我一点一点地取得了他的信任，我钻到他心里去了。我已把他掌握得牢牢的，他会在大街上追上我，看是否能借给我几个钱花。他想叫我活下去，以便活着完成向更高阶段的过渡。我就像树上一只正在成熟的梨，我不时出现退步，吐露我需要更多的尘世的滋养—去看一次狮身人面像或是去圣阿波罗街，我知道每当肉体的要求变得太强烈、每当他变得软弱时便要去那儿。

Little by little, as I gained his confidence, I wormed my way into his heart. I had him at such a point that he would come running after me, in the street, to inquire if he could lend me a few francs. He wanted to hold me together in order to survive the transition to a higher plane. I acted like a pear that is ripening¹ on the tree. Now and then I had relapses and I would confess my need for more earthly nourishment² – a visit to the Sphinx or the Rue³ St. Apolline where I knew he repaired in weak moments when the demands of the flesh had become too vehement⁴.

　　作为画家他一钱不值，作为雕刻家他更不值钱，可他是个好管家，这也就不错了，而且他还是一个十分节俭的管家，什么都不浪费，甚至连包肉的纸也不扔。每逢星期五晚上他便为同行艺术家们打开自己的画室，有很多饮料，很好的三明治，如果偶尔剩一点什么我第二天便来把它消灭掉。

As a painter he was nil⁵; as a sculptor⁶ less than nil. He was a good housekeeper⁷, that I'll say for him. And an economical one to boot. Nothing went to waste, not even the paper that the meat was wrapped in. Friday nights he threw open his studio to his fellow artists; there was always plenty to drink and good sandwiches, and if by chance there was anything left over I would come round the next day to polish it off.

　　在布里埃舞厅后面还有一家我常去的画室，那是马克?斯威夫特的画室。假如这位刻薄的爱尔兰人不是天才当然也是一个怪才，他有一个犹太女人，是给他当模特儿的，他俩在一起已住了多年。现在他厌烦她了。正在找借口甩掉她，不过因为吃光了她当初带来的嫁妆，他现在正苦于找不到既不赔钱又能摆脱她的方法。最简单的办法莫过于同她闹翻，迫使她宁愿饿死也不再忍受他的残酷行为。

点击收听单词发音  

1 ripening
v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成
参考例句：
The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 When the summer crop is ripening, the autumn crop has to be sowed. 夏季作物成熟时，就得播种秋季作物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 nourishment
n.食物，营养品；营养情况
参考例句：
Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。 He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。

3 rue
n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔
参考例句：
You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。 You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

4 vehement
adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的
参考例句：
She made a vehement attack on the government's policies.她强烈谴责政府的政策。 His proposal met with vehement opposition.他的倡导遭到了激烈的反对。

5 nil
n.无，全无，零
参考例句：
My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。 Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

6 sculptor
n.雕刻家，雕刻家
参考例句：
A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。 The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

7 housekeeper
n.管理家务的主妇，女管家
参考例句：
A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。 She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

8 caustic
adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的
参考例句：
He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。 He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。

9 pretext
n.借口，托词
参考例句：
He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。 He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

10 ass
n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人
参考例句：
He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。 An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

11 restitution
n.赔偿；恢复原状
参考例句：
It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。 The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

12 professed
公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的
参考例句：
These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。 Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。

13 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

14 standing
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。

15 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

16 nude
adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品
参考例句：
It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。 She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

17 vengeance
n.报复，报仇，复仇
参考例句：
He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。 For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

18 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
参考例句：
She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。 Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

19 malign
adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑
参考例句：
It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。 She likes to malign innocent persons.她爱诋毁那些清白的人。

20 anterior
adj.较早的；在前的
参考例句：
We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。 The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。

21 lobe
n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶
参考例句：
Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。 The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

22 gland
n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖
参考例句：
This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。 Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

23 zigzag
n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行
参考例句：
The lightning made a zigzag in the sky.闪电在天空划出一道Z字形。 The path runs zigzag up the hill.小径向山顶蜿蜒盘旋。

24 bilious
adj.胆汁过多的；易怒的
参考例句：
The quality or condition of being bilious.多脂肪食物使有些人患胆汁病。 He was a bilious old gentleman.他是一位脾气乖戾的老先生。

25 emanate
v.发自，来自，出自
参考例句：
Waves emanate from the same atom source.波是由同一原子辐射的。 These chemicals can emanate certain poisonous gases.这些化学药品会散发出某些有毒的气味。

26 bosom
n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的
参考例句：
She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。 A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

27 distended
v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童 The balloon was distended. 气球已膨胀。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

28 swollen
adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀
参考例句：
Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。 A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

29 sewer
n.排水沟，下水道
参考例句：
They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。 The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

30 fetus
n.胎，胎儿
参考例句：
In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。 No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

31 indefatigable
adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的
参考例句：
His indefatigable spirit helped him to cope with his illness.他不屈不挠的精神帮助他对抗病魔。 He was indefatigable in his lectures on the aesthetics of love.在讲授关于爱情的美学时，他是不知疲倦的。

32 thoroughly
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。

33 determined
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。

34 incessantly
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。

35 peculiar
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。

36 sojourn
v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留
参考例句：
It would be cruel to begrudge your sojourn among flowers and fields.如果嫉妒你逗留在鲜花与田野之间，那将是太不近人情的。 I am already feeling better for my sojourn here.我在此逗留期间，觉得体力日渐恢复。

37 guzzled
v.狂吃暴饮，大吃大喝( guzzle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The children guzzled down all the cakes. 孩子们大吃一通，把蛋糕都吃光了。 来自互联网 The boys guzzled the cheap Vodka. 这些男孩狂饮廉价的伏特加酒。 来自互联网

38 afterward
adv.后来；以后
参考例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。 Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

39 fowl
n.家禽，鸡，禽肉
参考例句：
Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。 Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

40 rout
n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮
参考例句：
The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。 The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

41 overtly
ad.公开地
参考例句：
There were some overtly erotic scenes in the film. 影片中有一些公开色情场面。 Nietzsche rejected God's law and wrote some overtly blasphemous things. 尼采拒绝上帝的律法，并且写了一些渎神的作品。

42 bum
n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨
参考例句：
A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。 The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

43 ailed
v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳
参考例句：
Never in his life had Robin ailed before. 罗宾过去从未生过病。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I wasn't in form, that's what ailed me.\" 我的竞技状态不佳，我输就输在这一点上。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

44 stamina
n.体力；精力；耐力
参考例句：
I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。 Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

45 possessed
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。

46 broths
n.肉汤( broth的名词复数 )；厨师多了烧坏汤；人多手杂反坏事；人多添乱
参考例句：
Other ingredients commonly used to thicken soups and broths include rice, flour and grains. 其它用来使羹汤或高汤变浓的配料通常包括米，面粉和谷物。 来自互联网 When meat products, especially broths, are cooked, they often have lower oxidation-reduction potentials. 肉制品尤其是当肉汤被蒸煮时，它们经常有较低的氧化还原电势。 来自互联网

47 verge
n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

48 connoisseurs
n.鉴赏家，鉴定家，行家( connoisseur的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Let us go, before we offend the connoisseurs. 咱们走吧，免得我们惹恼了收藏家。 来自辞典例句 The connoisseurs often associate it with a blackcurrant flavor. 葡萄酒鉴赏家们通常会将它跟黑醋栗口味联系起来。 来自互联网

49 clout
n.用手猛击；权力，影响力
参考例句：
The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。 He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

50 jaw
n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训
参考例句：
He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。 A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

51 prostrate
v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的
参考例句：
She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。 The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

52 coax
v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取
参考例句：
I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。 He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

53 muster
v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册
参考例句：
Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。 I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

54 prospects
n.希望，前途(恒为复数)
参考例句：
There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。 They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

55 agitation
n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动
参考例句：
Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。 These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

56 murmur
n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言
参考例句：
They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。 There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

57 bastard
n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子
参考例句：
He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。 There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

58 hoisted
把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。 The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

59 softened
（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰
参考例句：
His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。 The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

60 considerably
adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上
参考例句：
The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。 The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

61 croak
vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚
参考例句：
Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲，想发发牢骚。 Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。