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Chapter 1 Childhood and Early Education
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It seems proper that I should prefix1 to the following biographical sketch2, some mention of the reasons which have made me think it desirable that I should leave behind me such a memorial of so uneventful a life as mine. I do not for a moment imagine that any part of what I have to relate can be interesting to the public as a narrative4, or as being connected with myself. But I have thought that in an age in which education, and its improvement, are the subject of more, if not of profounder study than at any former period of English history, it may be useful that there should be some record of an education which was unusual and remarkable5, and which, whatever else it may have done, has proved how much more than is commonly supposed may be taught, and well taught, in those early years which, in the common modes of what is called instruction, are little better than wasted. It has also seemed to me that in an age of transition in opinions, there may be somewhat both of interest and of benefit in noting the successive phases of any mind which was always pressing forward, equally ready to learn and to unlearn either from its own thoughts or from those of others. But a motive6 which weighs more with me than either of these, is a desire to make acknowledgment of the debts which my intellectual and moral development owes to other persons; some of them of recognized eminence7, others less known than they deserve to be, and the one to whom most of all is due, one whom the world had no opportunity of knowing. The reader whom these things do not interest, has only himself to blame if he reads farther, and I do not desire any other indulgence from him than that of bearing in mind, that for him these pages were not written.

I was born in London, on the 20th of May, 1806, and was the eldest8 son of James Mill, the author of the History of British India. My father, the son of a petty tradesman and (I believe) small farmer, at Northwater Bridge, in the county of Angus, was, when a boy, recommended by his abilities to the notice of Sir John Stuart, of Fettercairn, one of the Barons9 of the Exchequer10 in Scotland, and was, in consequence, sent to the University of Edinburgh at the expense of a fund established by Lady Jane Stuart (the wife of Sir John Stuart) and some other ladies for educating young men for the Scottish Church. He there went through the usual course of study, and was licensed11 as a Preacher, but never followed the profession; having satisfied himself that he could not believe the doctrines12 of that or any other Church. For a few years he was a private tutor in various families in Scotland, among others that of the Marquis of Tweeddale; but ended by taking up his residence in London, and devoting himself to authorship. Nor had he any other means of support until 1819, when he obtained an appointment in the India House.

In this period of my father's life there are two things which it is impossible not to be struck with: one of them unfortunately a very common circumstance, the other a most uncommon13 one. The first is, that in his position, with no resource but the precarious14 one of writing in periodicals, he married and had a large family; conduct than which nothing could be more opposed, both as a matter of good sense and of duty, to the opinions which, at least at a later period of life, he strenuously15 upheld. The other circumstance is the extraordinary energy which was required to lead the life he led, with the disadvantages under which he laboured from the first, and with those which he brought upon himself by his marriage. It would have been no small thing, had he done no more than to support himself and his family during so many years by writing, without ever being in debt, or in any pecuniary16 difficulty; holding, as he did, opinions, both in politics and in religion, which were more odious17 to all persons of influence, and to the common run of prosperous Englishmen in that generation than either before or since; and being not only a man whom nothing would have induced to write against his convictions, but one who invariably threw into everything he wrote, as much of his convictions as he thought the circumstances would in any way permit: being, it must also be said, one who never did anything negligently18; never undertook any task, literary or other, on which he did not conscientiously19 bestow20 all the labour necessary for performing it adequately. But he, with these burthens on him, planned, commenced, and completed, the History of India; and this in the course of about ten years, a shorter time than has been occupied (even by writers who had no other employment) in the production of almost any other historical work of equal bulk, and of anything approaching to the same amount of reading and research. And to this is to be added, that during the whole period, a considerable part of almost every day was employed in the instruction of his children: in the case of one of whom, myself, he exerted an amount of labour, care, and perseverance21 rarely, if ever, employed for a similar purpose, in endeavouring to give, according to his own conception, the highest order of intellectual education.

A man who, in his own practice, so vigorously acted up to the principle of losing no time, was likely to adhere to the same rule in the instruction of his pupil. I have no remembrance of the time when I began to learn Greek. I have been told that it was when I was three years old. My earliest recollection on the subject, is that of committing to memory what my father termed Vocables, being lists of common Greek words, with their signification in English, which he wrote out for me on cards. Of grammar, until some years later, I learnt no more than the inflexions of the nouns and verbs, but, after a course of vocables, proceeded at once to translation; and I faintly remember going through AEsop's Fables23, the first Greek book which I read. The Anabasis, which I remember better, was the second. I learnt no Latin until my eighth year. At that time I had read, under my father's tuition, a number of Greek prose authors, among whom I remember the whole of Herodotus, and of Xenophon's Cyropaedia and Memorials of Socrates; some of the lives of the philosophers by Diogenes Laertius; part of Lucian, and Isocrates' ad Demonicum and ad Nicoclem. I also read, in 1813, the first six dialogues (in the common arrangement) of Plato, from the Euthyphron to the Theaetetus inclusive: which last dialogue, I venture to think, would have been better omitted, as it was totally impossible I should understand it. But my father, in all his teaching, demanded of me not only the utmost that I could do, but much that I could by no possibility have done. What he was himself willing to undergo for the sake of my instruction, may be judged from the fact, that I went through the whole process of preparing my Greek lessons in the same room and at the same table at which he was writing: and as in those days Greek and English lexicons25 were not, and I could make no more use of a Greek and Latin lexicon24 than could be made without having yet begun to learn Latin, I was forced to have recourse to him for the meaning of every word which I did not know. This incessant26 interruption, he, one of the most impatient of men, submitted to, and wrote under that interruption several volumes of his History and all else that he had to write during those years.

The only thing besides Greek, that I learnt as a lesson in this part of my childhood, was arithmetic: this also my father taught me: it was the task of the evenings, and I well remember its disagreeableness. But the lessons were only a part of the daily instruction I received. Much of it consisted in the books I read by myself, and my father's discourses27 to me, chiefly during our walks. From 1810 to the end of 1813 we were living in Newington Green, then an almost rustic28 neighbourhood. My father's health required considerable and constant exercise, and he walked habitually29 before breakfast, generally in the green lanes towards Hornsey. In these walks I always accompanied him, and with my earliest recollections of green fields and wild flowers, is mingled30 that of the account I gave him daily of what I had read the day before. To the best of my remembrance, this was a voluntary rather than a prescribed exercise. I made notes on slips of paper while reading, and from these, in the morning walks, I told the story to him; for the books were chiefly histories, of which I read in this manner a great number: Robertson's histories, Hume, Gibbon; but my greatest delight, then and for long afterwards, was Watson's Philip the Second and Third. The heroic defence of the Knights31 of Malta against the Turks, and of the revolted provinces of the Netherlands against Spain, exited in me an intense and lasting32 interest. Next to Watson, my favourite historical reading was Hooke's History of Rome. Of Greece I had seen at that time no regular history, except school abridgments and the first two or three volumes of a translation of Rollin's Ancient History, beginning with Philip of Macedon. But I read with great delight Langhorne's translation of Plutarch. In English history, beyond the time at which Hume leaves off, I remember reading Burnet's History of his Own Time, though I cared little for anything in it except the wars and battles; and the historical part of the Annual Register, from the beginning to about 1788, when the volumes my father borrowed for me from Mr Bentham left off. I felt a lively interest in Frederic of Prussia during his difficulties, and in Paoli, the Corsican patriot35; but when I came to the American war, I took my part, like a child as I was (until set right by my father) on the wrong side, because it was called the English side. In these frequent talks about the books I read, he used, as opportunity offered, to give me explanations and ideas respecting civilization, government, morality, mental cultivation36, which he required me afterwards to restate to him in my own words. He also made me read, and give him a verbal account of, many books which would not have interested me sufficiently37 to induce me to read them of myself: among others, Millar's Historical View of the English Government, a book of great merit for its time, and which he highly valued; Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, McCrie's Life of John Knox, and even Sewel's and Rutty's Histories of the Quakers. He was fond of putting into my hands books which exhibited men of energy and resource in unusual circumstances, struggling against difficulties and overcoming them: of such works I remember Beaver's African Memoranda38, and Collins's account of the first settlement of New South Wales. Two books which I never wearied of reading were Anson's Voyage, so delightful39 to most young persons, and a Collection (Hawkesworth's, I believe) of Voyages round the World, in four volumes, beginning with Drake and ending with Cook and Bougainville. Of children's books, any more than of playthings, I had scarcely any, except an occasional gift from a relation or acquaintance: among those I had, Robinson Crusoe was preeminent40, and continued to delight me through all my boyhood. It was no part however of my father's system to exclude books of amusement, though he allowed them very sparingly. Of such books he possessed42 at that time next to none, but he borrowed several for me; those which I remember are the Arabian Nights, Cazotte's Arabian Tales, Don Quixote, Miss Edgeworth's "Popular Tales," and a book of some reputation in its day, Brooke's Fool of Quality.

In my eighth year I commenced learning Latin, in conjunction with a younger sister, to whom I taught it as I went on, and who afterwards repeated the lessons to my father: and from this time, other sisters and brothers being successively added as pupils, a considerable part of my day's work consisted of this preparatory teaching. It was a part which I greatly disliked; the more so, as I was held responsible for the lessons of my pupils, in almost as full a sense as for my own: I however derived43 from this discipline the great advantage of learning more thoroughly45 and retaining more lastingly46 the things which I was set to teach: perhaps, too, the practice it afforded in explaining difficulties to others, may even at that age have been useful. In other respects, the experience of my boyhood is not favourable47 to the plan of teaching children by means of one another. The teaching, I am sure, is very inefficient48 as teaching, and I well knew that the relation between teacher and taught is not a good moral discipline to either. I went in this manner through the Latin grammar, and a considerable part of Cornelius Nepos and Caesar's Commentaries, but afterwards added to the superintendence of these lessons, much longer ones of my own.

In the same year in which I began Latin, I made my first commencement in the Greek poet with the Iliad. After I had made some progress in this, my father put Pope's translation into my hands. It was the first English verse I had cared to read, and it became one of the books in which for many years I most delighted: I think I must have read it from twenty to thirty times through. I should not have thought it worth while to mention a taste apparently49 so natural to boyhood, if I had not, as I think, observed that the keen enjoyment50 of this brilliant specimen51 of narrative and versification is not so universal with boys, as I should have expected both a priori and from my individual experience. Soon after this time I commenced Euclid, and somewhat later, algebra52, still under my father's tuition.

From my eighth to my twelfth year the Latin books which I remember reading were, the Bucolics of Virgil, and the first six books of the AEneid; all Horace except the Epodes; the Fables of Phaedrus; the first five books of Livy (to which from my love of the subject I voluntarily added, in my hours of leisure, the remainder of the first decade); all Sallust; a considerable part of Ovid's Metamorphoses; some plays of Terence; two or three books of Lucretius; several of the Orations53 of Cicero, and of his writings on oratory55; also his letters to Atticus, my father taking the trouble to translate to me from the French the historical explanations in Mongault's notes. In Greek I read the Iliad and Odyssey56 through; one or two plays of Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, though by these I profited little; all Thucydides; the Hellenics of Xenophon; a great part of Demosthenes, AEschines, and Lysias; Theocritus; Anacreon; part of the Anthology; a little of Dionysius; several books of Polybius; and lastly Aristotle's Rhetoric57, which, as the first expressly scientific treatise58 on any moral or psychological subject which I had read, and containing many of the best observations of the ancients on human nature and life, my father made me study with peculiar60 care, and throw the matter of it into synoptic tables. During the same years I learnt elementary geometry and algebra thoroughly, the differential calculus61 and other portions of the higher mathematics far from thoroughly: for my father, not having kept up this part of his early acquired knowledge, could not spare time to qualify himself for removing my difficulties, and left me to deal with them, with little other aid than that of books; while I was continually incurring62 his displeasure by my inability to solve difficult problems for which he did not see that I had not the necessary previous knowledge.

As to my private reading, I can only speak of what I remember. History continued to be my strongest predilection63, and most of all ancient history. Mitford's Greece I read continually; my father had put me on my guard against the Tory prejudices of this writer, and his perversions64 of facts for the white-washing of despot, and blackening of popular institutions. These points he discoursed65 on, exemplifying them from the Greek orators66 and historians, with such effect that in reading Mitford my sympathies were always on the contrary side to those of the author, and I could, to some extent, have argued the point against him: yet this did not diminish the ever new pleasure with which I read the book. Roman history, both in my old favourite, Hooke, and in Ferguson, continued to delight me. A book which, in spite of what is called the dryness of its style, I took great pleasure in, was the Ancient Universal History, through the incessant reading of which I had my head full of historical details concerning the obscurest ancient people, while about modern history, except detached passages, such as the Dutch war of independence, I knew and cared comparatively little. A voluntary exercise, to which throughout my boyhood I was much addicted67, was what I called writing histories. I successively imposed a Roman history, picked out of Hooke; an abridgment33 of the Ancient Universal History; a History of Holland, from my favourite Watson and from an anonymous68 compilation69; and in my eleventh and twelfth year I occupied myself with writing what I flattered myself was something serious. This was no less than a history of the Roman Government, compiled (with the assistance of Hooke) from Livy and Dionysius: of which I wrote as much as would have made an octavo volume, extending to the epoch70 of the Licinian Laws. It was, in fact, an account of the struggles between the patricians71 and plebeians72, which now engrossed73 all the interest in my mind which I had previously74 felt in the mere75 wars and conquest of the Romans. I discussed all the institutional point as they arose: though quite ignorant of Niebuhr's researches, I, by such lights as my father had given me, vindicated76 the Agrarian77 Laws on the evidence of Livy, and upheld to the best of my ability the Roman democratic party. A few years later, in my contempt of my childish efforts, I destroyed all these papers, not then anticipating that I could ever feel any curiosity about my first attempt at writing and reasoning. My father encouraged me in this useful amusement, though, as I think judiciously78, he never asked to see what I wrote; so that I did not feel that in writing it I was accountable to any one, nor had the chilling sensation of being under a critical eye.

But though these exercises in history were never a compulsory79 lesson, there was another kind of composition which was so, namely, writing verses, and it was one of the most disagreeable of my tasks. Greek and Latin verses I did not write, nor learnt the prosody80 of those languages. My father, thinking this not worth the time it required, contented81 himself with making me read aloud to him, and correcting false quantities. I never composed at all in Greek, even in prose, and but little in Latin. Not that my father could be indifferent to the value of this practice, in giving a thorough knowledge of those languages, but because there really was not time for it. The verses I was required to write were English. When I first read Pope's Homer, I ambitiously attempted to compose something of the same kind, and achieved as much as one book of a continuation of the Iliad. There, probably, the spontaneous promptings of my poetical83 ambition would have stopped; but the exercise, begun from choice, was continued by command. Conformably to my father's usual practice of explaining to me, as far as possible, the reasons for what he required me to do, he gave me, for this, as I well remember, two reasons highly characteristic of him: one was, that some things could be expressed better and more forcibly in verse than in prose: this, he said, was a real advantage. The other was, that people in general attached more value to verse than it deserved, and the power of writing it, was, on this account, worth acquiring. He generally left me to choose my own subject, which, as far as I remember, were mostly addresses to some mythological84 personage or allegorical abstractions; but he made me translate into English verse many of Horace's shorter poems: I also remember his giving me Thomson's "Winter" to read, and afterwards making me attempt (without book) to write something myself on the same subject. The verses I wrote were, of course, the merest rubbish, nor did I ever attain85 any facility of versification, but the practice may have been useful in making it easier for me, at a later period, to acquire readiness of expression.1 I had read, up to this time, very little English poetry, Shakespeare my father had put into my hands, chiefly for the sake of the historical plays, from which, however, I went on to the others. My father never was a great admirer of Shakespeare, the English idolatry of whom he used to attack with some severity. He cared little for any English poetry except Milton (for whom he had the highest admiration), Goldsmith, Burns, and Gray's Bard86, which he preferred to his Elegy87: perhaps I may add Cowper and Beattie. He had some value for Spenser, and I remember his reading to me (unlike his usual practice of making me read to him), the first book of the Fairie Queene; but I took little pleasure in it. The poetry of the present century he saw scarcely any merit in, and I hardly became acquainted with any of it till I was grown up to manhood, except the metrical romances of Walter Scott, which I read at his recommendation and was intensely delighted with; as I always was with animated88 narrative. Dryden's Poems were among my father's books, and many of these he made me read, but I never cared for any of them except Alexander's Feast, which, as well as many of the songs in Walter Scott, I used to sing internally, to a music of my own: to some of the latter, indeed, I went so far as to compose airs, which I still remember. Cowper's short poems I read with some pleasure, but never got far into the longer ones; and nothing in the two volumes interested me like the prose account of his three hares. In my thirteenth year I met with Campbell's Poems, among which Lochiel, Hohenlinden, the Exile of Erin, and some others, gave me sensations I had never before experienced from poetry. Here, too, I made nothing of the longer poems, except the striking opening of Gertrude of Wyoming, which long kept it place in my feelings as the perfection of pathos89.

During this part of my childhood, one of my greatest amusements was experimental science; in the theoretical, however, not the practical sense of the word; not trying experiments — a kind of discipline which I have often regretted not having had — nor even seeing, but merely reading about them. I never remember being so wrapt up in any book, as I was in Joyce's Scientific Dialogues; and I was rather recalcitrant90 to my father's criticisms of the bad reasoning respecting the first principles of physics, which abounds91 in the early part of that work. I devoured92 treatises93 on Chemistry, especially that of my father's early friend and schoolfellow, Dr. Thomson, for years before I attended a lecture or saw an experiment.

From about the age of twelve, I entered into another and more advanced stage in my course of instruction; in which the main object was no longer the aids and appliances of thought, but the thoughts themselves. This commenced with Logic59, in which I began at once with the Organon, and read it to the Analytics inclusive, but profited little by the Posterior Analytics, which belongs to a branch of speculation94 I was not yet ripe for. Contemporaneously with the Organon, my father made me read the whole or parts of several of the Latin treatises on the scholastic95 logic; giving each day to him, in our walks, a minute account of what I had read, and answering his numerous and searching questions. After this, I went in a similar manner, through the "Computatio sive Logica" of Hobbes, a work of a much higher order of thought than the books of the school logicians, and which he estimated very highly; in my own opinion beyond it merits, great as these are. It was his invariable practice, whatever studies he exacted from me, to make me as far as possible understand and feel the utility of them: and this he deemed peculiarly fitting in the case of the syllogistic96 logic, the usefulness of which had been impugned97 by so many writers of authority. I well remember how, and in what particular walk, in the neighbourhood of Bagshot Heath (where we were on a visit to his old friend Mr Wallace, then one of the Mathematical Professors at Sandhurst) he first attempted by questions to make me think on the subject, and frame some conception of what constituted the utility of the syllogistic logic, and when I had failed in this, to make me understand it by explanations. The explanations did not make the matter at all clear to me at the time; but they were not therefore useless; they remained as a nucleus98 for my observations and reflections to crystallize upon; the import of his general remarks being interpreted to me, by the particular instances which came under my notice afterwards. My own consciousness and experience ultimately led me to appreciate quite as highly as he did, the value of an early practical familiarity with the school logic. I know nothing, in my education, to which I think myself more indebted for whatever capacity of thinking I have attained99. The first intellectual operation in which I arrived at any proficiency100, was dissecting101 a bad argument, and finding in what part the fallacy lay: and though whatever capacity of this sort I attained was due to the fact that it was an intellectual exercise in which I was most perseveringly102 drilled by my father, yet it is also true that the school logic, and the mental habits acquired in studying it, were among the principal instruments of this drilling. I am persuaded that nothing, in modern education, tends so much, when properly used, to form exact thinkers, who attach a precise meaning to words and propositions, and are not imposed on by vague, loose, or ambiguous terms. The boasted influence of mathematical studies is nothing to it; for in mathematical processes, none of the real difficulties of correct ratiocination103 occur. It is also a study peculiarly adapted to an early stage in the education of philosophical105 students, since it does not presuppose the slow process of acquiring, by experience and reflection, valuable thoughts of their own. They may become capable of disentangling the intricacies of confused and self-contradictory thought, before their own thinking faculties106 are much advanced; a power which, for want of some such discipline, many otherwise able men altogether lack; and when they have to answer opponent, only endeavour, by such argument as they can command, to support the opposite conclusion, scarcely even attempting to confute the reasonings of their antagonists107; and, therefore, at the utmost, leaving the question, as far as it depends on argument, a balanced one.

During this time, the Latin and Greek books which I continued to read with my father were chiefly such as were worth studying, not for the language merely, but also for the thoughts. This included much of the orators, and especially Demosthenes, some of whose principal orations I read several times over, and wrote out, by way of exercise, a full analysis of them. My father's comments on these orations when I read them to him were very instructive to me. He not only drew my attention to the insight they afforded into Athenian institutions, and the principles of legislation and government which they often illustrated108, but pointed109 out the skill and art of the orator54 — how everything important to his purpose was said at the exact moment when he had brought the minds of his audience into the state most fitted to receive it; how he made steal into their minds, gradually and by insinuation, thoughts which, if expressed in a more direct manner would have aroused their opposition110. Most of these reflections were beyond my capacity of full comprehension at the time; but they left seed behind, which geminated in due season. At this time I also read the whole of Tacitus, Juvenal, and Quintilian. The latter, owing to his obscure style and to the scholastic details of which many parts of his treatise are made up, is little read, and seldom sufficiently appreciated. His book is a kind of encyclopaedia111 of the thoughts of the ancients on the whole field of education and culture; and I have retained through life many valuable ideas which I can distinctly trace to my reading of him, even at that early age. It was at this period that I read, for the first time, some of the most important dialogues of Plato, in particular the Gorgias, the Protagoras, and the Republic. There is no author to whom my father thought himself more indebted for his own mental culture, than Plato, or whom he more frequently recommended to young student. I can bear similar testimony112 in regard to myself. The Socratic method, of which the Platonic113 dialogues are the chief example, is unsurpassed as a discipline for correcting the errors, and clearing up the confusions incident to the intellectus sibi permissus, the understanding which has made up all its bundles of associations under the guidance of popular phraseology. The close, searching elenchus by which the man of vague generalities is constrained114 either to express his meaning to himself in definite terms, or to confess that he does not know what he is talking about; the perpetual testing of all general statements by particular instances; the siege in from which is laid to the meaning of large abstract terms, by fixing upon some still larger class-name which includes that and more, and dividing down to the thing sought — marking out its limits and definition by a series of accurately115 drawn116 distinctions between it and each of the cognate117 objects which are successively parted off from it — all this, as an education for precise thinking, is inestimable, and all this, even at that age, took such hold of me that it became part of my own mind. I have felt ever since that the title of Platonist belongs by far better right to those who have been nourished in, and have endeavoured to practise Plato's mode of investigation118, than to those who are distinguished119 only by the adoption120 of certain dogmatical conclusions, drawn mostly from the least intelligible121 of his works, and which the character of his mind and writings makes it uncertain whether he himself regarded as anything more than poetic82 fancies, or philosophic104 conjectures122.

In going through Plato and Demosthenes, since I could now read these authors, as far as the language was concerned, with perfect ease, I was not required to construe123 them sentence by sentence, but to read them aloud to my father, answering questions when asked: but the particular attention which he paid to elocution (in which his own excellence124 was remarkable) made this reading aloud to him a most painful task. Of all things which he required me to do, there was none which I did so constantly ill, or in which he so perpetually lost his temper with me. He had thought much on the principles of the art of reading, especially the most neglected part of it, the inflections of the voice, or modulation125 as writers on elocution call it (in contrast with articulation126 on the one side, and expression on the other), and had reduced it to rules, grounded on the logical analysis of a sentence. These rules he strongly impressed upon me, and took me severely127 to task for every violation128 of them: but I even then remarked (though I did not venture to make the remark to him) that though he reproached me when I read a sentence ill, and told me how I ought to have read it, he never, by reading it himself, showed me how it ought to be read. A defect running through his otherwise admirable modes of instruction, as it did through all his modes of thought, was that of trusting too much to the intelligibleness of the abstract, when not embodied129 in the concrete. It was at a much later period of my youth, when practising elocution by myself, or with companions of my own age, that I for the first time understood the object of his rules, and saw the psychological grounds of them. At that time I and others followed out the subject into its ramifications130 and could have composed a very useful treatise, grounded on my father's principles. He himself left those principles and rules unwritten. I regret that when my mind was full of the subject, from systematic131 practice, I did not put them, and our improvements of them, into a formal shape.

A book which contributed largely to my education, in the best sense of the term, was my father's History of India. It was published in the beginning of 1818. During the year previous, while it was passing through the press, I used to read the proof sheets to him; or rather, I read the manuscript to him while he corrected the proofs. The number of new ideas which I received from this remarkable book, and the impulse and stimulus132 as well as guidance given to my thoughts by its criticisms and disquisitions on society and civilization in the Hindoo part, on institutions and the acts of governments in the English part, made my early familiarity with it eminently133 useful to my subsequent progress. And though I can perceive deficiencies in it now as compared with a perfect standard, I still think it, if not the most, one of the most instructive histories ever written, and one of the books from which most benefit may be derived by a mind in the course of making up its opinions.

The Preface, among the most characteristic of my father's writings, as well as the richest in materials of thought, gives a picture which may be entirely134 depended on, of the sentiments and expectations with which he wrote the History. Saturated135 as the book is with the opinions and modes of judgment136 of a democratic radicalism137 then regarded as extreme; and treating with a severity, at that time most unusual, the English Constitution, the English law, and all parties and classes who possessed any considerable influence in the country; he may have expected reputation, but certainly not advancement138 in life, from its publication; nor could he have supposed that it would raise up anything but enemies for him in powerful quarters: least of all could he have expected favour from the East India Company, to whose commercial privileges he was unqualifiedly hostile, and on the acts of whose government he had made so many severe comments: though, in various parts of his book, he bore a testimony in their favour, which he felt to be their just due, namely, that no government had on the whole given so much proof, to the extent of its lights, of good intention towards its subjects; and that if the acts of any other government had the light of publicity139 as completely let in upon them, they would, in all probability, still less bear scrutiny140.

On learning, however, in the spring of 1819, about a year after the publication of the History, that the East India Directors desired to strengthen the part of their home establishment which was employed in carrying on the correspondence with India, my father declared himself a candidate for that employment, and, to the credit of the Directors, successfully. He was appointed one of the Assistants of the Examiner of India Correspondence; officers whose duty it was to prepare drafts of despatches to India, for consideration by the Directors, in the principal departments of administration. In this office, and in that of Examiner, which he subsequently attained, the influence which his talents, his reputation, and his decision of character gave him, with superiors who really desired the good government of India, enabled him to a great extent to throw into his drafts of despatches, and to carry through the ordeal142 of the Court of Directors and Board of Control, without having their force much weakened, his real opinions on Indian subjects. In his History he had set forth143, for the first time, many of the true principles of Indian administration: and his despatches, following his History, did more than had ever been done before to promote the improvement of india, and teach indian officials to understand their business. If a selection of them were published, they would, I am convinced, place his character as a practical statesman fully141 on a level with his eminence as a speculative144 writer.

This new employment of his time caused no relaxation145 in his attention to my education. It was in this same year, 1819, that he took me through a complete course of political economy. His loved and intimate friend, Ricardo, had shortly before published the book which formed so great an epoch in political economy; a book which never would have been published or written, but for the entreaty146 and strong encouragement of my father; for Ricardo, the most modest of men, though firmly convinced of the truth of his doctrines, deemed himself so little capable of doing them justice in exposition and expression, that he shrank from the idea of publicity. The same friendly encouragement induced Ricardo, a year or two later, to become a member of the House of Commons; where, during the few remaining years of his life, happily cut short in the full vigour147 of his intellect, he tendered so much service to his and my father's opinions both on political economy and on other subjects.

Though Ricardo's great work was already in print, no didactic treatise embodying148 its doctrines, in a manner fit for learners, had yet appeared. My father, therefore, commenced instructing me in the science by a sort of lectures, which he delivered to me in our walks. He expounded149 each day a portion of the subject, and I gave him next day a written account of it, which he made me rewrite over and over again until it was clear, precise, and tolerably complete. In this manner I went through the whole extent of the science; and the written outline of it which resulted from my daily compte rendu, served him afterwards as notes from which to write his Elements of Political Economy. After this I read Ricardo, giving an account daily of what I read, and discussing, in the best manner I could, the collateral150 points which offered themselves in our progress.

On Money, as the most intricate part of the subject, he made me read in the same manner Ricardo's admirable pamphlets, written during what was called the Bullion151 controversy152. to these succeeded Adam Smith; and in this reading it was one of my father's main objects to make me apply to Smith's more superficial view of political economy, the superior lights of Ricardo, and detect what was fallacious in Smith's arguments, or erroneous in any of his conclusions. Such a mode of instruction was excellently calculated to form a thinker; but it required to be worked by a thinker, as close and vigorous as my father. The path was a thorny153 one, even to him, and I am sure it was so to me, notwithstanding the strong interest I took in the subject. He was often, and much beyond reason, provoked by my failures in cases where success could not have been expected; but in the main his method was right, and it succeeded. I do not believe that any scientific teaching ever was more thorough, or better fitted for training the faculties, than the mode in which logic and political economy were taught to me by my father. Striving, even in an exaggerated degree, to call forth the activity of my faculties, by making me find out everything for myself, he gave his explanations not before, but after, I had felt the full force of the difficulties; and not only gave me an accurate knowledge of these two great subjects, as far as they were then understood, but made me a thinker on both. I thought for myself almost from the first, and occasionally thought differently from him, though for a long time only on minor154 points, and making his opinion the ultimate standard. At a later period I even occasionally convinced him, and altered his opinion on some points of detail: which I state to his honour, not my own. It at once exemplifies his perfect candour, and the real worth of his method of teaching.

At this point concluded what can properly be called my lessons: when I was about fourteen I left England for more than a year; and after my return, though my studies went on under my father's general direction, he was no longer my schoolmaster. I shall therefore pause here, and turn back to matters of a more general nature connected with the part of my life and education included in the preceding reminiscences.

In the course of instruction which I have partially155 retraced156, the point most superficially apparent is the great effort to give, during the years of childhood an amount of knowledge in what are considered the higher branches of education, which is seldom acquired (if acquired at all) until the age of manhood. The result of the experiment shows the ease with which this may be done, and places in a strong light the wretched waste of so many precious years as are spent in acquiring the modicum157 of Latin and Greek commonly taught to schoolboys; a waste, which has led so many educational reformers to entertain the ill-judged proposal of discarding these languages altogether from general education. If I had been by nature extremely quick of apprehension158, or had possessed a very accurate and retentive159 memory or were of a remarkably160 active and energetic character, the trial would not be conclusive161; but in all these natural gifts I am rather below than above par3; what I could do, could assuredly be done by any boy or girl of average capacity and healthy physical constitution: and if I have accomplished162 anything, I owe it, among other fortunate circumstances, to the fact that through the early training bestowed163 on me by my father, I started, I may fairly say, with an advantage of a quarter of a century over my contemporaries.

There was one cardinal164 point in this training, of which I have already given some indication, and which, more than anything else, was the cause of whatever good it effected. Most boys or youths who have had much knowledge drilled into them, have their mental capacities not strengthened, but over-laid by it. They are crammed165 with mere facts, and with the opinions or phrases of other people, and these are accepted as a substitute for the power to form opinions of their own: and thus the sons of eminent41 fathers, who have spared no pains in their education, so often grow up mere parroters of what they have learnt, incapable167 of using their minds except in the furrows168 traced for them. Mine, however, was not an education of cram166. My father never permitted anything which I learnt to degenerate169 into a mere exercise of memory. He strove to make the understanding not only go along with every step of the teaching, but, if possible, precede it. Anything which could be found out by thinking I never was told, until I had exhausted170 my efforts to find it out for myself. As far as I can trust my remembrance, I acquitted171 myself very lamely172 in this department; my recollection of such matters is almost wholly of failures, hardly ever of success. It is true the failures were often in things in which success in so early a stage of my progress, was almost impossible. I remember at some time in my thirteenth year, on my happening to use the word idea, he asked me what an idea was; and expressed some displeasure at my ineffectual efforts to define the word: I recollect22 also his indignation at my using the common expression that something was true in theory but required correction in practice; and how, after making me vainly strive to define the word theory, he explained its meaning, and showed the fallacy of the vulgar form of speech which I had used; leaving me fully persuaded that in being unable to give a correct definition of Theory, and in speaking of it as something which might be at variance173 with practice, I had shown unparalleled ignorance. In this he seems, and perhaps was, very unreasonable174; but I think, only in being angry at my failure. A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot do, never does all he can.

One of the evils most liable to attend on any sort of early proficiency, and which often fatally blights175 its promise, my father most anxiously guarded against. This was self-conceit. He kept me, with extreme vigilance, out of the way of hearing myself praised, or of being led to make self-flattering comparisons between myself and others. From his own intercourse176 with me I could derive44 none but a very humble177 opinion of myself; and the standard of comparison he always held up to me, was not what other people did, but what a man could and ought to do. He completely succeeded in preserving me from the sort of influences he so much dreaded178. I was not at all aware that my attainments179 were anything unusual at my age. If I accidentally had my attention drawn to the fact that some other boy knew less than myself — which happened less often than might be imagined-i concluded, not that I knew much, but that he, for some reason or other, knew little, or that his knowledge was of a different kind from mine. My state of mind was not humility180, but neither was it arrogance181. I never thought of saying to myself, I am, or I can do, so and so. I neither estimated myself highly nor lowly. I did not estimate myself at all. If I thought anything about myself, it was that I was rather backward in my studies, since I always found myself so, in comparison with what my father expected from me. I assert this with confidence, though it was not the impression of various persons who saw me in my childhood. They, as I have since found, thought me greatly and disagreeably self-conceited; probably because I was disputatious, and did not scruple182 to give direct contradictions to things which I heard said. I suppose I acquired this bad habit from having been encouraged in an unusual degree to talk on matters beyond my age, and with grown persons, while I never had inculcated in me the usual respect for them. My father did not correct this ill-breeding and impertinence, probably from not being aware of it, for I was always too much in awe183 of him to be otherwise than extremely subdued184 and quiet in his presence. Yet with all this I had no notion of any superiority in myself; and well was it for me that I had not. I remember the very place in Hyde Park where, in my fourteenth year, on the eve of leaving my father's house for a long absence, he told me that I should find, as I got acquainted with new people, that I had been taught many things which youths of my age did not commonly know; and that many persons would be disposed to talk to me of this, and to compliment me upon it. What other things he said on this topic I remember very imperfectly; but he wound up by saying, that whatever I knew more than others, could not be ascribed to any merit in me, but to the very unusual advantage which had fallen to my lot, of having a father who was able to teach me, and willing to give the necessary trouble and time; that it was no matter of praise to me, if I knew more than those who had not had a similar advantage, but the deepest disgrace to me if I did not. I have a distinct remembrance, that the suggestion thus for the first time made to me, that I knew more than other youths who were considered well educated, was to me a piece of information, to which, as to all other things which my father told me, I gave implicit185 credence186, but which did not at all impress me as a personal matter. I felt no disposition187 to glorify188 myself upon the circumstance that there were other persons who did not know what I knew; nor had I ever flattered myself that my acquirements, whatever they might be, were any merit of mine: but, now when my attention was called to the subject, I felt that what my father had said, respecting my peculiar advantages was exactly the truth and common sense of the matter, and it fixed189 my opinion and feeling from that time forward.

It is evident that this, among many other of the purposes of my father's scheme of education, could not have been accomplished if he had not carefully kept me from having any great amount of intercourse with other boys. He was earnestly bent34 upon my escaping not only the ordinary corrupting190 influence which boys exercise over boys, but the contagion191 of vulgar modes of thought and feeling; and for this he was willing that I should pay the price of inferiority in the accomplishments192 which schoolboys in all countries chiefly cultivate. The deficiencies in my education were principally in the things which boys learn from being turned out to shift for themselves, and from being brought together in large numbers. From temperance and much walking, I grew up healthy and hardy193 though not muscular; but I could do no feats194 of skill or Physical strength, and knew none of the ordinary bodily exercises. It was not that play, or time for it, was refused me. Though no holidays were allowed, lest the habit of work should be broken, and a taste for idleness acquired, I had ample leisure in every day to amuse myself; but as I had no boy companions, and the animal need of physical activity was satisfied by walking, my amusements, which were mostly solitary195, were in general of a quiet, if not a bookish turn, and gave little stimulus to any other kind even of mental activity than that which was already called forth by my studies: I consequently remained long, and in a less degree have always remained, inexpert in anything requiring manual dexterity196; my mind as well as my hands, did its work very lamely when it was applied197, or ought to have been applied, to the practical details which, as they are the chief interest of life to the majority of men, are also the things in which whatever mental capacity they have, chiefly shows itself: I was constantly meriting reproof198 by inattention, inobservance, and general slackness of mind in matters of daily life. My father was the extreme opposite in these particulars: his senses and mental faculties were always on the alert; he carried decision and energy of character in his whole manner and into every action of life: and this, as much as his talents, contributed to the strong impression which he always made upon those with whom he came into personal contact. But the children of energetic parents, frequently grow up unenergetic, because they lean on their parents, and the parents are energetic for them. The education which my father gave me, was in itself much more fitted for training me to know than to do. Not that he was unaware199 of my deficiencies; both as a boy and as a youth I was incessantly200 smarting under his severe admonitions on the subject. There was anything but insensibility or tolerance201 on his part towards such shortcomings: but, while he saved me from the demoralizing effects of school life, he made no effort to provide me with any sufficient substitute for its practicalizing influences. Whatever qualities he himself, probably, had acquired without difficulty or special training, he seems to have supposed that I ought to acquire as easily. He had not, I think, bestowed the same amount of thought and attention on this, as on most other branches of education; and here, as well as in some other points of my tuition, he seems to have expected effects without causes.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 prefix 1lizVl     
n.前缀;vt.加…作为前缀;置于前面
参考例句:
  • We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
  • In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。
2 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
3 par OK0xR     
n.标准,票面价值,平均数量;adj.票面的,平常的,标准的
参考例句:
  • Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
  • I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。
4 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的
参考例句:
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
5 remarkable 8Vbx6     
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。
6 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
7 eminence VpLxo     
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。
8 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
9 barons d288a7d0097bc7a8a6a4398b999b01f6     
男爵( baron的名词复数 ); 巨头; 大王; 大亨
参考例句:
  • The barons of Normandy had refused to countenance the enterprise officially. 诺曼底的贵族们拒绝正式赞助这桩买卖。
  • The barons took the oath which Stephen Langton prescribed. 男爵们照斯蒂芬?兰顿的指导宣了誓。
10 exchequer VnxxT     
n.财政部;国库
参考例句:
  • In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。
  • This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。
11 licensed ipMzNI     
adj.得到许可的v.许可,颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
  • Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗?
12 doctrines 640cf8a59933d263237ff3d9e5a0f12e     
n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 );教义;学说;(政府政策的)正式声明
参考例句:
  • To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看,这样的教义显得苛刻,甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
13 uncommon AlPwO     
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的
参考例句:
  • Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
  • Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
14 precarious Lu5yV     
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。
15 strenuously Jhwz0k     
adv.奋发地,费力地
参考例句:
  • The company has strenuously defended its decision to reduce the workforce. 公司竭力为其裁员的决定辩护。
  • She denied the accusation with some warmth, ie strenuously, forcefully. 她有些激动,竭力否认这一指责。
16 pecuniary Vixyo     
adj.金钱的;金钱上的
参考例句:
  • She denies obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.她否认通过欺骗手段获得经济利益。
  • She is so independent that she refused all pecuniary aid.她很独立,所以拒绝一切金钱上的资助。
17 odious l0zy2     
adj.可憎的,讨厌的
参考例句:
  • The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
  • His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。
18 negligently 0358f2a07277b3ca1e42472707f7edb4     
参考例句:
  • Losses caused intentionally or negligently by the lessee shall be borne by the lessee. 如因承租人的故意或过失造成损失的,由承租人负担。 来自经济法规部分
  • Did the other person act negligently? 他人的行为是否有过失? 来自口语例句
19 conscientiously 3vBzrQ     
adv.凭良心地;认真地,负责尽职地;老老实实
参考例句:
  • He kept silent,eating just as conscientiously but as though everything tasted alike. 他一声不吭,闷头吃着,仿佛桌上的饭菜都一个味儿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She discharged all the responsibilities of a minister conscientiously. 她自觉地履行部长的一切职责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 bestow 9t3zo     
v.把…赠与,把…授予;花费
参考例句:
  • He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
  • What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我?
21 perseverance oMaxH     
n.坚持不懈,不屈不挠
参考例句:
  • It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
  • Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。
22 recollect eUOxl     
v.回忆,想起,记起,忆起,记得
参考例句:
  • He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
  • She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。
23 fables c7e1f2951baeedb04670ded67f15ca7b     
n.寓言( fable的名词复数 );神话,传说
参考例句:
  • Some of Aesop's Fables are satires. 《伊索寓言》中有一些是讽刺作品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Little Mexican boys also breathe the American fables. 墨西哥族的小孩子对美国神话也都耳濡目染。 来自辞典例句
24 lexicon a1rxD     
n.字典,专门词汇
参考例句:
  • Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
  • Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。
25 lexicons 16adb28a682f1f96d52643d0f611c52f     
n.词典( lexicon的名词复数 );专门词汇
参考例句:
  • I have a discipline: medical, sports, and advertising lexicons. 另一些是专科词典,如医学词典、体育词典、广告词典等等。 来自互联网
26 incessant WcizU     
adj.不停的,连续的
参考例句:
  • We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
  • She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。
27 discourses 5f353940861db5b673bff4bcdf91ce55     
论文( discourse的名词复数 ); 演说; 讲道; 话语
参考例句:
  • It is said that his discourses were very soul-moving. 据说他的讲道词是很能动人心灵的。
  • I am not able to repeat the excellent discourses of this extraordinary man. 这位异人的高超言论我是无法重述的。
28 rustic mCQz9     
adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬
参考例句:
  • It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
  • We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。
29 habitually 4rKzgk     
ad.习惯地,通常地
参考例句:
  • The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。
  • Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰,我来到他的椅子跟前。
30 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系]
参考例句:
  • The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
  • The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候,这一男一女就开始交往了。
31 knights 2061bac208c7bdd2665fbf4b7067e468     
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马
参考例句:
  • stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
  • He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。
32 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
33 abridgment RIMyH     
n.删节,节本
参考例句:
  • An abridgment of the book has been published for young readers.他们为年轻读者出版了这本书的节本。
  • This abridgment provides a concise presentation of this masterpiece of Buddhist literature.这个删节本提供了简明介绍佛教文学的杰作。
34 bent QQ8yD     
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。
35 patriot a3kzu     
n.爱国者,爱国主义者
参考例句:
  • He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
  • He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。
36 cultivation cnfzl     
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成
参考例句:
  • The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
  • The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃,不值得耕种。
37 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
38 memoranda c8cb0155f81f3ecb491f3810ce6cbcde     
n. 备忘录, 便条 名词memorandum的复数形式
参考例句:
  • There were memoranda, minutes of meetings, officialflies, notes of verbal di scussions. 有备忘录,会议记录,官方档案,口头讨论的手记。
  • Now it was difficult to get him to address memoranda. 而现在,要他批阅备忘录都很困难。
39 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
40 preeminent VPFxG     
adj.卓越的,杰出的
参考例句:
  • Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
  • He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。
41 eminent dpRxn     
adj.显赫的,杰出的,有名的,优良的
参考例句:
  • We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
  • He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。
42 possessed xuyyQ     
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。
43 derived 6cddb7353e699051a384686b6b3ff1e2     
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取
参考例句:
  • Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
44 derive hmLzH     
v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自
参考例句:
  • We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
  • We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。
45 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
46 lastingly 8c0953228008835c514cd52e4e76289c     
[医]有残留性,持久地,耐久地
参考例句:
  • At least seven people had been particularly and lastingly helpful to me. 至少有七个人对我有过不同寻常、影响深远的帮助。 来自互联网
  • Due to great attachment to the ecologic environment, eco-tourism must develop lastingly. 摘要生态旅游对生态环境具有非常大的依赖性,必须走可持续发展道路。 来自互联网
47 favourable favourable     
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的
参考例句:
  • The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
  • We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。
48 inefficient c76xm     
adj.效率低的,无效的
参考例句:
  • The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
  • Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。
49 apparently tMmyQ     
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。
50 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣;享有;享用
参考例句:
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
51 specimen Xvtwm     
n.样本,标本
参考例句:
  • You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
  • This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。
52 algebra MKRyW     
n.代数学
参考例句:
  • He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
  • The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。
53 orations f18fbc88c8170b051d952cb477fd24b1     
n.(正式仪式中的)演说,演讲( oration的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The young official added a genuine note of emotion amid the pompous funeral orations. 这位年轻的高级官员,在冗长的葬礼演讲中加了一段充满感情的话。 来自辞典例句
  • It has to go down as one of the great orations of all times. 它去作为一个伟大的演讲所有次。 来自互联网
54 orator hJwxv     
n.演说者,演讲者,雄辩家
参考例句:
  • He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩,胜过最好的演说家。
  • The orator gestured vigorously while speaking.这位演讲者讲话时用力地做手势。
55 oratory HJ7xv     
n.演讲术;词藻华丽的言辞
参考例句:
  • I admire the oratory of some politicians.我佩服某些政治家的辩才。
  • He dazzled the crowd with his oratory.他的雄辩口才使听众赞叹不已。
56 odyssey t5kzU     
n.长途冒险旅行;一连串的冒险
参考例句:
  • The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
  • His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程,到此结束了。
57 rhetoric FCnzz     
n.修辞学,浮夸之言语
参考例句:
  • Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗?
  • Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后,他和军队的关系岌岌可危。
58 treatise rpWyx     
n.专著;(专题)论文
参考例句:
  • The doctor wrote a treatise on alcoholism.那位医生写了一篇关于酗酒问题的论文。
  • This is not a treatise on statistical theory.这不是一篇有关统计理论的论文。
59 logic j0HxI     
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性
参考例句:
  • What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑?
  • I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。
60 peculiar cinyo     
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。
61 calculus Is9zM     
n.微积分;结石
参考例句:
  • This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题,微积分一点也用不上。
  • After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后,你们就能够解这些数学题了。
62 incurring ccc47e576f1ce5fe49a4f373b49987ba     
遭受,招致,引起( incur的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。
  • He spoke to the Don directly, taking a chance on incurring Michael's ill will. 他直接向老头子谈自己的意见,这显然要冒引起迈克尔反感的风险。 来自教父部分
63 predilection 61Dz9     
n.偏好
参考例句:
  • He has a predilection for rich food.他偏好油腻的食物。
  • Charles has always had a predilection for red-haired women.查尔斯对红头发女人一直有偏爱。
64 perversions e839e16238e077d0a8abcdff822e8be6     
n.歪曲( perversion的名词复数 );变坏;变态心理
参考例句:
  • Many practices commonly regarded as perversions were widespread. 许多通常认为是性变态的行为的做法实际上是广泛存在的。 来自辞典例句
65 discoursed bc3a69d4dd9f0bc34060d8c215954249     
演说(discourse的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He discoursed on an interesting topic. 他就一个有趣的题目发表了演讲。
  • The scholar discoursed at great length on the poetic style of John Keats. 那位学者详细讲述了约翰·济慈的诗歌风格。
66 orators 08c37f31715969550bbb2f814266d9d2     
n.演说者,演讲家( orator的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The hired orators continued to pour forth their streams of eloquence. 那些雇来的演说家继续滔滔不绝地施展辩才。 来自辞典例句
  • Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and the fine words from stay-at-home orators. 人们的耳朵被军号声和战声以及呆在这的演说家们的漂亮言辞塞得太满了。 来自飘(部分)
67 addicted dzizmY     
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。
68 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的
参考例句:
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
69 compilation kptzy     
n.编译,编辑
参考例句:
  • One of the first steps taken was the compilation of a report.首先采取的步骤之一是写一份报告。
  • The compilation of such diagrams,is of lasting value for astronomy.绘制这样的图对天文学有永恒的价值。
70 epoch riTzw     
n.(新)时代;历元
参考例句:
  • The epoch of revolution creates great figures.革命时代造就伟大的人物。
  • We're at the end of the historical epoch,and at the dawn of another.我们正处在一个历史时代的末期,另一个历史时代的开端。
71 patricians 9091d4854b3eca4de61b3690020698f3     
n.(古罗马的)统治阶层成员( patrician的名词复数 );贵族,显贵
参考例句:
  • There was a conflict between plebs and patricians in ancient Rome in 494BC. 在公元前494年,罗马发生了一次平民反对贵族的斗争。 来自互联网
72 plebeians ac5ccdab5c6155958349158660ed9fcb     
n.平民( plebeian的名词复数 );庶民;平民百姓;平庸粗俗的人
参考例句:
73 engrossed 3t0zmb     
adj.全神贯注的
参考例句:
  • The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
  • No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。
74 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
75 mere rC1xE     
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。
76 vindicated e1cc348063d17c5a30190771ac141bed     
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》
77 agrarian qKayI     
adj.土地的,农村的,农业的
参考例句:
  • People are leaving an agrarian way of life to go to the city.人们正在放弃农业生活方式而转向城市。
  • This was a feature of agrarian development in Britain.这是大不列颠土地所有制发展的一个特征。
78 judiciously 18cfc8ca2569d10664611011ec143a63     
adv.明断地,明智而审慎地
参考例句:
  • Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪,她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句
79 compulsory 5pVzu     
n.强制的,必修的;规定的,义务的
参考例句:
  • Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗?
  • Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。
80 prosody IRGxA     
n.诗体论,作诗法
参考例句:
  • Both developed doctrine of prosody.他们作诗都有自己的理论。
  • The prosody of Beowulf is based on alliteration,not end rhymes.《贝奥武甫》的诗体采用头韵而不用尾韵。
81 contented Gvxzof     
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。
82 poetic b2PzT     
adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的
参考例句:
  • His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
  • His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。
83 poetical 7c9cba40bd406e674afef9ffe64babcd     
adj.似诗人的;诗一般的;韵文的;富有诗意的
参考例句:
  • This is a poetical picture of the landscape. 这是一幅富有诗意的风景画。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • John is making a periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion. 约翰正在对陈腐的诗风做迂回冗长的研究。 来自辞典例句
84 mythological BFaxL     
adj.神话的
参考例句:
  • He is remembered for his historical and mythological works. 他以其带有历史感和神话色彩的作品而著称。
  • But even so, the cumulative process had for most Americans a deep, almost mythological significance. 不过即使如此,移民渐增的过程,对于大部分美国人,还是意味深长的,几乎有不可思议的影响。
85 attain HvYzX     
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。
86 bard QPCyM     
n.吟游诗人
参考例句:
  • I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神!
  • I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。
87 elegy HqBxD     
n.哀歌,挽歌
参考例句:
  • Good heavens,what would be more tragic than that elegy!天哪,还有什么比那首挽歌更悲伤的呢!
  • His book is not intended to be a complete history but a personal elegy.他的书与其说是一部完整的历史,更像是一篇个人挽歌。
88 animated Cz7zMa     
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
  • We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。
89 pathos dLkx2     
n.哀婉,悲怆
参考例句:
  • The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯,看得我们不禁流泪。
  • There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。
90 recalcitrant 7SKzJ     
adj.倔强的
参考例句:
  • The University suspended the most recalcitrant demonstraters.这所大学把几个反抗性最强的示威者开除了。
  • Donkeys are reputed to be the most recalcitrant animals.驴被认为是最倔强的牲畜。
91 abounds e383095f177bb040b7344dc416ce6761     
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The place abounds with fruit, especially pears and peaches. 此地盛产水果,尤以梨桃著称。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • This country abounds with fruit. 这个国家盛产水果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
92 devoured af343afccf250213c6b0cadbf3a346a9     
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光
参考例句:
  • She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志,还是报纸,只要能弄得到,她都看得津津有味。
  • The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。
93 treatises 9ff9125c93810e8709abcafe0c3289ca     
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
94 speculation 9vGwe     
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机
参考例句:
  • Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
  • There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。
95 scholastic 3DLzs     
adj.学校的,学院的,学术上的
参考例句:
  • There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
  • This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。
96 syllogistic 8f89e5181b945497c3a42b16ae218d07     
adj.三段论法的,演绎的,演绎性的
参考例句:
97 impugned 772cf54485a371e6e331779ea324f7b4     
v.非难,指谪( impugn的过去式和过去分词 );对…有怀疑
参考例句:
  • All I can hope is that the good name of the Bank will not be impugned in some way. 我所希望的,就是该银行的好名声不要在某些方面受到质疑。 来自辞典例句
98 nucleus avSyg     
n.核,核心,原子核
参考例句:
  • These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
  • These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。
99 attained 1f2c1bee274e81555decf78fe9b16b2f     
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况)
参考例句:
  • She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
  • Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。
100 proficiency m1LzU     
n.精通,熟练,精练
参考例句:
  • He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺,技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
  • How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何?
101 dissecting 53b66bea703a0d1b805dfcd0804dd1b3     
v.解剖(动物等)( dissect的现在分词 );仔细分析或研究
参考例句:
  • Another group was dissecting a new film showing locally. 另外一批人正在剖析城里上演的一部新电影。 来自辞典例句
  • Probe into Dissecting Refraction Method Statics Processing under Complicated Surface Conditions. 不同地表条件下土壤侵蚀的坡度效应。 来自互联网
102 perseveringly d3d27e295762932233d03b60f986deb8     
坚定地
参考例句:
  • The Chinese people perseveringly support the just struggles of the oppressed people and nations the world over. 中国人民坚持不渝地支持全世界被压迫人民和民族的正义斗争。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Men should have high aspirations; students should study perseveringly. 人贵有志,学贵有恒。 来自互联网
103 ratiocination ZT5x0     
n.推理;推断
参考例句:
  • There's no difference of Win or lose,or good or bad in ratiocination.推理是没有胜负、好坏之分的。
  • Your thesis is short for the accurate ratiocination to suppose your argument.你的论文缺少能证明你的论点的正确推理。
104 philosophic ANExi     
adj.哲学的,贤明的
参考例句:
  • It was a most philosophic and jesuitical motorman.这是个十分善辩且狡猾的司机。
  • The Irish are a philosophic as well as a practical race.爱尔兰人是既重实际又善于思想的民族。
105 philosophical rN5xh     
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。
106 faculties 066198190456ba4e2b0a2bda2034dfc5     
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院
参考例句:
  • Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬,但头脑仍然清晰。
  • All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中,你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》
107 antagonists 7b4cd3775e231e0c24f47e65f0de337b     
对立[对抗] 者,对手,敌手( antagonist的名词复数 ); 对抗肌; 对抗药
参考例句:
  • The cavalier defeated all the antagonists. 那位骑士打败了所有的敌手。
  • The result was the entire reconstruction of the navies of both the antagonists. 双方的海军就从这场斗争里获得了根本的改造。
108 illustrated 2a891807ad5907f0499171bb879a36aa     
adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
  • The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。
109 pointed Il8zB4     
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。
110 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
111 encyclopaedia Jp3xC     
n.百科全书
参考例句:
  • An encyclopaedia contains a lot of knowledge.百科全书包含很多知识。
  • This is an encyclopaedia of philosophy.这是本哲学百科全书。
112 testimony zpbwO     
n.证词;见证,证明
参考例句:
  • The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
  • He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。
113 platonic 5OMxt     
adj.精神的;柏拉图(哲学)的
参考例句:
  • Their friendship is based on platonic love.他们的友情是基于柏拉图式的爱情。
  • Can Platonic love really exist in real life?柏拉图式的爱情,在现实世界里到底可能吗?
114 constrained YvbzqU     
adj.束缚的,节制的
参考例句:
  • The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服,他觉得不得不接受。
  • I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。
115 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地,精确地
参考例句:
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
116 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
117 cognate MqHz1     
adj.同类的,同源的,同族的;n.同家族的人,同源词
参考例句:
  • Mathematics and astronomy are cognate sciences.数学和天文学是互相关联的科学。
  • English,Dutch and German are cognate languages. 英语、荷兰语、德语是同语族的语言。
118 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
119 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
120 adoption UK7yu     
n.采用,采纳,通过;收养
参考例句:
  • An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
  • The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。
121 intelligible rbBzT     
adj.可理解的,明白易懂的,清楚的
参考例句:
  • This report would be intelligible only to an expert in computing.只有计算机运算专家才能看懂这份报告。
  • His argument was barely intelligible.他的论点不易理解。
122 conjectures 8334e6a27f5847550b061d064fa92c00     
推测,猜想( conjecture的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • That's weighing remote military conjectures against the certain deaths of innocent people. 那不过是牵强附会的军事假设,而现在的事实却是无辜者正在惨遭杀害,这怎能同日而语!
  • I was right in my conjectures. 我所猜测的都应验了。
123 construe 4pbzL     
v.翻译,解释
参考例句:
  • He had tried to construe a passage from Homer.他曾尝试注释荷马著作的一段文字。
  • You can construe what he said in a number of different ways.他的话可以有好几种解释。
124 excellence ZnhxM     
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德
参考例句:
  • His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
  • My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。
125 modulation mEixk     
n.调制
参考例句:
  • The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。
  • Frequency modulation does not allow static to creep in. 频率调制不允许静电干扰混入。
126 articulation tewyG     
n.(清楚的)发音;清晰度,咬合
参考例句:
  • His articulation is poor.他发音不清楚。
  • She spoke with a lazy articulation.她说话慢吞吞的。
127 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
128 violation lLBzJ     
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯
参考例句:
  • He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说,那是违反规则的。
  • He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。
129 embodied 12aaccf12ed540b26a8c02d23d463865     
v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 );象征;包括;包含
参考例句:
  • a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
  • The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
130 ramifications 45f4d7d5a0d59c5d453474d22bf296ae     
n.结果,后果( ramification的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
  • What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢? 来自《简明英汉词典》
131 systematic SqMwo     
adj.有系统的,有计划的,有方法的
参考例句:
  • The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
  • The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。
132 stimulus 3huyO     
n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物
参考例句:
  • Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
  • Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。
133 eminently c442c1e3a4b0ad4160feece6feb0aabf     
adv.突出地;显著地;不寻常地
参考例句:
  • She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
  • It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
134 entirely 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。
135 saturated qjEzG3     
a.饱和的,充满的
参考例句:
  • The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
  • a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液
136 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
137 radicalism MAUzu     
n. 急进主义, 根本的改革主义
参考例句:
  • His radicalism and refusal to compromise isolated him. 他的激进主义与拒绝妥协使他受到孤立。
  • Education produced intellectual ferment and the temptations of radicalism. 教育带来知识界的骚动,促使激进主义具有了吸引力。
138 advancement tzgziL     
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。
139 publicity ASmxx     
n.众所周知,闻名;宣传,广告
参考例句:
  • The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
  • He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事,只当它是一种宣传手法。
140 scrutiny ZDgz6     
n.详细检查,仔细观察
参考例句:
  • His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好,但是经不起仔细检查。
  • Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。
141 fully Gfuzd     
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。
142 ordeal B4Pzs     
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。
143 forth Hzdz2     
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。
144 speculative uvjwd     
adj.思索性的,暝想性的,推理的
参考例句:
  • Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
  • The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大,不应理会。
145 relaxation MVmxj     
n.松弛,放松;休息;消遣;娱乐
参考例句:
  • The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
  • She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。
146 entreaty voAxi     
n.恳求,哀求
参考例句:
  • Mrs. Quilp durst only make a gesture of entreaty.奎尔普太太仅做出一种哀求的姿势。
  • Her gaze clung to him in entreaty.她的眼光带着恳求的神色停留在他身上。
147 vigour lhtwr     
(=vigor)n.智力,体力,精力
参考例句:
  • She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情,有朝气。
  • At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。
148 embodying 6e759eac57252cfdb6d5d502ccc75f4b     
v.表现( embody的现在分词 );象征;包括;包含
参考例句:
  • Every instrument constitutes an independent contract embodying a payment obligation. 每张票据都构成一份独立的体现支付义务的合同。 来自口语例句
  • Fowth, The aesthetical transcendency and the beauty embodying the man's liberty. \" 第四部分:审美的超越和作为人类自由最终体现的“美”。 来自互联网
149 expounded da13e1b047aa8acd2d3b9e7c1e34e99c     
论述,详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He expounded his views on the subject to me at great length. 他详细地向我阐述了他在这个问题上的观点。
  • He warmed up as he expounded his views. 他在阐明自己的意见时激动起来了。
150 collateral wqhzH     
adj.平行的;旁系的;n.担保品
参考例句:
  • Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
  • Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押,这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。
151 bullion VSryB     
n.金条,银条
参考例句:
  • In the London bullion market yesterday,the price of gold was steady.昨天伦敦金银市场黄金价格稳定。
  • Police have launched a man-hunt for the bullion robbers.警方已大举搜捕抢劫金条的罪犯。
152 controversy 6Z9y0     
n.争论,辩论,争吵
参考例句:
  • That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
  • We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。
153 thorny 5ICzQ     
adj.多刺的,棘手的
参考例句:
  • The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
  • The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。
154 minor e7fzR     
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。
155 partially yL7xm     
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。
156 retraced 321f3e113f2767b1b567ca8360d9c6b9     
v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 );回忆;回顾;追溯
参考例句:
  • We retraced our steps to where we started. 我们折回我们出发的地方。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • We retraced our route in an attempt to get back on the right path. 我们折返,想回到正确的路上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
157 modicum Oj3yd     
n.少量,一小份
参考例句:
  • If he had a modicum of sense,he wouldn't do such a foolish thing.要是他稍有一点理智,他决不会做出如此愚蠢的事来。
  • There's not even a modicum of truth in her statement.她说的话没有一点是真的。
158 apprehension bNayw     
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑
参考例句:
  • There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑,于是她越来越担心。
  • She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。
159 retentive kBkzL     
v.保留的,有记忆的;adv.有记性地,记性强地;n.保持力
参考例句:
  • Luke had an amazingly retentive memory.卢克记忆力惊人。
  • He is a scholar who has wide learning and a retentive memory.他是一位博闻强记的学者。
160 remarkably EkPzTW     
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
参考例句:
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
161 conclusive TYjyw     
adj.最后的,结论的;确凿的,消除怀疑的
参考例句:
  • They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
  • Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。
162 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
参考例句:
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
163 bestowed 12e1d67c73811aa19bdfe3ae4a8c2c28     
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
  • He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。
164 cardinal Xcgy5     
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。
165 crammed e1bc42dc0400ef06f7a53f27695395ce     
adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)
参考例句:
  • He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
  • All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。
166 cram 6oizE     
v.填塞,塞满,临时抱佛脚,为考试而学习
参考例句:
  • There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
  • The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的,再也挤不进去人了。
167 incapable w9ZxK     
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。
168 furrows 4df659ff2160099810bd673d8f892c4f     
n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 );(脸上的)皱纹v.犁田,开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • I could tell from the deep furrows in her forehead that she was very disturbed by the news. 从她额头深深的皱纹上,我可以看出她听了这个消息非常不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Dirt bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows. 越野摩托车的轮迹纵横交错地布满条条草沟。 来自辞典例句
169 degenerate 795ym     
v.退步,堕落;adj.退步的,堕落的;n.堕落者
参考例句:
  • He didn't let riches and luxury make him degenerate.他不因财富和奢华而自甘堕落。
  • Will too much freedom make them degenerate?太多的自由会令他们堕落吗?
170 exhausted 7taz4r     
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。
171 acquitted c33644484a0fb8e16df9d1c2cd057cb0     
宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(自己)作出某种表现
参考例句:
  • The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
  • Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。
172 lamely 950fece53b59623523b03811fa0c3117     
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。
173 variance MiXwb     
n.矛盾,不同
参考例句:
  • The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance. 妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
  • It is unnatural for brothers to be at variance. 兄弟之间不睦是不近人情的。
174 unreasonable tjLwm     
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的
参考例句:
  • I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
  • They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
175 blights dfc4191d6f7a4377123865e38fb444b0     
使凋萎( blight的第三人称单数 ); 使颓丧; 损害; 妨害
参考例句:
  • The crops suffered from frequent blights. 农作物经常遭受病虫害。
  • New England was accustomed to didacticism in its literature, and unmitigated didacticism blights the novel. 新英格兰习惯于在文学里说教,可是一味说教,小说就要完蛋。
176 intercourse NbMzU     
n.性交;交流,交往,交际
参考例句:
  • The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
  • There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。
177 humble ddjzU     
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。
178 dreaded XuNzI3     
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)
参考例句:
  • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
  • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
179 attainments 3f47ba9938f08311bdf016e1de15e082     
成就,造诣; 获得( attainment的名词复数 ); 达到; 造诣; 成就
参考例句:
  • a young woman of impressive educational attainments 一位学业成就斐然的年轻女子
  • He is a scholar of the highest attainments in this field. 他在这一领域是一位颇有造就的学者。
180 humility 8d6zX     
n.谦逊,谦恭
参考例句:
  • Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
  • His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和,甚至有点谦卑。
181 arrogance pNpyD     
n.傲慢,自大
参考例句:
  • His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
  • Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。
182 scruple eDOz7     
n./v.顾忌,迟疑
参考例句:
  • It'seemed to her now that she could marry him without the remnant of a scruple.她觉得现在她可以跟他成婚而不需要有任何顾忌。
  • He makes no scruple to tell a lie.他说起谎来无所顾忌。
183 awe WNqzC     
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
参考例句:
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
184 subdued 76419335ce506a486af8913f13b8981d     
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
  • I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候,我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。
185 implicit lkhyn     
a.暗示的,含蓄的,不明晰的,绝对的
参考例句:
  • A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
  • Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。
186 credence Hayy3     
n.信用,祭器台,供桌,凭证
参考例句:
  • Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
  • Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。
187 disposition GljzO     
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署
参考例句:
  • He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
  • He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。
188 glorify MeNzm     
vt.颂扬,赞美,使增光,美化
参考例句:
  • Politicians have complained that the media glorify drugs.政治家们抱怨媒体美化毒品。
  • We are all committed to serving the Lord and glorifying His name in the best way we know.我们全心全意敬奉上帝,竭尽所能颂扬他的美名。
189 fixed JsKzzj     
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。
190 corrupting e31caa462603f9a59dd15b756f3d82a9     
(使)败坏( corrupt的现在分词 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏
参考例句:
  • It would be corrupting discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏风纪。
  • It would be corrupting military discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏军纪。
191 contagion 9ZNyl     
n.(通过接触的疾病)传染;蔓延
参考例句:
  • A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
  • The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。
192 accomplishments 1c15077db46e4d6425b6f78720939d54     
n.造诣;完成( accomplishment的名词复数 );技能;成绩;成就
参考例句:
  • It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
  • Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
193 hardy EenxM     
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的
参考例句:
  • The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
  • He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。
194 feats 8b538e09d25672d5e6ed5058f2318d51     
功绩,伟业,技艺( feat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去,他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
  • His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。
195 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
参考例句:
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
196 dexterity hlXzs     
n.(手的)灵巧,灵活
参考例句:
  • You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
  • I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧,我不如你。
197 applied Tz2zXA     
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。
198 reproof YBhz9     
n.斥责,责备
参考例句:
  • A smart reproof is better than smooth deceit.严厉的责难胜过温和的欺骗。
  • He is impatient of reproof.他不能忍受指责。
199 unaware Pl6w0     
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。
200 incessantly AqLzav     
ad.不停地
参考例句:
  • The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
  • It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。
201 tolerance Lnswz     
n.宽容;容忍,忍受;耐药力;公差
参考例句:
  • Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
  • Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。


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