小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 经典英文小说 » Our Little Lady » Chapter Seven. A Spice of Philosophy.
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
Chapter Seven. A Spice of Philosophy.
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 While Dan was thus detailing his troubles in Avice’s kitchen, his daughter Emma was finishing her day’s work. She was apprenticed1 to an embroideress; for all kinds of embroidery2 were in much greater use then than now. There was no sort of trimming except embroidery and fur; there were no such things as printed cottons; and not only ladies’ dresses, but gentlemen’s, and all kinds of curtains and hangings, were very largely ornamented3 with the needle. Mrs De la Laund kept eighteen apprentices4, and they worked in a long, narrow room with windows at each end—not glass windows, but just square openings, where light, wind, and rain or snow, came in together. It was about half an hour before it would be time to stop work. There was no clock in the room, and there were only three in all Lincoln. Clocks such as we have were then unknown. They had but two measures of time—the clepsydra, or water-clock, and the sun-dial. When a man had neither of these, he employed all kinds of ingenious expedients5 for guessing what time it was, if the day were cloudy and the sun not to be seen. King Alfred had invented the plan, long before, of having candles to burn a certain time; the monks7 knew how long it took to repeat certain psalms8. Mrs De la Laund stopped work when the cathedral bell tolled9 for vespers—that is, at four o’clock.
 
“You look tired, Antigone,” said Emma to her nearest neighbour, a pale girl of eighteen.
 
“Tired? Of course I’m tired,” was the unpromising answer. “Where’s the good? One must go on.”
 
“She does not like the work,” said the girl on the other side of her.
 
“Do you?” responded Antigone, turning to her.
 
The girl gave a little laugh. “I don’t think whether I like it or not,” she said. “I like being taught what will get me a living some day.”
 
“I hate it!” answered Antigone. “Why should I have to work for my living, when Lady Margaret, up at the Castle, never needs to put a needle in or out unless she pleases?”
 
Nay10, you’re wrong there. My sister Justina is scullion-maid at the Castle, and I am sure, from what she tells me, you wouldn’t like to change with Lady Margaret.”
 
“My word, but I would!”
 
“Why not, Sarah?” asked Emma.
 
“Well,” replied Sarah with a smile, “Antigone likes what she calls a bit of fun when the day’s work is over; and she would not get nearly so much as she does, if she were in Lady Margaret’s place. She dwells in three chambers12 in her mother’s tower, and never comes down except to hall,” (namely, to meals,) “with now and then a decorous dance under the eyes of the Lady Countess. No running races on the green, nor chattering13 away to everybody, nor games—except upstairs in her own room with a few other young damsels. Antigone would think she was in prison, to be used like that. And learning!—why, she has to learn Latin, and surgery, and heraldry, and all sorts of needlework—not embroidery only; and cooking, and music, and I do not know what else. How would you like it, Antigone?”
 
“Well, at any rate, she has a change!” said Antigone, with some acerbity14.
 
“Not quite the same thing as no work at all, for which I thought you were longing15. And no liberty, remember.”
 
“But her gowns, Sarah, her gowns!—and her hoods17, and cloaks, and everything else! Did you see her last Saint Michael? I’d have given a bit of liberty for that orange samite and those lovely blue slippers18!”
 
Sarah laughed and gave a little shake of her head.
 
“I know who is fond of Hunt the Slipper,” said she. “A pretty figure an orange samite gown would cut after an evening of it! I think, too, I would rather be free to go about on my feet than even to wear lovely blue slippers. Nay, Antigone, you may depend upon it, there are less pleasant things in Lady Margaret’s life than orange gowns and blue slippers. We can have a say about our weddings, remember: but she will be handed over to somebody she never saw, as like as not. I’d rather be as I am. Mother says folks’ lots are more even than they like to think. Poor folks fancy that rich ones have nothing to trouble them worth mention; and a sick man thinks, if he were only well, he would not mind being poor; and a man in prison says that if he could but be free, he could bear both illness and poverty. The truth is, everybody thinks his own trouble the worst; and yet, if we had our neighbours’ instead, nine times out of ten we should be glad to get back to our own. We know the worst of them, and often we don’t of the others. So that is why I say, I’d rather be as I am.”
 
“But people look down on you!” said Antigone.
 
“Well, let them. That won’t hurt me,” answered Sarah.
 
“Sarah, I do believe you’ve not a bit of spirit!”
 
“I’d rather keep my spirit for what it is good for—to help me over hard places and along weary bits of road. All women have those at times. Mother says—”
 
“Where’s the good of quoting old women? They have outlived their youth.”
 
“Well, at any rate they lived through it, and some of them picked up a bit of wisdom by the way.”
 
“You may keep your musty wisdom to yourself! I want none of it!” said Antigone, scornfully.
 
“I want all I can get,” quietly responded Sarah. “Mother says (if you don’t care for it, Emma may) that discontent is the worst companion a girl can have for making everything look miserable20. You’ll be a deal happier, she says, with a dry crust and a good will to it, than with a roast ox and a complaining temper.”
 
“Ay, that’s true!” said Emma, with a sigh.
 
“Poor Emma!” laughed Antigone. “You get enough of it, don’t you, at the smithy?”
 
“I would rather not talk over my mother and sisters, if you please,” returned Emma.
 
“Oh, you don’t need to take airs, my lady. I know!”
 
“Come, let Emma be,” said Sarah. “Let’s keep our tempers, if we haven’t much else. There’s the vesper bell!”
 
Antigone’s work was not likely to be improved by the hasty huddled-up style in which it was folded, while Sarah and Emma shook theirs straight and carefully avoided creases21. They had then to give it in to the mistress, who stood at one end of the room, putting all away in a large coffer. When the last girl had given in her work, Mrs De la Laund called for silence.
 
“On Thursday next,” said she, “I shall give you a holiday after dinner. The Queen comes to Lincoln on that day, and I wish to give as many as are good girls the chance of seeing her enter. But I shall expect to have no creased22 work like Antigone’s; nor split and frayed23 like Geneveva’s; nor dirtied like Femiana’s. Now you may go.”
 
They had odd names for girls in those days. Among the nobles and gentry24, most were like ours; young ladies of rank were Alice, Cicely, Margaret, Joan, Isabel, Emma, or Agnes: a strange name being the exception. But among working women the odd names were then the rule: they were Yngeleis, Sabelina, Orenge, Pimma, Cinelote, Argentella, and very many more of the same high-sounding kind.
 
When the apprentices left the work-room, they were free to do as they liked till seven o’clock, when they must all re-assemble there, answer to their names called over, repeat some prayers after Mrs de la Laund, and go to bed in a large loft25 at the top of the house. Characters came out on these occasions. The majority showed themselves thoughtless and giddy: they went to run races on the green, and to play games—the better disposed only among themselves: but the wild, adventurous26 spirits soon joined a lot of idle youths as unsteady as themselves, with whom they spent the evening in rough play, loud laughter, and not altogether decorous joking. The little group of sensible girls kept away from such scenes. Most of them went to see their friends, if within reasonable distance; those who had none at hand sat or walked quietly together. Emma and Sarah were among these.
 
Any person entering Lincoln on the following Wednesday would plainly have seen that the town was preparing for some great event. Every house draped itself in some kind of hanging—the rich in coarse silk, the poorer in bunting or whatever they could get. The iron hoops27 here and there built into the walls for that purpose, held long pine-sticks, to be lighted as torches after dark; and they would need careful watching, for a great deal of the city was built of wood, and if a spark lighted on the walls, a serious fire might be the result. In the numerous balconies which projected from the better class of houses sat ladies dressed in their handsomest garments on the Thursday morning, and below in the street stood men and women packed tightly into a crowd, waiting for the Queen to arrive. There was not much room in a mediaeval street, and the sheriffs did not find it easy to keep a clear passage for the royal train. As to keeping any passage for the traffic, that would have been considered quite unnecessary. There was not much to keep it for; and what there was could go round by back streets, just as well as not. Few people set any value on time in the Middle Ages.
 
Queen Alianora was expected to arrive about twelve o’clock. She was not the Queen Eleanor of whom we read at the beginning of the story (for Alianora is only one of the old ways of spelling Eleanor), but her daughter-in-law, the Lady Alianora who had been a friend to the dumb Princess. She was a Spanish lady, and was one of the best and loveliest Queens who ever reigned28 in England. Goodness and beauty are not always found in company—perhaps I might say, not often; but they went together with her. She was a Spanish blonde—which means that her hair was a bright shade of golden—neither flaxen nor red; and that her eyes were a deep, deep blue—the blue of a southern sky, such as we rarely if ever see in an English one. Her complexion29 was fair and rosy30, her features regular and beautiful, her figure extremely elegant and well-proportioned. The crowd, though good-humoured, was beginning to get tired, when she came at last.
 
The Queen, who was not quite thirty years of age, rode on a white horse, whose scarlet31 saddle-cloth was embroidered32 with golden lions and roses, and which was led by Garcia, her Spanish Master of the Horse. She was dressed in green samite, trimmed with ermine. On her left hand rode the Earl of Lincoln, on her right, her eldest33 surviving son, the little Prince Alphonso, who was only seven years old. He died at the age of eleven. After the Queen rode her two damsels, Aubrey de Caumpeden and Ermetrude; and after them and the officers of the household came a number of lesser34 people, the mob of sight-seers closing in and following them up the street. (See Note 1.) Her Majesty35 rode up Steephill to the Castle, where the Countess of Lincoln and her daughter Lady Margaret—a girl of about fifteen—received her just inside the gate. Then the mob cheered, the Queen looked back with a smile and a bow, the Almoner flung a handful of silver pennies among them, the portcullis was hauled down, and the sight was over.
 
As Emma turned back from the Castle gate, she met her father and her sister Eleanor, who, like her, had been sight-seeing.
 
“Well!” said Dan, “did thou see her?”
 
“Oh yes, beautifully!” answered Emma. “Isn’t she handsome, Father?”
 
“‘Handsome is as handsome does,’” philosophically36 returned Dan. “Some folks looks mighty37 handsome as doesn’t do even to it. She was just like a pictur’ when I wed19 her. Ay, she was, so!—Where art thou going, Emma?”
 
“I thought of looking in on Aunt Avice, Father. Are you and Eleanor coming, too?”
 
“I’m not,” said Eleanor. “I’m going to see Laurentia atte Gate. So I’ll wish you good even.”
 
She kept straight on, while Dan and Emma turned off for Avice’s house. It was not surprising that they found nobody at home but the turnspit dog, who was sufficiently38 familiar with both to wag a welcome; but somebody sat in the chimney-corner who was not at home, but was a visitor like themselves. When the door was unlatched, Father Thomas closed the book he had been reading and looked up.
 
“Good even, Father,” said Dan to the priest. “I reckon you’ve come o’ th’ same errand as us.”
 
“What is that, my son?”
 
Dan sat down on the form, and put a big hand on each knee.
 
“Well, it’s some’at like t’ shepherd comin’ to count t’ sheep, to see ’at none of ’em’s missin’,” said he. “It’s so easy to get lost of a big moor40 full o’ pits and quagmires41. And this world’s some’at like it.—Ah, Avice! folks as goes a-sight-seeing mun expect to find things of a mixtur’ when they gets home.”
 
“A very pleasant mixture, Uncle,” said Avice. “Pray you of your blessing42, holy Father.”
 
Father Thomas gave it, and Bertha, stooping down, kissed Dan on his broad wrinkled forehead.
 
“Did thou get a penny?” asked Dan.
 
“I got two!” cried Bertha, triumphantly43. “And Aunt Avice got one. Did you, Father?”
 
“Nay, lass—none o’ my luck! Silver pennies and such knows better nor to come my way. Nor they’d better not, without they’ll come right number. I should get tore to bits if I went home wi’ one, as like as not. She ’d want it, and so ’d Ankaret, and so ’d Susanna, and so ’d Mildred; and atwixt ’em all it ’d get broke i’ pieces, and so should I. And see thou, it’s made i’ quarters, and I amn’t, so it wouldn’t come so convenient to me.”
 
Pennies were then made with a deep cross cut athwart them, so that they were easily broken, when wanted, into halfpence and farthings, for there were no separate ones coined.
 
“Father, have one of mine!” cried Bertha at the beginning of Dan’s answer.
 
“Nay, nay, lass! Keep thy bit o’ silver—or if thou wants to give it, let Emma have it. She’ll outlive it; I shouldn’t.”
 
The silver penny changed hands at once. Avice had meanwhile been hanging up her hood16 and cloak, and she now proceeded to prepare a dish of eggs, foreseeing company to supper. Supper was exceedingly early to-day, as it was scarcely three o’clock; but dinner had been equally so, for nobody wanted to be busy when the Queen came. A large dish of “eggs and butter” was speedily on the table—the “buttered eggs” of the north of England, which are, I believe, identical with the “scrambled eggs” of the United States. The party sat down to supper, Father Thomas being served with a trencher to himself.
 
“And how dost thou get along wi’ thy Missis, my lass?” said Dan to his daughter.
 
“Oh, things is very pleasant as yet, Father,” answered Emma with a smile. “There’s a mixture, as you said just now. Some’s decent lasses enough; and some’s foolish; and some’s middlin’. There’s most of the middlin’ ones.”
 
“I’m fain to hear it,” said Dan. “Lasses is so foolish, I should ha’ thought there ’d be most o’ that lot. So ’s lads too. Eh, it’s a queer world, this un: mortal queer! But I asked thee how thou got on with thy Missis, and thou tells me o’ th’ lasses. Never did know a woman answer straight off. Ask most on ’em how far it is to Newark, and they’ll answer you that t’ wind was west as they come fro’ Barling.”
 
“Thou hast not a good opinion of women, my son,” said Father Thomas, who looked much amused.
 
“I’ve seen too much on ’em!” responded Dan, conclusively44. “I’ve got a wife and six lasses.”
 
“Bertha, we’d better mind our ways!” said Emma, laughing.
 
“Nay, it’s none you,” was Dan’s comment. “You’re middlin’ decent, you two. So’s Avice; and so’s old Christopher’s Regina. I know of ne’er another, without it ’s t’ cat—and she scratches like t’ rest when she’s put out. There is other decent ’uns, happen. They haven’t come my way yet.”
 
“Why, Father!” cried Emma. “Think who you’re lumping together—the Lady Queen, and my Lady at the Castle, and Lady Margaret, and the Dean’s sister, and—”
 
“Thou’ll be out o’ breath, if thou reckons all thou’st heard tell of,” said Dan. “There’s cats o’ different sorts, child: some’s snowy white (when so be they’ve none been i’ th’ ash-hole), and some’s tabby, and some’s black as iron; but they all scrats. Women’s like ’em.—You’re wise men, you parsons and such, as have nought45 to do wi’ ’em. Old Christopher, my neighbour up at smithy, he says weddin’s like a bag full o’ snakes wi’ one eel46 amongst ’em: you ha’ to put your hand in, and you may get th’ eel. But if you dunna—why you’ve got to do t’ best you can wi’ one o’ t’ other lot. If you’ll keep your hand out of the bag you’ll stand best chance of not getting bit.”
 
“It is a pity thou wert not a monk6, my son,” said the priest, whose gravity seemed hard to keep.
 
“Ay, it is!” was Dan’s hearty47 response. “I’m alway fain to pass a nunnery. Says I to myself, There’s a bonnie lot o’ snakes safe tied up out o’ folkses’ way. They’ll never fly at nobody no more. I’m fain for the men as hasn’t got ’em. Ay, I am!”
 
Avice and her young cousins laughed.
 
“Do you think they never fly at one another, Uncle Dan?” asked the former.
 
“Let ’em!” returned that gentleman with much cordiality. “A man gets a bit o’ peace then. It’s t’ only time he does. If they’d just go and make a reg’lar end o’ one another! but they never does,”—and the smith pushed away his trencher with a sigh. “Well! I reckon I mun be going. She gave me while four:—and I’m feared o’ vesper bell ringing afore I can get home. There’ll be more bells nor one, if so. God be wi’ ye, lasses! Good even, Father.”
 
And the door was shut on the unhappy husband of the delightful48 Filomena. Emma took leave soon after, and Bertha went with her, to see another friend before she returned to her employer’s house. Avice and the priest were left alone. For a few minutes both were silent; but perhaps their thoughts were not very unlike.
 
“I wish, under your leave, Father,” said Avice at length, “that somebody would say a word to Aunt Filomena. I am afraid both she and Uncle Dan are very ignorant. Truly, so am I: and it should be some one who knows better. I doubt if he quite means all he says; but he thinks too ill of women,—and indeed, with five such as he has at home, who can wonder at it? He has no peace from morning to night; and he is naturally a man who loves peace and quiet—as you are yourself, holy Father, unless I mistake.”
 
“Thou art not mistaken, my daughter,” said Father Thomas. Something inside him was giving him a sharp prick49 or two. Did he love quiet too much, so as to interfere50 with his duties to his fellow-men? And then something else inside the priest’s heart rose up, as it were, to press down the question, and bid the questioner be silent.
 
“I wonder,” said Avice, innocently, quite unaware51 of the course of her companion’s thoughts, “whether, if Aunt Filomena knew her duty better, she might not give poor Uncle Dan a little more rest. He is good, in his way, and as far as he knows. I wish I knew more! But then,” Avice concluded, with a little laugh, “I am only a woman.”
 
“Yet thou art evidently one of the few whom he likes and respects,” answered the priest. “Be it thine, my daughter, to show him that women are not all of an evil sort. Do thy best, up to the light thou hast; and cry to God for more light, so that thou mayest know how to do better. ‘Pour forth52 thy prayers to Him,’ as saith the Collect for the First Sunday after the Epiphany, ‘that thou mayest know what thy duty requires of thee, and be able to comply with what thou knowest.’ It is a good prayer, and specially53 for them that are perplexed54 concerning their duty.” (See Note 2.)
 
“But when one does know one’s duty,” asked Avice with simplicity55, “it seems so hard to make one’s self do it.”
 
“Didst thou ever yet do that? Daughter, dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost?”
 
Avice’s immediate56 answer was what would be the instinctive57 unthinking response of most professing58 Christians59.
 
“Why, Father, of course I do!”
 
“Good. What dost thou believe?”
 
Avice was silent. “Ah!” said the priest. “It is easy to think we believe: but hard to put our faith into plain words. If the faith were clearer, maybe the words would follow.”
 
“It is so difficult to get things clear and plain!” sighed poor Avice.
 
“Have one thing clear, daughter—the way between God and thine own soul. Let nothing come in to block up that—however fair, howsoever dear it be. And thou shalt have thy reward.”
 
“Father, is it like keeping other things clear? The way to have the floor clear and clean is to sweep it every morning.”
 
“Ay, my daughter, sweep it every morning with the besom of prayer, and every night bear over it the torch of self-examination. So shall the evil insects not make their nests there.”
 
“I don’t quite know how to examine myself,” said Avice.
 
“And thou wilt60 err,” answered Father Thomas, “if thou set about that work alone, with a torch lighted at the flame of thine own righteousness. Light thy torch at the fire of God’s altar; examine thyself by the light of His holy law; and do it at His feet, so that whatever evil thing thou mayest find thou canst take at once to Him to be cleansed61 away. Content not thyself with brushing away thoughts, but go to the root of that same sin in thine own heart. Say not, ‘I should not have spoken proudly to my neighbour’—but, ‘I should not be proud in my heart.’ Deal rather with the root that is in thee than with the branches of acts and words. There are sins which only to think of is to do. Take to our Lord, then, thy sins to be cleansed away; but let thine own thoughts dwell not so much on thy sins, thy deeds done and words said, but rather on thy sinfulness, the inward fount of sin in thy nature.”
 
“That were ugly work!” said Avice.
 
“Ay. I reckon thou countest not the scouring62 of thy floor among thine enjoyments64. But it is needful, my daughter: and is it no enjoyment63 to see it clean?”
 
“Ay, that it is,” admitted Avice.
 
“I remember, my child, many years ago—thou wert but a little maid—that holy Bishop65 Robert came to sup with thy grandmother Muriel. Tell me, wouldst thou have been satisfied—I say not as a little child, since children note not such things—but as a woman, wouldst thou have been satisfied to receive the holy Bishop with a dirty floor, and offer to him an uncleansed spoon to put to his lips?”
 
“Oh no, Father, surely not!”
 
“Then see, daughter, that when the Bishop of thy soul lifteth the latch39 to come in and sup with thee, He find not the soiled floor and the unclean vessel66, and turn sorrowfully away, saying, ‘I thought to sup with My child this night, but this is no place for Me.’ Trust me, thou wilt lose more than He, if He close the door and depart.”
 
Avice’s eyes filled with tears.
 
“O Father, pray for me! I cannot bear to think of that.”
 
Father Thomas rose and laid his hand on Avice’s head. His words, as coming from a priest, rather surprised her.
 
“My child,” he said softly, “let us pray for each other.”
 
Avice stood looking out of the window after him as he went down the street.
 
“I wonder,” she said to herself, “if our Lord ever turned away thus because Father Thomas’s chamber11 was not clean! He seemed to know what it was so well—yet how could such a good, holy man know anything about it?”
 
Note 1. Aubrey is now a man’s name only, but in the earlier hall of the Middle Ages it was used for both sexes.
 
Note 2. This collect was slightly altered from that in the Sarum Missal. The form here quoted is the older one.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 apprenticed f2996f4d2796086e2fb6a3620103813c     
学徒,徒弟( apprentice的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I was apprenticed to a builder when I was fourteen. 14岁时,我拜一个建筑工人为师当学徒。
  • Lucius got apprenticed to a stonemason. 卢修斯成了石匠的学徒。
2 embroidery Wjkz7     
n.绣花,刺绣;绣制品
参考例句:
  • This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品,使人惊叹不已。
  • This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。
3 ornamented af417c68be20f209790a9366e9da8dbb     
adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 apprentices e0646768af2b65d716a2024e19b5f15e     
学徒,徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。
  • He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。
5 expedients c0523c0c941d2ed10c86887a57ac874f     
n.应急有效的,权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He is full of [fruitful in] expedients. 他办法多。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Perhaps Calonne might return too, with fresh financial expedients. 或许卡洛纳也会回来,带有新的财政机谋。 来自辞典例句
6 monk 5EDx8     
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士
参考例句:
  • The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
  • Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。
7 monks 218362e2c5f963a82756748713baf661     
n.修道士,僧侣( monk的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
  • He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 psalms 47aac1d82cedae7c6a543a2c9a72b9db     
n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 );圣诗;圣歌;(中的)
参考例句:
  • the Book of Psalms 《〈圣经〉诗篇》
  • A verse from Psalms knifed into Pug's mind: "put not your trust in princes." 《诗篇》里有一句话闪过帕格的脑海:“不要相信王侯。” 来自辞典例句
9 tolled 8eba149dce8d4ce3eae15718841edbb7     
鸣钟(toll的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
  • The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。
10 nay unjzAQ     
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者
参考例句:
  • He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的,不,应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
  • Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章,不,应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。
11 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
12 chambers c053984cd45eab1984d2c4776373c4fe     
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅
参考例句:
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间:Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
13 chattering chattering     
n. (机器振动发出的)咔嗒声,(鸟等)鸣,啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的,啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
  • I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。
14 acerbity pomye     
n.涩,酸,刻薄
参考例句:
  • His acerbity to his daughter came home to roost.他对女儿的刻薄得到了恶报。
  • The biggest to amino acerbity demand still is animal feed additive.对氨基酸需求量最大的仍是动物饲料添加剂。
15 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
16 hood ddwzJ     
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
  • The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
17 hoods c7f425b95a130f8e5c065ebce960d6f5     
n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 );头巾;(汽车、童车等的)折合式车篷;汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 );头巾;(汽车、童车等的)折合式车篷;汽车发动机罩
参考例句:
  • Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
  • Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句
18 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
19 wed MgFwc     
v.娶,嫁,与…结婚
参考例句:
  • The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
  • The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。
20 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
21 creases adfbf37b33b2c1e375b9697e49eb1ec1     
(使…)起折痕,弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 ); (皮肤)皱起,使起皱纹
参考例句:
  • She smoothed the creases out of her skirt. 她把裙子上的皱褶弄平。
  • She ironed out all the creases in the shirt. 她熨平了衬衣上的所有皱褶。
22 creased b26d248c32bce741b8089934810d7e9f     
(使…)起折痕,弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 ); (皮肤)皱起,使起皱纹; 皱皱巴巴
参考例句:
  • You've creased my newspaper. 你把我的报纸弄皱了。
  • The bullet merely creased his shoulder. 子弹只不过擦破了他肩部的皮肤。
23 frayed 1e0e4bcd33b0ae94b871e5e62db77425     
adj.磨损的v.(使布、绳等)磨损,磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
24 gentry Ygqxe     
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级
参考例句:
  • Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
  • Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首,不居贵族之末。
25 loft VkhyQ     
n.阁楼,顶楼
参考例句:
  • We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
  • By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下,他们就可以多出两间卧室。
26 adventurous LKryn     
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 
参考例句:
  • I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
  • He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。
27 hoops 528662bd801600a928e199785550b059     
n.箍( hoop的名词复数 );(篮球)篮圈;(旧时儿童玩的)大环子;(两端埋在地里的)小铁弓
参考例句:
  • a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
  • Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎,这个季节的裙圈比较宽大,裙裾却短一些。 来自飘(部分)
28 reigned d99f19ecce82a94e1b24a320d3629de5     
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式)
参考例句:
  • Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静,一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
29 complexion IOsz4     
n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格
参考例句:
  • Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
  • Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。
30 rosy kDAy9     
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的
参考例句:
  • She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作,生活看上去很美好。
  • She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。
31 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
32 embroidered StqztZ     
adj.绣花的
参考例句:
  • She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
  • She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。
33 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
34 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地
参考例句:
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及,但程度较轻。
35 majesty MAExL     
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权
参考例句:
  • The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
  • Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下,您必须赶快做出决定!
36 philosophically 5b1e7592f40fddd38186dac7bc43c6e0     
adv.哲学上;富有哲理性地;贤明地;冷静地
参考例句:
  • He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说,一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
37 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
38 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
39 latch g2wxS     
n.门闩,窗闩;弹簧锁
参考例句:
  • She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
  • The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。
40 moor T6yzd     
n.荒野,沼泽;vt.(使)停泊;vi.停泊
参考例句:
  • I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
  • There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。
41 quagmires 3838bde977f71f0b3553565aed936ba2     
n.沼泽地,泥潭( quagmire的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The deer, looking soaked, leave quagmires, where they pass. 湿淋淋的野鹿经过的地方,留下了一个个的泥塘。 来自辞典例句
42 blessing UxDztJ     
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
参考例句:
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
43 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
参考例句:
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
44 conclusively NvVzwY     
adv.令人信服地,确凿地
参考例句:
  • All this proves conclusively that she couldn't have known the truth. 这一切无可置疑地证明她不可能知道真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • From the facts,he was able to determine conclusively that the death was not a suicide. 根据这些事实他断定这起死亡事件并非自杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
45 nought gHGx3     
n./adj.无,零
参考例句:
  • We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
  • One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。
46 eel bjAzz     
n.鳗鲡
参考例句:
  • He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
  • In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆,他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。
47 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
48 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
49 prick QQyxb     
v.刺伤,刺痛,刺孔;n.刺伤,刺痛
参考例句:
  • He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时,他感到剧烈的疼痛。
  • He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳,气球就爆了。
50 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰
参考例句:
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
51 unaware Pl6w0     
a.不知道的,未意识到的
参考例句:
  • They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
  • I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。
52 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
53 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
54 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
55 simplicity Vryyv     
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯
参考例句:
  • She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
  • The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
56 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
57 instinctive c6jxT     
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的
参考例句:
  • He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
  • Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。
58 professing a695b8e06e4cb20efdf45246133eada8     
声称( profess的现在分词 ); 宣称; 公开表明; 信奉
参考例句:
  • But( which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 只要有善行。这才与自称是敬神的女人相宜。
  • Professing Christianity, he had little compassion in his make-up. 他号称信奉基督教,却没有什么慈悲心肠。
59 Christians 28e6e30f94480962cc721493f76ca6c6     
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
60 wilt oMNz5     
v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎;(指人)疲倦,衰弱
参考例句:
  • Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
  • Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。
61 cleansed 606e894a15aca2db0892db324d039b96     
弄干净,清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The nurse cleansed the wound before stitching it. 护士先把伤口弄干净后才把它缝合。
  • The notorious Hell Row was burned down in a fire, and much dirt was cleansed away. 臭名远场的阎王路已在一场大火中化为乌有,许多焦土灰烬被清除一空。
62 scouring 02d824effe8b78d21ec133da3651c677     
擦[洗]净,冲刷,洗涤
参考例句:
  • The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
  • This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。
63 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。
64 enjoyments 8e942476c02b001997fdec4a72dbed6f     
愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 ); 令人愉快的事物; 享有; 享受
参考例句:
  • He is fond of worldly enjoyments. 他喜爱世俗的享乐。
  • The humanities and amenities of life had no attraction for him--its peaceful enjoyments no charm. 对他来说,生活中的人情和乐趣并没有吸引力——生活中的恬静的享受也没有魅力。
65 bishop AtNzd     
n.主教,(国际象棋)象
参考例句:
  • He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
  • Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。
66 vessel 4L1zi     
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管
参考例句:
  • The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
  • You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533