I was talking with a very vindictive¹ man. In his opinion, his wife had wronged him and the law had wronged him. The merits and morals of the case are immaterial. The meat of the matter is that she had obtained a separation, and he was compelled to pay ten shillings each week for the support of her and the five children. “But look you,” said he to me, “wot’ll ’appen to ’er if I don’t py up the ten shillings? S’posin’, now, just s’posin’ a accident ’appens to me, so I cawn’t work. S’posin’ I get a rupture³, or the rheumatics, or the cholera⁴. Wot’s she goin’ to do, eh? Wot’s she goin’ to do?”

He shook his head sadly. “No ’ope for ’er. The best she cawn do is the work’ouse, an’ that’s ’ell. An’ if she don’t go to the work’ouse, it’ll be a worse ’ell. Come along ’ith me an’ I’ll show you women sleepin’ in a passage, a dozen of ’em. An’ I’ll show you worse, wot she’ll come to if anythin’ ’appens to me and the ten shillings.”

The certitude of this man’s forecast is worthy⁵ of consideration. He knew conditions sufficiently⁶ to know the precariousness⁸ of his wife’s grasp on food and shelter. For her game was up when his working capacity was impaired⁹ or destroyed. And when this state of affairs is looked at in its larger aspect, the same will be found true of hundreds of thousands and even millions of men and women living amicably¹⁰ together and co-operating in the pursuit of food and shelter.

The figures are appalling

首页  上一页 [1] [2]  [3]  下一页  尾页

点击收听单词发音  

1 vindictive
adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的
参考例句：
I have no vindictive feelings about it.我对此没有恶意。 The vindictive little girl tore up her sister's papers.那个充满报复心的小女孩撕破了她姐姐的作业。

2 den
n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室
参考例句：
There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。 The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

3 rupture
n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂
参考例句：
I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。 The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

4 cholera
n.霍乱
参考例句：
The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。 Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

5 worthy
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。 There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

6 sufficiently
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。

7 precarious
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。

8 precariousness
参考例句：
The precariousness is further increased by self-experiences in the aforementioned marginal situation. 在上述边际情况下自身经验会更进一步增加这种不确定感。 来自互联网 These reports have revealed to the insurgents the precariousness of their position. 这些报导使叛乱士兵知道了他们的危险境地。 来自互联网

9 impaired
adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 amicably
adv.友善地
参考例句：
Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The couple parted amicably. 这对夫妻客气地分手了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 appalling
adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的
参考例句：
The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。 Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

12 pauperism
n.有被救济的资格，贫困
参考例句：
He becomes a pauper, and pauperism develops more rapidly than population and wealth. 工人变成赤贫者，贫困比人口和财富增长得还要快。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言 Their women and children suffer, and their old age is branded with pauperism. 他们的妻儿受苦，他们的晚年注定要依靠救济过活。 来自辞典例句

13 pauper
n.贫民，被救济者，穷人
参考例句：
You lived like a pauper when you had plenty of money.你有大把钱的时候，也活得像个乞丐。 If you work conscientiously you'll only die a pauper.你按部就班地干，做到老也是穷死。

14 paupers
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

15 ragged
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。

16 asylums
n.避难所( asylum的名词复数 )；庇护；政治避难；精神病院
参考例句：
No wonder Mama says love drives people into asylums. 难怪南蛮妈妈说，爱情会让人变成疯子。 来自互联网

17 proximity
n.接近，邻近
参考例句：
Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。 Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

18 invoicing
货品计价
参考例句：
We're also responsible for invoicing customers, and for credit control. 我们也负责给顾客开发票，和信贷控制。 来自实用商务英语会话 The government sets base import prices to check under-invoicing from exporters. 印度政府设定进口基价是为了制止出口商少开发票金额。

19 inmate
n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人
参考例句：
I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。 The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

20 magistrate
n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官
参考例句：
The magistrate committed him to prison for a month.法官判处他一个月监禁。 John was fined 1000 dollars by the magistrate.约翰被地方法官罚款1000美元。

21 blistered
adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂
参考例句：
He had a blistered heel. 他的脚后跟起了泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Their hands blistered, but no one complained. 他们手起了泡，可是没有一个人有怨言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 implement
n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行
参考例句：
Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。 The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

23 ticklish
adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理
参考例句：
This massage method is not recommended for anyone who is very ticklish.这种按摩法不推荐给怕痒的人使用。 The news is quite ticklish to the ear,这消息听起来使人觉得有些难办。

24 juvenile
n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的
参考例句：
For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。 Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

25 vile
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。

26 eke
v.勉强度日，节约使用
参考例句：
They had to eke out a livinga tiny income.他们不得不靠微薄收入勉强度日。 We must try to eke out our water supply.我们必须尽量节约用水。

27 earnings
n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得
参考例句：
That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。 Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

28 miserably
adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地
参考例句：
The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。 It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 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。

30 guardians
监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者
参考例句：
Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。 The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

31 maker
n.制造者，制造商
参考例句：
He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。 A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

32 annually
adv.一年一次，每年
参考例句：
Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。 They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

33 permanently
adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地
参考例句：
The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。 The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

34 partially
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。

35 ghetto
n.少数民族聚居区，贫民区
参考例句：
Racism and crime still flourish in the ghetto.城市贫民区的种族主义和犯罪仍然十分猖獗。 I saw that achievement as a possible pattern for the entire ghetto.我把获得的成就看作整个黑人区可以仿效的榜样。

36 insignificance
n.不重要；无价值；无意义
参考例句：
Her insignificance in the presence of so much magnificence faintly affected her. "她想象着他所描绘的一切，心里不禁有些刺痛。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 It was above the common mass, above idleness, above want, above insignificance. 这里没有平凡，没有懒散，没有贫困，也没有低微。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

37 warfare
n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突
参考例句：
He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。 Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

38 ferociously
野蛮地，残忍地
参考例句：
The buck shook his antlers ferociously. 那雄鹿猛烈地摇动他的鹿角。 At intervals, he gritted his teeth ferociously. 他不时狠狠的轧平。

39 aged
adj.年老的，陈年的
参考例句：
He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。 He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

40 slaughter
n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀
参考例句：
I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。 Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

41 havoc
n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱
参考例句：
The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。 This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

42 substantiation
n. 实体化, 证实, 证明
参考例句：
To prove the point, again we need only look for substantiation to Japan, China, and the international situation. 要证明这一点，仍不外向日本、中国、国际三方面找根据。 Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 1信就是所望之事的质实，是未见之事的确证。

43 dwellings
n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。 The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

44 foul
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！

45 saturated
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

46 porous
adj.可渗透的，多孔的
参考例句：
He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。 The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

47 testimony
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。

48 susceptible
adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的
参考例句：
Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。 We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

49 countless
adj.无数的，多得不计其数的
参考例句：
In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。 I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

50 linen
n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的
参考例句：
The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。 Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

51 pneumonia
n.肺炎
参考例句：
Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。 Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

52 rheumatism
n.风湿病
参考例句：
The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。 The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。

53 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。 His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

54 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。 Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

55 intensity
n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度
参考例句：
I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。 The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

56 adviser
n.劝告者，顾问
参考例句：
They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。 Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

57 purely
adv.纯粹地，完全地
参考例句：
I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。 This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

58 regained
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地
参考例句：
The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。 She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

59 delirious
adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的
参考例句：
He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。 She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。

60 mania
n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好
参考例句：
Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。 Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

61 sullen
adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句：
He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。 Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

62 coma
n.昏迷，昏迷状态
参考例句：
The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。 She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

63 subside
vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降
参考例句：
The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。 The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

64 infancy
n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期
参考例句：
He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。 Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

65 prematurely
adv.过早地，贸然地
参考例句：
She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》 His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

66 ware
n.(常用复数)商品，货物
参考例句：
The shop sells a great variety of porcelain ware.这家店铺出售品种繁多的瓷器。 Good ware will never want a chapman.好货不须叫卖。

67 concealed
a.隐藏的，隐蔽的
参考例句：
The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。 I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

68 hurling
n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂
参考例句：
The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

69 misery
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。

70 ravages
劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹
参考例句：
the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难 It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。

71 stagnated
v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句 His mind has stagnated since his retirement. 他退休后头脑迟钝了。 来自辞典例句

72 shipping
n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）
参考例句：
We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。 There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

73 solvent
n.溶剂；adj.有偿付能力的
参考例句：
Gasoline is a solvent liquid which removes grease spots.汽油是一种能去掉油污的有溶解力的液体。 A bankrupt company is not solvent.一个破产的公司是没有偿还债务的能力的。

74 fend
v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开
参考例句：
I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。 He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

75 wiles
n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 )
参考例句：
All her wiles were to persuade them to buy the goods. 她花言巧语想打动他们买这些货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The woman used all her wiles to tempt him into following her. 那女人用尽了自己的诱骗本领勾引着他尾随而去。 来自《用法词典》

76 evade
vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避
参考例句：
He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。 You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

77 odds
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？

78 favourably
adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably
参考例句：
The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。 The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

分享到：