The People of the Abyss 深渊居民
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Chapter 2 Johnny Upright

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I shall not give you the address of Johnny Upright. Let it suffice that he lives in the most respectable street in the East End — a street that would be considered very mean in America, but a veritable oasis1 in the desert of East London. It is surrounded on every side by close-packed squalor and streets jammed by a young and vile2 and dirty generation; but its own pavements are comparatively bare of the children who have no other place to play, while it has an air of desertion, so few are the people that come and go.

Each house in this street, as in all the streets, is shoulder to shoulder with its neighbours. To each house there is but one entrance, the front door; and each house is about eighteen feet wide, with a bit of a brick-walled yard behind, where, when it is not raining, one may look at a slate-coloured sky. But it must be understood that this is East End opulence3 we are now considering. Some of the people in this street are even so well-to-do as to keep a “slavey.” Johnny Upright keeps one, as I well know, she being my first acquaintance in this particular portion of the world.

To Johnny Upright’s house I came, and to the door came the “slavey.” Now, mark you, her position in life was pitiable and contemptible4, but it was with pity and contempt that she looked at me. She evinced a plain desire that our conversation should be short. It was Sunday, and Johnny Upright was not at home, and that was all there was to it. But I lingered, discussing whether or not it was all there was to it, till Mrs. Johnny Upright was attracted to the door, where she scolded the girl for not having closed it before turning her attention to me.

No, Mr. Johnny Upright was not at home, and further, he saw nobody on Sunday. It is too bad, said I. Was I looking for work? No, quite the contrary; in fact, I had come to see Johnny Upright on business which might be profitable to him.

A change came over the face of things at once. The gentleman in question was at church, but would be home in an hour or thereabouts, when no doubt he could be seen.

Would I kindly5 step in? — no, the lady did not ask me, though I fished for an invitation by stating that I would go down to the corner and wait in a public-house. And down to the corner I went, but, it being church time, the “pub” was closed. A
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1 oasis p5Kz0     
n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方
参考例句：
  • They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
  • The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。
2 vile YLWz0     
adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的
参考例句：
  • Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
  • Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。
3 opulence N0TyJ     
n.财富，富裕
参考例句：
  • His eyes had never beheld such opulence.他从未见过这样的财富。
  • He owes his opulence to work hard.他的财富乃辛勤工作得来。
4 contemptible DpRzO     
adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的
参考例句：
  • His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
  • That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。
5 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
6 miserable g18yk     
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。
7 drizzle Mrdxn     
v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨
参考例句：
  • The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小，最后变成了毛毛雨。
  • Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨，今天果然下起来了。
8 frowzy ahfxo     
adj.不整洁的；污秽的
参考例句：
  • The drowsy browser knits its brows to browbeat the frowzy crow.昏昏欲睡的吃草动物皱眉头恐吓邋遢的乌鸦。
  • The frowzy street was disgusting.那条肮脏的街道令人作呕。
9 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句：
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
10 spoke XryyC     
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
11 eloquent ymLyN     
adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的
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。
  • These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。
12 expressive shwz4     
adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的
参考例句：
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。
13 ushered d337b3442ea0cc4312a5950ae8911282     
v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
  • A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 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。
15 garb JhYxN     
n.服装，装束
参考例句：
  • He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
  • Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。
16 civilisation civilisation     
n.文明，文化，开化，教化
参考例句：
  • Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
  • This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。
17 dilemma Vlzzf     
n.困境，进退两难的局面
参考例句：
  • I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
  • He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。
18 lodging wRgz9     
n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍
参考例句：
  • The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
  • Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?
19 landlady t2ZxE     
n.女房东，女地主
参考例句：
  • I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
  • The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。
20 lodgers 873866fb939d5ab097342b033a0e269d     
n.房客，租住者( lodger的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • He takes in lodgers. 他招收房客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A good proportion of my lodgers is connected with the theaters. 住客里面有不少人是跟戏院子有往来的。 来自辞典例句
21 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍
参考例句：
  • When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
  • I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。
22 felon rk2xg     
n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的
参考例句：
  • He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
  • Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。
23 doomed EuuzC1     
命定的
参考例句：
  • The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
  • A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。
24 utterly ZfpzM1     
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
  • Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
  • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
25 vouchsafe uMZzz     
v.惠予，准许
参考例句：
  • Elinor would not vouchsafe any answer.埃莉诺不想给予任何回答。
  • Vouchsafe me a spirit of faith and knowledge.赐予我信心和一颗有知识的心灵。
26 withheld f9d7381abd94e53d1fbd8a4e53915ec8     
withhold过去式及过去分词
参考例句：
  • I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
27 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。
28 dodged ae7efa6756c9d8f3b24f8e00db5e28ee     
v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避
参考例句：
  • He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 garbed 444f7292bad50cd579f38d7c8c5f1345     
v.（尤指某类人穿的特定）服装，衣服，制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The widow was garbed in black. 那寡妇穿着黑衣服。 来自辞典例句
  • He garbed himself as a sailor. 他装扮成水手。 来自辞典例句
30 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。
31 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。
32 refinement kinyX     
n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼
参考例句：
  • Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。
  • Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。
33 ragged KC0y8     
adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的
参考例句：
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

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