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VII THE POSTMASTER
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The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo1 factory near by, and the proprietor2, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, slimy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense4 growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure; moreover, they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept5 in the art of associating with others. Among strangers he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate, the postmaster had but little company; nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and the clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy—such [Pg 116] were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie6 of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.
The postmaster's salary was small. He had to cook his own meals, which he used to share with Ratan, an orphan7 girl of the village, who did odd jobs for him.
When in the evening the smoke began to curl up from the village cowsheds, and the cicalas chirped9 in every bush; when the mendicants of the Baül sect10 sang their shrill11
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1 indigo | |
n.靛青,靛蓝 | |
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2 proprietor | |
n.所有人;业主;经营者 | |
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3 thatch | |
vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部;n.茅草(屋) | |
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4 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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5 adept | |
adj.老练的,精通的 | |
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6 genie | |
n.妖怪,神怪 | |
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7 orphan | |
n.孤儿;adj.无父母的 | |
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8 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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9 chirped | |
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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10 sect | |
n.派别,宗教,学派,派系 | |
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11 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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12 thickets | |
n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 );丛状物 | |
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13 conversing | |
v.交谈,谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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14 recollected | |
adj.冷静的;镇定的;被回忆起的;沉思默想的v.记起,想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15 vividly | |
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地 | |
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16 twig | |
n.小树枝,嫩枝;v.理解 | |
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17 allude | |
v.提及,暗指 | |
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18 persistent | |
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 | |
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19 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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20 shimmer | |
v./n.发微光,发闪光;微光 | |
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21 interval | |
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
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22 sprawling | |
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着) | |
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23 unripe | |
adj.未成熟的;n.未成熟 | |
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24 consonants | |
n.辅音,子音( consonant的名词复数 );辅音字母 | |
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25 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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26 croaking | |
v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 );用粗的声音说 | |
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27 marketing | |
n.行销,在市场的买卖,买东西 | |
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28 plaintive | |
adj.可怜的,伤心的 | |
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29 ailing | |
v.生病 | |
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30 tinkling | |
n.丁当作响声 | |
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31 bracelets | |
n.手镯,臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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32 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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33 gruel | |
n.稀饭,粥 | |
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34 furtively | |
adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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35 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 | |
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36 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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37 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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38 absurdity | |
n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论 | |
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39 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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40 pitchers | |
大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 ) | |
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41 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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42 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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43 incumbent | |
adj.成为责任的,有义务的;现任的,在职的 | |
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44 swirled | |
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45 sobbed | |
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说 | |
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46 pervading | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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47 Forsaken | |
adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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48 philosophical | |
adj.哲学家的,哲学上的,达观的 | |
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49 lurking | |
潜在 | |
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50 dictates | |
n.命令,规定,要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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51 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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52 awakening | |
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的 | |
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53 longing | |
n.(for)渴望 | |
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54 maze | |
n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑 | |
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55 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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56 specially | |
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地 | |
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57 plural | |
n.复数;复数形式;adj.复数的 | |
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58 boycott | |
n./v.(联合)抵制,拒绝参与 | |
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59 prelude | |
n.序言,前兆,序曲 | |
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60 elude | |
v.躲避,困惑 | |
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61 delude | |
vt.欺骗;哄骗 | |
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62 elusive | |
adj.难以表达(捉摸)的;令人困惑的;逃避的 | |
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63 allusion | |
n.暗示,间接提示 | |
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64 Portuguese | |
n.葡萄牙人;葡萄牙语 | |
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65 vowels | |
n.元音,元音字母( vowel的名词复数 ) | |
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66 dissonant | |
adj.不和谐的;不悦耳的 | |
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67 sonorous | |
adj.响亮的,回响的;adv.圆润低沉地;感人地;n.感人,堂皇 | |
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68 sonata | |
n.奏鸣曲 | |
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69 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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70 chivalry | |
n.骑士气概,侠义;(男人)对女人彬彬有礼,献殷勤 | |
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71 ward | |
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开 | |
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72 hybrid | |
n.(动,植)杂种,混合物 | |
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73 automobile | |
n.汽车,机动车 | |
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VI SUBHA
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VIII THE CASTAWAY
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