One day — I remember it was St. Elijah’s day, July 20th — I came to stay with my brother and did not find him at home: he had been ordered off for a whole week somewhere. I did not want to go back to Petersburg; I sauntered about the neighbouring
marshes1, killed a
brace2 of snipe and spent the evening with Tyeglev under the shelter of an empty barn where he had, as he expressed it, set up his summer residence. We had a little conversation but for the most part drank tea, smoked pipes and talked sometimes to our host, a Russianised Finn or to the pedlar who used to hang about the battery selling “fi-ine oranges and lemons,” a charming and lively person who in addition to other talents could play the guitar and used to tell us of the unhappy love which he cherished in his young days for the daughter of a policeman. Now that he was older, this Don Juan in a gay cotton shirt had no experience of unsuccessful love affairs. Before the doors of our barn stretched a wide plain gradually sloping away in the distance; a little river gleamed here and there in the
winding3 hollows; low growing woods could be seen further on the horizon. Night was coming on and we were left alone. As night fell a fine damp mist
descended4 upon the earth, and, growing thicker and thicker, passed into a
dense5 fog. The moon rose up into the sky; the fog was soaked through and through and, as it were,
shimmering6 with golden light. Everything was strangely shifting, veiled and confused; the faraway looked near, the near looked far away, what was big looked small and what was small looked big . . . everything became dim and full of light. We seemed to be in fairyland, in a world of whitish-golden mist, deep stillness, delicate sleep. . . . And how mysteriously, like sparks of silver, the stars filtered through the mist! We were both silent. The fantastic beauty of the night worked upon us: it put us into the mood for the fantastic.
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收听单词发音
1
marshes
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n.沼泽,湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
- We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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2
brace
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n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 |
参考例句: |
- My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
- You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。
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3
winding
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n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 |
参考例句: |
- A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
- The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
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4
descended
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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。
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5
dense
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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。
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6
shimmering
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v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
- The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句
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