For he who has faith, death, so far as it is his own death, ceases to possess any quality of terror. The experiment will be over, the rinsed¹ beaker returned to its shelf, the crystals gone dissolving down the waste-pipe; the duster sweeps the bench. But the deaths of those we love are harder to understand or bear.

It happens that of those very intimate with me I have lost only one, and that came slowly and elaborately, a long gradual separation wrought² by the accumulation of years and mental decay, but many close friends and many whom I have counted upon for sympathy and fellowship have passed out of my world. I miss such a one as Bob Stevenson, that luminous³, extravagant⁴ talker, that eager fantastic mind. I miss him whenever I write. It is less pleasure now to write a story since he will never read it, much less give me a word of praise for it. And I miss York Powell’s friendly laughter and Henley’s exuberant⁵ welcome. They made a warmth that has gone, those men. I can understand why I, with my fumbling⁶ lucidities and explanations, have to finish up presently and go, expressing as I do the mood of a type and of a time; but not those radiant presences.

And the gap these men have left, these men with whom after all I only sat now and again, or wrote to in a cheerful mood or got a letter from at odd times, gives me some measure of the thing that happens, that may happen, when the mind that is always near one’s thoughts, the person who moves to one’s movement and lights nearly all the common flow of events about one with the reminder⁷ of fellowship and meaning — ceases.

Faith which feeds on personal love must at last prevail over it. If Faith has any virtue⁸ it must have it here when we find ourselves bereft

点击收听单词发音  

1 rinsed
v.漂洗( rinse的过去式和过去分词 )；冲洗；用清水漂洗掉（肥皂泡等）；（用清水）冲掉
参考例句：
She rinsed out the sea water from her swimming-costume. 她把游泳衣里的海水冲洗掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The clothes have been rinsed three times. 衣服已经洗了三和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 wrought
v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的
参考例句：
Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。 It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

3 luminous
adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的
参考例句：
There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。 Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

4 extravagant
adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的
参考例句：
They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。 He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

5 exuberant
adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的
参考例句：
Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。 All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

6 fumbling
n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理
参考例句：
If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。 If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。

7 reminder
n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示
参考例句：
I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。 It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

8 virtue
n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力
参考例句：
He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。 You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

9 bereft
adj.被剥夺的
参考例句：
The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。 She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。

10 isolated
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句：
His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。 Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 bleak
adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的
参考例句：
They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。 The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

12 immortal
adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的
参考例句：
The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。 The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

13 immortality
n.不死，不朽
参考例句：
belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念 It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

14 conjures
用魔术变出( conjure的第三人称单数 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现
参考例句：
The word 'birthday' conjures up images of presents and parties. “生日”这个词使人想起礼物和聚会的情景。 The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。

15 phantoms
n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They vanished down the stairs like two phantoms. 他们像两个幽灵似的消失在了楼下。 来自辞典例句 The horrible night that he had passed had left phantoms behind it. 他刚才度过的恐布之夜留下了种种错觉。 来自辞典例句

16 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

17 preposterously
adv.反常地；荒谬地；荒谬可笑地；不合理地
参考例句：
That is a preposterously high price! 那价格高得出奇！ 来自辞典例句

18 hatred
n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨
参考例句：
He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。 The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

19 dreary
adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的
参考例句：
They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。 She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

20 knaves
n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克
参考例句：
Give knaves an inch and they will take a yard. 我一日三餐都吃得很丰盛。 来自互联网 Knaves and robbers can obtain only what was before possessed by others. 流氓、窃贼只能攫取原先由别人占有的财富。 来自互联网

21 stifled
（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵
参考例句：
The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。 The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。

22 slate
n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订
参考例句：
The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。 What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

23 hearty
adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的
参考例句：
After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。 We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

24 lugged
vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
She lugged the heavy case up the stairs. 她把那只沉甸甸的箱子拖上了楼梯。 来自《简明英汉词典》 They used to yell that at football when you lugged the ball. 踢足球的时候，逢着你抢到球，人们总是对你这样嚷嚷。 来自辞典例句