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SOMETHING
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"I mean to be somebody, and do something useful in the world," said the eldest1 of five brothers. "I don't care how humble2 my position is, so that I can only do some good, which will be something. I intend to be a brickmaker; bricks are always wanted, and I shall be really doing something."
"Your 'something' is not enough for me," said the second brother; "what you talk of doing is nothing at all, it is journeyman's work, or might even be done by a machine. No! I should prefer to be a builder at once, there is something real in that. A man gains a position, he becomes a citizen, has his own sign, his own house of call for his workmen: so I shall be a builder. If all goes well, in time I shall become a master, and have my own journeymen, and my wife will be treated as a master's wife. This is what I call something."
"I call it all nothing," said the third; "not in reality any position. There are many in a town far above a master builder in position. You may be an upright man, but even as a master you will only be ranked among common men. I know better what to do than that. I will be an architect, which will place me among those who possess riches and intellect, and who speculate in art. I shall certainly have to rise by my own endeavors from a bricklayer's laborer3, or as a carpenter's apprentice4—a lad wearing a paper cap, although I now wear a silk hat. I shall have to fetch beer and spirits for the journeymen, and they will call me 'thou,' which will be an insult. I shall endure it, however, for I shall look upon it all as a mere5 representation, a masquerade, a mummery, which to-morrow, that is, when I myself as a journeyman, shall have served my time, will vanish, and I shall go my way, and all that has passed will be nothing to me. Then I shall enter the academy, and get instructed in drawing, and be called an architect. I may even attain6 to rank, and have something placed before or after my name, and I shall build as others have done before me. By this there will be always 'something' to make me remembered, and is not that worth living for?"
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1
eldest
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| adj.最年长的,最年老的 | |
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2
humble
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| adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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laborer
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| n.劳动者,劳工 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒,徒弟 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
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erecting
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| v.使直立,竖起( erect的现在分词 );建立 | |
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copper
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| n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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crumbled
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| (把…)弄碎, (使)碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 衰落; 坍塌; 损坏 | |
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10
dyke
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| n.堤,水坝,排水沟 | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫,起泡沫 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒,徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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apprenticeship
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| n.学徒身份;学徒期 | |
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hurrah
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| int.好哇,万岁,乌拉 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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tapestry
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| n.挂毯,丰富多采的画面 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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orations
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| n.(正式仪式中的)演说,演讲( oration的名词复数 ) | |
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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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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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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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splendor
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| n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌 | |
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shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地;悲惨地;糟糕地;极度地 | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火,(警告用的)闪火灯,灯塔 | |
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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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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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repent
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| v.悔悟,悔改,忏悔,后悔 | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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THE SNOWDROP
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