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A Familiar Preface
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As a general rule we do not want much encouragement to talk about ourselves; yet this little book is the result of a friendly suggestion, and even of a little friendly pressure. I defended myself with some spirit; but, with characteristic tenacity1, the friendly voice insisted, “You know, you really must.”
It was not an argument, but I submitted at once. If one must! . . .
You perceive the force of a word. He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense. I don’t say this by way of disparagement2. It is better for mankind to be impressionable than reflective. Nothing humanely3 great — great, I mean, as affecting a whole mass of lives — has come from reflection. On the other hand, you cannot fail to see the power of mere4 words; such words as Glory, for instance, or Pity. I won’t mention any more. They are not far to seek. Shouted with perseverance5, with ardour, with conviction, these two by their sound alone have set whole nations in motion and upheaved the dry, hard ground on which rests our whole social fabric6. There’s “virtue7” for you if you like! . . . Of course the accent must be attended to. The right accent. That’s very important. The capacious lung, the thundering or the tender vocal8 chords. Don’t talk to me of your Archimedes’ lever.
He was an absent-minded person with a mathematical imagination. Mathematics commands all my respect, but I have no use for engines. Give me the right word and the right accent and I will move the world.
What a dream for a writer! Because written words have their accent, too. Yes! Let me only find the right word! Surely it must be lying somewhere among the
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1
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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disparagement
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| n.轻视,轻蔑 | |
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humanely
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| adv.仁慈地;人道地;富人情地;慈悲地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈,不屈不挠 | |
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fabric
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| n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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wreckage
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| n.(失事飞机等的)残骸,破坏,毁坏 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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jot
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| n.少量;vi.草草记下;vt.匆匆写下 | |
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jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 );草草记下,匆匆记下 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言,座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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posterity
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| n.后裔,子孙,后代 | |
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austere
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| adj.艰苦的;朴素的,朴实无华的;严峻的 | |
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grandiose
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| adj.宏伟的,宏大的,堂皇的,铺张的 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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potency
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| n. 效力,潜能 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神,英勇 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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embroil
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| vt.拖累;牵连;使复杂 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的;严肃的 | |
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esteemed
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| 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 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
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serially
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| adv.连续地,连续刊载地 | |
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remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 );告诫 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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thrift
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| adj.节约,节俭;n.节俭,节约 | |
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economist
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| n.经济学家,经济专家,节俭的人 | |
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incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的,屡教不改的 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈,洋洋得意 | |
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estranged
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| adj.疏远的,分离的 | |
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unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的,难解的,莫明其妙的 | |
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seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 ); 勾引; 诱使堕落; 使入迷 | |
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vibration
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| n.颤动,振动;摆动 | |
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solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 );孤独;荒僻的地方;人迹罕至的地方 | |
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sentient
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| adj.有知觉的,知悉的;adv.有感觉能力地 | |
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sustenance
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| n.食物,粮食;生活资料;生计 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地,宁静地,平静地 | |
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insignificance
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| n.不重要;无价值;无意义 | |
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meddlesome
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| adj.爱管闲事的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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standing
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| n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的,前进的;adv.向前,前进,在先 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情,怜悯 | |
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authoritative
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| adj.有权威的,可相信的;命令式的;官方的 | |
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alluded
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| 提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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autobiography
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| n.自传 | |
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unduly
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| adv.过度地,不适当地 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄,杆状物 | |
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impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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decency
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| n.体面,得体,合宜,正派,庄重 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 );低语声;怨言;嘀咕 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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acting
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| n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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creed
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| n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
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circumscribed
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| adj.[医]局限的:受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 );划定…范围;限制;限定 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地 | |
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ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的,不可言喻的 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 );尽头;手和足;极窘迫的境地 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的,坚持的 | |
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giggles
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| n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 );傻笑;玩笑;the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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nay
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| adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的 | |
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miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 );痛苦的事;穷困;常发牢骚的人 | |
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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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permissible
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| adj.可允许的,许可的 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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sanity
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| n.心智健全,神智正常,判断正确 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定 | |
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penetrates
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| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 );刺入;了解;渗透 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣 | |
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sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的),虚伪(的) | |
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irony
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| n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 | |
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judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判 | |
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notably
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| adv.值得注意地,显著地,尤其地,特别地 | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 );顾虑,顾忌v.感到于心不安,有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的,使人反感的 | |
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fanaticism
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| n.狂热,盲信 | |
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awakens
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| v.(使)醒( awaken的第三人称单数 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的,哲学上的,达观的 | |
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conversational
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| adj.对话的,会话的 | |
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discursive
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| adj.离题的,无层次的 | |
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discursiveness
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| n.漫谈离题,推论 | |
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irrelevant
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| adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的 | |
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chronological
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| adj.按年月顺序排列的,年代学的 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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fatuous
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| adj.愚昧的;昏庸的 | |
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placated
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| v.安抚,抚慰,使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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defense
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| n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的,无可非议的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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mingled
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| 混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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resonance
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| n.洪亮;共鸣;共振 | |
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