PART I One 3

III
When Nurse Hopkins, pleasantly stimulated¹ by tea and romantic speculation², finally left the house,Mary Gerrard ran out of the door to overtake her.
“Oh, Nurse, may I walk down to the village with you?”
“Of course you can, Mary, my dear.”
Mary Gerrard said breathlessly:
“I must talk to you. I’m so worried about everything.”
The older woman looked at her kindly³.
At twenty-one, Mary Gerrard was a lovely creature with a kind of wild-rose unreality about her:
a long delicate neck, pale golden hair lying close to her exquisitely⁴ shaped head in soft naturalwaves, and eyes of a deep vivid blue.
Nurse Hopkins said:
“What’s the trouble?”
“The trouble is that the time is going on and on and I’m not doing anything!”
Nurse Hopkins said drily:
“Time enough for that.”
“No, but it is so—so unsettling. Mrs. Welman has been wonderfully kind, giving me all thatexpensive schooling⁵. I do feel now that I ought to be starting to earn my own living. I ought to betraining for something.”
Nurse Hopkins nodded sympathetically.
“It’s such a waste of everything if I don’t. I’ve tried to—to explain what I feel to Mrs. Welman,but—it’s difficult—she doesn’t seem to understand. She keeps saying there’s plenty of time.”
Nurse Hopkins said:
“She’s a sick woman, remember.”
Mary flushed a contrite⁶ flush.
“Oh, I know. I suppose I oughtn’t to bother her. But it is worrying—and Father’s so—so beastlyabout it! Keeps jibing⁷ at me for being a fine lady! But indeed I don’t want to sit about doingnothing!”
“I know you don’t.”
“The trouble is that training of any kind is nearly always expensive. I know German pretty wellnow, and I might do something with that. But I think really I want to be a hospital nurse. I do likenursing and sick people.”
Nurse Hopkins said unromantically:
“You’ve got to be as strong as a horse, remember!”
“I am strong! And I really do like nursing. Mother’s sister, the one in New Zealand, was anurse. So it’s in my blood, you see.”
“What about massage⁸?” suggested Nurse Hopkins. “Or Norland? You’re fond of children.
There’s good money to be made in massage.”
Mary said doubtfully:
“It’s expensive to train for it, isn’t it? I hoped—but of course that’s very greedy of me—she’sdone so much for me already.”
“Mrs. Welman, you mean? Nonsense. In my opinion, she owes you that. She’s given you a slap-up education, but not the kind that leads to anything much. You don’t want to teach?”
“I’m not clever enough.”
Nurse Hopkins said:
“There’s brains and brains! If you take my advice, Mary, you’ll be patient for the present. In myopinion, as I said, Mrs. Welman owes it to you to help you get a start at making your living. AndI’ve no doubt she means to do it. But the truth of the matter is, she’s got fond of you, and shedoesn’t want to lose you.”
Mary said:
“Oh!” She drew in her breath with a little gasp⁹. “Do you really think that’s it?”
“I haven’t the least doubt of it! There she is, poor old lady, more or less helpless, paralysed oneside and nothing and nobody much to amuse her. It means a lot to her to have a fresh, pretty youngthing like you about the house. You’ve a very nice way with you in a sickroom.”
Mary said softly:
“If you really think so—that makes me feel better… Dear Mrs. Welman, I’m very, very fond ofher! She’s been so good to me always. I’d do anything for her!”
Nurse Hopkins said drily:
“Then the best thing you can do is to stay where you are and stop worrying! It won’t be forlong.”
Mary said, “Do you mean—?”
Her eyes looked wide and frightened.
The District Nurse nodded.
“She’s rallied wonderfully, but it won’t be for long. There will be a second stroke and then athird. I know the way of it only too well. You be patient, my dear. If you keep the old lady’s lastdays happy and occupied, that’s a better deed than many. The time for the other will come.”
Mary said:
“You’re very kind.”
Nurse Hopkins said:
“Here’s your father coming out from the lodge¹⁰—and not to pass the time of day pleasantly, Ishould say!”
They were just nearing the big iron gates. On the steps of the lodge an elderly man with a bentback was painfully hobbling down the two steps.
Nurse Hopkins said cheerfully:
“Good morning, Mr. Gerrard.”
Ephraim Gerrard said crustily:
“Ah!”
“Very nice weather,” said Nurse Hopkins.
Old Gerrard said crossly:
“May be for you. ’Tisn’t for me. My lumbago’s been at me something cruel.”
Nurse Hopkins said cheerfully:
“That was the wet spell last week, I expect. This hot dry weather will soon clear that away.”
Her brisk professional manner appeared to annoy the old man.
He said disagreeably:
“Nurses—nurses, you’m all the same. Full of cheerfulness over other people’s troubles. Littleyou care! And there’s Mary talks about being a nurse, too. Should have thought she’d want to besomething better than that, with her French and her German and her piano playing and all thethings she’s learned at her grand school and her travels abroad.”
Mary said sharply:
“Being a hospital nurse would be quite good enough for me!”
“Yes, and you’d sooner do nothing at all, wouldn’t you? Strutting¹¹ about with your airs and yourgraces and your fine-lady-do-nothing ways. Laziness, that’s what you like, my girl!”
Mary protested, tears springing to her eyes:
“It isn’t true, Dad. You’ve no right to say that!”
Nurse Hopkins intervened with a heavy, determinedly¹² humorous air.
“Just a bit under the weather, aren’t we, this morning? You don’t really mean what you say,Gerrard. Mary’s a good girl and a good daughter to you.”
Gerrard looked at his daughter with an air of almost active malevolence¹³.
“She’s no daughter of mine—nowadays—with her French and her history and her mincing¹⁴ talk.
Pah!”
He turned and went into the lodge again.
Mary said, the tears still standing¹⁵ in her eyes:
“You do see, Nurse, don’t you, how difficult it is? He’s so unreasonable¹⁶. He’s never really likedme even when I was a little girl. Mum was always standing up for me.”
Nurse Hopkins said kindly:
“There, there, don’t worry. These things are sent to try us! Goodness, I must hurry. Such around as I’ve got this morning.”
And as she stood watching the brisk retreating figure, Mary Gerrard thought forlornly thatnobody was any real good or could really help you. Nurse Hopkins, for all her kindness, was quitecontent to bring out a little stock of platitudes¹⁷ and offer them with an air of novelty.
Mary thought disconsolately¹⁸:
“What shall I do?”

1 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

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 exquisitely   

adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地

参考例句：

• He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服，还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分

5 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

6 contrite   

adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的

参考例句：

• She was contrite the morning after her angry outburst.她发了一顿脾气之后一早上追悔莫及。
• She assumed a contrite expression.她装出一副后悔的表情。

7 jibing   

v.与…一致( jibe的现在分词 )；（与…）相符；相匹配

参考例句：

8 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

9 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

10 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

11 strutting   

加固，支撑物

参考例句：

• He, too, was exceedingly arrogant, strutting about the castle. 他也是非常自大，在城堡里大摇大摆地走。
• The pompous lecturer is strutting and forth across the stage. 这个演讲者在台上趾高气扬地来回走着。

12 determinedly   

adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地

参考例句：

• "Don't shove me,'said one of the strikers, determinedly. "I'm not doing anything." “别推我，"其中的一个罢工工人坚决地说，"我可没干什么。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Dorothy's chin set determinedly as she looked calmly at him. 多萝西平静地看着他，下巴绷得紧紧的，看来是打定主意了。 来自名作英译部分

13 malevolence   

n.恶意，狠毒

参考例句：

• I had always been aware of a frame of malevolence under his urbanity. 我常常觉察到，在他温文尔雅的下面掩藏着一种恶意。 来自辞典例句

14 mincing   

adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎

参考例句：

• She came to the park with mincing,and light footsteps.她轻移莲步来到了花园之中。
• There is no use in mincing matters.掩饰事实是没有用的。

15 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。

16 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

17 platitudes   

n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子

参考例句：

• He was mouthing the usual platitudes about the need for more compassion. 他言不由衷地说了些需要更加同情之类的陈腔滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He delivered a long prose full of platitudes. 他发表了一篇充满陈词滥调的文章。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 disconsolately   

adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸

参考例句：

• A dilapidated house stands disconsolately amid the rubbles. 一栋破旧的房子凄凉地耸立在断垣残壁中。 来自辞典例句
• \"I suppose you have to have some friends before you can get in,'she added, disconsolately. “我看得先有些朋友才能进这一行，\"她闷闷不乐地加了一句。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹