Shortly after ten o’clock the singing-boys arrived at the tranter’s house, which was invariably the place of meeting, and preparations were made for the start. The older men and musicians wore thick coats, with stiff perpendicular¹ collars, and coloured handkerchiefs wound round and round the neck till the end came to hand, over all which they just showed their ears and noses, like people looking over a wall. The remainder, stalwart ruddy men and boys, were dressed mainly in snow-white smock-frocks, embroidered² upon the shoulders and breasts, in ornamental³ forms of hearts, diamonds, and zigzags⁴. The cider-mug was emptied for the ninth time, the music-books were arranged, and the pieces finally decided⁵ upon. The boys in the meantime put the old horn-lanterns in order, cut candles into short lengths to fit the lanterns; and, a thin fleece of snow having fallen since the early part of the evening, those who had no leggings went to the stable and wound wisps of hay round their ankles to keep the insidious⁶ flakes⁷ from the interior of their boots.

Mellstock was a parish of considerable acreage, the hamlets composing it lying at a much greater distance from each other than is ordinarily the case. Hence several hours were consumed in playing and singing within hearing of every family, even if but a single air were bestowed⁸ on each. There was Lower Mellstock, the main village; half a mile from this were the church and vicarage, and a few other houses, the spot being rather lonely now, though in past centuries it had been the most thickly-populated quarter of the parish. A mile north-east lay the hamlet of Upper Mellstock, where the tranter lived; and at other points knots of cottages, besides solitary

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1 perpendicular
adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置
参考例句：
The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。 The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。

2 embroidered
adj．绣花的
参考例句：
She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。 She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

3 ornamental
adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物
参考例句：
The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。 The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

4 zigzags
n.锯齿形的线条、小径等( zigzag的名词复数 )v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
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。 History moves in zigzags and by roundabout ways. 历史的发展是曲折的，迂回的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 insidious
adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧
参考例句：
That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。 Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

7 flakes
小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人
参考例句：
It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。 It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

8 bestowed
赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。 He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

9 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。

10 bass
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。

11 tenor
n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意
参考例句：
The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。 The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

12 instinctively
adv.本能地
参考例句：
As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 raving
adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地
参考例句：
The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。 When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时，她暴跳如雷。

14 copper
n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的
参考例句：
The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。 Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

15 victuals
n.食物；食品
参考例句：
A plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.一盘粗劣的剩余饭食放到了他的面前。 There are no more victuals for the pig.猪没有吃的啦。

16 dense
a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的
参考例句：
The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

17 twilight
n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期
参考例句：
Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。 Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

18 pervasive
adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的
参考例句：
It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。 The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

19 rustle
v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声
参考例句：
She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。 He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

20 rebound
v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回
参考例句：
The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。 Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

21 scampered
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 outskirts
n.郊外，郊区
参考例句：
Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。 They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

23 manor
n.庄园，领地
参考例句：
The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。 I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

24 boughs
大树枝( bough的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。 A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

25 panoramas
全景画( panorama的名词复数 )； 全景照片； 一连串景象或事
参考例句：
Meeting room that free your imagination by opening to grand panoramas. 面对城市全景的会客厅任你的想象驰聘。 The grand panoramas of NORWAY prove irresistible to adventurers. 挪威的壮丽景色有着让人无法抵制的魅力。

26 strings
n.弦
参考例句：
He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。 She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

27 cork
n.软木，软木塞
参考例句：
We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。 Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

28 thaw
v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和
参考例句：
The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。 The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

29 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。

30 fiddle
n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动
参考例句：
She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。 Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

31 eldest
adj.最年长的，最年老的
参考例句：
The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。 The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

32 dab
v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂
参考例句：
She returned wearing a dab of rouge on each cheekbone.她回来时，两边面颊上涂有一点淡淡的胭脂。 She gave me a dab of potatoes with my supper.她给我晚饭时，还给了一点土豆。

33 groans
n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦
参考例句：
There were loud groans when he started to sing. 他刚开始歌唱时有人发出了很大的嘘声。 来自《简明英汉词典》 It was a weird old house, full of creaks and groans. 这是所神秘而可怕的旧宅，到处嘎吱嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 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。

35 choir
n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱
参考例句：
The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。 The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

36 unanimity
n.全体一致，一致同意
参考例句：
These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。 There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。

37 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

38 eminence
n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家
参考例句：
He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。 Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

39 junction
n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站
参考例句：
There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。 You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

40 enjoined
v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The embezzler was severely punished and enjoined to kick back a portion of the stolen money each month. 贪污犯受到了严厉惩罚，并被责令每月退还部分赃款。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She enjoined me strictly not to tell anyone else. 她严令我不准告诉其他任何人。 来自辞典例句

41 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。

42 hymn
n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌
参考例句：
They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。 The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

43 embodying
v.表现( embody的现在分词 )；象征；包括；包含
参考例句：
Every instrument constitutes an independent contract embodying a payment obligation. 每张票据都构成一份独立的体现支付义务的合同。 来自口语例句 Fowth, The aesthetical transcendency and the beauty embodying the man's liberty. \" 第四部分：审美的超越和作为人类自由最终体现的“美”。 来自互联网

44 quaint
adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的
参考例句：
There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。 They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

45 ails
v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳
参考例句：
He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

46 redress
n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除
参考例句：
He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。 Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

47 saviour
n.拯救者，救星
参考例句：
I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。 The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

48 joyful
adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的
参考例句：
She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。 They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

49 sneers
讥笑的表情（言语）( sneer的名词复数 )
参考例句：
You should ignore their sneers at your efforts. 他们对你的努力所作的讥笑你不要去理会。 I felt that every woman here sneers at me. 我感到这里的每一个女人都在嘲笑我。

50 annihilating
v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的现在分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃
参考例句：
There are lots of ways of annihilating the planet. 毁灭地球有很多方法。 来自辞典例句 We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句

51 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。

52 authoritatively
命令式地，有权威地，可信地
参考例句：
"If somebody'll come here and sit with him," he snapped authoritatively. “来个人到这儿陪他坐着。”他用发号施令的口吻说。 To decide or settle(a dispute, for example) conclusively and authoritatively. 判定结论性、权威性地决定或解决（纠纷等）

53 tenants
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者
参考例句：
A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。 Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

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