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Chapter 1 The Legacy
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“ . . . perfect Babel,” Mr. Coningsby said peevishly1, threw himself into a chair, and took up the evening paper. “But Babel never was perfect, was it?” Nancy said to her brother in a low voice, yet not so low that her father could not hear if he chose. He did not choose, because at the moment he could not think of a sufficiently2 short sentence; a minute afterwards it occurred to him that he might have said, “Then it’s perfect now.” But it didn’t matter; Nancy would only have been rude again, and her brother too. Children were. He looked at his sister, who was reading on the other side of the fire. She looked comfortable and interested, so he naturally decided3 to disturb her.

“And what have you been doing today, Sybil?” he asked, with an insincere good will, and as she looked up he thought angrily, “Her skin’s getting clearer every day.”

“Why, nothing very much,” Sybil Coningsby said. “I did some shopping, and I made a cake, and went for a walk and changed the library books. And since tea I’ve been reading.”

“Nice day,” Mr. Coningsby answered, between a question and a sneer4, wishing it hadn’t been, though he was aware that if it hadn’t been . . . but then it was certain to have been. Sybil always seemed to have nice days. He looked at his paper again. “I see the Government are putting a fresh duty on dried fruits,” he snorted.

Sybil tried to say something, and failed. She was getting stupid, she thought, or (more probably) lazy. There ought to be something to say about the Government putting a duty on dried fruits. Nancy spoke5 instead.

“You’re slow, auntie,” she said. “The correct answer is: ‘I suppose that means that the price will go up!’ The reply to that is, ‘Everything goes up under this accursed Government!’”

“Will you please let me do my own talking, Nancy?” her father snapped at her.

“Then I wish you’d talk something livelier than the Dead March in Saul,” Nancy said.

“You’re out of date again, Nancy,” jeered6 her brother. “Nobody plays that old thing nowadays.”

“Go to hell!” said Nancy.

Mr. Coningsby immediately stood up. “Nancy, you shall not use such language in this house,” he called out.

“O, very well,” Nancy said, walked to the window, opened it, put her head out, and said to the world, but (it annoyed her to feel) in a more subdued8 voice, “Go to hell.” She pulled in her head and shut the window. “There, father,” she said, “that wasn’t in the house.”

Sybil Coningsby said equably, “Nancy, you’re in a bad temper.”

“And suppose I am?” Nancy answered. “Who began it?”

“Don’t answer your aunt back,” said Mr. Coningsby, still loudly. “She at least is a lady.”

“She’s more,” said Nancy. “She’s a saint. And I’m a worm and the child of . . . ”

She abandoned the sentence too late. Her father picked up his paper, walked to the door, turned his head, uttered, “If I am wanted, Sybil, I shall be in my study,” and went out. Ralph grinned at Nancy; their aunt looked at them both with a wise irony9.

“What energy!” she murmured, and Nancy looked back at her, half in anger, half in admiration10.

“Doesn’t father ever annoy you, auntie?” she asked.

“No, my dear,” Miss Coningsby said.

“Don’t we ever annoy you?” Nancy asked again.

“No, my dear,” Miss Coningsby said.

“Doesn’t anyone ever annoy you, aunt?” Ralph took up the chant.

“Hardly at all,” Miss Coningsby said. “What extraordinary ideas you children have! Why should anyone annoy me?”

“Well, we annoy father all right,” Nancy remarked, “and I never mean to when I begin. But Ralph and I weren’t making all that noise — and anyhow Babel wasn’t perfect.”

Sybil Coningsby picked up her book again. “My dear Nancy, you never do begin; you just happen along,” she said, and dropped her eyes so resolutely11 to her page that Nancy hesitated to ask her what she meant.

The room was settling back into the quiet which had filled it before Mr. Coningsby’s arrival, when the bell of the front door rang. Nancy sprang to her feet and ran into the hall. “Right, Agnes,” she sang: “I’ll see to it.”

“That’ll be Henry,” Ralph said as she disappeared. “Wasn’t he coming to dinner?”

“Yes,” his aunt murmured without looking up. One of the things about Sybil Coningsby that occasionally annoyed other people — Ralph among them — was her capacity for saying, quite simply, “Yes” or “No”, and stopping there, rather as if at times she were literally12 following Christ’s maxim13 about conversation. She would talk socially, if necessary, and sociably14, if the chance arose, but she seemed to be able to manage without saying a lot of usual things. There was thus, to her acquaintances, a kind of blank about her; the world for a moment seemed with a shock to disappear and they were left in a distasteful void.

“Your aunt,” Mr. Coningsby had once said, “has no small talk. It’s a pity.” Ralph had agreed: Nancy had not, and there had been one of those continual small rows which at once annoyed and appeased15 their father. Annoyed him — for they hurt his dignity; appeased him — for they at least gave him a dignity to be hurt. He was somebody then for a few minutes; he was not merely a curiously16 festering consciousness. It was true he was also a legal officer of standing17 — a Warden18 in Lunacy. But — his emotions worried him with a question which his intellect refused to define — what, what exactly was the satisfaction of being a Warden in Lunacy? Fifty-eight; fifty-nine. But Sybil was older; she was over sixty. Perhaps in a few years this gnawing19 would pass. She was contented20: no doubt time would put him also at peace.

He was not thinking of this while he sat in the room they called his study, looking at the evening paper and waiting for dinner. He was thinking how shameful22 Nancy’s behaviour had been. She lacked respect, she lacked modesty23, she almost lacked decency24. All that he had done . . . no doubt her engagement to — her understanding with — whatever it was she had along with this young Henry Lee fellow — had hardened her. There had been a rather vague confidence, a ring had appeared, so had Henry quite often. But to what the engagement was tending or of what the understanding was capable — that Mr. Coningsby could not or had not been allowed to grasp. He sat thinking of it, consoling himself with the reflection that one day she’d be sorry. She wasn’t . . . she was . . . confused; all confused . . . confusion confounded . . . yes . . . Suddenly Nancy was in the room —“Look here, old thing”— no, he wasn’t asleep; she was saying it. He hated to be discovered asleep just before dinner; perhaps she hadn’t noticed —“and all that. Come and talk to Henry a minute before we eat.”

If her father had been quite clear how far the apology had gone, he would have known whether he might reasonably accept it. But he wasn’t, and he didn’t want to argue because of not having been asleep. So he made a noise in his throat and got up, adding with a princely magnanimity, “But don’t be rude to your aunt: I won’t tolerate that.”

Nancy, glowing with her past brief conversation with Henry, and looking forward to the immediate7 future with zest25, subdued an inclination26 to point out that it was she who had called Sybil a saint, and they both returned to the drawing-room.

Although Mr. Coningsby had known his daughter’s fiancé— if indeed he were that — for some months now, he still felt a slight shock at seeing him. For to him Henry Lee, in spite of being a barrister — a young, a briefless barrister, but a barrister — was so obviously a gipsy that his profession seemed as if it must be assumed for a sinister27 purpose. He was fairly tall and dark-haired and dark-skinned, and his eyes were bright and darting28; and his soft collar looked almost like a handkerchief coiled round his throat, only straighter, and his long fingers, with their quick secret movements —“Hen-roosts,” Mr. Coningsby thought, as he had thought before. A nice thing for Nancy to be tramping the roads — and Nancy was a gipsy name. That was her mother’s fault. Names had for him a horrid29 attraction, largely owing to his own, which was Lothair. That disastrous30 name had to do with his father’s godmother, a rich old lady with a passionate31 admiration for Lord Beaconsfield. To please that admiration her godson’s first child had been named Sybil; the second Lothair. It might have been Tancred or Alroy; it might even have been Endymion. Mr. Coningsby himself allowed that Endymion Coningsby would have been worse. The other titles would no doubt have been allocated32 in turn, but for two facts; first, that the godmother abandoned politics for religion and spent large sums of money on Anglican sisterhoods; second, that there were no more children. But the younger was at once there, and there too soon to benefit by the conversion33 which would have saved others. Lothair — always, through a document-signing, bank-corresponding, cheque-drawing, letter-writing, form-filling, addressed, directoried, and important life, always Lothair Coningsby. If only he could have been called Henry Lee!

He thought so once more as they settled to dinner. He thought so through the soup. Something had always been unfair to him, luck or fate or something. Some people were like that, beaten through no fault of their own, wounded before the battle began; not everybody would have done so well as he had. But how it dogged him — that ghastly luck! Even in the last month Duncannon (and everyone knew that Duncannon was well off) had left him . . . no honest, useful, sincere legacy34, but a collection of playing-cards, with a request that it should be preserved intact by his old friend, the legatee, Lothair Coningsby, and a further request that at the said legatee’s death the collection should be presented to the British Museum. About that the legatee refused to think; some of the packs were, he believed, rather valuable. But for a couple of years or so, or anyhow for a year, nothing could be done: too many people knew of it. There had even been a paragraph in one of the papers. He couldn’t sell them — Mr. Coningsby flinched35 as the word struck him for the first time — not yet awhile anyhow.

“Father,” Nancy said, “will you show us Mr. Duncannon’s playing-cards after dinner?” Mr. Coningsby just checked a vicious sneer. “Henry,” Nancy went on, “saw about them in the papers.” Mr. Coningsby saw a gipsy reading torn scraps36 of newspapers under a hedge. “And he knows something about cards. What a lot you do know, Henry!” Yes, in a fair, cheating yokels37 out of their pennies by tricks or fortune-telling: which card is the pea under? Something like that, anyhow. Bah!

“My dear,” he said, “it’s rather a painful business. Duncannon was my dear friend.”

“Still, father, if you would . . . He’d have loved people to be interested.”

Mr. Coningsby, looking up suddenly, caught a swift, tender smile on Sybil’s face, and wondered what she was grinning at. Nancy had hit on the one undeniable fact about the late Mr. Duncannon, and he couldn’t think of any way of getting round it. But why should Sybil be amused?

“I’d be very grateful if you would, sir,” the young man said. “I do find them interesting — it’s in my blood, I suppose,” he added, laughing at Nancy.

“And can you tell fortunes? Can you tell mine?” she answered joyously38.

“Some by cards and some by hands,” he said, “and some by the stars.”

“O, I can tell some by hands,” she answered. “I’ve told father’s and auntie’s. Only I can’t understand father’s line of life — it seems to stop at about forty, yet here he is still alive.” Mr. Coningsby, feeling more like a death’s head than a living Warden in Lunacy, looked down again.

“And Miss Coningsby’s?” Henry asked, bowing towards her.

“O, auntie’s goes on for ever, as far as I can see,” Nancy answered, “right round under the finger.”

Henry for a moment looked at Sybil a little oddly, but he said nothing, and the chatter39 about palmistry was lost in Ralph’s dominating the conversation with an announcement that those things, like Spiritualism, were all great rubbish. “How can you tell from the palm of my hand whether I’m going to be ill at fifty or have a fortune left me at sixty or go to Zanzibar at seventy?”

“Hands are strange things,” Henry said. “Nobody knows very much about them yet.”

“Eh?” said Ralph, surprised.

“Auntie’s got the loveliest hands I ever saw,” Nancy said, sending a side-glance at Henry, and meeting the quick astonishment40 of his eyebrows41. This being what he was meant to show — because she did think she had good hands, the rest of her being tolerable but unnoticeable, hair, face, figure, and everything — she allowed her own hand for a moment to touch his, and added, “Look at them.”

They all looked, even Sybil herself, who said softly, “They are rather nice, aren’t they?”

Her brother thought privately42 that this remark was in execrable taste; one didn’t praise one’s own belongings43, still less oneself. What would people think if he said his face was “rather nice”?

“They’re dears,” said Nancy.

“Jolly good,” said Ralph.

“They’re extremely beautiful,” said Henry.

“There’s a very striking hand in the British Museum,” Mr. Coningsby said, feeling the time had come for him to break silence, “belonging to an Egyptian king or something. Just a giant head and then in front of it a great arm with the fist closed — so.” He illustrated44.

“I know it, sir,” Henry said, “the hand of the image of Rameses: it is a hand of power.”

“The hand of power! I thought that was something to do with murderers; no, of course, that was glory,” Nancy said, adding immediately, “And now, father, do let’s look at the cards while we have coffee.”

Mr. Coningsby, seeing no easy way out, gloomily assented45. “Where did you have them put, Sybil?” he asked as the whole party rose.

“In the chest in your study,” she answered. “The catalogue’s with them.”

“Catalogue?” Ralph said. “He did it in style, didn’t he? Fancy me making a catalogue of my old tennis racquets.”

“These cards,” Mr. Coningsby said with considerable restraint, “were not worn-out toys. They are a very valuable and curious collection of remarkable46 cards, gathered together with considerable difficulty and in some sense, I believe, priceless.”

Nancy pinched Henry’s arm as they followed their father from the dining-room. “The dear!” she said. “I’ve heard him say the same thing himself, before they belonged to him.”

Ralph was whistling. “O, but I say now, priceless?” he said. “That’d be pretty valuable, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t know exactly what the value would be to collectors, but considerable,” Mr. Coningsby said as he opened the large wooden chest, and then, thinking of the British Museum, added in a more sullen47 voice, “Considerable.”

Sybil took from the chest a fat writing-book. “Well, shall I read the descriptions?” she asked. “If someone will call out the numbers.” For each pack was contained in a special little leather cover, with a place on it for a white slip containing a number.

“Right ho!” Ralph said. “I’ll call out the numbers. Are they in order? It doesn’t look like it. Number ninety-four.”

“I think I will read, Sybil,” Mr. Coningsby said. “I’ve heard Duncannon talk of them often and it’s more suitable. Perhaps you’d pick them up and call the numbers out. And then the young people can look at them.”

“Give me that chair, then, if you will, Henry,” Sybil assented. Her brother sat down on the other side of a small table, and “the young people” thronged48 round it.

“Number — ” Sybil began and paused. “Ralph, if you wouldn’t mind going on the same side as Nancy and Henry, I could see too.”

Ralph obeyed, unaware49 that this movement, while removing an obstacle from his aunt’s gaze, also removed his own from the two lovers. Sybil, having achieved the maximum of effort, said again, “Number —”

“I didn’t think you’d be very interested, aunt,” Ralph, with a belated sense of apology, threw in.

Sybil smiled at him and said again, “Number —”

“I have never known your aunt not be interested in anything, my boy,” Mr. Coningsby said severely50, looking up, but more at Sybil than at Ralph, as if he were inclined to add, “and how the devil she does it I can’t think!”

“Darling,” said Nancy, “aunt’s a perfect miracle, but can’t we leave her for now and get on with the cards?”

“We are on the point of ‘getting on’ with them, as you call it, Nancy,” her father answered. “I wish you’d remember this is something of an ordeal51 to me, and treat it more seriously.”

Nancy’s hand, under the table, squeezed its impatience52 into Henry’s and relieved her tongue. When the momentary53 silence had achieved seriousness but had not reached self-consciousness, Sybil’s voice collected and, as it were, concluded it with the words, “Number ninety-four”.

“Ninety-four,” Mr. Coningsby read out, “‘French; circa 1789 — Supposed to have been designed by David. A special Revolutionary symbolism. In this pack the Knaves54 are painted as a peasant, a beggar, an aubergiste, and a sansculotte respectively; the Queens (Marie Antoinette) have each a red line round the neck, as if guillotined; the Kings are reversed; over the ace21 is the red cap of liberty. Round the edge of each card is the legend, La Republique, une, libre, indivisible.’”

“Number nine,” Sybil said, and put down another pack.

“Nine,” read Mr. Coningsby. “‘Spanish pack, eighteenth century. The Court cards are ecclesiastical — cardinals55, bishops56, and priests. It is unlikely that this pack was ever used for playing; probably it was painted as an act of devotion or thanksgiving. See Appendix for possible portraits.’”

“Number three hundred and forty-one,” Sybil said.

“‘Most rare’,” Mr. Coningsby read. “‘Very early pack of Tarot cards. I have not been able to trace the origin of these; they have some resemblances to a fifteenth-century pack now in the Louvre, but would seem to be even earlier. The material of which they are made is unusual — papyrus57? The four suits are, as usual, sceptres, swords, cups, and coins; the Greater Trumps58 are in the following order (numbered at the foot in Roman): (i) The Juggler59, (ii) The Empress, (iii) The High Priestess, or Woman Pope —’”

“The what?” Nancy exclaimed. “What! Pope Joan? Sorry, father, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“’(iv) The Pope — or Hierophant, (v) The Emperor — or Ruler, (vi) The Chariot, (vii) The Lovers, (viii) The Hermit60, (ix) Temperance, (x) Fortitude61, (xi) Justice, (xii) The Wheel of Fortune, (xiii) The Hanged Man.’”

“Jolly game of bridge we could have with these,” Ralph remarked. “I lead the Hanged Man.”

There was a tremendous pause. “Ralph, if you can only make fun —” Mr. Coningsby began, and stopped.

“Do go on,” Sybil Coningsby’s voice implored62. “I should have had to say something silly if Ralph hadn’t. It’s so exciting.”

Mr. Coningsby gave a suppressed grunt63, fortunately missed Nancy’s low-breathed comment on it “The Hanged Man!”— and proceeded.

“’(xiv) Death, (xv) The Devil, (xvi) The Falling Tower, (xvii) The Star, (xviii) The Moon, (xix) The Sun, (xx) The Last Judgement —’”

Mr. Coningsby paused to shift his eyeglasses; in a perfect silence the others waited.

“’(xxi) The Universe, (o) The Fool.’”

Nought64 usually comes at the beginning,” Ralph said.

“Not necessarily,” said Sybil. “It might come anywhere. Nought isn’t a number at all. It’s the opposite of number.”

Nancy looked up from the cards. “Got you, aunt,” she said. “What about ten? Nought’s a number there — it’s part of ten.”

“Quite right, Nancy,” Mr. Coningsby said with something like pleasure. “I think the child has you, Sybil.”

“Well, if you say that any mathematical arrangement of one and nought really makes ten —” Sybil smiled. “Can it possibly be more than a way of representing ten?”

“It doesn’t matter, anyhow,” Nancy hastily said. “Aren’t they fascinating? But why are they? And what do they all mean? Henry, why are you looking at them like that?”

Henry indeed was examining the first card, the juggler, with close attention, as if investigating the smallest detail. It was a man in a white tunic65, but the face, tilted66 back, was foreshortened, and darkened by the brim of some black cap that he wore: a cap so black that something of night itself seemed to have been used in the painting. The heavy shadow and the short pointed67 beard hid the face from the observer. On the breast of the tunic were three embroidered68 circles — the first made of swords and staffs and cups and coins, balanced one on the other from the coin at the bottom to the apex69 of two pointing swords at the top; and within this was a circle, so far as Nancy could see, made up of rounded representations of twenty of the superior cards each in its own round; and within that was a circle containing one figure, but that was so small she couldn’t make out what it was. The man was apparently70 supposed to be juggling71; one hand was up in the air, one was low and open towards the ground, and between them, in an arch, as if tossed and caught and tossed again, were innumerable shining balls. In the top left-hand corner of the card was a complex device of curiously interwoven lines.

Henry put it down slowly as Nancy spoke and turned his eyes to her. But hers, as they looked to plunge72 into that other depth — ocean pouring into ocean and itself receiving ocean — found themselves thwarted73. Instead of oceans they saw pools, abandoned by a tide already beyond sight: she blenched74 as a bather might do in the cold wind across an empty shore. “Henry!” she exclaimed.

It was, surely, no such great thing, only a momentary preoccupation. But he was already glancing again at the cards; he had already picked up another, and was scrutinizing75 the figure of the hierophantic woman. It had been drawn76 sitting on an ancient throne between two heavy pillars; a cloud of smoke rolled high above the priestly head-dress and solemn veil that she wore, and under her feet were rivers pouring out in falling cataracts77. One hand was stretched out as if directing the flow of those waters; the other lay on a heavy open volume, with great clasps undone78, that rested on her knees. This card also was stamped in the top left-hand corner with an involved figure of intermingled lines.

“Well!” said Nancy, as she stared at it.

“But, look here,” Ralph asked, “does one play with them, or what?” He peered over Henry’s shoulder. “Old Maid, I suppose; and Beggar my Neighbour with the first.”

“They’re very wonderfully done, aren’t they?” Sybil Coningsby asked, and herself delicately picked up one of what her brother had called the Greater Trumps. It was the nineteenth card — that named the Sun — and was perfectly79 simple: the sun shone full in a clear sky, and two children — a boy and a girl — played happily below. Sybil smiled again as she contemplated80 them. “Aren’t they the loveliest things?” she breathed, and indeed they were so vivid, so intense, so rapturous under that beneficent light, of which some sort of reflection passed into Sybil’s own face while she brooded. Or so it seemed to Henry, who had put down his card when Ralph spoke and over Nancy’s bent81 head was now watching her aunt. Sybil looked up and saw him. “Aren’t they perfect, Henry?” she asked.

“They are very, very fine,” Lee said, and yet seemed a little puzzled, as if he had expected something, but not quite that.

“But what — are — they — all — about?” Ralph asked. “What’s the idea of it?”

“Duncannon used to tell me,” Mr. Coningsby said; he had put down his catalogue now, and was standing by the table with the others; his high, bald forehead gleaming a little in the light, his thin, dissatisfied face bent towards the pack, “that the Tarot cards were an invention of the fourteenth century, though supposed by some to be Egyptian.” He stopped, as if everything were explained.

“Stupendous bit of work — inventing them,” Ralph said gravely. “But why did anyone bother? What I mean — it seems rather . . . rather needless, doesn’t it?”

“We have a tale about them,” Henry Lee began, with a cautious ease, and Mr. Coningsby said, “We?”

Ever so slightly the young man flushed. “I mean the gipsies,” he answered lightly, and added to Nancy, “That’s your fault, darling, for always pretending that I’m a real gipsy with a caravan82, a tin kettle, and a grandmother with a black pipe.”

“Wouldn’t she love these cards?” Nancy said enthusiastically “Henry, darling, do have a grandmother, so that she can tell us stories about Tarots, and perhaps even tell fortunes with — what did you call them, father? — the Greater Trumps.”

“Well,” said Ralph, abandoning the whole subject, “shall we look at some more?”

“At least, I’ve a grandfather —” Henry said to Nancy; but “O, a grandfather!” she mocked him. “But he lives in a house with electric light, doesn’t he? Not in a caravan under the moon. Still, can he tell us what this is?” She picked up the last card, that numbered nought, and exhibited it. It might have needed some explanation, for it was obscure enough. It was painted with the figure of a young man, clothed in an outlandish dress of four striped colours — black and grey and silver and red; his legs and feet and arms and hands were bare, and he had over one shoulder a staff, carved into serpentine83 curves, that carried a round bag, not unlike the balls with which the juggler played. The bag rested against his shoulder, so that as he stood there he supported as well as bore it. Before him a dragon-fly, or some such airy creature, danced; by his side a larger thing, a lynx or young tiger, stretched itself up to him — whether in affection or attack could not be guessed, so poised84 between both the beast stood. The man’s eyes were very bright; he was smiling, and the smile was so intense and rapt that those looking at it felt a quick motion of contempt — no sane85 man could be as happy as that. He was painted as if pausing in his stride, and there was no scenic86 background; he and his were seen against a flatness of dull gold.

“No,” said Henry, “that’s the difficulty — at least, it’s the unknown factor.”

“The unknown factor in what?” Mr. Coningsby asked.

“In —” Henry paused a second, then he added, “in telling fortunes by the Tarots. There are different systems, you know, but none of them is quite convincing in what it does with the Fool. They all treat it as if it were to be added to the Greater Trumps — making twenty-two.”

“So there are twenty-two,” Mr. Coningsby said. “I’ve just read them out.”

“No, sir,” Henry answered, almost reluctantly, “not exactly. Strictly87 there are the twenty-one and the nought. As Miss Coningsby said. And you see the nought — well, it’s nought — nothing, unaccountable.”

“Well, shall we look at some more?” Ralph asked.

“Can you tell fortunes by them?” Nancy said eagerly, but Henry shook his head.

“Not properly,” he answered; “at least, I’d rather not try. It can be done; my grandfather might know. They are very curious cards, and this is a very curious pack.”

“Why are they curious cards?” Nancy went on questioning.

Henry, still staring at them, answered, “It’s said that the shuffling88 of the cards is the earth, and the pattering of the cards is the rain, and the beating of the cards is the wind, and the pointing of the cards is the fire. That’s of the four suits. But the Greater Trumps, it’s said, are the meaning of all process and the measure of the everlasting89 dance.”

“Some folk-lore survival, I suppose?” Mr. Coningsby said, wishing that his daughter hadn’t got herself mixed up with a fellow very much like a folk-lore survival.

“Certainly it may be that, sir,” the young man answered, “from the tales my people used to tell round their fires while they were vagabonds.”

“It sounds frightfully thrilling,” Nancy said. “What is the everlasting dance, Henry darling?”

He put his arm round her as Mr. Coningsby turned back to his chair. “Don’t you know?” he whispered. “Look at the seventh card.”

She obeyed; and on it, under the stamped monogram90, she saw the two lovers, each aureoled, each with hands stretched out; each clad in some wild beast’s skin, dancing side by side down a long road, that ran from a far-off point right down to the foreground. Her hand closed on Henry’s and she smiled at him. “Just that?” she said.

“That’s at least the first movement,” he answered; “unless you go with the hermit.”

“Sybil, I’m waiting,” Mr. Coningsby said, and Sybil hastily picked up another pack, while Ralph very willingly collected and put away the Tarots.

But the interest had flagged. Henry and Nancy were preoccupied91, Mr. Coningsby and his son were beginning to be bored, and in a few minutes Sybil said pleasantly, “Don’t you all think we’ve looked at about enough for to-night?”

“She really does know when to stop,” Mr. Coningsby thought to himself, but he only said cheerfully, “Just as you like, just as you like. What do you say, Henry?”

“Eh? . . . O, just as you like,” Henry agreed with a start.

“I vote we push them back then,” Ralph said, even more cheerfully than his father. “Jolly good collection. But those what-you-may-call-them are the star lot.”

Hours later, by the door, the sight of a single star low in the heavens brought one of the “what-you-may-call-thems” back to Nancy’s mind. “O, and darling,” she said, “will you teach me how to tell fortunes by those other cards — you know, the special ones?”

“The Tarots?” Henry asked her, with a touch of irony in his voice.

“If that’s what you call them,” she said. “I can do a bit by the ordinary ones.”

“Have you got the sleight92 of hand for it?” he asked. “You have to feel how the cards are going, and let yourself do what they mean.”

Nancy looked at her hands, and flexed93 them. “I don’t see why not, unless you have to do it very quickly. Do try me, Henry sweet.”

He took both her hands in one of his. “We’ll try, darling,” he answered; “we’ll try what you can do with the Greater Trumps. If it’s the pack I think it is. Tell me, do you think your father would ever sell them to me?”

“Why? Do you want them?” she asked in surprise. “Henry, I believe you’re a real gipsy after all! Will you disguise yourself and go to the races? O, let’s, and I’ll be the gipsy maiden94. ‘Kind sir, kind sir,’” she trilled, “and everyone’ll cross my palm with pound notes because I’m so beautiful, and perhaps the King will kiss me before all the Court ladies. Would you like that? He might give me a diamond ring too, and you could show it to the judges when they came to tea. No, don’t tell me they won’t, because when you’re a judge they will, and you’ll all talk about your cases till I shall only have the diamond ring to think about and how the King of England once gave it to Nancy the little gipsy girl, before she became Lady Lee, and tried to soften95 her husband’s hard heart for the poor prisoners — the ruffians — the police brought to him. So when you see me dreaming you’ll know what I’m dreaming of, and you must never, never interrupt.”

“I don’t really have much chance, do I?” Henry asked.

“O, cruel!” she said, “to mock your Nancy so! Will you call me a chatterbox before all the world? or shall I always talk to you on my fingers — like that?”— they gleamed before him, shaping the letters —“and tell you on them what shop I’ve been to each day, as if I were dumb and you were deaf?”

He caught a hand in one of his, and lightly struck the fingers of his other over its palm. “Don’t flaunt96 your beauties,” he said, “or when I’m a judge you’ll be before me charged with having a proud heart, and I’ll send you to spoil your hands doing laundry-work in a prison.”

“Then I’ll trap the governor’s son, and escape,” she said, “and make a ballad97 of a wicked judge, and how first he beat and then shut up his own true sweetheart. Darling, you must be getting on. I’ll see you tomorrow, won’t I? O, good night. Do go home and sleep well. Good night. Don’t let anything happen to you, will you?”

“I’ll stop it at once,” he said. “If anything starts to happen, I’ll be very angry with it.”

“Do,” she said, “for I don’t want anything to happen ever any more. O, good night — why aren’t you gone? It doesn’t take you long to get home, does it? You’ll be asleep by midnight.”

But when she herself fell asleep Henry was driving his car out of London southward, and it was long past midnight before he stopped it at a lonely house among the Downs.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 peevishly 6b75524be1c8328a98de7236bc5f100b     
adv.暴躁地
参考例句:
  • Paul looked through his green glasses peevishly when the other speaker brought down the house with applause. 当另一个演说者赢得了满座喝彩声时,保罗心里又嫉妒又气恼。
  • "I've been sick, I told you," he said, peevishly, almost resenting her excessive pity. “我生了一场病,我告诉过你了,"他没好气地说,对她的过分怜悯几乎产生了怨恨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
2 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
3 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。
4 sneer YFdzu     
v.轻蔑;嘲笑;n.嘲笑,讥讽的言语
参考例句:
  • He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
  • You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻,但很多人喜欢这种音乐。
5 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。
6 jeered c6b854b3d0a6d00c4c5a3e1372813b7d     
v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The police were jeered at by the waiting crowd. 警察受到在等待的人群的嘲弄。
  • The crowd jeered when the boxer was knocked down. 当那个拳击手被打倒时,人们开始嘲笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
8 subdued 76419335ce506a486af8913f13b8981d     
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
  • I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候,我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。
9 irony P4WyZ     
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄
参考例句:
  • She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
  • In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
10 admiration afpyA     
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
参考例句:
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
11 resolutely WW2xh     
adj.坚决地,果断地
参考例句:
  • He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
  • He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难,而是抱怨自己运气不佳。
12 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
13 maxim G2KyJ     
n.格言,箴言
参考例句:
  • Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
  • "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。
14 sociably Lwhwu     
adv.成群地
参考例句:
  • Hall very sociably pulled up. 霍尔和气地勒住僵绳。
  • Sociably, the new neighbors invited everyone on the block for coffee. 那个喜好交际的新邻居邀请街区的每个人去喝咖啡。
15 appeased ef7dfbbdb157a2a29b5b2f039a3b80d6     
安抚,抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 ); 绥靖(满足另一国的要求以避免战争)
参考例句:
  • His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。
  • They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。
16 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
17 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。
18 warden jMszo     
n.监察员,监狱长,看守人,监护人
参考例句:
  • He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
  • The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。
19 gnawing GsWzWk     
a.痛苦的,折磨人的
参考例句:
  • The dog was gnawing a bone. 那狗在啃骨头。
  • These doubts had been gnawing at him for some time. 这些疑虑已经折磨他一段时间了。
20 contented Gvxzof     
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的
参考例句:
  • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
  • The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。
21 ace IzHzsp     
n.A牌;发球得分;佼佼者;adj.杰出的
参考例句:
  • A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
  • He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。
22 shameful DzzwR     
adj.可耻的,不道德的
参考例句:
  • It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己,真不害臊。
  • We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。
23 modesty REmxo     
n.谦逊,虚心,端庄,稳重,羞怯,朴素
参考例句:
  • Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
  • As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后,谦虚使人进步。
24 decency Jxzxs     
n.体面,得体,合宜,正派,庄重
参考例句:
  • His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
  • Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
25 zest vMizT     
n.乐趣;滋味,风味;兴趣
参考例句:
  • He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
  • He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。
26 inclination Gkwyj     
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好
参考例句:
  • She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
  • I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。
27 sinister 6ETz6     
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的
参考例句:
  • There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
  • Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值,而且包藏祸心。
28 darting darting     
v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句
29 horrid arozZj     
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的
参考例句:
  • I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
  • The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
30 disastrous 2ujx0     
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的
参考例句:
  • The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
  • Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨,血本无归。
31 passionate rLDxd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
32 allocated 01868918c8cec5bc8773e98ae11a0f54     
adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
  • More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。
33 conversion UZPyI     
n.转化,转换,转变
参考例句:
  • He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
  • Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。
34 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
35 flinched 2fdac3253dda450d8c0462cb1e8d7102     
v.(因危险和痛苦)退缩,畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He flinched at the sight of the blood. 他一见到血就往后退。
  • This tough Corsican never flinched or failed. 这个刚毅的科西嘉人从来没有任何畏缩或沮丧。 来自辞典例句
36 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
37 yokels 758e976de0fa4f73342648b517a84274     
n.乡下佬,土包子( yokel的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The quaint field noises, the yokels'whistling, and the splash of water-fowl, each seemed to him enchanted. 那种新奇的,田野上的喧声,那种庄稼汉打着的唿哨,那种水禽的溅水声,他觉得每一样都是令人销魂的。 来自辞典例句
  • One of the local yokels helped me change the tire. 一个乡巴佬帮我换了车胎。 来自互联网
38 joyously 1p4zu0     
ad.快乐地, 高兴地
参考例句:
  • She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门,直扑我的怀抱,欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
  • They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊,那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分
39 chatter BUfyN     
vi./n.喋喋不休;短促尖叫;(牙齿)打战
参考例句:
  • Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
  • I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。
40 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
41 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
42 privately IkpzwT     
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地
参考例句:
  • Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
  • The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。
43 belongings oy6zMv     
n.私人物品,私人财物
参考例句:
  • I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
  • Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。
44 illustrated 2a891807ad5907f0499171bb879a36aa     
adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
  • The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。
45 assented 4cee1313bb256a1f69bcc83867e78727     
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
  • "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对,”汤姆表示赞同地说,“他们不杀女人——真伟大!
46 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
47 sullen kHGzl     
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句:
  • He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
  • Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐,因为昨晚没睡好。
48 thronged bf76b78f908dbd232106a640231da5ed     
v.成群,挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Mourners thronged to the funeral. 吊唁者蜂拥着前来参加葬礼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The department store was thronged with people. 百货商店挤满了人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
49 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。
50 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
51 ordeal B4Pzs     
n.苦难经历,(尤指对品格、耐力的)严峻考验
参考例句:
  • She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
  • Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。
52 impatience OaOxC     
n.不耐烦,急躁
参考例句:
  • He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢,他显得不耐烦。
  • He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。
53 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。
54 knaves bc7878d3f6a750deb586860916e8cf9b     
n.恶棍,无赖( knave的名词复数 );(纸牌中的)杰克
参考例句:
  • Give knaves an inch and they will take a yard. 我一日三餐都吃得很丰盛。 来自互联网
  • Knaves and robbers can obtain only what was before possessed by others. 流氓、窃贼只能攫取原先由别人占有的财富。 来自互联网
55 cardinals 8aa3d7ed97d6793c87fe821585838a4a     
红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 ); 红衣凤头鸟(见于北美,雄鸟为鲜红色); 基数
参考例句:
  • cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
  • A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。
56 bishops 391617e5d7bcaaf54a7c2ad3fc490348     
(基督教某些教派管辖大教区的)主教( bishop的名词复数 ); (国际象棋的)象
参考例句:
  • Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时,每名棋手有两只象。
  • "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫,抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。
57 papyrus hK9xR     
n.古以纸草制成之纸
参考例句:
  • The Egyptians wrote on papyrus.埃及人书写用薄草纸。
  • Since papyrus dries up and crumble,very few documents of ancient Egypt have survived.因草片会干裂成粉末所以古埃及的文件很少保存下来。
58 trumps 22c5470ebcda312e395e4d85c40b03f7     
abbr.trumpets 喇叭;小号;喇叭形状的东西;喇叭筒v.(牌戏)出王牌赢(一牌或一墩)( trump的过去式 );吹号公告,吹号庆祝;吹喇叭;捏造
参考例句:
  • On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
59 juggler juggler     
n. 变戏法者, 行骗者
参考例句:
  • Dick was a juggler, who threw mists before your eyes. 迪克是个骗子,他在你面前故弄玄虚。
  • The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。
60 hermit g58y3     
n.隐士,修道者;隐居
参考例句:
  • He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
  • Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。
61 fortitude offzz     
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅
参考例句:
  • His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
  • He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。
62 implored 0b089ebf3591e554caa381773b194ff1     
恳求或乞求(某人)( implore的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
  • She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。
63 grunt eeazI     
v.嘟哝;作呼噜声;n.呼噜声,嘟哝
参考例句:
  • He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
  • I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽,他只哼了一声。
64 nought gHGx3     
n./adj.无,零
参考例句:
  • We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
  • One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。
65 tunic IGByZ     
n.束腰外衣
参考例句:
  • The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
  • Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢,年轻人。
66 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
67 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。
68 embroidered StqztZ     
adj.绣花的
参考例句:
  • She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
  • She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。
69 apex mwrzX     
n.顶点,最高点
参考例句:
  • He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。
  • His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。
70 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
71 juggling juggling     
n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词
参考例句:
  • He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
  • The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。
72 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
73 thwarted 919ac32a9754717079125d7edb273fc2     
阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过
参考例句:
  • The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
  • Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。
74 blenched 95cbf826aa2bfbf99abcfc9d25210090     
v.(因惊吓而)退缩,惊悸( blench的过去式和过去分词 );(使)变白,(使)变苍白
参考例句:
  • She blenched before her accuser. 她在指控者面前畏缩了。 来自互联网
75 scrutinizing fa5efd6c6f21a204fe4a260c9977c6ad     
v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来,输入输出管道各就各位,检查着它的目标。 来自互联网
76 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。
77 cataracts a219fc2c9b1a7afeeb9c811d4d48060a     
n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 );白内障
参考例句:
  • The rotor cataracts water over the top of the machines. 回转轮将水从机器顶上注入。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Cataracts of rain flooded the streets. 倾盆大雨弄得街道淹水。 来自辞典例句
78 undone JfJz6l     
a.未做完的,未完成的
参考例句:
  • He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。
79 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
80 contemplated d22c67116b8d5696b30f6705862b0688     
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
  • The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。
81 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
82 caravan OrVzu     
n.大蓬车;活动房屋
参考例句:
  • The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
  • Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。
83 serpentine MEgzx     
adj.蜿蜒的,弯曲的
参考例句:
  • One part of the Serpentine is kept for swimmers.蜿蜒河的一段划为游泳区。
  • Tremolite laths and serpentine minerals are present in places.有的地方出现透闪石板条及蛇纹石。
84 poised SlhzBU     
a.摆好姿势不动的
参考例句:
  • The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋,准备俯冲。
  • Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张,手悬在电话机上。
85 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的
参考例句:
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
86 scenic aDbyP     
adj.自然景色的,景色优美的
参考例句:
  • The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
  • The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。
87 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
88 shuffling 03b785186d0322e5a1a31c105fc534ee     
adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
89 everlasting Insx7     
adj.永恒的,持久的,无止境的
参考例句:
  • These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
  • He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。
90 monogram zEWx4     
n.字母组合
参考例句:
  • There was a monogram in the corner in which were the initials"R.K.B.".原来手帕角上有个图案,其中包含着RKB三个字母。
  • When we get married I don't have to change the monogram on my luggage.当我们结婚后,我连皮箱上的字母也不用改。
91 preoccupied TPBxZ     
adj.全神贯注的,入神的;被抢先占有的;心事重重的v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)
参考例句:
  • He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事,没注意到有什么不对。
  • The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
92 sleight MEFyT     
n.技巧,花招
参考例句:
  • With a little statistical sleight of hand they could make things look all right.只要在统计上耍些小小的花招,他们就能瞒天过海。
  • In the theater of the media there is an economic sleight of hand.传播媒介在经济上耍了一个大花招。
93 flexed 703e75e8210e20f0cb60ad926085640e     
adj.[医]曲折的,屈曲v.屈曲( flex的过去式和过去分词 );弯曲;(为准备大干而)显示实力;摩拳擦掌
参考例句:
  • He stretched and flexed his knees to relax himself. 他伸屈膝关节使自己放松一下。 来自辞典例句
  • He flexed his long stringy muscles manfully. 他孔武有力地弯起膀子,显露出细长条的肌肉。 来自辞典例句
94 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
95 soften 6w0wk     
v.(使)变柔软;(使)变柔和
参考例句:
  • Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
  • This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。
96 flaunt 0gAz7     
vt.夸耀,夸饰
参考例句:
  • His behavior was an outrageous flaunt.他的行为是一种无耻的炫耀。
  • Why would you flaunt that on a public forum?为什么你们会在公共论坛大肆炫耀?
97 ballad zWozz     
n.歌谣,民谣,流行爱情歌曲
参考例句:
  • This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
  • This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。


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