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Chapter 25
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    IN the persistent1 drizzle2 of a Paris winter morning Susy Lansingwalked back alone from the school at which she had justdeposited the four eldest3 Fulmers to the little house in Passywhere, for the last two months, she had been living with them.

  She had on ready-made boots, an old waterproof4 and a last year'shat; but none of these facts disturbed her, though she took noparticular pride in them. The truth was that she was too busyto think much about them. Since she had assumed the charge ofthe Fulmer children, in the absence of both their parents inItaly, she had had to pass through such an arduousapprenticeship of motherhood that every moment of her wakinghours was packed with things to do at once, and other things toremember to do later. There were only five Fulmers; but attimes they were like an army with banners, and their power ofself-multiplication was equalled only by the manner in whichthey could dwindle6, vanish, grow mute, and become as it were asingle tumbled brown head bent7 over a book in some corner of thehouse in which nobody would ever have thought of hunting forthem--and which, of course, were it the bonne's room in theattic, or the subterranean8 closet where the trunks were kept,had been singled out by them for that very reason.

  These changes from ubiquity to invisibility would have seemed toSusy, a few months earlier, one of the most maddening of manycharacteristics not calculated to promote repose9. But now shefelt differently. She had grown interested in her charges, andthe search for a clue to their methods, whether tribal10 orindividual, was as exciting to her as the development of adetective story.

  What interested her most in the whole stirring business was thediscovery that they had a method. These little creatures,pitched upward into experience on the tossing waves of theirparents' agitated11 lives, had managed to establish a rough-and-ready system of self-government. Junie, the eldest (the one whoalready chose her mother's hats, and tried to put order in herwardrobe) was the recognized head of the state. At twelve sheknew lots of things which her mother had never thoroughlylearned, and Susy, her temporary mother, had never even guessedat: she spoke12 with authority on all vital subjects, fromcastor-oil to flannel13 under-clothes, from the fair sharing ofstamps or marbles to the number of helpings14 of rice-pudding orjam which each child was entitled to.

  There was hardly any appeal from her verdict; yet each of hersubjects revolved16 in his or her own orbit of independence,according to laws which Junie acknowledged and respected; andthe interpreting of this mysterious charter of rights andprivileges had not been without difficulty for Susy.

  Besides this, there were material difficulties to deal with.

  The six of them, and the breathless bonne who cooked and slavedfor them all, had but a slim budget to live on; and, as Junieremarked, you'd have thought the boys ate their shoes, the waythey vanished. They ate, certainly, a great deal else, andmostly of a nourishing and expensive kind. They had definiteviews about the amount and quality of their food, and werecapable of concerted rebellion when Susy's catering17 fell beneaththeir standard. All this made her life a hurried and harassingbusiness, but never-- what she had most feared it would be adull or depressing one.

  It was not, she owned to herself, that the society of the Fulmerchildren had roused in her any abstract passion for the humanyoung. She knew--had known since Nick's first kiss--how shewould love any child of his and hers; and she had cherished poorlittle Clarissa Vanderlyn with a shrinking and wistfulsolicitude. But in these rough young Fulmers she took apositive delight, and for reasons that were increasingly clearto her. It was because, in the first place, they were allintelligent; and because their intelligence had been fed only onthings worth caring for. However inadequate18 Grace Fulmer'sbringing-up of her increasing tribe had been, they had heard inher company nothing trivial or dull: good music, good books andgood talk had been their daily food, and if at times theystamped and roared and crashed about like children unblessed bysuch privileges, at others they shone with the light of poetryand spoke with the voice of wisdom.

  That had been Susy's discovery: for the first time she wasamong awakening19 minds which had been wakened only to beauty.

  >From their cramped20 and uncomfortable household Grace and NatFulmer had managed to keep out mean envies, vulgar admirations,shabby discontents; above all the din15 and confusion the greatimages of beauty had brooded, like those ancestral figures thatstood apart on their shelf in the poorest Roman households.

  No, the task she had undertaken for want of a better gave Susyno sense of a missed vocation21: "mothering" on a large scalewould never, she perceived, be her job. Rather it gave her, inodd ways, the sense of being herself mothered, of taking herfirst steps in the life of immaterial values which had begun toseem so much more substantial than any she had known.

  On the day when she had gone to Grace Fulmer for counsel andcomfort she had little guessed that they would come to her inthis form. She had found her friend, more than ever distractedand yet buoyant, riding the large untidy waves of her life withthe splashed ease of an amphibian22. Grace was probably the onlyperson among Susy's friends who could have understood why shecould not make up her mind to marry Altringham; but at themoment Grace was too much absorbed in her own problems to paymuch attention to her friend's, and, according to her wont23, sheimmediately "unpacked25" her difficulties.

  Nat was not getting what she had hoped out of his Europeanopportunity. Oh, she was enough of an artist herself to knowthat there must be fallow periods--that the impact of newimpressions seldom produced immediate24 results. She had allowedfor all that. But her past experience of Nat's moods had taughther to know just when he was assimilating, when impressions werefructifying in him. And now they were not, and he knew it aswell as she did. There had been too much rushing about, toomuch excitement and sterile26 flattery ... Mrs. Melrose? Well,yes, for a while ... the trip to Spain had been a love-journey,no doubt. Grace spoke calmly, but the lines of her facesharpened: she had suffered, oh horribly, at his going to Spainwithout her. Yet she couldn't, for the children's sake, affordto miss the big sum that Ursula Gillow had given her for herfortnight at Ruan. And her playing had struck people, and led,on the way back, to two or three profitable engagements inprivate houses in London. Fashionable society had made "alittle fuss" about her, and it had surprised and pleased Nat,and given her a new importance in his eyes. "He was beginningto forget that I wasn't only a nursery-maid, and it's been agood thing for him to be reminded ... but the great thing isthat with what I've earned he and I can go off to southern Italyand Sicily for three months. You know I know how to manage ...

  and, alone with me, Nat will settle down to work: to observing,feeling, soaking things in. It's the only way. Mrs. Melrosewants to take him, to pay all the expenses again-well sheshan't. I'll pay them." Her worn cheek flushed with triumph.

  "And you'll see what wonders will come of it .... Only there'sthe problem of the children. Junie quite agrees that we can'ttake them ...."Thereupon she had unfolded her idea. If Susy was at a looseend, and hard up, why shouldn't she take charge of the childrenwhile their parents were in Italy? For three months at most-Grace could promise it shouldn't be longer. They couldn't payher much, of course, but at least she would be lodged27 and fed.

  "And, you know, it will end by interesting you--I'm sure itwill," the mother concluded, her irrepressible hopefulnessrising even to this height, while Susy stood before her with ahesitating smile.

  Take care of five Fulmers for three months! The prospect28 cowedher. If there had been only Junie and Geordie, the oldest andyoungest of the band, she might have felt less hesitation29. Butthere was Nat, the second in age, whose motor-horn had drivenher and Nick out to the hill-side on their fatal day at theFulmers' and there were the twins, Jack30 and Peggy, of whom shehad kept memories almost equally disquieting31. To rule thisuproarious tribe would be a sterner business than trying tobeguile Clarissa Vanderlyn's ladylike leisure; and she wouldhave refused on the spot, as she had refused once before, if theonly possible alternatives had not come to seem so much lessbearable, and if Junie, called in for advice, and standingthere, small, plain and competent, had not said in her quietgrown-up voice: "Oh, yes, I'm sure Mrs. Lansing and I canmanage while you're away--especially if she reads aloud well."Reads aloud well! The stipulation32 had enchanted33 Susy. She hadnever before known children who cared to be read aloud to; sheremembered with a shiver her attempts to interest Clarissa inanything but gossip and the fashions, and the tone in which thechild had said, showing Strefford's trinket to her father:

  "Because I said I'd rather have it than a book."And here were children who consented to be left for three monthsby their parents, but on condition that a good reader wasprovided for them!

  "Very well--I will! But what shall I be expected to read toyou?" she had gaily34 questioned; and Junie had answered, afterone of her sober pauses of reflection: "The little ones likenearly everything; but Nat and I want poetry particularly,because if we read it to ourselves we so often pronounce thepuzzling words wrong, and then it sounds so horrid35.""Oh, I hope I shall pronounce them right," Susy murmured,stricken with self-distrust and humility36.

  Apparently she did; for her reading was a success, and even thetwins and Geordie, once they had grown used to her, seemed toprefer a ringing page of Henry V, or the fairy scenes from theMidsummer Night's Dream, to their own more specializedliterature, though that had also at times to be provided.

  There were, in fact, no lulls37 in her life with the Fulmers; butits commotions38 seemed to Susy less meaningless, and thereforeless fatiguing39, than those that punctuated40 the existence ofpeople like Altringham, Ursula Gillow, Ellie Vanderlyn and theirtrain; and the noisy uncomfortable little house at Passy wasbeginning to greet her with the eyes of home when she returnedthere after her tramps to and from the children's classes. Atany rate she had the sense of doing something useful and evennecessary, and of earning her own keep, though on so modest ascale; and when the children were in their quiet mood, anddemanded books or music (or, even, on one occasion, at thesurprising Junie's instigation, a collective visit to theLouvre, where they recognized the most unlikely pictures, andthe two elders emitted startling technical judgments41, and calledtheir companion's attention to details she had not observed); onthese occasions, Susy had a surprised sense of being drawn42 backinto her brief life with Nick, or even still farther and deeper,into those visions of Nick's own childhood on which the triviallater years had heaped their dust.

  It was curious to think that if he and she had remainedtogether, and she had had a child--the vision used to come toher, in her sleepless43 hours, when she looked at little Geordie,in his cot by her bed--their life together might have been verymuch like the life she was now leading, a small obscure businessto the outer world, but to themselves how wide and deep andcrowded!

  She could not bear, at that moment, the thought of giving upthis mystic relation to the life she had missed. In spite ofthe hurry and fatigue44 of her days, the shabbiness and discomfortof everything, and the hours when the children were as "horrid"as any other children, and turned a conspiracy45 of hostile facesto all her appeals; in spite of all this she did not want togive them up, and had decided46, when their parents returned, toask to go back to America with them. Perhaps, if Nat's successcontinued, and Grace was able to work at her music, they wouldneed a kind of governess-companion. At any rate, she couldpicture no future less distasteful.

  She had not sent to Mr. Spearman Nick's answer to her letter.

  In the interval47 between writing to him and receiving his replyshe had broken with Strefford; she had therefore no object inseeking her freedom. If Nick wanted his, he knew he had only toask for it; and his silence, as the weeks passed, woke a fainthope in her. The hope flamed high when she read one day in thenewspapers a vague but evidently "inspired" allusion48 to thepossibility of an alliance between his Serene49 Highness thereigning Prince of Teutoburg-Waldhain and Miss Coral Hicks ofApex City; it sank to ashes when, a few days later, her eye liton a paragraph wherein Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer Hicks "requested tostate" that there was no truth in the report.

  On the foundation of these two statements Susy raised one watch-tower of hope after another, feverish50 edifices51 demolished52 orrebuilt by every chance hint from the outer world wherein Nick'sname figured with the Hickses'. And still, as the days passedand she heard nothing, either from him or from her lawyer, herflag continued to fly from the quaking structures.

  Apart from the custody53 of the children there was indeed littleto distract her mind from these persistent broodings. Shewinced sometimes at the thought of the ease with which herfashionable friends had let her drop out of sight. In theperpetual purposeless rush of their days, the feverish making ofwinter plans, hurrying off to the Riviera or St. Moritz, Egyptor New York, there was no time to hunt up the vanished or towait for the laggard54. Had they learned that she had broken her"engagement" (how she hated the word!) to Strefford, and had thefact gone about that she was once more only a poor hanger-on, tobe taken up when it was convenient, and ignored in theintervals? She did not know; though she fancied Strefford'snewly-developed pride would prevent his revealing to any onewhat had passed between them. For several days after her abruptflight he had made no sign; and though she longed to write andask his forgiveness she could not find the words. Finally itwas he who wrote: a short note, from Altringham, typical of allthat was best in the old Strefford. He had gone down toAltringham, he told her, to think quietly over their last talk,and try to understand what she had been driving at. He had toown that he couldn't; but that, he supposed, was the very headand front of his offending. Whatever he had done to displeaseher, he was sorry for; but he asked, in view of his invincibleignorance, to be allowed not to regard his offence as a causefor a final break. The possibility of that, he found, wouldmake him even more unhappy than he had foreseen; as she knew,his own happiness had always been his first object in life, andhe therefore begged her to suspend her decision a little longer.

  He expected to be in Paris within another two months, and beforearriving he would write again, and ask her to see him.

  The letter moved her but did not make her waver. She simplywrote that she was touched by his kindness, and would willinglysee him if he came to Paris later; though she was bound to tellhim that she had not yet changed her mind, and did not believeit would promote his happiness to have her try to do so.

  He did not reply to this, and there was nothing further to keepher thoughts from revolving55 endlessly about her inmost hopes andfears.

  On the rainy afternoon in question, tramping home from the"cours" (to which she was to return at six), she had said toherself that it was two months that very day since Nick hadknown she was ready to release him--and that after such a delayhe was not likely to take any further steps. The thought filledher with a vague ecstasy56. She had had to fix an arbitrary dateas the term of her anguish57, and she had fixed58 that one; andbehold she was justified59. For what could his silence mean butthat he too ....

  On the hall-table lay a typed envelope with the Paris postage-mark. She opened it carelessly, and saw that the letter-headbore Mr. Spearman's office address. The words beneath spunround before her eyes .... "Has notified us that he is at yourdisposal ... carry out your wishes ... arriving in Paris ... fixan appointment with his lawyers ...."Nick--it was Nick the words were talking of! It was the fact ofNick's return to Paris that was being described in thosepreposterous terms! She sank down on the bench beside thedripping umbrella-stand and stared vacantly before her. It hadfallen at last--this blow in which she now saw that she hadnever really believed! And yet she had imagined she wasprepared for it, had expected it, was already planning herfuture life in view of it--an effaced60 impersonal61 life in theservice of somebody else's children--when, in reality, underthat thin surface of abnegation and acceptance, all the oldhopes had been smouldering red-hot in their ashes! What was theuse of any self-discipline, any philosophy, any experience, ifthe lawless self underneath62 could in an instant consume themlike tinder?

  She tried to collect herself--to understand what had happened.

  Nick was coming to Paris--coming not to see her but to consulthis lawyer! It meant, of course, that he had definitelyresolved to claim his freedom; and that, if he had made up hismind to this final step, after more than six months of inactionand seeming indifference63, it could be only because somethingunforeseen and decisive had happened to him. Feverishly64, sheput together again the stray scraps65 of gossip and the newspaperparagraphs that had reached her in the last months. It wasevident that Miss Hicks's projected marriage with the Prince ofTeutoburg-Waldhain had been broken off at the last moment; andbroken off because she intended to marry Nick. The announcementof his arrival in Paris and the publication of Mr. and Mrs.

  Hicks's formal denial of their daughter's betrothal66 coincidedtoo closely to admit of any other inference. Susy tried tograsp the reality of these assembled facts, to picture toherself their actual tangible67 results. She thought of CoralHicks bearing the name of Mrs. Nick Lansing--her name, Susy'sown!--and entering drawing-rooms with Nick in her wake, gailywelcomed by the very people who, a few months before, hadwelcomed Susy with the same warmth. In spite of Nick's growingdislike of society, and Coral's attitude of intellectualsuperiority, their wealth would fatally draw them back into theworld to which Nick was attached by all his habits andassociations. And no doubt it would amuse him to re-enter thatworld as a dispenser of hospitality, to play the part of hostwhere he had so long been a guest; just as Susy had once fanciedit would amuse her to re-enter it as Lady Altringham .... But,try as she would, now that the reality was so close on her, shecould not visualize68 it or relate it to herself. The merejuxtaposition of the two names--Coral, Nick--which in old timesshe had so often laughingly coupled, now produced a blur70 in herbrain.

  She continued to sit helplessly beside the hall-table, the tearsrunning down her cheeks. The appearance of the bonne arousedher. Her youngest charge, Geordie, had been feverish for a dayor two; he was better, but still confined to the nursery, and hehad heard Susy unlock the house-door, and could not imagine whyshe had not come straight up to him. He now began to manifesthis indignation in a series of racking howls, and Susy, shakenout of her trance, dropped her cloak and umbrella and hurriedup.

  "Oh, that child!" she groaned71.

  Under the Fulmer roof there was little time or space for theindulgence of private sorrows. From morning till night therewas always some immediate practical demand on one's attention;and Susy was beginning to see how, in contracted households,children may play a part less romantic but not less useful thanthat assigned to them in fiction, through the mere69 fact ofgiving their parents no leisure to dwell on irremediablegrievances. Though her own apprenticeship5 to family life hadbeen so short, she had already acquired the knack73 of rapidmental readjustment, and as she hurried up to the nursery herprivate cares were dispelled74 by a dozen problems of temperature,diet and medicine.

  Such readjustment was of course only momentary75; yet each time ithappened it seemed to give her more firmness and flexibility76 oftemper. "What a child I was myself six months ago!" shethought, wondering that Nick's influence, and the tragedy oftheir parting, should have done less to mature and steady herthan these few weeks in a house full of children.

  Pacifying Geordie was not easy, for he had long since learned touse his grievances72 as a pretext77 for keeping the offender78 at hisbeck with a continuous supply of stories, songs and games.

  "You'd better be careful never to put yourself in the wrong withGeordie," the astute79 Junie had warned Susy at the outset,"because he's got such a memory, and he won't make it up withyou till you've told him every fairy-tale he's ever heardbefore."But on this occasion, as soon as he saw her, Geordie'sindignation melted. She was still in the doorway80, compunctious,abject and racking her dazed brain for his favourite stories,when she saw, by the smoothing out of his mouth and the suddenserenity of his eyes, that he was going to give her thedelicious but not wholly reassuring81 shock of being a good boy.

  Thoughtfully he examined her face as she knelt down beside thecot; then he poked82 out a finger and pressed it on her tearfulcheek.

  "Poor Susy got a pain too," he said, putting his arms about her;and as she hugged him close, he added philosophically83: "TellGeordie a new story, darling, and you'll forget all about it."


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 persistent BSUzg     
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的
参考例句:
  • Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
  • She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
2 drizzle Mrdxn     
v.下毛毛雨;n.毛毛雨,蒙蒙细雨
参考例句:
  • The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小,最后变成了毛毛雨。
  • Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨,今天果然下起来了。
3 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
4 waterproof Ogvwp     
n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水
参考例句:
  • My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
  • All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。
5 apprenticeship 4NLyv     
n.学徒身份;学徒期
参考例句:
  • She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
  • He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。
6 dwindle skxzI     
v.逐渐变小(或减少)
参考例句:
  • The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.工厂雇员总数已经从4,000多人减少到几百人。
  • He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority.他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。
7 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。
8 subterranean ssWwo     
adj.地下的,地表下的
参考例句:
  • London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
  • We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。
9 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。
10 tribal ifwzzw     
adj.部族的,种族的
参考例句:
  • He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
  • The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
11 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。
12 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。
13 flannel S7dyQ     
n.法兰绒;法兰绒衣服
参考例句:
  • She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
  • She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子,看上去楚楚动人。
14 helpings 835bc3d1bf4c0bc59996bf878466084d     
n.(食物)的一份( helping的名词复数 );帮助,支持
参考例句:
  • You greedy pig! You've already had two helpings! 你这个馋嘴!你已经吃了两份了!
  • He had two helpings of pudding. 他吃了两客布丁。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 din nuIxs     
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声
参考例句:
  • The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深,喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
  • They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。
16 revolved b63ebb9b9e407e169395c5fc58399fe6     
v.(使)旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 );细想
参考例句:
  • The fan revolved slowly. 电扇缓慢地转动着。
  • The wheel revolved on its centre. 轮子绕中心转动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 catering WwtztU     
n. 给养
参考例句:
  • Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
  • Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的?
18 inadequate 2kzyk     
adj.(for,to)不充足的,不适当的
参考例句:
  • The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
  • She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。
19 awakening 9ytzdV     
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的
参考例句:
  • the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
  • People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。
20 cramped 287c2bb79385d19c466ec2df5b5ce970     
a.狭窄的
参考例句:
  • The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤,但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
  • working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作
21 vocation 8h6wB     
n.职业,行业
参考例句:
  • She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
  • She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。
22 amphibian mwHzx     
n.两栖动物;水陆两用飞机和车辆
参考例句:
  • The frog is an amphibian,which means it can live on land and in water.青蛙属于两栖动物,也就是说它既能生活在陆地上也能生活在水里。
  • Amphibian is an important specie in ecosystem and has profound meaning in the ecotoxicology evaluation.两栖类是生态系统中的重要物种,并且对环境毒理评价有着深远意义。
23 wont peXzFP     
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯
参考例句:
  • He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
  • It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。
24 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
25 unpacked 78a068b187a564f21b93e72acffcebc3     
v.从(包裹等)中取出(所装的东西),打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 );拆包;解除…的负担;吐露(心事等)
参考例句:
  • I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李,整理衣物。
  • Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒,并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句
26 sterile orNyQ     
adj.不毛的,不孕的,无菌的,枯燥的,贫瘠的
参考例句:
  • This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上,保持奶嘴无菌。
  • The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。
27 lodged cbdc6941d382cc0a87d97853536fcd8d     
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属
参考例句:
  • The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
29 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
30 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
31 disquieting disquieting     
adj.令人不安的,令人不平静的v.使不安,使忧虑,使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The news from the African front was disquieting in the extreme. 非洲前线的消息极其令人不安。 来自英汉文学
  • That locality was always vaguely disquieting, even in the broad glare of afternoon. 那一带地方一向隐隐约约使人感到心神不安甚至在下午耀眼的阳光里也一样。 来自辞典例句
32 stipulation FhryP     
n.契约,规定,条文;条款说明
参考例句:
  • There's no stipulation as to the amount you can invest. 没有关于投资额的规定。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The only stipulation the building society makes is that house must be insured. 建屋互助会作出的唯一规定是房屋必须保险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 enchanted 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:
  • She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
  • He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。
34 gaily lfPzC     
adv.欢乐地,高兴地
参考例句:
  • The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
  • She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。
35 horrid arozZj     
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的
参考例句:
  • I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
  • The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
36 humility 8d6zX     
n.谦逊,谦恭
参考例句:
  • Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
  • His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和,甚至有点谦卑。
37 lulls baacc61e061bb5dc81079f769426f610     
n.间歇期(lull的复数形式)vt.使镇静,使安静(lull的第三人称单数形式)
参考例句:
  • It puts our children to sleep and lulls us into a calm, dreamlike state. 摇晃能让孩子进入梦乡,也能将我们引人一种平静的、梦幻般的心境。 来自互联网
  • There were also comedy acts, impromptu skits, and DJ music to fill the lulls between acts. 也有充满在行为之间的间歇的喜剧行为,即兴之作若干,和DJ音乐。 来自互联网
38 commotions 6120e81e9d69feec2f6204499ffa8a74     
n.混乱,喧闹,骚动( commotion的名词复数 )
参考例句:
39 fatiguing ttfzKm     
a.使人劳累的
参考例句:
  • He was fatiguing himself with his writing, no doubt. 想必他是拼命写作,写得精疲力尽了。
  • Machines are much less fatiguing to your hands, arms, and back. 使用机器时,手、膊和后背不会感到太累。
40 punctuated 7bd3039c345abccc3ac40a4e434df484     
v.(在文字中)加标点符号,加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 );不时打断某事物
参考例句:
  • Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
  • The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
41 judgments 2a483d435ecb48acb69a6f4c4dd1a836     
判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判
参考例句:
  • A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
  • He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。
42 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。
43 sleepless oiBzGN     
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的
参考例句:
  • The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
  • One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上,我听说了一个传闻,把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。
44 fatigue PhVzV     
n.疲劳,劳累
参考例句:
  • The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
  • I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。
45 conspiracy NpczE     
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋
参考例句:
  • The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
  • He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。
46 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
47 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。
48 allusion CfnyW     
n.暗示,间接提示
参考例句:
  • He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
  • She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。
49 serene PD2zZ     
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的
参考例句:
  • He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
  • He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多,只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。
50 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。
51 edifices 26c1bcdcaf99b103a92f85d17e87712e     
n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They complain that the monstrous edifices interfere with television reception. 他们抱怨说,那些怪物般的庞大建筑,干扰了电视接收。 来自辞典例句
  • Wealthy officials and landlords built these queer edifices a thousand years ago. 有钱的官吏和地主在一千年前就修建了这种奇怪的建筑物。 来自辞典例句
52 demolished 3baad413d6d10093a39e09955dfbdfcb     
v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 );推翻;拆毁(尤指大建筑物);吃光
参考例句:
  • The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
  • They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来,为了不让拆除他们的房子,他们一直在进行最后的努力。
53 custody Qntzd     
n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留
参考例句:
  • He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
  • He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后,他立即被押了起来。
54 laggard w22x3     
n.落后者;adj.缓慢的,落后的
参考例句:
  • In village,the laggard living condition must be improved.在乡村落后的生活条件必须被改善。
  • Businesshas to some degree been a laggard in this process.商业在这个进程中已经慢了一拍。
55 revolving 3jbzvd     
adj.旋转的,轮转式的;循环的v.(使)旋转( revolve的现在分词 );细想
参考例句:
  • The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
  • The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。
56 ecstasy 9kJzY     
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷
参考例句:
  • He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
  • Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具,高兴得说不出话来。
57 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
58 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
59 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。
60 effaced 96bc7c37d0e2e4d8665366db4bc7c197     
v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;超越;使黯然失色
参考例句:
  • Someone has effaced part of the address on his letter. 有人把他信上的一部分地址擦掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The name of the ship had been effaced from the menus. 那艘船的名字已经从菜单中删除了。 来自辞典例句
61 impersonal Ck6yp     
adj.无个人感情的,与个人无关的,非人称的
参考例句:
  • Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远,没有人情味。
  • His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。
62 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
63 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。
64 feverishly 5ac95dc6539beaf41c678cd0fa6f89c7     
adv. 兴奋地
参考例句:
  • Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
  • The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。
65 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
66 betrothal betrothal     
n. 婚约, 订婚
参考例句:
  • Their betrothal took place with great pomp and rejoicings. 他们举行了盛大而又欢乐的订婚仪式。
  • "On the happy occasion of the announcement of your betrothal," he finished, bending over her hand. "在宣布你们订婚的喜庆日。" 他补充说,同时低下头来吻她的手。
67 tangible 4IHzo     
adj.有形的,可触摸的,确凿的,实际的
参考例句:
  • The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
  • There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。
68 visualize yeJzsZ     
vt.使看得见,使具体化,想象,设想
参考例句:
  • I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人,但他的样子我想不起来了。
  • She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。
69 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
70 blur JtgzC     
n.模糊不清的事物;vt.使模糊,使看不清楚
参考例句:
  • The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
  • If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了,图像就会变得模糊不清。
71 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦
参考例句:
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
72 grievances 3c61e53d74bee3976a6674a59acef792     
n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 );苦衷;不满;牢骚
参考例句:
  • The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
73 knack Jx9y4     
n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法
参考例句:
  • He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
  • Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难,但有窍门。
74 dispelled 7e96c70e1d822dbda8e7a89ae71a8e9a     
v.驱散,赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
  • The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
75 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
76 flexibility vjPxb     
n.柔韧性,弹性,(光的)折射性,灵活性
参考例句:
  • Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
  • The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。
77 pretext 1Qsxi     
n.借口,托词
参考例句:
  • He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
  • He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口,没参加那个会议。
78 offender ZmYzse     
n.冒犯者,违反者,犯罪者
参考例句:
  • They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
  • The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。
79 astute Av7zT     
adj.机敏的,精明的
参考例句:
  • A good leader must be an astute judge of ability.一个优秀的领导人必须善于识别人的能力。
  • The criminal was very astute and well matched the detective in intelligence.这个罪犯非常狡猾,足以对付侦探的机智。
80 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
81 reassuring vkbzHi     
a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的,使人放心的
参考例句:
  • He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
  • With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。
82 poked 87f534f05a838d18eb50660766da4122     
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 );戳出;拨弄;与(某人)性交
参考例句:
  • She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
  • His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
83 philosophically 5b1e7592f40fddd38186dac7bc43c6e0     
adv.哲学上;富有哲理性地;贤明地;冷静地
参考例句:
  • He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说,一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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