“He who envies now thy state,
Milton.
Bright and joyous5 was the aspect of nature on a spring morning in the beautiful county of Somersetshire. The budding green on the trees was yet so light, that, like a transparent6 veil, it showed the outlines of every twig7; but on the lowlier hedges it lay like a rich mantle8 of foliage9, and clusters of primroses10 nestled below, while the air was perfumed with violets. Already was heard the hum of some adventurous11 bee in search of early sweets, the distant low of cattle from the pasture, the mellow12 note of the[6] cuckoo from the grove,—every sight and sound told of enjoyment13 on that sunny Sabbath morn.
Yet let me make an exception. There was one spot which reserved to itself the unenviable privilege of looking gloomy all the year round. Nettleby Tower, a venerable edifice15, stood on the highest summit of a hill, like some stern guardian16 of the fair country that smiled around it. The tower had been raised in the time of the Normans, and had then been the robber-hold of a succession of fierce barons17, who, from their strong position, had defied the power of king or law. The iron age had passed away. The moat had been dried, and the useless portcullis had rusted18 over the gate. The loop-holes, whence archers19 had pointed20 their shafts21, were half filled up with the rubbish accumulated by time. Lichens22 had mantled23 the grey stone till its original hue24 was almost undistinguishable; silent and deserted25 was the courtyard which had so often echoed to the clatter26 of hoofs27, or the ringing clank of armour28.
Silent and deserted—yes! It was not time alone that had wrought29 the desolation. Nettleby Tower had stood a siege in the time of the Commonwealth30, and the marks of bullets might still be traced on its walls; but the injuries which had been inflicted31 by the slow march of centuries, or the more rapid visitation of war, were slight compared to those which had been wrought by litigation and family dissension. The property had been for years the subject of a [7]vexatious lawsuit32, which had half ruined the unsuccessful party, and the present owner of Nettleby Tower had not cared to take personal possession of the gloomy pile. Perhaps Mr. Auger33 knew that the feeling of the neighbourhood would be against him, as the sympathies of all would be enlisted34 on the side of the descendant of that ancient family which had for centuries dwelt in the Tower, who had been deprived of his birthright by the will of a proud and intemperate35 father.
The old fortress36 had thus been suffered to fall into decay. Grass grew in the courtyard; the wallflower clung to the battlements; the winter snow and the summer rain made their way through the broken casements37, and no hand had removed the mass of wreck38 which lay where a furious storm had thrown down one of the ancient chimneys. Parties of tourists occasionally visited the gloomy place, trod the long, dreary39 corridors, and heard from a wrinkled woman accounts of the moth-eaten tapestry40, and the time-darkened family portraits that grimly frowned from the walls. They heard tales of the last Mr. Bardon, the proud owner of the pile; how he had been wont41 to sit long and late over his bottle, carousing42 with jovial43 companions, till the hall resounded44 with their oaths and their songs; and how, more than thirty years back, he had disinherited his only son for marrying a farmer’s daughter. Then the old woman would, after slowly showing the way up the worn[8] stone steps which led round and round till they opened on the summit of the tower, direct her listener’s attention to a small grey speck45 in the wide-spreading landscape below, and tell them that Dr. Bardon lived there in needy46 circumstances, in actual sight of the place where, if every man had his right, he would now be dwelling47 as his fathers had dwelt. And the visitors would sigh, shake their heads, and moralize on the strange changes in human fortunes.
The old woman who showed strangers over Nettleby Tower lived in a cottage hard by; neither she nor any other person was ever to be found in the old halls after the sun had set. The place had the repute of being haunted, and was left after dark to the sole possession of the rooks, the owls48, and the bats. I must tax the faith of my readers to believe that the old tower was actually haunted; not by the ghosts of the dead, but by the spirits of evil that are ever moving amongst the living. I must attempt with a bold hand to draw aside the mysterious veil which divides the invisible from the visible world, and though I must invoke49 imagination to my aid, it is imagination fluttering on the confines of truth. Bear with me, then, while I personify the spirits of Pride and Intemperance50, and represent them as lingering yet in the pile in which for centuries they had borne sway over human hearts.
Standing51 on the battlements of the grey tower, behold52 two dim, but gigantic forms, like dark clouds,[9] that to the eye of fancy have assumed a mortal shape. The little rock-plant that has found a cradle between the crumbling53 stones bends not beneath their weight,—and yet how many deep-rooted hopes have they crushed! Their unsubstantial shapes cast no shadow on the wall, and yet have darkened myriads54 of homes! The natural sense cannot recognise their presence; the eye beholds55 them not, the human ear cannot catch the low thunder of their speech; and yet there they stand, terrible realities,—known, like the invisible plague, by their effects upon those whom they destroy!
There is a wild light in the eyes of Intemperance, not caught from the glad sunbeams that are bathing the world in glory; it is like a red meteor playing over some deep morass56, and though there is often mirth in his tone, it is such mirth as jars upon the shuddering57 soul like the laugh of a raving58 maniac59! Pride is of more lofty stature60 than his companion, perhaps of yet darker hue, and his voice is lower and deeper. His features are stamped with the impress of all that piety61 abhors62 and conscience shrinks from, for we behold him without his veil. Human infirmity may devise soft names for cherished sins, and even invest them with a specious63 glory which deceives the dazzled eye; but who could endure to see in all their bare deformity those two arch soul-destroyers, Intemperance and Pride?
“Nay64, it was I who wrought this ruin!” exclaimed[10] the former, stretching his shadowy hand over the desolated65 dwelling. “Think you that had Hugh Bardon possessed66 his senses unclouded by my spell, he would ever have driven forth67 from his home his own—his only son?”
“Was it not I,” replied Pride, “who ever stood beside him, counting up the long line of his ancestry68, inflaming69 his soul with legends of the past, making him look upon his own blood as something different from that which flows in the veins70 of ordinary mortals, till he learned to regard a union with one of lower rank as a crime beyond forgiveness?”
“I,” cried Intemperance, “intoxicated his brain”—
“I,” interrupted Pride, “intoxicated his spirit. You fill your deep cup with fermented71 beverage72; the fermentation which I cause is within the soul, and it varies according to the different natures that receive it. There is the vinous fermentation, that which man calls high spirit, and the world hails with applause, whether it sparkle up into courage, or effervesce73 into hasty resentment74. There is the acid fermentation; the sourness of a spirit brooding over wrongs and disappointments, irritated against its fellow-man, and regarding his acts with suspicion. This the world views with a kind of compassionate75 scorn, or perhaps tolerates as something that may occasionally correct the insipidity76 of social intercourse77. And there is the third, the last stage of fermentation, when hating and hated of all, wrapt up in[11] his own self-worship, and poisoning the atmosphere around with the exhalations of rebellion and unbelief, my slave becomes, even to his fellow-bondsmen, an object of aversion and disgust. Such was my power over the spirit of Hugh Bardon. I quenched78 the parent’s yearning79 over his son; I kept watch even by his bed of death; and when holy words of warning were spoken, I made him turn a deaf ear to the charmer, and hardened his soul to destruction!”
“I yield this point to you,” said Intemperance, “I grant that your black badge was rivetted on the miserable80 Bardon even more firmly than mine. And yet, what are your scattered81 conquests to those which I hourly achieve! Do I not drive my thousands and tens of thousands down the steep descent of folly82, misery, disgrace, till they perish in the gulf83 of ruin? Count the gin-palaces dedicated84 to me in this professedly Christian85 land; are they not crowded with my victims? Who can boast a power to injure that is to be compared to mine?”
“Your power is great,” replied Pride, “but it is a power that has limits, nay, limits that become narrower and narrower as civilization and religion gain ground. You have been driven from many a stately abode86, where once Intemperance was a welcome guest, and have to cower87 amongst the lowest of the low, and seek your slaves amongst the vilest88 of the vile14. Seest thou yon church,” continued Pride, pointing to the spire89 of a small, but beautiful edifice, embowered[12] amongst elms and beeches90; “hast thou ever dared so much as to touch one clod of the turf on which falls the shadow of that building?”
“It is, as you well know, forbidden ground,” replied Intemperance.
“To you—to you, but not to me!” exclaimed Pride, his form dilating91 with exultation92. “I enter it unseen with the worshippers, my voice blends with the hymn93 of praise; nay, I sometimes mount the pulpit with the preacher,[1] and while a rapt audience hang upon his words, infuse my secret poison into his soul! When offerings are collected for the poor, how much of the silver and the gold is tarnished94 and tainted95 by my breath! The very monuments raised to the dead often bear the print of my touch; I fix the escutcheon, write the false epitaph, and hang my banner boldly even over the Christian’s tomb!”
“Your power also has limits,” quoth Intemperance. “There is an antidote96 in the inspired Book for every poison that you can instil97.”
“I know it, I know it,” exclaimed Pride, “and marks it not the extent of my influence and the depth of the deceptions98 that I practise, that against no spirit, except that of Idolatry, are so many warnings given in that Book as against the spirit of Pride? For every denunciation against Intemperance, how[13] many may be found against me! Not only religion and morality are your mortal opponents, but self-interest and self-respect unite to weaken the might of Intemperance; I have but one foe99 that I fear, one that singles me out for conflict! As David with his sling100 to Goliath, so to Pride is the Spirit of the Gospel!”
“How is it, then,” inquired Intemperance, “that so many believers in the Gospel fall under your sway?”
“It is because I have so many arts, such subtle devices, I can change myself into so many different shapes; I steal in so softly that I waken not the sentinel Conscience to give an alarm to the soul! You throw one broad net into the sea where you see a shoal within your reach; I angle for my prey101 with skill, hiding my hook with the bait most suited to the taste of each of my victims. You pursue your quarry102 openly before man; I dig the deep hidden pit-fall for mine. You disgust even those whom you enslave; I assume forms that rather please than offend. Sometimes I am ‘a pardonable weakness,’ sometimes ‘a natural instinct,’ sometimes,” and here Pride curled his lip with a mocking smile, “I am welcomed as a generous virtue103!”
“It is in this shape,” said Intemperance angrily, “that you have sometimes even taken a part against me! You have taught my slaves to despise and break from my yoke104!”
“Pass over that,” replied Pride; “or balance against[14] it the many times when I have done you a service, encouraging men to be mighty105 to mingle106 strong drink.”
“Nay, you must acknowledge,” said Intemperance, “that we now seldom work together.”
“We have different spheres,” answered Pride. “You keep multitudes from ever even attempting to enter the fold; I put my manacles upon tens of thousands who deem that they already have entered. I doubt whether there be one goodly dwelling amongst all those that dot yonder wide prospect107, where one, if not all of the inmates108, wears not my invisible band round the arm.”
“You will except the pastor109’s, at least,” said Intemperance. “Yonder, on the path that leads to the school, I see his gentle daughter. She has warned many against me; and with her words, her persuasions111, her prayers, has driven me from more than one home. I shrink from the glance of that soft, dark eye, as if it carried the power of Ithuriel’s spear. Ida seems to me to be purity itself; upon her, at least, you can have no hold.”
“Were we nearer,” laughed the malignant112 spirit, “you would see my dark badge on the saint! Since her childhood I have been striving and struggling to make Ida Aumerle my own. Sometimes she has snapped my chain, and I am ofttimes in fear that she will break away from my bondage113 for ever. But methinks I have a firm hold over her now.”
[15]
“Her pride must be spiritual pride,” observed Intemperance.
“Not so,” replied his evil companion; “I tried that spell, but my efforts failed. While with sweet voice and winning persuasion110 Ida is now guiding her class to Truth, and warning her little flock against us both, would you wish to hearken to the story of the maiden114, and hear all that I have done to win entrance into a heart which the grace of God has cleansed115?”
“Tell me her history,” said Intemperance; “she seems to me like the snowdrop that lifts its head above the sod, pure as a flake116 from the skies.”
[1] “What a beautiful sermon you gave us to-day!” exclaimed a lady to her pastor. “The devil told me the very same thing while I was in the pulpit,” was his quaint118, but comprehensive reply.
点击收听单词发音
1 seduce | |
vt.勾引,诱奸,诱惑,引诱 | |
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2 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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3 bereaved | |
adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去(希望、生命等)( bereave的过去式和过去分词);(尤指死亡)使丧失(亲人、朋友等);使孤寂;抢走(财物) | |
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4 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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5 joyous | |
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的 | |
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6 transparent | |
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的 | |
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7 twig | |
n.小树枝,嫩枝;v.理解 | |
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8 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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9 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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10 primroses | |
n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 );淡黄色;追求享乐(招至恶果) | |
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11 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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12 mellow | |
adj.柔和的;熟透的;v.变柔和;(使)成熟 | |
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13 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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14 vile | |
adj.卑鄙的,可耻的,邪恶的;坏透的 | |
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15 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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16 guardian | |
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者 | |
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17 barons | |
男爵( baron的名词复数 ); 巨头; 大王; 大亨 | |
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18 rusted | |
v.(使)生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19 archers | |
n.弓箭手,射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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20 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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21 shafts | |
n.轴( shaft的名词复数 );(箭、高尔夫球棒等的)杆;通风井;一阵(疼痛、害怕等) | |
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22 lichens | |
n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 ) | |
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23 mantled | |
披着斗篷的,覆盖着的 | |
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24 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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25 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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26 clatter | |
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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27 hoofs | |
n.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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28 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
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29 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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30 commonwealth | |
n.共和国,联邦,共同体 | |
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31 inflicted | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32 lawsuit | |
n.诉讼,控诉 | |
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33 auger | |
n.螺丝钻,钻孔机 | |
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34 enlisted | |
adj.应募入伍的v.(使)入伍, (使)参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 );获得(帮助或支持) | |
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35 intemperate | |
adj.无节制的,放纵的 | |
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36 fortress | |
n.堡垒,防御工事 | |
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37 casements | |
n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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38 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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39 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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40 tapestry | |
n.挂毯,丰富多采的画面 | |
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41 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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42 carousing | |
v.痛饮,闹饮欢宴( carouse的现在分词 ) | |
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43 jovial | |
adj.快乐的,好交际的 | |
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44 resounded | |
v.(指声音等)回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 );产生回响;(指某处)回荡着声音 | |
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45 speck | |
n.微粒,小污点,小斑点 | |
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46 needy | |
adj.贫穷的,贫困的,生活艰苦的 | |
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47 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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48 owls | |
n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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49 invoke | |
v.求助于(神、法律);恳求,乞求 | |
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50 intemperance | |
n.放纵 | |
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51 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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52 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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53 crumbling | |
adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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54 myriads | |
n.无数,极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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55 beholds | |
v.看,注视( behold的第三人称单数 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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56 morass | |
n.沼泽,困境 | |
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57 shuddering | |
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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58 raving | |
adj.说胡话的;疯狂的,怒吼的;非常漂亮的;令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话;疯话adv.胡言乱语地;疯狂地 | |
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59 maniac | |
n.精神癫狂的人;疯子 | |
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60 stature | |
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材 | |
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61 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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62 abhors | |
v.憎恶( abhor的第三人称单数 );(厌恶地)回避;拒绝;淘汰 | |
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63 specious | |
adj.似是而非的;adv.似是而非地 | |
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64 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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65 desolated | |
adj.荒凉的,荒废的 | |
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66 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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67 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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68 ancestry | |
n.祖先,家世 | |
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69 inflaming | |
v.(使)变红,发怒,过热( inflame的现在分词 ) | |
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70 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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71 fermented | |
v.(使)发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 );(使)激动;骚动;骚扰 | |
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72 beverage | |
n.(水,酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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73 effervesce | |
v.冒泡,热情洋溢 | |
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74 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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75 compassionate | |
adj.有同情心的,表示同情的 | |
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76 insipidity | |
n.枯燥无味,清淡,无精神;无生气状 | |
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77 intercourse | |
n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
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78 quenched | |
解(渴)( quench的过去式和过去分词 ); 终止(某事物); (用水)扑灭(火焰等); 将(热物体)放入水中急速冷却 | |
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79 yearning | |
a.渴望的;向往的;怀念的 | |
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80 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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81 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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82 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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83 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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84 dedicated | |
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的 | |
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85 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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86 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
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87 cower | |
v.畏缩,退缩,抖缩 | |
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88 vilest | |
adj.卑鄙的( vile的最高级 );可耻的;极坏的;非常讨厌的 | |
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89 spire | |
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点 | |
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90 beeches | |
n.山毛榉( beech的名词复数 );山毛榉木材 | |
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91 dilating | |
v.(使某物)扩大,膨胀,张大( dilate的现在分词 ) | |
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92 exultation | |
n.狂喜,得意 | |
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93 hymn | |
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌 | |
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94 tarnished | |
(通常指金属)(使)失去光泽,(使)变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 ); 玷污,败坏 | |
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95 tainted | |
adj.腐坏的;污染的;沾污的;感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 );使污染;败坏;被污染,腐坏,败坏 | |
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96 antidote | |
n.解毒药,解毒剂 | |
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97 instil | |
v.逐渐灌输 | |
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98 deceptions | |
欺骗( deception的名词复数 ); 骗术,诡计 | |
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99 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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100 sling | |
vt.扔;悬挂;n.挂带;吊索,吊兜;弹弓 | |
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101 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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102 quarry | |
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找 | |
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103 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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104 yoke | |
n.轭;支配;v.给...上轭,连接,使成配偶 | |
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105 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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106 mingle | |
vt.使混合,使相混;vi.混合起来;相交往 | |
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107 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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108 inmates | |
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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109 pastor | |
n.牧师,牧人 | |
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110 persuasion | |
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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111 persuasions | |
n.劝说,说服(力)( persuasion的名词复数 );信仰 | |
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112 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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113 bondage | |
n.奴役,束缚 | |
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114 maiden | |
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的 | |
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115 cleansed | |
弄干净,清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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116 flake | |
v.使成薄片;雪片般落下;n.薄片 | |
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117 sardonic | |
adj.嘲笑的,冷笑的,讥讽的 | |
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118 quaint | |
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的 | |
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