So that Mrs. Baines was duly apprised¹ of the signboard before her arrival. The letter written by her to Constance after receiving Samuel's letter, which was merely the amiable² epistle of a son-in- law anxious to be a little more than correct, contained no reference to the signboard. This silence, however, did not in the least allay³ Constance's apprehensions⁴ as to what might occur when her mother and Samuel met beneath the signboard itself. It was therefore with a fearful as well as an eager, loving heart that Constance opened her side-door and ran down the steps when the waggonette stopped in King Street on the Thursday morning of the great visit of the sisters. But a surprise awaited her. Aunt Harriet had not come. Mrs. Baines explained, as she soundly kissed her daughter, that at the last moment Aunt Harriet had not felt well enough to undertake the journey. She sent her fondest love, and cake. Her pains had recurred⁵. It was these mysterious pains which had prevented the sisters from coming to Bursley earlier. The word "cancer"--the continual terror of stout⁶ women--had been on their lips, without having been actually uttered; then there was a surcease, and each was glad that she had refrained from the dread⁷ syllables⁸. In view of the recurrence⁹, it was not unnatural¹⁰ that Mrs. Baines's vigorous cheerfulness should be somewhat forced.

"What is it, do you think?" Constance inquired.

Mrs. Baines pushed her lips out and raised her eyebrows--a gesture which meant that the pains might mean God knew what.

"I hope she'll be all right alone," observed Constance. "Of course," said Mrs. Baines, quickly. "But you don't suppose I was going to disappoint you, do you?" she added, looking round as if to defy the fates in general.

点击收听单词发音  

1 apprised
v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价
参考例句：
We were fully apprised of the situation. 我们完全获悉当时的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I have apprised him of your arrival. 我已经告诉他你要来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 amiable
adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的
参考例句：
She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。 We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。

3 allay
v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)
参考例句：
The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。 They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

4 apprehensions
疑惧
参考例句：
He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。 But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。

5 recurred
再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈
参考例句：
Old memories constantly recurred to him. 往事经常浮现在他的脑海里。 She always winced when he recurred to the subject of his poems. 每逢他一提到他的诗作的时候，她总是有点畏缩。

7 dread
vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧
参考例句：
We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。 Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

8 syllables
n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )
参考例句：
a word with two syllables 双音节单词 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

9 recurrence
n.复发，反复，重现
参考例句：
More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。 He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

10 unnatural
adj.不自然的；反常的
参考例句：
Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？ She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

11 laden
adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的
参考例句：
He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。 Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

12 detailed
adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的
参考例句：
He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。 A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 mantle
n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红
参考例句：
The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。 The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

14 chamber
n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所
参考例句：
For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。 The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

15 envisaged
想像，设想( envisage的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He envisaged an old age of loneliness and poverty. 他面对着一个孤独而贫困的晚年。 Henry Ford envisaged an important future for the motor car. 亨利·福特为汽车设想了一个远大前程。

16 alterations
n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变
参考例句：
Any alterations should be written in neatly to the left side. 改动部分应书写清晰，插在正文的左侧。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code. 基因突变是指DNA 密码的改变。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

18 postpone
v.延期，推迟
参考例句：
I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。 She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

19 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。

20 maternal
adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的
参考例句：
He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。 The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

21 overflowed
溢出的
参考例句：
Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。 A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 chatter
vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战
参考例句：
Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

23 candid
adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的
参考例句：
I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。 He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

24 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。

25 curtly
adv.简短地
参考例句：
He nodded curtly and walked away. 他匆忙点了一下头就走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The request was curtly refused. 这个请求被毫不客气地拒绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 preoccupied
adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)
参考例句：
He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。 The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 fussy
adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的
参考例句：
He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。 The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

28 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。

29 descend
vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降
参考例句：
I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。 We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

30 deranging
v.疯狂的，神经错乱的( deranged的过去分词 )；混乱的
参考例句：

31 inquiries
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听
参考例句：
He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。 I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

32 smelt
v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼
参考例句：
Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。 Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

33 mien
n.风采；态度
参考例句：
He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。 It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。

34 mighty
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。 The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

35 titanic
adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的
参考例句：
We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。 The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

36 simultaneously
adv.同时发生地，同时进行地
参考例句：
The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。 The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

37 disapproving
adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Mother gave me a disapproving look. 母亲的眼神告诉我她是不赞成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Her father threw a disapproving glance at her. 她父亲不满地瞥了她一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 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。

39 possessed
adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的
参考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

40 demon
n.魔鬼，恶魔
参考例句：
The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。 He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

41 deviated
v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
On this occasion the plane deviated from its usual flight path. 这一次那架飞机偏离了正常的航线。 来自《简明英汉词典》 His statements sometimes deviated from the truth. 他的陈述有时偏离事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

43 marred
adj. 被损毁, 污损的
参考例句：
The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。 Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

44 contrived
adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的
参考例句：
There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。 The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

45 axe
n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减
参考例句：
Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。 The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

46 bridled
给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气
参考例句：
She bridled at the suggestion that she was lying. 她对暗示她在说谎的言论嗤之以鼻。 He bridled his horse. 他给他的马套上笼头。

47 mumbled
含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。 George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。