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Chapter I The Man Who Died
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I returned from the City about three o’clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life. I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would have been feeling like that I should have laughed at him; but there was the fact. The weather made me liverish, the talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick. I couldn’t get enough exercise, and the amusements of London seemed as flat as soda-water that has been standing1 in the sun. “Richard Hannay,” I kept telling myself, “you have got into the wrong ditch, my friend, and you had better climb out.”
It made me bite my lips to think of the plans I had been building up those last years in Buluwayo. I had got my pile—not one of the big ones, but good enough for me; and I had figured out all kinds of ways of enjoying myself. My father had brought me out from Scotland at the age of six, and I had never been home since; so England was a sort of Arabian Nights to me, and I counted on stopping there for the rest of my days.
But from the first I was disappointed with it. In about a week I was tired of seeing sights, and in less than a month I had had enough of restaurants and theatres and race-meetings. I had no real pal3 to go about with, which probably explains things. Plenty of people invited me to their houses, but they didn’t seem much interested in me. They would fling me a question or two about South Africa, and then get on to their own affairs. A lot of Imperialist ladies asked me to tea to meet schoolmasters from New Zealand and editors from Vancouver, and that was the dismalest business of all. Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb, with enough money to have a good time, yawning my head off all day. I had just about settled to clear out and get back to the veld, for I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom.
That afternoon I had been worrying my brokers4 about investments to give my mind something to work on, and on my way home I turned into my club—rather a pot-house, which took in Colonial members. I had a long drink, and read the evening papers. They were full of the row in the Near East, and there was an article about Karolides, the Greek Premier5. I rather fancied the chap. From all accounts he seemed the one big man in the show; and he played a straight game too, which was more than could be said for most of them. I gathered that they hated him pretty blackly in Berlin and Vienna, but that we were going to stick by him, and one paper said that he was the only barrier between Europe and Armageddon. I remember wondering if I could get a job in those parts. It struck me that Albania was the sort of place that might keep a man from yawning.
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standing
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n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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ace
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n.A牌;发球得分;佼佼者;adj.杰出的 | |
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pal
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n.朋友,伙伴,同志;vi.结为友 | |
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brokers
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n.(股票、外币等)经纪人( broker的名词复数 );中间人;代理商;(订合同的)中人v.做掮客(或中人等)( broker的第三人称单数 );作为权力经纪人进行谈判;以中间人等身份安排… | |
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premier
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adj.首要的;n.总理,首相 | |
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cape
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n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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capering
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v.跳跃,雀跃( caper的现在分词 );蹦蹦跳跳 | |
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chattering
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n. (机器振动发出的)咔嗒声,(鸟等)鸣,啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的,啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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Oxford
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n.牛津(英国城市) | |
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vow
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n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓 | |
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premises
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n.建筑物,房屋 | |
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feverishly
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adv. 兴奋地 | |
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humbly
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adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
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mighty
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adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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gulps
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n.一大口(尤指液体)( gulp的名词复数 )v.狼吞虎咽地吃,吞咽( gulp的第三人称单数 );大口地吸(气);哽住 | |
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rattled
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慌乱的,恼火的 | |
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flickered
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(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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drawn
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v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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confide
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v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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yarn
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n.纱,纱线,纺线;奇闻漫谈,旅行轶事 | |
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brace
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n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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gist
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n.要旨;梗概 | |
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linguist
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n.语言学家;精通数种外国语言者 | |
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spoke
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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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subterranean
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adj.地下的,地表下的 | |
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anarchist
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n.无政府主义者 | |
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anarchists
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无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 ) | |
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conspiracy
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n.阴谋,密谋,共谋 | |
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wreckage
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n.(失事飞机等的)残骸,破坏,毁坏 | |
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persecuted
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(尤指宗教或政治信仰的)迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 ); 烦扰,困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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hog
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n.猪;馋嘴贪吃的人;vt.把…占为己有,独占 | |
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outraged
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a.震惊的,义愤填膺的 | |
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quotation
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n.引文,引语,语录;报价,牌价,行情 | |
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wrecked
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adj.失事的,遇难的 | |
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owl
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n.猫头鹰,枭 | |
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bodyguard
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n.护卫,保镖 | |
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tangle
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n.纠缠;缠结;混乱;v.(使)缠绕;变乱 | |
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wink
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n.眨眼,使眼色,瞬间;v.眨眼,使眼色,闪烁 | |
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doomed
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命定的 | |
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connivance
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n.纵容;默许 | |
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jaw
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n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训 | |
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gulped
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v.狼吞虎咽地吃,吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 );大口地吸(气);哽住 | |
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corpse
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n.尸体,死尸 | |
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abide
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vi.遵守;坚持;vt.忍受 | |
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leeches
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n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 );蚂蟥;榨取他人脂膏者;医生 | |
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likeness
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n.相像,相似(之处) | |
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pyjamas
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n.(宽大的)睡衣裤 | |
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desperately
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adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
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determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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narrative
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n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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gentry
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n.绅士阶级,上层阶级 | |
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briskness
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n.敏捷,活泼 | |
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eyebrows
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眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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complexion
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n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格 | |
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stammered
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v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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metropolis
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n.首府;大城市 | |
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gab
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v.空谈,唠叨,瞎扯;n.饶舌,多嘴,爱说话 | |
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hippopotamus
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n.河马 | |
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loyalty
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n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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swell
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vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
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besieged
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包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fixed
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adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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slung
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抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往 | |
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pals
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n.朋友( pal的名词复数 );老兄;小子;(对男子的不友好的称呼)家伙 | |
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luncheon
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n.午宴,午餐,便宴 | |
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ascended
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v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inspector
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n.检查员,监察员,视察员 | |
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idiotic
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adj.白痴的 | |
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whining
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n. 抱怨,牢骚 v. 哭诉,发牢骚 | |
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consul
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n.领事;执政官 | |
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spicy
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adj.加香料的;辛辣的,有风味的 | |
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obituary
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n.讣告,死亡公告;adj.死亡的 | |
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meditation
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n.熟虑,(尤指宗教的)默想,沉思,(pl.)冥想录 | |
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despondent
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adj.失望的,沮丧的,泄气的 | |
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edgy
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adj.不安的;易怒的 | |
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peevish
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adj.易怒的,坏脾气的 | |
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grit
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n.沙粒,决心,勇气;v.下定决心,咬紧牙关 | |
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vaguely
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adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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hood
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n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖 | |
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hawk
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n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员 | |
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scent
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n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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sprawled
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v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词);蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着) | |
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skewered
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v.(用串肉扦或类似物)串起,刺穿( skewer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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