Evening.

One sultry Sunday, when no cooling breeze

Was borne on zephyr’s wing, to fan the trees;

One sultry Sunday, when the torrid ray

O’er nature beam’d intolerable day;

When raging Sirius warn’d us not to roam,

And Galen’s sons prescrib’d cool draughts¹ at home;

One sultry Sunday, near those fields of fame

Where weavers² dwell, and Spital is their name,

A sober wight, of reputation high

For tints⁴ that emulate⁵ the Tyrian dye,

Wishing to take his afternoon’s repose⁶,

In easy chair had just began to doze⁷,

When, in a voice that sleep’s soft slumbers⁸ broke,

His oily helpmate thus her wishes spoke⁹:

    “Why, spouse¹⁰, for shame! my stars, what’s this about?

You’s ever sleeping; come, we’ll all go out;

At that there garden, pr’ythee, do not stare!

We’ll take a mouthful of the country air;

In the yew¹¹ bower¹² an hour or two we’ll kill;

There you may smoke, and drink what punch you will.

Sophy and Billy each shall walk with me,

And you must carry little Emily.

Veny is sick, and pants, and loathes¹³ her food;

The grass will do the pretty creature good.

Hot rolls are ready as the clock strikes five —

And now ’tis after four, as I’m alive!”

    The mandate¹⁴ issued, see the tour begun,

And all the flock set out for Islington.

Now the broad sun, refulgent¹⁵ lamp of day,

To rest with Thetis, slopes his western way;

O’er every tree embrowning dust is spread,

And tipt with gold is Hampstead’s lofty head.

    The passive husband, in his nature mild,

To wife consigns¹⁶ his hat, and takes the child;

But she a day like this hath never felt,

“Oh! that this too, too solid flesh would melt,

Thaw¹⁷, and resolve itself into a dew.”

Such monstrous¹⁸ heat! dear me! she never knew.

Adown her innocent and beauteous face,

The big, round, pearly drops each other chase;

Thence trickling¹⁹ to those hills, erst white as snow,

That now like ?tna’s mighty²⁰ mountains glow,

They hang like dewdrops on the full blown rose,

And to the ambient air their sweets disclose.

Fever’d with pleasure, thus she drags along;

Nor dares her antler’d husband say ’tis wrong.

    The blooming offspring of this blissful pair,

In all their parents’ attic²¹ pleasures share.

Sophy the soft, the mother’s earliest joy,

Demands her froward brother’s tinsell’d toy;

But he, enrag’d, denies the glittering prize,

And rends²² the air with loud and piteous cries.

    Thus far we see the party on their way —

What dire²³ disasters mark’d the close of day,

’Twere tedious, tiresome²⁴, endless to obtrude²⁵;

Imagination must the scene conclude.

It is not easy to imagine fatigue²⁶ better delineated than in the appearance of this amiable²⁷ pair. In a few of the earliest impressions, Mr. Hogarth printed the hands of the man in blue, to show that he was a dyer, and the face and neck of the woman in red, to intimate her extreme heat. The lady’s aspect lets us at once into her character; we are certain that she was born to command. As to her husband, God made him, and he must pass for a man: what his wife has made him, is indicated by the cow’s horns; which are so placed as to become his own. The hopes of the family, with a cockade in his hat, and riding upon papa’s cane²⁸, seems much dissatisfied with female sway. A face with more of the shrew in embryo²⁹ than that of the girl, it is scarcely possible to conceive. Upon such a character the most casual observer pronounces with the decision of a Lavater.

Nothing can be better imagined than the group in the alehouse. They have taken a refreshing³⁰ walk into the country, and, being determined³¹ to have a cooling pipe, seat themselves in a chair-lumbered closet, with a low ceiling; where every man, pulling off his wig³, and throwing a pocket-handkerchief over his head, inhales³² the fumes³³ of hot punch, the smoke of half a dozen pipes, and the dust from the road. If this is not rural felicity, what is? The old gentleman in a black bag-wig, and the two women near him, sensibly enough, take their seats in the open air.

From a woman milking a cow, we conjecture³⁴ the hour to be about five in the afternoon: and, from the same circumstance, I am inclined to think this agreeable party is going to their pastoral bower, rather than returning from it.

The cow and dog appear as much inconvenienced by heat as any of the party: the former is whisking off the flies; and the latter creeps unwillingly³⁵ along, and casts a longing³⁶ look at the crystal river, in which he sees his own shadow. A remarkably³⁷ hot summer is intimated by the luxuriant state of a vine, creeping over an alehouse window. On the side of the New River, where the scene is laid, lies one of the wooden pipes employed in the water-works. Opposite Sadler’s Wells there still remains³⁸ the sign of Sir Hugh Middleton’s head, which is here represented; but how changed the scene from what is here represented!

1 draughts   

n. <英>国际跳棋

参考例句：

• Seal (up) the window to prevent draughts. 把窗户封起来以防风。
• I will play at draughts with him. 我跟他下一盘棋吧！

2 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。

3 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

4 tints   

色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹

参考例句：

• leaves with red and gold autumn tints 金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶
• The whole countryside glowed with autumn tints. 乡间处处呈现出灿烂的秋色。

5 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

6 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

7 doze   

v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐

参考例句：

• He likes to have a doze after lunch.他喜欢午饭后打个盹。
• While the adults doze,the young play.大人们在打瞌睡，而孩子们在玩耍。

8 slumbers   

睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。
• My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

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。

10 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

11 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。

12 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

13 loathes   

v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的第三人称单数 )；极不喜欢

参考例句：

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

14 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

15 refulgent   

adj.辉煌的，灿烂的

参考例句：

• Middle East has declined since modern era,however it had possessed of refulgent history.中东地区曾有过辉煌的历史，只是在近代以来衰落了。
• Our target is only one:Autosecu compose refulgent tomorrow! 我们的目标就一个：为安特佳谱写辉煌的明天。

16 consigns   

v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的第三人称单数 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃

参考例句：

• Where a business entity consigns goods to others for sale. 四营业人委讬他人代销货物者。 来自互联网
• In Oulanem Marx does what the Devil does: he consigns the entire human race to damnation. 在《Oulanem》里，马克思做了魔鬼所做的事：他诅咒全人类下地狱。 来自互联网

17 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

18 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

19 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

21 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

22 rends   

v.撕碎( rend的第三人称单数 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破

参考例句：

• Just as the blade rends flesh, so must power scar the spirit. 如同这把剑撕开那些肉体一样，它也将撕开使用者的灵魂。 来自互联网

23 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

24 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

25 obtrude   

v.闯入；侵入；打扰

参考例句：

• I'm sorry to obtrude on you at such a time.我很抱歉在这个时候打扰你。
• You had better not obtrude your opinions on others.你最好不要强迫别人接受你的意见。

26 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

27 amiable   

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。

28 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

29 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

30 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

31 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

32 inhales   

v.吸入( inhale的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Long, slow, full breaths with exhales at least as long as the inhales. 深长、缓慢、充分的呼吸，呼气至少要同吸气一样长。 来自互联网
• An impressive pile forms. Heywood bends down and inhales deeply, smelling the aroma. Rapture. 一小排香烟。海沃德低下头使劲地闻着香烟的气味，高兴不已。 来自互联网

33 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

34 conjecture   

n./v.推测，猜测

参考例句：

• She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
• This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。

35 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

36 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

37 remarkably   

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。

38 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。