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The walls of his new house were carried up nearly to their fullheight. By a curious though not infrequent reaction, Barnet'sfeelings about that unnecessary structure had undergone a change; hetook considerable interest in its progress as a long-neglectedthing, his wife before her departure having grown quite weary of itas a hobby. Moreover, it was an excellent distraction1 for a man inthe unhappy position of having to live in a provincial2 town withnothing to do. He was probably the first of his line who had everpassed a day without toil3, and perhaps something like an inheritedinstinct disqualifies such men for a life of pleasant inaction, suchas lies in the power of those whose leisure is not a personalaccident, but a vast historical accretion4 which has become part oftheir natures.
Thus Barnet got into a way of spending many of his leisure hours onthe site of the new building, and he might have been seen on mostdays at this time trying the temper of the mortar5 by punching thejoints with his stick, looking at the grain of a floor-board, andmeditating where it grew, or picturing under what circumstances thelast fire would be kindled6 in the at present sootless chimneys. Oneday when thus occupied he saw three children pass by in the companyof a fair young woman, whose sudden appearance caused him to flushperceptibly.
'Ah, she is there,' he thought. 'That's a blessed thing.'
Casting an interested glance over the rising building and the busyworkmen, Lucy Savile and the little Downes passed by; and after thattime it became a regular though almost unconscious custom of Barnetto stand in the half-completed house and look from the ungarnishedwindows at the governess as she tripped towards the sea-shore withher young charges, which she was in the habit of doing on most fineafternoons. It was on one of these occasions, when he had beenloitering on the first-floor landing, near the hole left for thestaircase, not yet erected7, that there appeared above the edge ofthe floor a little hat, followed by a little head.
1 distraction | |
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 | |
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2 provincial | |
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人 | |
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3 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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4 accretion | |
n.自然的增长,增加物 | |
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5 mortar | |
n.灰浆,灰泥;迫击炮;v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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6 kindled | |
(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光 | |
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7 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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8 doorway | |
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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9 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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10 exclamation | |
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词 | |
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11 assented | |
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12 ornamental | |
adj.装饰的;作装饰用的;n.装饰品;观赏植物 | |
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13 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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14 glazed | |
adj.光滑的,像玻璃的;上过釉的;呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式);上釉于,上光;(目光)变得呆滞无神 | |
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15 prancing | |
v.(马)腾跃( prance的现在分词 ) | |
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16 attics | |
n. 阁楼 | |
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17 wilful | |
adj.任性的,故意的 | |
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18 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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19 serenely | |
adv.安详地,宁静地,平静地 | |
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20 estrangement | |
n.疏远,失和,不和 | |
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21 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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22 intimacy | |
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行 | |
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23 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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24 premises | |
n.建筑物,房屋 | |
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25 allude | |
v.提及,暗指 | |
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26 evergreens | |
n.常青树,常绿植物,万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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27 harp | |
n.竖琴;天琴座 | |
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28 hoops | |
n.箍( hoop的名词复数 );(篮球)篮圈;(旧时儿童玩的)大环子;(两端埋在地里的)小铁弓 | |
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29 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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30 desolate | |
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂 | |
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31 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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32 canopy | |
n.天篷,遮篷 | |
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33 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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