The next morning Lewisham learnt from Lagune that his intuition was correct, that Ethel had at last succumbed¹ to pressure and consented to attempt thought-reading. "We made a good beginning," said Lagune, rubbing his hands. "I am sure we shall do well with her. Certainly she has powers. I have always felt it in her face. She has powers."

"Was much ... pressure necessary?" asked Lewisham by an effort.

"We had--considerable difficulty. Considerable. But of course--as I pointed² out to her--it was scarcely possible for her to continue as my typewriter unless she was disposed to take an interest in my investigations--"

"You did that?"

"Had to. Fortunately Chaffery--it was his idea. I must admit--"

Lagune stopped astonished. Lewisham, after making an odd sort of movement with his hands, had turned round and was walking away down the laboratory. Lagune stared; confronted by a psychic³ phenomenon beyond his circle of ideas. "Odd!" he said at last, and began to unpack⁴ his bag. Ever and again he stopped and stared at Lewisham, who was now sitting in his own place and drumming on the table with both hands.

Presently Miss Heydinger came out of the specimen⁵ room and addressed a remark to the young man. He appeared to answer with considerable brevity. He then stood up, hesitated for a moment between the three doors of the laboratory and walked out by that opening on the back staircase. Lagune did not see him again until the afternoon.

That night Ethel had Lewisham's company again on her way home, and their voices were earnest. She did not go straight home, but instead they went up under the gas lamps to the vague spaces of Clapham Common to talk there at length. And the talk that night was a momentous⁶ one. "Why have you broken your promise?" he said.

Her excuses were vague and weak. "I thought you did not care so much as you did," she said. "And when you stopped these walks--nothing seemed to matter. Besides--it is not like _seances_ with spirits ..."

At first Lewisham was

点击收听单词发音  

1 succumbed
不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死
参考例句：
The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。 After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

2 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 psychic
n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的
参考例句：
Some people are said to have psychic powers.据说有些人有通灵的能力。 She claims to be psychic and to be able to foretell the future.她自称有特异功能，能预知未来。

4 unpack
vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货
参考例句：
I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。 She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

5 specimen
n.样本，标本
参考例句：
You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。 This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

6 momentous
adj.重要的，重大的
参考例句：
I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。 The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

7 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。

8 turpitude
n.可耻；邪恶
参考例句：
He was considered unfit to hold office because of moral turpitude.因为道德上的可耻行为，他被认为不适担任公务员。 Let every declamation turn upon the beauty of liberty and virtue,and the deformity,turpitude,and malignity of slavery and vice.让每一篇演讲都来谈自由和道德之美，都来谈奴役和邪恶之丑陋、卑鄙和恶毒。

9 sob
n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣
参考例句：
The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。 The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。

10 gathering
n.集会，聚会，聚集
参考例句：
He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。 He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 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。

12 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 abruptly
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。

14 wailing
v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱
参考例句：
A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。 The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

15 longing
n.（for）渴望
参考例句：
Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。 His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

16 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

17 cramming
n.塞满，填鸭式的用功v.塞入( cram的现在分词 )；填塞；塞满；（为考试而）死记硬背功课
参考例句：
Being hungry for the whole morning, I couldn't help cramming myself. 我饿了一上午，禁不住狼吞虎咽了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She's cramming for her history exam. 她考历史之前临时抱佛脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 eloquent
adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的
参考例句：
He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。 These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

19 ignoble
adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的
参考例句：
There's something cowardly and ignoble about such an attitude.这种态度有点怯懦可鄙。 Some very great men have come from ignoble families.有些伟人出身低微。

20 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

21 drudgery
n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作
参考例句：
People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。 He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

22 bribes
n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂
参考例句：
It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。 corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

23 cant
n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔
参考例句：
The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。 He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

24 perplexed
adj.不知所措的
参考例句：
The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。 The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

25 quailed
害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
I quailed at the danger. 我一遇到危险，心里就发毛。 His heart quailed before the enormous pyramidal shape. 面对这金字塔般的庞然大物，他的心不由得一阵畏缩。 来自英汉文学

26 triumphantly
ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地
参考例句：
The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。 Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

27 garrulous
adj.唠叨的，多话的
参考例句：
He became positively garrulous after a few glasses of wine.他几杯葡萄酒下肚之后便唠唠叨叨说个没完。 My garrulous neighbour had given away the secret.我那爱唠叨的邻居已把秘密泄露了。

28 opportunely
adv.恰好地，适时地
参考例句：
He arrived rather opportunely just when we needed a new butler. 就在我们需要一个新管家的时候他凑巧来了。 来自互联网 Struck with sudden inspiration, Miss Martha seized the occasion so opportunely offered. 玛莎小姐此时灵机一动，及时地抓住了这个天赐良机。 来自互联网