Part 5 Mr. Polly Takes a Vacation Chapter 3

“You ain’t talkin’ of goin’!” cried Mrs. Larkins.

“Supper at eight.”

“Stay to supper with us, now you ‘ave come over,” said Mrs. Larkins, with corroborating¹ cries from Minnie. “‘Ave a bit of a walk with the gals², and then come back to supper. You might all go and meet Annie while I straighten up, and lay things out.”

“You’re not to go touching³ the front room mind,” said Miriam.

“Who’s going to touch yer front room?” said Mrs. Larkins, apparently⁴ forgetful for a moment of Mr. Polly.

Both girls dressed with some care while Mrs. Larkins sketched⁵ the better side of their characters, and then the three young people went out to see something of Stamton. In the streets their risible⁶ mood gave way to a self-conscious propriety⁷ that was particularly evident in Miriam’s bearing. They took Mr. Polly to the Stamton Wreckeryation ground — that at least was what they called it — with its handsome custodian’s cottage, its asphalt paths, its Jubilee⁸ drinking fountain, its clumps⁹ of wallflower and daffodils, and so to the new cemetery¹⁰ and a distant view of the Surrey hills, and round by the gasworks to the canal to the factory, that presently disgorged a surprised and radiant Annie.

“El-lo“ said Annie.

It is very pleasant to every properly constituted mind to be a centre of amiable¹¹ interest for one’s fellow creatures, and when one is a young man conscious of becoming mourning and a certain wit, and the fellow creatures are three young and ardent¹² and sufficiently¹³ expressive¹⁴ young women who dispute for the honour of walking by one’s side, one may be excused a secret exaltation. They did dispute.

“I’m going to ‘ave ’im now,” said Annie. “You two’ve been ‘aving ’im all the afternoon. Besides, I’ve got something to say to him.”

She had something to say to him. It came presently. “I say,” she said abruptly¹⁵. “I did get them rings out of a prize packet.”

“What rings?” asked Mr. Polly.

“What you saw at your poor father’s funeral. You made out they meant something. They didn’t — straight.”

“Then some people have been very remiss¹⁶ about their chances,” said Mr. Polly, understanding.

“They haven’t had any chances,” said Annie. “I don’t believe in making oneself too free with people.”

“Nor me,” said Mr. Polly.

“I may be a bit larky¹⁷ and cheerful in my manner,” Annie admitted. “But it don’t mean anything. I ain’t that sort.”

“Right O,” said Mr. Polly.

1 corroborating   

v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Neither can one really conclude much from a neat desk, unless there is further corroborating evidence. 实际上，我们也无法从一张整洁的办公桌中得出什么结论，除非还有其它证据进一步证实。 来自互联网

2 gals   

abbr.gallons （复数）加仑（液量单位）n.女孩，少女( gal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing Buffalo Gals. 这时，吉姆手里提着一个锡皮桶，嘴中唱着“布法罗的女娃们”蹦蹦跳跳地从大门口跑出来。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• An' dey thinks dey wants mousy lil gals wid bird's tastes an' no sense at all. 他们想要的是耗子般的小姑娘，胃口小得像雀子，一点儿见识也没有。 来自飘（部分）

3 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

4 apparently   

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。

5 sketched   

v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 risible   

adj.能笑的；可笑的

参考例句：

• The entire proposal is risible.这个建议完全是荒唐可笑的。
• He drew a risible picture on the wall.他在墙上画了一张滑稽的画。

7 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

8 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

9 clumps   

n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

11 amiable   

adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的

参考例句：

• She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
• We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。

12 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

13 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

14 expressive   

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 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

16 remiss   

adj.不小心的，马虎

参考例句：

• It was remiss of him to forget her birthday.他竟忘了她的生日，实在是糊涂。
• I would be remiss if I did not do something about it.如果我对此不做点儿什么就是不负责任。

17 larky   

adj.爱闹玩的

参考例句：

• The filmmakers replace characterization with larky pop-culture and associations(David Denby) . 制片人们用愚蠢的大众文化范畴来替代影片的人物创造（戴维·登比）。 来自互联网
• The filmmakers replace characterization with larky pop-culture references and associations(David Denby) 制片人们用愚蠢的大众文化范畴来替代影片的人物创造（戴维登比） 来自互联网