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CHAPTER VIII INTELLECTUAL FREAKS
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In the most tragic1 and most trying moments of life it is well to turn aside from one’s sorrows and refresh one’s mind and strengthen one’s soul by gazing upon the follies2 of others. Those others gaze on ours.

In my spiritual adventures I have met many amazingly freakish people. Ten years ago the Theosophical Society overflowed3 with them. They were cultured without being educated, credulous4 but without faith, bookish but without learning, argumentative but without logic5. The women, serene6 and grave, swam about in drawing-rooms, or they would stand in long, attitudinising ecstasies7, their skimpy necks emerging from strange gowns, their bodies as shoulderless as hock bottles. The men paddled about in the same rooms, but I found them less amusing than the women.

“You were a horse in your last incarnation,” said a fuzzy-haired giantess to me one evening, two minutes after we had been introduced.

“Oh, how disappointing!” I exclaimed. “I had always imagined myself an owl8. I often dream I was an owl. I fly about, you know, or sit on branches with my eyes shut.”

“No; a horse!” shouted the giantess, with much asperity9. “I’m not arguing with you. I’m merely telling you. And I don’t think you were a very nice horse either.”

“No? Did I bite people?”

“Yes; you bit and kicked. And you did other disagreeable things besides. Now, I was a swan.”

89I evinced a polite but not enthusiastic interest.

“You would make an imposing11 swan,” I observed.

“Yes. I used to glide12 about on ponds, like this.”

She proceeded to “glide” round and round the corner of the room in which we were sitting. She arched her neck, raised her ponderous13 legs laboriously14 and moved about like a pantechnicon. Her face assumed a disagreeable expression and I thought of a rather good line in one of my own poems:
And swans sulked largely on the yellow mere10.

“And how much of your previous incarnation do you remember?” I asked, when she had finished sulking largely in the yellow drawing-room.

“Oh, quite a lot. It comes back to me in flashes. I was very lonely—oh, so lonely.”

She gave me a quick look, and I began to talk of William J. Locke, who, a few days previously16, had published a new book. Resenting my change of subject, she left me and, a few minutes later, as I was eating a watercress sandwich, I heard her saying to a yellow-haired male:

“You were a horse in your last incarnation.”

I met this lady on other occasions, and always she was occupied in telling men that they had been horses and she a swan—an oh-so-lonely swan.

“Why,” said I to my hostess one day, “don’t Madame X.’s friends look after her? See—she is arching her neck over there in the corner, and I am perfectly17 certain she has told the man with her that he has been, is, or is going to be a horse.”

For a moment my hostess looked concerned.

“Look after her? What do you mean?”

“Well, she is obviously insane.”

“On the contrary, she is the most subtle exponent18 we have of Madame Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine19. Eccentric, 90perhaps, but as lucid20 a brain as Mr G. R. S. Mead’s or as Colonel Olcott’s. You should get her to describe your aura. She is excellent, too, in Plato. She doesn’t understand a word of Greek, but she gets at his meaning intuitively. There is something cosmic about her. You know what I mean.”

“Oh, quite, quite.” (But what did she mean?)

“Cosmic consciousness is a most enthralling21 subject,” continued my hostess, digging the hockey-stick she always carried with her well into the hearthrug. “Walt Whitman had it, you know.”

“Badly?” I inquired.

She appeared puzzled.

“I don’t quite know what you mean by ‘badly.’ He could identify himself with anything—the wind, a stone, a jelly-fish, an arm-chair, a ... a ... oh, everything! They were he and he was they. He thought cosmically. Fourth dimension, you know. Edward Carpenter and all that.”

I rather admired this way she had of talking—a little like the Duke in G. K. Chesterton’s Magic.

“Oh, do go on!” I urged her.

“What I always say is,” she continued, “why stop at a fourth dimension? Someone has written a book on the fourth dimension, and some day perhaps I shall write one on the fifth.”

“A book? A real book? Do you mean to say you could write a book? How clever! How romantic!”

“Well, I have thought about it. One is influenced. One has influences. The consciousness of the ultimate truth of things, the truth that suffuses22 all things, the cosmic nature of—well, the cosmos23. Do you see? Tennyson’s In Memoriam.”

“Yes; Tennyson’s In Memoriam does help, doesn’t it?”

“Did I say Tennyson’s In Memoriam? I really meant 91Shelley’s Revolt of Islam. The fourth dimension is played out. It’s done with. It was true so far as it went, but how far did it go?”

“Only a very little way,” I answered.

“Yes, but Nietzsche goes much farther. Have you read Nietzsche? No? I haven’t, either. But I have heard Orage talk about him. Nietzsche says we can all do what we want. We must dare things. We must be blond beasts. Mary Wollstonecraft and her set, you know. Godwin and those people.”

She waved her hockey-stick recklessly in the air and marched inconsequently away. Nearly all the Theosophists I met were like that—inconsequent, bent24 on writing books they never did write, talkers of divine flapdoodle, inanely26 clever, cleverly inane25. Dear freaks I used to meet in days gone by!—where are you now?—where are you now?
      .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .     

A freak who ultimately lost all reason and was confined in a private asylum27 used to sit at the same desk that I did when, many years ago, I was a shipping28 clerk in Manchester. This man, whose name was not, but should have been, Bundle, had considerable private means, but some obscure need of his nature drove him to discipline himself by working eight hours a day for three pounds a week. The three pounds was nothing to him, but the eight hours a day meant everything. He was a conscientious29 worker, but I think I have already indicated that his intelligence was not robust30. He had no delusion31; he merely possessed32 a misdirected sense of duty.

One day he left us, and a few months later I met him in Market Street. He looked prosperous, smart and intensely happy.

“Are you busy?” he asked. “No? Well, come with me.”

He slipped his arm in mine, led me into Mosley Street, 92and stopped in front of the large, dismal33 office of the Calico Printers’ Association.

“That,” said he, “is mine. Now, come into Albert Square.”

When we had arrived there he pointed34 to the Town Hall.

“That also is mine. The Lord Mayor gave it to me with a golden key. Here is the golden key.”

Producing an ordinary latchkey from his pocket, he carefully held it in the palm of his hand for my inspection36.

“It is,” he announced, “studded with diamonds. But you can’t see the diamonds. Crafty37 Lord Mayor! You don’t catch him napping. He’s hidden them deep in the gold....”

I enjoyed this poor fellow’s company more than I did that of a very old woman to whom I was introduced in a pauper38 asylum. She was sitting on a low stool and, pointing at her head with her skinny forefinger39, “It’s pot! It’s pot!” she said.

But even she provided me with more exhilaration than do the tens (or perhaps hundreds) of thousands of real freaks who, I imagine, inhabit every part of the globe. I allude40 to the vast throng41 of people who arise at eight or thereabouts, go to the City every morning, work all day and return home at dusk; who perform this routine every day, and every day of every year; who do it all their lives; who do it without resentment42, without anger, without even a momentary43 impulse to break away from their surroundings. Such people amaze and stagger one. To them life is not an adventure; indeed, I don’t know what they consider it. They marry and, in their tepid44, uxorious45 way, love. But love to them is not a mystery, or an adventure, and its consummation is not a sacrament. They do not travel; they do not want to travel. They do not even hate anybody.

All these people are freaks of the wildest description; yet they imagine themselves to be the backbone46 of the 93Empire. Perhaps they are. Perhaps every nation requires a torpid47 mass of people to act as a steadying influence.

In the suburbs of Manchester these people abound48. I know a man still in his twenties who keeps hens for what he calls “a hobby.” Among his hens he finds all the excitement his soul needs. The sheds in which they live form the boundaries of his imagination. I should esteem49 this man if he kicked against his destiny; but he loved it, until the Army conscripted him. God save the world from those who keep hens!

I know a man who has been to Douglas eighteen times in succession for his fortnight’s holiday in the summer. Douglas is his heaven; Manchester and Douglas are his universe. No place so beautiful as Douglas; no place so familiar; no place so satisfying. After all, Douglas is always Douglas. Moreover, Douglas is always miraculously50 “there.” God save the world from men who go to Douglas eighteen times!

I know a man who hates his wife and still lives with her. He is respectable, soulless, saving, a punctual and regular churchgoer, a hard bargain-driver. He walks with his eyes on the ground. He has always lived in the same suburb. He will always live in the same suburb. God save the world from men who always live in the same suburb!

I know a man ...

But this is getting very monotonous51. Besides, why should I particularise any more freaks when all of them, perhaps, are as familiar to you as they are to me?
      .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .     

Then there is the literary freak; not the poseur52, not the man who wishes to be thought “cultured” and intellectual, but the scholarly man who, during an industrious53 life, has amassed54 a vast amount of literary knowledge, but whose appreciation55 of literature is lukewarm and without zest56. Very, very rarely is the great writer a scholar. Dr Johnson 94was a scholar, but, divine and adorable creature though he was, he was not a great writer. None of the great Victorians had true scholarship, and very few even of the Elizabethans. And to-day? Well, one may consider Thomas Hardy57, Joseph Conrad, H. G. Wells, Bernard Shaw, Arnold Bennett and G. K. Chesterton as great writers; if you do not concede me all these names, you must either deny that we have any great writers at all (which is absurd) or produce me the names of six who are greater than those I have named (and the latter you cannot do). Have any of these anything approaching scholarship?

And yet in our universities are scores of men who are regarded as possessing greater literary gifts than those who actually produce literature. These learned, owlish creatures pose pontifically58. Whenever a new book comes out they read an old one! The present generation, they say, is without genius. But they have always said it. They said it when Dickens, Thackeray and Charlotte Brontë were writing. I have no doubt they said it in Shakespeare’s time. The present generation teems59 with genius, but our “scholarly” mandarins know it not. How barren is that knowledge which lies heavy in a man’s mind and does not fertilise there. When one considers the matter, how essentially60 dull and stupid and brainless is the man devoid61 of ideas!

One of these bald-pated freaks is well known to me. He moves heavily about in a quadrangle. He delivers lectures. He has written books. He passes judgment62. He annotates63. He writes an occasional review. Funny little freak! Great little freak, who knows so much and understands so little.... When England wakes (and I do not believe that even yet, after nearly four years of war, England is really awake) such men will pass through life unregarded and neglected; they will sit at home in a back room, and their relatives and friends will love and 95pity them, as one loves and pities a poor fellow whose temperament64 has made him a wastrel65, or as one pities a man who has to be nursed.
      .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .     

People of the Play: A handful of literary freaks.

Scene: A drawing-room in Tooting, or Acton, or Highgate, or Ealing, or any funny old place where the middle classes live.

Time: 8 P.M. on (generally) Thursday.

Mrs Arnold. Now that Miss Vera Potting, M.A., has finished reading her most interesting paper on Mr John Masefield, the subject is open for discussion. Perhaps you, Mr Mather-Johnstone, will give us a few thoughts—yes, a few thoughts. (She smiles wanly66 and gazes round the room.) A most interesting paper I call it.

Rev15. Mather-Johnstone, M.A. Miss Potting’s most interesting paper is—well, most interesting. I must confess I have read nothing of—er—Mr Masefield’s. I prefer the older poets—Cowper, Bowles’ Sonnets67, and the beautifully named Felicia Hemans. Fe-lic-i-a! To what sweet thoughts does not that name give rise! But it has been a revelation to me to learn that a popular poet (and Miss Potting has assured us that Mr Masefield is popular) should so freely indulge in language that, to say the least, is violent, and I am glad to say that such language is not to be found in the improving stanzas68 of Eliza Cook.

Mr S. Wanley. I have read some verses of Mr Masefield’s in a very—well—advanced paper called, if my memory does not deceive me, The English Review. I did not like those verses. I did not approve of 96them. They were bathed in an atmosphere of discontent—modern discontent. Now, what have people to be discontented about? Nothing; nothing at all, if they live rightly. (He stops, having nothing further to say. For the same reason, he proceeds.) Nevertheless, I thank Miss Potting, M.A., very much for her most interesting paper. There is one question I should like to ask her: is this Mr Masefield read by the right people?

Miss Vera Potting, M.A. Oh no! Oh dear, no! Most certainly not! Still, it is incontestable that he is read.

Mr S. Wanley. Thank you so much. I felt that he could not be read by the right people.

Miss Graceley (rather nervously). I feel that I can say I know my Lord Lytton, my Edna Lyall, my Charlotte M. Yonge and my Tennyson. I have always remained content with them, and after what Miss Vera Potting, M.A., has said about Mr Masefield in her most interesting paper, I shall remain content with them.

Mr S. Wanley. Hear, hear. I always seem to agree with you, Miss Graceley.

Mrs Arnold (archly). What is the saying?—great minds always jump alike?

Rev. Mather-Johnstone (sotto voce). Jump?

Mr Porteous (with most distinguished69 amiability). I really think that this most interesting paper that Miss Vera Potting, M.A., has read to us should be published. It is so—well, so improving, so elevating, so——

Miss Vera Potting, M.A. (who has already fruitlessly sent the essay to every magazine in the country). Oh, Mr Porteous! How can you? Really, I couldn’t think of such a thing.

Rev. Mather-Johnstone, M.A. (who, being not altogether free from jealousy70, thinks this is really going a bit too 97far). But perhaps we do not all quite approve of women writers—I mean ladies who write for the wide, rough public.

Mrs Arnold. True! True!... But then, what about Felicia Hemans?

Rev. Mather-Johnstone, M.A. Mrs Hemans was Mrs Hemans. Miss Vera Potting, M.A., is, and I hope will always remain, Miss Vera Potting, M.A.

Mr Porteous. Oh, don’t say that! What I mean is——

(This sort of thing goes on for an hour when, very secretly and as though she were on some nefarious71 errand, Mrs Arnold disappears from the room. She presently reappears with a maid, who carries a tray of coffee and sandwiches. The dreadful Mr Masefield is then forgotten.]

You think the above sketch72 is exaggerated? Ah! well, perhaps you have never lived in Highgate, or in the suburbs of Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield or Leeds. I could set down some appalling73 conversations that I have heard in suburban74 “literary” circles. There is a place called Eccles, where, one evening——
      .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .     

In London Bohemia there are many freakish people, but, for the most part, they are altogether charming and refreshing75. Quite a number of them have what I am told is, in the Police Courts, termed “no visible means of subsistence,” but they appear to “carry on” with imperturbable76 good humour and borrow money cheerfully and as frequently as their circle of acquaintances (which is usually very large) will permit.

Frequenters of the Café Royal in pre-war days will recognise the following types:—

Picture to yourself a Polish Jew, young, yellow-skinned, black-haired; he has luminous77 eyes, sensuous78 lips and damp hands, and he dresses well, but in an extravagant79 98style. He is a megalomaniac, and he has all the megalomaniac’s consuming anxiety to discover precisely80 in what way other people react to his personality. One night my bitterest enemy brought him to the table at which I was sitting, introduced us to each other, and walked away.

“I am told you are a journalist,” my new acquaintance began. “I myself write poems. I have a theory about poetry, and my theory is this: All poetry should be subjective81.”

“Why?”

“Never mind why. I am telling you about my theory. All poetry should be subjective; as a matter of fact, all the best poetry is. To myself I am the most interesting phenomenon in the world. To yourself, you are. Is it not so?”

“Yes; you have guessed right first time.”

“Well, I have in this dispatch case eight hundred and seventy-three poems about myself, telling the world almost all there is to know about the most interesting phenomenon it contains.”

He took from his case a great pile of MS. and turned the leaves over in his hands.

“Here,” said he, “is a blank-verse poem entitled How I felt at 8.45 A.M. on June 8, 1909, having partaken of Breakfast. Would you like to read it?”

I assured him I should, though I fully35 expected it would contain unmistakable signs of mental disturbance82. But it did not. It was quite respectably written verse, much better than at least half of Wordsworth’s; it was logical, it had ideas, it showed some introspective power, and it revealed a mind above the ordinary.

I told him all this.

“Then you don’t think I’m a genius? Some people do.”

“You see, I’m not a very good judge of men—particularly 99men of genius. You may be a genius; on the other hand, you may not.”

“But what exactly do you think of me?”

“I have already told you.”

“Yes, but not with sufficient particularity. Now, put away from you all feeling of nervousness and try to imagine that I have just left you and that a friend of yours has come in and taken my place. You are alone together. You would, of course, immediately tell him that you had met me. You would say: ‘He is a very strange man, eccentric....’ and so on. You would describe my appearance, my personality, my verses. You, being a writer, would analyse me to shreds83. Now, that is what I want you to do now. I want you to say all the bad things with the good. And I shall listen, greedily.”

“But, really!” I protested. “Really, I can’t do what you ask.”

Disappointed and vexed84, he sat biting his underlip.

“All right,” he said at length, “we’ll strike a bargain. After you have analysed me I, in return, will analyse you.”

“You have quite the most unhealthy mind with which I have ever come in contact.”

“You really believe that?” he asked, delighted. “Do go on.”

“Oh, but I’m sorry I began. This kind of thing is dangerous.”

“Yes, I know. But I like danger—mental danger especially.”

“But drink would be better for you. Even drugs. You are asking me to help to throw you off your mental balance.”

“I know. I know. But you won’t refuse?”

“To show you that I will I am leaving you now in this café. I am going. Good-night.”

But he met me many times after that, and always 100pursued me with ardour. In the end he gained his desire and, having done so, had no further use for me.

I call him The Man Who Collects Opinions of Himself. He is still in London. And he is not yet insane.

Then there was the lady—since, alas85! dead—who used always to appear in public in a kind of purple shroud86, her face and fingers chalked. She rather stupidly called herself Cheerio Death, and was one of the jolliest girls I have ever met. She longed and ached for notoriety and for new sensations: she feasted on them and they nourished and fattened87 her. Only very brave or reckless men dared be seen with her in public, for, though her behaviour was scrupulously88 correct, her appearance created either veiled ridicule89 or consternation90 wherever she went. Yet she never lacked companions.

“Hullo, Gerald!” she used to say to me; “sit down near me. You are so nice and chubby91. I like to have you near me. How am I looking?”

“More beautiful than ever.”

“Oh, you are sweet. Isn’t he sweet, Frank?” she would say to one of her companions. “Order him some champagne92. I’m thirsty.”

And, really, Cheerio Death was very beautiful in a ghastly and terrible way. By degrees, all the reputable restaurants were closed to her, and in the late autumn of 1913 she disappeared, to die of consumption in Soho. Poor girl! Perhaps in Paris, where they love the outré and the shocking, she would have secured the full, hectic93 success that in London was denied her.
      .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .     

Are freaks always conscious of their freakishness? I do not think they are. Not even the man who wilfully94 cultivates his oddities until they have become swollen95 excrescences hanging bulbous-like on his personality is aware how vastly different, how unreasonably96 different he is from his fellows. He is more than reconciled to 101himself; he loves himself; he is what other people would be if only they could. Vanity continually lulls97 and soothes98 and rots him. The nature that craves99 to be noticed will go to almost any lengths to secure that notice.

It has always appeared curious to me that the ambition to become famous should very generally be regarded as a worthy100 passion in a man of genius. It is but natural that a man of genius should desire his work to reach as many people as possible, but whether or not he should be known as the author of that work seems to me a matter of no importance whatever. But to the man himself it is all-important. He has an instinctive101 feeling that if, in the public eye, he is separated from his work, savour will go from what he has created. He and his work must be closely identified.

This desire to be widely known, to be talked about everywhere, is in the man of genius accepted as natural, but it is this very desire that, in many cases, makes a freak of the ordinary man. Obscurity to him is death.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
参考例句:
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
2 follies e0e754f59d4df445818b863ea1aa3eba     
罪恶,时事讽刺剧; 愚蠢,蠢笨,愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
  • The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。
3 overflowed 4cc5ae8d4154672c8a8539b5a1f1842f     
溢出的
参考例句:
  • Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
  • A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 credulous Oacy2     
adj.轻信的,易信的
参考例句:
  • You must be credulous if she fooled you with that story.连她那种话都能把你骗倒,你一定是太容易相信别人了。
  • Credulous attitude will only make you take anything for granted.轻信的态度只会使你想当然。
5 logic j0HxI     
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性
参考例句:
  • What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑?
  • I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。
6 serene PD2zZ     
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的
参考例句:
  • He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
  • He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多,只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。
7 ecstasies 79e8aad1272f899ef497b3a037130d17     
狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 ); 出神; 入迷; 迷幻药
参考例句:
  • In such ecstasies that he even controlled his tongue and was silent. 但他闭着嘴,一言不发。
  • We were in ecstasies at the thought of going home. 一想到回家,我们高兴极了。
8 owl 7KFxk     
n.猫头鹰,枭
参考例句:
  • Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
  • I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚,经常半夜后才睡觉。
9 asperity rN6yY     
n.粗鲁,艰苦
参考例句:
  • He spoke to the boy with asperity.他严厉地对那男孩讲话。
  • The asperity of the winter had everybody yearning for spring.严冬之苦让每个人都渴望春天。
10 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
11 imposing 8q9zcB     
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的
参考例句:
  • The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
  • He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。
12 glide 2gExT     
n./v.溜,滑行;(时间)消逝
参考例句:
  • We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着,眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
  • So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞,宛如滑翔。
13 ponderous pOCxR     
adj.沉重的,笨重的,(文章)冗长的
参考例句:
  • His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
  • It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态,很容易使人小看了他。
14 laboriously xpjz8l     
adv.艰苦地;费力地;辛勤地;(文体等)佶屈聱牙地
参考例句:
  • She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句
15 rev njvzwS     
v.发动机旋转,加快速度
参考例句:
  • It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
  • Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。
16 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
17 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
18 exponent km8xH     
n.倡导者,拥护者;代表人物;指数,幂
参考例句:
  • She is an exponent of vegetarianism.她是一个素食主义的倡导者。
  • He had been the principal exponent of the Gallipoli campaign.他曾为加里波利战役的主要代表人物。
19 doctrine Pkszt     
n.教义;主义;学说
参考例句:
  • He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
  • The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。
20 lucid B8Zz8     
adj.明白易懂的,清晰的,头脑清楚的
参考例句:
  • His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
  • He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒,不太知道自己在哪里。
21 enthralling b491b0cfdbf95ce2c84d3fe85b18f2cb     
迷人的
参考例句:
  • There will be an enthralling race tomorrow. 明天会有场吸引人的比赛。
  • There was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. 在这样地施加影响时,令人感到销魂夺魄。
22 suffuses d1dd82ddfa9b781e3d1e733ef951cfba     
v.(指颜色、水气等)弥漫于,布满( suffuse的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • A rosy glow that suffuses snow-covered mountain peaks at a clear day. 她困恼的最顶点出现在一个覆盖著冰雪的纽西兰山上一时的无力感。 来自互联网
23 cosmos pn2yT     
n.宇宙;秩序,和谐
参考例句:
  • Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
  • Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗?
24 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
25 inane T4mye     
adj.空虚的,愚蠢的,空洞的
参考例句:
  • She started asking me inane questions.她开始问我愚蠢的问题。
  • Such comments are inane because they don't help us solve our problem.这种评论纯属空洞之词,不能帮助我们解决问题。
26 inanely inanely     
参考例句:
  • He lurched through the bar, grinning inanely. 他踉踉跄跄地穿过酒吧间,傻乎乎地笑着。 来自柯林斯例句
27 asylum DobyD     
n.避难所,庇护所,避难
参考例句:
  • The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
  • Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。
28 shipping WESyg     
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船)
参考例句:
  • We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
  • There's a shipping charge of £5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
29 conscientious mYmzr     
adj.审慎正直的,认真的,本着良心的
参考例句:
  • He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责,也很懂行。
  • He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。
30 robust FXvx7     
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的
参考例句:
  • She is too tall and robust.她个子太高,身体太壮。
  • China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道,中国希望保持经济强势增长,以减少贫困和失业状况。
31 delusion x9uyf     
n.谬见,欺骗,幻觉,迷惑
参考例句:
  • He is under the delusion that he is Napoleon.他患了妄想症,认为自己是拿破仑。
  • I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.我误认为他要娶我。
32 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
33 dismal wtwxa     
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
参考例句:
  • That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
  • My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
34 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
35 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
36 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
37 crafty qzWxC     
adj.狡猾的,诡诈的
参考例句:
  • He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
  • He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家,也是个狡黠的独裁者。
38 pauper iLwxF     
n.贫民,被救济者,穷人
参考例句:
  • You lived like a pauper when you had plenty of money.你有大把钱的时候,也活得像个乞丐。
  • If you work conscientiously you'll only die a pauper.你按部就班地干,做到老也是穷死。
39 forefinger pihxt     
n.食指
参考例句:
  • He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
  • He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。
40 allude vfdyW     
v.提及,暗指
参考例句:
  • Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
  • She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。
41 throng sGTy4     
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集
参考例句:
  • A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
  • The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。
42 resentment 4sgyv     
n.怨愤,忿恨
参考例句:
  • All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
  • She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。
43 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
44 tepid Ggkyl     
adj.微温的,温热的,不太热心的
参考例句:
  • She bent her mouth to the tap and drank the tepid water.她把嘴伸到水龙头底下去喝那微温的水。
  • Her feet firmly planted on the tepid rough brick of the floor.她一双脚稳固地立在微温而粗糙的砖地上。
45 uxorious NiKwy     
adj.宠爱妻子的
参考例句:
  • There are those who regard him as the uxorious spouse of a beautiful wife.有些人认为他是一个宠爱美貌妻子的丈夫。
  • His friends laughed at him because he was so uxorious and submissive to his wife's desires.他的朋友们嘲笑他,因为他溺爱妻子到了百依百顺的程度。
46 backbone ty0z9B     
n.脊骨,脊柱,骨干;刚毅,骨气
参考例句:
  • The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
  • The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。
47 torpid hq2yQ     
adj.麻痹的,麻木的,迟钝的
参考例句:
  • He just walked and his mind drifted slowly like a torpid stream.他只是埋头走,脑袋里思想都凝滞了,有如一汪流不动的溪水。
  • Even when he was awake he was completely torpid.他醒着的时候也完全麻木不动。
48 abound wykz4     
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于
参考例句:
  • Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
  • But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。
49 esteem imhyZ     
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。
50 miraculously unQzzE     
ad.奇迹般地
参考例句:
  • He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
  • A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。
51 monotonous FwQyJ     
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的
参考例句:
  • She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
  • His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律,一个调调儿。
52 poseur yuayP     
n.装模作样的人
参考例句:
  • He had been railed against by them as a prig and a poseur.他们责骂他是一个沾沾自喜、装腔作势的人。
  • I am sometimes accused of being an inveterate poseur.有时有人说我惯于装模作样。
53 industrious a7Axr     
adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的
参考例句:
  • If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
  • She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。
54 amassed 4047ea1217d3f59ca732ca258d907379     
v.积累,积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
  • They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
55 appreciation Pv9zs     
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨
参考例句:
  • I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
  • I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。
56 zest vMizT     
n.乐趣;滋味,风味;兴趣
参考例句:
  • He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
  • He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。
57 hardy EenxM     
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的
参考例句:
  • The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
  • He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。
58 pontifically 9f520b72234e5cc6e01c8faedb32c224     
adj.教皇的;大祭司的;傲慢的;武断的
参考例句:
  • His words criticising modern society just right indicate his pontifical character. 他用以批评现代社会的言论恰好反映了他自大武断的性格。 来自辞典例句
  • Papal diplomats, all priests nowadays, are trained at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. 如今教廷的外交官都是牧师,都在罗马的圣座神职学院(PontificalEcclesiasticalAcademy)接受培训。 来自互联网
59 teems 61b8eaf2974f281b7d0512335d2dae9b     
v.充满( teem的第三人称单数 );到处都是;(指水、雨等)暴降;倾注
参考例句:
  • The swamp teems with mosquitoes. 这片沼泽地蚊子多极了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • That book teems with blunders. 那本书错误不少。 来自辞典例句
60 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
参考例句:
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
61 devoid dZzzx     
adj.全无的,缺乏的
参考例句:
  • He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
  • The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。
62 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
63 annotates 2d5b5df8011f3e9adec4d3cf6105fc8c     
v.注解,注释( annotate的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The interpreter annotates the photographs under the stereoscope. 解释人员在立体镜下注记象片。 来自辞典例句
  • South Yangtze, by using Classic Craft, annotates your modern life well. 江南木坊,用古典艺术诠释您的现代人生。 来自互联网
64 temperament 7INzf     
n.气质,性格,性情
参考例句:
  • The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
  • Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
65 wastrel 0gHwt     
n.浪费者;废物
参考例句:
  • Her father wouldn't let her marry a wastrel.她的父亲不会让她嫁给一个败家子。
  • He is a notorious wastrel in our company.他在我们单位是个有名的饭囊,啥活儿都干不好。
66 wanly 3f5a0aa4725257f8a91c855f18e55a93     
adv.虚弱地;苍白地,无血色地
参考例句:
  • She was smiling wanly. 她苍白无力地笑着。 来自互联网
67 sonnets a9ed1ef262e5145f7cf43578fe144e00     
n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Keats' reputation as a great poet rests largely upon the odes and the later sonnets. 作为一个伟大的诗人,济慈的声誉大部分建立在他写的长诗和后期的十四行诗上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He referred to the manuscript circulation of the sonnets. 他谈到了十四行诗手稿的流行情况。 来自辞典例句
68 stanzas 1e39fe34fae422643886648813bd6ab1     
节,段( stanza的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The poem has six stanzas. 这首诗有六小节。
  • Stanzas are different from each other in one poem. 诗中节与节差异颇大。
69 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
70 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
71 nefarious 1jsyH     
adj.恶毒的,极坏的
参考例句:
  • My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
  • He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当,所以人人都惧怕他。
72 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
73 appalling iNwz9     
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的
参考例句:
  • The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
  • Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。
74 suburban Usywk     
adj.城郊的,在郊区的
参考例句:
  • Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
  • There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。
75 refreshing HkozPQ     
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的
参考例句:
  • I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
  • The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼,特别解乏提神。
76 imperturbable dcQzG     
adj.镇静的
参考例句:
  • Thomas,of course,was cool and aloof and imperturbable.当然,托马斯沉着、冷漠,不易激动。
  • Edward was a model of good temper and his equanimity imperturbable.爱德华是个典型的好性子,他总是沉着镇定。
77 luminous 98ez5     
adj.发光的,发亮的;光明的;明白易懂的;有启发的
参考例句:
  • There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
  • Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。
78 sensuous pzcwc     
adj.激发美感的;感官的,感觉上的
参考例句:
  • Don't get the idea that value of music is commensurate with its sensuous appeal.不要以为音乐的价值与其美的感染力相等。
  • The flowers that wreathed his parlor stifled him with their sensuous perfume.包围著客厅的花以其刺激人的香味使他窒息。
79 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。
80 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
81 subjective mtOwP     
a.主观(上)的,个人的
参考例句:
  • The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
  • A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。
82 disturbance BsNxk     
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调
参考例句:
  • He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
  • You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。
83 shreds 0288daa27f5fcbe882c0eaedf23db832     
v.撕碎,切碎( shred的第三人称单数 );用撕毁机撕毁(文件)
参考例句:
  • Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮,切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
84 vexed fd1a5654154eed3c0a0820ab54fb90a7     
adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论
参考例句:
  • The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
  • He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
85 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
86 shroud OEMya     
n.裹尸布,寿衣;罩,幕;vt.覆盖,隐藏
参考例句:
  • His past was enveloped in a shroud of mystery.他的过去被裹上一层神秘色彩。
  • How can I do under shroud of a dark sky?在黑暗的天空的笼罩下,我该怎么做呢?
87 fattened c1fc258c49c7dbf6baa544ae4962793c     
v.喂肥( fatten的过去式和过去分词 );养肥(牲畜);使(钱)增多;使(公司)升值
参考例句:
  • The piglets are taken from the sow to be fattened for market. 这些小猪被从母猪身边带走,好育肥上市。
  • Those corrupt officials fattened themselves by drinking the people's life-blood. 那些贪官污吏用民脂民膏养肥了自己。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
88 scrupulously Tj5zRa     
adv.一丝不苟地;小心翼翼地,多顾虑地
参考例句:
  • She toed scrupulously into the room. 她小心翼翼地踮着脚走进房间。 来自辞典例句
  • To others he would be scrupulously fair. 对待别人,他力求公正。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
89 ridicule fCwzv     
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄
参考例句:
  • You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
  • Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。
90 consternation 8OfzB     
n.大为吃惊,惊骇
参考例句:
  • He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害,感到非常震惊。
  • Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。
91 chubby wrwzZ     
adj.丰满的,圆胖的
参考例句:
  • He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实,可并不发胖。
  • The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。
92 champagne iwBzh3     
n.香槟酒;微黄色
参考例句:
  • There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
  • They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。
93 hectic jdZzk     
adj.肺病的;消耗热的;发热的;闹哄哄的
参考例句:
  • I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
  • The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。
94 wilfully dc475b177a1ec0b8bb110b1cc04cad7f     
adv.任性固执地;蓄意地
参考例句:
  • Don't wilfully cling to your reckless course. 不要一意孤行。 来自辞典例句
  • These missionaries even wilfully extended the extraterritoriality to Chinese converts and interfered in Chinese judicial authority. 这些传教士还肆意将"治外法权"延伸至中国信徒,干涉司法。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
95 swollen DrcwL     
adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀
参考例句:
  • Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着,她的双腿已经肿了。
  • A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她,她的手臂肿起来了。
96 unreasonably 7b139a7b80379aa34c95638d4a789e5f     
adv. 不合理地
参考例句:
  • He was also petty, unreasonably querulous, and mean. 他还是个气量狭窄,无事生非,平庸刻薄的人。
  • Food in that restaurant is unreasonably priced. 那家饭店价格不公道。
97 lulls baacc61e061bb5dc81079f769426f610     
n.间歇期(lull的复数形式)vt.使镇静,使安静(lull的第三人称单数形式)
参考例句:
  • It puts our children to sleep and lulls us into a calm, dreamlike state. 摇晃能让孩子进入梦乡,也能将我们引人一种平静的、梦幻般的心境。 来自互联网
  • There were also comedy acts, impromptu skits, and DJ music to fill the lulls between acts. 也有充满在行为之间的间歇的喜剧行为,即兴之作若干,和DJ音乐。 来自互联网
98 soothes 525545df1477f31c55d31f4c04ec6531     
v.安慰( soothe的第三人称单数 );抚慰;使舒服;减轻痛苦
参考例句:
  • Fear grasps, love lets go. Fear rankles, love soothes. 恐惧使人痛心,爱使痛苦减轻。 来自互联网
  • His loe celebrates her victories and soothes her wounds. 他的爱庆祝她的胜利,也抚平她的创伤。 来自互联网
99 craves dcdf03afe300a545d69a1e6db561c77f     
渴望,热望( crave的第三人称单数 ); 恳求,请求
参考例句:
  • The tree craves calm but the wind will not drop. 树欲静而风不止。
  • Victory would give him a passport to the riches he craves. 胜利将使他有机会获得自己梦寐以求的财富。
100 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
101 instinctive c6jxT     
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的
参考例句:
  • He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
  • Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。


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