The Plain Man and His Wife平凡人和他的妻子
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第二小节

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 Nevertheless, in his quality of a wise plain man, he would never agree that any problem of human conduct, however hard and apparently1 hopeless, could not be solved by dint2 of sagacity and ingenuity—provided it was the problem of another person! He is quite fearfully good at solving the problems of his friends. Indeed, his friends, recognizing this, constantly go to him for advice. If a friend consulted him and said:
 
“Look here, I’m engaged in an enterprise which will absorb all my energies for three years. It will enable me in the meantime to live and to keep my family, but I shall have scarcely a moment’s freedom of mind. I may have a little leisure, but of what use is leisure without freedom of mind? As for pleasure, I shall simply forget what it is. My life will be one long struggle. The ultimate profit is extremely uncertain. It may be fairly good; on the other hand, it may be nothing at all.”
 
The plain man, being also blunt, would assuredly interrupt:
 
“My dear fellow, what a fool you’ve been!”
 
Yet this case is in essence the case of the wise plain man. The chief difference between the two cases is that the wise plain man has enslaved himself for about thirty years instead of three, with naught3 but a sheer gambling4 chance of final reward! Not being one of the rare individuals with whom business is a passion, but just an average plain man, he is labouring daily against the grain, stultifying5 daily one part of his nature, on the supposition that later he will be recompensed. In other words, he is preparing to live, so that at a distant date he may be in a condition to live. He has not effected a compromise between the present and the future. His own complaint—“What pleasure do I get out of life?”—proves that he is completely sacrificing the present to the future. And how elusive7 is the future! Like the horizon, it always recedes

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1 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
2 dint plVza     
n.由于，靠；凹坑
参考例句：
  • He succeeded by dint of hard work.他靠苦干获得成功。
  • He reached the top by dint of great effort.他费了很大的劲终于爬到了顶。
3 naught wGLxx     
n.无，零 [=nought]
参考例句：
  • He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
  • I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。
4 gambling ch4xH     
n.赌博；投机
参考例句：
  • They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
  • The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。
5 stultifying 54bdc51a23b11672f621fdf2e593f5fa     
v.使成为徒劳，使变得无用( stultify的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • the stultifying effects of work that never varies 一成不变的工作造成的使人呆滞的后果
  • At its worst it is corrosive and it is stultifying. 在最坏的情况下，时间具有腐蚀作用，而且使人更为愚钝。 来自互联网
6 stultify uGYzX     
v.愚弄；使呆滞
参考例句：
  • This attitude stultifies scientific progress.这种态度会扼杀科学的进步。
  • Only a uniformed guard stultified with boredom might have overheard them.只有一名穿制服的无聊警卫可能偷听到了他们的谈话。
7 elusive d8vyH     
adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的
参考例句：
  • Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
  • Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。
8 recedes 45c5e593c51b7d92bf60642a770f43cb     
v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题
参考例句：
  • For this reason the near point gradually recedes as one grows older. 由于这个原因，随着人渐渐变老，近点便逐渐后退。 来自辞典例句
  • Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. 缄默的、悲哀的、被抛弃的、支离破碎的捷克斯洛伐克，已在黑暗之中。 来自辞典例句
9 foretold 99663a6d5a4a4828ce8c220c8fe5dccc     
v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • She foretold that the man would die soon. 她预言那人快要死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Must lose one joy, by his life's star foretold. 这样注定：他，为了信守一个盟誓／就非得拿牺牲一个喜悦作代价。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
10 nettled 1329a37399dc803e7821d52c8a298307     
v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
  • He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
11 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
12 unwillingly wjjwC     
adv.不情愿地
参考例句：
  • He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
  • Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。
13 irately e8f7c502368d65c6ad3657c86ff8c334     
参考例句：
14 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
15 fortitude offzz     
n.坚忍不拔；刚毅
参考例句：
  • His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
  • He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。
16 morbid u6qz3     
adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的
参考例句：
  • Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
  • It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。
17 sublimely e63362bb835c4a9cf1c1d9b745af77a1     
高尚地，卓越地
参考例句：
  • In devotion woman is sublimely superior to man. 怜悯是女子胜过男子的德性之一。
  • She was sublimely unaware of how foolish she looked. 她根本不知道她的样子多愚蠢。
18 unaware Pl6w0     
a.不知道的，未意识到的
参考例句：
  • They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
  • I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。
19 irritability oR0zn     
n.易怒
参考例句：
  • It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。
  • All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。
20 vexed fd1a5654154eed3c0a0820ab54fb90a7     
adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论
参考例句：
  • The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
  • He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
21 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句：
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
22 yoke oeTzRa     
n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶
参考例句：
  • An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
  • The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。
23 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
参考例句：
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
24 relish wBkzs     
n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味
参考例句：
  • I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
  • I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。
25 ingenuous mbNz0     
adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的
参考例句：
  • Only the most ingenuous person would believe such a weak excuse!只有最天真的人才会相信这么一个站不住脚的借口！
  • With ingenuous sincerity,he captivated his audience.他以自己的率真迷住了观众。
26 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的
参考例句：
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
27 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地
参考例句：
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
28 sloth 4ELzP     
n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散
参考例句：
  • Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
  • The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。
29 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的
参考例句：
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
30 outrageous MvFyH     
adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的
参考例句：
  • Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
  • Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

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