BEFORE daylight that same morning Amherst, dressing1 by the gas-flame above his cheap wash-stand, strove to bring some order into his angry thoughts. It humbled2 him to feel his purpose tossing rudderless on unruly waves of emotion, yet strive as he would he could not regain3 a hold on it. The events of the last twenty-four hours had been too rapid and unexpected for him to preserve his usual clear feeling of mastery; and he had, besides, to reckon with the first complete surprise of his senses. His way of life had excluded him from all contact with the subtler feminine influences, and the primitive4 side of the relation left his imagination untouched. He was therefore the more assailable5 by those refined forms of the ancient spell that lurk6 in delicacy7 of feeling interpreted by loveliness of face. By his own choice he had cut himself off from all possibility of such communion; had accepted complete abstinence for that part of his nature which might have offered a refuge from the stern prose of his daily task. But his personal indifference8 to his surroundings--deliberately encouraged as a defiance9 to the attractions of the life he had renounced--proved no defence against this appeal; rather, the meanness of his surroundings combined with his inherited refinement10 of taste to deepen the effect of Bessy's charm.
As he reviewed the incidents of the past hours, a reaction of self-derision came to his aid. What was this exquisite11 opportunity from which he had cut himself off? What, to reduce the question to a personal issue, had Mrs. Westmore said or done that, on the part of a plain woman, would have quickened his pulses by the least fraction of a second? Why, it was only the old story of the length of Cleopatra's nose! Because her eyes were a heavenly vehicle for sympathy, because her voice was pitched to thrill the tender chords, he had been deluded12 into thinking that she understood and responded to his appeal. And her own emotions had been wrought13 upon by means as cheap: it was only the obvious, theatrical14 side of the incident that had affected15 her. If Dillon's wife had been old and ugly, would she have been clasped to her employer's bosom16? A more expert knowledge of the sex would have told Amherst that such ready sympathy is likely to be followed by as prompt a reaction of indifference. Luckily Mrs. Westmore's course had served as a corrective for his lack of experience; she had even, as it appeared, been at some pains to hasten the process of disillusionment. This timely discipline left him blushing at his own insincerity; for he now saw that he had risked his future not because of his zeal17 for the welfare of the mill-hands, but because Mrs. Westmore's look was like sunshine on his frozen senses, and because he was resolved, at any cost, to arrest her attention, to associate himself with her by the only means in his power.
Well, he deserved to fail with such an end in view; and the futility18 of his scheme was matched by the vanity of his purpose. In the cold light of disenchantment it seemed as though he had tried to build an impregnable fortress19 out of nursery blocks. How could he have foreseen anything but failure for so preposterous20 an attempt? His breach21 of discipline would of course be reported at once to Mr. Gaines and Truscomb; and the manager, already jealous of his assistant's popularity with the hands, which was a tacit criticism of his own methods, would promptly22 seize the pretext23 to be rid of him. Amherst was aware that only his technical efficiency, and his knack24 of getting the maximum of work out of the operatives, had secured him from Truscomb's animosity. From the outset there had been small sympathy between the two; but the scarcity25 of competent and hard-working assistants had made Truscomb endure him for what he was worth to the mills. Now, however, his own folly26 had put the match to the manager's smouldering dislike, and he saw himself, in consequence, discharged and black-listed, and perhaps roaming for months in quest of a job. He knew the efficiency of that far-reaching system of defamation27 whereby the employers of labour pursue and punish the subordinate who incurs28 their displeasure. In the case of a mere29 operative this secret persecution30 often worked complete ruin; and even to a man of Amherst's worth it opened the dispiriting prospect31 of a long struggle for rehabilitation32.
Deep down, he suffered most at the thought that his blow for the operatives had failed; but on the surface it was the manner of his failure that exasperated33 him. For it seemed to prove him unfit for the very work to which he was drawn34: that yearning35 to help the world forward that, in some natures, sets the measure to which the personal adventure must keep step. Amherst had hitherto felt himself secured by his insight and self-control from the emotional errors besetting36 the way of the enthusiast37; and behold38, he had stumbled into the first sentimental39 trap in his path, and tricked his eyes with a Christmas-chromo vision of lovely woman dispensing40 coals and blankets! Luckily, though such wounds to his self-confidence cut deep, he could apply to them the antiseptic of an unfailing humour; and before he had finished dressing, the picture of his wide schemes of social reform contracting to a blue-eyed philanthropy of cheques and groceries, had provoked a reaction of laughter. Perhaps the laughter came too soon, and rang too loud, to be true to the core; but at any rate it healed the edges of his hurt, and gave him a sound surface of composure.
But he could not laugh away the thought of the trials to which his intemperance41 had probably exposed his mother; and when, at the breakfast-table, from which Duplain had already departed, she broke into praise of their visitor, it was like a burning irritant on his wound.
"What a face, John! Of course I don't often see people of that kind now--" the words, falling from her too simply to be reproachful, wrung42 him, for that, all the more--"but I'm sure that kind of soft loveliness is rare everywhere; like a sweet summer morning with the mist on it. The Gaines girls, now, are my idea of the modern type; very handsome, of course, but you see just _how_ handsome the first minute. I like a story that keeps one wondering till the end. It was very kind of Maria Ansell," Mrs. Amherst wandered happily on, "to come and hunt me out yesterday, and I enjoyed our quiet talk about old times. But what I liked best was seeing Mrs. Westmore--and, oh, John, if she came to live here, what a benediction43 to the mills!"
Amherst was silent, moved most of all by the unimpaired simplicity44 of heart with which his mother could take up past relations, and open her meagre life to the high visitations of grace and fashion, without a tinge45 of self-consciousness or apology. "I shall never be as genuine as that," he thought, remembering how he had wished to have Mrs. Westmore know that he was of her own class. How mixed our passions are, and how elastic46 must be the word that would cover any one of them! Amherst's, at that moment, were all stained with the deep wound to his self-love.
The discolouration he carried in his eye made the mill-village seem more than commonly cheerless and ugly as he walked over to the office after breakfast. Beyond the grim roof-line of the factories a dazzle of rays sent upward from banked white clouds the promise of another brilliant day; and he reflected that Mrs. Westmore would soon be speeding home to the joy of a gallop47 over the plains.
Far different was the task that awaited him--yet it gave him a pang48 to think that he might be performing it for the last time. In spite of Mr. Tredegar's assurances, he was certain that the report of his conduct must by this time have reached the President, and been transmitted to Truscomb; the latter was better that morning, and the next day he would doubtless call his rebellious49 assistant to account. Amherst, meanwhile, took up his routine with a dull heart. Even should his offense50 be condoned51, his occupation presented, in itself, little future to a man without money or powerful connections. Money! He had spurned52 the thought of it in choosing his work, yet he now saw that, without its aid, he was powerless to accomplish the object to which his personal desires had been sacrificed. His love of his craft had gradually been merged53 in the larger love for his fellow-workers, and in the resulting desire to lift and widen their lot. He had once fancied that this end might be attained54 by an internal revolution in the management of the Westmore mills; that he might succeed in creating an industrial object-lesson conspicuous55 enough to point the way to wiser law-making and juster relations between the classes. But the last hours' experiences had shown him how vain it was to assault single-handed the strong barrier between money and labour, and how his own dash at the breach had only thrust him farther back into the obscure ranks of the stragglers. It was, after all, only through politics that he could return successfully to the attack; and financial independence was the needful preliminary to a political career. If he had stuck to the law he might, by this time, have been nearer his goal; but then the gold might not have mattered, since it was only by living among the workers that he had learned to care for their fate. And rather than have forfeited57 that poignant58 yet mighty59 vision of the onward60 groping of the mass, rather than have missed the widening of his own nature that had come through sharing their hopes and pains, he would still have turned from the easier way, have chosen the deeper initiation61 rather than the readier attainment62.
But this philosophic63 view of the situation was a mere thread of light on the farthest verge64 of his sky: much nearer were the clouds of immediate65 care, amid which his own folly, and his mother's possible suffering from it, loomed66 darkest; and these considerations made him resolve that, if his insubordination were overlooked, he would swallow the affront67 of a pardon, and continue for the present in the mechanical performance of his duties. He had just brought himself to this leaden state of acquiescence68 when one of the clerks in the outer office thrust his head in to say: "A lady asking for you--" and looking up, Amherst beheld69 Bessy Westmore.
She came in alone, with an air of high self-possession in marked contrast to her timidity and indecision of the previous day. Amherst thought she looked taller, more majestic70; so readily may the upward slant71 of a soft chin, the firmer line of yielding brows, add a cubit to the outward woman. Her aspect was so commanding that he fancied she had come to express her disapproval72 of his conduct, to rebuke73 him for lack of respect to Mr. Tredegar; but a moment later it became clear, even to his inexperienced perceptions, that it was not to himself that her challenge was directed.
She advanced toward the seat he had moved forward, but in her absorption forgot to seat herself, and stood with her clasped hands resting on the back of the chair.
"I have come back to talk to you," she began, in her sweet voice with its occasional quick lift of appeal. "I knew that, in Mr. Truscomb's absence, it would be hard for you to leave the mills, and there are one or two things I want you to explain before I go away--some of the things, for instance, that you spoke74 to Mr. Tredegar about last night."
Amherst's feeling of constraint75 returned. "I'm afraid I expressed myself badly; I may have annoyed him--" he began.
She smiled this away, as though irrelevant76 to the main issue. "Perhaps you don't quite understand each other--but I am sure you can make it clear to me." She sank into the chair, resting one arm on the edge of the desk behind which he had resumed his place. "That is the reason why I came alone," she continued. "I never can understand when a lot of people are trying to tell me a thing all at once. And I don't suppose I care as much as a man would--a lawyer especially--about the forms that ought to be observed. All I want is to find out what is wrong and how to remedy it."
Her blue eyes met Amherst's in a look that flowed like warmth about his heart. How should he have doubted that her feelings were as exquisite as her means of expressing them? The iron bands of distrust were loosened from his spirit, and he blushed for his cheap scepticism of the morning. In a woman so evidently nurtured77 in dependence56, whose views had been formed, and her actions directed, by the most conventional influences, the mere fact of coming alone to Westmore, in open defiance of her advisers78, bespoke79 a persistence80 of purpose that put his doubts to shame.
"It will make a great difference to the people here if you interest yourself in them," he rejoined. "I tried to explain to Mr. Tredegar that I had no wish to criticise81 the business management of the mills--even if there had been any excuse for my doing so--but that I was sure the condition of the operatives could be very much improved, without permanent harm to the business, by any one who felt a personal sympathy for them; and in the end I believe such sympathy produces better work, and so benefits the employer materially."
She listened with her gentle look of trust, as though committing to him, with the good faith of a child, her ignorance, her credulity, her little rudimentary convictions and her little tentative aspirations82, relying on him not to abuse or misdirect them in the boundless83 supremacy84 of his masculine understanding.
"That is just what I want you to explain to me," she said. "But first I should like to know more about the poor man who was hurt. I meant to see his wife yesterday, but Mr. Gaines told me she would be at work till six, and it would have been difficult to go after that. I _did_ go to the hospital; but the man was sleeping--is Dillon his name?--and the matron told us he was much better. Dr. Disbrow came in the evening and said the same thing--told us it was all a false report about his having been so badly hurt, and that Mr. Truscomb was very much annoyed when he heard of your having said, before the operatives, that Dillon would lose his arm."
Amherst smiled. "Ah--Mr. Truscomb heard that? Well, he's right to be annoyed: I ought not to have said it when I did. But unfortunately I am not the only one to be punished. The operative who tied on the black cloth was dismissed this morning."
Mrs. Westmore flamed up. "Dismissed for that? Oh, how unjust--how cruel!"
"You must look at both sides of the case," said Amherst, finding it much easier to remain temperate85 in the glow he had kindled86 than if he had had to force his own heat into frozen veins87. "Of course any act of insubordination must be reprimanded--but I think a reprimand would have been enough."
It gave him an undeniable throb88 of pleasure to find that she was not to be checked by such arguments. "But he shall be put back--I won't have any one discharged for such a reason! You must find him for me at once--you must tell him----"
Once more Amherst gently restrained her. "If you'll forgive my saying so, I think it is better to let him go, and take his chance of getting work elsewhere. If he were taken back he might be made to suffer. As things are organized here, the hands are very much at the mercy of the overseers, and the overseer in that room would be likely to make it uncomfortable for a hand who had so openly defied him."
With a heavy sigh she bent89 her puzzled brows on him. "How complicated it is! I wonder if I shall ever understand it all. _You_ don't think Dillon's accident was his own fault, then?"
"Certainly not; there are too many cards in that room. I pointed90 out the fact to Mr. Truscomb when the new machines were set up three years ago. An operative may be ever so expert with his fingers, and yet not learn to measure his ordinary movements quite as accurately91 as if he were an automaton92; and that is what a man must do to be safe in the carding-room."
She sighed again. "The more you tell me, the more difficult it all seems. Why is the carding-room so over-crowded?"
"To make it pay better," Amherst returned bluntly; and the colour flushed her sensitive skin.
He thought she was about to punish him for his plain-speaking; but she went on after a pause: "What you say is dreadful. Each thing seems to lead back to another--and I feel so ignorant of it all." She hesitated again, and then said, turning her bluest glance on him: "I am going to be quite frank with you, Mr. Amherst. Mr. Tredegar repeated to me what you said to him last night, and I think he was annoyed that you were unwilling93 to give any proof of the charges you made."
"Charges? Ah," Amherst exclaimed, with a start of recollection, "he means my refusing to say who told me that Dr. Disbrow was not telling the truth about Dillon?"
"Yes. He said that was a very grave accusation94 to make, and that no one should have made it without being able to give proof."
"That is quite true, theoretically. But in this case it would be easy for you or Mr. Tredegar to find out whether I was right."
"But Mr. Tredegar said you refused to say who told you."
"I was bound to, as it happened. But I am not bound to prevent your trying to get the same information."
"Ah--" she murmured understandingly; and, a sudden thought striking him, he went on, with a glance at the clock: "If you really wish to judge for yourself, why not go to the hospital now? I shall be free in five minutes, and could go with you if you wish it."
Amherst had remembered the nurse's cry of recognition when she saw Mrs. Westmore's face under the street-lamp; and it immediately occurred to him that, if the two women had really known each other, Mrs. Westmore would have no difficulty in obtaining the information she wanted; while, even if they met as strangers, the dark-eyed girl's perspicacity95 might still be trusted to come to their aid. It remained only to be seen how Mrs. Westmore would take his suggestion; but some instinct was already telling him that the highhanded method was the one she really preferred.
"To the hospital--now? I should like it of all things," she exclaimed, rising with what seemed an almost childish zest96 in the adventure. "Of course that is the best way of finding out. I ought to have insisted on seeing Dillon yesterday--but I begin to think the matron didn't want me to."
Amherst left this inference to work itself out in her mind, contenting himself, as they drove back to Hanaford, with answering her questions about Dillon's family, the ages of his children, and his wife's health. Her enquiries, he noticed, did not extend from the particular to the general: her curiosity, as yet, was too purely97 personal and emotional to lead to any larger consideration of the question. But this larger view might grow out of the investigation98 of Dillon's case; and meanwhile Amherst's own purposes were momentarily lost in the sweet confusion of feeling her near him--of seeing the exquisite grain of her skin, the way her lashes99 grew out of a dusky line on the edge of the white lids, the way her hair, stealing in spirals of light from brow to ear, wavered off into a fruity down on the edge of the cheek.
At the hospital they were protestingly admitted by Mrs. Ogan, though the official "visitors' hour" was not till the afternoon; and beside the sufferer's bed, Amherst saw again that sudden flowering of compassion100 which seemed the key to his companion's beauty: as though her lips had been formed for consolation101 and her hands for tender offices. It was clear enough that Dillon, still sunk in a torpor102 broken by feverish103 tossings, was making no perceptible progress toward recovery; and Mrs. Ogan was reduced to murmuring some technical explanation about the state of the wound while Bessy hung above him with reassuring104 murmurs105 as to his wife's fate, and promises that the children should be cared for.
Amherst had noticed, on entering, that a new nurse--a gaping106 young woman instantly lost in the study of Mrs. Westmore's toilet--had replaced the dark-eyed attendant of the day before; and supposing that the latter was temporarily off duty, he asked Mrs. Ogan if she might be seen.
The matron's face was a picture of genteel perplexity. "The other nurse? Our regular surgical107 nurse, Miss Golden, is ill--Miss Hibbs, here, is replacing her for the present." She indicated the gaping damsel; then, as Amherst persisted: "Ah," she wondered negligently108, "do you mean the young lady you saw here yesterday? Certainly--I had forgotten: Miss Brent was merely a--er--temporary substitute. I believe she was recommended to Dr. Disbrow by one of his patients; but we found her quite unsuitable--in fact, unfitted--and the doctor discharged her this morning."
Mrs. Westmore had drawn near, and while the matron delivered her explanation, with an uneasy sorting and shifting of words, a quick signal of intelligence passed between her hearers. "You see?" Amherst's eyes exclaimed; "I see--they have sent her away because she told you," Bessy's flashed back in wrath109, and his answering look did not deny her inference.
"Do you know where she has gone?" Amherst enquired110; but Mrs. Ogan, permitting her brows a faint lift of surprise, replied that she had no idea of Miss Brent's movements, beyond having heard that she was to leave Hanaford immediately
In the carriage Bessy exclaimed: "It was the nurse, of course--if we could only find her! Brent--did Mrs. Ogan say her name was Brent?"
"Do you know the name?"
"Yes--at least--but it couldn't, of course, be the girl I knew----"
"Miss Brent saw you the night you arrived, and thought she recognized you. She said you and she had been at some school or convent together."
"The Sacred Heart? Then it _is_ Justine Brent! I heard they had lost their money--I haven't seen her for years. But how strange that she should be a hospital nurse! And why is she at Hanaford, I wonder?"
"She was here only on a visit; she didn't tell me where she lived. She said she heard that a surgical nurse was wanted at the hospital, and volunteered her services; I'm afraid she got small thanks for them."
"Do you really think they sent her away for talking to you? How do you suppose they found out?"
"I waited for her last night when she left the hospital, and I suppose Mrs. Ogan or one of the doctors saw us. It was thoughtless of me," Amherst exclaimed with compunction.
"I wish I had seen her--poor Justine! We were the greatest friends at the convent. She was the ringleader in all our mischief--I never saw any one so quick and clever. I suppose her fun is all gone now."
For a moment Mrs. Westmore's mind continued to linger among her memories; then she reverted111 to the question of the Dillons, and of what might best be done for them if Miss Brent's fears should be realized.
As the carriage neared her door she turned to her companion with extended hand. "Thank you so much, Mr. Amherst. I am glad you suggested that Mr. Truscomb should find some work for Dillon about the office. But I must talk to you about this again--can you come in this evening?"
1 dressing | |
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料 | |
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2 humbled | |
adj. 卑下的,谦逊的,粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下,贬低 | |
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3 regain | |
vt.重新获得,收复,恢复 | |
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4 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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5 assailable | |
adj.可攻击的,易攻击的 | |
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6 lurk | |
n.潜伏,潜行;v.潜藏,潜伏,埋伏 | |
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7 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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8 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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9 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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10 refinement | |
n.文雅;高尚;精美;精制;精炼 | |
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11 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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12 deluded | |
v.欺骗,哄骗( delude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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14 theatrical | |
adj.剧场的,演戏的;做戏似的,做作的 | |
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15 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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16 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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17 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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18 futility | |
n.无用 | |
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19 fortress | |
n.堡垒,防御工事 | |
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20 preposterous | |
adj.荒谬的,可笑的 | |
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21 breach | |
n.违反,不履行;破裂;vt.冲破,攻破 | |
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22 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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23 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
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24 knack | |
n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法 | |
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25 scarcity | |
n.缺乏,不足,萧条 | |
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26 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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27 defamation | |
n.诽谤;中伤 | |
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28 incurs | |
遭受,招致,引起( incur的第三人称单数 ) | |
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29 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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30 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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31 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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32 rehabilitation | |
n.康复,悔过自新,修复,复兴,复职,复位 | |
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33 exasperated | |
adj.恼怒的 | |
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34 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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35 yearning | |
a.渴望的;向往的;怀念的 | |
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36 besetting | |
adj.不断攻击的v.困扰( beset的现在分词 );不断围攻;镶;嵌 | |
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37 enthusiast | |
n.热心人,热衷者 | |
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38 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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39 sentimental | |
adj.多愁善感的,感伤的 | |
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40 dispensing | |
v.分配( dispense的现在分词 );施与;配(药) | |
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41 intemperance | |
n.放纵 | |
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42 wrung | |
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水) | |
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43 benediction | |
n.祝福;恩赐 | |
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44 simplicity | |
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
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45 tinge | |
vt.(较淡)着色于,染色;使带有…气息;n.淡淡色彩,些微的气息 | |
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46 elastic | |
n.橡皮圈,松紧带;adj.有弹性的;灵活的 | |
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47 gallop | |
v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔;飞速发展 | |
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48 pang | |
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷 | |
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49 rebellious | |
adj.造反的,反抗的,难控制的 | |
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50 offense | |
n.犯规,违法行为;冒犯,得罪 | |
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51 condoned | |
v.容忍,宽恕,原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52 spurned | |
v.一脚踢开,拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53 merged | |
(使)混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 ); 相融; 融入; 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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54 attained | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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55 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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56 dependence | |
n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属 | |
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57 forfeited | |
(因违反协议、犯规、受罚等)丧失,失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58 poignant | |
adj.令人痛苦的,辛酸的,惨痛的 | |
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59 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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60 onward | |
adj.向前的,前进的;adv.向前,前进,在先 | |
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61 initiation | |
n.开始 | |
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62 attainment | |
n.达到,到达;[常pl.]成就,造诣 | |
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63 philosophic | |
adj.哲学的,贤明的 | |
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64 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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65 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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66 loomed | |
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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67 affront | |
n./v.侮辱,触怒 | |
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68 acquiescence | |
n.默许;顺从 | |
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69 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 | |
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70 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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71 slant | |
v.倾斜,倾向性地编写或报道;n.斜面,倾向 | |
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72 disapproval | |
n.反对,不赞成 | |
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73 rebuke | |
v.指责,非难,斥责 [反]praise | |
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74 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 | |
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75 constraint | |
n.(on)约束,限制;限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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76 irrelevant | |
adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的 | |
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77 nurtured | |
养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 ); 培育; 滋长; 助长 | |
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78 advisers | |
顾问,劝告者( adviser的名词复数 ); (指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授 | |
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79 bespoke | |
adj.(产品)订做的;专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 );订(货);证明;预先请求 | |
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80 persistence | |
n.坚持,持续,存留 | |
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81 criticise | |
v.批评,评论;非难 | |
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82 aspirations | |
强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 ); 志向; 发送气音; 发 h 音 | |
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83 boundless | |
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的 | |
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84 supremacy | |
n.至上;至高权力 | |
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85 temperate | |
adj.温和的,温带的,自我克制的,不过分的 | |
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86 kindled | |
(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光 | |
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87 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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88 throb | |
v.震颤,颤动;(急速强烈地)跳动,搏动 | |
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89 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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90 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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91 accurately | |
adv.准确地,精确地 | |
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92 automaton | |
n.自动机器,机器人 | |
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93 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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94 accusation | |
n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
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95 perspicacity | |
n. 敏锐, 聪明, 洞察力 | |
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96 zest | |
n.乐趣;滋味,风味;兴趣 | |
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97 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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98 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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99 lashes | |
n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 );鞭子;突然猛烈的一击;急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 );煽动;紧系;怒斥 | |
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100 compassion | |
n.同情,怜悯 | |
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101 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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102 torpor | |
n.迟钝;麻木;(动物的)冬眠 | |
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103 feverish | |
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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104 reassuring | |
a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的,使人放心的 | |
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105 murmurs | |
n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 );低语声;怨言;嘀咕 | |
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106 gaping | |
adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大 | |
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107 surgical | |
adj.外科的,外科医生的,手术上的 | |
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108 negligently | |
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109 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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110 enquired | |
打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 ); 询问; 问问题; 查问 | |
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111 reverted | |
恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 ); 重提; 回到…上; 归还 | |
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