Figures are the most shocking things in the world. The prettiest little squiggles of black — looked at in the right light, and yet consider the blow they can give you upon the heart. You return from a little careless holiday abroad, and turn over the page of a newspaper, and against the name of that distant, vague-conceived railway in mortgages upon which you have embarked¹ the bulk of your capital, you see instead of the familiar, persistent² 95-6 (varying at most to 93 ex. div.) this slightly richer arrangement of marks: 76 12-78 12.

It is like the opening of a pit just under your feet!

So, too, Mr. Polly’s happy sense of limitless resources was obliterated³ suddenly by a vision of this tracery:

“298”

instead of the

“350”

he had come to regard as the fixed⁴ symbol of his affluence⁵.

It gave him a disagreeable feeling about the diaphragm, akin⁶ in a remote degree to the sensation he had when the perfidy⁷ of the red-haired schoolgirl became plain to him. It made his brow moist.

“Going down a vortex!” he whispered.

By a characteristic feat⁸ of subtraction⁹ he decided¹⁰ that he must have spent sixty-two pounds.

“Funererial baked meats,” he said, recalling possible items.

The happy dream in which he had been living of long warm days, of open roads, of limitless unchecked hours, of infinite time to look about him, vanished like a thing enchanted

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1 embarked
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事
参考例句：
We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。 She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

2 persistent
adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的
参考例句：
Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。 She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 obliterated
v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭
参考例句：
The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。 He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 affluence
n.充裕，富足
参考例句：
Their affluence is more apparent than real.他们的富有是虚有其表。 There is a lot of affluence in this part of the state because it has many businesses.这个州的这一部分相当富有，因为它有很多商行。

6 akin
adj.同族的，类似的
参考例句：
She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。 Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

7 perfidy
n.背信弃义，不忠贞
参考例句：
As devotion unites lovers,so perfidy estranges friends.忠诚是爱情的桥梁，欺诈是友谊的敌人。 The knowledge of Hurstwood's perfidy wounded her like a knife.赫斯渥欺骗她的消息像一把刀捅到了她的心里。

8 feat
n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的
参考例句：
Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。 He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

9 subtraction
n.减法，减去
参考例句：
We do addition and subtraction in arithmetic.在算术里,我们作加减运算。 They made a subtraction of 50 dollars from my salary.他们从我的薪水里扣除了五十美元。

10 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 enchanted
adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。 He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

12 dispels
v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
This landmark case dispels the absolute finality of this dreaded disease. 这个划时代的病例终于改观了这可怕疾病的绝对结局。 来自辞典例句 Charles's experience--and that of all other researchers I have met--dispels many myths about water buffaloes. 查尔斯以及我所见到的其他研究人员的经验破除了关于水牛的许多奇谈。 来自辞典例句

13 hoard
n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积
参考例句：
They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。 How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

14 hideous
adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的
参考例句：
The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。 They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

15 speculations
n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断
参考例句：
Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

16 nauseating
adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I had to listen to the whole nauseating story. 我不得不从头到尾听那令人作呕的故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 There is a nauseating smell of rotten food. 有一股令人恶心的腐烂食物的气味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 infinitely
adv.无限地，无穷地
参考例句：
There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。 The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

18 winced
赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。 He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

19 sinister
adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的
参考例句：
There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。 Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

20 portentous
adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的
参考例句：
The present aspect of society is portentous of great change.现在的社会预示着重大变革的发生。 There was nothing portentous or solemn about him.He was bubbling with humour.他一点也不装腔作势或故作严肃，浑身散发着幽默。

21 refreshing
adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的
参考例句：
I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。 The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

22 enveloped
v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She was enveloped in a huge white towel. 她裹在一条白色大毛巾里。 Smoke from the burning house enveloped the whole street. 燃烧着的房子冒出的浓烟笼罩了整条街。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 offhand
adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的
参考例句：
I can't answer your request offhand.我不能随便答复你的要求。 I wouldn't want to say what I thought about it offhand.我不愿意随便说我关于这事的想法。

24 forthright
adj.直率的，直截了当的 [同]frank
参考例句：
It's sometimes difficult to be forthright and not give offence.又直率又不得罪人，这有时很难办到。 He told me forthright just why he refused to take my side.他直率地告诉我他不肯站在我这一边的原因。

25 slumbers
睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 )
参考例句：
His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。 My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。

26 nuptial
adj.婚姻的，婚礼的
参考例句：
Their nuptial day hasn't been determined.他们的结婚日还没有决定。 I went to the room which he had called the nuptial chamber.我走进了他称之为洞房的房间。

27 collapse
vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。