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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » The Phoenix and the Carpet » CHAPTER 11. THE BEGINNING OF THE END
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CHAPTER 11. THE BEGINNING OF THE END
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‘Well, I MUST say,’ mother said, looking at the wishing carpet as it lay, all darned and mended and backed with shiny American cloth, on the floor of the nursery—‘I MUST say I’ve never in my life bought such a bad bargain as that carpet.’

A soft ‘Oh!’ of contradiction sprang to the lips of Cyril, Robert, Jane, and Anthea. Mother looked at them quickly, and said—

‘Well, of course, I see you’ve mended it very nicely, and that was sweet of you, dears.’

‘The boys helped too,’ said the dears, honourably1.

‘But, still—twenty-two and ninepence! It ought to have lasted for years. It’s simply dreadful now. Well, never mind, darlings, you’ve done your best. I think we’ll have coconut2 matting next time. A carpet doesn’t have an easy life of it in this room, does it?’

‘It’s not our fault, mother, is it, that our boots are the really reliable kind?’ Robert asked the question more in sorrow than in anger.

‘No, dear, we can’t help our boots,’ said mother, cheerfully, ‘but we might change them when we come in, perhaps. It’s just an idea of mine. I wouldn’t dream of scolding on the very first morning after I’ve come home. Oh, my Lamb, how could you?’

This conversation was at breakfast, and the Lamb had been beautifully good until every one was looking at the carpet, and then it was for him but the work of a moment to turn a glass dish of syrupy blackberry jam upside down on his young head. It was the work of a good many minutes and several persons to get the jam off him again, and this interesting work took people’s minds off the carpet, and nothing more was said just then about its badness as a bargain and about what mother hoped for from coconut matting.

When the Lamb was clean again he had to be taken care of while mother rumpled4 her hair and inked her fingers and made her head ache over the difficult and twisted house-keeping accounts which cook gave her on dirty bits of paper, and which were supposed to explain how it was that cook had only fivepence-half-penny and a lot of unpaid5 bills left out of all the money mother had sent her for house-keeping. Mother was very clever, but even she could not quite understand the cook’s accounts.

The Lamb was very glad to have his brothers and sisters to play with him. He had not forgotten them a bit, and he made them play all the old exhausting games: ‘Whirling Worlds’, where you swing the baby round and round by his hands; and ‘Leg and Wing’, where you swing him from side to side by one ankle and one wrist. There was also climbing Vesuvius. In this game the baby walks up you, and when he is standing6 on your shoulders, you shout as loud as you can, which is the rumbling7 of the burning mountain, and then tumble him gently on to the floor, and roll him there, which is the destruction of Pompeii.

‘All the same, I wish we could decide what we’d better say next time mother says anything about the carpet,’ said Cyril, breathlessly ceasing to be a burning mountain.

‘Well, you talk and decide,’ said Anthea; ‘here, you lovely ducky Lamb. Come to Panther and play Noah’s Ark.’

The Lamb came with his pretty hair all tumbled and his face all dusty from the destruction of Pompeii, and instantly became a baby snake, hissing8 and wriggling9 and creeping in Anthea’s arms, as she said—

     ‘I love my little baby snake,
     He hisses10 when he is awake,
     He creeps with such a wriggly11 creep,
     He wriggles12 even in his sleep.’

‘Crocky,’ said the Lamb, and showed all his little teeth. So Anthea went on—

     ‘I love my little crocodile,
     I love his truthful13 toothful smile;
     It is so wonderful and wide,
     I like to see it—FROM OUTSIDE.’

‘Well, you see,’ Cyril was saying; ‘it’s just the old bother. Mother can’t believe the real true truth about the carpet, and—’

‘You speak sooth, O Cyril,’ remarked the Phoenix14, coming out from the cupboard where the blackbeetles lived, and the torn books, and the broken slates15, and odd pieces of toys that had lost the rest of themselves. ‘Now hear the wisdom of Phoenix, the son of the Phoenix—’

‘There is a society called that,’ said Cyril.

‘Where is it? And what is a society?’ asked the bird.

‘It’s a sort of joined-together lot of people—a sort of brotherhood—a kind of—well, something very like your temple, you know, only quite different.’

‘I take your meaning,’ said the Phoenix. ‘I would fain see these calling themselves Sons of the Phoenix.’

‘But what about your words of wisdom?’

‘Wisdom is always welcome,’ said the Phoenix.

‘Pretty Polly!’ remarked the Lamb, reaching his hands towards the golden speaker.

The Phoenix modestly retreated behind Robert, and Anthea hastened to distract the attention of the Lamb by murmuring—

     “I love my little baby rabbit;
     But oh! he has a dreadful habit
     Of paddling out among the rocks
     And soaking both his bunny socks.’

‘I don’t think you’d care about the sons of the Phoenix, really,’ said Robert. ‘I have heard that they don’t do anything fiery16. They only drink a great deal. Much more than other people, because they drink lemonade and fizzy things, and the more you drink of those the more good you get.’

‘In your mind, perhaps,’ said Jane; ‘but it wouldn’t be good in your body. You’d get too balloony.’

The Phoenix yawned.

‘Look here,’ said Anthea; ‘I really have an idea. This isn’t like a common carpet. It’s very magic indeed. Don’t you think, if we put Tatcho on it, and then gave it a rest, the magic part of it might grow, like hair is supposed to do?’

‘It might,’ said Robert; ‘but I should think paraffin would do as well—at any rate as far as the smell goes, and that seems to be the great thing about Tatcho.’

But with all its faults Anthea’s idea was something to do, and they did it.

It was Cyril who fetched the Tatcho bottle from father’s washhand-stand. But the bottle had not much in it.

‘We mustn’t take it all,’ Jane said, ‘in case father’s hair began to come off suddenly. If he hadn’t anything to put on it, it might all drop off before Eliza had time to get round to the chemist’s for another bottle. It would be dreadful to have a bald father, and it would all be our fault.’

‘And wigs17 are very expensive, I believe,’ said Anthea. ‘Look here, leave enough in the bottle to wet father’s head all over with in case any emergency emerges—and let’s make up with paraffin. I expect it’s the smell that does the good really—and the smell’s exactly the same.’

So a small teaspoonful18 of the Tatcho was put on the edges of the worst darn in the carpet and rubbed carefully into the roots of the hairs of it, and all the parts that there was not enough Tatcho for had paraffin rubbed into them with a piece of flannel19. Then the flannel was burned. It made a gay flame, which delighted the Phoenix and the Lamb.

‘How often,’ said mother, opening the door—‘how often am I to tell you that you are NOT to play with paraffin? What have you been doing?’

‘We have burnt a paraffiny rag,’ Anthea answered.

It was no use telling mother what they had done to the carpet. She did not know it was a magic carpet, and no one wants to be laughed at for trying to mend an ordinary carpet with lamp-oil.

‘Well, don’t do it again,’ said mother. ‘And now, away with melancholy20! Father has sent a telegram. Look!’ She held it out, and the children, holding it by its yielding corners, read—

‘Box for kiddies at Garrick. Stalls for us, Haymarket. Meet Charing21 Cross, 6.30.’

‘That means,’ said mother, ‘that you’re going to see “The Water Babies” all by your happy selves, and father and I will take you and fetch you. Give me the Lamb, dear, and you and Jane put clean lace in your red evening frocks, and I shouldn’t wonder if you found they wanted ironing. This paraffin smell is ghastly. Run and get out your frocks.’

The frocks did want ironing—wanted it rather badly, as it happened; for, being of tomato-Coloured Liberty silk, they had been found very useful for tableaux22 vivants when a red dress was required for Cardinal24 Richelieu. They were very nice tableaux, these, and I wish I could tell you about them; but one cannot tell everything in a story. You would have been specially25 interested in hearing about the tableau23 of the Princes in the Tower, when one of the pillows burst, and the youthful Princes were so covered with feathers that the picture might very well have been called ‘Michaelmas Eve; or, Plucking the Geese’.

Ironing the dresses and sewing the lace in occupied some time, and no one was dull, because there was the theatre to look forward to, and also the possible growth of hairs on the carpet, for which every one kept looking anxiously. By four o’clock Jane was almost sure that several hairs were beginning to grow.

The Phoenix perched on the fender, and its conversation, as usual, was entertaining and instructive—like school prizes are said to be. But it seemed a little absent-minded, and even a little sad.

‘Don’t you feel well, Phoenix, dear?’ asked Anthea, stooping to take an iron off the fire.

‘I am not sick,’ replied the golden bird, with a gloomy shake of the head; ‘but I am getting old.’

‘Why, you’ve hardly been hatched any time at all.’

‘Time,’ remarked the Phoenix, ‘is measured by heartbeats. I’m sure the palpitations I’ve had since I’ve known you are enough to blanch26 the feathers of any bird.’

‘But I thought you lived 500 years,’ said Robert, and you’ve hardly begun this set of years. Think of all the time that’s before you.’

‘Time,’ said the Phoenix, ‘is, as you are probably aware, merely a convenient fiction. There is no such thing as time. I have lived in these two months at a pace which generously counterbalances 500 years of life in the desert. I am old, I am weary. I feel as if I ought to lay my egg, and lay me down to my fiery sleep. But unless I’m careful I shall be hatched again instantly, and that is a misfortune which I really do not think I COULD endure. But do not let me intrude27 these desperate personal reflections on your youthful happiness. What is the show at the theatre to-night? Wrestlers? Gladiators? A combat of cameleopards and unicorns28?’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Cyril; ‘it’s called “The Water Babies”, and if it’s like the book there isn’t any gladiating in it. There are chimney-sweeps and professors, and a lobster29 and an otter30 and a salmon31, and children living in the water.’

‘It sounds chilly32.’ The Phoenix shivered, and went to sit on the tongs33.

‘I don’t suppose there will be REAL water,’ said Jane. ‘And theatres are very warm and pretty, with a lot of gold and lamps. Wouldn’t you like to come with us?’

‘I was just going to say that,’ said Robert, in injured tones, ‘only I know how rude it is to interrupt. Do come, Phoenix, old chap; it will cheer you up. It’ll make you laugh like any thing. Mr Bourchier always makes ripping plays. You ought to have seen “Shock-headed Peter” last year.’

‘Your words are strange,’ said the Phoenix, ‘but I will come with you. The revels34 of this Bourchier, of whom you speak, may help me to forget the weight of my years.’ So that evening the Phoenix snugged35 inside the waistcoat of Robert’s Etons—a very tight fit it seemed both to Robert and to the Phoenix—and was taken to the play.

Robert had to pretend to be cold at the glittering, many-mirrored restaurant where they ate dinner, with father in evening dress, with a very shiny white shirt-front, and mother looking lovely in her grey evening dress, that changes into pink and green when she moves. Robert pretended that he was too cold to take off his great-coat, and so sat sweltering through what would otherwise have been a most thrilling meal. He felt that he was a blot36 on the smart beauty of the family, and he hoped the Phoenix knew what he was suffering for its sake. Of course, we are all pleased to suffer for the sake of others, but we like them to know it unless we are the very best and noblest kind of people, and Robert was just ordinary.

Father was full of jokes and fun, and every one laughed all the time, even with their mouths full, which is not manners. Robert thought father would not have been quite so funny about his keeping his over-coat on if father had known all the truth. And there Robert was probably right.

When dinner was finished to the last grape and the last paddle in the finger glasses—for it was a really truly grown-up dinner—the children were taken to the theatre, guided to a box close to the stage, and left.

Father’s parting words were: ‘Now, don’t you stir out of this box, whatever you do. I shall be back before the end of the play. Be good and you will be happy. Is this zone torrid enough for the abandonment of great-coats, Bobs? No? Well, then, I should say you were sickening for something—mumps or measles37 or thrush or teething. Goodbye.’

He went, and Robert was at last able to remove his coat, mop his perspiring38 brow, and release the crushed and dishevelled Phoenix. Robert had to arrange his damp hair at the looking-glass at the back of the box, and the Phoenix had to preen39 its disordered feathers for some time before either of them was fit to be seen.

They were very, very early. When the lights went up fully3, the Phoenix, balancing itself on the gilded40 back of a chair, swayed in ecstasy41.

‘How fair a scene is this!’ it murmured; ‘how far fairer than my temple! Or have I guessed aright? Have you brought me hither to lift up my heart with emotions of joyous42 surprise? Tell me, my Robert, is it not that this, THIS is my true temple, and the other was but a humble43 shrine44 frequented by outcasts?’

‘I don’t know about outcasts,’ said Robert, ‘but you can call this your temple if you like. Hush45! the music is beginning.’

I am not going to tell you about the play. As I said before, one can’t tell everything, and no doubt you saw ‘The Water Babies’ yourselves. If you did not it was a shame, or, rather, a pity.

What I must tell you is that, though Cyril and Jane and Robert and Anthea enjoyed it as much as any children possibly could, the pleasure of the Phoenix was far, far greater than theirs.

‘This is indeed my temple,’ it said again and again. ‘What radiant rites46! And all to do honour to me!’

The songs in the play it took to be hymns47 in its honour. The choruses were choric songs in its praise. The electric lights, it said, were magic torches lighted for its sake, and it was so charmed with the footlights that the children could hardly persuade it to sit still. But when the limelight was shown it could contain its approval no longer. It flapped its golden wings, and cried in a voice that could be heard all over the theatre:

‘Well done, my servants! Ye have my favour and my countenance48!’

Little Tom on the stage stopped short in what he was saying. A deep breath was drawn49 by hundreds of lungs, every eye in the house turned to the box where the luckless children cringed, and most people hissed50, or said ‘Shish!’ or ‘Turn them out!’

Then the play went on, and an attendant presently came to the box and spoke51 wrathfully.

‘It wasn’t us, indeed it wasn’t,’ said Anthea, earnestly; ‘it was the bird.’

The man said well, then, they must keep their bird very quiet. ‘Disturbing every one like this,’ he said.

‘It won’t do it again,’ said Robert, glancing imploringly52 at the golden bird; ‘I’m sure it won’t.’

‘You have my leave to depart,’ said the Phoenix gently.

‘Well, he is a beauty, and no mistake,’ said the attendant, ‘only I’d cover him up during the acts. It upsets the performance.’

And he went.

‘Don’t speak again, there’s a dear,’ said Anthea; ‘you wouldn’t like to interfere53 with your own temple, would you?’

So now the Phoenix was quiet, but it kept whispering to the children. It wanted to know why there was no altar, no fire, no incense54, and became so excited and fretful and tiresome55 that four at least of the party of five wished deeply that it had been left at home.

What happened next was entirely56 the fault of the Phoenix. It was not in the least the fault of the theatre people, and no one could ever understand afterwards how it did happen. No one, that is, except the guilty bird itself and the four children. The Phoenix was balancing itself on the gilt57 back of the chair, swaying backwards58 and forwards and up and down, as you may see your own domestic parrot do. I mean the grey one with the red tail. All eyes were on the stage, where the lobster was delighting the audience with that gem59 of a song, ‘If you can’t walk straight, walk sideways!’ when the Phoenix murmured warmly—

‘No altar, no fire, no incense!’ and then, before any of the children could even begin to think of stopping it, it spread its bright wings and swept round the theatre, brushing its gleaming feathers against delicate hangings and gilded woodwork.

It seemed to have made but one circular wing-sweep, such as you may see a gull60 make over grey water on a stormy day. Next moment it was perched again on the chair-back—and all round the theatre, where it had passed, little sparks shone like tinsel seeds, then little smoke wreaths curled up like growing plants—little flames opened like flower-buds. People whispered—then people shrieked61.

‘Fire! Fire!’ The curtain went down—the lights went up.

‘Fire!’ cried every one, and made for the doors.

‘A magnificent idea!’ said the Phoenix, complacently62. ‘An enormous altar—fire supplied free of charge. Doesn’t the incense smell delicious?’

The only smell was the stifling63 smell of smoke, of burning silk, or scorching64 varnish65.

The little flames had opened now into great flame-flowers. The people in the theatre were shouting and pressing towards the doors.

‘Oh, how COULD you!’ cried Jane. ‘Let’s get out.’

‘Father said stay here,’ said Anthea, very pale, and trying to speak in her ordinary voice.

‘He didn’t mean stay and be roasted,’ said Robert. ‘No boys on burning decks for me, thank you.’

‘Not much,’ said Cyril, and he opened the door of the box.

But a fierce waft66 of smoke and hot air made him shut it again. It was not possible to get out that way.

They looked over the front of the box. Could they climb down?

It would be possible, certainly; but would they be much better off?

‘Look at the people,’ moaned Anthea; ‘we couldn’t get through.’

And, indeed, the crowd round the doors looked as thick as flies in the jam-making season.

‘I wish we’d never seen the Phoenix,’ cried Jane.

Even at that awful moment Robert looked round to see if the bird had overheard a speech which, however natural, was hardly polite or grateful.

The Phoenix was gone.

‘Look here,’ said Cyril, ‘I’ve read about fires in papers; I’m sure it’s all right. Let’s wait here, as father said.’

‘We can’t do anything else,’ said Anthea bitterly.

‘Look here,’ said Robert, ‘I’m NOT frightened—no, I’m not. The Phoenix has never been a skunk67 yet, and I’m certain it’ll see us through somehow. I believe in the Phoenix!’

‘The Phoenix thanks you, O Robert,’ said a golden voice at his feet, and there was the Phoenix itself, on the Wishing Carpet.

‘Quick!’ it said. ‘Stand on those portions of the carpet which are truly antique and authentic—and—’

A sudden jet of flame stopped its words. Alas68! the Phoenix had unconsciously warmed to its subject, and in the unintentional heat of the moment had set fire to the paraffin with which that morning the children had anointed the carpet. It burned merrily. The children tried in vain to stamp it out. They had to stand back and let it burn itself out. When the paraffin had burned away it was found that it had taken with it all the darns of Scotch69 heather-mixture fingering. Only the fabric70 of the old carpet was left—and that was full of holes.

‘Come,’ said the Phoenix, ‘I’m cool now.’

The four children got on to what was left of the carpet. Very careful they were not to leave a leg or a hand hanging over one of the holes. It was very hot—the theatre was a pit of fire. Every one else had got out.

Jane had to sit on Anthea’s lap.

‘Home!’ said Cyril, and instantly the cool draught71 from under the nursery door played upon their legs as they sat. They were all on the carpet still, and the carpet was lying in its proper place on the nursery floor, as calm and unmoved as though it had never been to the theatre or taken part in a fire in its life.

Four long breaths of deep relief were instantly breathed. The draught which they had never liked before was for the moment quite pleasant. And they were safe. And every one else was safe. The theatre had been quite empty when they left. Every one was sure of that.

They presently found themselves all talking at once. Somehow none of their adventures had given them so much to talk about. None other had seemed so real.

‘Did you notice—?’ they said, and ‘Do you remember—?’

When suddenly Anthea’s face turned pale under the dirt which it had collected on it during the fire.

‘Oh,’ she cried, ‘mother and father! Oh, how awful! They’ll think we’re burned to cinders73. Oh, let’s go this minute and tell them we aren’t.’

‘We should only miss them,’ said the sensible Cyril.

‘Well—YOU go then,’ said Anthea, ‘or I will. Only do wash your face first. Mother will be sure to think you are burnt to a cinder72 if she sees you as black as that, and she’ll faint or be ill or something. Oh, I wish we’d never got to know that Phoenix.’

‘Hush!’ said Robert; ‘it’s no use being rude to the bird. I suppose it can’t help its nature. Perhaps we’d better wash too. Now I come to think of it my hands are rather—’

No one had noticed the Phoenix since it had bidden them to step on the carpet. And no one noticed that no one had noticed.

All were partially74 clean, and Cyril was just plunging75 into his great-coat to go and look for his parents—he, and not unjustly, called it looking for a needle in a bundle of hay—when the sound of father’s latchkey in the front door sent every one bounding up the stairs.

‘Are you all safe?’ cried mother’s voice; ‘are you all safe?’ and the next moment she was kneeling on the linoleum76 of the hall, trying to kiss four damp children at once, and laughing and crying by turns, while father stood looking on and saying he was blessed or something.

‘But how did you guess we’d come home,’ said Cyril, later, when every one was calm enough for talking.

‘Well, it was rather a rum thing. We heard the Garrick was on fire, and of course we went straight there,’ said father, briskly. ‘We couldn’t find you, of course—and we couldn’t get in—but the firemen told us every one was safely out. And then I heard a voice at my ear say, “Cyril, Anthea, Robert, and Jane”—and something touched me on the shoulder. It was a great yellow pigeon, and it got in the way of my seeing who’d spoken. It fluttered off, and then some one said in the other ear, “They’re safe at home”; and when I turned again, to see who it was speaking, hanged if there wasn’t that confounded pigeon on my other shoulder. Dazed by the fire, I suppose. Your mother said it was the voice of—’

‘I said it was the bird that spoke,’ said mother, ‘and so it was. Or at least I thought so then. It wasn’t a pigeon. It was an orange-coloured cockatoo. I don’t care who it was that spoke. It was true and you’re safe.’

Mother began to cry again, and father said bed was a good place after the pleasures of the stage.

So every one went there.

Robert had a talk to the Phoenix that night.

‘Oh, very well,’ said the bird, when Robert had said what he felt, ‘didn’t you know that I had power over fire? Do not distress77 yourself. I, like my high priests in Lombard Street, can undo78 the work of flames. Kindly79 open the casement80.’

It flew out.

That was why the papers said next day that the fire at the theatre had done less damage than had been anticipated. As a matter of fact it had done none, for the Phoenix spent the night in putting things straight. How the management accounted for this, and how many of the theatre officials still believe that they were mad on that night will never be known.

Next day mother saw the burnt holes in the carpet.

‘It caught where it was paraffiny,’ said Anthea.

‘I must get rid of that carpet at once,’ said mother.

But what the children said in sad whispers to each other, as they pondered over last night’s events, was—

‘We must get rid of that Phoenix.’

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 honourably 0b67e28f27c35b98ec598f359adf344d     
adv.可尊敬地,光荣地,体面地
参考例句:
  • Will the time never come when we may honourably bury the hatchet? 难道我们永远不可能有个体面地休战的时候吗? 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dispute was settled honourably. 争议体面地得到解决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 coconut VwCzNM     
n.椰子
参考例句:
  • The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
  • The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。
3 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
4 rumpled 86d497fd85370afd8a55db59ea16ef4a     
v.弄皱,使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
  • The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪,散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句
5 unpaid fjEwu     
adj.未付款的,无报酬的
参考例句:
  • Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
  • He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。
6 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。
7 rumbling 85a55a2bf439684a14a81139f0b36eb1     
n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词
参考例句:
  • The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
  • The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。
8 hissing hissing     
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
  • His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
9 wriggling d9a36b6d679a4708e0599fd231eb9e20     
v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等);蠕蠕
参考例句:
  • The baby was wriggling around on my lap. 婴儿在我大腿上扭来扭去。
  • Something that looks like a gray snake is wriggling out. 有一种看来象是灰蛇的东西蠕动着出来了。 来自辞典例句
10 hisses add19f26616fdd1582c885031e8f941d     
嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The speaker was received with a mixture of applause and hisses. 那演说者同时得到喝彩声和嘘声。
  • A fire hisses if water is thrown on it. 把水浇到火上,火就发出嘶嘶声。
11 wriggly 90ed187c02f4940f1fe66825971b49ea     
adj.蠕动的,回避的;蜿蜒
参考例句:
  • When he picked up, a wriggly kissy puppy, I saw tension ease from my father's face. 当他挑选了一只身体扭动、喜欢舔吻人的小狗时,我看到凝重的表情从他脸上消失了。 来自互联网
12 wriggles 2bbffd4c480c628d34b4f1bb30ad358c     
n.蠕动,扭动( wriggle的名词复数 )v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的第三人称单数 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等)
参考例句:
  • Each tail piece wriggles to wholly confuse and distract an attacker. 但是与其他的蜥蜴不同,玻璃蜥蜴的尾巴会逐段的散成碎片,每段碎片都在扭动,以迷惑攻击者,分散其注意力。 来自互联网
  • No turning back. He wriggles into the pipe and starts crawling, plastic bag dragging behind. 没有回头路,安迪钻进下水管开始爬行,塑料袋拖在后面。 来自互联网
13 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的,说实话的,诚实的
参考例句:
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心,他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
14 phoenix 7Njxf     
n.凤凰,长生(不死)鸟;引申为重生
参考例句:
  • The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
  • The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。
15 slates ba298a474e572b7bb22ea6b59e127028     
(旧时学生用以写字的)石板( slate的名词复数 ); 板岩; 石板瓦; 石板色
参考例句:
  • The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦,并非石板瓦。
  • They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。
16 fiery ElEye     
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的
参考例句:
  • She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
  • His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。
17 wigs 53e7a1f0d49258e236f1a412f2313400     
n.假发,法官帽( wig的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They say that wigs will be coming in again this year. 据说今年又要流行戴假发了。 来自辞典例句
  • Frank, we needed more wigs than we thought, and we have to do some advertising. 弗兰克,因为我们需要更多的假发,而且我们还要做点广告。 来自电影对白
18 teaspoonful Ugpzi1     
n.一茶匙的量;一茶匙容量
参考例句:
  • Add a teaspoonful of mixed herbs. 加入一茶匙混合药草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Add a teaspoonful of curry powder. 加一茶匙咖喱粉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 flannel S7dyQ     
n.法兰绒;法兰绒衣服
参考例句:
  • She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
  • She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子,看上去楚楚动人。
20 melancholy t7rz8     
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。
21 charing 188ca597d1779221481bda676c00a9be     
n.炭化v.把…烧成炭,把…烧焦( char的现在分词 );烧成炭,烧焦;做杂役女佣
参考例句:
  • We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. 我们是在伦敦查令十字医院的小教堂里结的婚。 来自辞典例句
  • No additional charge for children under12 charing room with parents. ☆十二岁以下小童与父母同房不另收费。 来自互联网
22 tableaux e58a04662911de6f24f5f35aa4644006     
n.舞台造型,(由活人扮演的)静态画面、场面;人构成的画面或场景( tableau的名词复数 );舞台造型;戏剧性的场面;绚丽的场景
参考例句:
  • He developed less a coherent analysis than a series of brilliant tableaux. 与其说他作了一个前后连贯的分析,倒不如说他描绘了一系列出色的场景。 来自辞典例句
  • There was every kind of table, from fantasy to tableaux of New England history. 各种各样的故事,从幻想到新英格兰的历史场面,无所不有。 来自辞典例句
23 tableau nq0wi     
n.画面,活人画(舞台上活人扮的静态画面)
参考例句:
  • The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life.这部电影的画面生动地描绘了军人的生活。
  • History is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.历史不过是由罪恶和灾难构成的静止舞台造型罢了。
24 cardinal Xcgy5     
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的
参考例句:
  • This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
  • The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火,脸涨得通红。
25 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
26 blanch 0t0z7     
v.漂白;使变白;使(植物)不见日光而变白
参考例句:
  • We blanch almonds by soaking off their skins in boiling water.我们把杏仁泡在沸水中去皮弄成白色。
  • To blanch involves plunging food into boiling water,usually very quickly.漂白是将食物放进开水里,通常非常快。
27 intrude Lakzv     
vi.闯入;侵入;打扰,侵扰
参考例句:
  • I do not want to intrude if you are busy.如果你忙我就不打扰你了。
  • I don't want to intrude on your meeting.我不想打扰你们的会议。
28 unicorns 02d8c4ac323c5df679077f020f170453     
n.(传说中身体似马的)独角兽( unicorn的名词复数 );一角鲸;独角兽标记
参考例句:
  • Unicorns are legendary beasts. 独角兽是传说里的野兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Assemble50 Elder Druids, 30 Silver Unicorns and10 Green Dragons do defend it. 募集50个德鲁伊长老,30只银色独角兽和10条绿龙用于防御。 来自互联网
29 lobster w8Yzm     
n.龙虾,龙虾肉
参考例句:
  • The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
  • I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾,但它不适宜于我的健康。
30 otter 7vgyH     
n.水獭
参考例句:
  • The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说,竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
  • She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。
31 salmon pClzB     
n.鲑,大马哈鱼,橙红色的
参考例句:
  • We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
  • Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗?
32 chilly pOfzl     
adj.凉快的,寒冷的
参考例句:
  • I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
  • I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后,寒气逼人。
33 tongs ugmzMt     
n.钳;夹子
参考例句:
  • She used tongs to put some more coal on the fire.她用火钳再夹一些煤放进炉子里。
  • He picked up the hot metal with a pair of tongs.他用一把钳子夹起这块热金属。
34 revels a11b91521eaa5ae9692b19b125143aa9     
n.作乐( revel的名词复数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉
参考例句:
  • Christmas revels with feasting and dancing were common in England. 圣诞节的狂欢歌舞在英国是很常见的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Dickens openly revels in the book's rich physical detail and high-hearted conflict. 狄更斯对该书中丰富多彩的具体细节描写和勇敢的争斗公开表示欣赏。 来自辞典例句
35 snugged 12a285b68400a4868b9d098a3f679c48     
v.整洁的( snug的过去式和过去分词 );温暖而舒适的;非常舒适的;紧身的
参考例句:
36 blot wtbzA     
vt.弄脏(用吸墨纸)吸干;n.污点,污渍
参考例句:
  • That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
  • The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。
37 measles Bw8y9     
n.麻疹,风疹,包虫病,痧子
参考例句:
  • The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
  • The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。
38 perspiring 0818633761fb971685d884c4c363dad6     
v.出汗,流汗( perspire的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活,身上大汗淋漓的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • So they "went it lively," panting and perspiring with the work. 于是他们就“痛痛快快地比一比”了,结果比得两个人气喘吁吁、汗流浃背。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
39 preen 51Kz7     
v.(人)打扮修饰
参考例句:
  • 50% of men under 35 spend at least 20 minutes preening themselves every morning in the bathroom.50%的35岁以下男性每天早上至少花20分钟在盥洗室精心打扮。
  • Bill preened his beard.比尔精心修剪了他的胡须。
40 gilded UgxxG     
a.镀金的,富有的
参考例句:
  • The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
  • "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们,这只不过是些镀金的铅饼! 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
41 ecstasy 9kJzY     
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷
参考例句:
  • He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
  • Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具,高兴得说不出话来。
42 joyous d3sxB     
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的
参考例句:
  • The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
  • They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。
43 humble ddjzU     
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低
参考例句:
  • In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见,他将在选举中获胜。
  • Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
44 shrine 0yfw7     
n.圣地,神龛,庙;v.将...置于神龛内,把...奉为神圣
参考例句:
  • The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
  • They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。
45 hush ecMzv     
int.嘘,别出声;n.沉默,静寂;v.使安静
参考例句:
  • A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
  • Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去!
46 rites 5026f3cfef698ee535d713fec44bcf27     
仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
  • He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。
47 hymns b7dc017139f285ccbcf6a69b748a6f93     
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌( hymn的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • At first, they played the hymns and marches familiar to them. 起初他们只吹奏自己熟悉的赞美诗和进行曲。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
  • I like singing hymns. 我喜欢唱圣歌。 来自辞典例句
48 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。
49 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。
50 hissed 2299e1729bbc7f56fc2559e409d6e8a7     
发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 ); 发嘘声表示反对
参考例句:
  • Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过?
  • The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。
51 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。
52 imploringly imploringly     
adv. 恳求地, 哀求地
参考例句:
  • He moved his lips and looked at her imploringly. 他嘴唇动着,哀求地看着她。
  • He broke in imploringly. 他用恳求的口吻插了话。
53 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰
参考例句:
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
54 incense dcLzU     
v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气
参考例句:
  • This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
  • In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。
55 tiresome Kgty9     
adj.令人疲劳的,令人厌倦的
参考例句:
  • His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
  • He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜,令人生厌。
56 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。
57 gilt p6UyB     
adj.镀金的;n.金边证券
参考例句:
  • The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
  • The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。
58 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
59 gem Ug8xy     
n.宝石,珠宝;受爱戴的人 [同]jewel
参考例句:
  • The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
  • The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。
60 gull meKzM     
n.鸥;受骗的人;v.欺诈
参考例句:
  • The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills.象牙海鸥经常跟在北极熊的后面吃剩下的海豹尸体。
  • You are not supposed to gull your friends.你不应该欺骗你的朋友。
61 shrieked dc12d0d25b0f5d980f524cd70c1de8fe     
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
  • Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫,陆子潇尖声叫:“告诉什么? 来自汉英文学 - 围城
62 complacently complacently     
adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地
参考例句:
  • He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
  • "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装,"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
63 stifling dhxz7C     
a.令人窒息的
参考例句:
  • The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热,光景是要下雨。
  • We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里,简直透不过气来。
64 scorching xjqzPr     
adj. 灼热的
参考例句:
  • a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
  • a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评
65 varnish ni3w7     
n.清漆;v.上清漆;粉饰
参考例句:
  • He tried to varnish over the facts,but it was useless.他想粉饰事实,但那是徒劳的。
  • He applied varnish to the table.他给那张桌子涂上清漆。
66 waft XUbzV     
v.飘浮,飘荡;n.一股;一阵微风;飘荡
参考例句:
  • The bubble maker is like a sword that you waft in the air.吹出泡泡的东西就像你在空中挥舞的一把剑。
  • When she just about fall over,a waft of fragrance makes her stop.在她差点跌倒时,一股幽香让她停下脚步。
67 skunk xERzE     
n.臭鼬,黄鼠狼;v.使惨败,使得零分;烂醉如泥
参考例句:
  • That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了,你这卑鄙的家伙!
  • The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。
68 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
69 scotch ZZ3x8     
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的
参考例句:
  • Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
  • Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景,真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。
70 fabric 3hezG     
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织
参考例句:
  • The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
  • I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。
71 draught 7uyzIH     
n.拉,牵引,拖;一网(饮,吸,阵);顿服药量,通风;v.起草,设计
参考例句:
  • He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
  • It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗,没有过堂风。
72 cinder xqhzt     
n.余烬,矿渣
参考例句:
  • The new technology for the preparation of superfine ferric oxide from pyrite cinder is studied.研究了用硫铁矿烧渣为原料,制取超细氧化铁红的新工艺。
  • The cinder contains useful iron,down from producing sulphuric acid by contact process.接触法制硫酸的矿渣中含有铁矿。
73 cinders cinders     
n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 );炭渣;煤渣路;煤渣跑道
参考例句:
  • This material is variously termed ash, clinker, cinders or slag. 这种材料有不同的名称,如灰、炉渣、煤渣或矿渣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Rake out the cinders before you start a new fire. 在重新点火前先把煤渣耙出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
74 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲
参考例句:
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静,宵禁部分解除。
75 plunging 5fe12477bea00d74cd494313d62da074     
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发,生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
76 linoleum w0cxk     
n.油布,油毯
参考例句:
  • They mislaid the linoleum.他们把油毡放错了地方。
  • Who will lay the linoleum?谁将铺设地板油毡?
77 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
78 undo Ok5wj     
vt.解开,松开;取消,撤销
参考例句:
  • His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
  • I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。
79 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
80 casement kw8zwr     
n.竖铰链窗;窗扉
参考例句:
  • A casement is a window that opens by means of hinges at the side.竖铰链窗是一种用边上的铰链开启的窗户。
  • With the casement half open,a cold breeze rushed inside.窗扉半开,凉风袭来。


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