Mr. Polly’s intercourse¹ with all his fellow tradesmen was tarnished² sooner or later by some such adverse³ incident, until not a friend remained to him, and loneliness made even the shop door terrible. Shops bankrupted all about him and fresh people came and new acquaintances sprang up, but sooner or later a discord⁴ was inevitable⁵, the tension under which these badly fed, poorly housed, bored and bothered neighbours lived, made it inevitable. The mere⁶ fact that Mr. Polly had to see them every day, that there was no getting away from them, was in itself sufficient to make them almost unendurable to his frettingly active mind.

Among other shopkeepers in the High Street there was Chuffles, the grocer, a small, hairy, silently intent polygamist, who was given rough music by the youth of the neighbourhood because of a scandal about his wife’s sister, and who was nevertheless totally uninteresting, and Tonks, the second grocer, an old man with an older, very enfeebled wife, both submerged by piety⁷. Tonks went bankrupt, and was succeeded by a branch of the National Provision Company, with a young manager exactly like a fox, except that he barked. The toy and sweetstuff shop was kept by an old woman of repellent manners, and so was the little fish shop at the end of the street. The Berlin-wool shop having gone bankrupt, became a newspaper shop, then fell to a haberdasher in consumption, and finally to a stationer; the three shops at the end of the street wallowed in and out of insolvency⁸ in the hands of a bicycle repairer and dealer⁹, a gramaphone dealer, a tobacconist, a sixpenny-halfpenny bazaar-keeper, a shoemaker, a greengrocer, and the exploiter of a cinematograph peep-show — but none of them supplied friendship to Mr. Polly. These adventurers in commerce were all more or less distraught souls, driving without

点击收听单词发音  

1 intercourse
n.性交；交流，交往，交际
参考例句：
The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。 There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

2 tarnished
（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏
参考例句：
The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。 His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

3 adverse
adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的
参考例句：
He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。 The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

4 discord
n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐
参考例句：
These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。 The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。

5 inevitable
adj.不可避免的，必然发生的
参考例句：
Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。 The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 piety
n.虔诚，虔敬
参考例句：
They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。 Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

8 insolvency
n.无力偿付，破产
参考例句：
The company is on the verge of insolvency.该公司快要破产了。 Normal insolvency procedures should not be applied to banks.通常的破产程序不应当适用于银行。

9 dealer
n.商人，贩子
参考例句：
The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。 The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

10 advent
n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临
参考例句：
Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。 The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

11 intelligible
adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的
参考例句：
This report would be intelligible only to an expert in computing.只有计算机运算专家才能看懂这份报告。 His argument was barely intelligible.他的论点不易理解。

12 gale
n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）
参考例句：
We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。 According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

13 opposition
n.反对，敌对
参考例句：
The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。 The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 dread
vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧
参考例句：
We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。 Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

15 epithet
n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语
参考例句：
In "Alfred the Great","the Great"is an epithet.“阿尔弗雷德大帝”中的“大帝”是个称号。 It is an epithet that sums up my feelings.这是一个简洁地表达了我思想感情的形容词。

16 hostility
n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争
参考例句：
There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。 His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

17 preoccupied
adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)
参考例句：
He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。 The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 noted
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。 Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 fraught
adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的
参考例句：
The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。 There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

20 malady
n.病，疾病(通常做比喻)
参考例句：
There is no specific remedy for the malady.没有医治这种病的特效药。 They are managing to control the malady into a small range.他们设法将疾病控制在小范围之内。

21 fermenting
v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰
参考例句：
The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top. 发酵的葡萄酒已经冒泡，溢了出来。 来自辞典例句 It must be processed through methods like boiling, grinding or fermenting. 它必须通过煮沸、研磨、或者发酵等方法加工。 来自互联网

22 stagnation
n. 停滞
参考例句：
Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。 Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

23 kindliness
n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为
参考例句：
Martha looked up into a strange face and dark eyes alight with kindliness and concern. 马撒慢慢抬起头，映入眼帘的是张陌生的脸，脸上有一双充满慈爱和关注的眼睛。 来自辞典例句 I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. 我想，我对伯顿印象最深之处主要还是这个人的和善。 来自辞典例句

24 hover
vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫
参考例句：
You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。 A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

25 inflamed
adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。 Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 estranged
adj.疏远的，分离的
参考例句：
He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。 The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

27 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。

28 giggle
n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说
参考例句：
Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。 All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

29 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

30 texture
n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理
参考例句：
We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。 Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

31 undesirable
adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子
参考例句：
They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。 Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

32 allusions
暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 )
参考例句：
We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。 The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes. 眼前的情景容易使人联想到欧洲风光。

33 eccentricity
n.古怪，反常，怪癖
参考例句：
I can't understand the eccentricity of Henry's behavior.我不理解亨利的古怪举止。 His eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.在他去世之前他的古怪脾气就早已闻名遐尔了。

34 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。

35 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。

36 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。

37 peril
n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物
参考例句：
The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。 The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

38 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。

39 trophy
n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品
参考例句：
The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。 He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

40 shears
n.大剪刀
参考例句：
These garden shears are lightweight and easy to use.这些园丁剪刀又轻又好用。 With a few quick snips of the shears he pruned the bush.他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。

41 estrangement
n.疏远，失和，不和
参考例句：
a period of estrangement from his wife 他与妻子分居期间 The quarrel led to a complete estrangement between her and her family. 这一争吵使她同家人完全疏远了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

43 resentment
n.怨愤，忿恨
参考例句：
All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。 She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

44 afflicted
使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。 A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

45 applied
adj.应用的；v.应用，适用
参考例句：
She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。 This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

46 serenity
n.宁静，沉着，晴朗
参考例句：
Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。 She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

47 unawareness
不知觉；不察觉；不意；不留神
参考例句：
Perhaps that faculty of unawareness was what gave her eyes their transparency. 或许正是这种麻木不仁的本领，使她的眼睛透明见底。

48 irritable
adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的
参考例句：
He gets irritable when he's got toothache.他牙一疼就很容易发脾气。 Our teacher is an irritable old lady.She gets angry easily.我们的老师是位脾气急躁的老太太。她很容易生气。

49 evoked
[医]诱发的
参考例句：
The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。 Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

50 obstinately
ad.固执地，顽固地
参考例句：
He obstinately asserted that he had done the right thing. 他硬说他做得对。 Unemployment figures are remaining obstinately high. 失业数字仍然顽固地居高不下。

51 epoch
n.(新)时代；历元
参考例句：
The epoch of revolution creates great figures.革命时代造就伟大的人物。 We're at the end of the historical epoch,and at the dawn of another.我们正处在一个历史时代的末期，另一个历史时代的开端。

52 untoward
adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的
参考例句：
Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.有些不幸的事件使我不能在这欢庆的时刻和你在一起。 I'll come if nothing untoward happens.我要是没有特殊情况一定来。

53 waggon
n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱
参考例句：
The enemy attacked our waggon train.敌人袭击了我们的运货马车队。 Someone jumped out from the foremost waggon and cried aloud.有人从最前面的一辆大车里跳下来，大声叫嚷。

54 sonorous
adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇
参考例句：
The sonorous voice of the speaker echoed round the room.那位演讲人洪亮的声音在室内回荡。 He has a deep sonorous voice.他的声音深沉而洪亮。

55 adorned
[计]被修饰的
参考例句：
The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。 And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

56 zinc
n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌
参考例句：
Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。 Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

57 clattering
发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式）
参考例句：
Typewriters keep clattering away. 打字机在不停地嗒嗒作响。 The typewriter was clattering away. 打字机啪嗒啪嗒地响着。

58 wrath
n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒
参考例句：
His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。 The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

59 suspense
n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑
参考例句：
The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。 The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

60 sanitary
adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的
参考例句：
It's not sanitary to let flies come near food.让苍蝇接近食物是不卫生的。 The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。

61 uproar
n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸
参考例句：
She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。 His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

62 countenance
n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同
参考例句：
At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。 I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

63 puckered
v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱，像要哭了。 His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸，眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

64 dignified
a.可敬的，高贵的
参考例句：
Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。 He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

65 entanglement
n.纠缠，牵累
参考例句：
This entanglement made Carrie anxious for a change of some sort.这种纠葛弄得嘉莉急于改变一下。 There is some uncertainty about this entanglement with the city treasurer which you say exists.对于你所说的与市财政局长之间的纠葛,大家有些疑惑。

66 embittering
v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的现在分词 )
参考例句：
This state of things is naturally embittering. 这种情况当然令人生气。 来自辞典例句

67 curb
n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制
参考例句：
I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。 You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

68 butted
对接的
参考例句：
Two goats butted each other. 两只山羊用角顶架。 He butted against a tree in the dark. 他黑暗中撞上了一棵树。

69 amateurish
n.业余爱好的，不熟练的
参考例句：
The concert was rather an amateurish affair.这场音乐会颇有些外行客串的味道。 The paintings looked amateurish.这些画作看起来只具备业余水准。

70 ruffled
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。 All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

71 aperture
n.孔，隙，窄的缺口
参考例句：
The only light came through a narrow aperture.仅有的光亮来自一个小孔。 We saw light through a small aperture in the wall.我们透过墙上的小孔看到了亮光。

72 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

73 bristled
adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。 All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

74 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

75 throng
n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集
参考例句：
A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。 The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

76 distressed
痛苦的
参考例句：
He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。 The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

77 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

78 savagely
adv. 野蛮地，残酷地
参考例句：
The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。 He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

79 testimony
n.证词；见证，证明
参考例句：
The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。 He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

80 relentlessly
adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断
参考例句：
The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。 He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

81 relentless
adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的
参考例句：
The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。 Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

82 spotted
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。 Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

83 exasperatingly
参考例句：
But I found the saving exasperatingly slow. 但是我发现这么节约慢得令人恼怒。 来自辞典例句 Goertz found the IRA exasperatingly amateur. 戈尔兹发现爱尔兰共和国军非常缺乏实战经验。 来自辞典例句

84 binding
有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的
参考例句：
The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。 Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

85 scrapping
刮，切除坯体余泥
参考例句：
He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。 These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。