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CHAPTER IV
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IT would have been hard, Nona Manford thought, to find a greater contrast than between Lita Wyant's house and that at which, two hours later, she descended1 from Lita Wyant's smart Brewster.
 
"You won't come, Lita?" The girl paused, her hand on the motor door. "He'd like it awfully2."
 
Lita shook off the suggestion. "I'm not in the humour."
 
"But he's such fun—he can be better company than anybody."
 
"Oh, for you he's a fad—for me he's a duty; and I don't happen to feel like duties." Lita waved one of her flower-hands and was off.
 
Nona mounted the pock-marked brown steps. The house was old Mrs. Wyant's, a faded derelict habitation in a street past which fashion and business had long since flowed. After his mother's death Wyant, from motives3 of economy, had divided it into small flats. He kept one for himself, and in the one overhead lived his mother's former companion, the dependent cousin who had been the cause of his divorce. Wyant had never married her; he had never deserted4 her; that, to Nona's mind, gave one a fair notion of his character. When he was ill—and he had developed, rather early, a queer sort of nervous hypochondria—the cousin came downstairs and nursed him; when he was well his visitors never saw her. But she was reported to attend to his mending, keep some sort of order in his accounts, and prevent his falling a prey5 to the unscrupulous. Pauline Manford said it was probably for the best. She herself would have thought it natural, and in fact proper, that her former husband should have married his cousin; as he had not, she preferred to decide that since the divorce they had been "only friends." The Wyant code was always a puzzle to her. She never met the cousin when she called on her former husband; but Jim, two or three times a year, made it a point to ring the bell of the upper flat, and at Christmas sent its invisible tenant6 an azalea.
 
Nona ran up the stairs to Wyant's door. On the threshold a thin gray-haired lady with a shadowy face awaited her.
 
"Come in, do. He's got the gout, and can't get up to open the door, and I had to send the cook out to get something tempting7 for his dinner."
 
"Oh, thank you, cousin Eleanor." The girl looked sympathetically into the other's dimly tragic8 eyes. "Poor Exhibit A! I'm sorry he's ill again."
 
"He's been—imprudent. But the worst of it's over. It will brighten him up to see you. Your cousin Stanley's there."
 
"Is he?" Nona half drew back, feeling herself faintly redden.
 
"He'll be going soon. Mr. Wyant will be disappointed if you don't go in."
 
"But of course I'm going in."
 
The older woman smiled a worn smile, and vanished upstairs while Nona slipped off her furs. The girl knew it would be useless to urge cousin Eleanor to stay. If one wished to see her one had to ring at her own door.
 
Arthur Wyant's shabby sitting-room9 was full of February sunshine, illustrated10 magazines, newspapers and cigar ashes. There were some books on shelves, shabby also: Wyant had apparently11 once cared for them, and his talk was still coloured by traces of early cultivation12, especially when visitors like Nona or Stan Heuston were with him. But the range of his allusions13 suggested that he must have stopped reading years ago. Even novels were too great a strain on his attention. As far back as Nona could remember he had fared only on the popular magazines, picture-papers and the weekly purveyors of social scandal. He took an intense interest in the private affairs of the world he had ceased to frequent, though he always ridiculed14 this interest in talking to Nona or Heuston.
 
While he sat there, deep in his armchair, with bent15 shoulders, sunk head and clumsy bandaged foot, Nona saw him, as she always did, as taller, slimmer, more handsomely upstanding than any man she had ever known. He stooped now, even when he was on his feet; he was prematurely17 aged16; and the fact perhaps helped to connect him with vanished institutions to which only his first youth could have belonged.
 
To Nona, at any rate, he would always be the Arthur Wyant of the race-meeting group in the yellowing photograph on his mantelpiece: clad in the gray frock-coat and topper of the early 'eighties, and tallest in a tall line of the similarly garbed18, behind ladies with puffed19 sleeves and little hats tilting20 forward on elaborate hair. How peaceful, smiling and unhurried they all seemed! Nona never looked at them without a pang21 of regret that she had not been born in those spacious22 days of dogcarts, victorias, leisurely23 tennis and afternoon calls...
 
Wyant's face, even more than his figure, related him to that past: the small shapely head, the crisp hair grown thin on a narrow slanting25 forehead, the eyes in which a twinkle still lingered, eyes probably blue when the hair was brown, but now faded with the rest, and the slight fair moustache above an uncertain ironic26 mouth.
 
A romantic figure; or rather the faded photograph of one. Yes; perhaps Arthur Wyant had always been faded—like a charming reflection in a sallow mirror. And all that length of limb and beauty of port had been meant for some other man, a man to whom the things had really happened which Wyant had only dreamed.
 
His visitor, though of the same stock, could never have inspired such conjectures27. Stanley Heuston was much younger—in the middle thirties—and most things about him were middling: height, complexion28, features. But he had a strong forehead, his mouth was curved for power and mockery, and only his small quick eyes betrayed the uncertainty29 and lassitude inherited from a Wyant mother.
 
Wyant, at Nona's approach, held out a dry feverish30 hand. "Well, this is luck! Stan was just getting ready to fly at your mother's approach, and you turn up instead!"
 
Heuston got to his feet, and greeted Nona somewhat ceremoniously. "Perhaps I'd better fly all the same," he said in a singularly agreeable voice. His eyes were intent on the girl's.
 
She made a slight gesture, not so much to detain or dismiss as to signify her complete indifference31. "Isn't mother coming presently?" she said, addressing the question to Wyant.
 
"No; I'm moved on till tomorrow. There must have been some big upheaval32 to make her change her plans at the last minute. Sit down and tell us all about it."
 
"I don't know of any upheaval. There's only the dinner-dance for Amalasuntha this evening."
 
"Oh, but that sort of thing is in your mother's stride. You underrate her capacity. Stan has been giving me a hint of something a good deal more volcanic33."
 
Nona felt an inward tremor34; was she going to hear Lita's name? She turned her glance on Heuston with a certain hostility35.
 
"Oh, Stan's hints—."
 
"You see what Nona thinks of my views on cities and men," Heuston shrugged36. He had remained on his feet, as though about to take leave; but once again the girl felt his eager eyes beseeching37 her.
 
"Are you waiting to walk home with me? You needn't. I'm going to stay for hours," she said, smiling across him at Wyant as she settled down into one of the chintz armchairs.
 
"Aren't you a little hard on him?" Wyant suggested, when the door had closed on their visitor. "It's not exactly a crime to want to walk home with you."
 
Nona made an impatient gesture. "Stan bores me."
 
"Ah, well, I suppose he's not enough of a novelty. Or not up-to-date enough; your dates. Some of his ideas seem to me pretty subversive38; but I suppose in your set and Lita's a young man who doesn't jazz all day and drink all night—or vice39 versa—is a back number."
 
The girl did not take this up, and after a moment Wyant continued, in his half-mocking half-querulous voice: "Or is it that he isn't 'psychic40' enough? That's the latest, isn't it? When you're not high-kicking you're all high-thinking; and that reminds me of Stan's news—"
 
"Yes?" Nona brought it out between parched41 lips. Her gaze turned from Wyant to the coals smouldering in the grate. She did not want to face any one just then.
 
"Well, it seems there's going to be a gigantic muck-raking—one of the worst we've had yet. Into this Mahatma business; you know, the nigger chap your mother's always talking about. There's a hint of it in the last number of the 'Looker-on'; here ... where is it? Never mind, though. What it says isn't a patch on the real facts, Stan tells me. It seems the goings-on in that School of Oriental Thought—what does he call the place: Dawnside?—have reached such a point that the Grant Lindons, whose girl has been making a 'retreat' there, or whatever they call it, are out to have a thorough probing. They say the police don't want to move because so many people we know are mixed up in it; but Lindon's back is up, and he swears he won't rest till he gets the case before the Grand Jury..."
 
As Wyant talked, the weight lifted from Nona's breast. Much she cared for the Mahatma, or for the Grant Lindons! Stuffy42 old-fashioned people—she didn't wonder Bee Lindon had broken away from such parents—though she was a silly fool, no doubt. Besides, the Mahatma certainly had reduced Mrs. Manford's hips—and made her less nervous too: for Mrs. Manford sometimes was nervous, in spite of her breathless pursuit of repose43. Not, of course, in the same querulous uncontrolled way as poor Arthur Wyant, who had never been taught poise44, or mental uplift, or being in tune45 with the Infinite; but rather as one agitated46 by the incessant47 effort to be calm. And in that respect the Mahatma's rhythmic48 exercises had without doubt been helpful. No; Nona didn't care a fig24 for scandals about the School of Oriental Thought. And the relief of finding that the subject she had dreaded49 to hear broached50 had probably never even come to Wyant's ears, gave her a reaction of light-heartedness.
 
There were moments when Nona felt oppressed by responsibilities and anxieties not of her age, apprehensions52 that she could not shake off and yet had not enough experience of life to know how to meet. One or two of her girl friends—in the brief intervals53 between whirls and thrills—had confessed to the same vague disquietude. It was as if, in the beaming determination of the middle-aged55, one and all of them, to ignore sorrow and evil, "think them away" as superannuated56 bogies, survivals of some obsolete57 European superstition58 unworthy of enlightened Americans, to whom plumbing59 and dentistry had given higher standards, and bi-focal glasses a clearer view of the universe—as if the demons60 the elder generation ignored, baulked of their natural prey, had cast their hungry shadow over the young. After all, somebody in every family had to remember now and then that such things as wickedness, suffering and death had not yet been banished61 from the earth; and with all those bright-complexioned white-haired mothers mailed in massage62 and optimism, and behaving as if they had never heard of anything but the Good and the Beautiful, perhaps their children had to serve as vicarious sacrifices. There were hours when Nona Manford, bewildered little Iphigenia, uneasily argued in this way: others when youth and inexperience reasserted themselves, and the load slipped from her, and she wondered why she didn't always believe, like her elders, that one had only to be brisk, benevolent63 and fond to prevail against the powers of darkness.
 
She felt this relief now; but a vague restlessness remained with her, and to ease it, and prove to herself that she was not nervous, she mentioned to Wyant that she had just been lunching with Jim and Lita.
 
Wyant brightened, as he always did at his son's name. "Poor old Jim! He dropped in yesterday, and I thought he looked overworked! I sometimes wonder if that father of yours hasn't put more hustle64 into him than a Wyant can assimilate." Wyant spoke65 good-humouredly; his first bitterness against the man who had supplanted66 him (a sentiment regarded by Pauline as barbarous and mediæval) had gradually been swallowed up in gratitude67 for Dexter Manford's kindness to Jim. The oddly-assorted trio, Wyant, Pauline and her new husband, had been drawn68 into a kind of inarticulate understanding by their mutual69 tenderness for the progeny70 of the two marriages, and Manford loved Jim almost as much as Wyant loved Nona.
 
"Oh, well," the girl said, "Jim always does everything with all his might. And now that he's doing it for Lita and the baby, he's got to keep on, whether he wants to or not."
 
"I suppose so. But why do you say 'whether'?" Wyant questioned with one of his disconcerting flashes. "Doesn't he want to?"
 
Nona was vexed71 at her slip. "Of course. I only meant that he used to be rather changeable in his tastes, and that getting married has given him an object."
 
"How very old-fashioned! You are old-fashioned, you know, my child; in spite of the jazz. I suppose that's what I've done for you, in exchange for Manford's modernizing72 Jim. Not much of an exchange, I'm afraid. But how long do you suppose Lita will care about being an object to Jim?"
 
"Why shouldn't she care? She'd go on caring about the baby, even if ... not that I mean..."
 
"Oh, I know. That's a great baby. Queer, you know—I can see he's going to have the Wyant nose and forehead. It's about all we've left to give. But look here—haven't you really heard anything more about the Mahatma? I thought that Lindon girl was a pal73 of yours. Now listen—"
 
When Nona Manford emerged into the street she was not surprised to meet Stanley Heuston strolling toward her across Stuyvesant Square. Neither surprised, nor altogether sorry; do what she would, she could never quite repress the sense of ease and well-being74 that his nearness gave. And yet half the time they were together she always spent in being angry with him and wishing him away. If only the relation between them had been as simple as that between herself and Jim! And it might have been—ought to have been—seeing that Heuston was Jim's cousin, and nearly twice her age; yes, and had been married before she left the schoolroom. Really, her exasperation75 was justified76. Yet no one understood her as well as Stanley; not even Jim, who was so much dearer and more lovable. Life was a confusing business to Nona Manford.
 
"How absurd! I asked you not to wait. I suppose you think I'm not old enough to be out alone after dark."
 
"That hadn't occurred to me; and I'm not waiting to walk home with you," Heuston rejoined with some asperity77. "But I do want to say two words," he added, his voice breaking into persuasion78.
 
Nona stopped, her heels firmly set on the pavement. "The same old two?"
 
"No. Besides, there are three of those. You never could count." He hesitated: "This time it's only about Arthur—"
 
"Why; what's the matter?" The sense of apprehension51 woke in her again. What if Wyant really had begun to suspect that there was something, an imponderable something, wrong between Jim and Lita, and had been too shrewd to let Nona detect his suspicion?
 
"Haven't you noticed? He looks like the devil. He's been drinking again. Eleanor spoke to me—"
 
"Oh, dear." There it was—all the responsibilities and worries always closed in on Nona! But this one, after all, was relatively79 bearable.
 
"What can I do, Stan? I can't imagine why you come to me!"
 
He smiled a little, in his queer derisive80 way. "Doesn't everybody? The fact is—I didn't want to bother Jim."
 
She was silent. She understood; but she resented his knowing that she understood.
 
"Jim has got to be bothered. He's got to look after his father."
 
"Yes; but I— Oh, look here, Nona; won't you see?"
 
"See what?"
 
"Why—that if Jim is worried about his father now—Jim's a queer chap; he's tried his hand at fifty things, and never stuck to one; and if he gets a shock now, on top of everything else—"
 
Nona felt her lips grow hard: all her pride and tenderness for her brother stiffened81 into ice about her heart.
 
"I don't know what you mean. Jim's grown up—he's got to face things."
 
"Yes; I know. I've been told the same thing about myself. But there are things one doesn't ever have a chance to face in this slippery sliding modern world, because they don't come out into the open. They just lurk82 and peep and mouth. My case exactly. What on earth is there about Aggie83 that a fellow can face?"
 
Nona stopped short with a jerk. "We don't happen to be talking about you and Aggie," she said.
 
"Oh, well; I was merely using myself as an example. But there are plenty of others to choose from."
 
Her voice broke into anger. "I don't imagine you're comparing your married life to Jim's?"
 
"Lord, no. God forbid!" He burst into a dry laugh. "When I think of Aggie's life and Lita's—!"
 
"Never mind about Lita's life. What do you know about it, anyhow? Oh, Stan, why are we quarrelling again?" She felt the tears in her throat. "What you wanted was only to tell me about poor Arthur. And I'd guessed that myself—I know something ought to be done. But what? How on earth can I tell? I'm always being asked by everybody what ought to be done ... and sometimes I feel too young to be always the one to judge, to decide..."
 
Heuston stood watching her in silence. Suddenly he took her hand and drew it through his arm. She did not resist, and thus linked they walked on slowly and without further speech through the cold deserted streets. As they approached more populous84 regions she freed her arm from his, and signalled to a taxi.
 
"May I come?"
 
"No. I'm going to meet Lita at the Cubist Cabaret. I promised to be there by four."
 
"Oh, all right." He looked at her irresolutely85 as the taxi drew up. "I wish to God I could always be on hand to help you when you're bothered!"
 
She shook her head.
 
"Never?"
 
"Not while Aggie—"
 
"That means never."
 
"Then never." She held out her hand, but he had turned and was already striding off in the opposite direction. She threw the address to the chauffeur86 and got in.
 
"Yes; I suppose it is never," she said to herself. After all, instead of helping87 her with the Wyant problem, Stan had only brought her another: his own—and hers. As long as Aggie Heuston, a sort of lay nun88, absorbed in High Church practices and the exercise of a bleak89 but efficient philanthropy, continued to set her face against divorce, Nona would not admit that Heuston had any right to force it upon her. "It's her way of loving him," the girl said to herself for the hundredth time. "She wants to keep him for herself too—though she doesn't know it; but she does above all want to save him. And she thinks that's the way to do it. I rather admire her for thinking that there is a way to save people..." She pushed that problem once more into the back of her mind, and turned her thoughts toward the other and far more pressing one: that of poor Arthur Wyant's growing infirmity. Stanley was probably right in not wanting to speak to Jim about it at that particular moment—though how did Stanley know about Jim's troubles, and what did he know?—and she herself, after all, was perhaps the only person to deal with Arthur Wyant. Another interval54 of anxious consideration made her decide that the best way would be to seek her father's advice. After an hour's dancing she would feel better, more alive and competent, and there would still be time to dash down to Manford's office, the only place—as she knew by experience—where Manford was ever likely to have time for her.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
2 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
3 motives 6c25d038886898b20441190abe240957     
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
  • His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。
4 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。
5 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
6 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。
7 tempting wgAzd4     
a.诱人的, 吸引人的
参考例句:
  • It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
  • It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。
8 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
参考例句:
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
9 sitting-room sitting-room     
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室
参考例句:
  • The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
  • Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。
10 illustrated 2a891807ad5907f0499171bb879a36aa     
adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
  • The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。
11 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。
12 cultivation cnfzl     
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成
参考例句:
  • The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
  • The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃,不值得耕种。
13 allusions c86da6c28e67372f86a9828c085dd3ad     
暗指,间接提到( allusion的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。
  • The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes. 眼前的情景容易使人联想到欧洲风光。
14 ridiculed 81e89e8e17fcf40595c6663a61115a91     
v.嘲笑,嘲弄,奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败,代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
16 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
17 prematurely nlMzW4     
adv.过早地,贸然地
参考例句:
  • She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产,肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了,不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句
18 garbed 444f7292bad50cd579f38d7c8c5f1345     
v.(尤指某类人穿的特定)服装,衣服,制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The widow was garbed in black. 那寡妇穿着黑衣服。 来自辞典例句
  • He garbed himself as a sailor. 他装扮成水手。 来自辞典例句
19 puffed 72b91de7f5a5b3f6bdcac0d30e24f8ca     
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟,狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了,便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 tilting f68c899ac9ba435686dcb0f12e2bbb17     
倾斜,倾卸
参考例句:
  • For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他,但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
  • So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以,让我们结束内部间的争吵吧!再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。
21 pang OKixL     
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷
参考例句:
  • She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
  • She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。
22 spacious YwQwW     
adj.广阔的,宽敞的
参考例句:
  • Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞,足够建一座游泳池。
  • The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。
23 leisurely 51Txb     
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的
参考例句:
  • We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着,看遍所有的橱窗。
  • He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐,高兴的开车去工作。
24 fig L74yI     
n.无花果(树)
参考例句:
  • The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果,又挑了一个。
  • You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。
25 slanting bfc7f3900241f29cee38d19726ae7dce     
倾斜的,歪斜的
参考例句:
  • The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
  • The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。
26 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。
27 conjectures 8334e6a27f5847550b061d064fa92c00     
推测,猜想( conjecture的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • That's weighing remote military conjectures against the certain deaths of innocent people. 那不过是牵强附会的军事假设,而现在的事实却是无辜者正在惨遭杀害,这怎能同日而语!
  • I was right in my conjectures. 我所猜测的都应验了。
28 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。
29 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。
30 feverish gzsye     
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的
参考例句:
  • He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
  • They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。
31 indifference k8DxO     
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎
参考例句:
  • I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
32 upheaval Tp6y1     
n.胀起,(地壳)的隆起;剧变,动乱
参考例句:
  • It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
  • The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。
33 volcanic BLgzQ     
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的
参考例句:
  • There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
34 tremor Tghy5     
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震
参考例句:
  • There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
  • A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。
35 hostility hdyzQ     
n.敌对,敌意;抵制[pl.]交战,战争
参考例句:
  • There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
  • His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。
36 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
37 beseeching 67f0362f7eb28291ad2968044eb2a985     
adj.恳求似的v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She clung to her father, beseeching him for consent. 她紧紧挨着父亲,恳求他答应。 来自辞典例句
  • He casts a beseeching glance at his son. 他用恳求的眼光望着儿子。 来自辞典例句
38 subversive IHbzr     
adj.颠覆性的,破坏性的;n.破坏份子,危险份子
参考例句:
  • She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
  • The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。
39 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
40 psychic BRFxT     
n.对超自然力敏感的人;adj.有超自然力的
参考例句:
  • Some people are said to have psychic powers.据说有些人有通灵的能力。
  • She claims to be psychic and to be able to foretell the future.她自称有特异功能,能预知未来。
41 parched 2mbzMK     
adj.焦干的;极渴的;v.(使)焦干
参考例句:
  • Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
  • The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。
42 stuffy BtZw0     
adj.不透气的,闷热的
参考例句:
  • It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
  • It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热,我们感到空气都是潮的。
43 repose KVGxQ     
v.(使)休息;n.安息
参考例句:
  • Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
  • Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑,即使在睡眠时也是这样。
44 poise ySTz9     
vt./vi. 平衡,保持平衡;n.泰然自若,自信
参考例句:
  • She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻,但很快恢复了镇静。
  • Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。
45 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
46 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的,不安的
参考例句:
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定,回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时,她十分焦虑。
47 incessant WcizU     
adj.不停的,连续的
参考例句:
  • We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
  • She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。
48 rhythmic rXexv     
adj.有节奏的,有韵律的
参考例句:
  • Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
  • Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。
49 dreaded XuNzI3     
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
  • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
50 broached 6e5998583239ddcf6fbeee2824e41081     
v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 );打开并开始用;用凿子扩大(或修光);(在桶上)钻孔取液体
参考例句:
  • She broached the subject of a picnic to her mother. 她向母亲提起野餐的问题。 来自辞典例句
  • He broached the subject to the stranger. 他对陌生人提起那话题。 来自辞典例句
51 apprehension bNayw     
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑
参考例句:
  • There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑,于是她越来越担心。
  • She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。
52 apprehensions 86177204327b157a6d884cdb536098d8     
疑惧
参考例句:
  • He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
  • But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而,随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。
53 intervals f46c9d8b430e8c86dea610ec56b7cbef     
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息
参考例句:
  • The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴,有阵雨。
  • Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
54 interval 85kxY     
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息
参考例句:
  • The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
  • There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。
55 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
56 superannuated YhOzQq     
adj.老朽的,退休的;v.因落后于时代而废除,勒令退学
参考例句:
  • Are you still riding that superannuated old bike?你还骑那辆老掉牙的自行车吗?
  • No one supports these superannuated policies.没人支持这些过时的政策。
57 obsolete T5YzH     
adj.已废弃的,过时的
参考例句:
  • These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了,在市场上卖不了高价。
  • They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。
58 superstition VHbzg     
n.迷信,迷信行为
参考例句:
  • It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
  • Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。
59 plumbing klaz0A     
n.水管装置;水暖工的工作;管道工程v.用铅锤测量(plumb的现在分词);探究
参考例句:
  • She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
  • They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
60 demons 8f23f80251f9c0b6518bce3312ca1a61     
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念
参考例句:
  • demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
  • He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰,那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
61 banished b779057f354f1ec8efd5dd1adee731df     
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚,五年后在那里去世。
  • He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
62 massage 6ouz43     
n.按摩,揉;vt.按摩,揉,美化,奉承,篡改数据
参考例句:
  • He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
  • Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。
63 benevolent Wtfzx     
adj.仁慈的,乐善好施的
参考例句:
  • His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
  • He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人,连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。
64 hustle McSzv     
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌)
参考例句:
  • It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
  • I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。
65 spoke XryyC     
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:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
66 supplanted 1f49b5af2ffca79ca495527c840dffca     
把…排挤掉,取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • In most offices, the typewriter has now been supplanted by the computer. 当今许多办公室里,打字机已被电脑取代。
  • The prime minister was supplanted by his rival. 首相被他的政敌赶下台了。
67 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
68 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
69 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
70 progeny ZB5yF     
n.后代,子孙;结果
参考例句:
  • His numerous progeny are scattered all over the country.他为数众多的后代散布在全国各地。
  • He was surrounded by his numerous progeny.众多的子孙簇拥着他。
71 vexed fd1a5654154eed3c0a0820ab54fb90a7     
adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论
参考例句:
  • The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
  • He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
72 modernizing 44bdb80e6ee4cb51b9829f1073fceee0     
使现代化,使适应现代需要( modernize的现在分词 ); 现代化,使用现代方法
参考例句:
  • Modernizing a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. 使企业现代化,从而达到增加利润,增强竞争力的目的,是一件复杂的事情。
  • The young engineer had a large share in modernizing the factory. 这位年轻工程师在工厂现代化的过程中尽了很大的“力”。
73 pal j4Fz4     
n.朋友,伙伴,同志;vi.结为友
参考例句:
  • He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
  • Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着,小子,我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。
74 well-being Fe3zbn     
n.安康,安乐,幸福
参考例句:
  • He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
  • My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福,却被误解为多管闲事。
75 exasperation HiyzX     
n.愤慨
参考例句:
  • He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
  • She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
76 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的,有理的
参考例句:
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
77 asperity rN6yY     
n.粗鲁,艰苦
参考例句:
  • He spoke to the boy with asperity.他严厉地对那男孩讲话。
  • The asperity of the winter had everybody yearning for spring.严冬之苦让每个人都渴望春天。
78 persuasion wMQxR     
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派
参考例句:
  • He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说,他才决定离开。
  • After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后,她同意去了。
79 relatively bkqzS3     
adv.比较...地,相对地
参考例句:
  • The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
  • The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
80 derisive ImCzF     
adj.嘲弄的
参考例句:
  • A storm of derisive applause broke out.一阵暴风雨般的哄笑声轰然响起。
  • They flushed,however,when she burst into a shout of derisive laughter.然而,当地大声嘲笑起来的时候,她们的脸不禁涨红了。
81 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句:
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去,这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。
82 lurk J8qz2     
n.潜伏,潜行;v.潜藏,潜伏,埋伏
参考例句:
  • Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
  • He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。
83 aggie MzCzdW     
n.农校,农科大学生
参考例句:
  • Maybe I will buy a Aggie ring next year when I have money.也许明年等我有了钱,我也会订一枚毕业生戒指吧。
  • The Aggie replied,"sir,I believe that would be giddy-up."这个大学生慢条斯理的说,“先生,我相信是昏死过去。”
84 populous 4ORxV     
adj.人口稠密的,人口众多的
参考例句:
  • London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
  • China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。
85 irresolutely bd48a0849e0a868390b09177fd05c8ef     
adv.优柔寡断地
参考例句:
  • He followed irresolutely for a little distance, half a pace behind her. 他犹豫地跟了短短的一段距离,落在她身后半步路。 来自英汉文学
  • She arose and stood irresolutely at the foot of the stairs. 她起身来到楼梯脚下,犹豫不定地站在那里。 来自飘(部分)
86 chauffeur HrGzL     
n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机;v.为…开车
参考例句:
  • The chauffeur handed the old lady from the car.这个司机搀扶这个老太太下汽车。
  • She went out herself and spoke to the chauffeur.她亲自走出去跟汽车司机说话。
87 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
88 nun THhxK     
n.修女,尼姑
参考例句:
  • I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
  • She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。
89 bleak gtWz5     
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的
参考例句:
  • They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
  • The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。


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