From first to last their acquaintance lasted ten days, but into that time Mr. Polly packed ten years of dreams.

“He don’t seem,” said Johnson, “to take a serious interest in anything. That shop at the corner’s bound to be snapped up if he don’t look out.”

The girl and Mr. Polly did not meet on every one of those ten days; one was Sunday and she could not come, and on the eighth the school reassembled and she made vague excuses. All their meetings amounted to this, that she sat on the wall, more or less in bounds as she expressed it, and let Mr. Polly fall in love with her and try to express it below. She sat in a state of irresponsible exaltation, watching him and at intervals¹ prodding² a vivisecting point of encouragement into him — with that strange passive cruelty which is natural to her sex and age.

And Mr. Polly fell in love, as though the world had given way beneath him and he had dropped through into another, into a world of luminous³ clouds and of desolate⁴ hopeless wildernesses⁵ of desiring and of wild valleys of unreasonable⁶ ecstasies⁷, a world whose infinite miseries⁸ were finer and in some inexplicable⁹ way sweeter than the purest gold of the daily life, whose joys — they were indeed but the merest remote glimpses of joy — were brighter than a dying martyr’s vision of heaven. Her smiling face looked down upon him out of heaven, her careless pose was the living body of life. It was senseless, it was utterly¹⁰ foolish, but all that was best and richest in Mr. Polly’s nature broke like a wave and

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1 intervals
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息
参考例句：
The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。 Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

2 prodding
v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳
参考例句：
He needed no prodding. 他不用督促。 The boy is prodding the animal with a needle. 那男孩正用一根针刺那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

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 desolate
adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂
参考例句：
The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。 We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

5 wildernesses
荒野( wilderness的名词复数 )； 沙漠； （政治家）在野； 不再当政（或掌权）
参考例句：
Antarctica is one of the last real wildernesses left on the earth. 南极洲是地球上所剩不多的旷野之一。 Dartmoor is considered by many to be one of Britain's great nature wildernesses. Dartmoor被很多人认为是英国最大的荒原之一。

6 unreasonable
adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的
参考例句：
I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。 They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

7 ecstasies
狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药
参考例句：
In such ecstasies that he even controlled his tongue and was silent. 但他闭着嘴，一言不发。 We were in ecstasies at the thought of going home. 一想到回家，我们高兴极了。

8 miseries
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人
参考例句：
They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 inexplicable
adj.无法解释的，难理解的
参考例句：
It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的，现在已经无法说清楚了。 There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。

10 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。

11 foamed
泡沫的
参考例句：
The beer foamed up and overflowed the glass. 啤酒冒着泡沫，溢出了玻璃杯。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The man foamed and stormed. 那人大发脾气，暴跳如雷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 marvelled
v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 wrung
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）
参考例句：
He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。 He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

14 bent
n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
参考例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。 We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

15 freckled
adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

16 recoil
vi.退却，退缩，畏缩
参考例句：
Most people would recoil at the sight of the snake.许多人看见蛇都会向后退缩。 Revenge may recoil upon the person who takes it.报复者常会受到报应。

17 stiffen
v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬
参考例句：
The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。 I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

18 remarkable
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。 These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

19 knight
n.骑士，武士；爵士
参考例句：
He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。 A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

20 torments
（肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人]
参考例句：
He released me from my torments. 他解除了我的痛苦。 He suffered torments from his aching teeth. 他牙痛得难受。

21 trifling
adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的
参考例句：
They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。 So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

22 muffled
adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）
参考例句：
muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音 There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 tumult
n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹
参考例句：
The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。 His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。

24 filthy
adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的
参考例句：
The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。 You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

25 squeal
v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音
参考例句：
The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。 There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

26 altercation
n.争吵，争论
参考例句：
Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。 The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

27 lug
n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动
参考例句：
Nobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes.谁都不想拖着个装满衣服的大箱子到处走。 Do I have to lug those suitcases all the way to the station?难道非要我把那些手提箱一直拉到车站去吗？

28 momentary
adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的
参考例句：
We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。 I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

29 wringing
淋湿的，湿透的
参考例句：
He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。 He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。

30 shrieked
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。 Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

31 giggling
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )
参考例句：
We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

32 beech
n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的
参考例句：
Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。 Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

33 savagery
n.野性
参考例句：
The police were shocked by the savagery of the attacks.警察对这些惨无人道的袭击感到震惊。 They threw away their advantage by their savagery to the black population.他们因为野蛮对待黑人居民而丧失了自己的有利地位。

34 crouched
v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。 The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

35 bruises
n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 abrasions
n.磨损( abrasion的名词复数 )；擦伤处；摩擦；磨蚀（作用）
参考例句：
He suffered cuts and abrasions to the face. 他的脸上有许多划伤和擦伤。 The bacteria get into humans through abrasions in the skin. 细菌可以通过擦伤处进入人体。 来自《简明英汉词典》