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CHAPTER VI THE ONE WOMAN
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 Daybreak on the following morning found the gas blazing in Rob's lodgings1. Rob was seated in an arm-chair, his feet on the cold hearth2. The Scorn of Scorns lay on the mantelpiece carefully done up in brown paper, lest a speck3 of dust should fall on it, and he had been staring at the ribs4 of the fireplace for the last three hours without seeing them. He had not thought of the gas. His bed was unslept on. His damp boots had dried on his feet. He did not feel cold. All night he had sat there, a man mesmerised. For the only time in his life he had forgotten to wind up his watch.
 
At times his lips moved as if he were speaking to himself, and a smile lit up his face. Then a change of mood came, and he beat the fender with his feet till the fire-irons rattled5. Thinking over these remarks brought the rapture6 to his face:
 
'How do you do, Mr. Angus?'
 
'You must not take to heart what Miss Meredith said.'
 
'Please don't say any more about it. I am quite sure you gave your honest opinion about my book.'
 
'I am so glad you think this like Scotland, because, of course, that is the highest compliment a Scotsman can pay.'
 
'Good-night, Mr. Angus.'
 
That was all she had said to him, but the more Rob thought over her remarks the more he liked them. It was not so much the words themselves that thrilled him as the way they were said. Other people had asked, 'How do you do, Mr. Angus?' without making an impression, but her greeting was a revelation of character, for it showed that though she knew who he was she wanted to put him at his ease. This is a delightful8 attribute in a woman, and worth thinking about.
 
Just before Miss Abinger said, 'How do you do, Mr. Angus?' Rob had realised what people meant by calling her proud. She was holding her head very high as she appeared in the path, and when Nell told her who Rob was she flushed. He looked hopelessly at her, bereft9 of speech, as he saw a tear glisten10 on her eyelid11; and as their eyes met she read into the agony that he was suffering because he had hurt her. It was then that Mary made that memorable12 observation, 'How do you do, Mr. Angus?'
 
They turned toward the castle doors, Nell and the baronet in front, and Rob blurted13 out some self-reproaches in sentences that had neither beginning nor end. Mary had told him not to take it so terribly to heart, but her voice trembled a little, for this had been a night of incident to her. Rob knew that it was for his sake she had checked that tear, and as he sat in his lodgings through the night he saw that she had put aside her own troubles to lessen14 his. When he thought of that he drew a great breath. The next moment his whole body shuddered15 to think what a brute16 he had been, and then she seemed to touch his elbow again, and he half rose from his chair in a transport.
 
As soon as he reached his lodgings Rob had taken up The Scorn of Scorns, which he had not yet returned to Mr. Licquorish, and re-read it in a daze17. There were things in it so beautiful now that they caught in his throat and stopped his reading; they took him so far into the thoughts of a girl that to go farther seemed like eavesdropping18. When he read it first The Scorn of Scorns had been written in a tongue Rob did not know, but now he had the key in his hands. There is a universal language that comes upon young people suddenly, and enables an English girl, for instance, to understand what a Chinaman means when he looks twice at her. Rob had mastered it so suddenly that he was only its slave at present. His horse had run away with him.
 
Had the critic of The Scorn of Scorns been a bald-headed man with two chins, who did not know the authoress, he would have smiled at the severity with which she took perfidious19 man to task, and written an indulgent criticism without reading beyond the second chapter. If he had been her father he would have laughed a good deal at her heroics, but now and again they would have touched him, and he would have locked the book away in his desk, seeing no particular cleverness in it, but feeling proud of his daughter. It would have brought such thoughts to him about his wife as suddenly fill a man with tenderness—thoughts he seldom gives expression to, though she would like to hear them.
 
Rob, however, drank in the book, his brain filled with the writer of it. It was about a young girl who had given her heart to a stranger, and one day when she was full of the joy of his love he had disappeared. She waited, wondering, fearing, and then her heart broke, and her only desire was to die. No one could account for the change that came over her, for she was proud, and her relatives were not sympathetic. She had no mother to go to, and her father could not have understood. She became listless, and though she smiled and talked to all, when she went to her solitary20 bed-chamber she turned her face in silence to the wall. Then a fever came to her, and after that she had to be taken to the Continent. What shook her listlessness was an accident to her father. It was feared that he was on his deathbed, and as she nursed him she saw that her life had been a selfish one. From that moment she resolved if he got better (is it not terrible this, that the best of us try to make terms with God?) to devote her life to him, and to lead a nobler existence among the poor and suffering ones at home. The sudden death of a relative who was not a good man frightened her so much that she became ill again, and now she was so fearful of being untruthful that she could not make a statement of fact without adding 'I think so,' under her breath. She let people take advantage of her lest she should be taking advantage of them, and when she passed a cripple on the road she walked very slowly so that he should not feel his infirmity.
 
Years afterwards she saw the man who had pretended to love her and then ridden away. He said that he could explain everything to her, and that he loved her still; but she drew herself up, and with a look of ineffable21 scorn, told him that she no longer loved him. When they first met, she said, she had been little more than a child, and so she had made an idol22 of him. But long since the idol had crumbled23 to pieces, and now she knew that she had worshipped a thing of clay. She wished him well, but she no longer loved him. As Lord Caltonbridge listened he knew that she spoke24 the truth, and his eyes drooped25 before her dignified26 but contemptuous gaze. Then, concludes the author, dwelling27 upon this little triumph with a satisfaction that hardly suggests a heart broken beyond mending, he turned upon his heel, at last realising what he was; and, feeling smaller and meaner than had been his wont28, left the Grange for the second and last time.
 
How much of this might be fiction, Rob was not in a mind to puzzle over. It seemed to him that the soul of a pure-minded girl had been laid bare to him. To look was almost a desecration29, and yet it was there whichever way he turned. A great longing30 rose in his heart to see Mary Abinger again and tell her what he thought of himself now. He rose and paced the floor, and the words he could not speak last night came to his lips in a torrent31. Like many men who live much alone, Rob often held imaginary conversations with persons far distant, and he denounced himself to this girl a score of times as he paced back and forwards. Always she looked at him in reply with that wonderful smile which had pleaded with him not to be unhappy on her account. Horrible fears laid hold of him that after the guests had departed she had gone to her room and wept. That villain32 Sir Clement33 had doubtless left the castle for the second and last time, 'feeling smaller and meaner than had been his wont' (Rob clenched34 his fists at the thought of him), but how could he dare to rage at the baronet when he had been as great a scoundrel himself? Rob looked about him for his hat; a power not to be resisted was drawing him back to Dome35 Castle.
 
He heard the clatter36 of crockery in the kitchen as he opened his door, and it recalled him to himself. At that moment it flashed upon him that he had forgotten to write any notice of Colonel Abinger's speech. He had neglected the office and come straight home. At any other time this would have startled him, but now it seemed the merest trifle. It passed for the moment from his mind, and its place was taken by the remembrance that his boots were muddy and his coat soaking. For the first time in his life the seriousness of going out with his hair unbrushed came home to him. He had hitherto been content to do little more than fling a comb at it once a day. Rob returned to his room, and, crossing to the mirror, looked anxiously into it to see what he was like. He took off his coat and brushed it vigorously.
 
Having laved his face, he opened his box, and produced from it two neckties, which he looked at for a long time before he could make up his mind which to wear. Then he changed his boots. When he had brushed his hat he remembered with anxiety some one on the Mirror's having asked him why he wore it so far back on his head. He tilted37 it forward, and carefully examined the effect in the looking-glass. Then forgetful that the sounds from the kitchen betokened38 the approach of breakfast, he hurried out of the house. It was a frosty morning, and already the streets were alive, but Rob looked at no one. For women in the abstract he now felt an unconscious pity, because they were all so very unlike Mary Abinger. He had grown so much in the night that the Rob Angus of the day before seemed but an acquaintance of his youth.
 
He was inside the grounds of Dome Castle again before he realised that he had no longer a right to be there. By fits and starts he remembered not to soil his boots. He might have been stopped at the lodge39, but at present it had no tenant40. A year before, Colonel Abinger had realised that he could not keep both a horse and a lodge-keeper, and that he could keep neither if his daughter did not part with her maid. He yielded to Miss Abinger's entreaties41, and kept the horse.
 
Rob went on at a swinging pace till he turned an abrupt42 corner of the walk and saw Dome Castle standing43 up before him. Then he started, and turned back hastily. This was not owing to his remembering that he was trespassing44, but because he had seen a young lady coming down the steps. Rob had walked five miles without his breakfast to talk to Miss Abinger, but as soon as he saw her he fled. When he came to himself he was so fearful of her seeing him, that he hurried behind a tree, where he had the appearance of a burglar.
 
Mary Abinger came quickly up the avenue, unconscious that she was watched, and Rob discovered in a moment that after all the prettiest thing about her was the way she walked. She carried a little basket in her hand, and her dress was a blending of brown and yellow, with a great deal of fur about the throat. Rob, however, did not take the dress into account until she had passed him, when, no longer able to see her face, he gazed with delight after her.
 
Had Rob been a lady he would probably have come to the conclusion that the reason why Miss Abinger wore all that fur instead of a jacket was because she knew it became her better. Perhaps it was. Even though a young lady has the satisfaction of feeling that her heart is now adamant45, that is no excuse for her dressing46 badly. Rob's opinion was that it would matter very little what she wore, because some pictures look lovely in any frame, but that was a point on which he and Miss Abinger always differed. Only after long consideration had she come to the conclusion that the hat she was now wearing was undoubtedly47 the shape that suited her best, and even yet she was ready to spend time in thinking about other shapes. What would have seemed even more surprising to Rob was that she had made up her mind that one side of her face was better than the other side.
 
No mere7 man, however, could ever have told which was the better side of Miss Abinger's face. It was a face to stir the conscience of a good man, and make unworthy men keep their distance, for it spoke first of purity, which can never be present anywhere without being felt. All men are born with a craving48 to find it, and they never look for it but among women. The strength of the craving is the measure of any man's capacity to love, and without it love on his side would be impossible.
 
Mary Abinger was fragile because she was so sensitive. She carried everywhere a fear to hurt the feelings of others, that was a bodkin at her heart. Men and women in general prefer to give and take. The keenness with which she felt necessitated49 the garment of reserve, which those who did not need it for themselves considered pride. Her weakness called for something to wrap it up. There were times when it pleased her to know that the disguise was effective, but not when it deceived persons she admired. The cynicism of The Scorn of Scorns was as much a cloak as her coldness, for she had an exquisite50 love of what is good and fine in life that idealised into heroes persons she knew or heard of as having a virtue51. It would have been cruel to her to say that there are no heroes. When she found how little of the heroic there was in Sir Clement Dowton she told herself that there are none, and sometimes other persons had made her repeat this since. She seldom reasoned about things, however, unless her feelings had been wounded, and soon again she was dreaming of the heroic. Heroes are people to love, and Mary's idea of what love must be would have frightened some persons from loving her. With most men affection for a woman is fed on her regard for them. Greatness in love is no more common than greatness in leading armies. Only the hundredth man does not prefer to dally52 where woman is easiest to win; most finding the maids of honour a satisfactory substitute for the princess. So the boy in the street prefers two poor apples to a sound one. It may be the secret of England's greatness.
 
On this Christmas Day Mary Abinger came up the walk rapidly, scorning herself for ever having admired Sir Clement Dowton. She did everything in the superlative degree, and so rather wondered that a thunderbolt was not sent direct from above to kill him—as if there were thunderbolts for every one. If we got our deserts most of us would be knocked on the head with a broomstick.
 
When she was out of sight, Rob's courage returned, and he remembered that he was there in the hope of speaking to her. He hurried up the walk after her, but when he neared her he fell back in alarm. His heart was beating violently. He asked himself in a quaver what it was that he had arranged to say first.
 
In her little basket Mary had Christmas presents for a few people, inhabitants of a knot of houses not far distant from the castle gates. They were her father's tenants53, and he rather enjoyed their being unable to pay much rent, it made them so dependent. Had Rob seen how she was received in some of these cottages, how she sat talking merrily with one bed-ridden old woman whom cheerfulness kept alive, and not only gave a disabled veteran a packet of tobacco, but filled his pipe for him, so that he gallantly54 said he was reluctant to smoke it (trust an old man for gallantry), and even ate pieces of strange cakes to please her hostesses, he would often have thought of it afterwards. However, it would have been unnecessary prodigality55 to show him that, for his mind was filled with the incomparable manner in which she knocked at doors and smiled when she came out. Once she dropped her basket, and he could remember nothing so exquisite as her way of picking it up.
 
Rob lurked56 behind trees and peered round hedges, watching Miss Abinger go from one house to another, but he could not shake himself free of the fear that all the world had its eye on him. Hitherto not his honesty but its bluntness had told against him (the honesty of a good many persons is only stupidity asserting itself), and now he had not the courage to be honest. When any wayfarers57 approached he whistled to the fields as if he had lost a dog in them, or walked smartly eastward58 (until he got round a corner) like one who was in a hurry to reach Silchester. He looked covertly59 at the few persons who passed him, to see if they were looking at him. A solitary crow fluttered into the air from behind a wall, and Rob started. In a night he had become self-conscious.
 
At last Mary turned homewards, with the sun in her face. Rob was moving toward the hamlet when he saw her, and in spite of himself he came to a dead stop. He knew that if she passed inside the gates of the castle his last chance of speaking to her was gone; but it was not that which made him keep his ground. He was shaking as the thin boards used to do when they shot past his circular saw. His mind, in short, had run away and left him.
 
On other occasions Mary would not have thought of doing more than bow to Rob, but he had Christmas Day in his favour, and she smiled.
 
'A happy Christmas to you, Mr. Angus,' she said, holding out her hand.
 
It was then that Rob lifted his hat, and overcame his upbringing. His unaccustomed fingers insisted on lifting it in such a cautious way that, in a court of law, it could have been argued that he was only planting it more firmly on his head. He did not do it well, but he did it. Some men would have succumbed60 altogether on realising so sharply that it is not women who are terrible, but a woman. Here is a clear case in which the part is greater than the whole.
 
Rob would have liked to wish Miss Abinger a happy Christmas too, but the words would not form, and had she chosen she could have left him looking very foolish. But Mary had blushed slightly when she caught sight of Rob standing helplessly in the middle of the road, and this meant that she understood what he was doing there. A girl can overlook a great deal in a man who admires her. She feels happier. It increases her self-respect. So Miss Abinger told him that, if the frost held, the snow would soon harden, but if a thaw61 came it would melt; and then Rob tore out of himself the words that tended to slip back as they reached his tongue.
 
'I don't know how I could have done it,' he said feebly, beginning at the end of what he had meant to say. There he stuck again.
 
Mary knew what he spoke of, and her pale face coloured. She shrank from talking of The Scorn of Scorns.
 
'Please don't let that trouble you,' she said, with an effort. 'I was really only a schoolgirl when I wrote it, and Miss Meredith got it printed recently as a birthday surprise for me. I assure you I would never have thought of publishing it myself for—for people to read. Schoolgirls, you know, Mr. Angus, are full of such silly sentiment.'
 
A breeze of indignation shook 'No, no!' out of Rob, but Mary did not heed62.
 
'I know better now,' she said; 'indeed, not even you, the hardest of my critics, sees more clearly than I the—the childishness of the book.'
 
Miss Abinger's voice faltered63 a very little, and Rob's sufferings allowed him to break out.
 
'No,' he said, with a look of appeal in his eyes that were as grey as hers, 'it was a madness that let me write like that. The Scorn of Scorns is the most beautiful, the tenderest——' He stuck once more. Miss Abinger could have helped him again, but she did not. Perhaps she wanted him to go on. He could not do so, but he repeated what he had said already, which may have been the next best thing to do.
 
'You do surprise me now, Mr. Angus,' said Mary, light-hearted all at once, 'for you know you scarcely wrote like that.'
 
'Ah, but I have read the book since I saw you,' Rob blurted out, 'and that has made such a difference.'
 
A wiser man might have said a more foolish thing. Mary looked up smiling. Her curiosity was aroused, and at once she became merciless. Hitherto she had only tried to be kind to Rob, but now she wanted to be kind to herself.
 
'You can hardly have re-read my story since last night,' she said, shaking her fair head demurely64.
 
'I read it all through the night,' exclaimed Rob, in such a tone that Mary started. She had no desire to change the conversation, however; she did not start so much as that.
 
'But you had to write papa's speech?' she said.
 
'I forgot to do it,' Rob answered awkwardly. His heart sank, for he saw that here was another cause he had given Miss Abinger to dislike him. Possibly he was wrong. There may be extenuating65 circumstances that will enable the best of daughters to overlook an affront66 to her father's speeches.
 
'But it was in the Mirror. I read it,' said Mary.
 
'Was it?' said Rob, considerably67 relieved. How it could have got there was less of a mystery to him than to her, for Protheroe had sub-edited so many speeches to tenants that in an emergency he could always guess at what the landlords said.
 
'It was rather short,' Mary admitted, 'compared with the report in the Argus. Papa thought——' She stopped hastily.
 
'He thought it should have been longer?' asked Rob. Then before he had time to think of it, he had told her of his first meeting with the colonel.
 
'I remember papa was angry at the time,' Mary said, 'but you need not have been afraid of his recognising you last night. He did recognise you.'
 
'Did he?'
 
'Yes; but you were his guest.'
 
Rob could not think of anything more to say, and he saw that Mary was about to bid him good-morning. He found himself walking with her in the direction of the castle gates.
 
'This scenery reminds me of Scotland,' he said.
 
'I love it,' said Mary (man's only excellence68 over woman is that his awe69 of this word prevents his using it so lightly), 'and I am glad that I shall be here until the season begins.'
 
Rob had no idea what the season was, but he saw that some time Mary would be going away, and his face said, what would he do then?
 
'Then I go to London with the Merediths,' she continued, adding thoughtfully, 'I suppose you mean to go to London, Mr. Angus? My brother says that all literary men drift there.'
 
'Yes, oh yes,' said Rob.
 
'Soon?'
 
'Immediately,' he replied recklessly.
 
They reached the gates, and, as Mary held out her hand, the small basket was tilted upon her arm, and a card fluttered out.
 
'It is a Christmas card a little boy in one of those houses gave me,' she said, as Rob returned it to her. 'Have you got many Christmas cards to-day, Mr. Angus?'
 
'None,' said Rob.
 
'Not even from your relatives?' asked Mary, beginning to pity him more than was necessary.
 
'I have no relatives,' he replied; 'they are all dead.'
 
'I was in Scotland two summers ago,' Mary said, very softly, 'at a place called Glen Quharity; papa was there shooting. But I don't suppose you know it?'
 
'Our Glen Quharity!' exclaimed Rob; 'why, you must have passed through Thrums?'
 
'We were several times in Thrums. Have you been there?'
 
'I was born in it; I was never thirty miles away from it until I came here.'
 
'Oh,' cried Mary, 'then you must be the literary——' She stopped and reddened.
 
'The literary saw-miller,' said Rob, finishing her sentence; 'that was what they called me, I know, at Glen Quharity Lodge.'
 
Mary looked up at him with a new interest, for when she was there Glen Quharity had been full of the saw-miller, who could not only talk in Greek, but had a reputation for tossing the caber.
 
'Papa told me some months ago,' she said, in surprise, 'that the liter——, that you had joined the Press in England, but he evidently did not know of your being in Silchester.'
 
'But how could he have known anything about me?' asked Rob, surprised in turn.
 
'This is so strange,' Mary answered. 'Why, papa takes credit for having got you your appointment on the press.'
 
'It was a minister, a Mr. Rorrison, who did that for me,' said Rob; 'indeed, he was so good that I could have joined the Press a year ago by his help, had not circumstances compelled me to remain at home.'
 
'I did not know the clergyman's name,' Mary said, 'but it was papa who spoke of you to him first. Don't you remember writing out this clergyman's sermon in shorthand, and a messenger's coming to you for your report on horseback next day?'
 
'Certainly I do,' said Rob, 'and he asked me to write it out in longhand as quickly as possible. That was how I got to know Mr. Rorrison; and, as I understood, he had sent for the report of the sermon, on hearing accidentally that I had taken it down, because he had some reason for wanting a copy of it.'
 
'Perhaps that was how it was told to you afterwards,' Mary said, 'but it was really papa who wanted the sermon.'
 
'I should like to know all about it,' Rob said, seeing that she hesitated. Colonel Abinger had not seemed to him the kind of man who would send a messenger on horseback about the country in quest of sermons.
 
'I am afraid,' Mary explained, 'that it arose out of a wager70. This clergyman was staying at the Lodge, but papa was the only other person there who would go as far as Thrums to hear him preach. I was not there that year, so I don't know why papa went, but when he returned he told the others that the sermon had been excellent. There is surely an English church in Thrums, for I am sure papa would not think a sermon excellent that was preached in a chapel71?'
 
'There is,' said Rob; 'but in Thrums it is called the chapel.'
 
'Well, some badinage72 arose out of papa's eulogy73, and it ended in a bet that he could not tell the others what this fine sermon was about. He was to get a night to think it over. Papa took the bet a little rashly, for when he put it to himself he found that he could not even remember the text. As he told me afterwards (here Mary smiled a little), he had a general idea of the sermon, but could not quite put it into words, and he was fearing that he would lose the wager (and be laughed at, which always vexes74 papa), when he heard of your report. So a messenger was sent to Thrums for it—and papa won his bet.'
 
'But how did Mr. Rorrison hear of my report, then?'
 
'Oh, I forgot; papa told him afterwards, and was so pleased with his victory, that when he heard Mr. Rorrison had influence with some press people, he suggested to him that something might be done for you.'
 
'This is strange,' said Rob, 'and perhaps the strangest thing about it is that if Colonel Abinger could identify me with the saw-miller, he would be sorry that he had interfered75.'
 
Mary saw the force of this so clearly that she could not contradict him.
 
'Surely,' she said, 'I heard when I was at the Lodge of your having a niece, and that you and the little child lived alone in the saw-mill?'
 
'Yes,' Rob answered hoarsely76, 'but she is dead. She wandered from home, and was found dead on a mountain-side.'
 
'Was it long ago?' asked Mary, very softly.
 
'Only a few months ago,' Rob said, making his answer as short as possible, for the death of Davy moved him still. 'She was only four years old.'
 
Mary's hand went half-way toward his involuntarily. His mouth was twitching77. He knew how good she was.
 
'That card,' he began, and hesitated.
 
'Oh, would you care to have it?' said Mary.
 
But just then Colonel Abinger walked into them, somewhat amazed to see his daughter talking to one of the lower orders. Neither Rob nor Mary had any inclination78 to tell him that this was the Scotsman he had befriended.
 
'This is Mr. Angus, papa,' said Mary, 'who—who was with us last night.'
 
'Mr. Angus and I have met before, I think,' replied her father, recalling the fishing episode. His brow darkened, and Rob was ready for anything, but Colonel Abinger was a gentleman.
 
'I always wanted to see you again, Mr. Angus,' he said, with an effort, 'to ask you—what flies you were using that day?'
 
Rob muttered something in answer, which the colonel did not try to catch. Mary smiled and bowed, and the next moment she had disappeared with her father down the avenue.
 
What followed cannot be explained. When Rob roused himself from his amazement79 at Mary Abinger's having been in Thrums without his feeling her presence, something made him go a few yards inside the castle grounds, and, lying lightly on the snow, he saw the Christmas card. He lifted it up as if it were a rare piece of china, and held it in his two hands as though it were a bird which might escape. He did not know whether it had dropped there of its own accord, and doubt and transport fought for victory on his face. At last he put the card exultingly80 into his pocket, his chest heaved, and he went toward Silchester whistling.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍
参考例句:
  • When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时,太阳已下山了。
  • I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。
2 hearth n5by9     
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面
参考例句:
  • She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来,在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
  • She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里,打开电灯。
3 speck sFqzM     
n.微粒,小污点,小斑点
参考例句:
  • I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
  • The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗,一星星云彩也没有。
4 ribs 24fc137444401001077773555802b280     
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹
参考例句:
  • He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
  • Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。
5 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
6 rapture 9STzG     
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜
参考例句:
  • His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
  • In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地,被他父亲打断了。
7 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
8 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
9 bereft ndjy9     
adj.被剥夺的
参考例句:
  • The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
  • She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。
10 glisten 8e2zq     
vi.(光洁或湿润表面等)闪闪发光,闪闪发亮
参考例句:
  • Dewdrops glisten in the morning sun.露珠在晨光下闪闪发光。
  • His sunken eyes glistened with delight.他凹陷的眼睛闪现出喜悦的光芒。
11 eyelid zlcxj     
n.眼睑,眼皮
参考例句:
  • She lifted one eyelid to see what he was doing.她抬起一只眼皮看看他在做什么。
  • My eyelid has been tumid since yesterday.从昨天起,我的眼皮就肿了。
12 memorable K2XyQ     
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的
参考例句:
  • This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
  • The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。
13 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 lessen 01gx4     
vt.减少,减轻;缩小
参考例句:
  • Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
  • They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。
15 shuddered 70137c95ff493fbfede89987ee46ab86     
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车,车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 brute GSjya     
n.野兽,兽性
参考例句:
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲,它咬人。
17 daze vnyzH     
v.(使)茫然,(使)发昏
参考例句:
  • The blow on the head dazed him for a moment.他头上受了一击后就昏眩了片刻。
  • I like dazing to sit in the cafe by myself on Sunday.星期日爱独坐人少的咖啡室发呆。
18 eavesdropping 4a826293c077353641ee3f86da957082     
n. 偷听
参考例句:
  • We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
  • Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间,一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。
19 perfidious aMVxa     
adj.不忠的,背信弃义的
参考例句:
  • Their feet will trample on the dead bodies of their perfidious aggressors.他们将从背信弃义的侵略者的尸体上踏过。
  • Your perfidious gossip is malicious and dangerous.你说的那些背信弃义的话是很刻毒险恶的。
20 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
参考例句:
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
21 ineffable v7Mxp     
adj.无法表达的,不可言喻的
参考例句:
  • The beauty of a sunset is ineffable.日落的美是难以形容的。
  • She sighed a sigh of ineffable satisfaction,as if her cup of happiness were now full.她发出了一声说不出多么满意的叹息,仿佛她的幸福之杯已经斟满了。
22 idol Z4zyo     
n.偶像,红人,宠儿
参考例句:
  • As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子,他是父母的宠儿。
  • Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。
23 crumbled 32aad1ed72782925f55b2641d6bf1516     
(把…)弄碎, (使)碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 衰落; 坍塌; 损坏
参考例句:
  • He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
  • Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了,我们的希望也破灭了。
24 spoke XryyC     
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:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
25 drooped ebf637c3f860adcaaf9c11089a322fa5     
弯曲或下垂,发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
  • The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。
26 dignified NuZzfb     
a.可敬的,高贵的
参考例句:
  • Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中,他始终沉默以保持尊严。
  • He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。
27 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
28 wont peXzFP     
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯
参考例句:
  • He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
  • It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。
29 desecration desecration     
n. 亵渎神圣, 污辱
参考例句:
  • Desecration, and so forth, and lectured you on dignity and sanctity. 比如亵渎神圣等。想用尊严和神圣不可侵犯之类的话来打动你们。
  • Desecration: will no longer break stealth. 亵渎:不再消除潜行。
30 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
31 torrent 7GCyH     
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发
参考例句:
  • The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
  • Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。
32 villain ZL1zA     
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因
参考例句:
  • He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
  • The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。
33 clement AVhyV     
adj.仁慈的;温和的
参考例句:
  • A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
  • The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。
34 clenched clenched     
v.紧握,抓紧,咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
  • She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上,以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
35 dome 7s2xC     
n.圆屋顶,拱顶
参考例句:
  • The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
  • They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。
36 clatter 3bay7     
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声
参考例句:
  • The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
  • Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。
37 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
38 betokened 375655c690bd96db4a8d7f827433e1e3     
v.预示,表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Nothing betokened that the man know anything of what had occurred. 显然那个人还不知道已经发生了什么事。 来自互联网
  • He addressed a few angry words to her that betokened hostility. 他对她说了几句预示敌意的愤怒的话。 来自互联网
39 lodge q8nzj     
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆
参考例句:
  • Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗?
  • I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
40 tenant 0pbwd     
n.承租人;房客;佃户;v.租借,租用
参考例句:
  • The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
  • The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。
41 entreaties d56c170cf2a22c1ecef1ae585b702562     
n.恳求,乞求( entreaty的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He began with entreaties and ended with a threat. 他先是恳求,最后是威胁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves. 暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
42 abrupt 2fdyh     
adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的
参考例句:
  • The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
  • His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。
43 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
44 trespassing a72d55f5288c3d37c1e7833e78593f83     
[法]非法入侵
参考例句:
  • He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
  • Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。
45 adamant FywzQ     
adj.坚硬的,固执的
参考例句:
  • We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上,我们是坚定不移的。
  • Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。
46 dressing 1uOzJG     
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
参考例句:
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
47 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
adv.确实地,无疑地
参考例句:
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
48 craving zvlz3e     
n.渴望,热望
参考例句:
  • a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
  • She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐,以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。
49 necessitated 584daebbe9eef7edd8f9bba973dc3386     
使…成为必要,需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Recent financial scandals have necessitated changes in parliamentary procedures. 最近的金融丑闻使得议会程序必须改革。
  • No man is necessitated to do wrong. 没有人是被迫去作错事的。
50 exquisite zhez1     
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的
参考例句:
  • I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
  • I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。
51 virtue BpqyH     
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力
参考例句:
  • He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
  • You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。
52 dally savyU     
v.荒废(时日),调情
参考例句:
  • You should not dally away your time.你不应该浪费时间。
  • One shouldn't dally with a girl's affection.一个人不该玩弄女孩子的感情。
53 tenants 05662236fc7e630999509804dd634b69     
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 );佃户;占用者;占有者
参考例句:
  • A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
  • Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
54 gallantly gallantly     
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地
参考例句:
  • He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
  • The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。
55 prodigality f35869744d1ab165685c3bd77da499e1     
n.浪费,挥霍
参考例句:
  • Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality. 笑声每时每刻都变得越来越容易,毫无节制地倾泻出来。 来自辞典例句
  • Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. 笑声每时每刻都变得越来越容易,毫无节制地倾泻出来,只要一句笑话就会引起哄然大笑。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
56 lurked 99c07b25739e85120035a70192a2ec98     
vi.潜伏,埋伏(lurk的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
57 wayfarers 5b83a53359339df3a654f636c175908f     
n.旅人,(尤指)徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Days have been when wayfarers came here to wash their weary feet. 从前曾有过路人到这里来洗疲乏的脚。 来自互联网
  • You are the way and the wayfarers. 你们是道路,也是行路者。 来自互联网
58 eastward CrjxP     
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部
参考例句:
  • The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
  • The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去,他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。
59 covertly 9vgz7T     
adv.偷偷摸摸地
参考例句:
  • Naval organizations were covertly incorporated into civil ministries. 各种海军组织秘密地混合在各民政机关之中。 来自辞典例句
  • Modern terrorism is noteworthy today in that it is being done covertly. 现代的恐怖活动在今天是值得注意的,由于它是秘密进行的。 来自互联网
60 succumbed 625a9b57aef7b895b965fdca2019ba63     
不再抵抗(诱惑、疾病、攻击等)( succumb的过去式和过去分词 ); 屈从; 被压垮; 死
参考例句:
  • The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
  • After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后,该城终于屈服了。
61 thaw fUYz5     
v.(使)融化,(使)变得友善;n.融化,缓和
参考例句:
  • The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
  • The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。
62 heed ldQzi     
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心
参考例句:
  • You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
  • For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。
63 faltered d034d50ce5a8004ff403ab402f79ec8d     
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃
参考例句:
  • He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
  • "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着:“这孩子脑袋真长。”
64 demurely demurely     
adv.装成端庄地,认真地
参考例句:
  • "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额,像个好哥哥那样,"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘(部分)
  • Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛,低声细语,或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分
65 extenuating extenuating     
adj.使减轻的,情有可原的v.(用偏袒的辩解或借口)减轻( extenuate的现在分词 );低估,藐视
参考例句:
  • There were extenuating circumstances and the defendant did not receive a prison sentence. 因有可减轻罪行的情节被告未被判刑。
  • I do not plead any extenuating act. 我不求宽大,也不要求减刑。 来自演讲部分
66 affront pKvy6     
n./v.侮辱,触怒
参考例句:
  • Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
  • This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。
67 considerably 0YWyQ     
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上
参考例句:
  • The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
  • The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。
68 excellence ZnhxM     
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德
参考例句:
  • His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
  • My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。
69 awe WNqzC     
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
参考例句:
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
70 wager IH2yT     
n.赌注;vt.押注,打赌
参考例句:
  • They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
  • I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。
71 chapel UXNzg     
n.小教堂,殡仪馆
参考例句:
  • The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
  • She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午,她在小教堂的演出,可以说是登峰造极。
72 badinage CPMy8     
n.开玩笑,打趣
参考例句:
  • When he reached the gate,there was the usual badinage with Charlie.当他来到公园大门时, 还是与往常一样和查理开玩笑。
  • For all the forced badinag,it was an awkward meal.大家尽管勉强地说说笑笑,这顿饭依旧吃得很别扭。
73 eulogy 0nuxj     
n.颂词;颂扬
参考例句:
  • He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
  • Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。
74 vexes 4f0f7f99f8f452d30f9a07df682cc9e2     
v.使烦恼( vex的第三人称单数 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论
参考例句:
  • Her continuous chatter vexes me. 她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • His continuous chatter vexes me. 他唠叨不休,真烦死我了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
75 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
76 hoarsely hoarsely     
adv.嘶哑地
参考例句:
  • "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
  • Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
77 twitching 97f99ba519862a2bc691c280cee4d4cf     
n.颤搐
参考例句:
  • The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
78 inclination Gkwyj     
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好
参考例句:
  • She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
  • I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。
79 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
80 exultingly d8336e88f697a028c18f72beef5fc083     
兴高采烈地,得意地
参考例句:
  • It was exultingly easy. 这容易得让人雀跃。
  • I gave him a cup of tea while the rest exultingly drinking aquavit. 当别人继续兴高采烈地喝着白兰地的时候,我随手为那位朋友端去了一杯热茶。


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