PART ONE DECEMBER 22ND V

V
George Lee, M.P. for Westeringham, was a somewhat corpulent gentleman of forty-one. His eyes
were pale blue and slightly prominent with a suspicious expression, he had a heavy jowl, and a
slow pedantic¹ utterance².
He said now in a weighty manner:
“I have told you, Magdalene, that I think it my duty to go.”
His wife shrugged³ her shoulders impatiently.
She was a slender creature, a platinum⁴ blonde with plucked eyebrows⁵ and a smooth egglike
face. It could, on occasions, look quite blank and devoid⁶ of any expression whatever. She was
looking like that now.
“Darling,” she said, “it will be perfectly⁷ grim, I am sure of it.”
“Moreover,” said George Lee, and his face lit up as an attractive idea occurred to him, “it will
enable us to save considerably⁸. Christmas is always an expensive time. We can put the servants on
board wages.”
“Oh, well!” said Magdalene. “After all, Christmas is pretty grim anywhere!”
“I suppose,” said George, pursuing his own line of thought, “they will expect to have a
Christmas dinner? A nice piece of beef, perhaps, instead of a turkey.”
“Who?” The servants? Oh, George, don’t fuss so. You’re always worrying about money.”
“Somebody has to worry,” said George.
“Yes, but it’s absurd to pinch and scrape in all these little ways. Why don’t you make your
father give you some more money?”
“He already gives me a very handsome allowance.”
“It’s awful to be completely dependent on your father, as you are! He ought to settle some
money on you outright⁹.”
“That’s not his way of doing things.”
Magdalene looked at him. Her hazel eyes were suddenly sharp and keen. The expressionless
egglike face showed sudden meaning.
“He’s frightfully rich, isn’t he, George? A kind of millionaire, isn’t he?”
“A millionaire twice over, I believe.”
Magdalene gave an envious¹⁰ sigh.
“How did he make it all? South Africa, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, he made a big fortune there in his early days. Mainly diamonds.”
“Thrilling!” said Magdalene.
“Then he came to England and started in business and his fortune has actually doubled or
trebled itself, I believe.”
“What will happen when he dies?” asked Magdalene.
“Father’s never said much on the subject. Of course one can’t exactly ask. I should imagine
that the bulk of his money will go to Alfred and myself. Alfred, of course, will get the larger
share.”
“You’ve got other brothers, haven’t you?”
“Yes, there’s my brother David. I don’t fancy he will get much. He went off to do art or some
tomfoolery of that kind. I believe Father warned him that he would cut him out of his will and
David said he didn’t care.”
“How silly!” said Magdalene with scorn.
“There was my sister Jennifer too. She went off with a foreigner—a Spanish artist—one of
David’s friends. But she died just over a year ago. She left a daughter, I believe. Father might
leave a little money to her, but nothing much. And of course there’s Harry¹¹—”
He stopped, slightly embarrassed.
“Harry?” said Magdalene, surprised. “Who is Harry?”
“Ah—er—my brother.”
“I never knew you had another brother.”
“My dear, he wasn’t a great—er—credit—to us. We don’t mention him. His behaviour was
disgraceful. We haven’t heard anything of him for some years now. He’s probably dead.”
Magdalene laughed suddenly.
“What is it? What are you laughing at?”
Magdalene said:
“I was only thinking how funny it was that you—you, George, should have a disreputable
brother! You’re so very respectable.”
“I should hope so,” said George coldly.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Your father isn’t—very respectable, George.”
“Really, Magdalene!”
“Sometimes the things he says make me feel quite uncomfortable.”
George said:
“Really, Magdalene, you surprise me. Does—er—does Lydia feel the same?”
“He doesn’t say the same kind of things to Lydia,” said Magdalene. She added angrily, “No,
he never says them to her. I can’t think why not.”
George glanced at her quickly and then glanced away.
“Oh, well,” he said vaguely¹². “One must make allowances. At Father’s age—and with his
health being so bad—”
He paused. His wife asked:
“Is he really—pretty ill?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. He’s remarkably¹³ tough. All the same, since he wants to have his
family round him at Christmas, I think we are quite right to go. It may be his last Christmas.”
She said sharply:
“You say that, George, but really, I suppose, he may live for years?”
Slightly taken aback, her husband stammered¹⁴:
“Yes—yes, of course he may.”
Magdalene turned away.
“Oh, well,” she said, “I suppose we’re doing the right thing by going.”
“I have no doubt about it.”
“But I hate it! Alfred’s so dull, and Lydia snubs me.”
“Nonsense.”
“She does. And I hate that beastly manservant.”
“Old Tressilian?”
“No, Horbury. Sneaking¹⁵ round like a cat and smirking¹⁶.”
“Really, Magdalene, I can’t see that Horbury can affect you in any way!”
“He just gets on my nerves, that’s all. But don’t let’s bother. We’ve got to go, I can see that.
Won’t do to offend the old man.”
“No—no, that’s just the point. About the servants’ Christmas dinner—”
“Not now, George, some other time. I’ll just ring up Lydia and tell her that we’ll come by the
five twenty tomorrow.”
Magdalene left the room precipitately¹⁷. After telephoning she went up to her own room and
sat down in front of the desk. She let down the flap and rummaged¹⁸ in its various pigeonholes¹⁹.
Cascades²⁰ of bills came tumbling out. Magdalene sorted through them, trying to arrange them in
some kind of order. Finally, with an impatient sigh, she bundled them up and thrust them back
whence they had come. She passed a hand over her smooth platinum head.
“What on earth am I to do?” she murmured.

1 pedantic   

adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的

参考例句：

• He is learned,but neither stuffy nor pedantic.他很博学，但既不妄自尊大也不卖弄学问。
• Reading in a pedantic way may turn you into a bookworm or a bookcase,and has long been opposed.读死书会变成书呆子，甚至于成为书橱，早有人反对过了。

2 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

3 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

5 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

6 devoid   

adj.全无的，缺乏的

参考例句：

• He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
• The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

11 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

12 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

13 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

14 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

15 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

16 smirking   

v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Major Pendennis, fresh and smirking, came out of his bedroom to his sitting-room. 潘登尼斯少校神采奕奕，笑容可掬地从卧室来到起居室。 来自辞典例句
• The big doll, sitting in her new pram smirking, could hear it quite plainly. 大娃娃坐在崭新的童车里，满脸痴笑，能听得一清二楚。 来自辞典例句

17 precipitately   

adv.猛进地

参考例句：

• The number of civil wars continued to rise until about 1990 and then fell precipitately. 而国内战争的数量在1990年以前都有增加，1990年后则锐减。 来自互联网
• His wife and mistress, until an hour ago and inviolate were slipping precipitately from his control. 他的妻子和情妇，直到一小时前还是安安稳稳、不可侵犯的，现在却猛不防正从他的控制下溜走。 来自互联网

18 rummaged   

翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查

参考例句：

• I rummaged through all the boxes but still could not find it. 几个箱子都翻腾遍了也没有找到。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods. 海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

19 pigeonholes   

n.鸽舍出入口( pigeonhole的名词复数 )；小房间；文件架上的小间隔v.把…搁在分类架上( pigeonhole的第三人称单数 )；把…留在记忆中；缓办；把…隔成小格

参考例句：

• The tidy committee men regard them with horror,knowing that no pigeonholes can be found for them. 衣冠楚楚的委员们恐怖地看着他们，因为他们知道找不到一个稳妥的地方来安置他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of those who are different those who do not fit the boxes and the pigeonholes? 那些与众不同，不合适常规，不符合传统的人的位置又在哪里？ 来自互联网

20 cascades   

倾泻( cascade的名词复数 )； 小瀑布（尤指一连串瀑布中的一支）； 瀑布状物； 倾泻（或涌出）的东西

参考例句：

• The river fell in a series of cascades down towards the lake. 河形成阶梯状瀑布泻入湖中。
• Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. 现在他朝着太阳驶去，开始了穿越喀斯喀特山脉的漫长而曲折的路程。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦