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CHAPTER I Flags and Pedigree
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 “I have finished work for the week. I’ll see no one else were he as terse1 as Tacitus,” cried Mr. Ferguson, the lawyer.
It was six o’clock on a Friday afternoon and a pleasant rustle2 of the plane trees in the square came through the open window of the office. Mr. Ferguson thought of his cool garden at Goring3, with the river running past, and of the fine long day he would have upon the links to-morrow. Gregory, the head clerk, however, held his ground.
“Perhaps if you would look at this card, Mr. Ferguson.”
Mr. Ferguson looked at the size of it.
“By the Lord, no! It’s a woman. She’ll be as prolix4 as the devil.”
“It’s not a woman,” the stubborn Gregory insisted.
“Then it’s a foreigner, and that’s worse.”
“It’s not even a real foreigner,” said Gregory. He had been a servant of the firm for thirty years, and knew the ins and outs of its affairs as thoroughly5 as the principals.
“You are very annoying, Gregory,” said Mr. Ferguson, with a sigh. He took the card regretfully, but when he had read the name printed upon it, he dropped it upon his table as if it had stung his hand.
“Paul Ravenel!” he said in a low voice, with a glance towards the door. “The son.”
“Yes.”
“Is he like the father?”
“Not in the least.”
Mr. Ferguson was distressed6. It was nine years since he had finished with that affair, settled it up, locked it away and turned his back on it for good—as he thought. And here was the son knocking on his door.
“I must see him, I suppose. I can do no less,” he said, but as Gregory turned towards the door he stopped him. “Why should Paul Ravenel come to see me?” he asked himself. “And how much does he know? Wait a moment, Gregory. I have got to go warily8 here.”
He sat down at his desk. Mr. Ferguson was a man, of middle age, with a round, genial9 face and a thick covering of silver-white hair. He looked like a prosperous country gentleman, which he was, and he had the reputation of the astutest criminal lawyer of his day. He was that, too. His kindly10 manner concealed11 him, yet he was not false. For he was at once the best of friends, with his vast experience of the law as a sort of zareeba for their refuge, and the most patient and relentless12 of antagonists13; and he had a special kindliness14 which showed itself conspicuously15 in his accounts, for all connected with the arts. It was an old friendship which was troubling him now as he sat at his desk. Paul Ravenel, according to his knowledge, would take this or that line in the interview, Mr. Ferguson must be clear as to how in each case he should answer. Problems were his daily food—at least until six o’clock on Friday evening. Yet this problem he met with discomfort17.
“You can show him in now,” he said to Gregory, and a few seconds later the visitor stood within the room, a tall slim youth, brown of face and with hair so golden that the sun seemed to have taken from it the colour which it had tanned upon his cheeks.
“You wish to see me, Mr. Ravenel?” he asked, and a smile suddenly broke upon the boy’s face and made him winning. Mr. Ferguson made a note in his mind of the smile, for he had not as yet its explanation.
“Yes,” answered Paul. “I should have been more correct in approaching so prominent a firm, had I written asking for an appointment. But I only landed in England this morning, and I couldn’t really wait.”
His formal little prepared apology broke down in a laugh and an eager rush of words.
“That’s all right,” said Mr. Ferguson pleasantly. “Take a chair and tell me what I can do for you.”
“You knew my father,” said Paul, when he had laid down his hat and stick and taken his seat. Mr. Ferguson allowed himself a sharp glance at the lad. For his tone was without any embarrassment18 at all, any shame or embarrassment. He was at his ease.
“I knew Mr. Ravenel—yes,” Mr. Ferguson answered cautiously.
“He died a fortnight ago.”
“I was sorry to notice that you were wearing black.”
“He died in a house which he had built upon an island off the coast of Spain at Aguilas. I lived with him there, during the last eight months, after I left my school at Tours,” Paul continued.
“Yes?” said Mr. Ferguson.
“My father and I were always—how shall I put it?—in a relationship which precluded19 any confidences and even any cordiality. It wasn’t that we ever quarrelled. We hardly were well enough acquainted for that. But we were uncomfortable in each other’s company and the end of a meal at which we had sat together was to both of us an invariable relief. He had what I think is a special quality of soldiers—he was in the Army, of course, wasn’t he?”
Paul broke off to ask his question in the most casual manner. But Mr. Ferguson did not answer it. It was a neat little trap prepared with more skill than the lawyer had expected. For up till the question was unconcernedly dropped in, Paul had been framing his sentences with a sort of pedantry20 natural to a man who from the nature of his life must get his English words from books rather than from conversation.
“You say Monsieur Ravenel had some special quality of soldiers,” Mr. Ferguson observed.
“Yes,” Paul explained. “I approached a subject, or I used a phrase, and suddenly it seemed as if an iron door was banged in my face, and he was now behind the door, and not the loudest knocking in the world would ever get it open. So I have come to you.”
“For information your father did not see fit to give you?” said Mr. Ferguson.
“Yes.”
“But Monsieur Ravenel had no doubt a lawyer in Paris and an agent in Casablanca, where he lived for many years, both of whom will be familiar with his affairs. Why come to me?”
“Because it is not about his affairs that I am seeking information,” said Paul, and he took a letter from his pocket-case and handed it to Mr. Ferguson. “This was written by your firm, Mr. Ferguson. It is one of the two clues to my father’s history which he left behind him. It slipped out of a book upon his shelf.”
“Certainly the letter was written by our firm to your father, Mr. Ravenel. But it was the last letter we wrote to him. It closed our connection with him. We never heard from him again; and the letter is as you have seen, nine years old.”
“Exactly,” said Paul. “Just about that time my father and I were in London together for a couple of months, and when I found that letter it seemed to me to explain why. My father was in London to arrange for the transfer of his property to France, for the final annihilation of all his interests and associations with this country.”
It was an assertion rather than a question, but Mr. Ferguson answered it.
“Yes. I suppose that you may put it that way.”
“Before that time, then, you were his advisers22.”
“Yes.”
“That’s why I came to you, Mr. Ferguson,” cried the youth eagerly. “I want to know what happened to my father in the days when you were his advisers. I want to know why he renounced23 his own country, why he buried himself first in a little distant town on the sea coast of Morocco like Casablanca, why he took refuge afterwards in a still closer seclusion24 at Aguilas in Spain. You know! You must know!”
Mr. Ferguson rose from his desk and walked to the fireplace which was between his desk and the chair on which Paul was seated. He was puzzled by the manner of the appeal. There was more eagerness than anxiety in it. There was certainly no fear. There was even confidence. Mr. Ferguson wondered whether young Ravenel had some explanation of his own, an explanation which quite satisfied him and which he only needed to have confirmed. Paul’s voice broke in upon his wondering.
“Of course I can always find out. It’s only a question of knowing the ropes. I have no doubt a good enquiry agent could get me the truth in a very few days if I went to one.”
Mr. Ferguson lifted himself on his toes and looked up to the ceiling.
“I don’t think I should do that,” he answered.
“Whether I do or not depends upon you, Mr. Ferguson,” said Paul, very quietly. “It’s not curiosity that’s driving me, but I have my life in front of me, and a plan for it.”
He rose and stood at the open window for a moment or two, and then turned abruptly25 back and stood before Mr. Ferguson.
“You see, I was nine years old when I was with my father in London, old enough to notice, and old enough to remember. And one or two very curious things happened. We were in lodgings26 in a little quiet street, and except on occasions when, I suppose, he had appointments with you, my father never went out by daylight.”
“Here it comes,” thought Mr. Ferguson, but his face was quite without expression, and the youth resumed:
“But as soon as darkness fell we took long tramps through the city, where the streets were empty of everything but the lamp-posts, and the only sounds were the hollow sounds of our own footsteps upon the pavement.”
“Yes,” Mr. Ferguson interrupted. “One couldn’t choose a better place for exercise than the city of London after dark.”
Paul laughed pleasantly and Mr. Ferguson reflected, “I have never been called a liar21 in a prettier fashion.”
“On one of these nightly rambles,” Paul resumed, “we turned into a street closed at one end by a stately building of pinnacles27 and a sloping roof, and windows of richly stained glass. This building was a blaze of light, and in the courtyard in front of it motor-cars and carriages were taking up ladies in bright evening frocks and coats and men with orders upon their breasts.”
Mr. Ferguson nodded his head.
“A dinner at the Guildhall, yes.”
“It was curious to come suddenly out of darkness and silence and emptiness,” Paul Ravenel resumed, “into this gay scene of colour and enjoyment28 and light. You can imagine how it impressed a child. This was what I wanted. I hated long, empty, echoing streets with chains of lamps stretching ahead. Here I heard to me a sound unknown and divine—I heard women laughing. ‘Oh, father, do let us stay for a moment and look!’ I cried, but my father gripped me by the arm, and strode across the road so swiftly that I had to run to keep up with him. There was the mouth of another street nearly opposite, and it was that street which my father wanted to reach.”
“Yes?” said Mr. Ferguson.
“But a man was walking with a limp from the building along the pavement on the far side of our road. It was a hot night, and he carried his overcoat upon his arm, and I saw that a conspicuous16 row of miniature medals with their coloured ribbons stretched across his left breast. We reached the kerb when he was only a few yards from us. I felt my father’s hand tremble suddenly upon my arm. I thought that he was on the point of turning away in flight. But since that would have been more noticeable, he just dropped his head so that the brim of his hat shadowed his face and strode swiftly past the man with the medals. That man only gave us a careless glance, and I heard my father draw a sigh of relief. But a few paces on the man with the medals stopped and looked back. Then he called out: ‘Ned! Ned!’ in a startled voice, and began to retrace29, as fast as his limp would allow him, his steps towards us.
“My father whispered to me: ‘Take no notice, boy! Walk straight on,’ and in a moment dived into the silence of the street opposite. I turned my head after we had travelled a few yards in our new direction and I saw the man with the medals at the angle of the street peering after us as if he were undecided whether to follow us or not. There the incident ended, but it was—well—significant, wasn’t it?”
Mr. Ferguson was distinctly uncomfortable. A pair of very steady and watchful30 grey eyes were fixed31 upon his. He was being cross-examined and not clumsily, and by a boy; and all of this he fretfully resented. To do the cross-examining was his function in life, not the other fellow’s. Besides, how was he to answer that word significant? Such a good word! For it opened no glimpses of the questioner’s point of view and was a trap for the questioned.
“Was it significant?” he asked.
Paul suddenly smiled, and Mr. Ferguson was more perplexed32 than ever. The boy was not obtuse—that was clear. It was no less clear, then, that he attached some quite special significance of his own invention to the incident he had related. Monsieur Ravenel was in hiding—that’s what the incident signified. How had Paul missed it? What strange amulet33 was he wearing that saved him from the desolating34 truth?
“Did you ever read ‘Balaustion’s Adventure’?” Paul inquired, and Mr. Ferguson jumped.
“I wish you wouldn’t spring from one subject to another like that,” he answered, testily35.
“I am on the same subject,” said Paul.
“Well, then, I did. I used it as a crib for the Alcestis when I was at school.”
“A pretty good crib, too.”
“Very.”
“But the translation of the Alcestis isn’t the whole of the poem, is it? The Alcestis makes things pretty black for Admetus, doesn’t it? You’d call him a bit of a rotter, wouldn’t you? That is, if you take the first surface meaning of the play. But Balaustion found another meaning underneath36 which transfigures Admetus, turns the black to white. Well, humbly37, but just as confidently, I look underneath the first obvious meaning of what I told you. That’s disgrace, isn’t it? Let’s be frank about it! A man in disgrace shunning38 his friends! There’s the surface reading. And there’s no other—except mine.”
“Let me hear it,” said Mr. Ferguson quickly. He returned to the chair at his table. Here might be, after all, a pleasant way out of this disconcerting interview. “Will you smoke?” he asked, and he held out a tin of cigarettes to his visitor.
“Now fire away!” he said. Mr. Ferguson was in a much more cheerful mood.
Discomfort, however, had not vanished from the room. It had passed from Mr. Ferguson. But it had entered into Paul. He stammered39 and was shy. Finally he blurted40 out:
“I find the explanation of everything in my father’s passionate41 love for my mother.”
Mr. Ferguson’s eyes turned slowly from the plane trees to Paul’s face.
“Will you go on, please?”
“My mother was French.”
“Yes. Virginia Ravenel. She sang for one season at Covent Garden. She was the most beautiful girl I ever saw in my life.” He laughed, tenderly caressing42 his recollections. “There was a time when I fancied myself your father’s rival. You have a look of her, Mr. Ravenel. She was fair like you,” and he was still musing43 with pleasure and just a touch of regret upon the pangs44 and ardours of that long-vanished season of summer and magic, when Paul Ravenel thoroughly startled him.
“I think that my mother died in giving me birth,” he said. “That’s how I explain to myself my father’s distance and uneasiness with me. I was the enemy, and worse than that, the enemy who had won. No wonder he couldn’t endure me, if with her death his whole world went dark. And everything else follows, doesn’t it? His friends came to mean—not nothing at all, but an actual annoyance45, an encroachment46 on his grief. He shut himself up far away in a little town where no one knew him, and brooded over his loss. And men who do that become extravagant47, don’t they, and lose their perspective, and do far-fetched, unreasonable48 things. Thus, my mother was French. So in a sort of distorted tribute to her memory, he changed his own nationality and took hers, and with it her name, and cut himself completely off from all his old world—a sort of monk49 of Love!”
Mr. Ferguson listened to the boy’s speech, which was delivered with a good deal of hesitation50, without changing a muscle of his face. So this was why Paul could elate with a laugh the flight from the man with the medals and the lighted courtyard of the Guildhall. This was what he believed! Well, it was the explanation which a boy ignorant of life, nursed by dreams and poetry and loneliness and eager to believe the world a place of sunlight and high thoughts, might easily have conceived.
“Isn’t that the explanation, Mr. Ferguson?” Paul asked; and Mr. Ferguson replied without the twitch51 of a muscle:
“Absolutely! I did not think that you could have understood your father’s reticence52 so thoroughly.”
If one must do a thing, to do it with an air is the best way to carry conviction, thought Mr. Ferguson, and he rose from his chair with a deep relief. The interview was over, his visitor obviously satisfied, he could shake him by the hand and after all catch his train to Goring.
Mr. Ferguson’s relief, however, was premature53. For the younger man cried:
“Good! For now the way is clear for me, and I can ask you for your professional help.”
“Oh!” said the lawyer doubtfully. “I didn’t understand that you came as a client. I am not very sure that we can undertake much more than we have upon our hands.”
“It’s not so much more, Mr. Ferguson.”
“I must be the judge of that. Let me hear what it is that you wish.”
“I wish to resume my own real nationality,” said Paul. “I am of my race. I want the name of it, too.”
Paul was of his race. It was not merely the long-legged build of him, nor the cut of his clothes, nor the make of his shoes, but a whole combination of small, indefinable qualities and movements and repressions54 which proved it.
“I should never have mistaken him for anything else,” thought Mr. Ferguson. There was that little speech, for instance, about his father’s love for his mother, halting, shy, stammered, as if he were more than half ashamed of admitting the emotions to another man, and tongue-tied in consequence. The words would have run glibly55 enough had a French lad spoken them.
“And with my race, I mean of course also to resume my father’s name,” Paul continued.
There had suddenly grown up an antagonism57 between these two people; and both were aware of it. Paul’s questions became a little implacable; Mr. Ferguson’s silence a little obstinate58. “You know it, of course, Mr. Ferguson,” Paul insisted.
“Of course,” replied Mr. Ferguson.
“Will you tell it to me, please?”
“I will not.”
“Why not?”
“Your father never told you it. Your father was my client for years, my friend for many more. I respect his wishes.”
Paul Ravenel bowed and accepted the refusal.
“I have only one more question to ask of you, Mr. Ferguson.”
“I will answer it if I can.”
“Thank you! Who is John Edward Revel59?”
“I really don’t know.”
Paul bowed again. He took up his hat and his stick. He was not smiling any more, and in his eyes there was a look of apprehension60. He did not hold out his hand to Mr. Ferguson.
“It will have to be the enquiry agent after all, then,” he said. “Good evening.”
The lawyer allowed him to reach the door, and then spoke56 in an altered voice. There was a warm kindliness in it now, and to the youth’s anxious and attentive61 ears a very audible note of commiseration62.
“Mr. Ravenel, I want you to give me four days before you set on foot any inquiry63. There are others concerned in the matter. I assure you that you will be wise.”
Paul shook his head. “Four days. What shall I do with myself during those four days?”
“You have been very lonely for years,” said the lawyer gently. “Four days more, what do they mean?”
“During those years,” answered Paul, “I have had the future for my companion. Have I got that companion now?” and Mr. Ferguson was silent.
“I came to your office full of expectation. I have not even now revealed to you the plan I had formed,” Paul resumed. “I leave it a prey64 to a very deep anxiety. That name I mentioned to you, I found written on the flyleaf of an old manual on infantry65 drill in my father’s bedroom. It was the only old book on his shelf from which the flyleaf had not been torn out. I am only now beginning to grasp what that may mean.” But since Mr. Ferguson had ceased to dispute or pretend, and showed openly a face where distress7 was joined with good will, the young man cried:
“Still, I’ll give you the four days, Mr. Ferguson.”
He wrote down the name of his hotel upon a slip of paper and left it on the desk, and shook the lawyer by the hand.
Left alone, Mr. Ferguson sat for a little while in a muse66, living again the sweet and bitter scenes of vanished years. To what unhappy ends of death and disgrace had those anxieties and endeavours led? To what futilities the buoyant aspiration67? He rang the bell upon his desk, and when his head clerk appeared he said:
“I want a message telephoned to Goring that I shall not get home until eight. Then every one can go. I have a letter to write which will take a little time.”
“Very well, sir,” said Gregory, and Mr. Ferguson suddenly slapped his hand down on the table in exasperation68.
“Isn’t it a curious thing, Gregory?” he exclaimed. “Here’s a man takes a world of pains to destroy all traces and records and then keeps by him one book with a name written upon the flyleaf which brings in a second all his trouble to nothing! But it’s always the way. Something’s forgotten which you’d think no man in his senses would overlook! Half the miseries69 in the world I do believe come from such omissions70.”
“And more than half our business,” Gregory replied drily.
Mr. Ferguson broke into a laugh.
“Why, that’s true, Gregory,” he cried. “And now leave me to my letter!”
He worded his letter with infinite care, for it was as delicate a piece of work as he had ever been called upon to do, and it took him a full hour. He posted it himself in a pillar-box on his way to Paddington.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 terse GInz1     
adj.(说话,文笔)精炼的,简明的
参考例句:
  • Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
  • The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明,否认那些指控。
2 rustle thPyl     
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声
参考例句:
  • She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
  • He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。
3 goring 6cd8071f93421646a49aa24023bbcff7     
v.(动物)用角撞伤,用牙刺破( gore的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • General Goring spoke for about two hours. 戈林将军的发言持续了大约两个小时。 来自英汉非文学 - 新闻报道
  • Always do they talk that way with their arrogance before a goring. 他们挨牛角之前,总是这样吹大牛。 来自辞典例句
4 prolix z0fzz     
adj.罗嗦的;冗长的
参考例句:
  • Too much speaking makes it a little prolix.说那么多,有些罗嗦了。
  • Her style is tediously prolix.她的文章冗长而乏味。
5 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
6 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句:
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑,无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
7 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
8 warily 5gvwz     
adv.留心地
参考例句:
  • He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周,假装是在照顾嘉莉。
  • They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。
9 genial egaxm     
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的
参考例句:
  • Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
  • He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友,也是友善待客的主人。
10 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。
11 concealed 0v3zxG     
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的
参考例句:
  • The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
  • I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
12 relentless VBjzv     
adj.残酷的,不留情的,无怜悯心的
参考例句:
  • The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
  • Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。
13 antagonists 7b4cd3775e231e0c24f47e65f0de337b     
对立[对抗] 者,对手,敌手( antagonist的名词复数 ); 对抗肌; 对抗药
参考例句:
  • The cavalier defeated all the antagonists. 那位骑士打败了所有的敌手。
  • The result was the entire reconstruction of the navies of both the antagonists. 双方的海军就从这场斗争里获得了根本的改造。
14 kindliness 2133e1da2ddf0309b4a22d6f5022476b     
n.厚道,亲切,友好的行为
参考例句:
  • Martha looked up into a strange face and dark eyes alight with kindliness and concern. 马撒慢慢抬起头,映入眼帘的是张陌生的脸,脸上有一双充满慈爱和关注的眼睛。 来自辞典例句
  • I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. 我想,我对伯顿印象最深之处主要还是这个人的和善。 来自辞典例句
15 conspicuously 3vczqb     
ad.明显地,惹人注目地
参考例句:
  • France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
  • She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。
16 conspicuous spszE     
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
参考例句:
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
17 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。
18 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
19 precluded 84f6ba3bf290d49387f7cf6189bc2f80     
v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 );排除;妨碍;使…行不通
参考例句:
  • Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor. 因为没有可能的继承人,让位无法实现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The bad weather precluded me from attending the meeting. 恶劣的天气使我不能出席会议。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
20 pedantry IuTyz     
n.迂腐,卖弄学问
参考例句:
  • The book is a demonstration of scholarship without pedantry.这本书表现出学术水平又不故意卖弄学问。
  • He fell into a kind of pedantry.他变得有点喜欢卖弄学问。
21 liar V1ixD     
n.说谎的人
参考例句:
  • I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了,一个又偷又骗的家伙!
  • She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。
22 advisers d4866a794d72d2a666da4e4803fdbf2e     
顾问,劝告者( adviser的名词复数 ); (指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授
参考例句:
  • a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
  • She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。
23 renounced 795c0b0adbaedf23557e95abe647849c     
v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 );宣布放弃;宣布与…决裂;宣布摒弃
参考例句:
  • We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 seclusion 5DIzE     
n.隐遁,隔离
参考例句:
  • She liked to sunbathe in the seclusion of her own garden.她喜欢在自己僻静的花园里晒日光浴。
  • I live very much in seclusion these days.这些天我过着几乎与世隔绝的生活。
25 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
26 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍
参考例句:
  • When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时,太阳已下山了。
  • I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。
27 pinnacles a4409b051276579e99d5cb7d58643f4e     
顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 ); 顶点; 尖顶; 小尖塔
参考例句:
  • What would be the pinnacles of your acting and music? 对你而言什麽代表你的演技和音乐的巅峰?
  • On Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, basalt pinnacles loom over the Sound of Raasay. 在斯开岛的特洛登尼许半岛,玄武岩尖塔俯瞰着拉塞海峡。
28 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣;享有;享用
参考例句:
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
29 retrace VjUzyj     
v.折回;追溯,探源
参考例句:
  • He retraced his steps to the spot where he'd left the case.他折回到他丢下箱子的地方。
  • You must retrace your steps.你必须折回原来走过的路。
30 watchful tH9yX     
adj.注意的,警惕的
参考例句:
  • The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
  • It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。
31 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
32 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。
33 amulet 0LyyK     
n.护身符
参考例句:
  • We're down here investigating a stolen amulet.我们来到这里调查一个失窃的护身符。
  • This amulet is exclusively made by Father Sum Lee.这个护身符是沙姆.李长老特制的。
34 desolating d64f321bd447cfc8006e822cc7cb7eb5     
毁坏( desolate的现在分词 ); 极大地破坏; 使沮丧; 使痛苦
参考例句:
  • Most desolating were those evenings the belle-mere had envisaged for them. 最最凄凉的要数婆婆给她们设计的夜晚。
35 testily df69641c1059630ead7b670d16775645     
adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地
参考例句:
  • He reacted testily to reports that he'd opposed military involvement. 有报道称他反对军队参与,对此他很是恼火。 来自柯林斯例句
36 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
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 shunning f77a1794ffcbea6dcfeb67a3e9932661     
v.避开,回避,避免( shun的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • My flight was more a shunning of external and internal dangers. 我的出走是要避开各种外在的和内在的威胁。 来自辞典例句
  • That book Yeh-yeh gave me-"On Filial Piety and the Shunning of Lewdness"-was still on the table. 我坐下来,祖父给我的那本《刘芷唐先生教孝戒淫浅训》还在桌子上。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
39 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
40 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
41 passionate rLDxd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
42 caressing 00dd0b56b758fda4fac8b5d136d391f3     
爱抚的,表现爱情的,亲切的
参考例句:
  • The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
  • He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里,不断抚摸着鞑靼,它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。
43 musing musing     
n. 沉思,冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面,”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
  • She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边,站着沉思了一会儿。
44 pangs 90e966ce71191d0a90f6fec2265e2758     
突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 ); 悲痛
参考例句:
  • She felt sudden pangs of regret. 她突然感到痛悔不已。
  • With touching pathos he described the pangs of hunger. 他以极具感伤力的笔触描述了饥饿的痛苦。
45 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。
46 encroachment DpQxB     
n.侵入,蚕食
参考例句:
  • I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
  • The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方,继续强行入侵。
47 extravagant M7zya     
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的
参考例句:
  • They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
  • He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。
48 unreasonable tjLwm     
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的
参考例句:
  • I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
  • They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
49 monk 5EDx8     
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士
参考例句:
  • The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
  • Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。
50 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。
51 twitch jK3ze     
v.急拉,抽动,痉挛,抽搐;n.扯,阵痛,痉挛
参考例句:
  • The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
  • I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。
52 reticence QWixF     
n.沉默,含蓄
参考例句:
  • He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯,把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
  • He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。
53 premature FPfxV     
adj.比预期时间早的;不成熟的,仓促的
参考例句:
  • It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
  • The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。
54 repressions abdbf7a0a7c5ac4fc26faf3daeb4b479     
n.压抑( repression的名词复数 );约束;抑制;镇压
参考例句:
55 glibly glibly     
adv.流利地,流畅地;满口
参考例句:
  • He glibly professed his ignorance of the affair. 他口口声声表白不知道这件事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He put ashes on his head, apologized profusely, but then went glibly about his business. 他表示忏悔,满口道歉,但接着又故态复萌了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
56 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。
57 antagonism bwHzL     
n.对抗,敌对,对立
参考例句:
  • People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
  • There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。
58 obstinate m0dy6     
adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的
参考例句:
  • She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了,不会让任何人帮她的。
  • The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。
59 revel yBezQ     
vi.狂欢作乐,陶醉;n.作乐,狂欢
参考例句:
  • She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
  • The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。
60 apprehension bNayw     
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑
参考例句:
  • There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑,于是她越来越担心。
  • She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。
61 attentive pOKyB     
adj.注意的,专心的;关心(别人)的,殷勤的
参考例句:
  • She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
  • The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。
62 commiseration commiseration     
n.怜悯,同情
参考例句:
  • I offered him my commiseration. 我对他表示同情。
  • Self- commiseration brewed in her heart. 她在心里开始自叹命苦。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
63 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
64 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
65 infantry CbLzf     
n.[总称]步兵(部队)
参考例句:
  • The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
  • We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。
66 muse v6CzM     
n.缪斯(希腊神话中的女神),创作灵感
参考例句:
  • His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感,不能再写作了。
  • Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。
67 aspiration ON6z4     
n.志向,志趣抱负;渴望;(语)送气音;吸出
参考例句:
  • Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
  • Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。
68 exasperation HiyzX     
n.愤慨
参考例句:
  • He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
  • She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
69 miseries c95fd996533633d2e276d3dd66941888     
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 );痛苦的事;穷困;常发牢骚的人
参考例句:
  • They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
70 omissions 1022349b4bcb447934fb49084c887af2     
n.省略( omission的名词复数 );删节;遗漏;略去或漏掉的事(或人)
参考例句:
  • In spite of careful checking, there are still omissions. 饶这么细心核对,还是有遗漏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • It has many omissions; even so, it is quite a useful reference book. 那本书有许多遗漏之处,即使如此,尚不失为一本有用的参考书。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》


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