EARLY in the morning of the next day, Lord Harry¹ received the doctor’s telegram. Iris² not having risen at the time, he sent for Fanny Mere³, and ordered her to get the spare room ready for a guest. The maid’s busy suspicion tempted⁴ her to put a venturesome question. She asked if the person expected was a lady or a gentleman.

“What business is it of yours who the visitor is?” her master asked sharply. Always easy and good-humoured with his inferiors in general, Lord Harry had taken a dislike to his wife’s maid, from the moment when he had first seen her. His Irish feeling for beauty and brightness was especially offended by the unhealthy pallor of the woman’s complexion⁵, and the sullen⁶ self-suppression of her manner. All that his native ingenuity⁷ had been able to do was to make her a means of paying a compliment to his wife. “Your maid has one merit in my eyes,” he said; “she is a living proof of the sweetness of your temper.”

Iris joined her husband at the breakfast-table with an appearance of disturbance⁸ in her face, seldom seen, during the dull days of her life at Passy. “I hear of somebody coming to stay with us,” she said. “Not Mr. Vimpany again, I hope and trust?”

Lord Harry was careful to give his customary morning kiss, before he replied. “Why shouldn’t my faithful old friend come and see me again?” he asked, with his winning smile.

“Pray don’t speak of that hateful man,” she answered, “as your faithful old friend! He is nothing of the kind. What did you tell me when he took leave of us after his last visit, and I owned I was glad that he had gone? You said: ‘Faith, my dear, I’m as glad as you are.’”

Her good-natured husband laughed at this little picture of himself. “Ah, my darling, how many more times am I to make the same

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 iris
n.虹膜，彩虹
参考例句：
The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。 This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

3 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。

4 tempted
v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）
参考例句：
I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。 I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

5 complexion
n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格
参考例句：
Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。 Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

6 sullen
adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句：
He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。 Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

7 ingenuity
n.别出心裁；善于发明创造
参考例句：
The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。 I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

8 disturbance
n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调
参考例句：
He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。 You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

9 confession
n.自白，供认，承认
参考例句：
Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。 The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

10 fascinations
n.魅力( fascination的名词复数 )；有魅力的东西；迷恋；陶醉
参考例句：
The fascinations of the circus are endless. 马戏表演非常吸引人。 来自辞典例句 He held the children spellbound with magic tricks and other fascinations. 他使那些孩子沉浸在魔术和其他魅力中。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 hem
n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制
参考例句：
The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。 The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

13 virtues
美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处
参考例句：
Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。 She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

14 remonstrance
n抗议，抱怨
参考例句：
She had abandoned all attempts at remonstrance with Thomas.她已经放弃了一切劝戒托马斯的尝试。 Mrs. Peniston was at the moment inaccessible to remonstrance.目前彭尼斯顿太太没功夫听她告状。

15 motive
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。 He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

16 needy
adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的
参考例句：
Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。 They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

17 eloquent
adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的
参考例句：
He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。 These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

18 convivial
adj.狂欢的，欢乐的
参考例句：
The atmosphere was quite convivial.气氛非常轻松愉快。 I found it odd to imagine a nation of convivial diners surrendering their birthright.我发现很难想象让这样一个喜欢热热闹闹吃饭的民族放弃他们的习惯。

19 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

20 poetical
adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的
参考例句：
This is a poetical picture of the landscape. 这是一幅富有诗意的风景画。 来自《简明英汉词典》 John is making a periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion. 约翰正在对陈腐的诗风做迂回冗长的研究。 来自辞典例句

21 mighty
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。 The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

22 vex
vt.使烦恼，使苦恼
参考例句：
Everything about her vexed him.有关她的一切都令他困惑。 It vexed me to think of others gossiping behind my back.一想到别人在背后说我闲话，我就很恼火。

23 malice
n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋
参考例句：
I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。 There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

24 jealousy
n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌
参考例句：
Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。 I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

25 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。