A few days afterwards, Ellinor's father bethought himself that same further communication ought to take place between him and his daughter's lover regarding the approval of the family of the latter to the young man's engagement, and he accordingly wrote a very gentlemanly letter, saying that of course he trusted that Ralph had informed his father of his engagement; that Mr. Corbet was well known to Mr. Wilkins by reputation, holding the position which he did in Shropshire, but that as Mr. Wilkins did not pretend to be in the same station of life, Mr. Corbet might possibly never even have heard of his name, although in his own county it was well known as having been for generations that of the principal conveyancer and land-agent of ---shire; that his wife had been a member of the old knightly1 family of Holsters, and that he himself was descended2 from a younger branch of the South Wales De Wintons, or Wilkins; that Ellinor, as his only child, would naturally inherit all his property, but that in the meantime, of course, some settlement upon her would he made, the nature of which might be decided3 nearer the time of the marriage.
It was a very good straightforward4 letter and well fitted for the purpose to which Mr. Wilkins knew it would be applied5--of being forwarded to the young man's father. One would have thought that it was not an engagement so disproportionate in point of station as to cause any great opposition6 on that score; but, unluckily, Captain Corbet, the heir and eldest7 son, had just formed a similar engagement with Lady Maria Brabant, the daughter of one of the proudest earls in ---shire, who had always resented Mr. Wilkins's appearance on the field as an insult to the county, and ignored his presence at every dinner-table where they met. Lady Maria was visiting the Corbets at the very time when Ralph's letter, enclosing Mr. Wilkins's, reached the paternal8 halls, and she merely repeated her father's opinions when Mrs. Corbet and her daughters naturally questioned her as to who these Wilkinses were; they remembered the name in Ralph's letters formerly10; the father was some friend of Mr. Ness's, the clergyman with whom Ralph had read; they believed Ralph used to dine with these Wilkinses sometimes, along with Mr. Ness.
Lady Maria was a goodnatured girl, and meant no harm in repeating her father's words; touched up, it is true, by some of the dislike she herself felt to the intimate alliance proposed, which would make her sister-in-law to the daughter of an "upstart attorney," "not received in the county," "always trying to push his way into the set above him," "claiming connection with the De Wintons of --- Castle, who, as she well knew, only laughed when he was spoken of, and said they were more rich in relations than they were aware of"--"not people papa would ever like her to know, whatever might be the family connection."
These little speeches told in a way which the girl who uttered them did not intend they should. Mrs. Corbet and her daughters set themselves violently against this foolish entanglement12 of Ralph's; they would not call it an engagement. They argued, and they urged, and they pleaded, till the squire13, anxious for peace at any price, and always more under the sway of the people who were with him, however unreasonable14 they might be, than of the absent, even though these had the wisdom of Solomon or the prudence15 and sagacity of his son Ralph, wrote an angry letter, saying that, as Ralph was of age, of course he had a right to please himself, therefore all his father could say was, that the engagement was not at all what either he or Ralph's mother had expected or hoped; that it was a degradation16 to the family just going to ally themselves with a peer of James the First's creation; that of course Ralph must do what he liked, but that if he married this girl he must never expect to have her received by the Corbets of Corbet Hall as a daughter. The squire was rather satisfied with his production, and took it to show it to his wife; but she did not think it was strong enough, and added a little postscript17
"DEAR RALPH,
"Though, as second son, you are entitled to Bromley
at my death, yet I can do much to make the estate
worthless. Hitherto, regard for you has prevented my
taking steps as to sale of timber, &c., which would
materially increase your sisters' portions; this
just measure I shall infallibly take if I find you
father's disapproval19 is always a sufficient reason
Ralph was annoyed at the receipt of these letters, though he only smiled as he locked them up in his desk.
"Dear old father! how he blusters21! As to my mother, she is reasonable when I talk to her. Once give her a definite idea of what Ellinor's fortune will be, and let her, if she chooses, cut down her timber--a threat she has held over me ever since I knew what a rocking-horse was, and which I have known to be illegal these ten years past--and she'll come round. I know better than they do how Reginald has run up post-obits, and as for that vulgar high-born Lady Maria they are all so full of, why, she is a Flanders mare22 to my Ellinor, and has not a silver penny to cross herself with, besides! I bide23 my time, you dear good people!"
He did not think it necessary to reply to these letters immediately, nor did he even allude25 to their contents in his to Ellinor. Mr. Wilkins, who had been very well satisfied with his own letter to the young man, and had thought that it must be equally agreeable to every one, was not at all suspicious of any disapproval, because the fact of a distinct sanction on the part of Mr. Ralph Corbet's friends to his engagement was not communicated to him.
As for Ellinor, she trembled all over with happiness. Such a summer for the blossoming of flowers and ripening26 of fruit had not been known for years; it seemed to her as if bountiful loving Nature wanted to fill the cup of Ellinor's joy to overflowing27, and as if everything, animate28 and inanimate, sympathised with her happiness. Her father was well, and apparently29 content. Miss Monro was very kind. Dixon's lameness30 was quite gone off. Only Mr. Dunster came creeping about the house, on pretence31 of business, seeking out her father, and disturbing all his leisure with his dust-coloured parchment-skinned careworn32 face, and seeming to disturb the smooth current of her daily life whenever she saw him.
Ellinor made her appearance at the Hamley assemblies, but with less _eclat_ than either her father or her lover expected. Her beauty and natural grace were admired by those who could discriminate33; but to the greater number there was (what they called) "a want of style"--want of elegance34 there certainly was not, for her figure was perfect, and though she moved shyly, she moved well. Perhaps it was not a good place for a correct appreciation35 of Miss Wilkins; some of the old dowagers thought it a piece of presumption36 in her to be there at all--but the Lady Holster of the day (who remembered her husband's quarrel with Mr. Wilkins, and looked away whenever Ellinor came near) resented this opinion. "Miss Wilkins is descended from Sir Frank's family, one of the oldest in the county; the objection might have been made years ago to the father, but as he had been received, she did not know why Miss Wilkins was to be alluded37 to as out of her place." Ellinor's greatest enjoyment38 in the evening was to hear her father say, after all was over, and they were driving home--
"Well, I thought my Nelly the prettiest girl there, and I think I know some other people who would have said the same if they could have spoken out."
"Thank you, papa," said Ellinor, squeezing his hand, which she held. She thought he alluded to the absent Ralph as the person who would have agreed with him, had he had the opportunity of seeing her; but no, he seldom thought much of the absent; but had been rather flattered by seeing Lord Hildebrand take up his glass for the apparent purpose of watching Ellinor.
"Your pearls, too, were as handsome as any in the room, child--but we must have them re-set; the sprays are old-fashioned now. Let me have them to-morrow to send up to Hancock."
"Papa, please, I had rather keep them as they are--as mamma wore them."
He was touched in a minute.
"Very well, darling. God bless you for thinking of it!"
These balls were not such as to intoxicate40 Ellinor with success, and make her in love with gaiety. Large parties came from the different country- houses in the neighbourhood, and danced with each other. When they had exhausted41 the resources they brought with them, they had generally a few dances to spare for friends of the same standing42 with whom they were most intimate. Ellinor came with her father, and joined an old card-playing dowager, by way of a chaperone--the said dowager being under old business obligations to the firm of Wilkins and Son, and apologizing to all her acquaintances for her own weak condescension43 to Mr. Wilkins's foible in wishing to introduce his daughter into society above her natural sphere. It was upon this lady, after she had uttered some such speech as the one I have just mentioned, that Lady Holster had come down with the pedigree of Ellinor's mother. But though the old dowager had drawn44 back a little discomfited45 at my lady's reply, she was not more attentive46 to Ellinor in consequence. She allowed Mr. Wilkins to bring in his daughter and place her on the crimson47 sofa beside her; spoke11 to her occasionally in the interval48 that elapsed before the rubbers could be properly arranged in the card-room; invited the girl to accompany her to that sober amusement, and on Ellinor's declining, and preferring to remain with her father, the dowager left her with a sweet smile on her plump countenance49, and an approving conscience somewhere within her portly frame, assuring her that she had done all that could possibly have been expected from her towards "that good Wilkins's daughter." Ellinor stood by her father watching the dances, and thankful for the occasional chance of a dance. While she had been sitting by her chaperone, Mr. Wilkins had made the tour of the room, dropping out the little fact of his daughter's being present wherever he thought the seed likely to bring forth50 the fruit of partners. And some came because they liked Mr. Wilkins, and some asked Ellinor because they had done their duty dances to their own party, and might please themselves. So that she usually had an average of one invitation to every three dances; and this principally towards the end of the evening.
But considering her real beauty, and the care which her father always took about her appearance, she met with far less than her due of admiration51. Admiration she did not care for; partners she did; and sometimes felt mortified52 when she had to sit or stand quiet during all the first part of the evening. If it had not been for her father's wishes she would much rather have stayed at home; but, nevertheless, she talked even to the irresponsive old dowager, and fairly chatted to her father when she got beside him, because she did not like him to fancy that she was not enjoying herself.
And, indeed, she had so much happiness in the daily course of this part of her life, that, on looking back upon it afterwards, she could not imagine anything brighter than it had been. The delight of receiving her lover's letters--the anxious happiness of replying to them (always a little bit fearful lest she should not express herself and her love in the precisely53 happy medium becoming a maiden)--the father's love and satisfaction in her--the calm prosperity of the whole household--was delightful54 at the time, and, looking back upon it, it was dreamlike.
Occasionally Mr. Corbet came down to see her. He always slept on these occasions at Mr. Ness's; but he was at Ford55 Bank the greater part of the one day between two nights that he allowed himself for the length of his visits. And even these short peeps were not frequently taken. He was working hard at law: fagging at it tooth and nail; arranging his whole life so as best to promote the ends of his ambition; feeling a delight in surpassing and mastering his fellows--those who started in the race at the same time. He read Ellinor's letters over and over again; nothing else beside law-books. He perceived the repressed love hidden away in subdued56 expressions in her communications, with an amused pleasure at the attempt at concealment57. He was glad that her gaieties were not more gay; he was glad that she was not too much admired, although a little indignant at the want of taste on the part of the ---shire gentlemen. But if other admirers had come prominently forward, he would have had to take some more decided steps to assert his rights than he had hitherto done; for he had caused Ellinor to express a wish to her father that her engagement should not be too much talked about until nearer the time when it would be prudent58 for him to marry her. He thought that the knowledge of this, the only imprudently hasty step he ever meant to take in his life, might go against his character for wisdom, if the fact became known while he was as yet only a student. Mr. Wilkins wondered a little; but acceded59, as he always did, to any of Ellinor's requests. Mr. Ness was a confidant, of course, and some of Lady Maria's connections heard of it, and forgot it again very soon; and, as it happened, no one else was sufficiently61 interested in Ellinor to care to ascertain62 the fact.
All this time, Mr. Ralph Corbet maintained a very quietly decided attitude towards his own family. He was engaged to Miss Wilkins; and all he could say was, he felt sorry that they disapproved63 of it. He was not able to marry just at present, and before the time for his marriage arrived, he trusted that his family would take a more reasonable view of things, and be willing to receive her as his wife with all becoming respect or affection. This was the substance of what he repeated in different forms in reply to his father's angry letters. At length, his invariable determination made way with his father; the paternal thunderings were subdued to a distant rumbling64 in the sky; and presently the inquiry65 was broached66 as to how much fortune Miss Wilkins would have; how much down on her marriage; what were the eventual67 probabilities. Now this was a point which Mr. Ralph Corbet himself wished to be informed upon. He had not thought much about it in making the engagement; he had been too young, or too much in love. But an only child of a wealthy attorney ought to have something considerable; and an allowance so as to enable the young couple to start housekeeping in a moderately good part of town, would be an advantage to him in his profession. So he replied to his father, adroitly68 suggesting that a letter containing certain modifications69 of the inquiry which had been rather roughly put in Mr. Corbet's last, should be sent to him, in order that he might himself ascertain from Mr. Wilkins what were Ellinor's prospects71 as regarded fortune.
The desired letter came; but not in such a form that he could pass it on to Mr. Wilkins; he preferred to make quotations72, and even these quotations were a little altered and dressed before he sent them on. The gist73 of his letter to Mr. Wilkins was this. He stated that he hoped soon to be in a position to offer Ellinor a home; that he anticipated a steady progress in his profession, and consequently in his income; but that contingencies74 might arise, as his father suggested, which would deprive him of the power of earning a livelihood75, perhaps when it might be more required than it would be at first; that it was true that, after his mother's death a small estate in Shropshire would come to him as second son, and of course Ellinor would receive the benefit of this property, secured to her legally as Mr. Wilkins thought best--that being a matter for after discussion--but that at present his father was anxious, as might be seen from the extract to ascertain whether Mr. Wilkins could secure him from the contingency76 of having his son's widow and possible children thrown upon his hands, by giving Ellinor a dowry; and if so, it was gently insinuated77, what would be the amount of the same.
When Mr. Wilkins received this letter it startled him out of a happy day- dream. He liked Ralph Corbet and the whole connection quite well enough to give his consent to an engagement; and sometimes even he was glad to think that Ellinor's future was assured, and that she would have a protector and friends after he was dead and gone. But he did not want them to assume their responsibilities so soon. He had not distinctly contemplated78 her marriage as an event likely to happen before his death. He could not understand how his own life would go on without her: or indeed why she and Ralph Corbet could not continue just as they were at present. He came down to breakfast with the letter in his hand. By Ellinor's blushes, as she glanced at the handwriting, he knew that she had heard from her lover by the same post; by her tender caresses79--caresses given as if to make up for the pain which the prospect70 of her leaving him was sure to cause him--he was certain that she was aware of the contents of the letter. Yet he put it in his pocket, and tried to forget it.
He did this not merely from his reluctance80 to complete any arrangements which might facilitate Ellinor's marriage. There was a further annoyance81 connected with the affair. His money matters had been for some time in an involved state; he had been living beyond his income, even reckoning that, as he always did, at the highest point which it ever touched. He kept no regular accounts, reasoning with himself--or, perhaps, I should rather say persuading himself--that there was no great occasion for regular accounts, when he had a steady income arising from his profession, as well as the interest of a good sum of money left him by his father; and when, living in his own house near a country town where provisions were cheap, his expenditure82 for his small family--only one child--could never amount to anything like his incomings from the above- mentioned sources. But servants and horses, and choice wines and rare fruit-trees, and a habit of purchasing any book or engraving83 that may take the fancy, irrespective of the price, run away with money, even though there be but one child. A year or two ago, Mr. Wilkins had been startled into a system of exaggerated retrenchment--retrenchment which only lasted about six weeks--by the sudden bursting of a bubble speculation84 in which he had invested a part of his father's savings85. But as soon as the change in his habits, necessitated86 by his new economies, became irksome, he had comforted himself for his relapse into his former easy extravagance of living by remembering the fact that Ellinor was engaged to the son of a man of large property: and that though Ralph was only the second son, yet his mother's estate must come to him, as Mr. Ness had already mentioned, on first hearing of her engagement.
Mr. Wilkins did not doubt that he could easily make Ellinor a fitting allowance, or even pay down a requisite87 dowry; but the doing so would involve an examination into the real state of his affairs, and this involved distasteful trouble. He had no idea how much more than mere9 temporary annoyance would arise out of the investigation88. Until it was made, he decided in his own mind that he would not speak to Ellinor on the subject of her lover's letter. So for the next few days she was kept in suspense89, seeing little of her father; and during the short times she was with him she was made aware that he was nervously90 anxious to keep the conversation engaged on general topics rather than on the one which she had at heart. As I have already said, Mr. Corbet had written to her by the same post as that on which he sent the letter to her father, telling her of its contents, and begging her (in all those sweet words which lovers know how to use) to urge her father to compliance91 for his sake--his, her lover's--who was pining and lonely in all the crowds of London, since her loved presence was not there. He did not care for money, save as a means of hastening their marriage; indeed, if there were only some income fixed92, however small--some time for their marriage fixed, however distant--he could be patient. He did not want superfluity of wealth; his habits were simple, as she well knew; and money enough would be theirs in time, both from her share of contingencies, and the certainty of his finally possessing Bromley.
Ellinor delayed replying to this letter until her father should have spoken to her on the subject. But as she perceived that he avoided all such conversation, the young girl's heart failed her. She began to blame herself for wishing to leave him, to reproach herself for being accessory to any step which made him shun93 being alone with her, and look distressed94 and full of care as he did now. It was the usual struggle between father and lover for the possession of love, instead of the natural and graceful95 resignation of the parent to the prescribed course of things; and, as usual, it was the poor girl who bore the suffering for no fault of her own: although she blamed herself for being the cause of the disturbance96 in the previous order of affairs. Ellinor had no one to speak to confidentially97 but her father and her lover, and when they were at issue she could talk openly to neither, so she brooded over Mr. Corbet's unanswered letter, and her father's silence, and became pale and dispirited. Once or twice she looked up suddenly, and caught her father's eye gazing upon her with a certain wistful anxiety; but the instant she saw this he pulled himself up, as it were, and would begin talking gaily98 about the small topics of the day.
At length Mr. Corbet grew impatient at not hearing either from Mr. Wilkins or Ellinor, and wrote urgently to the former, making known to him a new proposal suggested to him by his father, which was, that a certain sum should be paid down by Mr. Wilkins to be applied, under the management of trustees, to the improvement of the Bromley estate, out of the profits of which, or other sources in the elder Mr. Corbet's hands, a heavy rate of interest should be paid on this advance, which would secure an income to the young couple immediately, and considerably99 increase the value of the estate upon which Ellinor's settlement was to be made. The terms offered for this laying down of ready money were so advantageous100, that Mr. Wilkins was strongly tempted101 to accede60 to them at once; as Ellinor's pale cheek and want of appetite had only that very morning smote102 upon his conscience, and this immediate24 transfer of ready money was as a sacrifice, a soothing103 balm to his self-reproach, and laziness and dislike to immediate unpleasantness of action had its counterbalancing weakness in imprudence. Mr. Wilkins made some rough calculations on a piece of paper--deeds, and all such tests of accuracy, being down at the office; discovered that he could pay down the sum required; wrote a letter agreeing to the proposal, and before he sealed it called Ellinor into his study, and bade her read what he had been writing and tell him what she thought of it. He watched the colour come rushing into her white face, her lips quiver and tremble, and even before the letter was ended she was in his arms kissing him, and thanking him with blushing caresses rather than words.
"There, there!" said he, smiling and sighing; "that will do. Why, I do believe you took me for a hard-hearted father, just like a heroine's father in a book. You've looked as woe-begone this week past as Ophelia. One can't make up one's mind in a day about such sums of money as this, little woman; and you should have let your old father have time to consider."
"Oh, papa; I was only afraid you were angry."
"Well, if I was a bit perplexed104, seeing you look so ill and pining was not the way to bring me round. Old Corbet, I must say, is trying to make a good bargain for his son. It is well for me that I have never been an extravagant105 man."
"But, papa, we don't want all this much."
"Yes, yes! it is all right. You shall go into their family as a well- portioned girl, if you can't go as a Lady Maria. Come, don't trouble your little head any more about it. Give me one more kiss, and then we'll go and order the horses, and have a ride together, by way of keeping holiday. I deserve a holiday, don't I, Nelly?"
Some country people at work at the roadside, as the father and daughter passed along, stopped to admire their bright happy looks, and one spoke of the hereditary106 handsomeness of the Wilkins family (for the old man, the present Mr. Wilkins's father, had been fine-looking in his drab breeches and gaiters, and usual assumption of a yeoman's dress). Another said it was easy for the rich to be handsome; they had always plenty to eat, and could ride when they were tired of walking, and had no care for the morrow to keep them from sleeping at nights. And, in sad acquiescence107 with their contrasted lot, the men went on with their hedging and ditching in silence.
And yet, if they had known--if the poor did know--the troubles and temptations of the rich; if those men had foreseen the lot darkening over the father, and including the daughter in its cloud; if Mr. Wilkins himself had even imagined such a future possible . . . Well, there was truth in the old heathen saying, "Let no man be envied till his death."
Ellinor had no more rides with her father; no, not ever again; though they had stopped that afternoon at the summit of a breezy common, and looked at a ruined hall, not so very far off; and discussed whether they could reach it that day, and decided that it was too far away for anything but a hurried inspection108, and that some day soon they would make the old place into the principal object of an excursion. But a rainy time came on, when no rides were possible; and whether it was the influence of the weather, or some other care or trouble that oppressed him, Mr. Wilkins seemed to lose all wish for much active exercise, and rather sought a stimulus109 to his spirits and circulation in wine. But of this Ellinor was innocently unaware110. He seemed dull and weary, and sat long, drowsing and drinking after dinner. If the servants had not been so fond of him for much previous generosity111 and kindness, they would have complained now, and with reason, of his irritability112, for all sorts of things seemed to annoy him.
"You should get the master to take a ride with you, miss," said Dixon, one day as he was putting Ellinor on her horse. "He's not looking well, he's studying too much at the office."
But when Ellinor named it to her father, he rather hastily replied that it was all very well for women to ride out whenever they liked--men had something else to do; and then, as he saw her look grave and puzzled, he softened113 down his abrupt114 saying by adding that Dunster had been making a fuss about his partner's non-attendance, and altogether taking a good deal upon himself in a very offensive way, so that he thought it better to go pretty regularly to the office, in order to show him who was master--senior partner, and head of the business, at any rate.
Ellinor sighed a little over her disappointment at her father's preoccupation, and then forgot her own little regret in anger at Mr. Dunster, who had seemed all along to be a thorn in her father's side, and had latterly gained some power and authority over him, the exercise of which, Ellinor could not help thinking, was a very impertinent line of conduct from a junior partner, so lately only a paid clerk, to his superior. There was a sense of something wrong in the Ford Bank household for many weeks about this time. Mr. Wilkins was not like himself, and his cheerful ways and careless genial115 speeches were missed, even on the days when he was not irritable116, and evidently uneasy with himself and all about him. The spring was late in coming, and cold rain and sleet117 made any kind of out-door exercise a trouble and discomfort118 rather than a bright natural event in the course of the day. All sound of winter gaieties, of assemblies and meets, and jovial119 dinners, had died away, and the summer pleasures were as yet unthought of. Still Ellinor had a secret perennial120 source of sunshine in her heart; whenever she thought of Ralph she could not feel much oppression from the present unspoken and indistinct gloom. He loved her; and oh, how she loved him! and perhaps this very next autumn--but that depended on his own success in his profession. After all, if it was not this autumn it would be the next; and with the letters that she received weekly, and the occasional visits that her lover ran down to Hamley to pay Mr. Ness, Ellinor felt as if she would almost prefer the delay of the time when she must leave her father's for a husband's roof.
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knightly
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| adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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entanglement
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| n.纠缠，牵累 | |
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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persevere
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| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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allege
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| vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言 | |
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blusters
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| n.大声的威吓( bluster的名词复数 )；狂风声，巨浪声v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的第三人称单数 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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30
lameness
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| n. 跛, 瘸, 残废 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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careworn
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| adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的 | |
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discriminate
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| v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待 | |
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34
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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36
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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37
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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39
sapphires
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| n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色 | |
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40
intoxicate
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| vt.使喝醉，使陶醉，使欣喜若狂 | |
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41
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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42
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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43
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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44
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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50
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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51
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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52
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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acceded
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| v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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60
accede
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| v.应允，同意 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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disapproved
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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eventual
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| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
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adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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quotations
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| n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价 | |
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73
gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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74
contingencies
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| n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一 | |
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75
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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76
contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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77
insinuated
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| v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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80
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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81
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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82
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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83
engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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84
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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85
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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86
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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88
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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89
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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90
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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91
compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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92
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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93
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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94
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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95
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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96
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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97
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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98
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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99
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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100
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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101
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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102
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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103
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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104
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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105
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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106
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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107
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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108
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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109
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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110
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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111
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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112
irritability
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| n.易怒 | |
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113
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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114
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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115
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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116
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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117
sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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118
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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119
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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120
perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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