CHAPTER I

I got up at siven. Washed. Dressed. Made me bed. I set the kittle on the gas stove and then furyissly rung the brikfust bell. The famly begun to get up about 9. Mr. John was the first to ate. He guv a look sideways at the appytising eggs befure him and the luvly staming coffee and thin wid a shuv pooshed thim aside. He tuk up his paper and begun to reed ignoaring me and the brikfust as if we wus durt. Me mouth being open I spoke¹ up.
“Won’t you be after ating this morning” says I.
“Its all rite²” says he. “Its all rite Delia.”
I lingered hoping to help him a bit. He russelled up the paper the way he has of doing when provoaked and says in that cam and gintle way he talks when turribly excited:
“Delia—what are you waiting for?”
“Nothing—says I—but won’t you be ating a bite Mr. Johnny.”
He controlled himsilf wid diffyculty his voyce all the cammer for his inwurd anger.
Now me girl says he—you attind to your own ating. Never mind me.
I shugged me sholders in the disdainful way I have and walked kitchen-wurd. I’d jest reeched the swinging door when “Delia!” ses he, calling very perlitely now.
“Well sir?”
“Will you kindly³ bring me” ses he “a cup of hot water.”
“Hot water is it?”
“Yep. I’m dying Delia” ses he.
“Dying!” ses I, shocked so that I drapped and broke the china in me hands.
“Confound you!” ses he, starting up in his seet “Dy-et-ing I said.”
“Its the same thing!” I showted back at him, and I marched out in a huff.
By and by I heard Miss Claire go into the dining-room and I let her ring the table bell awile befure ansering. Her payshunce gitting the better of her sense she pokes⁴ her hed into me kitchen. Now I happened to be standing⁵ neerby the dure, wayting for further ivints. Well, as I sed, out popped Miss Claire’s hed throo the dure which banged against me own, while me frying-pan wint flying up on hers.
“O! O! O!” crys she.
Her mother come running down the passage in her nitegown her hair scrooed up in them kid curlers.
“What is the matter?” crys she. Thin she seen the cundition of her dorter. The eggs had landed on her hed, and the fat run down her face in streams wid the yokes⁶ for company. The mother guv me a shove, and at that I boorst out in me rarth.
“Its no lady you are” ses I. “The whole boonch of you is bad. Gitting up at these unairthly ours and bullying⁷ the life out of a poor loan hard working girl.”
Wid that I tuk aff me aprun and throwed it at the madams feet.
“Will you be good enuff” ses I “to pay me me wages, for I’m for going.”
“Delia” ses she in the voyce she spakes whin drissed up fine for the opery or there’s company for dinner. “Delia” ses she, “Your month is up on the 24th. You will get nothing till then.”
“Indade” ses I, “Then I’ll set here till the 24th, but divil a bit of work will I be doing,” and wid that I set down on me chare and faulded me arms firmly across me brist.
“Delia” ses the lady, “Mr. Wolley will want his chop in a minit. Master Willie will have fareena and a poched egg. Shedded weet biskits for Miss Claire——”
“Mummer” ses she, washing her hed over me tubs, “I want nothing—nothing.”
Just then Mr. James wint into the dyning-roon and rung the bell lowdly.
“Peeches and pancakes” ses Mrs. Wolley coldly.
Miss Claire has her hed washed be this time, and she stands oop, wid it rolled oop in a towl. She guv me wan⁸ look—a cross betwane a shmile and a frown, and ses she:
“Delia, do you wish me to get brikfust to-day?”
“God forbid, Miss” ses I, and wint to wark.
Miss Claire is horty agin, and she ses wid a cold look at me:
“Very well thin Delia, till the 24th then. Come mother.”

1 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• 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。

2 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 pokes   

v.伸出( poke的第三人称单数 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• He pokes his nose into everything. 他这人好管闲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Only the tip of an iceberg pokes up above water. 只有冰山的尖端突出于水面。 来自辞典例句

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• 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。

6 yokes   

轭( yoke的名词复数 )； 奴役； 轭形扁担； 上衣抵肩

参考例句：

• The rhombic drive mechanism has two "yokes". 菱形驱动机构有两个“轭”。
• Contact pressure increase by 1.5 –5 with same stems and yokes. 即使采用相同的阀杆和轭架，接触压力也能够增加1.5至5倍。

7 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• 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。