One September evening, four months later, when Mrs. Barnet was inperfect health, and Mrs. Downe but a weakening memory, an errand-boypaused to rest himself in front of Mr. Barnet's old house,depositing his basket on one of the window-sills. The street wasnot yet lighted, but there were lights in the house, and atintervals a flitting shadow fell upon the blind at his elbow. Wordsalso were audible from the same apartment, and they seemed to bethose of persons in violent altercation¹. But the boy could notgather their purport², and he went on his way.

　　Ten minutes afterwards the door of Barnet's house opened, and a tallclosely-veiled lady in a travelling-dress came out and descended³ thefreestone steps. The servant stood in the doorway⁴ watching her asshe went with a measured tread down the street. When she had beenout of sight for some minutes Barnet appeared at the door fromwithin.

　　'Did your mistress leave word where she was going?' he asked.

　　'No, sir.'

　　'Is the carriage ordered to meet her anywhere?'

　　'No, sir.'

　　'Did she take a latch-key?'

　　'No, sir.'

　　Barnet went in again, sat down in his chair, and leaned back. Thenin solitude⁵ and silence he brooded over the bitter emotions thatfilled his heart. It was for this that he had gratuitously⁶ restoredher to life, and made his union with another impossible! Theevening drew on, and nobody came to disturb him. At bedtime he toldthe servants to retire, that he would sit up for Mrs. Barnethimself; and when they were gone he leaned his head upon his handand mused⁷ for hours.

　　The clock struck one, two; still his wife came not, and, withimpatience added to depression, he went from room to room tillanother weary hour had passed. This was not altogether a newexperience for Barnet; but she had never before so prolonged herabsence. At last he sat down again and fell asleep.

　　He awoke at six o'clock to find that she had not returned. Insearching about the rooms he discovered that she had taken a case ofjewels which had been hers before her marriage. At eight a note wasbrought him; it was from his wife, in which she stated that she hadgone by the coach to the house of a distant relative near London,and expressed a wish that certain boxes, articles of clothing, andso on, might be sent to her forthwith. The note was brought to himby a waiter at the Black-Bull Hotel, and had been written by Mrs.

点击收听单词发音  

1 altercation
n.争吵，争论
参考例句：
Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。 The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

2 purport
n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是...
参考例句：
Many theories purport to explain growth in terms of a single cause.许多理论都标榜以单一的原因解释生长。 Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。

3 descended
a.为...后裔的，出身于...的
参考例句：
A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。 The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

4 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

5 solitude
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
参考例句：
People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。 They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

6 gratuitously
平白
参考例句：
They rebuild their houses for them gratuitously when they are ruined. 如果他们的房屋要坍了，就会有人替他们重盖，不要工资。 来自互联网 He insulted us gratuitously. 他在毫无理由的情况下侮辱了我们。 来自互联网

7 mused
v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）
参考例句：
\"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》 \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

8 curiously
adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地
参考例句：
He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。 He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

9 flaring
a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的
参考例句：
A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。 Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。

10 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。

11 engulfed
v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。 The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ruminated
v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼
参考例句：
In the article she ruminated about what recreations she would have. 她在文章里认真考虑了她应做些什么消遣活动。 来自辞典例句 He ruminated on his defenses before he should accost her father. 他在与她父亲搭话前，仔细地考虑着他的防范措施。 来自辞典例句

13 severance
n.离职金；切断
参考例句：
Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

14 depreciation
n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低
参考例句：
She can't bear the depreciation of the enemy.她受不了敌人的蹂躏。 They wrote off 500 for depreciation of machinery.他们注销了500镑作为机器折旧费。

15 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。

16 retaliate
v.报复，反击
参考例句：
He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。 It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

17 prudence
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。

18 shingle
n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短
参考例句：
He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土，下面露出一块松木瓦块。 He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。

19 specially
adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地
参考例句：
They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。 The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

20 delicacy
n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴
参考例句：
We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。 He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

21 uncertainty
n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物
参考例句：
Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。 After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

22 irony
n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄
参考例句：
She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。 In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

23 widower
n.鳏夫
参考例句：
George was a widower with six young children.乔治是个带著六个小孩子的鳏夫。 Having been a widower for many years,he finally decided to marry again.丧偶多年后，他终于决定二婚了。

24 gutter
n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟
参考例句：
There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。 He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

25 jumbled
adj.混乱的；杂乱的
参考例句：
Books, shoes and clothes were jumbled together on the floor. 书、鞋子和衣服胡乱堆放在地板上。 The details of the accident were all jumbled together in his mind. 他把事故细节记得颠三倒四。

26 stagnant
adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的
参考例句：
Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。 Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

27 pervades
v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
An unpleasant smell pervades the house. 一种难闻的气味弥漫了全屋。 来自《简明英汉词典》 An atmosphere of pessimism pervades the economy. 悲观的气氛笼罩着整个经济。 来自辞典例句

28 lament
n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹
参考例句：
Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。 We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。

29 consolation
n.安慰，慰问
参考例句：
The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。 This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

30 dreary
adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的
参考例句：
They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。 She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

31 compassion
n.同情，怜悯
参考例句：
He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。 Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

32 reticence
n.沉默，含蓄
参考例句：
He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。 He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

33 sterling
adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)
参考例句：
Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？ Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

34 virtues
美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处
参考例句：
Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。 She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

35 privately
adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地
参考例句：
Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。 The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

36 sufficiently
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。 The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

37 imposing
adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的
参考例句：
The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。 He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

38 extravagantly
adv.挥霍无度地
参考例句：
The Monroes continued to entertain extravagantly. 门罗一家继续大宴宾客。 来自辞典例句 New Grange is one of the most extravagantly decorated prehistoric tombs. 新格兰奇是装饰最豪华的史前陵墓之一。 来自辞典例句

39 soften
v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和
参考例句：
Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。 This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

40 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

41 solicitor
n.初级律师，事务律师
参考例句：
The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。 The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

42 musing
n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式
参考例句：
"At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记 She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

43 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。

44 promising
adj.有希望的，有前途的
参考例句：
The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。 We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

45 diplomacy
n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕
参考例句：
The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。 This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。