The town of Wandsworth is not a gay place. There is an air of old-world quiet in the old-fashioned street, though dashing vehicles drive through it sometimes on their way to Wimbledon or Richmond Park.
The sloping roofs, the gable-ends, the queer old chimneys, the quaint1 casement2 windows, belong to a bygone age; and the traveller, coming a stranger to the little town, might fancy himself a hundred miles away from boisterous3 London; though he is barely clear of the great city’s smoky breath, or beyond the hearing of her myriad4 clamorous5 tongues.
There are lanes and byways leading out of that humble6 High Street down to the low bank of the river; and in one of these, a pleasant place enough, there is a row of old-fashioned semi-detached cottages, standing7 in small gardens, and sheltered by sycamores and laburnums from the dust, which in dry summer weather lies thick upon the narrow roadway.
In one of these cottages a young lady lived with her father; a young lady who gave lessons on the piano-forte, or taught singing, for very small remuneration. She wore shabby dresses, and was rarely known to have a new bonnet8; but people respected and admired her, notwithstanding; and the female inhabitants of Godolphin Cottages, who gave her good-day sometimes as she went along the dusty lane with her well-used roll of music in her hand, declared that she was a lady bred and born. Perhaps the good people who admired Margaret Wentworth would have come nearer the mark if they had said that she was a lady by right divine of her own beautiful nature, which had never required to be schooled into grace or gentleness.
She had no mother, and she had not even the memory of her mother, who had died seventeen years before, leaving an only child of twelve months old for James Wentworth to keep.
But James Wentworth, being a scapegrace and a reprobate9, who lived by means that were a secret from his neighbours, had sadly neglected this only child. He had neglected her, though with every passing year she grew more and more like her dead mother, until at last, at eighteen years of age, she had grown into a beautiful woman, with hazel-brown hair, and hazel eyes to match.
And yet James Wentworth was fond of his only child, after a fashion of his own. Sometimes he was at home for weeks together, a prey10 to a fit of melancholy11; under the influence of which he would sit brooding in silence over his daughter’s humble hearth12 for hours and days together.
At other times he would disappear, sometimes for a few days, sometimes for weeks and months at a time; and during his absence Margaret suffered wearisome agonies of suspense13.
Sometimes he brought her money; sometimes he lived upon her own slender earnings14.
But use her as he might, he was always proud of her, and fond of her; and she, after the way of womankind, loved him devotedly15, and believed him to be the noblest and most brilliant of men.
It was no grief to her to toil16, taking long weary walks and giving tedious lessons for the small stipends17 which her employers had the conscience to offer her; they felt no compunction about bargaining and haggling18 as to a few pitiful shillings with a music mistress who looked so very poor, and seemed so glad to work for their paltry19 pay. The girl’s chief sorrow was, that her father, who to her mind was calculated to shine in the highest station the world could give, should be a reprobate and a pauper20.
She told him so sometimes, regretfully, tenderly, as she sat by his side, with her arms twined caressingly21 about his neck. And there were times when the strong man would cry aloud over his blighted22 life, and the ruin which had fallen upon his youth.
“You’re right, Madge,” he said sometimes, “you’re right, my girl. I ought to have been something better; I ought to have been, and I might have been, perhaps, but for one man — but for one base-minded villain24, whose treachery blasted my character, and left me alone in the world to fight against society. You don’t know what it is, Madge, to have to fight that battle. A man who began life with an honest name, and fair prospects25 before him, finds himself cast, by one fatal error, disgraced and broken, on a pitiless world. Nameless, friendless, characterless, he has to begin life afresh, with every man’s hand against him. He is the outcast of society. The faces that once looked kindly26 on him turn away from him with a frown. The voices that once spoke27 in his praise are loud in his disfavour. Driven from every place where once he found a welcome, the ruined wretch28 hides himself among strangers, and tries to sink his hateful identity under a false name. He succeeds, perhaps, for a time, and is trusted, and being honestly disposed at heart, is honest: but he cannot long escape from the hateful past. No! In the day and hour when he is proudest of the new name he has made, and the respect he has won for himself, some old acquaintance, once a friend, but now an enemy, falls across his pathway. He is recognized; a cruel voice betrays him. Every hope that he had cherished is swept away from him. Every good deed that he has done is denounced as the act of a hypocrite. Because once sinned he can never do well. That is the world’s argument.”
“But not the teaching of the gospel,” Margaret murmured. “Remember, father, who it was that said to the guilty woman, Go, and sin no more.’”
“Ay, my girl,” James Wentworth answered, bitterly, “but the world would have said, ‘Hence, abandoned creature! go, and sin afresh; for you shall never be suffered to live an honest life, or herd29 with honest people. Repent30, and we will laugh at your penitence31 as a shallow deception32. Weep, and we will cry out upon your tears. Toil and struggle to regain33 the eminence34 from which you have fallen, and when you have nearly reached the top of that difficult hill, we will band ourselves together to hurl35 you back into the black abyss.’ That’s what the world says to the sinner, Margaret, my girl. I don’t know much of the gospel; I have never read it since I was a boy, and used to read long chapters aloud to my mother, on quiet Sunday evenings; I can see the little old-fashioned parlour now as I speak of that time; I can hear the ticking of the eight-day clock, and I can see my mother’s fond eyes looking up at me every now and then. But I don’t know much about the gospel now; and when, you, poor child, try to read it to me, there’s some devil rises in my breast, and shuts my ears against the words. I don’t know the gospel, but I do know the world. The laws of society are inflexible36, Madge; there is no forgiveness for a man who is once found out. He may commit any crime in the calendar, so long as his crimes are profitable, and he is content to share his profits with his neighbours. But he mustn’t be found out.”
Upon the 16th of August, 1850, the day on which Sampson Wilmot, the banker’s clerk, was to start for Southampton, James Wentworth spent the morning in his daughter’s humble little sitting-room37, and sat smoking by the open window, while Margaret worked beside a table near him.
The father sat with his long clay pipe in his mouth, watching his daughter’s fair face as she bent38 over the work upon her knee.
The room was neatly39 kept, but poorly furnished, with that old-fashioned spindle-legged furniture which seems peculiar40 to lodging-houses. Yet the little sitting-room had an aspect of simple rustic41 prettiness, which is almost pleasanter to look at than fine furniture. There were pictures — simple water-colour sketches42 — and cheap engravings on the walls, and a bunch of flowers on the table, and between the muslin curtains that shadowed the window you saw the branches of the sycamores waving in the summer wind.
James Wentworth had once been a handsome man. It was impossible to look at him and not perceive as much as that. He might, indeed, have been handsome still, but for the moody43 defiance44 in his eyes, but for the half-contemptuous curve of his finely-moulded upper lip.
He was about fifty-three years of age, and his hair was grey, but this grey hair did not impart a look of age to his appearance. His erect45 figure, the carriage of his head, his dashing, nay46, almost swaggering walk, all belonged to a man in the prime of middle age. He wore a beard and thick moustache of grizzled auburn. His nose was aquiline47, his forehead high and square, his chin massive. The form of his head and face denoted force of intellect. His long, muscular limbs gave evidence of great physical power. Even the tones of his voice, and his manner of speaking, betokened48 a strength of will that verged49 upon obstinacy50.
A dangerous man to offend! A relentless51 and determined52 man; not easily to be diverted from any purpose, however long the time between the formation of his resolve and the opportunity of carrying it into execution.
As he sat now watching his daughter at her work, the shadows of black thoughts darkened his brow, and spread a sombre gloom over his face.
And yet the picture before him could have scarcely been unpleasing to the most fastidious eye. The girl’s face, drooping53 over her work, was very fair. The features were delicate and statuesque in their form; the large hazel eyes were very beautiful — all the more beautiful, perhaps, because of a soft melancholy that subdued54 their natural brightness; the smooth brown hair rippling55 upon the white forehead, which was low and broad, was of a colour which a duchess might have envied, or an empress tried to imitate with subtle dyes compounded by court chemists. The girl’s figure, tall, slender, and flexible, imparted grace and beauty to a shabby cotton dress and linen56 collar, that many a maid-servant would have disdained57 to wear; and the foot visible below the scanty58 skirt was slim and arched as the foot of an Arab chief.
There was something in Margaret Wentworth’s face, some shade of expression, vague and transitory in its nature, that bore a likeness59 to her father; but the likeness was a very faint one, and it was from her mother that the girl had inherited her beauty.
She had inherited her mother’s nature also: but mingled60 with that soft and womanly disposition61 there was much of the father’s determination, much of the strong man’s force of intellect and resolute62 will.
A beautiful woman — an amiable63 woman; but a woman whose resentment64 for a great wrong could be deep and lasting65.
“Madge,” said James Wentworth, throwing his pipe aside, and looking full at his daughter, “I sit and watch you sometimes till I begin to wonder at you. You seem contented66 and most happy, though the monotonous67 life you lead would drive some women mad. Have you no ambition, girl?”
“Plenty, father,” she answered, lifting her eyes from her work, and looking at him mournfully; “plenty — for you.”
The man shrugged68 his shoulders, and sighed heavily.
“It’s too late for that, my girl,” he said; “the day is past — the day is past and gone — and the chance gone with it. You know how I’ve striven, and worked, and struggled; and how I’ve seen my poor schemes crushed when I had built them up with more patience than perhaps man ever built before. You’ve been a good girl, Margaret — a noble girl; and you’ve been true to me alike in joy and sorrow — the joy’s been little enough beside the sorrow, poor child — but you’ve borne it all; you’ve endured it all. You’ve been the truest woman that was ever born upon this earth, to my thinking; but there’s one thing in which you’ve been unlike the rest of your sex.”
“And what’s that, father?”
“You’ve shown no curiosity. You’ve seen me knocked down and disgraced wherever I tried to get a footing; you’ve seen me try first one trade and then another, and fail in every one of them. You’ve seen me a clerk in a merchant’s office; an actor; an author; a common labourer, working for a daily wage; and you’ve seen ruin overtake me whichever way I’ve turned. You’ve seen all this, and suffered from it; but you’ve never asked me why it has been so. You’ve never sought to discover the secret of my life.”
The tears welled up to the girl’s eyes as her father spoke.
“If I have not done so, dear father,” she answered, gently, “it has been because I knew your secret must be a painful one. I have lain awake night after night, wondering what was the cause of the blight23 that has been upon you and all you have done. But why should I ask you questions that you could not answer without pain? I have heard people say cruel things of you; but they have never said them twice in my hearing.” Her eyes flashed through a veil of tears as she spoke. “Oh, father — dearest father!” she cried, suddenly throwing aside her work, and dropping on her knees beside the man’s chair, “I do not ask for your confidence if it is painful to you to give it; I only want your love. But believe this, father — always believe this — that, whether you trust me or not, there is nothing upon this earth strong enough to turn my heart from you.”
She placed her hand in her father’s as she spoke, and he grasped it so tightly that her pale face grew crimson69 with the pain.
“Are you sure of that, Madge?” he asked, bending his head to look more closely in her earnest face.
“I am quite sure, father.”
“Nothing can tear your heart from me?”
“Nothing in this world.”
“What if I am not worthy70 of your love?”
“I cannot stop to think of that, father. Love is not mete71 out in strict proportion to the merits of those we love. If it were, there would be no difference between love and justice.”
James Wentworth laughed sneeringly72.
“There is little enough difference as it is, perhaps,” he said; “they’re both blind. Well, Madge,” he added, in a more serious tone, “you’re a generous-minded, noble-spirited girl, and I believe you do love me. I fancy that if you never asked the secret of my life, you can guess it pretty closely, eh?”
He looked searchingly at the girl’s face. She hung her head, but did not answer him.
“You can guess the secret, can’t you, Madge? Don’t be afraid to speak, girl.”
“I fear I can guess it, father dear,” she murmured in a low voice.
“Speak out, then.”
“I am afraid the reason you have never prospered73 — the reason that so many are against you — is that you once did something wrong, very long ago, when you were young and reckless, and scarcely knew the nature of your own act; and that now, though you are truly penitent74 and sorry, and have long wished to lead an altered life, the world won’t forget or forgive that old wrong. Is it so, father?”
“It is, Margaret. You’ve guessed right enough, child, except that you’ve omitted one fact. The wrong I did was done for the sake of another. I was tempted75 to do it by another. I made no profit by it myself, and I never hoped to make any. But when detection came, it was upon me that the disgrace and ruin fell; while the man for whom I had done wrong — the man who had made me his tool — turned his back upon me, and refused to utter one word in my justification76, though he was in no danger himself, and the lightest word from his lips might have saved me. That was a hard case, wasn’t it, Madge?”
“Hard!” cried the girl, with her nostrils77 quivering and her hands clenched78; “it was cruel, dastardly, infamous79!”
“From that day, Margaret, I was a ruined man. The brand of society was upon me. The world would not let me live honestly, and the love of life was too strong in me to let me face death. I tried to live dishonestly, and I led a wild, rackety, dare-devil kind of a life, amongst men who found they had a skilful80 tool, and knew how to use me. They did use me to their heart’s content, and left me in the lurch81 when danger came. I was arrested for forgery82, tried, found guilty, and transported for life. Don’t flinch83, girl! don’t turn so white! You must have heard something of this whispered and hinted at often enough before to-day. You may as well know the whole truth. I was transported, for life, Madge; and for thirteen years I toiled84 amongst the wretched, guilty slaves in Norfolk Island — that was the favourite place in those days for such as me — and at the end of that time, my conduct having been approved of by my gaolers, the governor sent for me, gave me a good-service certificate, and I went into a counting-house and served as a clerk. But I got a kind of fever in my blood, and night and day I only thought of one thing, and that was my chance of escape. I did escape — never you mind how, that’s a long story — and I got back to England, a free man; a free man, Madge, I thought; but the world soon told me another story. I was a felon85, a gaol-bird; and I was never more to lift my head amongst honest people. I couldn’t bear it, Madge, my girl. Perhaps a better man might have persevered86 in spite of all till he conquered the world’s prejudice. But I couldn’t. I sank under my trials, and fell lower and lower. And for every disgrace that has ever fallen upon me — for every sorrow I have ever suffered — for every sin I have ever committed — I look to one man as the cause.”
Margaret Wentworth had risen to her feet. She stood before her father now, pale and breathless, with her lips parted, and her bosom87 heaving.
“Tell me his name, father,” she whispered; “tell me that man’s name.”
“Why do you want to know his name, Madge?”
“Never mind why, father. Tell it to me — tell it!”
She stamped her foot in the vehemence88 of her passion.
“Tell me his name, father,” she repeated, impatiently.
“His name is Henry Dunbar,” James Wentworth answered, “and he is the son of a rich banker. I saw his father’s death in the paper last March. His uncle died ten years ago, and he will inherit the fortunes of both father and uncle. The world has smiled upon him. He has never suffered for that one false step in life, which brought such ruin upon me. He will come home from India now, I dare say, and the world will be under his feet. He will be worth a million of money, I should fancy; curse him! If my wishes could be accomplished89, every guinea he possesses would be a separate scorpion90 to sting and to torture him.”
“Henry Dunbar,” whispered Margaret to herself —“Henry Dunbar. I will not forget that name.”
1 quaint | |
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的 | |
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2 casement | |
n.竖铰链窗;窗扉 | |
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3 boisterous | |
adj.喧闹的,欢闹的 | |
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4 myriad | |
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量 | |
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5 clamorous | |
adj.吵闹的,喧哗的 | |
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6 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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7 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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8 bonnet | |
n.无边女帽;童帽 | |
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9 reprobate | |
n.无赖汉;堕落的人 | |
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10 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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11 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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12 hearth | |
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
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13 suspense | |
n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑 | |
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14 earnings | |
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得 | |
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15 devotedly | |
专心地; 恩爱地; 忠实地; 一心一意地 | |
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16 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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17 stipends | |
n.(尤指牧师的)薪俸( stipend的名词复数 ) | |
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18 haggling | |
v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 ) | |
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19 paltry | |
adj.无价值的,微不足道的 | |
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20 pauper | |
n.贫民,被救济者,穷人 | |
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21 caressingly | |
爱抚地,亲切地 | |
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22 blighted | |
adj.枯萎的,摧毁的 | |
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23 blight | |
n.枯萎病;造成破坏的因素;vt.破坏,摧残 | |
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24 villain | |
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 | |
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25 prospects | |
n.希望,前途(恒为复数) | |
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26 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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27 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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28 wretch | |
n.可怜的人,不幸的人;卑鄙的人 | |
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29 herd | |
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
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30 repent | |
v.悔悟,悔改,忏悔,后悔 | |
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31 penitence | |
n.忏悔,赎罪;悔过 | |
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32 deception | |
n.欺骗,欺诈;骗局,诡计 | |
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33 regain | |
vt.重新获得,收复,恢复 | |
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34 eminence | |
n.卓越,显赫;高地,高处;名家 | |
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35 hurl | |
vt.猛投,力掷,声叫骂 | |
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36 inflexible | |
adj.不可改变的,不受影响的,不屈服的 | |
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37 sitting-room | |
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室 | |
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38 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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39 neatly | |
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地 | |
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40 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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41 rustic | |
adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬 | |
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42 sketches | |
n.草图( sketch的名词复数 );素描;速写;梗概 | |
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43 moody | |
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的 | |
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44 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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45 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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46 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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47 aquiline | |
adj.钩状的,鹰的 | |
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48 betokened | |
v.预示,表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49 verged | |
接近,逼近(verge的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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50 obstinacy | |
n.顽固;(病痛等)难治 | |
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51 relentless | |
adj.残酷的,不留情的,无怜悯心的 | |
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52 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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53 drooping | |
adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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54 subdued | |
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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55 rippling | |
起涟漪的,潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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56 linen | |
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的 | |
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57 disdained | |
鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 ); 不屑于做,不愿意做 | |
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58 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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59 likeness | |
n.相像,相似(之处) | |
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60 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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61 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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62 resolute | |
adj.坚决的,果敢的 | |
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63 amiable | |
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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64 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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65 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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66 contented | |
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的 | |
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67 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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68 shrugged | |
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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69 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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70 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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71 mete | |
v.分配;给予 | |
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72 sneeringly | |
嘲笑地,轻蔑地 | |
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73 prospered | |
成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74 penitent | |
adj.后悔的;n.后悔者;忏悔者 | |
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75 tempted | |
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词) | |
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76 justification | |
n.正当的理由;辩解的理由 | |
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77 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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78 clenched | |
v.紧握,抓紧,咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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79 infamous | |
adj.声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的,邪恶的 | |
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80 skilful | |
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的 | |
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81 lurch | |
n.突然向前或旁边倒;v.蹒跚而行 | |
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82 forgery | |
n.伪造的文件等,赝品,伪造(行为) | |
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83 flinch | |
v.畏缩,退缩 | |
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84 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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85 felon | |
n.重罪犯;adj.残忍的 | |
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86 persevered | |
v.坚忍,坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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88 vehemence | |
n.热切;激烈;愤怒 | |
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89 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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90 scorpion | |
n.蝎子,心黑的人,蝎子鞭 | |
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