Many persons have a superstition6 on the subject of making their last will and testament7, and think that when everything is ready signed and sealed, there is nothing further left to delay their departure. I have heard of an instance of one person who, having a feeling of this kind on his mind, and being teased into making his will by those about him, actually fell ill with pure apprehension8, and thought he was going to die in good earnest, but having executed the deed over-night, awoke, to his great surprise, the next morning, and found himself as well as ever he was.34
An elderly gentleman possessed9 of a good estate and the same idle notion, and who found himself in a dangerous way, was anxious to do this piece of justice to those who remained behind him, but when it came to the point, his heart failed him, and his nervous fancies returned in full force. Even on his death-bed he still held back and was averse10 to sign what he looked upon as his own death-warrant, and just at the last gasp11, amidst the anxious looks and silent upbraidings of friends and relatives that surrounded him, he summoned resolution to hold out his feeble hand, which was guided by others, to trace his name, and he fell back — a corpse12! If there is any pressing reason for it, that is, if any particular person would be relieved from a state of harassing13 uncertainty14 or materially benefited by their making a will, the old and infirm (who do not like to be put out of their way) generally make this an excuse to themselves for putting it off to the very last moment, probably till it is too late; or where this is sure to make the greatest number of blank faces, contrive15 to give their friends the slip, without signifying their final determination in their favour. Where some unfortunate individual has been kept long in suspense16, who has been perhaps sought out for that very purpose, and who may be in a great measure dependent on this as a last resource, it is nearly a certainty that there will be no will to be found; no trace, no sign to discover whether the person dying thus intestate ever had any intention of the sort, or why they relinquished17 it. This is to bespeak18 the thoughts and imaginations of others for victims after we are dead, as well as their persons and expectations for hangers-on while we are living. A celebrated19 beauty of the middle of the last century, towards its close, sought out a female relative, the friend and companion of her youth, who had lived during the forty years of their separation in rather straitened circumstances, and in a situation which admitted of some alleviations. Twice they met after that long lapse20 of time — once her relation visited her in the splendour of a rich old family mansion21, and once she crossed the country to become an inmate22 of the humble23 dwelling24 of her early and only remaining friend. What was this for? Was it to revive the image of her youth in the pale and careworn25 face of her friend? Or was it to display the decay of her charms and recall her long-forgotten triumphs to the memory of the only person who could bear witness to them? Was it to show the proud remains26 of herself to those who remembered or had often heard what she was — her skin like shrivelled alabaster27, her emaciated28 features chiselled29 by Nature’s finest hand, her eyes that, when a smile lighted them up, still shone like diamonds, the vermilion hues30 that still bloomed among wrinkles? Was it to talk of bone-lace, of the flounces and brocades of the last century, of race-balls in the year ‘62, and of the scores of lovers that had died at her feet, and to set whole counties in a flame again, only with a dream of faded beauty? Whether it was for this, or whether she meant to leave her friend anything (as was indeed expected, all things considered, not without reason), nobody knows — for she never breathed a syllable31 on the subject herself, and died without a will. The accomplished32 coquette of twenty, who had pampered34 hopes only to kill them, who had kindled35 rapture36 with a look and extinguished it with a breath, could find no better employment at seventy than to revive the fond recollections and raise up the drooping37 hopes of her kinswoman only to let them fall — to rise no more. Such is the delight we have in trifling38 with and tantalising the feelings of others by the exquisite39 refinements40, the studied sleights of love or friendship!
Where a property is actually bequeathed, supposing the circumstances of the case and the usages of society to leave a practical discretion41 to the testator, it is most frequently in such portions as can be of the least service. Where there is much already, much is given; where much is wanted, little or nothing. Poverty invites a sort of pity, a miserable42 dole43 of assistance; necessity, neglect and scorn; wealth attracts and allures44 to itself more wealth by natural association of ideas or by that innate45 love of inequality and injustice46 which is the favourite principle of the imagination. Men like to collect money into large heaps in their lifetime; they like to leave it in large heaps after they are dead. They grasp it into their own hands, not to use it for their own good, but to hoard47, to lock it up, to make an object, an idol48, and a wonder of it. Do you expect them to distribute it so as to do others good; that they will like those who come after them better than themselves; that if they were willing to pinch and starve themselves, they will not deliberately49 defraud50 their sworn friends and nearest kindred of what would be of the utmost use to them? No, they will thrust their heaps of gold and silver into the hands of others (as their proxies) to keep for them untouched, still increasing, still of no use to any one, but to pamper33 pride and avarice51, to glitter in the huge, watchful52, insatiable eye of fancy, to be deposited as a new offering at the shrine53 of Mammon, their God — this is with them to put it to its intelligible54 and proper use; this is fulfilling a sacred, indispensable duty; this cheers them in the solitude55 of the grave, and throws a gleam of satisfaction across the stony56 eye of death. But to think of frittering it down, of sinking it in charity, of throwing it away on the idle claims of humanity, where it would no longer peer in monumental pomp over their heads — and that, too, when on the point of death themselves, in articulo mortis, oh! it would be madness, waste, extravagance, impiety57! — Thus worldlings feel and argue without knowing it; and while they fancy they are studying their own interest or that of some booby successor, their alter idem, are but the dupes and puppets of a favourite idea, a phantom58, a prejudice, that must be kept up somewhere (no matter where), if it still plays before and haunts their imagination, while they have sense or understanding left to cling to their darling follies59.
There was a remarkable60 instance of this tendency to the heap, this desire to cultivate an abstract passion for wealth, in a will of one of the Thelussons some time back. This will went to keep the greater part of a large property from the use of the natural heirs and next-of-kin for a length of time, and to let it accumulate at compound interest in such a way and so long, that it would at last mount up in value to the purchase-money of a whole county. The interest accruing61 from the funded property or the rent of the lands at certain periods was to be employed to purchase other estates, other parks and manors62 in the neighbourhood or farther off, so that the prospect63 of the future demesne64 that was to devolve at some distant time to the unborn lord of acres swelled65 and enlarged itself, like a sea, circle without circle, vista66 beyond vista, till the imagination was staggered and the mind exhausted67. Now here was a scheme for the accumulation of wealth and for laying the foundation of family aggrandisement purely68 imaginary, romantic — one might almost say, disinterested69. The vagueness, the magnitude, the remoteness of the object, the resolute70 sacrifice of all immediate71 and gross advantages, clothe it with the privileges of an abstract idea, so that the project has the air of a fiction or of a story in a novel. It was an instance of what might be called posthumous72 avarice, like the love of posthumous fame. It had little more to do with selfishness than if the testator had appropriated the same sums in the same way to build a pyramid, to construct an aqueduct, to endow a hospital, or effect any other patriotic73 or merely fantastic purpose. He wished to heap up a pile of wealth (millions of acres) in the dim horizon of future years, that could be of no use to him or to those with whom he was connected by positive and personal ties, but as a crotchet of the brain, a gewgaw of the fancy.35 Yet to enable himself to put this scheme in execution, he had perhaps toiled74 and watched all his life, denied himself rest, food, pleasure, liberty, society, and persevered75 with the patience and self-denial of a martyr76. I have insisted on this point the more, to show how much of the imaginary and speculative77 there is interfused even in those passions and purposes which have not the good of others for their object, and how little reason this honest citizen and builder of castles in the air would have had to treat those who devoted78 themselves to the pursuit of fame, to obloquy79 and persecution80 for the sake of truth and liberty, or who sacrificed their lives for their country in a just cause, as visionaries and enthusiasts81, who did not understand what was properly due to their own interest and the securing of the main chance. Man is not the creature of sense and selfishness, even in those pursuits which grow out of that origin, so much as of imagination, custom, passion, whim82, and humour.
I have heard of a singular instance of a will made by a person who was addicted83 to a habit of lying. He was so notorious for this propensity84 (not out of spite or cunning, but as a gratuitous85 exercise of invention) that from a child no one could ever believe a syllable he uttered. From the want of any dependence86 to be placed on him, he became the jest and by-word of the school where he was brought up. The last act of his life did not disgrace him; for, having gone abroad, and falling into a dangerous decline, he was advised to return home. He paid all that he was worth for his passage, went on ship-board, and employed a few remaining days he had to live in making and executing his will; in which he bequeathed large estates in different parts of England, money in the funds, rich jewels, rings, and all kinds of valuables to his old friends and acquaintance, who, not knowing how far the force of nature could go, were not for some time convinced that all this fairy wealth had never had an existence anywhere but in the idle coinage of his brain, whose whims88 and projects were no more! — The extreme keeping in this character is only to be accounted for by supposing such an original constitutional levity89 as made truth entirely90 indifferent to him, and the serious importance attached to it by others an object of perpetual sport and ridicule91!
The art of will-making chiefly consists in baffling the importunity92 of expectation. I do not so much find fault with this when it is done as a punishment and oblique93 satire94 on servility and selfishness. It is in that case Diamond cut Diamond— a trial of skill between the legacy-hunter and the legacy-maker, which shall fool the other. The cringing95 toad-eater, the officious tale-bearer, is perhaps well paid for years of obsequious96 attendance with a bare mention and a mourning-ring; nor can I think that Gil Blas’ library was not quite as much as the coxcombry97 of his pretensions98 deserved. There are some admirable scenes in Ben Jonson’s Volpone, showing the humours of a legacy-hunter, and the different ways of fobbing him off with excuses and assurances of not being forgotten. Yet it is hardly right, after all, to encourage this kind of pitiful, barefaced99 intercourse100 without meaning to pay for it, as the coquette has no right to jilt the lovers she has trifled with. Flattery and submission101 are marketable commodities like any other, have their price, and ought scarcely to be obtained under false pretences102. If we see through and despise the wretched creature that attempts to impose on our credulity, we can at any time dispense103 with his services: if we are soothed105 by this mockery of respect and friendship, why not pay him like any other drudge106, or as we satisfy the actor who performs a part in a play by our particular desire? But often these premeditated disappointments are as unjust as they are cruel, and are marked with circumstances of indignity107, in proportion to the worth of the object. The suspecting, the taking it for granted that your name is down in the will, is sufficient provocation108 to have it struck out: the hinting at an obligation, the consciousness of it on the part of the testator, will make him determined109 to avoid the formal acknowledgment of it at any expense. The disinheriting of relations is mostly for venial110 offences, not for base actions: we punish out of pique111, to revenge some case in which we been disappointed of our wills, some act of disobedience to what had no reasonable ground to go upon; and we are obstinate112 in adhering to our resolution, as it was sudden and rash, and doubly bent113 on asserting our authority in what we have least right to interfere114 in. It is the wound inflicted115 upon our self-love, not the stain upon the character of the thoughtless offender116, that calls for condign117 punishment. Crimes, vices104 may go unchecked or unnoticed; but it is the laughing at our weaknesses, or thwarting118 our humours, that is never to be forgotten. It is not the errors of others, but our own miscalculations, on which we wreak119 our lasting120 vengeance121. It is ourselves that we cannot forgive. In the will of Nicholas Gimcrack the virtuoso122, recorded in the Tatler, we learn, among other items, that his eldest123 son is cut off with a single cockleshell for his undutiful behaviour in laughing at his little sister whom his father kept preserved in spirits of wine. Another of his relations has a collection of grasshoppers124 bequeathed him, as in the testator’s opinion an adequate reward and acknowledgment due to his merit. The whole will of the said Nicholas Gimcrack, Esq., is a curious document and exact picture of the mind of the worthy125 virtuoso defunct126, where his various follies, littlenesses, and quaint87 humours are set forth127 as orderly and distinct as his butterflies’ wings and cockle-shells and skeletons of fleas128 in glass cases.36 We often successfully try, in this way, to give the finishing stroke to our pictures, hang up our weaknesses in perpetuity, and embalm130 our mistakes in the memories of others.
Even from the tomb the voice of nature cries,
Even in our ashes live their wonted fires.
I shall not speak here of unwarrantable commands imposed upon survivors131, by which they were to carry into effect the sullen132 and revengeful purposes of unprincipled men, after they had breathed their last; but we meet with continual examples of the desire to keep up the farce133 (if not the tragedy) of life after we, the performers in it, have quitted the stage, and to have our parts rehearsed by proxy134. We thus make a caprice immortal135, a peculiarity136 proverbial. Hence we see the number of legacies137 and fortunes left on condition that the legatee shall take the name and style of the testator, by which device we provide for the continuance of the sounds that formed our names, and endow them with an estate, that they may be repeated with proper respect. In the Memoirs138 of an Heiress all the difficulties of the plot turn on the necessity imposed by a clause in her uncle’s will that her future husband should take the family name of Beverley. Poor Cecilia! What delicate perplexities she was thrown into by this improvident139 provision; and with what minute, endless, intricate distresses140 has the fair authoress been enabled to harrow up the reader on this account! There was a Sir Thomas Dyot in the reign141 of Charles II. who left the whole range of property which forms Dyot Street, in St. Giles’s, and the neighbourhood, on the sole and express condition that it should be appropriated entirely to that sort of buildings, and to the reception of that sort of population, which still keeps undisputed, undivided possession of it. The name was changed the other day to George Street as a more genteel appellation142, which, I should think, is an indirect forfeiture143 of the estate. This Sir Thomas Dyot I should be disposed to put upon the list of old English worthies144 — as humane145, liberal, and no flincher146 from what he took in his head. He was no common-place man in his line. He was the best commentator147 on that old-fashioned text —‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.’ We find some that are curious in the mode in which they shall be buried, and others in the place. Lord Camelford had his remains buried under an ash tree that grew on one of the mountains in Switzerland; and Sir Francis Bourgeois148 had a little mausoleum built for him in the college at Dulwich, where he once spent a pleasant, jovial149 day with the masters and wardens150.37 It is, no doubt, proper to attend, except for strong reasons to the contrary, to these sort of requests; for by breaking faith with the dead we loosen the confidence of the living. Besides, there is a stronger argument: we sympathise with the dead as well as with the living, and are bound to them by the most sacred of all ties, our own involuntary follow-feeling with others!
Thieves, as a last donation, leave advice to their friends, physicians a nostrum151, authors a manuscript work, rakes a confession152 of their faith in the virtue153 of the sex — all, the last drivellings of their egotism and impertinence. One might suppose that if anything could, the approach and contemplation of death might bring men to a sense of reason and self-knowledge. On the contrary, it seems only to deprive them of the little wit they had, and to make them even more the sport of their wilfulness154 and shortsightedness. Some men think that because they are going to be hanged, they are fully129 authorised to declare a future state of rewards and punishments. All either indulge their caprices or cling to their prejudices. They make a desperate attempt to escape from reflection by taking hold of any whim or fancy that crosses their minds, or by throwing themselves implicitly155 on old habits and attachments156.
An old man is twice a child: the dying man becomes the property of his family. He has no choice left, and his voluntary power is merged157 in old saws and prescriptive usages. The property we have derived158 from our kindred reverts159 tacitly to them; and not to let it take its course is a sort of violence done to nature as well as custom. The idea of property, of something in common, does not mix cordially with friendship, but is inseparable from near relationship. We owe a return in kind, where we feel no obligation for a favour; and consign160 our possessions to our next-of-kin as mechanically as we lean our heads on the pillow, and go out of the world in the same state of stupid amazement161 that we came into it! . . . Caetera desunt.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
perversity
|
|
| n.任性；刚愎自用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
disposition
|
|
| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
belies
|
|
| v.掩饰( belie的第三人称单数 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
tenor
|
|
| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
testament
|
|
| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
averse
|
|
| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
gasp
|
|
| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
corpse
|
|
| n.尸体，死尸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
harassing
|
|
| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
uncertainty
|
|
| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
contrive
|
|
| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
relinquished
|
|
| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
bespeak
|
|
| v.预定；预先请求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
lapse
|
|
| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
mansion
|
|
| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
inmate
|
|
| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
careworn
|
|
| adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
alabaster
|
|
| adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
emaciated
|
|
| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
chiselled
|
|
| adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
hues
|
|
| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
syllable
|
|
| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
pamper
|
|
| v.纵容，过分关怀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
pampered
|
|
| adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
kindled
|
|
| （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： |
|
|
|
|
36
rapture
|
|
| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
drooping
|
|
| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
trifling
|
|
| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
refinements
|
|
| n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
discretion
|
|
| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
dole
|
|
| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
allures
|
|
| 诱引，吸引( allure的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
innate
|
|
| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
injustice
|
|
| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
hoard
|
|
| n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
idol
|
|
| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
defraud
|
|
| vt.欺骗，欺诈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
avarice
|
|
| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
shrine
|
|
| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
intelligible
|
|
| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
stony
|
|
| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
impiety
|
|
| n.不敬；不孝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
phantom
|
|
| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
follies
|
|
| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
accruing
|
|
| v.增加( accrue的现在分词 )；（通过自然增长）产生；获得；（使钱款、债务）积累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
manors
|
|
| n.庄园（manor的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
demesne
|
|
| n.领域，私有土地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
swelled
|
|
| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
vista
|
|
| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
purely
|
|
| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
disinterested
|
|
| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
resolute
|
|
| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
posthumous
|
|
| adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
patriotic
|
|
| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
toiled
|
|
| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
persevered
|
|
| v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
martyr
|
|
| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
speculative
|
|
| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
obloquy
|
|
| n.斥责，大骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
persecution
|
|
| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
enthusiasts
|
|
| n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
whim
|
|
| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
addicted
|
|
| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
propensity
|
|
| n.倾向；习性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
gratuitous
|
|
| adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
dependence
|
|
| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
quaint
|
|
| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
WHIMS
|
|
| 虚妄，禅病 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
levity
|
|
| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
ridicule
|
|
| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
importunity
|
|
| n.硬要，强求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
oblique
|
|
| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
satire
|
|
| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
cringing
|
|
| adj.谄媚，奉承 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
obsequious
|
|
| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
coxcombry
|
|
| n.（男子的）虚浮，浮夸，爱打扮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
98
pretensions
|
|
| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
barefaced
|
|
| adj.厚颜无耻的，公然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
intercourse
|
|
| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
submission
|
|
| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
pretences
|
|
| n.假装( pretence的名词复数 )；作假；自命；自称 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
dispense
|
|
| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
vices
|
|
| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
soothed
|
|
| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
drudge
|
|
| n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
indignity
|
|
| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
provocation
|
|
| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
venial
|
|
| adj.可宽恕的；轻微的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
pique
|
|
| v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
obstinate
|
|
| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
interfere
|
|
| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
inflicted
|
|
| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
offender
|
|
| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
condign
|
|
| adj.应得的，相当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
thwarting
|
|
| 阻挠( thwart的现在分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
wreak
|
|
| v.发泄；报复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
lasting
|
|
| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
virtuoso
|
|
| n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
eldest
|
|
| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
grasshoppers
|
|
| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
defunct
|
|
| adj.死亡的；已倒闭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
fleas
|
|
| n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
embalm
|
|
| v.保存（尸体）不腐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
survivors
|
|
| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
farce
|
|
| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
proxy
|
|
| n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
immortal
|
|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
peculiarity
|
|
| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
legacies
|
|
| n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
memoirs
|
|
| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
improvident
|
|
| adj.不顾将来的，不节俭的，无远见的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
distresses
|
|
| n.悲痛( distress的名词复数 )；痛苦；贫困；危险 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
reign
|
|
| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
appellation
|
|
| n.名称，称呼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
forfeiture
|
|
| n.（名誉等）丧失 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
worthies
|
|
| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
humane
|
|
| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
flincher
|
|
| （因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
commentator
|
|
| n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
bourgeois
|
|
| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
jovial
|
|
| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
wardens
|
|
| n.看守人( warden的名词复数 )；管理员；监察员；监察官 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
nostrum
|
|
| n.秘方；妙策 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
wilfulness
|
|
| 任性；倔强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
implicitly
|
|
| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
attachments
|
|
| 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： |
|
|
|
|
157
merged
|
|
| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
reverts
|
|
| 恢复( revert的第三人称单数 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
consign
|
|
| vt.寄售（货品），托运，交托，委托 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |