CHAPTER VI.
LONDON.
The next day was the first of March, and when I awoke, rose, and opened my curtain, I saw the risen sun struggling through fog. Above my head, above the house-tops, co-elevate almost with the clouds, I saw a solemn, orbed mass, dark blue and dim—THE DOME1. While I looked, my inner self moved; my spirit shook its always-fettered wings half loose; I had a sudden feeling as if I, who never yet truly lived, were at last about to taste life. In that morning my soul grew as fast as Jonah’s gourd2.
“I did well to come,” I said, proceeding3 to dress with speed and care. “I like the spirit of this great London which I feel around me. Who but a coward would pass his whole life in hamlets; and for ever abandon his faculties4 to the eating rust5 of obscurity?”
Being dressed, I went down; not travel-worn and exhausted6, but tidy and refreshed. When the waiter came in with my breakfast, I managed to accost7 him sedately8, yet cheerfully; we had ten minutes’ discourse9, in the course of which we became usefully known to each other.
He was a grey-haired, elderly man; and, it seemed, had lived in his present place twenty years. Having ascertained11 this, I was sure he must remember my two uncles, Charles and Wilmot, who, fifteen, years ago, were frequent visitors here. I mentioned their names; he recalled them perfectly12, and with respect. Having intimated my connection, my position in his eyes was henceforth clear, and on a right footing. He said I was like my uncle Charles: I suppose he spoke13 truth, because Mrs. Barrett was accustomed to say the same thing. A ready and obliging courtesy now replaced his former uncomfortably doubtful manner; henceforth I need no longer be at a loss for a civil answer to a sensible question.
The street on which my little sitting-room14 window looked was narrow, perfectly quiet, and not dirty: the few passengers were just such as one sees in provincial15 towns: here was nothing formidable; I felt sure I might venture out alone.
Having breakfasted, out I went. Elation16 and pleasure were in my heart: to walk alone in London seemed of itself an adventure. Presently I found myself in Paternoster Row—classic ground this. I entered a bookseller’s shop, kept by one Jones: I bought a little book—a piece of extravagance I could ill afford; but I thought I would one day give or send it to Mrs. Barrett. Mr. Jones, a dried-in man of business, stood behind his desk: he seemed one of the greatest, and I one of the happiest of beings.
Prodigious17 was the amount of life I lived that morning. Finding myself before St. Paul’s, I went in; I mounted to the dome: I saw thence London, with its river, and its bridges, and its churches; I saw antique Westminster, and the green Temple Gardens, with sun upon them, and a glad, blue sky, of early spring above; and between them and it, not too dense19, a cloud of haze20.
Descending21, I went wandering whither chance might lead, in a still ecstasy22 of freedom and enjoyment; and I got—I know not how—I got into the heart of city life. I saw and felt London at last: I got into the Strand23; I went up Cornhill; I mixed with the life passing along; I dared the perils25 of crossings. To do this, and to do it utterly26 alone, gave me, perhaps an irrational27, but a real pleasure. Since those days, I have seen the West End, the parks, the fine squares; but I love the city far better. The city seems so much more in earnest: its business, its rush, its roar, are such serious things, sights, and sounds. The city is getting its living—the West End but enjoying its pleasure. At the West End you may be amused, but in the city you are deeply excited.
Faint, at last, and hungry (it was years since I had felt such healthy hunger), I returned, about two o’clock, to my dark, old, and quiet inn. I dined on two dishes—a plain joint and vegetables; both seemed excellent: how much better than the small, dainty messes Miss Marchmont’s cook used to send up to my kind, dead mistress and me, and to the discussion of which we could not bring half an appetite between us! Delightfully28 tired, I lay down, on three chairs for an hour (the room did not boast a sofa). I slept, then I woke and thought for two hours.
My state of mind, and all accompanying circumstances, were just now such as most to favour the adoption29 of a new, resolute30, and daring—perhaps desperate—line of action. I had nothing to lose. Unutterable loathing31 of a desolate32 existence past, forbade return. If I failed in what I now designed to undertake, who, save myself, would suffer? If I died far away from—home, I was going to say, but I had no home—from England, then, who would weep?
I might suffer; I was inured33 to suffering: death itself had not, I thought, those terrors for me which it has for the softly reared. I had, ere this, looked on the thought of death with a quiet eye. Prepared, then, for any consequences, I formed a project.
That same evening I obtained from my friend, the waiter, information respecting, the sailing of vessels35 for a certain continental36 port, Boue-Marine. No time, I found, was to be lost: that very night I must take my berth37. I might, indeed, have waited till the morning before going on board, but would not run the risk of being too late.
“Better take your berth at once, ma’am,” counselled the waiter. I agreed with him, and having discharged my bill, and acknowledged my friend’s services at a rate which I now know was princely, and which in his eyes must have seemed absurd—and indeed, while pocketing the cash, he smiled a faint smile which intimated his opinion of the donor’s savoir-faire—he proceeded to call a coach. To the driver he also recommended me, giving at the same time an injunction about taking me, I think, to the wharf38, and not leaving me to the watermen; which that functionary39 promised to observe, but failed in keeping his promise: on the contrary, he offered me up as an oblation40, served me as a dripping roast, making me alight in the midst of a throng41 of watermen.
This was an uncomfortable crisis. It was a dark night. The coachman instantly drove off as soon as he had got his fare: the watermen commenced a struggle for me and my trunk. Their oaths I hear at this moment: they shook my philosophy more than did the night, or the isolation42, or the strangeness of the scene. One laid hands on my trunk. I looked on and waited quietly; but when another laid hands on me, I spoke up, shook off his touch, stepped at once into a boat, desired austerely43 that the trunk should be placed beside me—“Just there,”—which was instantly done; for the owner of the boat I had chosen became now an ally: I was rowed off.
Black was the river as a torrent44 of ink; lights glanced on it from the piles of building round, ships rocked on its bosom45. They rowed me up to several vessels; I read by lantern-light their names painted in great white letters on a dark ground. “The Ocean,” “The Phoenix,” “The Consort,” “The Dolphin,” were passed in turns; but “The Vivid” was my ship, and it seemed she lay further down.
Down the sable46 flood we glided47, I thought of the Styx, and of Charon rowing some solitary48 soul to the Land of Shades. Amidst the strange scene, with a chilly49 wind blowing in my face and midnight clouds dropping rain above my head; with two rude rowers for companions, whose insane oaths still tortured my ear, I asked myself if I was wretched or terrified. I was neither. Often in my life have I been far more so under comparatively safe circumstances. “How is this?” said I. “Methinks I am animated50 and alert, instead of being depressed51 and apprehensive52?” I could not tell how it was.
“THE VIVID” started out, white and glaring, from the black night at last.—“Here you are!” said the waterman, and instantly demanded six shillings.
“You ask too much,” I said. He drew off from the vessel34 and swore he would not embark53 me till I paid it. A young man, the steward54 as I found afterwards, was looking over the ship’s side; he grinned a smile in anticipation55 of the coming contest; to disappoint him, I paid the money. Three times that afternoon I had given crowns where I should have given shillings; but I consoled myself with the reflection, “It is the price of experience.”
“They’ve cheated you!” said the steward exultingly56 when I got on board. I answered phlegmatically57 that “I knew it,” and went below.
A stout58, handsome, and showy woman was in the ladies’ cabin. I asked to be shown my berth; she looked hard at me, muttered something about its being unusual for passengers to come on board at that hour, and seemed disposed to be less than civil. What a face she had—so comely—so insolent59 and so selfish!
“Now that I am on board, I shall certainly stay here,” was my answer. “I will trouble you to show me my berth.”
She complied, but sullenly60. I took off my bonnet61, arranged my things, and lay down. Some difficulties had been passed through; a sort of victory was won: my homeless, anchorless, unsupported mind had again leisure for a brief repose62. Till the “Vivid” arrived in harbour, no further action would be required of me; but then…. Oh! I could not look forward. Harassed63, exhausted, I lay in a half-trance.
The stewardess64 talked all night; not to me but to the young steward, her son and her very picture. He passed in and out of the cabin continually: they disputed, they quarrelled, they made it up again twenty times in the course of the night. She professed65 to be writing a letter home—she said to her father; she read passages of it aloud, heeding66 me no more than a stock—perhaps she believed me asleep. Several of these passages appeared to comprise family secrets, and bore special reference to one “Charlotte,” a younger sister who, from the bearing of the epistle, seemed to be on the brink67 of perpetrating a romantic and imprudent match; loud was the protest of this elder lady against the distasteful union. The dutiful son laughed his mother’s correspondence to scorn. She defended it, and raved68 at him. They were a strange pair. She might be thirty-nine or forty, and was buxom69 and blooming as a girl of twenty. Hard, loud, vain and vulgar, her mind and body alike seemed brazen70 and imperishable. I should think, from her childhood, she must have lived in public stations; and in her youth might very likely have been a barmaid.
Towards morning her discourse ran on a new theme: “the Watsons,” a certain expected family-party of passengers, known to her, it appeared, and by her much esteemed71 on account of the handsome profit realized in their fees. She said, “It was as good as a little fortune to her whenever this family crossed.”
At dawn all were astir, and by sunrise the passengers came on board. Boisterous72 was the welcome given by the stewardess to the “Watsons,” and great was the bustle73 made in their honour. They were four in number, two males and two females. Besides them, there was but one other passenger—a young lady, whom a gentlemanly, though languid-looking man escorted. The two groups offered a marked contrast. The Watsons were doubtless rich people, for they had the confidence of conscious wealth in their bearing; the women—youthful both of them, and one perfectly handsome, as far as physical beauty went—were dressed richly, gaily74, and absurdly out of character for the circumstances. Their bonnets75 with bright flowers, their velvet76 cloaks and silk dresses, seemed better suited for park or promenade77 than for a damp packet deck. The men were of low stature78, plain, fat, and vulgar; the oldest, plainest, greasiest79, broadest, I soon found was the husband—the bridegroom I suppose, for she was very young—of the beautiful girl. Deep was my amazement80 at this discovery; and deeper still when I perceived that, instead of being desperately81 wretched in such a union, she was gay even to giddiness. “Her laughter,” I reflected, “must be the mere82 frenzy83 of despair.” And even while this thought was crossing my mind, as I stood leaning quiet and solitary against the ship’s side, she came tripping up to me, an utter stranger, with a camp-stool in her hand, and smiling a smile of which the levity84 puzzled and startled me, though it showed a perfect set of perfect teeth, she offered me the accommodation85 of this piece of furniture. I declined it of course, with all the courtesy I could put into my manner; she danced off heedless and lightsome. She must have been good-natured; but what had made her marry that individual, who was at least as much like an oil-barrel as a man?
The other lady passenger, with the gentleman-companion, was quite a girl, pretty and fair: her simple print dress, untrimmed straw-bonnet and large shawl, gracefully86 worn, formed a costume plain to quakerism: yet, for her, becoming enough. Before the gentleman quitted her, I observed him throwing a glance of scrutiny87 over all the passengers, as if to ascertain10 in what company his charge would be left. With a most dissatisfied air did his eye turn from the ladies with the gay flowers; he looked at me, and then he spoke to his daughter, niece, or whatever she was: she also glanced in my direction, and slightly curled her short, pretty lip. It might be myself, or it might be my homely88 mourning habit, that elicited89 this mark of contempt; more likely, both. A bell rang; her father (I afterwards knew that it was her father) kissed her, and returned to land. The packet sailed.
Foreigners say that it is only English girls who can thus be trusted to travel alone, and deep is their wonder at the daring confidence of English parents and guardians90. As for the “jeunes Meess,” by some their intrepidity91 is pronounced masculine and “inconvenant,” others regard them as the passive victims of an educational and theological system which wantonly dispenses92 with proper “surveillance.” Whether this particular young lady was of the sort that can the most safely be left unwatched, I do not know: or, rather did not then know; but it soon appeared that the dignity of solitude93 was not to her taste. She paced the deck once or twice backwards94 and forwards; she looked with a little sour air of disdain95 at the flaunting96 silks and velvets, and the bears which thereon danced attendance, and eventually she approached me and spoke.
“Are you fond of a sea-voyage?” was her question.
I explained that my fondness for a sea-voyage had yet to undergo the test of experience; I had never made one.
“Oh, how charming!” cried she. “I quite envy you the novelty: first impressions, you know, are so pleasant. Now I have made so many, I quite forget the first: I am quite blasée about the sea and all that.”
I could not help smiling.
“Why do you laugh at me?” she inquired, with a frank testiness97 that pleased me better than her other talk.
“Because you are so young to be blasée about anything.”
“I am seventeen” (a little piqued).
“You hardly look sixteen. Do you like travelling alone?”
“Bah! I care nothing about it. I have crossed the Channel ten times, alone; but then I take care never to be long alone: I always make friends.”
“You will scarcely make many friends this voyage, I think” (glancing at the Watson-group, who were now laughing and making a great deal of noise on deck).
“Not of those odious98 men and women,” said she: “such people should be steerage passengers. Are you going to school?”
“No.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have not the least idea—beyond, at least, the port of Boue-Marine.”
She stared, then carelessly ran on:
“I am going to school. Oh, the number of foreign schools I have been at in my life! And yet I am quite an ignoramus. I know nothing—nothing in the world—I assure you; except that I play and dance beautifully,—and French and German of course I know, to speak; but I can’t read or write them very well. Do you know they wanted me to translate a page of an easy German book into English the other day, and I couldn’t do it. Papa was so mortified99: he says it looks as if M. de Bassompierre—my godpapa, who pays all my school-bills—had thrown away all his money. And then, in matters of information—in history, geography, arithmetic, and so on, I am quite a baby; and I write English so badly—such spelling and grammar, they tell me. Into the bargain I have quite forgotten my religion; they call me a Protestant, you know, but really I am not sure whether I am one or not: I don’t well know the difference between Romanism and Protestantism. However, I don’t in the least care for that. I was a Lutheran once at Bonn—dear Bonn!—charming Bonn!—where there were so many handsome students. Every nice girl in our school had an admirer; they knew our hours for walking out, and almost always passed us on the promenade: ‘Schönes Mädchen,’ we used to hear them say. I was excessively happy at Bonn!”
“And where are you now?” I inquired.
“Oh! at—chose,” said she.
Now, Miss Ginevra Fanshawe (such was this young person’s name) only substituted this word “chose” in temporary oblivion of the real name. It was a habit she had: “chose” came in at every turn in her conversation—the convenient substitute for any missing word in any language she might chance at the time to be speaking. French girls often do the like; from them she had caught the custom. “Chose,” however, I found in this instance, stood for Villette—the great capital of the great kingdom of Labassecour.
“Do you like Villette?” I asked.
“Pretty well. The natives, you know, are intensely stupid and vulgar; but there are some nice English families.”
“Are you in a school?”
“Yes.”
“A good one?”
“Oh, no! horrid100: but I go out every Sunday, and care nothing about the maîtresses or the professeurs, or the élèves, and send lessons au diable (one daren’t say that in English, you know, but it sounds quite right in French); and thus I get on charmingly…. You are laughing at me again?”
“No—I am only smiling at my own thoughts.”
“What are they?” (Without waiting for an answer)—“Now, do tell me where you are going.”
“Where Fate may lead me. My business is to earn a living where I can find it.”
“To earn!” (in consternation) “are you poor, then?”
“As poor as Job.”
(After a pause) “Bah! how unpleasant! But I know what it is to be poor: they are poor enough at home—papa and mamma, and all of them. Papa is called Captain Fanshawe; he is an officer on half-pay, but well-descended, and some of our connections are great enough; but my uncle and godpapa De Bassompierre, who lives in France, is the only one that helps us: he educates us girls. I have five sisters and three brothers. By-and-by we are to marry—rather elderly gentlemen, I suppose, with cash: papa and mamma manage that. My sister Augusta is married now to a man much older-looking than papa. Augusta is very beautiful—not in my style—but dark; her husband, Mr. Davies, had the yellow fever in India, and he is still the colour of a guinea; but then he is rich, and Augusta has her carriage and establishment, and we all think she has done perfectly well. Now, this is better than ‘earning a living,’ as you say. By the way, are you clever?”
“No—not at all.”
“You can play, sing, speak three or four languages?”
“By no means.”
“Still I think you are clever” (a pause and a yawn).
“Shall you be sea-sick?”
“Shall you?”
“Oh, immensely! as soon as ever we get in sight of the sea: I begin, indeed, to feel it already. I shall go below; and won’t I order about that fat odious stewardess! Heureusement je sais faire aller mon monde.”
Down she went.
It was not long before the other passengers followed her: throughout the afternoon I remained on deck alone. When I recall the tranquil101, and even happy mood in which I passed those hours, and remember, at the same time, the position in which I was placed; its hazardous—some would have said its hopeless—character; I feel that, as—
“Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars—a cage,”
so peril24, loneliness, an uncertain future, are not oppressive evils, so long as the frame is healthy and the faculties are employed; so long, especially, as Liberty lends us her wings, and Hope guides us by her star.
I was not sick till long after we passed Margate, and deep was the pleasure I drank in with the sea-breeze; divine the delight I drew from the heaving Channel waves, from the sea-birds on their ridges18, from the white sails on their dark distance, from the quiet yet beclouded sky, overhanging all. In my reverie, methought I saw the continent of Europe, like a wide dream-land, far away. Sunshine lay on it, making the long coast one line of gold; tiniest tracery of clustered town and snow-gleaming tower, of woods deep massed, of heights serrated, of smooth pasturage and veiny102 stream, embossed the metal-bright prospect103. For background, spread a sky, solemn and dark blue, and—grand with imperial promise, soft with tints104 of enchantment—strode from north to south a God-bent bow, an arch of hope.
Cancel the whole of that, if you please, reader—or rather let it stand, and draw thence a moral—an alliterative, text-hand copy—
Day-dreams are delusions105 of the demon106.
Becoming excessively sick, I faltered107 down into the cabin.
Miss Fanshawe’s berth chanced to be next mine; and, I am sorry to say, she tormented108 me with an unsparing selfishness during the whole time of our mutual109 distress110. Nothing could exceed her impatience111 and fretfulness. The Watsons, who were very sick too, and on whom the stewardess attended with shameless partiality, were stoics112 compared with her. Many a time since have I noticed, in persons of Ginevra Fanshawe’s light, careless temperament113, and fair, fragile style of beauty, an entire incapacity to endure: they seem to sour in adversity, like small beer in thunder. The man who takes such a woman for his wife, ought to be prepared to guarantee her an existence all sunshine. Indignant at last with her teasing peevishness114, I curtly115 requested her “to hold her tongue.” The rebuff did her good, and it was observable that she liked me no worse for it.
As dark night drew on, the sea roughened: larger waves swayed strong against the vessel’s side. It was strange to reflect that blackness and water were round us, and to feel the ship ploughing straight on her pathless way, despite noise, billow, and rising gale116. Articles of furniture began to fall about, and it became needful to lash117 them to their places; the passengers grew sicker than ever; Miss Fanshawe declared, with groans118, that she must die.
“Not just yet, honey,” said the stewardess. “We’re just in port.” Accordingly, in another quarter of an hour, a calm fell upon us all; and about midnight the voyage ended.
I was sorry: yes, I was sorry. My resting-time was past; my difficulties—my stringent119 difficulties—recommenced. When I went on deck, the cold air and black scowl120 of the night seemed to rebuke121 me for my presumption122 in being where I was: the lights of the foreign sea-port town, glimmering123 round the foreign harbour, met me like unnumbered threatening eyes. Friends came on board to welcome the Watsons; a whole family of friends surrounded and bore away Miss Fanshawe; I—but I dared not for one moment dwell on a comparison of positions.
Yet where should I go? I must go somewhere. Necessity dare not be nice. As I gave the stewardess her fee—and she seemed surprised at receiving a coin of more value than, from such a quarter, her coarse calculations had probably reckoned on—I said, “Be kind enough to direct me to some quiet, respectable inn, where I can go for the night.”
She not only gave me the required direction, but called a commissionaire, and bid him take charge of me, and—not my trunk, for that was gone to the custom-house.
I followed this man along a rudely-paved street, lit now by a fitful gleam of moonlight; he brought me to the inn. I offered him sixpence, which he refused to take; supposing it not enough, I changed it for a shilling; but this also he declined, speaking rather sharply, in a language to me unknown. A waiter, coming forward into the lamp-lit inn-passage, reminded me, in broken English, that my money was foreign money, not current here. I gave him a sovereign to change. This little matter settled, I asked for a bedroom; supper I could not take: I was still sea-sick and unnerved, and trembling all over. How deeply glad I was when the door of a very small chamber124 at length closed on me and my exhaustion125. Again I might rest: though the cloud of doubt would be as thick to-morrow as ever; the necessity for exertion126 more urgent, the peril (of destitution) nearer, the conflict (for existence) more severe.
1 dome [dəʊm] 第7级 | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 gourd [gʊəd] 第12级 | |
n.葫芦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 proceeding [prəˈsi:dɪŋ] 第7级 | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 faculties [ˈfækəltiz] 第7级 | |
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 rust [rʌst] 第7级 | |
n.锈;vi.生锈;(脑子)衰退;vt.使生锈;腐蚀 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 exhausted [ɪgˈzɔ:stɪd] 第8级 | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 accost [əˈkɒst] 第10级 | |
vt.向人搭话,打招呼 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 sedately [sɪ'deɪtlɪ] 第10级 | |
adv.镇静地,安详地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 discourse [ˈdɪskɔ:s] 第7级 | |
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 ascertain [ˌæsəˈteɪn] 第7级 | |
vt.发现,确定,查明,弄清 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 ascertained [æsə'teɪnd] 第7级 | |
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 perfectly [ˈpɜ:fɪktli] 第8级 | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 spoke [spəʊk] 第11级 | |
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: |
|
|
14 sitting-room ['sɪtɪŋrʊm] 第8级 | |
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 provincial [prəˈvɪnʃl] 第8级 | |
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 elation [iˈleɪʃn] 第11级 | |
n.兴高采烈,洋洋得意 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 prodigious [prəˈdɪdʒəs] 第9级 | |
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 ridges [rɪdʒɪz] 第7级 | |
n.脊( ridge的名词复数 );山脊;脊状突起;大气层的)高压脊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 dense [dens] 第7级 | |
adj.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 haze [heɪz] 第9级 | |
n.霾,烟雾;懵懂,迷糊;vi.(over)变模糊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 descending [dɪ'sendɪŋ] 第7级 | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 ecstasy [ˈekstəsi] 第8级 | |
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 strand [strænd] 第8级 | |
vt.使(船)搁浅,使(某人)困于(某地) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 peril [ˈperəl] 第9级 | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物;vt.危及;置…于险境 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 perils [ˈperilz] 第9级 | |
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 utterly ['ʌtəli:] 第9级 | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 irrational [ɪˈræʃənl] 第8级 | |
adj.无理性的,失去理性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 delightfully [dɪ'laɪtfəlɪ] 第8级 | |
大喜,欣然 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 adoption [əˈdɒpʃn] 第7级 | |
n.采用,采纳,通过;收养 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 resolute [ˈrezəlu:t] 第7级 | |
adj.坚决的,果敢的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 loathing [ˈləʊðɪŋ] 第9级 | |
n.厌恶,憎恨v.憎恨,厌恶( loathe的现在分词);极不喜欢 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 desolate [ˈdesələt] 第7级 | |
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;vt.使荒芜,使孤寂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 inured [ɪn'jʊəd] 第11级 | |
adj.坚强的,习惯的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 vessel [ˈvesl] 第7级 | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 vessels ['vesəlz] 第7级 | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 continental [ˌkɒntɪˈnentl] 第8级 | |
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 berth [bɜ:θ] 第9级 | |
n.卧铺,停泊地,锚位;vt.使停泊;vi.停泊;占铺位 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 wharf [wɔ:f] 第9级 | |
n.码头,停泊处 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 functionary [ˈfʌŋkʃənəri] 第12级 | |
n.官员;公职人员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 oblation [ɒ'bleɪʃən] 第12级 | |
n.圣餐式;祭品 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 throng [θrɒŋ] 第8级 | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 isolation [ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃn] 第8级 | |
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 austerely [ɔ:'stɪəlɪ] 第9级 | |
adv.严格地,朴质地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 torrent [ˈtɒrənt] 第7级 | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 bosom [ˈbʊzəm] 第7级 | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 sable [ˈseɪbl] 第11级 | |
n.黑貂;adj.黑色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 glided [ɡlaidid] 第7级 | |
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 solitary [ˈsɒlətri] 第7级 | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 chilly [ˈtʃɪli] 第7级 | |
adj.凉快的,寒冷的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 animated [ˈænɪmeɪtɪd] 第11级 | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 depressed [dɪˈprest] 第8级 | |
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 apprehensive [ˌæprɪˈhensɪv] 第9级 | |
adj.担心的,恐惧的,善于领会的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 embark [ɪmˈbɑ:k] 第7级 | |
vi.乘船,着手,从事,上飞机;使从事,使上传 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 steward [ˈstju:əd] 第7级 | |
n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 anticipation [ænˌtɪsɪˈpeɪʃn] 第8级 | |
n.预期,预料,期望 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 exultingly [ɪɡ'zʌltɪŋlɪ] 第10级 | |
兴高采烈地,得意地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 phlegmatically [] 第10级 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 stout [staʊt] 第8级 | |
adj.强壮的,结实的,勇猛的,矮胖的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 insolent [ˈɪnsələnt] 第10级 | |
adj.傲慢的,无理的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 sullenly ['sʌlənlɪ] 第9级 | |
不高兴地,绷着脸,忧郁地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 bonnet [ˈbɒnɪt] 第10级 | |
n.无边女帽;童帽 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 repose [rɪˈpəʊz] 第11级 | |
vt.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 harassed [ˈhærəst] 第9级 | |
adj. 疲倦的,厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 stewardess [ˌstju:əˈdes] 第7级 | |
n.空中小姐,女乘务员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 professed [prəˈfest] 第10级 | |
公开声称的,伪称的,已立誓信教的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 heeding [hi:dɪŋ] 第9级 | |
v.听某人的劝告,听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 brink [brɪŋk] 第9级 | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 raved [reivd] 第9级 | |
v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 );愤怒地说;咆哮;痴心地说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 buxom [ˈbʌksəm] 第11级 | |
adj.(妇女)丰满的,有健康美的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 brazen [ˈbreɪzn] 第11级 | |
adj.厚脸皮的,无耻的,坚硬的;vt. 厚着脸皮;勇敢地做(或对待);使变得勇敢;厚着脸皮做(或对待) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 esteemed [ɪs'ti:md] 第7级 | |
adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 );敬重;认为;以为 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 boisterous [ˈbɔɪstərəs] 第10级 | |
adj.喧闹的,欢闹的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 bustle [ˈbʌsl] 第9级 | |
vi.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;vt. 使忙碌;催促;n.忙碌;喧闹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 gaily [ˈgeɪli] 第11级 | |
adv.欢乐地,高兴地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 bonnets [ˈbɔnɪts] 第10级 | |
n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 );(烟囱等的)覆盖物;(苏格兰男子的)无边呢帽;(女子戴的)任何一种帽子 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 velvet [ˈvelvɪt] 第7级 | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 promenade [ˌprɒməˈnɑ:d] 第12级 | |
n./v.散步 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 stature [ˈstætʃə(r)] 第8级 | |
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 amazement [əˈmeɪzmənt] 第8级 | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 desperately ['despərətlɪ] 第8级 | |
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 mere [mɪə(r)] 第7级 | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 frenzy [ˈfrenzi] 第9级 | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 levity [ˈlevəti] 第10级 | |
n.轻率,轻浮,不稳定,多变 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85 accommodation [əˌkɒməˈdeɪʃn] 第8级 | |
n.设备,膳宿,旅馆房间;容纳,提供,适应;调解,妥协;贷款 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86 gracefully ['greisfuli] 第7级 | |
ad.大大方方地;优美地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
87 scrutiny [ˈskru:təni] 第7级 | |
n.详细检查,仔细观察 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
88 homely [ˈhəʊmli] 第9级 | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
89 elicited [iˈlisitid] 第7级 | |
引出,探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
90 guardians ['ɡɑ:dɪənz] 第7级 | |
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
91 intrepidity [ˌɪntrɪ'pɪdətɪ] 第10级 | |
n.大胆,刚勇;大胆的行为 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
92 dispenses [dɪ'spensɪz] 第7级 | |
v.分配,分与;分配( dispense的第三人称单数 );施与;配(药) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
93 solitude [ˈsɒlɪtju:d] 第7级 | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
94 backwards [ˈbækwədz] 第8级 | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
95 disdain [dɪsˈdeɪn] 第8级 | |
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
96 flaunting [flɔ:ntɪŋ] 第9级 | |
adj.招摇的,扬扬得意的,夸耀的v.炫耀,夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 );有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
98 odious [ˈəʊdiəs] 第10级 | |
adj.可憎的,讨厌的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
99 mortified [ˈmɔ:təˌfaɪd] 第11级 | |
v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 );伤害(人的感情);克制;抑制(肉体、情感等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
100 horrid [ˈhɒrɪd] 第10级 | |
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
101 tranquil [ˈtræŋkwɪl] 第7级 | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
103 prospect [ˈprɒspekt] 第7级 | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
104 tints [tɪnts] 第9级 | |
色彩( tint的名词复数 ); 带白的颜色; (淡色)染发剂; 痕迹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
105 delusions [diˈlu:ʒənz] 第8级 | |
n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 );谬见;错觉;妄想 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
106 demon [ˈdi:mən] 第10级 | |
n.魔鬼,恶魔 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
107 faltered [ˈfɔ:ltəd] 第8级 | |
(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: |
|
|
108 tormented [ˈtɔ:mentid] 第7级 | |
饱受折磨的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
109 mutual [ˈmju:tʃuəl] 第7级 | |
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
110 distress [dɪˈstres] 第7级 | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
111 impatience [ɪm'peɪʃns] 第8级 | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
112 stoics [ˈstəʊɪks] 第10级 | |
禁欲主义者,恬淡寡欲的人,不以苦乐为意的人( stoic的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
113 temperament [ˈtemprəmənt] 第7级 | |
n.气质,性格,性情 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
114 peevishness ['pi:viʃnis] 第12级 | |
脾气不好;爱发牢骚 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
115 curtly [kɜ:tlɪ] 第9级 | |
adv.简短地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
116 gale [geɪl] 第8级 | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
117 lash [læʃ] 第7级 | |
vt.系牢;鞭打;猛烈抨击;vi.鞭打;猛击;急速甩动;n.鞭打;眼睫毛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
118 groans [ɡrəunz] 第7级 | |
n.呻吟,叹息( groan的名词复数 );呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
119 stringent [ˈstrɪndʒənt] 第9级 | |
adj.严厉的;令人信服的;银根紧的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
120 scowl [skaʊl] 第10级 | |
vi.(at)生气地皱眉,沉下脸,怒视;n.怒容 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
121 rebuke [rɪˈbju:k] 第9级 | |
vt.指责,非难,斥责 [反]praise | |
参考例句: |
|
|
122 presumption [prɪˈzʌmpʃn] 第9级 | |
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
123 glimmering ['glɪmərɪŋ] 第8级 | |
n.微光,隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
124 chamber [ˈtʃeɪmbə(r)] 第7级 | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
125 exhaustion [ɪgˈzɔ:stʃən] 第8级 | |
n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
参考例句: |
|
|