When the shop had been closed, under her own critical and precise superintendence, she extinguished the last gas in it and returned to the parlour, wondering where she might discover some entirely¹ reliable man or boy to deal with the shutters² night and morning. Samuel had ordinarily dealt with the shutters himself, and on extraordinary occasions and during holidays Miss Insull and one of her subordinates had struggled with their unwieldiness. But the extraordinary occasion had now become ordinary, and Miss Insull could not be expected to continue indefinitely in the functions of a male. Constance had a mind to engage an errand-boy, a luxury against which Samuel had always set his face. She did not dream of asking the herculean Cyril to open and shut shop.

He had apparently³ finished his home-lessons. The books were pushed aside, and he was sketching⁴ in lead-pencil on a drawing-block. To the right of the fireplace, over the sofa, there hung an engraving⁵ after Landseer, showing a lonely stag paddling into a lake. The stag at eve had drunk or was about to drink his fill, and Cyril was copying him. He had already indicated a flight of birds in the middle distance; vague birds on the wing being easier than detailed⁶ stags, he had begun with the birds.

Constance put a hand on his shoulder. "Finished your lessons?" she murmured caressingly⁷.

Before speaking, Cyril gazed up at the picture with a frowning, busy expression, and then replied in an absent-minded voice:

"Yes." And after a pause: "Except my arithmetic. I shall do that in the morning before breakfast."

"Oh, Cyril!" she protested.

It had been a positive ordinance⁸, for a long time past, that there should be no sketching until lessons were done. In his father's lifetime Cyril had never dared to break it.

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 shutters
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门
参考例句：
The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。 The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

3 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 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

5 engraving
n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）
参考例句：
He collected an old engraving of London Bridge. 他收藏了一张古老的伦敦桥版画。 来自辞典例句 Some writing has the precision of a steel engraving. 有的字体严谨如同钢刻。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 caressingly
爱抚地，亲切地
参考例句：
His voice was caressingly sweet. 他的嗓音亲切而又甜美。

8 ordinance
n.法令；条令；条例
参考例句：
The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。 The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

9 bent
n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
参考例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。 We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

10 feigning
假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等）
参考例句：
He survived the massacre by feigning death. 他装死才在大屠杀中死里逃生。 She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。

11 callous
adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的
参考例句：
He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。 She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

12 grunted
（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说
参考例句：
She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。 She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

13 nourishment
n.食物，营养品；营养情况
参考例句：
Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。 He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。

14 permissible
adj.可允许的，许可的
参考例句：
Is smoking permissible in the theatre?在剧院里允许吸烟吗？ Delay is not permissible,even for a single day.不得延误，即使一日亦不可。

15 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 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。

17 sullenly
不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地
参考例句：
'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。 Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

18 persuasively
adv.口才好地；令人信服地
参考例句：
Students find that all historians argue reasonably and persuasively. 学生们发现所有的历史学家都争论得有条有理，并且很有说服力。 来自辞典例句 He spoke a very persuasively but I smelled a rat and refused his offer. 他说得头头是道，但我觉得有些可疑，于是拒绝了他的建议。 来自辞典例句

19 deliberately
adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地
参考例句：
The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。 They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

20 sedately
adv.镇静地，安详地
参考例句：
Life in the country's south-west glides along rather sedately. 中国西南部的生活就相对比较平静。 来自互联网 She conducts herself sedately. 她举止端庄。 来自互联网

21 placid
adj.安静的，平和的
参考例句：
He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。 You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

22 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。

23 passionately
ad.热烈地，激烈地
参考例句：
She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。 He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

24 coffin
n.棺材，灵柩
参考例句：
When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。 The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。