The Choice of Life
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Chapter VIII

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1

We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.

The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.

"Rose, I do nothing but think of you. Who are you? What will become of you? I should like to anticipate everything, so as to save you every pain. Had you been happy and well-cared-for, I would have wished you trouble and grief. But, strengthened as you now are by many trials, you will be able to find in sorrows avoided and only seen in the distance all the good which we usually draw from them by draining them to the dregs."

"I am not afraid, I expect to be unhappy."

"I hope that you will not be unhappy. The change will be quite simple if it is wisely brought about; you will drop out of your present life like a ripe fruit dropping from its stalk."

"How shall I prepare myself?"

"So far, your chief merit has been patience. But now rouse yourself, look around you, judge, find out your good and bad qualities."

Rose interrupted me:

"My good qualities! Have I any?"

"Indeed you have: plenty of common sense, a great power of resistance, shrewdness. By means of these, you have been able to subdue1 the tyranny of others: can you not escape from that of your failings? Your life has adapted itself to an evil and stupid environment; it must now adapt itself to the environment of your own self."
2

From the neighbouring farms came the plaintive2, monotonous3 cry calling the cattle home. The drowsy4 sky became one universal grey, while the night dews covered the earth with a faint haze5.

"I am surprised that, when you were so unhappy, solitude6 did not appear to you in the light of a beautiful dream."

Rose's timid and astonished voice echoed my last words:

"A beautiful dream! Then do you like solitude?"

"Oh, Rose, I owe it the greatest, the only joys of my childhood! It was to gain solitude that, later, I set myself to win my independence, knowing that, if I did not meet with the love I wished, I should yet be happier alone than among others."
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1 subdue ltTwO     
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。
2 plaintive z2Xz1     
adj.可怜的，伤心的
参考例句：
  • Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
  • Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
3 monotonous FwQyJ     
adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的
参考例句：
  • She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
  • His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。
4 drowsy DkYz3     
adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的
参考例句：
  • Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
  • I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。
5 haze O5wyb     
n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊
参考例句：
  • I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
  • He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。
6 solitude xF9yw     
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
参考例句：
  • People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
  • They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。
7 exquisite zhez1     
adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的
参考例句：
  • I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
  • I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。
8 rapture 9STzG     
n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜
参考例句：
  • His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
  • In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。
9 throb aIrzV     
v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动
参考例句：
  • She felt her heart give a great throb.她感到自己的心怦地跳了一下。
  • The drums seemed to throb in his ears.阵阵鼓声彷佛在他耳边震响。
10 reigned d99f19ecce82a94e1b24a320d3629de5     
vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）
参考例句：
  • Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
11 reigns 0158e1638fbbfb79c26a2ce8b24966d2     
n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期
参考例句：
  • In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句
12 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
13 annoyance Bw4zE     
n.恼怒，生气，烦恼
参考例句：
  • Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
  • I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。
14 whittling 9677e701372dc3e65ea66c983d6b865f     
v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • Inflation has been whittling away their savings. 通货膨胀使他们的积蓄不断减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is whittling down the branch with a knife to make a handle for his hoe. 他在用刀削树枝做一把锄头柄。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 enquiring 605565cef5dc23091500c2da0cf3eb71     
a.爱打听的，显得好奇的
参考例句：
  • a child with an enquiring mind 有好奇心的孩子
  • Paul darted at her sharp enquiring glances. 她的目光敏锐好奇，保罗飞快地朝她瞥了一眼。
16 scent WThzs     
n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉
参考例句：
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
17 laden P2gx5     
adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的
参考例句：
  • He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
  • Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。
18 slanting bfc7f3900241f29cee38d19726ae7dce     
倾斜的，歪斜的
参考例句：
  • The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
  • The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。
19 treacherous eg7y5     
adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的
参考例句：
  • The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
  • The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。
20 pebbles e4aa8eab2296e27a327354cbb0b2c5d2     
[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
  • Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。
21 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地，出其不意地
参考例句：
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
22 coaxingly 2424e5a5134f6694a518ab5be2fcb7d5     
adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗
参考例句：
23 chary MUmyJ     
adj.谨慎的，细心的
参考例句：
  • She started a chary descent of the stairs.她开始小心翼翼地下楼梯。
  • She is chary of strangers.她见到陌生人会害羞。
24 bestow 9t3zo     
v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费
参考例句：
  • He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
  • What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？
25 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨
参考例句：
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
26 indifference k8DxO     
n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎
参考例句：
  • I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
27 lavishing 4b7b83033ee999ce025c767777f3e7cc     
v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • With the private sector sitting on its hands, Western governments are lavishing subsidies on CCS. 只有一些私营部门使用碳截存技术，西方政府在这项技术上挥霍了不少的津贴。 来自互联网
  • We were lavishing a little respect on China, which always works well with China. 我们给予中国一点尊重，而这样做对中国来说，通常都很受用。 来自互联网
28 petals f346ae24f5b5778ae3e2317a33cd8d9b     
n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
  • The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
29 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
30 scented a9a354f474773c4ff42b74dd1903063d     
adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)
参考例句：
  • I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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