A man whose brain devotes its hinterland to making odd phrases and nicknames out of ill-conceived words, whose conception of life is a lump of auriferous rock to which all the value is given by rare veins¹ of unbusinesslike joy, who reads Boccaccio and Rabelais and Shakespeare with gusto, and uses “Stertoraneous Shover” and “Smart Junior” as terms of bitterest opprobrium², is not likely to make a great success under modern business conditions. Mr. Polly dreamt always of picturesque³ and mellow⁴ things, and had an instinctive⁵ hatred⁶ of the strenuous⁷ life. He would have resisted the spell of ex-President Roosevelt, or General Baden Powell, or Mr. Peter Keary, or the late Dr. Samuel Smiles, quite easily; and he loved Falstaff and Hudibras and coarse laughter, and the old England of Washington Irving and the memory of Charles the Second’s courtly days. His progress was necessarily slow. He did not get rises; he lost situations; there was something in his eye employers did not like; he would have lost his places oftener if he had not been at times an exceptionally brilliant salesman, rather carefully neat, and a slow but very fair window-dresser.

He went from situation to situation, he invented a great wealth of nicknames, he conceived enmities and made friends — but none so richly satisfying as Parsons. He was frequently but mildly and discursively⁸ in love, and sometimes he thought of that girl who had given him a yellow-green apple. He had an idea, amounting to a flattering certainty, whose youthful freshness it was had stirred her to self-forgetfulness. And sometimes he thought of Foxbourne sleeping prosperously in the sun. And he began to have moods of discomfort

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1 veins
n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理
参考例句：
The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 opprobrium
n.耻辱，责难
参考例句：
The opprobrium and enmity he incurred were caused by his outspoken brashness.他招致的轻蔑和敌意是由于他出言过于粗率而造成的。 That drunkard was the opprobrium of our community.那个酒鬼是我们社区里可耻的人物。

3 picturesque
adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的
参考例句：
You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。 That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

4 mellow
adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟
参考例句：
These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。 The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

5 instinctive
adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的
参考例句：
He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。 Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

6 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。

7 strenuous
adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的
参考例句：
He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。 You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。

8 discursively
adv.东拉西扯地，推论地
参考例句：
They were chattering (discursively on a variety of topics) over their needlework. 她们一边做针线活一边闲扯个不停。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 discomfort
n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便
参考例句：
One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。 She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

10 affinity
n.亲和力，密切关系
参考例句：
I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。 It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

11 penetrating
adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的
参考例句：
He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。 He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

12 cloisters
n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
The thirteenth-century cloisters are amongst the most beautiful in central Italy. 这些13世纪的回廊是意大利中部最美的建筑。 来自辞典例句 Some lovely Christian Science ladies had invited her to a concert at the cloisters. 有几位要好的基督教科学社的女士请她去修道院音乐厅听一个音乐会。 来自辞典例句

13 murmur
n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言
参考例句：
They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。 There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

14 nave
n.教堂的中部；本堂
参考例句：
People gathered in the nave of the house.人们聚拢在房子的中间。 The family on the other side of the nave had a certain look about them,too.在中殿另一边的那一家人，也有着自己特有的相貌。

15 penetrated
adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。 They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

16 vista
n.远景，深景，展望，回想
参考例句：
From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。 These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

17 fretted
焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的
参考例句：
The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝，有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学 The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。

18 aisles
n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊
参考例句：
Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。 They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

19 epithets
n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He insulted me, using rude epithets. 他用粗话诅咒我。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He cursed me, using a lot of rude epithets. 他用上许多粗鲁的修饰词来诅咒我。 来自辞典例句

20 cosy
adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的
参考例句：
We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。 It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

21 choir
n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱
参考例句：
The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。 The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

22 arcade
n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道
参考例句：
At this time of the morning,the arcade was almost empty.在早晨的这个时候，拱廊街上几乎空无一人。 In our shopping arcade,you can find different kinds of souvenir.在我们的拱廊市场，你可以发现许多的纪念品。

23 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

24 harry
vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼
参考例句：
Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。 Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

25 fatigued
adj. 疲乏的
参考例句：
The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。 The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑，疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。

26 yarn
n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事
参考例句：
I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。 The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

27 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

28 expound
v.详述；解释；阐述
参考例句：
Why not get a diviner to expound my dream?为什么不去叫一个占卜者来解释我的梦呢？ The speaker has an hour to expound his views to the public.讲演者有1小时时间向公众阐明他的观点。

29 apprentices
学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。 He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。

30 intonation
n.语调，声调；发声
参考例句：
The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。 Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

31 accurately
adv.准确地，精确地
参考例句：
It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。 Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

32 enquire
v.打听，询问；调查，查问
参考例句：
She wrote to enquire the cause of the delay.她只得写信去询问拖延的理由。 We will enquire into the matter.我们将调查这事。

33 stunts
n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。 The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 hustle
v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)
参考例句：
It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。 I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

35 inadequate
adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的
参考例句：
The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。 She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

36 albeit
conj.即使；纵使；虽然
参考例句：
Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。 Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。