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Two WAS IT YOUR POOR CHILD?

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Two WAS IT YOUR POOR CHILD?

How Sunny Ridge1 had come by its name would be difficult to say. Therewas nothing prominently ridgelike about it. The grounds were flat, whichwas eminently2 more suitable for the elderly occupants. It had an ample,though rather undistinguished garden. It was a fairly large Victorian man-sion kept in a good state of repair. There were some pleasant shady trees,a Virginia creeper running up the side of the house, and two monkeypuzzles gave an exotic air to the scene. There were several benches in ad-vantageous places to catch the sun, one or two garden chairs and asheltered veranda3 on which the old ladies could sit sheltered from the eastwinds.
Tommy rang the front doorbell and he and Tuppence were duly admit-ted by a rather harassed-looking young woman in a nylon overall. Sheshowed them into a small sitting room saying rather breathlessly, “I’ll tellMiss Packard. She’s expecting you and she’ll be down in a minute. Youwon’t mind waiting just a little, will you, but it’s old Mrs. Carraway. She’sbeen and swallowed her thimble again, you see.”
“How on earth did she do a thing like that?” asked Tuppence, surprised.
“Does it for fun,” explained the household help briefly4. “Always doingit.”
She departed and Tuppence sat down and said thoughtfully, “I don’tthink I should like to swallow a thimble. It’d be awfully5 bobbly as it wentdown. Don’t you think so?”
They had not very long to wait however before the door opened andMiss Packard came in, apologizing as she did so. She was a big, sandy-haired woman of about fifty with the air of calm competence6 about herwhich Tommy had always admired.
“I’m sorry if I have kept you waiting, Mr. Beresford,” she said. “How doyou do, Mrs. Beresford, I’m so glad you’ve come too.”
“Somebody swallowed something, I hear,” said Tommy.
“Oh, so Marlene told you that? Yes, it was old Mrs. Carraway. She’s al-ways swallowing things. Very difficult, you know, because one can’t watchthem all the time. Of course one knows children do it, but it seems a funnything to be a hobby of an elderly woman, doesn’t it? It’s grown upon her,you know. She gets worse every year. It doesn’t seem to do her any harm,that’s the cheeriest thing about it.”
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1 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭
参考例句：
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
2 eminently c442c1e3a4b0ad4160feece6feb0aabf     
adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地
参考例句：
  • She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
  • It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 veranda XfczWG     
n.走廊；阳台
参考例句：
  • She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
  • They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。
4 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地，简短地
参考例句：
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
5 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
6 competence NXGzV     
n.能力，胜任，称职
参考例句：
  • This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
  • These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。
7 muddled cb3d0169d47a84e95c0dfa5c4d744221     
adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子
参考例句：
  • He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
  • I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说
参考例句：
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。
9 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句：
  • She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
  • Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
10 shrill EEize     
adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫
参考例句：
  • Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
  • The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。
11 abruptly iINyJ     
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。
12 plumber f2qzM     
n.(装修水管的)管子工
参考例句：
  • Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
  • The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。
13 prudence 9isyI     
n.谨慎，精明，节俭
参考例句：
  • A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
  • The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。
14 bass APUyY     
n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴
参考例句：
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
15 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的
参考例句：
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
16 dexterity hlXzs     
n.(手的)灵巧，灵活
参考例句：
  • You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
  • I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。
17 smirk GE8zY     
n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说
参考例句：
  • He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。
  • She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。
18 smirked e3dfaba83cd6d2a557bf188c3fc000e9     
v.傻笑( smirk的过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He smirked at Tu Wei-yueh. 他对屠维岳狞笑。 来自子夜部分
  • He smirked in acknowledgement of their uncouth greetings, and sat down. 他皮笑肉不笑地接受了他的粗鲁的招呼，坐了下来。 来自辞典例句
19 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意，前途，瞭望台
参考例句：
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。
20 demise Cmazg     
n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让
参考例句：
  • He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
  • The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。
21 relish wBkzs     
n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味
参考例句：
  • I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
  • I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。
22 chronic BO9zl     
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的
参考例句：
  • Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
  • Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。
23 arthritis XeyyE     
n.关节炎
参考例句：
  • Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
  • He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。
24 treacle yGkyP     
n.糖蜜
参考例句：
  • Blend a little milk with two tablespoons of treacle.将少许牛奶和两大汤匙糖浆混合。
  • The fly that sips treacle is lost in the sweet.啜饮蜜糖的苍蝇在甜蜜中丧生。
25 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 stew 0GTz5     
n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑
参考例句：
  • The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
  • There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。
27 fungi 6hRx6     
n.真菌，霉菌
参考例句：
  • Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
  • The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。
28 inmates 9f4380ba14152f3e12fbdf1595415606     
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 sip Oxawv     
v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量
参考例句：
  • She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
  • Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。
30 malice P8LzW     
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。
31 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律
参考例句：
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
32 fluffy CQjzv     
adj.有绒毛的，空洞的
参考例句：
  • Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
  • The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。
33 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
34 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的
参考例句：
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
35 persecution PAnyA     
n. 迫害,烦扰
参考例句：
  • He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
  • Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。
36 mania 9BWxu     
n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好
参考例句：
  • Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
  • Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

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