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Chapter 10
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Seated between Hallorsen and young Tasburgh, Dinny had a slanting1 view of her Aunt and Lord Saxenden at the head of the table, with Jean Tasburgh round the corner on his right. “She was a ‘leopardess’ oh! so fair!” The tawnied skin, oblique2 face, and wonderful eyes of the young woman fascinated her. They appeared also to fascinate Lord Saxenden, whose visage was redder and more genial3 than Dinny had seen it yet. His attentions to Jean, indeed, were throwing Lady Mont to the clipped tongue of Wilfred Bentworth. For ‘the Squire4,’ though a far more distinguished5 personality, too distinguished to accept a peerage, was, in accordance with the table of precedence, seated on her left. Next to him again Fleur was engaging Hallorsen; so that Dinny herself was exposed to the broadside of young Tasburgh. He talked easily, directly, frankly6, like a man not yet calloused7 by female society, and manifested what Dinny described to herself as ‘transparent admiration8’; yet twice at least she went into what he described as a ‘near-dream,’ her head turned high, and motionless, towards his sister.

“Ah!” he said. “What do you think of her?”

“Fascinating.”

“I’ll tell her that, she won’t turn a hair. The earth’s most matter-of-fact young woman. She seems to be vamping her neighbour all right. Who is he?”

“Lord Saxenden.”

“Oh! And who’s the John Bull at the corner on our side?”

“Wilfred Bentworth, ‘the Squire,’ they call him.”

“And next to you — talking to Mrs. Michael?”

“That’s Professor Hallorsen from America.”

“He’s a fine-looking chap.”

“So everybody says,” said Dinny, drily.

“Don’t you think so?”

“Men oughtn’t to be so good-looking.”

“Delighted to hear you say that.”

“Why?”

“It means that the ugly have a look in.”

“Oh! Do you often go trawling?”

“You know, I’m terribly glad I’ve met you at last.”

“At last? You’d never even heard of me this morning.”

“No. But that doesn’t prevent you from being my ideal.”

“Goodness! Is this the way they have in the Navy?”

“Yes. The first thing they teach us is to make up our minds quickly.”

“Mr. Tasburgh —”

“Alan.”

“I begin to understand the wife in every port.”

“I,” said young Tasburgh, seriously, “haven’t a single one. And you’re the first I’ve ever wanted.”

“Oo! Or is it: Coo!”

“Fact! You see, the Navy is very strenuous9. When we see what we want, we have to go for it at once. We get so few chances.”

Dinny laughed. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Then you weren’t at Zeebrugge?”

“I was.”

“I see. It’s become a habit to lay yourself alongside.”

“And get blown up for it.”

Her eyes rested on him kindly10.

“I am now going to talk to my enemy.”

“Enemy? Can I do anything about that?”

“His demise11 would be of no service to me, till he’s done what I want.”

“Sorry for that; he looks to me dangerous.”

“Mrs. Charles is lying in wait for you,” murmured Dinny, and she turned to Hallorsen, who said deferentially12: “Miss Cherrell,” as if she had arrived from the moon.

“I hear you shot amazingly, Professor.”

“Why! I’m not accustomed to birds asking for it as they do here. I’ll maybe get used to that in time. But all this is quite an experience for me.”

“Everything in the garden lovely?”

“It certainly is. To be in the same house with you is a privilege I feel very deeply, Miss Cherrell.”

“‘Cannon13 to right of me, cannon to left of me!’” thought Dinny.

“And have you,” she asked, suddenly, “been thinking what amend14 you can make to my brother?”

Hallorsen lowered his voice.

“I have a great admiration for you, Miss Cherrell, and I will do what you tell me. If you wish, I will write to your papers and withdraw the remarks in my book.”

“And what would you want for that, Professor Hallorsen?”

“Why, surely, nothing but your goodwill15.”

“My brother has given me his diary to publish.”

“If that will be a relief to you — go to it.”

“I wonder if you two ever began to understand each other.”

“I judge we never did.”

“And yet you were only four white men, weren’t you? May I ask exactly what annoyed you in my brother?”

“You’d have it up against me if I were to tell you.”

“Oh! no, I CAN be fair.”

“Well, first of all, I found he’d made up his mind about too many things, and he wouldn’t change it. There we were in a country none of us knew anything about, amongst Indians and people that were only half civilised; but the captain wanted everything done as you might in England: he wanted rules, and he wanted ’em kept. Why, I judge he would have dressed for dinner if we’d have let him.”

“I think you should remember,” said Dinny, taken aback, “that we English have found formality pay all over the world. We succeed in all sorts of wild out of the world places because we stay English. Reading his diary, I think my brother failed from not being stolid16 enough.”

“Well, he is not your John Bull type,” he nodded towards the end of the table, “like Lord Saxenden and Mr. Bentworth there; maybe I’d have understood him better if he were. No, he’s mighty17 high-strung and very tight held-in; his emotions kind of eat him up from within. He’s like a race-horse in a hansom cab. Yours is an old family, I should judge, Miss Cherrell.”

“Not yet in its dotage18.”

She saw his eyes leave her, rest on Adrian across the table, move on to her Aunt Wilmet, and thence to Lady Mont.

“I would like to talk to your uncle the Curator about old families,” he said.

“What else was there in my brother that you didn’t like?”

“Well, he gave me the feeling that I was a great husky.”

Dinny raised her brows a little.

“There we were,” went on Hallorsen, “in the hell of a country — pardon me! — a country of raw metal. Well, I was raw metal myself, out to meet and beat raw metal; and he just wouldn’t be.”

“Perhaps couldn’t be. Don’t you think what was really wrong was your being American and his being English? Confess, Professor, that you don’t like us English.”

Hallorsen laughed.

“I like YOU terribly.”

“Thank you, but every rule —”

“Well,” his face hardened, “I just don’t like the assumption of a superiority that I don’t believe in.”

“Have we a monopoly of that? What about the French?”

“If I were an orang-outang, Miss Cherrell, I wouldn’t care a hoot19 whether a chimpanzee thought himself superior.”

“I see; too far removed. But, forgive me, Professor, what about yourselves? Are you not the chosen people? And don’t you frequently say so? Would you exchange with any other people in the world?”

“I certainly would not.”

“But isn’t that an assumption of a superiority that WE don’t believe in?”

He laughed. “You have me there; but we haven’t touched rock-bottom in this matter. There’s a snob20 in every man. We’re a new people; we haven’t gotten your roots and your old things; we haven’t gotten your habit of taking ourselves for granted; we’re too multiple and various and too much in the making. We have a lot of things that you could envy us besides our dollars and our bathrooms.”

“What ought we to envy you? I should very much like it made clear to me.”

“Well, Miss Cherrell, we know that we have qualities and energy and faith and opportunities that you just ought to envy; and when you don’t do it, we feel we’ve no use for that kind of gone-dead, bone-superior attitude. It’s like a man of sixty looking down his nose at a youth of thirty; and there’s no such God-darned — pardon me! — mistake as that.”

Dinny sat looking at him, silent and impressed.

“Where,” Hallorsen went on, “you British irritate us is that you’ve lost the spirit of enquiry; or if you’ve still gotten it, you have a dandy way of hiding it up. I judge there are many ways in which we irritate you. But we irritate your epidermis21 and you irritate our nerve centres. That’s about all there is to it, Miss Cherrell.”

“I see,” said Dinny; “that’s terribly interesting and I daresay quite true. My aunt’s getting up, so I must remove my epidermis and leave your nerve centres to quiet down.” She rose, and over her shoulder smiled back at him.

Young Tasburgh was at the door. At him too she smiled, and murmured: “Talk to my friend the enemy; he’s worth it.”

In the drawing-room she sought out the ‘leopardess,’ but converse22 between them suffered from the inhibition of a mutual23 admiration which neither wished to show. Jean Tasburgh was just twenty-one, but she impressed Dinny as older than herself. Her knowledge of things and people seemed precise and decided25, if not profound; her mind was made up on all the subjects they touched on; she would be a marvellous person — Dinny thought — in a crisis, or if driven to the wall; would be loyal to her own side, but want to rule whatever roost she was in. But alongside her hard efficiency Dinny could well perceive a strange, almost feline26 fascination27 that would go to any man’s head, if she chose that it should. Hubert would succumb28 to her at once! And at that conclusion his sister was the more doubtful whether she wished him to. Here was the very girl to afford the swift distraction29 she was seeking for her brother. But was he strong enough and alive enough for the distractor? Suppose he fell in love with her and she would have none of him? Or suppose he fell in love with her and she had all of him! And then — money! If Hubert received no appointment or lost his commission what would they live on? He had only three hundred a year without his pay, and the girl presumably nothing. The situation was perverse30. If Hubert could plunge31 again into soldiering, he would not need distraction. If he continued to be shelved, he would need distraction but could not afford it. And yet — was not this exactly the sort of girl who would carve out a career somehow for the man she married? So they talked of Italian pictures.

“By the way,” said Jean, suddenly, “Lord Saxenden says you want him to do something for you.”

“Oh!”

“What is it? Because I’ll make him.”

Dinny smiled.

“How?”

Jean gave her a look from under her lashes32.

“It’ll be quite easy. What is it you want from him?”

“I want my brother back in his regiment33, or, better — some post for him. He’s under a cloud owing to that Bolivian expedition with Professor Hallorsen.”

“The big man? Is that why you had him down here?”

Dinny had a feeling that she would soon have no clothes on.

“If you want frankness, yes.”

“He’s rather fine to look at.”

“So your brother said.”

“Alan’s the most generous person in the world. He’s taken a toss over you.”

“So he was telling me.”

“He’s an ingenuous34 child. But, seriously, shall I go for Lord Saxenden?”

“Why should you worry?”

“I like to put my fingers into pies. Give me a free hand, and I’ll bring you that appointment on a charger.”

“I am credibly35 informed,” said Dinny, “that Lord Saxenden is a tough proposition.”

Jean stretched herself.

“Is your brother Hubert like you?”

“Not a scrap36; he’s dark, and brown-eyed.”

“You know our families intermarried a long way back. Are you interested in breeding? I breed Airedales, and I don’t believe much in either the tail male or the tail female theories. Prepotency can be handed down through either male or female, and at any point of the pedigree.”

“Perhaps, but except for not being covered with yellow varnish37, my father and my brother are both very like the earliest portrait we have of a male ancestor.”

“Well, we’ve got a Fitzherbert woman who married a Tasburgh in 1547, and she’s the spit of me except for the ruff; she’s even got my hands.” And the girl spread out to Dinny two long brown hands, crisping them slightly as she did so.

“A strain,” she went on, “may crop out after generations that have seemed free from it. It’s awfully38 interesting. I should like to see your brother, if he’s so unlike you.”

Dinny smiled.

“I’ll get him to drive over from Condaford and fetch me. You may not think him worth your wiles39.”

And at this moment the men came in.

“They do so look,” murmured Dinny, “as if they were saying: ‘Do I want to sit next to a female, and if so, why?’ Men are funny after dinner.”

Sir Lawrence’s voice broke the hush40:

“Saxenden, you and the Squire for Bridge?”

At those words Aunt Wilmet and Lady Henrietta rose automatically from the sofa where they had been having a quiet difference, and passed towards where they would continue the motion for the rest of the evening; they were followed closely by Lord Saxenden and the Squire.

Jean Tasburgh grimaced41: “Can’t you just see Bridge growing on people like a fungus42?”

“Another table?” said Sir Lawrence: “Adrian? No. Professor?”

“Why, I think not, Sir Lawrence.”

“Fleur, you and I then against Em and Charles. Come along, let’s get it over.”

“You can’t see it growing on Uncle Lawrence,” murmured Dinny. “Oh! Professor! Do you know Miss Tasburgh?”

Hallorsen bowed.

“It’s an amazing night,” said young Tasburgh on her other side: “Couldn’t we go out?”

“Michael,” said Jean, rising, “we’re going out.”

The night had been justly described. The foliage43 of holmoaks and elms clung on the dark air unstirring; stars were diamond bright, and there was no dew; the flowers had colour only when peered into; and sounds were lonely — the hooting44 of an owl24 from away towards the river, the passing drone of a chafer’s flight. The air was quite warm, and through the cut cypresses45 the lighted house stared vaguely46. Dinny and the sailor strolled in front.

“This is the sort of night,” he said, “when you can see the Scheme a bit. My old Governor is a dear old boy, but his Services are enough to kill all belief. Have you any left?”

“In God, do you mean?” said Dinny: “Ye-es, without knowing anything about it.”

“Don’t YOU find it impossible to think of God except in the open and alone?”

“I HAVE been emotionalised in church.”

“You want something beyond emotion, I think; you want to grasp infinite invention going on in infinite stillness. Perpetual motion and perpetual quiet at the same time. That American seems a decent chap.”

“Did you talk about cousinly love?”

“I kept that for you. One of our great-great-great-great-grandfathers was the same, under Anne; we’ve got his portrait, terrible, in a wig47. So we’re cousins — the love follows.”

“Does it? Blood cuts both ways. It certainly makes every difference glare out.”

“Thinking of Americans?”

Dinny nodded.

“All the same,” said the sailor, “there isn’t a question in my mind that in a scrap I’d rather have an American with me than any other kind of foreigner. I should say we all felt like that in the Fleet.”

“Isn’t that just because of language being the same?”

“No. It’s some sort of grain and view of things in common.”

“But surely that can only apply to British-stock Americans?”

“That’s still the American who counts, especially if you lump in the Dutch and Scandinavian-stock Americans, like this fellow Hallorsen. We’re very much that stock ourselves.”

“Why not German-Americans, then?”

“To some extent. But look at the shape of the German head. By and large, the Germans are Central or Eastern Europeans.”

“You ought to be talking to my Uncle Adrian.”

“Is that the tall man with the goatee? I like his face.”

“He’s a dear,” said Dinny. “We’ve lost the others and I can feel dew.”

“Just one moment. I was perfectly48 serious in what I said at dinner. You ARE my ideal, and I hope you’ll let me pursue it.”

Dinny curtsied.

“Young Sir, you are very flattering. ‘But —’ she went on with a slight blush —‘I would point out that you have a noble profession —’”

“Are you never serious?”

“Seldom, when the dew is falling.”

He seized her hand.

“Well, you will be one day; and I shall be the cause of it.”

Slightly returning the pressure of his hand, Dinny disengaged hers, and walked on.

“Pleached alley49 — can you stand that expression? It seems to give joy to so many people.”

“Fair cousin,” said young Tasburgh, “I shall be thinking of you day and night. Don’t trouble to answer.”

And he held open a French window.

Cicely Muskham was at the piano, and Michael standing50 behind her.

Dinny went up to him.

“If I go to Fleur’s sitting-room51 now, could you show Lord Saxenden where it is, Michael? If he doesn’t come by twelve, I shall go to bed. I must sort out the bits I want to read to him.”

“All right, Dinny. I’ll leave him on the door-mat. Good luck!”

Fetching the diary, Dinny threw open the window of the little sitting-room and sat down to make her selections. It was half-past-ten, and not a sound disturbed her. She selected six fairly long passages which seemed to illustrate52 the impossible nature of her brother’s task. Then, lighting53 a cigarette, she waited, leaning out. The night was neither more nor less ‘amazing’ than it had been, but her own mood was deeper. Perpetual motion in perpetual quiet? If that, indeed, were God, He was not of much immediate54 use to mortals but why should He be? When Saxenden tailored the hare and it had cried, had God heard and quivered? When her hand was pressed, had He seen and smiled? When Hubert in the Bolivian wilds had lain fever-stricken, listening to the cry of the loon55, had He sent an angel with quinine? When that star up there went out billions of years hence, and hung cold and lightless, would He note it on his shirt-cuff? The million million leaves and blades of grass down there that made the texture56 of the deeper darkness, the million million stars that gave the light by which she saw that darkness, all — all the result of perpetual motion in endless quiet, all part of God. And she herself, and the smoke of her cigarette; the jasmine under her nose, whose colour was invisible, and the movement of her brain, deciding that it was not yellow; that dog barking so far away that the sound was as a thread by which the woof of silence could be grasped; all — all endowed with the purpose remote, endless, pervading57, incomprehensible, of God!

She shivered and withdrew her head. Sitting down in an armchair, with the diary in her lap, she gazed round the room. Fleur’s taste had remodelled58 it; there was fine colour in the carpet, the light was softly shaded and fell pleasantly on her sea-green frock and hands resting on the diary. The long day had tired her. She lay back tilting59 up her face, looking drowsily60 at the frieze61 of baked China Cupids with which some former Lady Mont had caused the room to be encircled. Fat funny little creatures they seemed to her — thus tied by rosy62 chains to the perpetual examination of each other’s behinds from stated distances. Chase of the rosy hours, of the rosy —! Dinny’s eyelids63 drooped64, her lips opened, she slept. And the discreet65 light visiting her face and hair and neck revealed their negligence66 in slumber67, their impudent68 daintiness, as of the fair Italians, so very English, whom Botticelli painted. A tendril of short ripe hair had come apart, a smile strayed off and on to the parted lips; eyelashes, a little darker than the hair, winked69 flutteringly on cheeks which seemed to have a sort of transparence; and in the passing of her dreams, the nose twitched70 and quivered as if mocking at its slight tiptilt. Uplifted thus, the face looked as if but a twist were needed to pluck it from its white stalk of neck . . . .

With a start her head came to the erect71. He who had been ‘Snubby Bantham’ was standing in the middle of the room, regarding her with a hard blue unwinking stare.

“Sorry,” he said; “sorry! You were having a nice snooze.”

“I was dreaming of mince72 pies,” said Dinny. “It’s terribly good of you to come at whatever time of night it is.”

“Seven bells. You won’t be long, I suppose. D’you mind if I smoke a pipe?”

He sat down on a sofa opposite to her and began to fill his pipe. He had the look of a man who meant her to get it over, and was going to reserve judgment73 when she had. She better understood at that moment the conduct of public affairs. ‘Of course,’ she thought, ‘he’s giving his quo and he doesn’t see his quid. That’s the result of Jean!’ And whether she felt gratitude74 to the ‘leopardess’ for having deflected75 his interest, or whether a sort of jealousy76, neither she nor any other woman would have told. Her heart was beating, however, and in a quick, matter-of-fact voice she began. She read through three of the passages before she looked at him again. His face, but for the lips sucking at his pipe, might have been made of a well-coloured wood. His eyes still regarded her in a curious and now slightly hostile way, as if he were thinking: ‘This young woman is trying to make me feel something. It’s very late.’

With an increasing hatred77 of her task Dinny hurried on. The fourth passage was — except for the last — the most harrowing, at least to herself; and her voice quivered a little as she finished it.

“Bit thick that,” said Lord Saxenden; “mules have no feelings, you know — most extraordinary brutes78.”

Dinny’s temper rose; she would not look at him again. And she read on. This time she lost herself in that tortured recital79, thus put into sound for the first time. She finished, breathless, quivering all over with the effort of keeping her voice controlled. Lord Saxenden’s chin was resting on his hand. He was asleep.

She stood looking at him, as he not long before had looked at her. For the moment she was on the point of jerking his hand from under his chin. Her sense of humour saved her, and gazing at him rather as Venus gazes at Mars in Botticelli’s picture, she took a sheet of notepaper from Fleur’s bureau, wrote the words: ‘So sorry I exhausted80 you. Good-night,’ and laid it with infinite precaution on his knee. Rolling up the diary, she stole to the door, opened it and looked back, faint sounds, that would soon be snoring, were coming from him. ‘Appeal to his feelings and he sleeps,’ she thought: ‘That’s exactly how he must have won the war.’ And, turning, she found herself staring up at Professor Hallorsen.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 slanting bfc7f3900241f29cee38d19726ae7dce     
倾斜的,歪斜的
参考例句:
  • The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
  • The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。
2 oblique x5czF     
adj.斜的,倾斜的,无诚意的,不坦率的
参考例句:
  • He made oblique references to her lack of experience.他拐弯抹角地说她缺乏经验。
  • She gave an oblique look to one side.她向旁边斜看了一眼。
3 genial egaxm     
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的
参考例句:
  • Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
  • He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友,也是友善待客的主人。
4 squire 0htzjV     
n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅
参考例句:
  • I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
  • The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。
5 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
6 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
7 calloused 7897851b401f223edd1460a8f5ec37f3     
adj.粗糙的,粗硬的,起老茧的v.(使)硬结,(使)起茧( callous的过去式和过去分词 );(使)冷酷无情
参考例句:
  • A most practical and emotionally calloused Youth interrupted. 一个非常讲究实际而心肠很硬的年轻人插了一嘴。 来自辞典例句
  • McTeague exhibited his hard, calloused palms. 麦克梯格摊开那双生满老茧坚硬的手掌。 来自辞典例句
8 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。
9 strenuous 8GvzN     
adj.奋发的,使劲的;紧张的;热烈的,狂热的
参考例句:
  • He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
  • You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。
10 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。
11 demise Cmazg     
n.死亡;v.让渡,遗赠,转让
参考例句:
  • He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标,但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
  • The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。
12 deferentially 90c13fae351d7697f6aaf986af4bccc2     
adv.表示敬意地,谦恭地
参考例句:
  • "Now, let me see,'said Hurstwood, looking over Carrie's shoulder very deferentially. “来,让我瞧瞧你的牌。”赫斯渥说着,彬彬有礼地从嘉莉背后看过去。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • He always acts so deferentially around his supervisor. 他总是毕恭毕敬地围着他的上司转。 来自互联网
13 cannon 3T8yc     
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮
参考例句:
  • The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
  • The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。
14 amend exezY     
vt.修改,修订,改进;n.[pl.]赔罪,赔偿
参考例句:
  • The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
  • You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。
15 goodwill 4fuxm     
n.善意,亲善,信誉,声誉
参考例句:
  • His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
  • We paid £10,000 for the shop,and £2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店,两千英镑买下了它的信誉。
16 stolid VGFzC     
adj.无动于衷的,感情麻木的
参考例句:
  • Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference.她的脸上毫无表情,只有麻木的无动于衷。
  • He conceals his feelings behind a rather stolid manner.他装作无动于衷的样子以掩盖自己的感情。
17 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
18 dotage NsqxN     
n.年老体衰;年老昏聩
参考例句:
  • Even in his dotage,the Professor still sits on the committee.即便上了年纪,教授仍然是委员会的一员。
  • Sarah moved back in with her father so that she could look after him in his dotage.萨拉搬回来与父亲同住,好在他年老时照顾他。
19 hoot HdzzK     
n.鸟叫声,汽车的喇叭声; v.使汽车鸣喇叭
参考例句:
  • The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
  • In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中,他快速地跑向她。
20 snob YFMzo     
n.势利小人,自以为高雅、有学问的人
参考例句:
  • Going to a private school had made her a snob.上私立学校后,她变得很势利。
  • If you think that way, you are a snob already.如果你那样想的话,你已经是势利小人了。
21 epidermis AZhzW     
n.表皮
参考例句:
  • The external layer of skin is called the epidermis.皮的外层叫表皮。
  • There is a neoplasm originating in his leg's epidermis.他的腿上有个生长在表皮上的肿瘤。
22 converse 7ZwyI     
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反
参考例句:
  • He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
  • I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。
23 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
24 owl 7KFxk     
n.猫头鹰,枭
参考例句:
  • Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
  • I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚,经常半夜后才睡觉。
25 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。
26 feline nkdxi     
adj.猫科的
参考例句:
  • As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
  • The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉,简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。
27 fascination FlHxO     
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋
参考例句:
  • He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
  • His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
28 succumb CHLzp     
v.屈服,屈从;死
参考例句:
  • They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
  • Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗?
29 distraction muOz3l     
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐
参考例句:
  • Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注,不能有丝毫分神。
  • Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。
30 perverse 53mzI     
adj.刚愎的;坚持错误的,行为反常的
参考例句:
  • It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
  • She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态,以使别人难堪来取乐。
31 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。
32 lashes e2e13f8d3a7c0021226bb2f94d6a15ec     
n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 );鞭子;突然猛烈的一击;急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 );煽动;紧系;怒斥
参考例句:
  • Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时,母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面,以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 regiment JATzZ     
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制
参考例句:
  • As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活,所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
  • They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。
34 ingenuous mbNz0     
adj.纯朴的,单纯的;天真的;坦率的
参考例句:
  • Only the most ingenuous person would believe such a weak excuse!只有最天真的人才会相信这么一个站不住脚的借口!
  • With ingenuous sincerity,he captivated his audience.他以自己的率真迷住了观众。
35 credibly YzQxK     
ad.可信地;可靠地
参考例句:
  • I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
  • An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。
36 scrap JDFzf     
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废
参考例句:
  • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
  • Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
37 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。
38 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
39 wiles 9e4z1U     
n.(旨在欺骗或吸引人的)诡计,花招;欺骗,欺诈( wile的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • All her wiles were to persuade them to buy the goods. 她花言巧语想打动他们买这些货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The woman used all her wiles to tempt him into following her. 那女人用尽了自己的诱骗本领勾引着他尾随而去。 来自《用法词典》
40 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!
41 grimaced 5f3f78dc835e71266975d0c281dceae8     
v.扮鬼相,做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味,做了个怪相。
  • She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
42 fungus gzRyI     
n.真菌,真菌类植物
参考例句:
  • Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
  • This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。
43 foliage QgnzK     
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶
参考例句:
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
  • Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。
44 hooting f69e3a288345bbea0b49ddc2fbe5fdc6     
(使)作汽笛声响,作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 ); 倒好儿; 倒彩
参考例句:
  • He had the audience hooting with laughter . 他令观众哄堂大笑。
  • The owl was hooting. 猫头鹰在叫。
45 cypresses f4f41610ddee2e20669feb12f29bcb7c     
n.柏属植物,柏树( cypress的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Green and luxuriant are the pines and cypresses. 苍松翠柏郁郁葱葱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Before them stood a grove of tall cypresses. 前面是一个大坝子,种了许多株高大的松树。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
46 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
47 wig 1gRwR     
n.假发
参考例句:
  • The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
  • He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。
48 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。
49 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
50 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。
51 sitting-room sitting-room     
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室
参考例句:
  • The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
  • Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。
52 illustrate IaRxw     
v.举例说明,阐明;图解,加插图
参考例句:
  • The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
  • This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。
53 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
54 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。
55 loon UkPyS     
n.狂人
参考例句:
  • That guy's a real loon.那个人是个真正的疯子。
  • Everyone thought he was a loon.每个人都骂他神经。
56 texture kpmwQ     
n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理
参考例句:
  • We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
  • Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。
57 pervading f19a78c99ea6b1c2e0fcd2aa3e8a8501     
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • an all-pervading sense of gloom 无处不在的沮丧感
  • a pervading mood of fear 普遍的恐惧情绪
58 remodelled af281301c437868de39c3782bcf76aaf     
v.改变…的结构[形状]( remodel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Oh, thanks. We remodelled it last year. 是吗?谢谢。我们去年改建的。 来自口语例句
  • Kathy: Oh, thanks. We remodelled it last year. 凯西:是吗?谢谢。我们去年改建的。 来自互联网
59 tilting f68c899ac9ba435686dcb0f12e2bbb17     
倾斜,倾卸
参考例句:
  • For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他,但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
  • So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以,让我们结束内部间的争吵吧!再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。
60 drowsily bcb5712d84853637a9778f81fc50d847     
adv.睡地,懒洋洋地,昏昏欲睡地
参考例句:
  • She turned drowsily on her side, a slow creeping blackness enveloping her mind. 她半睡半醒地翻了个身,一片缓缓蠕动的黑暗渐渐将她的心包围起来。 来自飘(部分)
  • I felt asleep drowsily before I knew it. 不知过了多久,我曚扙地睡着了。 来自互联网
61 frieze QhNxy     
n.(墙上的)横饰带,雕带
参考例句:
  • The Corinthian painter's primary ornamental device was the animal frieze.科林斯画家最初的装饰图案是动物形象的装饰带。
  • A careful reconstruction of the frieze is a persuasive reason for visiting Liverpool. 这次能让游客走访利物浦展览会,其中一个具有说服力的原因则是壁画得到了精心的重建。
62 rosy kDAy9     
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的
参考例句:
  • She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作,生活看上去很美好。
  • She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。
63 eyelids 86ece0ca18a95664f58bda5de252f4e7     
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 );眼睛也不眨一下;不露声色;面不改色
参考例句:
  • She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了,眼睑开始往下垂。
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
64 drooped ebf637c3f860adcaaf9c11089a322fa5     
弯曲或下垂,发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
  • The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。
65 discreet xZezn     
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的
参考例句:
  • He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
  • It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。
66 negligence IjQyI     
n.疏忽,玩忽,粗心大意
参考例句:
  • They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
  • The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。
67 slumber 8E7zT     
n.睡眠,沉睡状态
参考例句:
  • All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
  • Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒,因为他需要休息。
68 impudent X4Eyf     
adj.鲁莽的,卑鄙的,厚颜无耻的
参考例句:
  • She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
  • The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。
69 winked af6ada503978fa80fce7e5d109333278     
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮
参考例句:
  • He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼,她便知道他的想法和她一样。
  • He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
70 twitched bb3f705fc01629dc121d198d54fa0904     
vt.& vi.(使)抽动,(使)颤动(twitch的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
  • The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着,像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
71 erect 4iLzm     
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的
参考例句:
  • She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头,把背挺得笔直。
  • Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。
72 mince E1lyp     
n.切碎物;v.切碎,矫揉做作地说
参考例句:
  • Would you like me to mince the meat for you?你要我替你把肉切碎吗?
  • Don't mince matters,but speak plainly.不要含糊其词,有话就直说吧。
73 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
74 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
75 deflected 3ff217d1b7afea5ab74330437461da11     
偏离的
参考例句:
  • The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
  • Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。
76 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
77 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨
参考例句:
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
78 brutes 580ab57d96366c5593ed705424e15ffa     
兽( brute的名词复数 ); 畜生; 残酷无情的人; 兽性
参考例句:
  • They're not like dogs; they're hideous brutes. 它们不像狗,是丑陋的畜牲。
  • Suddenly the foul musty odour of the brutes struck his nostrils. 突然,他的鼻尖闻到了老鼠的霉臭味。 来自英汉文学
79 recital kAjzI     
n.朗诵,独奏会,独唱会
参考例句:
  • She is going to give a piano recital.她即将举行钢琴独奏会。
  • I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took.在我叙述的35分钟内,他们完全被我吸引了。
80 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。


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