The friends of Mr. Burney were not slack in paying their devoirs to his new partner, whose
vivacious1 society, set off by far more than
remains2 of
uncommon3 beauty, failed not to attract various visitors to the house; and whose love, or rather passion, for conversation and argument, were of that gay and brilliant sort, that offers too much entertainment
[Pg 199]
to be ever left in the
lurch4 for want of partakers.
Fortunate was it that such was the success of her social spirit; which success was by no means less flourishing, from her strong
bent5 to displaying the
rites6 of hospitality. She must else have lived the life of a
recluse7, Mr. Burney, during the whole of the day, being
devoted8 to his profession; with the single exception of one poor hour of repast, to re-fit him for every other of labour.
But the affection and pleasure with which, as
“The curfew toll’d the
knell9 of parting day,”
he finished his
toils10, were so
animated11 and so genuine, that the sun, in the zenith of its splendour, was never more
ardently12 hailed, than the cool, silent, evening star, whose soft
glimmering13 light restored him to the
bosom14 of his family; not there to
murmur15 at his
fatigues16,
lament17 his troubles, nor recount his wearisome
exertions18; but to return, with cheerful kindness, their tender greetings; to enliven them with the news, the
anecdotes19, and the
rumours20 of the day; to make a spontaneous catalogue raisonné of the people he had mixed with or seen; and always to bring home any new
[Pg 200]
publication, political,
poetical21, or
ethical22, that was making any noise in the world.
Amongst those of the old friends of Mr. Burney who were the most eager to judge his second choice, Roscius and Violetta, Mr. and Mrs. Garrick, seem entitled to be first mentioned, from the pleasurable remembrance of the delight
bestowed23 upon the whole family by their presence.
点击
收听单词发音
1
vivacious
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adj.活泼的,快活的 |
参考例句: |
- She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
- The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。
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2
remains
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n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 |
参考例句: |
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
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3
uncommon
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adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 |
参考例句: |
- Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
- Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
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4
lurch
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n.突然向前或旁边倒;v.蹒跚而行 |
参考例句: |
- It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
- He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。
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5
bent
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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。
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6
rites
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仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
- He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。
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7
recluse
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n.隐居者 |
参考例句: |
- The old recluse secluded himself from the outside world.这位老隐士与外面的世界隔绝了。
- His widow became a virtual recluse for the remainder of her life.他的寡妻孤寂地度过了余生。
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8
devoted
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adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 |
参考例句: |
- He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
- We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
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9
knell
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n.丧钟声;v.敲丧钟 |
参考例句: |
- That is the death knell of the British Empire.这是不列颠帝国的丧钟。
- At first he thought it was a death knell.起初,他以为是死亡的丧钟敲响了。
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10
toils
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网 |
参考例句: |
- It did not declare him to be still in Mrs. Dorset's toils. 这并不表明他仍陷于多赛特夫人的情网。
- The thief was caught in the toils of law. 这个贼陷入了法网。
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11
animated
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adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 |
参考例句: |
- His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
- We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。
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12
ardently
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adv.热心地,热烈地 |
参考例句: |
- The preacher is disserveing the very religion in which he ardently believe. 那传教士在损害他所热烈信奉的宗教。 来自辞典例句
- However ardently they love, however intimate their union, they are never one. 无论他们的相爱多么热烈,无论他们的关系多么亲密,他们决不可能合而为一。 来自辞典例句
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13
glimmering
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n.微光,隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思,我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
- Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑,赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
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14
bosom
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n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 |
参考例句: |
- She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
- A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。
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15
murmur
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n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 |
参考例句: |
- They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
- There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
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16
fatigues
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n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 );杂役;厌倦;(士兵穿的)工作服 |
参考例句: |
- The patient fatigues easily. 病人容易疲劳。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Instead of training the men were put on fatigues/fatigue duty. 那些士兵没有接受训练,而是派去做杂务。 来自辞典例句
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17
lament
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n.悲叹,悔恨,恸哭;v.哀悼,悔恨,悲叹 |
参考例句: |
- Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
- We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。
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18
exertions
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n.努力( exertion的名词复数 );费力;(能力、权力等的)运用;行使 |
参考例句: |
- As long as they lived, exertions would not be necessary to her. 只要他们活着,是不需要她吃苦的。 来自辞典例句
- She failed to unlock the safe in spite of all her exertions. 她虽然费尽力气,仍未能将那保险箱的锁打开。 来自辞典例句
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19
anecdotes
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n.掌故,趣闻,轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
- He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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20
rumours
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n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传 |
参考例句: |
- The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
- Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
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21
poetical
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adj.似诗人的;诗一般的;韵文的;富有诗意的 |
参考例句: |
- This is a poetical picture of the landscape. 这是一幅富有诗意的风景画。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- John is making a periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion. 约翰正在对陈腐的诗风做迂回冗长的研究。 来自辞典例句
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22
ethical
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adj.伦理的,道德的,合乎道德的 |
参考例句: |
- It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
- It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
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23
bestowed
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赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
- He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。
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