In those days conversation was still cultivated as an art; a neat repartee was more highly valued than the crackling of thorns under a pot; and the epigram, not yet a mechanical appliance by which the dull may achieve a semblance of wit, gave sprightliness to the small talk of the urbane.

那个年代的作家还比较讲究说话的艺术，机敏的回答比锅底下柴火的噼啪声更令人赞赏，名言妙语也尚未变成愚笨者附庸风雅的工具，而是随意闲谈中的点睛之句。

长难句解析

该长句由分号分割为三个独立短句，前两句均为简单的顺序的“主谓宾”结构，第三句中“epigram”是主语，两个逗号中间是同位语，“gave”是谓语，“sprightliness”是宾语，“to...urbane”是介词短语作状语。

重点词汇词组

①the crackling of thorns under a pot 锅底下柴火的噼啪声

引用典故：《圣经·传道书7:6》：“愚人的笑语宛如锅底下柴火的噼啪声。”

②repartee 机敏的应答；妙语；巧辩

He is very sharp, a quick thinker and swift with repartee.

他很机敏、思维敏捷并且能机智应答。

③semblance 表象，假象；外观；幻影

A semblance of normality has returned with people going to work and shops reopening.

随着人们上班、商店重新营业，表面已恢复了常态。

④urbane 彬彬有礼的，温文尔雅的；都市化的

In conversation, he was suave and urbane.

谈话中他彬彬有礼且温文尔雅。

【近义词】complaisant, courtlike

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