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CHAPTER SIX The Mermaid’s Home
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 THE parents of Mavis, Francis, Kathleen and Bernard were extremely sensible people. If they had not been, this story could never have happened. They were as jolly as any father and mother you ever met, but they were not always fussing and worrying about their children, and they understood perfectly1 well that children do not care to be absolutely always under the parental2 eye. So that, while there were always plenty of good times in which the whole family took part, there were also times when Father and Mother went off together and enjoyed themselves in their own grown-up way, while the children enjoyed themselves in theirs. It happened that on this particular afternoon there was to be a concert at Lymington—Father and Mother were going. The children were asked whether they would like to go, and replied with equal courtesy and firmness.
 
“Very well then,” said Mother, “you do whatever you like best. I should play on the shore, I think, if I were you. Only don’t go around the corner of the cliff, because that’s dangerous at high tide. It’s safe so long as you’re within sight of the coast guards. Anyone have any more pie? No—then I think I’ll run and dress.”
“Mother,” said Kathleen suddenly, “may we take some pie and things to a little boy who said he hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday?”
 
“Where is he?” Father asked.
 
Kathleen blushed purple, but Mavis cautiously replied, “Outside. I’m sure we shall be able to find him.”
 
“Very well,” said Mother, “and you might ask Mrs. Pearce to give you some bread and cheese as well. Now, I must simply fly.”
 
“Cathay and I’ll help you, Mother,” said Mavis, and escaped the further questioning she saw in her father’s eye. The boys had slipped away at the first word of what seemed to be Kathleen’s amazing indiscretion about the waiting Rube.
 
“It was quite all right,” Kathleen argued later, as they went up the field, carefully carrying a plate of plum pie and the bread and cheese with not so much care and a certain bundle not carefully at all. “I saw flying in Mother’s eye before I spoke3. And if you can ask leave before you do a thing it’s always safer.”
 
“And look here,” said Mavis. “If the Mermaid4 wants to see us we’ve only got to go down and say ‘Sabrina fair,’ and she’s certain to turn up. If it’s just seeing us she wants, and not another deadly night adventure.”
 
Reuben did not eat with such pretty manners as yours, perhaps, but there was no doubt about his enjoyment6 of the food they had brought, though he only stopped eating for half a second, to answer, “Prime. Thank you,” to Kathleen’s earnest inquiries7.
 
“Now,” said Francis when the last crumb8 of cheese had disappeared and the last trace of plum juice had been licked from the spoon (a tin one, because, as Mrs. Pearce very properly said, you never know)—“now, look here. We’re going straight down to the shore to try and see her. And if you like to come with us we can disguise you.”
 
“What in?” Reuben asked. “I did disguise myself once in a false beard and a green-colored mustache, but it didn’t take no one in for a moment, not even the dogs.”
 
“We thought,” said Mavis gently, “that perhaps the most complete disguise for you would be girl’s clothes—because,” she added hastily to dispel9 the thundercloud on Reuben’s brow—“because you’re such a manly10 boy. Nobody would give vent5 to a moment’s suspicion. It would be so very unlike you.”
 
“G’a long—” said the Spangled Child, his dignity only half soothed11.
 
“And I’ve brought you some of my things and some sandshoes of France’s, because, of course, mine are just kiddy shoes.”
 
At that Reuben burst out laughing and then hummed: “‘Go, flatterer, go, I’ll not trust to thy vow,’” quite musically.
 
“Oh, do you know the ‘Gypsy Countess’? How jolly!” said Kathleen.
 
“Old Mother Romaine knew a power of songs,” he said, suddenly grave. “Come on, chuck us in the togs.”
 
“You just take off your coat and come out and I’ll help you dress up,” was Francis’s offer.
 
“Best get a skirt over my kicksies first,” said Reuben, “case anyone comes by and recognizes the gypsy cheild. Hand us in the silk attire12 and jewels have to spare.”
 
They pushed the blue serge skirt and jersey13 through the branches, which he held apart.
 
“Now the ’at,” he said, reaching a hand for it. But the hat was too large for the opening in the bush, and he had to come out of it. The moment he was out the girls crowned him with the big rush-hat, around whose crown a blue scarf was twisted, and Francis and Bernard each seizing a leg, adorned14 those legs with brown stockings and white sandshoes. Reuben, the spangled runaway15 from the gypsy camp, stood up among his new friends a rather awkward and quite presentable little girl.
 
“Now,” he said, looking down at his serge skirts with a queer smile, “now we shan’t be long.”
 
Nor were they. Thrusting the tin spoon and the pie plate and the discarded boots of Reuben into the kind shelter of the bush they made straight for the sea.
 
When they got to that pleasant part of the shore which is smooth sand and piled shingle16, lying between low rocks and high cliffs, Bernard stopped short.
 
“Now, look here,” he said, “if Sabrina fair turns up trumps17 I don’t mind going on with the adventure, but I won’t do it if Kathleen’s to be in it.”
 
“It’s not fair,” said Kathleen; “you said I might.”
 
“Did I?” Bernard most handsomely referred the matter to the others.
 
“Yes, you did,” said Francis shortly. Mavis said “Yes,” and Reuben clinched18 the matter by saying, “Why, you up and asked her yourself if she’d go along of you.”
 
“All right,” said Bernard calmly. “Then I shan’t go myself. That’s all.”
 
“Oh, bother,” said at least three of the five; and Kathleen said: “I don’t see why I should always be out of everything.”
 
“Well,” said Mavis impatiently, “after all, there’s no danger in just trying to see the Mermaid. You promise you won’t do anything if Bernard says not—that’ll do, I suppose? Though why you should be a slave to him just because he chooses to say you’re his particular sister, I don’t see. Will that do, Bear?”
 
“I’ll promise anything,” said Kathleen, almost in tears, “if you’ll only let me come with you all and see the Mermaid if she turns out to be seeable.”
 
So that was settled.
 
Now came the question of where the magic words should be said.
 
Mavis and Francis voted for the edge of the rocks where the words had once already been so successfully spoken. Bernard said, “Why not here where we are?” Kathleen said rather sadly that any place would do as long as the Mermaid came when she was called. But Reuben, standing19 sturdily in his girl’s clothes, said:
 
“Look ’ere. When you’ve run away like what I have, least said soonest mended, and out of sight’s out of mind. What about caves?”
 
“Caves are too dry, except at high tide,” said Francis. “And then they’re too wet. Much.”
 
“Not all caves,” Reuben reminded him. “If we was to turn and go up by the cliff path. There’s a cave up there. I hid in it t’other day. Quite dry, except in one corner, and there it’s as wet as you want—a sort of ’orse trough in the rocks it looks like—only deep.”
 
“Is it seawater?” Mavis asked anxiously. And Reuben said:
 
“Bound to be, so near the sea and all.”
 
But it wasn’t. For when they had climbed the cliff path and Reuben had shown them where to turn aside from it, and had put aside the brambles and furze that quite hid the cave’s mouth, Francis saw at once that the water here could not be seawater. It was too far above the line which the waves reached, even in the stormiest weather.
 
“So it’s no use,” he explained.
 
But the others said, “Oh, do let’s try, now we are here,” and they went on into the dusky twilight20 of the cave.
 
It was a very pretty cave, not chalk, like the cliffs, but roofed and walled with gray flints such as the houses and churches are built of that you see on the downs near Brighton and Eastbourne.
 
“This isn’t an accidental cave, you know,” said Bernard importantly; “it’s built by the hand of man in distant ages, like Stonehenge and the Cheesewring and Kit’s Coty House.”
 
The cave was lighted from the entrance where the sunshine crept faintly through the brambles. Their eyes soon grew used to the gloom and they could see that the floor of the cave was of dry white sand, and that along one end was a narrow dark pool of water. Ferns fringed its edge and drooped21 their fronds22 to its smooth surface—a surface which caught a gleam of light, and shone whitely; but the pool was very still, and they felt somehow, without knowing why, very deep.
 
“It’s no good, no earthly,” said Francis.
 
“But it’s an awfully23 pretty cave,” said Mavis consolingly. “Thank you for showing it to us, Reuben. And it’s jolly cool. Do let’s rest a minute or two. I’m simply boiling, climbing that cliff path. We’ll go down to the sea in a minute. Reuben could wait here if he felt safer.”
 
“All right, squattez-vous,” said Bernard, and the children sat down at the water’s edge, Reuben still very awkward in his girl’s clothes.
 
It was very, very quiet. Only now and then one fat drop of water would fall from the cave’s roof into that quiet pool and just move its surface in a spreading circle.
 
“It’s a ripping place for a hidey-hole,” said Bernard, “better than that old bush of yours, anyhow. I don’t believe anybody knows of the way in.”
 
“I don’t think anyone does, either,” said Reuben, “because there wasn’t any way in till it fell in two days ago, when I was trying to dig up a furze root.”
 
“I should hide here if you want to hide,” said Bernard.
 
“I mean to,” said Reuben.
 
“Well, if you’re rested, let’s get on,” Francis said; but Kathleen urged:
 
“Do let’s say ‘Sabrina fair,’ first—just to try!” So they said it—all but the Spangled Child who did not know it—
 
“‘Sabrina fair
Listen where thou art sitting
Under the glassie, cool....’”
There was a splash and a swirl24 in the pool, and there was the Mermaid herself, sure enough. Their eyes had grown used to the dusk and they could see her quite plainly, could see too that she was holding out her arms to them and smiling so sweetly that it almost took their breath away.
 
“My cherished preservers,” she cried, “my dear, darling, kind, brave, noble, unselfish dears!”
 
“You’re talking to Reuben, in the plural25, by mistake, I suppose,” said Francis, a little bitterly.
 
“To him, too, of course. But you two most of all,” she said, swishing her tail around and leaning her hands on the edge of the pool. “I am so sorry I was so ungrateful the other night. I’ll tell you how it was. It’s in your air. You see, coming out of the water we’re very susceptible26 to aerial influences—and that sort of ungratefulness and, what’s the word—?”
 
“Snobbishness,” said Francis firmly.
 
“Is that what you call it?—is most frightfully infectious, and your air’s absolutely crammed27 with the germs of it. That’s why I was so horrid28. You do forgive me, don’t you, dears? And I was so selfish, too—oh, horrid. But it’s all washed off now, in the nice clean sea, and I’m as sorry as if it had been my fault, which it really and truly wasn’t.”
 
The children said all right, and she wasn’t to mind, and it didn’t matter, and all the things you say when people say they are sorry, and you cannot kiss them and say, “Right oh,” which is the natural answer to such confessions29.
 
“It was very curious,” she said thoughtfully, “a most odd experience, that little boy ... his having been born of people who had always been rich, really seemed to me to be important. I assure you it did. Funny, wasn’t it? And now I want you all to come home with me, and see where I live.”
 
She smiled radiantly at them, and they all said, “Thank you,” and looked at each other rather blankly.
 
“All our people will be unspeakably pleased to see you. We Mer-people are not really ungrateful. You mustn’t think that,” she said pleadingly.
 
She looked very kind, very friendly. But Francis thought of the Lorelei. Just so kind and friendly must the Lady of the Rhine have looked to the “sailor in a little skiff” whom he had disentangled from Heine’s poem, last term, with the aid of the German dicker. By a curious coincidence and the same hard means, Mavis had, only last term, read of Undine, and she tried not to think that there was any lack of soul in the Mermaid’s kind eyes. Kathleen who, by another coincidence, had fed her fancy in English literature on the “Forsaken Merman” was more at ease.
 
“Do you mean down with you under the sea?” she asked—
 
“‘Where the sea snakes coil and twine30,
Dry their mail and bask31 in the brine,
Where great whales go sailing by,
Sail and sail with unshut eye
Round the world for ever and aye?’”
“Well, it’s not exactly like that, really,” said the Mermaid; “but you’ll see soon enough.”
 
This had, in Bernard’s ears, a sinister32 ring.
 
“Why,” he asked suddenly, “did you say you wanted to see us at dead of night?”
 
“It’s the usual time, isn’t it?” she asked, looking at him with innocent surprise. “It is in all the stories. You know we have air stories just as you have fairy stories and water stories—and the rescuer almost always comes to the castle gate at dead of night, on a coal-black steed or a dapple-gray, you know, or a red-roan steed of might; but as there were four of you, besides me and my tail, I thought it more considerate to suggest a chariot. Now, we really ought to be going.”
 
“Which way?” asked Bernard, and everyone held their breath to hear the answer.
 
“The way I came, of course,” she answered, “down here,” and she pointed33 to the water that rippled34 around her.
 
“Thank you so very, very much,” said Mavis, in a voice which trembled a little; “but I don’t know whether you’ve heard that people who go down into the water like that—people like us—without tails, you know—they get drowned.”
 
“Not if they’re personally conducted,” said the Mermaid. “Of course we can’t be responsible for trespassers, though even with them I don’t think anything very dreadful has ever happened. Someone once told me a story about Water Babies. Did you ever hear of that?”
 
“Yes, but that was a made-up story,” said Bernard stolidly35.
 
“Yes, of course,” she agreed, “but a great deal of it’s quite true, all the same. But you won’t grow fins36 and gills or anything like that. You needn’t be afraid.”
 
The children looked at each other, and then all looked at Francis. He spoke.
 
“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you very much, but we would rather not—much rather.”
 
“Oh, nonsense,” said the lady kindly37. “Look here, it’s as easy as easy. I give you each a lock of my hair,” she cut off the locks with her shell knife as she spoke, long locks they were and soft. “Look here, tie these round your necks—if I’d had a lock of human hair round my neck I should never have suffered from the dryness as I did. And then just jump in. Keep your eyes shut. It’s rather confusing if you don’t; but there’s no danger.”
 
The children took the locks of hair, but no one regarded them with any confidence at all as lifesaving apparatus38. They still hung back.
 
“You really are silly,” said the sea lady indulgently. “Why did you meddle39 with magic at all if you weren’t prepared to go through with it? Why, this is one of the simplest forms of magic, and the safest. Whatever would you have done if you had happened to call up a fire spirit and had had to go down Vesuvius with a Salamander round your little necks?”
 
She laughed merrily at the thought. But her laugh sounded a little angry too.
 
“Come, don’t be foolish,” she said. “You’ll never have such a chance again. And I feel that this air is full of your horrid human microbes—distrust, suspicion, fear, anger, resentment—horrid little germs. I don’t want to risk catching40 them. Come.”
 
“No,” said Francis, and held out to her the lock of her hair; so did Mavis and Bernard. But Kathleen had tied the lock of hair round her neck, and she said:
 
“I should have liked to, but I promised Bernard I would not do anything unless he said I might.” It was toward Kathleen that the Mermaid turned, holding out a white hand for the lock.
 
Kathleen bent41 over the water trying to untie42 it, and in one awful instant the Mermaid had reared herself up in the water, caught Kathleen in her long white arms, pulled her over the edge of the pool, and with a bubbling splash disappeared with her beneath the dark water.
 
Mavis screamed and knew it; Francis and Bernard thought they did not scream. It was the Spangled Child alone who said nothing. He had not offered to give back the lock of soft hair. He, like Kathleen, had knotted it round his neck; he now tied a further knot, stepped forward, and spoke in tones which the other three thought the most noble they had ever heard.
 
“She give me the plum pie,” he said, and leaped into the water.
 
He sank at once. And this, curiously43 enough, gave the others confidence. If he had struggled—but no—he sank like a stone, or like a diver who means diving and diving to the very bottom.
 
“She’s my special sister,” said Bernard, and leaped.
 
“If it’s magic it’s all right—and if it isn’t we couldn’t go back home without her,” said Mavis hoarsely44. And she and Francis took hands and jumped together.
 
It was not so difficult as it sounds. From the moment of Kathleen’s disappearance45 the sense of magic—which is rather like very sleepy comfort and sweet scent46 and sweet music that you just can’t hear the tune47 of—had been growing stronger and stronger. And there are some things so horrible that if you can bring yourself to face them you simply can’t believe that they’re true. It did not seem possible—when they came quite close to the idea—that a Mermaid could really come and talk so kindly and then drown the five children who had rescued her.
 
“It’s all right,” Francis cried as they jumped.
 
“I ...” He shut his mouth just in time, and down they went.
 
You have probably dreamed that you were a perfect swimmer? You know the delight of that dream-swimming, which is no effort at all, and yet carries you as far and as fast as you choose. It was like that with the children. The moment they touched the water they felt that they belonged in it—that they were as much at home in water as in air. As they sank beneath the water their feet went up and their heads went down, and there they were swimming downward with long, steady, easy strokes. It was like swimming down a well that presently widened to a cavern48. Suddenly Francis found that his head was above water. So was Mavis’s.
 
“All right so far,” she said, “but how are we going to get back?”
 
“Oh, the magic will do that,” he answered, and swam faster.
 
The cave was lighted by bars of phosphorescence placed like pillars against the walls. The water was clear and deeply green and along the sides of the stream were sea anemones49 and starfish of the most beautiful forms and the most dazzling colors. The walls were of dark squarish shapes, and here and there a white oblong, or a blue and a red, and the roof was of mother-of-pearl which gleamed and glistened50 in the pale golden radiance of the phosphorescent pillars. It was very beautiful, and the mere51 pleasure of swimming so finely and easily swept away almost their last fear. This, too, went when a voice far ahead called: “Hurry up, France—Come on, Mavis,”—and the voice was the voice of Kathleen.
 
They hurried up, and they came on; and the gleaming soft light grew brighter and brighter. It shone all along the way they had to go, making a path of glory such as the moon makes across the sea on a summer night. And presently they saw that this growing light was from a great gate that barred the waterway in front of them. Five steps led up to this gate, and sitting on it, waiting for them, were Kathleen, Reuben, Bernard and the Mermaid. Only now she had no tail. It lay beside her on the marble steps, just as your stockings lie when you have taken them off; and there were her white feet sticking out from under a dress of soft feathery red seaweed.
 
They could see it was seaweed though it was woven into a wonderful fabric52. Bernard and Kathleen and the Spangled Boy had somehow got seaweed dresses too, and the Spangled Boy was no longer dressed as a girl; and looking down as they scrambled53 up the steps Mavis and Francis saw that they, too, wore seaweed suits—“Very pretty, but how awkward to go home in,” Mavis thought.
 
“Now,” said the Mer-lady, “forgive me for taking the plunge54. I knew you’d hesitate forever, and I was beginning to feel so cross! That’s your dreadful atmosphere! Now, here we are at the door of our kingdom. You do want to come in, don’t you? I can bring you as far as this against your will, but not any farther. And you can’t come any farther unless you trust me absolutely. Do you? Will you? Try!”
 
“Yes,” said the children, all but Bernard, who said stoutly55:
 
“I don’t; but I’ll try to. I want to.”
 
“If you want to, I think you do,” said she very kindly. “And now I will tell you one thing. What you’re breathing isn’t air, and it isn’t water. It’s something that both water people and air people can breathe.”
 
“The greatest common measure,” said Bernard.
 
“A simple equation,” said Mavis.
 
“Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other,” said Francis; and the three looked at each other and wondered why they had said such things.
 
“Don’t worry,” said the lady, “it’s only the influence of the place. This is the Cave of Learning, you know, very dark at the beginning and getting lighter56 and lighter as you get nearer to the golden door. All these rocks are made of books really, and they exude57 learning from every crack. We cover them up with anemones and seaweed and pretty things as well as we can, but the learning will leak out. Let us go through the gate or you’ll all be talking Sanskrit before we know where we are.”
 
She opened the gate. A great flood of glorious sunlight met them, the solace58 of green trees and the jeweled grace of bright blossoms. She pulled them through the door, and shut it.
 
“This is where we live,” she said. “Aren’t you glad you came?”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
2 parental FL2xv     
adj.父母的;父的;母的
参考例句:
  • He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
  • Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。
3 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。
4 mermaid pCbxH     
n.美人鱼
参考例句:
  • How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起,那个女孩会有多受欢迎!
  • The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴,因为她等不及了。
5 vent yiPwE     
n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄
参考例句:
  • He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
  • When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时,发动机就会停转。
6 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣;享有;享用
参考例句:
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
7 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》
8 crumb ynLzv     
n.饼屑,面包屑,小量
参考例句:
  • It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
  • Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。
9 dispel XtQx0     
vt.驱走,驱散,消除
参考例句:
  • I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑,但没有成功。
  • We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。
10 manly fBexr     
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地
参考例句:
  • The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
  • He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务,并希望别人效之。
11 soothed 509169542d21da19b0b0bd232848b963     
v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 );抚慰;使舒服;减轻痛苦
参考例句:
  • The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
  • The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
12 attire AN0zA     
v.穿衣,装扮[同]array;n.衣着;盛装
参考例句:
  • He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
  • Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。
13 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
14 adorned 1e50de930eb057fcf0ac85ca485114c8     
[计]被修饰的
参考例句:
  • The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
  • And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。
15 runaway jD4y5     
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
参考例句:
  • The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
  • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
16 shingle 8yKwr     
n.木瓦板;小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌);v.用木瓦板盖(屋顶);把(女子头发)剪短
参考例句:
  • He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土,下面露出一块松木瓦块。
  • He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。
17 trumps 22c5470ebcda312e395e4d85c40b03f7     
abbr.trumpets 喇叭;小号;喇叭形状的东西;喇叭筒v.(牌戏)出王牌赢(一牌或一墩)( trump的过去式 );吹号公告,吹号庆祝;吹喇叭;捏造
参考例句:
  • On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 clinched 66a50317a365cdb056bd9f4f25865646     
v.(尤指两人)互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 );解决(争端、交易),达成(协议)
参考例句:
  • The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然,这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句
19 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。
20 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
21 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。
22 fronds f5152cd32d7f60e88e3dfd36fcdfbfa8     
n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • You can pleat palm fronds to make huts, umbrellas and baskets. 人们可以把棕榈叶折叠起来盖棚屋,制伞,编篮子。 来自百科语句
  • When these breezes reached the platform the palm-fronds would whisper. 微风吹到平台时,棕榈叶片发出簌簌的低吟。 来自辞典例句
23 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
24 swirl cgcyu     
v.(使)打漩,(使)涡卷;n.漩涡,螺旋形
参考例句:
  • The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
  • You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿,看着雪花飘飘。
25 plural c2WzP     
n.复数;复数形式;adj.复数的
参考例句:
  • Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
  • Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。
26 susceptible 4rrw7     
adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的
参考例句:
  • Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
  • We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。
27 crammed e1bc42dc0400ef06f7a53f27695395ce     
adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)
参考例句:
  • He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
  • All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。
28 horrid arozZj     
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的
参考例句:
  • I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
  • The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
29 confessions 4fa8f33e06cadcb434c85fa26d61bf95     
n.承认( confession的名词复数 );自首;声明;(向神父的)忏悔
参考例句:
  • It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
30 twine vg6yC     
v.搓,织,编饰;(使)缠绕
参考例句:
  • He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
  • Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。
31 bask huazK     
vt.取暖,晒太阳,沐浴于
参考例句:
  • Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
  • In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后,他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。
32 sinister 6ETz6     
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的
参考例句:
  • There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
  • Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值,而且包藏祸心。
33 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。
34 rippled 70d8043cc816594c4563aec11217f70d     
使泛起涟漪(ripple的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The lake rippled gently. 湖面轻轻地泛起涟漪。
  • The wind rippled the surface of the cornfield. 微风吹过麦田,泛起一片麦浪。
35 stolidly 3d5f42d464d711b8c0c9ea4ca88895e6     
adv.迟钝地,神经麻木地
参考例句:
  • Too often people sat stolidly watching the noisy little fiddler. 人们往往不动声色地坐在那里,瞧着这位瘦小的提琴手闹腾一番。 来自辞典例句
  • He dropped into a chair and sat looking stolidly at the floor. 他坐在椅子上,两眼呆呆地望着地板。 来自辞典例句
36 fins 6a19adaf8b48d5db4b49aef2b7e46ade     
[医]散热片;鱼鳍;飞边;鸭掌
参考例句:
  • The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关,与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
  • Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句
37 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
38 apparatus ivTzx     
n.装置,器械;器具,设备
参考例句:
  • The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
  • They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。
39 meddle d7Xzb     
v.干预,干涉,插手
参考例句:
  • I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
  • Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。
40 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
41 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
42 untie SjJw4     
vt.解开,松开;解放
参考例句:
  • It's just impossible to untie the knot.It's too tight.这个结根本解不开。太紧了。
  • Will you please untie the knot for me?请你替我解开这个结头,好吗?
43 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
44 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
45 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
46 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
47 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
48 cavern Ec2yO     
n.洞穴,大山洞
参考例句:
  • The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。
  • It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来,我们在一个山洞里避雨。
49 anemones 5370d49d360c476ee5fcc43fea3fa7ac     
n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 );海葵
参考例句:
  • With its powerful tentacles, it tries to prise the anemones off. 它想用强壮的触角截获海葵。 来自互联网
  • Density, scale, thickness are still influencing the anemones shape. 密度、大小、厚度是受最原始的那股海葵的影响。 来自互联网
50 glistened 17ff939f38e2a303f5df0353cf21b300     
v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
51 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。
52 fabric 3hezG     
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织
参考例句:
  • The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
  • I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。
53 scrambled 2e4a1c533c25a82f8e80e696225a73f2     
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
54 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
55 stoutly Xhpz3l     
adv.牢固地,粗壮的
参考例句:
  • He stoutly denied his guilt.他断然否认自己有罪。
  • Burgess was taxed with this and stoutly denied it.伯杰斯为此受到了责难,但是他自己坚决否认有这回事。
56 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
57 exude 2znyo     
v.(使)流出,(使)渗出
参考例句:
  • Some successful men exude self-confidence.有些成功的人流露出自信。
  • The sun made him exude sweat.烈日晒得他汗流浃背。
58 solace uFFzc     
n.安慰;v.使快乐;vt.安慰(物),缓和
参考例句:
  • They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难,就在宗教中寻求安慰。
  • His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈,他便借酒浇愁。


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