“Nearly six months since,” said Amelius, “we had notice by letter of the arrival of an unmarried English lady, who wished to become a member of our Community. You will understand my motive¹ in keeping her family name a secret: even the newspaper has grace enough only to mention her by her Christian² name. I don’t want to cheat you out of your interest; so I will own at once that Miss Mellicent was not beautiful, and not young. When she came to us, she was thirty-eight years old, and time and trial had set their marks on her face plainly enough for anybody to see. Notwithstanding this, we all thought her an interesting woman. It might have been the sweetness of her voice; or perhaps it was something in her expression that took our fancy. There! I can’t explain it; I can only say there were young women and pretty women at Tadmor who failed to win us as Miss Mellicent did. Contradictory³ enough, isn’t it?”

Mr. Hethcote said he understood the contradiction. Rufus put an appropriate question: “Do you possess a photograph of this lady, sir?”

“No,” said Amelius; “I wish I did. Well, we received her, on her arrival, in the Common Room — called so because we all assemble there every evening, when the work of the day is done. Sometimes we have the reading of a poem or a novel; sometimes debates on the social and political questions of the time in England and America; sometimes music, or dancing, or cards, or billiards⁴, to amuse us. When a new member arrives, we have the ceremonies of introduction. I was close by the Elder Brother (that’s the name we give to the chief of the Community) when two of the women led Miss Mellicent in. He’s a hearty⁵ old fellow, who lived the first part of his life on his own clearing in one of the Western forests. To this day, he can’t talk long, without showing, in one way or another, that his old familiarity with the trees still keeps its place in his memory. He looked hard at Miss Mellicent, under his shaggy old white eyebrows⁶; and I heard him whisper to himself, ‘Ah, dear me! Another of The Fallen Leaves!’ I knew what he meant. The people who have

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 Christian
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。 His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 contradictory
adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立
参考例句：
The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。 What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

4 billiards
n.台球
参考例句：
John used to divert himself with billiards.约翰过去总打台球自娱。 Billiards isn't popular in here.这里不流行台球。

5 hearty
adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的
参考例句：
After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。 We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

6 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。

7 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 lottery
n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事
参考例句：
He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。 They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

9 toiled
长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉
参考例句：
They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。 He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

10 compassionate
adj.有同情心的，表示同情的
参考例句：
She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。 The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

11 heartily
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。 The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

12 vows
誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿
参考例句：
Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。 The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

13 incur
vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇
参考例句：
Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。 An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

14 lighter
n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级
参考例句：
The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。 The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

15 rebuke
v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise
参考例句：
He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。 Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

16 isolation
n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离
参考例句：
The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。 He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

17 submission
n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出
参考例句：
The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。 No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

18 dealing
n.经商方法，待人态度
参考例句：
This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。 His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 positively
adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实
参考例句：
She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。 The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

20 afflicted
使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。 A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

21 hereditary
adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的
参考例句：
The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。 In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

22 advisers
顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授
参考例句：
a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员 She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

23 malady
n.病，疾病(通常做比喻)
参考例句：
There is no specific remedy for the malady.没有医治这种病的特效药。 They are managing to control the malady into a small range.他们设法将疾病控制在小范围之内。

24 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

25 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。

26 intrude
vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰
参考例句：
I do not want to intrude if you are busy.如果你忙我就不打扰你了。 I don't want to intrude on your meeting.我不想打扰你们的会议。

27 maliciously
adv.有敌意地
参考例句：
He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》 His enemies maliciously conspired to ruin him. 他的敌人恶毒地密谋搞垮他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

28 astonishment
n.惊奇，惊异
参考例句：
They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。 I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。