Chapter the Sixth Women in a Modern Utopia Section 1

But though I have come to a point where the problem of a Utopia has resolved itself very simply into the problem of government and direction, I find I have not brought the botanist¹ with me. Frankly² he cannot think so steadily³ onward⁴ as I can. I feel to think, he thinks to feel. It is I and my kind that have the wider range, because we can be impersonal⁵ as well as personal. We can escape ourselves. In general terms, at least, I understand him, but he does not understand me in any way at all. He thinks me an incomprehensible brute⁶ because his obsession⁷ is merely one of my incidental interests, and wherever my reasoning ceases to be explicit⁸ and full, the slightest ellipsis⁹, the most transitory digression, he evades me and is back at himself again. He may have a personal liking¹⁰ for me, though I doubt it, but also he hates me pretty distinctly, because of this bias¹¹ he cannot understand. My philosophical¹² insistence¹⁴ that things shall be reasonable and hang together, that what can be explained shall be explained, and that what can be done by calculation and certain methods shall not be left to chance, he loathes¹⁵. He just wants adventurously¹⁶ to feel. He wants to feel the sunset, and he thinks that on the whole he would feel it better if he had not been taught the sun was about ninety-two million miles away. He wants to feel free and strong, and he would rather feel so than be so. He does not want to accomplish great things, but to have dazzling things occur to him. He does not know that there are feelings also up in the clear air of the philosophic¹³ mountains, in the long ascents¹⁷ of effort and design. He does not know that thought itself is only a finer sort of feeling than his — good hock to the mixed gin, porter and treacle¹⁸ of his emotions, a perception of similitudes and oppositions¹⁹ that carries even thrills. And naturally he broods on the source of all his most copious²⁰ feelings and emotions, women, and particularly upon the woman who has most made him feel. He forces me also to that.

Our position is unfortunate for me. Our return to the Utopian equivalent of Lucerne revives in him all the melancholy²¹ distresses²² that so preoccupied²³ him when first we were transferred to this better planet. One day, while we are still waiting there for the public office to decide about us, he broaches²⁴ the matter. It is early evening, and we are walking beside the lake after our simple dinner. “About here,” he says, “the quays²⁵ would run and all those big hotels would be along here, looking out on the lake. It’s so strange to have seen them so recently, and now not to see them at all. . . . Where have they gone?”

“Vanished by hypothesis.”

“What?”

“Oh! They’re there still. It’s we that have come hither.”

“Of course. I forgot. But still —— You know, there was an avenue of little trees along this quay²⁶ with seats, and she was sitting looking out upon the lake. . . . I hadn’t seen her for ten years.”

He looks about him still a little perplexed²⁷. “Now we are here,” he says, “it seems as though that meeting and the talk we had must have been a dream.”

He falls musing²⁸.

Presently he says: “I knew her at once. I saw her in profile. But, you know, I didn’t speak to her directly. I walked past her seat and on for a little way, trying to control myself. . . . Then I turned back and sat down beside her, very quietly. She looked up at me. Everything came back — everything. For a moment or so I felt I was going to cry. . . . ”

That seems to give him a sort of satisfaction even in the reminiscence.

“We talked for a time just like casual acquaintances — about the view and the weather, and things like that.”

He muses²⁹ again.

“In Utopia everything would have been different,” I say.

“I suppose it would.”

He goes on before I can say anything more.

“Then, you know, there was a pause. I had a sort of intuition that the moment was coming. So I think had she. You may scoff³⁰, of course, at these intuitions ——”

I don’t, as a matter of fact. Instead, I swear secretly. Always this sort of man keeps up the pretence³¹ of highly distinguished³² and remarkable³³ mental processes, whereas — have not I, in my own composition, the whole diapason of emotional fool? Is not the suppression of these notes my perpetual effort, my undying despair? And then, am I to be accused of poverty?

But to his story.

“She said, quite abruptly³⁴, ‘I am not happy,’ and I told her, ‘I knew that the instant I saw you.’ Then, you know, she began to talk to me very quietly, very frankly, about everything. It was only afterwards I began to feel just what it meant, her talking to me like that.”

I cannot listen to this!

“Don’t you understand,” I cry, “that we are in Utopia. She may be bound unhappily upon earth and you may be bound, but not here. Here I think it will be different. Here the laws that control all these things will be humane³⁵ and just. So that all you said and did, over there, does not signify here — does not signify here!”

He looks up for a moment at my face, and then carelessly at my wonderful new world.

“Yes,” he says, without interest, with something of the tone of an abstracted elder speaking to a child, “I dare say it will be all very fine here.” And he lapses³⁶, thwarted³⁷ from his confidences, into musing.

There is something almost dignified³⁸ in this withdrawal³⁹ into himself. For a moment I entertain an illusion that really I am unworthy to hear the impalpable inconclusiveness of what he said to her and of what she said to him.

I am snubbed. I am also amazed to find myself snubbed. I become breathless with indignation. We walk along side by side, but now profoundly estranged⁴⁰.

I regard the facade⁴¹ of the Utopian public offices of Lucerne — I had meant to call his attention to some of the architectural features of these — with a changed eye, with all the spirit gone out of my vision. I wish I had never brought this introspective carcass, this mental ingrate⁴², with me.

I incline to fatalistic submission⁴³. I suppose I had no power to leave him behind. . . . I wonder and I wonder. The old Utopists never had to encumber⁴⁴ themselves with this sort of man.

1 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

2 frankly   

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。

3 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

4 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

5 impersonal   

adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的

参考例句：

• Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。

6 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

7 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

8 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

9 ellipsis   

n.省略符号，省略(语法结构上的)

参考例句：

• In this textbook we will tolerate a certain amount of ellipsis.在这本书中我们允许一些简化。
• There is an ellipsis of "that" in that sentence.那个句子省略了"that"。

10 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

11 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

12 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

13 philosophic   

adj.哲学的，贤明的

参考例句：

• It was a most philosophic and jesuitical motorman.这是个十分善辩且狡猾的司机。
• The Irish are a philosophic as well as a practical race.爱尔兰人是既重实际又善于思想的民族。

14 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

15 loathes   

v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的第三人称单数 )；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• He loathes the sight of crabs. 他看到蟹就恶心。 来自辞典例句
• Loathes this continually air all to bring the false society. 厌恶这连空气都带着虚伪的社会。 来自互联网

16 adventurously   

adv.爱冒险地

参考例句：

17 ascents   

n.上升( ascent的名词复数 )；（身份、地位等的）提高；上坡路；攀登

参考例句：

• The cart was very heavy, and in addition, there were many ascents. 这辆车实在难拉，而且又很重，还得上许多坡。 来自互联网
• Balloon ascents overcome this hazard with ease. 升空的气球能轻而易举地克服这一困难。 来自互联网

18 treacle   

n.糖蜜

参考例句：

• Blend a little milk with two tablespoons of treacle.将少许牛奶和两大汤匙糖浆混合。
• The fly that sips treacle is lost in the sweet.啜饮蜜糖的苍蝇在甜蜜中丧生。

19 oppositions   

（强烈的）反对( opposition的名词复数 )； 反对党； （事业、竞赛、游戏等的）对手； 对比

参考例句：

• That's fine because all perihelic oppositions of Mars are spectacular. 但它和最近的几次区别不大，因为火星所有的近日对冲都很壮观。
• He tried his best to bear down all of his oppositions. 他尽全力击败一切反对意见。

20 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

21 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

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

22 distresses   

n.悲痛( distress的名词复数 )；痛苦；贫困；危险

参考例句：

• It was from these distresses that the peasant wars of the fourteenth century sprang. 正是由于这些灾难才爆发了十四世纪的农民战争。 来自辞典例句
• In all dangers and distresses, I will remember that. 在一切危险和苦难中，我要记住这一件事。 来自互联网

23 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 broaches   

v.谈起( broach的第三人称单数 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体

参考例句：

• During the conversation, Rose broaches the topic of Buffett raising his offer. 在会谈中，罗斯向巴菲特谈到了提高报价的话题。 来自互联网
• Cutting Mat, Cutters Cutting Ruler, Blades, Trimmers, office Products, Craft Products Cutting Tools, Broaches and Cutters. 采购产品切割垫，刀具，刀片，办公产品，工艺产品。 来自互联网

25 quays   

码头( quay的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She drove across the Tournelle bridge and across the busy quays to the Latin quarter. 她驾车开过图尔内勒桥，穿过繁忙的码头开到拉丁区。
• When blasting is close to such installations as quays, the charge can be reduced. 在靠近如码头这类设施爆破时，装药量可以降低。

26 quay   

n.码头，靠岸处

参考例句：

• There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。
• The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。

27 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

28 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

29 muses   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe. 欧洲那种御用的诗才，我们已经听够了。 来自辞典例句
• Shiki muses that this is, at least, probably the right atmosphere. 志贵觉得这至少是正确的气氛。 来自互联网

30 scoff   

n.嘲笑，笑柄，愚弄；v.嘲笑，嘲弄，愚弄，狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• You are not supposed to scoff at religion.你不该嘲弄宗教。
• He was the scoff of the town.他成为全城的笑柄。

31 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

32 distinguished   

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。

33 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

34 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

35 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

36 lapses   

n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He sometimes lapses from good behavior. 他有时行为失检。 来自辞典例句
• He could forgive attacks of nerves, panic, bad unexplainable actions, all sorts of lapses. 他可以宽恕突然发作的歇斯底里，惊慌失措，恶劣的莫名其妙的动作，各种各样的失误。 来自辞典例句

37 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

38 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

39 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

40 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

41 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

42 ingrate   

n.忘恩负义的人

参考例句：

• It would take an ingrate great courage to work on ways to dispel such measures.一个不知感激为何物的人理直气壮的否定这些措施。
• He's such an ingrate.他是个忘恩负义的人。

43 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

44 encumber   

v.阻碍行动，妨碍，堆满

参考例句：

• He never let a woman encumber him for any length of time.他从来不让一个女人妨碍他太久的时间。
• They can't encumber us on the road.他们不会在路上拖累大家。