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Chapter 5
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The first thing that happened to me after parting with him was to find myself again engaged with Mrs. Brissenden, still full of the quick conviction with which I had left her. “It is she — quite unmistakably, you know. I don’t see how I can have been so stupid as not to make it out. I haven’t your cleverness, of course, till my nose is rubbed into a thing. But when it is —!” She celebrated1 her humility2 in a laugh that was proud. “The two are off together.”

“Off where?”

“I don’t know where, but I saw them a few minutes ago most distinctly ‘slope.’ They’ve gone for a quiet, unwatched hour, poor dears, out into the park or the gardens. When one knows it, it’s all there. But what’s that vulgar song? — ‘You’ve got to know it first!’ It strikes me, if you don’t mind my telling you so, that the way you get hold of things is positively3 uncanny. I mean as regards what first marked her for you.”

“But, my dear lady,” I protested, “nothing at all first marked her for me. She isn’t marked for me, first or last. It was only you who so jumped at her.”

My interlocutress stared, and I had at this moment, I remember, an almost intolerable sense of her fatuity4 and cruelty. They were all unconscious, but they were, at that stage, none the less irritating. Her fine bosom5 heaved, her blue eyes expanded with her successful, her simplified egotism. I couldn’t, in short, I found, bear her being so keen about Mrs. Server while she was so stupid about poor Briss. She seemed to recall to me nobly the fact that she hadn’t a lover. No, she was only eating poor Briss up inch by inch, but she hadn’t a lover. “I don’t,” I insisted, “see in Mrs. Server any of the right signs.”

She looked almost indignant. “Even after your telling me that you see in Lady John only the wrong ones?”

“Ah, but there are other women here than Mrs. Server and Lady John.”

“Certainly. But didn’t we, a moment ago, think of them all and dismiss them? If Lady John’s out of the question, how can Mrs. Server possibly not be in it? We want a fool —— ”

“Ah, do we?” I interruptingly wailed6.

“Why, exactly by your own theory, in which you’ve so much interested me! It was you who struck off the idea.”

“That we want a fool?” I felt myself turning gloomy enough. “Do we really want anyone at all?”

She gave me, in momentary7 silence, a strange smile. “Ah, you want to take it back now? You’re sorry you spoke8. My dear man, you may be —— ” but that didn’t hinder the fact, in short, that I had kindled9 near me a fine, if modest and timid, intelligence. There did remain the truth of our friend’s striking development, to which I had called her attention. Regretting my rashness didn’t make the prodigy10 less. “You’ll lead me to believe, if you back out, that there’s suddenly someone you want to protect. Weak man,” she exclaimed with an assurance from which, I confess, I was to take alarm, “something has happened to you since we separated! Weak man,” she repeated with dreadful gaiety, “you’ve been squared!”

I literally11 blushed for her. “Squared?”

“Does it inconveniently12 happen that you find you’re in love with her yourself?”

“Well,” I replied on quick reflection, “do, if you like, call it that; for you see what a motive13 it gives me for being, in such a matter as this wonderful one that you and I happened to find ourselves for a moment making so free with, absolutely sure about her. I am absolutely sure. There! She won’t do. And for your postulate14 that she’s at the present moment in some sequestered15 spot in Long’s company, suffer me without delay to correct it. It won’t hold water. If you’ll go into the library, through which I have just passed, you’ll find her there in the company of the Comte de Dreuil.”

Mrs. Briss stared again. “Already? She was, at any rate, with Mr. Long, and she told me on my meeting them that they had just come from the pastels.”

“Exactly. They met there — she and I having gone together; and they retired16 together under my eyes. They must have parted, clearly, the moment after.”

She took it all in, turned it all over. “Then what does that prove but that they’re afraid to be seen?”

“Ah, they’re not afraid, since both you and I saw them!”

“Oh, only just long enough for them to publish themselves as not avoiding each other. All the same, you know,” she said, “they do.”

“Do avoid each other? How is your belief in that,” I asked, “consistent with your belief that they parade together in the park?”

“They ignore each other in public; they foregather in private.”

“Ah, but they don’t — since, as I tell you, she’s even while we talk the centre of the mystic circle of the twaddle of M. de Dreuil; chained to a stake if you can be. Besides,” I wound up, “it’s not only that she’s not the ‘right fool’ — it’s simply that she’s not a fool at all. We want the woman who has been rendered most inane17. But this lady hasn’t been rendered so in any degree. She’s the reverse of inane. She’s in full possession.”

“In full possession of what?”

“Why, of herself.”

“Like Lady John?”

I had unfortunately to discriminate18 here. “No, not like Lady John.”

“Like whom then?”

“Like anyone. Like me; like you; like Brissenden. Don’t I satisfy you?” I asked in a moment.

She only looked at me a little, handsome and hard. “If you wished to satisfy me so easily you shouldn’t have made such a point of working me up. I daresay I, after all, however,” she added, “notice more things than you.”

“As for instance?”

“Well, May Server last evening. I was not quite conscious at the time that I did, but when one has had the ‘tip’ one looks back and sees things in a new light.”

It was doubtless because my friend irritated me more and more that I met this with a sharpness possibly excessive. “She’s perfectly19 natural. What I saw was a test. And so is he.”

But she gave me no heed20. “If there hadn’t been so many people I should have noticed of myself after dinner that there was something the matter with her. I should have seen what it was. She was all over the place.”

She expressed it as the poor lady’s other critic had done, but this didn’t shut my mouth. “Ah, then, in spite of the people, you did notice. What do you mean by ‘all over the place’?”

“She couldn’t keep still. She was different from the woman one had last seen. She used to be so calm — as if she were always sitting for her portrait. Wasn’t she in fact always being painted in a pink frock and one row of pearls, always staring out at you in exhibitions, as if she were saying ‘Here they are again’? Last night she was on the rush.”

“The rush? Oh!”

“Yes, positively — from one man to another. She was on the pounce21. She talked to ten in succession, making up to them in the most extraordinary way and leaving them still more crazily. She’s as nervous as a cat. Put it to any man here, and see if he doesn’t tell you.”

“I should think it quite unpleasant to put it to any man here,” I returned; “and I should have been sure you would have thought it the same. I spoke to you in the deepest confidence.”

Mrs. Brissenden’s look at me was for a moment of the least accommodating; then it changed to an intelligent smile. “How you are protecting her! But don’t cry out,” she added, “before you’re hurt. Since your confidence has distinguished22 me — though I don’t quite see why — you may be sure I haven’t breathed. So I all the more resent your making me a scene on the extraordinary ground that I’ve observed as well as yourself. Perhaps what you don’t like is that my observation may be turned on you. I confess it is.”

It was difficult to bear being put in the wrong by her, but I made an effort that I believe was not unsuccessful to recover my good humour. “It’s not in the least to your observation that I object, it’s to the extravagant23 inferences you draw from it. Of course, however, I admit I always want to protect the innocent. What does she gain, on your theory, by her rushing and pouncing24? Had she pounced25 on Brissenden when we met him with her? Are you so very sure he hadn’t pounced on her? They had, at all events, to me, quite the air of people settled; she was not, it was clear, at that moment meditating26 a change. It was we, if you remember, who had absolutely to pull them apart.”

“Is it your idea to make out,” Mrs. Brissenden inquired in answer to this, “that she has suddenly had the happy thought of a passion for my husband?”

A new possibility, as she spoke, came to me with a whirr of wings, and I half expressed it. “She may have a sympathy.”

My interlocutress gazed at space. “You mean she may be sorry for him? On what ground?”

I had gone too far indeed; but I got off as I could. “You neglect him so! But what is she, at any rate,” I went on, “nervous — as nervous as you describe her — about?”

“About her danger; the contingency27 of its being fixed28 upon them — an intimacy29 so thoroughgoing that they can scarcely afford to let it be seen even as a mere30 acquaintance. Think of the circumstances — her personal ones, I mean, and admit that it wouldn’t do. It would be too bad a case. There’s everything to make it so. They must live on pins and needles. Anything proved would go tremendously hard for her.”

“In spite of which you’re surprised that I ‘protect’ her?”

It was a question, however, that my companion could meet. “From people in general, no. From me in particular, yes.”

In justice to Mrs. Brissenden I thought a moment. “Well, then, let us be fair all round. That you don’t, as you say, breathe is a discretion31 I appreciate; all the more that a little inquiry32, tactfully pursued, would enable you to judge whether any independent suspicion does attach. A little loose collateral33 evidence might be picked up; and your scorning to handle it is no more than I should, after all, have expected of you.”

“Thank you for ‘after all’!” My companion tossed her head. “I know for myself what I scorn to handle. Quite apart from that there’s another matter. You must have noticed yourself that when people are so much liked —— ”

“There’s a kind of general, amiable34 consensus35 of blindness? Yes — one can think of cases. Popularity shelters and hallows — has the effect of making a good-natured world agree not to see.”

My friend seemed pleased that I so sufficiently36 understood. “This evidently has been a case then in which it has not only agreed not to see, but agreed not even to look. It has agreed in fact to look straight the other way. They say there’s no smoke without fire, but it appears there may be fire without smoke. I’m satisfied, at all events, that one wouldn’t in connection with these two find the least little puff37. Isn’t that just what makes the magnificence of their success — the success that reduces us to playing over them with mere moonshine?” She thought of it; seemed fairly to envy it. “I’ve never seen such luck!”

“A rare case of the beauty of impunity38 as impunity?” I laughed. “Such a case puts a price on passions otherwise to be deprecated? I’m glad indeed you admit we’re ‘reduced.’ We are reduced. But what I meant to say just now was that if you’ll continue to join in the genial39 conspiracy40 while I do the same — each of us making an exception only for the other — I’ll pledge myself absolutely to the straight course. If before we separate I’ve seen reason to change my mind, I’ll loyally let you know.”

“What good will that do me,” she asked, “if you don’t change your mind? You won’t change it if you shut your eyes to her.”

“Ah, I feel I can’t do that now. I am interested. The proof of that is,” I pursued, “that I appeal to you for another impression of your own. I still don’t see the logic41 of her general importunity42.”

“The logic is simply that she has a terror of appearing to encourage anyone in particular.”

“Why then isn’t it in her own interest, for the sake of the screen, just to do that? The appearance of someone in particular would be exactly the opposite of the appearance of Long. Your own admission is that that’s his line with Lady John.”

Mrs. Brissenden took her view. “Oh, she doesn’t want to do anything so like the real thing. And, as for what he does, they don’t feel in the same way. He’s not nervous.”

“Then why does he go in for a screen?”

“I mean” — she readily modified it — “that he’s not so nervous as May. He hasn’t the same reasons for panic. A man never has. Besides, there’s not so much in Mr. Long to show —— ”

“What, by my notion, has taken place? Why not, if it was precisely43 by the change in him that my notion was inspired? Any change in her I know comparatively little about.”

We hovered44 so near the case of Mr. and Mrs. Brissenden that it positively excited me, and all the more for her sustained unconsciousness. “Oh, the man’s not aware of his own change. He doesn’t see it as we do. It’s all to his advantage.”

“But we see it to his advantage. How should that prevent?”

“We see it to the advantage of his mind and his talk, but not to that of —— ”

“Well, what?” I pressed as she pulled up.

She was thinking how to name such mysteries. “His delicacy45. His consideration. His thought for her. He would think for her if he weren’t selfish. But he is selfish — too much so to spare her, to be generous, to realise. It’s only, after all,” she sagely46 went on, feeding me again, as I winced47 to feel, with profundity48 of my own sort, “it’s only an excessive case, a case that in him happens to show as what the doctors call ‘fine,’ of what goes on whenever two persons are so much mixed up. One of them always gets more out of it than the other. One of them — you know the saying — gives the lips, the other gives the cheek.”

“It’s the deepest of all truths. Yet the cheek profits too,” I more prudently49 argued.

“It profits most. It takes and keeps and uses all the lips give. The cheek, accordingly,” she continued to point out, “is Mr. Long’s. The lips are what we began by looking for. We’ve found them. They’re drained — they’re dry, the lips. Mr. Long finds his improvement natural and beautiful. He revels50 in it. He takes it for granted. He’s sublime51.”

It kept me for a minute staring at her. “So — do you know? — are you!”

She received this wholly as a tribute to her acuteness, and was therefore proportionately gracious. “That’s only because it’s catching52. You’ve made me sublime. You found me dense53. You’ve affected54 me quite as Mrs. Server has affected Mr. Long. I don’t pretend I show it,” she added, “quite as much as he does.”

“Because that would entail55 my showing it as much as, by your contention56, she does? Well, I confess,” I declared, “I do feel remarkably57 like that pair of lips. I feel drained — I feel dry!” Her answer to this, with another toss of her head, was extravagant enough to mean forgiveness — was that I was impertinent, and her action in support of her charge was to move away from me, taking her course again to the terrace, easily accessible from the room in which we had been talking. She passed out of the window that opened to the ground, and I watched her while, in the brighter light, she put up her pink parasol. She walked a few paces, as if to look about her for a change of company, and by this time had reached a flight of steps that descended58 to a lower level. On observing that here, in the act to go down, she suddenly paused, I knew she had been checked by something seen below and that this was what made her turn the next moment to give me a look. I took it as an invitation to rejoin her, and I perceived when I had done so what had led her to appeal to me. We commanded from the point in question one of the shady slopes of the park and in particular a spreading beech59, the trunk of which had been inclosed with a rustic60 circular bench, a convenience that appeared to have offered, for the moment, a sense of leafy luxury to a lady in pale blue. She leaned back, her figure presented in profile and her head a little averted61 as if for talk with some one on the other side of her, someone so placed as to be lost to our view.

“There!” triumphed Mrs. Brissenden again — for the lady was unmistakably Mrs. Server. Amusement was inevitable62 — the fact showed her as so correctly described by the words to which I had twice had to listen. She seemed really all over the place. “I thought you said,” my companion remarked, “that you had left her tucked away somewhere with M. de Dreuil.”

“Well,” I returned after consideration, “that is obviously M. de Dreuil.”

“Are you so sure? I don’t make out the person,” my friend continued — “I only see she’s not alone. I understood you moreover that you had lately left them in the house.”

“They were in the house, but there was nothing to keep them from coming out. They’ve had plenty of time while we’ve talked; they must have passed down by some of the other steps. Perhaps also,” I added, “it’s another man.”

But by this time she was satisfied. “It’s he!”

“Gilbert Long? I thought you just said,” I observed, “that you can make nobody out.”

We watched together, but the distance was considerable, and the second figure continued to be screened. “It must be he,” Mrs. Brissenden resumed with impatience63, “since it was with him I so distinctly saw her.”

“Let me once more hold you to the fact,” I answered, “that she had, to my knowledge, succumbed64 to M. de Dreuil afterwards. The moments have fled, you see, in our fascinating discussion, and various things, on your theory of her pounce, have come and gone. Don’t I moreover make out a brown shoe, in a white gaiter, protruding65 from the other side of her dress? It must be Lord Lutley.”

Mrs. Brissenden looked and mused66. “A brown shoe in a white gaiter?” At this moment Mrs. Server moved, and the next — as if it were time for another pounce — she had got up. We could, however, still distinguish but a shoulder and an out-stretched leg of her gentleman, who, on her movement, appeared, as in protest, to have affirmed by an emphatic67 shift of his seat his preference for their remaining as they were. This carried him further round the tree. We thus lost him, but she stood there while we waited, evidently exhorting68 him; after a minute of which she came away as in confidence that he would follow. During this process, with a face more visible, she had looked as charming as a pretty woman almost always does in rising eloquent69 before the apathetic70 male. She hadn’t yet noticed us, but something in her attitude and manner particularly spoke to me. There were implications in it to which I couldn’t be blind, and I felt how my neighbour also would have caught them and been confirmed in her certitude. In fact I felt the breath of her confirmation71 in another elated “There!” — in a “Look at her now!” Incontestably, while not yet aware of us, Mrs. Server confessed with every turn of her head to a part in a relation. It stuck out of her, her part in a relation; it hung before us, her part in a relation; it was large to us beyond the breadth of the glade72. And since, off her guard, she so let us have it, with whom in the world could the relation — so much of one as that — be but with Gilbert Long? The question was not settled till she had come on some distance; then the producer of our tension, emerging and coming after her, offered himself to our united, to our confounded, anxiety once more as poor Briss.

That we should have been confounded was doubtless but a proof of the impression — the singular assurance of intimacy borne toward us on the soft summer air — that we had, however delusively73, received. I should myself have been as ready as my neighbour to say “Whoever he is, they’re in deep!” — and on grounds, moreover, quite as recklessly, as fantastically constructive74 as hers. There was nothing to explain our impression but the fact of our already having seen them figure together, and of this we needed breathing-time to give them the natural benefit. It was not indeed as an absolute benefit for either that Grace Brissenden’s tone marked our recognition. “Dear Guy again?” — but she had recovered herself enough to laugh. “I should have thought he had had more than his turn!” She had recovered herself in fact much more than I; for somehow, from this instant, convinced as she had been and turning everything to her conviction, I found myself dealing75, in thought, with still larger material. It was odd what a difference was made for me by the renewed sight of dear Guy. I didn’t of course analyse this sense at the time; that was still to come. Our friends meanwhile had noticed us, and something clearly passed between them — it almost produced, for an instant, a visible arrest in their advance — on the question of their having perhaps been for some time exposed.

They came on, however, and I waved them from afar a greeting, to which Mrs. Server alone replied. Distances were great at Newmarch and landscape-gardening on the grand scale; it would take them still some minutes to reach our place of vantage or to arrive within sound of speech. There was accordingly nothing marked in our turning away and strolling back to the house. We had been so intent that we confessed by this movement to a quick impulse to disown it. Yet it was remarkable76 that, before we went in, Mrs. Brissenden should have struck me afresh as having got all she wanted. Her recovery from our surprise was already so complete that her high lucidity77 now alone reigned78. “You don’t require, I suppose, anything more than that?”

“Well, I don’t quite see, I’m bound to say, just where even ‘that’ comes in.” It incommoded me singularly little, at the point to which I had jumped, that this statement was the exact reverse of the truth. Where it came in was what I happened to be in the very act of seeing — seeing to the exclusion79 of almost everything else. It was sufficient that I might perhaps feel myself to have done at last with Mrs. Brissenden. I desired, at all events, quite as if this benefit were assured me, to leave her the honours of the last word.

She was finely enough prepared to take them. “Why, this invention of using my husband ——!” She fairly gasped80 at having to explain.

“Of ‘using’ him?”

“Trailing him across the scent81 as she does all of you, one after the other. Excuse my comparing you to so many red herrings. You each have your turn; only his seems repeated, poor dear, till he’s quite worn out with it.”

I kept for a little this image in my eye. “I can see of course that his whole situation must be something of a strain for him; for I’ve not forgotten what you told me yesterday of his service with Lady John. To have to work in such a way for two of them at once” — it couldn’t help, I admitted, being a tax on a fellow. Besides, when one came to think of it, the same man couldn’t be two red herrings. To show as Mrs. Server’s would directly impair82 his power to show as Lady John’s. It would seem, in short, a matter for his patronesses to have out together.

Mrs. Brissenden betrayed, on this, some annoyance83 at my levity84. “Oh, the cases are not the same, for with Lady John it amuses him: he thinks he knows.”

“Knows what?”

“What she wants him for. He doesn’t know” — she kept it wonderfully clear — “that she really doesn’t want him for anything; for anything except, of course” — this came as a droll85 second thought — “himself.”

“And he doesn’t know, either” — I tried to remain at her level — “that Mrs. Server does.”

“No,” she assented86, “he doesn’t know what it’s her idea to do with him.”

“He doesn’t know, in fine,” I cheerfully pursued, “the truth about anything. And of course, by your agreement with me, he’s not to learn it.”

She recognised her agreement with me, yet looked as if she had reserved a certain measure of freedom. Then she handsomely gave up even that. “I certainly don’t want him to become conscious.”

“It’s his unconsciousness,” I declared, “that saves him.”

“Yes, even from himself.”

“We must accordingly feed it.” In the house, with intention, we parted company; but there was something that, before this, I felt it due to my claim of consistency87 to bring out. “It wasn’t, at all events, Gilbert Long behind the tree!”

My triumph, however, beneath the sponge she was prepared to pass again over much of our experience, was short-lived. “Of course it wasn’t. We shouldn’t have been treated to the scene if it had been. What could she possibly have put poor Briss there for but just to show it wasn’t?”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
2 humility 8d6zX     
n.谦逊,谦恭
参考例句:
  • Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
  • His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和,甚至有点谦卑。
3 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
4 fatuity yltxZ     
n.愚蠢,愚昧
参考例句:
  • This is no doubt the first step out of confusion and fatuity.这无疑是摆脱混乱与愚味的第一步。
  • Therefore,ignorance of history often leads to fatuity in politics.历史的无知,往往导致政治上的昏庸。
5 bosom Lt9zW     
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的
参考例句:
  • She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
  • A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。
6 wailed e27902fd534535a9f82ffa06a5b6937a     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句
7 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
8 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
9 kindled d35b7382b991feaaaa3e8ddbbcca9c46     
(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光
参考例句:
  • We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
  • The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。
10 prodigy n14zP     
n.惊人的事物,奇迹,神童,天才,预兆
参考例句:
  • She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
  • He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才,这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。
11 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
12 inconveniently lqdz8n     
ad.不方便地
参考例句:
  • Hardware encrypting resists decryption intensely, but it use inconveniently for user. 硬件加密方法有较强的抗解密性,但用户使用不方便。
  • Even implementing the interest-deferral scheme for homeowners has proved inconveniently tricky. 甚至是对房主实行的推迟利息的方案,结果证明也是极不方便的。
13 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
14 postulate oiwy2     
n.假定,基本条件;vt.要求,假定
参考例句:
  • Let's postulate that she is a cook.我们假定她是一位厨师。
  • Freud postulated that we all have a death instinct as well as a life instinct.弗洛伊德曾假定我们所有人都有生存本能和死亡本能。
15 sequestered 0ceab16bc48aa9b4ed97d60eeed591f8     
adj.扣押的;隐退的;幽静的;偏僻的v.使隔绝,使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 );扣押
参考例句:
  • The jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months. 陪审团渴望被隔离至少两个月。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Everything he owned was sequestered. 他的一切都被扣押了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
17 inane T4mye     
adj.空虚的,愚蠢的,空洞的
参考例句:
  • She started asking me inane questions.她开始问我愚蠢的问题。
  • Such comments are inane because they don't help us solve our problem.这种评论纯属空洞之词,不能帮助我们解决问题。
18 discriminate NuhxX     
v.区别,辨别,区分;有区别地对待
参考例句:
  • You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
  • They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。
19 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。
20 heed ldQzi     
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心
参考例句:
  • You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
  • For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。
21 pounce 4uAyU     
n.猛扑;v.猛扑,突然袭击,欣然同意
参考例句:
  • Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦?
  • We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。
22 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。
23 extravagant M7zya     
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的
参考例句:
  • They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
  • He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。
24 pouncing a4d326ef808cd62e931d41c388271139     
v.突然袭击( pounce的现在分词 );猛扑;一眼看出;抓住机会(进行抨击)
参考例句:
  • Detective Sun grinned and, pouncing on the gourd, smashed it against the wall. 孙侦探笑了,一把将瓦罐接过来,往墙上一碰。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • We saw the tiger pouncing on the goat. 我们看见老虎向那只山羊扑过去。 来自互联网
25 pounced 431de836b7c19167052c79f53bdf3b61     
v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 );猛扑;一眼看出;抓住机会(进行抨击)
参考例句:
  • As soon as I opened my mouth, the teacher pounced on me. 我一张嘴就被老师抓住呵斥了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The police pounced upon the thief. 警察向小偷扑了过去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
26 meditating hoKzDp     
a.沉思的,冥想的
参考例句:
  • They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
27 contingency vaGyi     
n.意外事件,可能性
参考例句:
  • We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
  • A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。
28 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
29 intimacy z4Vxx     
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行
参考例句:
  • His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切,这有点言过其实。
  • I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。
30 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。
31 discretion FZQzm     
n.谨慎;随意处理
参考例句:
  • You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
  • Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。
32 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
33 collateral wqhzH     
adj.平行的;旁系的;n.担保品
参考例句:
  • Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
  • Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押,这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。
34 amiable hxAzZ     
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的
参考例句:
  • She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
  • We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。
35 consensus epMzA     
n.(意见等的)一致,一致同意,共识
参考例句:
  • Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗?
  • What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么?
36 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
37 puff y0cz8     
n.一口(气);一阵(风);v.喷气,喘气
参考例句:
  • He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
  • They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。
38 impunity g9Qxb     
n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除
参考例句:
  • You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
  • The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。
39 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。
40 conspiracy NpczE     
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋
参考例句:
  • The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
  • He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。
41 logic j0HxI     
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性
参考例句:
  • What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑?
  • I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。
42 importunity aqPzcS     
n.硬要,强求
参考例句:
  • They got only blushes, ejaculations, tremors, and titters, in return for their importunity. 她们只是用脸红、惊叫、颤抖和傻笑来回答他们的要求。 来自辞典例句
  • His importunity left me no alternative but to agree. 他的强硬要求让我只能答应而没有别的选择。 来自互联网
43 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。
44 hovered d194b7e43467f867f4b4380809ba6b19     
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫
参考例句:
  • A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
  • A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。
45 delicacy mxuxS     
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴
参考例句:
  • We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
  • He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。
46 sagely sagely     
adv. 贤能地,贤明地
参考例句:
  • Even the ones who understand may nod sagely. 即使对方知道这一点,也会一本正经地点头同意。
  • Well, that's about all of the sagely advice this old grey head can come up with. 好了,以上就是我这个满头银发的老头儿给你们的充满睿智的忠告。
47 winced 7be9a27cb0995f7f6019956af354c6e4     
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子,疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
  • He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。
48 profundity mQTxZ     
n.渊博;深奥,深刻
参考例句:
  • He impressed his audience by the profundity of his knowledge.他知识渊博给听众留下了深刻的印象。
  • He pretended profundity by eye-beamings at people.他用神采奕奕的眼光看着人们,故作深沉。
49 prudently prudently     
adv. 谨慎地,慎重地
参考例句:
  • He prudently pursued his plan. 他谨慎地实行他那计划。
  • They had prudently withdrawn as soon as the van had got fairly under way. 他们在蓬车安全上路后立即谨慎地离去了。
50 revels a11b91521eaa5ae9692b19b125143aa9     
n.作乐( revel的名词复数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉
参考例句:
  • Christmas revels with feasting and dancing were common in England. 圣诞节的狂欢歌舞在英国是很常见的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Dickens openly revels in the book's rich physical detail and high-hearted conflict. 狄更斯对该书中丰富多彩的具体细节描写和勇敢的争斗公开表示欣赏。 来自辞典例句
51 sublime xhVyW     
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的
参考例句:
  • We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
  • Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会,就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。
52 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
53 dense aONzX     
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的
参考例句:
  • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
54 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
55 entail ujdzO     
vt.使承担,使成为必要,需要
参考例句:
  • Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
  • This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。
56 contention oZ5yd     
n.争论,争辩,论战;论点,主张
参考例句:
  • The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
  • The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道,争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。
57 remarkably EkPzTW     
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
参考例句:
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
58 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
59 beech uynzJF     
n.山毛榉;adj.山毛榉的
参考例句:
  • Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。
  • Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒,跳过小河,大踏步向毛榉林子走去。
60 rustic mCQz9     
adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬
参考例句:
  • It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
  • We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。
61 averted 35a87fab0bbc43636fcac41969ed458a     
防止,避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 ); 转移
参考例句:
  • A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
  • Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙,才避免了麻烦。
62 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的
参考例句:
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
63 impatience OaOxC     
n.不耐烦,急躁
参考例句:
  • He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢,他显得不耐烦。
  • He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。
64 succumbed 625a9b57aef7b895b965fdca2019ba63     
不再抵抗(诱惑、疾病、攻击等)( succumb的过去式和过去分词 ); 屈从; 被压垮; 死
参考例句:
  • The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
  • After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后,该城终于屈服了。
65 protruding e7480908ef1e5355b3418870e3d0812f     
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的现在分词 );凸
参考例句:
  • He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
  • There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句
66 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
67 emphatic 0P1zA     
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的
参考例句:
  • Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决,不容有任何人怀疑。
  • He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。
68 exhorting 6d41cec265e1faf8aefa7e4838e780b1     
v.劝告,劝说( exhort的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Joe Pationi's stocky figure was moving constantly, instructing and exhorting. 乔·佩特罗尼结实的身影不断地来回走动,又发指示,又替他们打气。 来自辞典例句
  • He is always exhorting us to work harder for a lower salary. ((讽刺))他总是劝我们为了再低的薪水也得更卖力地工作。 来自辞典例句
69 eloquent ymLyN     
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的
参考例句:
  • He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩,胜过最好的演说家。
  • These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。
70 apathetic 4M1y0     
adj.冷漠的,无动于衷的
参考例句:
  • I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。
  • You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡,你就不能成功。
71 confirmation ZYMya     
n.证实,确认,批准
参考例句:
  • We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
  • We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前,我们需要书面确认。
72 glade kgTxM     
n.林间空地,一片表面有草的沼泽低地
参考例句:
  • In the midst of a glade were several huts.林中的空地中间有几间小木屋。
  • The family had their lunch in the glade.全家在林中的空地上吃了午饭。
73 delusively f6b7077709bbe19592c81bfeb3803bff     
adv.困惑地,欺瞒地
参考例句:
  • The village looked delusively near. 那个村庄看起来很近,实际上却很远。 来自互联网
74 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。
75 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
76 remarkable 8Vbx6     
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。
77 lucidity jAmxr     
n.明朗,清晰,透明
参考例句:
  • His writings were marked by an extraordinary lucidity and elegance of style.他的作品简洁明晰,文风典雅。
  • The pain had lessened in the night, but so had his lucidity.夜里他的痛苦是减轻了,但人也不那么清醒了。
78 reigned d99f19ecce82a94e1b24a320d3629de5     
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式)
参考例句:
  • Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静,一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
79 exclusion 1hCzz     
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行
参考例句:
  • Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
  • He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球,其他运动一概不参加。
80 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
81 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
82 impair Ia4x2     
v.损害,损伤;削弱,减少
参考例句:
  • Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。
  • It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。
83 annoyance Bw4zE     
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼
参考例句:
  • Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气?
  • I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。
84 levity Q1uxA     
n.轻率,轻浮,不稳定,多变
参考例句:
  • His remarks injected a note of levity into the proceedings.他的话将一丝轻率带入了议事过程中。
  • At the time,Arnold had disapproved of such levity.那时候的阿诺德对这种轻浮行为很看不惯。
85 droll J8Tye     
adj.古怪的,好笑的
参考例句:
  • The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
  • He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.
86 assented 4cee1313bb256a1f69bcc83867e78727     
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
  • "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对,”汤姆表示赞同地说,“他们不杀女人——真伟大!
87 consistency IY2yT     
n.一贯性,前后一致,稳定性;(液体的)浓度
参考例句:
  • Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
  • We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。


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