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Chapter 40
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A STRANGE INTERVIEW, WHICH IS A SEQUEL TO THE LAST CHAMBER1

The girl's life had been squandered2 in the streets, and among the most noisome3 of the stews4 and dens5 of London, but there was something of the woman's original nature left in her still; and when she heard a light step approaching the door opposite to that by which she had entered, and thought of the wide contrast which the small room would in another moment contain, she felt burdened with the sense of her own deep shame, and shrunk as though she could scarcely bear the presence of her with whom she had sought this interview.

But struggling with these better feelings was pride,--the vice6 of the lowest and most debased creatures no less than of the high and self-assured. The miserable7 companion of thieves and ruffians, the fallen outcast of low haunts, the associate of the scourings of the jails and hulks, living within the shadow of the gallows8 itself,--even this degraded being felt too proud to betray a feeble gleam of the womanly feeling which she thought a weakness, but which alone connected her with that humanity, of which her wasting life had obliterated9 so many, many traces when a very child.

She raised her eyes sufficiently10 to observe that the figure which presented itself was that of a slight and beautiful girl; then, bending them on the ground, she tossed her head with affected11 carelessness as she said:

'It's a hard matter to get to see you, lady. If I had taken offence, and gone away, as many would have done, you'd have been sorry for it one day, and not without reason either.'

'I am very sorry if any one has behaved harshly to you,' replied Rose. 'Do not think of that. Tell me why you wished to see me. I am the person you inquired for.'

The kind tone of this answer, the sweet voice, the gentle manner, the absence of any accent of haughtiness12 or displeasure, took the girl completely by surprise, and she burst into tears.

'Oh, lady, lady!' she said, clasping her hands passionately13 before her face, 'if there was more like you, there would be fewer like me,--there would--there would!'

'Sit down,' said Rose, earnestly. 'If you are in poverty or affliction I shall be truly glad to relieve you if I can,--I shall indeed. Sit down.'

'Let me stand, lady,' said the girl, still weeping, 'and do not speak to me so kindly14 till you know me better. It is growing late. Is--is--that door shut?'

'Yes,' said Rose, recoiling15 a few steps, as if to be nearer assistance in case she should require it. 'Why?'

'Because,' said the girl, 'I am about to put my life and the lives of others in your hands. I am the girl that dragged little Oliver back to old Fagin's on the night he went out from the house in Pentonville.'

'You!' said Rose Maylie.

'I, lady!' replied the girl. 'I am the infamous16 creature you have heard of, that lives among the thieves, and that never from the first moment I can recollect17 my eyes and senses opening on London streets have known any better life, or kinder words than they have given me, so help me God! Do not mind shrinking openly from me, lady. I am younger than you would think, to look at me, but I am well used to it. The poorest women fall back, as I make my way along the crowded pavement.'

'What dreadful things are these!' said Rose, involuntarily falling from her strange companion.

'Thank Heaven upon your knees, dear lady,' cried the girl, 'that you had friends to care for and keep you in your childhood, and that you were never in the midst of cold and hunger, and riot and drunkenness, and--and--something worse than all--as I have been from my cradle. I may use the word, for the alley18 and the gutter19 were mine, as they will be my deathbed.'

'I pity you!' said Rose, in a broken voice. 'It wrings20 my heart to hear you!'

'Heaven bless you for your goodness!' rejoined the girl. 'If you knew what I am sometimes, you would pity me, indeed. But I have stolen away from those who would surely murder me, if they knew I had been here, to tell you what I have overheard. Do you know a man named Monks21?'

'No,' said Rose.

'He knows you,' replied the girl; 'and knew you were here, for it was by hearing him tell the place that I found you out.'

'I never heard the name,' said Rose.

'Then he goes by some other amongst us,' rejoined the girl, 'which I more than thought before. Some time ago, and soon after Oliver was put into your house on the night of the robbery, I--suspecting this man--listened to a conversation held between him and Fagin in the dark. I found out, from what I heard, that Monks--the man I asked you about, you know--'

'Yes,' said Rose, 'I understand.'

'--That Monks,' pursued the girl, 'had seen him accidently with two of our boys on the day we first lost him, and had known him directly to be the same child that he was watching for, though I couldn't make out why. A bargain was struck with Fagin, that if Oliver was got back he should have a certain sum; and he was to have more for making him a thief, which this Monks wanted for some purpose of his own.'

'For what purpose?' asked Rose.

'He caught sight of my shadow on the wall as I listened, in the hope of finding out,' said the girl; 'and there are not many people besides me that could have got out of their way in time to escape discovery. But I did; and I saw him no more till last night.'

'And what occurred then?'

'I'll tell you, lady. Last night he came again. Again they went upstairs, and I, wrapping myself up so that my shadow would not betray me, again listened at the door. The first words I heard Monks say were these: "So the only proofs of the boy's identity lie at the bottom of the river, and the old hag that received them from the mother is rotting in her coffin22." They laughed, and talked of his success in doing this; and Monks, talking on about the boy, and getting very wild, said that though he had got the young devil's money safely now, he'd rather have had it the other way; for, what a game it would have been to have brought down the boast of the father's will, by driving him through every jail in town, and then hauling him up for some capital felony which Fagin could easily manage, after having made a good profit of him besides.'

'What is all this!' said Rose.

'The truth, lady, though it comes from my lips,' replied the girl. 'Then, he said, with oaths common enough in my ears, but strange to yours, that if he could gratify his hatred23 by taking the boy's life without bringing his own neck in danger, he would; but, as he couldn't, he'd be upon the watch to meet him at every turn in life; and if he took advantage of his birth and history, he might harm him yet. "In short, Fagin," he says, "Jew as you are, you never laid such snares24 as I'll contrive25 for my young brother, Oliver."'

'His brother!' exclaimed Rose.

'Those were his words,' said Nancy, glancing uneasily round, as she had scarcely ceased to do, since she began to speak, for a vision of Sikes haunted her perpetually. 'And more. When he spoke26 of you and the other lady, and said it seemed contrived27 by Heaven, or the devil, against him, that Oliver should come into your hands, he laughed, and said there was some comfort in that too, for how many thousands and hundreds of thousands of pounds would you not give, if you had them, to know who your two-legged spaniel was.'

'You do not mean,' said Rose, turning very pale, 'to tell me that this was said in earnest?'

'He spoke in hard and angry earnest, if a man ever did,' replied the girl, shaking her head. 'He is an earnest man when his hatred is up. I know many who do worse things; but I'd rather listen to them all a dozen times, than to that Monks once. It is growing late, and I have to reach home without suspicion of having been on such an errand as this. I must get back quickly.'

'But what can I do?' said Rose. 'To what use can I turn this communication without you? Back! Why do you wish to return to companions you paint in such terrible colors? If you repeat this information to a gentleman whom I can summon in an instant from the next room, you can be consigned28 to some place of safety without half an hour's delay.'

'I wish to go back,' said the girl. 'I must go back, because--how can I tell such things to an innocent lady like you?--because among the men I have told you of, there is one: the most desperate among them all; that I can't leave: no, not even to be saved from the life I am leading now.'

'Your having interfered29 in this dear boy's behalf before,' said Rose; 'your coming here, at so great a risk, to tell me what you have heard; your manner, which convinces me of the truth of what you say; your evident contrition30, and sense of shame; all lead me to believe that you might yet be reclaimed31. Oh!' said the earnest girl, folding her hands as the tears coursed down her face, 'do not turn a deaf ear to the entreaties32 of one of your own sex; the first--the first, I do believe, who ever appealed to you in the voice of pity and compassion33. Do hear my words, and let me save you yet, for better things.'

'Lady,' cried the girl, sinking on her knees, 'dear, sweet, angel lady, you _are_ the first that ever blessed me with such words as these, and if I had heard them years ago, they might have turned me from a life of sin and sorrow; but it is too late, it is too late!'

'It is never too late,' said Rose, 'for penitence34 and atonement.'

'It is,' cried the girl, writhing35 in agony of her mind; 'I cannot leave him now! I could not be his death.'

'Why should you be?' asked Rose.

'Nothing could save him,' cried the girl. 'If I told others what I have told you, and led to their being taken, he would be sure to die. He is the boldest, and has been so cruel!'

'Is it possible,' cried Rose, 'that for such a man as this, you can resign every future hope, and the certainty of immediate36 rescue? It is madness.'

'I don't know what it is,' answered the girl; 'I only know that it is so, and not with me alone, but with hundreds of others as bad and wretched as myself. I must go back. Whether it is God's wrath37 for the wrong I have done, I do not know; but I am drawn38 back to him through every suffering and ill usage; and I should be, I believe, if I knew that I was to die by his hand at last.'

'What am I to do?' said Rose. 'I should not let you depart from me thus.'

'You should, lady, and I know you will,' rejoined the girl, rising. 'You will not stop my going because I have trusted in your goodness, and forced no promise from you, as I might have done.'

'Of what use, then, is the communication you have made?' said Rose. 'This mystery must be investigated, or how will its disclosure to me, benefit Oliver, whom you are anxious to serve?'

'You must have some kind gentleman about you that will hear it as a secret, and advise you what to do,' rejoined the girl.

'But where can I find you again when it is necessary?' asked Rose. 'I do not seek to know where these dreadful people live, but where will you be walking or passing at any settled period from this time?'

'Will you promise me that you will have my secret strictly39 kept, and come alone, or with the only other person that knows it; and that I shall not be watched or followed?' asked the girl.

'I promise you solemnly,' answered Rose.

'Every Sunday night, from eleven until the clock strikes twelve,' said the girl without hesitation40, 'I will walk on London Bridge if I am alive.'

'Stay another moment,' interposed Rose, as the girl moved hurriedly towards the door. 'Think once again on your own condition, and the opportunity you have of escaping from it. You have a claim on me: not only as the voluntary bearer of this intelligence, but as a woman lost almost beyond redemption. Will you return to this gang of robbers, and to this man, when a word can save you? What fascination41 is it that can take you back, and make you cling to wickedness and misery42? Oh! is there no chord in your heart that I can touch! Is there nothing left, to which I can appeal against this terrible infatuation!'

'When ladies as young, and good, and beautiful as you are,' replied the girl steadily43, 'give away your hearts, love will carry you all lengths--even such as you, who have home, friends, other admirers, everything, to fill them. When such as I, who have no certain roof but the coffinlid, and no friend in sickness or death but the hospital nurse, set our rotten hearts on any man, and let him fill the place that has been a blank through all our wretched lives, who can hope to cure us? Pity us, lady--pity us for having only one feeling of the woman left, and for having that turned, by a heavy judgment44, from a comfort and a pride, into a new means of violence and suffering.'

'You will,' said Rose, after a pause, 'take some money from me, which may enable you to live without dishonesty--at all events until we meet again?'

'Not a penny,' replied the girl, waving her hand.

'Do not close your heart against all my efforts to help you,' said Rose, stepping gently forward. 'I wish to serve you indeed.'

'You would serve me best, lady,' replied the girl, wringing45 her hands, 'if you could take my life at once; for I have felt more grief to think of what I am, to-night, than I ever did before, and it would be something not to die in the hell in which I have lived. God bless you, sweet lady, and send as much happiness on your head as I have brought shame on mine!'

Thus speaking, and sobbing46 aloud, the unhappy creature turned away; while Rose Maylie, overpowered by this extraordinary interview, which had more the semblance47 of a rapid dream than an actual occurrence, sank into a chair, and endeavoured to collect her wandering thoughts.


    南希姑娘混迹于伦敦的街头巷尾,一生都在最下流的藏污纳垢之所度过,然而她身上仍留下了女子天性中的某种东西。听到一阵轻快的脚步声朝着与她进来的那扇门相对的的另一扇门走来,想到这个小小的房间马上就要呈现出鲜明的对比,她觉得有一种深惭形秽的意识压在自己心上,不由得缩成一团,似乎简直不敢与她求见的那个人会面似的。

    与这些比较纯真的感情抗衡的却是自尊――这种毛病在最下流、最卑劣的人身上也并不比地位高、自信心强的人逊色。她是一个与小偷、恶棍为伍的可怜虫,沦落风尘的浪女,与那些在绞刑台本身的阴影之下冲洗牢房监舍的家伙相伴――就连这样一个堕落的人也有一份自尊,不愿流露出一丝女性的情感,她把这种情感看成软弱,但唯有这种情感将她与人性连接起来了,从她的孩提时代开始,无法无天的生活已经抹去了人性的许许多多痕迹。

    她抬起眼睛,刚够看到一个苗条、漂亮的姑娘出现在面前,随即把目光转向地上,装出漫不经心的样子摇了摇头,说话了:

    “要见到你可真是不容易,小姐。我要是发起火来,走了――很多人都会这样的――总有一天你会后悔,而且不是平白无故的后悔。”

    “我非常抱歉,如果有谁对你失礼的话,”露丝回答,“不要那样想,告诉我,你为什么要见我。我就是你要找的人。”

    对方这种体贴的语调,柔和的声音,落落大方的态度,丝毫没有傲慢或者厌恶的口吻,完全出乎南希姑娘的预料,她哇的一声哭了出来。

    “噢,小姐,小姐!”她双手十指交叉,感情冲动地说,“要是你这样的人多一些,我这样的就会少几个了――是这样的――是这样的。”

    “请坐,”露丝恳切地说,“如果你缺少什么,或者有什么不幸,我一定真心诚意帮助你,只要我办得到――真的。请坐。”

    “让我站着,小姐,”南希边说边哭,“你跟我说话别那样客气,你还不怎么了解我呢,那――那――那扇门关了没有?”

    “已经关上了,”露丝说着,后退了几步,好像是万一需要呼救,别人更便于接应似的。“怎么回事?”

    “因为,”南希姑娘说道,“我就要把我的命,还有别人的命交到你手里。我就是把小奥立弗拖回老费金家里去的那个姑娘,就是他从本顿维尔那所房子里出来的那个晚上。”

    “你?”露丝梅莱说道。

    “是我,小姐。”姑娘回答,“我就是你已经听说的那个不要脸的东西,跟盗贼一块鬼混,自从我回忆得起走上伦敦街头的那一瞬间以来,我就没过一天好日子,没听到一句好话,他们让我怎么活我就怎么活,他们说什么就是什么,上帝啊,求求你保佑我。小姐,你只管离我远一点,我不会在意。我的年龄比你凭眼睛看的要小一些,我早就不把这些当回事了。我走在拥挤的人行道上,连最穷的女人都直往后退。”

    “真可怕。”露丝说着,不由自主地从陌生的来客身边退开了。

    “跪下感谢上帝吧,亲爱的小姐,”姑娘哭喊着,“你从小就有亲人关心你照看你,从来没有受冻挨饿,没经历过胡作非为喝酒闹事的场面,还有――还有比这更坏的事――这些事我在摇篮里就习惯了。我可以用这个词,小胡同和阴沟既然是我的摇篮,将来还会作我的灵床。”

    “有我同情你。”露丝已经语不成声,“你的话把我的心都绞碎了。”

    “愿上帝保佑你的好心。”姑娘回答,“你要是知道我有时候干的事情,你会同情我的,真的。我好歹溜出来了,那些人要是知道我在这儿,把我偷听来的话告诉了你,准会杀了我。你认不认识一个叫孟可司的男人?”

    “不认识。”露丝说。

    “他认识你,”姑娘答道,“还知道你住在这儿,我就是听他提起这地方才找到你的。”

    “我从来没听说过这个名字。”露丝说道。

    “那一定是我们那伙人告诉他的,”姑娘继续说道,“我先前也想到过。前一阵,就是奥立弗因为那次打劫给带到你们家那天晚上过了没有多久,我――怀疑这个人――我暗地里听到了他同费金之间进行的一次谈话。根据我听到的事,我发现孟可司――就是我向你问起的那个男人,你知道――”

    “是的,”露丝说道,“我明白。”

    “――孟可司,”姑娘接着说道,“偶然看见奥立弗跟我们那儿的两个男孩在一起,那是在我们头一回丢掉他的那一天,他一下子就认出来了,他自己正在等的就是那个孩子,可我弄不清是怎么回事。他和费金谈成了一笔买卖,一旦把奥立弗给弄回来了,费金可以拿到一笔钱,要是把他培养成了一个贼,往后还可以拿到更多的钱,那个孟可司有他自己的目的,需要这么做。”

    “什么目的?”露丝问。

    “我正在偷听,指望着把事情搞清楚,可他一眼看见我在墙上的影子,”姑娘说道,“除了我,能及时逃走,不被他们发现的人可不多。但我躲过了,昨天晚上我又看见他了。”

    “当时发生了什么事?”

    “我这就告诉你,小姐。他昨天晚上又来了。他们照老样上楼去了,我把自己裹了个严严实实,免得影子把我给暴露了,又到门口去偷听。我听到孟可司一开头就说:‘就这样,仅有的几样能够确定那孩子身份的证据掉到河底去了,从他母亲那儿把东西弄到手的那个老妖婆正在棺材里腐烂哩。’他们笑起来了,说他这一手干得漂亮。孟可司呢,一提起那个孩子,就变得非常野蛮,说他眼下算是把那个小鬼的钱太太平平弄到手了,不过他宁愿用别的办法拿到这笔钱。因为,如果能把他送进伦敦的每一个监狱去泡一泡,等费金在奥立弗身上结结实实发一笔财,之后再轻而易举让他犯下某一种死罪,弄到绞刑架上挂起来,把他父亲在遗嘱中夸下的海口捅个稀巴烂,那才带劲呢。”

    “这究竟是怎么回事?”露丝越听越糊涂。

    “完全是事实,小姐,尽管是出自我的日中,”姑娘回答,“――当时,他一个劲地骂,我听上去挺平常的,你肯定没有听到过,他说,一方面要取那孩子的命,另一方面他自己又不必冒上绞刑架的危险,他才能消心头之恨。可是因为做不到,他必须盯住奥立弗生活中的每一个转折关头,只要利用一下那孩子的身世和经历,还有机会收拾他。‘说简单点,费金,’他说,‘你虽然是犹太人,可还从来没有布置过像我替我的小兄弟奥立弗设下的这种圈套呢。”’

    “他的兄弟!”露丝叫了起来。

    “那是他说的,”南希说着,提心吊胆地看了看四周,从开始说话起,赛克斯的影子就在她的眼前时隐时现,害得她不停地四顾张望。“还有呢。他提到你和另外一位女士的时候说,简直就是上帝或者说魔鬼有心跟他过不去,奥立弗才落到你们手中。他哈哈大笑,说这事也有几分乐趣,你们为了弄清楚你们那只两条腿的哈巴狗是谁,就是出几千镑几万镑,你们也是肯的,只要你们有。”

    “你该不是说,”露丝的脸色变得一片煞白,“这话当真?”

    “他说得咬牙切齿,怒气冲天,再认真不过了,”姑娘摇了摇头,回答道,“他仇恨心一上来,从不开玩笑。我认识许多人,干的事情还要坏,可我宁愿听他们讲个十回八回,也不愿意听那个孟可司讲一回。天晚了,我还得赶回家去,别让人家疑心我为这事出来过。我得马上回去。”

    “可我能做些什么呢?”露丝说,“你走了,我怎么根据这个消息采取措施呢?回来,回来,既然你把同伴描绘得那样可怕,那你干吗还要回那儿去?我马上可以把隔壁一位先生叫来,只要你把这个消息再对他讲一遍,要不了半个小时你就能够转到某一个安全的地方去了。”

    “干吗回去?”姑娘说,“我必须回去,因为――这种事我怎么对你这样纯洁的小姐说呢?――在我向你讲到的那些人中间有一个,他们当中最无法无天的一个,我离不开他――是的,哪怕能够摆脱我现在过的这种生活,我也离不开他。”

    “你曾经保护过这可爱的孩子,”露丝说道,“为了把你听来的话告诉我,你冒着这么大的危险来到这里,你的态度打动了我,我相信你说的都是事实。你的悔恨和羞愧感都是明摆着的,这一切无不使我相信,你完全可以重新作人。啊!”热心的露丝姑娘双手合在一起,泪水顺着面颊不住地往下淌。“我也是一个女子,不要对我的恳求充耳不闻。我是第一个――我敢肯定,我是第一个向你表示同情的人。听听我的话,让我来挽救你,你还可以做一些有益的事情。”

    “小姐,”姑娘双膝跪下,哭喊着,“可亲可爱的天使小姐,你是头一个用这样的话为我祝福的人,我要是几年以前听到这些话,或许还可以摆脱罪孽而又不幸的生活。可现在太晚了――太晚了。”

    “仟悔和赎罪永远也不会嫌晚。”露丝说道。

    “太晚了,”姑娘的内心痛苦不堪,哭着说,“我现在不能丢下他。我不愿意叫他去送死。”

    “那怎么会呢?”露丝问。

    “他没得救了,”姑娘大声说,“如果我把对你讲的话告诉别人,让他们都给抓起来,他必死无疑。他是最大胆的一个,又那样残忍。”

    “为了这样一个人,”露丝嚷了起来,“你怎么能舍弃未来的一切希望,舍弃近在眼前的获救机会呢?你这是在发疯。”

    “我不明白是怎么回事,”姑娘回答,“我只知道本来就是这样,不光我一个人,还有成百上千个和我一样堕落的苦命人也是这样。我必须回去。我不知道这是不是上帝在惩罚我犯下的罪过,但就是受尽痛苦、虐待,我也要回到他那儿去,而且我相信,哪怕知道自己最终会死在他手里,我也要回去。”

    “我该怎么办呢?”露丝说道,“我不应该让你就这样离开我。”

    “你应该,小姐,我知道你会让我走的,”姑娘站起来,回答说,“你不会不让我走,因为我相信你的好心,我也没有逼你答应我,尽管我本来可以那样做。”

    “那,你带来这个消息又有什么用?”露丝说道,“其中的秘密必须调查清楚,你一心要搭救奥立弗,才把事情透露给我,我怎么才能帮助他呢?”

    “你身边准有一位好心的绅士,他听到这件事能保守秘密,并且建议你该怎么办。”姑娘回答。

    “可到了必要的时候我上哪儿找你呢?”露丝问道,“我不想打听那些个可怕的人住在什么地方,可你往后能不能在哪一个固定的时间在什么地方散步或者是经过呢?”

    “你能不能答应我,你一定严守秘密,你一个人,或者是跟唯一知道这事的人一块儿来,并且我不会受到监视、盯梢什么的?”

    “我向你郑重保证。”

    “每个礼拜天的晚上,从十一点到敲十二点之间,”姑娘毫不迟疑地说,“只要我还活着,准在伦敦桥上散步。”

    “等一下,”露丝见姑娘急步朝房门走去,赶紧说道,“再考虑考虑你自己的处境,这是你摆脱这种处境的机会。你可以向我提出要求,不单单是因为你主动带来了这个消息,而且因为你作为一个女子,几乎已经到了山穷水尽的地步:明明一句话就可以使你得救,你难道还是要回到那帮强盗那儿去,回到那个人那儿去吗?这是一种什么魔力,居然可以把你拉回去,重新投入邪恶与苦难的深渊?噢!你心里就没有一根弦是我能够触动的吗?难道没有留下一点良知让我可以激发起来,打破这种可怕的痴情?”

    “像你这样年轻,心眼好,人又长得漂亮的小姐,”南希镇定地回答,“一旦你们把心交给了男人,爱情也会把你们带到天涯海角――甚至连像你这样有一个家,有朋友,还有别的崇拜者,要什么有什么的人,也是一样的。我这号人,除了棺材盖,连个屋顶都没有,生了病或者临死的时候身边只有医院的护士,没有一个朋友,我们把一颗烂掉的心随便交给哪个男人,让他填上在我们苦命的一生中始终空着的位置,谁还能指望搭救我们呢?可怜可怜吧,小姐――可怜一下我们,要知道,我们只剩下这点女人的感情了,而这点感情本来可以使人感到欣慰、骄傲的,可是由于无情的天意也变成了新的折磨和痛苦。”

    “你要不要,”露丝顿了一下说,“从我这儿拿点钱,你可以正正当当地活下去――无论如何也要挨到我们重新见面,好吗?”

    “我绝不接受一个铜子。”南希连连摆手,答道。

    “请不要拒人于千里之外,”露丝说着,诚恳地走上前去,“我真的愿意为你尽力。”

    “假如你能马上结束我的生命,小姐,”姑娘绞扭着双手,回答,“就是为我大大尽了力了。今天晚上,想起我干的那些事,我比以往什么时候都要伤心,我一直生活在地狱里,死后能够不进那个地狱已经不错了。上帝保佑你,可爱的小姐,愿你得到的幸福和我蒙受的耻辱一样多。”

    这个不幸的姑娘就这样一边说,一边大声抽噎着离去了。这一次非同寻常的会见与其说像一件实实在在的事情,不如说更像来去匆匆的一场梦,不堪重负的露丝梅莱倒在椅子上,竭力想把纷乱的思想理出一个头绪。


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
2 squandered 330b54102be0c8433b38bee15e77b58a     
v.(指钱,财产等)浪费,乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
  • She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气,好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘(部分)
3 noisome nHPxy     
adj.有害的,可厌的
参考例句:
  • The air is infected with noisome gases.空气受到了有害气体的污染。
  • I destroy all noisome and rank weeds ,I keep down all pestilent vapours.我摧毁了一切丛生的毒草,控制一切有害的烟雾。
4 stews 8db84c7e84a0cddb8708371799912099     
n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 );烦恼,焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 );煨;思考;担忧
参考例句:
  • Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句
5 dens 10262f677bcb72a856e3e1317093cf28     
n.牙齿,齿状部分;兽窝( den的名词复数 );窝点;休息室;书斋
参考例句:
  • Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
  • In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句
6 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
7 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
8 gallows UfLzE     
n.绞刑架,绞台
参考例句:
  • The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
  • Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。
9 obliterated 5b21c854b61847047948152f774a0c94     
v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 );涂去;擦掉;彻底破坏或毁灭
参考例句:
  • The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
  • He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝,喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 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。
11 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
12 haughtiness drPz4U     
n.傲慢;傲气
参考例句:
  • Haughtiness invites disaster,humility receives benefit. 满招损,谦受益。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Finally he came to realize it was his haughtiness that held people off. 他终于意识到是他的傲慢态度使人不敢同他接近。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 passionately YmDzQ4     
ad.热烈地,激烈地
参考例句:
  • She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿,也能爱得一往情深。
  • He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。
14 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
15 recoiling 6efc6419f5752ebc2e0d555d78bafc15     
v.畏缩( recoil的现在分词 );退缩;报应;返回
参考例句:
  • Some of the energy intended for the photon is drained off by the recoiling atom. 原来给予光子的能量有一部分为反冲原子所消耗。 来自辞典例句
  • A second method watches for another effect of the recoiling nucleus: ionization. 探测器使用的第二种方法,是观察反冲原子核的另一种效应:游离。 来自互联网
16 infamous K7ax3     
adj.声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的,邪恶的
参考例句:
  • He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
  • I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。
17 recollect eUOxl     
v.回忆,想起,记起,忆起,记得
参考例句:
  • He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
  • She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。
18 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
19 gutter lexxk     
n.沟,街沟,水槽,檐槽,贫民窟
参考例句:
  • There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
  • He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活,并成为贵妇。
20 wrings 5251ad9fc1160540f5befd9b114fe94b     
绞( wring的第三人称单数 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水)
参考例句:
  • And so that interview Between Lucie and Sydney Carton has a pathos that wrings our hearts. 因此,露西和西德尼·卡登之间的会晤带有一种使我们感到揪心的凄楚的气氛。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
  • The girl wrings her dress dry. 这个女孩子扭乾她的衣服。
21 monks 218362e2c5f963a82756748713baf661     
n.修道士,僧侣( monk的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
  • He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 coffin XWRy7     
n.棺材,灵柩
参考例句:
  • When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
  • The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
23 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨
参考例句:
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
24 snares ebae1da97d1c49a32d8b910a856fed37     
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:
  • He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子,也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句
25 contrive GpqzY     
vt.谋划,策划;设法做到;设计,想出
参考例句:
  • Can you contrive to be here a little earlier?你能不能早一点来?
  • How could you contrive to make such a mess of things?你怎么把事情弄得一团糟呢?
26 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。
27 contrived ivBzmO     
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的
参考例句:
  • There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
  • The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。
28 consigned 9dc22c154336e2c50aa2b71897ceceed     
v.把…置于(令人不快的境地)( consign的过去式和过去分词 );把…托付给;把…托人代售;丟弃
参考例句:
  • I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
  • The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
29 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 contrition uZGy3     
n.悔罪,痛悔
参考例句:
  • The next day he'd be full of contrition,weeping and begging forgiveness.第二天,他就会懊悔不已,哭着乞求原谅。
  • She forgave him because his contrition was real.她原谅了他是由于他的懊悔是真心的。
31 reclaimed d131e8b354aef51857c9c380c825a4c9     
adj.再生的;翻造的;收复的;回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 );要求收回;从废料中回收(有用的材料);挽救
参考例句:
  • Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
32 entreaties d56c170cf2a22c1ecef1ae585b702562     
n.恳求,乞求( entreaty的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He began with entreaties and ended with a threat. 他先是恳求,最后是威胁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves. 暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 compassion 3q2zZ     
n.同情,怜悯
参考例句:
  • He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
  • Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
34 penitence guoyu     
n.忏悔,赎罪;悔过
参考例句:
  • The thief expressed penitence for all his past actions. 那盗贼对他犯过的一切罪恶表示忏悔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Of penitence, there has been none! 可是悔过呢,还一点没有! 来自英汉文学 - 红字
35 writhing 8e4d2653b7af038722d3f7503ad7849c     
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
  • He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。
36 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
37 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
38 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
39 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
40 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
41 fascination FlHxO     
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋
参考例句:
  • He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
  • His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
42 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
43 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
44 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
45 wringing 70c74d76c2d55027ff25f12f2ab350a9     
淋湿的,湿透的
参考例句:
  • He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。
  • He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。
46 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句:
  • I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
  • Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。
47 semblance Szcwt     
n.外貌,外表
参考例句:
  • Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
  • Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。


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