The blinds of Mrs. Peniston's drawing-room were drawn1 down against the oppressive June sun, and in the sultry twilight2 the faces of her assembled relatives took on a fitting shadow of bereavement3. They were all there: Van Alstynes, Stepneys and Melsons--even a stray Peniston or two, indicating, by a greater latitude4 in dress and manner, the fact of remoter relationship and more settled hopes. The Peniston side was, in fact, secure in the knowledge that the bulk of Mr. Peniston's property "went back"; while the direct connection hung suspended on the disposal of his widow's private fortune and on the uncertainty5 of its extent. Jack6 Stepney, in his new character as the richest nephew, tacitly took the lead, emphasizing his importance by the deeper gloss7 of his mourning and the subdued8 authority of his manner; while his wife's bored attitude and frivolous9 gown proclaimed the heiress's disregard of the insignificant10 interests at stake. Old Ned Van Alstyne, seated next to her in a coat that made affliction dapper, twirled his white moustache to conceal11 the eager twitch12 of his lips; and Grace Stepney, red-nosed and smelling of crape, whispered emotionally to Mrs. Herbert Melson: "I couldn't BEAR to see the Niagara anywhere else!"
A rustle13 of weeds and quick turning of heads hailed the opening of the door, and Lily Bart appeared, tall and noble in her black dress, with Gerty Farish at her side. The women's faces, as she paused interrogatively on the threshold, were a study in hesitation14. One or two made faint motions of recognition, which might have been subdued either by the solemnity of the scene, or by the doubt as to how far the others meant to go; Mrs. Jack Stepney gave a careless nod, and Grace Stepney, with a sepulchral15 gesture, indicated a seat at her side. But Lily, ignoring the invitation, as well as Jack Stepney's official attempt to direct her, moved across the room with her smooth free gait, and seated herself in a chair which seemed to have been purposely placed apart from the others.
It was the first time that she had faced her family since her return from Europe, two weeks earlier; but if she perceived any uncertainty in their welcome, it served only to add a tinge16 of irony17 to the usual composure of her bearing. The shock of dismay with which, on the dock, she had heard from Gerty Farish of Mrs. Peniston's sudden death, had been mitigated18, almost at once, by the irrepressible thought that now, at last, she would be able to pay her debts. She had looked forward with considerable uneasiness to her first encounter with her aunt. Mrs. Peniston had vehemently19 opposed her niece's departure with the Dorsets, and had marked her continued disapproval20 by not writing during Lily's absence. The certainty that she had heard of the rupture21 with the Dorsets made the prospect22 of the meeting more formidable; and how should Lily have repressed a quick sense of relief at the thought that, instead of undergoing the anticipated ordeal23, she had only to enter gracefully24 on a long-assured inheritance? It had been, in the consecrated25 phrase, "always understood" that Mrs. Peniston was to provide handsomely for her niece; and in the latter's mind the understanding had long since crystallized into fact.
"She gets everything, of course--I don't see what we're here for," Mrs. Jack Stepney remarked with careless loudness to Ned Van Alstyne; and the latter's deprecating murmur27--"Julia was always a just woman"--might have been interpreted as signifying either acquiescence28 or doubt.
"Well, it's only about four hundred thousand," Mrs. Stepney rejoined with a yawn; and Grace Stepney, in the silence produced by the lawyer's preliminary cough, was heard to sob29 out: "They won't find a towel missing--I went over them with her the very day---"
Lily, oppressed by the close atmosphere, and the stifling30 odour of fresh mourning, felt her attention straying as Mrs. Peniston's lawyer, solemnly erect31 behind the Buhl table at the end of the room, began to rattle32 through the preamble33 of the will.
"It's like being in church," she reflected, wondering vaguely34 where Gwen Stepney had got such an awful hat. Then she noticed how stout35 Jack had grown--he would soon be almost as plethoric36 as Herbert Melson, who sat a few feet off, breathing puffily as he leaned his black-gloved hands on his stick.
"I wonder why rich people always grow fat--I suppose it's because there's nothing to worry them. If I inherit, I shall have to be careful of my figure," she mused37, while the lawyer droned on through a labyrinth38 of legacies39. The servants came first, then a few charitable institutions, then several remoter Melsons and Stepneys, who stirred consciously as their names rang out, and then subsided40 into a state of impassiveness befitting the solemnity of the occasion. Ned Van Alstyne, Jack Stepney, and a cousin or two followed, each coupled with the mention of a few thousands: Lily wondered that Grace Stepney was not among them. Then she heard her own name--"to my niece Lily Bart ten thousand dollars--" and after that the lawyer again lost himself in a coil of unintelligible41 periods, from which the concluding phrase flashed out with startling distinctness: "and the residue43 of my estate to my dear cousin and name-sake, Grace Julia Stepney."
There was a subdued gasp44 of surprise, a rapid turning of heads, and a surging of sable45 figures toward the corner in which Miss Stepney wailed46 out her sense of unworthiness through the crumpled47 ball of a black-edged handkerchief.
Lily stood apart from the general movement, feeling herself for the first time utterly48 alone. No one looked at her, no one seemed aware of her presence; she was probing the very depths of insignificance49. And under her sense of the collective indifference50 came the acuter pang51 of hopes deceived. Disinherited--she had been disinherited--and for Grace Stepney! She met Gerty's lamentable52 eyes, fixed53 on her in a despairing effort at consolation54, and the look brought her to herself. There was something to be done before she left the house: to be done with all the nobility she knew how to put into such gestures. She advanced to the group about Miss Stepney, and holding out her hand said simply: "Dear Grace, I am so glad."
The other ladies had fallen back at her approach, and a space created itself about her. It widened as she turned to go, and no one advanced to fill it up. She paused a moment, glancing about her, calmly taking the measure of her situation. She heard some one ask a question about the date of the will; she caught a fragment of the lawyer's answer--something about a sudden summons, and an "earlier instrument." Then the tide of dispersal began to drift past her; Mrs. Jack Stepney and Mrs. Herbert Melson stood on the doorstep awaiting their motor; a sympathizing group escorted Grace Stepney to the cab it was felt to be fitting she should take, though she lived but a street or two away; and Miss Bart and Gerty found themselves almost alone in the purple drawing-room, which more than ever, in its stuffy55 dimness, resembled a well-kept family vault56, in which the last corpse57 had just been decently deposited.
In Gerty Farish's sitting-room58, whither a hansom had carried the two friends, Lily dropped into a chair with a faint sound of laughter: it struck her as a humorous coincidence that her aunt's legacy59 should so nearly represent the amount of her debt to Trenor. The need of discharging that debt had reasserted itself with increased urgency since her return to America, and she spoke60 her first thought in saying to the anxiously hovering61 Gerty: "I wonder when the legacies will be paid."
But Miss Farish could not pause over the legacies; she broke into a larger indignation. "Oh, Lily, it's unjust; it's cruel--Grace Stepney must FEEL she has no right to all that money!"
"Any one who knew how to please Aunt Julia has a right to her money," Miss Bart rejoined philosophically62.
"But she was devoted63 to you--she led every one to think--" Gerty checked herself in evident embarrassment64, and Miss Bart turned to her with a direct look. "Gerty, be honest: this will was made only six weeks ago. She had heard of my break with the Dorsets?"
"Every one heard, of course, that there had been some disagreement--some misunderstanding---"
"Did she hear that Bertha turned me off the yacht?"
"Lily!"
"That was what happened, you know. She said I was trying to marry George Dorset. She did it to make him think she was jealous. Isn't that what she told Gwen Stepney?"
"I don't know--I don't listen to such horrors."
"I MUST listen to them--I must know where I stand." She paused, and again sounded a faint note of derision. "Did you notice the women? They were afraid to snub me while they thought I was going to get the money--afterward they scuttled65 off as if I had the plague." Gerty remained silent, and she continued: "I stayed on to see what would happen. They took their cue from Gwen Stepney and Lulu Melson--I saw them watching to see what Gwen would do.--Gerty, I must know just what is being said of me."
"I tell you I don't listen---"
"One hears such things without listening." She rose and laid her resolute66 hands on Miss Farish's shoulders. "Gerty, are people going to cut me?"
"Your FRIENDS, Lily--how can you think it?"
"Who are one's friends at such a time? Who, but you, you poor trustful darling? And heaven knows what YOU suspect me of!" She kissed Gerty with a whimsical murmur. "You'd never let it make any difference--but then you're fond of criminals, Gerty! How about the irreclaimable ones, though? For I'm absolutely impenitent67, you know."
She drew herself up to the full height of her slender majesty68, towering like some dark angel of defiance69 above the troubled Gerty, who could only falter70 out: "Lily, Lily--how can you laugh about such things?"
"So as not to weep, perhaps. But no--I'm not of the tearful order. I discovered early that crying makes my nose red, and the knowledge has helped me through several painful episodes." She took a restless turn about the room, and then, reseating herself, lifted the bright mockery of her eyes to Gerty's anxious countenance71.
"I shouldn't have minded, you know, if I'd got the money--" and at Miss Farish's protesting "Oh!" she repeated calmly: "Not a straw, my dear; for, in the first place, they wouldn't have quite dared to ignore me; and if they had, it wouldn't have mattered, because I should have been independent of them. But now--!" The irony faded from her eyes, and she bent72 a clouded face upon her friend.
"How can you talk so, Lily? Of course the money ought to have been yours, but after all that makes no difference. The important thing---" Gerty paused, and then continued firmly: "The important thing is that you should clear yourself--should tell your friends the whole truth."
"The whole truth?" Miss Bart laughed. "What is truth? Where a woman is concerned, it's the story that's easiest to believe. In this case it's a great deal easier to believe Bertha Dorset's story than mine, because she has a big house and an opera box, and it's convenient to be on good terms with her."
Miss Farish still fixed her with an anxious gaze. "But what IS your story, Lily? I don't believe any one knows it yet."
"My story?--I don't believe I know it myself. You see I never thought of preparing a version in advance as Bertha did--and if I had, I don't think I should take the trouble to use it now."
But Gerty continued with her quiet reasonableness: "I don't want a version prepared in advance--but I want you to tell me exactly what happened from the beginning."
"From the beginning?" Miss Bart gently mimicked73 her. "Dear Gerty, how little imagination you good people have! Why, the beginning was in my cradle, I suppose--in the way I was brought up, and the things I was taught to care for. Or no--I won't blame anybody for my faults: I'll say it was in my blood, that I got it from some wicked pleasure-loving ancestress, who reacted against the homely74 virtues75 of New Amsterdam, and wanted to be back at the court of the Charleses!" And as Miss Farish continued to press her with troubled eyes, she went on impatiently: "You asked me just now for the truth--well, the truth about any girl is that once she's talked about she's done for; and the more she explains her case the worse it looks.--My good Gerty, you don't happen to have a cigarette about you?"
In her stuffy room at the hotel to which she had gone on landing, Lily Bart that evening reviewed her situation. It was the last week in June, and none of her friends were in town. The few relatives who had stayed on, or returned, for the reading of Mrs. Peniston's will, had taken flight again that afternoon to Newport or Long Island; and not one of them had made any proffer76 of hospitality to Lily. For the first time in her life she found herself utterly alone except for Gerty Farish. Even at the actual moment of her break with the Dorsets she had not had so keen a sense of its consequences, for the Duchess of Beltshire, hearing of the catastrophe77 from Lord Hubert, had instantly offered her protection, and under her sheltering wing Lily had made an almost triumphant78 progress to London. There she had been sorely tempted79 to linger on in a society which asked of her only to amuse and charm it, without enquiring80 too curiously81 how she had acquired her gift for doing so; but Selden, before they parted, had pressed on her the urgent need of returning at once to her aunt, and Lord Hubert, when he presently reappeared in London, abounded82 in the same counsel. Lily did not need to be told that the Duchess's championship was not the best road to social rehabilitation83, and as she was besides aware that her noble defender84 might at any moment drop her in favour of a new PROTEGEE, she reluctantly decided85 to return to America. But she had not been ten minutes on her native shore before she realized that she had delayed too long to regain86 it. The Dorsets, the Stepneys, the Brys--all the actors and witnesses in the miserable87 drama--had preceded her with their version of the case; and, even had she seen the least chance of gaining a hearing for her own, some obscure disdain88 and reluctance89 would have restrained her. She knew it was not by explanations and counter-charges that she could ever hope to recover her lost standing26; but even had she felt the least trust in their efficacy, she would still have been held back by the feeling which had kept her from defending herself to Gerty Farish--a feeling that was half pride and half humiliation90. For though she knew she had been ruthlessly sacrificed to Bertha Dorset's determination to win back her husband, and though her own relation to Dorset had been that of the merest good-fellowship, yet she had been perfectly91 aware from the outset that her part in the affair was, as Carry Fisher brutally92 put it, to distract Dorset's attention from his wife. That was what she was "there for": it was the price she had chosen to pay for three months of luxury and freedom from care. Her habit of resolutely93 facing the facts, in her rare moments of introspection, did not now allow her to put any false gloss on the situation. She had suffered for the very faithfulness with which she had carried out her part of the tacit compact, but the part was not a handsome one at best, and she saw it now in all the ugliness of failure.
She saw, too, in the same uncompromising light, the train of consequences resulting from that failure; and these became clearer to her with every day of her weary lingering in town. She stayed on partly for the comfort of Gerty Farish's nearness, and partly for lack of knowing where to go. She understood well enough the nature of the task before her. She must set out to regain, little by little, the position she had lost; and the first step in the tedious task was to find out, as soon as possible, on how many of her friends she could count. Her hopes were mainly centred on Mrs. Trenor, who had treasures of easy-going tolerance94 for those who were amusing or useful to her, and in the noisy rush of whose existence the still small voice of detraction95 was slow to make itself heard. But Judy, though she must have been apprised96 of Miss Bart's return, had not even recognized it by the formal note of condolence which her friend's bereavement demanded. Any advance on Lily's side might have been perilous97: there was nothing to do but to trust to the happy chance of an accidental meeting, and Lily knew that, even so late in the season, there was always a hope of running across her friends in their frequent passages through town.
To this end she assiduously showed herself at the restaurants they frequented, where, attended by the troubled Gerty, she lunched luxuriously98, as she said, on her expectations.
"My dear Gerty, you wouldn't have me let the head-waiter see that I've nothing to live on but Aunt Julia's legacy? Think of Grace Stepney's satisfaction if she came in and found us lunching on cold mutton and tea! What sweet shall we have today, dear--COUPE JACQUES or PECHES A LA MELBA?"
She dropped the MENU abruptly99, with a quick heightening of colour, and Gerty, following her glance, was aware of the advance, from an inner room, of a party headed by Mrs. Trenor and Carry Fisher. It was impossible for these ladies and their companions--among whom Lily had at once distinguished100 both Trenor and Rosedale--not to pass, in going out, the table at which the two girls were seated; and Gerty's sense of the fact betrayed itself in the helpless trepidation101 of her manner. Miss Bart, on the contrary, borne forward on the wave of her buoyant grace, and neither shrinking from her friends nor appearing to lie in wait for them, gave to the encounter the touch of naturalness which she could impart to the most strained situations. Such embarrassment as was shown was on Mrs. Trenor's side, and manifested itself in the mingling102 of exaggerated warmth with imperceptible reservations. Her loudly affirmed pleasure at seeing Miss Bart took the form of a nebulous generalization103, which included neither enquiries as to her future nor the expression of a definite wish to see her again. Lily, well-versed in the language of these omissions104, knew that they were equally intelligible42 to the other members of the party: even Rosedale, flushed as he was with the importance of keeping such company, at once took the temperature of Mrs. Trenor's cordiality, and reflected it in his off-hand greeting of Miss Bart. Trenor, red and uncomfortable, had cut short his salutations on the pretext105 of a word to say to the head-waiter; and the rest of the group soon melted away in Mrs. Trenor's wake.
It was over in a moment--the waiter, MENU in hand, still hung on the result of the choice between COUPE JACQUES and PECHES A LA MELBA--but Miss Bart, in the interval106, had taken the measure of her fate. Where Judy Trenor led, all the world would follow; and Lily had the doomed107 sense of the castaway who has signalled in vain to fleeing sails.
In a flash she remembered Mrs. Trenor's complaints of Carry Fisher's rapacity108, and saw that they denoted an unexpected acquaintance with her husband's private affairs. In the large tumultuous disorder109 of the life at Bellomont, where no one seemed to have time to observe any one else, and private aims and personal interests were swept along unheeded in the rush of collective activities, Lily had fancied herself sheltered from inconvenient110 scrutiny111; but if Judy knew when Mrs. Fisher borrowed money of her husband, was she likely to ignore the same transaction on Lily's part? If she was careless of his affections she was plainly jealous of his pocket; and in that fact Lily read the explanation of her rebuff. The immediate112 result of these conclusions was the passionate113 resolve to pay back her debt to Trenor. That obligation discharged, she would have but a thousand dollars of Mrs. Peniston's legacy left, and nothing to live on but her own small income, which was considerably114 less than Gerty Farish's wretched pittance115; but this consideration gave way to the imperative116 claim of her wounded pride. She must be quits with the Trenors first; after that she would take thought for the future.
In her ignorance of legal procrastinations she had supposed that her legacy would be paid over within a few days of the reading of her aunt's will; and after an interval of anxious suspense117, she wrote to enquire118 the cause of the delay. There was another interval before Mrs. Peniston's lawyer, who was also one of the executors, replied to the effect that, some questions having arisen relative to the interpretation119 of the will, he and his associates might not be in a position to pay the legacies till the close of the twelvemonth legally allotted120 for their settlement. Bewildered and indignant, Lily resolved to try the effect of a personal appeal; but she returned from her expedition with a sense of the powerlessness of beauty and charm against the unfeeling processes of the law. It seemed intolerable to live on for another year under the weight of her debt; and in her extremity121 she decided to turn to Miss Stepney, who still lingered in town, immersed in the delectable122 duty of "going over" her benefactress's effects. It was bitter enough for Lily to ask a favour of Grace Stepney, but the alternative was bitterer still; and one morning she presented herself at Mrs. Peniston's, where Grace, for the facilitation of her pious123 task, had taken up a provisional abode124.
The strangeness of entering as a suppliant125 the house where she had so long commanded, increased Lily's desire to shorten the ordeal; and when Miss Stepney entered the darkened drawing-room, rustling126 with the best quality of crape, her visitor went straight to the point: would she be willing to advance the amount of the expected legacy?
Grace, in reply, wept and wondered at the request, bemoaned127 the inexorableness of the law, and was astonished that Lily had not realized the exact similarity of their positions. Did she think that only the payment of the legacies had been delayed? Why, Miss Stepney herself had not received a penny of her inheritance, and was paying rent--yes, actually!--for the privilege of living in a house that belonged to her. She was sure it was not what poor dear cousin Julia would have wished--she had told the executors so to their faces; but they were inaccessible128 to reason, and there was nothing to do but to wait. Let Lily take example by her, and be patient--let them both remember how beautifully patient cousin Julia had always been.
Lily made a movement which showed her imperfect assimilation of this example. "But you will have everything, Grace--it would be easy for you to borrow ten times the amount I am asking for."
"Borrow--easy for me to borrow?" Grace Stepney rose up before her in sable wrath129. "Do you imagine for a moment that I would raise money on my expectations from cousin Julia, when I know so well her unspeakable horror of every transaction of the sort? Why, Lily, if you must know the truth, it was the idea of your being in debt that brought on her illness--you remember she had a slight attack before you sailed. Oh, I don't know the particulars, of course--I don't WANT to know them--but there were rumours130 about your affairs that made her most unhappy--no one could be with her without seeing that. I can't help it if you are offended by my telling you this now--if I can do anything to make you realize the folly131 of your course, and how deeply SHE disapproved132 of it, I shall feel it is the truest way of making up to you for her loss."
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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gloss
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| n.光泽，光滑；虚饰；注释；vt.加光泽于；掩饰 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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sepulchral
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| adj.坟墓的，阴深的 | |
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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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mitigated
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vehemently
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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ordeal
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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standing
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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acquiescence
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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preamble
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| n.前言；序文 | |
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vaguely
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plethoric
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| adj.过多的，多血症的 | |
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mused
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labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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legacies
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| n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症 | |
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subsided
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| 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 | |
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41
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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42
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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43
residue
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| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
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44
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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45
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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46
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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48
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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49
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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50
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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51
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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52
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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53
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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54
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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55
stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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56
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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57
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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58
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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59
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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60
spoke
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| 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 | |
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61
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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62
philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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63
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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64
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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65
scuttled
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| v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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66
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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67
impenitent
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| adj.不悔悟的，顽固的 | |
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68
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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69
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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70
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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71
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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72
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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73
mimicked
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| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的过去式和过去分词 )；酷似 | |
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74
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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75
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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76
proffer
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| v.献出，赠送；n.提议，建议 | |
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77
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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78
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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79
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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80
enquiring
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| a.爱打听的，显得好奇的 | |
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81
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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82
abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
rehabilitation
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| n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位 | |
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84
defender
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| n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人 | |
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85
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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86
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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87
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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88
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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89
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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90
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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91
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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92
brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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93
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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94
tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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95
detraction
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| n.减损；诽谤 | |
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96
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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97
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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98
luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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99
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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100
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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101
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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102
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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103
generalization
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| n.普遍性，一般性，概括 | |
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104
omissions
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| n.省略( omission的名词复数 )；删节；遗漏；略去或漏掉的事（或人） | |
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105
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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106
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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107
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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108
rapacity
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| n.贪婪，贪心，劫掠的欲望 | |
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109
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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110
inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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111
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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112
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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113
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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114
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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115
pittance
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| n.微薄的薪水，少量 | |
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116
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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117
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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118
enquire
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| v.打听，询问；调查，查问 | |
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119
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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120
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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122
delectable
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| adj.使人愉快的；美味的 | |
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123
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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124
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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125
suppliant
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| adj.哀恳的；n.恳求者，哀求者 | |
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126
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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127
bemoaned
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| v.为（某人或某事）抱怨( bemoan的过去式和过去分词 )；悲悼；为…恸哭；哀叹 | |
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128
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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129
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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130
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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131
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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132
disapproved
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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