PROFESSOR CHALLENGER was in a bad humour, and when that was so his household were made aware of it. Neither were the effects of his wrath2 confined to those around him, for most of those terrible letters which appeared from time to time in the Press, flaying3 and scarifying some unhappy opponent, were thunderbolt flashes from an offended Jove who sat in sombre majesty4 in his study-throne on the heights of a Victoria flat. Servants would hardly dare to enter the room where, glooming and glowering5, the maned and bearded head looked up from his papers as a lion from a bone. Only Enid could dare him at such a time, and even she felt occasionally that sinking of the heart which the bravest of tamers may experience as he unbars the gate of the cage. She was not safe from the acridity6 of his tongue, but at least she need not fear physical violence, which was well within the possibilities for others.
Sometimes these Berserk fits of the famous Professor arose from material causes. “Hepatic, sir, hepatic!” he would explain in extenuation7 after some aggravated8 assault. But on this particular occasion he had a very definite cause for discontent. It was Spiritualism!
He never seemed to get away from the accursed superstition9—a thing which ran counter to the whole{213} work and philosophy of his lifetime. He attempted to pooh-pooh it, to laugh at it, to ignore it with contempt, but the confounded thing would insist upon obtruding11 itself once more. On Monday he would write it finally off his books, and before Saturday he would be up to his neck in it again. And the thing was so absurd! It seemed to him that his mind was being drawn12 from the great pressing material problems of the Universe in order to waste itself upon Grimm’s fairy tales or the ghosts of a sensational13 novelist.
Then things grew worse. First Malone, who had in his simple fashion been an index figure representing the normal clear-headed human being, had in some way been bedevilled by these people and had committed himself to their pernicious views. Then Enid, his ewe-lamb, his one real link with humanity, had also been corrupted14. She had agreed with Malone’s conclusions. She had even hunted up a good deal of evidence of her own. In vain he had himself investigated a case and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the medium was a designing villain15 who brought messages from a widow’s dead husband in order to get the woman into his power. It was a clear case and Enid admitted it. But neither she nor Malone would allow any general application. “There are rogues16 in every line of life,” they would say. “We must judge every movement by the best and not by the worst.”
All this was bad enough, but worse still was in store. He had been publicly humiliated17 by the Spiritualists—and that by a man who admitted that he had had no education and would in any other subject in the world have been seated like a child at the Professor’s feet.{214} And yet in public debate ... but the story must be told.
Be it known then that Challenger, greatly despising all opposition18 and with no knowledge of the real strength of the case to be answered, had, in a fatal moment, actually asserted that he would descend19 from Olympus and would meet in debate any representative whom the other party should select. “I am well aware,” he wrote, “that by such condescension20 I, like any other man of science of equal standing21, run the risk of giving a dignity to these absurd and grotesque22 aberrations23 of the human brain which they could otherwise not pretend to claim, but we must do our duty to the public, and we must occasionally turn from our serious work and spare a moment in order to sweep away those ephemeral cobwebs which might collect and become offensive if they were not dispersed24 by the broom of Science.” Thus, in a most self-confident fashion, did Goliath go forth to meet his tiny antagonist25, an ex-printer’s assistant and now the editor of what Challenger would describe as an obscure print devoted26 to matters of the spirit.
The particulars of the debate are public property, and it is not necessary to tell in any great detail that painful event. It will be remembered that the great man of Science went down to the Queen’s Hall accompanied by many rationalist sympathisers who desired to see the final destruction of the visionaries. A large number of these poor deluded27 creatures also attended, hoping against hope that their champion might not be entirely28 immolated29 upon the altar of outraged30 Science. Between them the two factions31 filled the hall, and glared at each other with as much enmity as did the Blues32 and the Greens a thousand years before in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. There{215} on the left of the platform were the solid ranks of those hard and unbending rationalists who look upon the Victorian agnostics as credulous33, and refresh their faith by the periodical perusal34 of the Literary Gazette and the Freethinker.
There, too, was Dr. Joseph Baumer, the famous lecturer upon the absurdities35 of religion, together with Mr. Edward Mould, who has insisted so eloquently36 upon man’s claim to ultimate putridity38 of the body and extinction39 of the soul. On the other side Mailey’s yellow beard flamed like an oriflamme. His wife sat on one side of him and Mervin, the journalist, on the other, while dense40 ranks of earnest men and women from the Queen Square Spiritual Alliance, from the Psychic41 College, from the Stead Bureau, and from the outlying churches, assembled in order to encourage their champion in his hopeless task. The genial42 faces of Bolsover, the grocer, with his Hammersmith friends, Terbane, the railway medium, the Reverend Charles Mason with his ascetic43 features, Tom Linden, now happily released from bondage44, Mrs. Linden, the Crewe circle, Dr. Atkinson, Lord Roxton, Malone, and many other familiar faces were to be picked out amid that dense wall of humanity. Between the two parties, solemn and stolid46 and fat, sat Judge Gaverson of the King’s Bench, who had consented to preside. It was an interesting and suggestive fact that in this critical debate at which the very core or vital centre of real religion was the issue, the organised churches were entirely aloof47 and neutral. Drowsy48 and semi-conscious, they could not discern that the live intellect of the nation was really holding an inquisition upon their bodies to determine whether they were doomed49 to the extinction towards which they were rapidly drifting, or whether a resuscitation{216} in other forms was among the possibilities of the future.
In front, on one side, with his broad-browed disciples50 behind him, sat Professor Challenger, portentous51 and threatening, his Assyrian beard projected in his most aggressive fashion, a half-smile upon his lips, and his eyelids52 drooping53 insolently54 over his intolerant grey eyes. On the corresponding position on the other side was perched a drab and unpretentious person over whose humble55 head Challenger’s hat would have descended56 to the shoulders. He was pale and apprehensive57, glancing across occasionally in apologetic and deprecating fashion at his leonine opponent. Yet those who knew James Smith best were the least alarmed, for they were aware that behind his commonplace and democratic appearance there lay a knowledge of his subject, practical and theoretical, such as few living men possessed58. The wise men of the Psychical59 Research Society are but children in psychic knowledge when compared with such practicing Spiritualists as James Smith—men whose whole lives are spent in various forms of communion with the unseen. Such men often lose touch with the world in which they dwell and are useless for its everyday purposes, but the editorship of a live paper and the administration of a wide-spread scattered60 community had kept Smith’s feet solid upon earth, while his excellent natural faculties61, incorrupted by useless education, had enabled him to concentrate upon the one field of knowledge which offers in itself a sufficient scope for the greatest human intellect. Little as Challenger could appreciate it, the contest was really one between a brilliant discursive63 amateur and a concentrated highly-specialised professional.
It was admitted on all sides that Challenger’s open{217}ing half-hour was a magnificent display of oratory64 and argument. His deep organ voice—such a voice as only a man with a fifty-inch chest can produce—rose and fell in a perfect cadence65 which enchanted66 his audience. He was born to sway any assembly—an obvious leader of mankind. In turn he was descriptive, humorous and convincing. He pictured the natural growth of animism among savages67 cowering68 under the naked sky, unable to account for the beat of the rain or the roar of the thunder, and seeing a benevolent69 or malicious70 intelligence behind those operations of Nature which Science had now classified and explained.
Hence on false premises71 was built up that belief in spirits or invisible beings outside ourselves, which by some curious atavism was re-emerging in modern days among the less educated strata72 of mankind. It was the duty of Science to resist retrogressive tendencies of the sort, and it was a sense of that duty which had reluctantly drawn him from the privacy of his study to the publicity73 of this platform. He rapidly sketched74 the movement as depicted75 by its maligners. It was a most unsavoury story as he told it, a story of cracking toe joints76, of phosphorescent paint, of muslin ghosts, of a nauseous sordid77 commission trade betwixt dead men’s bones on one side, and widows’ tears upon the other. These people were the hyenas78 of the human race who battened upon the graves. (Cheers from the rationalists and ironical79 laughter from the Spiritualists.) They were not all rogues. (“Thank you, Professor!” from a stentorian80 opponent.) But the others were fools (laughter). Was it exaggeration to call a man a fool who believed that his grandmother could rap out absurd messages with the leg of a dining-room table? Had any savages de{218}scended to so grotesque a superstition? These people had taken dignity from death and had brought their own vulgarity into the serene81 oblivion of the tomb. It was a hateful business. He was sorry to have to speak so strongly, but only the knife or the cautery could deal with so cancerous a growth. Surely man need not trouble himself with grotesque speculations82 as to the nature of life beyond the grave. We had enough to do in this world. Life was a beautiful thing. The man who appreciated its real duties and beauties would have sufficient to employ him without dabbling83 in pseudo sciences which had their roots in frauds, exposed already a hundred times and yet finding fresh crowds of foolish devotees whose insane credulity and irrational85 prejudice made them impervious86 to all argument.
Such is a most bald and crude summary of this powerful opening argument. The materialists roared their applause; the Spiritualists looked angry and uneasy, while their spokesman rose, pale but resolute88, to answer the ponderous89 onslaught.
His voice and appearance had none of those qualities which made Challenger magnetic, but he was clearly audible and made his points in a precise fashion like a workman who is familiar with his tools. He was so polite and so apologetic at first that he gave the impression of having been cowed. He felt that it was almost presumptuous90 upon one who had so little advantage of education to measure mental swords for an instant with so renowned91 an antagonist, one whom he had long revered92. It seemed to him, however, that in the long list of the Professor’s accomplishments—accomplishments which had made him a household word throughout the world—there was one missing, and unhappily it was just this one upon which{219} he had been tempted10 to speak. He had listened to that speech with admiration93 so far as its eloquence94 was concerned, but with surprise, and he might almost say with contempt, when he analysed the assertions which were contained in it. It was clear that the Professor had prepared his case by reading all the anti-Spiritualist literature which he could lay his hands upon—a most tainted95 source of information—while neglecting the works of those who spoke87 from experience and conviction.
All this talk of cracking joints and other fraudulent tricks was mid-Victorian in its ignorance, and as to the grandmother talking through the leg of a table he, the speaker, could not recognise it as a fair description of Spiritualistic phenomena96. Such comparisons reminded one of the jokes about the dancing frogs which impeded97 the recognition of Volta’s early electrical experiments. They were unworthy of Professor Challenger. He must surely be aware that the fraudulent medium was the worst enemy of Spiritualism, that he was denounced by name in the psychic journals whenever he was discovered, and that such exposures were usually made by the Spiritualists themselves who had spoken of “human hyenas” as indignantly as his opponent had done. One did not condemn98 banks because forgers occasionally used them for nefarious99 purposes. It was wasting the time of so chosen an audience to descend to such a level of argument. Had Professor Challenger denied the religious implications of Spiritualism while admitting the phenomena, it might have been harder to answer him, but in denying everything he had placed himself in an absolutely impossible position. No doubt Professor Challenger had read the recent work of Professor Richet, the famous physiologist100. That work extended{220} over thirty years. Richet had verified all the phenomena.
Perhaps Professor Challenger would inform the audience what personal experience he had himself had which gave him the right to talk of Richet, or Lombroso, or Crookes, as if they were superstitious101 savages. Possibly his opponent had conducted experiments in private of which the world knew nothing. In that case he should give them to the world. Until he did so it was unscientific and really indecent to deride102 men hardly inferior in scientific reputation to himself, who actually had done such experiments and laid them before the public.
As to the self-sufficiency of this world, a successful Professor with a eupeptic body might take such a view, but if one found oneself with cancer of the stomach in a London garret, one might question the doctrine103 that there was no need to yearn104 for any state of being save that in which we found ourselves.
It was a workmanlike effort illustrated105 with facts, dates and figures. Though it rose to no height of eloquence it contained much which needed an answer. And the sad fact emerged that Challenger was not in a position to answer. He had read up his own case but had neglected that of his adversary107, accepting too easily the facile and specious108 presumptions109 of incompetent110 writers who handled a matter which they had not themselves investigated. Instead of answering, Challenger lost his temper. The lion began to roar. He tossed his dark mane and his eyes glowed, while his deep voice reverberated111 through the hall. Who were these people who took refuge behind a few honoured but misguided names? What right had they to expect serious men of science to suspend their labours in order to waste time in examining their{221} wild surmises112? Some things were self-evident and did not require proof. The onus113 of proof lay with those who made the assertions. If this gentleman, whose name is unfamiliar114, claims that he can raise spirits, let him call one up now before a sane84 and unprejudiced audience. If he says that he receives messages, let him give us the news in advance of the general agencies. (“It has often been done!” from the Spiritualists.) “So you say, but I deny it. I am too accustomed to your wild assertions to take them seriously.” (Uproar, and Judge Gaverson upon his feet.) If he claims that he has higher inspiration, let him solve the Peckham Rye murder. If he is in touch with angelic beings, let him give us a philosophy, which is higher than mortal mind can evolve. This false show of science, this camouflage115 of ignorance, this babble116 about ectoplasm and other mythical117 products of the psychic imagination was mere118 obscurantism, the bastard119 offspring of superstition and darkness. Wherever the matter was probed one came upon corruption120 and mental putrescence. Every medium was a deliberate impostor. (“You are a liar45!” in a woman’s voice from the neighbourhood of the Lindens.) The voices of the dead had uttered nothing but childish twaddle. The asylums121 were full of the supporters of the cult62 and would be fuller still if everyone had his due.
It was a violent but not an effective speech. Evidently the great man was rattled122. He realised that there was a case to be met and that he had not provided himself with the material wherewith to meet it. Therefore he had taken refuge in angry words and sweeping123 assertions which can only be safely made when there is no antagonist present to take advantage of them. The Spiritualists seemed more amused than{222} angry. The materialists fidgeted uneasily in their seats. Then James Smith rose for his last innings. He wore a mischievous124 smile. There was quiet menace in his whole bearing.
He must ask, he said, for a more scientific attitude from his illustrious opponent. It was an extraordinary fact that many scientific men, when their passions and prejudices were excited, showed a ludicrous disregard for all their own tenets. Of these tenets there was none more rigid125 than that a subject should be examined before it was condemned126. We have seen of late years, in such matters as wireless127 or heavier-than-air machines, that the most unlikely things may come to pass. It is most dangerous to say a priori that a thing is impossible. Yet this was the error into which Professor Challenger had fallen. He had used the fame which he had rightly won in subjects which he had mastered in order to cast discredit128 upon a subject which he had not mastered. The fact that a man was a great physiologist and physicist129 did not in itself make him an authority upon psychic science.
It was perfectly130 clear that Professor Challenger had not read the standard works upon the subject on which he posed as an authority. Could he tell the audience what the name of Schrenck Notzing’s medium was? He paused for a reply. Could he then tell the name of Dr. Crawford’s medium? Not? Could he tell them who had been the subject of Professor Zollner’s experiments at Leipzig? What, still silent! But these were the essential points of the discussion. He had hesitated to be personal, but the Professor’s robust131 language called for corresponding frankness upon his part. Was the Professor aware that this ectoplasm which he derided132 had been examined lately by twenty German professors—the names were here{223} for reference—and that all had testified to its existence? How could Professor Challenger deny that which these gentlemen asserted? Would he contend that they also were criminals or fools? The fact was that the Professor had come to this hall entirely ignorant of the facts and was now learning them for the first time. He clearly had no perception that Psychic Science had any laws whatever, or he would not have formulated133 such childish requests as that an ectoplasmic figure should manifest in full light upon this platform when every student was aware that ectoplasm was soluble134 in light. As to the Peckham Rye murder it had never been claimed that the angel world was an annex135 to Scotland Yard. It was mere throwing of dust in the eyes of the public for a man like Professor Challenger——
It was at this moment that the explosion occurred. Challenger had wriggled136 in his chair. Challenger had tugged137 at his beard. Challenger had glared at the speaker. Now he suddenly sprang to the side of the chairman’s table with the bound of a wounded lion. That gentleman had been lying back half asleep with his fat hands clutched across his ample paunch, but at this sudden apparition138 he gave a convulsive start which nearly carried him into the orchestra.
“Sit down, sir! Sit down!” he cried.
“I refuse to sit down,” roared Challenger. “Sir, I appeal to you as chairman! Am I here to be insulted? These proceedings139 are intolerable. I will stand it no longer. If my private honour is touched I am justified140 in taking the matter into my own hands.”
Like many men who override141 the opinions of others, Challenger was exceedingly sensitive when anyone took a liberty with his own. Each successive incisive142 sentence of his opponent had been like a barbed ban{224}darillo in the flanks of a foaming143 bull. Now, in speechless fury, he was shaking his huge hairy fist over the chairman’s head in the direction of his adversary, whose derisive144 smile stimulated145 him to more furious plunges147 with which he butted148 the fat president along the platform. The assembly had in an instant become a pandemonium149. Half the rationalists were scandalised, while the other half shouted “Shame! Shame!” as a sign of sympathy with their champion. The Spiritualists had broken into derisive shouts, while some rushed forward to protect their champion from physical assault.
“We must get the old dear out,” said Lord Roxton to Malone. “He’ll be had for manslaughter if we don’t. What I mean, he’s not responsible—he’ll sock someone and be lagged for it.”
The platform had become a seething150 mob while the auditorium151 was little better. Through the crush Malone and Roxton elbowed their way until they reached Challenger’s side, and partly by judicious152 propulsion, partly by artful persuasion153 they got him, still bellowing154 his grievances155, out of the building. There was a perfunctory vote to the chairman, and the meeting broke up in riot and confusion. “The whole episode,” remarked The Times next morning, “was a deplorable one, and forcibly illustrates156 the danger of public debates where the subjects are such as to inflame157 the prejudices of either speakers or audience. Such terms as ‘Microcephalous idiot!’ or ‘Simian survival!’ when applied158 by a world-renowned Professor to an opponent, illustrate106 the lengths to which such disputants may permit themselves to go.”
Thus by a long interpolation we have got back to the fact that Professor Challenger was in the worst{225} of humours as he sat with the above-mentioned copy of The Times in his hand and a heavy scowl159 upon his brow. And yet it was that very moment that the injudicious Malone had chosen in order to ask him the most intimate question which one man can address to another.
Yet perhaps it is hardly fair to our friend’s diplomacy160 to say that he had “chosen” the moment. He had really called in order to see for himself that a man for whom, in spite of his eccentricities161, he had a deep reverence162 and affection, had not suffered from the events of the night before. On that point he was speedily reassured163.
“Intolerable!” roared the Professor, in a tone so unchanged that he might have been at it all night. “You were there yourself, Malone. In spite of your inexplicable164 and misguided sympathy for the fatuous165 views of these people, you must admit that the whole conduct of the proceedings was intolerable, and that my righteous protest was more than justified. It is possible that when I threw the chairman’s table at the President of the Psychic College, I passed the bounds of decorum, but the provocation166 had been excessive. You will remember that this Smith or Brown person—his name is most immaterial—dared to accuse me of ignorance and of throwing dust in the eyes of the audience.”
“Quite so,” said Malone, soothingly167. “Never mind, Professor. You got in one or two pretty hard knocks yourself.”
Challenger’s grim features unbent and he rubbed his hands with glee.
“Yes, yes, I fancy that some of my thrusts went home. I imagine that they will not be forgotten. When I said that the asylums would be full if every{226} man of them had his due, I could see them wince168. They all yelped169, I remember, like a kennelful of puppies. It was their preposterous170 claim that I should read their hare-brained literature which caused me to display some little heat. But I hope, my boy, that you have called round this morning in order to tell me that what I said last night has had some effect upon your own mind, and that you have reconsidered these views which are, I confess, a considerable tax upon our friendship.”
“I had something else in my mind when I came here,” said he. “You must be aware that your daughter Enid and I have been thrown together a good deal of late. To me, sir, she has become the one woman in the world, and I shall never be happy until she is my wife. I am not rich, but a good sub-editorship has been offered to me and I could well afford to marry. You have known me for some time and I hope you have nothing against me. I trust, therefore, that I may count upon your approval in what I am about to do.”
“My perceptions,” said he, “are not so dull that I should have failed to observe the relations which have been established between my daughter and yourself. This question, however, has become entangled172 with that other which we were discussing. You have both, I fear, imbibed173 this poisonous fallacy which I am more and more inclined to devote my life to extirpating174. If only on the ground of eugenics, I could not give my sanction to a union which was built up on such a foundation. I must ask you, therefore, for a definite{227} assurance that your views have become more sane. I shall ask the same from her.”
And so Malone suddenly found himself also enrolled175 among the noble army of martyrs176. It was a hard dilemma177, but he faced it like the man that he was.
“I am sure, sir, that you would not think the better of me if I allowed my views as to truth, whether they be right or wrong, to be swayed by material considerations. I cannot change my opinions even to win Enid. I am sure that she would take the same view.”
“Did you not think I had the better last night?”
“Did I not convince you?”
“Not in the face of the evidence of my own senses.”
“I fear, sir, that my mind is made up on this point.”
“Then my mind is made up also,” roared Challenger, with a sudden glare. “You will leave this house, sir, and you will return when you have regained179 your sanity180.”
“One moment!” said Malone. “I beg, sir, that you will not be precipitate181. I value your friendship too much to risk the loss of it if it can, in any way, be avoided. Possibly if I had your guidance, I would better understand these things that puzzle me. If I should be able to arrange it would you mind being present personally at one of these demonstrations182 so that your own trained powers of observation may throw a light upon the things that have puzzled me.”
Challenger was enormously open to flattery. He plumed183 and preened184 himself now like some great bird.{228}
“If, my dear Malone, I can help you to get this taint—what shall we call it?—microbus spiritualensis—out of your system, I am at your service. I shall be happy to devote a little of my spare time to exposing those specious fallacies to which you have fallen so easy a victim. I would not say that you are entirely devoid185 of brains, but that your good nature is liable to be imposed upon. I warn you that I shall be an exacting186 enquirer187 and bring to the investigation188 those laboratory methods of which it is generally admitted that I am a master.”
“That is what I desire.”
“Then you will prepare the occasion and I shall be there. But meanwhile you will clearly understand that I insist upon a promise that this connection with my daughter shall go no further.”
Malone hesitated.
“I give my promise for six months,” he said at last.
“And what will you do at the end of that time?”
“I will decide when the time comes,” Malone answered diplomatically, and so escaped from a dangerous situation with more credit than at one time seemed probable.
It chanced that as he emerged upon the landing, Enid, who had been engaged in her morning’s shopping, appeared in the lift. Malone’s easy Irish conscience allowed him to think that the six months need not start on the instant, so he persuaded Enid to descend in the lift with him. It was one of those lifts which are handled by whoever uses them, and on this occasion it so happened that, in some way best known to Malone, it stuck between the landing-stages, and in spite of several impatient rings it remained stuck for a good quarter of an hour. When the machinery189 re{229}sumed its functions, and when Enid was able at last to reach her home and Malone the street, the lovers had prepared themselves to wait for six months with every hope of a successful end to their experiment.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
flaying
|
|
| v.痛打( flay的现在分词 )；把…打得皮开肉绽；剥（通常指动物）的皮；严厉批评 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
glowering
|
|
| v.怒视( glower的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
acridity
|
|
| n.辛辣，狠毒；苛性；极苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
extenuation
|
|
| n.减轻罪孽的借口；酌情减轻；细 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
aggravated
|
|
| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
obtruding
|
|
| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
sensational
|
|
| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
corrupted
|
|
| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
villain
|
|
| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
rogues
|
|
| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
humiliated
|
|
| 感到羞愧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
condescension
|
|
| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
grotesque
|
|
| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
aberrations
|
|
| n.偏差( aberration的名词复数 )；差错；脱离常规；心理失常 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
dispersed
|
|
| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
antagonist
|
|
| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
deluded
|
|
| v.欺骗，哄骗( delude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
immolated
|
|
| v.宰杀…作祭品( immolate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
outraged
|
|
| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
factions
|
|
| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
blues
|
|
| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
credulous
|
|
| adj.轻信的，易信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
perusal
|
|
| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
absurdities
|
|
| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
eloquently
|
|
| adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
putridity
|
|
| n.腐败 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
39
extinction
|
|
| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
psychic
|
|
| n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
genial
|
|
| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
ascetic
|
|
| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
bondage
|
|
| n.奴役，束缚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
liar
|
|
| n.说谎的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
stolid
|
|
| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
aloof
|
|
| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
drowsy
|
|
| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
doomed
|
|
| 命定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
disciples
|
|
| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
portentous
|
|
| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
eyelids
|
|
| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
drooping
|
|
| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
insolently
|
|
| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
apprehensive
|
|
| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
psychical
|
|
| adj.有关特异功能现象的；有关特异功能官能的；灵魂的；心灵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
faculties
|
|
| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
cult
|
|
| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
discursive
|
|
| adj.离题的，无层次的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
oratory
|
|
| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
cadence
|
|
| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
enchanted
|
|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
cowering
|
|
| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
benevolent
|
|
| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
malicious
|
|
| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
premises
|
|
| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
strata
|
|
| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
publicity
|
|
| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
sketched
|
|
| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
depicted
|
|
| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
joints
|
|
| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
sordid
|
|
| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
hyenas
|
|
| n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
ironical
|
|
| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
stentorian
|
|
| adj.大声的，响亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
speculations
|
|
| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
dabbling
|
|
| v.涉猎( dabble的现在分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
sane
|
|
| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
irrational
|
|
| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
impervious
|
|
| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
resolute
|
|
| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
ponderous
|
|
| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
presumptuous
|
|
| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
renowned
|
|
| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
revered
|
|
| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
eloquence
|
|
| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
tainted
|
|
| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
phenomena
|
|
| n.现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
impeded
|
|
| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
condemn
|
|
| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
nefarious
|
|
| adj.恶毒的，极坏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
physiologist
|
|
| n.生理学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
deride
|
|
| v.嘲弄，愚弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
yearn
|
|
| v.想念；怀念；渴望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
illustrated
|
|
| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
illustrate
|
|
| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
adversary
|
|
| adj.敌手，对手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
specious
|
|
| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
presumptions
|
|
| n.假定( presumption的名词复数 )；认定；推定；放肆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
incompetent
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
reverberated
|
|
| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
surmises
|
|
| v.臆测，推断( surmise的第三人称单数 )；揣测；猜想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
onus
|
|
| n.负担；责任 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
unfamiliar
|
|
| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
camouflage
|
|
| n./v.掩饰，伪装 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
babble
|
|
| v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
mythical
|
|
| adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
bastard
|
|
| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
corruption
|
|
| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
asylums
|
|
| n.避难所( asylum的名词复数 )；庇护；政治避难；精神病院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
rattled
|
|
| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
mischievous
|
|
| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
rigid
|
|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
wireless
|
|
| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
discredit
|
|
| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
physicist
|
|
| n.物理学家，研究物理学的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
robust
|
|
| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
derided
|
|
| v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
formulated
|
|
| v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
soluble
|
|
| adj.可溶的；可以解决的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
annex
|
|
| vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
wriggled
|
|
| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
tugged
|
|
| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
apparition
|
|
| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
proceedings
|
|
| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
justified
|
|
| a.正当的，有理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
override
|
|
| vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
incisive
|
|
| adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
foaming
|
|
| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
derisive
|
|
| adj.嘲弄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
stimulated
|
|
| a.刺激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
plunges
|
|
| n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
butted
|
|
| 对接的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
pandemonium
|
|
| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
seething
|
|
| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
auditorium
|
|
| n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
judicious
|
|
| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
persuasion
|
|
| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
bellowing
|
|
| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
grievances
|
|
| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
illustrates
|
|
| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
inflame
|
|
| v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
scowl
|
|
| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
diplomacy
|
|
| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
eccentricities
|
|
| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
reassured
|
|
| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
fatuous
|
|
| adj.愚昧的；昏庸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
provocation
|
|
| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
soothingly
|
|
| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
wince
|
|
| n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
yelped
|
|
| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
preposterous
|
|
| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
drooped
|
|
| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
entangled
|
|
| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
imbibed
|
|
| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
extirpating
|
|
| v.消灭，灭绝( extirpate的现在分词 )；根除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
175
enrolled
|
|
| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
martyrs
|
|
| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
dilemma
|
|
| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
conjuror
|
|
| n.魔术师，变戏法者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
regained
|
|
| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
sanity
|
|
| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
precipitate
|
|
| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
demonstrations
|
|
| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
plumed
|
|
| 饰有羽毛的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
preened
|
|
| v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
devoid
|
|
| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
exacting
|
|
| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
enquirer
|
|
| 寻问者，追究者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |