The old woman lay still another year, then she suddenly sank out of life. George ceased to write to me, but I learned his news elsewhere. He became more and more intimate with the Mayhews. After old Mayhew's bankruptcy3, the two sons had remained on in the large dark house that stood off the Nottingham Road in Eberwich. This house had been bequeathed to the oldest daughter by the mother. Maud Mayhew, who was married and separated from her husband, kept house for her brothers. She was a tall, large woman with high cheek-bones and oily black hair looped over her ears. Tom Mayhew was also a handsome man, very dark and ruddy, with insolent4 bright eyes.
The Mayhews' house was called the "Hollies5." It was a solid building, of old red brick, standing6 fifty yards back from the Eberwich highroad. Between it and the road was an unkempt lawn, surrounded by very high black holly7 trees. The house seemed to be imprisoned8 among the bristling9 hollies. Passing through the large gate, one came immediately upon the bare side of the house and upon the great range of stables. Old Mayhew had in his day stabled thirty or more horses there. Now grass was between the red bricks, and all the bleaching10 doors were shut, save perhaps two or three which were open for George's horses.
The "Hollies" became a kind of club for the disconsolate11, "better-off" men of the district. The large dining-room was gloomily and sparsely12 furnished, the drawing-room was a desert, but the smaller morning-room was comfortable enough, with wicker arm-chairs, heavy curtains, and a large sideboard. In this room George and the Mayhews met with several men two or three times a week. There they discussed horses and made mock of the authority of women. George provided the whisky, and they all gambled timidly at cards. These bachelor parties were the source of great annoyance13 to the wives of the married men who attended them.
"He's quite unbearable14 when he's been at those Mayhews'," said Meg. "I'm sure they do nothing but cry us down."
Maud Mayhew kept apart from these meetings, watching over her two children. She had been very unhappily married, and now was reserved, silent. The women of Eberwich watched her as she went swiftly along the street in the morning with her basket, and they gloried a little in her overthrow15, because she was too proud to accept consolation16, yet they were sorry in their hearts for her, and she was never touched with calumny17. George saw her frequently, but she treated him coldly as she treated the other men, so he was afraid of her.
He had more facilities now for his horse-dealing. When the grandmother died, in the October two years after the marriage of George she left him seven hundred pounds. To Meg she left the Inn, and the two houses she had built in Newerton, together with brewery18 shares to the value of nearly a thousand pounds. George and Meg felt themselves to be people of property. The result, however, was only a little further coldness between them. He was very careful that she had all that was hers. She said to him once when they were quarrelling, that he needn't go feeding the Mayhews on the money that came out of her business. Thenceforward he kept strict accounts of all his affairs, and she must audit19 them, receiving her exact dues. This was a mortification20 to her woman's capricious soul of generosity21 and cruelty.
The Christmas after the grandmother's death another son was born to them. For the time George and Meg became very good friends again.
When in the following March I heard he was coming down to London with Tom Mayhew on business, I wrote and asked him to stay with me. Meg replied, saying she was so glad I had asked him: she did not want him going off with that fellow again; he had been such a lot better lately, and she was sure it was only those men at Mayhew's made him what he was.
He consented to stay with me. I wrote and told him Lettie and Leslie were in London, and that we should dine with them one evening. I met him at King's Cross and we all three drove west. Mayhew was a remarkably22 handsome, well-built man; he and George made a notable couple. They were both in breeches and gaiters, but George still looked like a yeoman, while Mayhew had all the braggadocio23 of the stable. We made an impossible trio. Mayhew laughed and jested broadly for a short time, then he grew restless and fidgety. He felt restrained and awkward in my presence. Later, he told George I was a damned parson. On the other hand, I was content to look at his rather vulgar beauty—his teeth were blackened with smoking—and to listen to his ineffectual talk, but I could find absolutely no response. George was go-between. To me he was cautious and rather deferential24, to Mayhew he was careless, and his attitude was tinged25 with contempt.
When the son of the horse-dealer at last left us to go to some of his father's old cronies, we were glad. Very uncertain, very sensitive and wavering, our old intimacy26 burned again like the fragile burning of alcohol. Closed together in the same blue flames, we discovered and watched the pageant27 of life in the town revealed wonderfully to us. We laughed at the tyranny of old romance. We scorned the faded procession of old years, and made mock of the vast pilgrimage of by-gone romances travelling farther into the dim distance. Were we not in the midst of the bewildering pageant of modern life, with all its confusion of bannerets and colours, with its infinite interweaving of sounds, the screech28 of the modern toys of haste striking like keen spray, the heavy boom of busy mankind gathering29 its bread, earnestly, forming the bed of all other sounds; and between these two the swiftness of songs, the triumphant30 tilt31 of the joy of life, the hoarse32 oboes of privation, the shuddering33 drums of tragedy, and the eternal scraping of the two deep-toned strings34 of despair?
We watched the taxicabs coursing with their noses down to the street, we watched the rocking hansoms, and the lumbering35 stateliness of buses. In the silent green cavern36 of the park we stood and listened to the surging of the ocean of life. We watched a girl with streaming hair go galloping37 down the Row, a dark man, laughing and showing his white teeth, galloping more heavily at her elbow. We saw a squad38 of life-guards enter the gates of the park, erect39 and glittering with silver and white and red. They came near to us, and we thrilled a little as we watched the muscles of their white smooth thighs40 answering the movement of the horses, and their cheeks and their chins bending with proud manliness41 to the rhythm of the march. We watched the exquisite42 rhythm of the body of men moving in scarlet43 and silver further down the leafless avenue, like a slightly wavering spark of red life blown along. At the Marble Arch Corner we listened to a little socialist44 who was flaring45 fiercely under a plane tree. The hot stream of his words flowed over the old wounds that the knowledge of the unending miseries46 of the poor had given me, and I winced47. For him the world was all East-end, and all the East-End was as a pool from which the waters are drained off, leaving the water-things to wrestle48 in the wet mud under the sun, till the whole of the city seems a heaving, shuddering struggle of black-mudded objects deprived of the elements of life. I felt a great terror of the little man, lest he should make me see all mud, as I had seen before. Then I felt a breathless pity for him, that his eyes should be always filled with mud, and never brightened. George listened intently to the speaker, very much moved by him.
At night, after the theatre, we saw the outcasts sleep in a rank under the Waterloo bridge, their heads to the wall, their feet lying out on the pavement: a long, black, ruffled49 heap at the foot of the wall. All the faces were covered but two, that of a peaked, pale little man, and that of a brutal50 woman. Over these two faces, floating like uneasy pale dreams on their obscurity, swept now and again the trailing light of the tram cars. We picked our way past the line of abandoned feet, shrinking from the sight of the thin bare ankles of a young man, from the draggled edge of the skirts of a bunched-up woman, from the pitiable sight of the men who had wrapped their legs in newspaper for a little warmth, and lay like worthless parcels. It was raining. Some men stood at the edge of the causeway fixed51 in dreary52 misery53, finding no room to sleep. Outside, on a seat in the blackness and the rain, a woman sat sleeping, while the water trickled54 and hung heavily at the ends of her loosened strands55 of hair. Her hands were pushed in the bosom57 of her jacket. She lurched forward in her sleep, started, and one of her hands fell out of her bosom. She sank again to sleep. George gripped my arm.
"Give her something," he whispered in panic. I was afraid. Then suddenly getting a florin from my pocket, I stiffened58 my nerves and slid it into her palm. Her hand was soft, and warm, and curled in sleep. She started violently, looking up at me, then down at her hand. I turned my face aside, terrified lest she should look in my eyes, and full of shame and grief I ran down the embankment to him. We hurried along under the plane trees in silence. The shining cars were drawing tall in the distance over Westminster Bridge, a fainter, yellow light running with them on the water below. The wet streets were spilled with golden liquor of light, and on the deep blackness of the river were the restless yellow slashes59 of the lamps.
Lettie and Leslie were staying up at Hampstead with a friend of the Tempests, one of the largest shareholders60 in the firm of Tempest, Wharton & Co. The Raphaels had a substantial house, and Lettie preferred to go to them rather than to an hotel, especially as she had brought with her her infant son, now ten months old, with his nurse. They invited George and me to dinner on the Friday evening. The party included Lettie's host and hostess, and also a Scottish poetess, and an Irish musician, composer of songs and pianoforte rhapsodies.
Lettie wore a black lace dress in mourning for one of Leslie's maternal61 aunts. This made her look older, otherwise there seemed to be no change in her. A subtle observer might have noticed a little hardness about her mouth, and disillusion62 hanging slightly on her eyes. She was, however, excited by the company in which she found herself, therefore she overflowed63 with clever speeches and rapid, brilliant observations. Certainly on such occasions she was admirable. The rest of the company formed, as it were, the orchestra which accompanied her.
George was exceedingly quiet. He spoke64 a few words now and then to Mrs Raphael, but on the whole he was altogether silent, listening.
"Really!" Lettie was saying, "I don't see that one thing is worth doing any more than another. It's like dessert: you are equally indifferent whether you have grapes, or pears, or pineapple."
"The only thing worth doing is producing," said Lettie.
"That is the only thing one finds any pleasure in—that is to say, any satisfaction," continued Lettie, smiling, and turning to the two artists.
"Do you not think so?" she added.
"You do come to a point at last," said the Scottish poetess, "when your work is a real source of satisfaction."
"Do you write poetry then?" asked George of Lettie.
"I! Oh, dear no! I have tried strenuously67 to make up a Limerick for a competition, but in vain. So you see, I am a failure there. Did you know I have a son, though?—a marvellous little fellow, is he not, Leslie?—he is my work. I am a wonderful mother, am I not, Leslie?"
"There!" she exclaimed in triumph—"When I have to sign my name and occupation in a visitor's book, it will be '——Mother'. I hope my business will flourish," she concluded, smiling.
There was a touch of ironical69 brutality70 in her now. She was, at the bottom, quite sincere. Having reached that point in a woman's career when most, perhaps all of the things in life seem worthless and insipid71, she had determined72 to put up with it, to ignore her own self, to empty her own potentialities into the vessel73 of another or others, and to live her life at second hand. This peculiar74 abnegation of self is the resource of a woman for the escaping of the responsibilities of her own development. Like a nun75, she puts over her living face a veil, as a sign that the woman no longer exists for herself: she is the servant of God, of some man, of her children, or may be of some cause. As a servant, she is no longer responsible for her self, which would make her terrified and lonely. Service is light and easy. To be responsible for the good progress of one's life is terrifying. It is the most insufferable form of loneliness, and the heaviest of responsibilities. So Lettie indulged her husband, but did not yield her independence to him; rather it was she who took much of the responsibility of him into her hands, and therefore he was so devoted to her. She had, however, now determined to abandon the charge of herself to serve her children. When the children grew up, either they would unconsciously fling her away, back upon herself again in bitterness and loneliness, or they would tenderly cherish her, chafing76 at her love-bonds occasionally.
George looked and listened to all the flutter of conversation, and said nothing. It seemed to him like so much unreasonable77 rustling78 of pieces of paper, of leaves of books, and so on. Later in the evening Lettie sang, no longer Italian folk songs, but the fragmentary utterances79 of Debussy and Strauss. These also to George were quite meaningless, and rather wearisome. It made him impatient to see her wasting herself upon them.
"Not much," he replied, ungraciously.
"Don't you?" she exclaimed, adding with a smile, "Those are the most wonderful things in the world, those little things"—she began to hum a Debussy idiom. He could not answer her on the point, so he sat with the arrow sticking in him, and did not speak.
She enquired81 of him concerning Meg and his children and the affairs of Eberwich, but the interest was flimsy, as she preserved a wide distance between them, although apparently82 she was so unaffected and friendly. We left before eleven.
When we were seated in the cab and rushing down hill, he said:
"You know, she makes me mad."
He was frowning, looking out of the window away from me.
"Who, Lettie? Why, what riles you?" I asked.
He was some time in replying.
"Why, she's so affected."
I sat still in the small, close space and waited.
"Do you know——?" he laughed, keeping his face averted83 from me. "She makes my blood boil. I could hate her."
"Why?" I said gently.
"I don't know. I feel as if she'd insulted me. She does lie, doesn't she?"
"And you think of those poor devils under the bridge—and then of her and them frittering away themselves and money in that idiocy——"
He spoke with passion.
"You are quoting Longfellow," I said.
"What?" he asked, looking at me suddenly.
"'Life is real, life is earnest——'"
"I don't know what it is," he replied. "But it's a pretty rotten business, when you think of her fooling about wasting herself, and all the waste that goes on up there, and the poor devils rotting on the embankment—and——"
"And you—and Mayhew—and me——" I continued.
He looked at me very intently to see if I were mocking. He laughed. I could see he was very much moved.
"Why!"—he laughed. "No. But she makes me feel so angry—as if I should burst—I don't know when I felt in such a rage. I wonder why. I'm sorry for him, poor devil. 'Lettie and Leslie'—they seemed christened for one another, didn't they?"
"What if you'd had her?" I asked.
"We should have been like a cat and dog; I'd rather be with Meg a thousand times—now!" he added significantly. He sat watching the lamps and the people and the dark buildings slipping past us.
"Shall we go and have a drink?" I asked him, thinking we would call in Frascati's to see the come-and-go.
"I could do with a brandy," he replied, looking at me slowly.
We sat in the restaurant listening to the jigging87 of the music, watching the changing flow of the people. I like to sit a long time by the hollyhocks watching the throng88 of varied89 bees which poise90 and hesitate outside the wild flowers, then swing in with a hum which sets everything aquiver. But still more fascinating it is to watch the come and go of people weaving and intermingling in the complex mesh91 of their intentions, with all the subtle grace and mystery of their moving, shapely bodies.
I sat still, looking out across the amphitheatre. George looked also, but he drank glass after glass of brandy.
"I like to watch the people," said I.
"Ay—and doesn't it seem an aimless, idiotic92 business—look at them!" he replied in tones of contempt. I looked instead at him, in some surprise and resentment93 His face was gloomy, stupid and unrelieved. The amount of brandy he had drunk had increased his ill humour.
"Shall we be going?" I said. I did not want him to get drunk in his present state of mind.
"Ay—in half a minute," he finished the brandy, and rose. Although he had drunk a good deal, he was quite steady, only there was a disagreeable look always on his face, and his eyes seemed smaller and more glittering than I had seen them. We took a bus to Victoria. He sat swaying on his seat in the dim, clumsy vehicle, saying not a word. In the vast cavern of the station the theatre-goers were hastening, crossing the pale grey strand56, small creatures scurrying94 hither and thither95 in the space beneath the lonely lamps. As the train crawled over the river we watched the far-flung hoop96 of diamond lights curving slowly round and striping with bright threads the black water. He sat looking with heavy eyes, seeming to shrink from the enormous unintelligible97 lettering of the poem of London.
The town was too large for him, he could not take in its immense, its stupendous poetry. What did come home to him was its flagrant discords98. The unintelligibility99 of the vast city made him apprehensive100, and the crudity101 of its big, coarse contrasts wounded him unutterably.
"What is the matter?" I asked him as we went along the silent pavement at Norwood.
"Nothing," he replied. "Nothing!" and I did not trouble him further.
We occupied a large, two-bedded room—that looked down the hill and over to the far woods of Kent. He was morose102 and untalkative. I brought up a soda-syphon and whisky, and we proceeded to undress. When he stood in his pajamas103 he waited as if uncertain.
"Do you want a drink?" he asked.
I did not. He crossed to the table, and as I got into my bed I heard the brief fizzing of the syphon. He drank his glass at one draught104, then switched off the light. In the sudden darkness I saw his pale shadow go across to the sofa in the window-space. The blinds were undrawn, and the stars looked in. He gazed out on the great bay of darkness wherein, far away and below, floated a few sparks of lamps like herring boats at sea.
"Aren't you coming to bed?" I asked.
"I'm not sleepy—you go to sleep," he answered, resenting having to speak at all.
"Do you mind if I smoke?"
I did not. He fumbled again in his pockets for cigarettes, always refusing to switch on the light. I watched his face bowed to the match as he lighted his cigarette. He was still handsome in the ruddy light, but his features were coarser. I felt very sorry for him, but I saw that I could get no nearer to him, to relieve him. For some time I lay in the darkness watching the end of his cigarette like a ruddy, malignant107 insect hovering108 near his lips, putting the timid stars immensely far away. He sat quite still, leaning on the sofa arm. Occasionally there was a little glow on his cheeks as the cigarette burned brighter, then again I could see nothing but the dull red bee.
I suppose I must have dropped asleep. Suddenly I started as something fell to the floor. I heard him cursing under his breath.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"I've only knocked something down—cigarette case or something," he replied, apologetically.
"Aren't you coming to bed?" I asked.
He seemed to wander about and knock against things as he came. He dropped heavily into bed.
"Are you sleepy now?" I asked.
"I dunno—I shall be directly," he replied.
"What's up with you?" I asked.
"I dunno," he answered. "I am like this sometimes, when there's nothing I want to do, and nowhere I want to go, and nobody I want to be near. Then you feel so rottenly lonely, Cyril. You feel awful, like a vacuum, with a pressure on you, a sort of pressure of darkness, and you yourself—just nothing, a vacuum—that's what it's like—a little vacuum that's not dark, all loose in the middle of a space of darkness, that's pressing on you."
"Good gracious!" I exclaimed, rousing myself in bed. "That sounds bad!"
He laughed slightly.
"It's all right," he said, "it's only the excitement of London, and that little man in the park, and that woman on the seat—I wonder where she is to-night, poor devil—and then Lettie. I seem thrown off my balance.—I think really, I ought to have made something of myself——"
"What?" I asked, as he hesitated.
"I don't know," he replied slowly, "—a poet or something, like Burns—I don't know. I shall laugh at myself for thinking so, to-morrow. But I am born a generation too soon—I wasn't ripe enough when I came. I wanted something I hadn't got. I'm something short. I'm like corn in a wet harvest—full, but pappy, no good. Is'll rot. I came too soon; or I wanted something that would ha' made me grow fierce. That's why I wanted Lettie—I think. But am I talking damn rot? What am I saying? What are you making me talk for? What are you listening for?"
I rose and went across to him, saying: "I don't want you to talk! If you sleep till morning things will look different."
I sat on his bed and took his hand. He lay quite still.
"I'm only a kid after all, Cyril," he said, a few moments later.
"We all are," I answered, still holding his hand. Presently he fell asleep.
When I awoke the sunlight was laughing with the young morning in the room. The large blue sky shone against the window, and the birds were calling in the garden below, shouting to one another and making fun of life. I felt glad to have opened my eyes. I lay for a moment looking out on the morning as on a blue bright sea in which I was going to plunge110.
Then my eyes wandered to the little table near the couch. I noticed the glitter of George's cigarette case, and then, with a start, the whisky decanter. It was nearly empty. He must have drunk three-quarters of a pint111 of liquor while I was dozing112. I could not believe it. I thought I must have been mistaken as to the quantity the bottle contained. I leaned out to see what it was that had startled me by its fall the night before. It was the large, heavy drinking glass which he had knocked down but not broken. I could see no stain on the carpet.
George was still asleep. He lay half uncovered, and was breathing quietly. His face looked inert113 like a mask. The pallid114, uninspired clay of his features seemed to have sunk a little out of shape, so that he appeared rather haggard, rather ugly, with grooves115 of ineffectual misery along his cheeks. I wanted him to wake, so that his inert, flaccid features might be inspired with life again. I could not believe his charm and his beauty could have forsaken116 him so, and left his features dreary, sunken clay.
As I looked he woke. His eyes opened slowly. He looked at me and turned away, unable to meet my eyes. He pulled the bedclothes up over his shoulders, as though to cover himself from me, and he lay with his back to me, quite still, as if he were asleep, although I knew he was quite awake; he was suffering the humiliation117 of lying waiting for his life to crawl back and inhabit his body. As it was, his vitality118 was not yet sufficient to inform the muscles of his face and give him an expression, much less to answer by challenge.
点击收听单词发音
1 dominant | |
adj.支配的,统治的;占优势的;显性的;n.主因,要素,主要的人(或物);显性基因 | |
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2 motif | |
n.(图案的)基本花纹,(衣服的)花边;主题 | |
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3 bankruptcy | |
n.破产;无偿付能力 | |
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4 insolent | |
adj.傲慢的,无理的 | |
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5 hollies | |
n.冬青(常绿灌木,叶尖而硬,有光泽,冬季结红色浆果)( holly的名词复数 );(用作圣诞节饰物的)冬青树枝 | |
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6 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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7 holly | |
n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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8 imprisoned | |
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9 bristling | |
a.竖立的 | |
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10 bleaching | |
漂白法,漂白 | |
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11 disconsolate | |
adj.忧郁的,不快的 | |
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12 sparsely | |
adv.稀疏地;稀少地;不足地;贫乏地 | |
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13 annoyance | |
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼 | |
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14 unbearable | |
adj.不能容忍的;忍受不住的 | |
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15 overthrow | |
v.推翻,打倒,颠覆;n.推翻,瓦解,颠覆 | |
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16 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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17 calumny | |
n.诽谤,污蔑,中伤 | |
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18 brewery | |
n.啤酒厂 | |
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19 audit | |
v.审计;查帐;核对;旁听 | |
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20 mortification | |
n.耻辱,屈辱 | |
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21 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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22 remarkably | |
ad.不同寻常地,相当地 | |
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23 braggadocio | |
n.吹牛大王 | |
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24 deferential | |
adj. 敬意的,恭敬的 | |
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25 tinged | |
v.(使)发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26 intimacy | |
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行 | |
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27 pageant | |
n.壮观的游行;露天历史剧 | |
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28 screech | |
n./v.尖叫;(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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29 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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30 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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31 tilt | |
v.(使)倾侧;(使)倾斜;n.倾侧;倾斜 | |
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32 hoarse | |
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的 | |
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33 shuddering | |
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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34 strings | |
n.弦 | |
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35 lumbering | |
n.采伐林木 | |
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36 cavern | |
n.洞穴,大山洞 | |
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37 galloping | |
adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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38 squad | |
n.班,小队,小团体;vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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39 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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40 thighs | |
n.股,大腿( thigh的名词复数 );食用的鸡(等的)腿 | |
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41 manliness | |
刚毅 | |
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42 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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43 scarlet | |
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
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44 socialist | |
n.社会主义者;adj.社会主义的 | |
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45 flaring | |
a.火焰摇曳的,过份艳丽的 | |
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46 miseries | |
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 );痛苦的事;穷困;常发牢骚的人 | |
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47 winced | |
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48 wrestle | |
vi.摔跤,角力;搏斗;全力对付 | |
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49 ruffled | |
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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50 brutal | |
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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51 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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52 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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53 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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54 trickled | |
v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 );淌;使)慢慢走;缓慢移动 | |
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55 strands | |
n.(线、绳、金属线、毛发等的)股( strand的名词复数 );缕;海洋、湖或河的)岸;(观点、计划、故事等的)部份v.使滞留,使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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56 strand | |
vt.使(船)搁浅,使(某人)困于(某地) | |
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57 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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58 stiffened | |
加强的 | |
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59 slashes | |
n.(用刀等)砍( slash的名词复数 );(长而窄的)伤口;斜杠;撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 );鞭打;割破;削减 | |
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60 shareholders | |
n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 ) | |
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61 maternal | |
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的 | |
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62 disillusion | |
vt.使不再抱幻想,使理想破灭 | |
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63 overflowed | |
溢出的 | |
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64 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 | |
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65 plaintive | |
adj.可怜的,伤心的 | |
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66 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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67 strenuously | |
adv.奋发地,费力地 | |
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68 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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69 ironical | |
adj.讽刺的,冷嘲的 | |
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70 brutality | |
n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮 | |
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71 insipid | |
adj.无味的,枯燥乏味的,单调的 | |
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72 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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73 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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74 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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75 nun | |
n.修女,尼姑 | |
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76 chafing | |
n.皮肤发炎v.擦热(尤指皮肤)( chafe的现在分词 );擦痛;发怒;惹怒 | |
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77 unreasonable | |
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的 | |
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78 rustling | |
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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79 utterances | |
n.发声( utterance的名词复数 );说话方式;语调;言论 | |
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80 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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81 enquired | |
打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 ); 询问; 问问题; 查问 | |
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82 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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83 averted | |
防止,避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 ); 转移 | |
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84 shuffling | |
adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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85 gibe | |
n.讥笑;嘲弄 | |
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86 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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87 jigging | |
n.跳汰选,簸选v.(使)上下急动( jig的现在分词 ) | |
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88 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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89 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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90 poise | |
vt./vi. 平衡,保持平衡;n.泰然自若,自信 | |
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91 mesh | |
n.网孔,网丝,陷阱;vt.以网捕捉,啮合,匹配;vi.适合; [计算机]网络 | |
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92 idiotic | |
adj.白痴的 | |
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93 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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94 scurrying | |
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) | |
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95 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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96 hoop | |
n.(篮球)篮圈,篮 | |
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97 unintelligible | |
adj.无法了解的,难解的,莫明其妙的 | |
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98 discords | |
不和(discord的复数形式) | |
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99 unintelligibility | |
不可懂度,不清晰性 | |
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100 apprehensive | |
adj.担心的,恐惧的,善于领会的 | |
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101 crudity | |
n.粗糙,生硬;adj.粗略的 | |
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102 morose | |
adj.脾气坏的,不高兴的 | |
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103 pajamas | |
n.睡衣裤 | |
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104 draught | |
n.拉,牵引,拖;一网(饮,吸,阵);顿服药量,通风;v.起草,设计 | |
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105 dressing | |
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料 | |
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106 fumbled | |
(笨拙地)摸索或处理(某事物)( fumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 乱摸,笨拙地弄; 使落下 | |
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107 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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108 hovering | |
鸟( hover的现在分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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109 docile | |
adj.驯服的,易控制的,容易教的 | |
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110 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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111 pint | |
n.品脱 | |
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112 dozing | |
v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
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113 inert | |
adj.无活动能力的,惰性的;迟钝的 | |
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114 pallid | |
adj.苍白的,呆板的 | |
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115 grooves | |
n.沟( groove的名词复数 );槽;老一套;(某种)音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 );槽;老一套;(某种)音乐节奏 | |
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116 Forsaken | |
adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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117 humiliation | |
n.羞辱 | |
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118 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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