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CHAPTER VI
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 If he had meant to speak he changed his mind after his first sight of her. He merely came in and closed the door behind him. Curious experiences with which life had provided him had added finish to an innate2 aptness of observation, and a fine readiness in action.
 
If she had been of another type he would have saved both her and himself a scene and steered3 ably through the difficulties of the situation towards a point where they could have met upon a normal plane. A very pretty woman with whose affairs one has nothing whatever to do, and whose pretty home has been the perfection of modern smartness of custom, suddenly opening her front door in the unexplained absence of a footman and confronting a visitor, plainly upon the verge4 of hysteria, suggests the necessity of promptness.
 
But Feather gave him not a breath’s space. She was in fact not merely on the verge of her hysteria. She had gone farther. And here he was. Oh, here he was! She fell down upon her knees and actually clasped his immaculateness.
 
“Oh, Lord Coombe! Lord Coombe! Lord Coombe!” She said it three times because he presented to her but the one idea.
 
He did not drag himself away from her embrace but he distinctly removed himself from it.
 
“You must not fall upon your knees, Mrs. Lawless,” he said. “Shall we go into the drawing-room?”
 
“I—was writing to you. I am starving—but it seemed too silly when I wrote it. And it’s true!” Her broken words were as senseless in their sound as she had thought them when she saw them written.
 
“Will you come up into the drawing-room and tell me exactly what you mean,” he said and he made her release him and stand upon her feet.
 
As the years had passed he had detached himself from so many weaknesses and their sequelae of emotion that he had felt himself a safely unreachable person. He was not young and he knew enough of the disagreeableness of consequences to be adroit5 in keeping out of the way of apparently6 harmless things which might be annoying. Yet as he followed Mrs. Gareth-Lawless and watched her stumbling up the stairs like a punished child he was aware that he was abnormally in danger of pitying her as he did not wish to pity people. The pity was also something apart from the feeling that it was hideous7 that a creature so lovely, so shallow and so fragile should have been caught in the great wheels of Life.
 
He knew what he had come to talk to her about but he had really no clear idea of what her circumstances actually were. Most people had of course guessed that her husband had been living on the edge of his resources and was accustomed to debt and duns, but a lovely being greeting you by clasping your knees and talking about “starving”—in this particular street in Mayfair, led one to ask oneself what one was walking into. Feather herself had not known, in fact neither had any other human being known, that there was a special reason why he had drifted into seeming rather to allow her about—why he had finally been counted among the frequenters of the narrow house—and why he had seemed to watch her a good deal sometimes with an expression of serious interest—sometimes with an air of irritation8, and sometimes with no expression at all. But there existed this reason and this it was and this alone which had caused him to appear upon her threshold and it had also been the power which had prevented his disengaging himself with more incisive9 finality when he found himself ridiculously clasped about the knees as one who played the part of an obdurate10 parent in a melodrama11.
 
Once in the familiar surroundings of her drawing-room her ash-gold blondness and her black gauzy frock heightened all her effects so extraordinarily12 that he frankly13 admitted to himself that she possessed14 assets which would have modified most things to most men.
 
As for Feather, when she herself beheld15 him against the background of the same intimate aspects, the effect of the sound of his voice, the manner in which he sat down in a chair and a certain remotely dim hint in the hue16 of his clothes and an almost concealed17 note of some touch of colour which scarcely seemed to belong to anything worn—were so reminiscent of the days which now seemed past forever that she began to cry again.
 
He received this with discreet19 lack of melodrama of tone.
 
“You mustn’t do that, Mrs. Lawless,” he said, “or I shall burst into tears myself. I am a sensitive creature.”
 
“Oh, do say ‘Feather’ instead of Mrs. Lawless,” she implored20. “Sometimes you said ‘Feather’.”
 
“I will say it now,” he answered, “if you will not weep. It is an adorable name.”
 
“I feel as if I should never hear it again,” she shuddered21, trying to dry her eyes. “It is all over!”
 
“What is all over?”
 
“This—!” turning a hopeless gaze upon the two tiny rooms crowded with knick-knacks and nonsense. “The parties and the fun—and everything in the world! I have only had some biscuits and raisins22 to eat today—and the landlord is going to turn me out.”
 
It seemed almost too preposterous23 to quite credit that she was uttering naked truth.—And yet—! After a second’s gaze at her he repeated what he had said below stairs.
 
“Will you tell me exactly what you mean?”
 
Then he sat still and listened while she poured it all forth24. And as he listened he realized that it was the mere1 every day fact that they were sitting in the slice of a house with the cream-coloured front and the great lady in her mansion25 on one side and the millionaire and his splendours on the other, which peculiarly added to a certain hint of gruesomeness in the situation.
 
It was not necessary to add colour and desperation to the story. Any effort Feather had made in that direction would only have detracted from the nakedness of its stark26 facts. They were quite enough in themselves in their normal inevitableness. Feather in her pale and totally undignified panic presented the whole thing with clearness which had—without being aided by her—an actual dramatic value. This in spite of her mental dartings to and from and dragging in of points and bits of scenes which were not connected with each other. Only a brain whose processes of inclusion and exclusion27 were final and rapid could have followed her. Coombe watched her closely as she talked. No grief-stricken young widowed loneliness and heart-break were the background of her anguish28. She was her own background and also her own foreground. The strength of the fine body laid prone29 on the bed of the room she held in horror, the white rigid30 face whose good looks had changed to something she could not bear to remember, had no pathos31 which was not concerned with the fact that Robert had amazingly and unnaturally32 failed her by dying and leaving her nothing but unpaid33 bills. This truth indeed made the situation more poignantly34 and finally squalid, as she brought forth one detail after another. There were bills which had been accumulating ever since they began their life in the narrow house, there had been trades-people who had been juggled36 with, promises made and supported by adroit tricks and cleverly invented misrepresentations and lies which neither of the pair had felt any compunctions about and had indeed laughed over. Coombe saw it all though he also saw that Feather did not know all she was telling him. He could realize the gradually increasing pressure and anger at tricks which betrayed themselves, and the gathering37 determination on the part of the creditors38 to end the matter in the only way in which it could be ended. It had come to this before Robert’s illness, and Feather herself had heard of fierce interviews and had seen threatening letters, but she had not believed they could mean all they implied. Since things had been allowed to go on so long she felt that they would surely go on longer in the same way. There had been some serious threatening about the rent and the unpaid-for furniture. Robert’s supporting idea had been that he might perhaps “get something out of Lawdor who wouldn’t enjoy being the relation of a fellow who was turned into the street!”
 
“He ought to have done something,” Feather complained. “Robert would have been Lord Lawdor himself if his uncle had died before he had all those disgusting children.”
 
She was not aware that Coombe frequently refrained from saying things to her—but occasionally allowed himself not to refrain. He did not refrain now from making a simple comment.
 
“But he is extremely robust39 and he has the children. Six stalwart boys and a stalwart girl. Family feeling has apparently gone out of fashion.”
 
As she wandered on with her story he mentally felt himself actually dragged into the shrimp-pink bedroom and standing40 an onlooker41 when the footman outside the door “did not know” where Tonson had gone. For a moment he felt conscious of the presence of some scent18 which would have been sure to exhale42 itself from draperies and wardrobe. He saw Cook put the account books on the small table, he heard her, he also comprehended her. And Feather at the window breathlessly watching the two cabs with the servants’ trunks on top, and the servants respectably unprofessional in attire43 and going away quietly without an unpractical compunction—he saw these also and comprehended knowing exactly why compunctions had no part in latter-day domestic arrangements. Why should they?
 
When Feather reached the point where it became necessary to refer to Robin44 some fortunate memory of Alice’s past warnings caused her to feel—quite suddenly—that certain details might be eliminated.
 
“She cried a little at first,” she said, “but she fell asleep afterwards. I was glad she did because I was afraid to go to her in the dark.”
 
“Was she in the dark?”
 
“I think so. Perhaps Louisa taught her to sleep without a light. There was none when I took her some condensed milk this morning. There was only c-con-d-densed milk to give her.”
 
She shed tears and choked as she described her journey into the lower regions and the cockroaches45 scuttling46 away before her into their hiding-places.
 
“I must have a nurse! I must have one!” she almost sniffed47. “Someone must change her clothes and give her a bath!”
 
“You can’t?” Coombe said.
 
“I!” dropping her handkerchief. “How—how can I?”
 
“I don’t know,” he answered and picked up the handkerchief with an aloof48 grace of manner.
 
It was really Robin who was for Feather the breaking-point.
 
He thought she was in danger of flinging herself upon him again. She caught at his arm and her eyes of larkspur blue were actually wild.
 
“Don’t you see where I am! How there is nothing and nobody—Don’t you see?”
 
“Yes, I see,” he answered. “You are quite right. There is nothing and nobody. I have been to Lawdor myself.”
 
“You have been to talk to him?”
 
“Yesterday. That was my reason for coming here. He will not see you or be written to. He says he knows better than to begin that sort of thing. It may be that family feeling has not the vogue49 it once had, but you may recall that your husband infuriated him years ago. Also England is a less certain quantity than it once was—and the man has a family. He will allow you a hundred a year but there he draws the line.”
 
“A hundred a year!” Feather breathed. From her delicate shoulders hung floating scarf-like sleeves of black transparency and she lifted one of them and held it out like a night moth’s wing—“This cost forty pounds,” she said, her voice quite faint and low. “A good nurse would cost forty! A cook—and a footman and a maid—and a coachman—and the brougham—I don’t know how much they would cost. Oh-h!”
 
She drooped50 forward upon her sofa and laid face downward on a cushion—slim, exquisite51 in line, lost in despair.
 
The effect produced was that she gave herself into his hands. He felt as well as saw it and considered. She had no suggestion to offer, no reserve. There she was.
 
“It is an incredible sort of situation,” he said in an even, low-pitched tone rather as if he were thinking aloud, “but it is baldly real. It is actually simple. In a street in Mayfair a woman and child might—” He hesitated a second and a wailed52 word came forth from the cushion.
 
“Starve!”
 
He moved slightly and continued.
 
“Since their bills have not been paid the trades-people will not send in food. Servants will not stay in a house where they are not fed and receive no wages. No landlord will allow a tenant53 to occupy his property unless he pays rent. It may sound inhuman—but it is only human.”
 
The cushion in which Feather’s face was buried retained a faint scent of Robert’s cigar smoke and the fragrance54 brought back to her things she had heard him say dispassionately about Lord Coombe as well as about other men. He had not been a puritanic or condemnatory55 person. She seemed to see herself groveling again on the floor of her bedroom and to feel the darkness and silence through which she had not dared to go to Robin.
 
Not another night like that! No! No!
 
“You must go to Jersey56 to your mother and father,” Coombe said. “A hundred a year will help you there in your own home.”
 
Then she sat upright and there was something in her lovely little countenance57 he had never seen before. It was actually determination.
 
“I have heard,” she said, “of poor girls who were driven—by starvation to—to go on the streets. I—would go anywhere before I would go back there.”
 
“Anywhere!” he repeated, his own countenance expressing—or rather refusing to express something as new as the thing he had seen in her own.
 
“Anywhere!” she cried and then she did what he had thought her on the verge of doing a few minutes earlier—she fell at his feet and embraced his knees. She clung to him, she sobbed58, her pretty hair loosened itself and fell about her in wild but enchanting59 disorder60.
 
“Oh, Lord Coombe! Oh, Lord Coombe! Oh, Lord Coombe!” she cried as she had cried in the hall.
 
He rose and endeavoured to disengage himself as he had done before. This time with less success because she would not let him go. He had the greatest possible objection to scenes.
 
“Mrs. Lawless—Feather—I beg you will get up,” he said.
 
But she had reached the point of not caring what happened if she could keep him. He was a gentleman—he had everything in the world. What did it matter?
 
“I have no one but you and—and you always seemed to like me, I would do anything—anyone asked me, if they would take care of me. I have always liked you very much—and I did amuse you—didn’t I? You liked to come here.”
 
There was something poignant35 about her delicate distraught loveliness and, in the remoteness of his being, a shuddering61 knowledge that it was quite true that she would do anything for any man who would take care of her, produced an effect on him nothing else would have produced. Also a fantastic and finely ironic62 vision of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife rose before him and the vision of himself as Joseph irked a certain complexness of his mentality63. Poignant as the thing was in its modern way, it was also faintly ridiculous.
 
Then Robin awakened64 and shrieked65 again. The sound which had gained strength through long sleep and also through added discomfort66 quite rang through the house. What that sound added to the moment he himself would not have been able to explain until long afterwards. But it singularly and impellingly added.
 
“Listen!” panted Feather. “She has begun again. And there is no one to go to her.”
 
“Get up, Mrs. Lawless,” he said. “Do I understand that you are willing that I should arrange this for you!”
 
He helped her to her feet.
 
“Do you mean—really!” she faltered67. “Will you—will you—?”
 
Her uplifted eyes were like a young angel’s brimming with crystal drops which slipped—as a child’s tears slip—down her cheeks. She clasped her hands in exquisite appeal. He stood for a moment quite still, his mind fled far away and he forgot where he was. And because of this the little simpleton’s shallow discretion68 deserted69 her.
 
“If you were a—a marrying man—?” she said foolishly—almost in a whisper.
 
He recovered himself.
 
“I am not,” with a finality which cut as cleanly as a surgical70 knife.
 
Something which was not the words was of a succinctness71 which filled her with new terror.
 
“I—I know!” she whimpered, “I only said if you were!”
 
“If I were—in this instance—it would make no difference.” He saw the kind of slippery silliness he was dealing72 with and what it might transform itself into if allowed a loophole. “There must be no mistakes.”
 
In her fright she saw him for a moment more distinctly than she had ever seen him before and hideous dread73 beset74 her lest she had blundered fatally.
 
“There shall be none,” she gasped75. “I always knew. There shall be none at all.”
 
“Do you know what you are asking me?” he inquired.
 
“Yes, yes—I’m not a girl, you know. I’ve been married. I won’t go home. I can’t starve or live in awful lodgings76. Somebody must save me!”
 
“Do you know what people will say?” his steady voice was slightly lower.
 
“It won’t be said to me.” Rather wildly. “Nobody minds—really.”
 
He ceased altogether to look serious. He smiled with the light detached air his world was most familiar with.
 
“No—they don’t really,” he answered. “I had, however, a slight preference for knowing whether you would or not. You flatter me by intimating that you would not.”
 
He knew that if he had held out an arm she would have fallen upon his breast and wept there, but he was not at the moment in the mood to hold out an arm. He merely touched hers with a light pressure.
 
“Let us sit down and talk it over,” he suggested.
 
A hansom drove up to the door and stopped before he had time to seat himself. Hearing it he went to the window and saw a stout77 businesslike looking man get out, accompanied by an attendant. There followed a loud, authoritative78 ringing of the bell and an equally authoritative rap of the knocker. This repeated itself. Feather, who had run to the window and caught sight of the stout man, clutched his sleeve.
 
“It’s the agent we took the house from. We always said we were out. It’s either Carson or Bayle. I don’t know which.”
 
Coombe walked toward the staircase.
 
“You can’t open the door!” she shrilled79.
 
“He has doubtless come prepared to open it himself.” he answered and proceeded at leisure down the narrow stairway.
 
The caller had come prepared. By the time Coombe stood in the hall a latchkey was put in the keyhole and, being turned, the door opened to let in Carson—or Bayle—who entered with an air of angered determination, followed by his young man.
 
The physical presence of the Head of the House of Coombe was always described as a subtly impressive one. Several centuries of rather careful breeding had resulted in his seeming to represent things by silent implication. A man who has never found the necessity of explaining or excusing himself inevitably80 presents a front wholly unsuggestive of uncertainty81. The front Coombe presented merely awaited explanations from others.
 
Carson—or Bayle—had doubtless contemplated82 seeing a frightened servant trying to prepare a stammering83 obvious lie. He confronted a tall, thin man about whom—even if his clothes had been totally different—there could be no mistake. He stood awaiting an apology so evidently that Carson—or Bayle—began to stammer84 himself even before he had time to dismiss from his voice the suggestion of bluster85. It would have irritated Coombe immensely if he had known that he—and a certain overcoat—had been once pointed86 out to the man at Sandown and that—in consequence of the overcoat—he vaguely87 recognized him.
 
“I—I beg pardon,” he began.
 
“Quite so,” said Coombe.
 
“Some tenants88 came to look at the house this morning. They had an order to view from us. They were sent away, my lord—and decline to come back. The rent has not been paid since the first half year. There is no one now who can even pretend it’s going to be paid. Some step had to be taken.”
 
“Quite so,” said Coombe. “Suppose you step into the dining-room.”
 
He led the pair into the room and pointed to chairs, but neither the agent nor his attendant was calm enough to sit down.
 
Coombe merely stood and explained himself.
 
“I quite understand,” he said. “You are entirely89 within your rights. Mrs. Gareth-Lawless is, naturally, not able to attend to business. For the present—as a friend of her late husband’s—I will arrange matters for her. I am Lord Coombe. She does not wish to give up the house. Don’t send any more possible tenants. Call at Coombe House in an hour and I will give you a cheque.”
 
There were a few awkward apologetic moments and then the front door opened and shut, the hansom jingled90 away and Coombe returned to the drawing-room. Robin was still shrieking91.
 
“She wants some more condensed milk,” he said. “Don’t be frightened. Go and give her some. I know an elderly woman who understands children. She was a nurse some years ago. I will send her here at once. Kindly92 give me the account books. My housekeeper93 will send you some servants. The trades-people will come for orders.”
 
Feather was staring at him.
 
“W-will they?” she stammered94. “W-will everything—?”
 
“Yes—everything,” he answered. “Don’t be frightened. Go upstairs and try to stop her. I must go now. I never heard a creature yell with such fury.”
 
She turned away and went towards the second flight of stairs with a rather dazed air. She had passed through a rather tremendous crisis and she was dazed. He made her feel so. She had never understood him for a moment and she did not understand him now—but then she never did understand people and the whole situation was a new one to her. If she had not been driven to the wall she would have been quite as respectable as she knew how to be.
 
Coombe called a hansom and drove home, thinking of many things and looking even more than usually detached. He had remarked the facial expression of the short and stout man as he had got into his cab and he was turning over mentally his own exact knowledge of the views the business mind would have held and what the business countenance would have decently covered if he—Coombe—had explained in detail that he was so far—in this particular case—an entirely blameless character.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 innate xbxzC     
adj.天生的,固有的,天赋的
参考例句:
  • You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
  • Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。
3 steered dee52ce2903883456c9b7a7f258660e5     
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导
参考例句:
  • He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
  • The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 verge gUtzQ     
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。
5 adroit zxszv     
adj.熟练的,灵巧的
参考例句:
  • Jamie was adroit at flattering others.杰米很会拍马屁。
  • His adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers.他对质问者的机敏应答使他赢得了很多追随者。
6 apparently tMmyQ     
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。
7 hideous 65KyC     
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的
参考例句:
  • The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
  • They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗,是丑陋的畜牲。
8 irritation la9zf     
n.激怒,恼怒,生气
参考例句:
  • He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
  • Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说,但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。
9 incisive vkQyj     
adj.敏锐的,机敏的,锋利的,切入的
参考例句:
  • His incisive remarks made us see the problems in our plans.他的话切中要害,使我们看到了计划中的一些问题。
  • He combined curious qualities of naivety with incisive wit and worldly sophistication.他集天真质朴的好奇、锐利的机智和老练的世故于一体。
10 obdurate N5Dz0     
adj.固执的,顽固的
参考例句:
  • He is obdurate in his convictions.他执着于自己所坚信的事。
  • He remained obdurate,refusing to alter his decision.他依然固执己见,拒不改变决定。
11 melodrama UCaxb     
n.音乐剧;情节剧
参考例句:
  • We really don't need all this ridiculous melodrama!别跟我们来这套荒唐的情节剧表演!
  • White Haired Woman was a melodrama,but in certain spots it was deliberately funny.《白毛女》是一出悲剧性的歌剧,但也有不少插科打诨。
12 extraordinarily Vlwxw     
adv.格外地;极端地
参考例句:
  • She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
  • The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨,大海出奇地宁静。
13 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
14 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
15 beheld 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:
  • His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
16 hue qdszS     
n.色度;色调;样子
参考例句:
  • The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
  • The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。
17 concealed 0v3zxG     
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的
参考例句:
  • The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
  • I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
18 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。
19 discreet xZezn     
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的
参考例句:
  • He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
  • It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。
20 implored 0b089ebf3591e554caa381773b194ff1     
恳求或乞求(某人)( implore的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
  • She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。
21 shuddered 70137c95ff493fbfede89987ee46ab86     
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车,车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 raisins f7a89b31fdf9255863139804963e88cf     
n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • These raisins come from Xinjiang,they taste delicious. 这些葡萄干产自新疆,味道很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mother put some raisins in the cake. 母亲在糕饼中放了一些葡萄干。 来自辞典例句
23 preposterous e1Tz2     
adj.荒谬的,可笑的
参考例句:
  • The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
  • It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。
24 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。
25 mansion 8BYxn     
n.大厦,大楼;宅第
参考例句:
  • The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
  • The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。
26 stark lGszd     
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地
参考例句:
  • The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
  • He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
27 exclusion 1hCzz     
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。
28 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
29 prone 50bzu     
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的
参考例句:
  • Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
  • He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。
30 rigid jDPyf     
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的
参考例句:
  • She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
  • The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严,几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。
31 pathos dLkx2     
n.哀婉,悲怆
参考例句:
  • The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯,看得我们不禁流泪。
  • There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。
32 unnaturally 3ftzAP     
adv.违反习俗地;不自然地;勉强地;不近人情地
参考例句:
  • Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮,但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 unpaid fjEwu     
adj.未付款的,无报酬的
参考例句:
  • Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
  • He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。
34 poignantly ca9ab097e4c5dac69066957c74ed5da6     
参考例句:
  • His story is told poignantly in the film, A Beautiful Mind, now showing here. 以他的故事拍成的电影《美丽境界》,正在本地上映。
35 poignant FB1yu     
adj.令人痛苦的,辛酸的,惨痛的
参考例句:
  • His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
  • It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了,这尤其令人悲恸。
36 juggled a77f918d0a98a7f7f7be2d6e190e48c5     
v.歪曲( juggle的过去式和过去分词 );耍弄;有效地组织;尽力同时应付(两个或两个以上的重要工作或活动)
参考例句:
  • He juggled the company's accounts to show a profit. 为了表明公司赢利,他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
37 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
38 creditors 6cb54c34971e9a505f7a0572f600684b     
n.债权人,债主( creditor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 robust FXvx7     
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的
参考例句:
  • She is too tall and robust.她个子太高,身体太壮。
  • China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道,中国希望保持经济强势增长,以减少贫困和失业状况。
40 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。
41 onlooker 7I8xD     
n.旁观者,观众
参考例句:
  • A handful of onlookers stand in the field watching.少数几个旁观者站在现场观看。
  • One onlooker had to be restrained by police.一个旁观者遭到了警察的制止。
42 exhale Zhkzo     
v.呼气,散出,吐出,蒸发
参考例句:
  • Sweet odours exhale from flowers.花儿散发出花香。
  • Wade exhaled a cloud of smoke and coughed.韦德吐出一口烟,然后咳嗽起来。
43 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。
44 robin Oj7zme     
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟
参考例句:
  • The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
  • We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟,知道春天要到了。
45 cockroaches 1936d5f0f3d8e13fc00370b7ef69c14c     
n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • At night, the cockroaches filled the house with their rustlings. 夜里,屋里尽是蟑螂窸窸瑟瑟的声音。 来自辞典例句
  • It loves cockroaches, and can keep a house clear of these hated insects. 它们好食蟑螂,可以使住宅免除这些讨厌昆虫的骚扰。 来自百科语句
46 scuttling 56f5e8b899fd87fbaf9db14c025dd776     
n.船底穿孔,打开通海阀(沉船用)v.使船沉没( scuttle的现在分词 );快跑,急走
参考例句:
  • I could hear an animal scuttling about in the undergrowth. 我可以听到一只动物在矮树丛中跑来跑去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • First of all, scuttling Yu Lung (this yuncheng Hejin) , flood discharge. 大禹首先凿开龙门(今运城河津市),分洪下泄。 来自互联网
47 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
48 aloof wxpzN     
adj.远离的;冷淡的,漠不关心的
参考例句:
  • Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
  • On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。
49 Vogue 6hMwC     
n.时髦,时尚;adj.流行的
参考例句:
  • Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
  • Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。
50 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。
51 exquisite zhez1     
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的
参考例句:
  • I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
  • I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。
52 wailed e27902fd534535a9f82ffa06a5b6937a     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句
53 tenant 0pbwd     
n.承租人;房客;佃户;v.租借,租用
参考例句:
  • The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
  • The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。
54 fragrance 66ryn     
n.芬芳,香味,香气
参考例句:
  • The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
  • The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。
55 condemnatory 2d8f3d2600f8fc94217944d2fcccea85     
adj. 非难的,处罚的
参考例句:
  • Public security punishs a law to also have corresponding condemnatory regulation. 治安处罚法也有相应的处罚规定。
  • Public security management does not have such regulation on condemnatory byelaw, can not detain. 治安治理处罚条例上没有这样的规定,不可以拘留的。
56 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。
57 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同
参考例句:
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
58 sobbed 4a153e2bbe39eef90bf6a4beb2dba759     
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说
参考例句:
  • She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
  • She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。
59 enchanting MmCyP     
a.讨人喜欢的
参考例句:
  • His smile, at once enchanting and melancholy, is just his father's. 他那种既迷人又有些忧郁的微笑,活脱儿象他父亲。
  • Its interior was an enchanting place that both lured and frightened me. 它的里头是个吸引人的地方,我又向往又害怕。
60 disorder Et1x4     
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
参考例句:
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
61 shuddering 7cc81262357e0332a505af2c19a03b06     
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕,”她发着抖,说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
  • She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤,深深吸了口气。 来自飘(部分)
62 ironic 1atzm     
adj.讽刺的,有讽刺意味的,出乎意料的
参考例句:
  • That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
  • People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”,但他们是在挖苦我。
63 mentality PoIzHP     
n.心理,思想,脑力
参考例句:
  • He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
  • Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。
64 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到
参考例句:
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
65 shrieked dc12d0d25b0f5d980f524cd70c1de8fe     
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
  • Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫,陆子潇尖声叫:“告诉什么? 来自汉英文学 - 围城
66 discomfort cuvxN     
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便
参考例句:
  • One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
  • She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。
67 faltered d034d50ce5a8004ff403ab402f79ec8d     
(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。”
68 discretion FZQzm     
n.谨慎;随意处理
参考例句:
  • You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
  • Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。
69 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
70 surgical 0hXzV3     
adj.外科的,外科医生的,手术上的
参考例句:
  • He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
  • All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前,必须消毒。
71 succinctness bcb546bfdc0ab60ca76fb73c8ef771a9     
n.简洁;简要;简明
参考例句:
  • But we've seen little discussion on the relation between verb tenses and succinctness. 但有关动词时态与简练的关系的论述不多见。 来自互联网
  • The design is characterized by logicality, flexibility, systematization and succinctness by case analysis. 并通过实例证明设计上具有逻辑性、灵活性、系统性和简洁性等特点。 来自互联网
72 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
73 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
74 beset SWYzq     
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。
75 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
76 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍
参考例句:
  • When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时,太阳已下山了。
  • I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。
77     
参考例句:
78 authoritative 6O3yU     
adj.有权威的,可相信的;命令式的;官方的
参考例句:
  • David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
  • Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼,同时又透着威严。
79 shrilled 279faa2c22e7fe755d14e94e19d7bb10     
(声音)尖锐的,刺耳的,高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Behind him, the telephone shrilled. 在他身后,电话铃刺耳地响了起来。
  • The phone shrilled, making her jump. 电话铃声刺耳地响起,惊得她跳了起来。
80 inevitably x7axc     
adv.不可避免地;必然发生地
参考例句:
  • In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去,毫无疑问是会散伙的。
  • Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。
81 uncertainty NlFwK     
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物
参考例句:
  • Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
  • After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后,压力开始产生影响了。
82 contemplated d22c67116b8d5696b30f6705862b0688     
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
  • The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。
83 stammering 232ca7f6dbf756abab168ca65627c748     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He betrayed nervousness by stammering. 他说话结结巴巴说明他胆子小。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Why,\" he said, actually stammering, \"how do you do?\" “哎呀,\"他说,真的有些结结巴巴,\"你好啊?” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
84 stammer duMwo     
n.结巴,口吃;v.结结巴巴地说
参考例句:
  • He's got a bad stammer.他口吃非常严重。
  • We must not try to play off the boy troubled with a stammer.我们不可以取笑这个有口吃病的男孩。
85 bluster mRDy4     
v.猛刮;怒冲冲的说;n.吓唬,怒号;狂风声
参考例句:
  • We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。
  • He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵,可是不久就不做声了。
86 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。
87 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
88 tenants 05662236fc7e630999509804dd634b69     
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 );佃户;占用者;占有者
参考例句:
  • A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
  • Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
89 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
90 jingled 1ab15437500a7437cb07e32cfc02d932     
喝醉的
参考例句:
  • The bells jingled all the way. 一路上铃儿叮当响。
  • Coins in his pocket jingled as he walked. 走路时,他衣袋里的钱币丁当作响。
91 shrieking abc59c5a22d7db02751db32b27b25dbb     
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
92 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。
93 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
94 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记


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