On the morning when Amelius and Sally (in London) entered the church to look at the wedding. Rufus (in Paris) went to the Champs Elysees to take a walk.

He had advanced half-way up the magnificent avenue, when he saw Regina for the second time, taking her daily drive, with an elderly woman in attendance on her. Rufus took off his hat again, perfectly¹ impenetrable to the cold reception which he had already experienced. Greatly to his surprise, Regina not only returned his salute², but stopped the carriage and beckoned³ to him to speak to her. Looking at her more closely, he perceived signs of suffering in her face which completely altered her expression as he remembered it. Her magnificent eyes were dim and red; she had lost her rich colour; her voice trembled as she spoke⁴ to him.

“Have you a few minutes to spare?” she asked.

“The whole day, if you like, Miss,” Rufus answered.

She turned to the woman who accompanied her. “Wait here for me, Elizabeth; I have something to say to this gentleman.”

With those words, she got out of the carriage. Rufus offered her his arm. She put her hand in it as readily as if they had been old friends. “Let us take one of the side paths,” she said; “they are almost deserted⁵ at this time of day. I am afraid I surprise you very much. I can only trust to your kindness to forgive me for passing you without notice the last time we met. Perhaps it may be some excuse for me that I am in great trouble. It is just possible you may be able to relieve my mind. I believe you know I am engaged to be married?”

Rufus looked at her with a sudden expression of interest. “Is this about Amelius?” he asked.

She answered him almost inaudibly —“Yes.”

Rufus still kept his eyes fixed⁶ on her. “I don’t wish to say anything, Miss,” he explained; “but, if you have any complaint to make of Amelius, I should take it as a favour if you would look me straight in the face, and mention it plainly.”

In the

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 salute
vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮
参考例句：
Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。 The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

3 beckoned
v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。 The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 deserted
adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的
参考例句：
The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。 The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

6 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。

7 embarrassment
n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫
参考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。 Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

8 obstinately
ad.固执地，顽固地
参考例句：
He obstinately asserted that he had done the right thing. 他硬说他做得对。 Unemployment figures are remaining obstinately high. 失业数字仍然顽固地居高不下。

9 obstinate
adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的
参考例句：
She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。 The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

10 diverged
分开( diverge的过去式和过去分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳
参考例句：
Who knows when we'll meet again? 不知几时咱们能再见面！ At what time do you get up? 你几时起床？

11 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

12 doggedly
adv.顽强地，固执地
参考例句：
He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。 He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

13 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。

14 slandered
造谣中伤( slander的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She slandered him behind his back. 她在背地里对他造谣中伤。 He was basely slandered by his enemies. 他受到仇敌卑鄙的诋毁。

15 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。

16 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

17 sincerity
n.真诚，诚意；真实
参考例句：
His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。 He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

18 allusion
n.暗示，间接提示
参考例句：
He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。 She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

19 motives
n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )
参考例句：
to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机 His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

20 narrative
n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的
参考例句：
He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。 Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

21 confide
v.向某人吐露秘密
参考例句：
I would never readily confide in anybody.我从不轻易向人吐露秘密。 He is going to confide the secrets of his heart to us.他将向我们吐露他心里的秘密。

22 justify
vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护
参考例句：
He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。 Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

23 residue
n.残余，剩余，残渣
参考例句：
Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。 Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

24 benevolent
adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的
参考例句：
His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

25 confiding
adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）
参考例句：
The girl is of a confiding nature. 这女孩具有轻信别人的性格。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Celia, though confiding her opinion only to Andrew, disagreed. 西莉亚却不这么看，尽管她只向安德鲁吐露过。 来自辞典例句

26 gratitude
adj.感激，感谢
参考例句：
I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。 She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

27 entreat
v.恳求，恳请
参考例句：
Charles Darnay felt it hopeless entreat him further,and his pride was touched besides.查尔斯-达尔内感到再恳求他已是枉然，自尊心也受到了伤害。 I entreat you to contribute generously to the building fund.我恳求您慷慨捐助建设基金。

28 hesitation
n.犹豫，踌躇
参考例句：
After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。 There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。