【有声英语文学名著】夜色温柔 Book 3(5)
时间:2019-02-16 作者:英语课 分类:有声英语文学名著
英语课
Tender Is the Night - Book Three
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 5
Nicole went to the window and bent 1 over the sill to take a look at the rising altercation 2 on the terrace; the April sun shone pink on the saintly face of Augustine, the cook, and blue on the butcher's knife she waved in her drunken hand. She had been with them since their return to Villa 3 Diana in February.
Because of an obstruction 4 of an awning 5 she could see only Dick's head and his hand holding one of his heavy canes 7 with a bronze knob on it. The knife and the cane 6, menacing each other, were like tripos and short sword in a gladiatorial combat. Dick's words reached her first:
"—care how much kitchen wine you drink but when I find you digging into a bottle of Chablis Moutonne—"
"You talk about drinking!" Augustine cried, flourishing her sabre. "You drink—all the time!"
Nicole called over the awning: "What's the matter, Dick?" and he answered in English:
"The old girl has been polishing off the vintage wines. I'm firing her—at least I'm trying to."
"Heavens! Well, don't let her reach you with that knife."
Augustine shook her knife up at Nicole. Her old mouth was made of two small intersecting cherries.
"I would like to say, Madame, if you knew that your husband drinks over at his Bastide comparatively as a day-laborer—"
"Shut up and get out!" interrupted Nicole. "We'll get the gendarmes 8."
"You'll get the gendarmes! With my brother in the corps 10! You—a disgusting American?"
In English Dick called up to Nicole:
"Get the children away from the house till I settle this."
"—disgusting Americans who come here and drink up our finest wines," screamed Augustine with the voice of the commune.
Dick mastered a firmer tone.
"You must leave now! I'll pay you what we owe you."
"Very sure you'll pay me! And let me tell you—" she came close and waved the knife so furiously that Dick raised his stick, whereupon she rushed into the kitchen and returned with the carving 11 knife reinforced by a hatchet 12.
The situation was not prepossessing—Augustine was a strong woman and could be disarmed 13 only at the risk of serious results to herself—and severe legal complications which were the lot of one who molested 14 a French citizen. Trying a bluff 15 Dick called up to Nicole:
"Phone the poste de police." Then to Augustine, indicating her armament, "This means arrest for you."
"Ha-ha!" she laughed demoniacally; nevertheless she came no nearer. Nicole phoned the police but was answered with what was almost an echo of Augustine's laugh. She heard mumbles 16 and passings of the word around—the connection was suddenly broken.
Returning to the window she called down to Dick: "Give her something extra!"
"If I could get to that phone!" As this seemed impracticable, Dick capitulated. For fifty francs, increased to a hundred as he succumbed 17 to the idea of getting her out hastily, Augustine yielded her fortress 18, covering the retreat with stormy grenades of "Salaud!" She would leave only when her nephew could come for her baggage. Waiting cautiously in the neighborhood of the kitchen Dick heard a cork 19 pop, but he yielded the point. There was no further trouble—when the nephew arrived, all apologetic, Augustine bade Dick a cheerful, convivial 20 good-by and called up "All revoir, Madame! Bonne chance!" to Nicole's window.
The Divers 21 went to Nice and dined on a bouillabaisse, which is a stew 22 of rock fish and small lobsters 23, highly seasoned with saffron, and a bottle of cold Chablis. He expressed pity for Augustine.
"I'm not sorry a bit," said Nicole.
"I'm sorry—and yet I wish I'd shoved her over the cliff."
There was little they dared talk about in these days; seldom did they find the right word when it counted, it arrived always a moment too late when one could not reach the other any more. To-night Augustine's outburst had shaken them from their separate reveries; with the burn and chill of the spiced broth 9 and the parching 24 wine they talked.
"We can't go on like this," Nicole suggested. "Or can we?—what do you think?" Startled that for the moment Dick did not deny it, she continued, "Some of the time I think it's my fault—I've ruined you."
"So I'm ruined, am I?" he inquired pleasantly.
"I didn't mean that. But you used to want to create things—now you seem to want to smash them up."
She trembled at criticizing him in these broad terms—but his enlarging silence frightened her even more. She guessed that something was developing behind the silence, behind the hard, blue eyes, the almost unnatural 26 interest in the children. Uncharacteristic bursts of temper surprised her—he would suddenly unroll a long scroll 27 of contempt for some person, race, class, way of life, way of thinking. It was as though an incalculable story was telling itself inside him, about which she could only guess at in the moments when it broke through the surface.
"After all, what do you get out of this?" she demanded.
"Knowing you're stronger every day. Knowing that your illness follows the law of diminishing returns."
His voice came to her from far off, as though he were speaking of something remote and academic; her alarm made her exclaim, "Dick!" and she thrust her hand forward to his across the table. A reflex pulled Dick's hand back and he added: "There's the whole situation to think of, isn't there? There's not just you." He covered her hand with his and said in the old pleasant voice of a conspirator 28 for pleasure, mischief 29, profit, and delight:
"See that boat out there?"
It was the motor yacht of T. F. Golding lying placid 30 among the little swells 31 of the Nicean Bay, constantly bound upon a romantic voyage that was not dependent upon actual motion. "We'll go out there now and ask the people on board what's the matter with them. We'll find out if they're happy."
"We hardly know him," Nicole objected.
"He urged us. Besides, Baby knows him—she practically married him, doesn't she—didn't she?"
When they put out from the port in a hired launch it was already summer dusk and lights were breaking out in spasms 32 along the rigging of the Margin 33. As they drew up alongside, Nicole's doubts reasserted themselves.
"He's having a party—"
"It's only a radio," he guessed.
They were hailed—a huge white-haired man in a white suit looked down at them, calling:
"Do I recognize the Divers?"
"Boat ahoy, Margin!"
Their boat moved under the companionway; as they mounted Golding doubled his huge frame to give Nicole a hand.
"Just in time for dinner."
A small orchestra was playing astern.
"I'm yours for the asking—but till then you can't ask me to behave—"
And as Golding's cyclonic 34 arms blew them aft without touching 35 them, Nicole was sorrier they had come, and more impatient at Dick. Having taken up an attitude of aloofness 36 from the gay people here, at the time when Dick's work and her health were incompatible 37 with going about, they had a reputation as refusers. Riviera replacements 38 during the ensuing years interpreted this as a vague unpopularity. Nevertheless, having taken such a stand, Nicole felt it should not be cheaply compromised for a momentary 39 self-indulgence.
As they passed through the principal salon 40 they saw ahead of them figures that seemed to dance in the half light of the circular stern. This was an illusion made by the enchantment 41 of the music, the unfamiliar 42 lighting 43, and the surrounding presence of water. Actually, save for some busy stewards 44, the guests loafed on a wide divan 45 that followed the curve of the deck. There were a white, a red, a blurred 46 dress, the laundered 47 chests of several men, of whom one, detaching and identifying himself, brought from Nicole a rare little cry of delight.
"Tommy!"
Brushing aside the Gallicism of his formal dip at her hand, Nicole pressed her face against his. They sat, or rather lay down together on the Antoninian bench. His handsome face was so dark as to have lost the pleasantness of deep tan, without attaining 48 the blue beauty of Negroes—it was just worn leather. The foreignness of his depigmentation by unknown suns, his nourishment 49 by strange soils, his tongue awkward with the curl of many dialects, his reactions attuned 50 to odd alarms—these things fascinated and rested Nicole—in the moment of meeting she lay on his bosom 51, spiritually, going out and out… . Then self-preservation reasserted itself and retiring to her own world she spoke 52 lightly.
"You look just like all the adventurers in the movies—but why do you have to stay away so long?"
Tommy Barban looked at her, uncomprehending but alert; the pupils of his eyes flashed.
"Five years," she continued, in throaty mimicry 53 of nothing. "Much too long. Couldn't you only slaughter 54 a certain number of creatures and then come back, and breathe our air for a while?"
In her cherished presence Tommy Europeanized himself quickly.
"Mais pour nous héros," he said, "il nous faut du temps, Nicole. Nous ne pouvons pas faire de petits exercises d'héroisme—il faut faire les grandes compositions."
"Talk English to me, Tommy."
"Parlez français avec moi, Nicole."
"But the meanings are different—in French you can be heroic and gallant 55 with dignity, and you know it. But in English you can't be heroic and gallant without being a little absurd, and you know that too. That gives me an advantage."
"But after all—" He chuckled 56 suddenly. "Even in English I'm brave, heroic and all that."
She pretended to be groggy 57 with wonderment but he was not abashed 58.
"I only know what I see in the cinema," he said.
"Is it all like the movies?"
"The movies aren't so bad—now this Ronald Colman—have you seen his pictures about the Corps d'Afrique du Nord? They're not bad at all."
"Very well, whenever I go to the movies I'll know you're going through just that sort of thing at that moment."
As she spoke, Nicole was aware of a small, pale, pretty young woman with lovely metallic 59 hair, almost green in the deck lights, who had been sitting on the other side of Tommy and might have been part either of their conversation or of the one next to them. She had obviously had a monopoly of Tommy, for now she abandoned hope of his attention with what was once called ill grace, and petulantly 60 crossed the crescent of the deck.
"After all, I am a hero," Tommy said calmly, only half joking. "I have ferocious 61 courage, usually, something like a lion, something like a drunken man."
Nicole waited until the echo of his boast had died away in his mind—she knew he had probably never made such a statement before. Then she looked among the strangers, and found as usual, the fierce neurotics 62, pretending calm, liking 63 the country only in horror of the city, of the sound of their own voices which had set the tone and pitch… . She asked:
"Who is the woman in white?"
"The one who was beside me? Lady Caroline Sibly-Biers."—They listened for a moment to her voice across the way:
"The man's a scoundrel, but he's a cat of the stripe. We sat up all night playing two-handed chemin-de-fer, and he owes me a mille Swiss."
Tommy laughed and said: "She is now the wickedest woman in London—whenever I come back to Europe there is a new crop of the wickedest women from London. She's the very latest—though I believe there is now one other who's considered almost as wicked."
Nicole glanced again at the woman across the deck—she was fragile, tubercular—it was incredible that such narrow shoulders, such puny 64 arms could bear aloft the pennon of decadence 65, last ensign of the fading empire. Her resemblance was rather to one of John Held's flat-chested flappers than to the hierarchy 66 of tall languid blondes who had posed for painters and novelists since before the war.
Golding approached, fighting down the resonance 67 of his huge bulk, which transmitted his will as through a gargantuan 68 amplifier, and Nicole, still reluctant, yielded to his reiterated 69 points: that the Margin was starting for Cannes immediately after dinner; that they could always pack in some caviare and champagne 70, even though they had dined; that in any case Dick was now on the phone, telling their chauffeur 71 in Nice to drive their car back to Cannes and leave it in front of the Café des Alliées where the Divers could retrieve 72 it.
They moved into the dining salon and Dick was placed next to Lady Sibly-Biers. Nicole saw that his usually ruddy face was drained of blood; he talked in a dogmatic voice, of which only snatches reached Nicole:
"… It's all right for you English, you're doing a dance of death… . Sepoys in the ruined fort, I mean Sepoys at the gate and gaiety in the fort and all that. The green hat, the crushed hat, no future."
Lady Caroline answered him in short sentences spotted 73 with the terminal "What?" the double-edged "Quite!" the depressing "Cheerio!" that always had a connotation of imminent 74 peril 75, but Dick appeared oblivious 76 to the warning signals. Suddenly he made a particularly vehement 77 pronouncement, the purport 78 of which eluded 79 Nicole, but she saw the young woman turn dark and sinewy 80, and heard her answer sharply:
"After all a chep's a chep and a chum's a chum."
Again he had offended some one—couldn't he hold his tongue a little longer? How long? To death then.
At the piano, a fair-haired young Scotsman from the orchestra (entitled by its drum "The Ragtime 81 College Jazzes of Edinboro") had begun singing in a Danny Deever monotone, accompanying himself with low chords on the piano. He pronounced his words with great precision, as though they impressed him almost intolerably.
"There was a young lady from hell,
Who jumped at the sound of a bell,
Because she was bad—bad—bad,
She jumped at the sound of a bell,
From hell (BOOMBOOM)
From hell (TOOTTOOT)
There was a young lady from hell—"
"What is all this?" whispered Tommy to Nicole.
The girl on the other side of him supplied the answer:
"Caroline Sibly-Biers wrote the words. He wrote the music."
"Quelle enfanterie!" Tommy murmured as the next verse began, hinting at the jumpy lady's further predilections 82. "On dirait qu'il récite Racine!"
On the surface at least, Lady Caroline was paying no attention to the performance of her work. Glancing at her again Nicole found herself impressed, neither with the character nor the personality, but with the sheer strength derived 83 from an attitude; Nicole thought that she was formidable, and she was confirmed in this point of view as the party rose from table. Dick remained in his seat wearing an odd expression; then he crashed into words with a harsh ineptness 84.
"I don't like innuendo 85 in these deafening 87 English whispers."
Already half-way out of the room Lady Caroline turned and walked back to him; she spoke in a low clipped voice purposely audible to the whole company.
"You came to me asking for it—disparaging 88 my countrymen, disparaging my friend, Mary Minghetti. I simply said you were observed associating with a questionable 89 crowd in Lausanne. Is that a deafening whisper? Or does it simply deafen 86 you?"
"It's still not loud enough," said Dick, a little too late. "So I am actually a notorious—"
Golding crushed out the phrase with his voice saying:
"What! What!" and moved his guests on out, with the threat of his powerful body. Turning the corner of the door Nicole saw that Dick was still sitting at the table. She was furious at the woman for her preposterous 90 statement, equally furious at Dick for having brought them here, for having become fuddled, for having untipped the capped barbs 91 of his irony 92, for having come off humiliated—she was a little more annoyed because she knew that her taking possession of Tommy Barban on their arrival had first irritated the Englishwoman.
A moment later she saw Dick standing 93 in the gangway, apparently 94 in complete control of himself as he talked with Golding; then for half an hour she did not see him anywhere about the deck and she broke out of an intricate Malay game, played with string and coffee beans, and said to Tommy:
"I've got to find Dick."
Since dinner the yacht had been in motion westward 95. The fine night streamed away on either side, the Diesel 96 engines pounded softly, there was a spring wind that blew Nicole's hair abruptly 97 when she reached the bow, and she had a sharp lesion of anxiety at seeing Dick standing in the angle by the flagstaff. His voice was serene 98 as he recognized her.
"It's a nice night."
"I was worried."
"Oh, you were worried?"
"Oh, don't talk that way. It would give me so much pleasure to think of a little something I could do for you, Dick."
He turned away from her, toward the veil of starlight over Africa.
"I believe that's true, Nicole. And sometimes I believe that the littler it was, the more pleasure it would give you."
"Don't talk like that—don't say such things."
His face, wan 25 in the light that the white spray caught and tossed back to the brilliant sky had none of the lines of annoyance 99 she had expected. It was even detached; his eyes focussed upon her gradually as upon a chessman to be moved; in the same slow manner he caught her wrist and drew her near.
"You ruined me, did you?" he inquired blandly 100. "Then we're both ruined. So—"
Cold with terror she put her other wrist into his grip. All right, she would go with him—again she felt the beauty of the night vividly 101 in one moment of complete response and abnegation—all right, then—
—but now she was unexpectedly free and Dick turned his back sighing. "Tch! tch!"
Tears streamed down Nicole's face—in a moment she heard some one approaching; it was Tommy.
"You found him! Nicole thought maybe you jumped overboard, Dick," he said, "because that little English poule slanged you."
"It'd be a good setting to jump overboard," said Dick mildly.
"Wouldn't it?" agreed Nicole hastily. "Let's borrow life-preservers and jump over. I think we should do something spectacular. I feel that all our lives have been too restrained."
Tommy sniffed 102 from one to the other trying to breathe in the situation with the night. "We'll go ask the Lady Beer-and-Ale what to do—she should know the latest things. And we should memorize her song 'There was a young lady from l'enfer.' I shall translate it, and make a fortune from its success at the Casino."
"Are you rich, Tommy?" Dick asked him, as they retraced 103 the length of the boat.
"Not as things go now. I got tired of the brokerage business and went away. But I have good stocks in the hands of friends who are holding it for me. All goes well."
"Dick's getting rich," Nicole said. In reaction her voice had begun to tremble.
On the after deck Golding had fanned three pairs of dancers into action with his colossal 104 paws. Nicole and Tommy joined them and Tommy remarked: "Dick seems to be drinking."
"Only moderately," she said loyally.
"There are those who can drink and those who can't. Obviously Dick can't. You ought to tell him not to."
"I!" she exclaimed in amazement 105. "I tell Dick what he should do or shouldn't do!"
But in a reticent 106 way Dick was still vague and sleepy when they reached the pier 107 at Cannes. Golding buoyed 108 him down into the launch of the Margin whereupon Lady Caroline shifted her place conspicuously 109. On the dock he bowed good-by with exaggerated formality, and for a moment he seemed about to speed her with a salty epigram, but the bone of Tommy's arm went into the soft part of his and they walked to the attendant car.
"I'll drive you home," Tommy suggested.
"Don't bother—we can get a cab."
"I'd like to, if you can put me up."
On the back seat of the car Dick remained quiescent 110 until the yellow monolith of Golfe Juan was passed, and then the constant carnival 111 at Juan les Pins where the night was musical and strident in many languages. When the car turned up the hill toward Tarmes, he sat up suddenly, prompted by the tilt 112 of the vehicle and delivered a peroration 113:
"A charming representative of the—" he stumbled momentarily, "—a firm of—bring me Brains addled 114 a l'Anglaise." Then he went into an appeased 115 sleep, belching 116 now and then contentedly 117 into the soft warm darkness.
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 5
Nicole went to the window and bent 1 over the sill to take a look at the rising altercation 2 on the terrace; the April sun shone pink on the saintly face of Augustine, the cook, and blue on the butcher's knife she waved in her drunken hand. She had been with them since their return to Villa 3 Diana in February.
Because of an obstruction 4 of an awning 5 she could see only Dick's head and his hand holding one of his heavy canes 7 with a bronze knob on it. The knife and the cane 6, menacing each other, were like tripos and short sword in a gladiatorial combat. Dick's words reached her first:
"—care how much kitchen wine you drink but when I find you digging into a bottle of Chablis Moutonne—"
"You talk about drinking!" Augustine cried, flourishing her sabre. "You drink—all the time!"
Nicole called over the awning: "What's the matter, Dick?" and he answered in English:
"The old girl has been polishing off the vintage wines. I'm firing her—at least I'm trying to."
"Heavens! Well, don't let her reach you with that knife."
Augustine shook her knife up at Nicole. Her old mouth was made of two small intersecting cherries.
"I would like to say, Madame, if you knew that your husband drinks over at his Bastide comparatively as a day-laborer—"
"Shut up and get out!" interrupted Nicole. "We'll get the gendarmes 8."
"You'll get the gendarmes! With my brother in the corps 10! You—a disgusting American?"
In English Dick called up to Nicole:
"Get the children away from the house till I settle this."
"—disgusting Americans who come here and drink up our finest wines," screamed Augustine with the voice of the commune.
Dick mastered a firmer tone.
"You must leave now! I'll pay you what we owe you."
"Very sure you'll pay me! And let me tell you—" she came close and waved the knife so furiously that Dick raised his stick, whereupon she rushed into the kitchen and returned with the carving 11 knife reinforced by a hatchet 12.
The situation was not prepossessing—Augustine was a strong woman and could be disarmed 13 only at the risk of serious results to herself—and severe legal complications which were the lot of one who molested 14 a French citizen. Trying a bluff 15 Dick called up to Nicole:
"Phone the poste de police." Then to Augustine, indicating her armament, "This means arrest for you."
"Ha-ha!" she laughed demoniacally; nevertheless she came no nearer. Nicole phoned the police but was answered with what was almost an echo of Augustine's laugh. She heard mumbles 16 and passings of the word around—the connection was suddenly broken.
Returning to the window she called down to Dick: "Give her something extra!"
"If I could get to that phone!" As this seemed impracticable, Dick capitulated. For fifty francs, increased to a hundred as he succumbed 17 to the idea of getting her out hastily, Augustine yielded her fortress 18, covering the retreat with stormy grenades of "Salaud!" She would leave only when her nephew could come for her baggage. Waiting cautiously in the neighborhood of the kitchen Dick heard a cork 19 pop, but he yielded the point. There was no further trouble—when the nephew arrived, all apologetic, Augustine bade Dick a cheerful, convivial 20 good-by and called up "All revoir, Madame! Bonne chance!" to Nicole's window.
The Divers 21 went to Nice and dined on a bouillabaisse, which is a stew 22 of rock fish and small lobsters 23, highly seasoned with saffron, and a bottle of cold Chablis. He expressed pity for Augustine.
"I'm not sorry a bit," said Nicole.
"I'm sorry—and yet I wish I'd shoved her over the cliff."
There was little they dared talk about in these days; seldom did they find the right word when it counted, it arrived always a moment too late when one could not reach the other any more. To-night Augustine's outburst had shaken them from their separate reveries; with the burn and chill of the spiced broth 9 and the parching 24 wine they talked.
"We can't go on like this," Nicole suggested. "Or can we?—what do you think?" Startled that for the moment Dick did not deny it, she continued, "Some of the time I think it's my fault—I've ruined you."
"So I'm ruined, am I?" he inquired pleasantly.
"I didn't mean that. But you used to want to create things—now you seem to want to smash them up."
She trembled at criticizing him in these broad terms—but his enlarging silence frightened her even more. She guessed that something was developing behind the silence, behind the hard, blue eyes, the almost unnatural 26 interest in the children. Uncharacteristic bursts of temper surprised her—he would suddenly unroll a long scroll 27 of contempt for some person, race, class, way of life, way of thinking. It was as though an incalculable story was telling itself inside him, about which she could only guess at in the moments when it broke through the surface.
"After all, what do you get out of this?" she demanded.
"Knowing you're stronger every day. Knowing that your illness follows the law of diminishing returns."
His voice came to her from far off, as though he were speaking of something remote and academic; her alarm made her exclaim, "Dick!" and she thrust her hand forward to his across the table. A reflex pulled Dick's hand back and he added: "There's the whole situation to think of, isn't there? There's not just you." He covered her hand with his and said in the old pleasant voice of a conspirator 28 for pleasure, mischief 29, profit, and delight:
"See that boat out there?"
It was the motor yacht of T. F. Golding lying placid 30 among the little swells 31 of the Nicean Bay, constantly bound upon a romantic voyage that was not dependent upon actual motion. "We'll go out there now and ask the people on board what's the matter with them. We'll find out if they're happy."
"We hardly know him," Nicole objected.
"He urged us. Besides, Baby knows him—she practically married him, doesn't she—didn't she?"
When they put out from the port in a hired launch it was already summer dusk and lights were breaking out in spasms 32 along the rigging of the Margin 33. As they drew up alongside, Nicole's doubts reasserted themselves.
"He's having a party—"
"It's only a radio," he guessed.
They were hailed—a huge white-haired man in a white suit looked down at them, calling:
"Do I recognize the Divers?"
"Boat ahoy, Margin!"
Their boat moved under the companionway; as they mounted Golding doubled his huge frame to give Nicole a hand.
"Just in time for dinner."
A small orchestra was playing astern.
"I'm yours for the asking—but till then you can't ask me to behave—"
And as Golding's cyclonic 34 arms blew them aft without touching 35 them, Nicole was sorrier they had come, and more impatient at Dick. Having taken up an attitude of aloofness 36 from the gay people here, at the time when Dick's work and her health were incompatible 37 with going about, they had a reputation as refusers. Riviera replacements 38 during the ensuing years interpreted this as a vague unpopularity. Nevertheless, having taken such a stand, Nicole felt it should not be cheaply compromised for a momentary 39 self-indulgence.
As they passed through the principal salon 40 they saw ahead of them figures that seemed to dance in the half light of the circular stern. This was an illusion made by the enchantment 41 of the music, the unfamiliar 42 lighting 43, and the surrounding presence of water. Actually, save for some busy stewards 44, the guests loafed on a wide divan 45 that followed the curve of the deck. There were a white, a red, a blurred 46 dress, the laundered 47 chests of several men, of whom one, detaching and identifying himself, brought from Nicole a rare little cry of delight.
"Tommy!"
Brushing aside the Gallicism of his formal dip at her hand, Nicole pressed her face against his. They sat, or rather lay down together on the Antoninian bench. His handsome face was so dark as to have lost the pleasantness of deep tan, without attaining 48 the blue beauty of Negroes—it was just worn leather. The foreignness of his depigmentation by unknown suns, his nourishment 49 by strange soils, his tongue awkward with the curl of many dialects, his reactions attuned 50 to odd alarms—these things fascinated and rested Nicole—in the moment of meeting she lay on his bosom 51, spiritually, going out and out… . Then self-preservation reasserted itself and retiring to her own world she spoke 52 lightly.
"You look just like all the adventurers in the movies—but why do you have to stay away so long?"
Tommy Barban looked at her, uncomprehending but alert; the pupils of his eyes flashed.
"Five years," she continued, in throaty mimicry 53 of nothing. "Much too long. Couldn't you only slaughter 54 a certain number of creatures and then come back, and breathe our air for a while?"
In her cherished presence Tommy Europeanized himself quickly.
"Mais pour nous héros," he said, "il nous faut du temps, Nicole. Nous ne pouvons pas faire de petits exercises d'héroisme—il faut faire les grandes compositions."
"Talk English to me, Tommy."
"Parlez français avec moi, Nicole."
"But the meanings are different—in French you can be heroic and gallant 55 with dignity, and you know it. But in English you can't be heroic and gallant without being a little absurd, and you know that too. That gives me an advantage."
"But after all—" He chuckled 56 suddenly. "Even in English I'm brave, heroic and all that."
She pretended to be groggy 57 with wonderment but he was not abashed 58.
"I only know what I see in the cinema," he said.
"Is it all like the movies?"
"The movies aren't so bad—now this Ronald Colman—have you seen his pictures about the Corps d'Afrique du Nord? They're not bad at all."
"Very well, whenever I go to the movies I'll know you're going through just that sort of thing at that moment."
As she spoke, Nicole was aware of a small, pale, pretty young woman with lovely metallic 59 hair, almost green in the deck lights, who had been sitting on the other side of Tommy and might have been part either of their conversation or of the one next to them. She had obviously had a monopoly of Tommy, for now she abandoned hope of his attention with what was once called ill grace, and petulantly 60 crossed the crescent of the deck.
"After all, I am a hero," Tommy said calmly, only half joking. "I have ferocious 61 courage, usually, something like a lion, something like a drunken man."
Nicole waited until the echo of his boast had died away in his mind—she knew he had probably never made such a statement before. Then she looked among the strangers, and found as usual, the fierce neurotics 62, pretending calm, liking 63 the country only in horror of the city, of the sound of their own voices which had set the tone and pitch… . She asked:
"Who is the woman in white?"
"The one who was beside me? Lady Caroline Sibly-Biers."—They listened for a moment to her voice across the way:
"The man's a scoundrel, but he's a cat of the stripe. We sat up all night playing two-handed chemin-de-fer, and he owes me a mille Swiss."
Tommy laughed and said: "She is now the wickedest woman in London—whenever I come back to Europe there is a new crop of the wickedest women from London. She's the very latest—though I believe there is now one other who's considered almost as wicked."
Nicole glanced again at the woman across the deck—she was fragile, tubercular—it was incredible that such narrow shoulders, such puny 64 arms could bear aloft the pennon of decadence 65, last ensign of the fading empire. Her resemblance was rather to one of John Held's flat-chested flappers than to the hierarchy 66 of tall languid blondes who had posed for painters and novelists since before the war.
Golding approached, fighting down the resonance 67 of his huge bulk, which transmitted his will as through a gargantuan 68 amplifier, and Nicole, still reluctant, yielded to his reiterated 69 points: that the Margin was starting for Cannes immediately after dinner; that they could always pack in some caviare and champagne 70, even though they had dined; that in any case Dick was now on the phone, telling their chauffeur 71 in Nice to drive their car back to Cannes and leave it in front of the Café des Alliées where the Divers could retrieve 72 it.
They moved into the dining salon and Dick was placed next to Lady Sibly-Biers. Nicole saw that his usually ruddy face was drained of blood; he talked in a dogmatic voice, of which only snatches reached Nicole:
"… It's all right for you English, you're doing a dance of death… . Sepoys in the ruined fort, I mean Sepoys at the gate and gaiety in the fort and all that. The green hat, the crushed hat, no future."
Lady Caroline answered him in short sentences spotted 73 with the terminal "What?" the double-edged "Quite!" the depressing "Cheerio!" that always had a connotation of imminent 74 peril 75, but Dick appeared oblivious 76 to the warning signals. Suddenly he made a particularly vehement 77 pronouncement, the purport 78 of which eluded 79 Nicole, but she saw the young woman turn dark and sinewy 80, and heard her answer sharply:
"After all a chep's a chep and a chum's a chum."
Again he had offended some one—couldn't he hold his tongue a little longer? How long? To death then.
At the piano, a fair-haired young Scotsman from the orchestra (entitled by its drum "The Ragtime 81 College Jazzes of Edinboro") had begun singing in a Danny Deever monotone, accompanying himself with low chords on the piano. He pronounced his words with great precision, as though they impressed him almost intolerably.
"There was a young lady from hell,
Who jumped at the sound of a bell,
Because she was bad—bad—bad,
She jumped at the sound of a bell,
From hell (BOOMBOOM)
From hell (TOOTTOOT)
There was a young lady from hell—"
"What is all this?" whispered Tommy to Nicole.
The girl on the other side of him supplied the answer:
"Caroline Sibly-Biers wrote the words. He wrote the music."
"Quelle enfanterie!" Tommy murmured as the next verse began, hinting at the jumpy lady's further predilections 82. "On dirait qu'il récite Racine!"
On the surface at least, Lady Caroline was paying no attention to the performance of her work. Glancing at her again Nicole found herself impressed, neither with the character nor the personality, but with the sheer strength derived 83 from an attitude; Nicole thought that she was formidable, and she was confirmed in this point of view as the party rose from table. Dick remained in his seat wearing an odd expression; then he crashed into words with a harsh ineptness 84.
"I don't like innuendo 85 in these deafening 87 English whispers."
Already half-way out of the room Lady Caroline turned and walked back to him; she spoke in a low clipped voice purposely audible to the whole company.
"You came to me asking for it—disparaging 88 my countrymen, disparaging my friend, Mary Minghetti. I simply said you were observed associating with a questionable 89 crowd in Lausanne. Is that a deafening whisper? Or does it simply deafen 86 you?"
"It's still not loud enough," said Dick, a little too late. "So I am actually a notorious—"
Golding crushed out the phrase with his voice saying:
"What! What!" and moved his guests on out, with the threat of his powerful body. Turning the corner of the door Nicole saw that Dick was still sitting at the table. She was furious at the woman for her preposterous 90 statement, equally furious at Dick for having brought them here, for having become fuddled, for having untipped the capped barbs 91 of his irony 92, for having come off humiliated—she was a little more annoyed because she knew that her taking possession of Tommy Barban on their arrival had first irritated the Englishwoman.
A moment later she saw Dick standing 93 in the gangway, apparently 94 in complete control of himself as he talked with Golding; then for half an hour she did not see him anywhere about the deck and she broke out of an intricate Malay game, played with string and coffee beans, and said to Tommy:
"I've got to find Dick."
Since dinner the yacht had been in motion westward 95. The fine night streamed away on either side, the Diesel 96 engines pounded softly, there was a spring wind that blew Nicole's hair abruptly 97 when she reached the bow, and she had a sharp lesion of anxiety at seeing Dick standing in the angle by the flagstaff. His voice was serene 98 as he recognized her.
"It's a nice night."
"I was worried."
"Oh, you were worried?"
"Oh, don't talk that way. It would give me so much pleasure to think of a little something I could do for you, Dick."
He turned away from her, toward the veil of starlight over Africa.
"I believe that's true, Nicole. And sometimes I believe that the littler it was, the more pleasure it would give you."
"Don't talk like that—don't say such things."
His face, wan 25 in the light that the white spray caught and tossed back to the brilliant sky had none of the lines of annoyance 99 she had expected. It was even detached; his eyes focussed upon her gradually as upon a chessman to be moved; in the same slow manner he caught her wrist and drew her near.
"You ruined me, did you?" he inquired blandly 100. "Then we're both ruined. So—"
Cold with terror she put her other wrist into his grip. All right, she would go with him—again she felt the beauty of the night vividly 101 in one moment of complete response and abnegation—all right, then—
—but now she was unexpectedly free and Dick turned his back sighing. "Tch! tch!"
Tears streamed down Nicole's face—in a moment she heard some one approaching; it was Tommy.
"You found him! Nicole thought maybe you jumped overboard, Dick," he said, "because that little English poule slanged you."
"It'd be a good setting to jump overboard," said Dick mildly.
"Wouldn't it?" agreed Nicole hastily. "Let's borrow life-preservers and jump over. I think we should do something spectacular. I feel that all our lives have been too restrained."
Tommy sniffed 102 from one to the other trying to breathe in the situation with the night. "We'll go ask the Lady Beer-and-Ale what to do—she should know the latest things. And we should memorize her song 'There was a young lady from l'enfer.' I shall translate it, and make a fortune from its success at the Casino."
"Are you rich, Tommy?" Dick asked him, as they retraced 103 the length of the boat.
"Not as things go now. I got tired of the brokerage business and went away. But I have good stocks in the hands of friends who are holding it for me. All goes well."
"Dick's getting rich," Nicole said. In reaction her voice had begun to tremble.
On the after deck Golding had fanned three pairs of dancers into action with his colossal 104 paws. Nicole and Tommy joined them and Tommy remarked: "Dick seems to be drinking."
"Only moderately," she said loyally.
"There are those who can drink and those who can't. Obviously Dick can't. You ought to tell him not to."
"I!" she exclaimed in amazement 105. "I tell Dick what he should do or shouldn't do!"
But in a reticent 106 way Dick was still vague and sleepy when they reached the pier 107 at Cannes. Golding buoyed 108 him down into the launch of the Margin whereupon Lady Caroline shifted her place conspicuously 109. On the dock he bowed good-by with exaggerated formality, and for a moment he seemed about to speed her with a salty epigram, but the bone of Tommy's arm went into the soft part of his and they walked to the attendant car.
"I'll drive you home," Tommy suggested.
"Don't bother—we can get a cab."
"I'd like to, if you can put me up."
On the back seat of the car Dick remained quiescent 110 until the yellow monolith of Golfe Juan was passed, and then the constant carnival 111 at Juan les Pins where the night was musical and strident in many languages. When the car turned up the hill toward Tarmes, he sat up suddenly, prompted by the tilt 112 of the vehicle and delivered a peroration 113:
"A charming representative of the—" he stumbled momentarily, "—a firm of—bring me Brains addled 114 a l'Anglaise." Then he went into an appeased 115 sleep, belching 116 now and then contentedly 117 into the soft warm darkness.
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
- He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
- We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
n.争吵,争论
- Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天,没有一句话是切合实际的。
- The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。
n.别墅,城郊小屋
- We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
- We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。
n.阻塞,堵塞;障碍物
- She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
- The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。
n.遮阳篷;雨篷
- A large green awning is set over the glass window to shelter against the sun.在玻璃窗上装了个绿色的大遮棚以遮挡阳光。
- Several people herded under an awning to get out the shower.几个人聚集在门栅下避阵雨
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
- This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
- English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
n.(某些植物,如竹或甘蔗的)茎( cane的名词复数 );(用于制作家具等的)竹竿;竹杖
- Sugar canes eat sweet. 甘蔗吃起来很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I saw several sugar canes, but wild, and for cultivation, imperfect. 我还看到一些甘蔗,因为是野生的,未经人工栽培,所以不太好吃。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
n.宪兵,警官( gendarme的名词复数 )
- Of course, the line of prisoners was guarded at all times by armed gendarmes. 当然,这一切都是在荷枪实弹的卫兵监视下进行的。 来自百科语句
- The three men were gendarmes;the other was Jean Valjean. 那三个人是警察,另一个就是冉阿让。 来自互联网
n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等)
- Every cook praises his own broth.厨子总是称赞自己做的汤。
- Just a bit of a mouse's dropping will spoil a whole saucepan of broth.一粒老鼠屎败坏一锅汤。
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组
- The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
- When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
n.雕刻品,雕花
- All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
- He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。
n.短柄小斧;v.扼杀
- I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
- Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。
v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 );使息怒
- Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
- The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械,并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 );干扰;调戏;猥亵
- The bigger children in the neighborhood molested the younger ones. 邻居家的大孩子欺负小孩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He molested children and was sent to jail. 他猥亵儿童,进了监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗
- His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
- John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。
含糊的话或声音,咕哝( mumble的名词复数 )
- He always mumbles when he's embarrassed. 他感到难为情时说话就含糊不清了。
- When the old lady speaks she often mumbles her words. 这位老妇人说起话来常常含糊不清。
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
- 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。
n.堡垒,防御工事
- They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
- The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。
n.软木,软木塞
- We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
- Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。
adj.狂欢的,欢乐的
- The atmosphere was quite convivial.气氛非常轻松愉快。
- I found it odd to imagine a nation of convivial diners surrendering their birthright.我发现很难想象让这样一个喜欢热热闹闹吃饭的民族放弃他们的习惯。
adj.不同的;种种的
- He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人,要他们和他作伴。
- Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作,同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。
n.炖汤,焖,烦恼;v.炖汤,焖,忧虑
- The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
- There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。
龙虾( lobster的名词复数 ); 龙虾肉
- I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
- She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。
adj.烘烤似的,焦干似的v.(使)焦干, (使)干透( parch的现在分词 );使(某人)极口渴
- A burning forehead, and a parching tongue. 没有炽热的头脑,焦渴的嘴唇。 来自互联网
(wide area network)广域网
- The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。
adj.不自然的;反常的
- 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。
n.卷轴,纸卷;(石刻上的)漩涡
- As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时,黄河的景象展现在眼前。
- He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴,以表彰其所做出的成就。
n.阴谋者,谋叛者
- We started abusing him,one conspirator after another adding his bitter words.我们这几个预谋者一个接一个地咒骂他,恶狠狠地骂个不停。
- A conspirator is not of the stuff to bear surprises.谋反者是经不起惊吓的。
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹
- Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
- He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
adj.安静的,平和的
- He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
- You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。
增强( swell的第三人称单数 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情)
- The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
- A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。
n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 );抽搐;(能量、行为等的)突发;发作
- After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后,痉挛稍微减轻了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The smile died, squeezed out by spasms of anticipation and anxiety. 一阵阵预测和焦虑把她脸上的微笑挤掉了。 来自辞典例句
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
- We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
- The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
adj.气旋的,飓风的
- The anticyclone weather situations are more favorable than the cyclonic ones. 反气旋天气情况比气旋天气情况更有利些。 来自辞典例句
- We studied the interaction between a typhoon and a cyclonic vortex. 研究一个台风涡旋和一个低压涡旋之间的相互作用。 来自互联网
超然态度
- Why should I have treated him with such sharp aloofness? 但我为什么要给人一些严厉,一些端庄呢? 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
- He had an air of haughty aloofness. 他有一种高傲的神情。 来自辞典例句
adj.不相容的,不协调的,不相配的
- His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
- Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。
n.代替( replacement的名词复数 );替换的人[物];替代品;归还
- They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
- For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说,价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
- We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
- I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室
- Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗?
- You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力
- The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
- The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
- I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
- The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
- The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
- The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
(轮船、飞机等的)乘务员( steward的名词复数 ); (俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的)管理员; (大型活动的)组织者; (私人家中的)管家
- The stewards all wore armbands. 乘务员都戴了臂章。
- The stewards will inspect the course to see if racing is possible. 那些干事将检视赛马场看是否适宜比赛。
n.长沙发;(波斯或其他东方诗人的)诗集
- Lord Henry stretched himself out on the divan and laughed.亨利勋爵伸手摊脚地躺在沙发椅上,笑着。
- She noticed that Muffat was sitting resignedly on a narrow divan-bed.她看见莫法正垂头丧气地坐在一张不宽的坐床上。
v.(使)变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 );(使)难以区分;模模糊糊;迷离
- She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
- Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.洗(衣服等),洗烫(衣服等)( launder的过去式和过去分词 );洗(黑钱)(把非法收入改头换面,变为貌似合法的收入)
- Send these sheets to be laundered. 把这些床单送去洗熨。 来自辞典例句
- The air seems freshly laundered. Sydney thinks of good drying weather. 空气似乎被清洗过,让悉妮想起晴朗干爽适合晒衣服的好天气。 来自互联网
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的现在分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况)
- Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
- By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。
n.食物,营养品;营养情况
- Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
- He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。
v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 );调音
- She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
- Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人,觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的
- She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
- A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。
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
- 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。
n.(生物)拟态,模仿
- One of his few strengths was his skill at mimicry.他为数不多的强项之一就是善于模仿。
- Language learning usually necessitates conscious mimicry.一般地说,学习语言就要进行有意识的摹仿。
n.屠杀,屠宰;vt.屠杀,宰杀
- I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
- Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的
- Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
- These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
- She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
- She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
adj.体弱的;不稳的
- The attack of flu left her feeling very groggy.她患流感后非常虚弱。
- She was groggy from surgery.她手术后的的情况依然很不稳定。
adj.窘迫的,尴尬的v.使羞愧,使局促,使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )
- He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥,朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.金属的;金属制的;含金属的;产金属的;像金属的
- A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
- He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。
- \"No; nor will she miss now,\" cries The Vengeance, petulantly. “不会的,现在也不会错过,”复仇女神气冲冲地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的
- The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
- The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。
n.神经官能症的( neurotic的名词复数 );神经质的;神经过敏的;极为焦虑的
- Freud focused on neurotics, but his conclusions were relevant to mankind as a whole. 弗洛伊德着力研究神经病,但他的结论与整个人类相关。 来自互联网
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢
- The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
- I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。
adj.微不足道的,弱小的
- The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
- Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙,身体还不壮,还不能干活。
n.衰落,颓废
- The decadence of morals is bad for a nation.道德的堕落对国家是不利的。
- His article has the power to turn decadence into legend.他的文章具有化破朽为神奇的力量。
n.等级制度;统治集团,领导层
- There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
- She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。
n.洪亮;共鸣;共振
- Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
- The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。
adj.巨大的,庞大的
- My gargantuan,pristine machine was good for writing papers and playing solitaire,and that was all.我那庞大的、早期的计算机只适合写文章和玩纸牌游戏,就这些。
- Right away,I realized this was a mistake of gargantuan proportions.我立刻意识到这是一个巨大的错误。
反复地说,重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )
- "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯,我一定要知道你的休假日期,"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
- Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后,波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。
n.香槟酒;微黄色
- There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
- They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。
n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机;v.为…开车
- The chauffeur handed the old lady from the car.这个司机搀扶这个老太太下汽车。
- She went out herself and spoke to the chauffeur.她亲自走出去跟汽车司机说话。
vt.重新得到,收回;挽回,补救;检索
- He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
- The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
- The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
- Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
adj.即将发生的,临近的,逼近的
- The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
- The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物
- The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
- The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。
adj.易忘的,遗忘的,忘却的,健忘的
- Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后,妈妈变得特别健忘。
- He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。
adj.感情强烈的;热烈的;(人)有强烈感情的
- She made a vehement attack on the government's policies.她强烈谴责政府的政策。
- His proposal met with vehement opposition.他的倡导遭到了激烈的反对。
n.意义,要旨,大要;v.意味著,做为...要旨,要领是...
- Many theories purport to explain growth in terms of a single cause.许多理论都标榜以单一的原因解释生长。
- Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。
v.(尤指机敏地)避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 );逃避;躲避;使达不到
- The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
adj.多腱的,强壮有力的
- When muscles are exercised often and properly,they keep the arms firm and sinewy.如果能经常正确地锻炼肌肉的话,双臂就会一直结实而强健。
- His hard hands and sinewy sunburned limbs told of labor and endurance.他粗糙的双手,被太阳哂得发黑的健壮四肢,均表明他十分辛勤,非常耐劳。
n.拉格泰姆音乐
- The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
- African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。
n.偏爱,偏好,嗜好( predilection的名词复数 )
- Like any other idealistic person you make a secret of your predilections. 像任何其他理想主义者,你从不隐晦自己的偏好。 来自互联网
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取
- Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.荒谬,拙劣
- His ineptness as a public official made him the laughingstock of the whole town. 作为一个官员,他的无能让他成了全镇人的笑柄。
n.暗指,讽刺
- The report was based on rumours,speculation,and innuendo.这份报告建立在谣言、臆断和含沙射影的基础之上。
- Mark told by innuendo that the opposing team would lose the game.马克暗讽地说敌队会在比赛中输掉。
vt.震耳欲聋;使听不清楚
- This noise will deafen us all!这种喧闹声将使我们什么也听不见!
- The way you complain all day long would deafen the living buddha!就凭你成天抱怨,活佛耳朵都要聋了!
adj.轻蔑的,毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 );贬低;批评;非难
- Halliday's comments grew daily more and more sparklingly disagreeable and disparaging. 一天天过去,哈里代的评论越来越肆无忌惮,越来越讨人嫌,越来越阴损了。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
- Even with favorable items they would usually add some disparaging comments. 即使对好消息,他们也往往要加上几句诋毁的评语。 来自互联网
adj.可疑的,有问题的
- There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
- Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。
adj.荒谬的,可笑的
- The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
- It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。
n.(箭头、鱼钩等的)倒钩( barb的名词复数 );带刺的话;毕露的锋芒;钩状毛
- She slung barbs at me. 她说了些讥刺我的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I would no longer uncomplainingly accept their barbs or allow their unaccountable power to go unchallenged. 我不会再毫无怨言地洗耳恭听他们带刺的话,或让他们的不负责任的权力不受到挑战。 来自辞典例句
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄
- She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
- In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
- 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。
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
n.西方,西部;adj.西方的,向西的;adv.向西
- We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
- Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。
n.柴油发动机,内燃机
- We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
- My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。
adv.突然地,出其不意地
- 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。
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的
- He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
- He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多,只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼
- 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。
adv.温和地,殷勤地
- There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
- \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做,\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地
- The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
- The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
- When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 );回忆;回顾;追溯
- We retraced our steps to where we started. 我们折回我们出发的地方。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- We retraced our route in an attempt to get back on the right path. 我们折返,想回到正确的路上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.异常的,庞大的
- 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。
n.惊奇,惊讶
- All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
- He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
adj.沉默寡言的;言不如意的
- He was reticent about his opinion.他有保留意见。
- He was extremely reticent about his personal life.他对自己的个人生活讳莫如深。
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱
- The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害,专家担心它已不能负重。
- The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。
v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 );支持;为…设浮标;振奋…的精神
- Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下,该队有信心再次获胜。
- His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
ad.明显地,惹人注目地
- France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
- She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。
adj.静止的,不活动的,寂静的
- It is unlikely that such an extremist organization will remain quiescent for long.这种过激的组织是不太可能长期沉默的。
- Great distance in either time or space has wonderful power to lull and render quiescent the human mind.时间和空间上的远距离有一种奇妙的力量,可以使人的心灵平静。
n.嘉年华会,狂欢,狂欢节,巡回表演
- I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
- Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。
v.(使)倾侧;(使)倾斜;n.倾侧;倾斜
- She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
- The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平,有点儿歪.
n.(演说等之)结论
- As he worked his way from ethos and logos to the pathos of peroration,he bade us think of the connection between deprivation and belligerence,and to do something about it.当他在演讲中从道义和理念,转到结尾处的感伤时,他请我们考虑贫困与好战的关系,并为此做些什么。
- He summarized his main points in his peroration.他在结束语中总结了他的演讲要点。
adj.(头脑)糊涂的,愚蠢的;(指蛋类)变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 );使混乱;使腐臭;使变质
- Being in love must have addled your brain. 坠入爱河必已使你神魂颠倒。
- He has addled his head with reading and writing all day long. 他整天读书写字,头都昏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
安抚,抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 ); 绥靖(满足另一国的要求以避免战争)
- His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。
- They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。