jumped up on the pavement and riding squarely at a neat wooden



paling. He struck this with a terrificimpact and shot forward

off his saddle into a clumsy entanglement. Then he began to



tumble over sideways, and completed the entire figure in a

sitting position on the gravel, with his feet between the fork



and the stay of the machine. The concussion on the gravel shook

his entire being. He remained in that position, wishing that he



had broken his neck, wishing even more heartily that he had never

been born. The glory of life had departed. Bloomin' Dook, indeed!



These unwomanly women!

There was a soft whirr, the click of a brake, two footfalls, and



the Young Lady in Grey stood holding her machine. She had turned

round and come back to him. The warm sunlight now was in her



face. "Are you hurt?" she said. She had a pretty, clear, girlish

voice. She was really very young--quite a girl, in fact. And rode



so well! It was a bitter draught.

Mr. Hoopdriver stood up at once. "Not a bit," he said, a little



ruefully. He became painfully aware that large patches of gravel

scarcely improve the appearance of a Norfolk suit. "I'm very



sorry indeed--"

"It's my fault," she said, interrupting and so saving him on the



very verge of calling her 'Miss.' (He knew 'Miss' was wrong, but

it was deep-seated habit with him.) "I tried to pass you on the



wrong side." Her face and eyes seemed all alive. "It's my place

to be sorry."



"But it was my steering--"

"I ought to have seen you were a Novice"--with a touch of



superiority. "But you rode so straight coming along there!"

She really was--dashed pretty. Mr. Hoopdriver's feelings passed



the nadir. When he spoke again there was the faintest flavour of

the aristocratic in his voice.



"It's my first ride, as a matter of fact. But that's no excuse

for my ah! blundering--"



"Your finger's bleeding," she said, abruptly.

He saw his knuckle was barked. "I didn't feel it," he said,



feeling manly.

"You don't at first. Have you any stickingplaster? If not--" She



balanced her machine against herself. She had a little side

pocket, and she whipped out a small packet of sticking-plaster



with a pair of scissors in a sheath at the side, and cut off a

generous portion. He had a wild impulse to ask her to stick it on



for him. Controlled. "Thank you," he said.

"Machine all right?" she asked, looking past him at the prostrate



vehicle, her hands on her handle-bar. For the first time

Hoopdriver did not feel proud of his machine.



He turned and began to pick up the fallen fabric. He looked over

his shoulder, and she was gone, turned his head over the other



shoulder down the road, and she was riding off. "ORF!" said Mr.

Hoopdriver. "Well, I'm blowed!--Talk about Slap Up!" (His



aristocraticrefinementrarely adorned his speech in his private

soliloquies.) His mind was whirling. One fact was clear. A most



delightful and novel human being had flashed across his horizon

and was going out of his life again. The Holiday madness was in



his blood. She looked round!

At that he rushed his machine into the road, and began a hasty



ascent. Unsuccessful. Try again. Confound it, will he NEVER be

able to get up on the thing again? She will be round the corner



in a minute. Once more. Ah! Pedal! Wabble! No! Right this time!

He gripped the handles and put his head down. He would overtake



her.

The situation was primordial. The Man beneath prevailed for a



moment over the civilised superstructure, the Draper. He pushed

at the pedals with archaic violence. So Palaeolithic man may have



ridden his simple bicycle of chipped flint in pursuit of his

exogamous affinity. She vanished round the corner. His effort was

• properly [´prɔpəli] ad.适当地；严格地 (初中英语单词)


• temper [´tempə] n.韧度 v.锻炼；调和 (初中英语单词)


• evident [´evidənt] a.明显的，明白的 (初中英语单词)


• existence [ig´zistəns] n.存在；生存；生活 (初中英语单词)


• convenient [kən´vi:niənt] a.方便的 (初中英语单词)


• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• peaceful [´pi:sfəl] a.和平的；平静的 (初中英语单词)


• peculiar [pi´kju:liə] a.特有的；奇异的 (初中英语单词)


• hammer [´hæmə] n.锤子 v.重击 (初中英语单词)


• previous [´pri:viəs] a.先，前，以前的 (初中英语单词)


• sensation [sen´seiʃən] n.感觉；轰动；轰动一时 (初中英语单词)


• intimate [´intimit] a.亲密的 n.知己 (初中英语单词)


• establishment [i´stæbliʃmənt] n.建(成)立；研究所 (初中英语单词)


• second-hand [,sekənd´hænd] a.用过的；间接的 (初中英语单词)


• old-fashioned [´əuld´feʃənd] a.老式的；过时的 (初中英语单词)


• absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli] ad.绝对地；确实 (初中英语单词)


• character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)


• career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)


• glorious [´glɔ:riəs] a.光荣的；辉煌的 (初中英语单词)


• witness [´witnis] n.见证人 vt.目击 (初中英语单词)


• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)


• slender [´slendə] a.细长的；微薄的 (初中英语单词)


• costume [´kɔstju:m] n.服装(试样)；女装 (初中英语单词)


• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)


• horrible [´hɔrəbəl] a.可怕的；恐怖的 (初中英语单词)


• conflict [´kɔnflikt, kən´flikt] n.&vi.战斗；抵触 (初中英语单词)


• pretend [pri´tend] v.假装；借口；妄求 (初中英语单词)


• thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)


• impulse [´impʌls] n.推动(力)；冲动；刺激 (初中英语单词)


• supreme [su:´pri:m, sju:-] a.最高的，无上的 (初中英语单词)


• missing [´misiŋ] a.缺掉的；失踪的 (初中英语单词)


• saddle [´sædl] n.鞍子 v.装鞍(于) (初中英语单词)


• sunlight [´sʌnlait] n.日光 (初中英语单词)


• portion [´pɔ:ʃən] n.嫁妆；命运 vt.分配 (初中英语单词)


• fabric [´fæbrik] n.织物；结构；组织 (初中英语单词)


• rarely [´reəli] ad.难得；非凡地 (初中英语单词)


• holiday [´hɔlidi] n.假日，假期，节日 (初中英语单词)


• violence [´vaiələns] n.猛烈；暴力(行) (初中英语单词)


• pursuit [pə´sju:t] n.追踪；追击；事务 (初中英语单词)


• expectation [,ekspek´teiʃən] n.期待(望)；预期 (高中英语单词)


• collapse [kə´læps] vi.&n.崩溃；病倒；衰败 (高中英语单词)


• previously [´pri:viəsli] ad.预先；以前 (高中英语单词)


• bicycle [´baisik(ə)l] n.自行车 (高中英语单词)


• decent [´di:sənt] a.体面的，正派的 (高中英语单词)


• manchester [´mæntʃistə] n.曼彻斯特 (高中英语单词)


• precisely [pri´saisli] ad.精确地；刻板地 (高中英语单词)


• cemetery [´semitri] n.墓地，公墓 (高中英语单词)


• cheerfully [´tʃiəfuli] ad.高兴地，愉快地 (高中英语单词)


• chariot [´tʃæriət] n.古时双轮战车 (高中英语单词)


• fatigue [fə´ti:g] n.&vt.(使)疲劳(劳累) (高中英语单词)


• horseback [´hɔ:sbæk] n.马背 (高中英语单词)


• tumult [´tju:mʌlt, ´tu:-] n.喧哗；激昂；烦乱 (高中英语单词)


• exquisite [ik´skwizit] a.精巧的；敏锐的 (高中英语单词)


• sleepy [´sli:pi] a.困的，想睡的 (高中英语单词)


• counter [´kauntə] n.计算者；柜台；计算机 (高中英语单词)


• decidedly [di´saididli] ad.坚决地，果断地 (高中英语单词)


• elevation [,eli´veiʃən] n.高度；晋升；高尚 (高中英语单词)


• dismount [dis´maunt] v.(使)下马(车) (高中英语单词)


• frantic [´fræntik] a.发狂的；急忙的 (高中英语单词)


• motion [´məuʃən] n.手势 vt.打手势 (高中英语单词)


• breadth [bredθ] n.宽度，幅面，广度 (高中英语单词)


• pavement [´peivmənt] n.路面；铺筑材料 (高中英语单词)


• terrific [tə´rifik] a.可怕的；极大的 (高中英语单词)


• clumsy [´klʌmzi] a.笨拙的；粗俗的 (高中英语单词)


• gravel [´grævəl] n.砾石 vt.铺砾石 (高中英语单词)


• heartily [´hɑ:tili] ad.衷心地；亲切地 (高中英语单词)


• madness [´mædnis] n.疯狂；狂热 (高中英语单词)


• confound [kən´faund] v.混淆；使惊惶 (高中英语单词)


• superiority [su:piəri´ɔriti, sju:-] n.优越，卓越 (英语四级单词)


• blooming [´blu:miŋ] a.正开花的；妙龄的 (英语四级单词)


• prosecute [´prɔsikju:t] v.彻底进行(调查) (英语四级单词)


• wallet [´wɑ:lit] n.(放钞票等的)皮夹子 (英语四级单词)


• clearing [´kliəriŋ] n.(森林中的)空旷地 (英语四级单词)


• calves [kɑ:vz] calf的复数 (英语四级单词)


• shameful [´ʃeimfəl] a.可耻的；猥亵的 (英语四级单词)


• episode [´episəud] n.插曲；一段情节 (英语四级单词)


• mildly [´maildli] ad.温和地；适度地 (英语四级单词)


• antiquity [æn´tikwiti] n.太古；古代；古迹 (英语四级单词)


• ridden [´ridn] ride 的过去分词 (英语四级单词)


• uncertainty [ʌn´sə:tənti] n.不可靠；不确定的事 (英语四级单词)


• squarely [´skwɛəli] ad.成方形地；正直地 (英语四级单词)


• painfully [´peinfuli] ad.痛苦地；费力地 (英语四级单词)


• aristocratic [,æristə´krætik] a.贵族政治的；贵族的 (英语四级单词)


• packet [´pækit] n.盒 vt.…打成小包 (英语四级单词)


• scissors [´sizəz] n.剪刀，剪子 (英语四级单词)


• sheath [ʃi:θ] n.鞘，壳，套 (英语四级单词)


• refinement [ri´fainmənt] n.精炼；精制；文雅 (英语四级单词)


• unsuccessful [,ʌnsək´sesful] a.不成功的，失败的 (英语四级单词)


• accession [ək´seʃən] n.就职；增加；接近 (英语六级单词)


• involuntarily [in´vɔləntərili] ad.不 自觉地 (英语六级单词)


• preparatory [pri´pærətəri] a.预备的 n.预备学校 (英语六级单词)


• albeit [ɔ:l´bi:it] conj.即使；纵使；虽然 (英语六级单词)


• unprecedented [ʌn´presidentid] a.空前的 (英语六级单词)


• nether [´neðə] a.下面的；地下的 (英语六级单词)


• suggestive [sə´dʒestiv] a.暗示的；启发的 (英语六级单词)


• instinctive [in´stiŋktiv] a.本能的，天性的 (英语六级单词)


• impact [´impækt] n.影响，作用；冲击 (英语六级单词)


• departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)


• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)


• knuckle [´nʌkəl] n.指关节 vi.屈从 (英语六级单词)


• affinity [ə´finiti] n.密切关系；吸引(力) (英语六级单词)