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Chapter 24
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A little more than an hour after this he stood in the parlour of Doctor Tarrant’s suburban1 residence, in Monadnoc Place. He had induced a juvenile2 maid-servant, by an appeal somewhat impassioned, to let the ladies know that he was there; and she had returned, after a long absence, to say that Miss Tarrant would come down to him in a little while. He possessed3 himself, according to his wont4, of the nearest book (it lay on the table, with an old magazine and a little japanned tray containing Tarrant’s professional cards — his denomination5 as a mesmeric healer), and spent ten minutes in turning it over. It was a biography of Mrs. Ada T. P. Foat, the celebrated6 trance-lecturer, and was embellished7 by a portrait representing the lady with a surprised expression and innumerable ringlets. Ransom8 said to himself, after reading a few pages, that much ridicule9 had been cast upon Southern literature; but if that was a fair specimen10 of Northern!— and he threw it back upon the table with a gesture almost as contemptuous as if he had not known perfectly11, after so long a residence in the North, that it was not, while he wondered whether this was the sort of thing Miss Tarrant had been brought up on. There was no other book to be seen, and he remembered to have read the magazine; so there was finally nothing for him, as the occupants of the house failed still to appear, but to stare before him, into the bright, bare, common little room, which was so hot that he wished to open a window, and of which an ugly, undraped cross-light seemed to have taken upon itself to reveal the poverty. Ransom, as I have mentioned, had not a high standard of comfort and noticed little, usually, how people’s houses were furnished — it was only when they were very pretty that he observed; but what he saw while he waited at Doctor Tarrant’s made him say to himself that it was no wonder Verena liked better to live with Olive Chancellor12. He even began to wonder whether it were for the sake of that superior softness she had cultivated Miss Chancellor’s favour, and whether Mrs. Luna had been right about her being mercenary and insincere. So many minutes elapsed before she appeared that he had time to remember he really knew nothing to the contrary, as well as to consider the oddity (so great when one did consider it) of his coming out to Cambridge to see her, when he had only a few hours in Boston to spare, a year and a half after she had given him her very casual invitation. She had not refused to receive him, at any rate; she was free to, if it didn’t please her. And not only this, but she was apparently14 making herself fine in his honour, inasmuch as he heard a rapid footstep move to and fro above his head, and even, through the slightness which in Monadnoc Place did service for an upper floor, the sound of drawers and presses opened and closed. Some one was “flying round,” as they said in Mississippi. At last the stairs creaked under a light tread, and the next moment a brilliant person came into the room.

His reminiscence of her had been very pretty; but now that she had developed and matured, the little prophetess was prettier still. Her splendid hair seemed to shine; her cheek and chin had a curve which struck him by its fineness; her eyes and lips were full of smiles and greetings. She had appeared to him before as a creature of brightness, but now she lighted up the place, she irradiated, she made everything that surrounded her of no consequence; dropping upon the shabby sofa with an effect as charming as if she had been a nymph sinking on a leopard-skin, and with the native sweetness of her voice forcing him to listen till she spoke15 again. It was not long before he perceived that this added lustre16 was simply success; she was young and tender still, but the sound of a great applauding audience had been in her ears; it formed an element in which she felt buoyant and floated. Still, however, her glance was as pure as it was direct, and that fantastic fairness hung about her which had made an impression on him of old, and which reminded him of unworldly places — he didn’t know where — convent-cloisters or vales of Arcady. At that other time she had been parti-coloured and bedizened, and she had always an air of costume, only now her costume was richer and more chastened. It was her line, her condition, part of her expression. If at Miss Birdseye’s, and afterwards in Charles Street, she might have been a rope-dancer, today she made a “scene” of the mean little room in Monadnoc Place, such a scene as a prima donna makes of daubed canvas and dusty boards. She addressed Basil Ransom as if she had seen him the other week and his merits were fresh to her, though she let him, while she sat smiling at him, explain in his own rather ceremonious way why it was he had presumed to call upon her on so slight an acquaintance — on an invitation which she herself had had more than time to forget. His explanation, as a finished and satisfactory thing, quite broke down; there was no more impressive reason than that he had simply wished to see her. He became aware that this motive17 loomed18 large, and that her listening smile, innocent as it was, in the Arcadian manner, of mockery, seemed to accuse him of not having the courage of his inclination19. He had alluded20 especially to their meeting at Miss Chancellor’s; there it was that she had told him she should be glad to see him in her home.

“Oh yes, I remember perfectly, and I remember quite as well seeing you at Miss Birdseye’s the night before. I made a speech — don’t you remember? That was delightful21.”

“It was delightful indeed,” said Basil Ransom.

“I don’t mean my speech; I mean the whole thing. It was then I made Miss Chancellor’s acquaintance. I don’t know whether you know how we work together. She has done so much for me.”

“Do you still make speeches?” Ransom asked, conscious, as soon as he had uttered it, that the question was below the mark.

“Still? Why, I should hope so; it’s all I’m good for! It’s my life — or it’s going to be. And it’s Miss Chancellor’s too. We are determined22 to do something.”

“And does she make speeches too?”

“Well, she makes mine — or the best part of them. She tells me what to say — the real things, the strong things. It’s Miss Chancellor as much as me!” said the singular girl, with a generous complacency which was yet half ludicrous.

“I should like to hear you again,” Basil Ransom rejoined.

“Well, you must come some night. You will have plenty of chances. We are going on from triumph to triumph.”

Her brightness, her self-possession, her air of being a public character, her mixture of the girlish and the comprehensive, startled and confounded her visitor, who felt that if he had come to gratify his curiosity he should be in danger of going away still more curious than satiated. She added in her gay, friendly, trustful tone — the tone of facile intercourse23, the tone in which happy, flower-crowned maidens24 may have talked to sunburnt young men in the golden age —“I am very familiar with your name; Miss Chancellor has told me all about you.”

“All about me?” Ransom raised his black eyebrows25. “How could she do that? She doesn’t know anything about me!”

“Well, she told me you are a great enemy to our movement. Isn’t that true? I think you expressed some unfavourable idea that day I met you at her house.”

“If you regard me as an enemy, it’s very kind of you to receive me.”

“Oh, a great many gentlemen call,” Verena said, calmly and brightly. “Some call simply to inquire. Some call because they have heard of me, or been present on some occasion when I have moved them. Every one is so interested.”

“And you have been in Europe,” Ransom remarked, in a moment.

“Oh yes, we went over to see if they were in advance. We had a magnificent time — we saw all the leaders.”

“The leaders?” Ransom repeated.

“Of the emancipation26 of our sex. There are gentlemen there, as well as ladies. Olive had splendid introductions in all countries, and we conversed27 with all the earnest people. We heard much that was suggestive. And as for Europe!”— and the young lady paused, smiling at him and ending in a happy sigh, as if there were more to say on the subject than she could attempt on such short notice.

“I suppose it’s very attractive,” said Ransom encouragingly.

“It’s just a dream!”

“And did you find that they were in advance?”

“Well, Miss Chancellor thought they were. She was surprised at some things we observed, and concluded that perhaps she hadn’t done the Europeans justice — she has got such an open mind, it’s as wide as the sea!— while I incline to the opinion that on the whole we make the better show. The state of the movement there reflects their general culture, and their general culture is higher than ours (I mean taking the term in its broadest sense). On the other hand, the special condition — moral, social, personal — of our sex seems to me to be superior in this country; I mean regarded in relation — in proportion as it were — to the social phase at large. I must add that we did see some noble specimens28 over there. In England we met some lovely women, highly cultivated, and of immense organising power. In France we saw some wonderful, contagious29 types; we passed a delightful evening with the celebrated Marie Verneuil; she was released from prison, you know, only a few weeks before. Our total impression was that it is only a question of time — the future is ours. But everywhere we heard one cry —‘How long, O Lord, how long?’”

Basil Ransom listened to this considerable statement with a feeling which, as the current of Miss Tarrant’s facile utterance30 flowed on, took the form of an hilarity31 charmed into stillness by the fear of losing something. There was indeed a sweet comicality in seeing this pretty girl sit there and, in answer to a casual, civil inquiry32, drop into oratory33 as a natural thing. Had she forgotten where she was, and did she take him for a full house? She had the same turns and cadences34, almost the same gestures, as if she had been on the platform; and the great queerness of it was that, with such a manner, she should escape being odious35. She was not odious, she was delightful; she was not dogmatic, she was genial36. No wonder she was a success, if she speechified as a bird sings! Ransom could see, too, from her easy lapse13, how the lecture-tone was the thing in the world with which, by education, by association, she was most familiar. He didn’t know what to make of her; she was an astounding37 young phenomenon. The other time came back to him afresh, and how she had stood up at Miss Birdseye’s; it occurred to him that an element, here, had been wanting. Several moments after she had ceased speaking he became conscious that the expression of his face presented a perceptible analogy to a broad grin. He changed his posture38, saying the first thing that came into his head. “I presume you do without your father now.”

“Without my father?”

“To set you going, as he did that time I heard you.”

“Oh, I see; you thought I had begun a lecture!” And she laughed, in perfect good humour. “They tell me I speak as I talk, so I suppose I talk as I speak. But you mustn’t put me on what I saw and heard in Europe. That’s to be the title of an address I am now preparing, by the way. Yes, I don’t depend on father any more,” she went on, while Ransom’s sense of having said too sarcastic39 a thing was deepened by her perfect indifference40 to it. “He finds his patients draw off about enough, any way. But I owe him everything; if it hadn’t been for him, no one would ever have known I had a gift — not even myself. He started me so, once for all, that I now go alone.”

“You go beautifully,” said Ransom, wanting to say something agreeable, and even respectfully tender, to her, but troubled by the fact that there was nothing he could say that didn’t sound rather like chaff41. There was no resentment42 in her, however, for in a moment she said to him, as quickly as it occurred to her, in the manner of a person repairing an accidental omission43, “It was very good of you to come so far.”

This was a sort of speech it was never safe to make to Ransom; there was no telling what retribution it might entail44. “Do you suppose any journey is too great, too wearisome, when it’s a question of so great a pleasure?” On this occasion it was not worse than that.

“Well, people have come from other cities,” Verena answered, not with pretended humility45, but with pretended pride. “Do you know Cambridge?”

“This is the first time I have ever been here.”

“Well, I suppose you have heard of the university; it’s so celebrated.”

“Yes — even in Mississippi. I suppose it’s very fine.”

“I presume it is,” said Verena; “but you can’t expect me to speak with much admiration46 of an institution of which the doors are closed to our sex.”

“Do you then advocate a system of education in common?”

“I advocate equal rights, equal opportunities, equal privileges. So does Miss Chancellor,” Verena added, with just a perceptible air of feeling that her declaration needed support.

“Oh, I thought what she wanted was simply a different inequality — simply to turn out the men altogether,” Ransom said.

“Well, she thinks we have great arrears47 to make up. I do tell her, sometimes, that what she desires is not only justice but vengeance48. I think she admits that,” Verena continued, with a certain solemnity. The subject, however, held her but an instant, and before Ransom had time to make any comment, she went on, in a different tone: “You don’t mean to say you live in Mississippi now? Miss Chancellor told me when you were in Boston before, that you had located in New York.” She persevered49 in this reference to himself, for when he had assented50 to her remark about New York, she asked him whether he had quite given up the South.

“Given it up — the poor, dear, desolate51 old South? Heaven forbid!” Basil Ransom exclaimed.

She looked at him for a moment with an added softness. “I presume it is natural you should love your home. But I am afraid you think I don’t love mine much; I have been here — for so long — so little. Miss Chancellor has absorbed me — there is no doubt about that. But it’s a pity I wasn’t with her today.” Ransom made no answer to this; he was incapable52 of telling Miss Tarrant that if she had been he would not have called upon her. It was not, indeed, that he was not incapable of hypocrisy53, for when she had asked him if he had seen his cousin the night before, and he had replied that he hadn’t seen her at all, and she had exclaimed with a candour which the next minute made her blush, “Ah, you don’t mean to say you haven’t forgiven her!”— after this he put on a look of innocence54 sufficient to carry off the inquiry, “Forgiven her for what?”

Verena coloured at the sound of her own words. “Well, I could see how much she felt, that time at her house.”

“What did she feel?” Basil Ransom asked, with the natural provokingness of a man.

I know not whether Verena was provoked, but she answered with more spirit than sequence: “Well, you know you did pour contempt on us, ever so much; I could see how it worked Olive up. Are you not going to see her at all?”

“Well, I shall think about that; I am here only for three or four days,” said Ransom, smiling as men smile when they are perfectly unsatisfactory.

It is very possible that Verena was provoked, inaccessible55 as she was, in a general way, to irritation56; for she rejoined in a moment, with a little deliberate air: “Well, perhaps it’s as well you shouldn’t go, if you haven’t changed at all.”

“I haven’t changed at all,” said the young man, smiling still, with his elbows on the arms of his chair, his shoulders pushed up a little, and his thin brown hands interlocked in front of him.

“Well, I have had visitors who were quite opposed!” Verena announced, as if such news could not possibly alarm her. Then she added, “How then did you know I was out here?”

“Miss Birdseye told me.”

“Oh, I am so glad you went to see her!” the girl cried, speaking again with the impetuosity of a moment before.

“I didn’t go to see her. I met her in the street, just as she was leaving Miss Chancellor’s door. I spoke to her, and accompanied her some distance. I passed that way because I knew it was the direct way to Cambridge — from the Common — and I was coming out to see you any way — on the chance.”

“On the chance?” Verena repeated.

“Yes; Mrs. Luna, in New York, told me you were sometimes here, and I wanted, at any rate, to make the attempt to find you.”

It may be communicated to the reader that it was very agreeable to Verena to learn that her visitor had made this arduous57 pilgrimage (for she knew well enough how people in Boston regarded a winter journey to the academic suburb) with only half the prospect58 of a reward; but her pleasure was mixed with other feelings, or at least with the consciousness that the whole situation was rather less simple than the elements of her life had been hitherto. There was the germ of disorder59 in this invidious distinction which Mr. Ransom had suddenly made between Olive Chancellor, who was related to him by blood, and herself, who had never been related to him in any way whatever. She knew Olive by this time well enough to wish not to reveal it to her, and yet it would be something quite new for her to undertake to conceal60 such an incident as her having spent an hour with Mr. Ransom during a flying visit he had made to Boston. She had spent hours with other gentlemen, whom Olive didn’t see; but that was different, because her friend knew about her doing it and didn’t care, in regard to the persons — didn’t care, that is, as she would care in this case. It was vivid to Verena’s mind that now Olive would care. She had talked about Mr. Burrage, and Mr. Pardon, and even about some gentlemen in Europe, and she had not (after the first few days, a year and a half before) talked about Mr. Ransom.

Nevertheless there were reasons, clear to Verena’s view, for wishing either that he would go and see Olive or would keep away from her; and the responsibility of treating the fact that he had not so kept away as a secret seemed the greater, perhaps, in the light of this other fact, that so far as simply seeing Mr. Ransom went — why, she quite liked it. She had remembered him perfectly after their two former meetings, superficial as their contact then had been; she had thought of him at moments and wondered whether she should like him if she were to know him better. Now, at the end of twenty minutes, she did know him better, and found that he had rather a curious, but still a pleasant way. There he was, at any rate, and she didn’t wish his call to be spoiled by any uncomfortable implication of consequences. So she glanced off, at the touch of Mrs. Luna’s name; it seemed to afford relief. “Oh yes, Mrs. Luna — isn’t she fascinating?”

Ransom hesitated a little. “Well, no, I don’t think she is.”

“You ought to like her — she hates our movement!” And Verena asked, further, numerous questions about the brilliant Adeline; whether he saw her often, whether she went out much, whether she was admired in New York, whether he thought her very handsome. He answered to the best of his ability, but soon made the reflexion that he had not come out to Monadnoc Place to talk about Mrs. Luna; in consequence of which, to change the subject (as well as to acquit61 himself of a social duty), he began to speak of Verena’s parents, to express regret that Mrs. Tarrant had been sick, and fear that he was not to have the pleasure of seeing her. “She is a great deal better,” Verena said; “but she’s lying down; she lies down a great deal when she has got nothing else to do. Mother’s very peculiar,” she added in a moment; “she lies down when she feels well and happy, and when she’s sick she walks about — she roams all round the house. If you hear her on the stairs a good deal, you can be pretty sure she’s very bad. She’ll be very much interested to hear about you after you have left.”

Ransom glanced at his watch. “I hope I am not staying too long — that I am not taking you away from her.”

“Oh no; she likes visitors, even when she can’t see them. If it didn’t take her so long to rise, she would have been down here by this time. I suppose you think she has missed me, since I have been so absorbed. Well, so she has, but she knows it’s for my good. She would make any sacrifice for affection.”

The fancy suddenly struck Ransom of asking, in response to this, “And you? would you make any?”

Verena gave him a bright natural stare. “Any sacrifice for affection?” She thought a moment, and then she said: “I don’t think I have a right to say, because I have never been asked. I don’t remember ever to have had to make a sacrifice — not an important one.”

“Lord! you must have had a happy life!”

“I have been very fortunate, I know that. I don’t know what to do when I think how some women — how most women — suffer. But I must not speak of that,” she went on, with her smile coming back to her. “If you oppose our movement, you won’t want to hear of the suffering of women!”

“The suffering of women is the suffering of all humanity,” Ransom returned. “Do you think any movement is going to stop that — or all the lectures from now to doomsday? We are born to suffer — and to bear it, like decent people.”

“Oh, I adore heroism62!” Verena interposed.

“And as for women,” Ransom went on, “they have one source of happiness that is closed to us — the consciousness that their presence here below lifts half the load of our suffering.”

Verena thought this very graceful63, but she was not sure it was not rather sophistical; she would have liked to have Olive’s judgement upon it. As that was not possible for the present, she abandoned the question (since learning that Mr. Ransom had passed over Olive, to come to her, she had become rather fidgety), and inquired of the young man, irrelevantly64, whether he knew any one else in Cambridge.

“Not a creature; as I tell you, I have never been here before. Your image alone attracted me; this charming interview will be henceforth my only association with the place.”

“It’s a pity you couldn’t have a few more,” said Verena musingly65.

“A few more interviews? I should be unspeakably delighted!”

“A few more associations. Did you see the colleges as you came?”

“I had a glimpse of a large enclosure, with some big buildings. Perhaps I can look at them better as I go back to Boston.”

“Oh yes, you ought to see them — they have improved so much of late. The inner life, of course, is the greatest interest, but there is some fine architecture, if you are not familiar with Europe.” She paused a moment, looking at him with an eye that seemed to brighten, and continued quickly, like a person who had collected herself for a little jump, “If you would like to walk round a little, I shall be very glad to show you.”

“To walk round — with you to show me?” Ransom repeated. “My dear Miss Tarrant, it would be the greatest privilege — the greatest happiness — of my life. What a delightful idea — what an ideal guide!”

Verena got up; she would go and put on her hat; he must wait a little. Her offer had a frankness and friendliness66 which gave him a new sensation, and he could not know that as soon as she had made it (though she had hesitated too, with a moment of intense reflexion), she seemed to herself strangely reckless. An impulse pushed her; she obeyed it with her eyes open. She felt as a girl feels when she commits her first conscious indiscretion. She had done many things before which many people would have called indiscreet, but that quality had not even faintly belonged to them in her own mind; she had done them in perfect good faith and with a remarkable67 absence of palpitation. This superficially ingenuous68 proposal to walk around the colleges with Mr. Ransom had really another colour; it deepened the ambiguity69 of her position, by reason of a prevision which I shall presently mention. If Olive was not to know that she had seen him, this extension of their interview would double her secret. And yet, while she saw it grow — this monstrous70 little mystery — she couldn’t feel sorry that she was going out with Olive’s cousin. As I have already said, she had become nervous. She went to put on her hat, but at the door of the room she stopped, turned round, and presented herself to her visitor with a small spot in either cheek, which had appeared there within the instant. “I have suggested this, because it seems to me I ought to do something for you — in return,” she said. “It’s nothing, simply sitting there with me. And we haven’t got anything else. This is our only hospitality. And the day seems so splendid.”

The modesty71, the sweetness, of this little explanation, with a kind of intimated desire, constituting almost an appeal, for rightness, which seemed to pervade72 it, left a fragrance73 in the air after she had vanished. Ransom walked up and down the room, with his hands in his pockets, under the influence of it, without taking up even once the book about Mrs. Foat. He occupied the time in asking himself by what perversity74 of fate or of inclination such a charming creature was ranting75 upon platforms and living in Olive Chancellor’s pocket, or how a ranter and sycophant76 could possibly be so engaging. And she was so disturbingly beautiful, too. This last fact was not less evident when she came down arranged for their walk. They left the house, and as they proceeded he remembered that he had asked himself earlier how he could do honour to such a combination of leisure and ethereal mildness as he had waked up to that morning — a mildness that seemed the very breath of his own latitude77. This question was answered now; to do exactly what he was doing at that moment was an observance sufficiently78 festive79.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 suburban Usywk     
adj.城郊的,在郊区的
参考例句:
  • Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
  • There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。
2 juvenile OkEy2     
n.青少年,少年读物;adj.青少年的,幼稚的
参考例句:
  • For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人,他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
  • Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。
3 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
4 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。
5 denomination SwLxj     
n.命名,取名,(度量衡、货币等的)单位
参考例句:
  • The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
  • Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。
6 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
7 embellished b284f4aedffe7939154f339dba2d2073     
v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 );装饰;修饰;润色
参考例句:
  • The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句
8 ransom tTYx9     
n.赎金,赎身;v.赎回,解救
参考例句:
  • We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
  • The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。
9 ridicule fCwzv     
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄
参考例句:
  • You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
  • Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。
10 specimen Xvtwm     
n.样本,标本
参考例句:
  • You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
  • This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。
11 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
12 chancellor aUAyA     
n.(英)大臣;法官;(德、奥)总理;大学校长
参考例句:
  • They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
  • He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。
13 lapse t2lxL     
n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效
参考例句:
  • The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
  • I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。
14 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
15 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。
16 lustre hAhxg     
n.光亮,光泽;荣誉
参考例句:
  • The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
  • A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。
17 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
18 loomed 9423e616fe6b658c9a341ebc71833279     
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
参考例句:
  • A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
  • The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 inclination Gkwyj     
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好
参考例句:
  • She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
  • I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。
20 alluded 69f7a8b0f2e374aaf5d0965af46948e7     
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中,你提到了某个阴谋。
  • She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。
21 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
22 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
23 intercourse NbMzU     
n.性交;交流,交往,交际
参考例句:
  • The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
  • There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。
24 maidens 85662561d697ae675e1f32743af22a69     
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球
参考例句:
  • stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
  • Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功,少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
25 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
26 emancipation Sjlzb     
n.(从束缚、支配下)解放
参考例句:
  • We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
27 conversed a9ac3add7106d6e0696aafb65fcced0d     
v.交谈,谈话( converse的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • I conversed with her on a certain problem. 我与她讨论某一问题。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She was cheerful and polite, and conversed with me pleasantly. 她十分高兴,也很客气,而且愉快地同我交谈。 来自辞典例句
28 specimens 91fc365099a256001af897127174fcce     
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人
参考例句:
  • Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
  • The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 contagious TZ0yl     
adj.传染性的,有感染力的
参考例句:
  • It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
  • He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。
30 utterance dKczL     
n.用言语表达,话语,言语
参考例句:
  • This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
  • My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽,泣不成声。
31 hilarity 3dlxT     
n.欢乐;热闹
参考例句:
  • The announcement was greeted with much hilarity and mirth.这一项宣布引起了热烈的欢呼声。
  • Wine gives not light hilarity,but noisy merriment.酒不给人以轻松的欢乐,而给人以嚣嚷的狂欢。
32 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
33 oratory HJ7xv     
n.演讲术;词藻华丽的言辞
参考例句:
  • I admire the oratory of some politicians.我佩服某些政治家的辩才。
  • He dazzled the crowd with his oratory.他的雄辩口才使听众赞叹不已。
34 cadences 223bef8d3b558abb3ff19570aacb4a63     
n.(声音的)抑扬顿挫( cadence的名词复数 );节奏;韵律;调子
参考例句:
  • He delivered his words in slow, measured cadences. 他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
  • He recognized the Polish cadences in her voice. 他从她的口音中听出了波兰腔。 来自辞典例句
35 odious l0zy2     
adj.可憎的,讨厌的
参考例句:
  • The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
  • His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。
36 genial egaxm     
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的
参考例句:
  • Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
  • He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友,也是友善待客的主人。
37 astounding QyKzns     
adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊,使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)
参考例句:
  • There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
  • The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊,所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
38 posture q1gzk     
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势
参考例句:
  • The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
  • He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣,摆出一副打架的架势。
39 sarcastic jCIzJ     
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的
参考例句:
  • I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
  • She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。
40 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。
41 chaff HUGy5     
v.取笑,嘲笑;n.谷壳
参考例句:
  • I didn't mind their chaff.我不在乎他们的玩笑。
  • Old birds are not caught with chaff.谷糠难诱老雀。
42 resentment 4sgyv     
n.怨愤,忿恨
参考例句:
  • All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
  • She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。
43 omission mjcyS     
n.省略,删节;遗漏或省略的事物,冗长
参考例句:
  • The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
  • The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。
44 entail ujdzO     
vt.使承担,使成为必要,需要
参考例句:
  • Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
  • This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。
45 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。
46 admiration afpyA     
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
参考例句:
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
47 arrears IVYzQ     
n.到期未付之债,拖欠的款项;待做的工作
参考例句:
  • The payments on that car loan are in arrears by three months.购车贷款的偿付被拖欠了三个月。
  • They are urgent for payment of arrears of wages.他们催讨拖欠的工钱。
48 vengeance wL6zs     
n.报复,报仇,复仇
参考例句:
  • He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
  • For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。
49 persevered b3246393c709e55e93de64dc63360d37     
v.坚忍,坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
  • Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦,但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句
50 assented 4cee1313bb256a1f69bcc83867e78727     
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
  • "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对,”汤姆表示赞同地说,“他们不杀女人——真伟大!
51 desolate vmizO     
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂
参考例句:
  • The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
  • We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后,我们都觉得万分孤寂。
52 incapable w9ZxK     
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的
参考例句:
  • He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
  • Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。
53 hypocrisy g4qyt     
n.伪善,虚伪
参考例句:
  • He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
  • He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。
54 innocence ZbizC     
n.无罪;天真;无害
参考例句:
  • There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
  • The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
55 inaccessible 49Nx8     
adj.达不到的,难接近的
参考例句:
  • This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
  • The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。
56 irritation la9zf     
n.激怒,恼怒,生气
参考例句:
  • He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
  • Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说,但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。
57 arduous 5vxzd     
adj.艰苦的,费力的,陡峭的
参考例句:
  • We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
  • The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。
58 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。
59 disorder Et1x4     
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
参考例句:
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
60 conceal DpYzt     
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽
参考例句:
  • He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方,他只好隐瞒身份。
  • He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。
61 acquit MymzL     
vt.宣判无罪;(oneself)使(自己)表现出
参考例句:
  • That fact decided the judge to acquit him.那个事实使法官判他无罪。
  • They always acquit themselves of their duty very well.他们总是很好地履行自己的职责。
62 heroism 5dyx0     
n.大无畏精神,英勇
参考例句:
  • He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
  • Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。
63 graceful deHza     
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的
参考例句:
  • His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
  • The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
64 irrelevantly 364499529287275c4068bbe2e17e35de     
adv.不恰当地,不合适地;不相关地
参考例句:
  • To-morrow!\" Then she added irrelevantly: \"You ought to see the baby.\" 明天,”随即她又毫不相干地说:“你应当看看宝宝。” 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
  • Suddenly and irrelevantly, she asked him for money. 她突然很不得体地向他要钱。 来自互联网
65 musingly ddec53b7ea68b079ee6cb62ac6c95bf9     
adv.沉思地,冥想地
参考例句:
66 friendliness nsHz8c     
n.友谊,亲切,亲密
参考例句:
  • Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面,我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
  • His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。
67 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
68 ingenuous mbNz0     
adj.纯朴的,单纯的;天真的;坦率的
参考例句:
  • Only the most ingenuous person would believe such a weak excuse!只有最天真的人才会相信这么一个站不住脚的借口!
  • With ingenuous sincerity,he captivated his audience.他以自己的率真迷住了观众。
69 ambiguity 9xWzT     
n.模棱两可;意义不明确
参考例句:
  • The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
  • Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。
70 monstrous vwFyM     
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的
参考例句:
  • The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升,形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
  • Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人!
71 modesty REmxo     
n.谦逊,虚心,端庄,稳重,羞怯,朴素
参考例句:
  • Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
  • As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后,谦虚使人进步。
72 pervade g35zH     
v.弥漫,遍及,充满,渗透,漫延
参考例句:
  • Science and technology have come to pervade every aspect of our lives.科学和技术已经渗透到我们生活的每一个方面。
  • The smell of sawdust and glue pervaded the factory.工厂里弥漫着锯屑和胶水的气味。
73 fragrance 66ryn     
n.芬芳,香味,香气
参考例句:
  • The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
  • The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。
74 perversity D3kzJ     
n.任性;刚愎自用
参考例句:
  • She's marrying him out of sheer perversity.她嫁给他纯粹是任性。
  • The best of us have a spice of perversity in us.在我们最出色的人身上都有任性的一面。
75 ranting f455c2eeccb0d93f31e63b89e6858159     
v.夸夸其谈( rant的现在分词 );大叫大嚷地以…说教;气愤地)大叫大嚷;不停地大声抱怨
参考例句:
  • Mrs. Sakagawa stopped her ranting. 坂川太太戛然中断悲声。 来自辞典例句
  • He was ranting about the murder of his dad. 他大叫她就是杀死他父亲的凶手。 来自电影对白
76 sycophant hH4zJ     
n.马屁精
参考例句:
  • The dictator is surrounded by sycophants who are frightened to tell him what he may not like.独裁者被一群不敢谏言的佞臣簇拥着。
  • Bestowing favor on a dubious sycophant often leads to the downfall of dynasties.宠用奸佞是历代王朝亡国的重要原因。
77 latitude i23xV     
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区
参考例句:
  • The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
  • The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。
78 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
79 festive mkBx5     
adj.欢宴的,节日的
参考例句:
  • It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节,每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
  • We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。


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