The down we rest on in our aery dreams
Has not been plucked from birds that live and smart:
’Tis but warm snow, that melts not.
THE story and the prospect1 revealed to Esther by the lawyers’ letter, which she and her father studied together, had made an impression on her very different from what she had been used to figure to herself in her many daydreams2 as to the effect of a sudden elevation3 in rank and fortune. In her day-dreams she had not traced out the means by which such a change could be brought about; in fact, the change had seemed impossible to her, except in her little private Utopia, which, like other Utopias, was filled with delightful4 results, independent of processes. But her mind had fixed5 itself habitually6 on the signs and luxuries of ladyhood, for which she had the keenest perception. She had seen the very mat in her carriage, had scented7 the dried rose-leaves in her corridors, had felt the soft carpets under her pretty feet, and seen herself, as she rose from her sofa cushions, in the crystal panel that reflected a long drawing-room, where the conservatory8 flowers and the pictures of fair women left her still with the supremacy9 of charm. She had trodden the marble-firm gravel10 of her garden-walks and the soft deep turf of her lawn; she had had her servants about her filled with adoring respect, because of her kindness as well as her grace and beauty; and she had had several accomplished11 cavaliers all at once suing for her hand — one of whom, uniting very high birth with long dark eyelashes and the most distinguished12 talents, she secretly preferred, though his pride and hers hindered an avowal13, and supplied the inestimable interest of retardation14. The glimpses she had had in her brief life as a family governess, supplied her ready faculty16 with details enough of delightful still life to furnish her day-dreams; and no one who has not, like Esther, a strong natural prompting and susceptibility towards such things, and has at the same time suffered from the presence of opposite conditions, can understand how powerfully those minor18 accidents of rank which please the fastidious sense can preoccupy19 the imagination.
It seemed that almost everything in her day-dreams — cavaliers apart — must be found at Transome Court. But now that fancy was becoming real, and the impossible appeared possible, Esther found the balance of her attention reversed: now that her ladyhood was not simply in Utopia, she found herself arrested and painfully grasped by the means through which the ladyhood was to be obtained. To her inexperience this strange story of an alienated20 inheritance, of such a last representative of pure-blooded lineage as old Thomas Transome the bill-sticker, above all of the dispossession hanging over those who actually held, and had expected always to hold, the wealth and position which were suddenly announced to be rightfully hers — all these things made a picture, not for her own tastes and fancies to float in with Elysian indulgence, but in which she was compelled to gaze on the degrading hard experience of other human beings, and on a humiliating loss which was the obverse of her own proud gain. Even in her times of most untroubled egoism Esther shrank from anything ungenerous; and the fact that she had a very lively image of Harold Transome and his gipsy-eyed boy in her mind, gave additional distinctness to the thought that if she entered they must depart. Of the elder Transomes she had a dimmer vision, and they were necessarily in the background to her sympathy.
She and her father sat with their hands locked, as they might have done if they had been listening to a solemn oracle21 in the days of old revealing unknown kinship and rightful heirdom. It was not that Esther had any thought of renouncing22 her fortune; she was incapable23, in these moments, of condensing her vague ideas and feelings into any distinct plan of action, nor indeed did it seem that she was called upon to act with any promptitude. It was only that she was conscious of being strangely awed25 by something that was called good fortune; and the awe24 shut out any scheme of rejection26 as much as any triumphant27 joy in acceptance. Her first father, she learned, had died disappointed and in wrongful imprisonment28, and an undefined sense of Nemesis29 seemed half to sanctify her inheritance, and counteract30 its apparent arbitrariness.
Felix Holt was present in her mind throughout: what he would say was an imaginary commentary that she was constantly framing, and the words that she most frequently gave him — for she dramatised under the inspiration of a sadness slightly bitter — were of this kind: ‘That is clearly your destiny — to be aristocratic, to be rich. I always saw that our lots lay widely apart. You are not fit for poverty, or any work of difficulty. But remember what I once said to you about a vision of consequences; take care where your fortune leads you.’
Her father had not spoken since they had ended their study and discussion of the story and the evidence as it was presented to them. Into this he had entered with his usual penetrating32 activity; but he was so accustomed to the impersonal33 study of narrative34, that even in these exceptional moments the habit of half a century asserted itself, and he seemed sometimes not to distinguish the case of Esther’s inheritance from a story in ancient history, until some detail recalled him to the profound feeling that a great, great change might be coming over the life of this child who was so close to him. At last he relapsed into total silence, and for some time Esther was not moved to interrupt it. He had sunk back in his chair, with his hand locked in hers, and was pursuing a sort of prayerful meditation35: he lifted up no formal petition, but it was as if his soul travelled again over the facts he had been considering in the company of a guide ready to inspire and correct him. He was striving to purify his feeling in this matter from selfish or worldly dross36 — a striving which is that prayer without ceasing, sure to wrest37 an answer by its sublime38 importunity39.
There is no knowing how long they might have sat in this way, if it had not been for the inevitable40 Lyddy reminding them dismally41 of dinner.
‘Yes, Lyddy, we come,’ said Esther; and then, before moving —
‘Is there any advice you have in your mind for me, father?’ The sense of awe was growing in Esther. Her intensest life was no longer in her dreams, where she made things to her own mind; she was moving in a world charged with forces.
‘Not yet, my dear — save this: that you will seek special illumination in this juncture42, and, above all, be watchful43 that your soul be not lifted up within you by what, righdy considered, is rather an increase of charge, and a call upon you to walk along a path which is indeed easy to the flesh, but dangerous to the spirit.’
‘You would always live with me, father?’ Esther spoke31 under a strong impulse — partly affection, partly the need to grasp at some moral help. But she had no sooner uttered the words than they raised a vision, showing, as by a flash of lightning, the incongruity44 of that past which had created the sanctities and affections of her life with that future which was coming to her. . . . The little rusty45 old minister, with the one luxury of his Sunday evening pipe, smoked up the kitchen chimney, coming to live in the midst of grandeur46 . . . but not her father, with the grandeur of his past sorrow and his long struggling labours, forsaking47 his vocation48, and vulgarly accepting an existence unsuited to him. . . . Esther’s face flushed with the excitement of this vision and its reversed interpretation49, which five months ago she would have been incapable of seeing. Her question to her father seemed like a mockery; she was ashamed. He answered slowly —
‘Touch not that chord yet, child. I must learn to think of thy lot according to the demands of Providence50. We will rest a while from the subject; and I will seek calmness in my ordinary duties.’
The next morning nothing more was said. Mr Lyon was absorbed in his sermon-making, for it was near the end of the week, and Esther was obliged to attend to her pupils. Mrs Holt came by invitation with little Job to share their dinner of roast-meat; and, after much of what the minister called unprofitable discourse51, she was quitting the house when she hastened back with an astonished face, to tell Mr Lyon and Esther, who were already in wonder at crashing, thundering sounds on the pavement, that there was a carriage stopping and stamping at the entry into Malthouse Yard, with ‘all sorts of fine liveries’, and a lady and gentleman inside. Mr Lyon and Esther looked at each other, both having the same name in their minds.
‘If it’s Mr Transome or somebody else as is great, Mr Lyon,’ urged Mrs Holt, ‘you’ll remember my son, and say he’s got a mother with a character they may inquire into as much as they like. And never mind what Felix says, for he’s so masterful he’d stay in prison and be transported whether or no, only to have his own way. For it’s not to be thought but what the great people could get him off if they would; and it’s very hard with a king in the country and all the texts in Proverbs about the king’s countenance52, and Solomon and the live baby —’
Mr Lyon lifted up his hand deprecatingly, and Mrs Holt retreated from the parlour-door to a comer of the kitchen, the outer doorway53 being occupied by Dominic, who was inquiring if Mr and Miss Lyon were at home, and could receive Mrs Transome and Mr Harold Transome. While Dominic went back to the carriage Mrs Holt escaped with her tiny companion to Zachary’s, the pew-opener, observing to Lyddy that she knew herself, and was not that woman to stay where she might not be wanted; whereupon Lyddy, differing fundamentally, admonished54 her parting ear that it was well if she knew herself to be dust and ashes — silently extending the application of this remark to Mrs Transome as she saw the tall lady sweep in arrayed in her rich black and fur, with that fine gentleman behind her whose thick topknot of wavy55 hair, sparkling ring, dark complexion56, and general air of worldly exaltation unconnected with chapel57 were painfully suggestive to Lyddy of Herod, Pontius Pilate or the much-quoted Gallio.
Harold Transome, greeting Esther gracefully58, presented his mother, whose eagle-like glance, fixed on her from the first moment of entering, seemed to Esther to pierce her through. Mrs Transome hardly noticed Mr Lyon, not from studied haughtiness59, but from sheer mental inability to consider him — as a person ignorant of natural history is unable to consider a fresh-water polype otherwise than as a sort of animated60 weed, certainly not fit for table. But Harold saw that his mother was agreeably struck by Esther, who indeed showed to much advantage. She was not at all taken by surprise, and maintained a dignified61 quietude; but her previous knowledge and reflection about the possible dispossession of these Transomes gave her a softened62 feeling towards them which tinged63 her manners very agreeably.
Harold was carefully polite to the minister, throwing out a word to make him understand that he had an important part in the important business which had brought this unannounced visit; and the four made a group seated not far off each other near the window, Mrs Transome and Esther being on the sofa.
‘You must be astonished at a visit from me, Miss Lyon,’ Mrs Transome began; ‘I seldom come to Treby Magna. Now I see you, the visit is an unexpected pleasure; but the cause of my coming is business of a serious nature, which my son will communicate to you.’
‘I ought to begin by saying that what I have to announce to you is the reverse of disagreeable, Miss Lyon,’ said Harold, with lively ease. ‘I don’t suppose the world would consider it very good news for me; but a rejected candidate, Mr Lyon,’ Harold went on, turning graciously to the minister, ‘begins to be inured64 to loss and misfortune.’
‘Truly, sir,’ said Mr Lyon, with a rather sad solemnity, ‘your allusion65 hath a grievous bearing for me, but I will not retard15 your present purpose by further remark.’
‘You will never guess what I have to disclose,’ said Harold, again looking at Esther, ‘unless, indeed, you have had some previous intimation of it.’
‘Does it refer to law and inheritance?’ said Esther, with a smile. She was already brightened by Harold’s manner. The news seemed to be losing its chillness, and to be something really belonging to warm, comfortable, interesting life.
‘Then you have already heard of it?’ said Harold, inwardly vexed66, but sufficiendy prepared not to seem so.
‘Only yesterday,’ said Esther, quite simply. ‘I received a letter from some lawyers with a statement of many surprising things, showing that I was an heiress’ — here she turned very prettily67 to address Mrs Transome — ‘which, as you may imagine, is one of the last things I could have supposed myself to be.’
‘My dear,’ said Mrs Transome with elderly grace, just laying her hand for an instant on Esther’s, ‘it is a lot that would become you admirably.’
Esther blushed, and said playfully —
‘O, I know what to buy with fifty pounds a-year, but I know the price of nothing beyond that.’
Her father sat looking at her through his spectacles, stroking his chin. It was amazing to herself that she was taking so lightly now what had caused her such deep emotion yesterday.
‘I daresay, then,’ said Harold, ‘you are more fully17 possessed68 of particulars than I am. So that my mother and I need only tell you what no one else can tell you — that is, what are her and my feelings and wishes under these new and unexpected circumstances.’
‘I am most anxious,’ said Esther, with a grave beautiful look of respect to Mrs Transome — ‘most anxious on that point. Indeed, being of course in uncertainty69 about it, I have not yet known whether I could rejoice.’ Mrs Transome’s glance had softened. She liked Esther to look at her.
‘Our chief anxiety,’ she said, knowing what Harold wished her to say, ‘is, that there may be no contest, no useless expenditure70 of money. Of course we will surrender what can be rightfully claimed.’
‘My mother expresses our feeling precisely71, Miss Lyon,’ said Harold. ‘And I’m sure, Mr Lyon, you will understand our desire.’
‘Assuredly, sir. My daughter would in any case have had my advice to seek a conclusion which would involve no strife72. We endeavour, sir, in our body, to hold to the apostolic rule that one Christian73 brother should not go to law with another; and I, for my part, would extend this rule to all my fellow-men, apprehending74 that the practice of our courts is little consistent with the simplicity75 that is in Christ.’
‘If it is to depend on my will,’ said Esther, ‘there is nothing that would be more repugnant to me than any struggle on such a subject. But can’t the lawyers go on doing what they will in spite of me? It seems that this is what they mean?’
‘Not exactly,’ said Harold, smiling. ‘Of course they live by such struggles as you dislike. But we can thwart76 them by determining not to quarrel. It is desirable that we should consider the affair together, and put it into the hands of honourable77 solicitors78. I assure you we Transomes will not contend for what is not our own.’
‘And this is what I have come to beg of you,’ said Mrs Transome. ‘It is that you will come to Transome Court — and let us take full time to arrange matters. Do oblige me: you shall not be teased more than you like by an old woman: you shall do just as you please, and become acquainted with your future home, since it is to be yours. I can tell you a world of things that you will want to know; and the business can proceed properly.’
‘Do consent,’ said Harold, with winning brevity.
Esther was flushed, and her eyes were bright. It was impossible for her not to feel that the proposal was a more tempting79 step towards her change of condition than she could have thought of beforehand. She had forgotten that she was in any trouble. But she looked towards her father, who was again stroking his chin, as was his habit when he was doubting and deliberating.
‘I hope you do not disapprove80 of Miss Lyon’s granting us this favour?’ said Harold to the minister.
‘I have nothing to oppose to it, sir, if my daughter’s own mind is clear as to her course.’
‘You will come — now — with us,’ said Mrs Transome, persuasively81. ‘You will go back with us in the carriage.’
Harold was highly gratified with the perfection of his mother’s manner on this occasion, which he had looked forward to as difficult. Since he had come home again, he had never seen her so much at her ease, or with so much benignancy in her face. The secret lay in the charm of Esther’s sweet young deference82, a sort of charm that had not before entered into Mrs Transome’s elderly life. Esther’s pretty behaviour, it must be confessed, was not fed entirely83 from lofty moral sources: over and above her really generous feeling, she enjoyed Mrs Transome’s accent, the high-bred quietness of her speech, the delicate odour of her drapery. She had always thought that life must be particularly easy if one could pass it among refined people; and so it seemed at this moment. She wished, unmixedly, to go to Transome Court.
‘Since my father has no objection,’ she said, ‘and you urge me so kindly84. But I must beg for time to pack up a few clothes.
‘By all means,’ said Mrs Transome. ‘We are not at all pressed.’
When Esther had left the room, Harold said, ‘Apart from our immediate85 reason for coming, Mr Lyon, I could have wished to see you about these unhappy consequences of the election contest. But you will understand that I have been much preoccupied86 with private affairs.’
‘You have well said that the consequences are unhappy, sir. And but for a reliance on something more than human calculation, I know not which I should most bewail — the scandal which wrong-dealing has brought on right principles, or the snares87 which it laid for the feet of a young man who is dear to me. “One soweth, and another reapeth,” is a verity88 that applies to evil as well as good.’
‘You are referring to Felix Holt. I have not neglected steps to secure the best legal help for the prisoners; but I am given to understand that Holt refuses any aid from me. I hope he will not go rashly to work in speaking in his own defence without any legal instruction. It is an opprobrium89 of our law that no counsel is allowed to plead for the prisoner in cases of felony. A ready tongue may do a man as much harm as good in a court of justice. He piques90 himself on making a display, and displays a little too much.’
‘Sir, you know him not,’ said the little minister, in his deeper tone. ‘He would not accept, even if it were accorded, a defence wherein the truth was screened or avoided — not from a vainglorious91 spirit of self-exhibition, for he hath a singular directness and simplicity of speech; but from an averseness to a profession wherein a man may without shame seek to justify92 the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.’
‘It’s a pity a fine young fellow should do himself harm by fanatical notions of that sort. I could at least have procured93 the advantage of first-rate consultation94. He didn’t look to me like a dreamy personage.’
‘Nor is he dreamy; rather, his excess lies in being too practical.’
‘Well, I hope you will not encourage him in such irrationality95: the question is not one of misrepresentation, but of adjusting fact, so as to raise it to the power of evidence. Don’t you see that?’
‘I do, I do. But I distrust not Felix Holt’s discernment in regard to his own case. He builds not on doubtful things, and hath no illusory hopes; on the contrary, he is of a too-scornful incredulity where I would fain see a more childlike faith. But we will hold no belief without action corresponding thereto; and the occasion of his return to this his native place at a time which has proved fatal, was no other than his resolve to hinder the sale of some drugs, which had chiefly supported his mother, but which his better knowledge showed him to be pernicious to the human frame. He undertook to support her by his own labour: but, sir, I pray you to mark — and old as I am, I will not deny that this young man instructs me herein — I pray you to mark the poisonous confusion of good and evil which is the wide-spreading effect of vicious practices. Through the use of undue96 electioneering means — concerning which, however, I do not accuse you farther than of having acted the part of him who washes his hands when he delivers up to others the exercise of an iniquitous97 power — Felix Holt is, I will not scruple98 to say, the innocent victim of a riot; and that deed of strict honesty, whereby he took on himself the charge of his aged99 mother, seems now to have deprived her of sufficient bread, and is even an occasion of reproach to him from the weaker brethren.’
‘I shall be proud to supply her as amply as you think desirable,’ said Harold, not enjoying this lecture.
‘I will pray you to speak of this question with my daughter, who, it appears, may herself have large means at command, and would desire to minister to Mistress Holt’s needs with all friendship and delicacy100. For the present, I can take care that she lacks nothing essential.’
As Mr Lyon was speaking, Esther re-entered, equipped for her drive. She laid her hand on her father’s arm, and said, ‘You will let my pupils know at once, will you, father?’
‘Doubtless, my dear,’ said the old man, trembling a little under the feeling that this departure of Esther’s was a crisis. Nothing again would be as it had been in their mutual101 life. But he feared that he was being mastered by a too-tender self-regard, and struggled to keep himself calm.
Mrs Transome and Harold had both risen.
‘If you are quite ready, Miss Lyon,’ said Harold, divining that the father and daughter would like to have an unobserved moment, ‘I will take my mother to the carriage, and come back for you.’
When they were alone, Esther put her hands on her father’s shoulders, and kissed him.
‘This will not be a grief to you, I hope, father? You think it is better that I should go?’
‘Nay, child, I am weak. But I would fain be capable of a joy quite apart from the accidents of my aged earthly existence, which, indeed, is a petty and almost dried-up fountain — whereas to the receptive soul the river of life pauseth not, nor is diminished.’
‘Perhaps you will see Felix Holt again, and tell him everything?’
‘Shall I say aught to him for you?’
‘O no; only that Job Tudge has a little flannel102 shirt and a box of lozenges,’ said Esther, smiling. ‘Ah, I hear Mr Transome coming back. I must say good-bye to Lyddy, else she will cry over my hard heart.’
In spite of all the grave thoughts that had been, Esther felt it a very pleasant as well as new experience to be led to the carriage by Harold Transome, to be seated on soft cushions, and bowled along, looked at admiringly and deferentially103 by a person opposite, whom it was agreeable to look at in return, and talked to with suavity104 and liveliness. Towards what prospect was that easy carriage really leading her? She could not be always asking herself Mentor-like questions. Her young bright nature was rather weary of the sadness that had grown heavier in these last weeks, like a chill white mist hopelessly veiling the day. Her fortune was beginning to appear worthy105 of being called good fortune. She had come to a new stage in her journey; a new day had arisen on new scenes, and her young untired spirit was full of curiosity.
收听单词发音 |
1
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
daydreams
|
|
| n.白日梦( daydream的名词复数 )v.想入非非，空想( daydream的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
elevation
|
|
| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
habitually
|
|
| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
scented
|
|
| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
conservatory
|
|
| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
supremacy
|
|
| n.至上；至高权力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
gravel
|
|
| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
avowal
|
|
| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
retardation
|
|
| n.智力迟钝，精神发育迟缓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
retard
|
|
| n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
faculty
|
|
| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
minor
|
|
| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
preoccupy
|
|
| vt.使全神贯注，使入神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
alienated
|
|
| adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
oracle
|
|
| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
renouncing
|
|
| v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
incapable
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
awed
|
|
| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
rejection
|
|
| n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
triumphant
|
|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
imprisonment
|
|
| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
nemesis
|
|
| n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
counteract
|
|
| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
penetrating
|
|
| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
impersonal
|
|
| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
narrative
|
|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
meditation
|
|
| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
dross
|
|
| n.渣滓；无用之物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
wrest
|
|
| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
importunity
|
|
| n.硬要，强求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
dismally
|
|
| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
juncture
|
|
| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
incongruity
|
|
| n.不协调，不一致 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
rusty
|
|
| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
grandeur
|
|
| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
forsaking
|
|
| 放弃( forsake的现在分词 )； 弃绝； 抛弃； 摒弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
vocation
|
|
| n.职业，行业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
interpretation
|
|
| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
discourse
|
|
| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
admonished
|
|
| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
wavy
|
|
| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
chapel
|
|
| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
gracefully
|
|
| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
haughtiness
|
|
| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
animated
|
|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
dignified
|
|
| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
softened
|
|
| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
tinged
|
|
| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
inured
|
|
| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
allusion
|
|
| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
vexed
|
|
| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
prettily
|
|
| adv.优美地；可爱地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
uncertainty
|
|
| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
expenditure
|
|
| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
apprehending
|
|
| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
thwart
|
|
| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
honourable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
solicitors
|
|
| 初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
tempting
|
|
| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
disapprove
|
|
| v.不赞成，不同意，不批准 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
persuasively
|
|
| adv.口才好地；令人信服地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
deference
|
|
| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
preoccupied
|
|
| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
snares
|
|
| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
verity
|
|
| n.真实性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
opprobrium
|
|
| n.耻辱，责难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
piques
|
|
| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的第三人称单数 )；激起（好奇心） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
vainglorious
|
|
| adj.自负的；夸大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
justify
|
|
| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
procured
|
|
| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
consultation
|
|
| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
irrationality
|
|
| n. 不合理，无理性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
undue
|
|
| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
iniquitous
|
|
| adj.不公正的；邪恶的；高得出奇的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
scruple
|
|
| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
delicacy
|
|
| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
mutual
|
|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
flannel
|
|
| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
deferentially
|
|
| adv.表示敬意地，谦恭地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
suavity
|
|
| n.温和；殷勤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |