It was plain in a few days that nothing serious was amiss with the visitor. The attack, despite its dra-matic start, was less serious than its predecessor¹, and soon allowed his removal to Penge. His appearance and spirits re-mained poor, but that must be expected after influenza², and no one except Maurice felt the least uneasiness.

Maurice thought seldom about disease and death, but when he did it was with strong disapproval³. They could not be allowed to spoil his life or his friend's, and he brought all his youth and health to bear on Clive. He was with him constantly, going down uninvited to Penge for weekends or for a few days' holi-day, and trying by example rather than precept⁴ to cheer him up. Clive did not respond. He could rouse himself in company, and even affect interest in a right of way question that had arisen between the Durhams and the British Public, but when they were alone he relapsed into gloom, would not speak, or spoke⁵ in a half serious, half joking way that tells of mental ex-haustion. He determined⁶ to go to Greece. That was the only point on which he held firm. He would go, though the month would be September, and he alone. "It must be done," he said. "It is a vow⁷. Every barbarian⁸ must give the Acropolis its chance once."

Maurice had no use for Greece. His interest in the classics had been slight and obscene, and had vanished when he loved

Clive. The stories of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, of Phaedrus. of the Theban Band were well enough for those whose hearts were empty, but no substitute for life. That Clive should occa-sionally prefer them puzzled him. In Italy, which he liked well enough in spite of the food and the frescoes⁹

点击收听单词发音  

1 predecessor
n.前辈，前任
参考例句：
It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。 The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

2 influenza
n.流行性感冒，流感
参考例句：
They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施 Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

3 disapproval
n.反对，不赞成
参考例句：
The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。 They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

4 precept
n.戒律；格言
参考例句：
It occurs to me that example is always more efficacious than precept.我想到身教重于言教。 The son had well profited by the precept and example of the father.老太爷的言传身教早已使他儿子获益无穷。

5 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。

6 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。

7 vow
n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓
参考例句：
My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。 I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

8 barbarian
n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的
参考例句：
There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。 The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

9 frescoes
n.壁画( fresco的名词复数 )；温壁画技法，湿壁画
参考例句：
The Dunhuang frescoes are gems of ancient Chinese art. 敦煌壁画是我国古代艺术中的瑰宝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The frescoes in these churches are magnificent. 这些教堂里的壁画富丽堂皇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 custodian
n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守
参考例句：
Benitez believes his custodian is among the top five in world football.贝尼特斯坚信他的门将是当今足坛最出色的五人之一。 When his father died his uncle became his legal custodian.他父亲死后，他叔叔成了他的法定监护人。

11 inversion
n.反向，倒转，倒置
参考例句：
But sometimes there is an unusual weather condition called a temperature inversion.但有时会有一种被称作“温度逆增”的不平常的天气状态。 And finally,we made a discussion on the problems in the cooperative inversion.最后，对联合反演中存在的问题进行了讨论。

12 morbidity
n.病态；不健全；发病；发病率
参考例句：
MC's also significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality induced by honeybee venom. 肥大细胞同样也能显著降低蜜蜂毒液诱发疾病的发病率和死亡率。 来自互联网 The result shows that incidence of myopia morbidity is 44.84%. 结果表明：近视眼的发病率为44.84%。 来自互联网

13 antipathy
n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物
参考例句：
I feel an antipathy against their behaviour.我对他们的行为很反感。 Some people have an antipathy to cats.有的人讨厌猫。

14 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。

15 malicious
adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的
参考例句：
You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。 Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

16 vexing
adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论
参考例句：
It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题，而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句

17 athletic
adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的
参考例句：
This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。 He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

18 vexed
adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论
参考例句：
The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。 He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 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。

20 champagne
n.香槟酒；微黄色
参考例句：
There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。 They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

21 underlying
adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的
参考例句：
The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。 This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

22 descended
a.为...后裔的，出身于...的
参考例句：
A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。 The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

23 housekeeper
n.管理家务的主妇，女管家
参考例句：
A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。 She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

24 overdo
vt.把...做得过头，演得过火
参考例句：
Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。 The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

25 formulating
v.构想出( formulate的现在分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示
参考例句：
At present, the Chinese government is formulating nationwide regulations on the control of such chemicals. 目前，中国政府正在制定全国性的易制毒化学品管理条例。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书 Because of this, the U.S. has taken further steps in formulating the \"Magellan\" programme. 为此，美国又进一步制定了“麦哲伦”计划。 来自百科语句

26 tickling
反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法
参考例句：
Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？ Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

27 desolate
adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂
参考例句：
The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。 We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

28 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。

29 cynically
adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地
参考例句：
"Holding down the receiver,'said Daisy cynically. “挂上话筒在讲。”黛西冷嘲热讽地说。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比 The Democrats sensibly (if cynically) set about closing the God gap. 民主党在明智（有些讽刺）的减少宗教引起的问题。 来自互联网

30 addled
adj.（头脑）糊涂的，愚蠢的；（指蛋类）变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 )；使混乱；使腐臭；使变质
参考例句：
Being in love must have addled your brain. 坠入爱河必已使你神魂颠倒。 He has addled his head with reading and writing all day long. 他整天读书写字，头都昏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 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。

32 perverse
adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的
参考例句：
It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。 She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

33 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。

34 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。

35 virility
n.雄劲，丈夫气
参考例句：
He wanted his sons to become strong,virile,and athletic like himself.他希望他的儿子们能长得像他一样强壮、阳刚而又健美。 He is a tall,virile man with rugged good looks.他是个身材高大、体魄健壮、相貌粗犷英俊的男子。

36 pyjamas
n.（宽大的）睡衣裤
参考例句：
This pyjamas has many repairs.这件睡衣有许多修补过的地方。 Martin was in his pyjamas.马丁穿着睡衣。

37 pendulum
n.摆，钟摆
参考例句：
The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。 He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

38 dozed
v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He boozed till daylight and dozed into the afternoon. 他喝了个通霄，昏沉沉地一直睡到下午。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 I dozed off during the soporific music. 我听到这催人入睡的音乐，便不知不觉打起盹儿来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 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。

40 touching
adj.动人的，使人感伤的
参考例句：
It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。 His letter was touching.他的信很感人。