Chapter 6

1954-1965 Dane"Well," said Justine to her mother, "I've decided¹ what I'm going to do." "I thought it was already decided. Artsat Sydney University, isn't that right?""Oh, that was just a red herring to lull³ you into a false sense of security while I made my plans. But now it's allset, so I can tell you." Meggie's head came up from her task, cutting fir-tree shapes in cookie dough⁴; Mrs. Smithwas ill and they were helping⁵ out in the cookhouse. She regarded her daughter wearily, impatiently, helplessly.

What could one do with someone like Justine? If she announced she was going off to train as a whore in aSydney bordello, Meggie very much doubted whether she could be turned aside. Dear, horrible Justine, queenamong juggernauts.

"Go on, I'm all agog," she said, and went back to producing cookies. "I'm going to be an actress.""A what?""An actress.""Good Lord!" The fir trees were abandoned again. "Look, Justine, I hate to be a spoilsport and truly I don'tmean to hurt your feelings, but do you think you're-well, quite physically⁷ equipped to be an actress?" "Oh,Mum!" said Justine, disgusted. "Not a film star; an actress! I don't want to wiggle my hips⁹ and stick out mybreasts and pout¹⁰ my wet lips! I want to act." She was pushing chunks¹¹ of defatted beef into the corning barrel. "Ihave enough money to support myself during whatever sort of training I choose, isn't that right?""Yes, thanks to Cardinal¹² de Bricassart.""Then it's all settled. I'm going to study acting¹³ with Albert Jones at the Culloden Theater, and I've written to theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, asking that I be put on their waiting list.""Are you quite sure, Jussy?""Quite sure. I've known for a long time." The last piece of bloody¹⁵ beef was tucked down under the surface ofthe corning solution; Justine put the lid on the barrel with a thump¹⁶. "There! I hope I never see another bit ofcorned beef as long as I live."Meggie handed her a completed tray of cookies. "Put these in the oven, would you? Four hundred degrees. Imust say this comes as something of a surprise. I thought little girls who wanted to be actresses roleplayedconstantly, but the only person I've ever seen you play has been yourself." "Oh, Mum! There you go again,confusing film stars with actresses. Honestly, you're hopeless.""Well, aren't film stars actresses?""Of a very inferior sort. Unless they've been on the stage first, that is. I mean, even Laurence Olivier does anoccasional film."There was an autographed picture of Laurence Olivier on Justine's dressing¹⁸ table; Meggie had simply deemed itjuvenile crush stuff, though at the time she remembered thinking at least Justine had taste. The friends shesometimes brought home with her to stay a few days usually treasured pictures of Tab Hunter and RoryCalhoun. "I still don't understand," said Meggie, shaking her head. "An actress!" Justine shrugged²¹. "Well, whereelse can I scream and yell and howl but on a stage? I'm not allowed to do any of those here, or at school, oranywhere! I like screaming and yelling and howling, dammit!" "But you're so good at art, Jussy! Why not be anartist?" Meggie persevered²².

Justine turned from the huge gas stove, flicked²³ her finger against a cylinder²⁵ gauge²⁶. "I must tell the kitchenrouseabout to change bottles; we're low. It'll do for today, though." The light eyes surveyed Meggie with pity.

"You're so impractical²⁷, Mum, really. I thought it was supposed to be the children who didn't stop to consider acareer's practical aspects. Let me tell you, I don't want to starve to death in a garret and be famous after I'm dead.

I want to enjoy a bit of fame while I'm still alive, and be very comfortable financially. So I'll paint as a hobbyand act for a living. How's that?""You've got an income from Drogheda, Jussy," Meggie said desperately²⁸, breaking her vow²⁹ to remain silent nomatter what. "It would never come to starving in a garret. If you'd rather paint, it's all right. You can." Justinelooked alert, interested. "How much have I got, Mum?" "Enough that if you preferred, you need never work atanything." "What a bore! I'd end up talking on the telephone and playing bridge; at least that's what the mothersof most of my school friends do. Because I'd be living in Sydney, not on Drogheda. I like Sydney much betterthan Drogheda." A gleam of hope entered her eye. "Do I have enough to pay to have my freckles³⁰ removed withthis new electrical treatment?""I should think so. But why?""Because then someone might see my face, that's why."I thought looks didn't matter to an actress?""Enough's enough, Mum. My freckles are a pain.""Are you sure you wouldn't rather be an artist?" "Quite sure, thank you." She did a little dance. "I'm going totread the boards, Mrs. Worthington!""How did you get yourself into the Culloden?" "I auditioned³².""And they took you?""Your faith in your daughter is touching³³, Mum. Of course they took me! I'm superb, you know. One day I shallbe very famous."Meggie beat green food coloring into a bowl of runny icing and began to drizzle³⁴ it over already baked fir trees.

"Is it important to you, Justine? Fame?""I should say so." She tipped sugar in on top of butter so soft it had molded itself to the inner contours of thebowl; in spite of the gas stove instead of the wood stove, the cookhouse was very hot. "I'm absolutely iron-bounddetermined to be famous.""Don't you want to get married?"Justine looked scornful. "Not bloody likely! Spend my life wiping snotty noses and cacky bums³⁶? Salaaming³⁷ tosome man not half my equal even though he thinks he's better? Ho ho ho, not me!""Honestly, you're the dizzy limit! Where do you pick up your language?" Justine began cracking eggs rapidlyand deftly³⁸ into a basin, using one hand. "At my exclusive ladies" college, of course." She drubbed the eggsunmercifully with a French whisk. "We were quite a decent bunch of girls, actually. Very cultured. It isn't everygaggle of silly adolescent females can appreciate the delicacy⁴⁰ of a Latin limerick:

There was a Roman from Vinidium Whose shirt was made of iridium;When asked why the vest, He replied, "Id est Bonum sanguinem praesidium."Meggie's lips twitched⁴¹. "I'm going to hate myself for asking, but what did the Roman say?" was "It's a bloodygood protection." his"Is that all? I thought it was going to be a lot worse. You surprise me. But getting back to what we were saying,dear girl, in spite of your neat effort to change the subject, what's wrong with marriage?" Justine imitated hergrandmother's rare snort of ironic⁴² laughter. "Mum! Really! You're a fine one to ask that, I must say."Meggie felt the blood well up under her skin, and looked down at the tray of bright-green trees. "Don't beimpertinent, even if you are a ripe old seventeen.""Isn't it odd?" Justine asked the mixing bowl. "The minute one ventures onto strictly⁴⁴ parental⁴⁵ territory, onebecomes impertinent. I just said: You're a fine one to ask. Perfectly⁴⁶ true, dammit! I'm not necessarily implyingyou're a failure, or a sinner, or worse. Actually I think you've shown remarkable⁴⁷ good sense, dispensing⁴⁸ withyour husband. What have you needed one for? There's been tons of male influence for your children with theUnks around, you've got enough money to live on. I agree with you! Marriage is for the birds.""You're just like your father!""Another evasion⁴⁹. Whenever I displease⁵⁰ you, I become just like my father. Well, I'll have to take your word forthat, since I've never laid eyes on the gentleman.""When are you leaving?" Meggie asked desperately. Justine grinned. "Can't wait to get rid of me, eh? It's allright, Mum, I don't blame you in the least. But I can't help it, I just love shocking people, especially you. Hewabout taking me into the 'drome tomorrow?" "Make it the day after. Tomorrow I'll take you to the bank. You'dbetter know how much you've got. And, Justine . . ." Justine was adding flour and folding expertly, but shelooked up at the change in her mother's voice. "Yes.

"If ever you're in trouble, come home, please. We've always got room for you on Drogheda, I want you toremember that. Nothing you could ever do would be so bad you couldn't come home."Justine's gaze softened⁵². "Thanks, Mum. You're not a bad old stick underneath⁵⁴, are you?""Old?" gasped⁵⁵ Meggie. "I am not old! I'm only forty-three!" "Good Lord, as much as that?"Meggie hurled⁵⁷ a cookie and hit Justine on the nose. "Oh, you wretch⁵⁸!" she laughed. "What a monster you are!

Now I feel like a hundred."Her daughter grinned.

At which moment Fee walked in to see how things in the cookhouse were going; Meggie hailed her arrival withrelief.

"Mum, do you know what Justine just told me?" Fee's eyes were no longer up to anything beyond the uttermosteffort of keeping the books, but the mind at back of those smudged pupils was as acute as ever.

"How could I possibly know what Justine just told you?" she inquired mildly, regarding the green cookies witha slight shudder⁵⁹. "Because sometimes it strikes me that you and Jussy have little secrets from me, and now, themoment my daughter finishes telling me her news, in you walk when you never do.""Mmmmmm, at least they taste better than they look," commented Fee, nibbling⁶¹. "I assure you, Meggie, I don'tencourage your daughter to conspire⁶² with me behind your back. What have you done to upset the applecart now,Justine?" she asked, turning to where Justine was pouring her sponge mixture into greased and floured tins. "Itold Mum I was going to be an actress, Nanna, that's all." "That's all, eh? Is it true, or only one of your dubiousjokes?" "Oh, it's true. I'm starting at the Culloden.""Well, well, well!" said Fee, leaning against the table and surveying her own daughter ironically. "Isn't itamazing how children have minds of their own, Meggie?"Meggie didn't answer.

"Do you disapprove⁶⁴, Nanna?" Justine growled⁶⁵, ready to do battle. "I? Disapprove? It's none of my businesswhat you do with your life, Justine. Besides, I think you'll make a good actress.""You do?" gasped Meggie.

"Of course she will," said Fee. "Justine's not the sort to choose unwisely, are you, my girl?""No." Justine grinned, pushing a damp curl out of her eye. Meggie watched her regarding her grandmother withan affection she never seemed to extend to her mother.

"You're a good girl, Justine," Fee pronounced, and finished the cookie she had started so unenthusiastically.

"Not bad at all, but I wish you'd iced them in white.""You can't ice trees in white," Meggie contradicted. "Of course you can when they're firs; it might be snow,"her mother said. "Too late now, they're vomit⁶⁶ green," laughed Justine. "Justine!""Ooops! Sorry, Mum, didn't mean to offend you. I always forget you've got a weak stomach.""I haven't got a weak stomach," said Meggie, exasperated⁶⁸. "I came to see if there was any chance of a cuppa,"Fee broke in, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Put on the kettle, Justine, like a good girl."Meggie sat down, too. "Do you really think this will work out for Justine, Mum?" she asked anxiously.

"Why shouldn't it?" Fee answered, watching her granddaughter attending to the tea ritual.

"It might be a passing phase.""Is it a passing phase, Justine?" Fee asked.

"No," Justine said tersely⁶⁹, putting cups and saucers on the old green kitchen table.

"Use a plate for the biscuits, Justine, don't put them out in their barrel," said Meggie automatically, "and forpity's sake don't dump the whole milk can on the table, put some in a proper afternoon tea jug⁶." "Yes, Mum,sorry, Mum," Justine responded, equally mechanically. "Can't see the point of frills in the kitchen. All I've got todo is put whatever isn't eaten back where it came from, and wash up a couple of extra dishes." "Just do as you'retold; it's so much nicer.""Getting back to the subject," Fee pursued, "I don't think there's anything to discuss. It's my opinion that Justineought to be allowed to try, and will probably do very well.""I wish I could be so sure," said Meggie glumly⁷⁰. "Have you been on about fame and glory, Justine?" hergrandmother demanded. "They enter the picture," said Justine, putting the old brown kitchen teapot on the tabledefiantly and sitting down in a hurry. "Now don't complain, Mum; I'm not making tea in a silver pot for thekitchen and that's final.""The teapot is perfectly appropriate." Meggie smiled. "Oh, that's good! There's nothing like a nice cup of tea,"sighed Fee, sipping⁷². "Justine, why do you persist in putting things to your mother so badly? You know it isn't aquestion of fame and fortune. It's a question of self, isn't it?""Self, Nanna?""Of course. Self. Acting is what you feel you were meant to do, isn't that right?""Yes.""Then why couldn't you have explained it so to your mother? Why upset her with a lot of flippant nonsense?"Justine shrugged, drank her tea down and pushed the empty cup toward her mother for more. "Dunno," she said.

"I-dont-know," Fee corrected. "You'll articulate properly on the stage, I trust. But self is why you want to be anactress, isn't it?" "I suppose so," answered Justine reluctantly. "Oh, that stubborn, pigheaded Cleary pride! It willbe your downfall, too, Justine, unless you learn to rule it. That stupid fear of being laughed at, or held up to somesort of ridicule⁷³. Though why you think your mother would be so cruel I don't know." She tapped Justine on theback of her hand. "Give a little, Justine; cooperate."But Justine shook her head and said, "I can't."Fee sighed. "Well, for what earthly good it will do you, child, you have my blessing⁷⁴ on your enterprise.""Ta, Nanna, I appreciate it.""Then kindly⁷⁵ show your appreciation⁷⁶ in a concrete fashion by finding your uncle Frank and telling him there'stea in the kitchen, please." Justine went off, and Meggie stared at Fee.

"Mum, you're amazing, you really are."Fee smiled. "Well, you have to admit I never tried to tell any of my children what to do.""No, you never did," said Meggie tenderly. "We did appreciate it, too."The first thing Justine did when she arrived back in Sydney was begin to have her freckles removed. Not aquick process, unfortunately; she had so many it would take about twelve months, and then she would have tostay out of the sun for the rest of her life, or they would come back. The second thing she did was to find herselfan apartment, no mean feat⁷⁷ in Sydney at that time, when people built private homes and regarded living en massein buildings as anathema⁷⁸. But eventually she found a two-room fiat⁷⁹ in Neutral Bay, in one of the huge oldwaterside Victorian mansions⁸⁰ which had fallen on hard times and been made over into dingy⁸¹ semi-apartments.

The rent was five pounds ten shillings a week, outrageous⁸² considering that the bathroom and kitchen werecommunal, shared by all the tenants⁸⁵: However, Justine was quite satisfied. Though she had been well traineddomestically, she had few homemaker instincts.

Living in Bothwell Gardens was more fascinating than her acting apprenticeship⁸⁷ at the Culloden, where lifeseemed to consist in skulking⁸⁸ behind scenery and watching other people rehearse, getting an occasional walk-on,memorizing masses of Shakespeare, Shaw and Sheridan. Including Justine's, Bothwell Gardens had six flats, plusMrs. Devine the landlady⁸⁹. Mrs. Devine was a sixty-five-year-old Londoner with a doleful sniff⁹⁰, protruding⁹¹ eyesand a great contempt for Australia and Australians, though she wasn't above robbing them. Her chief concern inlife seemed to be how much gas and electricity cost, and her chief weakness was Justine's next-door neighbor, ayoung Englishman who exploited his nationality cheerfully.

"I don't mind giving the old duck an occasional tickle⁹³ while we reminisce," he told Justine. "Keeps her off myback, you know. You girls aren't allowed to run electric radiators⁹⁴ even in winter, but I was given one and I'mallowed to run it all summer as well if I feel like it.""Pig," said Justine dispassionately.

His name was Peter Wilkins, and he was a traveling salesman. "Come in and I'll make you a nice cuppasometime," he called after her, rather taken with those pale, intriguing⁹⁷ eyes. Justine did, careful not to choose atime when Mrs. Devine was lurking⁹⁸ jealously about, and got quite used to fighting Peter off. The years of ridingand working on Drogheda had endowed her with considerable strength, and she was untroubled by shibbolethslike hitting below the belt. "God damn you, Justine!" gasped Peter, wiping the tears of pain from his eyes. "Givein, girl! You've got to lose it sometime, you know! This isn't Victorian England, you aren't expected to save it formarriage." "I have no intention of saving it for marriage," she answered, adjusting her dress. "I'm just not surewho's going to get the honor, that's all." "You're nothing to write home about!" he snapped nastily; she had reallyhurt.

"No, that I'm not. Sticks and stones, Pete. You can't hurt me with words. And there are plenty of men who willshag anything if it's a virgin⁹⁹." "Plenty of women, too! Watch the front flat.""Oh, I do, I do," said Justine.

The two girls in the front flat were lesbians, and had hailed Justine's advent¹⁰⁰ gleefully until they realized she notonly wasn't interested, she wasn't even intrigued¹⁰¹. At first she wasn't quite sure what they were hinting at, but afterthey spelled it out baldly she shrugged her shoulders, unimpressed. Thus after a period of adjustment she becametheir sounding board, their neutral confidante, their port in all storms; she bailed¹⁰² Billie out of jail, took Bobbie tothe Mater hospital to have her stomach pumped out after a particularly bad quarrel with Billie, refused to takesides with either of them when Pat, Also, Georgie and Ronnie hove in turns on the horizon. It did seem a veryinsecure kind of emotional life, she thought. Men were bad enough, but at least they had the spice of intrinsicdifference.

So between the Culloden and Bothwell Gardens and girls she had known from Kincoppal days, Justine hadquite a lot of friends, and was a good friend herself. She never told them all her troubles as they did her; she hadDane for that, though what few troubles she admitted to having didn't appear to prey¹⁰³ upon her. The thing whichfascinated her friends the most about her was her extraordinary self-discipline; as if she had trained herself frominfancy not to let circumstances affect her well-being¹⁰⁴. Of chief interest to everyone called a friend was how,when and with whom Justine would finally decide to become a fulfilled woman, but she took her time.

Arthur Lestrange was Albert Jones's most durable¹⁰⁵ juvenile²⁰ lead, though he had wistfully waved goodbye to hisfortieth birthday the year before Justine arrived at the Culloden. He had a good body, was a steady, reliable actorand his clean-cut, manly¹⁰⁶ face with its surround of yellow curls was always sure to evoke¹⁰⁷ audience applause. Forthe first year he didn't notice Justine, who was very quiet and did exactly as she was told. But at the end of theyear her freckle³¹ treatments were finished, and she began to stand out against the scenery instead of blending intoit.

Minus the freckles and plus makeup¹⁰⁸ to darken her brows and lashes¹⁰⁹, she was a good-looking girl in an elfin,understated way. She had none of Luke O'neill's arresting beauty, or her mother's exquisiteness¹¹¹. Her figure waspassable though not spectacular, a trifle on the thin side. Only the vivid red hair ever stood out. But on a stageshe was quite different; she could make people think she was as beautiful as Helen of Troy or as ugly as a witch.

Arthur first noticed her during a teaching period, when she was required to recite a passage from Conrad's LordJim using various accents. She was extraordinary, really; he could feel the excitement in Albert Jones, and finallyunderstood why Also devoted¹¹² so much time to her. A born mimic¹¹³, but far more than that; she gave character toevery word she said. And there was the voice, a wonderful natural endowment for any actress, deep, husky,penetrating.

So when he saw her with a cup of tea in her hand, sitting with a book open on her knees, he came to sit besideher.

"What are you reading?"She looked up, smiled. "Proust.""Don't you find him a little dull?""Proust dull? Not unless one doesn't care for gossip, surely. That's what he is, you know. A terrible old gossip."He had an uncomfortable conviction that she was intellectually patronizing him, but he forgave her. No morethan extreme youth. "I heard you doing the Conrad. Splendid.""Thank you.""Perhaps we could have coffee together sometime and discuss your plans" "If you like," she said, returning toProust. He was glad he had stipulated¹¹⁴ coffee, rather than dinner; his wife kept him on short commons, and dinnerdemanded a degree of gratitude¹¹⁵ he couldn't be sure Justine was ready to manifest. However, he followed hiscasual invitation. up, and bore her off to a dark little place in lower Elizabeth Street, where he was reasonablysure his wife wouldn't think of looking for him.

In self-defense¹¹⁶ Justine had learned to smoke, tired of always appearing goody-goody in refusing offeredcigarettes. After they were seated she took her own cigarettes out of her bag, a new pack, and peeled the topcellophane from the flip-top box carefully, making sure the larger piece of cellophane still sheathed¹¹⁷ the bulk ofthe packet. Arthur watched her deliberateness, amused and interested.

"Why on earth go to so much trouble? Just rip it all off, Justine." "How untidy!"He picked up the box and stroked its intact shroud¹¹⁸ reflectively. "Now, if I was a disciple¹¹⁹ of the eminentSigmund Freud . . .""If you were Freud, what?" She glanced up, saw the waitress standing¹²⁰ beside her. "Cappuccino, please."It annoyed him that she gave her own order, but he let it pass, more intent on pursuing the thought in his mind.

"Vienna, please. Now, getting back to what I was saying about Freud. I wonder what he'd think of this? He mightsay. . ."She took the packet off him, opened it, removed a cigarette and lit it herself without giving him time to find hismatches. "Well?" "He'd think you liked to keep membranous¹²¹ substances intact, wouldn't he?" Her laughtergurgled through the smoky air, caused several male heads to turn curiously¹²². "Would he now? Is that aroundabout way of asking me if I'm still a virgin, Arthur?"He clicked his tongue, exasperated. "Justine! I can see that among other things I'll have to teach you the fine artof prevarication¹²³.""Among what other things, Arthur?" She leaned her elbows on the table, eyes gleaming in the dimness.

"Well, what do you need to learn?""I'm pretty well educated, actually.""In everything?""Heavens, you do know how to emphasize words, don't you? Very good, I must remember how you said that.""There are things which can only be learned from firsthand experience," he said softly, reaching out a hand totuck a curl behind her ear. "Really? I've always found observation adequate.""Ah, but what about when it comes to love?" He put a delicate deepness into the word. "How can you playJuliet without knowing what love is?" "A good point. I agree with you." "Have you ever been in love?"No.

"Do you know anything about love?" This time he put the vocal¹²⁴ force on "anything," rather than "love.""Nothing at all.""Ah! Then Freud would have been right, eh?"She picked up her cigarettes and looked at their sheathed box, smiling. "In some things, perhaps."Quickly he grasped the bottom of the cellophane, pulled it off and held it in his hand, dramatically crushed itand dropped it in the ashtray¹²⁵, where it squeaked¹²⁶ and writhed¹²⁷, expanded. "I'd like to teach you what being awoman is, if I may."For a moment she said nothing, intent on the antics of the cellophane in the ashtray, then she struck a match andcarefully set fire to it. "Why not?" she asked the brief flare¹²⁸. "Yes, why not?""Shall it be a divine thing of moonlight and roses, passionate⁹⁶ wooing, or shall it be short and sharp, like anarrow?" he declaimed, hand on heart. She laughed. "Really, Arthur! I hope it's long and sharp, myself. But nomoonlight and roses, please. My stomach's not built for passionate wooing." He stared at her a little sadly, shookhis head. "Oh, Justine! Everyone's stomach is built for passionate wooing-even yours, you cold-blooded youngvestal. One day, you wait and see. You'll long for it.""Pooh!" She got up. "Come on, Arthur, let's get the deed over and done with before I change my mind.""Now? Tonight?" .

"Why on earth not? I've got plenty of money for a hotel room, if you're short."The Hotel Metropole wasn't far away; they walked through the drowsing streets with her arm tucked cozily inhis, laughing. It was too late for diners and too early for the theaters to be out, so there were few people around,just knots of American sailors off a visiting task force, and groups of young girls window-shopping with an eyeto sailors. No one took any notice of them, which suited Arthur fine. He popped into a chemist shop whileJustine waited outside, emerged beaming happily.

"Now we're all set, my love.""What did you buy? French letters?"He grimaced¹³¹. "I should hope not. A French letter ,ness like coming wrapped in a page of the Reader's Digest-condensed tackiness. No, I got you some jelly. How do you know about French letters, anyway?""After seven years in a Catholic boarding school? What do you think we did? Prayed?" She grinned. "I admitwe didn't do much, but we talked about every-thing."Mr. and Mrs. Smith surveyed their kingdom, which wasn't bad for a Sydney hotel room of that era. The days ofthe Hilton were still to come. It was very large, and had superb views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. There wasno bathroom, of course, but there was a basin and ewer¹³³ on a marble-topped stand, a fitting accompaniment to theenormous Victorian relics¹³⁴ of furniture. "Well, what do I do now?" she asked, pulling the curtains back. "It's abeautiful view, isn't it?""Yes. As to what you do now, you take your pants off, of course." "Anything else?" she asked mischievously¹³⁵.

He sighed. "Take it all off, Justine! If you don't feel skin with skin it isn't nearly so good."Neatly¹³⁶ and briskly she got out of her clothes, not a scrap¹³⁷ coyly, clambered up on the bed and spread her legsapart. "Is this right, Arthur?" "Good Lord!" he said, folding his trousers carefully; his wife always looked to seeif they were crushed.

"What? What's the matter?""You really are a redhead, aren't you?""What did you expect, purple feathers?""Facetiousness¹³⁸ doesn't set the right mood, darling, so stop it this instant." He sucked in his belly¹³⁹, turned, struttedto the bed and climbed onto it, began dropping expert little kisses down the side of her face, her neck, over herleft breast. "Mmmmmm, you're nice." His arms went around her. "There! Isn't this nice?""I suppose so. Yes, it is quite nice."Silence fell, broken only by the sound of kisses, occasional murmurs¹⁴⁰. There was a huge old dressing table at thefar end of the bed, its mirror still tilted¹⁴¹ to reflect love's arena¹⁴² by some erotically minded previous tenant⁸⁴. "Put outthe light, Arthur.""Darling, no! Lesson number one. There's no aspect of love which won't bear the light."Having done the preparatory work with his fingers and deposited the jelly where it was supposed to be, Arthurmanaged to get himself between Justine's legs. A bit sore but quite comfortable, if not lifted into ecstasy¹⁴⁴ at leastfeeling rather motherly, Justine looked over Arthur's shoulder and straight down the bed into the mirror.

Foreshortened, their legs looked weird¹⁴⁵ with his darkly matted ones sandwiched between her smooth defreckledones; however, the bulk of the image in the mirror consisted of Arthur's buttocks, and as he maneuvered¹⁴⁶ theyspread and contracted, hopped¹⁴⁷ up and down, with two quiffs of yellow hair like Dagwood's just poking¹⁴⁸ above thetwin globes and waving at her cheerfully.

Justine looked; looked again. She stuffed her fist against her mouth wildly, gurgling and moaning.

"There, there, my darling, it's all right! I've broken you already, so it can't hurt too much," he whispered.

Her chest began to heave; he wrapped his arms closer about her and murmured inarticulate endearments¹⁴⁹.

Suddenly her head went back, her mouth opened in a long, agonized¹⁵⁰ wail¹⁵¹, and became peal¹⁵² after peal ofuproarious laughter. And the more limply furious he got, the harder she laughed, pointing her finger helplesslytoward the foot of the bed, tears streaming down her face. Her whole body was convulsed, but not quite in themanner poor Arthur had envisioned.

In many ways Justine was a lot closer to Dane than their mother was, and what they felt for Mum belonged toMum. It didn't impinge upon or clash with what they felt for each other. That had been forged very early, andhad grown rather than diminished. By the time Mum was freed from her Drogheda bondage¹⁵³ they were oldenough to be at Mrs. Smith's kitchen table, doing their correspondence lessons; the habit of finding solace¹⁵⁴ ineach other had been established for all time.

Though they were very dissimilar in character, they also shared many tastes and appetites, and those they didn'tshare they tolerated in each other with instinctive¹⁵⁵ respect, as a necessary spice of difference. They knew eachother very well indeed. Her natural tendency was to deplore¹⁵⁶ human failings in others and ignore them in herself;his natural tendency was to understand and forgive human failings in others, and be merciless upon them inhimself. She felt herself invincibly¹⁵⁷ strong; he knew himself perilously¹⁵⁸ weak. And somehow it all came togetheras a nearly perfect friendship, in the name of which nothing was impossible. However, since Justine was by farthe more talkative, Dane always got to hear a lot more about her and what she was feeling than the other wayaround. In some respects she was a little bit of a moral imbecile, in that nothing was sacred, and he understoodthat his function was to provide her with the scruples¹⁵⁹ she lacked within herself. Thus he accepted his role ofpassive listener with a tenderness and compassion¹⁶⁰ which would have irked Justine enormously had she suspectedthem.

Not that she ever did; she had been bending his ear about absolutely anything and everything since he was oldenough to pay attention. "Guess what I did last night?" she asked, carefully adjusting her big straw hat so herface and neck were well shaded.

"Acted in your first starring role," Dane said. "Prawn¹⁶¹! As if I wouldn't tell you so you could be there to see me.

Guess again.""Finally copped a punch Bobbie meant for Billie.""Cold as a stepmother's breast."He shrugged his shoulders, bored. "Haven't a clue."They were sitting in the Domain¹⁶² on the grass, just below the Gothic bulk of Saint Mary's Cathedral. Dane hadphoned to let Justine know he was coming in for a special ceremony in the cathedral, and could she meet him fora while first in the Dom? Of course she could; she was dying to tell him the latest episode.

Almost finished his last year at Riverview, Dane was captain of the school, captain of the cricket team, theRugby, handball and tennis teams. And dux of his class into the bargain. At seventeen he was two inches over sixfeet, his voice had settled into its final baritone, and he had miraculously¹⁶³ escaped such afflictions as pimples,clumsiness and a bobbing Adam's apple. Because he was so fair he wasn't really shaving yet, but in every otherway he looked more like a young man than a schoolboy. Only the Riverview uniform categorized him.

It was a warm, sunny day. Dane removed his straw boater school hat and stretched out on the grass, Justinesitting hunched¹⁶⁶ beside him, her arms about her knees to make sure all exposed skin was shaded. He opened onelazy blue eye in her direction.

"What did you do last night, Jus?""I lost my virginity. At least I think I did."Both his eyes opened. "You're a prawn.""Pooh! High time, I say. How can I hope to be a good actress if I don't have a clue what goes on between menand women?" "You ought to save yourself for the man you marry."Her face twisted in exasperation¹⁶⁷. "Honestly, Dane, sometimes you're so archaic¹⁶⁸ I'm embarrassed! Suppose Idon't meet the man I marry until I'm forty? What do you expect me to do? Sit on it all those years? Is that whatyou're going to do, save it for marriage?""I don't think I'm going to get married.""Well, nor am 1. In which case, why tie a blue ribbon around it and stick it in my nonexistent hope chest? Idon't want to die wondering." He grinned. "You can't, now." Rolling over onto his stomach, he propped¹⁶⁹ his chinon his hand and looked at her steadily¹⁷⁰, his face soft, concerned. "Was it all right? I mean, was it awful? Did youhate it?" Her lips twitched, remembering. "I didn't hate it, at any rate. It wasn't awful, either. On the other hand,I'm afraid I don't see what everyone raves¹⁷¹ about. Pleasant is as far as I'm prepared to go. And it isn't as if I chosejust anyone; I selected someone very attractive and old enough to know what he was doing."He sighed. "You are a prawn, Justine. I'd have been a lot happier to hear you say, "He's not much to look at, butwe met and I couldn't help myself." I can accept that you don't want to wait until you're married, but it's stillsomething you've got to want because of the person. Never because of the act, Jus. I'm not surprised you weren'tecstatic."All the gleeful triumph faded from her face. "Oh, damn you, now you've made me feel awful! If I didn't knowyou better, I'd say you were trying to put me down-or my motives¹⁷², at any rate.""But you do know me better, don't you? I'd never put you down, but sometimes your motives are plainthoughtlessly silly." He adopted a tolling¹⁷³, monotonous¹⁷⁴ voice. "I am the voice of your conscience, JustineO'neill.""You are, too, you prawn." Shade forgotten, she flopped¹⁷⁵ back on the grass beside him so he couldn't see herface. "Look, you know why. Don't you?" "Oh, Jussy," he said sadly, but whatever he was going to add was lost,for she spoke¹⁷⁶ again, a little savagely¹⁷⁷.

"I'm never, never, never going to love anyone! If you love people, they kill you. If you need people, they killyou. They do, I tell you!" It always hurt him, that she felt left out of love, and hurt more that he knew himself thecause. If there was one overriding¹⁷⁹ reason why she was so important to him, it was because she loved him enoughto bear no grudges¹⁸⁰, had never made him feel a moment's lessening¹⁸¹ of her' love through jealousy¹⁸³ or resentment¹⁸⁴.

To him, it was a cruel fact that she moved on an outer circle while he was the very hub. He had prayed andprayed things would change, but they never did. Which hadn't lessened¹⁸⁵ his faith, only pointed¹⁸⁶ out to him withfresh emphasis that somewhere, sometime, he would have to pay for the emotion squandered¹⁸⁷ on him at herexpense. She put a good face on it, had managed to convince even herself that she did very well on that outerorbit, but he felt her pain. He knew. There was so much worth loving in her, so little worth loving in himself.

Without a hope of understanding differently, he assumed he had the lion's share of love because of his beauty, hismore tractable¹⁸⁸ nature, his ability to communicate with his mother and the other Drogheda people. And becausehe was male. Very little escaped him beyond what he simply couldn't know, and he had had Justine's confidenceand companionship in ways no one else ever had. Mum mattered to Justine far more than she would admit.

But I will atone¹⁸⁹, he thought. I've had everything. Somehow I've got to pay it back, make it up to her.

Suddenly he chanced to see his watch, came to his feet bonelessly; huge though he admitted his debt to hissister was, to Someone else he owed even more.

"I've got to go, Jus.""You and your bloody Church! When are you going to grow out of it?" "Never, I hope.""When will I see you?""Well, since today's Friday, tomorrow of course, eleven o'clock, here." "Okay. Be a good boy."He was already several yards away, Riverview boater back on his head, but he turned to smile at her. "Am Iever anything else?" She grinned. "Bless you, no. You're too good to be true; I'm the one always in trouble. Seeyou tomorrow."There were huge padded red leather doors inside the vestibule of Saint Mary's; Dane poked¹⁹⁰ one open andslipped inside. He had left Justine a little earlier than was strictly necessary, but he always liked to get into achurch before it filled, became a shifting focus of sighs, coughs, rustles¹⁹¹, whispers. When he was alone it was somuch better. There was a sacristan kindling¹⁹² branches of candles on the high altar; a deacon, he judgedunerringly. Head bowed, he genuflected¹⁹³ and made the Sign of the Cross as he passed in front of the tabernacle,then quietly slid into a pew. On his knees, he put his head on his folded hands and let his mind float freely. Hedidn't consciously pray, but rather became an intrinsic part of the atmosphere, which he felt as dense¹³² yet ethereal,unspeakably holy, brooding. It was as if he had turned into a flame in one of the little red glass sanctuary¹⁹⁴ lamps,always just fluttering on the brink¹⁹⁵ of extinction¹⁹⁶, sustained by a small puddle¹⁹⁷ of some vital essence, radiating aminute but enduring glow out into the far darknesses. Stillness, formlessness, forgetfulness of his humanidentity; these were what Dane got from being in a church. Nowhere else did he feel so right, so much at peacewith himself, so removed from pain. His lashes lowered, his eyes closed.

From the organ gallery came the shuffling¹⁹⁸ of feet, a preparatory wheeze¹⁹⁹, a breathy expulsion of air from pipes.

The Saint Mary's Cathedral Boys' School choir²⁰⁰ was coming in early to sandwich a little practice between nowand the coming ritual. It was only a Friday midday Benediction²⁰¹, but one of Dane's friends and teachers fromRiverview was celebrating it, and he had wanted to come.

The organ gave off a few chords, quietened into a rippling²⁰² accompaniment, and into the dim stone-lace archesone unearthly boy's voice soared, thin and high and sweet, so filled with innocent purity the few people in thegreat empty church closed their eyes, mourned for that which could never come to them again.

Panis angelicusFit panis hominum,Dat panis coelicusFiguris terminum,O res mirabilis,Manducat Dominus,Pauper, pauper,Servus et humilis . . . .

Bread of angels, heavenly bread, O thing of wonder. Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord; Lord,hear my voice! Let Thine ear be attuned²⁰³ to the sounds of my supplication²⁰⁴. Turn not away, O Lord, turn not away.

For Thou art my Sovereign, my Master, my God, and I am Thy humble²⁰⁵ servant. In Thine eyes only one thingcounts, goodness. Thou carest not if Thy servants be beautiful or ugly. To Thee only the heart matters; in Theeall is healed, in Thee I know peace.

Lord, it is lonely. I pray it be over soon, the pain of life. They do not understand that I, so gifted, find so muchpain in living. But Thou dost, and Thy comfort is all which sustains me. No matter what Thou requirest of me, OLord, shall be given, for I loveThee. And if I might presume to ask anything of Thee, it is that in Thee all else shall be forever forgotten . . . .

"You're very quiet, Mum," said Dane. "Thinking of what? Of Drogheda?" "No," said Meggie drowsily²⁰⁶. "I'mthinking that I'm getting old. I found half a dozen grey hairs this morning, and my bones ache.""You'll never be old, Mum," he said comfortably. "I wish that were true, love, but unfortunately it isn't. I'mbeginning to need the borehead, which is a sure sign of old age."They were lying in the warm winter sun on towels spread over the Drogheda grass, by the borehead. At the farend of the great pool boiling water thundered and splashed, the reek²⁰⁸ of sulphur drifted and floated into nothing. Itwas one of the great winter pleasures, to swim in the borehead. All the aches and pains of encroaching age weresoothed away, Meggie thought, and turned to lie on her back, her head in the shade of the log on which she andFather Ralph had sat so long ago. A very long time ago; she was unable to conjure²⁰⁹ up even a faint echo of whatshe must have felt when Ralph had kissed her.

Then she heard Dane get up, and opened her eyes. He had always been her baby, her lovely little boy; thoughshe had watched him change and grow with proprietary²¹⁰ pride, she had done so with an image of the laughingbaby superimposed on his maturing face. It had not yet occurred to her that actually he was no longer in any waya child.

However, the moment of realization²¹¹ came to Meggie at that instant, watching him stand outlined against thecrisp sky in his brief cotton swimsuit. My God, it's all over! The babyhood, the boyhood. He's a man. Pride,resentment, a female melting at the quick, a terrific consciousness of some impending²¹² tragedy, anger, adoration,sadness; all these and more Meggie felt, looking up at her son. It is a terrible thing to create a man, and moreterrible to create a man like this. So amazingly male, so amazingly beautiful.

Ralph de Bricassart, plus a little of herself. How could she not be moved at seeing in its extreme youth the bodyof the man who had joined in love with her? She closed her eyes, embarrassed, hating having to think of her sonas a man. Did he look at her and see a woman these days, or was she still that wonderful cipher²¹³, Mum? Goddamn him, God damn him! How dared he grow up? "Do you know anything about women, Dane?" she askedsuddenly, opening her eyes again.

He smiled. "The birds and the bees, you mean?" "That you know, with Justine for a sister. When she discoveredwhat lay between the covers of physiology²¹⁴ textbooks she blurted²¹⁵ it all out to everyone. No, I mean have you everput any of Justine's clinical treatises²¹⁶ into practice?"His head moved in a quick negative shake, he slid down onto the grass beside her and looked into her face.

"Funny you should ask that, Mum. I've been wanting to talk to you about it for a long time, but I didn't knowhow to start.""You're only eighteen, love. Isn't it a bit soon to be thinking of putting theory into practice?" Only eight equalsteen. Only. He was a man, wasn't he? "That's it, what I wanted to talk to you about. Not putting it into practice atall."How cold the wind was, blowing down from the Great Divide. Peculiar²¹⁷, she hadn't noticed until now. Wherewas her robe? "Not putting it into practice at all," she said dully, and it was not a question. "That's right. I don'twant to, ever. Not that I haven't thought about it, or wanted a wife and children. I have. But I can't. Because thereisn't enough room to love them and God as well, not the way I want to love God. I've known that for a long time.

I don't seem to remember a time when I didn't, and the older I become the greater my love for God grows. It's agreat mystery, loving God."Meggie lay looking into those calm, distant blue eyes. Ralph's eyes, as they used to be. But ablaze²¹⁸ withsomething quite alien to Ralph's. Had he had it, at eighteen? Had he? Was it perhaps something one could onlyexperience at eighteen? By the time she entered Ralph's life, he was ten years beyond that. Yet her son was amystic, she had always known it. And she didn't think that at any stage of his life Ralph had been mysticallyinclined. She swallowed, wrapped the robe closer about her lonely bones. "So I asked myself," Dane went on,"what I could do to show Him how much I loved Him. I fought the answer for a long time, I didn't want to see it.

Because I wanted a life as a man, too, very much. Yet I knew what the offering had to be, I knew .... There's onlyone thing I can offer Him, to show Him nothing else will ever exist in my heart before Him. I must offer up Hisonly rival; that's the sacrifice He demands of me. I am His servant, and He will have no rivals. I have had tochoose. All things He'll let me have and enjoy, save that." He sighed, plucked at a blade of Drogheda grass. "Imust show Him that I understand why He gave me so much at my birth. I must show Him that I realize howunimportant my life as a man is.""You can't do it, I won't let you!" Meggie cried, her hand reaching for his arm, clutching it. How smooth it felt,the hint of great power under the skin, just like Ralph's. Just like Ralph's! Not to have some glossy²¹⁹ girl put herhand there, as a right?

"I'm going to be a priest," said Dane. "I'm going to enter His service completely, offer everything I have and amto Him, as His priest. Poverty, charity and obedience²²⁰. He demands no less than all from His chosen servants. Itwon't be easy, but I'm going to do it.

The look in her eyes! As if he had killed her, ground her into the dust beneath his foot. That he should have tosuffer this he hadn't known, dreaming only of her pride in him; her pleasure at giving her son to God. They saidshe'd be thrilled, uplifted, completely in accord. Instead she was staring at him as if the prospect²²¹ of his priesthoodwas her death sentence. "It's all I've ever wanted to be," he said in despair, meeting those dying eyes. "Oh, Mum,can't you understand? I've never, never wanted to be anything but a priest! I can't be anything but a priest!" Herhand fell from his arm; he glanced down and saw the white marks of her fingers, the little arcs in his skin whereher nails had bitten deeply. Her head went up, she laughed on and on and on, huge hysterical²²² peals²²³ of bitter,derisive laughter.

"Oh, it's too good to be true!" she gasped when she could speak again, wiping the tears from the corners of hereyes with a trembling hand. "The incredible irony²²⁴! Ashes of roses, he said that night riding to the borehead. AndI didn't understand what he meant. Ashes thou wert, unto ashes return. To the Church thou belongest, to theChurch thou shalt be given. Oh, it's beautiful, beautiful! God rot God, I say! God the sod! The utmost Enemy ofwomen, that's what God is! Everything we seek to do, He seeks to undo²²⁵!" "Oh, don't! Oh, don't! Mum, don't!" Hewept for her, for her pain, not understanding her pain or the words she was saying. His tears fell, twisted in hisheart; already the sacrifice had begun, and in a way he hadn't dreamed. But though he wept for her, not even forher could he put it aside, the sacrifice. The offering must be made, and the harder it was to make, the morevaluable it must be in His eyes.

She had made him weep, and never in all his life until now had she made him weep. Her own rage and griefwere put away resolutely²²⁶. No, it wasn't fair to visit herself upon him. What he was his genes²²⁷ had made him. Orhis God. Or Ralph's God. He was the light of her life, her son. He should not be made to suffer because of her,ever. "Dane, don't cry," she whispered, stroking the angry marks on his arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Yougave me a shock, that's all. Of course I'm glad for you, truly I am! How could 1 not be? I was shocked; I justdidn't expect it, that's all." She chuckled²²⁸, a little shakily. "You did rather drop it on me like a rock."His eyes cleared, regarded her doubtfully. Why had he imagined he killed her? Those were Mum's eyes as hehad always known them; full of love, very much alive. The strong young arms gathered her close, hugged her.

"You're sure you don't mind?""Mind? A good Catholic mother mind her son becoming a priest? Impossible!" She jumped to her feet. "Brr!

How cold it's got! Let's be getting back." They hadn't taken the horses, but a jeeplike LandRover; Dane climbedbehind the wheel, his mother sat beside him.

"Do you know where you're going?" asked Meggie, drawing in a sobbing²³¹ breath, pushing the tumbled hair outof her eyes. "Saint Patrick's College, I suppose. At least until I find my feet. Perhaps then I'll espouse²³² an order.

I'd rather like to be a Jesuit, but I'm not quite sure enough of that to go straight into the Society of Jesus." Meggiestared at the tawny²³³ grass bouncing up and down through the insect-spattered windscreen. "I have a much betteridea, Dane." "Oh?" He had to concentrate on driving; the track dwindled²³⁵ a bit and there were always new logsacross it.

"I shall send you to Rome, to Cardinal de Bricassart. You remember him, don't you?""Do I remember him? What a question, Mum! I don't think I could forget him in a million years. He's myexample of the perfect priest. If I could be the priest he is, I'd be very happy.""Perfection is as perfection does!" said Meggie tartly²³⁶. "But I shall give you into his charge, because I know he'lllook after you for my sake. You can enter a seminary in Rome.""Do you really mean it, Mum? Really?" Anxiety pushed the joy out of his face. "Is there enough money? Itwould be much cheaper if I stayed in Australia.""Thanks to the selfsame Cardinal de Bricassart, my dear, you'll never lack money."At the cookhouse door she pushed him inside. "Go and tell the girls and Mrs. Smith," she said. "They'll beabsolutely thrilled."One after the other she put her feet down, made them plod²³⁷ up the ramp²³⁸ to the big house, to the drawing roomwhere Fee sat, miraculously not working but talking to Anne Mueller instead, over an afternoon tea tray. AsMeggie came in they looked up, saw from her face that something serious had happened.

For eighteen years the Muellers had been visiting Drogheda, expecting that was how it always would be. ButLuddie Mueller had died suddenly the preceding autumn, and Meggie had written immediately to Anne to askher if she would like to live permanently²³⁹ on Drogheda. There was plenty of room, a guest cottage for privacy;she could pay board if she was too proud not to, though heaven knew there was enough money to keep athousand permanent houseguests. Meggie saw it as a chance to reciprocate²⁴⁰ for those lonely Queensland years,and Anne saw it as salvation²⁴¹. Himmelhoch without Luddie was horribly lonely. Though she had put on amanager, not sold the place; when she died it would go to Justine.

"What is it, Men!" Anne asked.

Meggie sat down. "I think I've been struck by a retributory bolt of lightning.""What?""You were right, both of you. You said I'd lose him. I didn't believe you, I actually thought I could beat God.

But there was never a woman born who could beat God. He's a Man."Fee poured Meggie a cup of tea. "Here, drink this," she said, as if tea had the restorative powers of brandy.

"How have you lost him?" "He's going to become a priest." She began to laugh, weeping at the same time.

Anne picked up her sticks, hobbled to Meggie's chair and sat awkwardly on its arm, stroking the lovely redgoldhair. "Oh, my dear! But it isn't as bad as all that.""Do you know about Dane?" Fee asked Anne.

"I've always known," said Anne.

Meggie sobered. "It isn't as bad as all that? It's the beginning of the end, don't you see? Retribution. I stoleRalph from God, and I'm paying with my son. You told me it was stealing, Mum, don't you remember? I didn'twant to believe you, but you were right, as always."Is he going to Saint Pat's?" Fee asked practically. Meggie laughed more normally. "That's no sort of reparation,Mum. I'm going to send him to Ralph, of course. Half of him is Ralph; let Ralph finally enjoy him." Sheshrugged. "He's more important than Ralph, and 1 knew he'd want to go to Rome." "Did you ever tell Ralphabout Dane?" asked Anne; it wasn't a subject ever discussed.

"No, and I never will. Never!""They're so alike he might guess.""Who, Ralph? He'll never guess! That much I'm going to keep. I'm sending him my son, but no more than that.

I'm not sending him his son." "Beware of the jealousy of the gods, Meggie," said Anne softly. "They might nothave done, with you yet.""What more can they do to me?" mourned Meggie. When Justine heard the news she was furious, though forthe last three or four years she had had a sneaking²⁴² suspicion it was coming. First of all, because Justine had beenat school in Sydney with him, and as his confidante had listened to him talk of the things he didn't mention to hismother. Justine knew how vitally important his religion was to Dan caret²⁴³ .; not only God, but the mysticalsignificance of Catholic rituals. Had he been born and brought up a Protestant, she thought, he was the type tohave eventually turned to Catholicism to satisfy something in his soul. Not for Dane an austere²⁴⁴, Calvinistic God.

His God was limned²⁴⁵ in stained glass, wreathed in incense²⁴⁶, wrapped in lace and gold embroidery²⁴⁷, hymned inmusical complexity²⁴⁸, and worshipped in lovely Latin cadences²⁴⁹.

Too, it was a kind of ironic perversity²⁵⁰ that someone so wonderfully endowed with beauty should deem it acrippling handicap, and deplore its existence. For Dane did. He shrank from any reference to his looks; Justinefancied he would far rather have been born ugly, totally unprepossessing. She understood in part why he felt so,and perhaps because her own career lay in a notoriously narcissistic²⁵¹ profession, she rather approved of hisattitude toward his appearance. What she couldn't begin to understand was why he positively²⁵² loathed²⁵³ his looks,instead of simply ignoring them. Nor was he highly sexed, for what reason she wasn't sure: whether he hadtaught himself to sublimate²⁵⁴ his passions almost perfectly, or whether in spite of his bodily endowments somenecessary cerebral²⁵⁵ essence was in short supply. Probably-the former, since he played some sort of vigorous sportevery day of his life to make sure he went to bed exhausted²⁵⁶. She knew very well that his inclinations²⁵⁷ were"normal," that is, heterosexual, and she knew what type of girl appealed to him tall, dark and voluptuous²⁵⁸. But hejust wasn't sensually aware; he didn't notice the feel of things when he held them, or the odors in the air aroundhim, or understand the special satisfaction of shape and color. Before he experienced a sexual pull theprovocative object's impact had to be irresistible²⁶⁰, and only at such rare moments did he seem to realize there wasan earthly plane most men trod, of choice, for as long as they possibly could.

He told her backstage at the Culloden, after a performance. It had been settled with Rome that day; he wasdying to tell her and yet he knew she wasn't going to like it. His religious ambitions were something he had neverdiscussed with her as much as he wanted to, for she became angry. But when he came backstage that night it wastoo difficult to contain his joy any longer. "You're a prawn," she said in disgust.

"It's what I want.""Idiot.""Calling me names won't change a thing, Jus.""Do you think I don't know that? It affords me a little much-needed emotional release, that's all.""I should think you'd get enough on the stage, playing Electra. You're really good, Jus.""After this news I'll be better," she said grimly. "Are you going to Saint Pat's?""No. I'm going to Rome, to Cardinal de Bricassart. Mum arranged it." "Dane, no! It's so far away!""Well, why don't you come, too, at least to England? With your background and ability you ought to be able toget a place somewhere without too much trouble."She was sitting at a mirror wiping off Electra's paint, still in Electra's robes; ringed with heavy blackarabesques, her strange eyes seemed even stranger. She nodded slowly. "Yes, I could, couldn't I?" she askedthoughtfully. "It's more than time I did .... Australia's getting a bit too small . . . . Right, mate! You're on!

England it is!""Super! Just think! I get holidays, you know, one always does in the seminary, as if it was a university. We canplan to take them together, trip around Europe a bit, come home to Drogheda. Oh, Jus, I've thought it all out!

Having you not far away makes it perfect."She beamed. "It does, doesn't it? Life wouldn't be the same if I couldn't talk to you.""That's what I was afraid you were going to say." He grinned. "But seriously, Jus, you worry me. I'd rather haveyou where I can see you from time to time. Otherwise who's going to be the voice of your conscience?" He sliddown between a hoplite's helmet and an awesome²⁶¹ mask of the Pythoness to a position on the floor where hecould see her, coiling himself into an economical ball, out of the way of all the feet. There were only two stars"dressing rooms at the Culloden and Justine didn't rate either of them yet. She was in the general dressing room,among the ceaseless traffic. "Bloody old Cardinal de Bricassart!" she spat²³⁴. "I hated him the moment I laid eyeson him!"Dane chuckled. "You didn't, you know.""I did! I did!""No, you didn't. Aunt Anne told me one Christmas hol, and I'll bet you don't know.""What don't I know?" she asked warily²⁶².

"That when you were a baby he fed you a bottle and burped you, rocked you to sleep. Aunt Anne said you werea horrible cranky baby and hated being held, but when he held you, you really liked it.""It's a flaming lie!""No, it's not." He grinned. "Anyway, why do you hate him so much now?" "I just do. He's like a skinny oldvulture, and he gives me the dry heaves.""I like him. I always did. The perfect priest, that's what Father Watty calls him. I think he is, too.""Well, fuck him, I say!""Justine!""Shocked you that time, didn't I? I'll bet you never even thought I knew that word."His eyes danced. "Do you know what it means? Tell me, Jussy, go on, I dare you!"She could never resist him when he teased; her own eyes began to twinkle. "You might be going to be a FatherRhubarb, you prawn, but if you don't already know what it means, you'd better not investigate."He grew serious. "Don't worry, I won't."A very shapely pair of female legs stopped beside Dane, pivoted²⁶³. He looked up, went red, looked away, andsaid, "Oh, hello, Martha," in a casual voice. "Hello yourself."She was an extremely beautiful girl, a little short on acting ability but so decorative²⁶⁴ she was an asset to anyproduction; she also happened to be exactly Dane's cup of tea, and Justine had listened to his admiring commentsabout her more than once. Tall, what the movie magazines always called sexsational, very dark of hair and eye,fair of skin, with magnificent breasts.

Perching herself on the corner of Justine's table, she swung one leg provocatively²⁶⁵ under Dane's nose andwatched him with an undisguised appreciation he clearly found disconcerting. Lord, he was really something!

How had plain old cart-horse Jus collected herself a brother who looked like this? He might be only eighteen andit might be cradle-snatching, but who cared?

"How about coming over to my place for coffee and whatever?" she asked, looking down at Dane. "The two ofyou?" she added reluctantly. Justine shook her head positively, her eyes lighting²⁶⁷ up at a sudden thought. "No,thanks, I can't. You'll have to be content with Dane." He shook his head just as positively, but rather regretfully,as if he was truly tempted²⁶⁸. "Thanks anyway, Martha, but I can't." He glanced at his watch as at a savior. "Lord,I've only got a minute left on my meter! How much longer are you going to be, Jus?""About ten minutes.""I'll wait for you outside, all right?""Chicken!" she mocked.

Martha's dusky eyes followed him. "He is absolutely gorgeous. Why won't he look at me?"Justine grinned sourly, scrubbed her face clean at last. The freckles were coming back. Maybe London wouldhelp; no sun. "Oh, don't worry, he looks. He'd like, too. But will he? Not Dane.""Why? What's the matter with him? Never tell me he's a poof! Shit, why is it every gorgeous man I meet is apoof? I never thought Dane was, though; he doesn't strike me that way at all.""Watch your language, you dumb wart²⁶⁹! He most certainly isn't a poof. In fact, the day he looks at SweetWilliam, our screaming juvenile, I'll cut his throat and Sweet William's, too.""Well, if he isn't a pansy and he likes, why doesn't he take? Doesn't he get my message? Does he think I'm tooold for him?" "Sweetie, at a hundred you won't be too old for the average man, don't worry about it. No, Dane'ssworn off sex for life, the fool. He's going to be a priest."Martha's lush mouth dropped open, she swung back her mane of inky hair. "Go on!""True, true.""You mean to say all that's going to be wasted?" "Afraid so. He's offering it to God.""Then God's a bigger poofter than Sweet Willie.""You might be right," said Justine. "He certainly isn't too fond of women, anyway. Second-class, that's us, wayback in the Upper Circle. Front Stalls and the Mezzanine, strictly male.""Oh."Justine wriggled²⁷⁰ out of Electra's robe, flung a thin cotton dress over her head, remembered it was chilly²⁷¹ outside,added a cardigan, and patted Martha kindly on the head. "Don't worry about it, sweetie. God was very good toyou; he didn't give you any brains. Believe me, it's far more comfortable that way. You'll never offer the Lords ofCreation any competition.""I don't know, I wouldn't mind competing with God for your brother." "Forget it. You're fighting theEstablishment, and it just can't be done. You'd seduce²⁷² Sweet Willie far quicker, take my word for it."A Vatican car met Dane at the airport, whisked him through sunny faded streets full of handsome, smilingpeople; he glued his nose to the window and drank it all in, unbearably²⁷³ excited at seeing for himself the things hehad seen only in pictures-the Roman columns, the rococo²⁷⁴ palaces, the Renaissance²⁷⁵ glory of Saint Peter's.

And waiting for him, clad this time in scarlet²⁷⁶ from head to foot, was Ralph Raoul, Cardinal de Bricassart. Thehand was outstretched, its ring glowing; Dane sank on both knees to kiss it.

"Stand up, Dane, let me look at you."He stood, smiling at the tall man who was almost exactly his own height; they could look each other hi the eye.

To Dane the Cardinal had an immense aura of spiritual power which made him think of a pope rather than asaint, yet those intensely sad eyes were not the eyes of a pope. How much he must have suffered to appear so,but how nobly he must have risen above his suffering to become this most perfect of priests. And Cardinal Ralphgazed at the son he did not know was his son, loving him, he thought, because he was dear Meggie's boy. Just sowould he have wanted to see a son of his own body; as tall, as strikingly good looking, as graceful²⁷⁷. In all his lifehe had never seen a man move so well. But far more satisfying than any physical beauty was the simple beautyof his soul. He had the strength of the angels, and something of their unearthliness. Had he been so himself, ateighteen? He tried to remember, span the crowded events of three fifths of a lifetime; no, he had never been so.

Was it because this one came truly of his own choice? For he himself had not, though he had had the vocation²⁷⁹, ofthat much he still was sure.

"Sit down, Dane. Did you do as I asked, start to learn Italian?" "At this stage I speak it fluently but withoutidiom, and I read it very well. Probably the fact that it's my fourth language makes it easier. I seem to have atalent for languages. A couple of weeks here and I ought to pick up the vernacular²⁸⁰.""Yes, you will. I, too, have a talent for languages.""Well, they're handy," said Dane lamely²⁸¹. The awesome scarlet figure was a little daunting²⁸²; it was suddenly hardto remember the man on the chestnut²⁸³ gelding at Drogheda.

Cardinal Ralph leaned forward, watching him.

"I pass the responsibility for him to you, Ralph," Meggie's letter had said. "I charge you with his wellbeing, hishappiness. What I stole, I give back. It is demanded of me. Only promise me two things, and I'll rest in theknowledge you've acted in his best interests. First, promise me you'll make sure before you accept him that this iswhat he truly, absolutely wants. Secondly²⁸⁴, that if this is what he wants, you'll keep your eye on him, make sure itremains what he wants. If he should lose heart for it, I want him back. For he belonged to me first. It is I whogives him to you." "Dane, are you sure?" asked the Cardinal.

"Absolutely.""Why?"His eyes were curiously aloof²⁸⁵, uncomfortably familiar, but familiar in a way which was of the past.

"Because of the love I bear Our Lord. I want to serve Him as His priest all of my days.""Do you understand what His service entails²⁸⁶, Dane?" "Yes.""That no other love must ever come between you and Him? That you are His exclusively, forsaking²⁸⁸ all others?""Yes.""That His Will be done in all things, that in His service you must bury your personality, your individuality, yourconcept of yourself as uniquely important?""Yes.""That if necessary you must face death, imprisonment²⁸⁹, starvation in His Name? That you must own nothing,value nothing which might tend to lessen¹⁸² your love for Him?""Yes.""Are you strong, Dane?""I am a man, Your Eminence²⁹⁰. I am first a man. It will b[*thorn] hard, I know. But I pray that with His help Ishall find the strength.""Must it be this, Dane? Will nothing less than this content you?" "Nothing.""And if later on you should change your mind, what would you do?" "Why, I should ask to leave," said Dane,surprised. "If I changed my mind it would be because I had genuinely mistaken my vocation, for no other reason.

Therefore I should ask to leave. I wouldn't be loving Him any less, but I'd know this isn't the way He means meto serve Him.""But once your final vows²⁹¹ are taken and you are ordained²⁹², you realize there can be no going back, nodispensation, absolutely no release?" "I understand that," said Dane patiently. "But if there is a decision to bemade, I will have come to it before then." Cardinal Ralph leaned back in his chair, sighed. Had he ever been thatsure? Had he ever been that strong? "Why to me, Dane? Why did you want to come to Rome? Why not haveremained in Australia?" "Mum suggested Rome, but it had been in my mind as a dream for a long time. I neverthought there was enough money.""Your mother is very wise. Didn't she tell you?" "Tell me what, Your Eminence?""That you have an income of five thousand pounds a year and many thousands of pounds already in the bank inyour own name?" Dane stiffened²⁹³. "No. She never told me.""Very wise. But it's there, and Rome is yours if you want. Do you want Rome?""Yes.""Why do you want me, Dane?""Because you're my conception of the perfect priest, Your Eminence." Cardinal Ralph's face twisted. "No,Dane, you can't look up to me as that. I'm far from a perfect priest. I have broken all my vows, do youunderstand? I had to learn what you already seem to know in the most painful way a priest can, through thebreaking of my vows. For I refused to admit that I was first a mortal man, and only after that a priest.""Your Eminence, it doesn't matter," said Dane softly. "What you say doesn't make you any less my conceptionof the perfect priest. I think you don't understand what I mean, that's all. I don't mean an inhuman²⁹⁴ automaton,above the weaknesses of the flesh. I mean that you've suffered, and grown. Do I sound presumptuous²⁹⁵? I don'tintend to, truly. If I've offended you, I beg your pardon. It's isn't that it's so hard to express my thoughts! What Imean is that becoming a perfect priest must take years, terrible pain, and all the time keeping before you an ideal,and Our Lord."The telephone rang; Cardinal Ralph picked it up in a slightly unsteady hand, spoke in Italian.

"Yes, thank you, we'll come at once." He got to his feet. "It's time for afternoon tea, and we're to have it with anold, old friend of mine. Next to the Holy Father he's probably the most important priest in the Church. I told himyou were coming, and he expressed a wish to meet you.""Thank you, Your Eminence."They walked through corridors, then through pleasant gardens quite unlike Drogheda's, with tall cypresses²⁹⁶ andpoplars, neat rectangles of grass surrounded by pillared walkways, mossy flagstones; past Gothic arches, underRenaissance bridges. Dane drank it in, loving it. Such a different world from Australia, so old, perpetual.

It took them fifteen minutes at a brisk pace to reach the palace; they entered, and passed up a great marblestaircase hung with priceless tapestries²⁹⁸.

Vittorio Scarbanza, Cardinal di Contini-Verchese was sixty-six now, his body partially²⁹⁹ crippled by a rheumaticcomplaint, but his mind as intelligent and alert as it had always been. His present cat, a Russian blue namedNatasha, was curled purring in his lap. Since he couldn't rise to greet his visitors he contented³⁰⁰ himself with awide smile, and beckoned³⁰¹ them. His eyes passed from Ralph's beloved face to Dane O'neill and widened,narrowed, fixed³⁰² on him stilly. Within his chest he felt his heart falter³⁰³, put the welcoming hand to it in aninstinctive gesture of protection, and sat staring stupidly up at the younger edition of Ralph de Bricassart.

"Vittorio, are you all right?" Cardinal Ralph asked anxiously, taking the frail³⁰⁴ wrist between his fingers, feelingfor a pulse. "A little passing pain, no more. Sit down, sit down!""First, I'd like you to meet Dane O'neill, who is as I told you the son of a very dear friend of mine. Dane, this isHis Eminence Cardinal di Contini-Verchese."Dane knelt, pressed his lips to the ring; over his bent³⁰⁵ tawny head Cardinal Vittorio's gaze sought Ralph's face,scanned it more closely than in many years. Very slightly he relaxed; she had never told him, then. And hewouldn't suspect, of course, what everyone who saw them together would instantly surmise³⁰⁶. Not father-son, ofcourse, but a close relationship of the blood. Poor Ralph! He had never seen himself walk, never watched theexpressions on his own face, never caught the upward flight of his own left eyebrow³⁰⁸. Truly God was good, tomake men so blind. "Sit down. The tea is coming. So, young man! You wish to be a priest, and have sought theassistance of Cardinal de Bricassart?" "Yes, Your Eminence.""You have chosen wisely. Under his care you will come to no harm. But you look a little nervous, my son. Is itthe strangeness?" Dane smiled Ralph's smile, perhaps minus conscious charm, but so much Ralph's smile itcaught at an old, tired heart like a passing flick²⁴ from barbed wire. "I'm overwhelmed, Your Eminence. I hadn'trealized quite how important cardinals³⁰⁹ are. I never dreamed I'd be met at the airport, or be having tea with you.""Yes, it is unusual .... Perhaps a source of trouble, I see that. Ah, here is our tea!" Pleased, he watched it laidout, lifted an admonishing³¹⁰ finger. "Ah, no! I shall be "mother." How do you take your tea, Dane?" "The same asRalph," he answered, blushed deeply. "I'm sorry, Your Eminence, I didn't mean to say that!""It's all right, Dane, Cardinal di Contini-Verchese understands. We met first as Dane and Ralph, and we kneweach other far better that way, didn't we? Formality is new to our relationship. I'd prefer it remain Dane andRalph in private. His Eminence won't mind, will you, Vittorio?" "No. I am fond of Christian³¹¹ names. Butreturning to what I was saying about having friends in high places, my son. It could be a trifle uncomfortable foryou when you enter whichever seminary is decided upon, this long friendship with our Ralph. To have to keepgoing into involved explanations every time the connection between you is remarked upon would be verytedious. Sometimes Our Lord permits of a little white lie"-he smiled, the gold in his teeth flashing-"and foreveryone's comfort I would prefer that we resort to one such tiny fib. For it is difficult to explain satisfactorilythe tenuous³¹² connections of friendship, but very easy to explain the crimson³¹³ cord of blood. So we will say to alland sundry³¹⁴ that Cardinal de Bricassart is your uncle, my Dane, and leave it at that," ended Cardinal Vittoriosuavely. Dane looked shocked, Cardinal Ralph resigned. "Do not be disappointed in the great, my son," saidCardinal Vittorio gently. "They, too, have feet of clay, and resort to comfort via little white lies. It is a veryuseful lesson you have just learned, but looking at you, I doubt you will take advantage of it. However, you mustunderstand that we scarlet gentlemen are diplomats³¹⁶ to our fingertips. Truly I think only of you, my son. Jealousyand resentment are not strangers to seminaries any more than they are to secular³¹⁷ institutions. You will suffer alittle because they think Ralph is your uncle, your mother's brother, but you would suffer far more if they thoughtno blood bond linked you together. We are first men, and it is with men you will deal in this world as in others."Dane bowed his head, then leaned forward to stroke the cat, pausing with his hand extended. "May I? I lovecats, Your Eminence."No quicker pathway to that old but constant heart could he have found. "You may. I confess she grows tooheavy for me. She is a glutton³¹⁸, are you not, Natasha? Go to Dane; he is the new generation."There was no possibility of Justine transferring herself and her belongings³¹⁹ from the southern to the northernhemisphere as quickly as Dane had; by the time she worked out the season at the Culloden and bade a notunregretful farewell to Bothwell Gardens, her brother had been in Rome two months. "How on earth did Imanage to accumulate so much junk?" she asked, surrounded by clothes, papers, boxes.

Meggie looked up from where she was crouched³²⁰, a box of steel wool soap pads in her hand.

"What were these doing under your bed?"A look of profound relief swept across her daughter's flushed face. "Oh, thank God! Is that where they were? Ithought Mrs. D's precious poodle ate them; he's been off color for a week and I wasn't game to mention mymissing soap pads. But I knew the wretched animal ate them; he'll eat anything that doesn't eat him first. Not,"continued Justine thoughtfully, "that I wouldn't be glad to see the last of him."Meggie sat back on her heels, laughing. "Oh, Jus! Do you know how funny you are?" She threw the box ontothe bed among a mountain of things already there. "You're no credit to Drogheda, are you? After all the care wetook pushing neatness and tidiness into your head, too.""I could have told you it was a lost cause. Do you want to take the soap pads back to Drogheda? I know I'msailing and my luggage is unlimited³²¹, but I daresay there are tons of soap pads in London."Meggie transferred the box into a large carton marked MRS. D. "I think we'd better donate them to Mrs.

Devine; she has to render this flat habitable for the next tenant." An unsteady tower of unwashed dishes stood onthe end of the table, sprouting³²² gruesome whiskers of mold. "Do you ever wash your dishes?"Justine chuckled unrepentantly. "Dane says I don't wash them at all, I shave them instead.""You'd have to give this lot a haircut first. Why don't you wash them as you use them?""Because it would mean trekking³²⁴ down to the kitchen again, and since I usually eat after midnight, no oneappreciates the patter of my little feet." "Give me one of the empty boxes. I'll take them down and dispose ofthem now," said her mother, resigned; she had known before volunteering to come what was bound to be in storefor her, and had been rather looking forward to it. It wasn't very often anyone had the chance to help Justine doanything; whenever Meggie had tried to help her she had ended feeling an utter fool. But in domestic matters thesituation was reversed for once; she could help to her heart's content without feeling a fool.

Somehow it got done, and Justine and Meggie set out in the station wagon³²⁵ Meggie had driven down from Gilly,bound for the Hotel Australia, where Meggie had a suite¹²⁹.

"I wish you Drogheda people would buy a house at Palm Beach or Avalon," Justine said, depositing her case inthe suite's second bedroom. "This is terrible, right above Martin Place. Just imagine being a hop¹⁷, skip and jumpfrom the surf! Wouldn't that induce you to hustle³²⁶ yourselves on a plane from Gilly more often?""Why should I come to Sydney? I've been down twice in the last seven years-to see Dane off, and now to seeyou off. If we had a house it would never be used.""Codswallop.""Why? 11"Why? Because there's more to the world than bloody Drogheda, dammit! That place, it drives me batty!"Meggie sighed. "Believe me, Justine, there'll come a time when you'll yearn³²⁷ to come home to Drogheda.""Does that go for Dane, too?"Silence. Without looking at her daughter, Meggie took her bag from the table. "We'll be late. Madame Rochersaid two o'clock. If you want your dresses before you sail, we'd better hurry.""I am put in my place," Justine said, and grinned. "Why is it, Justine, that you didn't introduce me to any of yourfriends? I didn't see a sign of anyone at Bothwell Gardens except Mrs. Devine," Meggie said as they sat inGermaine Rocher's salon³²⁸ watching the languid mannequins preen³²⁹ and simper.

"Oh, they're a bit shy . . . . I like that orange thing, don't you?" "Not with your hair. Settle for the grey.""Pooh! I think orange goes perfectly with my hair. In grey I look like something the cat dragged in, sort ofmuddy and half rotten. Move with the times, Mum. Redheads don't have to be seen in white, grey, black, emeraldgreen or that horrible color- you're so addicted³³⁰ to-what is it, ashes of roses? Victorian!""You have the name of the color right," Meggie said. She turned to look at her daughter. "You're a monster,"she said wryly³³¹, but with affection. Justine didn't pay any attention; it was not the first time she had heard it. "I'lltake the orange, the scarlet, the purple print, the moss²⁹⁷ green, the burgundy suit . . . ."Meggie sat torn between laughter and rage. What could one do with a daughter like Justine?

The Himalaya sailed from Darling Harbor three days later. She was a lovely old ship, flat-hulled and veryseaworthy, built in the days when no one was in a tearing hurry and everyone accepted the fact England was fourweeks away via Suez or five weeks away via the Cape¹⁶⁴ of Good Hope. Nowadays even the ocean liners werestreamlined, hulls³³³ shaped like destroyers to get there faster. But what they did to a sensitive stomach madeseasoned sailors quail³³⁴. "What fun!" Justine laughed. "We've got a whole lovely footie team in first class, so itwon't be as dull as I thought. Some of them are gorgeous.""Now aren't you glad I insisted on first class?" "I suppose so.""Justine, you bring out the worst in me, you always have," Meggie snapped, losing her temper at what she tookfor ingratitude³³⁵. Just this once couldn't the little wretch at least pretend she was sorry to be going? "Stubborn, pigheaded,self-willed! You exasperate⁶⁷ me."For a moment Justine didn't answer, but turned her head away as if she was more interested in the fact that theall-ashore gong was ringing than in what her mother was saying. She bit the tremor³³⁶ from her lips, put a brightsmile on them. "I know I exasperate you," she said cheerfully as she faced her mother. "Never mind, we are whatwe are. As you always say, I take after my dad."They embraced self-consciously before Meggie slipped thankfully into the crowds converging³³⁸ on gangways andwas lost to sight. Justine made her way up to the sun deck and stood by the rail with rolls of colored streamers inher hands. Far below on the wharf³³⁹ she saw the figure in the pinkish-grey dress and hat walk to the appointedspot, stand shading her eyes. Funny, at this distance one could see Mum was getting up toward fifty. Some wayto go yet, but it was there in her stance. They waved in the same moment, then Justine threw the first of herstreamers and Meggie caught its end deftly. A red, a blue, a yellow, a pink, a green, an orange; spiraling roundand round, tugging³⁴⁰ in the breeze.

A pipe band had come to bid the football team farewell and stood with pennons flying, plaids billowing,skirling a quaint³⁴¹ version of "Now Is the Hour." The ship's rails were thick with people hanging over, holdingdesperately to their ends of the thin paper streamers; on the wharf hundreds of people craned their necks upward,lingering hungrily on the faces going so far away, young faces mostly, off to see what the hub of civilization onthe other side of the world was really like. They would live there, work there, perhaps come back in two years,perhaps not come back at all. And everyone knew it, wondered.

The blue sky was plumped with silver-white clouds and there was a tearing Sydney wind. Sun warmed theupturned heads and the shoulder blades of those leaning down; a great multicolored swath of vibrating ribbonsjoined ship and shore. Then suddenly a gap appeared between the old boat's side and the wooden struts³⁴² of thewharf; the air filled with cries and sobs³⁴³; and one by one in their thousands the streamers broke, fluttered wildly,sagged limply and crisscrossed the surface of the water like a mangled³⁴⁴ loom³⁴⁵, joined the orange peels and thejellyfish to float away.

Justine kept doggedly³⁴⁶ to her place at the rail until the wharf was a few hard lines and little pink pinheads in thedistance; the Himalaya's tugs³⁴⁷ turned her, towed her helplessly under the booming decks of the Sydney HarborBridge, out into the mainstream³⁴⁸ of that exquisite¹¹⁰ stretch of sunny water. It wasn't like going to Manly on theferry at all, though they followed the same path past Neutral Bay and Rose Bay and Cremorne and Vaucluse; no.

For this time it was out through the Heads, beyond the cruel cliffs and the high lace fans of foam³⁴⁹, into the ocean.

Twelve thousand miles of it, to the other side of the world. And whether they came home again or not, theywould belong neither here nor there, for they would have lived on two continents and sampled two differentways of life.

Money, Justine discovered, made London a most alluring³⁵⁰ place. Not for her a penniless existence clinging tothe fringes of Earl's Court-"Kangaroo Valley" they called it because so many Australians made it theirheadquarters. Not for her the typical fate of Australians in England, youth-hosteling on a shoestring³⁵¹, working fora pittance³⁵² in some office or school or hospital, shivering thin-blooded over a tiny radiator⁹⁵ in a cold, damp room.

Instead, for Justine a mews flat in Kensington close to Knightsbridge, centrally heated; and a place in thecompany of Clyde Daltinham-Roberts, The Elizabethan Group. When the summer came she caught a train toRome. In afteryears she would smile, remembering how little she saw of that long journey across France, downItaly; her whole mind was occupied with the things she had to tell Dane, memorizing those she simply mustn'tforget. There were so many she was bound to leave some out.

Was that Dane? The tall, fair man on the platform, was that Dane? He didn't look any different, and yet he wasa stranger. Not of her world anymore. The cry she was going to give to attract his attention died unuttered; shedrew back a little in her seat to watch him, for the train had halted only a few feet beyond where he stood, blueeyes scanning the windows without anxiety. It was going to be a pretty one-sided conversation when she toldhim about life since he had gone away, for she knew now there was no thirst in him to share what he experiencedwith her. Damn him! He wasn't her baby brother anymore; the life he was living had as little to do with her as itdid with Drogheda. Oh, Dane! What's it like to live something twenty-four hours of every day?

"Hah! Thought I'd dragged you down here on a wild-goose chase, didn't you?" she said, creeping up behind himunseen.

He turned, squeezed her hands and stared down at her, smiling. "Prawn," he said lovingly, taking her biggersuitcase and tucking her free arm in his. "It's good to see you," he added as he handed her into the red Lagondahe drove everywhere; Dane had always been a sports car fanatic³⁵³, and had owned one since he was old enough tohold a license³⁵⁴.

"Good to see you, too. I hope you found me a nice pub, because I meant what I wrote. I refuse to be stuck in aVatican cell among a heap of celibates³⁵⁵." She laughed.

"They wouldn't have you, not with the Devil's hair. I've booked you into a little pension not far from me, butthey speak English so you needn't worry if I'm not with you. And in Rome it's no problem getting around onEnglish; there's usually someone who can speak it.""Times like this I wish I had your gift for foreign languages. But I'll manage; I'm very good at mimes³⁵⁶ andcharades.""I have two months, Jussy, isn't it super? So we can take a look at France and Spain and still have a month onDrogheda. I miss the old place." "Do you?" She turned to look at him, at the beautiful hands guiding the carexpertly through the crazy Roman traffic. "I don't miss it at all; London's too interesting.""You don't fool me," he said. "I know what Drogheda and Mum mean to you." Justine clenched³⁵⁷ her hands inher lap but didn't answer him. "Do you mind having tea with some friends of mine this afternoon?" he askedwhen they had arrived. "I rather anticipated things by accepting for you already. They're so anxious to meet you,and as I'm not a free man until tomorrow, I didn't like to say no.""Prawn! Why should I mind? If this was London I'd be inundating³⁵⁹ you with my friends, so why shouldn't you?

I'm glad you're giving me a look-see at the blokes in the seminary, though it's a bit unfair to me, isn't it? Handsoff the lot of them."She walked to the window, looked down at a shabby little square with two tired plane trees in its pavedquadrangle, three tables strewn with them, and to one side a church of no particular architectural grace or beauty,covered in peeling stucco.

"Dane . .. .""Yes?""I do understand, really I do.""Yes, I know." His face lost its smile. "I wish Mum did, Jus." "Mum's different. She feels you deserted³⁶⁰ her; shedoesn't realize you haven't. Never mind about her. She'll come round in time.""I hope so." He laughed. "By the way, it isn't the blokes from the seminary you're going to meet today. Iwouldn't subject them or you to such temptation. It's Cardinal de Bricassart. I know you don't like him, butpromise you'll be good."Her eyes lit with peculiar witchery. "I promise! I'll even kiss every ring that's offered to me.""Oh, you remember! I was so mad at you that day, shaming me in front of him.""Well, since then I've kissed a lot of things less hygienic than a ring. There's one horrible pimply³⁶¹ youth in actingclass with halitosis and decayed tonsils and a rotten stomach I had to kiss a total of twenty-nine times, and I canassure you, mate, that after him nothing's impossible." She patted her hair, turned from the mirror. "Have I gottime to change?" "Oh, don't worry about that. You look fine.""Who else is going to be there?"The sun was too low to warm the ancient square, and the leprous patches on the plane tree trunks looked worn,sick. Justine shivered. "Cardinal di Contini-Verchese will be there."She had heard that name, and opened her eyes wider. "Phew! You move in pretty exalted³⁶² circles, don't you?""Yes. I try to deserve it.""Does it mean some people make it hard on you in other areas of your life here, Dane?" she asked, shrewdly.

"No, not really. Who one knows isn't important. I never think of it, so nor does anyone else."The room, the red men! Never in all her life had Justine been so conscious of the redundancy of women in thelives of some men as at that moment, walking into a world where women simply had no place except as humblenun servants. She was still in the olive-green linen³⁶³ suit she had put on outside Turin, rather crumpled³⁶⁴ from thetrain, and she advanced across the soft crimson carpet cursing Dane's eagerness to be there, wishing she hadinsisted on donning something less travel-marked.

Cardinal de Bricassart was on his feet, smiling; what a handsome old man he was.

"My dear Justine," he said, extending his ring with a wicked look which indicated he well remembered the lasttime, and searching her face for something she didn't understand. "You don't look at all like your mother." Downon one knee, kiss the ring, smile humbly³⁶⁵, get up, smile less humbly. "No, I don't, do I? I could have done withher beauty in my chosen profession, but on a stage I manage. Because it has nothing to do with what the faceactually is, you know. It's what you and your art can convince people the face is."A dry chuckle²²⁹ came from a chair; once more she trod to salute³⁶⁶ a ring on an aging wormy hand, but this time shelooked up into dark eyes, and strangely in them saw love. Love for her, for someone he had never seen, couldscarcely have heard mentioned. But it was there. She didn't like Cardinal de Bricassart any more now than shehad at fifteen, but she warmed to this old man.

"Sit down, my dear," said Cardinal Vittorio, his hand indicating the chair next to him.

"Hello, pusskins," said Justine, tickling³⁶⁷ the blue-grey cat in his scarlet lap. "She's nice, isn't she?""Indeed she is.""What's her name?""Natasha."The door opened, but not to admit the tea trolley³⁶⁸. A man, mercifully clad as a layman³⁶⁹; one more red soutane,thought Justine, and I'll bellow³⁷⁰ like a bull.

But he was no ordinary man, even if he was a layman. They probably had a little house rule in the Vatican,continued Justine's unruly mind, which specifically barred ordinary men. Not exactly short, he was so powerfullybuilt he seemed more stocky than he was, with massive shoulders and a huge chest, a big leonine head, long armslike a shearer³⁷¹. Ape-mannish, except that he exuded³⁷² intelligence and moved with the gait of someone who wouldgrasp whatever he wanted too quickly for the mind to follow. Grasp it and maybe crush it, but never aimlessly,thoughtlessly; with exquisite deliberation. He was dark, but his thick mane of hair was exactly the color of steelwool and of much the same consistency³⁷³, could steel wool have been crimped into tiny, regular waves.

"Rainer, you come in good time," said Cardinal Vittorio, indicating the chair on his other side, still speaking inEnglish. "My dear," he said, turning to Justine as the man finished kissing his ring and rose, "I would like you tomeet a very good friend. Herr Rainer Moerling Hartheim. Rainer, this is Dane's sister, Jus- 72 tine.

He bowed, clicking his heels punctiliously³⁷⁴, gave her a brief smile without warmth and sat down, just too far offto one side to see. Justine breathed a sigh of relief, especially when she saw that Dane had draped himself withthe ease of habit on the floor beside Cardinal Ralph's chair, right in her central vision. While she could seesomeone she knew and loved well, she would be all right. But the room and the red men and now this dark manwere beginning to irritate her more than Dane's presence calmed; she resented the way they shut her out. So sheleaned to one side and tickled³⁷⁶ the cat again, aware that Cardinal Vittorio sensed and was amused by herreactions.

"Is she spayed?" asked Justine.

"Of course.""Of course! Though why you needed to bother I don't know. Just being a permanent inhabitant of this placewould be enough to neuter anyone's ovaries.""On the contrary, my dear," said Cardinal Vittorio, enjoying her hugely. "It is we men who havepsychologically neutered ourselves.""I beg to differ, Your Eminence.""So our little world antagonizes you?""Well, let's just say I feel a bit superfluous³⁷⁷, Your Eminence. A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to livehere.""I cannot blame you. I also doubt that you like to visit. But you will get used to us, for you must visit us often,please."Justine grinned. "I hate being on my best behavior," she confided³⁷⁸. "It brings out the absolute worst in me. I canfeel Dane's horrors from here without even looking at him.""I was wondering how long it was going to last," said Dane, not at all put out. "Scratch Justine's surface and youfind a rebel. That's why she's such a nice sister for me to have. I'm not a rebel, but I do admire them." HerrHartheim shifted his chair so that he could continue to keep her in his line of vision even when she straightened,stopped playing with the cat. At that moment the beautiful animal grew tired of the hand with an alien femalescent, and without getting to its feet crawled delicately from red lap to grey, curling itself under Herr Hartheim'sstrong square stroking hands, purring so loudly that everyone laughed.

"Excuse me for living," said Justine, not proof against a good joke even when she was its victim.

"Her motor is as good as ever," said Herr Hartheim, the amusement working fascinating changes in his face.

His English was so good he hardly had an accent, but it had an American inflection; he rolled his rather's.

The tea came before everyone settled down again, and oddly enough it was Herr Hartheim who poured, handingJustine her cup with a much friendlier look than he had given her at introduction.

"In a British community," he said to her, "afternoon tea is the most important refreshment³⁷⁹ of the day. Thingshappen over teacups, don't they? I suppose because by its very nature it can be demanded and taken at almost anytime between two and five-thirty, and talking is thirsty work." The next half hour seemed to prove his point,though Justine took no part in the congress. Talk veered³⁸⁰ from the Holy Father's precarious³⁸¹ health to the cold warand then the economic recession, all four men speaking and listening with an alertness Justine found absorbing,beginning to grope for the qualities they shared, even Dane, who was so strange, so much an unknown. Hecontributed actively³⁸²; and it wasn't lost upon her that the three older men listened to him with a curious humility,almost as if he awed³⁸³ them. His comments were neither uninformed nor naive³⁸⁴, but they were different, original,holy. Was it for his holiness they paid such serious attention to him? That he possessed³⁸⁵ it, and they didn't? Was ittruly a virtue³⁸⁶ they admired, yearned³⁸⁷ for themselves? Was it so rare? Three men so vastly different one from theother, yet far closer bound together than any of them were to Dane. How difficult it was to take Dane as seriouslyas they did! Not that in many ways he hadn't acted as an older brother rather than a younger; not that she wasn'taware of his wisdom, his intellect or his holiness. But until now he had been a part of her world. She had to getused to the fact that he wasn't anymore.

"If you wish to go straight to your devotions, Dane, I'll see your sister back to her hotel," commanded HerrRainer Moerling Hartheim without consulting anyone's wishes on the subject. And so she found herself walkingtongue-tied down the marble stairs in the company of that squat³⁸⁸, powerful man. Outside in the yellow sheen of aRoman sunset he took her elbow and guided her into a black Mercedes limousine³⁸⁹, its chauffeur³⁹⁰ standing toattention.

"Come, you don't want to spend your first evening in Rome alone, and Dane is otherwise occupied," he said,following her into the car. "You're tired and bewildered, so it's better you have company.""You don't seem to be leaving me any choice, Herr Hartheim." "I would rather you called me Rainer.""You must be important, having a posh car and your own chauffeur." "I'll be more important still when I'mchancellor of West Germany." Justine snorted. "I'm surprised you're not already.""Impudent³⁹¹! I'm too young.""Are you?" She turned sideways to look at him more closely, discovering that his dark skin was unlined,youthful, that the deeply set eyes weren't embedded³⁹² in the fleshy surrounds of age.

"I'm heavy and I'm grey, but I've been grey since I was sixteen and heavy since I've had enough to eat. At thepresent moment I'm a mere³⁹³ thirty-one." "I'll take your word for it," she said, kicking her shoes off. "That's stillold to me-I'm sweet twenty-one.""You're a monster," he said, smiling.

"I suppose I must be. My mother says the same thing. Only I'm not sure what either of you means by monster,so you can give me your version, please." "Have you already got your mother's version?" "I'd embarrass the hellout of her if I asked.""Don't you think you embarrass me?""I strongly suspect, Herr Hartheim, that you're a monster, too, so I doubt if anything embarrasses you.""A monster," he said again under his breath. "All right then, Miss O'neill, I'll try to define the term for you.

Someone who terrifies others; rolls over the top of people; feels so strong only God can defeat; has no scruplesand few morals."She chuckled. "It sounds like you, to me. And I have so too got morals and scruples. I'm Dane's sister.""You don't look a bit like him.""More's the pity.""His face wouldn't suit your personality.""You're undoubtedly³⁹⁴ right, but with his face I might have developed a different personality.""Depending on which comes first, eh, the chicken or the egg? Put your shoes on; we're going to walk."It was warm, and growing dark; but the lights were brilliant, there were crowds it seemed no matter where theywalked, and the roads were jammed with shrieking³⁹⁵ motor scooters, tiny aggressive Fiats³⁹⁶, Goggomobils lookinglike hordes³⁹⁷ of panicked frogs. Finally he halted in a small square, its cobbles worn to smoothness by the feet ofmany centuries, and guided Justine into a restaurant.

"Unless you'd prefer alfresco?" he asked.

"Provided you feed me, I don't much care whether it's inside, outside, or halfway³⁹⁸ between.""May I order for you?"The pale eyes blinked a little wearily perhaps, but there was still fight in Justine. "I don't know that I go for allthat high-handed masterful-male business," she said. "After all, how do you know what I fancy?" "Sister Annacarries her banner," he murmured. "Tell me what sort of food you like, then, and I'll guarantee to please you.

Fish? Veal³⁹⁹?" "A compromise? All right, I'll meet you halfway, why not? I'll have pate³⁵⁸, some scampi and a hugeplate of saltimbocca, and after that I'll have a cassata and a cappuccino coffee. Fiddle⁴⁰⁰ around with that if youcan.""I ought to slap you," he said, his good humor quite unruffled. He gave her order to the waiter exactly as shehad stipulated it, but in rapid Italian. "You said I don't look a bit like Dane. Aren't I like him in any way at all?"she asked a little pathetically over coffee, too hungry to have wasted time talking while there was food on thetable. He lit her cigarette, then his own, and leaned into the shadows to watch her quietly, thinking back to hisfirst meeting with the boy months ago. Cardinal de Bricassart minus forty years of life; he had seen itimmediately, and then had learned they were uncle and nephew, that the mother of the boy and the girl wasRalph de Bricassart's sister.

"There is a likeness⁴⁰¹, yes," he said. "Sometimes even of the face. Expressions far more than features. Around theeyes and the mouth, in the way you hold your eyes open and your mouths closed. Oddly enough, not likenessesyou share with your uncle the Cardinal.""Uncle the Cardinal?" she repeated blankly.

"Cardinal de Bricassart. Isn't he your uncle? Now, I'm sure I was told he was.""That old vulture? He's no relation of ours, thank heavens. He used to be our parish priest years ago, a long timebefore I was born."She was very intelligent; but she was also very tired. Poor little girl-for that was what she was, a little girl. Theten years between them yawned like a hundred. To suspect would bring her world to ruins, and she was sovaliant in defense of it. Probably she would refuse to see it, even if she were told outright⁴⁰². How to make it seemunimportant? Not labor⁴⁰³ the point, definitely not, but not drop it immediately, either.

"That accounts for it, then," he said lightly. "Accounts for what?""The fact that Dane's likeness to the Cardinal is in general things-height, coloring, build.""Oh! My grandmother told me our father was rather like the Cardinal to look at," said Justine comfortably.

"Haven't you ever seen your father?""Not even a picture of him. He and Mum separated for good before Dane was born." She beckoned the waiter.

"I'd like another cappuccino, please." "Justine, you're a savage¹⁷⁸! Let me order for you!" "No, dammit, I won't! I'mperfectly capable of thinking for myself, and I don't need some bloody man always to tell me what I want andwhen I want it, do you hear?""Scratch the surface and one finds a rebel; that was what Dane said." "He's right. Oh, if you knew how I hatebeing petted and cosseted⁴⁰⁴ and fussed over! I like to act for myself, and I won't be told what to do! I don't ask forquarter, but I don't give any, either.""I can see that," he said dryly. "What made you so, Herzchen? Does it run in the family?""Does it? I honestly don't know. There aren't enough women to tell, I suppose. Only one per generation. Nanna,and Mum, and me. Heaps of men, though.""Except in your generation there are not heaps of men. Only Dane." "Due to the fact Mum left my father, Iexpect. She never seemed to get interested in anyone else. Pity, I think. Mum's a real homebody; she would haveliked a husband to fuss over.""Is she like you?""I don't think so.""More importantly, do you like each other?""Mum and I?" She smiled without rancor⁴⁰⁵, much as her mother would have done had someone asked herwhether she liked her daughter. "I'm not sure if we like each other, but there is something there. Maybe it's asimple biological bond; I don't know." Her eyes kindled⁴⁰⁶. "I've always wanted her to talk to me the way she doesto Dane, and wanted to get along with her the way Dane does. But either there's something lacking in her, orsomething lacking in me. Me, I'd reckon. She's a much finer person than I am.""I haven't met her, so I can't agree or disagree with your judgment⁴⁰⁷. If it's of any conceivable comfort to you,Herzchen, I like you exactly the way you are. No, I wouldn't change a thing about you, even your ridiculouspugnacity.""Isn't that nice of you? And after I insulted you, too. I'm not really like Dane, am I?""Dane isn't like anyone else in the world.""You mean because he's so not of this world?" "I suppose so." He leaned forward, out of the shadows into theweak light of the little candle in its Chianti bottle. "I am a Catholic, and my religion has been the one thing in mylife which has never failed me, though I have failed it many times. I dislike speaking of Dane, because my hearttells me some things are better left undiscussed. Certainly you aren't like him in your attitude to life, or God.

Let's leave it, all right?" She looked at him curiously. "All right, Rainer, if you want. I'll make a pact²⁵⁹ with you-nomatter what we discuss, it won't be the nature of Dane, or religion."Much had happened to Rainer Moerling Hartheim since that meeting with Ralph de Bricassart in July 1943. Aweek afterward⁴⁰⁸ his regiment⁴⁰⁹ had been dispatched to the Eastern Front, where he spent the remainder of the war.

Torn and rudderless, too young to have been indoctrinated into the Hitler Youth in its leisurely⁴¹⁰ prewar days, hehad faced the consequences of Hitler in feet of snow, without ammunition⁴¹¹, the front line stretched so thin therewas only one soldier for every hundred yards of it. And out of the war he carried two memories: that bittercampaign in bitter cold, and the face of Ralph de Bricassart. Horror and beauty, the Devil and God. Half crazed,half frozen, waiting defenseless for Khrushchev's guerrillas to drop from low-flying planes parachuteless into thesnowdrifts, he beat his breast and muttered prayers. But he didn't know what he prayed for: bullets for his gun,escape from the Russians, his immortal⁴¹² soul, the man in the basilica, Germany, a lessening of grief. In the springof 1945 he had retreated back across Poland before the Russians, like his fellow soldiers with only one objective-to make it into British-or American-occupied Germany. For if the Russians caught him, he would be shot. Hetore his papers into shreds⁴¹³ and burned them, buried his two Iron Crosses, stole some clothes and presentedhimself to the British authorities on the Danish border. They shipped him to a camp for displaced persons inBelgium. There for a year he lived on the bread and gruel⁴¹⁴, which was all the exhausted British could afford tofeed the thousands upon thousands of people in their charge, waiting until the British realized their only coursewas release.

Twice officials of the camp had summoned him to present him with an ultimatum⁴¹⁵. There was a boat waiting inOstend harbor loading immigrants for Australia. He would be given new papers and shipped to his new land freeof charge, in return for which he would work for the Australian government for two years in whatever capacitythey chose, after which his life would become entirely⁴¹⁶ his own. Not slave labor; he would be paid the standardwage, of course. But on both occasions he managed to talk himself out of summary emigration. He had hatedHitler, not Germany, and he was not ashamed of being a German. Home meant Germany; it had occupied hisdreams for over three years. The very thought of yet again being stranded⁴¹⁷ in a country where no one spoke hislanguage nor he theirs was anathema. So at the beginning of 1947 he found himself penniless on the streets ofAachen, ready to pick up the pieces of an existence he knew he wanted very badly. He and his soul had survived,but not to go back to poverty and obscurity. For Rainer was more than a very ambitious man; he was alsosomething of a genius. He went to work for Grundig, and studied the field which had fascinated him since hefirst got acquainted with radar⁴¹⁸: electronics. Ideas teemed⁴¹⁹ in his brain, but he refused to sell them to Grundig for amillionth part of their value. Instead he gauged⁴²⁰ the market carefully, then married the widow of a man who hadmanaged to keep a couple of small radio factories, and went into business for himself. That he was barely intohis twenties didn't matter. His mind was characteristic of a far older man, and the chaos⁴²¹ of postwar Germanycreated opportunities for young men. Since his wedding had been a civil one, the Church permitted him todivorce his wife; in 1951 he paid Annelise Hartheim exactly twice the current value of her first husband's twofactories, and did just that, divorced her. However, he didn't remarry.

What had happened to the boy in the frozen terror of Russia did not produce a soulless caricature of a man;rather it arrested the growth of softness and sweetness in him, and threw into high relief other qualities hepossessed-intelligence, ruthlessness, determination. A man who has nothing to lose has everything to gain, and aman without feelings cannot be hurt. Or so he told himself. In actual fact, he was curiously similar to the man hehad met in Rome in 1943; like Ralph de Bricassart he understood he did wrong even as he did it. Not that hisawareness of the evil in him stopped him for a second; only that he paid for his material advancement⁴²³ in pain andself-torment. To many people it might not have seemed worth the price he paid, but to him it was worth twice thesuffering. One day he was going to run Germany and make it what he had dreamed, he was going to scotch⁴²⁴ theAryan Lutheran ethic⁴²⁵, shape a broader one. Because he couldn't promise to cease sinning he had been refusedabsolution in the confessional several times, but somehow he and his religion muddled⁴²⁷ through in one piece,until accumulated money and power removed him so many layers beyond guilt⁴²⁸ he could present himselfrepentant, and be shriven.

In 1955, one of the richest and most powerful men in the new West Germany and a fresh face in its Bonnparliament, he went back to Rome. To seek out Cardinal de Bricassart, and show him the end result of hisprayers. What he had imagined that meeting might be he could not afterward remember, for from beginning toend of it he was conscious of only one thing: that Ralph de Bricassart was disappointed in him. He had knownwhy, he hadn't needed to ask. But he hadn't expected the Cardinal's parting remark: "I had prayed you would dobetter than I, for you were so young. No end is worth any means. But I suppose the seeds of our ruin are sownbefore our births."Back in his hotel room he had wept, but calmed after a while and thought: What's past is done with; for thefuture I will be as he hoped. And sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he failed. But he tried. His friendship withthe men in the Vatican became the most precious earthly thing in his life, and Rome became the place to whichhe fled when only their comfort seemed to stand between himself and despair. Comfort. Theirs was a strangekind. Not the laying on of hands, or soft words. Rather a balm from the soul, as if they understood his pain.

And he thought, as he walked the warm Roman night after depositing Justine in her pension, that he wouldnever cease to be grateful to her. For as he had watched her cope with the ordeal⁴²⁹ of that afternoon interview, hehad felt a stirring of tenderness. Bloody but unbowed, the little monster. She could match them every inch of theway; did they realize it? He felt, he decided, what he might have felt on behalf of a daughter he was proud of,only he had no daughter. So he had stolen her from Dane, carried her off to watch her aftermath reaction to thatoverpowering ecclesiasticism, and to the Dane she had never seen before; the Dane who was not and could notever be a full-hearted part of her life.

The nicest thing about his personal God, he went on, was that He could forgive anything; He could forgiveJustine her innate⁴³⁰ godlessness and himself the shutting down of his emotional powerhouse until such time as itwas convenient to reopen it. Only for a while he had panicked, thinking he had lost the key forever. He smiled,threw away her cigarette. The key. . . . Well, sometimes keys had strange shapes. Perhaps it needed every kink inevery curl of that red head to trip the tumblers; perhaps in a room of scarlet his God had handed him a scarletkey.

A fleeting⁴³¹ day, over in a second. But on looking at his watch he saw it was still early, and knew the man whohad so much power now that His Holiness lay near death would still be wakeful, sharing the nocturnal habits ofhis cat. Those dreadful hiccups⁴³² filling the small room at Castel Gandolfo, twisting the thin, pale, ascetic⁴³³ facewhich had watched beneath the white crown for so many years; he was dying, and he was a great Pope. Nomatter what they said, he was a great Pope. If he had loved his Germans, if he still liked to hear German spokenaround him, did it alter anything? Not for Rainer to judge that.

But for what Rainer needed to know at the moment, Castel Gandolfo was not the source. Up the marble stairs tothe scarlet-and-crimson room, to talk to Vittorio Scarbanza, Cardinal di Contini-Verchese. Who might be thenext Pope, or might not. For almost three years now he had watched those wise, loving dark eyes rest where theymost liked to rest; yes, better to seek the answers from him than from Cardinal de Bricassart.

"I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but thank God we're leaving for Drogheda," said Justine, refusing tothrow a coin in the Trevi Fountain. "We were supposed to take a look at France and Spain; instead we're still inRome and I'm as unnecessary as a navel. Brothers!""Hmmm, so you deem navels unnecessary? Socrates was of the same opinion, I remember," said Rainer.

"Socrates was? I don't recollect⁴³⁴ that! Funny, I thought I'd read most of Plato, too." She twisted to stare at him,thinking the casual clothes of a holidaymaker in Rome suited him far better than the sober attire⁴³⁵ he wore forVatican audiences.

"He was absolutely convinced navels were unnecessary, as a matter of fact. So much so that to prove his pointhe unscrewed his own navel and threw it away."Her lips twitched. "And what happened?""His toga fell off.""Hook! Hook!" She giggled⁴³⁶. "Anyway, they didn't wear togas in Athens then. But I have a horrible feelingthere's a moral in your story." Her face sobered. "Why do you bother with me, Rain?""Stubborn! I've told you before, my name is pronounced Ryner, not Rayner." "Ah, but you don't understand,"she said, looking thoughtfully at the twinkling streams of water, the dirty pool loaded with dirty coins. "Haveyou ever been to Australia?"His shoulders shook, but he made no sound. "Twice I almost went, Herzchen, but I managed to avoid it.""Well, if you had gone you'd understand. You have a magical name to an Australian, when it's pronounced myway. Rainer. Rain. Life in the desert." Startled, he dropped his cigarette. "Justine, you aren't falling in love withme, are you?""What egotists men are! I hate to disappoint you, but no." Then, as if to soften⁵³ any unkindness in her words, sheslipped her hand into his, squeezed. "It's something much nicer." "What could be nicer than falling in love?""Almost anything, I think. I don't want to need anyone like that, ever." "Perhaps you're right. It's certainly acrippling handicap, taken on too early. So what is much nicer?""Finding a friend." Her hand rubbed his. "You are my friend, aren't you?" "Yes." Smiling, he threw a coin in thefountain. "There! I must have given it a thousand D-marks over the years, just for reassurance⁴³⁷ that I wouldcontinue to feel the warmth of the south. Sometimes in my nightmares I'm cold again.""You ought to feel the warmth of the real south," said Justine. "A hundred and fifteen in the shade, if you canfind any.""No wonder you don't feel the heat." He laughed the soundless laugh, as always; a hangover from the old days,when to laugh aloud might have tempted fate. "And the heat would account for the fact that you're hard-boiled.""Your English is colloquial⁴³⁸, but American. I would have thought you'd have learned English in some poshBritish university.""No. I began to learn it from Cockney or Scottish or Midlands tommies in a Belgian camp, and didn'tunderstand a word of it except when I spoke to the man who had taught it tome. One said "abaht," one said"aboot," one said "about," but they all meant "about." So when I got back to Germany I saw every motion pictureI could, and bought the only records available in English, records made by American comedians⁴³⁹. But I playedthem over and over again at home, until I spoke enough English to learn more."Her shoes were off, as usual; awed, he had watched her walk barefooted on pavements hot enough to fry anegg, and over stony⁴⁴⁰ places.

"Urchin⁴⁴¹! Put your shoes on.""I'm an Aussie; our feet are too broad to be comfortable in shoes. Comes of no really cold weather; we gobarefoot whenever we can. I can walk across a paddock of bindy-eye burns and pick them out of my feet withoutfeeling them," she said proudly. "I could probably walk on hot coals." Then abruptly⁴⁴² she changed the subject.

"Did you love your wife, Rain?" "No.""Did she love you?""Yes. She had no other reason to marry me.""Poor thing! You used her, and you dropped her.""Does it disappoint you?""No, I don't think so. I rather admire you for it, actually. But I do feel very sorry for her, and it makes me moredetermined than ever not to land in the same soup she did.""Admire me?" His tone was blank, astonished.

"Why not? I'm not looking for the things in you she undoubtedly did, now am I? I like you, you're my friend.

She loved you, you were her husband." "I think, Herzchen," he said a little sadly, "that ambitious men are notvery kind to their women.""That's because they usually fall for utter doormats of women, the "Yes, dear, no, dear, three bags full, dear, andwhere would you like it put?"' sort. Hard cheese all round, I say. If I'd been your wife, I'd have told you to go peeup a rope, but I'll bet she never did, did she?" His lips quivered. "No, poor Annelise. She was the martyred kind,so her weapons were not nearly so direct or so deliciously expressed. I wish they made Australian films, so Iknew your vernacular. The "Yes, dear' bit I got, but I have no idea what hard cheese is.""Tough luck, sort of, but it's more unsympathetic." Her broad toes clung like strong fingers to the inside of thefountain wall, she teetered precariously⁴⁴⁴ backward and righted herself easily. "Well, you were kind to her in theend. You got rid of her. She's far better off without you, though she probably doesn't think so. Whereas I cankeep you, because I'll never let you get under my skin.""Hard-boiled. You really are, Justine. And how did you find out these things about me?""I asked Dane. Naturally, being Dane he just gave me the bare facts, but I deduced the rest.""From your enormous store of past experience, no doubt. What a fraud you are! They say you're a very goodactress, but I find that incredible. How do you manage to counterfeit⁴⁴⁵ emotions you can never have experienced?

As a person you're more emotionally backward than most fifteen-year-olds." She jumped down, sat on the walland leaned to put her shoes on, wriggling⁴⁴⁶ her toes ruefully. "My feet are swollen⁴⁴⁷, dammit." There was noindication by a reaction of rage or indignation that she had even heard the last part of what he said. As if whenaspersions or criticisms were leveled at her she simply switched off an internal hearing aid. How many theremust have been. The miracle was that she didn't hate Dane.

"That's a hard question to answer," she said. "I must be able to do it or I wouldn't be so good, isn't that right?

But it's like . . . a waiting. My life off the stage, I mean. I conserve⁴⁴⁸ myself, I can't spend it offstage. We only haveso much to give, don't we? And up there I'm not myself, or perhaps more correctly I'm a succession of selves. Wemust all be a profound mixture of selves, don't you think? To me, acting is first and foremost intellect, and onlyafter that, emotion. The one liberates⁴⁴⁹ the other, and polishes it. There's so much more to it than simply crying orscreaming or producing a convincing laugh. It's wonderful, you know. Thinking myself into another self,someone I might have been, had the circumstances been there. That's the secret. Not becoming someone else, butincorporating the role into me as if she was myself. And so she becomes me." As though her excitement was toogreat to bear in stillness, she jumped to her feet. "Imagine, Rain! In twenty years' time I'll be able to say tomyself, I've committed murders, I've suicided, I've gone mad, I've saved men or ruined them. Oh! Thepossibilities are endless!" "And they will all be you." He rose, took her hand again. "Yes, you're quite right,Justine. You can't spend it offstage. In anyone else, I'd say you would in spite of that, but being you, I'm not sosure."If they applied⁴⁵⁰ themselves to it, the Drogheda people could imagine that Rome and London were no fartheraway than Sydney, and that the grown-up Dane and Justine were still children going to boarding school.

Admittedly they couldn't come home for all the shorter vacations of other days, but once a year they turned upfor a month at least. Usually in August or September, and looking much as always. Very young. Did it matterwhether they were fifteen and sixteen or twenty two and twenty-three? And if the Drogheda people lived for thatmonth in early spring, they most definitely never went round saying things like, Well, only a few weeks to go!

or, Dear heaven, it's not a month since they left! But around July everyone's step became brisker, and permanentsmiles settled on every face. From the cookhouse to the paddocks to the drawing room, treats and gifts wereplanned. In the meantime there were letters. Mostly these reflected the personalities⁴⁵¹ of their authors, butsometimes they contradicted. One would have thought, for instance, that Dane would be a meticulously⁴⁵² regularcorrespondent and Justine a scrappy one. That Fee would never write at all. That the Cleary men would writetwice a year. That Meggie would enrich the postal⁴⁵³ service with letters every day, at least to Dane. That Mrs.

Smith, Minnie and Cat would send birthday and Christmas cards. That Anne Mueller would write often toJustine, never to Dane.

Dane's intentions were good, and he did indeed write regularly. The only trouble was he forgot to post hisefforts, with the result that two or three months would go by without a word, and then Drogheda would receivedozens on the same mail run. The loquacious⁴⁵⁴ Justine wrote lengthy⁴⁵⁵ missives which were pure stream of-consciousness, rude enough to evoke blushes and clucks of alarm, and entirely fascinating. Meggie wrote onceevery two weeks only, to both her children. Though Justine never received letters from her grand-mother, Danedid quite often. He also got word regularly from all his uncles, about the land and the sheep and the health of theDrogheda women, for they seemed to think it was their duty to assure him all was truly well at home. However,they didn't extend this to Justine, who would have been flabbergasted by it anyway. For the rest, Mrs. Smith,Minnie, Cat and Anne Mueller, correspondence went as might be expected. It was lovely reading letters, and aburden writing them. That is, for all save Justine, who experienced twinges of exasperation because no one eversent her the kind she desired-fat, wordy and frank. It was from Justine the Drogheda people got most of theirinformation about Dane, for his letters never plunged⁴⁵⁷ his readers right into the middle of a scene. WhereasJustine's did.

Rain flew into London today [she wrote once], and he was telling me he saw Dane in Rome last week. Well, hesees a lot more of Dane than of me, since Rome is at the top of his travel agenda and London is rock bottom. So Imust confess Rain is one of the prime reasons why I meet Dane in Rome every year before we come home. Danelikes coming to London, only I won't let him if Rain is in Rome. Selfish. But you've no idea how I enjoy Rain.

He's one of the few people I know who gives me a run for my money, and I wish we met more often. In onerespect Rain's luckier than I am. He gets to meet Dane's fellow students where I don't. I think Dane thinks I'mgoing to rape³⁷⁵ them on the spot. Or maybe he thinks they'll rape me. Hah. Only happen if they saw me in myCharmian costume. It's a stunner, people, it really is. Sort of up-to-date Theda Bara. Two little round bronzeshields for the old tits, lots and lots of chains and what I reckon is a cha/y belt you'd need a pair of tin-cutters toget inside it, anyway. In a long black wig⁸, tan body paint and my few scraps⁴⁵⁸ of metal I look a smasher .

. . . Where was I??? Oh, yes, Rain in Rome last week meeting Dane and his pals⁴⁵⁹. They all went out on the tiles.

Rain insists on paying, saves Dane embarrassment⁴⁶⁰. It was some night. No women, natch, but everything else.

Can you imagine Dane down on his knees in some seedy Roman bar saying "Fair daffodils, we haste to see theeweep so soon away" to a vase of daffodils? He tried for ten minutes to get the words of the quotation⁴⁶¹ in theirright order and couldn't, then he gave up, put one of the daffodils between his teeth instead and did a dance. Canyou ever imagine Dane doing that? Rain says it's harmless and necessary, all work and no play, etc. Womenbeing out, the next best thing is a skinful of grog. Or so Rain insists. Don't get the idea it happens often, itdoesn't, and I gather when it does Rain is the ringleader, so he's along to watch out for them, the naive lot of rawprawns. But I did laugh to think of Dane's halo slipping during the course of a flamenco dance with a daffodil.

It took Dane eight years in Rome to attain⁴⁶² his priesthood, and at their beginning no one thought they could everend. Yet those eight years used themselves up faster than any of the Drogheda people had imagined. Just whatthey thought he was going to do after he was ordained they didn't know, except that they did assume he wouldreturn to Australia. Only Meggie and Justine suspected he would want to remain in Italy, and Meggie at any ratecould lull her doubts with memories of his content when he came back each year to his home. He was anAustralian, he would want to come home. With Justine it was different. No one dreamed she would come homefor good. She was an actress; her career would founder⁴⁶³ in Australia. Where Dane's career could be pursued withequal zeal⁴⁶⁴ anywhere at all. Thus in the eighth year there were no plans as to what the children would do whenthey came for their annual holiday; instead the Drogheda people were planning their trip to Rome, to see Daneordained a priest.

"We fizzled out," said Meggie.

"I beg your pardon, dear?" asked Anne.

They were sitting in a warm corner of the veranda⁴⁶⁵ reading, but Meggie's book had fallen neglected into her lap,and she was absently watching the antics of two willy-wagtails on the lawn. It had been a wet year; there wereworms everywhere and the fattest, happiest birds anyone ever remembered. Bird songs filled the air from dawnto the last of dusk. "I said we fizzled out," repeated Meggie, crowlike. "A damp squib. All that promise!

Whoever would have guessed it in 1921, when we arrived on Drogheda?" "How do you mean?""A total of six sons, plus me. And a year later, two more sons. What would you think? Dozens of children, halfa hundred grandchildren? So look at us now. Hal and Stu are dead, none of the ones left alive seem to have anyintention of ever getting married, and I, the only one not entitled to pass on the name, have been the only one togive Drogheda its heirs. And even then the gods weren't happy, were they? A son and a daughter. Severalgrandchildren at least, you might think. But what happens? My son embraces the priesthood and my daughter'san old maid career woman. Another dead end for Drogheda.""I don't see what's so strange about it," said Anne. "After all, what could you expect from the men? Stuck outhere as shy as kangas, never meeting the girls they might have married. And with Jims and Patsy, the war toboot. Could you see Jims marrying when he knows Patsy can't? They're far too fond of each other for that. Andbesides, the land's demanding in a neutered way. It takes just about all they've got to give, because I don't thinkthey have a great deal. In a physical sense, I mean. Hasn't it ever struck you, Meggie? Yours isn't a very highlysexed family, to put it bluntly. And that goes for Dane and Justine, too. I mean, there are some people whocompulsively hunt it like tomcats, but not your lot. Though perhaps Justine will marry. There's this German chapRainer; she seems terribly fond of him.""You've hit the nail on the head," said Meggie, in no mood to be comforted. "She seems terribly fond of him.

Just that. After all, she's known him for seven years. If she wanted to marry him, it would have happened agesago." "Would it? I know Justine pretty well," answered Anne truthfully, for she did; better than anyone else onDrogheda, including Meggie and Fee. "I think she's terrified of committing herself to the kind of love marriagewould entail²⁸⁷, and I must say I admire Rainer. He seems to understand her very well. Oh, I don't say he's in lovewith her for sure, but if he is, at least he's got the sense to wait until she's ready to take the plunge⁴⁵⁶." She leanedforward, her book falling forgotten to the tiles. "Oh, will you listen to that bird? I'm sure even a nightingalecouldn't match it." Then she said what she had been wanting to say for weeks. "Meggie, why won't you go toRome to see Dane ordained? Isn't that peculiar? Dane-ordain.""I'm not going to Rome!" said Meggie between clenched teeth. "I shall never leave Drogheda again.""Meggie, don't! You can't disappoint him so! Go, please! If you don't, Drogheda won't have a single womanthere, because you're the only woman young enough to take the flight. But I tell you, if I thought for one minutemy body would survive I'd be right on that plane.""Go to Rome and see Ralph de Bricassart smirking⁴⁶⁷? I'd rather be dead!" "Oh, Meggie, Meggie! Why must youtake out your frustrations⁴⁶⁹ on him, and on your son? You said it once yourself-it's your own fault. So beggar yourpride, and go to Rome. Please!""It isn't a question of pride." She shivered. "Oh, Anne, I'm frightened to go! Because I don't believe it, I justdon't! My flesh creeps when I think about it.""And what about the fact he mightn't come home after he's a priest? Did that ever occur to you? He won't begiven huge chunks of leave the way he was in the seminary, so if he decides to remain in Rome you may wellhave to take yourself there if you ever want to see him at all. Go to Rome, Meggie!" "I can't. If you knew howfrightened I am! It's not pride, or Ralph scoring one over on me, or any of the things I say it is to stop peopleasking me questions. Lord knows, I miss both my men so much I'd crawl on my knees to see them if I thoughtfor a minute they wanted me. Oh, Dane would be glad to see me, but Ralph? He's forgotten I ever existed. I'mfrightened, I tell you. I know in my bones that if I go to Rome something will happen. So I'm not going.""What could happen, for pity's sake?""I don't know . . . . If I did, I'd have something to battle. A feeling, how can I battle a feeling? Because that's allit is. A premonition. As if the gods are gathering⁴⁷⁰.

Anne laughed. "You're becoming a real old woman, Meggie. Stop!" "I can't, I can't! And I am an old woman.""Nonsense, you're just in brisk middle age. Well and truly young enough to hop on that plane.""Oh, leave me alone!" said Meggie savagely, and picked up her book.

Occasionally a crowd with a purpose converges⁴⁷¹ upon Rome. Not tourism, the voyeuristic⁴⁷² sampling of pastglories in present relics; not the filling in of a little slice of time between A and B, with Rome a point on the linebetween those two places. This is a crowd with a single uniting emotion; it bursts with pride, for it is coming tosee its son, nephew, cousin, friend ordained a priest in the great basilica which is the most venerated⁴⁷³ church inthe world. Its members put up in humble pensiones, luxury hotels, the homes of friends or relatives. But they aretotally united, at peace with each other and with the world. They do the rounds dutifully; the Vatican Museumwith the Sistine Chapel⁴⁷⁴ at its end like a prize for endurance; the Forum⁴⁷⁵, the Colosseum, the Appian Way, theSpanish Steps, the greedy Trevi Fountain, the son et lumiere. Waiting for the day, filling in time. They will beaccorded the special privilege of a private audience with the Holy Father, and for them Rome will find nothingtoo good.

This time it wasn't Dane waiting on the platform to meet Justine, as it had been every other time; he was inretreat. Instead, Rainer Moerling Hartheim prowled the dirty paving like some great animal. He didn't greet herwith a kiss, he never did; he just put an arm about her shoulders and squeezed. "Rather like a bear," said Justine.

"A bear?""I used to think when I first met you that you were some sort of missing link, but I've finally decided you'remore of a bear than a gorilla⁴⁷⁶. It was an unkind comparison, the gorilla.""And bears are kind?""Well, perhaps they do one to death just as quickly, but they're more cuddly⁴⁷⁷." She linked her arm through hisand matched his stride, for she was almost as tall as he. "How's Dane? Did you see him before he went intoretreat? I could kill Clyde, not letting me go sooner.""Dane is as always.""You haven't been leading him astray?""Me? Certainly not. You look very nice, Herzchen.""I'm on my very best behavior, and I bought out every couturier in London. Do you like my new short skirt?

They call it the mini.""Walk ahead of me, and I'll tell you."The hem⁶⁰ of the full silk skirt was about midthigh; it swirled⁴⁷⁸ as she turned and came back to him. "What do youthink, Rain? Is it scandalous? I noticed no one in Paris is wearing this length yet.""It proves a point, Herzchen-that with legs as good as yours, to wear a skirt one millimeter longer is scandalous.

I'm sure the Romans will agree with me.""Which means my arse will be black and blue in an hour instead of a day. Damn them! Though do you knowsomething, Rain?" "What?""I've never been pinched by a priest. All these years I've been flipping⁴⁷⁹ in and out of the Vatican with nary apinch to my credit. So I thought maybe if I wore a miniskirt, I might be the undoing⁴⁸⁰ of some poor prelate yet.""You might be my undoing." He smiled.

"No, really? In orange? I thought you hated me in orange, when I've got orange hair.""It inflames⁴⁸¹ the senses, such a busy color.""You're teasing me," she said, disgusted, climbing into his Mercedes limousine, which had a German pennantfluttering from its bonnet⁴⁸² talisman⁴⁸³. "When did you get the little flag?""When I got my new post in the government.""No wonder I rated a mention in the News of the World! Did you see it?" "You know I never read rags,Justine.""Well, nor do I; someone showed it to me," she said, then pitched her voice higher and endowed it with ashabby-genteel, fraightfully naice accent. "What up-and-coming carrot-topped Australian actress is cementingvery cordial relations with what member of the West German cabinet?" "They can't be aware how long we'veknown each other," he said tranquilly⁴⁸⁴, stretching out his legs and making himself comfortable. Justine ran hereyes over his clothes with approval; very casual, very Italian. He was rather in the European fashion swimhimself, daring to wear one of the fishing-net shirts which enabled Italian males to demonstrate the hairiness oftheir chests.

"You should never wear a suit and collar and tie," she said suddenly. "No? Why not?""Machismo is definitely your style-you know, what you've got on now, the gold medallion and chain on thehairy chest. A suit makes you look as if your waistline is bulging⁴⁸⁵, when it really isn't at all."For a moment he gazed at her in surprise, then the expression in his eyes became alert, in what she called his"concentrated thinking look." "A first," he said.

"What's a first?""In the seven years I've known you, you've never before commented upon my appearance except perhaps todisparage it.""Oh, dear, haven't I?" she asked, looking a little ashamed. "Heavens, I've thought of it often enough, and neverdisparagingly." For some reason she added hastily, "I mean, about things like the way you look in a suit."He didn't answer, but he was smiling, as at a very pleasant thought. That ride with Rainer seemed to be the lastquiet thing to happen for days. Shortly after they returned from visiting Cardinal de Bricassart and Cardinal diContini-Verchese, the limousine Rainer had hired deposited the Drogheda contingent⁴⁸⁶ at their hotel. Out of thecorner of her eye Justine watched Rain's reaction to her family, entirely uncles. Right until the moment her eyesdidn't find her mother's face, Justine had been convinced she would change her mind and come to Rome. Thatshe hadn't was a cruel blow; Justine didn't know whether she ached more on Dane's behalf or on her own. But inthe meantime here were the Unks, and she was undoubtedly their hostess. Oh, they were so shy! Which one ofthem was which? The older they got, the more alike they looked. And in Rome they stuck out like-well, likeAustralian graziers on holiday in Rome. Each one was clad in the citygoing uniform of affluent⁴⁸⁷ squatters: tanelastic-sided riding boots, neutral trousers, tan sports jackets of very heavy, fuzzy wool with side vents²⁷⁸ andplenty of leather patches, white shirts, knitted wool ties, flat-crowned grey hats with broad brims. No novelty onthe streets of Sydney during Royal Easter Show time, but in a late Roman summer, extraordinary. And I can saywith double sincerity⁴⁸⁹, thank God for Rain! How good he is with them. I wouldn't have believed anyone couldstimulate Patsy into speech, but he's doing it, bless him. They're talking away like old hens, and where did he getAustralian beer for them? He likes them, and he's interested, I suppose. Everything is grist to the mill of aGerman industrialist-politician, isn't it? How can he stick to his faith, being what he is? An enigma⁴⁹⁰, that's whatyou are, Rainer Moerling Hartheim. Friend of popes and cardinals, friend of Justine O'neill. Oh, if you weren't sougly I'd kiss you, I'm so terribly grateful. Lord, fancy being stuck in Rome with the Unks and no Rain! You arewell named.

He was sitting back in his chair, listening while Bob told him about shearing⁴⁹¹, and having nothing better to dobecause he had so completely taken charge, Justine watched him curiously. Mostly she noticed everythingphysical about people immediately, but just occasionally that vigilance slipped and people stole up on her,carved a niche⁴⁹² in her life without her having made that vital initial assessment⁴⁹³. For if it wasn't made, sometimesyears would go by before they intruded⁴⁹⁴ into her thoughts again as strangers. Like now, watching Rain. That firstmeeting had been responsible, of course; surrounded by churchmen, awed, frightened, brazening it out. She hadnoticed only the obvious things: his powerful build, his hair, how dark he was. Then when he had taken her off todinner the chance to rectify⁴⁹⁵ things had been lost, for he had forced an awareness⁴²² of himself on her far beyond hisphysical attributes; she had been too interested in what the mouth was saying to look at the mouth.

He wasn't really ugly at all, she decided now. He looked what he was, perhaps, a mixture of the best and theworst. Like a Roman emperor. No wonder he loved the city. It was his spiritual home. A broad face with high,wide cheekbones and a small yet aquiline⁴⁹⁶ nose. Thick black brows, straight instead of following the curve of theorbits. Very long, feminine black lashes and quite lovely dark eyes, mostly hooded⁴⁹⁷ to hide his thoughts. By farhis most beautiful possession was his mouth, neither full nor thin-lipped, neither small nor large, but very wellshaped, with a distinct cut to the boundaries of its lips and a peculiar firmness in the way he held it; as if perhapswere he to relax his hold upon it, it might give away secrets about what he was really like. Interesting, to take aface apart which was already so well known, yet not known at all.

She came out of her reverie to find him watching her watch him, which was like being stripped naked in frontof a crowd armed with stones. For a moment his eyes held hers, wide open and alert, not exactly startled, ratherarrested. Then he transferred his gaze calmly to Bob, and asked a pertinent⁴³ question about boggis. Justine gaveherself a mental shake, told herself not to go imagining things. But it was fascinating, suddenly to see a man whohad been a friend for years as a possible lover. And not finding the thought at all repulsive⁴⁹⁸.

There had been a number of successors to Arthur Lestrange, and she hadn't wanted to laugh. Oh, I've come along way since that memorable⁴⁹⁹ night. But I wonder have I actually progressed at all? It's very nice to have a man,and the hell with what Dane said about it being the one man. I'm not going to make it one man, so I'm not goingto sleep with Rain; oh, no. It would change too many things, and I'd lose my friend. I need my friend, I can'tafford to be without my friend. I shall keep him as I keep Dane, a male human being without any physicalsignificance for me.

The church could hold twenty thousand people, so it wasn't crowded. Nowhere in the world had so much timeand thought and genius been put into the creation of a temple of God; it paled the pagan works of antiquity⁵⁰⁰ toinsignificance. It did. So much love, so much sweat. Bramante's basilica, Michelangelo's dome⁸⁶, Bernini'scolonnade. A monument not only to God, but to Man. Deep under the confession⁴²⁶ in a little stone room SaintPeter himself was buried; here the Emperor Charlemagne had been crowned. The echoes of old voices seemed towhisper among the pouring slivers⁵⁰² of light, dead fingers polished the bronze rays behind the high altar andcaressed the twisted bronze columns of the baldacchino.

He was lying on the steps, face down, as though dead. What was he thinking? Was there a pain in him that hadno right to be there, because his mother had not come? Cardinal Ralph looked through his tears, and knew therewas no pain. Beforehand, yes; afterward, certainly. But now, no pain. Everything in him was projected into themoment, the miracle. No room in him for anything which was not God. It was his day of days, and nothingmattered save the task at hand, the vowing⁵⁰⁴ of his life and soul to God. He could probably do it, but how manyothers actually had? Not Cardinal Ralph, though he still remembered his own ordination⁵⁰⁵ as filled with holywonder. With every part of him he had tried, yet something he had withheld⁵⁰⁶.

Not so august as this, my ordination, but I live it again through him. And wonder what he truly is, that in spiteof our fears for him he could have passed among us so many years and not made an unfriend, let alone a realenemy. He is loved by all, and he loves all. It never crosses his mind for an instant that this state of affairs isextraordinary. And yet, when he came to us first he was not so sure of himself; we have given him that, forwhich perhaps our existences are vindicated⁵⁰⁷. There have been many priests made here, thousands uponthousands, yet for him there is something special. Oh, Meggie! Why wouldn't you come to see the gift you'vegiven Our Lord-the gift I could not, having given Him myself? And I suppose that's it, how he can be here todayfree of pain. Because for today I've been empowered to take his pain to myself, free him from it. I weep his tears,I mourn in his place. And that is how it should be.

Later he turned his head, looked at the row of-Drogheda people in alien dark suits. Bob, Jack⁴⁸⁸, Hughie, Jims,Patsy. A vacant chair for Meggie, then Frank. Justine's fiery⁵⁰⁸ hair dimmed under a black lace veil, the only femaleCleary present. Rainer next to her. And then a lot of people he didn't know, but who shared in today as fully³⁹ asthe Drogheda people did. Only today it was different, today it was special for him. Today he felt almost as if he,too, had had a son to give. He smiled, and sighed. How must Vittorio feel, bestowing⁵⁰⁹ Dane's priesthood uponhim?

Perhaps because he missed his mother's presence so acutely, Justine was the first person Dane managed to takeaside at the reception Cardinal Vittorio and Cardinal Ralph gave for him. In his black soutane with the highwhite collar he looked magnificent, she thought; only not like a priest at all. Like an actor playing a priest, untilone looked into the eyes. And there it was, the inner light, that something which transformed him from a verygood-looking man into one unique.

"Father O'neill," she said.

"I haven't assimilated it yet, Jus.""That isn't hard to understand. I've never felt quite the way I did in Saint Peter's, so what it must have been likefor you I can't imagine." "Oh, I think you can, somewhere inside. If you truly couldn't, you wouldn't be such afine actress. But with you, Jus, it comes from the unconscious; it doesn't erupt into thought until you need to useit."They were sitting on a small couch in a far corner of the room, and no one came to disturb them.

After a while he said, "I'm so pleased Frank came," looking to where Frank was talking with Rainer, moreanimation in his face than his niece and nephew had ever seen. "There's an old Rumanian refugee priest I know,"Dane went on, "who has a way of saying, "Oh, the poor one!" with such compassion in his voice .... I don't know,somehow that's what I always find myself saying about our Frank. And yet, Jus, why?"But Justine ignored the gambit, went straight to the crux⁵¹⁰. "I could kill Mum!" she said through her teeth. "Shehad no right to do this to you!" "Oh, Jus! I understand. You've got to try, too. If it had been done in malice⁵¹¹ or toget back at me I might be hurt, but you know her as well as I do, you know it's neither of those. I'm going downto Drogheda soon. I'll talk to her then, find out what's the matter." "I suppose daughters are never as patient withtheir mothers as sons are." She drew down the corners of her mouth ruefully, shrugged. "Maybe it's just as wellI'm too much of a loner ever to inflict⁵¹² myself on anyone in the mother role."The blue eyes were very kind, tender; Justine felt her hackles rising, thinking Dane pitied her.

"Why don't you marry Rainer?" he asked suddenly. Her jaw⁵¹³ dropped, she gasped. "He's never asked me," shesaid feebly. "Only because he thinks you'd say no. But it might be arranged." Without thinking, she grabbed himby the ear, as she used to do when they were children. "Don't you dare, you dog-collared prawn! Not one word,do you hear? 1 don't love Rain. He's just a friend, and I want to keep it that way. If you so much as light a candlefor it, I swear I'll sit down, cross my eyes and put a curse on you, and you remember how that used to scare theliving daylights out of you, don't you?"He threw back his head and laughed. "It wouldn't work, Justine! My magic is stronger than yours these days.

But there's no need to get so worked up about it, you twit. I was wrong, that's all. I assumed there was a casebetween you and Rain.""No, there isn't. After seven years? Break it down, pigs might fly." Pausing, she seemed to seek for words, thenlooked at him almost shyly. "Dane, I'm so happy for you. I think if Mum was here she'd feel the same. That's allit needs, for her to see you now, like this. You wait, she'll come around."Very gently he took her pointed face between his hands, smiling down at her with so much love that her ownhands came up to clutch at his wrists, soak it in through every pore. As if all those childhood years wereremembered, treasured.

Yet behind what she saw in his eyes on her behalf she sensed a shadowy doubt, only perhaps doubt was toostrong a word; more like anxiety. Mostly he was sure Mum would understand eventually, but he was human,though all save he tended to forget the fact.

"Jus, will you do something for me?" he asked as he let her go. "Anything," she said, meaning it.

"I've got a sort of respite⁵¹⁴, to think about what I'm going to do. Two months. And I'm going to do the heavythinking on a Drogheda horse after I've talked to Mum-somehow I feel I can't sort anything out until after I'vetalked to her. But first, well . . . I've got to get up my courage to go home. So if you could manage it, come downto the Peloponnese with me for a couple of weeks, tick me off good and proper about being a coward until I getso sick of your voice I put myself on a plane to get away from it." He smiled at her. "Besides, Jussy, I don't wantyou to think I'm going to exclude you from my life absolutely, any more than I will Mum. You need your oldconscience around occasionally.""Oh, Dane, of course I'll go!""Good," he said, then grinned, eyed her mischievously. "I really do need you, Jus. Having you bitching in myear will be just like old times." "Uh-uh-uh! No obscenities, Father O'neill!"His arms went behind his head, he leaned back on the couch contentedly⁵¹⁵. "I am! Isn't it marvelous? And maybeafter I've seen Mum, I can concentrate on Our Lord. I think that's where my inclinations lie, you know. Simplythinking about Our Lord.""You ought to have espoused⁵¹⁶ an order, Dane.""I still can, and I probably will. I have a whole lifetime; there's no hurry."Justine left the party with Rainer, and after she talked of going to Greece with Dane, he talked of going to hisoffice in Bonn. "About bloody time," she said. "For a cabinet minister you don't seem to do much work, do you?

All the papers call you a playboy, fooling around with carrot-topped Australian actresses, you old dog, you."He shook his big fist at her. "I pay for my few pleasures in more ways than you'll ever know.""Do you mind if we walk, Rain?""Not if you keep your shoes on.""I have to these days. Miniskirts have their disadvantages; the days of stockings one could peel off easily areover. They've invented a sheer version of theatrical⁵¹⁷ tights, and one can't shed those in public without causing thebiggest furor⁵¹⁸ since Lady Godiva. So unless I want to ruin a five-guinea pair of tights, I'm imprisoned⁵¹⁹ in myshoes.""At least you improve my education in feminine garb⁵²⁰, under as well as over," he said mildly.

"Go on! I'll bet you've got a dozen mistresses, and undress them all." "Only one, and like all good mistressesshe waits for me in her negligee." "Do you know, I believe we've never discussed your sex life before?

Fascinating! What's she like?""Fair, fat, forty and flatulent."She stopped dead. "Oh, you're kidding me," she said slowly. "I can't see you with a woman like that.""Why not?""You've got too much taste.""Chacun a son gout, my dear. I'm nothing much to look at, myself-why should you assume I could charm ayoung and beautiful woman into being my mistress?" "Because you could!" she said indignantly. "Oh, of courseyou could!" "My money, you mean?""Not, not your money! You're teasing me, you always do! Rainer Moerling Hartheim, you're very well aware how attractive you are, otherwise you wouldn'twear gold medallions and netting shirts. Looks aren't everything-if they were, I'd still be wondering.""Your concern for me is touching, Herzchen.""Why is it that when I'm with you I feel as if I'm forever running to catch up with you, and I never do?" Herspurt of temper died; she stood looking at him uncertainly. "You're not serious, are you?" "Do you think I am?""No! You're not conceited⁵²¹, but you do know how very attractive you are." "Whether I do or not isn't important.

The important thing is that you think I'm attractive."She was going to say: Of course I do; I was mentally trying you on as a lover not long ago, but then I decided itwouldn't work, I'd rather keep on having you for my friend. Had he let her say it, he might have concluded histime hadn't come, and acted differently. As it was, before she could shape the words he had her in his arms, andwas kissing her. For at least sixty seconds she stood, dying, split open, smashed, the power in her screaming inwild elation³⁰⁷ to find a matching power. His mouth-it was beautiful! And his hair, incredibly thick, vital,something to seize in her fingers fiercely. Then he took her face between his hands and looked at her, smiling. "Ilove you," he said.

Her hands had gone up to his wrists, but not to enclose them gently, as with Dane; the nails bit in, scored downto meat savagely. She stepped back two paces and stood rubbing her arm across her mouth, eyes huge withfright, breasts heaving.

"It couldn't work," she panted. "It could never work, Rain!" Off came the shoes; she bent to pick them up, thenturned and ran, and within three seconds the soft quick pad of her feet had vanished.

Not that he had any intention of following her, though apparently⁵²² she had thought he might. Both his wristswere bleeding, and they hurt. He pressed his handkerchief first to one and then to the other, shrugged, put thestained cloth away, and stood concentrating on the pain. After a while he unearthed⁵²³ his cigarette case, took out acigarette, lit it, and began to walk slowly. No one passing by could have told from his face what he felt.

Everything he wanted within his grasp, reached for, lost. Idiot girl. When would she grow up? To feel it, respondto it, and deny it. But he was a gambler, of the win-a-few, lose-a-few kind. He had waited seven long yearsbefore trying his luck, feeling the change in her at this ordination time. Yet apparently he had moved too soon.

Ah, well. There was always tomorrow-or knowing Justine, next year, the year after that. Certainly he wasn'tabout to give up. If he watched her carefully, one day he'd get lucky.

The soundless laugh quivered in him; fair, fat, forty and flatulent. What had brought it to his lips he didn'tknow, except that a long-time ago his ex-wife had said it to him. The four F's, describing the typical victim ofgallstones. She had been a martyr⁴⁴³ to them, poor Annelise, even though she was dark, skinny, fifty and as wellcorked as a genie⁵²⁴ in a bottle. What am I thinking of Annelise for, now? My patient campaign of years turned intoa rout³²³, and I can do no better than poor Annelise. So, Fraulein Justine O'neill! We shall see.

There were lights in the palace windows; he would go up for a few minutes, talk to Cardinal Ralph, who waslooking old. Not well. Perhaps he ought to be persuaded into a medical examination. Rainer ached, but not forJustine; she was young, there was time. For Cardinal Ralph, who had seen his own son ordained, and not knownit.

It was still early, so the hotel foyer was crowded. Shoes on, Justine crossed quickly to the stairs and ran upthem, head bent. Then for some time her trembling hands couldn't find the room key in her bag and she thoughtshe would have to go down again, brave the crowd about the desk. But it was there; she must have passed herfingers over it a dozen times.

Inside at last, she groped her way to the bed; sat down on its edge and let coherent thought gradually return.

Telling herself she was revolted, horrified⁵²⁵, disillusioned⁵²⁶; all the while staring drearily⁵²⁷ at the wide rectangle ofpale light which was the night sky through the window, wanting to curse, wanting to weep. It could never be thesame again, and that was a tragedy. The loss of the dearest friend. Betrayal. Empty words, untrue; suddenly sheknew very well what had frightened her so, made her flee from Rain as if he had attempted murder, not a kiss.

The rightness of it! The feeling of coming home, when she didn't want to come home any more than she wantedthe liability of love. Home was frustration⁴⁶⁸, so was love. Not only that, even if the admission was humiliating; shewasn't sure she could love. If she was capable of it, surely once or twice her guard would have slipped; surelyonce or twice she would have experienced a pang⁵²⁸ of something more than tolerant affection for her infrequentlovers. It didn't occur to her that she deliberately⁵²⁹ chose lovers who would never threaten her self-imposeddetachment, so much a part of herself by now that she regarded it as completely natural. For the first time in herlife she had no reference point to assist her. There was no time in the past she could take comfort from, no once-deep involvement, either for herself or for those shadowy lovers. Nor could the Drogheda people help, becauseshe had always withheld herself from them, too.

She had had to run from Rain. To say yes, commit herself to him, and then have to watch him recoil⁵³⁰ when hefound out the extent of her inadequacy⁵³¹? Unbearable⁵³²! He would learn what she was really like, and the knowledgewould kill his love for her. Unbearable to say yes, and end in being rebuffed for all time. Far better to do anyrebuffing herself. That way at least pride would be satisfied, and Justine owned all her mother's pride. Rain mustnever discover what she was like beneath all that brick flippancy⁵³³.

He had fallen in love with the Justine he saw; she had not allowed him any opportunity to suspect the sea ofdoubts beneath. Those only Dane suspected-no, knew.

She bent forward to put her forehead against the cool bedside table, tears running down her face. That was whyshe loved. Dane so, of course. Knowing what the real Justine was like, and still loving her. Blood helped, so dida lifetime of shared memories, problems, pains, joys. Whereas Rain was a stranger, not committed to her the wayDane was, or even the other members of her family. Nothing obliged him to love her.

She sniffled, wiped her palm around her face, shrugged her shoulders and began the difficult business ofpushing her trouble back into some corner of her mind where it could lie peacefully, unremembered. She knewshe could do it; she had spent all her life perfecting the technique. Only it meant ceaseless activity, continuousabsorption in things outside herself. She reached over and switched on the bedside lamp.

One of the Unks must have delivered the letter to her room, for it was lying on the bedside table, a pale-blue airletter with Queen Elizabeth in its upper corner.

"Darling Justine," wrote Clyde Daltinham-Roberts, "Come back to the fold, you're needed! At once! There's apart going begging in the new season's repertoire⁵³⁴, and a tiny little dicky-bird told me you just might want it.

Desdemona, darling? With Marc Simpson as your Othello? Rehearsals⁵³⁵ for the principals start neat week, ifyou're interested" If she was interested! Desdemona! Desdemona in London! And with Marc Simpson asOthello! The opportunity of a lifetime. Her mood skyrocketed to a point where the scene with Rain lostsignificance, or rather assumed a different significance. Perhaps if she was very, very careful she might be ableto keep Rain's love; a highly acclaimed⁵³⁷, successful actress was too busy to share much of her life with her lovers.

It was worth a try. If he looked as if he were getting too close to the truth, she could always back off again. Tokeep Rain in her life, but especially this new Rain, she would be prepared to do anything save strip off the mask.

In the meantime, news like this deserved some sort of celebration. She didn't feel up to facing Rain yet, but therewere other people on hand to share her triumph. So she put on her shoes, walked down the corridor to the Unks'

communal⁸³ sitting room, and when Patsy let her in she stood with arms spread wide, beaming.

"Break out the beer, I'm going to be Desdemona!" she announced in ringing tones.

For a moment no one answered, then Bob said warmly, "That's nice, Justine." Her pleasure didn't evaporate;instead it built up to an uncontrollable elation. Laughing, she flopped into a chair and stared at her uncles. Whattruly lovely men they were! Of course her news meant nothing to them! They didn't have a clue who Desdemonawas. If she had come to tell them she was getting married, Bob's answer would have been much the same. Sincethe beginning of memory they had been a part of her life, and sadly she had dismissed them as contemptuouslyas she did everything about Drogheda. The Unks, a plurality having nothing to do with Justine O'neill. Simplymembers of a conglomerate⁵³⁸ who drifted in and out of the homestead, smiled at her shyly, avoided her if it meantconversation. Not that they didn't like her, she realized now; only that they sensed how foreign she was, and itmade them uncomfortable. But in this Roman world which was alien to them and familiar to her, she wasbeginning to understand them better. Feeling a glow of something for them which might have been called love,Justine stared from one creased⁵³⁹, smiling face to the next. Bob, who was the life force of the unit, the Boss ofDrogheda, but in such an unobtrusive way; Jack, who merely seemed to follow Bob around, or maybe it was justthat they got along so well together; Hughie, who had a streak⁵⁴¹ of mischief⁵⁴² the other two did not, and yet so verylike them; Jims and Patsy, the positive and negative sides of a self-sufficient whole; and poor quenched⁵⁴³ Frank,the only one who seemed plagued by fear and insecurity. All of them save Jims and Patsy ,were grizzled now,indeed Bob and Frank were white-haired, but they didn't really look very different from the way she rememberedthem as a little girl.

"I don't know whether I ought to give you a beer," Bob said doubtfully, standing with a cold bottle of Swan inhis hand. The remark would have annoyed her intensely even half a day ago, but at the moment she was toohappy to take offense⁵⁴⁴.

"Look, love, I know it's never occurred to you to offer me one through the course of our sessions with Rain, buthonestly I'm a big girl now, and I can handle a beer. I promise it isn't a sin." She smiled. "Where's Rainer?" Jimsasked, taking a full glass from Bob and handing it to her.

"I had a fight with him.""With Rainer?""Well, yes. But it was all my fault. I'm going to see him later and tell him I'm sorry."None of the Unks smoked. Though she had never asked for a beer before, on earlier occasions she had satsmoking defiantly⁷¹ while they talked with Rain; now it took more courage than she could command to produceher cigarettes, so she contented herself with the minor⁵⁴⁵ victory of the beer, dying to gulp⁵⁴⁶ it down thirstily butmindful of their dubious⁶³ regard. Ladylike sips⁵⁴⁷, Justine, even if you are dryer⁵⁴⁸ than a secondhand sermon.

"Rain's a bonzer bloke," said Hughie, eyes twinkling. Startled, Justine suddenly realized why she had grown somuch in importance in their thoughts: she had caught herself a man they'd like to have in the family. "Yes, he israther," she said shortly, and changed the subject. "It was a lovely day, wasn't it?"All the heads bobbed in unison⁵⁴⁹, even Frank's, but they didn't seem to want to discuss it. She could see how tiredthey were, yet she didn't regret her impulse to visit them. It took a little while for near-atrophied senses andfeelings to learn what their proper functions were, and the Unks were a good practice target. That was the troublewith being an island; one forgot there was anything going on beyond its shores.

"What's Desdemona?" Frank asked from the shadows where he hid. Justine launched into a vivid description,charmed by their horror when they learned she would be strangled once a night, and only remembered how tiredthey must be half an hour later when Patsy yawned. "I must go," she said, putting down her empty glass. She hadnot been offered a second beer; one was apparently the limit for ladies. "Thanks for listening to me blather."Much to Bob's surprise and confusion, she kissed him good night; Jack edged away but was easily caught,while Hughie accepted the farewell with alacrity⁵⁵⁰. Jims turned bright red, endured it dumbly. For Patsy, a hug aswell as a kiss, because he was a little bit of an island himself. And for Frank no kiss at all, he averted⁵⁵¹ his head;yet when she put her arms around him she could sense a faint echo of some intensity⁵⁵² quite missing in the others.

Poor Frank. Why was he like that?

Outside their door, she leaned for a moment against the wall. Rain loved her. But when she tried to phone hisroom the operator informed her he had checked out, returned to Bonn.

No matter. It might be better to wait until London to see him, anyway. A contrite⁵⁵³ apology via the mail, and aninvitation to dinner next time he was in England. There were many things she didn't know about Rain, but of onecharacteristic she had no doubt at all; he would come, because he hadn't a grudging⁵⁵⁴ bone in his body. Sinceforeign affairs had become his forte⁴⁶⁶, England was one of his most regular ports of call. "You wait and see, mylad," she said, staring into her mirror and seeing his face instead of her own. "I'm going to make England yourmost important foreign affair, or my name isn't Justine O'neill."It had not occurred to her that perhaps as far as Rain was concerned, her name was indeed the crux of thematter. Her patterns of behavior were set, and marriage was no part of them. That Rain might want to make herover into Justine Hartheim never even crossed her mind. She was too busy remembering the quality of his kiss,and dreaming of more.

There remained only the task of telling Dane she couldn't go to Greece with him, but about this she wasuntroubled. Dane would understand, he always did. Only somehow she didn't think she'd tell him all the reasonswhy she wasn't able to go. Much as she loved her brother, she didn't feel like listening to what would be one ofhis sternest homilies ever. He wanted her to marry Rain, so if she told him what her plans for Rain were, he'd carther off to Greece with him if it meant forcible abduction. What Dane's ears didn't hear, his heart couldn't grieveabout.

"Dear Rain," the note said. "Sorry I ran like a hairy goat the other night, can't think what got into me. The hecticday and everything, I suppose. Please forgive me for behaving like an utter prawn. I'm ashamed of myself formaking so much fuss about a trifle. And I daresay the day had got to you, too, words of love and all, I mean. So Itell you what-you forgive me, and I'll forgive you. Let's be friends, please. I can't bear to be at outs with you.

Next time you're in London, come to dinner at my place and we'll formally draft out a peace treaty."As usual it was signed plain "Justine." No words even of affection; she never used them. Frowning, he studiedthe artlessly casual phrases as if he could see through them to what was really in her mind as she wrote. It wascertainly an overture⁵⁵⁵ of friendship, but what else? Sighing, he was forced to admit probably very little. He hadfrightened her badly; that she wanted to retain his friendship spoke of how much he meant to her, but he verymuch doubted whether she understood exactly what she felt for him. After all, now she knew he loved her; if shehad sorted herself out sufficiently⁵⁵⁶ to realize she loved him too, she would have come straight out with it in herletter. Yet why had she returned to London instead of going to Greece with Dane? He knew he shouldn't hope itwas because of him, but despite his misgivings⁵⁵⁷, hope began to color his thoughts so cheerfully he buzzed hissecretary. It was 10 A.m. Greenwich Mean Time, the best hour to find her at home. "Get me Miss O'neill'sLondon flat," he instructed, and waited the intervening seconds with a frown pulling at the inner corners of hisbrows. "Rain!" Justine said, apparently delighted. "Did you get my letter?" "This minute."After a delicate pause she said. "And will you come to dinner soon?" "I'm going to be in England this comingFriday and Saturday. Is the notice too short?""Not if Saturday evening is all right with you. I'm in rehearsal⁵³⁶ for Desdemona, so Friday's out.""Desdemona?""That's right, you don't know! Clyde wrote to me in Rome and offered me the part. Marc Simpson asOthello, Clyde directing personally. Isn't it wonderful? I came back to London on the first plane."He shielded his eyes with his hand, thankful his secretary was safely in her outer office, not sitting where shecould see his face. "Justine, Herzchen, that's marvelous news!" he managed to say enthusiastically. "I waswondering what brought you back to London.""Oh, Dane understood," she said lightly, "and in a way I think he was quite glad to be alone. He had concocteda story about needing me to bitch at him to go home, but I think it was all more for his second reason, that hedoesn't want me to feel excluded from his life now he's a priest." "Probably," he agreed politely.

"Saturday evening, then," she-said. "Around six, then we can have a leisurely peace treaty session with the aidof a bottle or two, and I'll feed you after we've reached a satisfactory compromise. All right?" "Yes, of course.

Goodbye, Herzchen."Contact was cut off abruptly by the sound of her receiver going down; he sat for a moment with his still in hishand, then shrugged and replaced it on its cradle. Damn Justine! She was beginning to come between him and hiswork. She continued to come between him and his work during the succeeding days, though it was doubtful ifanyone suspected. And on Saturday evening a little after six he presented himself at her apartment, empty-handed as usual because she was a difficult person to bring gifts. She was indifferent to flowers, never ate candyand would have thrown a more expensive offering carelessly in some corner, then forgotten it. The only giftsJustine seemed to prize were those Dane had given her.

"Champagne⁵⁵⁸ before dinner?" he asked, looking at her in surprise. "Well, I think the occasion calls for it, don'tyou? It was our first-ever breaking of relations, and this is our first-ever reconciliation," she answered plausibly,indicating a comfortable chair for him and settling herself on the tawny kangaroo-fur rug, lips parted as if shehad already rehearsed replies to anything he might say next. But conversation was beyond him, at least until hewas better able to assess her mood, so he watched her in silence. Until he had kissed her it had been easy to keephimself partially aloof, but now, seeing her again for the first time since, he admitted that it was going to be agreat deal harder in the future.

Probably even when she was a very old woman she would still retain something not quite fully mature aboutface and bearing; as though essential womanliness would always pass her by. That cool, self-centered, logicalbrain seemed to dominate her completely, yet for him she owned a fascination⁵⁵⁹ so potent⁵⁶⁰ he doubted if he wouldever be able to replace her with any other woman. Never once had he questioned whether she was worth the longstruggle. Possibly from a philosophical⁵⁶¹ standpoint she wasn't. Did it matter? She was a goal, an aspiration⁵⁶².

"You're looking very nice tonight; Herzchen," he said at last, tipping his champagne glass to her in a gesturehalf toast, half acknowledgment of an adversary⁵⁶³.

A coal fire simmered unshielded in the small Victorian grate, but Justine didn't seem to mind the heat, huddledclose to it with her eyes fixed on him. Then she put her glass on the hearth⁵⁶⁵ with a ringing snap and sat forward,her arms linked about her knees, bare feet hidden by folds of densely⁵⁶⁶ black gown. "I can't stand beating aroundthe bush," she said. "Did you mean it, Rain?" Suddenly relaxing deeply, he lay back in his chair. "Mean what?""What you said in Rome . . . That you loved me.""Is that what this is all about, Herzchen?"She looked away, shrugged, looked back at him and nodded. "Well, of course.""But why bring it up again? You told me what you thought, and I had gathered tonight's invitation wasn'textended to bring up the past, only plan a future.""Oh, Rain! You're acting as if I'm making a fuss! Even if I was, surely you can see why.""No, I can't." He put his glass down and bent forward to watch her more closely. "You gave me to understandmost emphatically that you wanted no part of my love, and I had hoped you'd at least have the decency⁵⁶⁷ to refrainfrom discussing it."It had not occurred to her that this meeting, no matter what its outcome, would be so uncomfortable; after all, hehad put himself in the position of a suppliant⁵⁶⁸, and ought to be waiting humbly for her to reverse her decision.

Instead he seemed to have turned the tables neatly. Here she was feeling like a naughty schoolgirl called upon toanswer for some idiotic⁵⁶⁹ prank⁵⁷⁰. "Look, sport, you're the one who changed the status quo, not me! I didn't ask youto come tonight so I could beg forgiveness for having wounded the great Hartheim ego¹⁶⁵!""On the defensive⁵⁷¹, Justine?"She wriggled impatiently. "Yes, dammit! How do you manage to do that to me, Rain? Oh, I wish just onceyou'd let me enjoy having the upper hand!" "If I did, you'd throw me out like a smelly old rag," he said, smiling.

"I can do that yet, mate!""Nonsense! If you haven't done it by now you never will. You'll go on seeing me because I keep you on thehop-you never know what to expect from me.""Is that why you said you loved me?" she asked painfully. "Was it only a ploy⁵⁷² to keep me on the hop?""What do you think?""I think you're a prize bastard⁵⁷³!" she said through her teeth, and marched across the rug on her knees until shewas close enough to give him the full benefit of her anger. "Say you love me again, you big Kraut prawn, andwatch me spit in your eye!" He was angry, too. "No, I'm not going to say it again! That isn't why you asked me tocome, is it? My feelings don't concern you one bit, Justine. You asked me to come so you could experiment withyour own feelings, and it didn't enter your mind to consider whether that was being fair to me." Before she couldmove away he leaned forward, gripped her arms near the shoulders and clamped her body between his legs,holding her firmly. Her rage vanished at once; she flattened⁵⁷⁴ her palms on his thighs⁵⁷⁵ and lifted her face. But hedidn't kiss her. He let go of her arms and twisted to switch off the lamp behind him, then relaxed his hold on herand laid his head back against the chair, so that she wasn't sure if he had dimmed the room down to glowingcoals as the first move in his love-making, or simply to conceal⁵⁷⁶ his expression. Uncertain, afraid of outrightrejection, she waited to be told what to do. She should have realized earlier that one didn't tamper⁵⁷⁷ with peoplelike Rain. They were as invincible⁵⁷⁸ as death. Why couldn't she put her head on his lap and say: Rain, love me, Ineed you so much and I'm so sorry? Oh, surely if she could get him to make love to her some emotional keywould turn and it would all come tumbling out, released .... Still withdrawn⁵⁷⁹, remote, he let her take off his jacketand tie, but by the time she began to unbutton his shirt she knew it wasn't going to work. The kind of instinctiveerotic skills which could make the most mundane⁵⁸⁰ operation exciting were not in her repertoire. This was soimportant, and she was making an absolute mess of it. Her fingers faltered⁵⁸¹, her mouth puckered⁵⁸². She burst intotears.

"Oh, no! Herzchen, liebchen, don't cry!" He pulled her onto his lap and turned her head into his shoulder, hisarms around her. "I'm sorry, Herzchen, I didn't mean to make you cry." "Now you know," she said between sobs.

"I'm a miserable⁵⁸³ failure; I told you it wouldn't work! Rain, I wanted so badly to keep you, but I knew it wouldn'twork if I let you see how awful I am!""No, of course it wouldn't work. How could it? I wasn't helping you, Herzchen." He tugged⁵⁸⁴ at her hair to bringher face up to his, kissed her eyelids⁵⁸⁵, her wet cheeks, the corners of her mouth. "It's my fault, Herzchen, notyours. I was paying you back; I wanted to see how far you could go without encouragement. But I think I havemistaken your motives, nicht wahr?" His voice had grown thicker, more German. "And I say, if this is what youwant you shall have it, but it shall be together.""Please, Rain, let's call it off! I haven't got what it takes. I'll only disappoint you!""Oh, you've got it, Herzchen, I've seen it on the stage. How can you doubt yourself when you're with me?"Which was so right her tears dried.

"Kiss me the way you did in Rome," she whispered. Only it wasn't like the kiss in Rome at all. That had beensomething raw, startled, explosive; this was very languorous⁵⁸⁶ and deep, an opportunity to taste and smell and feel,settle by layers into voluptuous ease. Her fingers returned to the buttons, his went to the zipper⁵⁸⁷ of her dress, thenhe covered her hand with his and thrust it inside his shirt, across skin matted with fine soft hair. The suddenhardening of his mouth against her throat brought a helpless response so acute she felt faint, thought she wasfalling and found she had, flat on the silky rug with Rain looming⁵⁸⁸ above her. His shirt had come off, perhapsmore, she couldn't see, only the fire glancing off his shoulders spread over her, and the beautiful stern mouth.

Determined³⁵ to destroy its discipline for all time, she locked her fingers in his hair and made him kiss her again,harder, harder!

And the feel of him! Like coming home, recognizing every part of him with her lips and hands and body, yetfabulous and strange. While the world sank down to the minute width of the firelight lapping against darkness,she opened herself to what he wanted, and learned something he had kept entirely concealed⁵⁸⁹ for as long as shehad known him; that he must have made love to her in imagination a thousand times. Her own experience andnewborn intuition told her so. She was completely disarmed⁵⁹⁰. With any other man the intimacy⁵⁹¹ and astonishingsensuality would have appalled⁵⁹² her, but he forced her to see that these were things only she had the right tocommand. And command them she did. Until finally she cried for him to finish it, her arms about him sostrongly she could feel the contours of his very bones. The minutes wore away, wrapped in a sated peace. Theyhad fallen into an identical rhythm of breathing, slow and easy, his head against her shoulder, her leg thrownacross him. Gradually her rigid⁵⁹³ clasp on his back relaxed, became a dreamy, circular caress⁵⁰³. He sighed, turnedover and reversed the way they were lying, quite unconsciously inviting⁵⁹⁴ her to slide still deeper into the pleasureof being with him. She put her palm on his flank to feel the texture⁵⁹⁵ of his skin, slid her hand across warm muscleand cupped it around the soft, heavy mass in his groin. To feel the curiously alive, independent movementswithin it was a sensation quite new to her; her past lovers had never interested her sufficiently to want to prolongher sexual curiosity to this languid and undemanding aftermath. Yet suddenly it wasn't languid and undemandingat all, but so enormously exciting she wanted him all over again. Still she was taken unaware⁵⁹⁶, knew a suffocatedsurprise when he slipped his arms across her back, took her head in his hands and held her close enough to seethere was nothing controlled about his mouth, shaped now solely⁵⁹⁷ because of her, and for her. Tenderness andhumility were literally⁵⁹⁸ born in her in that moment. It must have shown in her face, for he was gazing at her witheyes grown so bright she couldn't bear them, and bent over to take his upper lip between her own. Thoughts andsenses merged¹³⁰ at last, but her cry was smothered⁵⁹⁹ soundless, an unuttered wail of gladness which shook her sodeeply she lost awareness of everything beyond impulse, the mindless guidance of each urgent minute. Theworld achieved its ultimate contraction⁶⁰⁰, turned in upon itself, and totally disappeared.

Rainer must have kept the fire going, for when gentle London daylight soaked through the folds of the curtainsthe room was still warm. This time when he moved Justine became conscious of it, and clutched his armfearfully. "Don't go!""I'm not, Herzchen." He twitched another pillow from the sofa, pushed it behind his head and shifted her closerin to his side, sighing softly. "All right?""Yes.""Are you cold?""No, but if you are we could go to bed.""After making love to you for hours on a fur rug? What a comedown! Even if your sheets are black silk.""They're ordinary old white ones, cotton. This bit of Drogheda is all right, isn't it?""Bit of Drogheda?""The rug! It's made of Drogheda kangaroos," she explained. "Not nearly exotic or erotic enough. I'll order you atiger skin from India.""Reminds me of a poem I heard once:

Would you like to sinWith Elinor GlynOn a tiger skin?

Or would you preferTo err² with her On some other fur?

"Well, Herzchen, I must say it's high time you bounced back! Between the demands of Eros and Morpheus, youhaven't been flippant in half a day." He smiled.

"I don't feel the need at the moment," she said with an answering smile, settling his hand comfortably betweenher legs. "The tiger skin doggerel⁶⁰¹ just popped out because it was too good to resist, but I haven't got a singleskeleton left to hide from you, so there's not much point in flippancy, is there?" She sniffed⁶⁰², suddenly aware of afaint odor of stale fish drifting on the air. "Heavens, you didn't get any dinner and now it's time for breakfast! Ican't expect you to live on love!""Not if you expect such strenuous⁶⁰³ demonstrations⁶⁰⁴ of it, anyway." "Go on, you enjoyed every moment of it.""Indeed I did." He sighed, stretched, yawned. "I wonder if you have any idea how happy I am.""Oh, I think so," she said quietly:

He raised himself on one elbow to look at her. "Tell me, was Desdemona the only reason you came back toLondon?"Grabbing his ear, she tweaked it painfully. "Now it's my turn to pay you back for all those headmasterishquestions! What do you think?" He prized her fingers away easily, grinning. "If you don't answer me, Herzchen,I'll strangle you far more permanently than Marc does." "I came back to London to do Desdemona, but becauseof you. I haven't been able to call my life my own since you kissed me in Rome, and well you know it. You're avery intelligent man, Rainer Moerling Hartheim.""Intelligent enough to have known I wanted you for my wife almost the first moment I saw you," he said.

She sat up quickly. "Wife?""Wife. If I'd wanted you for my mistress I'd have taken you years ago, and I could have. I know how your mindworks; it would have been relatively⁶⁰⁵ easy. The only reason I didn't was because I wanted you for my wife and Iknew you weren't ready to accept the idea of a husband.""I don't know that I am now," she said, digesting it. He got to his feet, pulling her up to stand against him.

"Well, you can put in a little practice by getting me some breakfast. If this was my house I'd do the honors, but inyour kitchen you're the cook.""I don't mind getting your breakfast this morning, but theoretically to commit myself until the day I die?" Sheshook her head. "I don't think that's my cup of tea, Rain."It was the same Roman emperor's face, and imperially unperturbed by threats of insurrection. "Justine, this isnot something to play with, nor am I someone to play with. There's plenty of time. You have every reason toknow I can be patient. But get it out of your head entirely that this can be settled in any way but marriage. I haveno wish to be known as anyone less important to you than a husband.""I'm not giving up acting!" she said aggressively. "Verfluchte Kiste, did I ask you to? Grow up, Justine! Anyonewould think I was condemning⁶⁰⁷ you to a life sentence over a sink and stove! We're not exactly on the breadline,you know. You can have as many servants as you want, nannies for the children, whatever else is necessary.""Erk!" said Justine, who hadn't thought of children. He threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, Herzchen, this iswhat's known as the morning after with a vengeance⁶⁰⁸! I'm a fool to bring up realities. so soon, I know, but all youhave to do at this stage is think about them. Though I give you fair warning-while you're making your decision,remember that if I can't have you for my wife, I don't want you at all."She threw her arms around him, clinging fiercely. "Oh, Rain, don't make it so hard!" she cried.

Alone, Dane drove his Lagonda up the Italian boot, past Perugia, Firenze, Bologna, Ferrara, Padova, better bypassVenezia, spend the night in Trieste. It was one of his favorite cities, so he stayed on the Adriatic coast afurther two days before heading up the mountain road to Ljubljana, another night in Zagreb. Down the greatSava River valley amid fields blue with chicory flowers to Beograd, thence to Nis, another night. Macedonia andSkopje, still in crumbling⁶⁰⁹ ruins from the earthquake two years before; and Tito-Veles the vacation city, quaintlyTurkish with its mosques⁶¹⁰ and minarets⁶¹¹. All the way down Yugoslavia he had eaten frugally⁶¹², too ashamed to sitwith a great plate of meat in front of him when the people of the country contented themselves with bread.

The Greek border at Evzone, beyond it Thessalonika. The Italian papers had been full of the revolution brewingin Greece; standing in his hotel bedroom window watching the bobbing thousands of flaming torches movingrestlessly in the darkness of a Thessalonika night, he was glad Justine had not come. "Pap-an-dre-out! Pap-andre-out! Pap-an-dre-out!" the crowds roared, chanting, milling among the torches until after midnight. Butrevolution was a phenomenon of cities, of dense concentrations of people and poverty; the scarred countryside ofThessaly must still look as it had looked to Caesar's legions, marching across the stubble-burned fields toPompey at Pharsala. Shepherds slept in the shade of skin tents, storks⁶¹³ stood one-legged in nests atop little oldwhite buildings, and everywhere was a terrifying aridity⁶¹⁵. It reminded him, with its high clear sky, its browntreeless wastes, of Australia. And he breathed of it deeply, began to smile at the thought of going home. Mumwould understand, when he talked to her.

Above Larisa he came onto the sea, stopped the car and got out. Homer's wine-dark sea, a delicate clearaquamarine near the beaches, purple-stained like grapes as it stretched to the curving horizon. On a greenswardfar below him stood a tiny round pillared temple, very white in the sun, and on the rise of the hill behind him afrowning Crusader fortress⁶¹⁶ endured. Greece, you are very beautiful, more beautiful than Italy, for all that I loveItaly. But here is the cradle, forever.

Panting to be in Athens, he pushed on, gunned the red sports car up the switchbacks of the Domokos Pass anddescended its other side into Boeotia, a stunning⁶¹⁷ panorama⁶¹⁸ of olive groves⁶¹⁹, rusty⁶²⁰ hillsides, mountains. Yet inspite of his haste he stopped to look at the oddly Hollywoodish monument to Leonidas and his Spartans⁶²¹ atThermopylae. The stone said: "Stranger, go tell the Spartans that here we lie, in obedience to their command." Itstruck a chord in him, almost seemed to be words he might have heard in a different context; he shivered andwent on quickly.

In melted sun he paused for a while above Kamena Voura, swam in the clear water looking across the narrowstrait to Euboea; there must the thousand ships have sailed from Aulis, on their way to Troy. It was a strongcurrent, swirling⁶²² seaward; they must not have had to ply¹⁹ their oars⁶²³ very hard. The ecstatic cooings and strokingsof the ancient black-garbed crone in the bath-house embarrassed him; he couldn’t get away from her fastenough. People never referred to his beauty to his face anymore, so most of the time he was able to forget it.

Delaying only to buy a couple of huge, custard-filled cakes in the shop, he went on down the Attic⁶²⁴ coast andfinally came to Athens as the sun was setting, gilding⁶²⁵ the great rock and its precious crown of pillars.

But Athens was tense and vicious, and the open admiration⁶²⁶ of the women mortified⁶²⁷ him; Roman women weremore sophisticated, subtle. There was a feeling in the crowds, pockets of rioting, grim determination on the partof the people to have Papandreou. No, Athens wasn't herself; better to be elsewhere. He put the Lagonda in agarage and took the ferry to Crete. And there at last, amid the olive groves, the wild thyme and the mountains, hefound his peace. After a long bus ride with trussed chickens screeching⁶²⁸ and the all-pervasive reek of garlic in hisnostrils, he found a tiny white-painted inn with an arched colonnade⁵⁰¹ and three umbrellaed tables outside on theflagstones, gay Greek bags hanging festooned like lanterns. Pepper trees and Australian gum trees, planted fromthe new South Land in soil too arid⁶¹⁴ for European trees. The gut⁶²⁹ roar of cicadas. Dust, swirling in red clouds.

At night he slept in a tiny cell-like room with shutters⁶³⁰ wide open, in the hush⁶³¹ of dawn he celebrated⁶³² a solitaryMass, during the day he walked. No one bothered him; he bothered no one. But as he passed the dark eyes of thepeasants would follow him in slow amazement⁶³³, and every face would crease⁵⁴⁰ deeper in a smile. It was hot, and soquiet, and very sleepy. Perfect peace. Day followed day, like beads⁶³⁴ slipping through a leathery Cretan hand.

Voicelessly he prayed, a feeling, an extension of what lay all through him, thoughts like beads, days like beads.

Lord, I am truly Thine. For Thy many blessings⁶³⁵ I thank Thee. For the great Cardinal, his help, his deepfriendship, his unfailing love. For Rome and the chance to be at Thy heart, to have lain prostrate⁶³⁶ before Thee inThine own basilica, to have felt the rock of Thy Church within me. Thou hast blessed me above my worth; whatcan I do for Thee, to show my appreciation? I have not suffered enough. My life has been one long, absolute joysince I began in Thy service. I must suffer, and Thou Who suffered will know that. It is only through sufferingthat I may rise above myself, understand Thee better. For that is what this life is: the passage towardunderstanding Thy mystery. Plunge Thy spear into my breast, bury it there so deeply I am never able to withdrawit! Make me suffer . . . . For Thee I forsake⁶³⁷ all others, even my mother and my sister and the Cardinal. Thoualone art my pain, my joy. Abase⁶³⁸ me and I shall sing Thy beloved Name. Destroy me, and I shall rejoice. I loveThee. Only Thee. . .

He had come to the little beach where he liked to swim, a yellow crescent between beetling⁶³⁹ cliffs, and stood fora moment looking across the Mediterranean⁶⁴⁰ to what must be Libya, far below the dark horizon. Then he leapedlightly down the steps to the sand, kicked off his sneakers, picked them up, and trod through the softly yieldingcontours to the spot where he usually dropped shoes, shirt, outer shorts. Two young Englishmen talking indrawling Oxford⁶⁴¹ accents lay like broiling⁶⁴² lobsters⁶⁴³ not far away, and beyond them two women drowsily speakingin German. Dane glanced at the women and self-consciously hitched⁶⁴⁴ his swimsuit, aware they had stoppedconversing and had sat up to pat their hair, smile at him.

"How goes it?" he asked the Englishmen, though in his mind he called them what all Australians call theEnglish, Pommies. They seemed to be fixtures⁶⁴⁵, since they were on the beach every day.

"Splendidly, old boy. Watch the current-it's too strong for us. Storm out there somewhere.""Thanks." Dane grinned, ran down to the innocently curling wavelets and dived cleanly into shallow water likethe expert Surfer he was. Amazing, how deceptive⁶⁴⁶ calm water could be. The current was vicious, he could feel ittugging at his legs to draw him under, but he was too strong a swimmer to be worried by it. Head down, he slidsmoothly through the water, reveling in the coolness, the freedom. When he paused and scanned the beach hesaw the two German women pulling on their caps, running down laughing to the waves. Cupping his handsaround his mouth, he called to them in German to stay in shallow water because of the current. Laughing, theywaved acknowledgment. He put his head down then, swam again, and thought he heard a cry. But he swam alittle farther, then stopped to tread water in a spot where the undertow wasn't so bad. There were cries; as heturned he saw the women struggling, their twisted faces screaming, one with her hands up, sinking. On the beachthe two Englishmen had risen to their feet and were reluctantly approaching the water.

He flipped⁶⁴⁷ over onto his belly and flashed through the water, closer and closer. Panicked arms reached for him,clung to him, dragged him under; he managed to grip one woman around the waist long enough to stun³¹⁵ her witha swift clip on the chin, then grabbed the other by the strap⁶⁴⁸ of her swimsuit, shoved his knee hard into her spineand winded her. Coughing, for he had swallowed water when he went under, he turned on his back and begantowing his helpless burdens in.

The two Pommies were standing shoulder-deep, too frightened to venture any farther, for which Dane didn'tblame them in the least. His toes just touched the sand; he sighed in relief. Exhausted, he exerted a lastsuperhuman effort and thrust the women to safety. Fast regaining⁶⁴⁹ their senses, they began screaming again,thrashing about wildly. Gasping⁶⁵⁰, Dane managed a grin. He had done his bit; the Poms could take over now.

While he rested, chest heaving, the current had sucked him out again, his feet no longer brushed the bottom evenwhen he stretched them downward. It had been a close call. If he hadn't been present they would certainly havedrowned; the Poms hadn't the strength or skill to save them. But, said a voice, they only wanted to swim so theycould be near you; until they saw you theyhadn't any intention of going in. It was your fault they were in danger, your fault.

And as he floated easily a terrible pain blossomed in his chest, surely as a spear would feel, one long and red-hot shaft⁶⁵¹ of screaming agony. He cried out, threw his arms up above his head, stiffening⁶⁵², muscles convulsed; butthe pain grew worse, forced his arms down again, thrust his fists into his armpits, brought up his knees. Myheart! I'm having a heart attack, I'm dying! My heart! I don't want to die! Not yet, not before I've begun my work,not before I've had a chance to prove myself! Dear Lord, help me! I don't want to die, I don't want to die!

The spasmed body stilled, relaxed; Dane turned onto his back, let his arms float wide and limp in spite of thepain. Wet-lashed, he stared --up at the soaring vault⁶⁵³ of the sky. This is it; this is Thy spear, that I in my pridebegged for not an hour ago. Give me the chance to suffer, I said, make me suffer. Now when it comes I resist,not capable of perfect love. Dearest Lord, Thy pain! I must accept it, I must not fight it, I must not fight Thy will.

Thy hand is mighty⁶⁵⁴ and this is Thy pain, as Thou must have felt it on the Cross. My God, my God, I am Thine! Ifthis is Thy will, so be it. Like a child I put myself into Thy infinite hand. Thou art too good to me. What have Idone to deserve so much from Thee, and from the people who love me better than they love anyone else? Whyhast Thou given me so much, when I am not worthy³³²? The pain, the pain! Thou art so good to me. Let it not belong, I asked, and it has not been long. My suffering will be short, quickly over. Soon I shall see Thy face, butnow, still in this life, I thank Thee. The pain! My dearest Lord, Thou art too good to me. I love Thee! A hugetremor passed through the still, waiting body. His lips moved, murmured a Name, tried to smile. Then the pupilsdilated, drove all the blue from his eyes forever. Safe on the beach at last, the two Englishmendumped their weeping charges on the sand and stood looking for him. But the placid⁶⁵⁵ deep blue sea was empty,vast; the wavelets ran up rushing and retreated. Dane was gone.

Someone thought of the United States Air Force station nearby, and ran for help. Not thirty minutes after Danehad disappeared a helicopter took off, beat the air frantically⁶⁵⁶ and swooped⁶⁵⁷ in ever-increasing circles outwardfrom the beach, searching. No one expected to see anything. Drowned men sank to the bottom and didn't comeup for days. An hour passed; then fifteen miles out to sea they sighted Dane floating peacefully on the bosom⁶⁵⁸ ofthe deep, arms outstretched., face turned up to the sky. For a moment they thought he was alive and cheered, butas the craft came low enough to throw the water into hissing⁶⁵⁹ foam, it was plain he was dead. The coordinateswere given over the helicopter's radio, a launch sped out, and three hours later returned. Word had spread. TheCretans had loved to see him pass, loved to exchange a few shy words. Loved him, though they didn't know him.

They flocked down to the sea, women all in black like dowdy⁶⁶⁰ birds, men in old-fashioned baggy⁶⁶¹ trousers, whiteshirts open at the collar and sleeves rolled up. And stood in silent groups, waiting.

When the launch came in a burly master sergeant⁶⁶² sprang out onto the sand, turned back to receive a blanket-draped form into his arms. He marched a few fleet up the beach beyond the water line, and with the help ofanother man laid his burden down. The blanket fell apart; there was a high, rustling⁶⁶³ whisper from the Cretans.

They came crowding around, pressing crucifixes to weather-beaten lips, the women softly keening, a wordlessohhhhhhhh! that had almost a melody in it, mournful, patient, earthbound, female. It was about five in theafternoon; the barred sun was sliding westward⁶⁶⁴ behind the frowning cliff, but was still high enough to light upthe little dark cluster on the beach, the long, still form on the sand with its golden skin, its closed eyes whoselashes were spiky⁶⁶⁵ from drying salt, the faint smile on the blued lips. A stretcher was brought forward, then alltogether Cretans and American servicemen bore Dane away.

Athens was in turmoil⁶⁶⁶, rioting crowds overturning all order, but the USAF colonel got through to his superiorson a special frequency band, Dane's blue Australian passport in his hand. It said, as such documents do, nothingabout him. His profession was simply marked "Student," and in the back under next of kin¹⁴ Justine's name waslisted, with her London address. Unconcerned by the legal meaning of the term, he had put her name becauseLondon was far closer to Rome than Drogheda. In his little room at the inn, the square black case which housedhis priestly implements⁶⁶⁷ had not been opened; it waited with his suitcase for directions as to where it should besent.

When the phone rang at nine in the morning Justine rolled over, opened a bleary eye and lay cursing it, vowingshe would have the bloody thing disconnected. Because the rest of the world thought it only right and proper tocommence whatever they did at nine in the morning, why did they assume the same of her?

But it rang, and rang, and rang. Maybe it was Rain; that thought tipped the balance toward consciousness, andJustine got up, slopped reeling out to the living room. The German parliament was in urgent session; she hadn'tseen Rain in a week and hadn't been optimistic about her chances of seeing him for at least another week. Butperhaps the crisis had resolved, and he was calling to tell her he was on his way over.

"Hello?""Miss Justine O'neill?""Yes, speaking.""This is Australia House, in the Aldwych, you know?" The voice had an English inflection, gave a name shewas too tired to hear because she was still assimilating the fact that the voice was not Rain's.

"Okay, Australia House." Yawning, she stood on one foot and scratched its top with the sole of the other.

"Do you have a brother, a Mr. Dane O'neill?"Justine's eyes opened. "Yes, I do.""Is he at present in Greece, Miss O'neill?"Both feet settled into the rug, stood braced³³⁷. "Yes, that's right," It did not occur to her to correct the voice,explain it was Father, not Mister. "Miss O'neill, I very much regret to say that it is my unfortunate duty to giveyou some bad news.""Bad news? Bad news? What is it? What's the matter? What's happened?" "I regret to have to inform you thatyour brother, Mr. Dane O'neill, was drowned yesterday in Crete, I understand in heroic circumstances,performing a sea rescue. However, you realize there is a revolution in Greece, and what information we have issketchy and possibly not accurate."The phone stood on a table near the wall and Justine leaned against the solid support the wall offered. Her kneesbuckled, she began to slide very slowly downward, wound up in a curled heap on the floor. Not laughing and notcrying, she made noises somewhere in between, audible gasps⁶⁶⁸. Dane drowned. Gasp⁵⁶. Dane dead. Gasp. Crete,Dane, drowned. Gasp. Dead, dead. "Miss O'neill? Are you there, Miss O'neill?" asked the voice insistently⁶⁶⁹.

Dead. Drowned. My brother!

"Miss O'neill, answer me!""Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Oh, God, I'm here!" "I understand you are his next of kin, therefore we must have yourinstructions as to what to do with the body. Miss O'neill, are you there?" "Yes, yes!""What do you want done with the body, Miss O'neill?" Body! He was a body, and they couldn't even say hisbody, they had to say the body. Dane, my Dane. He is a body. "Next of kin?" she heard her voice asking, thinand faint, torn by those great gasps. "I'm not Dane's next of kin. My mother is, I suppose."There was a pause. "This is very difficult, Miss O'neill. If you're not the next of kin, we've wasted valuabletime." The polite sympathy gave way to impatience⁶⁷⁰. "You don't seem to understand there's a revolution going onin Greece and the accident happened in Crete, even more remote and hard to contact. Really! Communicationwith Athens is virtually impossible and we have been instructed to forward the next of kin's personal wishes andinstructions regarding the body immediately. Is your mother there? May I speak to her, please?""My mother's not here. She's in Australia.""Australia? Lord, this gets worse and worse! Now we'll have to send a cable to Australia; more delays. If youare not the next of kin, Miss O'neill, why did your brother's passport say you were?""I don't know," she said, and found she had laughed. "Give me your mother's address in Australia; we'll cableher at once. We have to know what to do with the body! By the time cables get back and forth⁵¹, this will mean atwelve-hour delay, I hope you realize that. It's going to be difficult enough without this mix-up.""Phone her, then. Don't waste time with cables.""Our budget does not extend to international phone calls, Miss O'neill," said that stiff voice. "Now, will youplease give me your mother's name and address?""Mrs. Meggie O'neill," Justine recited, "Drogheda, Gillanbone, New South Wales, Australia." She spelled outthe unfamiliar⁶⁷¹ names for him. "Once again, Miss O'neill, my deepest regrets."The receiver clicked, began the interminable burr of the dial tone. Justine sat on the floor and let it slip into herlap. There was a mistake, it would all sort itself out. Dane drowned, when he swam like a champion? No, itwasn't true. But it is, Justine, you know it is, you didn't go with him to protect him and he drowned. You were hisprotector from the time he was a baby and you should have been there. If you couldn't save him, you should havebeen there to drown with him. And the only reason you didn't go with him was because you wanted to be inLondon so you could get Rain to make love to you.

Thinking was so hard. Everything was so hard. Nothing seemed to work, not even her legs. She couldn't get up,she would never get up again. There was no room in her mind for anyone but Dane, and her thoughts went inever-diminishing circles around Dane. Until she thought of her mother, the Drogheda people. Oh, God. The newswould come there, come to her, come to them. Mum didn't even have the lovely last sight of his face in Rome.

They'll send the cable to the Gilly police, I suppose, and old Sergeant Ern will climb into his car and drive out allthe miles to Drogheda, to tell my mother that her only son is dead. Not the right man for the job, and an almost-stranger. Mrs. O'neill, my deepest, most heartfelt regrets, your son is dead. Perfunctory, courteous⁶⁷², empty words .

. . . No! I can't let them do that to her, not to her, she is my mother, too! Not that way, not the way I had to hearit.

She pulled the other part of the phone off the table onto her lap, put the receiver to her ear and dialed theoperator.

"Switch? Trunks, please, international. Hello? I want to place an urgent call to Australia, Gillanbone one-twoone-two. And please, please hurry."Meggie answered the phone herself. It was late, Fee had gone to bed. These days she never felt like seeking herown bed early, she preferred to sit listening to the crickets and frogs, doze²⁰⁷ over a book, remember.

"Hello?""London calling, Mrs. O'neill," said Hazel in Gilly. "Hello, Justine," Meggie said, not perturbed⁶⁰⁶. Jussy called,infrequently, to see how everything was.

"Mum? Is that you, Mum?""Yes, it's Mum here," said Meggie gently, sensing Justine's distress⁶⁷³. "Oh, Mum! Oh, Mum!" There was whatsounded like a gasp, or a sob²³⁰. "Mum, Dane's dead. Dane's dead!"A pit opened at her feet. Down and down and down it went, and had no bottom. Meggie slid into it, felt its lipsclose over her head, and understood that she would never come out again as long as she lived. What more couldthe gods do? She hadn't known when she asked it. How could she have asked it, how could she not have known?

Don't tempt⁹² the gods, they love it. In not going to see him in this most beautiful moment of his life, share it withhim, she had finally thought to make the payment. Dane would be free of it, and free of her. In not seeing theface which was dearer to her than all other faces, she would repay. The pit closed in, suffocating⁶⁷⁴. Meggie stoodthere, and realized it was too late.

"Justine, my dearest, be calm," said Meggie strongly, not a falter in her voice. "Calm yourself and tell me. Areyou sure?" "Australia House called me-they thought I was his next of kin. Some dreadful man who only wantedto know what I wanted done with the body. "The body," he kept calling Dane. As if he wasn't entitled to itanymore, as if it was anyone's." Meggie heard her sob. "God! I suppose the poor man hated what he was doing.

Oh, Mum, Dane's dead!""How, Justine? Where? In Rome? Why hasn't Ralph called me?""No, not in Rome. The Cardinal probably doesn't know anything about it. In Crete. The man said he wasdrowned, a sea rescue. He was on holiday, Mum, he asked me to go with him and I didn't, I wanted to playDesdemona, I wanted to be with Rain. If I'd only been with him! If I had, it mightn't have happened. Oh, God,what can I do?""Stop it, Justine," said Meggie sternly. "No thinking like that, do you hear me? Dane would hate it, you knowhe would. Things happen, why we don't know. The important thing now is that you're all right, I haven't lost bothof you. You're all I've got left now. Oh, Jussy, Jussy, it's so far away! The world's big, too big. Come home toDrogheda! I hate to think of you all alone.""No, I've got to work. Work is the only answer for me. If I don't work, I'll go mad. I don't want people, I don'twant comfort. Oh, Mum!" She began to sob bitterly. "How are we going to live without him?" How indeed? Wasthat living? God's thou wert, unto God return. Dust to dust. Living's for those of us who failed. Greedy God,gathering in the good ones, leaving the world to the rest of us, to rot. "It isn't for any of us to say how long we'lllive," said Meggie. "Jussy, thank you so much for telling me yourself, for phoning.""I couldn't bear to think of a stranger breaking the news, Mum. Not like that, from a stranger. What will youdo? What can you do?" With all her will Meggie tried to pour warmth and comfort across the miles to herdevastated girl in London. Her son was dead, her daughter still lived. She must be made whole. If it was possible.

In all her life Justine seemed only to have loved Dane. No one else, even herself. "Dear Justine, don't cry. Try notto grieve. He wouldn't have wanted that, now would he? Come home, and forget. We'll bring Dane home toDrogheda, too.

At law he's mine again, he doesn't belong to the Church and they can't stop me. I'll phone Australia House rightaway, and the embassy in Athens if I can get through. He must come home! I'd hate to think of him lyingsomewhere far from Drogheda. Here is where he belongs, he'll have to come home. Come with him, Justine."But Justine sat in a heap, shaking her head as if her mother could see. Come home? She could never come homeagain. If she had gone with Dane he wouldn't be dead. Come home, and have to look at her mother's face everyday for the rest of her life? No, it didn't bear thinking of. "No, Mum," she said, the tears rolling down her skin,hot like molten metal. Who on earth ever said people most moved don't weep? They don't know anything aboutit. "I shall stay here and work. I'll come home with Dane, but then I'm going back. I can't live on Drogheda."For three days they waited in a purposeless vacuum, Justine in London, Meggie and the family on Drogheda,stretching the official silence into tenuous hope. Oh, surely after so long it would turn out to be a mistake, surelyif it was true they would have heard by now! Dane would come-in Justine's front door smiling, and say it was alla silly mistake. Greece was in revolt, all sorts of silly mistakes must have been made. Dane would come in thedoor and laugh the idea of his death to scorn, he'd stand there tall and strong and alive, and he'd laugh. Hopebegan to grow, and grew with every minute they waited. Treacherous⁶⁷⁵, horrible hope. He wasn't dead, no! Notdrowned, not Dane who was a good enough swimmer to brave any kind of sea and live. So they waited, notacknowledging what had happened in the hope it would prove to be a mistake. Time later to notify people, letRome know. On the fourth morning Justine got the message. Like an old woman she picked up the receiver oncemore, and asked for Australia. "Mum?""Justine?""Oh, Mum, they've buried him already; we can't bring him home! What are we going to do? All they can say isthat Crete is a big place, the name of the village isn't known, by the time the cable arrived he'd already beenspirited away somewhere and disposed of. He's lying in an unmarked grave somewhere! I can't get a visa forGreece, no one wants to help, it's chaos. What are we going to do, Mum?""Meet me in Rome, Justine," said Meggie.

Everyone save Anne Mueller was there around the phone, still in shock. The men seemed to have aged¹⁴³ twentyyears in three days, and Fee, shrunken birdlike, white and crabbed⁶⁷⁶, drifted about the house saying over and over,"Why couldn't it have been me? Why did they have to take him? I'm so old, so old! I wouldn't have mindedgoing, why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it have been me? I'm so old!" Anne had collapsed⁶⁷⁷, and Mrs.

Smith, Minnie and Cat walked, slept tears.

Meggie stared at them silently as she put the phone down. This was Drogheda, all that was left. A little clusterof old men and old women, sterile⁶⁷⁸ and broken.

"Dane's lost," she said. "No one can find him; he's been buried somewhere on Crete. It's so far away! Howcould he rest so far from Drogheda? I'm going to Rome, to Ralph de Bricassart. If anyone can help us, he can."Cardinal de Bricassart's secretary entered his room. "Your Eminence, I'm sorry to disturb you, but a lady wishesto see you. I explained that there is a congress, that you are very busy and cannot see anyone, but she says shewill sit in the vestibule until you have time for her.""Is she in trouble, Father?""Great trouble, Your Eminence, that much is easy to see. She said I was to tell you her name is Meggie O'neill."He gave it a lilting foreign pronunciation, so that it came out sounding like Meghee Onill. " Cardinal Ralph cameto his feet, the color draining from his face to leave it as white as his hair.

"Your Eminence! Are you ill?""No, Father, I'm perfectly all right, thank you. Cancel my appointments until I notify you otherwise, and bringMrs. O'neill to me at once. We are not to be disturbed unless it is the Holy Father."The priest bowed, departed. O'neill. Of course! It was young Dane's name, he should have remembered. Savethat in the Cardinal's palace everyone just said Dane. Ah, he had made a grave mistake, keeping her waiting. IfDane was His Eminence's dearly loved nephew then Mrs. O'neill was his dearly loved sister.

When Meggie came into the room Cardinal Ralph hardly knew her. It was thirteen years since he had last seenher; she was fifty-three and he was seventy-one. Both of them aged now, instead of only him. Her face hadn'tchanged so much as settled, and into a mold unlike the one he had given her in his imagination. Substitute atrenchant incisiveness⁶⁷⁹ for sweetness, a touch of iron for softness; she resembled a vigorous, aging, willful martyrrather than the resigned, contemplative saint of his dreams. Her beauty was as striking as ever, her eyes still thatclear silvery grey, but both had hardened, and the once vivid hair had faded to a drab beige, like Dane's withoutthe life. Most disconcerting of all, she wouldn't look at him for long enough to satisfy his eager and lovingcuriosity. Unable to greet this Meggie naturally, he stiffly indicated a chair. "Please sit down.""Thank you," she said, equally stilted⁶⁸⁰.

It was only when she was seated and he could gaze down upon her whole person that he noticed how visiblyswollen her feet and ankles were.

"Meggie! Have you flown all the way through from Australia without breaking your journey? What's thematter?""Yes, I did fly straight through," she said. "For the past twenty-nine hours I've been sitting in planes betweenGilly and Rome, with nothing to do except stare out the window at the clouds, and think." Her voice was harsh,cold.

"What's the matter?" he repeated impatiently, anxious and fearful. She lifted her gaze from her feet and lookedat him steadily. There was something awful in her eyes; something so dark and chilling that the skin on the backof his neck crawled and automatically he put his hand up to stroke it.

"Dane is dead," said Meggie.

His hand slipped, flopped like a rag doll's into his scarlet lap as he sank into a chair. "Dead?" he asked slowly.

"Dane dead?" "Yes. He was drowned six days ago in Crete, rescuing some women from the sea."He leaned forward, put his hands over his face. "Dead?" she heard him say indistinctly. "Dane dead? Mybeautiful boy! He can't be dead! Dane-he was the perfect priest-all that I couldn't be. What I lacked he had." Hisvoice broke. "He always had it-that was what we all recognized-all of us who aren't perfect priests. Dead? Oh,dear Lord!""Don't bother about your dear Lord, Ralph," said the stranger sitting opposite him. "You have more importantthings to do. I came to ask for your help-not to witness your grief. I've had all those hours in the air to go over theway I'd tell you this, all those hours just staring out the window at the clouds knowing Dane is dead. After that,your grief has no power to move me."Yet when he lifted his face from his hands her dead cold heart bounded, twisted, leaped. It was Dane's face,with a suffering written upon it that Dane would never live to feel. Oh, thank God! Thank God he's dead, cannever now go through what this man has, what I have. Better he's dead than to suffer something like this.

"How can I help, Meggie?" he asked quietly, suppressing his own emotions to don the soul-deep guise²⁶⁶ of herspiritual counselor⁶⁸¹. "Greece is in chaos. They've buried Dane somewhere on Crete, and I can't find out where,when, why. Except I suppose that my instructions directing that he be flown home were endlessly delayed by thecivil war, and Crete is hot like Australia. When no one claimed him, I suppose they thought he had no one, andburied him." She leaned forward in her chair tensely. "I want my boy back, Ralph, I want him found and broughthome to sleep where he belongs, on Drogheda. I promised Jims I'd keep him on Drogheda and I will, if I have tocrawl on my hands and knees through every graveyard⁶⁸² on Crete. No fancy Roman priest's tomb for him, Ralph,not as long as I'm alive to put up a legal battle. He's to come home.""No one is going to deny you that, Meggie," he said gently. "It's consecrated⁶⁸³ Catholic ground, which is all theChurch asks. I too have requested that I be buried on Drogheda.""I can't get through all the red tape," she went on, as if he hadn't spoken. "I can't speak Greek, and I have nopower or influence. So I came to you, to use yours. Get me back my son, Ralph!""Don't worry, Meggie, we'll get him back, though it may not be very quickly. The-Left are in charge now, andthey're very anti-Catholic. However, I'm not without friends in Greece, so it will be done. Let me start the wheelsin motion immediately, and don't worry. He is a priest of the Holy Catholic Church, we'll get him back."His hand had gone to the bell cord, but Meggie's coldly fierce gaze stilled it.

"You don't understand, Ralph. I don't want wheels set in motion. I want my son back-not next week or nextmonth, but now! You speak Greek, you can get visas for yourself and me, you'll get results. I want you to cometo Greece with me now, and help me get my son back."There was much in his eyes: tenderness, compassion, shock, grief. But they had become the priest's eyes too,sane, logical, reasonable. "Meggie, I love your son as if he were my own, but I can't leave Rome at the moment.

I'm not a free agent-you above all others should know that. No matter how much I may feel for you, how much Imay feel on my own account, I can't leave Rome in the midst of a vital congress. I am the Holy Father's aide."She reared back, stunned⁶⁸⁴ and outraged⁶⁸⁵, then shook her head, half-smiling as if at the antics of some inanimateobject beyond her power to influence; then she trembled, licked her lips, seemed to come to a decision and sat upstraight and stiff. "Do you really love my son as if he were your own, Ralph?" she asked. "What would you dofor a son of yours? Could you sit back then and say to his mother, No, I'm very sorry, I can't possibly take thetime off? Could you say that to the mother of your son?" Dane's eyes, yet not Dane's eyes. Looking at her;bewildered, full of pain, helpless.

"I have no son," he said, "but among the many, many things I learned from yours was that no matter how hard itis, my first and only allegiance is to Almighty⁶⁸⁶ God.""Dane was your son too," said Meggie.

He stared at her blankly. "What?""I said, Dane was your son too. When I left Matlock Island I was pregnant. Dane was yours, not Luke O'neill's.""It-isn't-true!""I never intended you to know, even now," she said. "Would I lie to you?" "To get Dane back? Yes," he saidfaintly.

She got up, came to stand over him in the red brocade chair, took his thin, parchment-like hand in hers, bent andkissed the ring, the breath of her voice misting its ruby⁶⁸⁷ to milky⁶⁸⁸ dullness. "By all that you hold holy, Ralph, Iswear that Dane was your son. He was not and could not have been Luke's. By his death I swear it."There was a wail, the sound of a soul passing between the portals of Hell. Ralph de Bricassart fell forward outof the chair and wept, huddled⁵⁶⁴ on the crimson carpet in a scarlet pool like new blood, his face hidden in hisfolded arms, his hands clutching at his hair.

"Yes, cry!" said Meggie. "Cry, now that you know! It's right that one of his parents be able to shed tears forhim. Cry, Ralph! For twenty-six years I had your son and you didn't even know it, you couldn't even see it.

Couldn't see that he was you all over again! When my mother took him from me at birth she knew, but you neverdid. Your hands, your. feet, your face, your eyes, your body. Only the color of his hair was his own; all the restwas you. Do you understand now? When I sent him here to you, I said it in my letter. "What I stole, I give back."Remember? Only we both stole, Ralph. We stole what you had vowed⁶⁸⁹ to God, and we've both had to pay."She sat in her chair, implacable and unpitying, and watched the scarlet form in its agony on the floor. "I lovedyou, Ralph, but you were never mine. What I had of you, I was driven to steal. Dane was my part, all I could getfrom you. I vowed you'd never know, I vowed you'd never have the chance to take him away from me. And thenhe gave himself to you, of his own free will. The image of the perfect priest, he called you. What a laugh I hadover that one! But not for anything would I have given you a weapon like knowing he was yours. Except for this.

Except for this! For nothing less would I have told you. Though I don't suppose it matters now. He doesn'tbelong to either of us anymore. He belongs to God."Cardinal de Bricassart chartered a private plane in Athens; he, Meggie and Justine brought Dane home toDrogheda, the living sitting silently, the dead lying silently on a bier, requiring nothing of this earth anymore. Ihave to say this Mass, this Requiem⁶⁹⁰ for my son. Bone of my bone, my son. Yes, Meggie, I believe you. Once Ihad my breath back I would even have believed you without that terrible oath you swore. Vittorio knew theminute he set eyes on the boy, and in my heart I, too, must have known. Your laugh behind the roses from theboy-but my eyes looking up at me, as they used to be in my innocence⁶⁹¹. Fee knew. Anne Mueller knew. But notwe men. We weren't fit to be told. For so you women think, and hug your mysteries, getting your backs on us forthe slight God did you in not creating you in His Image. Vittorio knew, but it was the woman in him stilled histongue. A masterly revenge.

Say it, Ralph de Bricassart, open your mouth, move your hands in the blessing, begin to chant the Latin for thesoul of the departed. Who was your son. Whom you loved more than you loved his mother. Yes, more! For hewas yourself all over again, in a more perfect mold. "In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti . . ."The chapel was packed; they were all there who could be there. The Kings, the O'Rourkes, the Davieses, thePughs, the MacQueens, the Gordons, the Car-michaels, the Hopetons. And the Clearys, the Drogheda people.

Hope blighted⁶⁹², light gone. At the front in a great lead-lined casket, Father Dane O'neill, covered in roses. Whywere the roses always out when he came back to Drogheda? It was October, high spring. Of course they wereout. The time was right. "Sanctus . . . Sanctus . . . Sanctus . . ."Be warned that the Holy of Holies is upon you. My Dane, my beautiful son. It is better so. I wouldn't havewanted you to come to this, what I already am. Why I say this for you, I don't know. You don't need it, you neverneeded it. What I grope for, you knew by instinct. It isn't you who is unhappy, it's those of us here, left behind.

Pity us, and when our times come, help us. "Missa est . . . Requiescat in pace ...."Out across the lawn, down past the ghost gums, the roses, the pepper trees, to the cemetery⁶⁹³. Sleep on, Dane,because only the good die young. Why do we mourn? You're lucky, to have escaped this weary life so soon.

Perhaps that's what Hell is, a long term in earth-bound bondage. Perhaps we suffer our hells in living ....

The day passed, the mourners departed, the Drogheda people crept about the house and avoided each other;Cardinal Ralph looked early at Meggie, and could not bear to look again. Justine left with Jean and Boy King tocatch the afternoon plane for Sydney, the night plane for London. He never remembered hearing her huskybewitching voice, or seeing those odd pale eyes. From the time when she had met him and Meggie in Athens tothe time when she went with Jean and Boy King she had been like a ghost, her camouflage⁶⁹⁴ pulled closely aroundher. Why hadn't she called Rainer Hartheim, asked him to be with her? Surely she knew how much he loved her,how much he would want to be with her now? But the thought never stayed long enough in Cardinal Ralph'stired mind to call Rainer himself, though he had wondered about it off and on since before leaving Rome. Theywere strange, the Drogheda people. They didn't like company in grief; they preferred to be alone with their pain.

Only Fee and Meggie sat with Cardinal Ralph in the drawing room after a dinner left uneaten. No one said aword; the ormolu clock on the marble mantel ticked thunderously, and Mary Carson's painted eyes stared a mutechallenge across the room to Fee's grandmother. Fee and Meggie sat together on a cream sofa, shoulders lightlytouching; Cardinal Ralph never remembered their being so close in the old days. But they said nothing, did notlook at each other or at him.

He tried to see what it was he had done wrong. Too much wrong, that was the trouble. Pride, ambition, a certainunscrupulousness. And love for Meggie flowering among them. But the crowning glory of that love he had neverknown. What difference would it have made to know his son was his son? Was it possible to love the boy morethan he had? Would he have pursued a different path if he had known about his son? Yes! cried his heart. No,sneered his brain.

He turned on himself bitterly. Fool! You ought to have known Meggie was incapable⁶⁹⁵ of going back to Luke.

You ought to have known at once whose child Dane was. She was so proud of him! All she could get from you,that was what she said to you in Rome. Well, Meggie. . . . In him you got the best of it. Dear God, Ralph, howcould you not have known he was yours? You ought to have realized it when he came to you a man grown, if notbefore. She was waiting for you to see it, dying for you to see it; if only you had, she would have gone on herknees to you. But you were blind. You didn't want to see. Ralph Raoul, Cardinal de Bricassart, that was what youwanted; more than her, more than your son. More than your son!

The room had become filled with tiny cries, rustles, whispers; the clock was ticking in time with his heart. Andthen it wasn't in time anymore. He had got out of step with it. Meggie and Fee were swimming to their feet,drifting with frightened faces in a watery⁶⁹⁶ insubstantial mist, saying things to him he couldn't seem to hear.

"Aaaaaaah!" he cried, understanding.

He was hardly conscious of the pain, intent only on Meggie's arms around him, the way his head sank againsther. But he managed to turn until he could see her eyes, and looked at her. He tried to say, Forgive me, and sawshe had forgiven him long ago. She knew she had got the best of it. Then he wanted to say something so perfectshe would be eternally consoled, and realized that wasn't necessary, either. Whatever she was, she could bearanything. Anything! So he closed his eyes and let himself feel, that last time, forgetfulness in Meggie.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 err   

vi.犯错误，出差错

参考例句：

• He did not err by a hair's breadth in his calculation.他的计算结果一丝不差。
• The arrows err not from their aim.箭无虚发。

3 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

4 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 jug   

n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂

参考例句：

• He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
• She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

9 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pout   

v.撅嘴；绷脸；n.撅嘴；生气，不高兴

参考例句：

• She looked at her lover with a pretentious pout.她看着恋人，故作不悦地撅着嘴。
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted.他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。

11 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

12 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

15 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

16 thump   

v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声

参考例句：

• The thief hit him a thump on the head.贼在他的头上重击一下。
• The excitement made her heart thump.她兴奋得心怦怦地跳。

17 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

18 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

19 ply   

v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲

参考例句：

• Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。
• Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

20 juvenile   

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。

21 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 persevered   

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

23 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

24 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

25 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

26 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

27 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

28 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

29 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

30 freckles   

n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时，脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 freckle   

n.雀簧；晒斑

参考例句：

• The girl used many kinds of cosmetics to remove the freckle on her face.这个女孩用了很多种的化妆品来去掉她脸上的雀斑。
• Do you think a woman without freckle or having a whiter skin would be more attractive?你认为一位没有雀斑或肤色较白的女性会比较有吸引力？

32 auditioned   

vi.试听（audition的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• None of the actresses we have auditioned is suitable. 我们试听的这些女演员都不合适。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• What is that, from some script you auditioned for in the '40s? 什么玩意儿是你40年代试的那些剧本吗？ 来自电影对白

33 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

34 drizzle   

v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨

参考例句：

• The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小，最后变成了毛毛雨。
• Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨，今天果然下起来了。

35 determined   

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。

36 bums   

n. 游荡者，流浪汉，懒鬼，闹饮，屁股 adj. 没有价值的，不灵光的，不合理的 vt. 令人失望，乞讨 vi. 混日子，以乞讨为生

参考例句：

• The other guys are considered'sick" or "bums". 其他的人则被看成是“病态”或“废物”。
• You'll never amount to anything, you good-for-nothing bums! 这班没出息的东西，一辈子也不会成器。

37 salaaming   

行额手礼( salaam的现在分词 )

参考例句：

38 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

39 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

40 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

41 twitched   

vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
• The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

43 pertinent   

adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的

参考例句：

• The expert made some pertinent comments on the scheme.那专家对规划提出了一些中肯的意见。
• These should guide him to pertinent questions for further study.这些将有助于他进一步研究有关问题。

44 strictly   

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。

45 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

46 perfectly   

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。

47 remarkable   

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。

48 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

49 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

50 displease   

vt.使不高兴，惹怒；n.不悦，不满，生气

参考例句：

• Not wishing to displease her,he avoided answering the question.为了不惹她生气，他对这个问题避而不答。
• She couldn't afford to displease her boss.她得罪不起她的上司。

51 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

52 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：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

53 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

54 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

55 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

56 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

57 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

58 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

59 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

60 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

61 nibbling   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。
• He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

62 conspire   

v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致

参考例句：

• They'd conspired to overthrow the government.他们曾经密谋推翻政府。
• History and geography have conspired to bring Greece to a moment of decision.历史和地理因素共同将希腊推至作出抉择的紧要关头。

63 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

64 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

65 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

66 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

67 exasperate   

v.激怒，使（疾病）加剧，使恶化

参考例句：

• He shouted in an exasperate voice.他以愤怒的声音嚷着。
• The sheer futility of it all exasperates her.它毫无用处，这让她很生气。

68 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

69 tersely   

adv. 简捷地, 简要地

参考例句：

• Nixon proceeded to respond, mercifully more tersely than Brezhnev. 尼克松开始作出回答了。幸运的是，他讲的比勃列日涅夫简练。
• Hafiz Issail tersely informed me that Israel force had broken the young cease-fire. 哈菲兹·伊斯梅尔的来电简洁扼要，他说以色列部队破坏了刚刚生效的停火。

70 glumly   

adv.忧郁地，闷闷不乐地；阴郁地

参考例句：

• He stared at it glumly, and soon became lost in thought. 他惘然沉入了瞑想。 来自子夜部分
• The President sat glumly rubbing his upper molar, saying nothing. 总统愁眉苦脸地坐在那里，磨着他的上牙，一句话也没有说。 来自辞典例句

71 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

72 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

73 ridicule   

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。

74 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

75 kindly   

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。

76 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

77 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

78 anathema   

n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物)

参考例句：

• Independence for the Kurds is anathema to Turkey and Iran.库尔德人的独立对土耳其和伊朗来说将是一场梦魇。
• Her views are ( an ) anathema to me.她的观点真叫我讨厌。

79 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

80 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

81 dingy   

adj.昏暗的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
• The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。

82 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

83 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

84 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

85 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

86 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

87 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

88 skulking   

v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There was someone skulking behind the bushes. 有人藏在灌木后面。
• There were half a dozen foxes skulking in the undergrowth. 在林下灌丛中潜伏着五六只狐狸。 来自辞典例句

89 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

90 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

91 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

92 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

93 tickle   

v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒

参考例句：

• Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
• I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。

94 radiators   

n.（暖气设备的）散热器( radiator的名词复数 )；汽车引擎的冷却器，散热器

参考例句：

• You can preset the radiators to come on when you need them to. 你可以预先调好暖气，使它在你需要的时候启动。
• Stars are radiators of vast power. 恒星是强大的发光体。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

95 radiator   

n.暖气片，散热器

参考例句：

• The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.管道的两端与暖气片相连接。
• Top up the radiator before making a long journey.在长途旅行前加满散热器。

96 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

97 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

98 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

99 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

100 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

101 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

102 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

103 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

104 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

105 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

106 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

107 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

108 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

109 lashes   

n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时，母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面，以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

110 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

111 exquisiteness   

参考例句：

• The exquisiteness and liveliness in Mr. Zhang Fengming's paintings apart from others. 张凤鸣老师的作品细致，生动，明显与其他人的作品有别。 来自互联网
• As for beauty, it always leads"life"to the other world of nothingness with its terrifying exquisiteness. 至于“美” ,则总是以其恐怖的美把生带到虚无的彼岸。 来自互联网

112 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

113 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

114 stipulated   

vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的

参考例句：

• A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
• Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀，我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句

115 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

116 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

117 sheathed   

adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖

参考例句：

• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour. 防弹车护有装甲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The effect of his mediation was so great that both parties sheathed the sword at once. 他的调停非常有效，双方立刻停战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

118 shroud   

n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏

参考例句：

• His past was enveloped in a shroud of mystery.他的过去被裹上一层神秘色彩。
• How can I do under shroud of a dark sky?在黑暗的天空的笼罩下，我该怎么做呢？

119 disciple   

n.信徒，门徒，追随者

参考例句：

• Your disciple failed to welcome you.你的徒弟没能迎接你。
• He was an ardent disciple of Gandhi.他是甘地的忠实信徒。

120 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

121 membranous   

adj.膜的，膜状的

参考例句：

• Others are born live, after struggling to break free from a membranous egg sac. 其余的是冲破膜状蛋囊而出生的。 来自电影对白
• Thellos thellon, membranous layer of life is our only home. 薄薄的膜层就是咱们独一的家园。 来自互联网

122 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

123 prevarication   

n.支吾；搪塞；说谎；有枝有叶

参考例句：

• The longer negotiations drag on, the greater the risk of permanent prevarication. 谈判拖延的时间越久，长期推诿责任的可能性就越大。 来自互联网
• The result can be a lot of needless prevarication. 结果就是带来一堆的借口。 来自互联网

124 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

125 ashtray   

n.烟灰缸

参考例句：

• He knocked out his pipe in the big glass ashtray.他在大玻璃烟灰缸里磕净烟斗。
• She threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray.她把烟头扔进烟灰缸。

126 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

127 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

128 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

129 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

130 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

131 grimaced   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。
• She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

132 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

133 ewer   

n.大口水罐

参考例句：

• The ewer is in very good condition with spout restored.喷口修复后，水罐还能用。
• She filled the ewer with fresh water.她将水罐注满了清水。

134 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

135 mischievously   

adv.有害地；淘气地

参考例句：

• He mischievously looked for a chance to embarrass his sister. 他淘气地寻找机会让他的姐姐难堪。 来自互联网
• Also has many a dream kindheartedness, is loves mischievously small lovable. 又有着多啦a梦的好心肠，是爱调皮的小可爱。 来自互联网

136 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

137 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

138 facetiousness   

n.滑稽

参考例句：

• Jastrow said, with tremulous facetiousness. 杰斯特罗说着，显出抖抖嗦嗦的滑稽样子。 来自辞典例句

139 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

140 murmurs   

n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕

参考例句：

• They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
• They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句

141 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

142 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

143 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

144 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

145 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

146 maneuvered   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行，来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
• The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句

147 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

148 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

149 endearments   

n.表示爱慕的话语，亲热的表示( endearment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were whispering endearments to each other. 他们彼此低声倾吐着爱慕之情。
• He held me close to him, murmuring endearments. 他抱紧了我，喃喃述说着爱意。 来自辞典例句

150 agonized   

v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦

参考例句：

• All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失，深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句

151 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

152 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

153 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

154 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

155 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

156 deplore   

vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾

参考例句：

• I deplore what has happened.我为所发生的事深感愤慨。
• There are many of us who deplore this lack of responsibility.我们中有许多人谴责这种不负责任的做法。

157 invincibly   

adv.难战胜地，无敌地

参考例句：

• Invincibly, the troops moved forward. 这支军队一路前进，所向披靡。 来自互联网

158 perilously   

adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地

参考例句：

• They were perilously close to the edge of the precipice. 他们离悬崖边很近，十分危险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It'seemed to me that we had come perilously close to failure already. 对我来说，好像失败和我只有一步之遥，岌岌可危。 来自互联网

159 scruples   

n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I overcame my moral scruples. 我抛开了道德方面的顾虑。
• I'm not ashamed of my scruples about your family. They were natural. 我并未因为对你家人的顾虑而感到羞耻。这种感觉是自然而然的。 来自疯狂英语突破英语语调

160 compassion   

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。

161 prawn   

n.对虾，明虾

参考例句：

• I'm not very keen on fish, but prawn.我不是特别爱吃鱼，但爱吃对虾。
• Yesterday we ate prawn dish for lunch.昨天午餐我们吃了一盘对虾。

162 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

163 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

164 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

165 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

166 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

167 exasperation   

n.愤慨

参考例句：

• He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
• She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。

168 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。

169 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

170 steadily   

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。

171 raves   

n.狂欢晚会( rave的名词复数 )v.胡言乱语( rave的第三人称单数 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说

参考例句：

• She raves about that singer. 她醉心地谈论那位歌手。 来自辞典例句
• His new play received raves in the paper. 他的新剧本在报纸上受到赞扬。 来自辞典例句

172 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

173 tolling   

[财]来料加工

参考例句：

• A remote bell is tolling. 远处的钟声响了。
• Indeed, the bells were tolling, the people were trooping into the handsome church. 真的，钟声响了，人们成群结队走进富丽堂皇的教堂。

174 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

175 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

176 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：

• 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。

177 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

178 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

179 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

180 grudges   

不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never grudges money. 他从不吝惜金钱。
• They bear grudges against each other. 他俩有过节儿。

181 lessening   

减轻，减少，变小

参考例句：

• So however much he earned, she spent it, her demands growing and lessening with his income. 祥子挣多少，她花多少，她的要求随着他的钱涨落。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The talks have resulted in a lessening of suspicion. 谈话消减了彼此的怀疑。

182 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

183 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

184 resentment   

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。

185 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

186 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

187 squandered   

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）

188 tractable   

adj.易驾驭的；温顺的

参考例句：

• He was always tractable and quiet.他总是温顺、恬静。
• Gold and silver are tractable metals.金和银是容易加工的金属。

189 atone   

v.赎罪，补偿

参考例句：

• He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。
• Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

190 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

191 rustles   

n.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的名词复数 )v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A slight breeze rustles the tan grass. 微风拂来，黄褐色的草沙沙作响。 来自互联网

192 kindling   

n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
• "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤，劈柴，都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

193 genuflected   

v.屈膝（尤指宗教礼节中）( genuflect的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He genuflected in front of the altar. 他在祭坛前跪拜。 来自辞典例句
• The simulagent genuflected for the remote eye of the sphere. \"My lord.\" 替身向球幕里遥远的目光屈单膝跪地。“我的陛下。” 来自互联网

194 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

195 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

196 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

197 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

198 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

199 wheeze   

n.喘息声，气喘声；v.喘息着说

参考例句：

• The old man managed to wheeze out a few words.老人勉强地喘息着说出了几句话。
• He has a slight wheeze in his chest.他呼吸时胸部发出轻微的响声。

200 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

201 benediction   

n.祝福；恩赐

参考例句：

• The priest pronounced a benediction over the couple at the end of the marriage ceremony.牧师在婚礼结束时为新婚夫妇祈求上帝赐福。
• He went abroad with his parents' benediction.他带着父母的祝福出国去了。

202 rippling   

起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的

参考例句：

• I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
• The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。

203 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

204 supplication   

n.恳求，祈愿，哀求

参考例句：

• She knelt in supplication. 她跪地祷求。
• The supplication touched him home. 这个请求深深地打动了他。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

205 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

206 drowsily   

adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地

参考例句：

• She turned drowsily on her side, a slow creeping blackness enveloping her mind. 她半睡半醒地翻了个身，一片缓缓蠕动的黑暗渐渐将她的心包围起来。 来自飘（部分）
• I felt asleep drowsily before I knew it. 不知过了多久，我曚扙地睡着了。 来自互联网

207 doze   

v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐

参考例句：

• He likes to have a doze after lunch.他喜欢午饭后打个盹。
• While the adults doze,the young play.大人们在打瞌睡，而孩子们在玩耍。

208 reek   

v.发出臭气；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• Where there's reek,there's heat.哪里有恶臭，哪里必发热。
• That reek is from the fox.那股恶臭是狐狸发出的。

209 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

210 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

211 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

212 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

213 cipher   

n.零；无影响力的人；密码

参考例句：

• All important plans were sent to the police in cipher.所有重要计划均以密码送往警方。
• He's a mere cipher in the company.他在公司里是个无足轻重的小人物。

214 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

215 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

216 treatises   

n.专题著作，专题论文，专著( treatise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many treatises in different languages have been published on pigeons. 关于鸽类的著作，用各种文字写的很多。 来自辞典例句
• Many other treatises incorporated the new rigor. 许多其它的专题论文体现了新的严密性。 来自辞典例句

217 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

218 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

219 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

220 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

221 prospect   

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。

222 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

223 peals   

n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She burst into peals of laughter. 她忽然哈哈大笑起来。
• She went into fits/peals of laughter. 她发出阵阵笑声。 来自辞典例句

224 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

225 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

226 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

227 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

228 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

229 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

230 sob   

n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣

参考例句：

• The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
• The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。

231 sobbing   

<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。

232 espouse   

v.支持，赞成，嫁娶

参考例句：

• Today,astronomers espouse the theory that comets spawn the swarms.如今，天文学家们支持彗星产生了流星团的说法。
• Some teachers enthusiastically espouse the benefits to be gained from educational software.有些教师热烈赞同可以从教学软件中得到好处的观点。

233 tawny   

adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色

参考例句：

• Her black hair springs in fine strands across her tawny,ruddy cheek.她的一头乌发分披在健康红润的脸颊旁。
• None of them noticed a large,tawny owl flutter past the window.他们谁也没注意到一只大的、褐色的猫头鹰飞过了窗户。

234 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

235 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

236 tartly   

adv.辛辣地，刻薄地

参考例句：

• She finished by tartly pointing out that he owed her some money. 她最后刻薄地指出他欠她一些钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Kay said tartly, "And you're more Yankee than Italian. 恺酸溜溜他说：“可你哪，与其说是意大利人，还不如说是新英格兰人。 来自教父部分

237 plod   

v.沉重缓慢地走，孜孜地工作

参考例句：

• He was destined to plod the path of toil.他注定要在艰辛的道路上跋涉。
• I could recognize his plod anywhere.我能在任何地方辨认出他的沉重脚步声。

238 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

239 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

240 reciprocate   

v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答

参考例句：

• Although she did not reciprocate his feelings, she did not discourage him.尽管她没有回应他的感情，她也没有使他丧失信心。
• Some day I will reciprocate your kindness to me.总有一天我会报答你对我的恩德。

241 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

242 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

243 caret   

n.加字符号

参考例句：

• Move the caret to a specified position.将插字符移动到指定的位置。
• The caret shape can be a line,a block,or a bitmap.插入符可以是一根短线、一个方块或者一幅位图。

244 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

245 limned   

v.画( limn的过去式和过去分词 )；勾画；描写；描述

参考例句：

• The report limned a desperate situation. 那报道描述出一个严重的情况。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He was as crisp as a new dollar bill-as clean, sharp, firmly limned. 他就象一张崭新的钞票一样利落--一样干净，鲜明，一丝不苟。 来自辞典例句

246 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

247 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

248 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

249 cadences   

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

250 perversity   

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。

251 narcissistic   

adj.自我陶醉的，自恋的，自我崇拜的

参考例句：

• In the modern vocabulary, it was narcissistic. 用时髦话说，这是一种自我陶醉狂。 来自辞典例句
• This is our Nielaoshi, a dwarf has also grown narcissistic teachers. 这就是我们的倪老师，一个长得又矮又自恋的老师。 来自互联网

252 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

253 loathed   

v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• Baker loathed going to this red-haired young pup for supplies. 面包师傅不喜欢去这个红头发的自负的傻小子那里拿原料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self! 因此，他厌恶不幸的自我尤胜其它！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

254 sublimate   

v.(使)升华，净化

参考例句：

• We need sublimate water for our experiment.我们的实验需要纯净化的水。
• Her sublimate future husband will be tall,dark,and handsome.她理想化的未来丈夫将是身材高大，皮肤浅黑，相貌英俊。

255 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

256 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

257 inclinations   

倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡

参考例句：

• She has artistic inclinations. 她有艺术爱好。
• I've no inclinations towards life as a doctor. 我的志趣不是行医。

258 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

259 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

260 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

261 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

262 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

263 pivoted   

adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• His old legs and shoulders pivoted with the swinging of the pulling. 他一把把地拉着，两条老迈的腿儿和肩膀跟着转动。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• When air is moving, the metal is pivoted on the hinge. 当空气流动时，金属板在铰链上转动。 来自辞典例句

264 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

265 provocatively   

参考例句：

• Democracy or dictatorship, the golden ships still hung in the sky and shone provocatively. 民主也好，独裁也罢，那些金晃晃的飞船依然高悬天际，闪熠发光，向我们挑衅。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

266 guise   

n.外表，伪装的姿态

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors.他们假装成视察员进了学校。
• The thief came into the house under the guise of a repairman.那小偷扮成个修理匠进了屋子。

267 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

268 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

269 wart   

n.疣，肉赘；瑕疵

参考例句：

• What does the medicaments with remedial acuteness wet best wart have?治疗尖锐湿疣最好的药物有什么？
• Flat wart is generally superficial,or sometimes a slight itching.扁平疣一般是不痛不痒的，或偶有轻微痒感。

270 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

271 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

272 seduce   

vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱

参考例句：

• She has set out to seduce Stephen.她已经开始勾引斯蒂芬了。
• Clever advertising would seduce more people into smoking.巧妙策划的广告会引诱更多的人吸烟。

273 unbearably   

adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌

参考例句：

• It was unbearably hot in the car. 汽车里热得难以忍受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She found it unbearably painful to speak. 她发现开口说话痛苦得令人难以承受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

274 rococo   

n.洛可可；adj.过分修饰的

参考例句：

• She had a passion for Italian rococo.他热衷与意大利的洛可可艺术风格。
• Rococo art portrayed a world of artificiality,make-believe,and game-playing.洛可可艺术描绘出一个人工的、假装的和玩乐性的世界。

275 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

276 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

277 graceful   

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。

278 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

279 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

280 vernacular   

adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名

参考例句：

• The house is built in a vernacular style.这房子按当地的风格建筑。
• The traditional Chinese vernacular architecture is an epitome of Chinese traditional culture.中国传统民居建筑可谓中国传统文化的缩影。

281 lamely   

一瘸一拐地，不完全地

参考例句：

• I replied lamely that I hope to justify his confidence. 我漫不经心地回答说，我希望我能不辜负他对我的信任。
• The wolf leaped lamely back, losing its footing and falling in its weakness. 那只狼一跛一跛地跳回去，它因为身体虚弱，一失足摔了一跤。

282 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

283 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

284 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

285 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

286 entails   

使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
• This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

287 entail   

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。

288 forsaking   

放弃( forsake的现在分词 )； 弃绝； 抛弃； 摒弃

参考例句：

• I will not be cowed into forsaking my beliefs. 我不会因为被恐吓而放弃自己的信仰。
• At fourteen he ran away, forsaking his home and friends. 他十四岁出走，离开了家乡和朋友。

289 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

290 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

291 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

292 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

293 stiffened   

加强的

参考例句：

• He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
• She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

294 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

295 presumptuous   

adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的

参考例句：

• It would be presumptuous for anybody to offer such a view.任何人提出这种观点都是太放肆了。
• It was presumptuous of him to take charge.他自拿主张，太放肆了。

296 cypresses   

n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Green and luxuriant are the pines and cypresses. 苍松翠柏郁郁葱葱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Before them stood a grove of tall cypresses. 前面是一个大坝子，种了许多株高大的松树。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

297 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

298 tapestries   

n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The wall of the banqueting hall were hung with tapestries. 宴会厅的墙上挂有壁毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rooms were hung with tapestries. 房间里都装饰着挂毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

299 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

300 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

301 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

302 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

303 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

304 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

305 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

306 surmise   

v./n.猜想，推测

参考例句：

• It turned out that my surmise was correct.结果表明我的推测没有错。
• I surmise that he will take the job.我推测他会接受这份工作。

307 elation   

n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意

参考例句：

• She showed her elation at having finally achieved her ambition.最终实现了抱负，她显得十分高兴。
• His supporters have reacted to the news with elation.他的支持者听到那条消息后兴高采烈。

308 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

309 cardinals   

红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。

310 admonishing   

v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责

参考例句：

• It is waste of time, admonishing you. 劝告你简直是浪费工夫。 来自辞典例句
• To date, the Doctrine of Cheng Fu still exerts its admonishing effect. 时至今日，承负说仍具有警示作用。 来自互联网

311 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

312 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

313 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

314 sundry   

adj.各式各样的，种种的

参考例句：

• This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
• We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。

315 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

316 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

317 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

318 glutton   

n.贪食者，好食者

参考例句：

• She's a glutton for work.She stays late every evening.她是个工作狂，每天都很晚才下班。
• He is just a glutton.He is addicted to excessive eating.他就是个老饕，贪吃成性。

319 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

320 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

321 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

322 sprouting   

v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
• They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分

323 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

324 trekking   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的现在分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• She can't come pony trekking after all because she's in a delicate condition. 她结果还是不能坐小马车旅行，因为她已怀孕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We spent the summer trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas. 我们整个夏天都在喜马拉雅山的山麓艰难跋涉。 来自互联网

325 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

326 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

327 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

328 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

329 preen   

v.（人）打扮修饰

参考例句：

• 50% of men under 35 spend at least 20 minutes preening themselves every morning in the bathroom.50%的35岁以下男性每天早上至少花20分钟在盥洗室精心打扮。
• Bill preened his beard.比尔精心修剪了他的胡须。

330 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

331 wryly   

adv. 挖苦地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• Molly smiled rather wryly and said nothing. 莫莉苦笑着，一句话也没说。
• He smiled wryly, then closed his eyes and gnawed his lips. 他狞笑一声，就闭了眼睛，咬着嘴唇。 来自子夜部分

332 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

333 hulls   

船体( hull的名词复数 )； 船身； 外壳； 豆荚

参考例句：

• Hulls may be removed by aspiration on screens. 脱下的种皮，可由筛子上的气吸装置吸除。
• When their object is attained they fall off like empty hulls from the kernel. 当他们的目的达到以后，他们便凋谢零落，就象脱却果实的空壳一样。

334 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

335 ingratitude   

n.忘恩负义

参考例句：

• Tim's parents were rather hurt by his ingratitude.蒂姆的父母对他的忘恩负义很痛心。
• His friends were shocked by his ingratitude to his parents.他对父母不孝，令他的朋友们大为吃惊。

336 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

337 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

338 converging   

adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句
• This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句

339 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

340 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

341 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

342 struts   

（框架的）支杆( strut的名词复数 )； 支柱； 趾高气扬的步态； （尤指跳舞或表演时）卖弄

参考例句：

• The struts are firmly braced. 那些支柱上得很牢靠。
• The Struts + EJB framework is described in part four. 三、介绍Struts+EJB框架的技术组成：Struts框架和EJB组件技术。

343 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

344 mangled   

vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• His hand was mangled in the machine. 他的手卷到机器里轧烂了。
• He was off work because he'd mangled his hand in a machine. 他没上班，因为他的手给机器严重压伤了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

345 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

346 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

347 tugs   

n.猛拉( tug的名词复数 )；猛拖；拖船v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The raucous sirens of the tugs came in from the river. 河上传来拖轮发出的沙哑的汽笛声。 来自辞典例句
• As I near the North Tower, the wind tugs at my role. 当我接近北塔的时候，风牵动着我的平衡杆。 来自辞典例句

348 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

349 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

350 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。

351 shoestring   

n.小额资本；adj.小本经营的

参考例句：

• In the early years,the business was run on a shoestring.早年，这家店铺曾是小本经营。
• How can I take the best possible digital pictures on a shoestring budget?怎样用很小投资拍摄最好的数码照片？

352 pittance   

n.微薄的薪水，少量

参考例句：

• Her secretaries work tirelessly for a pittance.她的秘书们为一点微薄的工资不知疲倦地工作。
• The widow must live on her slender pittance.那寡妇只能靠自己微薄的收入过活。

353 fanatic   

n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
• I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。

354 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

355 celibates   

n.独身者( celibate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Men attach more importance to marriage than women do, and there are fewer male celibates. 男人们更重视结婚。男性独身主义者比女性独身主义者更少。 来自互联网

356 mimes   

n.指手画脚( mime的名词复数 )；做手势；哑剧；哑剧演员v.指手画脚地表演，用哑剧的形式表演( mime的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Hanks so scrupulously, heroically mimes the wasting wought by the disease. 汉克斯咬紧牙关，一丝不苟地模仿艾滋病造成的虚弱。 来自互联网
• On an airplane, fellow passengers mimicked her every movement -- like mimes on a street. 在飞机上，有乘客模拟她的每个动作—就像街头模拟表演。 来自互联网

357 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

358 pate   

n.头顶；光顶

参考例句：

• The few strands of white hair at the back of his gourd-like pate also quivered.他那长在半个葫芦样的头上的白发，也随着笑声一齐抖动着。
• He removed his hat to reveal a glowing bald pate.他脱下帽子，露出了发亮的光头。

359 inundating   

v.淹没( inundate的现在分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• Floodwaters are inundating states up and down the Eastern Seaboard. 洪水淹没了东部沿海各州。 来自互联网
• Their invasion of the city effecttidal wave inundating first the immigrant colonies. 他们的涌入城市，象潮头一样首先淹没了移民地带。 来自互联网

360 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

361 pimply   

adj.肿泡的；有疙瘩的；多粉刺的；有丘疹的

参考例句：

• Now, we won't submit to impertinence from these pimply, tipsy virgins. 现在我们决不能忍受这群长着脓包、喝醉了的小兔崽子们的无礼举动。 来自辞典例句
• A head stuck out cautiously-a square, pimply, purplish face with thick eyebrows and round eyes. 车厢里先探出一个头来，紫酱色的一张方脸，浓眉毛，圆眼睛，脸上有许多小疱。 来自互联网

362 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

363 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

364 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

365 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

366 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

367 tickling   

反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法

参考例句：

• Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？
• Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

368 trolley   

n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车

参考例句：

• The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
• In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

369 layman   

n.俗人，门外汉，凡人

参考例句：

• These technical terms are difficult for the layman to understand.这些专门术语是外行人难以理解的。
• He is a layman in politics.他对政治是个门外汉。

370 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

371 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网

372 exuded   

v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的过去式和过去分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情

参考例句：

• Nearby was a factory which exuded a pungent smell. 旁边是一家散发出刺鼻气味的工厂。 来自辞典例句
• The old drawer exuded a smell of camphor. 陈年抽屉放出樟脑气味。 来自辞典例句

373 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

374 punctiliously   

参考例句：

• Given the circumstances, his behaviour to Laura had been punctiliously correct. 考虑当时的情况，他对劳拉的举止非常得体。 来自柯林斯例句

375 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

376 tickled   

（使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友，我们高兴极了。
• I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚，使她发笑。

377 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

378 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

379 refreshment   

n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点

参考例句：

• He needs to stop fairly often for refreshment.他须时不时地停下来喘口气。
• A hot bath is a great refreshment after a day's work.在一天工作之后洗个热水澡真是舒畅。

380 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

381 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

382 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

383 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：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

384 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

385 possessed   

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。

386 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

387 yearned   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people yearned for peace. 人民渴望和平。
• She yearned to go back to the south. 她渴望回到南方去。

388 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

389 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

390 chauffeur   

n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车

参考例句：

• The chauffeur handed the old lady from the car.这个司机搀扶这个老太太下汽车。
• She went out herself and spoke to the chauffeur.她亲自走出去跟汽车司机说话。

391 impudent   

adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。

392 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

393 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

394 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

395 shrieking   

v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

396 fiats   

n.命令，许可( fiat的名词复数 )；菲亚特汽车（意大利品牌）

参考例句：

397 hordes   

n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落

参考例句：

• There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
• Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

398 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

399 veal   

n.小牛肉

参考例句：

• She sauteed veal and peppers,preparing a mixed salad while the pan simmered.她先做的一道菜是青椒煎小牛肉，趁着锅还在火上偎着的机会，又做了一道拼盘。
• Marinate the veal in white wine for two hours.把小牛肉用白葡萄酒浸泡两小时。

400 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

401 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

402 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

403 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

404 cosseted   

v.宠爱，娇养，纵容( cosset的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Our kind of travel is definitely not suitable for people who expect to be cosseted. 我们的这种旅行绝对不适合那些想要受到百般呵护的人。 来自辞典例句
• We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures. 按照天文标准，我们是一群受宠过头、珍爱有余、呵护备至的受造物。 来自互联网

405 rancor   

n.深仇，积怨

参考例句：

• I have no rancor against him.我对他无怨无仇。
• Their rancor dated from a political dogfight between them.他们的积怨来自于他们之间在政治上的狗咬狗。

406 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

407 judgment   

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。

408 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

409 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

410 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

411 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

412 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

413 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

414 gruel   

n.稀饭，粥

参考例句：

• We had gruel for the breakfast.我们早餐吃的是粥。
• He sat down before the fireplace to eat his gruel.他坐到壁炉前吃稀饭。

415 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

416 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

417 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

418 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

419 teemed   

v.充满( teem的过去式和过去分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ideas of new plays and short stories teemed in his head. 他的脑海里装满了有关新的剧本和短篇小说的构思。 来自辞典例句

420 gauged   

adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• He picked up the calipers and gauged carefully. 他拿起卡钳仔细测量。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Distance is gauged by journey time rather than miles. 距离以行程时间而非英里数来计算。 来自辞典例句

421 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

422 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

423 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

424 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

425 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

426 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

427 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

428 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

429 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

430 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

431 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

432 hiccups   

n.嗝( hiccup的名词复数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿v.嗝( hiccup的第三人称单数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿

参考例句：

• I cannot find a rhyme to "hiccups". 我不能找到和hiccups同韵的词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can we rhyme 'hiccups'with 'pick-ups'? 我们能把‘hiccups’同‘pick－ups’放在一起押韵吗？ 来自辞典例句

433 ascetic   

adj.禁欲的；严肃的

参考例句：

• The hermit followed an ascetic life-style.这个隐士过的是苦行生活。
• This is achieved by strict celibacy and ascetic practices.这要通过严厉的独身生活和禁欲修行而达到。

434 recollect   

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。

435 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

436 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

437 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

438 colloquial   

adj.口语的，会话的

参考例句：

• It's hard to understand the colloquial idioms of a foreign language.外语里的口头习语很难懂。
• They have little acquaintance with colloquial English. 他们对英语会话几乎一窍不通。

439 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

440 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

441 urchin   

n.顽童；海胆

参考例句：

• You should sheer off the urchin.你应该躲避这顽童。
• He is a most wicked urchin.他是个非常调皮的顽童。

442 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

443 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

444 precariously   

adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地

参考例句：

• The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上，摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

445 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

446 wriggling   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕

参考例句：

• The baby was wriggling around on my lap. 婴儿在我大腿上扭来扭去。
• Something that looks like a gray snake is wriggling out. 有一种看来象是灰蛇的东西蠕动着出来了。 来自辞典例句

447 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

448 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

449 liberates   

解放，释放( liberate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• On the contrary, my caring liberates both of us. 与此相反，我的关心会使我们两个都不受到束缚。
• May cause severe burns. Contact with acids liberates toxic gas. 可导致严重灼伤。与酸接触会释放有毒气体。

450 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

451 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

452 meticulously   

adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心

参考例句：

• The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的，雕刻着神圣符文，而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
• She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句

453 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

454 loquacious   

adj.多嘴的，饶舌的

参考例句：

• The normally loquacious Mr O'Reilly has said little.平常话多的奥赖利先生几乎没说什么。
• Kennedy had become almost as loquacious as Joe.肯尼迪变得和乔一样唠叨了。

455 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

456 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

457 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

458 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

459 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

460 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

461 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

462 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

463 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

464 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

465 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

466 forte   

n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的

参考例句：

• Her forte is playing the piano.她擅长弹钢琴。
• His forte is to show people around in the company.他最拿手的就是向大家介绍公司。

467 smirking   

v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Major Pendennis, fresh and smirking, came out of his bedroom to his sitting-room. 潘登尼斯少校神采奕奕，笑容可掬地从卧室来到起居室。 来自辞典例句
• The big doll, sitting in her new pram smirking, could hear it quite plainly. 大娃娃坐在崭新的童车里，满脸痴笑，能听得一清二楚。 来自辞典例句

468 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

469 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

470 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

471 converges   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的第三人称单数 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• The dike swarm converges on West Spanish peak. 岩脉群汇聚于西西班牙峰。 来自辞典例句
• Property 2 If 、 converge to and respectively, then also converges, and. 性质2如果级数、分别收敛于和，则级数也收敛，且其和为。 来自互联网

472 voyeuristic   

adj.喜好窥阴的

参考例句：

• On the other hand, perhaps the author of the spyware just has voyeuristic tendencies. 不过，也可能程序作者只是有窥阴癖而已。 来自互联网
• Hitchcock also a perverse thrill out of taking audiences on a voyeuristic roller-coaster ride. 希区柯克也有有害刺激的考虑受众的偷窥过山车旅程。 来自互联网

473 venerated   

敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My father venerated General Eisenhower. 我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。
• He used the sacraments and venerated the saints. 他行使圣事，崇拜圣人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

474 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

475 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

476 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

477 cuddly   

adj.抱着很舒服的，可爱的

参考例句：

• The beautiful crib from Mom and Dad is so cuddly.爸爸妈妈送的漂亮婴儿床真舒服。
• You can't call a hedgehog cuddly.你不能说刺猬逗人喜爱。

478 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。

479 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

480 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

481 inflames   

v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Captain inflames the crew with his rhetoric. 船长以他的辩才点燃了船员心中之火。 来自辞典例句
• However, the release of antibodies also inflames the bronchi and bronchioles. 然而，抗体的产生也导致了了支气管和细支气管群的发炎。 来自互联网

482 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

483 talisman   

n.避邪物，护身符

参考例句：

• It was like a talisman worn in bosom.它就象佩在胸前的护身符一样。
• Dress was the one unfailling talisman and charm used for keeping all things in their places.冠是当作保持品位和秩序的一种万应灵符。

484 tranquilly   

adv. 宁静地

参考例句：

• He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子，一声不响地干了起来。
• The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。

485 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

486 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

487 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

488 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

489 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

490 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

491 shearing   

n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切

参考例句：

• The farmer is shearing his sheep. 那农夫正在给他的羊剪毛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The result of this shearing force is to push the endoplasm forward. 这种剪切力作用的结果是推动内质向前。 来自辞典例句

492 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

493 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

494 intruded   

n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于

参考例句：

• One could believe that human creatures had never intruded there before. 你简直会以为那是从来没有人到过的地方。 来自辞典例句
• The speaker intruded a thin smile into his seriousness. 演说人严肃的脸上掠过一丝笑影。 来自辞典例句

495 rectify   

v.订正，矫正，改正

参考例句：

• The matter will rectify itself in a few days.那件事过几天就会变好。
• You can rectify this fault if you insert a slash.插人一条斜线便可以纠正此错误。

496 aquiline   

adj.钩状的，鹰的

参考例句：

• He had a thin aquiline nose and deep-set brown eyes.他长着窄长的鹰钩鼻和深陷的褐色眼睛。
• The man has a strong and aquiline nose.该名男子有强大和鹰鼻子。

497 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

498 repulsive   

adj.排斥的，使人反感的

参考例句：

• She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。
• The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。

499 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

500 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

501 colonnade   

n.柱廊

参考例句：

• This colonnade will take you out of the palace and the game.这条柱廊将带你离开宫殿和游戏。
• The terrace was embraced by the two arms of the colonnade.平台由两排柱廊环抱。

502 slivers   

（切割或断裂下来的）薄长条，碎片( sliver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Margret had eight slivers of glass removed from her cheek. 从玛格列特的脸颊取出了八片碎玻璃。
• Eight slivers are drawn together to produce the drawn sliver. 在末道并条机上，八根棉条并合在一起被牵伸成熟条。

503 caress   

vt./n.爱抚，抚摸

参考例句：

• She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。
• She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。

504 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

505 ordination   

n.授任圣职

参考例句：

• His ordination gives him the right to conduct a marriage or a funeral.他的晋升圣职使他有权主持婚礼或葬礼。
• The vatican said the ordination places the city's catholics in a "very delicate and difficult decision."教廷说，这个任命使得这个城市的天主教徒不得不做出“非常棘手和困难的决定”。

506 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

507 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

508 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

509 bestowing   

砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖

参考例句：

• Apollo, you see, is bestowing the razor on the Triptolemus of our craft. 你瞧，阿波罗正在把剃刀赠给我们这项手艺的特里泼托勒默斯。
• What thanks do we not owe to Heaven for thus bestowing tranquillity, health and competence! 我们要谢谢上苍，赐我们的安乐、健康和饱暖。

510 crux   

adj.十字形；难事，关键，最重要点

参考例句：

• The crux of the matter is how to comprehensively treat this trend.问题的关键是如何全面地看待这种趋势。
• The crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed.问题的要害是人们的态度转变了。

511 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

512 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

513 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

514 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

515 contentedly   

adv.心满意足地

参考例句：

• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe.父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。
• "This is brother John's writing,"said Sally,contentedly,as she opened the letter.

516 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

517 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

518 furor   

n.狂热；大骚动

参考例句：

• His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
• The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。

519 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

520 garb   

n.服装，装束

参考例句：

• He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
• Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

521 conceited   

adj.自负的，骄傲自满的

参考例句：

• He could not bear that they should be so conceited.他们这样自高自大他受不了。
• I'm not as conceited as so many people seem to think.我不像很多人认为的那么自负。

522 apparently   

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。

523 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

524 genie   

n.妖怪，神怪

参考例句：

• Now the genie of his darkest and weakest side was speaking.他心灵中最阴暗最软弱的部分有一个精灵在说话。
• He had to turn to the Genie of the Ring for help.他不得不向戒指神求助。

525 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

526 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

527 drearily   

沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地

参考例句：

• "Oh, God," thought Scarlett drearily, "that's just the trouble. "啊，上帝！" 思嘉沮丧地想，"难就难在这里呀。
• His voice was utterly and drearily expressionless. 他的声调，阴沉沉的，干巴巴的，完全没有感情。

528 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

529 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

530 recoil   

vi.退却，退缩，畏缩

参考例句：

• Most people would recoil at the sight of the snake.许多人看见蛇都会向后退缩。
• Revenge may recoil upon the person who takes it.报复者常会受到报应。

531 inadequacy   

n.无法胜任，信心不足

参考例句：

• the inadequacy of our resources 我们的资源的贫乏
• The failure is due to the inadequacy of preparations. 这次失败是由于准备不足造成的。

532 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

533 flippancy   

n.轻率；浮躁；无礼的行动

参考例句：

• His flippancy makes it difficult to have a decent conversation with him.他玩世不恭，很难正经地和他交谈。
• The flippancy of your answer peeved me.你轻率的回答令我懊恼。

534 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

535 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

536 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

537 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

538 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

539 creased   

（使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴

参考例句：

• You've creased my newspaper. 你把我的报纸弄皱了。
• The bullet merely creased his shoulder. 子弹只不过擦破了他肩部的皮肤。

540 crease   

n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱

参考例句：

• Does artificial silk crease more easily than natural silk?人造丝比天然丝更易起皱吗？
• Please don't crease the blouse when you pack it.包装时请不要将衬衫弄皱了。

541 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

542 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

543 quenched   

解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却

参考例句：

• He quenched his thirst with a long drink of cold water. 他喝了好多冷水解渴。
• I quenched my thirst with a glass of cold beer. 我喝了一杯冰啤酒解渴。

544 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

545 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

546 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

547 sips   

n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You must administer them slowly, allowing the child to swallow between sips. 你应慢慢给药，使小儿在吸吮之间有充分的时间吞咽。 来自辞典例句
• Emission standards applicable to preexisting stationary sources appear in state implementation plans (SIPs). 在《州实施计划》中出现了固定污染的排放标准。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

548 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

549 unison   

n.步调一致，行动一致

参考例句：

• The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
• My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。

550 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

551 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

552 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

553 contrite   

adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的

参考例句：

• She was contrite the morning after her angry outburst.她发了一顿脾气之后一早上追悔莫及。
• She assumed a contrite expression.她装出一副后悔的表情。

554 grudging   

adj.勉强的，吝啬的

参考例句：

• He felt a grudging respect for her talents as an organizer.他勉强地对她的组织才能表示尊重。
• After a pause he added"sir."in a dilatory,grudging way.停了一会他才慢吞吞地、勉勉强强地加了一声“先生”。

555 overture   

n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉

参考例句：

• The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
• His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。

556 sufficiently   

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。

557 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

558 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

559 fascination   

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。

560 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

561 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

562 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

563 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

564 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

565 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

566 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

567 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

568 suppliant   

adj.哀恳的；n.恳求者，哀求者

参考例句：

• He asked for help in a suppliant attitude.他以恳求的态度要我帮忙。
• He knelt as a suppliant at the altar.他跪在祭坛前祈祷。

569 idiotic   

adj.白痴的

参考例句：

• It is idiotic to go shopping with no money.去买东西而不带钱是很蠢的。
• The child's idiotic deeds caused his family much trouble.那小孩愚蠢的行为给家庭带来许多麻烦。

570 prank   

n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己

参考例句：

• It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
• The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。

571 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

572 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。

573 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

574 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

575 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

576 conceal   

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。

577 tamper   

v.干预，玩弄，贿赂，窜改，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• Do not tamper with other's business.不要干预别人的事。
• They had strict orders not to tamper with the customs of the minorities.他们得到命令严禁干涉少数民族的风俗习惯。

578 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

579 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

580 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

581 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

582 puckered   

v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱，像要哭了。
• His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸，眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

583 miserable   

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。

584 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

585 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

586 languorous   

adj.怠惰的，没精打采的

参考例句：

• For two days he was languorous and esteemed. 两天来，他因身体衰弱无力，受到尊重。 来自辞典例句
• Some one says Fuzhou is a languorous and idle city. 有人说，福州是一个慵懒闲淡的城市。 来自互联网

587 zipper   

n.拉链；v.拉上拉链

参考例句：

• The zipper is red.这条拉链是红色的。
• The zipper is a wonderful invention.拉链是个了不起的发明。

588 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

589 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

590 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

591 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

592 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

593 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

594 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

595 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

596 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

597 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

598 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

599 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

600 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

601 doggerel   

n.拙劣的诗，打油诗

参考例句：

• The doggerel doesn't filiate itself.这首打油诗没有标明作者是谁。
• He styled his poem doggerel.他把他的这首诗歌叫做打油诗。

602 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

603 strenuous   

adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的

参考例句：

• He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
• You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。

604 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

605 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

606 perturbed   

adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I am deeply perturbed by the alarming way the situation developing. 我对形势令人忧虑的发展深感不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother was much perturbed by my illness. 母亲为我的病甚感烦恼不安。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

607 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

608 vengeance   

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。

609 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

610 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

611 minarets   

n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Remind you of a mosque, red baked bricks, the minarets. 红砖和尖塔都会使你联想到伊斯兰教的礼拜寺。 来自互联网
• These purchases usually went along with embellishments such as minarets. 这些购置通常也伴随着注入尖塔等的装饰。 来自互联网

612 frugally   

adv. 节约地, 节省地

参考例句：

• They lived frugally off a diet of porridge and lentils. 他们生活节俭，只吃燕麦粥和小扁豆。
• The enterprise is in live frugally, common people criterion enclasp pocket. 企业在节衣缩食，老百姓则握紧了口袋。

613 storks   

n.鹳( stork的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Meg and Jo fed their mother like dutiful young storks. 麦格和裘像一对忠实的小鹳似地喂她们的母亲。 来自辞典例句
• They believe that storks bring new babies to the parents' home. 他们相信白鹤会给父母带来婴儿。 来自互联网

614 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

615 aridity   

n.干旱，乏味；干燥性；荒芜

参考例句：

• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。 来自辞典例句
• The name conjures up images of a desert of aridity. “撒哈拉”这个名字使人想起“干旱”的沙漠情景。 来自互联网

616 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

617 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

618 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。

619 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

620 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

621 spartans   

n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The ancient Spartans used to expose babies that they did not want. 古斯巴达人常遗弃他们不要的婴儿。
• But one by one the Spartans fell. 可是斯巴达人一个一个地倒下了。

622 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

623 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

624 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

625 gilding   

n.贴金箔，镀金

参考例句：

• The dress is perfect. Don't add anything to it at all. It would just be gilding the lily. 这条裙子已经很完美了，别再作任何修饰了，那只会画蛇添足。
• The gilding is extremely lavish. 这层镀金极为奢华。

626 admiration   

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。

627 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

628 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

629 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

630 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

631 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

632 celebrated   

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。

633 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

634 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

635 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

636 prostrate   

v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的

参考例句：

• She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
• The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

637 forsake   

vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃

参考例句：

• She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。
• You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。

638 abase   

v.降低，贬抑

参考例句：

• He refused to abase himself in the eyes of others.他不愿在他人面前被贬低。
• A man who uses bad language will only abase himself.说脏话者只会自贬身分。

639 beetling   

adj.突出的，悬垂的v.快速移动( beetle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I last saw him beetling off down the road. 我上次见到他时，他正快步沿路而去。
• I saw you beetling off early at the party. 我见到你早早从宴会中离开。 来自辞典例句

640 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

641 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

642 broiling   

adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙）

参考例句：

• They lay broiling in the sun. 他们躺在太阳底下几乎要晒熟了。
• I'm broiling in this hot sun. 在太阳底下，我感到热极了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

643 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

644 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

645 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

646 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

647 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

648 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

649 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

650 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

651 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

652 stiffening   

n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Her mouth stiffening, she could not elaborate. 她嘴巴僵直，无法细说下去。
• No genius, not a bad guy, but the attacks are hurting and stiffening him. 不是天才，人也不坏，但是四面八方的攻击伤了他的感情，使他横下了心。

653 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

654 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

655 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

656 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

657 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

658 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

659 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

660 dowdy   

adj.不整洁的；过旧的

参考例句：

• She was in a dowdy blue frock.她穿了件不大洁净的蓝上衣。
• She looked very plain and dowdy.她长得非常普通，衣也过时。

661 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

662 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

663 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

664 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

665 spiky   

adj.长而尖的，大钉似的

参考例句：

• Your hairbrush is too spiky for me.你的发刷，我觉得太尖了。
• The spiky handwriting on the airmail envelope from London was obviously hers.发自伦敦的航空信封上的尖长字迹分明是她的。

666 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

667 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

668 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

669 insistently   

ad.坚持地

参考例句：

• Still Rhett did not look at her. His eyes were bent insistently on Melanie's white face. 瑞德还是看也不看她，他的眼睛死死地盯着媚兰苍白的脸。
• These are the questions which we should think and explore insistently. 怎样实现这一主体性等问题仍要求我们不断思考、探索。

670 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

671 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

672 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

673 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

674 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

675 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

676 crabbed   

adj.脾气坏的；易怒的；（指字迹）难辨认的；（字迹等）难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His mature composi tions are generally considered the more cerebral and crabbed. 他成熟的作品一般被认为是触动理智的和难于理解的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He met a crabbed, cantankerous director. 他碰上了一位坏脾气、爱争吵的主管。 来自辞典例句

677 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

678 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

679 incisiveness   

n.敏锐，深刻

参考例句：

• He never quarreled with the directness and incisiveness of Cowperwood's action. 他对柯帕乌举动的直截了当，锋利无比，从不表示异议。 来自辞典例句
• A few candidates stood out for the incisiveness of their arguments. 几个候选人因他们犀利的观点出众。 来自互联网

680 stilted   

adj.虚饰的；夸张的

参考例句：

• All too soon the stilted conversation ran out.很快这种做作的交谈就结束了。
• His delivery was stilted and occasionally stumbling.他的发言很生硬，有时还打结巴。

681 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

682 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

683 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》

684 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

685 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

686 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

687 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

688 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

689 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

690 requiem   

n.安魂曲，安灵曲

参考例句：

• I will sing a requiem for the land walkers.我会给陆地上走的人唱首安魂曲。
• The Requiem is on the list for today's concert.《安魂曲》是这次音乐会的演出曲目之一。

691 innocence   

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。

692 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

693 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

694 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

695 incapable   

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。

696 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。