Chapter 6

Tyeglev was the first to speak and talked with his usual hesitating incompleted sentences and repetitions about presentiments¹ . . . about ghosts. On exactly such a night, according to him, one of his friends, a student who had just taken the place of tutor to two orphans² and was sleeping with them in a lodge³ in the garden, saw a woman’s figure bending over their beds and next day recognised the figure in a portrait of the mother of the orphans which he had not previously⁴ noticed. Then Tyeglev told me that his parents had heard for several days before their death the sound of rushing water; that his grandfather had been saved from death in the battle of Borodino through suddenly stooping down to pick up a simple grey pebble⁵ at the very instant when a volley of grape-shot flew over his head and broke his long black plume⁶. Tyeglev even promised to show me the very pebble which had saved his grandfather and which he had mounted into a medallion. Then he talked of the lofty destination of every man and of his own in particular and added that he still believed in it and that if he ever had any doubts on that subject he would know how to be rid of them and of his life, as life would then lose all significance for him. “You imagine perhaps,” he brought out, glancing askance at me, “that I shouldn’t have the spirit to do it? You don’t know me . . . I have a will of iron.”

“Well said,” I thought to myself.

Tyeglev pondered, heaved a deep sigh and dropping his chibouk out of his hand, informed me that that day was a very important one for him. “This is the prophet Elijah’s day — my name day. . . . It is . . . it is always for me a difficult time.”

I made no answer and only looked at him as he sat facing me, bent⁷, round-shouldered, and clumsy, with his drowsy⁸, lustreless⁹ eyes fixed¹⁰ on the ground.

“An old beggar woman” (Tyeglev never let a single beggar pass without giving alms) “told me today,” he went on, “that she would pray for my soul. . . . Isn’t that strange?”

“Why does the man want to be always bothering about himself!” I thought again. I must add, however, that of late I had begun noticing an unusual expression of anxiety and uneasiness on Tyeglev’s face, and it was not a “fatal” melancholy¹¹: something really was fretting¹² and worrying him. On this occasion, too, I was struck by the dejected expression of his face. Were not those very doubts of which he had spoken to me beginning to assail¹³ him? Tyeglev’s comrades had told me that not long before he had sent to the authorities a project for some reforms in the artillery¹⁴ department and that the project had been returned to him “with a comment,” that is, a reprimand. Knowing his character, I had no doubt that such contemptuous treatment by his superior officers had deeply mortified¹⁵ him. But the change that I fancied I saw in Tyeglev was more like sadness and there was a more personal note about it.

“It’s getting damp, though,” he brought out at last and he shrugged¹⁶ his shoulders. “Let us go into the hut — and it’s bed-time, too.” He had the habit of shrugging his shoulders and turning his head from side to side, putting his right hand to his throat as he did so, as though his cravat¹⁷ were constricting¹⁸ it. Tyeglev’s character was expressed, so at least it seemed to me, in this uneasy and nervous movement. He, too, felt constricted¹⁹ in the world.

We went back into the hut, and both lay down on benches, he in the corner facing the door and I on the opposite side.

1 presentiments   

n.（对不祥事物的）预感( presentiment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His presentiments of what the future holds for all are plainly not cheering. 则是应和了很多美国人的种种担心，他对各方未来的预感显然是不令人振奋的。 来自互联网

2 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

3 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 pebble   

n.卵石，小圆石

参考例句：

• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。
• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。

6 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

7 bent   

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。

8 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

9 lustreless   

adj.无光泽的，无光彩的，平淡乏味的

参考例句：

• The early autumn was lustreless and slack. 初秋的日子是黯淡、萧条的。 来自辞典例句
• The day was cool and rather lustreless; the first note of autumn had been struck. 这天天气阴凉，光线暗淡，秋色已开始来临。 来自辞典例句

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

12 fretting   

n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的

参考例句：

• Fretting about it won't help. 苦恼于事无补。
• The old lady is always fretting over something unimportant. 那位老妇人总是为一些小事焦虑不安。

13 assail   

v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥

参考例句：

• The opposition's newspapers assail the government each day.反对党的报纸每天都对政府进行猛烈抨击。
• We should assist parents not assail them.因此我们应该帮助父母们，而不是指责他们。

14 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

15 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 cravat   

n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结

参考例句：

• You're never fully dressed without a cravat.不打领结，就不算正装。
• Mr. Kenge adjusting his cravat,then looked at us.肯吉先生整了整领带，然后又望着我们。

18 constricting   

压缩，压紧，使收缩( constrict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective To discuss the clinical characteristics and treatment of congenital constricting band syndrome(CCBS) and amputations. 目的探讨先天性束带症与先天性截肢的临床特点及治疗方法。

19 constricted   

adj.抑制的，约束的

参考例句：

• Her throat constricted and she swallowed hard. 她喉咙发紧，使劲地咽了一下唾沫。
• The tight collar constricted his neck. 紧领子勒着他的脖子。