TRUSTY. 1. HUNGRY.

 1. "I think that we shall have a heavy fall of snow before long," said the landlord of the little wayside inn, at which I had called to get a morsel¹ of bread and cheese.

 

2. "Very likely it will snow," said I, giving a glance at the dark heavy clouds, and stopping to listen for a moment to the moaning wind.

 

3. "And in that case the sooner I start the better, for I have a long distance to go, and the light will fail early, in such weather as this."

 

4. The landlord turned and looked at me, as I began putting on my great-coat. "Do you think that it is wise of you to venture across the moor², when it is likely to be so stormy?" said he.[Pg 30]

 

5. "It is a rough road at the best of times, but on a bleak³ night with snow there is real danger. The trap will take you over in no time when it comes in, or as soon as it is light in the morning."

 

6. "My friend," said I, "do not think of such a thing. I would not be away from home to-morrow for all the world. It is the birthday of my only little girl, and she would think the day quite spoilt if her father were not there.

 

7. "I shall step out briskly, and be at home long before dark. It is not three o'clock yet," I added, pulling out my watch.

 

"Well, I wish you a safe journey, sir," said the landlord. "And also, many happy returns of to-morrow."

 

8. "Thank you, landlord," replied I, in the same hearty⁴ tone. I shook hands with him, for his face was a beaming and kindly⁵ one, and I had known him since I was a boy.

 

9. As I went towards the outer door, the landlord just behind me, his man darted⁶ forward from a dark corner, and began to bustle⁷ out in front of me.[Pg 31]

 

10. "Get out, you brute⁸!" he said, in an angry voice, as he made a savage⁹ kick at something which was crouching¹⁰ in the shadow of the doorstep.

 

 

 

11. An instant after, with a dismal¹¹ yelp¹² of despair, a forlorn dog slunk away from the door, and ran to hide under an empty waggon¹³ which stood in the middle of the road.

 

12. "Get out! Be off!" again shouted the man, and he made a pretence¹⁴ of stooping with great fury to pick up a stone.[Pg 32] The wretched dog, wild with terror, left his hiding-place.

 

13. With his drooping¹⁵ tail between his legs, he crept to the gate of the yard, where he again lay down and blinked his great sad eyes at us, licking his hungry mouth as if to beg for food.

 

14. I was deeply touched at the sight of this poor creature's distress¹⁶, and I could not help thinking how warm and well fed I was myself, as well as the other two men, while this wretched dog, for no fault of his own, was starving.

 

15. "Poor thing!" I said, and turning to the landlord, added, "Do pray let some one bring him a few scraps¹⁷ and bones from the kitchen. I will gladly pay for one good meal for him."

 

16. "Oh no, oh dear no!" cried the landlord and the man, both in a voice of horror. "If we gave him food in this yard we should never get rid of him.

 

17. "We should have a bother with starving dogs here, all the year round, sir. Pray do not give him food here, I beg."[Pg 33]

 

Write: A man saw a hungry dog at an inn. He wished to feed him, but the landlord said that he should never get rid of the dog if he had food there.

 

Questions: 1. What sort of weather was it when the man was at the inn? 2. What did the landlord advise him to do? 3. What did the man answer? 4. What did the traveller see outside the inn door? 5. What did he wish to do for the starving dog? 6. What did the landlord and his man say?

1 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

2 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

3 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

4 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

5 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。

6 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

8 brute   

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。

9 savage   

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。

10 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

11 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

12 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

13 waggon   

n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱

参考例句：

• The enemy attacked our waggon train.敌人袭击了我们的运货马车队。
• Someone jumped out from the foremost waggon and cried aloud.有人从最前面的一辆大车里跳下来，大声叫嚷。

14 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

15 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

16 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

17 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。