21
Five Upper Cathcart Road, Tooting, seemed an incongruous home for a
satiric1 playwright2. The room into which Sir Charles was shown had walls of a rather drab oatmeal colour with a
frieze3 of laburnum round the top. The curtains were of rose-coloured
velvet4, there were a lot of photographs and china dogs, the telephone was coyly hidden by a lady with
ruffled5 skirts, there were a great many little tables and some suspicious-looking brasswork from Birmingham via the Far East.
Miss Wills entered the room so noiselessly that Sir Charles, who was at the moment examining a ridiculously
elongated7 pierrot doll lying across the sofa, did not hear her. Her thin voice saying, “How d’you do, Sir Charles. This is really a great pleasure,” made him spin round.
Miss Wills was dressed in a limp jumper suit which hung
disconsolately8 on her angular form. Her stockings were slightly wrinkled, and she had on very high-heeled patent leather
slippers9.
“Fancy you finding me out here,” said Miss Wills. “My mother will be ever so excited. She just adores the theatre - especially anything romantic. That play where you were a Prince at a University - she’s often talked of it. She goes to matinees, you know, and eats chocolates - she’s one of that kind. And she does love it.”
“How delightful,” said Sir Charles. “You don’t know how charming it is to be remembered. The public memory is short!” He sighed.
“She’ll be thrilled at meeting you,” said Miss Wills. “Miss Sutcliffe came the other day, and Mother was thrilled at meeting her.”
“Angela was here?”
“Yes. She’s putting on a play of mine, you know: Little Dog
Laughed.”
“Of course,” said Sir Charles. “I’ve read about it. Rather
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收听单词发音
1
satiric
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adj.讽刺的,挖苦的 |
参考例句: |
- Looking at her satiric parent she only gave a little laugh.她望着她那挖苦人的父亲,只讪讪地笑了一下。
- His satiric poem spared neither the politicians nor the merchants.政客们和商人们都未能免于遭受他的诗篇的讽刺。
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2
playwright
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n.剧作家,编写剧本的人 |
参考例句: |
- Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
- The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。
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3
frieze
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n.(墙上的)横饰带,雕带 |
参考例句: |
- The Corinthian painter's primary ornamental device was the animal frieze.科林斯画家最初的装饰图案是动物形象的装饰带。
- A careful reconstruction of the frieze is a persuasive reason for visiting Liverpool. 这次能让游客走访利物浦展览会,其中一个具有说服力的原因则是壁画得到了精心的重建。
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4
velvet
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n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 |
参考例句: |
- This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
- The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。
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5
ruffled
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adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的
动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 |
参考例句: |
- She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
- All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。
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6
brass
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n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 |
参考例句: |
- Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
- Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
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7
elongated
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v.延长,加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- Modigliani's women have strangely elongated faces. 莫迪里阿尼画中的妇女都长着奇长无比的脸。
- A piece of rubber can be elongated by streching. 一块橡皮可以拉长。 来自《用法词典》
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8
disconsolately
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adv.悲伤地,愁闷地;哭丧着脸 |
参考例句: |
- A dilapidated house stands disconsolately amid the rubbles. 一栋破旧的房子凄凉地耸立在断垣残壁中。 来自辞典例句
- \"I suppose you have to have some friends before you can get in,'she added, disconsolately. “我看得先有些朋友才能进这一行,\"她闷闷不乐地加了一句。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
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9
slippers
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n. 拖鞋 |
参考例句: |
- a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
- He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
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10
intriguing
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adj.有趣的;迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词);激起…的好奇心 |
参考例句: |
- These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
- It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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11
revolves
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v.(使)旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 );细想 |
参考例句: |
- The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是,轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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12
fiddling
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微小的 |
参考例句: |
- He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
- All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦
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13
witty
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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。
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14
cynical
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adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的 |
参考例句: |
- The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大,他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
- He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
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15
prying
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adj.爱打听的v.打听,刺探(他人的私事)( pry的现在分词 );撬开 |
参考例句: |
- I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活!
- She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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virtuously
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合乎道德地,善良地 |
参考例句: |
- Pro31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 箴31:29说,才德的女子很多,惟独你超过一切。
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17
giggled
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v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
- The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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18
odds
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n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别 |
参考例句: |
- The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
- Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
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horrid
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adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的 |
参考例句: |
- I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
- The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
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20
bog
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n.沼泽;室...陷入泥淖 |
参考例句: |
- We were able to pass him a rope before the bog sucked him under.我们终于得以在沼泽把他吞没前把绳子扔给他。
- The path goes across an area of bog.这条小路穿过一片沼泽。
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remarkable
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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。
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cuffs
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n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打,拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) |
参考例句: |
- a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
- The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。
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villain
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n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 |
参考例句: |
- He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
- The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。
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lamentably
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adv.哀伤地,拙劣地 |
参考例句: |
- Aviation was lamentably weak and primitive. 航空设施极其薄弱简陋。 来自辞典例句
- Poor Tom lamentably disgraced himself at Sir Charles Mirable's table, by premature inebriation. 可怜的汤姆在查尔斯·米拉贝尔爵士的宴会上,终于入席不久就酩酊大醉,弄得出丑露乖,丢尽了脸皮。 来自辞典例句
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curiously
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adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 |
参考例句: |
- He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
- He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
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arthritis
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n.关节炎 |
参考例句: |
- Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
- He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎,在医院住了三个月。
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gore
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n.凝血,血污;v.(动物)用角撞伤,用牙刺破;缝以补裆;顶 |
参考例句: |
- The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
- Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。
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tack
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n.大头钉;假缝,粗缝 |
参考例句: |
- He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
- We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。
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29
breakdown
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n.垮,衰竭;损坏,故障,倒塌 |
参考例句: |
- She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
- The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障,但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。
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30
flicker
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vi./n.闪烁,摇曳,闪现 |
参考例句: |
- There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
- At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时,光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现,几乎并不灿烂。
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primly
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adv.循规蹈矩地,整洁地 |
参考例句: |
- He didn't reply, but just smiled primly. 他没回答,只是拘谨地笑了笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He wore prim suits with neckties set primly against the collar buttons of his white shirts. 他穿着整洁的外套,领结紧贴着白色衬衫领口的钮扣。 来自互联网
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personalities
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n. 诽谤,(对某人容貌、性格等所进行的)人身攻击; 人身攻击;人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
- Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。
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sufficiently
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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。
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brutally
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adv.残忍地,野蛮地,冷酷无情地 |
参考例句: |
- The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
- A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。
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portrayed
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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》
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analytical
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adj.分析的;用分析法的 |
参考例句: |
- I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
- As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。
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dictate
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v.口授;(使)听写;指令,指示,命令 |
参考例句: |
- It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
- What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令?
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impulsive
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adj.冲动的,刺激的;有推动力的 |
参考例句: |
- She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
- He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人,也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。
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39
atrocity
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n.残暴,暴行 |
参考例句: |
- These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
- I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。
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40
standing
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n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 |
参考例句: |
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
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41
malice
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n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 |
参考例句: |
- I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
- There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。
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