The season of irresponsibility is at hand. Come, let us twine¹ round our brows wreaths of poison ivy² (that is for idiocy), and wander hand in hand with sociology in the summer fields.

Likely as not the world is flat. The wise men have tried to prove that it is round, with indifferent success. They pointed³ out to us a ship going to sea, and bade us observe that, at length, the convexity of the earth hid from our view all but the vessel's topmast. But we picked up a telescope and looked, and saw the decks and hull⁴ again. Then the wise men said: "Oh, pshaw! anyhow, the variation of the intersection⁵ of the equator and the ecliptic proves it." We could not see this through our telescope, so we remained silent. But it stands to reason that, if the world were round, the queues of China-Men would stand straight up from their heads instead of hanging down their backs, as travellers assure us they do.

Another hot-weather corroboration⁶ of the flat theory is the fact that all of life, as we know it, moves in little, unavailing circles. More justly than to anything else, it can be likened to the game of baseball. Crack! we hit the ball, and away we go. If we earn a run (in life we call it success) we get back to the home plate and sit upon a bench. If we are thrown out, we walk back to the home plate -- and sit upon a bench.

The circumnavigators of the alleged⁷ globe may have sailed the rim⁸ of a watery⁹ circle back to the same port again. The truly great return at the high tide of their attainments¹⁰ to the

点击收听单词发音  

1 twine
v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕
参考例句：
He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。 Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。

2 ivy
n.常青藤，常春藤
参考例句：
Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。 The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

3 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。

4 hull
n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳
参考例句：
The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。 The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

5 intersection
n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集
参考例句：
There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。 Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

6 corroboration
n.进一步的证实，进一步的证据
参考例句：
Without corroboration from forensic tests,it will be difficult to prove that the suspect is guilty. 没有法医化验的确证就很难证明嫌疑犯有罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Definitely more independent corroboration is necessary. 有必要更明确地进一步证实。 来自辞典例句

7 alleged
a.被指控的，嫌疑的
参考例句：
It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。 alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 rim
n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界
参考例句：
The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。 She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

9 watery
adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的
参考例句：
In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。 Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

10 attainments
成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就
参考例句：
a young woman of impressive educational attainments 一位学业成就斐然的年轻女子 He is a scholar of the highest attainments in this field. 他在这一领域是一位颇有造就的学者。

11 simplicity
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
参考例句：
She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。 The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

12 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。

13 clam
n.蛤，蛤肉
参考例句：
Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀！我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。 The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。

14 subscriber
n.用户，订户；（慈善机关等的）定期捐款者；预约者；签署者
参考例句：
The subscriber to a government loan has got higher interest than savings. 公债认购者获得高于储蓄的利息。 来自辞典例句 Who is the subscriber of that motto? 谁是那条座右铭的签字者？ 来自辞典例句

15 toadies
n.谄媚者，马屁精( toady的名词复数 )v.拍马，谄媚( toady的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
The toadies were gone, for the outgoing president had nothing to give. 哈巴狗都走了，因为即将离任的总统再没有东西可给他们了。 来自辞典例句 The toadies were gone, for the outgoing president had nothing to give them. 哈巴狗都走了，因为即将离任的总统再没有东西可给他们了。 来自辞典例句

16 kin
n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的
参考例句：
He comes of good kin.他出身好。 She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

17 intrusive
adj.打搅的；侵扰的
参考例句：
The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。 Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

18 skyscrapers
n.摩天大楼
参考例句：
A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。 On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

19 scrap
n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废
参考例句：
A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。 Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

20 granite
adj.花岗岩，花岗石
参考例句：
They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。 The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

21 prospective
adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的
参考例句：
The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。 They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

22 wreaked
诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。 They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

23 lobster
n.龙虾，龙虾肉
参考例句：
The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。 I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

24 justification
n.正当的理由；辩解的理由
参考例句：
There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。 In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

25 cane
n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的
参考例句：
This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。 English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

26 ragged
adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的
参考例句：
A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。 Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

27 wrecked
adj.失事的，遇难的
参考例句：
the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸 the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

28 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。

29 scrutiny
n.详细检查，仔细观察
参考例句：
His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。 Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

30 auger
n.螺丝钻，钻孔机
参考例句：
We make a hole in the ice with an auger.我们用螺旋钻在冰上钻洞。 Already the Snowblast's huge auger blades were engorging snow.扬雪车上庞大的钻头叶片在开始大量吞进积雪。

31 logician
n.逻辑学家
参考例句：
Mister Wu Feibai is a famous Mohist and logician in Chinese modern and contemporary history. 伍非百先生是中国近、现代著名的墨学家和逻辑学家。 来自互联网

32 liar
n.说谎的人
参考例句：
I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！ She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

33 hooted
（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
An owl hooted nearby. 一只猫头鹰在附近啼叫。 The crowd hooted and jeered at the speaker. 群众向那演讲人发出轻蔑的叫嚣和嘲笑。

34 spat
n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声
参考例句：
Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。 There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

35 swell
vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强
参考例句：
The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。 His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

36 bluff
v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗
参考例句：
His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。 John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

37 aristocrat
n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物
参考例句：
He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。 He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

38 concisely
adv.简明地
参考例句：
These equations are written more concisely as a single columnmatrix equation. 这些方程以单列矩阵方程表示会更简单。 来自辞典例句 The fiber morphology can be concisely summarized. 可以对棉纤维的形态结构进行扼要地归纳。 来自辞典例句

39 mollycoddle
v.溺爱，娇养
参考例句：
Christopher accused me of mollycoddling Andrew.克里斯托弗指责我太宠着安德鲁。 You shouldn't mollycoddle your kids.你不应该溺爱你的孩子。

40 cocktails
n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物
参考例句：
Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句 Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

41 gorillas
n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手
参考例句：
the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像 Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 neatly
adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地
参考例句：
Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。 The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

43 taunted
嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落
参考例句：
The other kids continually taunted him about his size. 其他孩子不断地耻笑他的个头儿。 Some of the girls taunted her about her weight. 有些女孩子笑她胖。

44 adversary
adj.敌手，对手
参考例句：
He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。 They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

45 patrician
adj.贵族的，显贵的；n.贵族；有教养的人；罗马帝国的地方官
参考例句：
The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。 Its patrician dignity was a picturesque sham.它的贵族的尊严只是一套华丽的伪装。

46 stigma
n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头
参考例句：
Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。 The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

47 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。

48 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

49 relevance
n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性
参考例句：
Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。 Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

50 automobile
n.汽车，机动车
参考例句：
He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。 The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

51 wrangle
vi.争吵
参考例句：
I don't want to get into a wrangle with the committee.我不想同委员会发生争执。 The two countries fell out in a bitter wrangle over imports.这两个国家在有关进口问题的激烈争吵中闹翻了。

52 knight
n.骑士，武士；爵士
参考例句：
He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。 A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

53 tilt
v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜
参考例句：
She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。 The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

54 trumpets
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花
参考例句：
A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。 A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

55 scrambled
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞
参考例句：
Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

56 foe
n.敌人，仇敌
参考例句：
He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。 A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

57 lengthened
（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。 He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

58 feud
n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇
参考例句：
How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？ The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

59 instinctive
adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的
参考例句：
He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。 Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

60 strife
n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争
参考例句：
We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。 Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

61 incessantly
ad.不停地
参考例句：
The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。 It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

62 inconveniently
ad.不方便地
参考例句：
Hardware encrypting resists decryption intensely, but it use inconveniently for user. 硬件加密方法有较强的抗解密性，但用户使用不方便。 Even implementing the interest-deferral scheme for homeowners has proved inconveniently tricky. 甚至是对房主实行的推迟利息的方案，结果证明也是极不方便的。

63 gravel
n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石
参考例句：
We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。 More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

64 subdue
vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制
参考例句：
She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。 He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

65 frightful
adj.可怕的；讨厌的
参考例句：
How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！ We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

66 pensively
adv.沉思地，焦虑地
参考例句：
Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句 "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉，真的，"嘉莉幽幽地说，"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

67 offhandedly
adv.立即地；即席地；未经准备地；不客气地
参考例句：
She had made these remarks offhandedly. 她即席做了这些评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She threw him over offhandedly without even a dear-john letter. 她随即就把他甩了，甚至连封分手信都没有写。 来自互联网

68 millennium
n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世
参考例句：
The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。 We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

69 swarmed
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去
参考例句：
When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。 When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

70 vampire
n.吸血鬼
参考例句：
It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！ Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

71 illustrated
adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。 The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

72 sociologist
n.研究社会学的人，社会学家
参考例句：
His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。 Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

73 brotherhood
n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊
参考例句：
They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。 They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

74 esteemed
adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为
参考例句：
The art of conversation is highly esteemed in France. 在法国十分尊重谈话技巧。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He esteemed that he understood what I had said. 他认为已经听懂我说的意思了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

75 eminent
adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的
参考例句：
We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。 He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

76 vindictive
adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的
参考例句：
I have no vindictive feelings about it.我对此没有恶意。 The vindictive little girl tore up her sister's papers.那个充满报复心的小女孩撕破了她姐姐的作业。

77 linen
n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的
参考例句：
The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。 Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。