Miriam combined earnestness of spirit with great practical incapacity. The house was never clean nor tidy, but always being frightfully disarranged for cleaning or tidying up, and she cooked because food had to be cooked and with a sound moralist’s entire disregard of the quality of the consequences. The food came from her hands done rather than improved, and looking as uncomfortable as savages¹ clothed under duress² by a missionary³ with a stock of out-sizes. Such food is too apt to behave resentfully, rebel and work Obi. She ceased to listen to her husband’s talk from the day she married him, and ceased to unwrinkle the kink in her brow at his presence, giving herself up to mental states that had a quality of secret preoccupation. And she developed an idea for which perhaps there was legitimate⁴ excuse, that he was lazy. He seemed to stand about in the shop a great deal, to read — an indolent habit — and presently to seek company for talking. He began to attend the bar parlour of the God’s Providence⁵ Inn with some frequency, and would have done so regularly in the evening if cards, which bored him to death, had not arrested conversation. But the perpetual foolish variation of the permutations and combinations of two and fifty cards taken five at a time, and the meagre surprises and excitements that ensue had no charms for Mr. Polly’s mind, which was at once too vivid in its impressions and too easily fatigued⁶.

It was soon manifest the shop paid only in the least exacting⁷ sense, and Miriam did not conceal⁸ her opinion that he ought to bestir himself and “do things,” though what he was to do was hard to say. You see, when you have once sunken your capital in a shop you do not very easily get it out again. If customers will not come to you cheerfully and freely the law sets limits upon the compulsion you may exercise. You cannot pursue people about the streets of a watering place, compelling them either by threats or

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1 savages
未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )
参考例句：
There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。 That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

2 duress
n.胁迫
参考例句：
He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.他说他是被迫在认罪书上签字的。 These unequal treaties were made under duress.这些不平等条约是在强迫下签订的。

3 missionary
adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士
参考例句：
She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。 I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

4 legitimate
adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法
参考例句：
Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。 That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 providence
n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝
参考例句：
It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。 To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

6 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。

7 exacting
adj.苛求的，要求严格的
参考例句：
He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。 The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

8 conceal
v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽
参考例句：
He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。 He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 importunity
n.硬要，强求
参考例句：
They got only blushes, ejaculations, tremors, and titters, in return for their importunity. 她们只是用脸红、惊叫、颤抖和傻笑来回答他们的要求。 来自辞典例句 His importunity left me no alternative but to agree. 他的强硬要求让我只能答应而没有别的选择。 来自互联网

10 flannel
n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服
参考例句：
She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。 She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

11 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

12 winding
n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈
参考例句：
A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。 The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

13 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。

14 haphazard
adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的
参考例句：
The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。 He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

15 zest
n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣
参考例句：
He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。 He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

16 overdone
v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度
参考例句：
The lust of men must not be overdone. 人们的欲望不该过分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The joke is overdone. 玩笑开得过火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 charred
v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦
参考例句：
the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸 The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 auditorium
n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂
参考例句：
The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。 The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

20 explicit
adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的
参考例句：
She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。 He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

21 homely
adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的
参考例句：
We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。 Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭，好吗？

22 adventurous
adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的
参考例句：
I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。 He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

23 delightful
adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
参考例句：
We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。 Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

24 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

25 unfamiliar
adj.陌生的，不熟悉的
参考例句：
I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。 The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

26 primordial
adj.原始的；最初的
参考例句：
It is the primordial force that propels us forward.它是推动我们前进的原始动力。 The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.的尼安德特人是我们的原始祖先之一.

27 makers
n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）
参考例句：
The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。 The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 palled
v.（因过多或过久而）生厌，感到乏味，厌烦( pall的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
They palled up at college. 他们是在大学结识的。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The long hot idle summer days palled on me. 我对这漫长、炎热、无所事事的夏天感到腻烦了。 来自辞典例句

29 hue
n.色度；色调；样子
参考例句：
The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。 The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

30 quenched
解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却
参考例句：
He quenched his thirst with a long drink of cold water. 他喝了好多冷水解渴。 I quenched my thirst with a glass of cold beer. 我喝了一杯冰啤酒解渴。

31 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

32 appreciation
n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨
参考例句：
I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。 I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

33 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。

34 browsed
v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息
参考例句：
I browsed through some magazines while I waited. 我边等边浏览几本杂志。 来自辞典例句 I browsed through the book, looking at page after page. 我翻开了一下全书，一页又一页。 来自互联网

35 peculiarities
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪
参考例句：
the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点 He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

36 chuckle
vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑
参考例句：
He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。 I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

37 tithe
n.十分之一税；v.课什一税，缴什一税
参考例句：
It's not Christ plus your tithe.这不是基督再加上你的什一税。 The bible tells us that the tithe is the lords.圣经说十分之一是献给主的。

38 ruffling
弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱
参考例句：
A cool breeze brushed his face, ruffling his hair. 一阵凉风迎面拂来，吹乱了他的头发。 "Indeed, they do not,'said Pitty, ruffling. "说真的，那倒不一定。" 皮蒂皱皱眉头，表示异议。

39 teeming
adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注
参考例句：
The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。 the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

40 sublimated
v.（使某物质）升华( sublimate的过去式和过去分词 )；使净化；纯化
参考例句：
Their affection to each other was sublimated into a lasting friendship. 他俩之间的感情被升华成一种永久的友谊。 来自互联网 Finally migrates the utilization, sublimated to the text the understanding. 最后是迁移运用，升华对文本的理解。 来自互联网

41 asylum
n.避难所，庇护所，避难
参考例句：
The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。 Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

42 refreshment
n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点
参考例句：
He needs to stop fairly often for refreshment.他须时不时地停下来喘口气。 A hot bath is a great refreshment after a day's work.在一天工作之后洗个热水澡真是舒畅。

43 fattened
v.喂肥( fatten的过去式和过去分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值
参考例句：
The piglets are taken from the sow to be fattened for market. 这些小猪被从母猪身边带走，好育肥上市。 Those corrupt officials fattened themselves by drinking the people's life-blood. 那些贪官污吏用民脂民膏养肥了自己。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

44 deteriorated
恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。 His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

45 physically
adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律
参考例句：
He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。 Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

46 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

47 apathetic
adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的
参考例句：
I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。 You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。

48 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。