An Open Question.

“It is the king’s highway that we are in, and in this way it is that thou hast placed the lions.”— BUNYAN.

What! shut the gardens; lock the latticed gate!

Refuse the shilling and the Fellow’s ticket!

And hang a wooden notice up to state,

“On Sundays no admittance at this wicket!”

The Birds, the Beasts, and all the Reptile² race

Denied to friends and visitors till Monday!

Now, really, this appears the common case

Of putting too much Sabbath into Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

The Gardens — so unlike the ones we dub³

Of Tea, wherein the artisan carouses⁴ —

Mere⁵ shrubberies without one drop of shrub⁶ —

Wherefore should they be closed like public-houses?

No ale is vended⁷ at the wild Deer’s Head —

Nor rum — nor gin — not even of a Monday —

The Lion is not carved — or gilt⁸ — or red,

And does not send out porter of a Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

The bear denied! the Leopard⁹ under locks!

As if his spots would give contagious¹⁰ fevers;

The Beaver¹¹ close as hat within its box;

So different from other Sunday beavers¹²!

The Birds invisible — the Gnaw-way Rats —

The Seal hermetically seal’d till Monday —

The Monkey tribe — the Family of Cats —

We visit other families on Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

What is the brute¹³ profanity that shocks

The super-sensitively serious feeling?

The Kangaroo — is he not orthodox

To bend his legs, the way he does, in kneeling?

Was strict Sir Andrew, in his sabbath coat,

Struck all a heap to see a Coati Mundi?

Or did the Kentish Plumtree faint to note

The Pelicans¹⁶ presenting bills on Sunday? —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

What feature has repulsed¹⁷ the serious set?

What error in the bestial¹⁸ birth or breeding,

To put their tender fancies on the fret¹⁹?

One thing is plain — it is not in the feeding!

Some stiffish people think that smoking joints²⁰

Are carnal sins ’twixt Saturday and Monday —

But then the beasts are pious²¹ on these points,

For they all eat cold dinners on a Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

What change comes o’er the spirit of the place,

As if transmuted²² by some spell organic?

Turns fell Hy?na of the Ghoulish race?

The Snake, pro¹⁴ tempore, the true Satanic?

Do Irish minds — (whose theory allows

That now and then Good Friday falls on Monday)—

Do Irish minds suppose that Indian Cows

Are wicked Bulls of Bashan on a Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

There are some moody²³ fellows, not a few,

Who, turn’d by Nature with a gloomy bias²⁴,

Renounce²⁵ black devils to adopt the blue,

And think when they are dismal²⁶ they are pious:

Is’t possible that Pug’s untimely fun

Has sent the brutes²⁷ to Coventry till Monday —

Or p’rhaps some animal, no serious one,

Was overheard in laughter on a Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

What dire²⁸ offence have serious Fellows found

To raise their spleen against the Regent’s spinney?

Were charitable boxes handed round,

And would not Guinea Pigs subscribe²⁹ their guinea?

Perchance the Demoiselle refused to moult

The feathers in her head — at least till Monday;

Or did the Elephant, unseemly, bolt

A tract³⁰ presented to be read on Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

At whom did Leo struggle to get loose?

Who mourns through Monkey tricks his damaged clothing?

Who has been hiss’d by the Canadian Goose?

On whom did Llama spit in utter loathing³¹?

Some Smithfield saint did jealous feelings tell

To keep the Puma³² out of sight till Monday,

Because he prey’d extempore as well

As certain wild Itinerants³³ on Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

To me it seems that in the oddest way

(Begging the pardon of each rigid³⁴ Socius)

Our would-be Keepers of the Sabbath-day

Are like the Keepers of the brutes ferocious³⁵ —

As soon the Tiger might expect to stalk

About the grounds from Saturday till Monday,

As any harmless man to take a walk,

If saints could clap him in a cage on Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

In spite of all hypocrisy³⁶ can spin,

As surely as I am a Christian³⁷ scion³⁸,

I cannot think it is a mortal sin —

(Unless he’s loose) to look upon a lion.

I really think that one may go, perchance,

To see a bear, as guiltless as on Monday —

(That is, provided that he did not dance)

Bruin’s no worse than bakin’ on a Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

In spite of all the fanatic³⁹ compiles,

I cannot think the day a bit diviner,

Because no children, with forestalling⁴⁰ smiles,

Throng⁴¹, happy, to the gates of Eden Minor⁴² —

It is not plain, to my poor faith at least,

That what we christen “Natural” on Monday,

The wondrous⁴³ History of bird and beast,

Can be Unnatural⁴⁴ because it’s Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

Whereon is sinful fantasy to work?

The Dove, the wing’d Columbus of man’s haven⁴⁵?

The tender Love-Bird — or the filial Stork⁴⁶?

The punctual Crane — the providential Raven⁴⁷?

The Pelican¹⁵ whose bosom⁴⁸ feeds her young?

Nay⁴⁹, must we cut from Saturday till Monday

That feather’d marvel⁵⁰ with a human tongue,

Because she does not preach upon a Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

The busy Beaver — that sagacious beast!

The Sheep that own’d an Oriental Shepherd —

That Desert-ship the Camel of the East,

The horn’d Rhinoceros⁵¹ — the spotted⁵² Leopard —

The creatures of the Great Creator’s hand

Are surely sights for better days than Monday —

The elephant, although he wears no band,

Has he no sermon in his trunk for Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

What harm if men who burn the midnight-oil,

Weary of frame, and worn and wan⁵³ in feature,

Seek once a-week their spirits to assoil,

And snatch a glimpse of “Animated Nature”?

Better it were if, in his best of suits,

The artisan, who goes to work on Monday,

Should spend a leisure hour among the brutes,

Than make a beast of his own self on Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

Why, zounds! what raised so Protestant a fuss

(Omit the zounds! for which I make apology)

But that the Papists, like some fellows, thus

Had somehow mixed up Dens¹ with their theology?

Is Brahma’s Bull — a Hindoo god at home —

A papal bull to be tied up till Monday —

Or Leo, like his namesake, Pope of Rome,

That there is such a dread⁵⁴ of them on Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

Spirit of Kant! have we not had enough

To make religion sad, and sour, and snubbish,

But Saints Zoological must cant⁵⁵ their stuff,

As vessels⁵⁶ cant their ballast — rattling⁵⁷ rubbish!

Once let the sect⁵⁸, triumphant⁵⁹ to their text,

Shut Nero up from Saturday till Monday,

And sure as fate they will deny us next

To see the Dandelions on a Sunday —

But what is your opinion, Mrs. Grundy?

1 dens   

n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋

参考例句：

• Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
• In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句

2 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

3 dub   

vt.（以某种称号）授予，给...起绰号，复制

参考例句：

• I intend to use simultaneous recording to dub this film.我打算采用同期录音的方法为这部影片配音。
• It was dubbed into Spanish for Mexican audiences.它被译制成西班牙语以方便墨西哥观众观看。

4 carouses   

v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. 哈姆雷特，母后为你的好运敬酒！ 来自电影对白

5 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。

6 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

7 vended   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Most of production are vended to occident, Europe and America, Japen, Korea, Southeast Asia, etc. 产品远销欧美、日本、韩国、东南亚等国际市场。 来自互联网

8 gilt   

adj.镀金的；n.金边证券

参考例句：

• The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
• The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。

9 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

10 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

11 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

12 beavers   

海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人

参考例句：

• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。
• Thus do the beavers, thus do the bees, thus do men. 海狸是这样做的，蜜蜂是这样做的，人也是这样做的。

13 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

14 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

15 pelican   

n.鹈鹕，伽蓝鸟

参考例句：

• The pelican has a very useful beak.鹈鹕有一张非常有用的嘴。
• This pelican is expected to fully recover.这只鹈鹕不久就能痊愈。

16 pelicans   

n.鹈鹕( pelican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Kurt watched the Pelicans fire their jets and scorch the grass. 库尔特看着鹈鹕运兵船点火，它们的喷焰把草烧焦。 来自互联网
• The Pelican Feeding Officers present an educational talk while feeding the pelicans. 那个正在喂鹈鹕的工作人员会边喂鹈鹕边给它上一节教育课。 来自互联网

17 repulsed   

v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝

参考例句：

• I was repulsed by the horrible smell. 这种可怕的气味让我恶心。
• At the first brush,the enemy was repulsed. 敌人在第一次交火时就被击退了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 bestial   

adj.残忍的；野蛮的

参考例句：

• The Roman gladiatorial contests were bestial amusements.罗马角斗是残忍的娱乐。
• A statement on Amman Radio spoke of bestial aggression and a horrible massacre. 安曼广播电台播放的一则声明提到了野蛮的侵略和骇人的大屠杀。

19 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

20 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

21 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

22 transmuted   

v.使变形，使变质，把…变成…( transmute的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was once thought that lead could be transmuted into gold. 有人曾经认为铅可以变成黄金。
• They transmuted the raw materials into finished products. 他们把原料变为成品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

23 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

24 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

25 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

26 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

27 brutes   

兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性

参考例句：

• They're not like dogs; they're hideous brutes. 它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。
• Suddenly the foul musty odour of the brutes struck his nostrils. 突然，他的鼻尖闻到了老鼠的霉臭味。 来自英汉文学

28 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

29 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

30 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

31 loathing   

n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒，既害怕又憎恨。
• They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

32 puma   

美洲豹

参考例句：

• The police and the volunteers combed the forest for the lost puma from the zoo.警察和志愿者们在森林里到处寻找动物园迷失的美洲狮。
• A businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。

33 itinerants   

n.巡回者（如传教士、行商等）( itinerant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

34 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。

35 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

36 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

37 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。

38 scion   

n.嫩芽，子孙

参考例句：

• A place is cut in the root stock to accept the scion.砧木上切开一个小口,来接受接穗。
• Nabokov was the scion of an aristocratic family.纳博科夫是一个贵族家庭的阔少。

39 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。

40 forestalling   

v.先发制人，预先阻止( forestall的现在分词 )

参考例句：

41 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

42 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。

43 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

44 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

45 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

46 stork   

n.鹳

参考例句：

• A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
• He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

47 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

48 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。

49 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

50 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

51 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

52 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

53 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

54 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

55 cant   

n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔

参考例句：

• The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
• He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

56 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

57 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

58 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

59 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。