The Monkey Who Had Seen the World

   A Monkey, to reform the times,

  Resolved to visit foreign climes;

  For men in distant regions roam,

  To bring politer manners home.

  So forth¹ he fares, all toil² defies;

  Misfortune serves to make us wise.

    At length the treacherous³ snare⁴ was laid;

  Poor Pug was caught, to town conveyed;

  There sold. How envied was his doom⁵,

  Made captive in a lady's room!

  Proud as a lover of his chains,

  He day by day her favour gains.

  Whene'er the duty of the day

  The toilette calls, with mimic⁶ play

  He twirls her knot, he cracks her fan,

  Like any other gentleman.

  In visits, too, his parts and wit,

  When jests grew dull, were sure to hit.

  Proud with applause, he thought his mind

  In every courtly art refined;

  Like Orpheus, burned with public zeal⁷

  To civilize⁸ the monkey weal:

  So watched occasion, broke his chain,

  And sought his native woods again.

    The hairy sylvans round him press

  Astonished at his strut⁹ and dress.

  Some praise his sleeve, and others gloat

  Upon his rich embroidered¹⁰ coat;

  His dapper periwig commending,

  With the black tail behind depending;

  His powdered back above, below,

  Like hoary¹¹ frost or fleecy snow:

  But all, with envy and desire,

  His fluttering shoulder-knot admire.

    "Hear and improve," he pertly cries,

  "I come to make a nation wise.

  Weigh your own worth, support your place,

  The next in rank to human race.

  In cities long I passed my days,

  Conversed¹² with men, and learned their ways,

  Their dress, their courtly manners see;

  Reform your state, and copy me.

  Seek ye to thrive? in flatt'ry deal;

  Your scorn, your hate, with that conceal¹³.

  Seem only to regard your friends,

  But use them for your private ends.

  Stint¹⁴ not to truth the flow of wit;

  Be prompt to lie whene'er 'tis fit.

  Bend all your force to spatter merit;

  Scandal is conversation's spirit.

  Boldly to everything pretend,

  And men your talents shall commend.

  I know the Great. Observe me right,

  So shall you grow like man polite."

    He spoke¹⁵ and bowed. With mutt'ring jaws¹⁶

  The wond'ring circle grinned applause.

  Now, warmed with malice¹⁷, envy, spite,

  Their most obliging friends they bite;

  And, fond to copy human ways,

  Practise new mischiefs¹⁸ all their days.

    Thus the dull lad, too tall for school.

  With travel finishes the fool:

  Studious of every coxcomb's airs,

  He gambles, dresses, drinks, and swears;

  O'er looks with scorn all virtuous¹⁹ arts,

  For vice²⁰ is fitted to his parts.

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

3 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

4 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

5 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

6 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

7 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

8 civilize   

vt.使文明，使开化 (=civilise)

参考例句：

• We must civilize away the boy's bad habit.我们必须教育这孩子使其改掉恶习。
• Those facilities are intended to civilize people.那些设施的目的在于教化民众。

9 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

10 embroidered   

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。

11 hoary   

adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的

参考例句：

• They discussed the hoary old problem.他们讨论老问题。
• Without a word spoken,he hurried away,with his hoary head bending low.他什么也没说，低着白发苍苍的头，匆匆地走了。

12 conversed   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 )

参考例句：

• I conversed with her on a certain problem. 我与她讨论某一问题。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was cheerful and polite, and conversed with me pleasantly. 她十分高兴，也很客气，而且愉快地同我交谈。 来自辞典例句

13 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

14 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

15 spoke   

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。

16 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

17 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

18 mischiefs   

损害( mischief的名词复数 )； 危害； 胡闹； 调皮捣蛋的人

参考例句：

• Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 你的舌头邪恶诡诈，好像剃头刀，快利伤人。
• Mischiefs come by the pound, and go away by the ounce. [谚]灾来如山倒，灾去如抽丝。

19 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

20 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。