Hetherington House stands in Beaufort Square, forming one side of that confessedly aristocratic quarter. The house stands back in
melancholy1 "grounds" of dirty
gravel2, brown turf, and smutted trees, while the
dwarf3 wall which forms the side of the square, and is indeed a
sufficiently4 huge brick screen, fences off the commonalty, and prevents them from ever
catching5 so much as a glimpse of the paradise within, save when the great gates are flung open for the entrance or exit of vehicles, or when the porter, so gorgeous and yet so simple, is sunning himself in the calm evening air at the small postern-door. The Countess of Hetherington likes this brick screen, and looks upon it as a necessary appanage of her rank. When visitors, having
exhausted6 every topic of conversation possible to their great minds--a
feat7 which is easily performed in the space of five minutes--and, beginning to fear the
immediate8 advent9 of brain-softening if not of idiotcy, suddenly become
possessed10 with a fresh idea after a
lengthened11 contemplation of the wall in front of them, and with an air of desperation ask whether it does not make the house dull, Lady Hetherington says that, on the contrary, it is the only thing that renders the house habitable. She confesses that, during the time she is compelled to be in London, the sight of
hack12 cabs, and policemen on their beat, and those kind of things, are not absolutely necessary to her existence, and as Sir Charles Dumfunk insists on her rooms facing the west, she is glad that the wall is there to act as a screen. Oh yes, she is
perfectly13 aware that Lord Letterkenney had the screen of Purcell House pulled down and an open Italian façade
erected14 in its place, the picture of which was in the
illustrated15 papers; but as Lady Letterkenney until her marriage had lived in Ireland, and had probably never seen anything human except priests and pigs, the sight of civilised beings was doubtless an agreeable novelty to her. The same circumstances did not exist in her, Lady Hetherington's, case, and she decidedly liked the screen.
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1
melancholy
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n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 |
参考例句: |
- All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
- He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过,他感到很郁闷。
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2
gravel
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n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石 |
参考例句: |
- We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
- More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
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3
dwarf
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n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小 |
参考例句: |
- The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
- The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀,摇摇头。
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4
sufficiently
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adv.足够地,充分地 |
参考例句: |
- It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
- The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
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5
catching
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adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 |
参考例句: |
- There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
- Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
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6
exhausted
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adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 |
参考例句: |
- It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
- Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
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7
feat
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n.功绩;武艺,技艺;adj.灵巧的,漂亮的,合适的 |
参考例句: |
- Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
- He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。
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8
immediate
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adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 |
参考例句: |
- His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
- We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
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9
advent
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n.(重要事件等的)到来,来临 |
参考例句: |
- Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
- The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。
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10
possessed
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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。
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11
lengthened
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(时间或空间)延长,伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
- He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。
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12
hack
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n.劈,砍,出租马车;v.劈,砍,干咳 |
参考例句: |
- He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
- Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。
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13
perfectly
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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。
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14
ERECTED
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adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的
vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 |
参考例句: |
- A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
- A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。
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15
illustrated
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adj. 有插图的,列举的
动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 |
参考例句: |
- His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
- The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。
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