THE NEXT DAY the commander-in-chief gave a dinner and a ball, which the Tsar honoured with his presence.

Kutuzov had received the Order of St. George of the first rank; the Tsar had shown him the highest marks of respect, but every one was aware that the Tsar was displeased¹ with the commander-in-chief. The proprieties² were observed, and the Tsar set the first example in doing so. But every one knew that the old man was in fault, and had shown his incapacity. When, in accordance with the old custom of Catherine's time, Kutuzov gave orders for the captured standards to be lowered at the Tsar's feet on his entering the ball-room, the Tsar frowned with vexation, and muttered words, which some heard as: “The old comedian³.”

The Tsar's displeasure was increased at Vilna by Kutuzov's obvious unwillingness⁴ or incapacity to see the importance of the approaching campaign.

When next morning the Tsar said to the officers gathered about him: “You have not only saved Russia, you have saved Europe,” every one knew at once that the war was not over.

Kutuzov alone refused to see this, and frankly⁵ gave it as his opinion that no fresh war could improve the position of Russia, or add to her glory; that it could but weaken her position, and cast her down from that high pinnacle⁶ of glory at which in his view Russia was standing⁷ now. He tried to show the Tsar the impossibility of levying⁸ fresh troops, and talked of the hardships the people were suffering, the possibility of failure, and so on.

Such being his attitude on the subject, the commander-in-chief could naturally be looked upon only as a hindrance⁹ and a drag on the progress of the coming campaign.

点击收听单词发音  

1 displeased
a.不快的
参考例句：
The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

2 proprieties
n.礼仪，礼节；礼貌( propriety的名词复数 )；规矩；正当；合适
参考例句：
"Let us not forget the proprieties due. "咱们别忘了礼法。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡 Be careful to observe the proprieties. 注意遵守礼仪。 来自辞典例句

3 comedian
n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员
参考例句：
The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。 The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

4 unwillingness
n. 不愿意，不情愿
参考例句：
Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。 His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

5 frankly
adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说
参考例句：
To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。 Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 pinnacle
n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰
参考例句：
Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。 It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

7 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 levying
征（兵）( levy的现在分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税
参考例句：
The high tax will be given levying to the foreign country car. 对外国汽车要予以征收高税。 Levying estate income tax are considered to be goods tax. 遗产税是在财产所有者死亡后所征收的税。

9 hindrance
n.妨碍，障碍
参考例句：
Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。 The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

10 friction
n.摩擦，摩擦力
参考例句：
When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。 Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

11 toll
n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)
参考例句：
The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。 The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 exchequer
n.财政部；国库
参考例句：
In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。 This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。

13 militia
n.民兵，民兵组织
参考例句：
First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。 There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

14 annihilated
v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃
参考例句：
Our soldiers annihilated a force of three hundred enemy troops. 我军战士消灭了300名敌军。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 We annihilated the enemy. 我们歼灭了敌人。 来自《简明英汉词典》