Madame Ceres.

“Only extreme things are tolerable.”

Count Robert de Montesquiou.
I.
Madame Clarence’s Drawing-Room.

MADAME CLARENCE the widow of an exalted¹ functionary² of the Republic, loved to entertain. Every Thursday she collected together some friends of modest condition who took pleasure in conversation. The ladies who went to see her, very different in age and rank, were all without money and had all suffered much. There was a duchess who looked like a fortune-teller and a fortune-teller who looked like a duchess. Madame Clarence was pretty enough to maintain some old liaisons³ but not to form new ones, and she generally inspired a quiet esteem⁴. She had a very pretty daughter, who, since she had no dower, caused some alarm among the male guests; for the Penguins⁵ were as much afraid of portionless girls as they were of the devil himself. Eveline Clarence, noticing their reserve and perceiving its cause, used to hand them their tea with an air of disdain⁶. Moreover, she seldom appeared at the parties and talked only to the ladies or the very young people. Her discreet⁷ and retiring presence put no restraint upon the conversation, since those who took part in it thought either that as she was a young girl she would not understand it, or that, being twenty-five years old, she might listen to everything.

One Thursday therefore, in Madame Clarence’s drawing-room, the conversation turned upon love. The ladies spoke⁸ of it with pride, delicacy⁹? and mystery, the men with discretion10

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1 exalted
adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的
参考例句：
Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。 He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

2 functionary
n.官员；公职人员
参考例句：
No functionary may support or cover up unfair competition acts.国家官员不得支持、包庇不正当竞争行为。 " Emigrant," said the functionary,"I am going to send you on to Paris,under an escort."“ 外逃分子，”那官员说，“我要把你送到巴黎去，还派人护送。”

3 liaisons
n.联络( liaison的名词复数 )；联络人；（尤指一方或双方已婚的）私通；组织单位间的交流与合作
参考例句：
She embarked on a series of sexual liaisons with society figures. 她开始接二连三地与社会名流有染。 来自辞典例句 One of Wentworth's favorite movies is Dangerous Liaisons. went最喜欢的电影之一是《危险关系》。 来自互联网

4 esteem
n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。 The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

5 penguins
n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》 Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 disdain
n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑
参考例句：
Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。 A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

7 discreet
adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的
参考例句：
He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。 It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

8 spoke
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。

9 delicacy
n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴
参考例句：
We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。 He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

10 discretion
n.谨慎；随意处理
参考例句：
You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。 Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

11 fatuity
n.愚蠢，愚昧
参考例句：
This is no doubt the first step out of confusion and fatuity.这无疑是摆脱混乱与愚味的第一步。 Therefore,ignorance of history often leads to fatuity in politics.历史的无知，往往导致政治上的昏庸。

12 forth
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。

13 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。

14 effaced
v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色
参考例句：
Someone has effaced part of the address on his letter. 有人把他信上的一部分地址擦掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The name of the ship had been effaced from the menus. 那艘船的名字已经从菜单中删除了。 来自辞典例句

15 antiquity
n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹
参考例句：
The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。 There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

16 incurring
遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 He spoke to the Don directly, taking a chance on incurring Michael's ill will. 他直接向老头子谈自己的意见，这显然要冒引起迈克尔反感的风险。 来自教父部分

17 absurdities
n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为
参考例句：
She has a sharp eye for social absurdities, and compassion for the victims of social change. 她独具慧眼，能够看到社会上荒唐的事情，对于社会变革的受害者寄以同情。 来自辞典例句 The absurdities he uttered at the dinner party landed his wife in an awkward situation. 他在宴会上讲的荒唐话使他太太陷入窘境。 来自辞典例句

18 diminution
n.减少；变小
参考例句：
They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。 He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

19 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。

20 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。

21 warriors
武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )
参考例句：
I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。 The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

22 maidens
处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球
参考例句：
stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事 Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

23 metaphors
隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 )
参考例句：
I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。 Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。

24 conceal
v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽
参考例句：
He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。 He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

25 treasurer
n.司库，财务主管
参考例句：
Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。 The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

26 tragical
adj. 悲剧的, 悲剧性的
参考例句：
One day she was pink and flawless; another pale and tragical. 有的时候，她就娇妍、完美；另有的时候，她就灰白戚楚。 Even Mr. Clare began to feel tragical at the dairyman's desperation. 连克莱先生看到牛奶商这样无计奈何的样子，都觉得凄惨起来。

27 misuse
n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用
参考例句：
It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。 He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

28 faculty
n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员
参考例句：
He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。 He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

29 incongruities
n.不协调( incongruity的名词复数 )；不一致；不适合；不协调的东西
参考例句：
The maid's vigilance had always spared her the sight of such incongruities. 女仆一向非常小心，不让她看到这种使她不快的景象。 来自辞典例句 Western humour was bound to reflect these incongruities. 西部幽默当然会反映这些滑稽可笑的东西。 来自辞典例句

30 prospectuses
n.章程，简章，简介( prospectus的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Forms and prospectuses will be available at53 bank branches. 申请表和招股书可于五十三家银行分行索取。 来自互联网 Galaxy Yintai fiscal dividend securities investment funds to update placement prospectuses. 银河银泰理财分红证券投资基金更新招募说明书。 来自互联网

31 prominence
n.突出；显著；杰出；重要
参考例句：
He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。 This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

32 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

33 obstinate
adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的
参考例句：
She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。 The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

34 temperament
n.气质，性格，性情
参考例句：
The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。 Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

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