Mrs. Penniman even took for granted at times that other people had as much imagination as herself; so that when, half an hour later, her brother came in, she addressed him quite on this principle.

"He has just been here, Austin; it's such a pity you missed him."

"Whom in the world have I missed?" asked the Doctor.

"Mr. Morris Townsend; he has made us such a delightful¹ visit."

"And who in the world is Mr. Morris Townsend?"

"Aunt Penniman means the gentleman--the gentleman whose name I couldn't remember," said Catherine.

"The gentleman at Elizabeth's party who was so struck with Catherine," Mrs. Penniman added.

"Oh, his name is Morris Townsend, is it?

And did he come here to propose to you?"

"Oh, father," murmured the girl for all answer, turning away to the window, where the dusk had deepened to darkness.

"I hope he won't do that without your permission," said Mrs. Penniman, very graciously.

"After all, my dear, he seems to have yours," her brother answered.

Lavinia simpered, as if this might not be quite enough, and Catherine, with her forehead touching² the window-panes, listened to this exchange of epigrams as reservedly as if they had not each been a pin-prick in her own destiny.

"The next time he comes," the Doctor added, "you had better call me. He might like to see me."

Morris Townsend came again, some five days afterwards; but Dr. Sloper was not called, as he was absent from home at the time.

Catherine was with her aunt when the young man's name was brought in, and Mrs. Penniman, effacing³ herself and protesting, made a great point of her niece's going into the drawing-room alone.

"This time it's for you--for you only," she said.

"Before, when he talked to me, it was only preliminary--it was to gain my confidence. Literally⁴, my dear, I should not have the COURAGE to show myself to- day."

And this was perfectly⁵ true.

Mrs. Penniman was not a brave woman, and Morris Townsend had struck her as a young man of great force of character, and of

点击收听单词发音  

1 delightful
adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
参考例句：
We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。 Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

2 touching
adj.动人的，使人感伤的
参考例句：
It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。 His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

3 effacing
谦逊的
参考例句：
He was a shy, self-effacing man. 他是个腼腆谦逊的人。 She was a quiet woman, bigboned, and self-effacing. 她骨架很大，稳稳当当，从来不喜欢抛头露面。 来自辞典例句

4 literally
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。 Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 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。

6 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。

7 satire
n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品
参考例句：
The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。 Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

8 resolute
adj.坚决的，果敢的
参考例句：
He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。 The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

9 tact
n.机敏，圆滑，得体
参考例句：
She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。 Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

10 contemplated
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式
参考例句：
The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。 The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

11 knight
n.骑士，武士；爵士
参考例句：
He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。 A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

12 knightly
adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地
参考例句：
He composed heroic songs and began to write many a tale of enchantment and knightly adventure. 他谱写英雄短歌并着手编写不少记叙巫术和骑士历险的故事。 If you wear knight costumes, you will certainly have a knightly manner. 身着骑士装，令您具有骑士风度。

13 sketch
n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述
参考例句：
My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。 I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

14 sketching
n.草图
参考例句：
They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》 "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

15 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》

16 scantily
adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地
参考例句：
The bedroom was scantily furnished. 卧室里几乎没有什么家具。 来自《简明英汉词典》 His room was scantily furnished. 他的房间陈设简陋。 来自互联网

17 extenuation
n.减轻罪孽的借口；酌情减轻；细
参考例句：
Miss Glover could allow no extenuation of her crime. 格洛弗小姐是不允许袒护罪过的。 来自辞典例句 It was a comfort to him, this extenuation. 这借口对他是种安慰。 来自辞典例句

18 primitive
adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物
参考例句：
It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。 His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

19 tiresome
adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的
参考例句：
His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。 He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

20 lapse
n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效
参考例句：
The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。 I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

21 abruptly
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。

22 satiric
adj.讽刺的，挖苦的
参考例句：
Looking at her satiric parent she only gave a little laugh.她望着她那挖苦人的父亲，只讪讪地笑了一下。 His satiric poem spared neither the politicians nor the merchants.政客们和商人们都未能免于遭受他的诗篇的讽刺。

23 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。

24 peculiar
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。

25 peculiarities
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪
参考例句：
the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点 He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

26 conceal
v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽
参考例句：
He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。 He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

27 blurts
v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
He blurts out all he hears. 他漏嘴说出了他听到的一切。 来自辞典例句 If a user blurts out an interesting idea, ask "What problem would that solve for you?" 如果用户不假思索地冒出一个有趣的想法，则询问他：“这可以解决哪些问题？” 来自互联网

28 crudity
n.粗糙，生硬；adj.粗略的
参考例句：
I'd never met such crudity before.我从未见过这样粗鲁的行径。 Birthplace data are only the crudest indicator of actual migration paths.出生地信息只能非常粗略地显示实际移民过程。

29 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。

30 entrust
v.信赖，信托，交托
参考例句：
I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。 They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

31 reigning
adj.统治的，起支配作用的
参考例句：
The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。 Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

32 upwards
adv.向上，在更高处...以上
参考例句：
The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。 The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

33 prospect
n.前景，前途；景色，视野
参考例句：
This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。 The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

34 alluding
提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )
参考例句：
He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。 But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

35 allusions
暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 )
参考例句：
We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。 The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes. 眼前的情景容易使人联想到欧洲风光。

36 frankly
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。

37 disinterested
adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的
参考例句：
He is impartial and disinterested.他公正无私。 He's always on the make,I have never known him do a disinterested action.他这个人一贯都是唯利是图，我从来不知道他有什么无私的行动。

38 innocence
n.无罪；天真；无害
参考例句：
There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。 The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

39 sincerity
n.真诚，诚意；真实
参考例句：
His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。 He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

40 motives
n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )
参考例句：
to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机 His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

41 impatience
n.不耐烦，急躁
参考例句：
He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。 He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。