Companion of the wise and good —
This is the balmy breath of morn,
Just as the dew-bent rose is born.
But chief when evening scenes decay
And the faint landscape swims away,
Thine is the doubtful, soft decline,
And that best hour of musing2 thine.
THOMSON
Emily’s injunctions to Annette to be silent on the subject of her terror were ineffectual, and the occurrence of the preceding night spread such alarm among the servants, who now all affirmed, that they had frequently heard unaccountable noises in the chateau3, that a report soon reached the Count of the north side of the castle being haunted. He treated this, at first, with ridicule4, but, perceiving, that it was productive of serious evil, in the confusion it occasioned among his household, he forbade any person to repeat it, on pain of punishment.
The arrival of a party of his friends soon withdrew his thoughts entirely5 from this subject, and his servants had now little leisure to brood over it, except, indeed, in the evenings after supper, when they all assembled in their hall, and related stories of ghosts, till they feared to look round the room; started, if the echo of a closing door murmured along the passage, and refused to go singly to any part of the castle.
On these occasions Annette made a distinguished7 figure. When she told not only of all the wonders she had witnessed, but of all that she had imagined, in the castle of Udolpho, with the story of the strange disappearance8 of Signora Laurentini, she made no trifling9 impression on the mind of her attentive10 auditors11. Her suspicions, concerning Montoni, she would also have freely disclosed, had not Ludovico, who was now in the service of the Count, prudently12 checked her loquacity13, whenever it pointed14 to that subject.
Among the visitors at the chateau was the Baron15 de Saint Foix, an old friend of the Count, and his son, the Chevalier St. Foix, a sensible and amiable16 young man, who, having in the preceding year seen the Lady Blanche, at Paris, had become her declared admirer. The friendship, which the Count had long entertained for his father, and the equality of their circumstances made him secretly approve of the connection; but, thinking his daughter at this time too young to fix her choice for life, and wishing to prove the sincerity17 and strength of the Chevalier’s attachment18, he then rejected his suit, though without forbidding his future hope. This young man now came, with the Baron, his father, to claim the reward of a steady affection, a claim, which the Count admitted and which Blanche did not reject.
While these visitors were at the chateau, it became a scene of gaiety and splendour. The pavilion in the woods was fitted up and frequented, in the fine evenings, as a supper-room, when the hour usually concluded with a concert, at which the Count and Countess, who were scientific performers, and the Chevaliers Henri and St. Foix, with the Lady Blanche and Emily, whose voices and fine taste compensated19 for the want of more skilful20 execution, usually assisted. Several of the Count’s servants performed on horns and other instruments, some of which, placed at a little distance among the woods, spoke21, in sweet response, to the harmony, that proceeded from the pavilion.
At any other period, these parties would have been delightful22 to Emily; but her spirits were now oppressed with a melancholy23, which she perceived that no kind of what is called amusement had power to dissipate, and which the tender and, frequently, pathetic, melody of these concerts sometimes increased to a very painful degree.
She was particularly fond of walking in the woods, that hung on a promontory24, overlooking the sea. Their luxuriant shade was soothing25 to her pensive26 mind, and, in the partial views, which they afforded of the Mediterranean27, with its winding28 shores and passing sails, tranquil29 beauty was united with grandeur30. The paths were rude and frequently overgrown with vegetation, but their tasteful owner would suffer little to be done to them, and scarcely a single branch to be lopped from the venerable trees. On an eminence31, in one of the most sequestered32 parts of these woods, was a rustic33 seat, formed of the trunk of a decayed oak, which had once been a noble tree, and of which many lofty branches still flourishing united with beech34 and pines to over-canopy the spot. Beneath their deep umbrage35, the eye passed over the tops of other woods, to the Mediterranean, and, to the left, through an opening, was seen a ruined watch-tower, standing36 on a point of rock, near the sea, and rising from among the tufted foliage37.
Hither Emily often came alone in the silence of evening, and, soothed38 by the scenery and by the faint murmur6, that rose from the waves, would sit, till darkness obliged her to return to the chateau. Frequently, also, she visited the watch-tower, which commanded the entire prospect39, and, when she leaned against its broken walls, and thought of Valancourt, she not once imagined, what was so true, that this tower had been almost as frequently his resort, as her own, since his estrangement40 from the neighbouring chateau.
One evening, she lingered here to a late hour. She had sat on the steps of the building, watching, in tranquil melancholy, the gradual effect of evening over the extensive prospect, till the gray waters of the Mediterranean and the massy woods were almost the only features of the scene, that remained visible; when, as she gazed alternately on these, and on the mild blue of the heavens, where the first pale star of evening appeared, she personified the hour in the following lines:—
SONG OF THE EVENING HOUR
Last of the Hours, that track the fading Day,
I move along the realms of twilight41 air,
And hear, remote, the choral song decay
Of sister-nymphs, who dance around his car.
Then, as I follow through the azure42 void,
His partial splendour from my straining eye
Sinks in the depth of space; my only guide
His faint ray dawning on the farthest sky;
Save that sweet, lingering strain of gayer Hours,
Whose close my voice prolongs in dying notes,
While mortals on the green earth own its pow’rs,
As downward on the evening gale43 it floats.
When fades along the West the Sun’s last beam,
As, weary, to the nether44 world he goes,
And mountain-summits catch the purple gleam,
And slumbering45 ocean faint and fainter glows,
Silent upon the globe’s broad shade I steal,
And o’er its dry turf shed the cooling dews,
And ev’ry fever’d herb and flow’ret heal,
And all their fragrance46 on the air diffuse47.
Where’er I move, a tranquil pleasure reigns48;
O’er all the scene the dusky tints49 I send,
That forests wild and mountains, stretching plains
And peopled towns, in soft confusion blend.
Wide o’er the world I waft50 the fresh’ning wind,
Low breathing through the woods and twilight vale,
In whispers soft, that woo the pensive mind
Of him, who loves my lonely steps to hail.
His tender oaten reed I watch to hear,
Stealing its sweetness o’er some plaining rill,
Or soothing ocean’s wave, when storms are near,
Or swelling52 in the breeze from distant hill!
I wake the fairy elves, who shun53 the light;
When, from their blossom’d beds, they slily peep,
And spy my pale star, leading on the night,—
Forth54 to their games and revelry they leap;
Send all the prison’d sweets abroad in air,
That with them slumber’d in the flow’ret’s cell;
Then to the shores and moon-light brooks55 repair,
Till the high larks56 their matin-carol swell51.
The wood-nymphs hail my airs and temper’d shade,
With ditties soft and lightly sportive dance,
On river margin57 of some bow’ry glade58,
And strew59 their fresh buds as my steps advance:
But, swift I pass, and distant regions trace,
For moon-beams silver all the eastern cloud,
And Day’s last crimson60 vestige61 fades apace;
Down the steep west I fly from Midnight’s shroud62.
The moon was now rising out of the sea. She watched its gradual progress, the extending line of radiance it threw upon the waters, the sparkling oars63, the sail faintly silvered, and the wood-tops and the battlements of the watch-tower, at whose foot she was sitting, just tinted64 with the rays. Emily’s spirits were in harmony with this scene. As she sat meditating65, sounds stole by her on the air, which she immediately knew to be the music and the voice she had formerly66 heard at midnight, and the emotion of awe67, which she felt, was not unmixed with terror, when she considered her remote and lonely situation. The sounds drew nearer. She would have risen to leave the place, but they seemed to come from the way she must have taken towards the chateau, and she awaited the event in trembling expectation. The sounds continued to approach, for some time, and then ceased. Emily sat listening, gazing and unable to move, when she saw a figure emerge from the shade of the woods and pass along the bank, at some little distance before her. It went swiftly, and her spirits were so overcome with awe, that, though she saw, she did not much observe it.
Having left the spot, with a resolution never again to visit it alone, at so late an hour, she began to approach the chateau, when she heard voices calling her from the part of the wood, which was nearest to it. They were the shouts of the Count’s servants, who were sent to search for her; and when she entered the supper-room, where he sat with Henri and Blanche, he gently reproached her with a look, which she blushed to have deserved.
This little occurrence deeply impressed her mind, and, when she withdrew to her own room, it recalled so forcibly the circumstances she had witnessed, a few nights before, that she had scarcely courage to remain alone. She watched to a late hour, when, no sound having renewed her fears, she, at length, sunk to repose68. But this was of short continuance, for she was disturbed by a loud and unusual noise, that seemed to come from the gallery, into which her chamber69 opened. Groans70 were distinctly heard, and, immediately after, a dead weight fell against the door, with a violence, that threatened to burst it open. She called loudly to know who was there, but received no answer, though, at intervals71, she still thought she heard something like a low moaning. Fear deprived her of the power to move. Soon after, she heard footsteps in a remote part of the gallery, and, as they approached, she called more loudly than before, till the steps paused at her door. She then distinguished the voices of several of the servants, who seemed too much engaged by some circumstance without, to attend to her calls; but, Annette soon after entering the room for water, Emily understood, that one of the maids had fainted, whom she immediately desired them to bring into her room, where she assisted to restore her. When this girl had recovered her speech, she affirmed, that, as she was passing up the back stair-case, in the way to her chamber, she had seen an apparition72 on the second landing- place; she held the lamp low, she said, that she might pick her way, several of the stairs being infirm and even decayed, and it was upon raising her eyes, that she saw this appearance. It stood for a moment in the corner of the landing-place, which she was approaching, and then, gliding73 up the stairs, vanished at the door of the apartment, that had been lately opened. She heard afterwards a hollow sound.
‘Then the devil has got a key to that apartment,’ said Dorothee, ‘for it could be nobody but he; I locked the door myself!’
The girl, springing down the stairs and passing up the great stair- case, had run, with a faint scream, till she reached the gallery, where she fell, groaning74, at Emily’s door.
Gently chiding75 her for the alarm she had occasioned, Emily tried to make her ashamed of her fears; but the girl persisted in saying, that she had seen an apparition, till she went to her own room, whither she was accompanied by all the servants present, except Dorothee, who, at Emily’s request, remained with her during the night. Emily was perplexed76, and Dorothee was terrified, and mentioned many occurrences of former times, which had long since confirmed her superstitions77; among these, according to her belief, she had once witnessed an appearance, like that just described, and on the very same spot, and it was the remembrance of it, that had made her pause, when she was going to ascend78 the stairs with Emily, and which had increased her reluctance79 to open the north apartments. Whatever might be Emily’s opinions, she did not disclose them, but listened attentively80 to all that Dorothee communicated, which occasioned her much thought and perplexity.
From this night the terror of the servants increased to such an excess, that several of them determined81 to leave the chateau, and requested their discharge of the Count, who, if he had any faith in the subject of their alarm, thought proper to dissemble it, and, anxious to avoid the inconvenience that threatened him, employed ridicule and then argument to convince them they had nothing to apprehend82 from supernatural agency. But fear had rendered their minds inaccessible83 to reason; and it was now, that Ludovico proved at once his courage and his gratitude84 for the kindness he had received from the Count, by offering to watch, during a night, in the suite85 of rooms, reputed to be haunted. He feared, he said, no spirits, and, if any thing of human form appeared — he would prove that he dreaded86 that as little.
The Count paused upon the offer, while the servants, who heard it, looked upon one another in doubt and amazement87, and Annette, terrified for the safety of Ludovico, employed tears and entreaties88 to dissuade89 him from his purpose.
‘You are a bold fellow,’ said the Count, smiling, ‘Think well of what you are going to encounter, before you finally determine upon it. However, if you persevere90 in your resolution, I will accept your offer, and your intrepidity91 shall not go unrewarded.’
‘I desire no reward, your excellenza,’ replied Ludovico, ‘but your approbation92. Your excellenza has been sufficiently93 good to me already; but I wish to have arms, that I may be equal to my enemy, if he should appear.’
‘Your sword cannot defend you against a ghost,’ replied the Count, throwing a glance of irony94 upon the other servants, ‘neither can bars, or bolts; for a spirit, you know, can glide95 through a keyhole as easily as through a door.’
‘Give me a sword, my lord Count,’ said Ludovico, ‘and I will lay all the spirits, that shall attack me, in the red sea.’
‘Well,’ said the Count, ‘you shall have a sword, and good cheer, too; and your brave comrades here will, perhaps, have courage enough to remain another night in the chateau, since your boldness will certainly, for this night, at least, confine all the malice96 of the spectre to yourself.’
Curiosity now struggled with fear in the minds of several of his fellow servants, and, at length, they resolved to await the event of Ludovico’s rashness.
Emily was surprised and concerned, when she heard of his intention, and was frequently inclined to mention what she had witnessed in the north apartments to the Count, for she could not entirely divest97 herself of fears for Ludovico’s safety, though her reason represented these to be absurd. The necessity, however, of concealing98 the secret, with which Dorothee had entrusted99 her, and which must have been mentioned, with the late occurrence, in excuse for her having so privately100 visited the north apartments, kept her entirely silent on the subject of her apprehension101; and she tried only to sooth Annette, who held, that Ludovico was certainly to be destroyed; and who was much less affected102 by Emily’s consolatory103 efforts, than by the manner of old Dorothee, who often, as she exclaimed Ludovico, sighed, and threw up her eyes to heaven.
点击收听单词发音
1 solitude | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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2 musing | |
n. 沉思,冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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3 chateau | |
n.城堡,别墅 | |
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4 ridicule | |
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄 | |
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5 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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6 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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7 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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8 disappearance | |
n.消失,消散,失踪 | |
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9 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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10 attentive | |
adj.注意的,专心的;关心(别人)的,殷勤的 | |
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11 auditors | |
n.审计员,稽核员( auditor的名词复数 );(大学课程的)旁听生 | |
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12 prudently | |
adv. 谨慎地,慎重地 | |
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13 loquacity | |
n.多话,饶舌 | |
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14 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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15 baron | |
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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16 amiable | |
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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17 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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18 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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19 compensated | |
补偿,报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 ); 给(某人)赔偿(或赔款) | |
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20 skilful | |
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的 | |
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21 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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22 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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23 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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24 promontory | |
n.海角;岬 | |
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25 soothing | |
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的 | |
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26 pensive | |
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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27 Mediterranean | |
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的 | |
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28 winding | |
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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29 tranquil | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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30 grandeur | |
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
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31 eminence | |
n.卓越,显赫;高地,高处;名家 | |
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32 sequestered | |
adj.扣押的;隐退的;幽静的;偏僻的v.使隔绝,使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 );扣押 | |
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33 rustic | |
adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬 | |
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34 beech | |
n.山毛榉;adj.山毛榉的 | |
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35 umbrage | |
n.不快;树荫 | |
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36 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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37 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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38 soothed | |
v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 );抚慰;使舒服;减轻痛苦 | |
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39 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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40 estrangement | |
n.疏远,失和,不和 | |
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41 twilight | |
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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42 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
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43 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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44 nether | |
adj.下部的,下面的;n.阴间;下层社会 | |
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45 slumbering | |
微睡,睡眠(slumber的现在分词形式) | |
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46 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
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47 diffuse | |
v.扩散;传播;adj.冗长的;四散的,弥漫的 | |
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48 reigns | |
n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 );君主统治时期;任期;当政期 | |
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49 tints | |
色彩( tint的名词复数 ); 带白的颜色; (淡色)染发剂; 痕迹 | |
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50 waft | |
v.飘浮,飘荡;n.一股;一阵微风;飘荡 | |
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51 swell | |
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
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52 swelling | |
n.肿胀 | |
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53 shun | |
vt.避开,回避,避免 | |
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54 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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55 brooks | |
n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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56 larks | |
n.百灵科鸟(尤指云雀)( lark的名词复数 );一大早就起床;鸡鸣即起;(因太费力而不想干时说)算了v.百灵科鸟(尤指云雀)( lark的第三人称单数 );一大早就起床;鸡鸣即起;(因太费力而不想干时说)算了 | |
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57 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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58 glade | |
n.林间空地,一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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59 strew | |
vt.撒;使散落;撒在…上,散布于 | |
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60 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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61 vestige | |
n.痕迹,遗迹,残余 | |
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62 shroud | |
n.裹尸布,寿衣;罩,幕;vt.覆盖,隐藏 | |
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63 oars | |
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64 tinted | |
adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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65 meditating | |
a.沉思的,冥想的 | |
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66 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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67 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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68 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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69 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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70 groans | |
n.呻吟,叹息( groan的名词复数 );呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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71 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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72 apparition | |
n.幽灵,神奇的现象 | |
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73 gliding | |
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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74 groaning | |
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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75 chiding | |
v.责骂,责备( chide的现在分词 ) | |
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76 perplexed | |
adj.不知所措的 | |
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77 superstitions | |
迷信,迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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78 ascend | |
vi.渐渐上升,升高;vt.攀登,登上 | |
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79 reluctance | |
n.厌恶,讨厌,勉强,不情愿 | |
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80 attentively | |
adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神 | |
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81 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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82 apprehend | |
vt.理解,领悟,逮捕,拘捕,忧虑 | |
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83 inaccessible | |
adj.达不到的,难接近的 | |
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84 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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85 suite | |
n.一套(家具);套房;随从人员 | |
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86 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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87 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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88 entreaties | |
n.恳求,乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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89 dissuade | |
v.劝阻,阻止 | |
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90 persevere | |
v.坚持,坚忍,不屈不挠 | |
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91 intrepidity | |
n.大胆,刚勇;大胆的行为 | |
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92 approbation | |
n.称赞;认可 | |
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93 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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94 irony | |
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 | |
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95 glide | |
n./v.溜,滑行;(时间)消逝 | |
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96 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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97 divest | |
v.脱去,剥除 | |
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98 concealing | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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99 entrusted | |
v.委托,托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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100 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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101 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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102 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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103 consolatory | |
adj.慰问的,可藉慰的 | |
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