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Chapter 9
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It was the day after Daniel's "proposal" that, as Margaret stood before her bureau in her bedroom dressing1 to receive her lover, Harriet, who had been quite unable to disguise her satisfaction over the betrothal2, knocked at her door and came into her room.

"Can't I help you dress, dear?" she asked kindly3.

"Will you hook this thing up the back, please, Hattie?"

"Oh, but you are rash to wear this new chiffon waist, Margaret; chiffon mashes5 so easily, you know."

"But I'm not going out; I shall not be putting a wrap over it," said Margaret, looking at Harriet in surprise.

"I know you're not going out, but, Margaret, chiffon mashes so easily!"

"Well, I'll try to remember not to hold any of the children, though I'd rather mash4 the waist than forego that pleasure. Still, clothes are scarce and I've got no money for a trousseau——"

"Donkey! This will be your first tête-à-tête with Mr. Leitzel since your engagement, and he's quite crazy about you—and chiffon is most perishable6."

Margaret looked at her blankly.

"Do you see no connection between the two facts, you goose?" demanded Harriet.

"Oh!" exclaimed Margaret. "Now I see what you mean!"

"Really?"

"But, Hattie, dear, you needn't be so—so explicit7."

"'Explicit!' I nearly had to draw a diagram! Look here, Margaret, you're too thin; there's no excuse for anybody's looking as thin as you do when cotton wadding is so cheap."

"Recommend it to Mr. Leitzel; he's thinner than I am."

"I came in to tell you that Walter has ordered the wedding announcements and they will be finished in ten days; you and I and Mr. Leitzel can meantime be addressing the envelopes. I've drawn8 up a list of names; you can look over it and see whether I've forgotten any one. You must get Mr. Leitzel's list to-day."

"Very well."

Margaret turned away to her closet to hide the quick tears that sprang to her eyes at her sister's quite cold-blooded eagerness to speed her on her way. Harriet seemed to be almost feverishly9 fearful that something might intervene to stop the marriage if it were not quickly precipitated10.

It was when her betrothed11 gave her, that evening, a diamond ring, that Margaret's strongest revulsion came to her, so strong that when she had conquered it, by reminding herself again of all the arguments by which she had brought herself to this pass, she had overcome for good and all any last remaining hesitation12 to accept her doom13.

"You may think I was very extravagant14, Margaret," Daniel said, as he held her hand and slipped the beautiful jewel upon her finger. "It cost me three hundred dollars. But you see, dear, a diamond is always property; capital safely invested. I'm only too glad and thankful that I can afford to give my affianced bride a costly15 diamond engagement ring. Is it tight enough?" he anxiously inquired. "I'm afraid it is a little loose; you better have it made tighter; no extra charge for that, they told me at the jeweller's. You might lose it if it's loose."

Margaret had a momentary16 impulse to tear the ring from her finger and fling it in his face, and such impulses were so foreign to her gentle disposition17 that she marvelled18 at herself.

"I'm glad it's property, Daniel," she returned with a perfunctory facetiousness19, "for if you don't use me well, I can sell out to Isaac or Israel and run off! Or, if business got dull with you, we could fall back on our diamond ring!"

"My business get dull!" he laughed. It was rather delightful20 to know she was marrying him with so little idea of his great possessions; another proof of the fascination21 he had always had for ladies, according to Jennie and Sadie.

He was beginning to feel a little nervous at the thought of his sisters. Jennie, especially, would not like it that he was going ahead and getting married without consulting her. Of course, she and Sadie would both see, as soon as they came to know Margaret, that he had, even without their help, "struck a bonanza22" in getting such a wife; so sweet-tempered and unselfish, so lovely looking, so healthy, such "a perfect lady," so "refined," except when she said "damn" and "devilish." He must warn her not to forget herself before his sisters—they'd never get over the shock. He had no doubt that eventually Jennie and Sadie would be as delighted with his "choice" as he was himself. He had told them so in his letter to them that day, assuring them that they would find his bride possessed23 of every quality they had always insisted upon in the girl he made his wife.

It did seem strange not to be able to tell them what Margaret's fortune was. He knew how eager they must be to know. He was beginning to feel very restive24 himself at not being enlightened on that score.

"Funny how I can't bring myself to ask her about it!" he wondered at himself for the hundredth time. "But she seems so disinterested25 in her love for me, how can I seem less so in mine for her? It would not look well!"

"Harriet wants you to draw up your list," Margaret here reminded him, "for the wedding announcements; she'd like to have it to-day."

"Harriet wants—— Is she running this wedding?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes, quite so. You and she and I have got to address envelopes all day to-morrow, you know."

"Very well. I have already made out my list. It took a good deal of careful and thoughtful discrimination," he said, drawing a document from his pocket and unfolding it, "though not nearly so much as it would if I were being married in New Munich and having a large wedding. Mere26 announcements—one doesn't have to draw the line so carefully, you know, as in the case of invitations to one's house."

"'Draw the line?'" repeated Margaret questioningly; for social caste in South Carolina, being less fluid than in Pennsylvania, her family for generations had scarcely even rubbed against people of any other status than its own; and the gradations and shades of social difference with which Daniel had wrestled27 in making his list was something quite outside her experiences.

"Well, you see, every one we send announcements to," Daniel elucidated28 his meaning, "is bound to call on you; only too glad of the chance. And, naturally, you don't want undesirable29 people calling on you. If you didn't return their calls, you would make enemies of them; and while I am so fortunately situated30 that that would not make any material difference to us, still it is better to avoid making enemies if possible."

"But—I don't understand. How do you happen to have acquaintances that are 'undesirable,' and in what sense undesirable—so much so as to make it awkward to have to return their calls?"

"Well, for instance, the clerks employed in my office. I think they may perhaps club together and give us a handsome wedding-present if we send them cards. And if they do, I suppose their wives will feel privileged to call."

"And their wives are 'undesirable?' Yes, I suppose I see what you mean. How awfully31 narrow our lives are, aren't they? I imagine it might be a very broadening and interesting experience to really make friends with other classes than our own. I've never had the shadow of a chance to."

Daniel's glow of pride in realizing that he was marrying a woman whose aristocratic ignorance of other classes than her own was so absolute as to make her suppose na?vely that it might be "broadening and interesting" to know such, quite counteracted32 the disturbing effect of this absurd suggestion. He had only to remember his sisters' long struggle for recognition and their present precarious33 foothold in New Munich "society" to appreciate to the full the (to him) wonderful fact that his wife and all her "kin," as they called their relatives, "could have it to say" they had always been "at the top."

That such a wife might find his sisters "undesirable" did not occur to him, his sense of his sisters' crudities being dulled by familiarity with them, and his standard of value being so largely a financial one.

"When folks call on you in New Munich, Margaret," said Daniel, "Jennie and Sadie will be a great help to you in telling you whom of your callers you must cultivate and whom you must not."

"But aside from your employees and their wives there would be only your family's friends, of course?" Margaret asked, again puzzled.

"Well, some people prominent in our church, but not in society, and a few others, may bother us some. You need not worry about it; Jennie and Sadie will separate the sheep from the goats for you," he smiled.

"You have told me so little of your people. Your sisters live in New Munich?"

"I ought to have mentioned before this, dear, that my sisters keep house for me. They will continue to live with me."

"Oh!" Margaret's heart bounded with a great relief at this information, though even to her own secret consciousness it seemed disloyal to rejoice that she was not going to be thrown alone upon the society of Daniel Leitzel; the prospect34 had already begun to seem rather appalling35.

"No use in our setting up a separate establishment," continued Daniel; "it's so much cheaper for us all to live together, my sisters being such excellent managers."

Margaret, not gathering36 from this that his sisters shared with him the expense of the "establishment," but concluding, rather, that they were dependent upon him, hastened to assure him that she would not wish him, on her account, to assume the support of two households.

"To tell you the truth, Margaret, I shouldn't know how to get on without Jennie and Sadie, they understand me and all my little habits so well, and they do take such care of my comforts, which is a great thing to a man who constantly uses his brain so strenuously37 as I do."

Again Margaret inwardly congratulated herself that it would not devolve upon her to take care of his comforts and learn all his "little habits," which occupation appeared to her a pitiable waste of a woman's life—in the case of any but a great man.

"When I did it for Uncle Osmond," she reflected, "it seemed worth while because of what he was giving to the world almost up to the day of his death."

"The work of a corporation lawyer," she asked Daniel, "is it anything more than a money-making job?"

"Anything more?" repeated Daniel, shocked at the suggestion that it could be anything more. "Isn't that enough?"

"Dear me, no! When two women spend their lives keeping a man fit for his work, they surely want to know that his work is worth such a price; that it is benefiting society."

"Well, of course, any money-making 'job,' as you call it (I would hardly call my legal work a 'job') must benefit society; if I make money, I not only can support a family but can give to public charities, and to the church."

"There's nothing in that, Daniel; I have studied enough social and political economy to know, as you, too, certainly must know, that society has outgrown38 the philanthropy and charity idea; has learned to hate philanthropy and charity; people are demanding the right to earn their own way and keep their self-respect."

"I'm afraid, Margaret," said Daniel gravely, "your irreligious uncle gave you some rather unladylike ideas. However," he smiled, "my Christian39 influence on you, as fond of me as you are, will soon make you forget his infidel teachings. For goodness' sake, dear, don't forget yourself and repeat such atheistic40 thoughts before my sisters or indeed to any one in New Munich. Our best society is very critical."

It flashed upon Margaret to wonder, with a sudden sense of despair, what her uncle would have said to her marrying Daniel Leitzel.

"If I don't do it quickly, I can't hold out!" she miserably41 thought.

But she realized that she confronted a worse fate in the alternative of remaining with Hattie.

"How old are your sisters?" she asked.

"They are both elderly women, though as vigorous as they ever were."

Margaret told herself that she would be so much kinder to them than Hattie had ever been to her. "They shall never feel unwelcome in my home," she resolved.

"Are they your only relatives in New Munich?" she inquired.

"In New Munich, yes. But Hiram lives in Millerstown nearby."

"Your parents are not living?"

"My mother—no, my parents are not living."

"You seem not quite sure," she smiled.

Daniel coloured uncomfortably. The thought of his Mennonite step-mother gave him his first humiliating sense of inferiority to a Berkeley of Berkeley Hill. What a shock it would be to "a perfect lady" like Margaret if she ever met the old woman! He would try to avert42 such a stab to his self-respect.

"I suppose," he thought with some bitterness, "I can't get out of telling her about mother; she's bound to hear of her some time, and even perhaps meet her."

"I have a step-mother," he said testily43.

"She lives in New Munich?"

"No, fifteen miles out in the country. We don't see much of her."

"I don't see her name here," said Margaret, glancing down the list he had given her.

"No; it won't be necessary to send her a card."

"You are not friendly with her? She was not a good step-mother to you?"

"Oh, yes; no one could be unfriendly with her—that is, she's an inoffensive, good-hearted old woman. But—well, we see very little of her; she's not a blood-relative, you know."

"But surely, if you are not at daggers44' points with her, you would send your father's widow an announcement of your wedding!"

"But—we don't think very much of her, Margaret; we're not, just to say, intimate with her."

"You say, though, that she is 'inoffensive and good-hearted,' and she was your father's wife?" repeated Margaret, looking mystified.

"Oh, well," Daniel gave in, "I'll add her name if you think I—I ought to. She'll be so pleased; she'll tell it all over the township! I mean"—he pulled himself up—"well, you see, she's old and no use to any one and I'm afraid she's going to be, after a while, something of a burden to us all."

Margaret remained silent, as Daniel took a pencil from his vest-pocket and scribbled45 at the end of his wedding list.

"There," he said, handing the paper back to her. "Anything to please you, my dear!"

"Daniel?"

"Well, dearest?"

"I don't like the way you speak of that old lady."

"But haven't I consented to send cards to her, Margaret?"

"Yes. And I'm sure that a man who loves children as you do, who gives money to charities and the church, as you tell me you do, couldn't be thoughtless of the aged46. I don't want to believe you could."

"No, indeed! I gave one hundred dollars last year to our U. B. Church Home for Old Ladies." He drew out his purse, extracted a newspaper clipping, and passed it to her, "My name heads the list, you see."

"Oh, Daniel, and you were going to neglect to send an announcement of your wedding to the 'aged, inoffensive, kind-hearted, but useless and burdensome' widow of your father!"

"But, Margaret," he protested, his self-esteem wincing47 at her disapproval48, "if ever you see her, you'll not blame me! You'll understand. Anyway, family sentiment among you Southerners is so much stronger, I've always been told, than with us in the North."

"I'm sure it must be."

"My step-mother is too poor, too, to send us a wedding present," he added as a mitigating49 reason for his "neglect."

Margaret, having no conception of his penuriousness50 (he seemed so lavishly51 generous to her), took such speeches as this for a childish simplicity52, the eccentricity53 of legal genius, perhaps. Had she known that he actually felt it wasteful54 to invest an expensively engraved55 card and a stamp where there would be no return of any kind, she would have advised him to consult an alienist.

Little did she and Daniel dream that the sending of that wedding announcement to old Mrs. Leitzel of Martz Township was going to make history for the entire Leitzel family.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dressing 1uOzJG     
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
参考例句:
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
2 betrothal betrothal     
n. 婚约, 订婚
参考例句:
  • Their betrothal took place with great pomp and rejoicings. 他们举行了盛大而又欢乐的订婚仪式。
  • "On the happy occasion of the announcement of your betrothal," he finished, bending over her hand. "在宣布你们订婚的喜庆日。" 他补充说,同时低下头来吻她的手。
3 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
4 mash o7Szl     
n.麦芽浆,糊状物,土豆泥;v.把…捣成糊状,挑逗,调情
参考例句:
  • He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
  • Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰,是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。
5 mashes 013beac4c21c60067c16189ea23ca824     
(水、谷物等混合而成的)糊状物( mash的名词复数 )
参考例句:
6 perishable 9uKyk     
adj.(尤指食物)易腐的,易坏的
参考例句:
  • Many fresh foods are highly perishable.许多新鲜食物都极易腐败。
  • Fruits are perishable in transit.水果在运送时容易腐烂。
7 explicit IhFzc     
adj.详述的,明确的;坦率的;显然的
参考例句:
  • She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
  • He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。
8 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
9 feverishly 5ac95dc6539beaf41c678cd0fa6f89c7     
adv. 兴奋地
参考例句:
  • Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
  • The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。
10 precipitated cd4c3f83abff4eafc2a6792d14e3895b     
v.(突如其来地)使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 );促成;猛然摔下;使沉淀
参考例句:
  • His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 他的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。
  • He lost his footing and was precipitated to the ground. 他失足摔倒在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 betrothed betrothed     
n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。
  • His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。
12 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
13 doom gsexJ     
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定
参考例句:
  • The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
  • The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。
14 extravagant M7zya     
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的
参考例句:
  • They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
  • He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。
15 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
16 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
17 disposition GljzO     
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署
参考例句:
  • He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
  • He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。
18 marvelled 11581b63f48d58076e19f7de58613f45     
v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 facetiousness 1ed312409ab96648c74311a037525400     
n.滑稽
参考例句:
  • Jastrow said, with tremulous facetiousness. 杰斯特罗说着,显出抖抖嗦嗦的滑稽样子。 来自辞典例句
20 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
21 fascination FlHxO     
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋
参考例句:
  • He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
  • His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
22 bonanza ctjzN     
n.富矿带,幸运,带来好运的事
参考例句:
  • Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
  • What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说,这是多好的运气啊。
23 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
24 restive LWQx4     
adj.不安宁的,不安静的
参考例句:
  • The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
  • The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。
25 disinterested vu4z6s     
adj.不关心的,不感兴趣的
参考例句:
  • He is impartial and disinterested.他公正无私。
  • He's always on the make,I have never known him do a disinterested action.他这个人一贯都是唯利是图,我从来不知道他有什么无私的行动。
26 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
27 wrestled c9ba15a0ecfd0f23f9150f9c8be3b994     
v.(与某人)搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 );扭成一团;扭打;(与…)摔跤
参考例句:
  • As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
  • Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 elucidated dffaae1f65de99f6b0547d9558544eaa     
v.阐明,解释( elucidate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He elucidated a point of grammar. 他解释了一个语法要点。
  • The scientist elucidated his theory by three simple demonstrations. 这位科学家以三个简单的实例来说明他的理论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 undesirable zp0yb     
adj.不受欢迎的,不良的,不合意的,讨厌的;n.不受欢迎的人,不良分子
参考例句:
  • They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
  • Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。
30 situated JiYzBH     
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的
参考例句:
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
  • She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。
31 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
32 counteracted 73400d69af35e4420879e17c972937fb     
对抗,抵消( counteract的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • This can be counteracted only by very effective insulation. 这只能用非常有效的绝缘来防止。
  • The effect of his preaching was counteracted by the looseness of his behavior. 他讲道的效果被他放荡的生活所抵消了。
33 precarious Lu5yV     
adj.不安定的,靠不住的;根据不足的
参考例句:
  • Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
  • He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家,他过得是朝不保夕的生活。
34 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
35 appalling iNwz9     
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的
参考例句:
  • The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
  • Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。
36 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
37 strenuously Jhwz0k     
adv.奋发地,费力地
参考例句:
  • The company has strenuously defended its decision to reduce the workforce. 公司竭力为其裁员的决定辩护。
  • She denied the accusation with some warmth, ie strenuously, forcefully. 她有些激动,竭力否认这一指责。
38 outgrown outgrown     
长[发展] 得超过(某物)的范围( outgrow的过去分词 ); 长[发展]得不能再要(某物); 长得比…快; 生长速度超过
参考例句:
  • She's already outgrown her school uniform. 她已经长得连校服都不能穿了。
  • The boy has outgrown his clothes. 这男孩已长得穿不下他的衣服了。
39 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
40 atheistic wvRzV     
adj.无神论者的
参考例句:
  • She has the gift of the gab.她口才很好。
  • With his gift of gab, he should make an excellent politician.以其雄辩之才,他应该可以成为出色的政治家。
41 miserably zDtxL     
adv.痛苦地;悲惨地;糟糕地;极度地
参考例句:
  • The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
  • It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨,天气又冷又湿,令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
42 avert 7u4zj     
v.防止,避免;转移(目光、注意力等)
参考例句:
  • He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
  • I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。
43 testily df69641c1059630ead7b670d16775645     
adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地
参考例句:
  • He reacted testily to reports that he'd opposed military involvement. 有报道称他反对军队参与,对此他很是恼火。 来自柯林斯例句
44 daggers a5734a458d7921e71a33be8691b93cb0     
匕首,短剑( dagger的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I will speak daggers to her, but use none. 我要用利剑一样的话刺痛她的心,但绝不是真用利剑。
  • The world lives at daggers drawn in a cold war. 世界在冷战中剑拨弩张。
45 scribbled de374a2e21876e209006cd3e9a90c01b     
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
  • He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前,他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。
46 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
47 wincing 377203086ce3e7442c3f6574a3b9c0c7     
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She switched on the light, wincing at the sudden brightness. 她打开了灯,突如其来的强烈光线刺得她不敢睜眼。
  • "I will take anything," he said, relieved, and wincing under reproof. “我什么事都愿意做,"他说,松了一口气,缩着头等着挨骂。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
48 disapproval VuTx4     
n.反对,不赞成
参考例句:
  • The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
  • They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。
49 mitigating 465c18cfa2b0e25daca50035121a4217     
v.减轻,缓和( mitigate的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Are there any mitigating circumstances in this case ? 本案中是否有任何情况可以减轻被告的罪行? 来自辞典例句
  • A sentencing judge is required to consider any mitigating circumstances befor imposing the death penalty. 在处死刑之前,要求量刑法官必须考虑是否有任何减轻罪行之情节。 来自口语例句
50 penuriousness d4e33664ba94111ab66178a06674ffd7     
参考例句:
51 lavishly VpqzBo     
adv.慷慨地,大方地
参考例句:
  • His house was lavishly adorned.他的屋子装饰得很华丽。
  • The book is lavishly illustrated in full colour.这本书里有大量全彩插图。
52 simplicity Vryyv     
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯
参考例句:
  • She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
  • The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
53 eccentricity hrOxT     
n.古怪,反常,怪癖
参考例句:
  • I can't understand the eccentricity of Henry's behavior.我不理解亨利的古怪举止。
  • His eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.在他去世之前他的古怪脾气就早已闻名遐尔了。
54 wasteful ogdwu     
adj.(造成)浪费的,挥霍的
参考例句:
  • It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
  • Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源,任务已经重新分派。
55 engraved be672d34fc347de7d97da3537d2c3c95     
v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的过去式和过去分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中)
参考例句:
  • The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
  • It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美,背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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