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Chapter 13 On English Novelists of the Present Day
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In this chapter I will venture to name a few successful novelists of my own time, with whose works I am acquainted; and will endeavour to point whence their success has come, and why they have failed when there has been failure.

I do not hesitate to name Thackeray the first. His knowledge of human nature was supreme1, and his characters stand out as human beings, with a force and a truth which has not, I think, been within the reach of any other English novelist in any period. I know no character in fiction, unless it be Don Quixote, with whom the reader becomes so intimately acquainted as with Colonel Newcombe. How great a thing it is to be a gentleman at all parts! How we admire the man of whom so much may be said with truth! Is there any one of whom we feel more sure in this respect than of Colonel Newcombe? It is not because Colonel Newcombe is a perfect gentleman that we think Thackeray’s work to have been so excellent, but because he has had the power to describe him as such, and to force us to love him, a weak and silly old man, on account of this grace of character. It is evident from all Thackeray’s best work that he lived with the characters he was creating. He had always a story to tell until quite late in life; and he shows us that this was so, not by the interest which be had in his own plots — for I doubt whether his plots did occupy much of his mind — but by convincing us that his characters were alive to himself. With Becky Sharpe, with Lady Castlewood and her daughter, and with Esmond, with Warrington, Pendennis, and the Major, with Colonel Newcombe, and with Barry Lynon, he must have lived in perpetual intercourse2. Therefore he has made these personages real to us.

Among all our novelists his style is the purest, as to my ear it is also the most harmonious3. Sometimes it is disfigured by a slight touch of affectation, by little conceits4 which smell of the oil — but the language is always lucid5. The reader, without labour, knows what he means, and knows all that he means. As well as I can remember, he deals with no episodes. I think that any critic, examining his work minutely, would find that every scene, and every part of every scene, adds something to the clearness with which the story is told. Among all his stories there is not one which does not leave on the mind a feeling of distress6 that women should ever be immodest or men dishonest — and of joy that women should be so devoted7 and men so honest. How we hate the idle selfishness of Pendennis, the worldliness of Beatrix, the craft of Becky Sharpe! — how we love the honesty of Colonel Newcombe, the nobility of Esmond, and the devoted affection of Mrs. Pendennis! The hatred8 of evil and love of good can hardly have come upon so many readers without doing much good.

Late in Thackeray’s life — he never was an old man, but towards the end of his career — he failed in his power of charming, because he allowed his mind to become idle. In the plots which he conceived, and in the language which he used; I do not know that there is any perceptible change; but in The Virginians and in Philip the reader is introduced to no character with which he makes a close and undying acquaintance. And this, I have no doubt, is so because Thackeray himself had no such intimacy9. His mind had come to be weary of that fictitious10 life which is always demanding the labour of new creation, and he troubled himself with his two Virginians and his Philip only when he was seated at his desk.

At the present moment George Eliot is the first of English novelists, and I am disposed to place her second of those of my time. She is best known to the literary world as a writer of prose fiction, and not improbably whatever of permanent fame she may acquire will come from her novels. But the nature of her intellect is very far removed indeed from that which is common to the tellers11 of stories. Her imagination is no doubt strong, but it acts in analysing rather than in creating. Everything that comes before her is pulled to pieces so that the inside of it shall be seen, and be seen if possible by her readers as clearly as by herself. This searching analysis is carried so far that, in studying her latter writings, one feels oneself to be in company with some philosopher rather than with a novelist. I doubt whether any young person can read with pleasure either Felix Holt, Middlemarch, or Daniel Deronda. I know that they are very difficult to many that are not young.

Her personifications of character have been singularly terse12 and graphic13, and from them has come her great hold on the public — though by no means the greatest effect which she has produced. The lessons which she teaches remain, though it is not for the sake of the lessons that her pages are read. Seth Bede, Adam Bede, Maggie and Tom Tulliver, old Silas Marner, and, much above all, Tito, in Romola, are characters which, when once known, can never be forgotten. I cannot say quite so much for any of those in her later works, because in them the philosopher so greatly overtops the portrait-painter, that, in the dissection14 of the mind, the outward signs seem to have been forgotten. In her, as yet, there is no symptom whatever of that weariness of mind which, when felt by the reader, induces him to declare that the author has written himself out. It is not from decadence15 that we do not have another Mrs. Poyser, but because the author soars to things which seem to her to be higher than Mrs. Poyser.

It is, I think, the defect of George Eliot that she struggles too hard to do work that shall be excellent. She lacks ease. Latterly the signs of this have been conspicuous16 in her style, which has always been and is singularly correct, but which has become occasionally obscure from her too great desire to be pungent17. It is impossible not to feel the struggle, and that feeling begets18 a flavour of affectation. In Daniel Deronda, of which at this moment only a portion has been published, there are sentences which I have found myself compelled to read three times before I have been able to take home to myself all that the writer has intended. Perhaps I may be permitted here to say, that this gifted woman was among my dearest and most intimate friends. As I am speaking here of novelists, I will not attempt to speak of George Eliot’s merit as a poet.

There can be no doubt that the most popular novelist of my time — probably the most popular English novelist of any time — has been Charles Dickens. He has now been dead nearly six years, and the sale of his books goes on as it did during his life. The certainty with which his novels are found in every house — the familiarity of his name in all English-speaking countries — the popularity of such characters as Mrs. Gamp, Micawber, and Pecksniff, and many others whose names have entered into the English language and become well-known words — the grief of the country at his death, and the honours paid to him at his funeral — all testify to his popularity. Since the last book he wrote himself, I doubt whether any book has been so popular as his biography by John Forster. There is no withstanding such testimony19 as this. Such evidence of popular appreciation20 should go for very much, almost for everything, in criticism on the work of a novelist. The primary object of a novelist is to please; and this man’s novels have been found more pleasant than those of any other writer. It might of course be objected to this, that though the books have pleased they have been injurious, that their tendency has been immoral21 and their teaching vicious; but it is almost needless to say that no such charge has ever been made against Dickens. His teaching has ever been good. From all which, there arises to the critic a question whether, with such evidence against him as to the excellence22 of this writer, he should not subordinate his own opinion to the collected opinion of the world of readers. To me it almost seems that I must be wrong to place Dickens after Thackeray and George Eliot, knowing as I do that so great a majority put him above those authors.

My own peculiar23 idiosyncrasy in the matter forbids me to do so. I do acknowledge that Mrs. Gamp, Micawber, Pecksniff, and others have become household words in every house, as though they were human beings; but to my judgment24 they are not human beings, nor are any of the characters human which Dickens has portrayed25. It has been the peculiarity26 and the marvel27 of this man’s power, that he has invested, his puppets with a charm that has enabled him to dispense28 with human nature. There is a drollery29 about them, in my estimation, very much below the humour of Thackeray, but which has reached the intellect of all; while Thackeray’s humour has escaped the intellect of many. Nor is the pathos30 of Dickens human. It is stagey and melodramatic. But it is so expressed that it touches every heart a little. There is no real life in Smike. His misery31, his idiotcy, his devotion for Nicholas, his love for Kate, are all overdone32 and incompatible33 with each other. But still the reader sheds a tear. Every reader can find a tear for Smike. Dickens’s novels are like Boucicault’s plays. He has known how to draw his lines broadly, so that all should see the colour.

He, too, in his best days, always lived with his characters — and he, too, as he gradually ceased to have the power of doing so, ceased to charm. Though they are not human beings, we all remember Mrs. Gamp and Pickwick. The Boffins and Veneerings do not, I think, dwell in the minds of so many.

Of Dickens’s style it is impossible to speak in praise. It is jerky, ungrammatical, and created by himself in defiance34 of rules — almost as completely as that created by Carlyle. To readers who have taught themselves to regard language, it must therefore be unpleasant. But the critic is driven to feel the weakness of his criticism, when he acknowledges to himself — as he is compelled in all honesty to do — that with the language, such as it is, the writer has satisfied the great mass of the readers of his country. Both these great writers have satisfied the readers of their own pages; but both have done infinite harm by creating a school of imitators. No young novelist should ever dare to imitate the style of Dickens. If such a one wants a model for his language, let him take Thackeray.

Bulwer, or Lord Lytton — but I think that he is still better known by his earlier name — was a man of very great parts. Better educated than either of those I have named before him, he was always able to use his erudition, and he thus produced novels from which very much not only may be but must be learned by his readers. He thoroughly35 understood the political status of his own country, a subject on which, I think, Dickens was marvellously ignorant, and which Thackeray had never studied. He had read extensively, and was always apt to give his readers the benefit of what he knew. The result has been that very much more than amusement may be obtained from Bulwer’s novels. There is also a brightness about them — the result rather of thought than of imagination, of study and of care, than of mere36 intellect — which has made many of them excellent in their way. It is perhaps improper37 to class all his novels together, as he wrote in varied38 manners, making in his earlier works, such as Pelham and Ernest Maltravers, pictures of a fictitious life, and afterwards pictures of life as he believed it to be, as in My Novel and The Caxtons. But from all of them there comes the same flavour of an effort to produce effect. The effects are produced, but it would have been better if the flavour had not been there.

I cannot say of Bulwer as I have of the other novelists whom I have named that he lived with his characters. He lived with his work, with the doctrines39 which at the time he wished to preach, thinking always of the effects which he wished to produce; but I do not think he ever knew his own personages — and therefore neither do we know them. Even Pelham and Eugene Aram are not human beings to us, as are Pickwick, and Colonel Newcombe, and Mrs. Poyser.

In his plots Bulwer has generally been simple, facile, and successful. The reader never feels with him, as he does with Wilkie Collins, that it is all plot, or, as with George Eliot, that there is no plot. The story comes naturally without calling for too much attention, and is thus proof of the completeness of the man’s intellect. His language is clear, good, intelligible40 English, but it is defaced by mannerism41. In all that he did, affectation was his fault.

How shall I speak of my dear old friend Charles Lever, and his rattling42, jolly, joyous43, swearing Irishmen. Surely never did a sense of vitality44 come so constantly from a man’s pen, nor from man’s voice, as from his! I knew him well for many years, and whether in sickness or in health, I have never come across him without finding him to be running over with wit and fun. Of all the men I have encountered, he was the surest fund of drollery. I have known many witty45 men, many who could say good things, many who would sometimes be ready to say them when wanted, though they would sometimes fail — but he never failed. Rouse him in the middle of the night, and wit would come from him before he was half awake. And yet he never monopolised the talk, was never a bore. He would take no more than his own share of the words spoken, and would yet seem to brighten all that was said during the night. His earlier novels — the later I have not read — are just like his conversation. The fun never flags, and to me, when I read them, they were never tedious. As to character he can hardly be said to have produced it. Corney Delaney, the old manservant, may perhaps be named as an exception.

Lever’s novels will not live long — even if they may be said to be alive now — because it is so. What was his manner of working I do not know, but I should think it must have been very quick, and that he never troubled himself on the subject, except when he was seated with a pen in his hand.

Charlotte Bronte was surely a marvellous woman. If it could be right to judge the work of a novelist from one small portion of one novel, and to say of an author that he is to be accounted as strong as he shows himself to be in his strongest morsel46 of work, I should be inclined to put Miss Bronte very high indeed. I know no interest more thrilling than that which she has been able to throw into the characters of Rochester and the governess, in the second volume of Jane Eyre. She lived with those characters, and felt every fibre of the heart, the longings47 of the one and the sufferings of the other. And therefore, though the end of the book is weak, and the beginning not very good, I venture to predict that Jane Eyre will be read among English novels when many whose names are now better known shall have been forgotten. Jane Eyre, and Esmond, and Adam Bede will be in the hands of our grandchildren, when Pickwick, and Pelham, and Harry48 Lorrequer are forgotten; because the men and women depicted49 are human in their aspirations50, human in their sympathies, and human in their actions.

In Vilette, too, and in Shirley, there is to be found human life as natural and as real, though in circumstances not so full of interest as those told in Jane Eyre. The character of Paul in the former of the two is a wonderful study. She must herself have been in love with some Paul when she wrote the book, and have been determined51 to prove to herself that she was capable of loving one whose exterior52 circumstances were mean and in every way unprepossessing.

There is no writer of the present day who has so much puzzled me by his eccentricities53, impracticabilities, and capabilities54 as Charles Reade. I look upon him as endowed almost with genius, but as one who has not been gifted by nature with ordinary powers of reasoning. He can see what is grandly noble and admire it with all his heart. He can see, too, what is foully55 vicious and hate it with equal ardour. But in the common affairs of life he cannot see what is right or wrong; and as he is altogether unwilling57 to be guided by the opinion of others, he is constantly making mistakes in his literary career, and subjecting himself to reproach which he hardly deserves. He means to be honest. He means to be especially honest — more honest than other people. He has written a book called The Eighth Commandment on behalf of honesty in literary transactions — a wonderful work, which has I believe been read by a very few. I never saw a copy except that in my own library, or heard of any one who knew the book. Nevertheless it is a volume that must have taken very great labour, and have been written — as indeed he declares that it was written — without the hope of pecuniary58 reward. He makes an appeal to the British Parliament and British people on behalf of literary honesty, declaring that should he fail —“I shall have to go on blushing for the people I was born among.” And yet of all the writers of my day he has seemed to me to understand literary honesty the least. On one occasion, as he tells us in this book, he bought for a certain sum from a French author the right of using a plot taken from a play — which he probably might have used without such purchase, and also without infringing59 any international copyright act. The French author not unnaturally61 praises him for the transaction, telling him that he is “un vrai gentleman.” The plot was used by Reade in a novel; and a critic discovering the adaptation, made known his discovery to the public. Whereupon the novelist became angry, called his critic a pseudonymuncle, and defended himself by stating the fact of his own purchase. In all this he seems to me to ignore what we all mean when we talk of literary plagiarism62 and literary honesty. The sin of which the author is accused is not that of taking another man’s property, but of passing off as his own creation that which he does not himself create. When an author puts his name to a book he claims to have written all that there is therein, unless he makes direct signification to the contrary. Some years subsequently there arose another similar question, in which Mr. Reade’s opinion was declared even more plainly, and certainly very much more publicly. In a tale which he wrote he inserted a dialogue which he took from Swift, and took without any acknowledgment. As might have been expected, one of the critics of the day fell foul56 of him for this barefaced63 plagiarism. The author, however, defended himself, with much abuse of the critic, by asserting, that whereas Swift had found the jewel he had supplied the setting — an argument in which there was some little wit, and would have been much excellent truth, had he given the words as belonging to Swift and not to himself.

The novels of a man possessed64 of so singular a mind must themselves be very strange — and they are strange. It has generally been his object to write down some abuse with which he has been particularly struck — the harshness, for instance, with which paupers65 or lunatics are treated, or the wickedness of certain classes — and he always, I think, leaves upon his readers an idea of great earnestness of purpose. But he has always left at the same time on my mind so strong a conviction that he has not really understood his subject, that I have ever found myself taking the part of those whom he has accused. So good a heart, and so wrong a head, surely no novelist ever before had combined! In storytelling he has occasionally been almost great. Among his novels I would especially recommend The Cloister66 and the Hearth67. I do not know that in this work, or in any, that he has left a character that will remain; but he has written some of his scenes so brightly that to read them would always be a pleasure.

Of Wilkie Collins it is impossible for a true critic not to speak with admiration68, because he has excelled all his contemporaries in a certain most difficult branch of his art; but as it is a branch which I have not myself at all cultivated, it is not unnatural60 that his work should be very much lost upon me individually. When I sit down to write a novel I do not at all know, and I do not very much care, how it is to end. Wilkie Collins seems so to construct his that he not only, before writing, plans everything on, down to the minutest detail, from the beginning to the end; but then plots it all back again, to see that there is no piece of necessary dove-tailing which does not dove-tail with absolute accuracy. The construction is most minute and most wonderful. But I can never lose the taste of the construction. The author seems always to be warning me to remember that something happened at exactly half-past two o’clock on Tuesday morning; or that a woman disappeared from the road just fifteen yards beyond the fourth mile-stone. One is constrained69 by mysteries and hemmed70 in by difficulties, knowing, however, that the mysteries will be made clear, and the difficulties overcome at the end of the third volume. Such work gives me no pleasure. I am, however, quite prepared to acknowledge that the want of pleasure comes from fault of my intellect.

There are two ladies of whom I would fain say a word, though I feel that I am making my list too long, in order that I may declare how much I have admired their work. They are Annie Thackeray and Rhoda Broughton. I have known them both, and have loved the former almost as though she belonged to me. No two writers were ever more dissimilar — except in this that they are both feminine. Miss Thackeray’s characters are sweet, charming, and quite true to human nature. In her writings she is always endeavouring to prove that good produces good, and evil evil. There is not a line of which she need be ashamed — not a sentiment of which she should not be proud. But she writes like a lazy writer who dislikes her work, and who allows her own want of energy to show itself in her pages.

Miss Broughton, on the other hand, is full of energy — though she too, I think, can become tired over her work. She, however, does take the trouble to make her personages stand upright on the ground. And she has the gift of making them speak as men and women do speak. “You beast!” said Nancy, sitting on the wall, to the man who was to be her husband — thinking that she was speaking to her brother. Now Nancy, whether right or wrong, was just the girl who would, as circumstances then were, have called her brother a beast. There is nothing wooden about any of Miss Broughton’s novels; and in these days so many novels are wooden! But they are not sweet-savoured as are those by Miss Thackeray, and are, therefore, less true to nature. In Miss Broughton’s determination not to be mawkish71 and missish, she has made her ladies do and say things which ladies would not do and say. They throw themselves at men’s heads, and when they are not accepted only think how they may throw themselves again. Miss Broughton is still so young that I hope she may live to overcome her fault in this direction.

There is one other name, without which the list of the best known English novelists of my own time would certainly be incomplete, and that is the name of the present Prime Minister of England. Mr. Disraeli has written so many novels, and has been so popular as a novelist that, whether for good or for ill, I feel myself compelled to speak of him. He began his career as an author early in life, publishing Vivian Grey when he was twenty-three years old. He was very young for such work, though hardly young enough to justify72 the excuse that he makes in his own preface, that it is a book written by a boy. Dickens was, I think, younger when he wrote his Sketches73 by Boz, and as young when he was writing the Pickwick Papers. It was hardly longer ago than the other day when Mr. Disraeli brought out Lothair, and between the two there were eight or ten others. To me they have all had the same flavour of paint and unreality. In whatever he has written he has affected74 something which has been intended to strike his readers as uncommon75 and therefore grand. Because he has been bright and a man of genius, he has carried his object as regards the young. He has struck them with astonishment76 and aroused in their imagination ideas of a world more glorious, more rich, more witty, more enterprising, than their own. But the glory has been the glory of pasteboard, and the wealth has been a wealth of tinsel. The wit has been the wit of hairdressers, and the enterprise has been the enterprise of mountebanks. An audacious conjurer has generally been his hero — some youth who, by wonderful cleverness, can obtain success by every intrigue77 that comes to his hand. Through it all there is a feeling of stage properties, a smell of hair-oil, an aspect of buhl, a remembrance of tailors, and that pricking78 of the conscience which must be the general accompaniment of paste diamonds. I can understand that Mr. Disraeli should by his novels have instigated79 many a young man and many a young woman on their way in life, but I cannot understand that he should have instigated any one to good. Vivian Grey has had probably as many followers80 as Jack81 Sheppard, and has led his followers in the same direction.

Lothair, which is as yet Mr. Disraeli’s last work, and, I think, undoubtedly82 his worst, has been defended on a plea somewhat similar to that by which he has defended Vivian Grey. As that was written when he was too young, so was the other when he was too old — too old for work of that nature, though not too old to be Prime Minister. If his mind were so occupied with greater things as to allow him to write such a work, yet his judgment should have sufficed to induce him to destroy it when written. Here that flavour of hair-oil, that flavour of false jewels, that remembrance of tailors, comes out stronger than in all the others. Lothair is falser even than Vivian Grey, and Lady Corisande, the daughter of the Duchess, more inane83 and unwomanlike than Venetia or Henrietta Temple. It is the very bathos of story-telling. I have often lamented84, and have as often excused to myself, that lack of public judgment which enables readers to put up with bad work because it comes from good or from lofty hands. I never felt the feeling so strongly, or was so little able to excuse it, as when a portion of the reading public received Lothair with satisfaction.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
2 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。
3 harmonious EdWzx     
adj.和睦的,调和的,和谐的,协调的
参考例句:
  • Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
  • The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。
4 conceits 50b473c5317ed4d9da6788be9cdeb3a8     
高傲( conceit的名词复数 ); 自以为; 巧妙的词语; 别出心裁的比喻
参考例句:
  • He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours. 他记下了闲暇时想到的一些看法。
  • The most grotesque fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. 夜晚躺在床上的时候,各种离奇怪诞的幻想纷至沓来。
5 lucid B8Zz8     
adj.明白易懂的,清晰的,头脑清楚的
参考例句:
  • His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
  • He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒,不太知道自己在哪里。
6 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
7 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
参考例句:
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
8 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨
参考例句:
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
9 intimacy z4Vxx     
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行
参考例句:
  • His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切,这有点言过其实。
  • I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。
10 fictitious 4kzxA     
adj.虚构的,假设的;空头的
参考例句:
  • She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
  • The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。
11 tellers dfec30f0d22577b72d0a03d9d5b66f1d     
n.(银行)出纳员( teller的名词复数 );(投票时的)计票员;讲故事等的人;讲述者
参考例句:
  • The tellers were calculating the votes. 计票员正在统计票数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The use of automatic tellers is particularly used in large cities. 在大城市里,还特别投入了自动出纳机。 来自辞典例句
12 terse GInz1     
adj.(说话,文笔)精炼的,简明的
参考例句:
  • Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
  • The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明,否认那些指控。
13 graphic Aedz7     
adj.生动的,形象的,绘画的,文字的,图表的
参考例句:
  • The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
  • Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。
14 dissection XtTxQ     
n.分析;解剖
参考例句:
  • A dissection of your argument shows several inconsistencies.对你论点作仔细分析后发现一些前后矛盾之处。
  • Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection.研究人员需要更多的供解剖用的尸体。
15 decadence taLyZ     
n.衰落,颓废
参考例句:
  • The decadence of morals is bad for a nation.道德的堕落对国家是不利的。
  • His article has the power to turn decadence into legend.他的文章具有化破朽为神奇的力量。
16 conspicuous spszE     
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
参考例句:
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
17 pungent ot6y7     
adj.(气味、味道)刺激性的,辛辣的;尖锐的
参考例句:
  • The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
  • Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息,迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。
18 begets 900bbe1fb1fde33a940fa4c636f3859f     
v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 );产生,引起
参考例句:
  • It begets at least seven standard type offspring from such matings. 这类交配中生下至少七个标准型后代。 来自辞典例句
  • Violence begets violence until the innocent perish with the guilty. 暴力招致暴力直到这因罪行而无缘无故的毁灭。 来自电影对白
19 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。
20 appreciation Pv9zs     
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨
参考例句:
  • I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
  • I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。
21 immoral waCx8     
adj.不道德的,淫荡的,荒淫的,有伤风化的
参考例句:
  • She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
  • It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。
22 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。
23 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。
24 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。
25 portrayed a75f5b1487928c9f7f165b2773c13036     
v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 );描述;描绘;描画
参考例句:
  • Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中,他始终把自己说成是受害者。
  • The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
26 peculiarity GiWyp     
n.独特性,特色;特殊的东西;怪癖
参考例句:
  • Each country has its own peculiarity.每个国家都有自己的独特之处。
  • The peculiarity of this shop is its day and nigth service.这家商店的特点是昼夜服务。
27 marvel b2xyG     
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事
参考例句:
  • The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
  • The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。
28 dispense lZgzh     
vt.分配,分发;配(药),发(药);实施
参考例句:
  • Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
  • The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱,可自行适当分配。
29 drollery 0r5xm     
n.开玩笑,说笑话;滑稽可笑的图画(或故事、小戏等)
参考例句:
  • We all enjoyed his drollery. 我们都欣赏他的幽默。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • "It is a bit of quiet, unassuming drollery which warms like good wine. "这是一段既不哗众取宠又不矫揉造作的滑稽表演,像美酒一样温馨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
30 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。
31 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
32 overdone 54a8692d591ace3339fb763b91574b53     
v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 );太夸张;把…煮得太久;(工作等)过度
参考例句:
  • The lust of men must not be overdone. 人们的欲望不该过分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The joke is overdone. 玩笑开得过火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
33 incompatible y8oxu     
adj.不相容的,不协调的,不相配的
参考例句:
  • His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
  • Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。
34 defiance RmSzx     
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗
参考例句:
  • He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
  • He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。
35 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。
36 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。
37 improper b9txi     
adj.不适当的,不合适的,不正确的,不合礼仪的
参考例句:
  • Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
  • Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。
38 varied giIw9     
adj.多样的,多变化的
参考例句:
  • The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
  • The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。
39 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》
40 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。
41 mannerism yBexp     
n.特殊习惯,怪癖
参考例句:
  • He has this irritating mannerism of constantly scratching his nose.他老是挠鼻子,这个习惯真让人不舒服。
  • Her British accent is just a mannerism picked up on her visit to London.她的英国口音是她访问伦敦学会的。
42 rattling 7b0e25ab43c3cc912945aafbb80e7dfd     
adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词
参考例句:
  • This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
  • At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时,一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来,把窗玻璃震得当当地响。
43 joyous d3sxB     
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的
参考例句:
  • The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
  • They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。
44 vitality lhAw8     
n.活力,生命力,效力
参考例句:
  • He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后,身强体壮,充满活力。
  • He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。
45 witty GMmz0     
adj.机智的,风趣的
参考例句:
  • Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
  • He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。
46 morsel Q14y4     
n.一口,一点点
参考例句:
  • He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
  • The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。
47 longings 093806503fd3e66647eab74915c055e7     
渴望,盼望( longing的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Ah, those foolish days of noble longings and of noble strivings! 啊,那些充满高贵憧憬和高尚奋斗的傻乎乎的时光!
  • I paint you and fashion you ever with my love longings. 我永远用爱恋的渴想来描画你。
48 harry heBxS     
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼
参考例句:
  • Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天,人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
  • Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。
49 depicted f657dbe7a96d326c889c083bf5fcaf24     
描绘,描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 ); 描述
参考例句:
  • Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
  • They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。
50 aspirations a60ebedc36cdd304870aeab399069f9e     
强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 ); 志向; 发送气音; 发 h 音
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
  • The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。
51 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
52 exterior LlYyr     
adj.外部的,外在的;表面的
参考例句:
  • The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
  • We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。
53 eccentricities 9d4f841e5aa6297cdc01f631723077d9     
n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 );反常;怪癖
参考例句:
  • My wife has many eccentricities. 我妻子有很多怪癖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • His eccentricities had earned for him the nickname"The Madman". 他的怪癖已使他得到'疯子'的绰号。 来自辞典例句
54 capabilities f7b11037f2050959293aafb493b7653c     
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力
参考例句:
  • He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大,自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
  • Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为,标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
55 foully YiIxC     
ad.卑鄙地
参考例句:
  • This internationally known writer was foully condemned by the Muslim fundamentalists. 这位国际知名的作家受到了穆斯林信徒的无礼谴责。
  • Two policemen were foully murdered. 两个警察被残忍地杀害了。
56 foul Sfnzy     
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规
参考例句:
  • Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
  • What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气!
57 unwilling CjpwB     
adj.不情愿的
参考例句:
  • The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
  • His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。
58 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。
59 infringing 9830a3397dcc37350ee4c468f7bfe45a     
v.违反(规章等)( infringe的现在分词 );侵犯(某人的权利);侵害(某人的自由、权益等)
参考例句:
  • The material can be copied without infringing copyright. 这份材料可以复制,不会侵犯版权。
  • The media is accused of infringing on people's privacy. 人们指责媒体侵犯了大家的隐私。 来自《简明英汉词典》
60 unnatural 5f2zAc     
adj.不自然的;反常的
参考例句:
  • Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗?
  • She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。
61 unnaturally 3ftzAP     
adv.违反习俗地;不自然地;勉强地;不近人情地
参考例句:
  • Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮,但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
62 plagiarism d2Pz4     
n.剽窃,抄袭
参考例句:
  • Teachers in America fight to control cheating and plagiarism.美国老师们努力对付欺骗和剽窃的问题。
  • Now he's in real trouble.He's accused of plagiarism.现在他是真遇到麻烦了。他被指控剽窃。
63 barefaced WP9yN     
adj.厚颜无耻的,公然的
参考例句:
  • It's barefaced robbery asking such a high price for that old bicycle!那辆旧自行车要价如此之高真是无耻的敲诈。
  • What barefaced cheek!真是厚颜无耻!
64 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。
65 paupers 4c4c583df03d9b7a0e9ba5a2f5e9864f     
n.穷人( pauper的名词复数 );贫民;贫穷
参考例句:
  • The garment is expensive, paupers like you could never afford it! 这件衣服很贵,你这穷鬼根本买不起! 来自互联网
  • Child-friendliest among the paupers were Burkina Faso and Malawi. 布基纳法索,马拉维,这俩贫穷国家儿童友善工作做得不错。 来自互联网
66 cloister QqJz8     
n.修道院;v.隐退,使与世隔绝
参考例句:
  • They went out into the stil,shadowy cloister garden.他们出了房间,走到那个寂静阴沉的修道院的园子里去。
  • The ancient cloister was a structure of red brick picked out with white stone.古老的修道院是一座白石衬托着的红砖建筑物。
67 hearth n5by9     
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面
参考例句:
  • She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来,在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
  • She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里,打开电灯。
68 admiration afpyA     
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
参考例句:
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
69 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。
70 hemmed 16d335eff409da16d63987f05fc78f5a     
缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 ); 包围
参考例句:
  • He hemmed and hawed but wouldn't say anything definite. 他总是哼儿哈儿的,就是不说句痛快话。
  • The soldiers were hemmed in on all sides. 士兵们被四面包围了。
71 mawkish 57Kzf     
adj.多愁善感的的;无味的
参考例句:
  • A sordid,sentimental plot unwinds,with an inevitable mawkish ending.一段灰暗而感伤的情节慢慢展开,最后是一个不可避免的幼稚可笑的结局。
  • There was nothing mawkish or funereal about the atmosphere at the weekend shows.在周末的发布会上并没有任何多愁善感或者死寂气氛。
72 justify j3DxR     
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护
参考例句:
  • He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
  • Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗?
73 sketches 8d492ee1b1a5d72e6468fd0914f4a701     
n.草图( sketch的名词复数 );素描;速写;梗概
参考例句:
  • The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
  • You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》
74 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
75 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。
76 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
77 intrigue Gaqzy     
vt.激起兴趣,迷住;vi.耍阴谋;n.阴谋,密谋
参考例句:
  • Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
  • The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。
78 pricking b0668ae926d80960b702acc7a89c84d6     
刺,刺痕,刺痛感
参考例句:
  • She felt a pricking on her scalp. 她感到头皮上被扎了一下。
  • Intercostal neuralgia causes paroxysmal burning pain or pricking pain. 肋间神经痛呈阵发性的灼痛或刺痛。
79 instigated 55d9a8c3f57ae756aae88f0b32777cd4     
v.使(某事物)开始或发生,鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The government has instigated a programme of economic reform. 政府已实施了经济改革方案。
  • He instigated the revolt. 他策动了这次叛乱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
80 followers 5c342ee9ce1bf07932a1f66af2be7652     
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件
参考例句:
  • the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
  • The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
81 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
82 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
adv.确实地,无疑地
参考例句:
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
83 inane T4mye     
adj.空虚的,愚蠢的,空洞的
参考例句:
  • She started asking me inane questions.她开始问我愚蠢的问题。
  • Such comments are inane because they don't help us solve our problem.这种评论纯属空洞之词,不能帮助我们解决问题。
84 lamented b6ae63144a98bc66c6a97351aea85970     
adj.被哀悼的,令人遗憾的v.(为…)哀悼,痛哭,悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
  • We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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