He had been requested to be in court by half-past ten, to provide against the event of the first action (a breach1 of promise) collapsing2, which however it did not, both sides showing a courage that afforded Waterbuck, Q.C., an opportunity for improving his already great reputation in this class of case. He was opposed by Ram3, the other celebrated4 breach of promise man. It was a battle of giants.
The court delivered judgment5 just before the luncheon6 interval7. The jury left the box for good, and Soames went out to get something to eat. He met James standing8 at the little luncheon-bar, like a pelican9 in the wilderness10 of the galleries, bent11 over a sandwich with a glass of sherry before him. The spacious12 emptiness of the great central hall, over which father and son brooded as they stood together, was marred13 now and then for a fleeting14 moment by barristers in wig15 and gown hurriedly bolting across, by an occasional old lady or rusty-coated man, looking up in a frightened way, and by two persons, bolder than their generation, seated in an embrasure arguing. The sound of their voices arose, together with a scent16 as of neglected wells, which, mingling17 with the odour of the galleries, combined to form the savour, like nothing but the emanation of a refined cheese, so indissolubly connected with the administration of British Justice.
It was not long before James addressed his son.
“When’s your case coming on? I suppose it’ll be on directly. I shouldn’t wonder if this Bosinney’d say anything; I should think he’d have to. He’ll go bankrupt if it goes against him.” He took a large bite at his sandwich and a mouthful of sherry. “Your mother,” he said, “wants you and Irene to come and dine to-night.”
A chill smile played round Soames’ lips; he looked back at his father. Anyone who had seen the look, cold and furtive18, thus interchanged, might have been pardoned for not appreciating the real understanding between them. James finished his sherry at a draught19.
“How much?” he asked.
On returning to the court Soames took at once his rightful seat on the front bench beside his solicitor20. He ascertained21 where his father was seated with a glance so sidelong as to commit nobody.
James, sitting back with his hands clasped over the handle of his umbrella, was brooding on the end of the bench immediately behind counsel, whence he could get away at once when the case was over. He considered Bosinney’s conduct in every way outrageous22, but he did not wish to run up against him, feeling that the meeting would be awkward.
Next to the Divorce Court, this court was, perhaps, the favourite emporium of justice, libel, breach of promise, and other commercial actions being frequently decided23 there. Quite a sprinkling of persons unconnected with the law occupied the back benches, and the hat of a woman or two could be seen in the gallery.
The two rows of seats immediately in front of James were gradually filled by barristers in wigs24, who sat down to make pencil notes, chat, and attend to their teeth; but his interest was soon diverted from these lesser25 lights of justice by the entrance of Waterbuck, Q.C., with the wings of his silk gown rustling26, and his red, capable face supported by two short, brown whiskers. The famous Q.C. looked, as James freely admitted, the very picture of a man who could heckle a witness.
For all his experience, it so happened that he had never seen Waterbuck, Q.C., before, and, like many Forsytes in the lower branch of the profession, he had an extreme admiration27 for a good cross-examiner. The long, lugubrious28 folds in his cheeks relaxed somewhat after seeing him, especially as he now perceived that Soames alone was represented by silk.
Waterbuck, Q.C., had barely screwed round on his elbow to chat with his Junior before Mr. Justice Bentham himself appeared — a thin, rather hen-like man, with a little stoop, clean-shaven under his snowy wig. Like all the rest of the court, Waterbuck rose, and remained on his feet until the judge was seated. James rose but slightly; he was already comfortable, and had no opinion of Bentham, having sat next but one to him at dinner twice at the Bumley Tomms’. Bumley Tomm was rather a poor thing, though he had been so successful. James himself had given him his first brief. He was excited, too, for he had just found out that Bosinney was not in court.
‘Now, what’s he mean by that?’ he kept on thinking.
The case having been called on, Waterbuck, Q.C., pushing back his papers, hitched29 his gown on his shoulder, and, with a semi-circular look around him, like a man who is going to bat, arose and addressed the Court.
The facts, he said, were not in dispute, and all that his Lordship would be asked was to interpret the correspondence which had taken place between his client and the defendant30, an architect, with reference to the decoration of a house. He would, however, submit that this correspondence could only mean one very plain thing. After briefly31 reciting the history of the house at Robin32 Hill, which he described as a mansion33, and the actual facts of expenditure35, he went on as follows:
“My client, Mr. Soames Forsyte, is a gentleman, a man of property, who would be the last to dispute any legitimate36 claim that might be made against him, but he has met with such treatment from his architect in the matter of this house, over which he has, as your lordship has heard, already spent some twelve — some twelve thousand pounds, a sum considerably37 in advance of the amount he had originally contemplated38, that as a matter of principle — and this I cannot too strongly emphasize — as a matter of principle, and in the interests of others, he has felt himself compelled to bring this action. The point put forward in defence by the architect I will suggest to your lordship is not worthy39 of a moment’s serious consideration.” He then read the correspondence.
His client, “a man of recognised position,” was prepared to go into the box, and to swear that he never did authorize40, that it was never in his mind to authorize, the expenditure of any money beyond the extreme limit of twelve thousand and fifty pounds, which he had clearly fixed41; and not further to waste the time of the court, he would at once call Mr. Forsyte.
Soames then went into the box. His whole appearance was striking in its composure. His face, just supercilious42 enough, pale and clean-shaven, with a little line between the eyes, and compressed lips; his dress in unostentatious order, one hand neatly43 gloved, the other bare. He answered the questions put to him in a somewhat low, but distinct voice. His evidence under cross-examination savoured of taciturnity.
Had he not used the expression, “a free hand”? No.
“Come, come!”
The expression he had used was ‘a free hand in the terms of this correspondence.’
“Would you tell the Court that that was English?”
“Yes!”
“What do you say it means?”
“What it says!”
“Are you prepared to deny that it is a contradiction in terms?”
“Yes.”
“You are not an Irishman?”
“No.”
“Are you a well-educated man?”
“Yes.”
“And yet you persist in that statement?”
“Yes.”
Throughout this and much more cross-examination, which turned again and again around the ‘nice point,’ James sat with his hand behind his ear, his eyes fixed upon his son.
He was proud of him! He could not but feel that in similar circumstances he himself would have been tempted44 to enlarge his replies, but his instinct told him that this taciturnity was the very thing. He sighed with relief, however, when Soames, slowly turning, and without any change of expression, descended45 from the box.
When it came to the turn of Bosinney’s Counsel to address the Judge, James redoubled his attention, and he searched the Court again and again to see if Bosinney were not somewhere concealed46.
Young Chankery began nervously47; he was placed by Bosinney’s absence in an awkward position. He therefore did his best to turn that absence to account.
He could not but fear — he said — that his client had met with an accident. He had fully48 expected him there to give evidence; they had sent round that morning both to Mr. Bosinney’s office and to his rooms (though he knew they were one and the same, he thought it was as well not to say so), but it was not known where he was, and this he considered to be ominous49, knowing how anxious Mr. Bosinney had been to give his evidence. He had not, however, been instructed to apply for an adjournment50, and in default of such instruction he conceived it his duty to go on. The plea on which he somewhat confidently relied, and which his client, had he not unfortunately been prevented in some way from attending, would have supported by his evidence, was that such an expression as a ‘free hand’ could not be limited, fettered51, and rendered unmeaning, by any verbiage52 which might follow it. He would go further and say that the correspondence showed that whatever he might have said in his evidence, Mr. Forsyte had in fact never contemplated repudiating53 liability on any of the work ordered or executed by his architect. The defendant had certainly never contemplated such a contingency54, or, as was demonstrated by his letters, he would never have proceeded with the work — a work of extreme delicacy55, carried out with great care and efficiency, to meet and satisfy the fastidious taste of a connoisseur56, a rich man, a man of property. He felt strongly on this point, and feeling strongly he used, perhaps, rather strong words when he said that this action was of a most unjustifiable, unexpected, indeed — unprecedented57 character. If his Lordship had had the opportunity that he himself had made it his duty to take, to go over this very fine house and see the great delicacy and beauty of the decorations executed by his client — an artist in his most honourable58 profession — he felt convinced that not for one moment would his Lordship tolerate this, he would use no stronger word than daring attempt to evade59 legitimate responsibility.
Taking the text of Soames’ letters, he lightly touched on ‘Boileau v. The Blasted Cement Company, Limited.’ “It is doubtful,” he said, “what that authority has decided; in any case I would submit that it is just as much in my favour as in my friend’s.” He then argued the ‘nice point’ closely. With all due deference60 he submitted that Mr. Forsyte’s expression nullified itself. His client not being a rich man, the matter was a serious one for him; he was a very talented architect, whose professional reputation was undoubtedly61 somewhat at stake. He concluded with a perhaps too personal appeal to the Judge, as a lover of the arts, to show himself the protector of artists, from what was occasionally — he said occasionally — the too iron hand of capital. “What,” he said, “will be the position of the artistic62 professions, if men of property like this Mr. Forsyte refuse, and are allowed to refuse, to carry out the obligations of the commissions which they have given.” He would now call his client, in case he should at the last moment have found himself able to be present.
The name Philip Baynes Bosinney was called three times by the Ushers63, and the sound of the calling echoed with strange melancholy64 throughout the Court and Galleries.
The crying of this name, to which no answer was returned, had upon James a curious effect: it was like calling for your lost dog about the streets. And the creepy feeling that it gave him, of a man missing, grated on his sense of comfort and security-on his cosiness65. Though he could not have said why, it made him feel uneasy.
He looked now at the clock — a quarter to three! It would be all over in a quarter of an hour. Where could the young fellow be?
It was only when Mr. Justice Bentham delivered judgment that he got over the turn he had received.
Behind the wooden erection, by which he was fenced from more ordinary mortals, the learned Judge leaned forward. The electric light, just turned on above his head, fell on his face, and mellowed66 it to an orange hue67 beneath the snowy crown of his wig; the amplitude68 of his robes grew before the eye; his whole figure, facing the comparative dusk of the Court, radiated like some majestic69 and sacred body. He cleared his throat, took a sip70 of water, broke the nib71 of a quill72 against the desk, and, folding his bony hands before him, began.
To James he suddenly loomed73 much larger than he had ever thought Bentham would loom74. It was the majesty75 of the law; and a person endowed with a nature far less matter-of-fact than that of James might have been excused for failing to pierce this halo, and disinter therefrom the somewhat ordinary Forsyte, who walked and talked in every-day life under the name of Sir Walter Bentham.
He delivered judgment in the following words:
“The facts in this case are not in dispute. On May 15 last the defendant wrote to the plaintiff, requesting to be allowed to withdraw from his professional position in regard to the decoration of the plaintiff’s house, unless he were given ‘a free hand.’ The plaintiff, on May 17, wrote back as follows: ‘In giving you, in accordance with your request, this free hand, I wish you to clearly understand that the total cost of the house as handed over to me completely decorated, inclusive of your fee (as arranged between us) must not exceed twelve thousand pounds.’ To this letter the defendant replied on May 18: ‘If you think that in such a delicate matter as decoration I can bind76 myself to the exact pound, I am afraid you are mistaken.’ On May 19 the plaintiff wrote as follows: ‘I did not mean to say that if you should exceed the sum named in my letter to you by ten or twenty or even fifty pounds there would be any difficulty between us. You have a free hand in the terms of this correspondence, and I hope you will see your way to completing the decorations.’ On May 20 the defendant replied thus shortly: ‘Very well.’
“In completing these decorations, the defendant incurred77 liabilities and expenses which brought the total cost of this house up to the sum of twelve thousand four hundred pounds, all of which expenditure has been defrayed by the plaintiff. This action has been brought by the plaintiff to recover from the defendant the sum of three hundred and fifty pounds expended78 by him in excess of a sum of twelve thousand and fifty pounds, alleged79 by the plaintiff to have been fixed by this correspondence as the maximum sum that the defendant had authority to expend34.
“The question for me to decide is whether or no the defendant is liable to refund80 to the plaintiff this sum. In my judgment he is so liable.
“What in effect the plaintiff has said is this ‘I give you a free hand to complete these decorations, provided that you keep within a total cost to me of twelve thousand pounds. If you exceed that sum by as much as fifty pounds, I will not hold you responsible; beyond that point you are no agent of mine, and I shall repudiate81 liability.’ It is not quite clear to me whether, had the plaintiff in fact repudiated82 liability under his agent’s contracts, he would, under all the circumstances, have been successful in so doing; but he has not adopted this course. He has accepted liability, and fallen back upon his rights against the defendant under the terms of the latter’s engagement.
“In my judgment the plaintiff is entitled to recover this sum from the defendant.
“It has been sought, on behalf of the defendant, to show that no limit of expenditure was fixed or intended to be fixed by this correspondence. If this were so, I can find no reason for the plaintiff’s importation into the correspondence of the figures of twelve thousand pounds and subsequently of fifty pounds. The defendant’s contention83 would render these figures meaningless. It is manifest to me that by his letter of May 20 he assented84 to a very clear proposition, by the terms of which he must be held to be bound.
“For these reasons there will be judgment for the plaintiff for the amount claimed with costs.”
James sighed, and stooping, picked up his umbrella which had fallen with a rattle85 at the words ‘importation into this correspondence.’
Untangling his legs, he rapidly left the Court; without waiting for his son, he snapped up a hansom cab (it was a clear, grey afternoon) and drove straight to Timothy’s where he found Swithin; and to him, Mrs. Septimus Small, and Aunt Hester, he recounted the whole proceedings86, eating two muffins not altogether in the intervals87 of speech.
“Soames did very well,” he ended; “he’s got his head screwed on the right way. This won’t please Jolyon. It’s a bad business for that young Bosinney; he’ll go bankrupt, I shouldn’t wonder,” and then after a long pause, during which he had stared disquietly into the fire, he added:
“He wasn’t there — now why?”
There was a sound of footsteps. The figure of a thick-set man, with the ruddy brown face of robust88 health, was seen in the back drawing-room. The forefinger89 of his upraised hand was outlined against the black of his frock coat. He spoke90 in a grudging91 voice.
“Well, James,” he said, “I can’t — I can’t stop,” and turning round, he walked out.
It was Timothy.
James rose from his chair. “There!” he said, “there! I knew there was something wro. . . . ” He checked himself, and was silent, staring before him, as though he had seen a portent92.
点击收听单词发音
1 breach | |
n.违反,不履行;破裂;vt.冲破,攻破 | |
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2 collapsing | |
压扁[平],毁坏,断裂 | |
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3 ram | |
(random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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4 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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5 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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6 luncheon | |
n.午宴,午餐,便宴 | |
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7 interval | |
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
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8 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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9 pelican | |
n.鹈鹕,伽蓝鸟 | |
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10 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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11 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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12 spacious | |
adj.广阔的,宽敞的 | |
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13 marred | |
adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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14 fleeting | |
adj.短暂的,飞逝的 | |
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15 wig | |
n.假发 | |
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16 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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17 mingling | |
adj.混合的 | |
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18 furtive | |
adj.鬼鬼崇崇的,偷偷摸摸的 | |
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19 draught | |
n.拉,牵引,拖;一网(饮,吸,阵);顿服药量,通风;v.起草,设计 | |
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20 solicitor | |
n.初级律师,事务律师 | |
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21 ascertained | |
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22 outrageous | |
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 | |
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23 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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24 wigs | |
n.假发,法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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25 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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26 rustling | |
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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27 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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28 lugubrious | |
adj.悲哀的,忧郁的 | |
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29 hitched | |
(免费)搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 ); 搭便车; 攀上; 跃上 | |
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30 defendant | |
n.被告;adj.处于被告地位的 | |
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31 briefly | |
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
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32 robin | |
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟 | |
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33 mansion | |
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
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34 expend | |
vt.花费,消费,消耗 | |
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35 expenditure | |
n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出;使用,消耗 | |
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36 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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37 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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38 contemplated | |
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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39 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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40 authorize | |
v.授权,委任;批准,认可 | |
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41 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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42 supercilious | |
adj.目中无人的,高傲的;adv.高傲地;n.高傲 | |
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43 neatly | |
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地 | |
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44 tempted | |
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词) | |
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45 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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46 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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47 nervously | |
adv.神情激动地,不安地 | |
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48 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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49 ominous | |
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的 | |
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50 adjournment | |
休会; 延期; 休会期; 休庭期 | |
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51 fettered | |
v.给…上脚镣,束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52 verbiage | |
n.冗词;冗长 | |
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53 repudiating | |
v.(正式地)否认( repudiate的现在分词 );拒绝接受;拒绝与…往来;拒不履行(法律义务) | |
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54 contingency | |
n.意外事件,可能性 | |
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55 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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56 connoisseur | |
n.鉴赏家,行家,内行 | |
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57 unprecedented | |
adj.无前例的,新奇的 | |
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58 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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59 evade | |
vt.逃避,回避;避开,躲避 | |
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60 deference | |
n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
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61 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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62 artistic | |
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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63 ushers | |
n.引座员( usher的名词复数 );招待员;门房;助理教员v.引,领,陪同( usher的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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65 cosiness | |
n.舒适,安逸 | |
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66 mellowed | |
(使)成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 ); 使色彩更加柔和,使酒更加醇香 | |
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67 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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68 amplitude | |
n.广大;充足;振幅 | |
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69 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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70 sip | |
v.小口地喝,抿,呷;n.一小口的量 | |
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71 nib | |
n.钢笔尖;尖头 | |
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72 quill | |
n.羽毛管;v.给(织物或衣服)作皱褶 | |
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73 loomed | |
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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74 loom | |
n.织布机,织机;v.隐现,(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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75 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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76 bind | |
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬 | |
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77 incurred | |
[医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
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78 expended | |
v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 );使用(钱等)做某事;用光;耗尽 | |
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79 alleged | |
a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
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80 refund | |
v.退还,偿还;n.归还,偿还额,退款 | |
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81 repudiate | |
v.拒绝,拒付,拒绝履行 | |
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82 repudiated | |
v.(正式地)否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 );拒绝接受;拒绝与…往来;拒不履行(法律义务) | |
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83 contention | |
n.争论,争辩,论战;论点,主张 | |
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84 assented | |
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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85 rattle | |
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓 | |
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86 proceedings | |
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
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87 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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88 robust | |
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的 | |
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89 forefinger | |
n.食指 | |
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90 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 | |
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91 grudging | |
adj.勉强的,吝啬的 | |
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92 portent | |
n.预兆;恶兆;怪事 | |
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