“SLATER’S PINS HAVE NO POINTS”

“Slater’s pins have no points — don’t you always find that?” said Miss Craye, turning round as the rose fell out of Fanny Wilmot’s dress, and Fanny stooped, with her cars full of the music, to look for the pin on the floor.

The words gave her an extraordinary shock, as Miss Craye struck the last chord of the Bach fugue. Did Miss Craye actually go to Slater’s and buy pins then, Fanny Wilmot asked herself, transfixed for a moment. Did she stand at the counter waiting like anybody else, and was she given a bill with coppers¹ wrapped in it, and did she slip them into her purse and then, an hour later, stand by her dressing² table and take out the pins? What need had she of pins? For she was not so much dressed as cased, like a beetle³ compactly in its sheath, blue in winter, green in summer. What need had she of pins — Julia Craye — who lived, it seemed in the cool glassy world of Bach fugues, playing to herself what she liked, to take one or two pupils at the and only consenting Archer⁴ Street College of Music (so the Principal, Miss Kingston, said) as a special favour to herself, who had “the greatest admiration⁵ for her in every way.” Miss Craye was left badly off, Miss Kingston was afraid, at her brother’s death. Oh, they used to have such lovely things, when they lived at Salisbury, and her brother Julius was, of course, a very well-known man: a famous archaeologist. It was a great privilege to stay with them, Miss Kingston said (“My family had always known them — they were regular Canterbury people,” Miss Kingston said), but a little frightening for a child; one had to be careful not to slam the door or bounce into the room unexpectedly. Miss Kingston, who gave little character sketches⁶ like this on the first day of term while she received cheques and wrote out receipts for them, smiled here. Yes, she had been rather a tomboy; she had bounced in and set all those green Roman glasses and things jumping in their case. The Crayes were not used to children. The Crayes were none of them married. They kept cats; the cats, one used to feel, knew as much about the Roman

点击收听单词发音  

1 coppers
铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币
参考例句：
I only paid a few coppers for it. 我只花了几个铜板买下这东西。 He had only a few coppers in his pocket. 他兜里仅有几个铜板。

2 dressing
n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料
参考例句：
Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。 The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

3 beetle
n.甲虫，近视眼的人
参考例句：
A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。 He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

4 archer
n.射手，弓箭手
参考例句：
The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。 The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

5 admiration
n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕
参考例句：
He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。 We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

6 sketches
n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概
参考例句：
The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。 You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 urns
n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮
参考例句：
Wine utensils unearthed include jars, urns, pots, bowls and cups. 发掘出的酒器皿有瓶、瓮、罐、壶、碗和杯子。 来自互联网 Ernie yearned to learn to turn urns. 呕尼渴望学会转咖啡壶。 来自互联网

8 pane
n.窗格玻璃，长方块
参考例句：
He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。 Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。

9 simultaneously
adv.同时发生地，同时进行地
参考例句：
The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。 The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

10 intensity
n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度
参考例句：
I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。 The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

11 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。

12 endorsing
v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品
参考例句：
Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网 Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

13 ascertaining
v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. 我当时是要弄清楚地下室是朝前还是朝后延伸的。 来自辞典例句 The design and ascertaining of permanent-magnet-biased magnetic bearing parameter are detailed introduced. 并对永磁偏置磁悬浮轴承参数的设计和确定进行了详细介绍。 来自互联网

14 frankly
adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说
参考例句：
To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。 Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

15 passionately
ad.热烈地，激烈地
参考例句：
She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。 He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

16 carnation
n.康乃馨（一种花）
参考例句：
He had a white carnation in his buttonhole.他在纽扣孔上佩了朵白色康乃馨。 He was wearing a carnation in his lapel.他的翻领里别着一枝康乃馨。

17 voluptuously
adv.风骚地，体态丰满地
参考例句：
He sniffed the perfume voluptuously. 他纵情地闻着香水的味道。 来自互联网

18 frustration
n.挫折，失败，失效，落空
参考例句：
He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。 He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

19 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。

20 brilliance
n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智
参考例句：
I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。 The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

21 positively
adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实
参考例句：
She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。 The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

22 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。

23 catching
adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住
参考例句：
There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。 Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

24 acridly
adj.辛辣的；刺鼻的；（性格、态度、言词等）刻薄的；尖刻的
参考例句：
acrid smoke from burning tyres 燃烧轮胎产生的刺鼻气味 I gulped the acrid liquid. 我把辛辣的药水一口咽了下去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 draughts
n. <英>国际跳棋
参考例句：
Seal (up) the window to prevent draughts. 把窗户封起来以防风。 I will play at draughts with him. 我跟他下一盘棋吧！

26 wry
adj.讽刺的；扭曲的
参考例句：
He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。 Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

27 acerbity
n.涩，酸，刻薄
参考例句：
His acerbity to his daughter came home to roost.他对女儿的刻薄得到了恶报。 The biggest to amino acerbity demand still is animal feed additive.对氨基酸需求量最大的仍是动物饲料添加剂。

28 chaste
adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的
参考例句：
Comparatively speaking,I like chaste poetry better.相比较而言，我更喜欢朴实无华的诗。 Tess was a chaste young girl.苔丝是一个善良的少女。

29 bosom
n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的
参考例句：
She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。 A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

30 sufficiently
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。 The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

31 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。

32 Oxford
n.牛津（英国城市）
参考例句：
At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。 This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

33 serpentine
adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的
参考例句：
One part of the Serpentine is kept for swimmers.蜿蜒河的一段划为游泳区。 Tremolite laths and serpentine minerals are present in places.有的地方出现透闪石板条及蛇纹石。

34 hunched
（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的
参考例句：
He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。 Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

35 graceful
adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的
参考例句：
His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了! The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

36 steering
n.操舵装置
参考例句：
He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。 Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

37 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

38 oar
n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行
参考例句：
The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。 The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

39 varied
adj.多样的，多变化的
参考例句：
The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。 The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

40 interfered
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉
参考例句：
Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 fatigue
n.疲劳，劳累
参考例句：
The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。 I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

42 semblance
n.外貌，外表
参考例句：
Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。 Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

43 horrid
adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的
参考例句：
I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。 The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

44 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

45 glossy
adj.平滑的；有光泽的
参考例句：
I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。 She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

46 memorable
adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的
参考例句：
This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。 The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

47 undertaking
n.保证，许诺，事业
参考例句：
He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。 He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

48 reticent
adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的
参考例句：
He was reticent about his opinion.他有保留意见。 He was extremely reticent about his personal life.他对自己的个人生活讳莫如深。

49 habitually
ad.习惯地，通常地
参考例句：
The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。 Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰，我来到他的椅子跟前。

50 warrior
n.勇士，武士，斗士
参考例句：
The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。 A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

51 bleak
adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的
参考例句：
They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。 The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

52 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。

53 ecstasy
n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷
参考例句：
He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。 Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

54 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。

55 spurting
（液体，火焰等）喷出，（使）涌出( spurt的现在分词 )； （短暂地）加速前进，冲刺； 溅射
参考例句：
Blood was spurting from her nose. 血从她鼻子里汩汩流出来。 The volcano was spurting out rivers of molten lava. 火山喷涌着熔岩。

56 descend
vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降
参考例句：
I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。 We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

57 cedar
n.雪松，香柏(木)
参考例句：
The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。 She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

58 dwelling
n.住宅，住所，寓所
参考例句：
Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。 He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

59 lamenting
adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Katydids were lamenting fall's approach. 蝈蝈儿正为秋天临近而哀鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money kept. 她正在吃后悔药呢，后悔自己没有毁了那张字条，把钱昧下来！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

60 cleaving
v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The freighter carrying pig iron is cleaving through the water. 装着生铁的货船正在破浪前进。 来自辞典例句 IL-10-cDNA fragment was obtained through cleaving pUC-T-IL-10cDNA by reconstriction enzymes. 结果：pcDNA3.1-IL-10酶切鉴定的电泳结果显示，pcDNA3.1-IL-10质粒有一个560bp左右的插入片断，大小和IL-10cDNA大致符合。 来自互联网

61 stiffened
加强的
参考例句：
He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。 She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

62 solitary
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。 The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

63 frugally
adv. 节约地, 节省地
参考例句：
They lived frugally off a diet of porridge and lentils. 他们生活节俭，只吃燕麦粥和小扁豆。 The enterprise is in live frugally, common people criterion enclasp pocket. 企业在节衣缩食，老百姓则握紧了口袋。

64 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。

65 kindled
（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光
参考例句：
We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。 The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

66 possessed
adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的
参考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。