One of Eveena's favourite quotations15 bore the unmistakable stamp of
Zveltic mysticism:—
"Symbols that invert16 the sense
Form the Seal of Providence17;
Contradiction gives the key,
Time unlocks the mystery."
The danger in which my relation to the Zinta and its chief involved me, and the presence of half a dozen rivals to Eveena—rivals also to that regard for the Star which at first I felt chiefly for her sake—likely as they seemed to impair18 the strength and sweetness of the tie between us, actually worked to consolidate19 and endear it. To enjoy, except on set occasions, without constant liability to interruption, Eveena's sole society was no easy matter. To conceal20 our real secret, and the fact that there was a secret, was imperative21. Avowedly22 exclusive confidence, conferences from which the rest of the household were directly shut out, would have suggested to their envious23 tempers that Eveena played the spy on them, or influenced and advised the exercise of my authority. To be alone with her, therefore, as naturally and necessarily I must often wish to be, required manoeuvres and arrangements as delicate and difficult, though as innocent, as those employed by engaged couples under the strict conventions of European household usage; and the comparative rarity of such interviews, and the manner in which they had often to be contrived25 beforehand, kept alive in its earliest freshness the love which, if not really diminished, generally loses somewhat of its first bloom and delicacy26 in the unrestrained intercourse of marriage. Absolutely and solely27 trusted, assured that her company was eagerly sought, and at least as deeply valued as ever—compelled by the ideas of her race to accept the situation as natural and right, and wholly incapable28 of the pettier and meaner forms of jealousy—Eveena was fully content and happy in her relations with me. That, on the whole, she was not comfortable, or at least much less so than during our suddenly abbreviated29 honeymoon30, was apparent; but her loss of brightness and cheerfulness was visible chiefly in her weary and downcast looks on any occasion when, after being absent for some hours from the house, I came upon her unawares. In my presence she was always calm and peaceful, kind, and seemingly at ease; and if she saw or heard me on my return, though she carefully avoided any appearance of eagerness to greet me sooner than others, or to claim especial attention, she ever met me with a smile of welcome as frank and bright as a young bride on Earth could give to a husband returning to her sole society from a long day of labour for her sake.
In so far as compliance31 was possible I was compelled to admit the wisdom of Eveena's plea that no open distinction should be made in her favour. Except in the simple fact of our affection, there was no assignable reason for making her my companion more frequently than Eunané or Eivé. Except that I could trust her completely, there was no distinction of age, social rank, or domestic relation to afford a pretext32 for exempting33 her from restraints which, if at first I thought them senseless and severe, were soon justified34 by experience of the kind of domestic control which just emancipated35 school-girls expected and required. Nor would she accept the immunity36 tacitly allowed her. It was not that any established custom or right bounded the arbitrary power of domestic autocracy37. The right of all but unbounded wrong, the liberty of limitless caprice, is unquestionably vested in the head of the household. But the very completeness of the despotism rendered its exercise impossible. Force cannot act where there is no resistance. The sword of the Plantagenet could cleave38 the helmet but not the quilt of down. I could do as I pleased without infringing39 any understanding or giving any right to complain.
"But," said Eveena, "you have a sense of justice which has nothing to do with law or usage. Even your language is not ours. You think of right and wrong, where we should speak only of what is or is not punishable. You can make a favourite if you will pay the price. Could you endure to be hated in your own home, or I to know that you deserved it? Or, if you could, could you bear to see me hated and my life made miserable40?"
"They dare not!" I returned angrily fearing that they had dared, and that she had already felt the spite she was so careful not to provoke.
"Do you think that feminine malice41 cannot contrive24 to envenom a dozen stings that I could not explain if I would, and you could not deal with if I did?"
"But," I replied, "it seems admitted that there is no such thing as right or custom. As Enva said, I have bought and paid for them, and may do what I please within the contract; and you agree that is just what any other man in this world would do."
"Yes," returned Eveena, "and I watched your face while Enva spoke42. How did you like her doctrine43? Of course you may do as you please—if you can please. You may silence discontent, you may suppress spiteful innuendos44 and even sulky looks, you may put down mutiny, by sheer terror. Can you? You may command me to go with you whenever you go out; you may take the same means to make me complain of unkindness as to make them conceal it; you may act like one of our own people, if you can stoop to the level of their minds. But we both know that you can do nothing of the kind. How could you bear to be driven into unsparing and undeserved severity, who can hardly bring yourself to enforce the discipline necessary to peace and comfort on those who will only be ruled by fear and would like you better if they feared you more? Did you hear the proverb Leenoo muttered, very unjustly, when she left your room yesterday, 'A favourite wears out many sandals'? No! You see the very phrase wounds and disgusts you. But you would find it a true one. Can you take vengeance45 for a fault you have yourself provoked? Can you decide without inquiry46, condemn47 without evidence, punish without hearing? Men do these things, of course, and women expect them. But you—I do not say you would be ashamed so to act—you cannot do it, any more than you can breathe the air of our snow-mountains."
"At all events, Eveena, I no more dare do it in your presence than I dare forswear the Faith we hold in common."
But whatever Eveena might exact or I concede, the distinction between the wife who commanded as much respect as affection, and the girls who could at best be pets or playthings, was apparent against our will in every detail of daily life and domestic intercourse. It was alike impossible to treat Eveena as a child and to rule Enva or Eiralé as other than children. It was as unnatural48 to use the tone of command or rebuke49 to one for whom my unexpressed wishes were absolute law, as to observe the form of request or advice in directing or reproving those whose obedience50 depended on the consequences of rebellion. It only made matters worse that the distinction corresponded but too accurately51 to their several deserts. No faults could have been so irritating to Eveena's companions as her undeniable faultlessness.
The ludicrous aspect of my relation to the rest of the household was even more striking than I had expected. That I should find myself in the absurd position of a man entrusted52 with the direct personal government of half-a-dozen young ladies was even "more truly spoke than meant." One at least among them might singly have made in time a not unlovable wife, and all, perhaps, might severally and separately have been reduced to conjugal53 complaisance54. Collectively, they were, as Eveena had said, a set of school-girls, and school-girls used to stricter restraint and much sharper discipline than those of a French or Italian convent. They would have made life a burden to a vigorous English schoolmistress, and imperilled the soul of any Lady-Abbess whose list of permissible penances55 excluded the dark cell and the scourge56. Fortunately for both parties, I had the advantage of governess and Superior in the natural awe57 which girls feel for the authority of manhood—till they have found out of what soft fibre men are made—and in the artificial fear inspired by domestic usage and tradition. For I was soon aware that even on its ridiculous side the relation was not to be trifled with. The simple indifference58 a man feels towards the escapades of girlhood was not applicable to women and wives, who yet lacked womanly sense and the feeling of conjugal duty. This serious aspect of their position soon contracted the indulgence naturally conceded to youth's heedlessness and animal spirits. These, displayed at first only in the energy and eagerness of their every movement within the narrow limits of conventional usage, broke all bounds when, after one or two half-timid, half-venturous experiments on my patience, they felt that they had, at least for the moment, exchanged the monotony, the mechanical routine, the stern repression59 of their life in the great Nurseries, not for the harsh household discipline to which they naturally looked forward, but for the "loosened zone" which to them seemed to promise absolute liberty. When not immediately in my presence or Eveena's, their keen enjoyment61 of a life so new, the sudden development of the brighter side of their nature under circumstances that gave play to the vigorous vitality62 of youth, gave as much pleasure to me as to themselves. But in contact with myself or Eveena they were women, and showed only the wrong side of the varied63 texture64 of womanhood. To the master they were slaves, each anxious to attract his notice, win his preference; before the favourite, spiteful, envious of her and of each other, bitter, malicious65, and false. For Eveena's sake, it was impossible to look on with indolent indifference on freaks of temper which, childish in the form they assumed, were envenomed by the deliberate dislike and unscrupulous cunning of jealous women.
But even on the childish side of their character and conduct, they soon displayed a determination to test by actual experiment the utmost extent of the liberty allowed, and the nature and sufficiency of its limits. Eunané was always the most audacious trespasser66 and representative rebel. Fortunately for her, the daring which had bewildered and exasperated67 feminine guardians68 rather amused and interested me, giving some variety and relief to the monotonous69 absurdity70 of the situation. Nothing in her conduct was more remarkable71 or more characteristic than the simplicity72 and good temper with which she generally accepted as of course the less agreeable consequences of her outbreaks; unless it were the sort of natural dignity with which, when she so pleased, the game played out and its forfeit73 paid, the naughty child subsided74 into the lively but rational companion, and the woman simply ignored the scrapes of the school-girl.
As her character seemed to unfold, Eivé's individuality became as distinctly parted from the rest as Eunané's, though in an opposite direction. Comparatively timid and indolent, without their fulness of life, she seemed to me little more than a child; and she fell with apparent willingness into that position, accepting naturally its privileges and exemptions75. She alone was never in the way, never vexatious or exacting76. Content with the notice that naturally fell to her share, she obtained the more. Never intruding77 between Eveena and myself, she alone was not wholly unwelcome to share our accidental privacy when, in the peristyle or the grounds, the others left us temporarily alone. On such occasions she would often draw near and crouch78 at my feet or by Eveena's side, curling herself like a kitten upon the turf or among the cushions, often resting her little head upon Eveena's knee or mine; generally silent, but never so silent as to seem to be a spy upon our conversation, rather as a favourite child privileged, in consideration of her quietude and her supposed harmlessness and inattention, to remain when others are excluded, and to hear much to which she is supposed not to listen. Having no special duties of her own in the household, she would wait upon and assist Eveena whenever the latter would accept her attendance. When the whole party were assembled, it was her wont79 to choose her place not in the circle, still less at my side—Eveena's title to the post of honour on the left being uncontested, and Eunané generally occupying the cushions on my right. But Eivé, lying at our feet, would support herself on her arm between my knee and Eunané's, content to attract my hand to play with her curls or stroke her head. Under such encouragement she would creep on to my lap and rest there, but seldom took any part in conversation, satisfied with the attention one pays half-consciously to a child. A word that dropped from Enva, however, on one occasion, obliged me to observe that it was in Eveena's absence that Eivé always seemed most fully aware of her privileges and most lavish80 of her childlike caresses81. The kind of notice and affection she obtained did not provoke the envy even of Leenoo or Eiralé. She no more affected82 to imitate Eveena's absolute devotion than she ventured on Eunané's reckless petulance83. She kept my interest alive by the faults of a spoiled child. Her freaks were always such as to demand immediate60 repression without provoking serious displeasure, so that the temporary disgrace cost her little, and the subsequent reconciliation84 strengthened her hold on my heart. But with Eveena, or in her presence, Eivé's waywardness was so suppressed or controlled that Eveena's perceptible coolness towards her—it was never coldness or unkindness—somewhat surprised me.
Few Martialists, when wealthy enough to hand over the management of their property to others, care to interfere86, or even to watch its cultivation87. This, however, to me was a subject of as much interest as any other of the many peculiarities88 of Martial85 society, commerce, and industry, which it concerned me to investigate and understand; and when not otherwise employed, I spent great part of my day in watching, and now and then directing, the work that went on during the whole of the sunlight, and not unfrequently during the night, upon my farm. Davilo, the superintendent89, had engaged no fewer than eight subordinates, who, with the assistance of the ambau, the carvee, and the electric machines, kept every portion of the ground in the most perfect state of culture. The most valuable part of the produce consisted of those farinaceous fruits, growing on trees from twenty to eighty feet in height, which form the principal element of Martial food. Between the tropics these trees yield ripe fruit twice a year, during a total period of about three of our months—perhaps for a hundred days. Various gourds90, growing chiefly on canes91, hanging from long flexile stalks that spring from the top of the stem at a height of from three to eight feet, yield juice which is employed partly in flavouring the various loaves and cakes into which the flour is made, partly in the numerous beverages92 (never allowed to ferment93, and consequently requiring to be made fresh every day), of which the smallest Martial household has a greater variety than the most luxurious94 palace of the East. The best are made from hard-skinned fruits, whose whole pulp95 is liquified by piercing the rind before the fruit is fully ripe, and closing the orifice with a wax-like substance, almost exactly according to a practice common in different parts of Asia. The drinks are made, of course, at home. The farinaceous fruits are sold to the confectioners, who take also a portion of the milk and all the meat supplied by the pastures. Many choice fruits grow on shrubs96, ranging from the size of a large black currant tree to that of the smallest gooseberry bush. Vines growing along the ground bear clustering nuts, whose kernels97 are sometimes as hard as that of a cocoa-nut, sometimes almost as soft as butter. The latter with the juicy fruits, are preserved if necessary for a whole year in storehouses dug in the ground and lined with concrete, in which, by chemical means, a temperature a little above the freezing-point is steadily98 maintained at very trivial cost. The number of dishes producible by the mixture of these various materials, with the occasional addition of meat, fish, and eggs, is enormous; and it is only when some particular compound is in special favour with the master of the house that it makes its appearance more than perhaps once in ten days upon the same table. The invention of the confectioners is exquisite99 and inexhaustible; and every table is supplied with a variety of dainties sufficient for a feast in the most hospitable100 and wealthy household of Europe. Many of the smaller fruit-trees and shrubs yield two crops in the year. The vegetables, crisper, and of much more varied taste than the best Terrestrial salads, sometimes possessing a flavour as piquant101 as that of cinnamon or nutmeg, are gathered continuously from one end of the year to the other.
The vines, tough and fibrous, supply the best and strongest cordage used in Mars. For this purpose they are dried, stripped, combed, and put through an elaborate process of manufacture, which, without weakening the fibres, renders them smooth, and removes the knots in which they naturally abound102. The twisted cord of the nut-vine is almost as strong as a metallic103 wire rope of half its measurement. There is another purpose for which these fibres in their natural state are employed. Simply dried and twisted, they form a scourge as terrible as the Russian knout or African cowhide, though of a different character—a scourge which, even in its lightest form, reduces the wildest herd104 to instant order; and which, as employed on criminals, is hardly less dreaded105 than that electric rack whereby Martial science inflicts106 on every nerve a graduated torture such as even ecclesiastical malignity107 has not invented on Earth—such as I certainly will not place in the hands of Terrestrial rulers.
All these crops are raised with marvellously little human labour, the whole work of ploughing and sowing being done by machinery108, that of weeding and harvesting chiefly by the carvee. The ambau climb the trees and pick the fruit from the ends of the branches, which they are also taught to pinch in, so that none grow so long as to break with the weight of these creatures, as clever and agile109 as the smaller monkeys, but almost as large as an ordinary baboon110. It must always be remembered that, size for size, and c?teris paribus, all bodies, animate111 and inanimate, on Mars weigh less than half as much as they would on Earth. Eunané's blunder about the carcara was not explained by any subsequent errors of the ambau or carvee, which always selected the ripe fruit with faultless skill, leaving the immature112 untouched, and throwing aside in small heaps to manure113 the ground the few that had been allowed to grow too ripe for use. The sums paid from time to time into my hands, received from the sales of produce, were far greater than I could possibly spend in gratifying any taste of my own; and, as I presently found, the idea that the surplus might indulge those of the ladies never entered their minds.
Before we had been settled in our home for three days Eveena had made two requests which I was well pleased to grant. First, she entreated115 that I would teach her one at least of the languages with which I was familiar—a task of whose extreme difficulty she had little idea. Compared with her native tongue, the complication and irregularities of the simplest language spoken on Earth are far more arbitrary and provoking than seems the most difficult of ancient or Oriental tongues to a Frenchman or Italian. In order to fulfil my promise that she should assist me in recording116 my observations and writing out my notes, I chose Latin. Unhappily for her, I found myself as impatient and unsuccessful as I was inexperienced in teaching; and nothing but her exquisite gentleness and forbearance could have made the lessons otherwise than painful to us both. Well for me that the "right to govern wrong" was to her a simple truth—an inalienable marital117 privilege, to be met with that unqualified submission118 which must have shamed the worst temper into self-control. Eivé on one occasion made a similar request; but besides that I realised the convenience of a medium of communication understood by ourselves alone, I had no inclination119 to expose either my own temper or Eivé's to the trial. Eveena's second request came naturally from one whose favourite amusement had been the raising and modification120 of flowers. She asked to be entrusted with the charge of the seeds I had brought from Earth, and to be permitted to form a bed in the peristyle for the purpose of the experiment. Though this disfigured the perfect arrangement of the garden, I was delighted to have so important and interesting a problem worked out by hands so skilful121 and so careful. I should probably have failed to rear a single plant, even had I been familiar with those applications of electricity to the purpose which are so extensively employed in Mars. Eveena managed to produce specimens122 strangely altered, sometimes stunted123, sometimes greatly improved, from about one-fourth of the seeds entrusted to her; and among those with which she was most brilliantly successful were some specimens of Turkish roses, the roses of the attar, which I had obtained at Stamboul. My admiration124 of her patience and pleasure in her success deeply gratified her; and it was a full reward for all her trouble when I suggested that she should send to her sister Zevle a small packet of each of the seeds with which she had succeeded. It happened, however, that the few rose seeds had all been planted; and the flowers, though apparently125 perfect, produced no seed of their own, probably because they were not suited to the taste of the flower-birds, and Eveena somehow forgot or failed to employ the process of artificial fertilisation.
If anything could have fully reconciled my conscience to the household relations in which I was rather by weakness than by will inextricably entangled126, it would have been the certainty that by the sacrifice Eveena had herself enforced on me, and which she persistently127 refused to recognise as such, she alone had suffered. True that I could not give, and could hardly affect for the wives bestowed128 on me by another's choice, even such love as the head of a Moslem130 household may distribute among as many inmates131. But to what I could call love they had never looked forward. But for the example daily presented before their own eyes they would no more have missed than they comprehended it. That they were happier than they had expected, far happier than they would have been in an ordinary home, happier certainly than in the schools they had quitted, I could not doubt, and they did not affect to deny. If my patience were not proof against vexations the more exasperating132 from their pettiness, and the sense of ridicule133 which constantly attached to them, I could read in the manner of most and understand from the words of Eunané, who seldom hesitated to speak her mind, whether its utterances134, were flattering or wounding, that she and her companions found me not only far more indulgent, but incomparably more just than they had been taught to hope a man could be. Of justice, indeed, as consisting in restraint on one's own temper and consideration for the temper of others, Martial manhood is incapable, or, at any rate, Martial womanhood never suspects its masters.
Moreover, though no longer blest with the spirits of youth, and finding little pleasure in what youth calls pleasure, I had escaped the kind of satiety135 that seems to attend lives more softly spent than mine had been; and found a very real and unfading enjoyment in witnessing the keen enjoyment of these youthful natures in such liberty as could be accorded and such amusements as the life of this dull and practical world affords.
Among these, two at least are closely similar to the two favourite pleasures of European society. Music appears to have been carried, like most arts and sciences, to a point of mechanical perfection which, I should suppose, like much of the artificial accuracy and ease which civilisation136 has introduced, mars rather than enhances the natural gratification enjoyed by simpler ages and races. Almost deaf to music as distinguished137 from noise, I did not attempt to comprehend the construction of Martial instruments or the nature of the concords138 they emitted. One only struck me with especial surprise by a peculiarity139 which, if I could not understand, I could not mistake. A number of variously coloured flames are made to synchronise140 with or actually emit a number of corresponding notes, dancing to, or, more properly, weaving a series of strangely combined movements in accord with the music, whose vibrations141 were directly and inseparably connected with their motion. But all music is the work of professional musicians, never the occupation of woman's leisure, never made more charming to the ear by its association with the movement of beloved hands or the tones of a cherished voice. Electric wires, connected with the vast buildings wherein instruments produce what sounds like fine choral singing as well as musical notes, enable the householder to turn on at pleasure music equal, I suppose, to the finest operatic performances or the grandest oratorio142, and listen to it at leisure from the cushions of his own peristyle. This was a great though not wholly new delight to Eunané and most of her companions. For their sake only would Eveena ever have resorted to it, for though herself appreciating music not less highly, and educated to understand it much more thoroughly143, than they, she could derive144 little gratification from that which was clearly incomprehensible if not disagreeable to me—could hardly enjoy a pleasure I could not share.
The theatre was a more prized and less common indulgence. It is little frequented by the elder Martialists; and not enjoying it themselves, they seldom sacrifice their hours to the enjoyment of their women. But it forms so important an aid to education, and tends so much to keep alive in the public memory impressions which policy will not permit to fade, that both from the State and from the younger portion of the community it receives an encouragement quite sufficient to reward the few who bestow129 their time and talent upon it. Great buildings, square or oblong in form, the stage placed at one end, the arched boxes or galleries from which the spectators look down thereon rising tier above and behind tier to the further extremity145, are constantly filled. There are no actors, and Martial feeling would hardly allow the appearance of women as actresses. But an art, somewhat analogous146 to, but infinitely147 surpassing, that displayed in the manipulation of the most skilfully148 constructed and most complicated magic lanterns, enables the conductors of the theatre to present upon the stage a truly living and moving picture of any scene they desire to exhibit. The figures appear perfectly149 real, move with perfect, freedom, and seem to speak the sounds which, in fact, are given out by a gigantic hidden phonograph, into which the several parts have long ago been carefully spoken by male and female voices, the best suited to each character; and which, by the reversal of its motion, can repeat the original words almost for ever, with the original tone, accent, and expression. The illusion is far more perfect than that obtained by all the resources of stage management and all the skill of the actor's art in the best theatres of France. After the first novelty, the first surprise and wonder were exhausted150, I must confess that these representations simply bored me, the more from their length and character. But even Eveena enjoyed them thoroughly, and my other companions prized an evening or afternoon thus spent above all other indulgences. A passage running along at the back of each tier admits the spectator to boxes so completely private as to satisfy the strictest requirements of Martial seclusion151.
The favourite scenes represent the most striking incidents of Martial history, or realise the life, usages, and manners of ages long gone by, before science and invention had created the perfect but monotonous civilisation that now prevails. One of the most interesting performances I witnessed commenced with the exhibition of a striking scene, in which the union of all the various States that had up to that time divided the planet's surface, and occasionally waged war on one another, in the first Congress of the World, was realised in the exact reproduction of every detail which historic records have preserved. Afterwards was depicted152 the confusion, declining into barbarism and rapid degradation153, of the Communistic revolution, the secession of the Zveltau and their merely political adherents154, the construction of their cities, fleets, and artillery155, the terrible battles, in which the numbers of the Communists were hurled156 back or annihilated157 by the asphyxiator158 and the lightning gun; and finally, the most remarkable scene in all Martial history, when the last representatives of the great Anarchy159, squalid, miserable, degraded, and debased in form and features, as well as indicating by their dress and appearance the utter ruin of art and industry under their rule, came into the presence of the chief ruler of the rising State—surrounded by all the splendour which the "magic of property," stimulating160 invention and fostering science, had created—to entreat114 admission into the realm of restored civilisation, and a share in the blessings161 they had so deliberately162 forfeited163 and so long striven to deny to others.
点击收听单词发音
1 habitual | |
adj.习惯性的;通常的,惯常的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 conscientious | |
adj.审慎正直的,认真的,本着良心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 deference | |
n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 permissible | |
adj.可允许的,许可的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 pervade | |
v.弥漫,遍及,充满,渗透,漫延 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 tinge | |
vt.(较淡)着色于,染色;使带有…气息;n.淡淡色彩,些微的气息 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 intercourse | |
n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 instinctive | |
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 Christians | |
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 creed | |
n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 philosophic | |
adj.哲学的,贤明的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 quotations | |
n.引用( quotation的名词复数 );[商业]行情(报告);(货物或股票的)市价;时价 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 invert | |
vt.使反转,使颠倒,使转化 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 impair | |
v.损害,损伤;削弱,减少 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 consolidate | |
v.使加固,使加强;(把...)联为一体,合并 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 conceal | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 imperative | |
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 avowedly | |
adv.公然地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 envious | |
adj.嫉妒的,羡慕的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 contrive | |
vt.谋划,策划;设法做到;设计,想出 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 abbreviated | |
adj. 简短的,省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 honeymoon | |
n.蜜月(假期);vi.度蜜月 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 compliance | |
n.顺从;服从;附和;屈从 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 exempting | |
使免除[豁免]( exempt的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 emancipated | |
adj.被解放的,不受约束的v.解放某人(尤指摆脱政治、法律或社会的束缚)( emancipate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 immunity | |
n.优惠;免除;豁免,豁免权 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 autocracy | |
n.独裁政治,独裁政府 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 cleave | |
v.(clave;cleaved)粘着,粘住;坚持;依恋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 infringing | |
v.违反(规章等)( infringe的现在分词 );侵犯(某人的权利);侵害(某人的自由、权益等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 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: |
|
|
43 doctrine | |
n.教义;主义;学说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 innuendos | |
n.影射的话( innuendo的名词复数 );讽刺的话;含沙射影;暗讽 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 inquiry | |
n.打听,询问,调查,查问 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 condemn | |
vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 unnatural | |
adj.不自然的;反常的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 rebuke | |
v.指责,非难,斥责 [反]praise | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 accurately | |
adv.准确地,精确地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 entrusted | |
v.委托,托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 conjugal | |
adj.婚姻的,婚姻性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 complaisance | |
n.彬彬有礼,殷勤,柔顺 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 penances | |
n.(赎罪的)苦行,苦修( penance的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 scourge | |
n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 repression | |
n.镇压,抑制,抑压 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 texture | |
n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 malicious | |
adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 trespasser | |
n.侵犯者;违反者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 exasperated | |
adj.恼怒的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 guardians | |
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 absurdity | |
n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 simplicity | |
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 forfeit | |
vt.丧失;n.罚金,罚款,没收物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 subsided | |
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 exemptions | |
n.(义务等的)免除( exemption的名词复数 );免(税);(收入中的)免税额 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 exacting | |
adj.苛求的,要求严格的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 intruding | |
v.侵入,侵扰,打扰( intrude的现在分词);把…强加于 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 crouch | |
v.蹲伏,蜷缩,低头弯腰;n.蹲伏 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 lavish | |
adj.无节制的;浪费的;vt.慷慨地给予,挥霍 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 caresses | |
爱抚,抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 petulance | |
n.发脾气,生气,易怒,暴躁,性急 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 reconciliation | |
n.和解,和谐,一致 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
87 cultivation | |
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
88 peculiarities | |
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
89 superintendent | |
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
90 gourds | |
n.葫芦( gourd的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
91 canes | |
n.(某些植物,如竹或甘蔗的)茎( cane的名词复数 );(用于制作家具等的)竹竿;竹杖 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
92 beverages | |
n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
93 ferment | |
vt.使发酵;n./vt.(使)激动,(使)动乱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
94 luxurious | |
adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
95 pulp | |
n.果肉,纸浆;v.化成纸浆,除去...果肉,制成纸浆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
96 shrubs | |
灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
97 kernels | |
谷粒( kernel的名词复数 ); 仁; 核; 要点 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
98 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
99 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
100 hospitable | |
adj.好客的;宽容的;有利的,适宜的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
101 piquant | |
adj.辛辣的,开胃的,令人兴奋的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
102 abound | |
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
103 metallic | |
adj.金属的;金属制的;含金属的;产金属的;像金属的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
104 herd | |
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
105 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
106 inflicts | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
107 malignity | |
n.极度的恶意,恶毒;(病的)恶性 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
108 machinery | |
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
109 agile | |
adj.敏捷的,灵活的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
110 baboon | |
n.狒狒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
111 animate | |
v.赋于生命,鼓励;adj.有生命的,有生气的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
112 immature | |
adj.未成熟的,发育未全的,未充分发展的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
113 manure | |
n.粪,肥,肥粒;vt.施肥 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
114 entreat | |
v.恳求,恳请 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
115 entreated | |
恳求,乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
116 recording | |
n.录音,记录 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
117 marital | |
adj.婚姻的,夫妻的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
118 submission | |
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
119 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
120 modification | |
n.修改,改进,缓和,减轻 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
121 skilful | |
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
122 specimens | |
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
123 stunted | |
adj.矮小的;发育迟缓的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
124 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
125 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
126 entangled | |
adj.卷入的;陷入的;被缠住的;缠在一起的v.使某人(某物/自己)缠绕,纠缠于(某物中),使某人(自己)陷入(困难或复杂的环境中)( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
127 persistently | |
ad.坚持地;固执地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
128 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
129 bestow | |
v.把…赠与,把…授予;花费 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
130 Moslem | |
n.回教徒,穆罕默德信徒;adj.回教徒的,回教的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
131 inmates | |
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
132 exasperating | |
adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
133 ridicule | |
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
134 utterances | |
n.发声( utterance的名词复数 );说话方式;语调;言论 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
135 satiety | |
n.饱和;(市场的)充分供应 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
136 civilisation | |
n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
137 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
138 concords | |
n.和谐,一致,和睦( concord的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
139 peculiarity | |
n.独特性,特色;特殊的东西;怪癖 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
140 synchronise | |
n.同步器;v.使同时发生;使同步 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
141 vibrations | |
n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 );震动;感受;(偏离平衡位置的)一次性往复振动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
142 oratorio | |
n.神剧,宗教剧,清唱剧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
143 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
144 derive | |
v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
145 extremity | |
n.末端,尽头;尽力;终极;极度 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
146 analogous | |
adj.相似的;类似的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
147 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
148 skilfully | |
adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
149 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
150 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
151 seclusion | |
n.隐遁,隔离 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
152 depicted | |
描绘,描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 ); 描述 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
153 degradation | |
n.降级;低落;退化;陵削;降解;衰变 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
154 adherents | |
n.支持者,拥护者( adherent的名词复数 );党羽;徒子徒孙 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
155 artillery | |
n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
156 hurled | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
157 annihilated | |
v.(彻底)消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 );使无效;废止;彻底击溃 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
158 asphyxiator | |
n.碳酸气灭火器,动物窒息器 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
159 anarchy | |
n.无政府状态;社会秩序混乱,无秩序 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
160 stimulating | |
adj.有启发性的,能激发人思考的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
161 blessings | |
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
162 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
163 forfeited | |
(因违反协议、犯规、受罚等)丧失,失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |