Live in description, and look green in song.
—Alexander Pope, Windsor Forest.
The moment our discourse2 rises above the ground-line of familiar facts, and is inflamed3 with passion or exalted4 thought, it clothes itself in images. A man conversing5 in earnest, if he watch his intellectual processes, will find that always a material image, more or less luminous6, arises in his mind, contemporaneous with every thought, which furnishes the vestment of the thought.... This imagery is spontaneous. It is the blending of experience with the present action of the mind. It is proper creation.—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature.
Like other valuable resources in public speaking, description loses its power when carried to an extreme. Over-ornamentation makes the subject ridiculous. A dust-cloth is a very useful thing, but why embroider8 it? Whether description shall be restrained within its proper and important limits, or be encouraged to run riot, is the personal choice that comes before every speaker, for man's earliest literary tendency is to depict10.
The Nature of Description
To describe is to call up a picture in the mind of the hearer. "In talking of description we naturally speak of portraying11, delineating, coloring, and all the devices of the picture painter. To describe is to visualize12, hence we must look at description as a pictorial13 process, whether the writer deals with material or with spiritual objects."[19]
If you were asked to describe the rapid-fire gun you might go about it in either of two ways: give a cold technical account of its mechanism14, in whole and in detail, or else describe it as a terrible engine of slaughter15, dwelling16 upon its effects rather than upon its structure.
The former of these processes is exposition, the latter is true description. Exposition deals more with the general, while description must deal with the particular. Exposition elucidates17 ideas, description treats of things. Exposition deals with the abstract, description with the concrete. Exposition is concerned with the internal, description with the external. Exposition is enumerative18, description literary. Exposition is intellectual, description sensory19. Exposition is impersonal20, description personal.
If description is a visualizing21 process for the hearer, it is first of all such for the speaker—he cannot describe what he has never seen, either physically22 or in fancy. It is this personal quality—this question of the personal eye which sees the things later to be described—that makes description so interesting in public speech. Given a speaker of personality, and we are interested in his personal view—his view adds to the natural interest of the scene, and may even be the sole source of that interest to his auditors23.
The seeing eye has been praised in an earlier chapter (on "Subject and Preparation") and the imagination will be treated in a subsequent one (on "Riding the Winged Horse"), but here we must consider the picturing mind: the mind that forms the double habit of seeing things clearly—for we see more with the mind than we do with the physical eye—and then of re-imaging these things for the purpose of getting them before the minds' eyes of the hearers. No habit is more useful than that of visualizing clearly the object, the scene, the situation, the action, the person, about to be described. Unless that primary process is carried out clearly, the picture will be blurred24 for the hearer-beholder.
In a work of this nature we are concerned with the rhetorical analysis of description, and with its methods, only so far as may be needed for the practical purposes of the speaker.[20] The following grouping, therefore, will not be regarded as complete, nor will it here be necessary to add more than a word of explanation:
Description for Public Speakers
Objects { Still
Objects { In motion
Scenes { Still
Scenes { Including action
Situations { Preceding change
Situations { During change
Situations { After change
Actions { Mental
Actions {Physical
Persons { Internal
Persons { External
Some of the foregoing processes will overlap27, in certain instances, and all are more likely to be found in combination than singly.
When description is intended solely28 to give accurate information—as to delineate the appearance, not the technical construction, of the latest Zeppelin airship—it is called "scientific description," and is akin7 to exposition. When it is intended to present a free picture for the purpose of making a vivid impression, it is called "artistic29 description." With both of these the public speaker has to deal, but more frequently with the latter form. Rhetoricians make still further distinctions.
Methods of Description
In public speaking, description should be mainly by suggestion, not only because suggestive description is so much more compact and time-saving but because it is so vivid. Suggestive expressions connote more than they literally30 say—they suggest ideas and pictures to the mind of the hearer which supplement the direct words of the speaker. When Dickens, in his "Christmas Carol," says: "In came Mrs. Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile," our minds complete the picture so deftly32 begun—a much more effective process than that of a minutely detailed33 description because it leaves a unified34, vivid impression, and that is what we need. Here is a present-day bit of suggestion: "General Trinkle was a gnarly oak of a man—rough, solid, and safe; you always knew where to find him." Dickens presents Miss Peecher as: "A little pin-cushion, a little housewife, a little book, a little work-box, a little set of tables and weights and measures, and a little woman all in one." In his "Knickerbocker's" "History of New York," Irving portrays35 Wouter van Twiller as "a robustious beer-barrel, standing36 on skids37."
Whatever forms of description you neglect, be sure to master the art of suggestion.
Description may be by simple hint. Lowell notes a happy instance of this sort of picturing by intimation when he says of Chaucer: "Sometimes he describes amply by the merest hint, as where the Friar, before setting himself down, drives away the cat. We know without need of more words that he has chosen the snuggest38 corner."
Description may depict a thing by its effects. "When the spectator's eye is dazzled, and he shades it," says Mozley in his "Essays," "we form the idea of a splendid object; when his face turns pale, of a horrible one; from his quick wonder and admiration39 we form the idea of great beauty; from his silent awe40, of great majesty41."
Brief description may be by epithet42. "Blue-eyed," "white-armed," "laughter-loving," are now conventional compounds, but they were fresh enough when Homer first conjoined them. The centuries have not yet improved upon "Wheels round, brazen43, eight-spoked," or "Shields smooth, beautiful, brazen, well-hammered." Observe the effective use of epithet in Will Levington Comfort's "The Fighting Death," when he speaks of soldiers in a Philippine skirmish as being "leeched44 against a rock."
Description uses figures of speech. Any advanced rhetoric26 will discuss their forms and give examples for guidance.[21] This matter is most important, be assured. A brilliant yet carefully restrained figurative style, a style marked by brief, pungent46, witty47, and humorous comparisons and characterizations, is a wonderful resource for all kinds of platform work.
Description may be direct. This statement is plain enough without exposition. Use your own judgment48 as to whether in picturing you had better proceed from a general view to the details, or first give the details and thus build up the general picture, but by all means BE BRIEF.
Note the vivid compactness of these delineations from Washington Irving's "Knickerbocker:"
He was a short, square, brawny49 old gentleman, with a double chin, a mastiff mouth, and a broad copper50 nose, which was supposed in those days to have acquired its fiery51 hue52 from the constant neighborhood of his tobacco pipe.
He was exactly five feet six inches in height, and six feet five inches in circumference53. His head was a perfect sphere, and of such stupendous dimensions, that Dame54 Nature, with all her sex's ingenuity55, would have been puzzled to construct a neck capable of supporting it; wherefore she wisely declined the attempt, and settled it firmly on the top of his backbone56, just between the shoulders. His body was of an oblong form, particularly capacious at bottom; which was wisely ordered by Providence57, seeing that he was a man of sedentary habits, and very averse58 to the idle labor59 of walking.
The foregoing is too long for the platform, but it is so good-humored, so full of delightful60 exaggeration, that it may well serve as a model of humorous character picturing, for here one inevitably61 sees the inner man in the outer.
Direct description for platform use may be made vivid by the sparing use of the "historical present." The following dramatic passage, accompanied by the most lively action, has lingered in the mind for thirty years after hearing Dr. T. De Witt Talmage lecture on "Big Blunders." The crack of the bat sounds clear even today:
Get ready the bats and take your positions. Now, give us the ball. Too low. Don't strike. Too high. Don't strike. There it comes like lightning. Strike! Away it soars! Higher! Higher! Run! Another base! Faster! Faster! Good! All around at one stroke!
Observe the remarkable62 way in which the lecturer fused speaker, audience, spectators, and players into one excited, ecstatic whole—just as you have found yourself starting forward in your seat at the delivery of the ball with "three on and two down" in the ninth inning. Notice, too, how—perhaps unconsciously—Talmage painted the scene in Homer's characteristic style: not as having already happened, but as happening before your eyes.
If you have attended many travel talks you must have been impressed by the painful extremes to which the lecturers go—with a few notable exceptions, their language is either over-ornate or crude. If you would learn the power of words to make scenery, yes, even houses, palpitate with poetry and human appeal, read Lafcadio Hearn, Robert Louis Stevenson, Pierre Loti, and Edmondo De Amicis.
Blue-distant, a mountain of carven stone appeared before them,—the Temple, lifting to heaven its wilderness64 of chiseled65 pinnacles66, flinging to the sky the golden spray of its decoration.
—Lafcadio Hearn, Chinese Ghosts.
The stars were clear, colored, and jewel-like, but not frosty. A faint silvery vapour stood for the Milky67 Way. All around me the black fir-points stood upright and stock-still. By the whiteness of the pack-saddle I could see Modestine walking round and round at the length of her tether; I could hear her steadily68 munching69 at the sward; but there was not another sound save the indescribable quiet talk of the runnel over the stones.
—Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey.
It was full autumn now, late autumn—with the nightfalls gloomy, and all things growing dark early in the old cottage, and all the Breton land looking sombre, too. The very days seemed but twilight70; immeasurable clouds, slowly passing, would suddenly bring darkness at broad noon. The wind moaned constantly—it was like the sound of a great cathedral organ at a distance, but playing profane71 airs, or despairing dirges72; at other times it would come close to the door, and lift up a howl like wild beasts.—Pierre Loti, An Iceland Fisherman.
I see the great refectory,[22] where a battalion73 might have drilled; I see the long tables, the five hundred heads bent74 above the plates, the rapid motion of five hundred forks, of a thousand hands, and sixteen thousand teeth; the swarm75 of servants running here and there, called to, scolded, hurried, on every side at once; I hear the clatter76 of dishes, the deafening77 noise, the voices choked with food crying out: "Bread—bread!" and I feel once more the formidable appetite, the herculean strength of jaw78, the exuberant79 life and spirits of those far-off days.[23]
—Edmondo De Amicis, College Friends.
Suggestions for the Use of Description
Decide, on beginning a description, what point of view you wish your hearers to take. One cannot see either a mountain or a man on all sides at once. Establish a view-point, and do not shift without giving notice.
Choose an attitude toward your subject—shall it be idealized? caricatured? ridiculed80? exaggerated? defended? or described impartially81?
Be sure of your mood, too, for it will color the subject to be described. Melancholy82 will make a rose-garden look gray.
Adopt an order in which you will proceed—do not shift backward and forward from near to far, remote to close in time, general to particular, large to small, important to unimportant, concrete to abstract, physical to mental; but follow your chosen order. Scattered83 and shifting observations produce hazy84 impressions just as a moving camera spoils the time-exposure.
Do not go into needless minuti?. Some details identify a thing with its class, while other details differentiate85 it from its class. Choose only the significant, suggestive characteristics and bring those out with terse86 vividness. Learn a lesson from the few strokes used by the poster artist.
In determining what to describe and what merely to name, seek to read the knowledge of your audience. The difference to them between the unknown and the known is a vital one also to you.
Relentlessly87 cut out all ideas and words not necessary to produce the effect you desire. Each element in a mental picture either helps or hinders. Be sure they do not hinder, for they cannot be passively present in any discourse.
Interruptions of the description to make side-remarks are as powerful to destroy unity88 as are scattered descriptive phrases. The only visual impression that can be effective is one that is unified.
In describing, try to call up the emotions you felt when first you saw the scene, and then try to reproduce those emotions in your hearers. Description is primarily emotional in its appeal; nothing can be more deadly dull than a cold, unemotional outline, while nothing leaves a warmer impression than a glowing, spirited description.
Give a swift and vivid general view at the close of the portrayal89. First and final impressions remain the longest. The mind may be trained to take in the characteristic points of a subject, so as to view in a single scene, action, experience, or character, a unified impression of the whole. To describe a thing as a whole you must first see it as a whole. Master that art and you have mastered description to the last degree.
SELECTIONS FOR PRACTISE
THE HOMES OF THE PEOPLE
I went to Washington the other day, and I stood on the Capitol Hill; my heart beat quick as I looked at the towering marble of my country's Capitol and the mist gathered in my eyes as I thought of its tremendous significance, and the armies and the treasury90, and the judges and the President, and the Congress and the courts, and all that was gathered there. And I felt that the sun in all its course could not look down on a better sight than that majestic91 home of a republic that had taught the world its best lessons of liberty. And I felt that if honor and wisdom and justice abided therein, the world would at last owe to that great house in which the ark of the covenant93 of my country is lodged94, its final uplifting and its regeneration.
Two days afterward95, I went to visit a friend in the country, a modest man, with a quiet country home. It was just a simple, unpretentious house, set about with big trees, encircled in meadow and field rich with the promise of harvest. The fragrance96 of the pink and hollyhock in the front yard was mingled97 with the aroma98 of the orchard99 and of the gardens, and resonant100 with the cluck of poultry101 and the hum of bees.
Inside was quiet, cleanliness, thrift102, and comfort. There was the old clock that had welcomed, in steady measure, every newcomer to the family, that had ticked the solemn requiem103 of the dead, and had kept company with the watcher at the bedside. There were the big, restful beds and the old, open fireplace, and the old family Bible, thumbed with the fingers of hands long since still, and wet with the tears of eyes long since closed, holding the simple annals of the family and the heart and the conscience of the home.
Outside, there stood my friend, the master, a simple, upright man, with no mortgage on his roof, no lien104 on his growing crops, master of his land and master of himself. There was his old father, an aged9, trembling man, but happy in the heart and home of his son. And as they started to their home, the hands of the old man went down on the young man's shoulder, laying there the unspeakable blessing105 of the honored and grateful father and ennobling it with the knighthood of the fifth commandment.
And as they reached the door the old mother came with the sunset falling fair on her face, and lighting106 up her deep, patient eyes, while her lips, trembling with the rich music of her heart, bade her husband and son welcome to their home. Beyond was the housewife, busy with her household cares, clean of heart and conscience, the buckler and helpmeet of her husband. Down the lane came the children, trooping home after the cows, seeking as truant107 birds do the quiet of their home nest.
And I saw the night come down on that house, falling gently as the wings of the unseen dove. And the old man—while a startled bird called from the forest, and the trees were shrill108 with the cricket's cry, and the stars were swarming109 in the sky—got the family around him, and, taking the old Bible from the table, called them to their knees, the little baby hiding in the folds of its mother's dress, while he closed the record of that simple day by calling down God's benediction110 on that family and that home. And while I gazed, the vision of that marble Capitol faded. Forgotten were its treasures and its majesty and I said, "Oh, surely here in the homes of the people are lodged at last the strength and the responsibility of this government, the hope and the promise of this republic."—Henry W. Grady.
SUGGESTIVE SCENES
One thing in life calls for another; there is a fitness in events and places. The sight of a pleasant arbor111 puts it in our mind to sit there. One place suggests work, another idleness, a third early rising and long rambles112 in the dew. The effect of night, of any flowing water, of lighted cities, of the peep of day, of ships, of the open ocean, calls up in the mind an army of anonymous113 desires and pleasures. Something, we feel, should happen; we know not what, yet we proceed in quest of it. And many of the happiest hours in life fleet by us in this vain attendance on the genius of the place and moment. It is thus that tracts114 of young fir, and low rocks that reach into deep soundings, particularly delight and torture me. Something must have happened in such places, and perhaps ages back, to members of my race; and when I was a child I tried to invent appropriate games for them, as I still try, just as vainly, to fit them with the proper story. Some places speak distinctly. Certain dank gardens cry aloud for a murder; certain old houses demand to be haunted; certain coasts are set aside for shipwreck115. Other spots again seem to abide92 their destiny, suggestive and impenetrable, "miching mallecho." The inn at Burford Bridge, with its arbours and green garden and silent, eddying116 river—though it is known already as the place where Keats wrote some of his Endymion and Nelson parted from his Emma—still seems to wait the coming of the appropriate legend. Within these ivied walls, behind these old green shutters117, some further business smoulders, waiting for its hour. The old Hawes Inn at the Queen's ferry makes a similar call upon my fancy. There it stands, apart from the town, beside the pier63, in a climate of its own, half inland, half marine—in front, the ferry bubbling with the tide and the guard-ship swinging to her anchor; behind, the old garden with the trees. Americans seek it already for the sake of Lovel and Oldbuck, who dined there at the beginning of the Antiquary. But you need not tell me—that is not all; there is some story, unrecorded or not yet complete, which must express the meaning of that inn more fully45.... I have lived both at the Hawes and Burford in a perpetual flutter, on the heel, as it seemed, of some adventure that should justify118 the place; but though the feeling had me to bed at night and called me again at morning in one unbroken round of pleasure and suspense119, nothing befell me in either worth remark. The man or the hour had not yet come; but some day, I think, a boat shall put off from the Queen's ferry, fraught120 with a dear cargo121, and some frosty night a horseman, on a tragic122 errand, rattle123 with his whip upon the green shutters at the inn at Burford.
—R.L. Stevenson, A Gossip on Romance.
FROM "MIDNIGHT IN LONDON"
Clang! Clang! Clang! the fire-bells! Bing! Bing! Bing! the alarm! In an instant quiet turns to uproar124—an outburst of noise, excitement, clamor—bedlam broke loose; Bing! Bing! Bing! Rattle, clash and clatter. Open fly the doors; brave men mount their boxes. Bing! Bing! Bing! They're off! The horses tear down the street like mad. Bing! Bing! Bing! goes the gong!
"Get out of the track! The engines are coming! For God's sake, snatch that child from the road!"
On, on, wildly, resolutely125, madly fly the steeds. Bing! Bing! the gong. Away dash the horses on the wings of fevered fury. On whirls the machine, down streets, around corners, up this avenue and across that one, out into the very bowels126 of darkness, whiffing, wheezing127, shooting a million sparks from the stack, paving the path of startled night with a galaxy128 of stars. Over the house-tops to the north, a volcanic129 burst of flame shoots out, belching130 with blinding effect. The sky is ablaze131. A tenement132 house is burning. Five hundred souls are in peril133. Merciful Heaven! Spare the victims! Are the engines coming? Yes, here they are, dashing down the street. Look! the horses ride upon the wind; eyes bulging134 like balls of fire; nostrils135 wide open. A palpitating billow of fire, rolling, plunging136, bounding rising, falling, swelling137, heaving, and with mad passion bursting its red-hot sides asunder138, reaching out its arms, encircling, squeezing, grabbing up, swallowing everything before it with the hot, greedy mouth of an appalling139 monster.
"Up the ladders, men!"
The towering building is buried in bloated banks of savage142, biting elements. Forked tongues dart143 out and in, dodge144 here and there, up and down, and wind their cutting edges around every object. A crash, a dull, explosive sound, and a puff145 of smoke leaps out. At the highest point upon the roof stands a dark figure in a desperate strait, the hands making frantic146 gestures, the arms swinging wildly—and then the body shoots off into frightful147 space, plunging upon the pavement with a revolting thud. The man's arm strikes a bystander as he darts148 down. The crowd shudders149, sways, and utters a low murmur150 of pity and horror. The faint-hearted lookers-on hide their faces. One woman swoons away.
"Aye, Joe, and I knew him well, too! He lived next door to me, five flights back. He leaves a widowed mother and two wee bits of orphans152. I helped him bury his wife a fortnight ago. Ah, Joe! but it's hard lines for the orphans."
A ghastly hour moves on, dragging its regiment153 of panic in its trail and leaving crimson154 blotches155 of cruelty along the path of night.
"Are they all out, firemen?"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
"No, they're not! There's a woman in the top window holding a child in her arms—over yonder in the right-hand corner! The ladders, there! A hundred pounds to the man who makes the rescue!"
A dozen start. One man more supple31 than the others, and reckless in his bravery, clambers to the top rung of the ladder.
Up it goes. He mounts to the window, fastens the rope, lashes157 mother and babe, swings them off into ugly emptiness, and lets them down to be rescued by his comrades.
"Bravo, fireman!" shouts the crowd.
A crash breaks through the uproar of crackling timbers.
"Look alive, up there! Great God! The roof has fallen!"
The walls sway, rock, and tumble in with a deafening roar. The spectators cease to breathe. The cold truth reveals itself. The fireman has been carried into the seething158 furnace. An old woman, bent with the weight of age, rushes through the fire line, shrieking159, raving160, and wringing161 her hands and opening her heart of grief.
"Poor John! He was all I had! And a brave lad he was, too! But he's gone now. He lost his own life in savin' two more, and now—now he's there, away in there!" she repeats, pointing to the cruel oven.
The engines do their work. The flames die out. An eerie162 gloom hangs over the ruins like a formidable, blackened pall140.
And the noon of night is passed.—Ardennes Jones-Foster.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. Write two paragraphs on one of these: the race horse, the motor boat, golfing, tennis; let the first be pure exposition and the second pure description.
2. select your own theme and do the same in two short extemporaneous163 speeches.
3. Deliver a short original address in the over-ornamented style.
4. (a) Point out its defects; (b) recast it in a more effective style; (c) show how the one surpasses the other.
5. Make a list of ten subjects which lend themselves to description in the style you prefer.
6. Deliver a two-minute speech on any one of them, using chiefly, but not solely, description.
7. For one minute, look at any object, scene, action, picture, or person you choose, take two minutes to arrange your thoughts, and then deliver a short description—all without making written notes.
8. In what sense is description more personal than exposition?
9. Explain the difference between a scientific and an artistic description.
10. In the style of Dickens and Irving (pages 234, 235), write five separate sentences describing five characters by means of suggestion—one sentence to each.
11. Describe a character by means of a hint, after the manner of Chaucer (p. 235).
12. Read aloud the following with special attention to gesture:
His very throat was moral. You saw a good deal of it. You looked over a very low fence of white cravat164 (whereof no man had ever beheld165 the tie, for he fastened it behind), and there it lay, a valley between two jutting166 heights of collar, serene167 and whiskerless before you. It seemed to say, on the part of Mr. Pecksniff, "There is no deception168, ladies and gentlemen, all is peace, a holy calm pervades169 me." So did his hair, just grizzled with an iron gray, which was all brushed off his forehead, and stood bolt upright, or slightly drooped170 in kindred action with his heavy eyelids171. So did his person, which was sleek172 though free from corpulency. So did his manner, which was soft and oily. In a word, even his plain black suit, and state of widower173, and dangling174 double eye-glass, all tended to the same purpose, and cried aloud, "Behold25 the moral Pecksniff!"
—Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit.
13. Which of the following do you prefer, and why?
She was a blooming lass of fresh eighteen, plump as a partridge, ripe and melting and rosy-cheeked as one of her father's peaches.—Irving.
She was a splendidly feminine girl, as wholesome175 as a November pippin, and no more mysterious than a window-pane.
—O. Henry.
Small, shining, neat, methodical, and buxom176 was Miss Peecher; cherry-cheeked and tuneful of voice.—Dickens.
15. (a) Make a list of five figures of speech; (b) define them; (c) give an example—preferably original—under each.
16. Pick out the figures of speech in the address by Grady, on page 240.
17. Invent an original figure to take the place of any one in Grady's speech.
18. What sort of figures do you find in the selection from Stevenson, on page 242?
19. What methods of description does he seem to prefer?
20. Write and deliver, without notes and with descriptive gestures, a description in imitation of any of the authors quoted in this chapter.
21. Re?xamine one of your past speeches and improve the descriptive work. Report on what faults you found to exist.
22. Deliver an extemporaneous speech describing any dramatic scene in the style of "Midnight in London."
23. Describe an event in your favorite sport in the style of Dr. Talmage. Be careful to make the delivery effective.
24. Criticise178, favorably or unfavorably, the descriptions of any travel talk you may have heard recently.
25. Deliver a brief original travel talk, as though you were showing pictures.
26. Recast the talk and deliver it "without pictures."
点击
收听单词发音
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groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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discourse
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inflamed
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exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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akin
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embroider
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aged
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depict
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| vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述 | |
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portraying
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| v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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visualize
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| vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想 | |
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pictorial
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| adj.绘画的；图片的；n．画报 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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elucidates
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| v.阐明，解释( elucidate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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enumerative
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| adj.列举的，计数上的 | |
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sensory
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| adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的 | |
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impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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21
visualizing
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| 肉眼观察 | |
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22
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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23
auditors
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| n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生 | |
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24
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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25
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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26
rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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27
overlap
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| v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠 | |
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28
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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29
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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30
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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31
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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32
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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33
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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34
unified
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| (unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的 | |
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35
portrays
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| v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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36
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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37
skids
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| n.滑向一侧( skid的名词复数 )；滑道；滚道；制轮器v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的第三人称单数 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
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38
snuggest
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| adj.整洁的( snug的最高级 )；温暖而舒适的；非常舒适的；紧身的 | |
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39
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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40
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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41
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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42
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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43
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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44
leeched
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| v.用水蛭吸血（leech的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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45
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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46
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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47
witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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48
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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49
brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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50
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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51
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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52
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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53
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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54
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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55
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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56
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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57
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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58
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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59
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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60
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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61
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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62
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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63
pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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64
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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65
chiseled
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| adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
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66
pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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67
milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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68
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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69
munching
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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70
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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71
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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72
dirges
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| n.挽歌( dirge的名词复数 )；忧伤的歌，哀歌 | |
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73
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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74
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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75
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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76
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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77
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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78
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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79
exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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80
ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
impartially
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|
| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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82
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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83
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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84
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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85
differentiate
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|
| vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同 | |
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86
terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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87
relentlessly
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| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
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88
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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89
portrayal
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| n.饰演；描画 | |
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90
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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91
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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92
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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93
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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94
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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95
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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96
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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97
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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98
aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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99
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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100
resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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101
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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102
thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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103
requiem
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| n.安魂曲，安灵曲 | |
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104
lien
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| n.扣押权，留置权 | |
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105
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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106
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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107
truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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108
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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109
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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110
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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111
arbor
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| n.凉亭；树木 | |
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112
rambles
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的第三人称单数 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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113
anonymous
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| adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的 | |
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114
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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115
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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116
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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117
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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118
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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119
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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120
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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121
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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122
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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123
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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124
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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125
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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126
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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127
wheezing
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| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣 | |
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128
galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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129
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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130
belching
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| n. 喷出，打嗝 动词belch的现在分词形式 | |
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131
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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132
tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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133
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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134
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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135
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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136
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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137
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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138
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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139
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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140
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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141
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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142
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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143
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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144
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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145
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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146
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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147
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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148
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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149
shudders
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| n.颤动，打颤，战栗( shudder的名词复数 )v.战栗( shudder的第三人称单数 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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150
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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151
laborer
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| n.劳动者，劳工 | |
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152
orphans
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| 孤儿( orphan的名词复数 ) | |
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153
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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154
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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155
blotches
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| n.（皮肤上的）红斑，疹块( blotch的名词复数 )；大滴 [大片]（墨水或颜色的）污渍 | |
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156
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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157
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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158
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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159
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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160
raving
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| 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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161
wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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162
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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163
extemporaneous
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| adj.即席的，一时的 | |
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164
cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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165
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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166
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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167
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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168
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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169
pervades
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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170
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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171
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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172
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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173
widower
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| n.鳏夫 | |
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174
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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175
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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176
buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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177
epithets
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| n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 ) | |
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178
criticise
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| v.批评，评论；非难 | |
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