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16 — THE TOM BROWN QUESTION
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The man in the corner had been trying to worry me into a conversation for some time. He had asked me if I objected to having the window open. He had said something rather bitter about the War Office, and had hoped I did not object to smoking. Then, finding that I stuck to my book through everything, he made a fresh attack.
'I see you are reading Tom Brown's Schooldays,' he said.
This was a plain and uninteresting statement of fact, and appeared to me to require no answer. I read on.
'Fine book, sir.'
'Very.'
'I suppose you have heard of the Tom Brown Question?'
I shut my book wearily, and said I had not.
'It is similar to the Homeric Question. You have heard of that, I suppose?'
I knew that there was a discussion about the identity of the author of the Iliad. When at school I had been made to take down notes on the subject until I had grown to loathe1 the very name of Homer.
'You see,' went on my companion, 'the difficulty about Tom Brown's Schooldays is this. It is obvious that part one and part two were written by different people. You admit that, I suppose?'
'I always thought Mr Hughes wrote the whole book.'
'Dear me, not really? Why, I thought everyone knew that he only wrote the first half. The question is, who wrote the second. I know, but I don't suppose ten other people do. No, sir.'
'What makes you think he didn't write the second part?'
'My dear sir, just read it. Read part one carefully, and then read part two. Why, you can see in a minute.'
I said I had read the book three times, but had never noticed anything peculiar2 about it, except that the second half was not nearly so interesting as the first.
'Well, just tell me this. Do you think the same man created East and Arthur? Now then.'
I admitted that it was difficult to understand such a thing.
'There was a time, of course,' continued my friend, 'when everybody thought as you do. The book was published under Hughes's name, and it was not until Professor Burkett-Smith wrote his celebrated3
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1
loathe
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v.厌恶,嫌恶 | |
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peculiar
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adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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3
celebrated
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adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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monograph
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n.专题文章,专题著作 | |
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dual
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adj.双的;二重的,二元的 | |
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6
plumb
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adv.精确地,完全地;v.了解意义,测水深 | |
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7
luncheon
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n.午宴,午餐,便宴 | |
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interval
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n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
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9
positively
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adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实 | |
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shrieked
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v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exhausted
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adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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12
peroration
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n.(演说等之)结论 | |
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13
tonic
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n./adj.滋补品,补药,强身的,健体的 | |
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conscientious
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adj.审慎正直的,认真的,本着良心的 | |
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entirely
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ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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16
brutal
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adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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17
unravelling
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解开,拆散,散开( unravel的现在分词 ); 阐明; 澄清; 弄清楚 | |
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18
precipice
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n.悬崖,危急的处境 | |
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19
wholesome
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adj.适合;卫生的;有益健康的;显示身心健康的 | |
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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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