span order, and he evinces a great interest in burglarproof

devices. His home is a tangle of electric wires, and after



bed-time a guest can scarcely breathe without setting off an

alarm. Also, he had invented a combination keyless door-lock



that travelers may carry in their vest pockets and apply

immediately and successfully under all circumstances. But his



wife does not deem him a coward. She knows better. And, like

any hero, he is content to rest on his laurels. His bravery is



never questioned by those friends who are aware of the Mill

Valley episode.



THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT

CARTER WATSON, a current magazine under his arm, strolled



slowly along, gazing about him curiously. Twenty years had

elapsed since he had been on this particular street, and the



changes were great and stupefying. This Western city of three

hundred thousand souls had contained but thirty thousand, when,



as a boy, he had been wont to ramble along its streets. In

those days the street he was now on had been a quiet residence



street in the respectableworkingclass quarter. On this late

afternoon he found that it had been submerged by a vast and



vicious tenderloin. Chinese and Japanese shops and dens

abounded, all confusedly intermingled with low white resorts



and boozing dens. This quiet street of his youth had become the

toughest quarter of the city.



He looked at his watch. It was half-past five. It was the slack

time of the day in such a region, as he well knew, yet he was



curious to see. In all his score of years of wandering and

studying social conditions over the world, he had carried with



him the memory of his old town as a sweet and wholesome place.

The metamorphosis he now beheld was startling. He certainly



must continue his stroll and glimpse the infamy to which his

town had descended.



Another thing: Carter Watson had a keen social and civic

consciousness. Independently wealthy, he had been loath to



dissipate his energies in the pink teas and freak dinners of

society, while actresses, race-horses, and kindred diversions



had left him cold. He had the ethical bee in his bonnet and was

a reformer" target="_blank" title="n.改革者；革新者">reformer of no mean pretension, though his work had been



mainly in the line of contributions to the heavier reviews and

quarterlies and to the publication over his name of brightly,



cleverly written books on the working classes and the

slum-dwellers. Among the twenty-seven to his credit occurred



titles such as, "If Christ Came to New Orleans," " The

Worked-out Worker," "Tenement Reform in Berlin," "The Rural



Slums of England," "The people of the East Side," "Reform

Versus Revolution," "The University Settlement as a Hot Bed of



Radicalism' and "The Cave Man of Civilization."

But Carter Watson was neither morbid nor fanatic. He did not



lose his head over the horrors he encountered, studied, and

exposed. No hair brained enthusiasm branded him. His humor



saved him, as did his wide experience and his con. conservative

philosophic temperament. Nor did he have any patience with



lightning change reform theories. As he saw it, society would

grow better only through the painfully slow and arduously



painful processes of evolution. There were no short cuts, no

sudden regenerations. The betterment of mankind must be worked



out in agony and misery just as all past social betterments had

been worked out.



But on this late summer afternoon, Carter Watson was curious.

As he moved along he paused before a gaudy drinking place. The



sign above read, "The Vendome." There were two entrances. One

evidently led to the bar. This he did not explore. The other



was a narrow hallway. Passing through this he found himself in

a huge room, filled with chair-encircled tables and quite



deserted. In the dim light he made out a piano in the distance.

Making a mental note that he would come back some time and

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


• sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)


• assist [ə´sist] v.协助；援助；搀扶 (初中英语单词)


• valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)


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


• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)


• keenly [´ki:nli] ad.敏锐地；强烈地 (初中英语单词)


• safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)


• mystery [´mistəri] n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词)


• abruptly [ə´brʌptli] ad.突然地；粗鲁地 (初中英语单词)


• companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)


• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)


• calmly [´kɑ:mli] ad.平静地；无风浪地 (初中英语单词)


• monster [´mɔnstə] n.怪物 a.大得异常的 (初中英语单词)


• fright [frait] n.惊吓；恐怖；怪人 (初中英语单词)


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


• magnificent [mæg´nifisənt] a.壮丽的；豪华的 (初中英语单词)


• savage [´sævidʒ] a.野蛮的 n.蛮人 (初中英语单词)


• advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ] n.优势；利益 (初中英语单词)


• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)


• wholly [´həul-li] ad.完全，十足；统统 (初中英语单词)


• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)


• combination [,kɔmbi´neiʃən] n.结合；联合；团体 (初中英语单词)


• coward [´kauəd] n.胆怯者 a.胆小的 (初中英语单词)


• curiously [´kjuəriəsli] ad.好奇地；稀奇古怪地 (初中英语单词)


• western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)


• beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)


• wealthy [´welθi] a.富有的；丰富的 (初中英语单词)


• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)


• christ [kraist] n.基督 int.天啊! (初中英语单词)


• reform [ri´fɔ:m] v.&n.改革；改良；革除 (初中英语单词)


• enthusiasm [in´θju:ziæzəm] n.热心；狂热；爱好 (初中英语单词)


• patience [´peiʃəns] n.忍耐(力)；耐心；坚韧 (初中英语单词)


• misery [´mizəri] n.痛苦；悲惨；穷困 (初中英语单词)


• mental [´mentl] a.精神的；心理的 (初中英语单词)


• compromise [´kɔmprəmaiz] n.妥协，和解 (高中英语单词)


• mutual [´mju:tʃuəl] a.相互的；共同的 (高中英语单词)


• opponent [ə´pəunənt] a.对立的 n.对手 (高中英语单词)


• carelessly [´kɛəlisli] ad.粗心地；疏忽地 (高中英语单词)


• ponder [´pɔndə] v.沉思；考虑；估量 (高中英语单词)


• excessive [ik´sesiv] a.过分的；极端的 (高中英语单词)


• grizzly [´grizli] a.灰(白)色的，灰白的 (高中英语单词)


• vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)


• stricken [´strikən] strike的过去分词 (高中英语单词)


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


• brightly [´braitli] ad.明亮地；聪明地 (高中英语单词)


• furiously [´fjuəriəsli] ad.狂怒地；有力地 (高中英语单词)


• formidable [´fɔ:midəbəl] a.可怕的；艰难的 (高中英语单词)


• conception [kən´sepʃən] n.构思；概念；怀孕 (高中英语单词)


• sweeping [´swi:piŋ] a.掠过的 n.扫除；清除 (高中英语单词)


• civilized [´sivilaizd] a.先进的；文明的 (高中英语单词)


• tangle [´tæŋgəl] n.&vt.(使)缠结；纠纷 (高中英语单词)


• successfully [sək´sesfəli] ad.成功地 (高中英语单词)


• respectable [ri´spektəbəl] a.可敬的；有身价的 (高中英语单词)


• wholesome [´həulsəm] a.有益于健康的 (高中英语单词)


• startling [´stɑ:tliŋ] a.惊人的 (高中英语单词)


• stroll [strəul] n.&v.漫步；散步；游荡 (高中英语单词)


• kindred [´kindrid] n.亲属关系；同源关系 (高中英语单词)


• bonnet [´bɔnit] n.无边女帽；童帽 (高中英语单词)


• publication [,pʌbli´keiʃən] n.发表；公布；发行 (高中英语单词)


• studied [´stʌdid] a.故意的；有计划的 (高中英语单词)


• temperament [´tempərəmənt] n.气质；性格 (高中英语单词)


• explore [ik´splɔ:] v.勘探；探索；探查 (高中英语单词)


• blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)


• bungalow [´bʌŋgələu] n.(有凉台的)平房 (英语四级单词)


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


• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)


• overpower [,əuvə´pauə] vt.压倒；制服；打败 (英语四级单词)


• veranda [və´rændə] n.游廊；阳台 (英语四级单词)


• blackness [´blæknis] n.黑色；阴险 (英语四级单词)


• outcry [´autkrai] n.喊叫；强烈抗议 (英语四级单词)


• underbrush [´ʌndəbrʌʃ] n.矮树丛 (英语四级单词)


• railing [´reiliŋ] n.栏杆 (英语四级单词)


• shaggy [´ʃægi] a.蓬乱的；多粗毛的 (英语四级单词)


• conventional [kən´venʃənəl] a.常规的；协定的 (英语四级单词)


• thrice [θrais] ad.三倍地；三次 (英语四级单词)


• uproar [´ʌprɔ:] n.喧嚣；骚动；轰鸣，轰动 (英语四级单词)


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


• intolerable [in´tɔlərəb(ə)l] a.无法忍受的 (英语四级单词)


• asunder [ə´sʌndə] a.分开地；零散地 (英语四级单词)


• vagabond [´vægəbɔnd] n.流浪者 a.流浪的 (英语四级单词)


• fullness [´fulnis] n.满；充实；彻底 (英语四级单词)


• bravery [´breivəri] n.勇敢，大胆，刚毅 (英语四级单词)


• ramble [´ræmbl] v.&n.闲逛；漫步 (英语四级单词)


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


• evolution [,i:və´lu:ʃən] n.进化；发展；发育 (英语四级单词)


• august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)


• infernal [in´fə:nəl] a.地狱的，恶魔似的 (英语六级单词)


• backwards [´bækwədz] ad.向后 a.向后的 (英语六级单词)


• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)


• acclaim [ə´kleim] vt.&n.欢呼；喝彩 (英语六级单词)


• metamorphosis [,metə´mɔ:fəsis] n.变形；变质；变态 (英语六级单词)


• independently [,indi´pendəntli] ad.独立地；自由地 (英语六级单词)


• reformer [ri´fɔ:mə] n.改革者；革新者 (英语六级单词)


• fanatic [fə´nætik] a.狂热的 n.狂热者 (英语六级单词)


• hallway [´hɔ:lwei] n.(美)门厅，过道 (英语六级单词)