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Part 3: The Fine Art VIII
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The sailing and racing1 of yachts has developed a class of fore-and-aft sailors, men born and bred to the sea, fishing in winter and yachting in summer; men to whom the handling of that particular rig presents no mystery. It is their striving for victory that has elevated the sailing of pleasure craft to the dignity of a fine art in that special sense. As I have said, I know nothing of racing and but little of fore-and-aft rig; but the advantages of such a rig are obvious, especially for purposes of pleasure, whether in cruising or racing. It requires less effort in handling; the trimming of the sail-planes to the wind can be done with speed and accuracy; the unbroken spread of the sail-area is of infinite advantage; and the greatest possible amount of canvas can be displayed upon the least possible quantity of spars. Lightness and concentrated power are the great qualities of fore-and-aft rig.
A fleet of fore-and-afters at anchor has its own slender graciousness. The setting of their sails resembles more than anything else the unfolding of a bird’s wings; the facility of their evolutions is a pleasure to the eye. They are birds of the sea, whose swimming is like flying, and resembles more a natural function than the handling of man-invented appliances. The fore-and-aft rig in its simplicity3 and the beauty of its aspect under every angle of vision is, I believe, unapproachable. A schooner4, yawl, or cutter in charge of a capable man seems to handle herself as if endowed with the power of reasoning and the gift of swift execution. One laughs with sheer pleasure at a smart piece of manoeuvring, as at a manifestation5 of a living creature’s quick wit and graceful6 precision.
Of those three varieties of fore-and-aft rig, the cutter — the racing rig PAR2 EXCELLENCE— is of an appearance the most imposing7, from the fact that practically all her canvas is in one piece. The enormous mainsail of a cutter, as she draws slowly past a point of land or the end of a jetty under your admiring gaze, invests her with an air of lofty and silent
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1
racing
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| n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
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par
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| n.标准,票面价值,平均数量;adj.票面的,平常的,标准的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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manifestation
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| n.表现形式;表明;现象 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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hull
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| n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的,易变的 | |
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partnership
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| n.合作关系,伙伴关系 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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infinity
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| n.无限,无穷,大量 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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humbug
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| n.花招,谎话,欺骗 | |
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artifices
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| n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 );诡计;巧妙办法;虚伪行为 | |
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knack
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| n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗,欺诈;骗局,诡计 | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的,难理解的 | |
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propensity
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| n.倾向;习性 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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wager
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| n.赌注;vt.押注,打赌 | |
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lurks
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| n.潜在,潜伏;(lurk的复数形式)vi.潜伏,埋伏(lurk的第三人称单数形式) | |
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temperament
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| n.气质,性格,性情 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员,水手,水兵 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此,从而 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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illustrate
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| v.举例说明,阐明;图解,加插图 | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越,显赫;高地,高处;名家 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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awaken
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| vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的,认真的,本着良心的 | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题 | |
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steamship
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| n.汽船,轮船 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行 | |
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arduous
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| adj.艰苦的,费力的,陡峭的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
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incertitude
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| n.疑惑,不确定 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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laborious
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| adj.吃力的,努力的,不流畅 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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