"Will you turn back, as far as that tree?" said the clergyman, after greetings had been exchanged. "I have a message to deliver."
"Now," he continued, reining5 up his horse in the shade, "we can talk without interruption. I will ask you to listen to me with the spiritual, not the carnal ear. I must not be false to my high calling, and the voice of my own conscience calls me to awaken6 yours."
Joseph said nothing, but the flush upon his face was that of anger, not of confusion, as Mr. Chaffinch innocently supposed.
"It is hard for a young man, especially one wise in his own conceit7, to see how the snares8 of the Adversary9 are closing around him. We cannot plead ignorance, however, when the Light is there, and we wilfully10 turn our eyes from it. You are walking on a road, Joseph Asten, it may seem smooth and fair to you, but do you know where it leads? I will tell you: to Death and Hell!"
Still Joseph was silent.
"It is not too late! Your fault, I fear, is that you attach merit to works, as if works could save you! You look to a cold, barren morality for support, and imagine that to do what is called 'right' is enough for God! You shut your eyes to the blackness of your own sinful heart, and are too proud to acknowledge the vileness11 and depravity of man's nature; but without this acknowledgment your morality (as you call it) is corrupt12, your good works (as you suppose them to be) will avail you naught13. You are outside the pale of Grace, and while you continue there, knowing the door to be open, there is no Mercy for you!"
The flush on Joseph's face faded, and he became very pale, but he still waited. "I hope," Mr. Chaffinch continued, after a pause, "that your silence is the beginning of conviction. It only needs an awakening14, an opening of the eyes in them that sleep. Do you not recognize your guilt15, your miserable16 condition of sin?"
"No!"
Mr. Chaffinch started, and an ugly, menacing expression came into his face.
"Before you speak again," said Joseph, "tell me one thing! Am I indebted for this Catechism to the order—perhaps I should say the request—of my wife?"
"I do not deny that she has expressed a Christian17 concern for your state; but I do not wait for a request when I see a soul in peril18. If I care for the sheep that willingly obey the shepherd, how much more am I commanded to look after them which stray, and which the wolves and bears are greedy to devour19!"
"Have you ever considered, Mr. Chaffinch," Joseph rejoined, lifting his head and speaking with measured clearness, "that an intelligent man may possibly be aware that he has an immortal20 soul,—that the health and purity and growth of that soul may possibly be his first concern in life,—that no other man can know, as he does, its imperfections its needs, its aspirations22 which rise directly towards God; and that the attempt of a stranger to examine and criticise23, and perhaps blacken, this most sacred part of his nature, may possibly be a pious24 impertinence?"
"Ah, the natural depravity of the heart!" Mr. Chaffinch groaned25.
"It is not the depravity, it is the only pure quality which the hucksters of doctrine27, the money-changers in God's temple of Man, cannot touch! Shall I render a reckoning to you on the day when souls are judged? Are you the infallible agent of the Divine Mercy? What blasphemy28!"
Mr. Chaffinch shuddered29. "I wash my hands of you!" he cried. "I have had to deal with many sinners in my day, but I have found no sin which came so directly from the Devil as the pride of the mind. If you were rotten in all your members from the sins of the flesh, I might have a little hope. Verily, it shall go easier with the murderer and the adulterer on that day than with such as ye!"
He gave the horse a more than saintly stroke, and the vehicle rattled30 away. Joseph could not see the predominance of routine in all that Mr. Chaffinch had said. He was too excited to remember that certain phrases are transmitted, and used without a thought of their tremendous character; he applied31 every word personally, and felt it as an outrage32 in all the sensitive fibres of his soul. And who had invoked33 the outrage? His wife: Mr. Chaffinch had confessed it. What representations had she made?—he could only measure them by the character of the clergyman's charges. He sat down on the bank, sick at heart; it was impossible to go home and meet her in his present frame of mind.
Presently he started up, crying aloud: "I will go to Philip! He cannot help me, I know, but I must have a word of love from a friend, or I shall go mad!"
He retraced34 his steps, took the road up the valley, and walked rapidly towards the Forge. The tumult35 in his blood gradually expended36 its force, but it had carried him along more swiftly than he was aware. When he reached the point where, looking across the valley, now narrowed to a glen, he could see the smoke of the Forge near at hand, and even catch a glimpse of the cottage on the knoll37, he stopped. Up to this moment he had felt, not reflected; and a secret instinct told him that he should not submit his trouble to Philip's riper manhood until it was made clear and coherent in his own mind. He must keep Philip's love, at all hazards; and to keep it he must not seem simply a creature of moods and sentiments, whom his friend might pity, but could not respect.
He left the road, crossed a sloping field on the left, and presently found himself on a bank overhanging the stream. Under the wood of oaks and hemlocks39 the laurel grew in rich, shining clumps40; the current, at this point deep, full, and silent, glimmered41 through the leaves, twenty feet below; the opposite shore was level, and green with an herbage which no summer could wither42. He leaned against a hemlock38 bole, and tried to think, but it was not easy to review the past while his future life overhung him like a descending43 burden which he had not the strength to lift. Love betrayed, trust violated, aspiration21 misinterpreted, were the spiritual aspects; a divided household, entangling44 obligations, a probability of serious loss, were the material evils which accompanied them. He was so unprepared for the change that he could only rebel, not measure, analyze45, and cast about for ways of relief.
It was a miserable strait in which he found himself; and the more he thought—or, rather, seemed to think—the less was he able to foresee any other than an unfortunate solution. What were his better impulses, if men persisted in finding them evil? What was life, yoked46 to such treachery and selfishness? Life had been to him a hope, an inspiration, a sound, enduring joy; now it might never be so again! Then what a release were death!
He walked forward to the edge of the rock. A few pebbles47, dislodged by his feet, slid from the brink48, and plunged49 with a bubble and a musical tinkle50 into the dark, sliding waters. One more step, and the release which seemed so fair might be attained51. He felt a morbid52 sense of delight in playing with the thought. Gathering53 a handful of broken stones, he let them fall one by one, thinking, "So I hold my fate in my hand." He leaned over and saw a shifting, quivering image of himself projected against the reflected sky, and a fancy, almost as clear as a voice, said: "This is your present self: what will you do with it beyond the gulf54, where only the soul superior to circumstances here receives a nobler destiny?"
He was still gazing down at the flickering55 figure, when a step came upon the dead leaves. He turned and saw Philip, moving stealthily towards him, pale, with outstretched hand. They looked at each other for a moment without speaking.
"I guess your thought, Philip," Joseph then said. "But the things easiest to do are sometimes the most impossible."
"The bravest man may allow a fancy to pass through his mind, Joseph, which only the coward will carry into effect."
"I am not a coward!" Joseph exclaimed.
Philip took his hand, drew him nearer, and flinging his arms around him, held him to his heart.
Then they sat down, side by side.
"I was up the stream, on the other side, trolling for trout," said Philip, "when I saw you in the road. I was welcoming your coming, in my heart: then you stopped, stood still, and at last turned away. Something in your movements gave me a sudden, terrible feeling of anxiety: I threw down my rod, came around by the bridge at the Forge, and followed you here. Do not blame me for my foolish dread56."
"Dear, dear friend," Joseph cried, "I did not mean to come to you until I seemed stronger and more rational in my own eyes. If that were a vanity, it is gone now: I confess my weakness and ignorance. Tell me, if you can, why this has come upon me? Tell me why nothing that I have been taught, why no atom of the faith which I still must cling to, explains, consoles, or remedies any wrong of my life!"
"Faiths, I suspect," Philip answered, "are, like laws, adapted to the average character of the human race. You, in the confiding57 purity of your nature, are not an average man: you are very much above the class, and if virtue58 were its own reward, you would be most exceptionally happy. Then the puzzle is, what's the particular use of virtue?"
"I don't know, Philip, but I don't like to hear you ask the question. I find myself so often on the point of doubting all that was my Truth a little while ago; and yet, why should my misfortunes, as an individual, make the truth a lie? I am only one man among millions who must have faith in the efficacy of virtue. Philip, if I believed the faith to be false, I think I should still say, 'Let it be preached!'"
Joseph related to Philip the whole of his miserable story, not sparing himself, nor concealing59 the weakness which allowed him to be entangled60 to such an extent. Philip's brow grew dark as he listened, but at the close of the recital61 his face was calm, though stern.
"Now," said he,—"now put this aside for a little while, and give your ear (and your heart too, Joseph) to my story. Do not compare my fortune with yours, but let us apply to both the laws which seem to govern life, and see whether justice is possible."
Joseph had dismissed his wife's suspicion, after the dinner at Hopeton's, so immediately from his memory, that he had really forgotten it; and he was not only startled, but also a little shocked, by Philip's confession62. Still, he saw that it was only the reverse form of his own experience, not more strange, perhaps not more to be condemned63, yet equally inevitable64.
"Is there no way out of this labyrinth65 of wrong?" Philip exclaimed. "Two natures, as far apart as Truth and Falsehood, monstrously66 held together in the most intimate, the holiest of bonds,—two natures destined67 for each other monstrously kept apart by the same bonds! Is life to be so sacrificed to habit and prejudice? I said that Faith, like Law, was fashioned for the average man: then there must be a loftier faith, a juster law, for the men—and the women—who cannot shape themselves according to the common-place pattern of society,—who were born with instincts, needs, knowledge, and rights—ay, rights!—of their own!"
"But, Philip," said Joseph, "we were both to blame: you through too little trust, I through too much. We have both been rash and impatient: I cannot forget that; and how are we to know that the punishment, terrible as it seems, is disproportioned to the offence?"
"We know this, Joseph,—and who can know it and be patient?—that the power which controls our lives is pitiless, unrelenting! There is the same punishment for an innocent mistake as for a conscious crime. A certain Nemesis68 follows ignorance, regardless how good and pure may be the individual nature. Had you even guessed your wife's true character just before marriage, your very integrity, your conscience, and the conscience of the world, would have compelled the union, and Nature would not have mitigated69 her selfishness to reward you with a tolerable life. O no! You would still have suffered as now. Shall a man with a heart feel this horrible injustice70, and not rebel? Grant that I am rightly punished for my impatience71, my pride, my jealousy72, how have you been rewarded for your stainless73 youth, your innocent trust, your almost miraculous74 goodness? Had you known the world better, even though a part of your knowledge might have been evil, you would have escaped this fatal marriage. Nothing can be more certain; and will you simply groan26 and bear? What compensating75 fortune have you, or can you ever expect to find?"
Joseph was silent at first; but Philip could see, from the trembling of his hands, and his quick breathing, that he was profoundly agitated76. "There is something within me," he said, at last, "which accepts everything you say; and yet, it alarms me. I feel a mighty77 temptation in your words: they could lead me to snap my chains, break violently away from my past and present life, and surrender myself to will and appetite. O Philip, if we could make our lives wholly our own! If we could find a spot—"
"I know such a spot!" Philip cried, interrupting him,—"a great valley, bounded by a hundred miles of snowy peaks; lakes in its bed; enormous hillsides, dotted with groves78 of ilex and pine; orchards79 of orange and olive; a perfect climate, where it is bliss80 enough just to breathe, and freedom from the distorted laws of men, for none are near enough to enforce them! If there is no legal way of escape for you, here, at least, there is no force which can drag you back, once you are there: I will go with you, and perhaps—perhaps—"
Philip's face glowed, and the vague alarm in Joseph's heart took a definite form. He guessed what words had been left unspoken.
"If we could be sure!" he said.
"Sure of what? Have I exaggerated the wrong in your case? Say we should be outlaws81 there, in our freedom!—here we are fettered82 outlaws."
"I have been trying, Philip, to discover a law superior to that under which we suffer, and I think I have found it. If it be true that ignorance is equally punished with guilt; if causes and consequences, in which there is neither pity nor justice, govern our lives,—then what keeps our souls from despair but the infinite pity and perfect justice of God? Yes, here is the difference between human and divine law! This makes obedience83 safer than rebellion. If you and I, Philip, stand above the level of common natures, feeling higher needs and claiming other rights, let us shape them according to the law which is above, not that which is below us!"
Philip grew pale. "Then you mean to endure in patience, and expect me to do the same?" he asked.
"If I can. The old foundations upon which my life rested are broken up, and I am too bewildered to venture on a random84 path. Give me time; nay85, let us both strive to wait a little. I see nothing clearly but this: there is a Divine government, on which I lean now as never before. Yes, I say again, the very wrong that has come upon us makes God necessary!"
It was Philip's turn to be agitated. There was a simple, solemn conviction in Joseph's voice which struck to his heart. He had spoken from the heat of his passion, it is true, but he had the courage to disregard the judgment86 of men, and make his protest a reality. Both natures shared the desire, and were enticed87 by the daring of his dream; but out of Joseph's deeper conscience came a whisper, against which the cry of passion was powerless.
"Yes, we will wait," said Philip, after a long pause. "You came to me, Joseph, as you said, in weakness and confusion: I have been talking of your innocence88 and ignorance. Let us not measure ourselves in this way. It is not experience alone which creates manhood. What will become of us I cannot tell, but I will not, I dare not, say you are wrong!"
They took each other's hands. The day was fading, the landscape was silent, and only the twitter of nesting birds was heard in the boughs89 above them. Each gave way to the impulse of his manly90 love, rarer, alas91! but as tender and true as the love of woman, and they drew nearer and kissed each other. As they walked back and parted on the highway, each felt that life was not wholly unkind, and that happiness was not yet impossible.
点击收听单词发音
1 leisurely | |
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的 | |
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2 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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3 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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4 irreproachable | |
adj.不可指责的,无过失的 | |
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5 reining | |
勒缰绳使(马)停步( rein的现在分词 ); 驾驭; 严格控制; 加强管理 | |
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6 awaken | |
vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
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7 conceit | |
n.自负,自高自大 | |
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8 snares | |
n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 );圈套;诱人遭受失败(丢脸、损失等)的东西;诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉,诱陷,陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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9 adversary | |
adj.敌手,对手 | |
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10 wilfully | |
adv.任性固执地;蓄意地 | |
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11 vileness | |
n.讨厌,卑劣 | |
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12 corrupt | |
v.贿赂,收买;adj.腐败的,贪污的 | |
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13 naught | |
n.无,零 [=nought] | |
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14 awakening | |
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的 | |
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15 guilt | |
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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16 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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17 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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18 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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19 devour | |
v.吞没;贪婪地注视或谛听,贪读;使着迷 | |
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20 immortal | |
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的 | |
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21 aspiration | |
n.志向,志趣抱负;渴望;(语)送气音;吸出 | |
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22 aspirations | |
强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 ); 志向; 发送气音; 发 h 音 | |
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23 criticise | |
v.批评,评论;非难 | |
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24 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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25 groaned | |
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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26 groan | |
vi./n.呻吟,抱怨;(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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27 doctrine | |
n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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28 blasphemy | |
n.亵渎,渎神 | |
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29 shuddered | |
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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30 rattled | |
慌乱的,恼火的 | |
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31 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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32 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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33 invoked | |
v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 );行使(权利等);祈求救助;恳求 | |
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34 retraced | |
v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 );回忆;回顾;追溯 | |
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35 tumult | |
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹 | |
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36 expended | |
v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 );使用(钱等)做某事;用光;耗尽 | |
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37 knoll | |
n.小山,小丘 | |
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38 hemlock | |
n.毒胡萝卜,铁杉 | |
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39 hemlocks | |
由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 ) | |
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40 clumps | |
n.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的名词复数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声v.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声 | |
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41 glimmered | |
v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42 wither | |
vt.使凋谢,使衰退,(用眼神气势等)使畏缩;vi.枯萎,衰退,消亡 | |
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43 descending | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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44 entangling | |
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的现在分词 ) | |
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45 analyze | |
vt.分析,解析 (=analyse) | |
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46 yoked | |
结合(yoke的过去式形式) | |
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47 pebbles | |
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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48 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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49 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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50 tinkle | |
vi.叮当作响;n.叮当声 | |
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51 attained | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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52 morbid | |
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的 | |
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53 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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54 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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55 flickering | |
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
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56 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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57 confiding | |
adj.相信人的,易于相信的v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的现在分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等) | |
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58 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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59 concealing | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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60 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 ) | |
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61 recital | |
n.朗诵,独奏会,独唱会 | |
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62 confession | |
n.自白,供认,承认 | |
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63 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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64 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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65 labyrinth | |
n.迷宫;难解的事物;迷路 | |
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66 monstrously | |
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67 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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68 nemesis | |
n.给以报应者,复仇者,难以对付的敌手 | |
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69 mitigated | |
v.减轻,缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70 injustice | |
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
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71 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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72 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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73 stainless | |
adj.无瑕疵的,不锈的 | |
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74 miraculous | |
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的 | |
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75 compensating | |
补偿,补助,修正 | |
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76 agitated | |
adj.被鼓动的,不安的 | |
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77 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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78 groves | |
树丛,小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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79 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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80 bliss | |
n.狂喜,福佑,天赐的福 | |
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81 outlaws | |
歹徒,亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 ); 逃犯 | |
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82 fettered | |
v.给…上脚镣,束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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84 random | |
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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85 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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86 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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87 enticed | |
诱惑,怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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89 boughs | |
大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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90 manly | |
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地 | |
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91 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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