ON board the steamer was an elderly man with such a merry face that，if it did not belie¹ him，he must have been the happiest fellow in creation．And，indeed，he declared the happiest man；I heard it out of his own mouth．He was a Dane，a countryman of mine，and a traveling theater director．He had all his company with him in a large box，for he was proprietor² a puppet-show．His inborn³ cheerfulness，he said，had been purified by a ytechnic candidate and the experiment had made him completely happy．I did not at first understand all this，but afterwards he explained the whole story to me，and here it is：

“It was in the little town of slagelse I gave a performance in the hall of the post－house， and had a brilliant audience，entirely a juvenile⁴ one，with the exception of two old ladies．All at once a person in black，of student-like appearance，came into the room and sat down；he laughed aloud at the telling parts，and applauded quite appropriately．That was quite an unusual spectator for me！I felt anxious to know who he was，and I heard he was a candidate from the Polytechnic⁵ Institution in Copenhagen，who had been sent out to instruct the folks in the provinces．

“At eight o'clock my performance closed；for children must go early to bed，and a manager must consult the convenience of his public．At nine o'clock the candidate commenced his lecture，with experiments，and now I formed part of his audience ．It was wonderful to hear and to see．The greater part of it went over my head and into the clergyman's，as one says，but still it made me think that if we can find out so much，we must be surely intended to last longer than the little span until we are hidden away in the earth．They were quite miracles in a small way that he showed，and yet altogether genuine，straight out of nature！At the time of Moses and the prophets such a man would have been received among the sages⁶ of the land；in the Middle Ages they would have burned him at a stake．All night long I could not go to sleep． “And the next evening，when I gave another performance，and the candidate was again present，I felt fairly

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1 belie
v.掩饰，证明为假
参考例句：
The gentle lower slopes belie the true nature of the mountain.低缓的山坡掩盖了这座山的真实特点。 His clothes belie his station.他的衣服掩饰了他的身分。

2 proprietor
n.所有人；业主；经营者
参考例句：
The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。 The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

3 inborn
adj.天生的，生来的，先天的
参考例句：
He is a man with an inborn love of joke.他是一个生来就喜欢开玩笑的人。 He had an inborn talent for languages.他有语言天分。

4 juvenile
n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的
参考例句：
For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。 Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

5 polytechnic
adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校
参考例句：
She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。 When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

6 sages
n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料）
参考例句：
Homage was paid to the great sages buried in the city. 向安葬在此城市的圣哲们表示敬意。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Confucius is considered the greatest of the ancient Chinese sages. 孔子被认为是古代中国最伟大的圣人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 overflowing
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式
参考例句：
The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。 The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

8 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。

9 skull
n.头骨；颅骨
参考例句：
The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。 He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

10 theatrical
adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的
参考例句：
The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。 She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

11 troupe
n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团
参考例句：
The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。 The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

12 distinguished
adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的
参考例句：
Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。 A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

13 artistic
adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的
参考例句：
The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。 These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

14 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

15 scattered
adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
参考例句：
Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

16 fully
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。 They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 palaver
adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话
参考例句：
We don't want all that palaver,do we?我们不想那样小题大做，不是吗？ Progress is neither proclamation nor palaver.进步不是宣言，也不是空谈。

18 zealous
adj.狂热的，热心的
参考例句：
She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。 She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。