In which His Fortune is Effectually Strangled.
The last resource, and that upon which he least depended, was the advice and assistance of his old friend the empiric, with whom he still maintained a slight correspondence; and to whose house he steered2 his course, in great perplexity and tribulation3. That gentleman, instead of consoling him with assurances of friendship and protection, faithfully recapitulated4 all the instances of his indiscretion and misconduct, taxed him with want of sincerity5 in the West India affair, as well as with want of honesty in this last marriage, while his former wife was alive; and, finally, reminded him of his notes, which he desired might be immediately taken up, as he (the quack7) had present occasion for a sum of money.
Ferdinand, seeing it would be impracticable to derive8 any succour from this quarter, sneaked9 homewards, in order to hold a consultation10 with his own thoughts; and the first object that presented itself to his eyes when he entered his apartment, was a letter from the tradesman, with his account inclosed, amounting to forty-five pounds, which the writer desired might be paid without delay. Before he had time to peruse12 the articles, he received a summons, in consequence of a bill of indictment13 for bigamy, found against him in Hicks’ Hall, by Sarah Muddy, widow; and, while he was revolving14 measures to avert15 these storms, another billet arrived from a certain attorney, giving him to understand, that he had orders from Doctor Buffalo16, the quack, to sue him for the payment of several notes, unless he would take them up in three days from the date of this letter.
Such a concurrence17 of sinister18 events made a deep impression upon the mind of our adventurer. All his fortitude19 was insufficient20 to bear him up against this torrent21 of misfortunes; his resources were all dried up, his invention failed, and his reflection began to take a new turn. “To what purpose,” said he to himself, “have I deserted22 the paths of integrity and truth, and exhausted23 a fruitful imagination, in contriving24 schemes to betray my fellow-creatures, if, instead of acquiring a splendid fortune, which was my aim, I have suffered such a series of mortifications, and at last brought myself to the brink25 of inevitable26 destruction? By a virtuous27 exertion28 of those talents I inherit from nature and education, I might, long before this time, have rendered myself independent, and, perhaps, conspicuous29 in life. I might have grown up like a young oak, which, being firmly rooted in its kindred soil, gradually raises up its lofty head, expands its leafy arms, projects a noble shade, and towers the glory of the plain. I should have paid the debt of gratitude30 to my benefactors32, and made their hearts sing with joy for the happy effects of their benevolence33. I should have been a bulwark34 to my friends, a shelter to my neighbours in distress35. I should have run the race of honour, seen my fame diffused36 like a sweet-smelling odour, and felt the ineffable37 pleasure of doing good. Whereas I am, after a vicissitude38 of disappointments, dangers, and fatigues39, reduced to misery40 and shame, aggravated41 by a conscience loaded with treachery and guilt42. I have abused the confidence and generosity43 of my patron; I have defrauded44 his family, under the mask of sincerity and attachment45; I have taken the most cruel and base advantages of virtue46 in distress; I have seduced47 unsuspecting innocence48 to ruin and despair; I have violated the most sacred trust reposed49 in me by my friend and benefactor31; I have betrayed his love, torn his noble heart asunder50, by means of the most perfidious51 slander52 and false insinuations; and, finally, brought to an untimely grave the fairest pattern of human beauty and perfection. Shall the author of these crimes pass with impunity53? Shall he hope to prosper54 in the midst of such enormous guilt? It were an imputation55 upon Providence56 to suppose it! Ah, no! I begin to feel myself overtaken by the eternal justice of Heaven! I totter57 on the edge of wretchedness and woe58, without one friendly hand to save me from the terrible abyss!”
These reflections, which, perhaps, the misery of his fellow-creatures would never have inspired, had he himself remained without the verge59 of misfortune, were now produced from the sensation of his own calamities60; and, for the first time, his cheeks were bedewed with the drops of penitence61 and sorrow. “Contraries,” saith Plato, “are productive of each other.” Reformation is oftentimes generated from unsuccessful vice1; and our adventurer was, at this juncture62, very well disposed to turn over a new leaf in consequence of those salutary suggestions; though he was far from being cured beyond the possibility of a relapse. On the contrary, all the faculties63 of his soul were so well adapted, and had been so long habituated to deceit, that, in order to extricate64 himself from the evils that environed him, he would not, in all probability, have scrupled65 to practise it upon his own father, had a convenient opportunity occurred.
Be that as it may, he certainly, after a tedious and fruitless exercise of his invention, resolved to effect a clandestine66 retreat from that confederacy of enemies which he could not withstand, and once more join his fortune to that of Renaldo, whom he proposed to serve, for the future, with fidelity67 and affection, thereby68 endeavouring to atone69 for the treachery of his former conduct. Thus determined70, he packed up his necessaries in a portmanteau, attempted to amuse his creditors71 with promises of speedy payment, and, venturing to come forth72 in the dark, took a place in the Canterbury stage-coach, after having converted his superfluities into ready money. These steps were not taken with such privacy as to elude73 the vigilance of his adversaries74; for, although he had been cautious enough to transport himself and his baggage to the inn on Sunday evening, and never doubted that the vehicle, which set out at four o’clock on Monday morning, would convey him out of the reach of his creditors, before they could possibly obtain a writ11 for securing his person, they had actually taken such precautions as frustrated75 all his finesse76; and the coach being stopped in the borough77 of Southwark, Doctor Fathom78 was seized by virtue of a warrant obtained on a criminal indictment, and was forthwith conducted to the prison of the King’s Bench; yet, not before he had, by his pathetic remonstrances79, excited the compassion80, and even drawn81 tears from the eyes of his fellow-passengers.
He no sooner recollected82 himself from the shock which must have been occasioned by this sinister incident, than he despatched a letter to his brother-in-law, the counsellor, requesting an immediate6 conference, in which he promised to make such a proposal as would save him all the expense of a lawsuit83 and trial, and, at the same time, effectually answer all the purposes of both. He was accordingly favoured with a visit from the lawyer, to whom, after the most solemn protestations of his own innocence, he declared, that, finding himself unable to wage war against such powerful antagonists84, he had resolved even to abandon his indubitable right, and retire into another country, in order to screen himself from persecution85, and remove all cause of disquiet86 from the prosecutrix, when he was, unfortunately, prevented by the warrant which had been executed against him. He said he was still willing, for the sake of his liberty, to sign a formal renunciation of his pretensions87 to Mrs. Fathom and her fortune, provided the deeds could be executed, and the warrant withdrawn88, before he should be detained by his other creditors; and, lastly, he conjured89 the barrister to spare himself the guilt and the charge of suborning evidence for the destruction of an unhappy man, whose misfortune was his only fault.
The lawyer felt the force of his expostulations; and though he would by no means suppose him innocent of the charge of bigamy, yet, under the pretext90 of humanity and commiseration91, he undertook to persuade his sister to accept of a proper release, which, he observed, would not be binding92, if executed during the confinement93 of Fathom; he therefore took his leave, in order to prepare the papers, withdraw the action, and take such other measures as would hinder the prisoner from giving him the slip. Next day, he returned with an order to release our hero, who, being formally discharged, was conducted by the lawyer to a tavern94 in the neighbourhood, where the releases were exchanged, and everything concluded with amity95 and concord96. This business being happily transacted97, Fathom stept into a hackney-coach, with his baggage, and was followed by a bailiff, who told him, with great composure, that he was again a prisoner, at the suit of Doctor Buffalo, and desired the coachman to reconduct him to the lodging98 he had so lately discharged.
Fathom, whose fortitude had been hitherto of the pagan temper, was now fain to reinforce it with the philosophy of Christian99 resignation, though he had not as yet arrived to such a pitch of self-denial as to forgive the counsellor, to whose double dealing100 he imputed101 this new calamity102. After having received the compliments of the jailer on his recommitment, he took pen, ink, and paper, and composed an artful and affecting epistle to the empiric, imploring103 his mercy, flattering his weakness, and demonstrating the bad policy of cooping up an unhappy man in a jail, where he could never have an opportunity of doing justice to his creditors; nor did he forget to declare his intention of retiring into another country, where he might have some chance of earning a subsistence, which he had so long toiled104 for to no purpose in England. This last declaration he made in consequence of the jealous disposition105 of the quack, who he knew had long looked upon him in the odious106 light of an interloping rival. However, he reaped no benefit from this supplication107, which served only to gratify the pride of Buffalo, who produced the extravagant108 encomiums which Fathom had bestowed109 upon him, as so many testimonials of his foe’s bearing witness to his virtue.
1 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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2 steered | |
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导 | |
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3 tribulation | |
n.苦难,灾难 | |
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4 recapitulated | |
v.总结,扼要重述( recapitulate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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6 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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7 quack | |
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子 | |
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8 derive | |
v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自 | |
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9 sneaked | |
v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 );偷偷溜走;(儿童向成人)打小报告;告状 | |
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10 consultation | |
n.咨询;商量;商议;会议 | |
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11 writ | |
n.命令状,书面命令 | |
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12 peruse | |
v.细读,精读 | |
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13 indictment | |
n.起诉;诉状 | |
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14 revolving | |
adj.旋转的,轮转式的;循环的v.(使)旋转( revolve的现在分词 );细想 | |
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15 avert | |
v.防止,避免;转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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16 buffalo | |
n.(北美)野牛;(亚洲)水牛 | |
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17 concurrence | |
n.同意;并发 | |
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18 sinister | |
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 | |
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19 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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20 insufficient | |
adj.(for,of)不足的,不够的 | |
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21 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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22 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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23 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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24 contriving | |
(不顾困难地)促成某事( contrive的现在分词 ); 巧妙地策划,精巧地制造(如机器); 设法做到 | |
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25 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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26 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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27 virtuous | |
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的 | |
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28 exertion | |
n.尽力,努力 | |
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29 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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30 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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31 benefactor | |
n. 恩人,行善的人,捐助人 | |
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32 benefactors | |
n.捐助者,施主( benefactor的名词复数 );恩人 | |
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33 benevolence | |
n.慈悲,捐助 | |
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34 bulwark | |
n.堡垒,保障,防御 | |
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35 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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36 diffused | |
散布的,普及的,扩散的 | |
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37 ineffable | |
adj.无法表达的,不可言喻的 | |
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38 vicissitude | |
n.变化,变迁,荣枯,盛衰 | |
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39 fatigues | |
n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 );杂役;厌倦;(士兵穿的)工作服 | |
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40 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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41 aggravated | |
使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 ); 使更严重; 激怒; 使恼火 | |
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42 guilt | |
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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43 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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44 defrauded | |
v.诈取,骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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46 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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47 seduced | |
诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 ); 勾引; 诱使堕落; 使入迷 | |
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48 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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49 reposed | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50 asunder | |
adj.分离的,化为碎片 | |
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51 perfidious | |
adj.不忠的,背信弃义的 | |
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52 slander | |
n./v.诽谤,污蔑 | |
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53 impunity | |
n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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54 prosper | |
v.成功,兴隆,昌盛;使成功,使昌隆,繁荣 | |
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55 imputation | |
n.归罪,责难 | |
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56 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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57 totter | |
v.蹒跚, 摇摇欲坠;n.蹒跚的步子 | |
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58 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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59 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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60 calamities | |
n.灾祸,灾难( calamity的名词复数 );不幸之事 | |
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61 penitence | |
n.忏悔,赎罪;悔过 | |
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62 juncture | |
n.时刻,关键时刻,紧要关头 | |
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63 faculties | |
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
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64 extricate | |
v.拯救,救出;解脱 | |
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65 scrupled | |
v.感到于心不安,有顾忌( scruple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66 clandestine | |
adj.秘密的,暗中从事的 | |
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67 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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68 thereby | |
adv.因此,从而 | |
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69 atone | |
v.赎罪,补偿 | |
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70 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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71 creditors | |
n.债权人,债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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72 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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73 elude | |
v.躲避,困惑 | |
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74 adversaries | |
n.对手,敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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75 frustrated | |
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧 | |
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76 finesse | |
n.精密技巧,灵巧,手腕 | |
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77 borough | |
n.享有自治权的市镇;(英)自治市镇 | |
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78 fathom | |
v.领悟,彻底了解 | |
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79 remonstrances | |
n.抱怨,抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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80 compassion | |
n.同情,怜悯 | |
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81 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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82 recollected | |
adj.冷静的;镇定的;被回忆起的;沉思默想的v.记起,想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83 lawsuit | |
n.诉讼,控诉 | |
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84 antagonists | |
对立[对抗] 者,对手,敌手( antagonist的名词复数 ); 对抗肌; 对抗药 | |
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85 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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86 disquiet | |
n.担心,焦虑 | |
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87 pretensions | |
自称( pretension的名词复数 ); 自命不凡; 要求; 权力 | |
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88 withdrawn | |
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出 | |
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89 conjured | |
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现 | |
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90 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
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91 commiseration | |
n.怜悯,同情 | |
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92 binding | |
有约束力的,有效的,应遵守的 | |
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93 confinement | |
n.幽禁,拘留,监禁;分娩;限制,局限 | |
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94 tavern | |
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店 | |
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95 amity | |
n.友好关系 | |
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96 concord | |
n.和谐;协调 | |
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97 transacted | |
v.办理(业务等)( transact的过去式和过去分词 );交易,谈判 | |
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98 lodging | |
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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99 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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100 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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101 imputed | |
v.把(错误等)归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102 calamity | |
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件 | |
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103 imploring | |
恳求的,哀求的 | |
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104 toiled | |
长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 ); 艰难缓慢地移动,跋涉 | |
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105 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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106 odious | |
adj.可憎的,讨厌的 | |
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107 supplication | |
n.恳求,祈愿,哀求 | |
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108 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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109 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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