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Now indeed I began to realise, in spite of what I so often read in the daily papers, something of the optimistic pushfulness of the commercial traveller. The shop had not been open very long when they began to call, and such was their power of
persuasion1, so eager were they to sell me something, however little, so as to get a foot in as it were, that I often felt grateful that I was away all day. I left
concise2 orders that nothing was to be bought, but on the occasions when I happened to be at home I felt so soft and yielding in the hands of these
persistent3 pushers of their employer's
wares4 that I could not but pity my wife, charged as she was with the duty of saying no to men who refused to recognise such a word as belonging to any language.
They were so polite, so gentlemanly, so pathetic, and so well informed. They seemed able to talk upon any subject, although they all had a marvellous
knack5 of twisting any topic round to the one they were interested in. The luxuriance and fruitfulness of their imaginations, too, always impressed me, and although I always deprecated them wasting their time over so
impecunious6 a tradesman as I was I had a good deal of joy in their company, bright and cheerful as it always was. But I have also to confess that they were dangerous counsellors. Their pleading for small orders, just one line, their utter
indifference7 to the payment, making it so fatally easy to get into debt, I look back upon now with horror. And yet I suppose it is of the essence of business, this hopeful airy outlook upon life. I now see that I might have stocked my shop with the choicest products, might have made it glow again and—but never mind—that comes later. I am not, never was, a strong-minded person; except in certain very restricted directions I am exceedingly
prone8 to take the line of least resistance, but I do feel just a little
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收听单词发音
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1
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 |
参考例句： |
- He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
- After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。
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2
concise
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| adj.简洁的，简明的 |
参考例句： |
- The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
- I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。
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3
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 |
参考例句： |
- Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
- She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。
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4
wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 |
参考例句： |
- They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
- The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。
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5
knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 |
参考例句： |
- He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
- Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。
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6
impecunious
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| adj.不名一文的，贫穷的 |
参考例句： |
- He is impecunious,does not know anyone who can lend mony.他身无分文，也不认识任何可以借钱的人。
- They are independent,impecunious and able to tolerate all degrees of discomfort.他们独立自主，囊中羞涩，并且能够忍受各种不便。
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7
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 |
参考例句： |
- I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
- He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
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8
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 |
参考例句： |
- Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
- He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。
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9
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 |
参考例句： |
- He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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10
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 |
参考例句： |
- We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
- Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
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11
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 |
参考例句： |
- I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
- The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。
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12
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 |
参考例句： |
- This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
- This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。
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13
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 |
参考例句： |
- The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
- The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。
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14
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 |
参考例句： |
- That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
- We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。
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15
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 |
参考例句： |
- The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
- The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。
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16
tenterhooks
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| n.坐立不安 |
参考例句： |
- The students are on tenterhooks to hear the result of the examination.学生们烦躁不安地听考试结果。
- The mother was on tenterhooks until her little Laura came back.当小珞拉回来后，她母亲才放下心来。
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17
perfectly
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| 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。
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18
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 |
参考例句： |
- He hemmed and hawed but wouldn't say anything definite. 他总是哼儿哈儿的，就是不说句痛快话。
- The soldiers were hemmed in on all sides. 士兵们被四面包围了。
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19
perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 |
参考例句： |
- I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
- There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。
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20
structural
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| adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的 |
参考例句： |
- The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
- The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。
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21
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 |
参考例句： |
- He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
- Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。
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22
coercion
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| n.强制，高压统治 |
参考例句： |
- Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions.既不诱供也不逼供。
- He paid the money under coercion.他被迫付钱。
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