Mr. Hethcote was the first to speak again.

“I can understand the poor creature’s motive¹ in joining your Community,” he said. “To a person of any sensibility her position, among such relatives as you describe, must have been simply unendurable after what had happened. How did she hear of Tadmor and the Socialists²?”

“She had read one of our books,” Amelius answered; “and she had her married sister at New York to go to. There were moments, after her recovery (she confessed it to me frankly), when the thought of suicide was in her mind. Her religious scruples³ saved her. She was kindly⁴ received by her sister and her sister’s husband. They proposed to keep her with them to teach their children. No! the new life offered to her was too like the old life — she was broken in body and mind; she had no courage to face it. We have a resident agent in New York; and he arranged for her journey to Tadmor. There is a gleam of brightness, at any rate, in this part of her story. She blessed the day, poor soul, when she joined us. Never before had she found herself among such kind-hearted, unselfish, simple people. Never before —” he abruptly⁵ checked himself, and looked a little confused.

Obliging Rufus finished the sentence for him. “Never before had she known a young man with such natural gifts of fascination⁶ as C.A.G. Don’t you be too modest, sir; it doesn’t pay, I assure you, in the nineteenth century.”

Amelius was not as ready with his laugh as usual. “I wish I could drop it at the point we have reached now,” he said. “But she has left Tadmor; and, in justice to her (after the scandals in the newspaper), I must tell you how she left it, and why. The mischief⁷ began when I was helping⁸ her out of the boat. Two of our young women met us on the bank of the lake, and asked me how I got on with my fishing. They didn’t mean any harm — they were only in their customary good spirits. Still, there was no mistaking their looks and tones when they put the question. Miss Mellicent, in her confusion, made matters worse. She coloured up, and snatched her hand out of mine, and ran back to the house by herself. The girls, enjoying their own foolish joke, congratulated me on my

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 socialists
社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。 The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

3 scruples
n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
I overcame my moral scruples. 我抛开了道德方面的顾虑。 I'm not ashamed of my scruples about your family. They were natural. 我并未因为对你家人的顾虑而感到羞耻。这种感觉是自然而然的。 来自疯狂英语突破英语语调

4 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。

5 abruptly
adv.突然地，出其不意地
参考例句：
He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。 I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

6 fascination
n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋
参考例句：
He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。 His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

7 mischief
n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹
参考例句：
Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。 He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

8 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 prospects
n.希望，前途(恒为复数)
参考例句：
There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。 They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 ridicule
v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄
参考例句：
You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。 Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

11 serenely
adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地
参考例句：
The boat sailed serenely on towards the horizon.小船平稳地向着天水交接处驶去。 It was a serenely beautiful night.那是一个宁静美丽的夜晚。

12 courteous
adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的
参考例句：
Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。 He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

13 unwilling
adj.不情愿的
参考例句：
The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。 His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

14 savagely
adv. 野蛮地，残酷地
参考例句：
The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。 He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

15 interfere
v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰
参考例句：
If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。 When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

16 shameful
adj.可耻的，不道德的
参考例句：
It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。 We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

17 proceeding
n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报
参考例句：
This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。 The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

18 grit
n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关
参考例句：
The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。 I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

19 prudent
adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的
参考例句：
A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。 You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

20 uncommonly
adv. 稀罕(极，非常)
参考例句：
an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童 My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

21 dwelling
n.住宅，住所，寓所
参考例句：
Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。 He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

22 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

23 gathering
n.集会，聚会，聚集
参考例句：
He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。 He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

24 infraction
n.违反；违法
参考例句：
He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。 Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

25 inscribed
v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接
参考例句：
His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。 The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 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。

27 prevaricated
v.支吾( prevaricate的过去式和过去分词 )；搪塞；说谎
参考例句：

28 judgment
n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见
参考例句：
The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。 He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

29 compulsory
n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的
参考例句：
Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？ Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

30 entreaties
n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He began with entreaties and ended with a threat. 他先是恳求，最后是威胁。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves. 暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 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。

32 erring
做错事的，错误的
参考例句：
Instead of bludgeoning our erring comrades, we should help them with criticism. 对犯错误的同志， 要批评帮助，不能一棍子打死。 She had too little faith in mankind not to know that they were erring. 她对男人们没有信心，知道他们总要犯错误的。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

33 distressed
痛苦的
参考例句：
He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。 The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

34 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。

35 hymn
n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌
参考例句：
They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。 The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

36 melancholy
n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的
参考例句：
All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。 He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

37 preoccupied
adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)
参考例句：
He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。 The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 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。