His ample meal on the course made dinner an impossibility, so he ordered a cup of coffee to be taken to him in the garden, and went out to smoke a cigar, on his favourite bench by the willow2. The 'Waterfowl' was too far off the beaten tracks for any of the race people to come there, so James had the garden all to himself, even this evening.
The sun was setting beyond the bend of the river, just where the shining water seemed to lose itself in a rushy basin. The ruddy light shone on the windows of the town till they looked like fiery124 eyes gleaming through the grey evening mist; while, above the level landscape and the low, irregular town, rose the dusky bulk of the cathedral, dwarfing3 the distant hills, and standing4 darkly out against that changeful sky.
James Penwyn was in a meditative5 mood, and contemplated6 the landscape dreamily as he smoked an excellent cigar with Epicurean slowness, letting pleasure last as long as it would. Not that his soul was interpenetrated by the subtle beauties of the scene. He only thought that it was rather jolly, that solemn stillness after the riot of the racecourse—that lonely landscape after the movement of the crowd.
Only last night had Justina and he stood side by side in the moonlight—only last night had their hands met for the first time, and yet she seemed a part of his life, indispensable to his happiness.
'Is it love?' he asked himself, 'first love? I didn't think it was in me to be such a spoon.'
He was at the age when that idea of 'spooniness' is to the last degree humiliating. He had prided himself upon his manliness—thought that he125 had exhausted9 the well-spring of sentiment in those passing flirtations, the transitory loves of an undergraduate. He had talked big about marrying by and by for money and position—to add new lustre10 to the house of Penwyn—to carry some heiress's arms on his shield, upon an escutcheon of pretence11.
Was it really love?—love for a foolish girl of seventeen, with sky-blue eyes, and a look of adoration12 when she raised them, ever so fearfully, to his face? Justina had a pensiveness13 that charmed him more than other women's gaiety, and till now sprightliness14 had been his highest quality in woman—a girl who would light his cigar for him, and take three or four puffs15, daintily, before she handed him the weed—a girl who was quick at retort, and could 'chaff16' him. This girl essayed not repartee—this girl was fresh, and simple as Wordsworth's ideal woman. And he loved her. For the first time in his glad young life his heart throbbed17 with the love that is so near akin18 to pain.
'I'll marry her,' he said to himself. 'She shall be mistress of Penwyn Manor19.'
The sun went down and left the landscape126 gloomy. James Penwyn rose from the bench with a faint shiver.
'These early summer evenings are chilly,' he thought, as he walked back to the house. He felt lonely somehow, in spite of his fair new hope. It was so strange to him not to have Clissold at his side—to reprove, or warn. But, at worst, the voice was a friendly one. The silence of this garden; the dusky gloom on yonder river; the solemn gloom of the cathedral, chilled him.
The great clock boomed eight, and reminded him that the play had begun half an hour. It would be a relief to find himself in the lighted playhouse among those rollicking actors.
He went down to the theatre, and made his way straight to the green-room. There was a good house—a great house, Mr. Elgood told James—and the commonwealth's shares were already above par8. Everybody was in high spirits, and most people's breath was slightly flavoured with beer.
'We have been turning away money at the gallery door,' said Mr. Dempson, who was dressed for Moses, 'I should think to the tune20 of seventeen127 shillings. This is the right sort of thing, sir. It reminds me of my poor old governor's time; when the drama was respected in the land, and all the gentry21 within a twenty-mile radius22 used to come to his benefit.'
Justina was the Maria of the piece, dressed in an ancient white satin—or rather an ancient satin which had once been white, but which, by long service and frequent cleaning, had mellowed23 to a pleasing canary colour. She had some airy puffings of muslin about her, and wore a black sash in memory of her departed parents, and her plenteous brown hair fell over her neck and shoulders in innocent ringlets.
Justina had never looked prettier than she looked to-night. She even had a round of applause when she made her curtsey to Sir Peter. The actors told her that she was growing a deuced fine girl, after all, and that one of these days she would learn how to act. Was it the new joy in her soul that embellished24 and exalted25 her?
James thought her lovely, as he stood at the wing and talked to her. Miss Villeroy, who was128 esteemed26 a beauty by her friends, seemed, to this uninitiated youth, a painted sepulchre; for she had whitened her complexion27 to match her powdered wig28, and accentuated29 her eyebrows30 and eyelids31 with Indian ink, and picked out her lips with a rose pink saucer, and encarnadined her cheek-bones; by which artistic32 efforts she had attained33 that kind of beauty to which distance lends enchantment34, but which, seen too near, is apt to repel35. Miss Villeroy had the house with her, however. She had the audience altogether with her as Lady Teazle, and, being a virtuous36 matron, cared not to court James Penwyn's admiration37. Indeed, she was very glad to see that the foolish young man was taken with poor Judy, Mrs. Dempson told her husband; for poor dear Judy wasn't everybody's money, and about the worst actress the footlights ever shone upon.
Mr. Elgood being in high spirits, and feeling himself flush of money—his share in to-night's receipts could hardly be less than fifteen shillings—was moved to an act of hospitality.
'I'll tell you what I'll do, Mr. Penwyn,' he said, 'the treating shan't be all on your side, though129 you're a rich young swell38 and we are poor beggars of actors. Come home with us to-night, after the last piece, and I'll give you a lobster39. Judy knows how to make a salad, and if you can drink bitter you shall have enough to swim in.'
Mr. Penwyn expressed his ability to drink bitter beer, which he infinitely40 preferred to champagne41. But what would he not have drunk for the pleasure of being in Justina's society?
'It's a poor place to ask you to come to,' said Mr. Elgood. 'Dempson and I go shares in the sitting-room42, and we don't keep it altogether as tidy as we might, the womenkind say, but I'll take care the lobster's a good one, for I'll go out and pick it myself. I don't play in the last piece, luckily.'
The afterpiece was 'A Roland for an Oliver,' in which Justina enacted43 a walking lady who had very little to do. So there was plenty of time for James to talk to her as she stood at the wing, where they were quite alone, and had nobody to overhear them except a passing scene-shifter now and then.
This seemed to James Penwyn the happiest night130 he had ever spent in his life, though he was inhaling44 dust and escaped gas all the time. It seemed a night that flew by on golden wings. He thought he must have been dreaming when the curtain fell, and the lights went out, and people told him it was midnight.
He waited amidst darkness and chaos45 while Justina ran away to change her stage dress for the garments of common life. She was not long absent, and they went out together, arm-in-arm. It was only a little way from the theatre to the actor's lodgings46, so James persuaded her to walk round by the cathedral, just to see how it looked in the moonlight.
'Your father said half-past twelve for supper, you know,' he pleaded, 'and it's only just the quarter.'
The big bell chimed at the instant, in confirmation47 of this statement, and Justina, who could not for her life have said no, assented48 hesitatingly.
The cathedral had a colossal49 grandeur50 seen from so near, every finial and waterspout clearly defined131 in the moonlight. Justina looked up at it with reverent51 eyes.
'Isn't it grand!' she whispered. 'One could fancy that God inhabits it. If I were an ignorant creature from some savage52 land, and nobody told me it was a church, I think I should know that it was God's house.'
'Should you?' said James, lightly. 'I think I should as soon take it for a corn exchange or a wild beast show.'
'Oh!'
'You see I have no instinctive53 sense of the fitness of things. You would just suit Clissold. He has all those queer fancies. I've seen him stand and talk to himself like a lunatic sometimes, among the lakes and mountains; what you call the artistic faculty54, I suppose.'
They walked round the cathedral-square arm-in-arm, Justina charmed to silence by the solemn splendour of the scene. All was quiet at this end of the city. Up at the subscription55 rooms there might be riot and confusion; but here, in this ancient square, among these old gabled houses,132 almost coeval56 with the cathedral, silence reigned57 supreme58.
'Justina,' James began presently, 'you told me yesterday that you didn't care about being an actress.'
'I told you that I hated it,' answered the girl, candidly59. 'I suppose I should like it better if I were a favourite, like Villeroy.'
I prefer your acting60 to Miss Villeroy's ever so much. You do it rather too quietly, perhaps, but that's better than yelling as she does.'
'I'm glad you like me best,' said Justina, softly. 'But then you're not the British public. Yes, I hate theatres. I should like to live in a little cottage, deep, deep, deep down in the country, where there were woods and fields, and a shining blue river. I could keep chickens, and live upon the money I got by the new-laid eggs.'
'Don't you think it would be better to have a nice large house, with gardens and orchards61, and a park, in a wild, hilly country beside the Atlantic Ocean?'
'What should I do with a big house, and how133 should I earn money to pay for it?' she asked, laughing.
'Suppose some one else were to find the money, some one who has plenty, and only wants the girl he loves to share it with him? Justina, you and I met yesterday for the first time, but you are the only girl I ever loved, and I love you with all my heart. It may seem sudden, but it's as true as that I live and speak to you to-night.'
'Sudden!' echoed Justina. 'It seems like a dream; but you mustn't speak of it any more. I won't believe a word you say. I won't listen to a word. It can't be true. Let's go home immediately. Hark! there's the half-hour. Take me home, please, Mr. Penwyn.'
'Not till you have answered me one question.'
'No, no!'
'Yes, Justina. I must be answered. I have made up my mind, and I want to know yours. Do you think you care for me, just a little?'
'I won't answer. It is all more foolish than a dream.'
'It is the sweetest dream that ever was dreamed134 by me. Obstinate62 lips! Cannot I make them speak? No? Then the eyes shall tell me what I want to know. Look up, Justina. Just one little look—and then we'll go home.'
'The heavy lids were lifted, slowly, shyly, and the young lover looked into the depths of those dark eyes. A girl's first, purest love, that love which is so near religion, shone there like a star.
James Penwyn needed no other answer.
'You shall never act again unless you like, darling,' he said. 'I'll speak to your father to-night, and we'll be married as soon as the business can be done. When you leave Eborsham it shall be as mistress of Penwyn Manor. There is not a soul belonging to me who has the faintest right to question what I do. And it is my duty to marry young. The Penwyn race has been sorely dwindling63 of late. If I were to die unmarried, my estate would go to my cousin, a fellow I don't care two straws about.'
Perhaps this was said more to himself than to Justina. She understood nothing about estates and heirships, she to whom property was an unknown quantity. She only knew that life seemed changed135 to a delicious dream. The hard, work-a-day world, which had not been too kind to her, had melted away, and left her in paradise. Her hand trembled beneath the touch of her lover as he clasped it close upon his arm.
They walked slowly through the silent shadowy street, so narrow that the moonlight hardly reached it, and went in by the shop door, which had been left ajar, in a friendly way, for their reception.
'What a time you've been, Judy!' cried Mr. Elgood, standing before the table, stirring a bowl of green stuff, with various cruets at his elbow. 'I've had to make the salad myself.—Sit down and make yourself at home, Penwyn.—Dempson, draw the cork64 of that bitter. The right thing now-a-days is to pour it into a jug65. When I was a young man we couldn't have too much froth.'
Mrs. Dempson had smartened her usual toilet with a bow or two, and a black lace veil, which she wore gracefully66 festooned about her head, to conceal67 the curl-papers in which she had indued her tresses for to-morrow's evening's performance. She would136 be too tired to curl her hair by the time they got rid of this foolish young man.
The supper was even gayer than the luncheon68 on the racecourse. There was a large dish of cold corned beef, ready sliced, from the cook's shop; a cucumber, a couple of lobsters69, and a bowl of salad, crisp and oily, upon which Mr. Elgood prided himself.
'There are not many things that this child can do,' he remarked, 'but he flatters himself he can dress a salad.'
The ale, being infinitely better of its kind than the champagne provided by the 'Waterfowl,' proved more exhilarating. James Penwyn's spirits rose to their highest point. He invited everybody to Penwyn Manor; promised Miss Villeroy a season's hunting; Mr. Dempson any amount of sport. They would all go down to Cornwall together, and have a jolly time of it. Not a word did he say about his intended marriage—even though elated by beer, he felt a restraining delicacy70 which kept him silent on this one subject.
Justina was the quietest of the party. She sat137 by her father's side, looking her prettiest, with eyes that joy had glorified71, and a delicate bloom upon her cheeks. She neither ate nor drank, but listened to her lover's careless rattle72, and felt more and more that life was like a dream. How handsome he was; how good; how brave; how brilliant! Her simplicity73 accepted the young man's undergraduate jocosity74 for wit of the purest water. She laughed her gay young laugh at his jokes.
'If you could laugh like that on the stage, Judy, you'd make as good a comedy actress as Mrs. Jordan,' said her father.
'As if any one could laugh naturally to a cue,' cried Justina.
They sat late, almost as late as they had sat on the previous night, and when James rose at last to take his leave—urged thereto by the unquiet slumbers75 of Villeroy, who had fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position on the rickety old sofa, and whose snores were too loud to be agreeable—Mr. Elgood had arrived at that condition of mind in which life wears its rosiest76 hue77. He was anxious to see his guest home, but this favour James declined.
138
'Its an—comm'ly bad ro',' urged the heavy father. 'Y'd berrer let me see y' 'ome—cut thro' ro'; 'which James interpreted to mean 'a cut-throat road.' 'Don' like y' t' go 'lone7.'
Justina watched her father with a troubled look. It was hard that he should show himself thus degraded just now, when, but for this, life would be all sweetness. James smiled at her reassuringly78, undisturbed by the thought that such a man might be an undesirable79 father-in-law.
He pushed his entertainer back into his seat.
'Talk about seeing me home,' he said, laughing, 'why, it isn't half an hour's walk. Good night, Mr. Dempson. I'm afraid I've kept your wife up too late, after her exertions80 in Lady Teazle.—Will you open the door for me, Justina?'
Justina went down the narrow crooked81 staircase with him—one of those staircases of the good old times, better suited to a belfry tower than a dwelling-house. They went into the dark little shop together, and just at the door, amidst odours of Irish butter and Dutch cheese, Scotch82 herrings and Spanish onions, James took his betrothed83 in his arms and139 kissed her, fondly, proudly, as if he had won a princess for his helpmeet.
'Remember, darling, you are to be my wife. If I had a hundred relations to bully84 me they wouldn't make me change my mind. But I've no one to call me to account, and you are the girl of my choice. I haven't been able to speak to your father to-night, but I'll talk to him to-morrow morning, and settle everything. Good night, and God bless you, my own dear love!'
One more kiss, and he was gone. She stood on the door-step watching him as he walked up the narrow street. The moon was gone, and only a few stars shone dimly between the drifting clouds. The night-wind came coldly up from the water side yonder and made her shiver. A man crossed the street and walked briskly past her, going in the same direction as James Penwyn. She noticed, absently enough, that he wore a heavy overcoat and muffler, for defence against that chill night air, no doubt, but more clothing than people generally wear in the early days of June.
点击收听单词发音
1 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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2 willow | |
n.柳树 | |
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3 dwarfing | |
n.矮化病 | |
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4 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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5 meditative | |
adj.沉思的,冥想的 | |
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6 contemplated | |
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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7 lone | |
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
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8 par | |
n.标准,票面价值,平均数量;adj.票面的,平常的,标准的 | |
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9 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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10 lustre | |
n.光亮,光泽;荣誉 | |
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11 pretence | |
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰 | |
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12 adoration | |
n.爱慕,崇拜 | |
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13 pensiveness | |
n.pensive(沉思的)的变形 | |
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14 sprightliness | |
n.愉快,快活 | |
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15 puffs | |
n.吸( puff的名词复数 );(烟斗或香烟的)一吸;一缕(烟、蒸汽等);(呼吸或风的)呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
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16 chaff | |
v.取笑,嘲笑;n.谷壳 | |
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17 throbbed | |
抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 ); (心脏、脉搏等)跳动 | |
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18 akin | |
adj.同族的,类似的 | |
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19 manor | |
n.庄园,领地 | |
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20 tune | |
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
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21 gentry | |
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级 | |
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22 radius | |
n.半径,半径范围;有效航程,范围,界限 | |
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23 mellowed | |
(使)成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 ); 使色彩更加柔和,使酒更加醇香 | |
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24 embellished | |
v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 );装饰;修饰;润色 | |
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25 exalted | |
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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26 esteemed | |
adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 );敬重;认为;以为 | |
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27 complexion | |
n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格 | |
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28 wig | |
n.假发 | |
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29 accentuated | |
v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 );使突出;使恶化;加重音符号于 | |
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30 eyebrows | |
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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31 eyelids | |
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 );眼睛也不眨一下;不露声色;面不改色 | |
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32 artistic | |
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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33 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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34 enchantment | |
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力 | |
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35 repel | |
v.击退,抵制,拒绝,排斥 | |
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36 virtuous | |
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的 | |
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37 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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38 swell | |
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
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39 lobster | |
n.龙虾,龙虾肉 | |
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40 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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41 champagne | |
n.香槟酒;微黄色 | |
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42 sitting-room | |
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室 | |
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43 enacted | |
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44 inhaling | |
v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 ) | |
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45 chaos | |
n.混乱,无秩序 | |
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46 lodgings | |
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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47 confirmation | |
n.证实,确认,批准 | |
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48 assented | |
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49 colossal | |
adj.异常的,庞大的 | |
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50 grandeur | |
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
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51 reverent | |
adj.恭敬的,虔诚的 | |
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52 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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53 instinctive | |
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
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54 faculty | |
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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55 subscription | |
n.预订,预订费,亲笔签名,调配法,下标(处方) | |
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56 coeval | |
adj.同时代的;n.同时代的人或事物 | |
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57 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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58 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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59 candidly | |
adv.坦率地,直率而诚恳地 | |
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60 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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61 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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62 obstinate | |
adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的 | |
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63 dwindling | |
adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 ) | |
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64 cork | |
n.软木,软木塞 | |
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65 jug | |
n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂 | |
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66 gracefully | |
ad.大大方方地;优美地 | |
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67 conceal | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
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68 luncheon | |
n.午宴,午餐,便宴 | |
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69 lobsters | |
龙虾( lobster的名词复数 ); 龙虾肉 | |
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70 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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71 glorified | |
美其名的,变荣耀的 | |
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72 rattle | |
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓 | |
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73 simplicity | |
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
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74 jocosity | |
n.诙谐 | |
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75 slumbers | |
睡眠,安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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76 rosiest | |
adj.玫瑰色的( rosy的最高级 );愉快的;乐观的;一切都称心如意 | |
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77 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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78 reassuringly | |
ad.安心,可靠 | |
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79 undesirable | |
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 | |
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80 exertions | |
n.努力( exertion的名词复数 );费力;(能力、权力等的)运用;行使 | |
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81 crooked | |
adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的 | |
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82 scotch | |
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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83 betrothed | |
n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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84 bully | |
n.恃强欺弱者,小流氓;vt.威胁,欺侮 | |
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