On the same morning Mike met Adair for the first time.

　　He was going across to school with Psmith and Jellicoe, when a groupof three came out of the gate of the house next door.

　　"That's Adair," said Jellicoe, "in the middle."His voice had assumed a tone almost of awe¹.

　　"Who's Adair?" asked Mike.

　　"Captain of cricket, and lots of other things."Mike could only see the celebrity's back. He had broad shoulders andwiry, light hair, almost white. He walked well, as if he were used torunning. Altogether a fit-looking sort of man. Even Mike's jaundicedeye saw that.

　　As a matter of fact, Adair deserved more than a casual glance. He wasthat rare type, the natural leader. Many boys and men, if accident, orthe passage of time, places them in a position where they are expectedto lead, can handle the job without disaster; but that is a verydifferent thing from being a born leader. Adair was of the sort thatcomes to the top by sheer force of character and determination. Hewas not naturally clever at work, but he had gone at it with a doggedresolution which had carried him up the school, and landed him high inthe Sixth. As a cricketer he was almost entirely² self-taught. Naturehad given him a good eye, and left the thing at that. Adair'sdoggedness had triumphed over her failure to do her work thoroughly³.

　　At the cost of more trouble than most people give to their life-workhe had made himself into a bowler⁴. He read the authorities, andwatched first-class players, and thought the thing out on his ownaccount, and he divided the art of bowling⁵ into three sections. First,and most important--pitch. Second on the list--break. Third--pace. Heset himself to acquire pitch. He acquired it. Bowling at his own paceand without any attempt at break, he could now drop the ball on anenvelope seven times out of ten.

　　Break was a more uncertain quantity. Sometimes he could get it at theexpense of pitch, sometimes at the expense of pace. Some days he couldget all three, and then he was an uncommonly⁶ bad man to face onanything but a

点击收听单词发音  

1 awe
n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧
参考例句：
The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。 The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 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。

3 thoroughly
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。 The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

4 bowler
n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手
参考例句：
The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确，对球速的掌握恰到好处。 The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下，换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。

5 bowling
n.保龄球运动
参考例句：
Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。 Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

6 uncommonly
adv. 稀罕(极，非常)
参考例句：
an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童 My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

7 plumb
adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深
参考例句：
No one could plumb the mystery.没人能看破这秘密。 It was unprofitable to plumb that sort of thing.这种事弄个水落石出没有什么好处。

8 sprints
n.短距离的全速奔跑( sprint的名词复数 )v.短距离疾跑( sprint的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
You can run sprints only so long before you're out of breath. 你死命地跑，只能跑那么一段时间，到了喘不上气的时候，只好停下来。 来自辞典例句 The cheetah finds the open grasslands ideal footing for its lightning-quick sprints. 非洲猎豹把开阔的草原作为它们闪电猎食的理想处所。 来自互联网

9 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？

10 possessed
adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的
参考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

11 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 passionate
adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的
参考例句：
He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。 He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

13 guardian
n.监护人；守卫者，保护者
参考例句：
The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。 The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

14 colossal
adj.异常的，庞大的
参考例句：
There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。 Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

15 blues
n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐
参考例句：
She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。 He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

16 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。

17 ruffled
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。 All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

18 persecuted
（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人
参考例句：
Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。 Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

19 jaw
n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训
参考例句：
He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。 A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

20 scowl
vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容
参考例句：
I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。 The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

21 suavely
参考例句：
He is suavely charming and all the ladies love him. 他温文尔雅，女士们都喜欢他。 来自互联网 Jiro: (Suavely) What do you think? What do you feel I'm like right now? 大东﹕（耍帅）你认为呢﹖我现在给你的感觉如何﹖。 来自互联网

22 brawl
n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂
参考例句：
They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。 I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

23 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

24 mimic
v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人
参考例句：
A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。 He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

25 archaeology
n.考古学
参考例句：
She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。 He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

26 caterpillar
n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫
参考例句：
A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。 A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

27 unnatural
adj.不自然的；反常的
参考例句：
Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？ She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

28 interfere
v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰
参考例句：
If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。 When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

29 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。

30 abominable
adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的
参考例句：
Their cruel treatment of prisoners was abominable.他们虐待犯人的做法令人厌恶。 The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。

31 alluding
提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )
参考例句：
He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。 But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

32 stumped
僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说
参考例句：
Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活，然后很艰难地走出房间。 He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌，半天说不出话来。