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CHAPTER II
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 That morning on the ledge1 of rock at the rear of the cathedral Nature hinted to passers what they would more abundantly see if fortunate enough to be with her where she was entirely2 at home—out in the country.
 
The young grass along the foot of this slope was thick and green; imagination missed from the picture rural sheep, their fleeces wet with April rain. Along the summit of the slope trees of oak and ash and maple3 and chestnut4 and poplar lifted against the sky their united forest strength. Between the trees above and the grass below, the embankment spread before the eye the enchantment5 of a spring landscape, with late bare boughs6 and early green boughs and other boughs in blossom.
 
The earliest blossoms on our part of the earth's surface are nearly always white. They have forced their way to the sun along a frozen path and look akin7 to the perils8 of their road: the snow-threatened lily of the valley, the chill snowdrop, the frosty snowball, the bleak9 hawtree, the wintry wild cherry, the wintry dogwood. As the eye swept the park expanse this morning, here and there some of these were as the last tokens of winter's mantle10 instead of the first tokens of summer's.
 
There were flushes of color also, as where in deep soil, on a projection11 of rock, a pink hawthorn12 stood studded to the tips of its branches with leaf and flower. But such flushes of color were as false notes of the earth, as harmonies of summer thrust into the wrong places and become discords13. The time for them was not yet. The hour called for hardy14 adventurous15 things, awakened16 out of their cold sleep on the rocks. The blue of the firmament17 was not dark summer blue but seemed the sky's first pale response to the sun. The sun was not rich summer gold but flashed silver rays. The ground scattered18 no odors; all was the budding youth of Nature on the rocks.
 
Paths wind hither and thither19 over this park hillside. Benches are placed at different levels along the way. If you are going up, you may rest; if you are coming down, you may linger; if neither going up nor coming down, you may with a book seek out some retreat of shade and coolness and keep at a distance the millions that rush and crush around the park as waters roar against some lone20 mid-ocean island.
 
About eleven o'clock that morning, on one of these benches placed where rock is steepest and forest trees stand close together and vines are rank with shade, a sociable-looking little fellow of some ten hardy well-buffeted years had sat down for the moment without a companion. He had thrown upon the bench beside him his sun-faded, rain-faded, shapeless cap, uncovering much bronzed hair; and as though by this simple act he had cleared the way for business, he thrust one capable-looking hand deep into one of his pockets. The fingers closed upon what they found there, like the meshes21 of a deep-sea net filled with its catch, and were slowly drawn22 to the surface. The catch consisted of one-cent and five-cent pieces, representing the sales of his morning papers. He counted the coins one by one over into the palm of the other hand, which then closed upon the total like another net, and dropped the treasure back into the deep sea of the other pocket.
 
His absorption in this process had been intense; his satisfaction with the result was complete. Perhaps after every act of successful banking24 there takes place in the mind of man, spendthrift and miser25, a momentary26 lull27 of energy, a kind of brief Pax vobiscum, O my soul and stomach, my twin masters of need and greed! And possibly, as the lad deposited his earnings28, he was old enough to enter a little way into this adult and despicable joy. Be this as it may, he was not the next instant up again and busy. He caught up his cap, dropped it not on his head but on one of his ragged29 knees; planted a sturdy hand on it and the other sturdy hand on the other knee; and with his sturdy legs swinging under the bench, toe kicking heel and heel kicking toe, he rested briefly30 from life's battle.
 
The signs of battle were thick on him, unmistakable. The palpable sign, the conqueror's sign, was the profits won in the struggle of the streets. The other signs may be set down as loss—dirt and raggedness31 and disorder32. His hair might never have been straightened out with a comb; his hands were not politely mentionable; his coarse shoes, which seemed to have been bought with the agreement that they were never to wear out, were ill-conditioned with general dust and the special grime of melted pitch from the typical contractor's cheapened asphalt; one of his stockings had a fresh rent and old rents enlarged their grievances33.
 
A single sign of victory was better even than the money in the pocket—the whole lad himself. He was strongly {31}built, frankly34 fashioned, with happy grayish eyes, which had in them some of the cold warrior35 blue of the sky that day; and they were set wide apart in a compact round head, which somehow suggested a bronze sphere on a column of triumph. Altogether he belonged to that hillside of nature, himself a human growth budding out of wintry fortunes into life's April, opening on the rocks hardy and all white.
 
But to sit there swinging his legs—this did not suffice to satisfy his heart, did not enable him to celebrate his instincts; and suddenly from his thicket36 of forest trees and greening bushes he began to pour forth37 a thrilling little tide of song, with the native sweetness of some human linnet unaware38 of its transcendent gift.
 
Up the steep hill a man not yet of middle age had mounted from the flats. He was on his way toward the parapet above. He came on slowly, hat in hand, perspiration39 on his forehead; that climb from base to summit stretches a healthy walker and does him good. At a turn of the road under the forest trees with shrubbery alongside he stopped suddenly, as a naturalist40 might pause with half-lifted foot beside a dense41 copse in which some unknown species of bird sang—a young bird just finding its notes.
 
It was his vocation42 to discover and to train voices. His definite work in music was to help perpetually to rebuild for the world that ever-sinking bridge of sound over which Faith aids itself in walking-toward the eternal. This bridge of falling notes is as Nature's bridge of falling drops: individual drops appear for an instant in the rainbow, then disappear, but century after century the great arch stands there on the sky unshaken. So throughout the ages the bridge of sacred music, in which individual voices are heard a little while and then are heard no longer, remains43 for man as one same structure of rock by which he passes over from the mortal to the immortal44.
 
Such was his life-work. As he now paused and listened, you might have interpreted his demeanor45 as that of a professional musician whose ears brought tidings that greatly astonished him. The thought had at once come to him of how the New York papers once in a while print a story of the accidental finding in it of a wonderful voice—in New York, where you can find everything that is human. He recalled throughout the history of music instances in which some one of the world's famous singers had been picked up on life's road where it was roughest. Was anything like this now to become his own experience? Falling on his ear was an unmistakable gift of song, a wandering, haunting, unidentified note under that early April blue. He had never heard anything like it. It was a singing soul.
 
Voice alone did not suffice for his purpose; the singer's face, personality, manners, some unfortunate strain in the blood, might debar the voice, block its acceptance, ruin everything. He almost dreaded46 to walk on, to explore what was ahead. But his road led that way, and three steps brought him around the woody bend of it.
 
There he stopped again. In an embrasure of rock on which vines were turning green, a little fellow, seasoned by wind and sun, with a countenance47 open and friendly, like the sky, was pouring out his full heart.
 
The instant the man came into view, the song was broken off. The sturdy figure started up and sprang forward with the instinct of business. When any one paused and looked questioningly at him, as this man now did, it meant papers and pennies. His inquiry48 was quite breathless:
 
"Do you want a paper, Mister? What paper do you want? I can get you one on the avenue in a minute."
 
He stood looking up at the man, alert, capable, fearless, ingratiating. The man had instantly taken note of the speaking voice, which is often a safer first criterion to go by than the singing voice itself. He pronounced it sincere, robust49, true, sweet, victorious50. And very quickly also he made up his mind that conditions must have been rare and fortunate with the lad at his birth:blood will tell, and blood told now even in this dirt and in these rags.
 
His reply bore testimony51 to how appreciative52 he felt of all that faced him there so humanly on the rock.
 
"Thank you," he said, "I have read the papers."
 
Having thus disposed of some of the lad's words, he addressed a pointed53 question to the rest:
 
"But how did you happen to call me mister? I thought boss was what you little New-Yorkers generally said."
 
"I'm not a New-Yorker," announced the lad, with ready courtesy and good nature. "I don't say boss. We are Southerners. I say mister."
 
He gave the man an unfavorable look as though of a mind to take his true measure; also as being of a mind to let the man know that he had not taken the boy's measure.
 
The man smiled at being corrected to such good purpose; but before he could speak again, the lad went on to clinch54 his correction:
 
"And I only say mister when I am selling papers and am not at home."
 
"What do you say when not selling papers and when you are at home?" asked the man, forced to a smile.
 
"I say 'sir,' if I say anything," retorted the lad, flaring55 up, but still polite.
 
The man looked at him with increasing interest. Another word in the lad's speech had caught his attention—Southerner.
 
That word had been with him a good deal in recent years; he had not quite seemed able to get away from it. Nearly all classes of people in New York who were not Southerners had been increasingly reminded that the Southerners were upon them. He had {38}satirically worked it out in his own mind that if he were ever pushed out of his own position, it would be some Southerner who pushed him. He sometimes thought of the whole New York professional situation as a public wonderful awful dinner at which almost nothing was served that did not have a Southern flavor as from a kind of pepper. The guests were bound to have administered to them their shares of this pepper; there was no getting away from the table and no getting the pepper out of the dinner. There was the intrusion of the South into every delicacy56.
 
"We are Southerners," the lad had announced decisively; and there the flavor was again, though this time as from a mere57 pepper-box in a school basket. Thus his next remark was addressed to his own thoughts as well as to the lad:
 
"And so you are a Southerner!" he reflected audibly, looking down at the Southern plague in small form.
 
"Why, yes, Mister, we are Southerners," replied the lad, with a gay and careless patriotism58; and as giving the handy pepper-box a shake, he began to dust the air with its contents: "I was born on an old Southern battle-field. When Granny was born there, it had hardly stopped smoking; it was still piled with wounded and dead Northerners. Why, one of the worst batteries was planted in our front porch."
 
This enthusiasm as to the front porch was assumed to be acceptable to the listener. The battery might have been a Cherokee rose.
 
The man had listened with a quizzical light in his eyes.
 
"In what direction did you say that battery was pointed?"
 
"I didn't say; but it was pointed up this way, of course."
 
The man laughed outright59.
 
"And so you followed in the direction of the deadly Southern shell and came north—as a small grape-shot!"
 
"But, Mister, that was long ago. They had their quarrel out long ago. That's the way we boys do: fight it out and make friends again. Don't you do that way?"
 
"It's a very good way to do," said the man. "And so you sell papers?"
 
"I sell papers to people in the park, Mister, and back up on the avenue. Granny is particular. I'm not a regular newsboy."
 
"I heard you singing. Does anybody teach you?"
 
"Granny."
 
"And so your grandmother is your music teacher?"
 
It was the lad's turn to laugh.
 
"Granny isn't my grandmother; Granny is my mother."
 
Toppling over in the dust of imagination went a gaunt granny image; in its place a much more vital being appeared just behind the form of the lad, guarding him even now while he spoke60.
 
"And so your mother takes pupils?"
 
"Only me."
 
"Has any one heard you sing?"
 
"Only she."
 
It had become more and more the part of the man during this colloquy61 to smile; he felt repeatedly in the flank of his mind a jab of the comic spur. Now he laughed at the lad's deadly preparedness; business competition in New York had taught him that he who hesitates a moment is lost. The boy seemed ready with his answers before he heard the man's questions.
 
"Do you mind telling me your name?"
 
"My name is Ashby. Ashby Truesdale. We come from an old English family. What is your name, and what kind of family do you come from, Mister?"
 
"And where do you live?"
 
The lad wheeled, and strode to the edge of the rock,—the path along there is blasted out of solid rock,—and looking downward, he pointed to the first row of buildings in the distant flats.
 
"We live down there. You see that house in the middle of the block, the little old one between the two big ones?"
 
The man did not feel sure.
 
"Well, Mister, you see the statue of Washington and Lafayette?"
 
The man was certain he saw Washington and Lafayette.
 
"Well, from there you follow my finger along the row of houses till you come to the littlest, oldest, dingiest62 one. You see it now, don't you? We live up under the roof."
 
"What is the number?"
 
"It isn't any number. It's half a number. We live in the half that isn't numbered; the other half gets the number."
 
"And you take your music lessons in one half?"
 
"Why, yes, Mister. Why not?"
 
"On a piano?"
 
"Why, yes, Mister; on my piano."
 
"Oh, you have a piano, have you?"
 
"There isn't any sound in about half the keys. Granny says the time has come to rent a better one. She has gone over to the art school to-day to pose to get the money."
 
A chill of silence fell between the talkers, the one looking up and the other looking down. The man's next question was put in a more guarded tone:
 
"Does your mother pose as a model?"
 
"No, Mister, she doesn't pose as a model. She's posing as herself. She said I must have a teacher. Mister, were you ever poor?"
 
The man looked the boy over from head to foot.
 
"Do you think you are poor?" he asked.
 
The good-natured reply came back in a droll63 tone:
 
"Well, Mister, we certainly aren't rich."
 
"Let us see," objected the man, as though this were a point which had better not be yielded, and he began with a voice of one reckoning up items: "Two feet, each cheap at, say, five millions. Two hands—five millions apiece for hands. At least ten millions for each eye. About the same for the ears. Certainly twenty millions for your teeth. Forty millions for your stomach. On the whole, at a rough estimate you must easily be worth over one hundred millions. There are quite a number of old gentlemen in New York, and a good many young ones, who would gladly pay that amount for your investments, for your securities."
 
The lad with eager upturned countenance did not conceal64 his amusement while the man drew this picture of him as a living ragged gold-mine, as actually put together and made up of pieces of fabulous65 treasure. A child's notion of wealth is the power to pay for what it has not. The wealth that childhood is, escapes childhood; it does not escape the old. What most concerned the lad as to these priceless feet and hands and eyes and ears was the hard-knocked-in fact that many a time he ached throughout this reputed treasury66 of his being for a five-cent piece, and these reputed millionaires, acting67 together and doing their level best, could not produce one.
 
Nevertheless, this fresh and never-before-imagined image of his self-riches amused him. It somehow put him over into the class of enormously opulent things; and finding himself a little lonely on that new landscape, he cast about for some object of comparison. Thus his mind was led to the richest of all near-by objects.
 
"If I were worth a hundred million," he said, with a satisfied twinkle in his eyes, "I would be as rich as the cathedral."
 
A significant silence followed. The man broke it with a grave surprised inquiry:
 
"How did you happen to think of the cathedral?"
 
"I didn't happen to think of it; I couldn't help thinking of it."
 
"Have you ever been in the cathedral?" inquired the man more gravely still.
 
"Been in it! We go there all the time. It's our church. Why, good Lord! Mister, we are descended68 from a bishop69!"
 
The man laughed outright long and heartily70.
 
"Thank you for telling me," he said as one who suddenly feels himself to have become a very small object through being in the neighborhood of such hereditary71 beatitudes and ecclesiastical sanctities. "Are you, indeed? I am glad to know. Indeed, I am!"
 
"Why, Mister, we have been watching the cathedral from our windows for years. We can see the workmen away up in the air as they finish one part and then another part. I can count the Apostles on the roof. You begin with James the Less and keep straight on around until you come out at Simon. Big Jim and Pete are in the middle of the row." He laughed.
 
"Surely you are not going to speak of an apostle as Pete! Do you think that is showing proper respect to an apostle?"
 
"But he was Pete when he was little. He wasn't an apostle then and didn't have any respect."
 
"And you mustn't call an apostle Big Jim! It sounds dreadful!"
 
"Then why did he try to call himself James the Greater? That sounds dreadful too. As far as size is concerned he is no bigger than the others: they are all nine and a half feet. The Archangel Gabriel on the roof, he's nine and a half. Everybody standing72 around on the outside of the roof is nine and a half. If Gabriel had been turned a little to one side, he would blow his trumpet73 straight over our flat. He didn't blow anywhere one night, for a big wind came up behind him and blew him down and he blew his trumpet at the gutter74. But he didn't stay down," boasted the lad.
 
Throughout his talk he was making it clear that the cathedral was a neighborhood affair; that its haps23 and mishaps75 possessed76 for him the flesh and blood interest of a living person. Love takes mental possession of its object and by virtue77 of his affection the cathedral had become his companion.
 
"You seem rather interested in the cathedral. Very much interested," remarked the man, strengthening his statement and with increased attention.
 
"Why, of course, Mister. I've been passing there nearly every day since I've been selling papers on the avenue. Sometimes I stop and watch the masons. When I went with Granny to the art school this morning, she told me to go home that way. I have just come from there. They are building another one of the chapels78 now, and the men are up on the scaffolding. They carried more rock up than they needed and they would walk to the edge and throw big pieces of it down with a smash. The old house they are using for the choir79 school is just under there. Sometimes when the class is practising, I listen from the outside. If they sing high, I sing high; if they sing low, I sing low. Why, Mister, I can sing up to—"
 
He broke off abruptly80. He had been pouring-out all kinds of confidences to his new-found friend. Now he hesitated. The boldness of his nature deserted81 him. The deadly preparedness failed. A shy appealing look came into his eyes as he asked his next question—a grave question indeed:
 
"Mister, do you love music?"
 
"Do I love music?" echoed the startled musician, pierced by the spear-like sincerity82 of the question, which seemed to go clean through him and his knowledge and to point back to childhood's springs of feeling. "Do I love music? Yes, some music, I hope. Some kinds of music, I hope."
 
These moderate, chastened words restored the boy's confidence and completely captured his friendship. Now he felt sure of his comrade, and he put to him a more searching question:
 
"Do you know anything about the cathedral?"
 
The man smiled guiltily.
 
"A little. I know a little about the cathedral," he admitted.
 
There was a moment of tense, anxious silence. And now the whole secret came out:
 
"Do you know how boys get into the cathedral choir school?"
 
The man did not answer. He stood looking down at the lad, in whose eyes all at once a great baffled desire told its story. Then he pulled out his watch and merely said:
 
"I must be going. Good morning." He turned his way across the rock.
 
Disappointment darkened the lad's face when he saw that he was to receive no answer; withering83 blight84 dried up its joy. But he recovered himself quickly.
 
"Well, I must be going, too," he said bravely and sweetly. "Good morning." He turned his way across the rock. But he had had a good time talking with this stranger, and, after all, he was a Southerner; and so, as his head was about to disappear below the cliff, he called back in his frank human gallant85 way:
 
"I'm glad I met you, Mister."
 
The man went up and the boy went down.
 
The man, having climbed to the parapet, leaned over the stone wall. The tops of some of the tall poplar-trees, rooted far below, were on a level with his eyes. Often he stopped there to watch them swaying like upright plumes86 against the wind. They swayed now in the silvery April air with a ripple87 of {54}silvery leaves. His eyes sought out intimately the barely swollen88 buds on the boughs of other forest trees yet far from leaf. They lingered on the white blossoms of the various shrubs89. They found the pink hawthorn; in the boughs of one of those trees one night in England in mid-May he had heard the nightingale, master singer of the non-human world. Up to him rose the enchanting90 hillside picture of grass and moss91 and fern. It was all like a sheet of soft organ music to his nature-reading eyes.
 
While he gazed, he listened. Down past the shadows and the greenness, through the blossoms and the light, growing fainter and fainter, went a wandering little drift of melody, a haunting, unidentified sound under the blue cathedral dome92 of the sky. He reflected again that he had never heard anything like it. It was, in truth, a singing soul.
 
Then he saw the lad's sturdy figure bound across the valley to join friends in play on the thoroughfare that skirts the park alongside the row of houses.
 
He himself turned and went in the direction of the cathedral.
 
As he walked slowly along, one thing haunted him remorsefully—the upturned face of the lad and the look in his eyes as he asked the question which brought out the secret desire of a life: "Do you know how boys get into the cathedral choir school?" Then the blight of disappointment when there was no answer.
 
The man walked thoughtfully on, seemingly as one who was turning over and over in his mind some difficult, delicate matter, looking at it on all sides and in every light, as he must do.
 
Finally he quickened his pace as though having decided93 what ought to be done. He looked the happier for his decision.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ledge o1Mxk     
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁
参考例句:
  • They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
  • Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上,摔倒了。
2 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
3 maple BBpxj     
n.槭树,枫树,槭木
参考例句:
  • Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
  • The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
4 chestnut XnJy8     
n.栗树,栗子
参考例句:
  • We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
  • In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。
5 enchantment dmryQ     
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力
参考例句:
  • The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
  • The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。
6 boughs 95e9deca9a2fb4bbbe66832caa8e63e0     
大树枝( bough的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
  • A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。
7 akin uxbz2     
adj.同族的,类似的
参考例句:
  • She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
  • Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。
8 perils 3c233786f6fe7aad593bf1198cc33cbe     
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境)
参考例句:
  • The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
  • With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难?
9 bleak gtWz5     
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的
参考例句:
  • They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
  • The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。
10 mantle Y7tzs     
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红
参考例句:
  • The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
  • The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。
11 projection 9Rzxu     
n.发射,计划,突出部分
参考例句:
  • Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
  • The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。
12 hawthorn j5myb     
山楂
参考例句:
  • A cuckoo began calling from a hawthorn tree.一只布谷鸟开始在一株山楂树里咕咕地呼叫。
  • Much of the track had become overgrown with hawthorn.小路上很多地方都长满了山楂树。
13 discords d957da1b1688ede4cb4f1e8f2b1dc0ab     
不和(discord的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • There are many discords in this family. 在这个家庭里有许多争吵。
  • The speaker's opinion discords with the principles of this society. 演讲者的意见与本会的原则不符。
14 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。
15 adventurous LKryn     
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 
参考例句:
  • I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
  • He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。
16 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到
参考例句:
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 firmament h71yN     
n.苍穹;最高层
参考例句:
  • There are no stars in the firmament.天空没有一颗星星。
  • He was rich,and a rising star in the political firmament.他十分富有,并且是政治高层一颗冉冉升起的新星。
18 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
19 thither cgRz1o     
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的
参考例句:
  • He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
  • He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。
20 lone Q0cxL     
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的
参考例句:
  • A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
  • She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。
21 meshes 1541efdcede8c5a0c2ed7e32c89b361f     
网孔( mesh的名词复数 ); 网状物; 陷阱; 困境
参考例句:
  • The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢,疏而不漏。
  • This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。
22 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
23 haps 7226286636a9a1dc4226df0e47f52e59     
n.粗厚毛披巾;偶然,机会,运气( hap的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He recorded all the little haps and mishaps of his life. 他记录了下他生命中的所有小祸小福。 来自互联网
  • Per haps he's never run up against any walls. 这家伙大概没有碰过钉子吧? 来自互联网
24 banking aySz20     
n.银行业,银行学,金融业
参考例句:
  • John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
  • He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。
25 miser p19yi     
n.守财奴,吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly)
参考例句:
  • The miser doesn't like to part with his money.守财奴舍不得花他的钱。
  • The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
26 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。
27 lull E8hz7     
v.使安静,使入睡,缓和,哄骗;n.暂停,间歇
参考例句:
  • The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
  • Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后,地面战又突然爆发了。
28 earnings rrWxJ     
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
参考例句:
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
29 ragged KC0y8     
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的
参考例句:
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
30 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
31 raggedness a3341ea89ad1d763beb6e9467f643c54     
破烂,粗糙
参考例句:
32 disorder Et1x4     
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
参考例句:
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
33 grievances 3c61e53d74bee3976a6674a59acef792     
n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 );苦衷;不满;牢骚
参考例句:
  • The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
34 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
35 warrior YgPww     
n.勇士,武士,斗士
参考例句:
  • The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
  • A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。
36 thicket So0wm     
n.灌木丛,树林
参考例句:
  • A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
  • We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。
37 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
38 unaware Pl6w0     
a.不知道的,未意识到的
参考例句:
  • They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
  • I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。
39 perspiration c3UzD     
n.汗水;出汗
参考例句:
  • It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了,我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
  • The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。
40 naturalist QFKxZ     
n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)
参考例句:
  • He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业,同时是个博物学爱好者。
  • The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。
41 dense aONzX     
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的
参考例句:
  • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
42 vocation 8h6wB     
n.职业,行业
参考例句:
  • She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
  • She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。
43 remains 1kMzTy     
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。
44 immortal 7kOyr     
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的
参考例句:
  • The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
  • The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽!
45 demeanor JmXyk     
n.行为;风度
参考例句:
  • She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
  • The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。
46 dreaded XuNzI3     
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
  • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
47 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同
参考例句:
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
48 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
49 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。
50 victorious hhjwv     
adj.胜利的,得胜的
参考例句:
  • We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
  • The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。
51 testimony zpbwO     
n.证词;见证,证明
参考例句:
  • The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
  • He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。
52 appreciative 9vDzr     
adj.有鉴赏力的,有眼力的;感激的
参考例句:
  • She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
  • We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。
53 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。
54 clinch 4q5zc     
v.敲弯,钉牢;确定;扭住对方 [参]clench
参考例句:
  • Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
  • We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元,请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。
55 flaring Bswzxn     
a.火焰摇曳的,过份艳丽的
参考例句:
  • A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
  • Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。
56 delicacy mxuxS     
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴
参考例句:
  • We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
  • He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。
57 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。
58 patriotism 63lzt     
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义
参考例句:
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。
59 outright Qj7yY     
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
参考例句:
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
60 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
61 colloquy 8bRyH     
n.谈话,自由讨论
参考例句:
  • The colloquy between them was brief.他们之间的对话很简洁。
  • They entered into eager colloquy with each other.他们展开热切的相互交谈。
62 dingiest 2c6b0531387d4d87ff2e4056ac4802ad     
adj.暗淡的,乏味的( dingy的最高级 );肮脏的
参考例句:
63 droll J8Tye     
adj.古怪的,好笑的
参考例句:
  • The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
  • He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.
64 conceal DpYzt     
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽
参考例句:
  • He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方,他只好隐瞒身份。
  • He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。
65 fabulous ch6zI     
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的
参考例句:
  • We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
  • This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。
66 treasury 7GeyP     
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库
参考例句:
  • The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
  • This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。
67 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
68 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
69 bishop AtNzd     
n.主教,(国际象棋)象
参考例句:
  • He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
  • Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。
70 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
71 hereditary fQJzF     
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的
参考例句:
  • The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
  • In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。
72 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
73 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
74 gutter lexxk     
n.沟,街沟,水槽,檐槽,贫民窟
参考例句:
  • There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
  • He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活,并成为贵妇。
75 mishaps 4cecebd66139cdbc2f0e50a83b5d60c5     
n.轻微的事故,小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
  • In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸,一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
76 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。
77 virtue BpqyH     
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力
参考例句:
  • He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
  • You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。
78 chapels 93d40e7c6d7bdd896fdd5dbc901f41b8     
n.小教堂, (医院、监狱等的)附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 );(在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的)礼拜仪式
参考例句:
  • Both castles had their own chapels too, which was incredible to see. 两个城堡都有自己的礼拜堂,非常华美。 来自互联网
  • It has an ambulatory and seven chapels. 它有一条走廊和七个小教堂。 来自互联网
79 choir sX0z5     
n.唱诗班,唱诗班的席位,合唱团,舞蹈团;v.合唱
参考例句:
  • The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
  • The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。
80 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
81 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
82 sincerity zyZwY     
n.真诚,诚意;真实
参考例句:
  • His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
  • He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。
83 withering 8b1e725193ea9294ced015cd87181307     
使人畏缩的,使人害羞的,使人难堪的
参考例句:
  • She gave him a withering look. 她极其蔑视地看了他一眼。
  • The grass is gradually dried-up and withering and pallen leaves. 草渐渐干枯、枯萎并落叶。
84 blight 0REye     
n.枯萎病;造成破坏的因素;vt.破坏,摧残
参考例句:
  • The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
  • There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。
85 gallant 66Myb     
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的
参考例句:
  • Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
  • These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。
86 plumes 15625acbfa4517aa1374a6f1f44be446     
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物
参考例句:
  • The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
  • The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头,那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。
87 ripple isLyh     
n.涟波,涟漪,波纹,粗钢梳;vt.使...起涟漪,使起波纹; vi.呈波浪状,起伏前进
参考例句:
  • The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
  • The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来,碎在沙滩上。
88 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。
89 shrubs b480276f8eea44e011d42320b17c3619     
灌木( shrub的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
  • These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。
90 enchanting MmCyP     
a.讨人喜欢的
参考例句:
  • His smile, at once enchanting and melancholy, is just his father's. 他那种既迷人又有些忧郁的微笑,活脱儿象他父亲。
  • Its interior was an enchanting place that both lured and frightened me. 它的里头是个吸引人的地方,我又向往又害怕。
91 moss X6QzA     
n.苔,藓,地衣
参考例句:
  • Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
  • He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。
92 dome 7s2xC     
n.圆屋顶,拱顶
参考例句:
  • The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
  • They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。
93 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。


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