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Chapter 8
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AFTER all, it takes time for a great change in world-thought to strike in. That’s what Owen insisted on calling it. He maintained that the amazing up-rush of these thirty years was really due to the wholesale1 acceptance and application of the idea of evolution.

“I don’t know which to call more important — the new idea, or the new power to use it,” he said. “When we were young, practically all men of science accepted the evolutionary2 theory of life; and it was in general popular favor, though little understood. But the governing ideas of all our earlier time were so completely out of touch with life; so impossible of any useful application, that the connection between belief and behavior was rusted3 out of us. Between our detached religious ideas and our brutal4 ignorance of brain culture, we had made ourselves preternaturally inefficient5.

“Then — you remember the talk there was about Mental Healing — ‘Power in Repose’ — ‘The Human Machine’ — or was that a bit later? Anyway, people had begun to waken up to the fact that they could do things with their brains. At first they used them only to cure diseases, to maintain an artificial ‘peace of mind,’ and tricks like that. Then it suddenly burst upon us — two or three important books came along nearly at once, and hosts of articles — that we could use this wonderful mental power every day, to live with! That all these scientific facts and laws had an application to life — human life.”

I nodded appreciatively. I was getting quite fond of my brother-in-law. We were in a small, comfortable motor boat, gliding6 swiftly and noiselessly up the beautiful Hudson. Its blue cleanness was a joy. I could see fish — real fish — in the clear water when we were still.

The banks were one long succession of gardens, palaces, cottages and rich woodlands, charming to view.

“It’s the time that puzzles me more than thing,” I said, “even more than the money. How on earth so much could be done in so little time!”

“That’s because you conceive of it as being done in one place after another, instead of in every place at once,” Owen replied. “If one city, in one year, could end the smoke at once,” Owen replied. “If one city, in one year, could end the smoke nuisance, so could all the cities on earth, if they chose to. We chose to, all over the country, practically at once.”

“But you speak of evolution. Evolution is the slowest of slow processes. It took us thousands of dragging years to evolve the civilization of 1910, and you show me a 1940 that seems thousands of years beyond that.”

“Yes; but what you call Evolution’ was that of unaided nature. Social evolution is a distinct process. Below us, you see, all improvements had to be built into the stock — transmitted by heredity. The social organism is open to lateral7 transmission — what we used to call education. We never understood it. We thought it was to supply certain piles of information, mostly useless; or to develop certain qualities.”

“And what do you think it is now?” I asked.

“We know now that the social process is to constantly improve and develop society. This has a necessary corollary of improvement in individuals; but the thing that matters most is growth in the social spirit — and body.”

“You’re beyond me now, Owen.”

“Yes; don’t you notice that ever since you began to study our advance, what puzzles you most is not the visible details about you, but a changed spirit in people? Thirty years ago, if you showed a man that some one had dumped a ton of soot8 in his front yard he would have been furious, and had the man arrested and punished. If you showed him that numbers of men were dumping thousands of tons of soot all over his city every year, he would hiave neither felt nor acted. It’s the other way, now.”

“You speak as if man had really learned to ‘love his neighbor as himself,’” I said sarcastically9.

“And why not? If you have a horse, on whose strength you absolutely depend to make a necessary journey, you take good care of that horse and grow fond of him. It dawned on us at last that life was not an individual affair; that other people were essential to our happiness — to our very existence. We are not what they used to call ‘altruistic’ in this. We do not think of ‘neighbors,’ ‘brothers,’ ‘others’ any more. It is all ‘ourself.’”

“I don’t follow you — sorry.”

Owen grinned at me amiably10. “No matter, old chap, you can see results, and will have to take the reasons on trust. Now here’s this particular river with its natural beauties, and its unnatural11 defilements. We simply stopped defiling12 it — and one season’s rain did the rest.”

“Did the rains wash away the rail-roads?”

“Oh, no — they are there still. But the use of electric power has removed the worst evils. There is no smoke, dust, cinders13, and a yearly saving of millions in forest fires on the side! Also very little noise. Come and see the way it works now.”

We ran in at Yonkers. I wouldn’t have known the old town. It was as beautiful as — Posilippo.”

“Where are the factories?” I asked.

“There — and there — and there.”

“Why, those are palaces l”

“Well? Why not? Why shouldn’t people work in palaces? It doesn’t cost any more to make a beautiful building than an ugly one. Remember, we are much richer, now — and have plenty of time, and the spirit of beauty is encouraged.”

I looked at the rows of quiet, stately buildings; wide windowed; garden-roofed.

“Electric power there too?” I suggested.

Owen nodded again. “Everywhere,” he said. “We store electricity all the time with wind-mills, water-mills, tide-mills, solar engines — even hand power.”

“What!”

“I mean it,” he said. “There are all kinds of storage batteries now. Huge ones for mills, little ones for houses; and there are ever so many people whose work does not give them bodily exercise, and who do not care much for games. So we have both hand and foot attachments14; and a vigorous man, or woman — or child, for that matter, can work away for half an hour, and have the pleasant feeling that the power used will heat the house or run the motor.

“Is that why I don’t smell gasoline in the streets?”

“Yes. We use all those sloppy15, smelly things in special places — and apply all the power by electric storage mostly. You saw the little batteries in our boat.”

Then he showed me the railroad. There were six tracks, clean and shiny — thick turf between them.

“The inside four are for the special trains — rapid transit16 and long distance freight. The outside two are open to anyone.”

We stopped long enough to see some trains go by; the express at an incredible speed, yet only buzzing softly; and the fast freight; cars seemingly of aluminum17, like a string of silver beads18.

“We use aluminum for almost everything. You know it was only a question of power — the stuff is endless,” Owen explained.

And all the time, on the outside tracks, which had a side track at every station, he told me, ran single coaches or short trains, both passenger and freight, at a comfortable speed.

“All kinds of regular short-distance traffic runs this way. It’s a great convenience. But the regular highroads are the best. Have you noticed?”

I had seen from the air-motor how broad and fine they looked, but told him I had made no special study of them.

“Come on — while we’re about it,” he said; and called a little car. We ran up the hills to Old Broadway, and along its shaded reaches for quite a distance. It was broad, indeed. The center track, smooth, firm, and dustless, was for swift traffic of any sort, and well used. As the freight wagons19 were beautiful to look at and clean, they were not excluded, and the perfect road was strong enough for any load. There were rows of trees on either side, showing a good growth, though young yet; then a narrower roadway for slower vehicles, on either side a second row of trees, the footpaths20, and the outside trees. i

“These are only about twenty-five years old. Don’t you think they are doing well?”

“They are a credit to the National Bureau of Highways and Arboriculture that I see you are going to tell me about.”

“You are getting wise,” Owen answered, with a smile. “Yes — that’s what does it. And it furnishes employment, I can tell you. In the early morning these roads are alive with caretakers. Of course the bulk of the work is done by running machines; but there is a lot of pruning21 and trimming and fighting with insects. Among our richest victories in that line is the extermination22 of the gipsy moth23 — brown tail — elm beetle24 and the rest.”

“How on earth did you do that?”

“Found the natural devourer25 — as we did with the scale pest. Also by raising birds instead of killing26 them; and by swift and thorough work in the proper season. We gave our minds to it, you see, at last.”

The outside path was a delightful27 one, wide, smooth, soft to the foot, agreeable in color.

“What do you make your sidewalk of?” I asked.

Owen tapped it with his foot. “It’s a kind of semi-flexible concrete — wears well, too. And we color it to suit ourselves, you see. There was no real reason why a path should be ugly to look at.”

Every now and then there were seats; also of concrete, beautifully shaped and too heavy to be easily moved. A narrow crack ran along the lowest curve.

“That keeps ’em dry,” said Owen.

Drinking fountains bubbled invitingly28 up from graceful29 standing30 basins, where birds drank and dipped in the overflow31.

“Why, these are fruit trees,” I said suddenly, looking along the outside row.

“Yes, nearly all of them, and the next row are mostly nut trees. You see, the fruit trees are shorter and don’t take the sun off. The middle ones are elms wherever elms grow well. I tell you, John, it is the experience of a lifetime to take a long motor trip over the roads of Ajnerica! You can pick your climate, or run with the season. Nellie and I started once from New Orleans in February — the violets out. We came north with them; I picked her a fresh bunch every dayl”

He showed me the grape vines trained from tree to tree in Tuscan fashion; the lines of berry bushes, and the endless ribbon of perennial32 flowers that made the final border of the pathway. On its inner side were beds of violets, lilies of the valley, and thick ferns; and around each fountain were groups of lilies and water-loving plants.

I shook my head.

“I don’t believe it,” I said. “I simply don’t believe it! How could any nation afford to keep up such roads!”

Owen drew me to a seat — we had dismounted to examine a fountain and see the flowers. He produced pencil and paper.

“I’m no expert,” he said. “I can’t give you exact figures. But I want you to remember that the trees pay. Pay! These roads, hundreds of thousands of miles of them, constitute quite a forest, and quite an orchard33. Nuts, as Hallie told you, are in growing use as food. We have along these roads, as beautiful clean shade trees, the finest improved kinds of chestnut34, walnut35, butternut, pecan — whatever grows best in the locality.”

And then he made a number of startling assertions and computations, and showed me the profit per mile of two rows of well-kept nut trees.

“I suppose Hallie has told you about tree farming?” he added.

“She said something about it — but I didn’t rightly know what she meant.”

“Oh, it’s a big thing; it has revolutionized agriculture. As you’re sailing over the country now you don’t see so many bald spots. A healthy, permanent world has to keep its fur on.”

I was impressed by that casual remark, “As you’re sailing over the country.”

“Look here, Owen, I think I have the r glimmer36 of an idea. Didn’t the common

‘ use of airships help to develop this social consciousness you’re always talking about — this general view of things?”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “You’re dead right, John — it did, and I don’t believe any of us would have thought to mention it.” He looked at me admiringly. “Behold the power of a naturally strong mind — in spite of circumstances! Yes, really that’s a fact. You see few people are able to visualize37 what they have not seen. Most of us had no more idea of the surface of the earth than an ant has of a meadow. In each mind was only a thready fragment of an idea of the world — no real geographic38 view. And when we got flying all over it commonly, it became real and familiar to us — like a big garden.

“I guess that helped on the tree idea. You see, in our earlier kind of agriculture the first thing we did was to cut down the forest, dig up and burn over, plow39, harrow, and brush fine — to plant our little grasses. All that dry, soft, naked soil was helplessly exposed to the rain — and the rain washed it steadily40 away. In one heavy storm soil that it had taken centuries of forest growth to make would be carried off to clog41 the livers and harbors. This struck us all at once as wasteful42. We began to realize that food could grow on trees as well as grasses; that the cubic space occupied by a chestnut tree could produce more bushels of nutriment than the linear space below it. Of course we have our wheat fields yet, but around every exposed flat acreage is a broad belt of turf and trees; every river and brook43 is broadly bordered with turf and trees, or shrubs44. We have stopped soil waste to a very great extent. Also we make soil — but that is a different matter.”

“Hurrying Mother Nature again, eh?” “Yes, the advance in scientific agriculture is steady. Don’t you remember that German professor who raised all kinds of things in water? Just fed them a pinch of chemicals now and then? They said he had a row of trees before his door with their roots in barrels of water — the third generation that had never touched ground. We kept on studying, and began to learn how to put together the proper kind of soil for different kinds of plants. Rock-crushers furnished the basis, then add the preferred constituents45 and sell, by the bag or the ship load. You can have a radish bed in a box on your window sill, if you like radishes, that will raise you the fattest, sweetest, juiciest, crispiest, tenderest little pink beauties you ever saw — all the year round. No weed seeds in that soil, either.”

We rolled slowly back in the green shade. There was plenty of traffic, but all quiet, orderly, and comfortable. The people were a constant surprise to me. They were certainly better looking, even the poorest. And on the faces of the newest immigrants there was an expression of blazing hope that was almost better than the cheery peacefulness of the native born.

Wherever I saw workmen, they worked swiftly, with eager interest. Nowhere did I see the sagging46 slouch, the slow drag of foot and dull swing of arm which I had always associated with day laborers47. We saw men working in the fields — and women, too; but I had learned not to lay my neck on the block too frequently. I knew that my protest would only bring out explanations of the advantage of field work over house work — and that women were as strong as men — or thereabouts. But I was surprised at their eagerness.

“They look as busy as a lot of ants on an ant heap,” I said.

“It’s their heap, you see,” Owen answered. “And they are not tired — that makes a great difference.”

“They seem phenomenally well dressed — looks like a scene in an opera. Sort of agricultural uniform?”

“Why not?” Owen was always asking me “why not” — and there wasn’t any answer to it. “We used to have hunting suits and fishing suits and plumbing48 suits, and so on. It isn’t really a uniform, just the natural working out of the best appointed dress for the trade.”

Again I held my tongue; not asking how they could afford it, but remembering the shorter hours, the larger incomes, the more universal education.

We got back to Yonkers, put up the car — these things could be hired, I found, for twenty-five cents an hour — and had lunch in a little eating place which bore out Hallie’s statement as to the high standard of food everywhere. Our meal was twenty-five cents for each of us. I saw Owen smile at me, but I refused to be surprised. We settled down in our boat again, and pushed smoothly49 up the river.

“I wish you’d get one thing clear in my mind,” I said at last. “Just how did you tackle the liquor question. I haven’t seen a saloon — or a drunken man. Nellie said something about people’s not wanting to drink any more — but there were several millions who did want to, thirty years ago, and plenty of people who wanted them to. What were your steps?”

“The first step was to eliminate the self-interest of the dealer50 — the big business pressure that had to make drunkards. That was done in state after state, within a few years, by introducing government ownership and management. With that went an absolute government guarantee of purity. In five or six years there was no bad liquor sold, and no public drinking places except government ones.

“But that wasn’t enough — not by a long way. It wasn’t the love of liquor that supported the public house — it was the need of the public house itself.”

I stared rather uncertainly,

“The meeting place,” he went on. “Men have to get together. We have had public houses as long as we have had private ones, almost. It is a social need.”

“A social need with a pretty bad result, it seems to me,” I said, “that took men away from their families, leading to all manner of vicious indulgence.”

“Yes, they used to; but that was because only men used them. I said a social need, not a masculine one. We have met it in this way. Whenever we build private houses — if it is the lowest country unit, or the highest city block, we build accommodations for living together.

“Every little village has its Town House, with club rooms of all sorts; the people flock together freely, for games, for talk, for lectures, and plays, and dances, and sermons — it is universal. And in the city — you don’t see a saloon on every corner, but you do see almost as many places where you can ‘meet a man’ and talk with him on equal ground.”

“Meet a woman, too?” I suggested.

“Yes; especially, yes. People can meet, as individuals or in groups, freely and frequently, in city or country. But men can not flock by themselves in special places provided for their special vices51 — without taking a great deal of extra trouble.”

“I should think they would take the trouble, then,” said I.

“But why? When there is every arrangement made for a natural good time; when you are not overworked, not underfed, not miserable52 and hopeless. When you can drop into a comfortable chair and have excellent food and drink in pleasant company; and hear good music, or speaking, or reading, or see pictures; or, if you like, play any kind of game; swim, ride, fly, do what you want to, for change and recreation — why long for liquor in a low place?”

“But the men — the real men, people as they were,” I insisted. “You had a world full of drinking men who liked the saloon; did you — what do you call it? — eliminate them?”

A few of them, yes,” he replied gravely; Some preferred it; others, thorough-going dipsomaniacs, we gave hospital treatment and permanent restraint; they lived and worked and were well provided for in places where there was no liquor. But there were not many of that kind. Most men drank under a constant pressure of conditions driving them to it, and the mere53 force of habit.

“Just remember that the weight and terror of life is lifted off us — for good and all.”

“Socialism, you mean?”

“Yes, real socialism. The wealth and power of all of us belongs to all of us now. The Wolf is dead.”

“Other things besides poverty drove a man to drink in my time,” I ventured.

“Oh, yes — and some men continued to drink. I told you there was liquor to be had — good liquor, too. And other drug habits held on for a while. But we stopped the source of the trouble. The old men died off, the younger ones got over it, and the new ones — that’s what you don’t realize yet: We make a new kind of people now.”

He was silent, his strong mouth set in a kind smile, his eyes looking far up the blue river.

“Well, what comes next? What’s done it?” I demanded. “Religion, education, or those everlasting54 women?”

He laughed outright55; laughed till the boat rocked,

“How you do hate to admit that it’s their turn. John! Haven’t we had full swing — everything in our hands — for all historic time? They have only begun. Thirty years? Why, John, they have done so much in these thirty years that the world’s heart is glad at last. You don’t know ”

I didn’t know. But I did feel a distinct resentment56 at being treated like an extinct species.

“They have simply stepped on to an eminence57 men have been all these years building,” I said. “We have done all the hard work — are doing it yet, for all I see. We have made it possible for them to live at all! We have made the whole civilization of the world — they just profit by it. And now you speak as if, somehow, they had managed to achieve more than we have!”

Owen considered a while thoughtfully. “What you say is true. We have done a good deal of the work; we did largely make and modify our civilization. But if you read some of the newer histories ” he stopped and looked at me as if I had just happened. “Why you don’t know yet, do you? History has been rewritten.”

“You speak as if ‘history’ was a one act play.”

“I don’t mean it’s all done, of course — but we do have now a complete new treatment of the world’s history. Each nation its own, some several of them, there’s no dead level of agreement, I assure you. But our old androcentric version of life began to be questioned about 1910, I think — and new versions appeared, more and more of them. The big scholars took it up, there was new research work, and now we are not so glib58 in our assurance that we did it all.”

“You’re getting pretty close to things I used to know something about,” I remarked drily.

“If you knew all that was known, then, you wouldn’t know this, John. Don’t you remember what Lester Ward59 calls ‘the illusion of the near’ — how the most familiar facts were precisely60 those we often failed to understand? In all our history, ancient and modern, we had the underlying61 asumption that men were the human race, the people who did things; and that women — were ‘their women.’ ”

And precisely what have you lately discovered? That Horatio at the bridge was Horatia, after all? That the world was conquered by an Alexandra — and a Napoleona?” I laughed with some bitterness.

“No,” said Owen gently, “There is no question about the battles — men did the fighting, of course. But we have learned that ‘the decisive battles of history’ were not so decisive as we thought them. Man, as a destructive agent did modify history, unquestionably. What did make history, make civilization, was constructive62 industry. And for many ages women did most of that.”

“Did women build the Pyramids? the Acropolis? the Roads of Rome?”

“No, nor many other things. But they gave the world its first start in agriculture and the care of animals; they clothed it and fed it and ornamented63 it and kept it warm; their ceaseless industry made rich the simple early cultures. Consider — without men, Egypt and Assyria could not have fought — but they could have grown rich and wise. Without women — they could have fought until the last man died alone — if the food held out.

“But I won’t bother you with this, John. You’ll get all you want out of books better than I can give it. What I set out to say was that the most important influence in weeding out intemperance64 was that of the women.”

I was in a very bad temper by this time, it was disagreeable enough to have this — or any other part of it, true; but what I could not stand was to see that big hearted man speak of it in such a cheerful matter-of-fact way.

“Have the men of today no pride?” I asked. “How can you stand it — being treated as inferiors — by women?”

“Women stood it for ten thousand years,” he answered, “being treated as inferiors — by men.”

We went home in silence.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wholesale Ig9wL     
n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售
参考例句:
  • The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物,以零售价卖出。
  • Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。
2 evolutionary Ctqz7m     
adj.进化的;演化的,演变的;[生]进化论的
参考例句:
  • Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
  • These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。
3 rusted 79e453270dbdbb2c5fc11d284e95ff6e     
v.(使)生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝,它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了,需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 brutal bSFyb     
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的
参考例句:
  • She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
  • They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼,骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
5 inefficient c76xm     
adj.效率低的,无效的
参考例句:
  • The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
  • Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。
6 gliding gliding     
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的
参考例句:
  • Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
  • The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。
7 lateral 83ey7     
adj.侧面的,旁边的
参考例句:
  • An airfoil that controls lateral motion.能够控制横向飞行的机翼。
  • Mr.Dawson walked into the court from a lateral door.道森先生从一个侧面的门走进法庭。
8 soot ehryH     
n.煤烟,烟尘;vt.熏以煤烟
参考例句:
  • Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
  • The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。
9 sarcastically sarcastically     
adv.挖苦地,讽刺地
参考例句:
  • 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
  • Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她,讽刺地鞠了一躬。
10 amiably amiably     
adv.和蔼可亲地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • She grinned amiably at us. 她咧着嘴向我们亲切地微笑。
  • Atheists and theists live together peacefully and amiably in this country. 无神论者和有神论者在该国和睦相处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 unnatural 5f2zAc     
adj.不自然的;反常的
参考例句:
  • Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗?
  • She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。
12 defiling b6cd249ea6b79ad79ad6e9c1c48a77d3     
v.玷污( defile的现在分词 );污染;弄脏;纵列行进
参考例句:
  • Why, to put such a phantasmagoria on the table would be defiling the whole flat. 是啊,在桌上摆这么一个妖形怪状的东西,就把整个住宅都弄得乌烟瘴气了!” 来自互联网
13 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》
14 attachments da2fd5324f611f2b1d8b4fef9ae3179e     
n.(用电子邮件发送的)附件( attachment的名词复数 );附着;连接;附属物
参考例句:
  • The vacuum cleaner has four different attachments. 吸尘器有四个不同的附件。
  • It's an electric drill with a range of different attachments. 这是一个带有各种配件的电钻。
15 sloppy 1E3zO     
adj.邋遢的,不整洁的
参考例句:
  • If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎,我话说在头里,可要给你打不及格了。
  • Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。
16 transit MglzVT     
n.经过,运输;vt.穿越,旋转;vi.越过
参考例句:
  • His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
  • The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。
17 aluminum 9xhzP     
n.(aluminium)铝
参考例句:
  • The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
  • During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段,它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。
18 beads 894701f6859a9d5c3c045fd6f355dbf5     
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链
参考例句:
  • a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
  • Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。
19 wagons ff97c19d76ea81bb4f2a97f2ff0025e7     
n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 );铁路货车;小手推车
参考例句:
  • The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
  • They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。
20 footpaths 2a6c5fa59af0a7a24f5efa7b54fdea5b     
人行小径,人行道( footpath的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of winding footpaths in the col. 山坳里尽是些曲曲弯弯的羊肠小道。
  • There are many footpaths that wind through the village. 有许多小径穿过村子。
21 pruning 6e4e50e38fdf94b800891c532bf2f5e7     
n.修枝,剪枝,修剪v.修剪(树木等)( prune的现在分词 );精简某事物,除去某事物多余的部分
参考例句:
  • In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍,小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
22 extermination 46ce066e1bd2424a1ebab0da135b8ac6     
n.消灭,根绝
参考例句:
  • All door and window is sealed for the extermination of mosquito. 为了消灭蚊子,所有的门窗都被封闭起来了。 来自辞典例句
  • In doing so they were saved from extermination. 这样一来却使它们免于绝灭。 来自辞典例句
23 moth a10y1     
n.蛾,蛀虫
参考例句:
  • A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
  • The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。
24 beetle QudzV     
n.甲虫,近视眼的人
参考例句:
  • A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
  • He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。
25 devourer 4d5777d9e8a6bdeed306bd78c1ba5bc3     
吞噬者
参考例句:
  • All hail Abaddon, the Great Devourer. 魔王(亚巴顿)万岁!伟大的吞噬者。
  • You summon a goddamn Devourer on my turf, and I just let it go? 你在我的地盘召唤了一只吞噬者,而我只是视而不见?
26 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
27 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
28 invitingly 83e809d5e50549c03786860d565c9824     
adv. 动人地
参考例句:
  • Her lips pouted invitingly. 她挑逗地撮起双唇。
  • The smooth road sloped invitingly before her. 平展的山路诱人地倾斜在她面前。
29 graceful deHza     
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的
参考例句:
  • His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
  • The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
30 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。
31 overflow fJOxZ     
v.(使)外溢,(使)溢出;溢出,流出,漫出
参考例句:
  • The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
  • After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后,河水可能溢出岸来。
32 perennial i3bz7     
adj.终年的;长久的
参考例句:
  • I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
  • There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。
33 orchard UJzxu     
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场
参考例句:
  • My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
  • Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。
34 chestnut XnJy8     
n.栗树,栗子
参考例句:
  • We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
  • In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。
35 walnut wpTyQ     
n.胡桃,胡桃木,胡桃色,茶色
参考例句:
  • Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
  • The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸,材质分胡桃木和红木两种。
36 glimmer 5gTxU     
v.发出闪烁的微光;n.微光,微弱的闪光
参考例句:
  • I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她,感到了一线希望。
  • A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。
37 visualize yeJzsZ     
vt.使看得见,使具体化,想象,设想
参考例句:
  • I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人,但他的样子我想不起来了。
  • She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。
38 geographic tgsxb     
adj.地理学的,地理的
参考例句:
  • The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
39 plow eu5yE     
n.犁,耕地,犁过的地;v.犁,费力地前进[英]plough
参考例句:
  • At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
  • We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后,我们将马上耕田。
40 steadily Qukw6     
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。
41 clog 6qzz8     
vt.塞满,阻塞;n.[常pl.]木屐
参考例句:
  • In cotton and wool processing,short length fibers may clog sewers.在棉毛生产中,短纤维可能堵塞下水管道。
  • These streets often clog during the rush hour.这几条大街在交通高峰时间常常发生交通堵塞。
42 wasteful ogdwu     
adj.(造成)浪费的,挥霍的
参考例句:
  • It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
  • Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源,任务已经重新分派。
43 brook PSIyg     
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让
参考例句:
  • In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
  • The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。
44 shrubs b480276f8eea44e011d42320b17c3619     
灌木( shrub的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
  • These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。
45 constituents 63f0b2072b2db2b8525e6eff0c90b33b     
n.选民( constituent的名词复数 );成分;构成部分;要素
参考例句:
  • She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
  • Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》
46 sagging 2cd7acc35feffadbb3241d569f4364b2     
下垂[沉,陷],松垂,垂度
参考例句:
  • The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
  • We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。
47 laborers c8c6422086151d6c0ae2a95777108e3c     
n.体力劳动者,工人( laborer的名词复数 );(熟练工人的)辅助工
参考例句:
  • Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
48 plumbing klaz0A     
n.水管装置;水暖工的工作;管道工程v.用铅锤测量(plumb的现在分词);探究
参考例句:
  • She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
  • They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
49 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
50 dealer GyNxT     
n.商人,贩子
参考例句:
  • The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
  • The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。
51 vices 01aad211a45c120dcd263c6f3d60ce79     
缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳
参考例句:
  • In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点,还是受到大家的爱戴。
  • He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。
52 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
53 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
54 everlasting Insx7     
adj.永恒的,持久的,无止境的
参考例句:
  • These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
  • He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。
55 outright Qj7yY     
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
参考例句:
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
56 resentment 4sgyv     
n.怨愤,忿恨
参考例句:
  • All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
  • She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。
57 eminence VpLxo     
n.卓越,显赫;高地,高处;名家
参考例句:
  • He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
  • Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。
58 glib DeNzs     
adj.圆滑的,油嘴滑舌的
参考例句:
  • His glib talk sounds as sweet as a song.他说的比唱的还好听。
  • The fellow has a very glib tongue.这家伙嘴油得很。
59 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开
参考例句:
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时,我要点根火把,抵挡蚊虫。
60 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
61 underlying 5fyz8c     
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
参考例句:
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
62 constructive AZDyr     
adj.建设的,建设性的
参考例句:
  • We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
  • He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。
63 ornamented af417c68be20f209790a9366e9da8dbb     
adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
64 intemperance intemperance     
n.放纵
参考例句:
  • Health does not consist with intemperance. 健康与纵欲[无节制]不能相容。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She accepted his frequent intemperance as part of the climate. 对于他酗酒的恶习,她安之若素。 来自辞典例句


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