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CHAPTER VIII IN FLEET STREET
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 Mary was wrong. It was quite true that Rob had run away to London without paying his landlady1's bill.
 
The immediate2 result of his meeting with Miss Abinger had been to make him undertake double work, and not do it. Looking in at shop-windows, where he saw hats that he thought would just suit Mary (he had a good deal to learn yet), it came upon him that he was wasting his time. Then he hurried home, contemptuous of all the rest of Silchester, to write an article for a London paper, and when he next came to himself, half an hour afterwards, he was sitting before a blank sheet of copy paper. He began to review a book, and found himself gazing at a Christmas card. He tried to think out the action of a government, and thought out a ring on Miss Abinger's finger instead. Three nights running he dreamt that he was married, and woke up quaking.
 
Without much misgiving3 Rob heard it said in Silchester that there was some one staying at Dome4 Castle who was to be its mistress's husband. On discovering that they referred to Dowton, and not being versed5 in the wonderful ways of woman, he told himself that this was impossible. A cynic would have pointed6 out that Mary had now had several days in which to change her mind. Cynics are persons who make themselves the measure of other people.
 
The philosopher who remarked that the obvious truths are those which are most often missed, was probably referring to the time it takes a man to discover that he is in love. Women are quicker because they are on the outlook. It took Rob two days, and when it came upon him checked his breathing. After that he bore it like a man. Another discovery he had to make was that, after all, he was nobody in particular. This took him longer.
 
Although the manner of his going to London was unexpected, Rob had thought out solidly the inducements to go. Ten minutes or so after he knew that he wanted to marry Mary Abinger, he made up his mind to try to do it. The only obstacles he saw in his way were, that she was not in love with him, and lack of income. Feeling that he was an uncommon7 type of man (if people would only see it), he resolved to remove this second difficulty first. The saw-mill and the castle side by side did not rise up and frighten him, and for the time he succeeded in not thinking about Colonel Abinger. Nothing is hopeless if we want it very much.
 
Rob calculated that if he remained on the Mirror for another dozen years or so, and Mr. Licquorish continued to think that it would not be cheaper to do without him, he might reach a salary of £200 per annum. As that was not sufficient, he made up his mind to leave Silchester.
 
There was only one place to go to. Rob thought of London until he felt that it was the guardian8 from whom he would have to ask Mary Abinger; he pictured her there during the season, until London, which he had never seen, began to assume a homely9 aspect. It was the place in which he was to win or lose his battle. To whom is London much more? It is the clergyman's name for his church, the lawyer's for his office, the politician's for St. Stephen's, the cabman's for his stand.
 
There was not a man on the Press in Silchester who did not hunger for Fleet Street, but they were all afraid to beard it. They knew it as a rabbit-warren; as the closest street in a city where the bootblack has his sycophants10, and you have to battle for exclusive right to sweep a crossing. The fight forward had been grimmer to Rob, however, than to his fellows, and he had never been quite beaten. He was alone in the world, and poverty was like an old friend. There was only one journalist in London whom he knew even by name, and he wrote to him for advice. This was Mr. John Rorrison, a son of the minister whose assistance had brought Rob to Silchester. Rorrison was understood to be practically editing a great London newspaper, which is what is understood of a great many journalists until you make inquiries11, but he wrote back to Rob asking him why he wanted to die before his time. You collectors who want an editor's autograph may rely upon having it by return of post if you write threatening to come to London with the hope that he will do something for you. Rorrison's answer discomfited12 Rob for five minutes, and then, going out, he caught a glimpse of Mary Abinger in the Merediths' carriage. He tore up the letter, and saw that London was worth risking.
 
One forenoon Rob set out for the office to tell Mr. Licquorish of his determination. He knew that the entire staff would think him demented, but he could not see that he was acting13 rashly. He had worked it all out in his mind, and even tranquilly14 faced possible starvation. Rob was congratulating himself on not having given way to impulse when he reached the railway station.
 
His way from his lodgings15 to the office led past the station, and as he had done scores of times before, he went inside. To Rob all the romance of Silchester was concentrated there; nothing stirred him so much as a panting engine; the shunting of carriages, the bustle16 of passengers, the porters rattling17 to and fro with luggage, the trains twisting serpent-like into the station and stealing out in a glory to be gone, sent the blood to his head. On Saturday nights, when he was free, any one calling at the station would have been sure to find him on the platform from which the train starts for London. His heart had sunk every time it went off without him.
 
Rob woke up from a dream of Fleet Street to see the porters slamming the doors of the London train. He saw the guard's hand upraised, and heard the carriages rattle18 as the restive19 engine took them unawares. Then came the warning whistle, and the train moved off. For a second of time Rob felt that he had lost London, and he started forward. Some one near him shouted, and then he came upon the train all at once, a door opened, and he shot in. When he came to himself, Silchester was a cloud climbing to the sky behind him, and he was on his way to London.
 
Rob's first feeling was that the other people in the carriage must know what he had done. He was relieved to find that his companions were only an old gentleman who spoke20 fiercely to his newspaper because it was reluctant to turn inside out, a little girl who had got in at Silchester and consumed thirteen halfpenny buns before she was five miles distant from it, and a young woman, evidently a nurse, with a baby in her arms. The baby was noisy for a time, but Rob gave it a look that kept it silent for the rest of the journey. He told himself that he would get out at the first station, but when the train stopped at it he sat on. He twisted himself into a corner to count his money covertly21, and found that it came to four pounds odd. He also took the Christmas card from his pocket, but replaced it hastily, feeling that the old gentleman and the little girl were looking at him. A feeling of elation22 grew upon him as he saw that whatever might happen afterwards he must be in London shortly, and his mind ran on the letters he would write to Mr. Licquorish and his landlady. In lieu of his ticket he handed over twelve shillings to the guard, under whose eyes he did not feel comfortable, and he calculated that he owed his landlady over two pounds. He would send it to her and ask her to forward his things to London. Mr. Licquorish, however, might threaten him with the law if he did not return. But then the Mirror owed Rob several pounds at that moment, and if he did not claim it in person it would remain in Mr. Licquorish's pockets. There was no saying how far that consideration would affect the editor. Rob saw a charge of dishonesty rise up and confront him, and he drew back from it. A moment afterwards he looked it in the face, and it receded23. He took his pipe from his pocket.
 
'This is not a smoking carriage,' gasped24 the little girl, so promptly25 that it almost seemed as if she had been waiting her opportunity ever since the train started. Rob looked at her. She seemed about eight, but her eye was merciless. He thrust his pipe back into its case, feeling cowed at last.
 
The nurse, who had been looking at Rob and blushing when she caught his eye, got out with her charge at a side station, and he helped her rather awkwardly to alight. 'Don't mention it,' he said, in answer to her thanks.
 
'Not a word; I'm not that kind,' she replied, so eagerly that he started back in alarm, to find the little girl looking suspiciously at him.
 
As Rob stepped out of the train at King's Cross he realised sharply that he was alone in the world. He did not know where to go now, and his heart sank for a time as he paced the platform irresolutely26, feeling that it was his last link to Silchester. He turned into the booking-office to consult a time-table, and noticed against the wall a railway map of London. For a long time he stood looking at it, and as he traced the river, the streets familiar to him by name, the districts and buildings which were household words to him, he felt that he must live in London somehow. He discovered Fleet Street in the map, and studied the best way of getting to it from King's Cross. Then grasping his stick firmly, he took possession of London as calmly as he could.
 
Rob never found any difficulty afterwards in picking out the shabby eating-house in which he had his first meal in London. Gray's Inn Road remained to him always its most romantic street because he went down it first. He walked into the roar of London in Holborn, and never forgot the alley27 into which he retreated to discover if he had suddenly become deaf. He wondered when the crowd would pass. Years afterwards he turned into Fetter28 Lane, and suddenly there came back to his mind the thoughts that had held him as he went down it the day he arrived in London.
 
A certain awe29 came upon Rob as he went down Fleet Street on the one side and up it on the other. He could not resist looking into the faces of the persons who passed him, and wondering if they edited the Times. The lean man who was in such a hurry that wherever he had to go he would soon be there, might be a man of letters whom Rob knew by heart, but perhaps he was only a broken journalist with his eye on half a crown. The mild-looking man whom Rob smiled at because, when he was half way across the street, he lost his head and was chased out of sight by half a dozen hansom cabs, was a war correspondent who had been so long in Africa that the perils30 of a London crossing unmanned him. The youth who was on his way home with a pork chop in his pocket edited a society journal. Rob did not recognise a distinguished31 poet in a little stout32 man who was looking pensively33 at a barrowful of walnuts34, and he was mistaken in thinking that the bearded gentleman who held his head so high must be somebody in particular. Rob observed a pale young man gazing wistfully at him, and wondered if he was a thief or a sub-editor. He was merely an aspirant35 who had come to London that morning to make his fortune, and he took Rob for a leader-writer at the least. The offices, however, and even the public buildings, the shops, the narrowness of the streets, all disappointed Rob. The houses seemed squeezed together for economy of space, like a closed concertina. Nothing quite fulfilled his expectations but the big letter holes in the district postal36 offices. He had not been sufficiently37 long in London to feel its greatest charm, which has been expressed in many ways by poet, wit, business man, and philosopher, but comes to this, that it is the only city in the world in whose streets you can eat penny buns without people's turning round to look at you.
 
In a few days Rob was part of London. His Silchester landlady had forwarded him his things, and Mr. Licquorish had washed his hands of him. The editor of the Mirror's letter amounted to a lament38 that a man whom he had allowed to do two men's work for half a man's wages should have treated him thus. Mr. Licquorish, however, had conceived the idea of 'forcing' John Milton, and so saving a reporter, and he did not insist on Rob's returning. He expressed a hope that his ex-reporter would do well in London, and a fear, amounting to a conviction, that he would not. But he sent the three pounds due to him in wages, pointing out, justifiably39 enough, that, strictly40 speaking, Rob owed him a month's salary. Rob had not expected such liberality, and from that time always admitted that there must have been a heroic vein41 in Mr. Licquorish after all.
 
Rob established himself in a little back room in Islington, so small that a fairly truthful42 journalist might have said of it, in an article, that you had to climb the table to reach the fireplace, and to lift out the easy-chair before you could get out at the door. The room was over a grocer's shop, whose window bore the announcement: 'Eggs, new laid, 1s. 3d.; eggs, fresh, 1s. 2d.; eggs, warranted, 1s.; eggs, 10d.' A shop across the way hinted at the reputation of the neighbourhood in the polite placard, 'Trust in the Lord: every other person cash.'
 
The only ornament43 Rob added to the room was the Christmas card in a frame. He placed this on his mantelpiece and looked at it frequently, but when he heard his landlady coming he slipped it back into his pocket. Yet he would have liked at times to have the courage to leave it there. Though he wanted to be a literary man he began his career in London with a little sense, for he wrote articles to editors instead of calling at the offices, and he had the good fortune to have no introductions. The only pressman who ever made anything by insisting on seeing the editor, was one—a Scotsman, no doubt—who got him alone and threatened to break his head if he did not find an opening for him. The editor saw that this was the sort of man who had made up his mind to get on, and yielded.
 
During his first month in London Rob wrote thirty articles, and took them to the different offices in order to save the postage. There were many other men in the streets at night doing the same thing. He got fifteen articles back by return of post, and never saw the others again. But here was the stuff Rob was made of. The thirty having been rejected, he dined on bread-and-cheese and began the thirty-first. It was accepted by the Minotaur, a weekly paper. Rob drew a sigh of exultation44 as he got his first proof in London, and remembered that he had written the article in two hours. The payment, he understood, would be two pounds at least, and at the rate of two articles a day, working six days a week, this would mean over six hundred a year. Rob had another look at the Christmas card, and thought it smiled. Every man is a fool now and then.
 
Except to his landlady, who thought that he dined out, Rob had not spoken to a soul since he arrived in London. To celebrate his first proof he resolved to call on Rorrison. He had not done so earlier because he thought that Rorrison would not be glad to see him. Though he had kept his disappointments to himself, however, he felt that he must remark casually45 to some one that he was writing for the Minotaur.
 
Rorrison had chambers46 at the top of one of the Inns of Court, and as he had sported his oak, Rob ought not to have knocked. He knew no better, however, and Rorrison came grumbling47 to the door. He was a full-bodied man of middle age, with a noticeably heavy chin, and wore a long dressing-gown.
 
'I'm Angus from Silchester,' Rob explained.
 
Rorrison's countenance48 fell. His occupation largely consisted in avoiding literary young men, who, he knew, were thirsting to take him aside and ask him to get them sub-editorships.
 
'I'm glad to see you,' he said gloomily; 'come in.'
 
What Rob first noticed in the sitting-room49 was that it was all in shadow, except one corner, whose many colours dazzled the eye. Suspended over this part of the room on a gas bracket was a great Japanese umbrella without a handle. This formed an awning50 for a large cane51 chair and a tobacco-table, which also held a lamp, and Rorrison had been lolling on the chair looking at a Gladstone bag on the hearthrug until he felt that he was busy packing.
 
'Mind the umbrella,' he said to his visitor.
 
The next moment a little black hole that had been widening in the Japanese paper just above the lamp cracked and broke, and a tongue of flame swept up the umbrella. Rob sprang forward in horror, but Rorrison only sighed.
 
'That makes the third this week,' he said, 'but let it blaze. I used to think they would set the place on fire, but somehow they don't do it. Don't give the thing the satisfaction of seeming to notice it.'
 
The umbrella had been frizzled in a second, and its particles were already trembling through the room like flakes52 of snow.
 
'You have just been in time to find me,' Rorrison said; 'I start to-morrow afternoon for Egypt in the special correspondent business.'
 
'I envy you,' said Rob, and then told the manner of his coming to London.
 
'It was a mad thing to do,' said Rorrison, looking at him not without approval, 'but the best journalists frequently begin in that way. I suppose you have been besieging53 the newspaper offices since you arrived; any result?'
 
'I had a proof from the Minotaur this evening,' said Rob.
 
Rorrison blew some rings of smoke into the air and ran his finger through them. Then he turned proudly to Rob, and saw that Rob was looking proudly at him.
 
'Ah, what did you say?' asked Rorrison.
 
'The Minotaur has accepted one of my things,' said Rob.
 
Rorrison said 'Hum,' and then hesitated.
 
'It is best that you should know the truth,' he said at last. 'No doubt you expect to be paid by the Minotaur, but I am afraid there is little hope of that—unless you dun them. A friend of mine sent them something lately, and Roper (the editor, you know) wrote asking him for more. He sent two or three other things, and then called at the office, expecting to be paid.'
 
'Was he not?'
 
'On the contrary,' said Rorrison, 'Roper asked him for the loan of five pounds.'
 
Rob's face grew so long that even the hardened Rorrison tried to feel for him.
 
'You need not let an experience that every one has to pass through dishearten you,' he said. 'There are only about a dozen papers in London that are worth writing for, but I can give you a good account of them. Not only do they pay handsomely, but the majority are open to contributions from any one. Don't you believe what one reads about newspaper rings. Every thing sent in is looked at, and if it is suitable any editor is glad to have it. Men fail to get a footing on the Press because—well, as a rule, because they are stupid.'
 
'I am glad to hear you say that,' said Rob, 'and yet I had thirty articles rejected before the Minotaur accepted that one.'
 
'Yes, and you will have another thirty rejected if they are of the same kind. You beginners seem able to write nothing but your views on politics, and your reflections on art, and your theories of life, which you sometimes even think original. Editors won't have that because their readers don't want it. Every paper has its regular staff of leader-writers, and what is wanted from the outside is freshness. An editor tosses aside your column and a half about evolution, but is glad to have a paragraph saying that you saw Herbert Spencer the day before yesterday gazing solemnly for ten minutes in at a milliner's window. Fleet Street at this moment is simply running with men who want to air their views about things in general.'
 
'I suppose so,' said Rob dolefully.
 
'Yes, and each thinks himself as original as he is profound, though they have only to meet to discover that they repeat each other. The pity of it is, that all of them could get on to some extent if they would send in what is wanted. There is copy in every man you meet, and, as a journalist on this stair says, when you do meet him you feel inclined to tear it out of him and use it yourself.'
 
'What sort of copy?' asked Rob.
 
'They should write of the things they have seen. Newspaper readers have an insatiable appetite for knowing how that part of the world lives with which they are not familiar. They want to know how the Norwegians cook their dinners and build their houses, and ask each other in marriage.'
 
'But I have never been out of Britain.'
 
'Neither was Shakspeare. There are thousands of articles in Scotland yet. You must know a good deal about the Scottish weavers—well, there are articles in them. Describe the daily life of a gillie: "The Gillie at Home" is a promising54 title. Were you ever snowed up in your saw-mill? Whether you were or not, there is a seasonable subject for January. "Yule in a Scottish Village" also sounds well, and there is a safe article in a Highland55 gathering56.'
 
'These must have been done before, though,' said Rob.
 
'Of course they have,' answered Rorrison; 'but do them in your own way: the public has no memory, and besides, new publics are always springing up.'
 
'I am glad I came to see you,' said Rob, brightening considerably57; 'I never thought of these things.'
 
'Of course you need not confine yourself to them. Write on politics if you will, but don't merely say what you yourself think; rather tell, for instance, what is the political situation in the country parts known to you. That should be more interesting and valuable than your individual views. But I may tell you that, if you have the journalistic faculty58, you will always be on the look-out for possible articles. The man on the stair I have mentioned to you would have had an article out of you before he had talked with you as long as I have done. You must have heard of Noble Simms?'
 
'Yes, I know his novel,' said Rob; 'I should like immensely to meet him.'
 
'I must leave you an introduction to him,' said Rorrison; 'he wakens most people up, though you would scarcely think it to look at him. You see this pipe here? Simms saw me mending it with sealing-wax one day, and two days afterwards there was an article about it in the Scalping Knife. When I went off for my holidays last summer I asked him to look in here occasionally and turn a new cheese which had been sent me from the country. Of course he forgot to do it, but I denounced him on my return for not keeping his solemn promise, so he revenged himself by publishing an article entitled "Rorrison's Oil-Painting." In this it was explained that just before Rorrison went off for a holiday he got a present of an oil-painting. Remembering when he had got to Paris that the painting, which was come to him wet from the easel, had been left lying on his table, he telegraphed to the writer to have it put away out of reach of dust and the cat. The writer promised to do so, but when Rorrison returned he found the picture lying just where he left it. He rushed off to his friend's room to upbraid59 him, and did it so effectually that the friend says in his article, "I will never do a good turn for Rorrison again!"'
 
'But why,' asked Rob, 'did he turn the cheese into an oil-painting?'
 
'Ah, there you have the journalistic instinct again. You see a cheese is too plebeian60 a thing to form the subject of an article in the Scalping Knife, so Simms made a painting of it. He has had my Chinese umbrella from several points of view in three different papers. When I play on his piano I put scraps61 of paper on the notes to guide me, and he made his three guineas out of that. Once I challenged him to write an article on a straw that was sticking to the sill of my window, and it was one of the most interesting things he ever did. Then there was the box of old clothes and other odds62 and ends that he promised to store for me when I changed my rooms. He sold the lot to a hawker for a pair of flower-pots, and wrote an article on the transaction. Subsequently he had another article on the flower-pots; and when I appeared to claim my belongings63 he got a third article out of that.'
 
'I suppose he reads a great deal?' said Rob.
 
'He seldom opens a book,' answered Rorrison; 'indeed, when he requires to consult a work of reference he goes to the Strand64 and does his reading at a bookstall. I don't think he was ever in the British Museum.'
 
Rob laughed.
 
'At the same time,' he said, 'I don't think Mr. Noble Simms could get any copy out of me.'
 
Just then some one shuffled65 into the passage, and the door opened.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 landlady t2ZxE     
n.女房东,女地主
参考例句:
  • I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
  • The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。
2 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
3 misgiving tDbxN     
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕
参考例句:
  • She had some misgivings about what she was about to do.她对自己即将要做的事情存有一些顾虑。
  • The first words of the text filled us with misgiving.正文开头的文字让我们颇为担心。
4 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。
5 versed bffzYC     
adj. 精通,熟练
参考例句:
  • He is well versed in history.他精通历史。
  • He versed himself in European literature. 他精通欧洲文学。
6 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
7 uncommon AlPwO     
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的
参考例句:
  • Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
  • Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
8 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
9 homely Ecdxo     
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的
参考例句:
  • We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
  • Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭,好吗?
10 sycophants 030dd4932ede159d532ae3f34fad81cd     
n.谄媚者,拍马屁者( sycophant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The office is a menagerie of egotists and sycophants. 该办公室乃是自私者与谄媚者汇集之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They even praise such a disappointing program, they really are sycophants. 这么差劲的节目也有人夸赞,真是捧臭脚! 来自互联网
11 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
12 discomfited 97ac63c8d09667b0c6e9856f9e80fe4d     
v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词);使狼狈;使挫折;挫败
参考例句:
  • He was discomfited by the unexpected questions. 意料不到的问题使得他十分尴尬。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He will be particularly discomfited by the minister's dismissal of his plan. 部长对他计划的不理会将使他特别尴尬。 来自辞典例句
13 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
14 tranquilly d9b4cfee69489dde2ee29b9be8b5fb9c     
adv. 宁静地
参考例句:
  • He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子,一声不响地干了起来。
  • The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。
15 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。
16 bustle esazC     
v.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;n.忙碌;喧闹
参考例句:
  • The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深,喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
  • There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。
17 rattling 7b0e25ab43c3cc912945aafbb80e7dfd     
adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词
参考例句:
  • This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
  • At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时,一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来,把窗玻璃震得当当地响。
18 rattle 5Alzb     
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓
参考例句:
  • The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓,笑着叫着。
  • She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。
19 restive LWQx4     
adj.不安宁的,不安静的
参考例句:
  • The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
  • The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。
20 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。
21 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
22 elation 0q9x7     
n.兴高采烈,洋洋得意
参考例句:
  • She showed her elation at having finally achieved her ambition.最终实现了抱负,她显得十分高兴。
  • His supporters have reacted to the news with elation.他的支持者听到那条消息后兴高采烈。
23 receded a802b3a97de1e72adfeda323ad5e0023     
v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题
参考例句:
  • The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
  • The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。
24 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
25 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
26 irresolutely bd48a0849e0a868390b09177fd05c8ef     
adv.优柔寡断地
参考例句:
  • He followed irresolutely for a little distance, half a pace behind her. 他犹豫地跟了短短的一段距离,落在她身后半步路。 来自英汉文学
  • She arose and stood irresolutely at the foot of the stairs. 她起身来到楼梯脚下,犹豫不定地站在那里。 来自飘(部分)
27 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
28 fetter Vzbyf     
n./vt.脚镣,束缚
参考例句:
  • This does not mean that we wish to fetter the trade union movement.这并不意味着我们想限制工会运动。
  • Reform will be deepened to remove the institutional obstacles that fetter the development of productive forces.继续深化改革,突破束缚生产力发展的体制性障碍。
29 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。
30 perils 3c233786f6fe7aad593bf1198cc33cbe     
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境)
参考例句:
  • The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
  • With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难?
31 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
33 pensively 0f673d10521fb04c1a2f12fdf08f9f8c     
adv.沉思地,焦虑地
参考例句:
  • Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句
  • "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉,真的,"嘉莉幽幽地说,"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
34 walnuts 465c6356861ea8aca24192b9eacd42e8     
胡桃(树)( walnut的名词复数 ); 胡桃木
参考例句:
  • Are there walnuts in this sauce? 这沙司里面有核桃吗?
  • We ate eggs and bacon, pickled walnuts and cheese. 我们吃鸡蛋,火腿,腌胡桃仁和干酪。
35 aspirant MNpz5     
n.热望者;adj.渴望的
参考例句:
  • Any aspirant to the presidency here must be seriously rich.要想当这儿的主席一定要家财万贯。
  • He is among the few aspirants with administrative experience.他是为数不多的几个志向远大而且有管理经验的人之一。
36 postal EP0xt     
adj.邮政的,邮局的
参考例句:
  • A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
  • Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。
37 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
38 lament u91zi     
n.悲叹,悔恨,恸哭;v.哀悼,悔恨,悲叹
参考例句:
  • Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
  • We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。
39 justifiably ap9zrc     
adv.无可非议地
参考例句:
  • There General Walters would come aboard to greet me, justifiably beaming with pride at his arrangement. 在那儿沃尔特斯将军会登上飞机来接我,理所当然为他们的安排感到洋洋得意。 来自辞典例句
  • The Chinese seemed justifiably proud of their economic achievements. 中国人似乎为他们的经济成就感到自豪,这是无可非议的。 来自互联网
40 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
41 vein fi9w0     
n.血管,静脉;叶脉,纹理;情绪;vt.使成脉络
参考例句:
  • The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
  • The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。
42 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的,说实话的,诚实的
参考例句:
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心,他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
43 ornament u4czn     
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物
参考例句:
  • The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
  • She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。
44 exultation wzeyn     
n.狂喜,得意
参考例句:
  • It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字,他屏住呼吸,乐得脸上放光。
  • He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。
45 casually UwBzvw     
adv.漠不关心地,无动于衷地,不负责任地
参考例句:
  • She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
  • I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。
46 chambers c053984cd45eab1984d2c4776373c4fe     
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅
参考例句:
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间:Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
47 grumbling grumbling     
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的
参考例句:
  • She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
  • We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。
48 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同
参考例句:
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
49 sitting-room sitting-room     
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室
参考例句:
  • The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
  • Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。
50 awning LeVyZ     
n.遮阳篷;雨篷
参考例句:
  • A large green awning is set over the glass window to shelter against the sun.在玻璃窗上装了个绿色的大遮棚以遮挡阳光。
  • Several people herded under an awning to get out the shower.几个人聚集在门栅下避阵雨
51 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
52 flakes d80cf306deb4a89b84c9efdce8809c78     
小薄片( flake的名词复数 ); (尤指)碎片; 雪花; 古怪的人
参考例句:
  • It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
  • It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。
53 besieging da68b034845622645cf85414165b9e31     
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • They constituted a near-insuperable obstacle to the besieging infantry. 它们就会形成围城步兵几乎不可逾越的障碍。
  • He concentrated the sun's rays on the Roman ships besieging the city and burned them. 他把集中的阳光照到攻城的罗马船上,把它们焚毁。
54 promising BkQzsk     
adj.有希望的,有前途的
参考例句:
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
55 highland sdpxR     
n.(pl.)高地,山地
参考例句:
  • The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
  • The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林,一直都是黑熊的避难所。
56 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
57 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。
58 faculty HhkzK     
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员
参考例句:
  • He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
  • He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。
59 upbraid jUNzP     
v.斥责,责骂,责备
参考例句:
  • The old man upbraided him with ingratitude.那位老人斥责他忘恩负义。
  • His wife set about upbraiding him for neglecting the children.他妻子开始指责他不照顾孩子。
60 plebeian M2IzE     
adj.粗俗的;平民的;n.平民;庶民
参考例句:
  • He is a philosophy professor with a cockney accent and an alarmingly plebeian manner.他是个有一口伦敦土腔、举止粗俗不堪的哲学教授。
  • He spent all day playing rackets on the beach,a plebeian sport if there ever was one.他一整天都在海滩玩壁球,再没有比这更不入流的运动了。
61 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
62 odds n5czT     
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别
参考例句:
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
63 belongings oy6zMv     
n.私人物品,私人财物
参考例句:
  • I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
  • Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。
64 strand 7GAzH     
vt.使(船)搁浅,使(某人)困于(某地)
参考例句:
  • She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
  • The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。
65 shuffled cee46c30b0d1f2d0c136c830230fe75a     
v.洗(纸牌)( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 );拖着脚步走;粗心地做;摆脱尘世的烦恼
参考例句:
  • He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
  • Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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