I, you, are all just instruments too, as she has become, poor child. Only we are instruments on the other side.” Her voice dropped, and he leant forward to catch the words. “Dick Carey’s instruments; we cannot fail him.”
“Then you think——”
“See!” She held herself together, after her queer fashion, as a child does when thinking hard. “You remember in the letter about von Sch?de, when Mr. Carey wrote: ‘he died cursing England, the English, me and mine and Thorpe. It was like the evil of this war incarnate48.’ Do you think that force of emotion perished with the physical, or do you think the shattering of the physical left it free? And remember too, Karl von Sch?de had studied those forces, had learnt possibly something of how to handle them. Then Violet, Violet whom he had loved, after his own fashion, and to whom he would therefore be drawn——”
“But if there is any justice, here or there,” broke in North, “why should she become the brute’s instrument?”
“Because she too was filled with hate. Only 237so could it have been possible. Think for a minute and you will see.”
In his youth, North had been afflicted49 with spasms50 of stammering51. One seized him now. It seemed part of the horror which was piercing the armour52 in which he had trusted, distorting with strange images that lucid53 brain of his, so that all clear train of thought seemed to desert him. He struggled painfully for a few moments before speech returned to him.
“D—damn him. D—damn him. Damn him,” he said.
Ruth sprang up, and laid her hand across his mouth. Fear was in her eyes. He had never thought to see her so moved, she who was always so calm, so secure.
“For pity’s sake stop,” she said; “if you feel like that you must go. You must not come here again. You must keep away from her. Oh, don’t you see you are helping54 him? I ought not to have told you; I did not realize it might fill you with hate too.”
“I’m sorry,” said North harshly. “I’m afraid anything else is beyond me.”
He had given up all attempt to insist that it was impossible. The uncanny horror had him in its grip. He felt that he had bidden farewell to common sense.
Ruth grew imperative55. “For God’s sake, 238try!” she said. “Don’t hate. Don’t curse him like that. Don’t you see—you cannot overcome hate with hate; you can only add to it. I find it so hard myself not to feel as you do. But oh, don’t you see, all his life Dick Carey must have loved, in a small far-off way of course, as God loves. And everything that lived and moved and breathed came within the scope of his tenderness and his pity. And That which was himself did not perish with the physical either. That too is free—free and fighting. You can only overcome hate with love. But on a physical plane, even God Himself can only work through physical instruments.”
She stopped, and looked at North imploringly56.
“I have your meaning,” he said more gently. Her sudden weakness moved him indescribably.
“And the worst of it is,” she went on, “I have lately lost that sense of being in touch with him. You remember how I told you about it. It came, I thought, through us both loving the farm, but indeed I did know, in some strange way, what he wanted done and when he was pleased. You will remember I told you. If I could feel still what was best to do, but it is like struggling all alone in the dark! Only one thing I know, I hold to. You cannot overcome 239hate with hate. You can only overcome hate with love. But the love is going out of the farm. It was so full of it—so full—I could hear it singing always in my heart. But now there is something awful here. I can sense it in the night, I can feel it in all sorts of ways. The peace has gone that was so beautiful, the radiance and the joy. And always now I have instead the sense of great struggle, and some evil thing that threatens.”
“It is not fair on you or on the farm,” said North, very gently now. “Violet ought to leave.”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I have thought so—and yet—I don’t know. I am working in the dark. I know so little really of these things—we all know so little.”
“Her presence is injuring the farm, or so it seems. Indeed, it must be so. A human being full of hate and misery57 is no fit occupant for any home. Also we have no right——”
Ruth looked at him, and again he felt ashamed. “I beg your pardon,” he said.
“We have the sort of right that you acknowledge, I know, but I don’t think we should claim it.”
“She came to me, or rather, I think, to the farm, to the nearest she could get to him. Or 240again, it might be the other force driving her. I don’t know. But I can’t send her away. I think of it sometimes, but I know I can’t.”
“What is she like on the whole?”
“Dull and moody58 sometimes, wandering about the place, hardly speaking at all. Once or twice she stayed in her room all day and refused all food. But at other times she will follow me about wherever I go, clinging to me like a child, eager to help. Sometimes she will commit some horrible little cruelty, and be ashamed of it afterwards and try to hide it. If she could speak of it at all, confide59 in anyone it would be better I think. But she does not seem able to.”
North sat staring into the fire with haggard eyes, the deep lines of his face very visible as the flames leapt and fell.
“It will send her out of her mind if it goes on,” he said at length.
Ruth did not answer. Her silence voiced her own exceeding dread35; it seemed to North terrible. If she should fail he knew that it would be one of the worst things which had ever happened to him. In that moment he knew how much she had come to stand for in his mind. He kept his eyes upon the fire and did not look at her. He dreaded60 to see that fear again in her eyes, dreaded to see her weak. It 241was as if the evil of the world was the only powerful thing after all. And he knew now that he had begun to hope, things deep down in his consciousness had begun to stir, to come to life.
But presently Ruth spoke again, and, looking up, he met the old comforting friendliness61 of her smile. Her serenity had returned. Her face looked white and very worn, but it was no longer marred62 with fear.
“I am sorry,” she said, “and I am ashamed to have been so foolish, to have let myself think for a moment that we should fail. Hate is very strong and very terrible; but love is stronger and very beautiful. Let us only make ourselves into fit instruments for its power. We must. If Karl von Sch?de lasts beyond, so too, more surely still, does Dick Carey. Why should we be afraid? Will you give to Karl von Sch?de the instruments for his power and deny them to the friend you loved? And is it so difficult after all? Think what he must have suffered, his poor body broken into pieces, his mind full of anguish63 that his country was ruined, beaten, and full of the horrors he had seen and which he attributed to us. Think of those last awful hours of his, and have you at least no pity? Try for it, reach out for it, get yourself into that mind which you knew 242as Dick Carey. Take Karl van Sch?de into it too in your thought.”
She stopped, her voice broken, but the light that shone in her face was like a star.
“I will try,” said Roger North.
In the pause that followed the approaching clatter64 of Lady Condor’s re-entry was almost a relief. She brought them back into the regions of ordinary everyday things. Violet, too, was laughing, getting more like herself. The tension relaxed.
“Miss Seer, if I had planted my dahlias among yours, really you would, never have found it out. They are an amazing imitation—quite amazing. Condor thinks my taste in hats too loud. But if men had their way we should all dress in black. So depressing! Tea? I should love it. But no, I cannot stay. I have a duty party at home. So dull, but Condor is determined65 that Hawkhurst shall stand for the Division now he is safely tucked away in the other House himself. All the old party business is beginning again, just as if there had been no war, when we were all shrieking66 ‘No more party politics.’ ‘No more hidden policies.’ So like us, isn’t it? I shall put Caroline Holmes in the chair at all the women’s meetings. She does so love it—and making speeches. Yes. She is to marry her Major this 243autumn, but she assures me it will not ‘curtail67 her activities.’ Curtail! so nice! But where was I? Oh yes, my tea-party, and I would so much rather stay here. I remember I was just going to be clever, and what happened? Oh, we went out to see Violet milk, and we saw the dahlias instead. Good-bye. Good-bye. And come soon to see me.”
So Lady Condor conveyed herself, talking steadily, outside the sitting-room68, with Roger North in attendance carrying her various belongings69. But as she progressed across the hall, and into her waiting car, she fell upon a most unusual silence. It was not until she was well settled in that she spoke again.
“I don’t like Violet’s looks, Roger,” she said then, her shrewd old eyes very kindly70. “Why are there no babies? There should always be a nursery full of babies for the first ten years of a woman’s married life. And where is Fred? You should speak to him about it.”
She waved a friendly hand at him, various articles falling from her lap as she did so, and the car rolled away.
North gave a little snort of bitter laughter as he turned back into the house. Fred? Fred was eating his heart out, catching71 salmon72 in Scotland; and Violet was at Thorpe, obsessed73 by a dead man’s hatred. He was filled with all a 244man’s desire to cut the whole wretched business summarily, but the thing had got him in its devilish meshes74, and there was no escape. He stayed to tea because he felt he must help Ruth, and yet with the uneasy consciousness that he was doing rather the reverse. Violet had fallen into one of the moody silences so common to her now, and, after she had had her tea, went back to her chair by the fire and a book. Ruth and Roger talked of the farm intermittently75 and with a sense of restraint, and presently Violet tossed her book on to the opposite chair and left the room.
“What is she reading?” asked Roger.
He crossed to the fire and picked the book up. It was The Road to Self-Knowledge, by Rudolph Steiner, and on the flyleaf, neatly76 written in a stiff small writing, “K. von Sch?de.” Then Roger suddenly saw red. The logs still burnt brightly in the grate, and with a concentrated disgust, so violent that it could be felt, he dropped the book into the heart of the flames and rammed77 it down there with the heel of his riding boot. The smell of burnt leather filled the room before he lifted it, and watched, with grim satisfaction, the printed leaves curl up in the heat.
He made no apology for the act, though presumably the book was now Ruth’s property.
245“That will show you just how much help I’m likely to be,” he said. “Always supposing that you are right. And now I’d better go.”
Ruth smiled at him. The child in man will always appeal to a woman. “Yes, go,” she said. “I will let you know if there is anything to tell.”
North rode home with all the little demons78 of intellectual pride and prejudice, of manlike contempt for the intangible, whispering to him, “You fool.”
His wife made a scene after dinner about his visit to the farm. She resented Violet having gone there. It had aroused her jealousy, and her daughter came under the lash79 of her tongue equally with her husband. Then North lost his temper, bitterly and completely; they said horrible things to each other, things that burn in, and corrode80 and fester after, as human beings will when they utterly81 lose control of themselves. It ended, as it always did, in torrents82 of tears on Mrs. North’s side, which drove North into his own room ashamed, disgusted, furious with her and himself.
He opened the windows to the October night air. It was keen, with a hint of frost. The thinned leaves showed the delicate tracery of branches, black against the pale moonlit sky. The stars looked a very long way off. Utterly 246sick at heart, filled with self-contempt for his outbreak of temper, struggling in a miasma83 of disgust with life and all things in it, he leant against the window-sill; the keen cool wind seemed to cleanse84 and restore.
A little well-known whine85 roused him, to find Vic scratching against his knee. He picked her up, and felt the small warm body curl against his own. She looked at him as only a dog can look, and, carrying her, he turned towards the dying embers of the fire and his easy chair. Then he stopped, remembering, noticing, for the first time, that Larry had not come back with him.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 condor ip1zl     
n.秃鹰;秃鹰金币
参考例句:
  • The condor soars above the mountain heights.禿鹰翱翔于高山之上。
  • A condor prepares to fly in Colombia.一只兀鹰在哥伦比亚准备振翅高飞。
2 pessimist lMtxU     
n.悲观者;悲观主义者;厌世
参考例句:
  • An optimist laughs to forget.A pessimist forgets to laugh.乐观者笑着忘却,悲观者忘记怎样笑。
  • The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.悲观者在每个机会中都看到困难,乐观者在每个困难中都看到机会。
3 commendable LXXyw     
adj.值得称赞的
参考例句:
  • The government's action here is highly commendable.政府这样的行动值得高度赞扬。
  • Such carping is not commendable.这样吹毛求疵真不大好。
4 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系]
参考例句:
  • The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
  • The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候,这一男一女就开始交往了。
5 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
6 behold jQKy9     
v.看,注视,看到
参考例句:
  • The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
  • The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。
7 genially 0de02d6e0c84f16556e90c0852555eab     
adv.亲切地,和蔼地;快活地
参考例句:
  • The white church peeps out genially from behind the huts scattered on the river bank. 一座白色教堂从散布在岸上的那些小木房后面殷勤地探出头来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • "Well, It'seems strange to see you way up here,'said Mr. Kenny genially. “咳,真没想到会在这么远的地方见到你,"肯尼先生亲切地说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
8 adoration wfhyD     
n.爱慕,崇拜
参考例句:
  • He gazed at her with pure adoration.他一往情深地注视着她。
  • The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
9 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。
10 subscribed cb9825426eb2cb8cbaf6a72027f5508a     
v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 );签署,题词;订阅;同意
参考例句:
  • It is not a theory that is commonly subscribed to. 一般人并不赞成这个理论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I subscribed my name to the document. 我在文件上签了字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 invaluable s4qxe     
adj.无价的,非常宝贵的,极为贵重的
参考例句:
  • A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
  • This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。
12 discomfort cuvxN     
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便
参考例句:
  • One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
  • She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。
13 underlying 5fyz8c     
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
参考例句:
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
14 irritably e3uxw     
ad.易生气地
参考例句:
  • He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了,暴躁地斥责孩子们。
  • On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事,他妻子大声斥责,令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
15 malice P8LzW     
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋
参考例句:
  • I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
  • There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。
16 serenity fEzzz     
n.宁静,沉着,晴朗
参考例句:
  • Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤,但仍使人感觉安详。
  • She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。
17 brotherhood 1xfz3o     
n.兄弟般的关系,手中情谊
参考例句:
  • They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
  • They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。
18 transgress vqWyY     
vt.违反,逾越
参考例句:
  • Your words must't transgress the local laws .你的言辞不能违反当地法律。
  • No one is permitted to have privileges to transgress the law. 不允许任何人有超越法律的特权。
19 wade nMgzu     
v.跋涉,涉水;n.跋涉
参考例句:
  • We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
  • We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。
20 infamy j71x2     
n.声名狼藉,出丑,恶行
参考例句:
  • They may grant you power,honour,and riches but afflict you with servitude,infamy,and poverty.他们可以给你权力、荣誉和财富,但却用奴役、耻辱和贫穷来折磨你。
  • Traitors are held in infamy.叛徒为人所不齿。
21 hypocrisy g4qyt     
n.伪善,虚伪
参考例句:
  • He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
  • He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。
22 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。
23 whining whining     
n. 抱怨,牢骚 v. 哭诉,发牢骚
参考例句:
  • That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
  • The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着(要进来)。
24 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
25 lust N8rz1     
n.性(淫)欲;渴(欲)望;vi.对…有强烈的欲望
参考例句:
  • He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
  • Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念,就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。
26 faltered d034d50ce5a8004ff403ab402f79ec8d     
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃
参考例句:
  • He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
  • "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着:“这孩子脑袋真长。”
27 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。
28 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。
29 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
30 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
31 winks 1dd82fc4464d9ba6c78757a872e12679     
v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮
参考例句:
  • I'll feel much better when I've had forty winks. 我打个盹就会感到好得多。
  • The planes were little silver winks way out to the west. 飞机在西边老远的地方,看上去只是些很小的银色光点。 来自辞典例句
32 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
33 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
34 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。
35 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。
36 socialists df381365b9fb326ee141e1afbdbf6e6c     
社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
  • The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后,就把其政治信条弃之不顾。
37 rustling c6f5c8086fbaf68296f60e8adb292798     
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句:
  • the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
  • the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声
38 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。
39 expressive shwz4     
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
参考例句:
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
40 annoyance Bw4zE     
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼
参考例句:
  • Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气?
  • I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。
41 irritation la9zf     
n.激怒,恼怒,生气
参考例句:
  • He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
  • Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说,但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。
42 amber LzazBn     
n.琥珀;琥珀色;adj.琥珀制的
参考例句:
  • Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗?
  • This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。
43 heliotrope adbxf     
n.天芥菜;淡紫色
参考例句:
  • So Laurie played and Jo listened,with her nose luxuriously buried in heliotrope and tea roses.这样劳瑞便弹了起来,裘把自己的鼻子惬意地埋在无芥菜和庚申蔷薇花簇中倾听着。
  • The dragon of eternity sustains the faceted heliotrope crystal of life.永恒不朽的飞龙支撑着寓意着生命的淡紫色多面水晶。
44 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨
参考例句:
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
45 blight 0REye     
n.枯萎病;造成破坏的因素;vt.破坏,摧残
参考例句:
  • The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
  • There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。
46 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
47 impersonal Ck6yp     
adj.无个人感情的,与个人无关的,非人称的
参考例句:
  • Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远,没有人情味。
  • His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。
48 incarnate dcqzT     
adj.化身的,人体化的,肉色的
参考例句:
  • She was happiness incarnate.她是幸福的化身。
  • That enemy officer is a devil incarnate.那个敌军军官简直是魔鬼的化身。
49 afflicted aaf4adfe86f9ab55b4275dae2a2e305a     
使受痛苦,折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
  • A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。
50 spasms 5efd55f177f67cd5244e9e2b74500241     
n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 );抽搐;(能量、行为等的)突发;发作
参考例句:
  • After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后,痉挛稍微减轻了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The smile died, squeezed out by spasms of anticipation and anxiety. 一阵阵预测和焦虑把她脸上的微笑挤掉了。 来自辞典例句
51 stammering 232ca7f6dbf756abab168ca65627c748     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He betrayed nervousness by stammering. 他说话结结巴巴说明他胆子小。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Why,\" he said, actually stammering, \"how do you do?\" “哎呀,\"他说,真的有些结结巴巴,\"你好啊?” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
52 armour gySzuh     
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队
参考例句:
  • His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
  • Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。
53 lucid B8Zz8     
adj.明白易懂的,清晰的,头脑清楚的
参考例句:
  • His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
  • He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒,不太知道自己在哪里。
54 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
55 imperative BcdzC     
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的
参考例句:
  • He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
  • The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。
56 imploringly imploringly     
adv. 恳求地, 哀求地
参考例句:
  • He moved his lips and looked at her imploringly. 他嘴唇动着,哀求地看着她。
  • He broke in imploringly. 他用恳求的口吻插了话。
57 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
58 moody XEXxG     
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的
参考例句:
  • He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
  • I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。
59 confide WYbyd     
v.向某人吐露秘密
参考例句:
  • I would never readily confide in anybody.我从不轻易向人吐露秘密。
  • He is going to confide the secrets of his heart to us.他将向我们吐露他心里的秘密。
60 dreaded XuNzI3     
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
  • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
61 friendliness nsHz8c     
n.友谊,亲切,亲密
参考例句:
  • Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面,我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
  • His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。
62 marred 5fc2896f7cb5af68d251672a8d30b5b5     
adj. 被损毁, 污损的
参考例句:
  • The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨,把比赛给搅了。
  • Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。
63 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
64 clatter 3bay7     
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声
参考例句:
  • The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
  • Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。
65 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
66 shrieking abc59c5a22d7db02751db32b27b25dbb     
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
67 curtail TYTzO     
vt.截短,缩短;削减
参考例句:
  • The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
  • The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。
68 sitting-room sitting-room     
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室
参考例句:
  • The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
  • Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。
69 belongings oy6zMv     
n.私人物品,私人财物
参考例句:
  • I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
  • Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。
70 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。
71 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
72 salmon pClzB     
n.鲑,大马哈鱼,橙红色的
参考例句:
  • We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
  • Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗?
73 obsessed 66a4be1417f7cf074208a6d81c8f3384     
adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的
参考例句:
  • He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
  • The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。
74 meshes 1541efdcede8c5a0c2ed7e32c89b361f     
网孔( mesh的名词复数 ); 网状物; 陷阱; 困境
参考例句:
  • The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢,疏而不漏。
  • This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。
75 intermittently hqAzIX     
adv.间歇地;断断续续
参考例句:
  • Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学
  • The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句
76 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。
77 rammed 99b2b7e6fc02f63b92d2b50ea750a532     
v.夯实(土等)( ram的过去式和过去分词 );猛撞;猛压;反复灌输
参考例句:
  • Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来,出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
  • I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
78 demons 8f23f80251f9c0b6518bce3312ca1a61     
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念
参考例句:
  • demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
  • He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰,那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
79 lash a2oxR     
v.系牢;鞭打;猛烈抨击;n.鞭打;眼睫毛
参考例句:
  • He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
  • With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。
80 corrode Uolze     
v.使腐蚀,侵蚀,破害;v.腐蚀,被侵蚀
参考例句:
  • The tools will corrode with rust if never used.这些工具如长期不用会长铁锈而损坏。
  • It will pollute people's aesthetic taste and corrode social spirit.它污染人们的审美趣味,腐蚀社会精神。
81 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。
82 torrents 0212faa02662ca7703af165c0976cdfd     
n.倾注;奔流( torrent的名词复数 );急流;爆发;连续不断
参考例句:
  • The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Sudden rainstorms would bring the mountain torrents rushing down. 突然的暴雨会使山洪暴发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
83 miasma Z1zyu     
n.毒气;不良气氛
参考例句:
  • A miasma rose from the marsh.沼泽地里冒出了瘴气。
  • The novel spun a miasma of death and decay.小说笼罩着死亡和腐朽的气氛。
84 cleanse 7VoyT     
vt.使清洁,使纯洁,清洗
参考例句:
  • Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
  • Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。
85 whine VMNzc     
v.哀号,号哭;n.哀鸣
参考例句:
  • You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
  • The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上,一声尖厉的呼啸,跳飞开去。


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