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CHAPTER I THE BEGINNING OF THE HOLIDAYS
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"WE'RE not to go to the seaside? Oh, Mother, why not?"
 
"Because, dear, we can't afford it. I'm very, very sorry, but you must try to enjoy your holidays at home; and, please, Tom, don't let your father guess that you greatly mind—of course, it's only natural that you should be disappointed."
 
The scene was the comfortable though decidedly shabby sitting-room2 at No. 3 Ladysmith Terrace, a row of new houses on the outskirts3 of Chilaton, a large provincial4 town; and the speakers were Mrs. Burford, a pretty, rather delicate-looking woman of thirty, and her ten-year-old son, Tom, whose usually bright face was now wearing an expression of mingled5 amazement6 and dismay. It was a pleasant afternoon at the close of July, and on the previous day the school, which Tom attended as a day-scholar, had broken up for the long holiday. Always, hitherto, Mr. Burford, who was a clerk in a bank in Chilaton, had taken his holiday in August, and gone with his family to the seaside; but Mrs. Burford had just told Tom that that programme could not be carried out this year.
 
"You see," she continued, "we have had extra expenses to cope with— Nellie's illness, for instance, and—"
 
"Dr. Brewer7 said that a change of air would set Nellie up quicker than anything!" Tom broke in, eagerly; "you haven't forgotten that, Mother?"
 
Mrs. Burford shook her head, and her lips quivered. There was a minute's silence, then she said, quietly: "If it was possible, we should carry out Dr. Brewer's prescription8, Tom, but it is not. We must live within our income, and we could not do that if we took a holiday under existing circumstances. I hope, next year, if your father should get a rise—"
 
Tom, who was standing9 by the open window, gazing into the small patch of flower garden which divided the house from the road, turned sharply and looked at his mother as her voice altered and stopped. Mrs. Burford was seated in a low chair, a stocking, which she had been darning, drawn10 over her left hand, but she had ceased working, for she could not see on account of the tears which had suddenly filled her eyes. The boy's heart swelled11 with sympathy for her as he saw the sad feelings she was trying to keep down. "Oh, Mother," he cried, "don't look like that! I daresay Nellie will get quite well without going away! You know she is much better than she was a month ago! Why, I heard you say, yesterday, that you really thought she was a little fatter! And she's quite lost her cough!"
 
"Hush12!" whispered Mrs. Burford, blinking away her tears, and hastily restarting her work, "here she comes! Well, Nellie, my dear!"
 
The door had opened to admit a little girl, followed by a small, smooth-haired fox-terrier. She crossed the room to her mother's side, where she seated herself on a stool, leaning her curly golden head against the arm of her mother's chair; she was a very pretty child, nearly two years younger than Tom, but whereas six months before she had been full of merriment and high spirits, she was now, as her brother complained, "as quiet as a mouse and with no fun left in her." This change was the result of a serious illness she had had in the spring.
 
"Shall we take Tim for a walk, Nellie?" suggested Tom, as the terrier came up to him, and stood wagging his tail and looking at him with an eager expression, which he read aright, in his sharp brown eyes. "He's asking me to go," he added.
 
Tim was a very intelligent little animal, and his face, quaintly13 marked, one side quite white and the other black and tan, was wonderfully expressive14; at the present moment it seemed to say: "Come out into the sunshine! Don't stop indoors wasting this beautiful summer afternoon!"
 
"I'm tired, Tom," Nellie replied, "I'd rather stay with Mother if you don't mind. Besides, if I don't go you'll be able to take Tim farther—I couldn't walk very far, you know."
 
This was true, so Tom said no more and left his sister at home. Five minutes later, with Tim trotting15 on ahead of him, he had turned his back on Ladysmith Terrace, and was strolling along a wider road than the one in which his home was situated16, which led to the open country. By and by he came within sight of a pretty ivy-covered detached house, with a well-kept lawn before it, around which, on one side, was a wide carriage-drive, whilst the other side was edged with flower-beds, gay with summer and early autumn flowers. This was Halcyon17 Villa18, the residence of Miss Perry, an elderly maiden19 lady who was said to be very rich.
 
Tom, walking along with his hands thrust deep in his trousers pockets, his eyes fixed20 on the ground, and his mind full of far from happy thoughts, was paying no attention to Tim, and did not observe that, on reaching the big iron gate leading into the grounds of Halcyon Villa, he had met another dog—an Irish terrier; and, therefore, he looked up with a start at the sound of a voice— a startled voice which cried:
 
"Bounce! Bounce! Come here! Oh, please, whoever you are, take your dog away!"
 
The speaker was a dark-haired, dark-complexioned boy, apparently21 about Tom's age. He was standing within the gate, his face close to the bars, an expression of great anxiety upon his features. It was evident he feared that the dogs, who, with raised backs, were walking stiffly around each other, growling23, meant to fight.
 
Tom gave him a glance of contempt, secretly thinking him a coward, and answered: "Easier said than done! Come out and fetch your dog in!"
 
The words were barely out of his mouth when the dogs closed with each other, and a moment later found them fighting in the middle of the road. Tim fought pluckily24, but he was not evenly matched, his antagonist25 being bigger and stronger than himself, and in less than a minute the Irish terrier had got him under, and doubtless would have done him serious injury if a man had not come along and separated the animals; whereupon the Irish terrier, looking rather ashamed of himself, retreated to the side of his master, who had come out into the road and now hastened to fasten a leash26 to his collar.
 
"You should keep your dog under control!" cried Tom angrily and very unreasonably27. "I never saw a more savage28 brute29!"
 
"He doesn't fight unless he's interfered30 with," the other boy answered, his dark cheeks flushing. "But, as a rule, I have him on the lead. I was giving him a run in the garden, and he went out over the hedge. I heard your dog come up and growl22 at him. I hope your dog is not hurt?"
 
"Not much. He has a bite on one of his forelegs, I see, but that's nothing."
 
Tom was beginning to be ashamed of the temper he had shown. He could quite believe that Tim, who was always fierce to strange dogs, had been the first to show a hostile spirit.
 
"Oh, I am glad of that!" the dark boy said. "What sort of dog is he, and what is his name?"
 
Tom was bending over Tim, examining his injury. He looked up in surprise; then laughed rather scornfully.
 
"Why, he's a fox-terrier, of course!" he exclaimed; "and nearly thoroughbred, too. His name's Tim. What do you call your dog? Oh, I remember!—Bounce."
 
"Yes, Bounce. He was always a very good dog in London. My home's in London, you know. But the last few days, since I have been here with Aunt Harriet, he's given a lot of trouble: got away by himself, and not come back for hours. Aunt Harriet thinks he goes hunting in the woods."
 
"If he does, he will end by being caught in a trap."
 
"Oh, do you think so? I did not know there were traps in the woods."
 
"There are. Poachers set them for rabbits, and whatever else they can catch."
 
There was a minute's silence. Then Tom inquired:
 
"Is Miss Perry your aunt?"
 
"Yes, my father's sister. I'm going to spend my holidays with her."
 
"Jolly for you! She's awfully31 rich, isn't she? You'll ride about in her motor-car, and have no end of a good time! What's your name?"
 
"Peter Perry. And yours?"
 
"Tom Burford."
 
"Do you know my aunt?"
 
"Rather not. We're not rich people living in a big house, with servants to wait on us, and everything we want! We're poor!"
 
There was a note of bitterness in Tom's voice, of which he was scarcely conscious himself, but Peter heard it, and replied sympathetically: "It must be dreadful to be poor—to be short, perhaps, of even food, and clothes, and—"
 
"Oh, I didn't mean we were so poor as that," Tom interrupted, crimsoning32, and aghast at the false impression he had evidently given. "I meant—why, what's this?"
 
The other boy had stepped close to him and had slipped something— a shilling it proved to be—into his hand, murmuring that he was so sorry for him and that he wanted him to have the money to buy something for himself.
 
Tom looked at the coin in amazed silence for a minute, the hot colour slowly receding33 from his cheeks in his shame; them amazement and shame gave place to anger, and he flung the shilling in the road at his companion's feet.
 
"Pick it up from there, if you want it!" he cried wrathfully. "I don't know what you can think of me! Get out of my way and let me pass!"
 
"Oh, wait, wait!" cried Peter Perry, seemingly much distressed34.
 
But Tom pushed him roughly aside, and, followed by Tim, who was now in a chastened frame of mind, strode off at a great rate in the direction of his home, his heart hot with anger against the boy who, he considered, had insulted him.
 
"I shan't tell them about it at home," he decided1; "for I suppose I oughtn't to have said we were poor. But, oh! how was it he didn't see I wasn't the sort of boy to take money? How could he have made such a mistake?"

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
2 sitting-room sitting-room     
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室
参考例句:
  • The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
  • Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。
3 outskirts gmDz7W     
n.郊外,郊区
参考例句:
  • Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
  • They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。
4 provincial Nt8ye     
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人
参考例句:
  • City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
  • Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。
5 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系]
参考例句:
  • The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
  • The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候,这一男一女就开始交往了。
6 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
7 brewer brewer     
n. 啤酒制造者
参考例句:
  • Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
  • I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职,做一名酿酒人。
8 prescription u1vzA     
n.处方,开药;指示,规定
参考例句:
  • The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
  • The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。
9 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
10 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
11 swelled bd4016b2ddc016008c1fc5827f252c73     
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情)
参考例句:
  • The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染,他的手肿了起来。
  • After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后,河水猛涨。
12 hush ecMzv     
int.嘘,别出声;n.沉默,静寂;v.使安静
参考例句:
  • A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
  • Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去!
13 quaintly 7kzz9p     
adv.古怪离奇地
参考例句:
  • "I don't see what that's got to do with it,'said the drummer quaintly. “我看不出这和你的事有什么联系,"杜洛埃说道,他感到莫名其妙。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • He is quaintly dressed, what a strange one he is. 他一身的奇装异服,真是另类!
14 expressive shwz4     
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
参考例句:
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
15 trotting cbfe4f2086fbf0d567ffdf135320f26a     
小跑,急走( trot的现在分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
  • Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳,小马开始慢跑起来。
16 situated JiYzBH     
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的
参考例句:
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
  • She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。
17 halcyon 8efx7     
n.平静的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • He yearned for the halcyon day sof his childhood.他怀念儿时宁静幸福的日子。
  • He saw visions of a halcyon future.他看到了将来的太平日子的幻境。
18 villa xHayI     
n.别墅,城郊小屋
参考例句:
  • We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
  • We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。
19 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
20 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
21 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
22 growl VeHzE     
v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣
参考例句:
  • The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫,尾巴也跟着摇摆。
  • The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。
23 growling growling     
n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼
参考例句:
  • We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
  • The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡,聚集在一起发牢骚。
24 pluckily f456b1f7f188159a24a79bb3c11e7ed4     
adv.有勇气地,大胆地
参考例句:
  • He was Brentford's defensive star in pluckily holding out the determined Reading raids for long periods. 他是布伦特福德队的防守明星,长期坚持抗击雷丁队的猛攻。 来自互联网
  • A crushing setback, pluckily overcome, is a good plot motif to carry the yarn forward. 如果你的公司曾遭受过一次毁灭性的打击,但你的勇气让公司度过了难关,那么这个情节也很不错,能推动故事的发展。 来自互联网
25 antagonist vwXzM     
n.敌人,对抗者,对手
参考例句:
  • His antagonist in the debate was quicker than he.在辩论中他的对手比他反应快。
  • The thing is to know the nature of your antagonist.要紧的是要了解你的对手的特性。
26 leash M9rz1     
n.牵狗的皮带,束缚;v.用皮带系住
参考例句:
  • I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳,但被狗挡住了路。
  • The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带,想挣脱开去。
27 unreasonably 7b139a7b80379aa34c95638d4a789e5f     
adv. 不合理地
参考例句:
  • He was also petty, unreasonably querulous, and mean. 他还是个气量狭窄,无事生非,平庸刻薄的人。
  • Food in that restaurant is unreasonably priced. 那家饭店价格不公道。
28 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
29 brute GSjya     
n.野兽,兽性
参考例句:
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲,它咬人。
30 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
31 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
32 crimsoning ce4240f93f13b443f89d1318cf3056e8     
变为深红色(crimson的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
33 receding c22972dfbef8589fece6affb72f431d1     
v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题
参考例句:
  • Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远,他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
  • Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句
34 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句:
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑,无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。


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