The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding¹ a recondite² matter to us. His grey eyes shone and twinkled, and his usually pale face was flushed and animated³. The fire burned brightly, and the soft radiance of the incandescent⁴ lights in the lilies of silver caught the bubbles that flashed and passed in our glasses. Our chairs, being his patents, embraced and caressed⁵ us rather than submitted to be sat upon, and there was that luxurious⁶ after-dinner atmosphere when thought roams gracefully⁷ free of the trammels of precision. And he put it to us in this way--marking the points with a lean forefinger⁸--as we sat and lazily admired his earnestness over this new paradox⁹ (as we thought it:) and his fecundity¹⁰.

`You must follow me carefully. I shall have to controvert¹¹ one or two ideas that are almost universally accepted. The geometry, for instance, they taught you at school is founded on a misconception.'

`Is not that rather a large thing to expect us to begin upon?' said Filby, an argumentative person with red hair.

`I do not mean to ask you to accept anything without reasonable ground for it. You will soon admit as much as I need from you. You know of course that a mathematical line, a line of thickness NIL¹²

点击收听单词发音  

1 expounding
论述，详细讲解( expound的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Soon Gandhi was expounding the doctrine of ahimsa (nonviolence). 不久甘地就四出阐释非暴力主义思想。 He was expounding, of course, his philosophy of leadership. 当然，他这是在阐述他的领导哲学。

2 recondite
adj.深奥的，难解的
参考例句：
Her poems are modishly experimental in style and recondite in subject-matter.她的诗在风格上是时髦的实验派，主题艰深难懂。 To a craftsman,the ancient article with recondite and scholastic words was too abstruse to understand.可是对一个车轮师父而言，这些之乎者也的文言文是太深而难懂的。

3 animated
adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的
参考例句：
His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。 We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

4 incandescent
adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的
参考例句：
The incandescent lamp we use in daily life was invented by Edison.我们日常生活中用的白炽灯，是爱迪生发明的。 The incandescent quality of his words illuminated the courage of his countrymen.他炽热的语言点燃了他本国同胞的勇气。

5 caressed
爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。 He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。

6 luxurious
adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的
参考例句：
This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。 The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

7 gracefully
ad.大大方方地；优美地
参考例句：
She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。 The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

8 forefinger
n.食指
参考例句：
He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。 He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。

9 paradox
n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)
参考例句：
The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。 The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

10 fecundity
n.生产力；丰富
参考例句：
The probability of survival is the reciprocal of fecundity.生存的概率是生殖力的倒数。 The boy's fecundity of imagination amazed his teacher.男孩想像力的丰富使教师感到惊异。

11 controvert
v.否定；否认
参考例句：
The statement of the last witness controvert the evidence of the first two.最后一个证人的陈述反驳了前两人的证词。 She would never controvert with her father.她绝不会跟她的父亲争论。

12 nil
n.无，全无，零
参考例句：
My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。 Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

13 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。

14 pensive
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的
参考例句：
He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁，一副忧虑的样子。 He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。

15 intermittently
adv.间歇地；断断续续
参考例句：
Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学 The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

16 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。

17 provincial
adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人
参考例句：
City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

18 mathematicians
数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗？ 来自英汉文学 Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分

19 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。

20 philosophical
adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的
参考例句：
The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。 She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

21 lapsed
adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失
参考例句：
He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。 He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 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。

23 barometer
n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标
参考例句：
The barometer marked a continuing fall in atmospheric pressure.气压表表明气压在继续下降。 The arrow on the barometer was pointing to"stormy".气压计上的箭头指向“有暴风雨”。

24 vertical
adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置
参考例句：
The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。 Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

25 velocity
n.速度，速率
参考例句：
Einstein's theory links energy with mass and velocity of light.爱因斯坦的理论把能量同质量和光速联系起来。 The velocity of light is about 300000 kilometres per second.光速约为每秒300000公里。

26 vividly
adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地
参考例句：
The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。 The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

27 savage
adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人
参考例句：
The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。 He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

28 civilized
a.有教养的，文雅的
参考例句：
Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。 rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

29 investigations
（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究
参考例句：
His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。 He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

30 contented
adj.满意的，安心的，知足的
参考例句：
He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。 The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

31 remarkably
ad.不同寻常地，相当地
参考例句：
I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。 He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

32 tolerance
n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差
参考例句：
Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。 Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

33 strictly
adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地
参考例句：
His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。 The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

34 extravagant
adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的
参考例句：
They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。 He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

35 humbug
n.花招，谎话，欺骗
参考例句：
I know my words can seem to him nothing but utter humbug.我知道，我说的话在他看来不过是彻头彻尾的慌言。 All their fine words are nothing but humbug.他们的一切花言巧语都是骗人的。

36 slippers
n. 拖鞋
参考例句：
a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋 He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

37 shuffling
adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式
参考例句：
Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

38 anecdote
n.轶事，趣闻，短故事
参考例句：
He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。 It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

39 collapsed
adj.倒塌的
参考例句：
Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。 The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

40 metallic
adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的
参考例句：
A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。 He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

41 transparent
adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的
参考例句：
The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。 The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

42 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。

43 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。

44 mechanism
n.机械装置；机构，结构
参考例句：
The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。 The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

45 brass
n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器
参考例句：
Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。 Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

46 illuminated
adj.被照明的；受启迪的
参考例句：
Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。 the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

47 adroitly
adv.熟练地，敏捷地
参考例句：
He displayed the cigarette holder grandly on every occasion and had learned to manipulate it adroitly. 他学会了一套用手灵巧地摆弄烟嘴的动作，一有机会就要拿它炫耀一番。 来自辞典例句 The waitress passes a fine menu to Molly who orders dishes adroitly. 女服务生捧来菜单递给茉莉，后者轻车熟路地点菜。 来自互联网

48 apparatus
n.装置，器械；器具，设备
参考例句：
The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。 They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

49 askew
adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的
参考例句：
His glasses had been knocked askew by the blow.他的眼镜一下子被打歪了。 Her hat was slightly askew.她的帽子戴得有点斜。

50 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

51 gliding
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的
参考例句：
Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。 The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

52 quack
n.庸医；江湖医生；冒充内行的人；骗子
参考例句：
He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生，可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。 The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。

53 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。

54 eddy
n.漩涡，涡流
参考例句：
The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。 In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

55 stupor
v.昏迷；不省人事
参考例句：
As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作，他逐渐醉得不省人事。 The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。

56 lighting
n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光
参考例句：
The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。 The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

57 interval
n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息
参考例句：
The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。 There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

58 impartiality
n. 公平, 无私, 不偏
参考例句：
He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。 Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。

59 diluted
无力的，冲淡的
参考例句：
The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。 This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

60 reassured
adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

61 psychology
n.心理，心理学，心理状态
参考例句：
She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。 He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

62 delightfully
大喜，欣然
参考例句：
The room is delightfully appointed. 这房子的设备令人舒适愉快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The evening is delightfully cool. 晚间凉爽宜人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

63 plausible
adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的
参考例句：
His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。 Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

64 flickering
adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的
参考例句：
The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。 The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

65 silhouette
n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓
参考例句：
I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。 I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

66 beheld
v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟
参考例句：
His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

67 quartz
n.石英
参考例句：
There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。 The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

68 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。 Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

69 winked
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮
参考例句：
He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。 He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》