Looking out of the front window, into the decorum of Grove1 Street, Mrs. Brashear could hardly credit the testimony2 of her glorified3 eyes. Could the occupant of the taxi indeed be Mr. Banneker whom, a few months before and most sorrowfully, she had sacrificed to the stern respectability of the house? And was it possible, as the very elegant trunk inscribed4 "E.B.--New York City" indicated, that he was coming back as a lodger5? For the first time in her long and correct professional career, the landlady6 felt an unqualified bitterness in the fact that all her rooms were occupied.
The occupant of the taxi jumped out and ran lightly up the steps.
"How d'you do, Mrs. Brashear. Am I still excommunicated?"
"Oh, Mr. Banneker! I'm _so_ glad to see you. If I could tell you how often I've blamed myself--"
"Let's forget all that. The point is I've come back."
"Oh, dear! I do hate not to take you in. But there isn't a spot."
"Who's got my old room?"
"Mr. Hainer."
"Hainer? Let's turn him out."
"I would in a minute," declared the ungrateful landlady to whom Mr. Hainer had always been a model lodger. "But the law--"
"Oh, I'll fix Hainer if you'll fix the room."
"How?" asked the bewildered Mrs. Brashear.
"The room? Just as it used to be. Bed, table, couple of chairs, bookshelf."
"But Mr. Hainer's things?"
"Store 'em. It'll be for only a month."
Leaving his trunk, Banneker sallied forth7 in smiling confidence to accost9 and transfer the unsuspecting occupant of his room. To achieve this, it was necessary only to convince the object of the scheme that the incredible offer was made in good faith; an apartment in the "swell10" Regalton, luxuriously11 furnished, service and breakfast included, rent free for a whole month. A fairy-tale for the prosaic12 Hainer to be gloated over for the rest of his life! Very quietly, for this was part of the bargain, the middle-aged13 accountant moved to his new glories and Banneker took his old quarters. It was all accomplished14 that evening. The refurnishing was finished on the following day.
"But what are you doing it for, if I may be so bold, Mr. Banneker?" asked the landlady.
"Peace, quiet, and work," he answered gayly. "Just to be where nobody can find me, while I do a job."
Here, as in the old, jobless days, Banneker settled down to concentrated and happy toil15. Always a creature of Spartan16 self-discipline in the matter of work, he took on, in this quiet and remote environment, new energies. Miss Westlake, recipient17 of the output as it came from the hard-driven pen, was secretly disquieted18. Could any human being maintain such a pace without collapse19? Day after day, the devotee of the third-floor-front rose at seven, breakfasted from a thermos20 bottle and a tin box, and set upon his writing; lunched hastily around the corner, returned with armfuls of newspapers which he skimmed as a preliminary to a second long bout21 with his pen; allowed himself an hour for dinner, and came back to resume the never-ending task. As in the days of the "Eban" sketches22, now on the press for book publication, it was write, rewrite, and re-rewrite, the typed sheets coming back to Miss Westlake amended23, interlined, corrected, but always successively shortened and simplified. Profitable, indeed, for the solicitous24 little typist; but she ventured, after a fortnight of it, to remonstrate25 on the score of ordinary prudence26. Banneker laughed, though he was touched, too, by her interest.
"I'm indestructible," he assured her. "But next week I shall run around outside a little."
"You must," she insisted.
"Field-work, I believe they call it. The Elysian Fields of Manhattan Island. Perhaps you'll come with me sometimes and see that I attend properly to my recreation."
Curiosity as well as a mere27 personal interest prompted her to accept. She did not understand the purpose of these strange and vivid writings committed to her hands, so different from any of the earlier of Mr. Banneker's productions; so different, indeed, from anything that she had hitherto seen in any print. Nor did she derive28 full enlightenment from her Elysian journeys with the writer. They seemed to be casual if not aimless. The pair traveled about on street-cars, L trains, Fifth Avenue buses, dined in queer, crowded restaurants, drank in foreign-appearing beer-halls, went to meetings, to Cooper Union forums29, to the Art Gallery, the Aquarium30, the Museum of Natural History, to dances in East-Side halls: and everywhere, by virtue31 of his easy and graceful32 good-fellowship, Banneker picked up acquaintances, entered into their discussions, listened to their opinions and solemn dicta, agreeing or controverting33 with equal good-humor, and all, one might have carelessly supposed, in the idlest spirit of a light-minded Haroun al Raschid.
"What is it all about, if you don't mind telling?" asked his companion as he bade her good-night early one morning.
"To find what people naturally talk about," was the ready answer.
"And then?"
"To talk with them about what interests them. In print."
"Then it isn't Elysian-fielding at all."
"No. It's work. Hard work."
"And what do you do after it?"
"Oh, sit up and write for a while."
"You'll break down."
"Oh, no! It's good for me."
And, indeed, it was better for him than the alternative of trying to sleep without the anodyne34 of complete exhaustion35. For again, his hours were haunted by the not-to-be-laid spirit of Io Welland. As in those earlier days when, with hot eyes and set teeth, he had sent up his nightly prayer for deliverance from the powers of the past--
"Heaven shield and keep us free From the wizard, Memory And his cruel necromancies!"--
she came back to her old sway over his soul, and would not be exorcised.--So he drugged his brain against her with the opiate of weariness.
Three of his four weeks had passed when Banneker began to whistle at his daily stent. Thereafter small boys, grimy with printer's ink, called occasionally, received instructions and departed, and there emanated36 from his room the clean and bitter smell of paste, and the clip of shears37. Despite all these new activities, the supply of manuscript for Miss Westlake's typewriter never failed. One afternoon Banneker knocked at the door, asked her if she thought she could take dictation direct, and on her replying doubtfully that she could try, transferred her and her machine to his den8, which was littered with newspapers, proof-sheets, and foolscap. Walking to and fro with a sheet of the latter inscribed with a few notes in his hand, the hermit38 proceeded to deliver himself to the briskly clicking writing machine.
"Three-em dash," said he at the close. "That seemed to go fairly well."
"Are you training me?" asked Miss Westlake.
"No. I'm training myself. It's easier to write, but it's quicker to talk. Some day I'm going to be really busy"--Miss Westlake gasped--"and time-saving will be important. Shall we try it again to-morrow?"
She nodded. "I could brush up my shorthand and take it quicker."
"Do you know shorthand?" He looked at her contemplatively. "Would you care to take a regular position, paying rather better than this casual work?"
"With you?" asked Miss Westlake in a tone which constituted a sufficient acceptance.
"Yes. Always supposing that I land one myself. I'm in a big gamble, and these," he swept a hand over the littered accumulations, "are my cards. If they're good enough, I'll win."
"They are good enough," said Miss Westlake with simple faith.
"I'll know to-morrow," replied Banneker.
For a young man, jobless, highly unsettled of prospects39, the ratio of whose debts to his assets was inversely40 to what it should have been, Banneker presented a singularly care-free aspect when, at 11 A.M. of a rainy morning, he called at Mr. Tertius Marrineal's Fifth Avenue house, bringing with him a suitcase heavily packed. Mr. Marrineal's personal Jap took over the burden and conducted it and its owner to a small rear room at the top of the house. Banneker apprehended41 at the first glance that this was a room for work. Mr. Marrineal, rising from behind a broad, glass-topped table with his accustomed amiable42 smile, also looked workmanlike.
"You have decided43 to come with us, I hope," said he pleasantly enough, yet with a casual politeness which might have been meant to suggest a measure of indifference44. Banneker at once caught the note of bargaining.
"If you think my ideas are worth my price," he replied.
"Let's have the ideas."
"No trouble to show goods," Banneker said, unclasping the suitcase. He preferred to keep the talk in light tone until his time came. From the case he extracted two close-packed piles of news-print, folded in half.
"Coals to Newcastle," smiled Marrineal. "These seem to be copies of The Patriot45."
"Not exact copies. Try this one." Selecting an issue at random46 he passed it to the other.
Marrineal went into it carefully, turning from the front page to the inside, and again farther in the interior, without comment. Nor did he speak at once when he came to the editorial page. But he glanced up at Banneker before settling down to read.
"Very interesting," he said presently, in a non-committal manner. "Have you more?"
Silently Banneker transferred to the table-top the remainder of the suitcase's contents. Choosing half a dozen at random, Marrineal turned each inside out and studied the editorial columns. His expression did not in any degree alter.
"You have had these editorials set up in type to suit yourself, I take it," he observed after twenty minutes of perusal47; "and have pasted them into the paper."
"Exactly."
"Why the double-column measure?"
"More attractive to the eye. It stands out."
"And the heavy type for the same reason?"
"Yes. I want to make 'em just as easy to read as possible."
"They're easy to read," admitted the other. "Are they all yours?"
"Mine--and others'."
Marrineal looked a bland48 question. Banneker answered it.
"I've been up and down in the highways and the low-ways, Mr. Marrineal, taking those editorials from the speech of the ordinary folk who talk about their troubles and their pleasures."
"I see. Straight from the throbbing49 heart of the people. Jones-in-the-street-car."
"And Mrs. Jones. Don't forget her. She'll read 'em."
"If she doesn't, it won't be because they don't bid for her interest. Here's this one, 'Better Cooking Means Better Husbands: Try It.' That's the _argumentum ad feminam_ with a vengeance50."
"Yes. I picked that up from a fat old party who was advising a thin young wife at a fish-stall. 'Give'm his food _right_ an' he'll come home to it, 'stid o' workin' the free lunch.'"
"Here are two on the drink question. 'Next Time Ask the Barkeep Why _He_ Doesn't Drink,' and, 'Mighty51 Elephants Like Rum--and Are Chained Slaves.'"
"You'll find more moralizing on booze if you look farther. It's one of the subjects they talk most about."
"'The Sardine52 is Dead: Therefore More Comfortable Than You, Mr. Straphanger,'" read Marrineal.
"Go up in the rush-hour L any day and you'll hear that editorial with trimmings."
"And 'Mr. Flynn Owes You a Yacht Ride' is of the same order, I suppose."
"Yes. If it had been practicable, I'd have had some insets with that: a picture of Flynn, a cut of his new million-dollar yacht, and a table showing the twenty per cent dividends53 that the City Illuminating54 Company pays by over-taxing Jones on his lighting55 and heating. That would almost tell the story without comment."
"I see. Still making it easy for them to read."
Marrineal ran over a number of other captions56, sensational57, personal, invocative, and always provocative58: "Man, Why Hasn't Your Wife Divorced You?" "John L. Sullivan, the Great Unknown." "Why Has the Ornithorhyncus Got a Beak59?" "If You Must Sell Your Vote, Ask a Fair Price For It." "Mustn't Play, You Kiddies: It's a Crime: Ask Judge Croban." "Socrates, Confucius, Buddha60, Christ; All Dead, But--!!!" "The Inventor of Goose-Plucking Was the First Politician. They're At It Yet." "How Much Would You Pay a Man to Think For You?" "Air Doesn't Cost Much: Have You Got Enough to Breathe?"
"All this," said the owner of The Patriot, "is taken from what people talk and think about?"
"Yes."
"Doesn't some of it reach out into the realm of what Mr. Banneker thinks they _ought_ to talk and think about?"
Banneker laughed. "Discovered! Oh, I won't pretend but what I propose to teach 'em thinking."
"If you can do that and make them think our way--"
"'Give me place for my fulcrum,' said Archimedes."
"But that's an editorial you won't write very soon. One more detail. You've thrown up words and phrases into capital letters all through for emphasis. I doubt whether that will do."
"Why not?"
"Haven't you shattered enough traditions without that? The public doesn't want to be taught with a pointer. I'm afraid that's rather too much of an innovation."
"No innovation at all. In fact, it's adapted plagiarism61."
"From what?"
"Harper's Monthly of the seventy's. I used to have some odd volumes in my little library. There was a department of funny anecdote62; and the point of every joke, lest some obtuse63 reader should overlook it, was printed in italics. That," chuckled64 Banneker, "was in the days when we used to twit the English with lacking a sense of humor. However, the method has its advantages. It's fool-proof. Therefore I helped myself to it."
"Then you're aiming at the weak-minded?"
"At anybody who can assimilate simple ideas plainly expressed," declared the other positively65. "There ought to be four million of 'em within reaching distance of The Patriot's presses."
"Your proposition--though you haven't made any as yet--is that we lead our editorial page daily with matter such as this. Am I correct?"
"No. Make a clean sweep of the present editorials. Substitute mine. One a day will be quite enough for their minds to work on."
"But that won't fill the page," objected the proprietor66.
"Cartoon. Column of light comment. Letters from readers. That will," returned Banneker with severe brevity.
"It might be worth trying," mused67 Marrineal.
"It might be worth, to a moribund68 paper, almost anything." The tone was significant.
"Then you are prepared to join our staff?"
"On suitable terms."
"I had thought of offering you," Marrineal paused for better effect, "one hundred and fifty dollars a week."
Banneker was annoyed. That was no more than he could earn, with a little outside work, on The Ledger69. He had thought of asking two hundred and fifty. Now he said promptly70:
"Those editorials are worth three hundred a week to any paper. As a starter," he added.
A pained and patient smile overspread Marrineal's regular features. "The Patriot's leader-writer draws a hundred at present."
"I dare say."
"The whole page costs barely three hundred."
"It is overpaid."
"For a comparative novice71," observed Marrineal without rancor72, "you do not lack self-confidence."
"There are the goods," said Banneker evenly. "It is for you to decide whether they are worth the price asked."
"And there's where the trouble is," confessed Marrineal. "I don't know. They might be."
Banneker made his proposition. "You spoke73 of my being a novice. I admit the weak spot. I want more experience. You can afford to try this out for six months. In fact, you can't afford not to. Something has got to be done with The Patriot, and soon. It's losing ground daily."
"You are mistaken," returned Marrineal.
"Then the news-stands and circulation lists are mistaken, too," retorted the other. "Would you care to see my figures?"
Marrineal waved away the suggestion with an easy gesture which surrendered the point.
"Very well. I'm backing the new editorial idea to get circulation."
"With my money," pointed74 out Marrineal.
"I can't save you the money. But I can spread it for you, that three hundred dollars."
"How, spread it?"
"Charge half to editorial page: half to the news department."
"On account of what services to the news department?"
"General. That is where I expect to get my finishing experience. I've had enough reporting. Now I'm after the special work; a little politics, a little dramatic criticism; a touch of sports; perhaps some book-reviewing and financial writing. And, of course, an apprenticeship75 in the Washington office."
"Haven't you forgotten the London correspondence?"
Whether or not this was sardonic76, Banneker did not trouble to determine. "Too far away, and not time enough," he answered. "Later, perhaps, I can try that."
"And while you are doing all these things who is to carry out the editorial idea?"
"I am."
Marrineal stared. "Both? At the same time?"
"Yes."
"No living man could do it."
"I can do it. I've proved it to myself."
"How and where?"
"Since I last saw you. Now that I've got the hang of it, I can do an editorial in the morning, another in the afternoon, a third in the evening. Two and a half days a week will turn the trick. That leaves the rest of the time for the other special jobs."
"You won't live out the six months."
"Insure my life if you like," laughed Banneker. "Work will never kill me."
Marrineal, sitting with inscrutable face turned half away from his visitor, was beginning, "If I meet you on the salary," when Banneker broke in:
"Wait until you hear the rest. I'm asking that for six months only. Thereafter I propose to drop the non-editorial work and with it the salary."
"With what substitute?"
"A salary based upon one cent a week for every unit of circulation put on from the time the editorials begin publication."
"It sounds innocent," remarked Marrineal. "It isn't as innocent as it sounds," he added after a penciled reckoning on the back of an envelope. "In case we increase fifty thousand, you will be drawing twenty-five thousand a year."
"Well? Won't it be worth the money?"
"I suppose it would," admitted Marrineal dubiously77. "Of course fifty thousand in six months is an extreme assumption. Suppose the circulation stands still?"
"Then I starve. It's a gamble. But it strikes me that I'm giving the odds78."
"Can you amuse yourself for an hour?" asked Marrineal abruptly79.
"Why, yes," answered Banneker hesitantly. "Perhaps you'd turn me loose in your library. I'd find something to put in the time on there."
"Not very much, I'm afraid," replied his host apologetically. "I'm of the low-brow species in my reading tastes, or else rather severely80 practical. You'll find some advertising81 data that may interest you, however."
From the hour--which grew to an hour and a half--spent in the library, Banneker sought to improve his uncertain conception of his prospective82 employer's habit and trend of mind. The hope of revelation was not borne out by the reading matter at hand. Most of it proved to be technical.
When he returned to Marrineal's den, he found Russell Edmonds with the host.
"Well, son, you've turned the trick," was the veteran's greeting.
"You've read 'em?" asked Banneker, and Marrineal was shrewd enough to note the instinctive83 shading of manner when expert spoke to expert. He was an outsider, being merely the owner. It amused him.
"Yes. They're dam' good."
"Aren't they dam' good?" returned Banneker eagerly.
"They'll save the day if anything can."
"Precisely84 my own humble85 opinion if a layman86 may speak," put in Marrineal. "Mr. Banneker, shall I have the contract drawn87 up?"
"Not on my account. I don't need any. If I haven't made myself so essential after the six months that you _have_ to keep me on, I'll want to quit."
"Still in the gambling88 mood," smiled Marrineal.
The two practical journalists left, making an appointment to spend the following morning with Marrineal in planning policy and methods. Banneker went back to his apartment and wrote Miss Camilla Van Arsdale all about it, in exultant89 mood.
"Brains to let! But I've got my price. And I'll get a higher one: the highest, if I can hold out. It's all due to you. If you hadn't kept my mind turned to things worth while in the early days at Manzanita, with your music and books and your taste for all that is fine, I'd have fallen into a rut. It's success, the first real taste. I like it. I love it. And I owe it all to you."
Camilla Van Arsdale, yearning90 over the boyish outburst, smiled and sighed and mused and was vaguely91 afraid, with quasi-maternal fears. She, too, had had her taste of success; a marvelous stimulant92, bubbling with inspiration and incitement93. But for all except the few who are strong and steadfast94, there lurks95 beneath the effervescence a subtle poison.
收听单词发音 |
1
grove
|
|
| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
testimony
|
|
| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
glorified
|
|
| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
inscribed
|
|
| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
lodger
|
|
| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
landlady
|
|
| n.女房东，女地主 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
den
|
|
| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
accost
|
|
| v.向人搭话，打招呼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
swell
|
|
| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
luxuriously
|
|
| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
prosaic
|
|
| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
middle-aged
|
|
| adj.中年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
toil
|
|
| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
spartan
|
|
| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
recipient
|
|
| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
disquieted
|
|
| v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
collapse
|
|
| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
thermos
|
|
| n.保湿瓶，热水瓶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
bout
|
|
| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
sketches
|
|
| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
Amended
|
|
| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
solicitous
|
|
| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
remonstrate
|
|
| v.抗议，规劝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
prudence
|
|
| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
derive
|
|
| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
forums
|
|
| 讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
aquarium
|
|
| n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
controverting
|
|
| v.争论，反驳，否定( controvert的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
34
anodyne
|
|
| n.解除痛苦的东西，止痛剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
exhaustion
|
|
| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
emanated
|
|
| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
shears
|
|
| n.大剪刀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
hermit
|
|
| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
prospects
|
|
| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
inversely
|
|
| adj.相反的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
apprehended
|
|
| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
patriot
|
|
| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
random
|
|
| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
perusal
|
|
| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
bland
|
|
| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
throbbing
|
|
| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
sardine
|
|
| n.[C]沙丁鱼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
dividends
|
|
| 红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
illuminating
|
|
| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
captions
|
|
| n.标题，说明文字，字幕( caption的名词复数 )v.给（图片、照片等）加说明文字( caption的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
sensational
|
|
| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
provocative
|
|
| adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
beak
|
|
| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
Buddha
|
|
| n.佛；佛像；佛陀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
plagiarism
|
|
| n.剽窃，抄袭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
anecdote
|
|
| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
obtuse
|
|
| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
chuckled
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
positively
|
|
| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
mused
|
|
| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
moribund
|
|
| adj.即将结束的，垂死的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
ledger
|
|
| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
novice
|
|
| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
rancor
|
|
| n.深仇，积怨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
apprenticeship
|
|
| n.学徒身份；学徒期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
sardonic
|
|
| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
dubiously
|
|
| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
advertising
|
|
| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
prospective
|
|
| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
instinctive
|
|
| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
layman
|
|
| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
gambling
|
|
| n.赌博；投机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
exultant
|
|
| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
yearning
|
|
| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
stimulant
|
|
| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
incitement
|
|
| 激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
steadfast
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
lurks
|
|
| n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |