Wherein Nicholas at length encounters his Uncle, towhom he expresses his Sentiments with muchCandour. His Resolution.

　　Little Miss La Creevy trotted¹ briskly through divers² streetsat the west end of the town, early on Monday morning—the day after the dinner—charged with the importantcommission of acquainting Madame Mantalini that Miss Nicklebywas too unwell to attend that day, but hoped to be enabled toresume her duties on the morrow. And as Miss La Creevy walkedalong, revolving³ in her mind various genteel forms and elegantturns of expression, with a view to the selection of the very best inwhich to couch her communication, she cogitated⁴ a good dealupon the probable causes of her young friend’s indisposition.

　　‘I don’t know what to make of it,’ said Miss La Creevy. ‘Her eyeswere decidedly red last night. She said she had a headache;headaches don’t occasion red eyes. She must have been crying.’

　　Arriving at this conclusion, which, indeed, she had establishedto her perfect satisfaction on the previous evening, Miss La Creevywent on to consider—as she had done nearly all night—what newcause of unhappiness her young friend could possibly have had.

　　‘I can’t think of anything,’ said the little portrait painter.

　　‘Nothing at all, unless it was the behaviour of that old bear. Crossto her, I suppose? Unpleasant brute⁵!’

　　Relieved by this expression of opinion, albeit⁶ it was ventedupon empty air, Miss La Creevy trotted on to Madame Mantalini’s; and being informed that the governing power was not yet out ofbed, requested an interview with the second in command;whereupon Miss Knag appeared.

　　‘So far as I am concerned,’ said Miss Knag, when the messagehad been delivered, with many ornaments⁸ of speech; ‘I couldspare Miss Nickleby for evermore.’

　　‘Oh, indeed, ma’am!’ rejoined Miss La Creevy, highly offended.

　　‘But, you see, you are not mistress of the business, and thereforeit’s of no great consequence.’

点击收听单词发音  

1 trotted
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。

2 divers
adj.不同的；种种的
参考例句：
He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。 Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

3 revolving
adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想
参考例句：
The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。 The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

4 cogitated
v.认真思考，深思熟虑( cogitate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：

5 brute
n.野兽，兽性
参考例句：
The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。 That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

6 albeit
conj.即使；纵使；虽然
参考例句：
Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。 Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

7 vent
n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄
参考例句：
He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。 When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

8 ornaments
n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。 Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 bustling
adj.喧闹的
参考例句：
The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。 This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

11 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 humble
adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低
参考例句：
In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。 Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

13 contented
adj.满意的，安心的，知足的
参考例句：
He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。 The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

14 solitary
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。 The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

15 sip
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。

16 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。

17 ace
n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的
参考例句：
A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。 He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

18 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

19 sprightly
adj.愉快的，活泼的
参考例句：
She is as sprightly as a woman half her age.她跟比她年轻一半的妇女一样活泼。 He's surprisingly sprightly for an old man.他这把年纪了，还这么精神，真了不起。

20 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？

21 malice
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。

22 deter
vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住
参考例句：
Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。 Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

23 bonnet
n.无边女帽；童帽
参考例句：
The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。 She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

24 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

25 atrocities
n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪
参考例句：
They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 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。

27 sitting-room
n.（BrE）客厅，起居室
参考例句：
The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。 Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

28 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》

29 conspiracy
n.阴谋，密谋，共谋
参考例句：
The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。 He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

30 worthy
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。 There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

31 remarkable
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。 These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

32 den
n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室
参考例句：
There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。 The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

33 furtively
adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地
参考例句：
At this some of the others furtively exchanged significant glances. 听他这样说，有几个人心照不宣地彼此对望了一眼。 Remembering my presence, he furtively dropped it under his chair. 后来想起我在，他便偷偷地把书丢在椅子下。

34 fixedly
adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地
参考例句：
He stared fixedly at the woman in white. 他一直凝视着那穿白衣裳的女人。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The great majority were silent and still, looking fixedly at the ground. 绝大部分的人都不闹不动，呆呆地望着地面。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

35 sobs
啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句：
She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。 She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

36 outlaws
歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯
参考例句：
During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。 I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

37 inveigle
v.诱骗
参考例句：
In the main,the Eisenhower administration did not try to inveigle Kennedy into underwriting it's policies.总的说来，艾森豪威尔政府并没有设法诱骗肯尼迪在它的政策上签字画押。 With patience and diplomacy,she can eventually inveigle him into marrying her.她靠耐心和交际手腕，到头来是能引诱他与她结婚的。

38 apparition
n.幽灵，神奇的现象
参考例句：
He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。 But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

39 scowl
vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容
参考例句：
I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。 The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

40 tumult
n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹
参考例句：
The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。 His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。

41 pretence
n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰
参考例句：
The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。 He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

42 indignity
n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑
参考例句：
For more than a year we have suffered the indignity.在一年多的时间里,我们丢尽了丑。 She was subjected to indignity and humiliation.她受到侮辱和羞辱。

43 sordid
adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的
参考例句：
He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively.他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。 They lived in a sordid apartment.他们住在肮脏的公寓房子里。

44 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。

45 blights
使凋萎( blight的第三人称单数 )； 使颓丧； 损害； 妨害
参考例句：
The crops suffered from frequent blights. 农作物经常遭受病虫害。 New England was accustomed to didacticism in its literature, and unmitigated didacticism blights the novel. 新英格兰习惯于在文学里说教，可是一味说教，小说就要完蛋。

46 withers
马肩隆
参考例句：
The girl's pitiful history would wring one's withers. 这女孩子的经历令人心碎。 "I will be there to show you," and so Mr. Withers withdrew. “我会等在那里，领你去看房间的，"威瑟斯先生这样说着，退了出去。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

47 bluster
v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声
参考例句：
We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。 He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵，可是不久就不做声了。

48 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。

49 vilest
adj.卑鄙的( vile的最高级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的
参考例句：

50 inflicted
把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。 Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

51 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。

52 haughtily
adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地
参考例句：
She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。 Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。

53 brutality
n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮
参考例句：
The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。 a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

54 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。

55 sneered
讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。 It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

56 wring
n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭
参考例句：
My socks were so wet that I had to wring them.我的袜子很湿，我不得不拧干它们。 I'll wring your neck if you don't behave!你要是不规矩，我就拧断你的脖子。

57 heed
v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心
参考例句：
You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。 For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

58 sobbed
哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说
参考例句：
She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。 She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

59 questionable
adj.可疑的，有问题的
参考例句：
There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。 Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

60 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。

61 syllable
n.音节；vt.分音节
参考例句：
You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。 The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

62 wilful
adj.任性的，故意的
参考例句：
A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon.不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。 He later accused reporters of wilful distortion and bias.他后来指责记者有意歪曲事实并带有偏见。

63 gallows
n.绞刑架，绞台
参考例句：
The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。 Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

64 sloth
n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散
参考例句：
Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。 The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。

65 aggravation
n.烦恼，恼火
参考例句：
She stirred in aggravation as she said this. 她说这句话，激动得过分。 Can't stand the aggravation, all day I get aggravation. You know how it is." 我整天都碰到令人发火的事，你可想而知这是什么滋味。” 来自教父部分

66 scanty
adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的
参考例句：
There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。 The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

67 renounce
v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系
参考例句：
She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。 It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

68 sarcasm
n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）
参考例句：
His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。 She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

69 taunts
嘲弄的言语，嘲笑，奚落( taunt的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He had to endure the racist taunts of the crowd. 他不得不忍受那群人种族歧视的奚落。 He had to endure the taunts of his successful rival. 他不得不忍受成功了的对手的讥笑。

70 ardent
adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的
参考例句：
He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。 Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

71 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。

72 wrung
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）
参考例句：
He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。 He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

73 destitute
adj.缺乏的；穷困的
参考例句：
They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。 They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

74 jumble
vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆
参考例句：
Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。 The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。

75 confided
v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）
参考例句：
She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。 He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

76 wringing
淋湿的，湿透的
参考例句：
He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。 He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。

77 hesitations
n.犹豫( hesitation的名词复数 )；踌躇；犹豫（之事或行为）；口吃
参考例句：
His doubts and hesitations were tiresome. 他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The cool manipulators in Hanoi had exploited America's hesitations and self-doubt. 善于冷静地操纵这类事的河内统治者大大地钻了美国当局优柔寡断的空子。 来自辞典例句

78 tempted
v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）
参考例句：
I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。 I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

79 impair
v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少
参考例句：
Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。 It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。

80 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。

81 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。 His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

82 misgiving
n.疑虑，担忧，害怕
参考例句：
She had some misgivings about what she was about to do.她对自己即将要做的事情存有一些顾虑。 The first words of the text filled us with misgiving.正文开头的文字让我们颇为担心。

83 stifled
（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵
参考例句：
The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。 The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。