It was quite dark when Roberta stole out on Wednesday night to meet Clyde. But before that what qualms¹ andmeditations in the face of her willingness and her agreement to do so. For not only was it difficult for her toovercome her own mental scruples² within, but in addition there was all the trouble in connection with thecommonplace and religious and narrow atmosphere in which she found herself imbedded at the Newtons'. Forsince coming here she had scarcely gone anywhere without Grace Marr. Besides on this occasion--a thing shehad forgotten in talking to Clyde--she had agreed to go with the Newtons and Grace to the Gideon BaptistChurch, where a Wednesday prayer meeting was to be followed by a social with games, cake, tea and ice cream.

　　In consequence she was troubled severely³ as to how to manage, until it came back to her that a day or two beforeMr. Liggett, in noting how rapid and efficient she was, had observed that at any time she wanted to learn onephase of the stitching operations going on in the next room, he would have her taken in hand by Mrs. Braley,who would teach her. And now that Clyde's invitation and this church affair fell on the same night, she decidedto say that she had an appointment with Mrs. Braley at her home. Only, as she also decided⁴, she would wait untiljust before dinner Wednesday and then say that Mrs. Braley had invited her to come to her house. Then shecould see Clyde. And by the time the Newtons and Grace returned she could be back. Oh, how it would feel tohave him talk to her--say again as he did in the boat that he never had seen any one look so pretty as she didstanding on the bank and looking for water lilies. Many, many thoughts--vague, dreadful, colorful, came to her-howand where they might go--be--do--from now on, if only she could arrange to be friends with him withoutharm to her or him. If need be, she now decided, she could resign from the factory and get a place somewhereelse--a change which would absolve⁵ Clyde from any responsibility in regard to her.

　　There was, however, another mental as well as emotional phase in regard to all this and that related to herclothes. For since coming to Lycurgus she had learned that the more intelligent girls here dressed better than didthose about Biltz and Trippetts Mills. At the same time she had been sending a fair portion of her money to hermother--sufficient to have equipped her exceptionally well, as she now realized, had she retained it. But now thatClyde was swaying her so greatly she was troubled about her looks, and on the evening after her conversationwith him at the mill, she had gone through her small wardrobe, fixing upon a soft blue hat which Clyde had notyet seen, together with a

点击收听单词发音  

1 qualms
n.不安；内疚
参考例句：
He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。 He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。

2 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

3 severely
adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地
参考例句：
He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。 He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 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。

5 absolve
v.赦免，解除（责任等）
参考例句：
I absolve you,on the ground of invincible ignorance.鉴于你不可救药的无知，我原谅你。 They agree to absolve you from your obligation.他们同意免除你的责任。

6 checkered
adj.有方格图案的
参考例句：
The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。 He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。

7 flannel
n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服
参考例句：
She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。 She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

8 aglow
adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地
参考例句：
The garden is aglow with many flowers.园中百花盛开。 The sky was aglow with the setting sun.天空因夕阳映照而发红光。

9 laden
adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的
参考例句：
He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。 Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 phenomena
n.现象
参考例句：
Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。 The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

11 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 rustling
n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句：
the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声 the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

13 plunged
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降
参考例句：
The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。 She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

14 picturesque
adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的
参考例句：
You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。 That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

15 coaxing
v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应
参考例句：
No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。 It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

16 noted
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。 Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 babbling
n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密
参考例句：
I could hear the sound of a babbling brook. 我听得见小溪潺潺的流水声。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Infamy was babbling around her in the public market-place. 在公共市场上，她周围泛滥着对她丑行的种种议论。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

18 pretentious
adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的
参考例句：
He is a talented but pretentious writer.他是一个有才华但自命不凡的作家。 Speaking well of yourself would only make you appear conceited and pretentious.自夸只会使你显得自负和虚伪。

19 watchful
adj.注意的，警惕的
参考例句：
The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。 It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

20 evade
vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避
参考例句：
He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。 You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

21 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

22 misery
n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦
参考例句：
Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。 He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

23 simplicity
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
参考例句：
She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。 The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。