crowd whose component units seemed for the most part to recognise

the probability that they were quite as interesting as any play



they were likely to see. Those who bore no particular face-value

themselves derived a certain amount of social dignity from the near



neighbourhood of obvious notabilities; if one could not obtain

recognition oneself there was some vague pleasure in being able to



recognise notoriety at intimately close quarters.

"Who is that woman with the auburn hair and a rather effective



belligerent gleam in her eyes?" asked a man sitting just behind

Comus; "she looks as if she might have created the world in six



days and destroyed it on the seventh."

"I forget her name," said his neighbour; "she writes. She's the



author of that book, 'The Woman who wished it was Wednesday,' you

know. It used to be the convention that women writers should be



plain and dowdy; now we have gone to the other extreme and build

them on extravagantly decorative lines."



A buzz of recognition came from the front rows of the pit, together

with a craning of necks on the part of those in less favoured



seats. It heralded the arrival of Sherard Blaw, the dramatist who

had discovered himself, and who had given so ungrudgingly of his



discovery to the world. Lady Caroline, who was already directing

little conversational onslaughts from her box, gazed gently for a



moment at the new arrival, and then turned to the silver-haired

Archdeacon sitting beside her.



"They say the poor man is haunted by the fear that he will die

during a general election, and that his obituary notices will be



seriously curtailed by the space taken up by the election results.

The curse of our party system, from his point of view, is that it



takes up so much room in the press."

The Archdeacon smiled indulgently. As a man he was so exquisitely



worldly that he fully merited the name of the Heavenly Worldling

bestowed on him by an admiring duchess, and withal his texture was



shot with a pattern of such genuine saintliness that one felt that

whoever else might hold the keys of Paradise he, at least,



possessed a private latchkey to that abode.

"Is it not significant of the altered grouping of things," he



observed, "that the Church, as represented by me, sympathises with

the message of Sherard Blaw, while neither the man nor his message



find acceptance with unbelievers like you, Lady Caroline."

Lady Caroline blinked her eyes. "My dear Archdeacon," she said,



"no one can be an unbeliever nowadays. The Christian Apologists

have left one nothing to disbelieve."



The Archdeacon rose with a delightedchuckle. "I must go and tell

that to De la Poulett," he said, indicating a clerical figure



sitting in the third row of the stalls; "he spends his life

explaining from his pulpit that the glory of Christianity consists



in the fact that though it is not true it has been found necessary

to invent it."



The door of the box opened and Courtenay Youghal entered, bringing

with him subtle suggestion of chaminade and an atmosphere of



political tension. The Government had fallen out of the good

graces of a section of its supporters, and those who were not in



the know were busy predicting a serious crisis over a forthcoming

division in the Committee stage of an important Bill. This was



Saturday night, and unless some successful cajolery were effected

between now and Monday afternoon, Ministers would be, seemingly, in



danger of defeat.

"Ah, here is Youghal," said the Archdeacon; "he will be able to



tell us what is going to happen in the next forty-eight hours. I

hear the Prime Minister says it is a matter of conscience, and they



will stand or fall by it."

His hopes and sympathies were notoriously on the Ministerial side.

• description [di´skripʃən] n.描写 (初中英语单词)


• sympathy [´simpəθi] n.同情，怜悯 (初中英语单词)


• affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)


• disappointment [,disə´pɔintmənt] n.失望；挫折 (初中英语单词)


• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)


• philosophy [fi´lɔsəfi] n.哲学；人生观 (初中英语单词)


• financial [fi´nænʃəl] a.金融的，财政的 (初中英语单词)


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


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


• evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)


• confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)


• rubber [´rʌbə] n.(摩)擦的人；橡皮 (初中英语单词)


• scheme [ski:m] n.计划；阴谋，诡计 (初中英语单词)


• seriously [´siəriəsli] ad.严肃；严重，重大 (初中英语单词)


• aspect [´æspekt] n.面貌；神色；方向 (初中英语单词)


• employment [im´plɔimənt] n.工作；职业；雇用 (初中英语单词)


• invest [in´vest] v.投资；授予 (初中英语单词)


• available [ə´veiləbəl] a.可用的；有效的 (初中英语单词)


• actual [´æktʃuəl] a.现实的；实际的 (初中英语单词)


• suggestion [sə´dʒestʃən] n.建议，提议；暗示 (初中英语单词)


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


• weakness [´wi:knis] n.虚弱；弱点，缺点 (初中英语单词)


• energy [´enədʒi] n.活力，精力；能力 (初中英语单词)


• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)


• considerable [kən´sidərəbəl] a.重要的；值得重视 (初中英语单词)


• distinct [di´stiŋkt] a.清楚的；独特的 (初中英语单词)


• sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)


• residence [´rezidəns] n.居住(期间)；住宅 (初中英语单词)


• illness [´ilnis] n.生病，不健康，疾病 (初中英语单词)


• solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)


• flatter [´flætə] vt.阿谀，奉承；胜过 (初中英语单词)


• useless [´ju:sləs] a.无用的，无价值的 (初中英语单词)


• relief [ri´li:f] n.救济；援救；减轻 (初中英语单词)


• comment [´kɔment] n.&v.评论；评注；注意 (初中英语单词)


• disaster [di´zɑ:stə] n.灾难，不幸 (初中英语单词)


• sustain [sə´stein] vt.支撑；蒙受；确认 (初中英语单词)


• stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)


• height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)


• amount [ə´maunt] n.总数；数量 v.合计 (初中英语单词)


• dignity [´digniti] n.尊严，尊贵；高官显贵 (初中英语单词)


• obvious [´ɔbviəs] a.明显的；显而易见的 (初中英语单词)


• extreme [ik´stri:m] a.尽头的 n.极端 (初中英语单词)


• recognition [,rekəg´niʃən] n.认出；认识；承认 (初中英语单词)


• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)


• gently [´dʒentli] ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词)


• haunted [´hɔ:tid] a.常出现鬼的，闹鬼的 (初中英语单词)


• election [i´lekʃən] n.选举；选择 (初中英语单词)


• system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)


• paradise [´pærədais] n.天堂；乐园 (初中英语单词)


• invent [in´vent] vt.发明；捏造 (初中英语单词)


• atmosphere [´ætməsfiə] n.大气；空气；气氛 (初中英语单词)


• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)


• conscience [´kɔnʃəns] n.良心；道德心 (初中英语单词)


• indifferent [in´difrənt] a.不关心的；中立的 (高中英语单词)


• summon [´sʌmən] vt.召集；号召 (高中英语单词)


• flicker [´flikə] n.&v.闪烁；忽隐忽现 (高中英语单词)


• tropical [´trɔpikəl] a.热带地区的 (高中英语单词)


• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)


• promotion [prə´məuʃən] n.促进；提升；倡仪 (高中英语单词)


• obstacle [´ɔbstəkl] n.障碍(物)；妨碍 (高中英语单词)


• stately [´steitli] a.庄严的，雄伟的 (高中英语单词)


• representation [,reprizen´teiʃən] n.描写；表现(法) (高中英语单词)


• dignified [´dignifaid] a.尊贵的 (高中英语单词)


• concerned [kən´sə:nd] a.有关的；担心的 (高中英语单词)


• tragic [´trædʒik] a.悲剧的；悲惨的 (高中英语单词)


• retort [ri´tɔ:t] n.&v.报复；反击；反驳 (高中英语单词)


• pretence [pri´tens] n.假装；托词；无理要求 (高中英语单词)


• resentment [ri´zentmənt] n.不满；怨恨；忿恨 (高中英语单词)


• sullen [´sʌlən] a.不高兴的 (高中英语单词)


• distinguished [di´stiŋgwiʃt] a.卓越的，著名的 (高中英语单词)


• throng [θrɔŋ] n.群众 v.拥挤；群集 (高中英语单词)


• component [kəm´pəunənt] a.组成的；成分 (高中英语单词)


• probability [,prɔbə´biliti] n.或有；可能性 (高中英语单词)


• heavenly [´hevənli] a.天的，天空的 (高中英语单词)


• duchess [´dʌtʃis] n.公爵夫人；女公爵 (高中英语单词)


• genuine [´dʒenjuin] a.真正的；真诚的 (高中英语单词)


• significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)


• acceptance [ək´septəns] n.接受；承认 (高中英语单词)


• chuckle [´tʃʌkl] vi.&n.轻声笑；暗自笑 (高中英语单词)


• christianity [,kristi´æniti] n.基督教；基督精神 (高中英语单词)


• crisis [´kraisis] n.转折点；危机 (高中英语单词)


• intimacy [´intiməsi] n.亲密；熟悉；秘密 (英语四级单词)


• seemingly [´si:miŋli] ad.表面上；似乎 (英语四级单词)


• wearily [´wiərili] ad.疲倦地；厌烦地 (英语四级单词)


• overturn [,əuvə´tə:n] v.打翻；颠覆 (英语四级单词)


• indefinitely [in´defənitli] ad.模糊地；无限期地 (英语四级单词)


• tiresome [´taiəsəm] a.令人厌倦的；讨厌的 (英语四级单词)


• wasting [´weistiŋ] a.&n.浪费(的) (英语四级单词)


• foresee [fɔ:´si:] vt.预见，预知 (英语四级单词)


• conveniently [kən´vi:njəntli] ad.方便地；合宜地 (英语四级单词)


• necessitate [ni´sesiteit] vt.使成为必要；迫使 (英语四级单词)


• upstairs [,ʌp´steəz] ad.在楼上 a.楼上的 (英语四级单词)


• decorative [´dekərətiv] a.装饰的 (英语四级单词)


• withal [wi´ðɔ:l] ad.加之；同样；然而 (英语四级单词)


• texture [´tekstʃə] n.(织物等的)质地 (英语四级单词)


• delighted [di´laitid] a.高兴的；喜欢的 (英语四级单词)


• pulpit [´pulpit] n.讲坛 (英语四级单词)


• tension [´tenʃən] n.紧张；压力；拉力 (英语四级单词)


• vexation [vek´seiʃən] n.烦恼(的原因) (英语六级单词)


• persuasive [pə´sweisiv] a.有说服力的 n.动机 (英语六级单词)


• beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)


• impious [´impiəs] a.不敬的；不孝的 (英语六级单词)


• indictment [in´daitmənt] n.控诉，告发；起诉书 (英语六级单词)


• mockery [´mɔkəri] n.嘲笑；笑柄 (英语六级单词)


• expectant [ik´spektənt] a.期待的，预期的 (英语六级单词)


• intimately [´intimitli] ad.密切地；熟悉地 (英语六级单词)


• auburn [´ɔ:bən] n.&a.赭色(的) (英语六级单词)


• dramatist [´dræmətist] n.剧作家；戏曲家 (英语六级单词)


• clerical [´klerikəl] a.牧师的；教士的 (英语六级单词)