Among the promises which Mrs. Ambrose had made her niece should shestay was a room cut off from the rest of the house, large, private--a room in which she could play, read, think, defy the world, a fortressas well as a sanctuary1. Rooms, she knew, became more like worldsthan rooms at the age of twenty-four. Her judgment2 was correct,and when she shut the door Rachel entered an enchanted3 place,where the poets sang and things fell into their right proportions.
Some days after the vision of the hotel by night she was sitting alone,sunk in an arm-chair, reading a brightly-covered red volume letteredon the back _Works_ _of_ _Henrik_ _Ibsen_. Music was open onthe piano, and books of music rose in two jagged pillars on the floor;but for the moment music was deserted4.
Far from looking bored or absent-minded, her eyes were concentratedalmost sternly upon the page, and from her breathing, which was slowbut repressed, it could be seen that her whole body was constrainedby the working of her mind. At last she shut the book sharply,lay back, and drew a deep breath, expressive5 of the wonder which alwaysmarks the transition from the imaginary world to the real world.
"What I want to know," she said aloud, "is this: What is the truth?
What's the truth of it all?" She was speaking partly as herself,and partly as the heroine of the play she had just read.
The landscape outside, because she had seen nothing but printfor the space of two hours, now appeared amazingly solid and clear,but although there were men on the hill washing the trunks of olivetrees with a white liquid, for the moment she herself was the mostvivid thing in it--an heroic statue in the middle of the foreground,dominating the view. Ibsen's plays always left her in that condition.
She acted them for days at a time, greatly to Helen's amusement;and then it would be Meredith's turn and she became Diana ofthe Crossways. But Helen was aware that it was not all acting,and that some sort of change was taking place in the human being.
When Rachel became tired of the rigidity6 of her pose on the backof the chair, she turned round, slid comfortably down into it,and gazed out over the furniture through the window opposite whichopened on the garden. (Her mind wandered away from Nora, but shewent on thinking of things that the book suggested to her, of womenand life.)During the three months she had been here she had made up considerably,as Helen meant she should, for time spent in interminable walksround sheltered gardens, and the household gossip of her aunts.
But Mrs. Ambrose would have been the first to disclaim7 any influence,or indeed any belief that to influence was within her power.
She saw her less shy, and less serious, which was all to the good,and the violent leaps and the interminable mazes8 which had ledto that result were usually not even guessed at by her. Talk wasthe medicine she trusted to, talk about everything, talk thatwas free, unguarded, and as candid9 as a habit of talking with menmade natural in her own case. Nor did she encourage those habitsof unselfishness and amiability10 founded upon insincerity which areput at so high a value in mixed households of men and women.
She desired that Rachel should think, and for this reason offeredbooks and discouraged too entire a dependence11 upon Bach and Beethovenand Wagner. But when Mrs. Ambrose would have suggested Defoe,Maupassant, or some spacious13 chronicle of family life, Rachel chosemodern books, books in shiny yellow covers, books with a great dealof gilding14 on the back, which were tokens in her aunt's eyes of harshwrangling and disputes about facts which had no such importanceas the moderns claimed for them. But she did not interfere15.
Rachel read what she chose, reading with the curious literalnessof one to whom written sentences are unfamiliar16, and handling wordsas though they were made of wood, separately of great importance,and possessed17 of shapes like tables or chairs. In this wayshe came to conclusions, which had to be remodelled18 accordingto the adventures of the day, and were indeed recast as liberallyas any one could desire, leaving always a small grain of beliefbehind them.
Ibsen was succeeded by a novel such as Mrs. Ambrose detested,whose purpose was to distribute the guilt19 of a woman's downfallupon the right shoulders; a purpose which was achieved, if thereader's discomfort20 were any proof of it. She threw the book down,looked out of the window, turned away from the window, and relapsedinto an arm-chair.
The morning was hot, and the exercise of reading left her mindcontracting and expanding like the main-spring of a clock,and the small noises of midday, which one can ascribe to nodefinite cause, in a regular rhythm. It was all very real, very big,very impersonal21, and after a moment or two she began to raise herfirst finger and to let it fall on the arm of her chair so as tobring back to herself some consciousness of her own existence.
She was next overcome by the unspeakable queerness of the factthat she should be sitting in an arm-chair, in the morning,in the middle of the world. Who were the people moving in the house--moving things from one place to another? And life, what was that?
It was only a light passing over the surface and vanishing,as in time she would vanish, though the furniture in the roomwould remain. Her dissolution became so complete that shecould not raise her finger any more, and sat perfectly22 still,listening and looking always at the same spot. It became strangerand stranger. She was overcome with awe23 that things should existat all. . . . She forgot that she had any fingers to raise.
. . . The things that existed were so immense and so desolate24.
. . . She continued to be conscious of these vast masses of substancefor a long stretch of time, the clock still ticking in the midstof the universal silence.
"Come in," she said mechanically, for a string in her brain seemedto be pulled by a persistent25 knocking at the door. With greatslowness the door opened and a tall human being came towards her,holding out her arm and saying:
"What am I to say to this?"The utter absurdity26 of a woman coming into a room with a pieceof paper in her hand amazed Rachel.
"I don't know what to answer, or who Terence Hewet is," Helen continued,in the toneless voice of a ghost. She put a paper before Rachelon which were written the incredible words:
DEAR MRS. AMBROSE--I am getting up a picnic for next Friday,when we propose to start at eleven-thirty if the weather is fine,and to make the ascent27 of Monte Rosa. It will take some time,but the view should be magnificent. It would give me great pleasureif you and Miss Vinrace would consent to be of the party.--Yours sincerely, TERENCE HEWETRachel read the words aloud to make herself believe in them.
For the same reason she put her hand on Helen's shoulder.
"Books--books--books," said Helen, in her absent-minded way.
"More new books--I wonder what you find in them. . . ."For the second time Rachel read the letter, but to herself.
This time, instead of seeming vague as ghosts, each word wasastonishingly prominent; they came out as the tops of mountainscome through a mist. _Friday_--_eleven-thirty_--_Miss_ _Vinrace_.
The blood began to run in her veins28; she felt her eyes brighten.
"We must go," she said, rather surprising Helen by her decision.
"We must certainly go"--such was the relief of finding that thingsstill happened, and indeed they appeared the brighter for the mistsurrounding them.
"Monte Rosa--that's the mountain over there, isn't it?" said Helen;"but Hewet--who's he? One of the young men Ridley met, I suppose.
Shall I say yes, then? It may be dreadfully dull."She took the letter back and went, for the messenger was waitingfor her answer.
The party which had been suggested a few nights ago in Mr. Hirst'sbedroom had taken shape and was the source of great satisfactionto Mr. Hewet, who had seldom used his practical abilities, and waspleased to find them equal to the strain. His invitations had beenuniversally accepted, which was the more encouraging as they hadbeen issued against Hirst's advice to people who were very dull,not at all suited to each other, and sure not to come.
"Undoubtedly," he said, as he twirled and untwirled a note signedHelen Ambrose, "the gifts needed to make a great commander havebeen absurdly overrated. About half the intellectual effortwhich is needed to review a book of modern poetry has enabledme to get together seven or eight people, of opposite sexes,at the same spot at the same hour on the same day. What elseis generalship, Hirst? What more did Wellington do on the fieldof Waterloo? It's like counting the number of pebbles29 of a path,tedious but not difficult."He was sitting in his bedroom, one leg over the arm of the chair,and Hirst was writing a letter opposite. Hirst was quick to pointout that all the difficulties remained.
"For instance, here are two women you've never seen. Suppose oneof them suffers from mountain-sickness, as my sister does,and the other--""Oh, the women are for you," Hewet interrupted. "I asked them solelyfor your benefit. What you want, Hirst, you know, is the society ofyoung women of your own age. You don't know how to get on with women,which is a great defect, considering that half the world consists of women."Hirst groaned30 that he was quite aware of that.
But Hewet's complacency was a little chilled as he walked withHirst to the place where a general meeting had been appointed.
He wondered why on earth he had asked these people, and what onereally expected to get from bunching human beings up together.
"Cows," he reflected, "draw together in a field; ships in a calm;and we're just the same when we've nothing else to do. But why do wedo it?--is it to prevent ourselves from seeing to the bottom of things"(he stopped by a stream and began stirring it with his walking-stickand clouding the water with mud), "making cities and mountainsand whole universes out of nothing, or do we really love each other,or do we, on the other hand, live in a state of perpetual uncertainty,knowing nothing, leaping from moment to moment as from world to world?--which is, on the whole, the view _I_ incline to."He jumped over the stream; Hirst went round and joined him,remarking that he had long ceased to look for the reason of anyhuman action.
Half a mile further, they came to a group of plane trees and thesalmon-pink farmhouse31 standing32 by the stream which had been chosenas meeting-place. It was a shady spot, lying conveniently just wherethe hill sprung out from the flat. Between the thin stems of the planetrees the young men could see little knots of donkeys pasturing,and a tall woman rubbing the nose of one of them, while anotherwoman was kneeling by the stream lapping water out of her palms.
As they entered the shady place, Helen looked up and then heldout her hand.
"I must introduce myself," she said. "I am Mrs. Ambrose."Having shaken hands, she said, "That's my niece."Rachel approached awkwardly. She held out her hand, but withdrew it.
"It's all wet," she said.
Scarcely had they spoken, when the first carriage drew up.
The donkeys were quickly jerked into attention, and the secondcarriage arrived. By degrees the grove34 filled with people--the Elliots, the Thornburys, Mr. Venning and Susan, Miss Allan,Evelyn Murgatroyd, and Mr. Perrott. Mr. Hirst acted the part ofhoarse energetic sheep-dog. By means of a few words of caustic35 Latinhe had the animals marshalled, and by inclining a sharp shoulder helifted the ladies. "What Hewet fails to understand," he remarked,"is that we must break the back of the ascent before midday."He was assisting a young lady, by name Evelyn Murgatroyd, as he spoke33.
She rose light as a bubble to her seat. With a feather droopingfrom a broad-brimmed hat, in white from top to toe, she looked likea gallant37 lady of the time of Charles the First leading royalisttroops into action.
"Ride with me," she commanded; and, as soon as Hirst had swunghimself across a mule38, the two started, leading the cavalcade39.
"You're not to call me Miss Murgatroyd. I hate it," she said.
"My name's Evelyn. What's yours?""St. John," he said.
"I like that," said Evelyn. "And what's your friend's name?""His initials being R. S. T., we call him Monk," said Hirst.
"Oh, you're all too clever," she said. "Which way?" Pick me a branch.
Let's canter."She gave her donkey a sharp cut with a switch and started forward.
The full and romantic career of Evelyn Murgatroyd is best hit offby her own words, "Call me Evelyn and I'll call you St. John."She said that on very slight provocation--her surname was enough--but although a great many young men had answered her alreadywith considerable spirit she went on saying it and making choiceof none. But her donkey stumbled to a jog-trot, and she had toride in advance alone, for the path when it began to ascend40 oneof the spines41 of the hill became narrow and scattered42 with stones.
The cavalcade wound on like a jointed43 caterpillar44, tufted with thewhite parasols of the ladies, and the panama hats of the gentlemen.
At one point where the ground rose sharply, Evelyn M. jumped off,threw her reins45 to the native boy, and adjured46 St. John Hirst todismount too. Their example was followed by those who felt the needof stretching.
"I don't see any need to get off," said Miss Allan to Mrs. Elliotjust behind her, "considering the difficulty I had getting on.""These little donkeys stand anything, _n'est-ce_ _pas_?"Mrs. Elliot addressed the guide, who obligingly bowed his head.
"Flowers," said Helen, stooping to pick the lovely little brightflowers which grew separately here and there. "You pinch their leavesand then they smell," she said, laying one on Miss Allan's knee.
"Haven't we met before?" asked Miss Allan, looking at her.
"I was taking it for granted," Helen laughed, for in the confusionof meeting they had not been introduced.
"How sensible!" chirped47 Mrs. Elliot. "That's just what one wouldalways like--only unfortunately it's not possible." "Not possible?"said Helen. "Everything's possible. Who knows what mayn't happenbefore night-fall?" she continued, mocking the poor lady's timidity,who depended implicitly48 upon one thing following another that the mereglimpse of a world where dinner could be disregarded, or the tablemoved one inch from its accustomed place, filled her with fearsfor her own stability.
Higher and higher they went, becoming separated from the world.
The world, when they turned to look back, flattened49 itself out,and was marked with squares of thin green and grey.
"Towns are very small," Rachel remarked, obscuring the wholeof Santa Marina and its suburbs with one hand. The sea filledin all the angles of the coast smoothly50, breaking in a white frill,and here and there ships were set firmly in the blue. The seawas stained with purple and green blots51, and there was a glitteringline upon the rim36 where it met the sky. The air was very clear andsilent save for the sharp noise of grasshoppers52 and the hum of bees,which sounded loud in the ear as they shot past and vanished.
The party halted and sat for a time in a quarry53 on the hillside.
"Amazingly clear," exclaimed St. John, identifying one cleftin the land after another.
Evelyn M. sat beside him, propping54 her chin on her hand.
She surveyed the view with a certain look of triumph.
"D'you think Garibaldi was ever up here?" she asked Mr. Hirst.
Oh, if she had been his bride! If, instead of a picnic party,this was a party of patriots55, and she, red-shirted like the rest,had lain among grim men, flat on the turf, aiming her gun at the whiteturrets beneath them, screening her eyes to pierce through the smoke!
So thinking, her foot stirred restlessly, and she exclaimed:
"I don't call this _life_, do you?""What do you call life?" said St. John.
"Fighting--revolution," she said, still gazing at the doomed56 city.
"You only care for books, I know.""You're quite wrong," said St. John.
"Explain," she urged, for there were no guns to be aimed at bodies,and she turned to another kind of warfare57.
"What do I care for? People," he said.
"Well, I _am_ surprised!" she exclaimed. "You look so awfully58 serious.
Do let's be friends and tell each other what we're like. I hatebeing cautious, don't you?"But St. John was decidedly cautious, as she could see by the suddenconstriction of his lips, and had no intention of revealing hissoul to a young lady. "The ass12 is eating my hat," he remarked,and stretched out for it instead of answering her. Evelyn blushedvery slightly and then turned with some impetuosity upon Mr. Perrott,and when they mounted again it was Mr. Perrott who lifted her toher seat.
"When one has laid the eggs one eatsthe omelette," said Hughling Elliot, exquisitelyin French, a hint to the rest of them that it was time to ride on again.
The midday sun which Hirst had foretold60 was beginning to beatdown hotly. The higher they got the more of the sky appeared,until the mountain was only a small tent of earth against an enormousblue background. The English fell silent; the natives who walkedbeside the donkeys broke into queer wavering songs and tossed jokesfrom one to the other. The way grew very steep, and each rider kepthis eyes fixed61 on the hobbling curved form of the rider and donkeydirectly in front of him. Rather more strain was being put upontheir bodies than is quite legitimate62 in a party of pleasure,and Hewet overheard one or two slightly grumbling63 remarks.
"Expeditions in such heat are perhaps a little unwise," Mrs. Elliotmurmured to Miss Allan.
But Miss Allan returned, "I always like to get to the top";and it was true, although she was a big woman, stiff in the joints,and unused to donkey-riding, but as her holidays were few she madethe most of them.
The vivacious64 white figure rode well in front; she had somehow possessedherself of a leafy branch and wore it round her hat like a garland.
They went on for a few minutes in silence.
"The view will be wonderful," Hewet assured them, turning roundin his saddle and smiling encouragement. Rachel caught his eye andsmiled too. They struggled on for some time longer, nothing beingheard but the clatter65 of hooves striving on the loose stones.
Then they saw that Evelyn was off her ass, and that Mr. Perrottwas standing in the attitude of a statesman in Parliament Square,stretching an arm of stone towards the view. A little to the leftof them was a low ruined wall, the stump66 of an Elizabethan watch-tower.
"I couldn't have stood it much longer," Mrs. Elliot confided67 toMrs. Thornbury, but the excitement of being at the top in anothermoment and seeing the view prevented any one from answering her.
One after another they came out on the flat space at the top and stoodovercome with wonder. Before them they beheld68 an immense space--grey sands running into forest, and forest merging69 in mountains,and mountains washed by air, the infinite distances of South America.
A river ran across the plain, as flat as the land, and appearingquite as stationary70. The effect of so much space was at firstrather chilling. They felt themselves very small, and for sometime no one said anything. Then Evelyn exclaimed, "Splendid!"She took hold of the hand that was next her; it chanced to be MissAllan's hand.
"North--South--East--West," said Miss Allan, jerking her headslightly towards the points of the compass.
Hewet, who had gone a little in front, looked up at his guestsas if to justify71 himself for having brought them. He observedhow strangely the people standing in a row with their figures bentslightly forward and their clothes plastered by the wind to the shapeof their bodies resembled naked statues. On their pedestal of earththey looked unfamiliar and noble, but in another moment they hadbroken their rank, and he had to see to the laying out of food.
Hirst came to his help, and they handed packets of chicken and breadfrom one to another.
As St. John gave Helen her packet she looked him full in the faceand said:
"Do you remember--two women?"He looked at her sharply.
"I do," he answered.
"So you're the two women!" Hewet exclaimed, looking from Helento Rachel.
"Your lights tempted72 us," said Helen. "We watched you playing cards,but we never knew that we were being watched.""It was like a thing in a play," Rachel added.
"And Hirst couldn't describe you," said Hewet.
It was certainly odd to have seen Helen and to find nothing to sayabout her.
Hughling Elliot put up his eyeglass and grasped the situation.
"I don't know of anything more dreadful," he said, pulling at the jointof a chicken's leg, "than being seen when one isn't conscious of it.
One feels sure one has been caught doing something ridiculous--looking at one's tongue in a hansom, for instance."Now the others ceased to look at the view, and drawing togethersat down in a circle round the baskets.
"And yet those little looking-glasses in hansoms have afascination of their own," said Mrs. Thornbury. "One's featureslook so different when one can only see a bit of them.""There will soon be very few hansom cabs left," said Mrs. Elliot.
"And four-wheeled cabs--I assure you even at Oxford73 it's almostimpossible to get a four-wheeled cab.""I wonder what happens to the horses," said Susan.
"Veal pie," said Arthur.
"It's high time that horses should become extinct anyhow," said Hirst.
"They're distressingly74 ugly, besides being vicious."But Susan, who had been brought up to understand that the horseis the noblest of God's creatures, could not agree, and Venningthought Hirst an unspeakable ass, but was too polite not to continuethe conversation.
"When they see us falling out of aeroplanes they get some of theirown back, I expect," he remarked.
"You fly?" said old Mr. Thornbury, putting on his spectacles to lookat him.
"I hope to, some day," said Arthur.
Here flying was discussed at length, and Mrs. Thornbury deliveredan opinion which was almost a speech to the effect that it wouldbe quite necessary in time of war, and in England we were terriblybehind-hand. "If I were a young fellow," she concluded, "I shouldcertainly qualify." It was odd to look at the little elderly lady,in her grey coat and skirt, with a sandwich in her hand, her eyes lightingup with zeal75 as she imagined herself a young man in an aeroplane.
For some reason, however, the talk did not run easily after this,and all they said was about drink and salt and the view.
Suddenly Miss Allan, who was seated with her back to the ruined wall,put down her sandwich, picked something off her neck, and remarked,"I'm covered with little creatures." It was true, and the discoverywas very welcome. The ants were pouring down a glacier76 of looseearth heaped between the stones of the ruin--large brown antswith polished bodies. She held out one on the back of her handfor Helen to look at.
"Suppose they sting?" said Helen.
"They will not sting, but they may infest77 the victuals," said Miss Allan,and measures were taken at once to divert the ants from their course.
At Hewet's suggestion it was decided59 to adopt the methods of modernwarfare against an invading army. The table-cloth representedthe invaded country, and round it they built barricades78 of baskets,set up the wine bottles in a rampart, made fortifications of breadand dug fosses of salt. When an ant got through it was exposed toa fire of bread-crumbs, until Susan pronounced that that was cruel,and rewarded those brave spirits with spoil in the shape of tongue.
Playing this game they lost their stiffness, and even becameunusually daring, for Mr. Perrott, who was very shy, said, "Permit me,"and removed an ant from Evelyn's neck.
"It would be no laughing matter really," said Mrs. Elliot confidentiallyto Mrs. Thornbury, "if an ant did get between the vest and the skin."The noise grew suddenly more clamorous79, for it was discovered thata long line of ants had found their way on to the table-cloth by aback entrance, and if success could be gauged80 by noise, Hewet hadevery reason to think his party a success. Nevertheless he became,for no reason at all, profoundly depressed81.
"They are not satisfactory; they are ignoble," he thought, surveying hisguests from a little distance, where he was gathering82 together the plates.
He glanced at them all, stooping and swaying and gesticulating roundthe table-cloth. Amiable83 and modest, respectable in many ways,lovable even in their contentment and desire to be kind, how mediocrethey all were, and capable of what insipid84 cruelty to one another!
There was Mrs. Thornbury, sweet but trivial in her maternal85 egoism;Mrs. Elliot, perpetually complaining of her lot; her husband a merepea in a pod; and Susan--she had no self, and counted neither one waynor the other; Venning was as honest and as brutal86 as a schoolboy;poor old Thornbury merely trod his round like a horse in a mill;and the less one examined into Evelyn's character the better,he suspected. Yet these were the people with money, and to themrather than to others was given the management of the world.
Put among them some one more vital, who cared for life or for beauty,and what an agony, what a waste would they inflict87 on him if he triedto share with them and not to scourge88!
"There's Hirst," he concluded, coming to the figure of his friend;with his usual little frown of concentration upon his forehead hewas peeling the skin off a banana. "And he's as ugly as sin."For the ugliness of St. John Hirst, and the limitations that wentwith it, he made the rest in some way responsible. It was theirfault that he had to live alone. Then he came to Helen, attracted toher by the sound of her laugh. She was laughing at Miss Allan.
"You wear combinations in this heat?" she said in a voice whichwas meant to be private. He liked the look of her immensely,not so much her beauty, but her largeness and simplicity,which made her stand out from the rest like a great stone woman,and he passed on in a gentler mood. His eye fell upon Rachel.
She was lying back rather behind the others resting on one elbow;she might have been thinking precisely89 the same thoughts as Hewet himself.
Her eyes were fixed rather sadly but not intently upon the rowof people opposite her. Hewet crawled up to her on his knees,with a piece of bread in his hand.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
She was a little startled, but answered directly, "Human beings."
收听单词发音 |
1
sanctuary
|
|
| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
enchanted
|
|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
expressive
|
|
| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
rigidity
|
|
| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
disclaim
|
|
| v.放弃权利，拒绝承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
mazes
|
|
| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
candid
|
|
| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
amiability
|
|
| n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
dependence
|
|
| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
ass
|
|
| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
spacious
|
|
| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
gilding
|
|
| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
interfere
|
|
| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
unfamiliar
|
|
| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
remodelled
|
|
| v.改变…的结构[形状]( remodel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
guilt
|
|
| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
discomfort
|
|
| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
impersonal
|
|
| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
persistent
|
|
| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
absurdity
|
|
| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
ascent
|
|
| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
pebbles
|
|
| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
groaned
|
|
| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
farmhouse
|
|
| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
grove
|
|
| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
caustic
|
|
| adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
gallant
|
|
| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
mule
|
|
| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
cavalcade
|
|
| n.车队等的行列 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
ascend
|
|
| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
spines
|
|
| n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
jointed
|
|
| 有接缝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
caterpillar
|
|
| n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
reins
|
|
| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
adjured
|
|
| v.（以起誓或诅咒等形式）命令要求( adjure的过去式和过去分词 )；祈求；恳求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
chirped
|
|
| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
implicitly
|
|
| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
blots
|
|
| 污渍( blot的名词复数 )； 墨水渍； 错事； 污点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
grasshoppers
|
|
| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
quarry
|
|
| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
propping
|
|
| 支撑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
patriots
|
|
| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
doomed
|
|
| 命定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
warfare
|
|
| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
awfully
|
|
| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
foretold
|
|
| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
legitimate
|
|
| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
grumbling
|
|
| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
vivacious
|
|
| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
clatter
|
|
| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
stump
|
|
| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
confided
|
|
| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
merging
|
|
| 合并（分类） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
stationary
|
|
| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
justify
|
|
| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
Oxford
|
|
| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
distressingly
|
|
| adv. 令人苦恼地；悲惨地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
glacier
|
|
| n.冰川，冰河 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
infest
|
|
| v.大批出没于；侵扰；寄生于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
barricades
|
|
| 路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
clamorous
|
|
| adj.吵闹的，喧哗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
gauged
|
|
| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
depressed
|
|
| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
insipid
|
|
| adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
maternal
|
|
| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
inflict
|
|
| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
scourge
|
|
| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |