ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE 1

ONE, TWO, BUCKLE¹ MY SHOE
I
Mr. Morley was not in the best of tempers at breakfast. He complained of the bacon, wondered
why the coffee had to have the appearance of liquid mud, and remarked that breakfast cereals were
each one worse than the last.
Mr. Morley was a small man with a decided² jaw³ and a pugnacious⁴ chin. His sister, who kept
house for him, was a large woman rather like a female grenadier. She eyed her brother
thoughtfully and asked whether the bath water had been cold again.
Rather grudgingly⁶, Mr. Morley said it had not.
He glanced at the paper and remarked that the Government seemed to be passing from a state of
incompetence⁷ to one of positive imbecility!
Miss Morley said in a deep bass⁸ voice that it was Disgraceful!
As a mere⁹ woman she had always found whatever Government happened to be in power
distinctly useful. She urged her brother on to explain why the Government’s present policy was
inconclusive, idiotic¹⁰, imbecile and frankly¹¹ suicidal!
When Mr. Morley had expressed himself fully⁵ on these points, he had a second cup of the
despised coffee and unburdened himself of his true grievance¹².
“These girls,” he said, “are all the same! Unreliable, self-centred—not to be depended on in any
way.”
Miss Morley said interrogatively:
“Gladys?”
“I’ve just had the message. Her aunt’s had a stroke and she’s had to go down to Somerset.”
Miss Morley said:
“Very trying, dear, but after all hardly the girl’s fault.”
Mr. Morley shook his head gloomily.
“How do I know the aunt has had a stroke? How do I know the whole thing hasn’t been
arranged between the girl and that very unsuitable young fellow she goes about with? That young
man is a wrong ’un if I ever saw one! They’ve probably planned some outing together for today.”
“Oh, no, dear, I don’t think Gladys would do a thing like that. You know, you’ve always found
her very conscientious¹³.”
“Yes, yes.”
“An intelligent girl and really keen on her work, you said.”
“Yes, yes, Georgina, but that was before this undesirable¹⁴ young man came along. She’s been
quite different lately—quite different—absentminded—upset—nervy.”
The Grenadier produced a deep sigh. She said:
“After all, Henry, girls do fall in love. It can’t be helped.”
Mr. Morley snapped:
“She oughtn’t to let it affect her efficiency as my secretary. And today, in particular, I’m
extremely busy! Several very important patients. It is most trying!”
“I’m sure it must be extremely vexing¹⁵, Henry. How is the new boy shaping, by the way?”
Henry Morley said gloomily:
“He’s the worst I’ve had yet! Can’t get a single name right and has the most uncouth¹⁶ manners.
If he doesn’t improve I shall sack him and try again. I don’t know what’s the good of our
education nowadays. It seems to turn out a collection of nitwits who can’t understand a single
thing you say to them, let alone remember it.”
He glanced at his watch.
“I must be getting along. A full morning, and that Sainsbury Seale woman to fit in somewhere
as she is in pain. I suggested that she should see Reilly, but she wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Of course not,” said Georgina loyally.
“Reilly’s very able—very able indeed. First-class diplomas. Thoroughly¹⁷ up-to-date in his
work.”
“His hand shakes,” said Miss Morley. “In my opinion he drinks.”
Her brother laughed, his good temper restored. He said:
“I’ll be up for a sandwich at half past one as usual.”

1 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

2 decided   

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。

3 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

4 pugnacious   

adj.好斗的

参考例句：

• He is a pugnacious fighter.他是个好斗的战士。
• When he was a child,he was pugnacious and fought with everyone.他小时候很好斗，跟每个人都打过架。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

8 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

9 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

10 idiotic   

adj.白痴的

参考例句：

• It is idiotic to go shopping with no money.去买东西而不带钱是很蠢的。
• The child's idiotic deeds caused his family much trouble.那小孩愚蠢的行为给家庭带来许多麻烦。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

12 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

13 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

14 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

15 vexing   

adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题，而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句

16 uncouth   

adj.无教养的，粗鲁的

参考例句：

• She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
• His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。

17 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。