BLACK CROSS FARM

(To F. S.)

After full many a mutual¹ delay

My friend and I at last fixed² on a day

For seeing Black Cross Farm, which he had long

Boasted the fittest theme for tale or song

In all that charming region round about:

Something that must not really be left out

Of the account of things to do for me.

It was a teasing bit of mystery,

He said, which he and his had tried in vain,

Ever since they had found it, to explain.

The right way was to happen, as they did,

Upon it in the hills where it was hid;

But chance could not be always trusted, quite,

You might not happen on it, though you might;

Encores were usually objected to

By chance. The next best thing that we could do

Was in his carryall, to start together,

And trust that somehow favoring wind and weather,

[Pg 174]With the eccentric progress of his horse,

Would so far drift us from our settled course

That we at least could lose ourselves, if not

Find the mysterious object that we sought.

So one blithe³ morning of the ripe July

We fared, by easy stages, toward the sky

That rested one rim⁴ of its turquoise⁵ cup

Low on the distant sea, and, tilted⁶ up,

The other on the irregular hilltops. Sweet

The sun and wind that joined to cool and heat

The air to one delicious temperature;

And over the smooth-cropt mowing⁸-pieces pure

The pine-breath, borrowing their spicy⁹ scent¹⁰

In barter¹¹ for the balsam that it lent!

And when my friend handed the reins¹² to me,

And drew a fuming¹³ match along his knee,

And, lighting¹⁴ his cigar, began to talk,

I let the old horse lapse¹⁵ into a walk

From his perfunctory trot¹⁶, content to listen,

Amid that leafy rustle¹⁷ and that glisten¹⁸

Of field, and wood, and ocean, rapt afar,

From every trouble of our anxious star.

From time to time, between effect and cause

In this or that, making a questioning pause,

My friend peered round him while he feigned¹⁹ a gay

Hope that we might have taken the wrong way

At the last turn, and then let me push on,

Or the old horse rather, slanting²⁰ hither and yon,

[Pg 175]And never in the middle of the track,

Except when slanting off or slanting back.

He talked, I listened, while we wandered by

The scanty²¹ fields of wheat and oats and rye,

With patches of potatoes and of corn,

And now and then a garden spot forlorn,

Run wild where once a house had stood, or where

An empty house yet stood, and seemed to stare

Upon us blindly from the twisted glass

Of windows that once let no wayfarer²² pass

Unseen of children dancing at the pane²³,

And vanishing to reappear again,

Pulling their mother with them to the sight.

Still we kept on, with turnings left and right,

Past farmsteads grouped in cheerful neighborhoods,

Or solitary²⁴; then through shadowy woods

Of pine or birch, until the road, grass-grown,

Had given back to Nature all her own

Save a faint wheel-trace, that along the slope,

Rain-gullied, seemed to stop and doubt and grope,

And then quite ceased, as if 't had turned and fled

Out of the forest into which it led,

And left us at the gate whose every bar

Was nailed against us. But, "Oh, here we are!"

My friend cried joyously²⁵. "At last, at last!"

And making our horse superfluously²⁶ fast,

[Pg 176]He led the way onward²⁷ by what had been

A lane, now hid by weeds and briers between

Meadows scarce worth the mowing, to a space

Shaped as by Nature for the dwelling-place

Of kindly²⁸ human life: a small plateau

Open to the heaven that seemed bending low

In liking²⁹ for it. There beneath a roof

Still against winter and summer weather-proof,

With walls and doors and windows perfect yet,

Between its garden and its graveyard³⁰ set,

Stood the old homestead, out of which had perished

The home whose memory it dumbly cherished,

And which, when at our push the door swung wide,

We might have well imagined to have died

And had its funeral the day before:

So clean and cold it was from floor to floor,

So lifelike and so deathlike, with the thrill

Of hours when life and death encountered still

Passionate³¹ in it. They that lay below

The tangled³² grasses or the drifted snow,

Husband and wife, mother and little one,

From that sad house less utterly³³ were gone

Than they that living had abandoned it.

In moonless nights their Absences might flit,

Homesick, from room to room, or dimly sit

Around its fireless hearths³⁴, or haunt the rose

And lily in the neglected garden close;

[Pg 177]But they whose feet had borne them from the door

Would pass the footworn threshold nevermore.

We read the moss-grown names upon the tombs,

With lighter³⁵ melancholy³⁶ than the glooms

Of the dead house shadowed us with, and thence

Turning, my heart was pierced with more intense

Suggestion of a mystical dismay,

As in the brilliance³⁷ of the summer day

We faced the vast gray barn. The house was old,

Though so well kept, as age by years is told

In our young land; but the barn, gray and vast,

Stood new and straight and strong—all battened fast

At every opening; and where once the mow⁷

Had yawned wide-windowed, on the sheathing³⁸ now

A Cross was nailed, the bigness of a man,

Aslant³⁹ from left to right, athwart the span,

And painted black as paint could make it. Hushed,

I stood, while manifold conjecture⁴⁰ rushed

To this point and to that point, and then burst

In the impotent questionings rejected first.

What did it mean? Ah, that no one could tell.

Who put it there? That was unknown as well.

Was there no legend? My friend knew of none.

No neighborhood story? He had sought for one

[Pg 178]In vain. Did he imagine it accident,

With nothing really implied or meant

By the boards set in that way? It might be,

But I could answer that as well as he.

Then (desperately) what did he guess it was:

Something of purpose, or without a cause

Other than chance? He slowly shook his head,

And with his gaze fixed on the symbol said:

"We have quite ceased from guessing or surmising⁴¹,

For all our several and joint⁴² devising

Has left us finally where I must leave you.

But now I think it is your part to do

Yourself some guessing. I hoped you might bring

A fresh mind to the riddle⁴³'s unraveling.

Come!"

 

And thus challenged I could not deny

The sort of right he had to have me try;

And yielding, I began—instinctively

Proceeding⁴⁴ by exclusion⁴⁵: "We agree

It was not put there as a pious⁴⁶ charm

To keep the abandoned property from harm?

The owner could have been no Catholic;

And yet it was no sacrilegious trick

To make folks wonder; and it was not chance

Assuredly that set those boards askance

In that shape, or before or after, so

Painted them to that coloring of woe⁴⁷.

[Pg 179]Do you suppose, then, that it could have been

Some secret sorrow or some secret sin,

That tried to utter or to expiate⁴⁸

Itself in that way: some unhappy hate

Turned to remorse⁴⁹, or some life-rending grief

That could not find in years or tears relief?

Who lived here last?"

 

"Ah," my friend made reply,

"You know as much concerning that as I.

All I could tell is what those gravestones tell,

And they have told it all to you as well.

The names, the dates, the curious epitaphs

At whose quaint⁵⁰ phrase one either sighs or laughs,

Just as one's heart or head happens to be

Hollow or not, are there for each to see.

But I believe they have nothing to reveal:

No wrong to publish, no shame to conceal⁵¹."

 

"And yet that Cross!" I turned at his reply,

Fixing the silent symbol with my eye,

Insistently⁵². "And you consent," I said,

"To leave the enigma⁵³ uninterpreted?"

 

"Why, no," he faltered⁵⁴, then went on: "Suppose

That some one that had known the average woes⁵⁵

Of human nature, finding that the load

Was overheavy for him on life's road,

Had wished to leave some token in this Cross,

Of what had been his gain and been his loss,

[Pg 180]Of what had been his suffering and of what

Had also been the solace⁵⁶ of his lot?

Whoever that unknown brother-man might be,

I think he must have been like you and me,

Who bear our Cross, and when we fail at length,

Bow down and pray to it for greater strength."

 

I mused⁵⁷, and as I mused, I seemed to find

The fancy more and still more to my mind.

 

"Well, let it go at that! I think, for me,

I like that better than some tragedy

Of clearer physiognomy, which were

In being more definite the vulgarer.

For us, what, after all, would be the gain

Of making the elusive⁵⁸ meaning plain?

I really think, if I were you and yours,

I would not lift the veil that now obscures

The appealing fact, lest I should spoil the charm

Deeding me for my own the Black Cross Farm."

 

"A good suggestion! I am glad," said he,

"We have always practised your philosophy."

 

He smiled, we laughed; we sighed and turned away,

And left the mystery to the summer day

That made as if it understood, and could

Have read the riddle to us if it would:

The wide, wise sky, the clouds that on the grass

Let their vague shadows dreamlike trail and pass;

[Pg 181]The conscious woods, the stony⁵⁹ meadows growing

Up to birch pastures, where we heard the lowing

Of one disconsolate⁶⁰ cow. All the warm afternoon,

Lulled⁶¹ in a reverie by the myriad⁶² tune⁶³

Of insects, and the chirp⁶⁴ of songless birds,

Forgetful of the spring-time's lyric⁶⁵ words,

Drowsed round us while we tried to find the lane

That to our coming feet had been so plain,

And lost ourselves among the sweetfern's growth,

And thickets⁶⁶ of young pine-trees, nothing loath⁶⁷,

Amidst the wilding loveliness to stray,

And spend, if need were, looking for the way,

Whole hours; but blundered into the right course

Suddenly, and came out upon our horse,

Where we had left him—to our great surprise,

Stamping and switching at the pestering⁶⁸ flies,

But not apparently⁶⁹ anxious to depart,

When nearly overturning at the start,

We followed down that evanescent trace

Which, followed up, had brought us to the place.

 

Then, all the wayside scenes reversing, we

Dropped to the glimpses of the distant sea,

Content as if we brought, returning thus,

The secret of the Black Cross back with us.

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 blithe   

adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的

参考例句：

• Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
• He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。

4 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

5 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

6 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

7 mow   

v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆

参考例句：

• He hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。
• We shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.我们得把大田里的高草割掉。

8 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

9 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

10 scent   

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。

11 barter   

n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• They have arranged food imports on a barter basis.他们以易货贸易的方式安排食品进口。

12 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：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

13 fuming   

愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟

参考例句：

• She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. 她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。
• I was fuming at their inefficiency. 我正因为他们效率低而发火。

14 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

15 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

16 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

17 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

18 glisten   

vi.（光洁或湿润表面等）闪闪发光，闪闪发亮

参考例句：

• Dewdrops glisten in the morning sun.露珠在晨光下闪闪发光。
• His sunken eyes glistened with delight.他凹陷的眼睛闪现出喜悦的光芒。

19 feigned   

a.假装的，不真诚的

参考例句：

• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
• He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。

20 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

21 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

22 wayfarer   

n.旅人

参考例句：

• You are the solitary wayfarer in this deserted street.在这冷寂的街上，你是孤独的行人。
• The thirsty wayfarer was glad to find a fresh spring near the road.口渴的徒步旅行者很高兴在路边找到新鲜的泉水。

23 pane   

n.窗格玻璃，长方块

参考例句：

• He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
• Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。

24 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

25 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

26 superfluously   

过分地； 过剩地

参考例句：

• Superfluously, he added his silly comments to the discussion. 他多此一举地把自己愚蠢的观点加到了讨论之中。

27 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

28 kindly   

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。

29 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

30 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

31 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

32 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

33 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

34 hearths   

壁炉前的地板，炉床，壁炉边( hearth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The soldiers longed for their own hearths. 战士想家。
• In the hearths the fires down and the meat stopped cooking. 在壁炉的火平息和肉停止做饭。

35 lighter   

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。

36 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

37 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

38 sheathing   

n.覆盖物，罩子v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的现在分词 )；包，覆盖

参考例句：

• The effect of nitrogen can be overcome by sheathing the flame in argon. 氮的影响则可以通过用氩气包覆火焰而予以克服。 来自辞典例句
• Sheathing layer: PVC extruded polyethylene or in the form of weaving. 护套层：用聚乙烯或聚氯乙烯挤塑在编织层上而成的。 来自互联网

39 aslant   

adv.倾斜地；adj.斜的

参考例句：

• The sunlight fell aslant the floor.阳光斜落在地板上。
• He leant aslant against the wall.他身子歪斜着依靠在墙上。

40 conjecture   

n./v.推测，猜测

参考例句：

• She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
• This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。

41 surmising   

v.臆测，推断( surmise的现在分词 )；揣测；猜想

参考例句：

• Fanny's heart beat quick, and she felt quite unequal to surmising or soliciting any more. 范妮的心跳得快了起来，她不敢猜测她往下讲些什么，也不敢求她再往下讲。 来自辞典例句

42 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

43 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

44 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

45 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

46 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

47 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

48 expiate   

v.抵补，赎罪

参考例句：

• He tried to expiate his crimes by giving money to the church.他以捐款给教会来赎罪。
• It seemed that Alice was expiating her father's sins with her charity work.似乎艾丽斯正在通过自己的慈善工作来弥补父亲的罪过。

49 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

50 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

51 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

52 insistently   

ad.坚持地

参考例句：

• Still Rhett did not look at her. His eyes were bent insistently on Melanie's white face. 瑞德还是看也不看她，他的眼睛死死地盯着媚兰苍白的脸。
• These are the questions which we should think and explore insistently. 怎样实现这一主体性等问题仍要求我们不断思考、探索。

53 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

54 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

55 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

56 solace   

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。

57 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

58 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

59 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

60 disconsolate   

adj.忧郁的，不快的

参考例句：

• He looked so disconsolate that It'scared her.他看上去情绪很坏，吓了她一跳。
• At the dress rehearsal she was disconsolate.彩排时她闷闷不乐。

61 lulled   

vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

62 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

63 tune   

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。

64 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

65 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

66 thickets   

n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物

参考例句：

• Small trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets. 小树稀稀朗朗地立在树林里。 来自辞典例句
• The entire surface is covered with dense thickets. 所有的地面盖满了密密层层的灌木丛。 来自辞典例句

67 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

68 pestering   

使烦恼，纠缠( pester的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He's always pestering me to help him with his homework. 他总是泡蘑菇要我帮他做作业。
• I'm telling you once and for all, if you don't stop pestering me you'll be sorry. 我这是最后一次警告你。如果你不停止纠缠我，你将来会后悔的。

69 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。