It was a house hewn from the frame of Cardinal¹ de Retz’s palace in the Rue² Monsieur, but once inside the door there was nothing of the past, nor of any present that Rosemary knew. The outer shell, the masonry³, seemed rather to enclose the future so that it was an electric-like shock, a definite nervous experience, perverted⁴ as a breakfast of oatmeal and hashish, to cross that threshold, if it could be so called, into the long hall of blue steel, silver-gilt, and the myriad⁵ facets⁶ of many oddly bevelled mirrors. The effect was unlike that of any part of the Decorative⁷ Arts Exhibition — for there were people IN it, not in front of it. Rosemary had the detached false-and-exalted feeling of being on a set and she guessed that every one else present had that feeling too.

There were about thirty people, mostly women, and all fashioned by Louisa M. Alcott or Madame de Ségur; and they functioned on this set as cautiously, as precisely⁸, as does a human hand picking up jagged broken glass. Neither individually nor as a crowd could they be said to dominate the environment, as one comes to dominate a work of art he may possess, no matter how esoteric, no one knew what this room meant because it was evolving into something else, becoming everything a room was not; to exist in it was as difficult as walking on a highly polished moving stairway, and no one could succeed at all save with the aforementioned qualities of a hand moving among broken glass — which qualities limited and defined the majority of those present.

These were of two sorts. There were the Americans and English who had been dissipating all spring and summer, so that now everything they did had a purely9

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1 cardinal
n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的
参考例句：
This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。 The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

2 rue
n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔
参考例句：
You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。 You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

3 masonry
n.砖土建筑；砖石
参考例句：
Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。 The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

4 perverted
adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落
参考例句：
Some scientific discoveries have been perverted to create weapons of destruction. 某些科学发明被滥用来生产毁灭性武器。 sexual acts, normal and perverted 正常的和变态的性行为

5 myriad
adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量
参考例句：
They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。 I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

6 facets
n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面
参考例句：
The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》 A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 decorative
adj.装饰的，可作装饰的
参考例句：
This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。 The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

8 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 purely
adv.纯粹地，完全地
参考例句：
I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。 This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

10 lethargic
adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的
参考例句：
He felt too miserable and lethargic to get dressed.他心情低落无精打采，完全没有心思穿衣整装。 The hot weather made me feel lethargic.炎热的天气使我昏昏欲睡。

11 breakdowns
n.分解( breakdown的名词复数 )；衰竭；（车辆或机器的）损坏；统计分析
参考例句：
Her old car was unreliable, so the trip was plagued by breakdowns. 她的旧车老不听使唤，一路上总是出故障。 来自辞典例句 How do we prevent these continual breakdowns? 我们如何防止这些一再出现的故障？ 来自辞典例句

12 gulp
vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽
参考例句：
She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。 Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

13 groomed
v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗
参考例句：
She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。 Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 gracefully
ad.大大方方地；优美地
参考例句：
She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。 The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

15 hoods
n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩
参考例句：
Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分 Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句

16 gnawed
咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物
参考例句：
His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。 The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

17 awed
adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 rodents
n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

19 corrugated
adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
a corrugated iron roof 波纹铁屋顶 His brow corrugated with the effort of thinking. 他皱着眉头用心地思考。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 divers
adj.不同的；种种的
参考例句：
He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。 Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

22 starched
adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
My clothes are not starched enough. 我的衣服浆得不够硬。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The ruffles on his white shirt were starched and clean. 白衬衫的褶边浆过了，很干净。 来自辞典例句

23 desperately
adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地
参考例句：
He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。 He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

24 sweeping
adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的
参考例句：
The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。 Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

25 brittle
adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的
参考例句：
The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。 She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

26 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。

27 darted
v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔
参考例句：
The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

29 defiantly
adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地
参考例句：
Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 promenading
v.兜风( promenade的现在分词 )
参考例句：
No doubt this "promenading" was not at all to her taste. 没有问题，这样“溜圈儿”是压根儿不合她口胃的。 来自辞典例句 People were promenading about the town. 人们在镇上闲步[漫步]。 来自互联网

31 insouciantly
adj.无忧无虑的，漠不关心的
参考例句：
His insouciant handling of the oil spill in the Gulf is under fire from all sides. 他处理波斯湾漏油事件的漫不经心遭至各路讨伐。 来自辞典例句 Or perhaps the insouciant Rue Saint-Denis, where French Montrealers go to see and be seen. 也许是圣丹尼路上漫不经心的格调，法裔蒙城人去那里欣赏别人和展示自己。 来自互联网

32 battering
n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The film took a battering from critics in the US. 该影片在美国遭遇到批评家的猛烈抨击。 He kept battering away at the door. 他接连不断地砸门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 persistently
ad.坚持地；固执地
参考例句：
He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。 She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

34 reluctance
n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿
参考例句：
The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。 He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

35 recalcitrant
adj.倔强的
参考例句：
The University suspended the most recalcitrant demonstraters.这所大学把几个反抗性最强的示威者开除了。 Donkeys are reputed to be the most recalcitrant animals.驴被认为是最倔强的牲畜。

36 sobs
啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句：
She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。 She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

37 faltered
（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃
参考例句：
He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。 "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

38 ravenously
adv.大嚼地，饥饿地
参考例句：
We were all ravenously hungry after the walk. 我们散步之后都饿得要命。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The boys dug in ravenously. 男孩们开始狼吞虎咽地吃起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 twilight
n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期
参考例句：
Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。 Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

40 tranquil
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的
参考例句：
The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。 The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

41 majesty
n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权
参考例句：
The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。 Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

42 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。

43 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。

44 strings
n.弦
参考例句：
He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。 She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

45 innocence
n.无罪；天真；无害
参考例句：
There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。 The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

46 clandestine
adj.秘密的，暗中从事的
参考例句：
She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。 The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

47 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。

48 duel
n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争
参考例句：
The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。 Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

49 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。

50 incisive
adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的
参考例句：
His incisive remarks made us see the problems in our plans.他的话切中要害，使我们看到了计划中的一些问题。 He combined curious qualities of naivety with incisive wit and worldly sophistication.他集天真质朴的好奇、锐利的机智和老练的世故于一体。

51 irony
n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄
参考例句：
She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。 In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

52 tabloid
adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘
参考例句：
He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。 He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

53 fleetingly
adv.飞快地，疾驰地
参考例句：
The quarks and gluons indeed break out of confinement and behave collectively, if only fleetingly. 夸克与胶子确实打破牢笼而表现出集体行为，虽然这种状态转瞬即逝。 来自互联网

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