"Oh, rescue her! I am her brother now, And you her father. Every gentle maid Should have a guardian¹ in each gentleman."

It was wonderful to Sir James Chettam how well he continued to like going to the Grange after he had once encountered the difficulty of seeing Dorothea for the first time in the light of a woman who was engaged to another man. Of course the forked lightning seemed to pass through him when he first approached her, and he remained conscious throughout the interview of hiding uneasiness; but, good as he was, it must be owned that his uneasiness was less than it would have been if he had thought his rival a brilliant and desirable match. He had no sense of being eclipsed by Mr. Casaubon; he was only shocked that Dorothea was under a melancholy² illusion, and his mortification³ lost some of its bitterness by being mingled⁴ with compassion⁵.

Nevertheless, while Sir James said to himself that he had completely resigned her, since with the perversity⁶ of a Desdemona she had not affected⁷ a proposed match that was clearly suitable and according to nature; he could not yet be quite passive under the idea of her engagement to Mr. Casaubon. On the day when he first saw them together in the light of his present knowledge, it seemed to him that he had not taken the affair seriously enough. Brooke was really culpable⁸; he ought to have hindered it. Who could speak to him? Something might be done perhaps even now, at least to defer⁹ the marriage. On his way home he turned into the Rectory and asked for Mr. Cadwallader. Happily, the Rector was at home, and his visitor was shown into the study, where all the fishing tackle hung. But he himself was in a little room adjoining, at work with his turning

点击收听单词发音  

1 guardian
n.监护人；守卫者，保护者
参考例句：
The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。 The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

2 melancholy
n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的
参考例句：
All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。 He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

3 mortification
n.耻辱，屈辱
参考例句：
To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。 The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

4 mingled
混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]
参考例句：
The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。 The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

5 compassion
n.同情，怜悯
参考例句：
He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。 Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

6 perversity
n.任性；刚愎自用
参考例句：
She's marrying him out of sheer perversity.她嫁给他纯粹是任性。 The best of us have a spice of perversity in us.在我们最出色的人身上都有任性的一面。

7 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 culpable
adj.有罪的，该受谴责的
参考例句：
The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。 Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。

9 defer
vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从
参考例句：
We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。 We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

10 apparatus
n.装置，器械；器具，设备
参考例句：
The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。 They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

11 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。

12 exterior
adj.外部的，外在的；表面的
参考例句：
The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。 We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

13 imperturbable
adj.镇静的
参考例句：
Thomas,of course,was cool and aloof and imperturbable.当然，托马斯沉着、冷漠，不易激动。 Edward was a model of good temper and his equanimity imperturbable.爱德华是个典型的好性子，他总是沉着镇定。

14 grassy
adj.盖满草的；长满草的
参考例句：
They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。 Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

15 vexed
adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论
参考例句：
The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。 He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 crease
n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱
参考例句：
Does artificial silk crease more easily than natural silk?人造丝比天然丝更易起皱吗？ Please don't crease the blouse when you pack it.包装时请不要将衬衫弄皱了。

17 eyebrow
n.眉毛，眉
参考例句：
Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。 With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

18 battering
n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The film took a battering from critics in the US. 该影片在美国遭遇到批评家的猛烈抨击。 He kept battering away at the door. 他接连不断地砸门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 ram
(random access memory)随机存取存储器
参考例句：
512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

20 interfere
v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰
参考例句：
If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。 When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

21 indifference
n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎
参考例句：
I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。 He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

22 prudence
n.谨慎，精明，节俭
参考例句：
A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。 The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

23 kernel
n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心
参考例句：
The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。 The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。

24 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。

25 eyebrows
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。 His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

26 pulpy
果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂
参考例句：
The bean like seeds of this plant, enclosed within a pulpy fruit. 被包在肉质果实内的这种植物的豆样种子。 Her body felt bruised, her lips pulpy and tender. 她的身体感觉碰伤了，她的嘴唇柔软娇嫩。

27 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

28 layman
n.俗人，门外汉，凡人
参考例句：
These technical terms are difficult for the layman to understand.这些专门术语是外行人难以理解的。 He is a layman in politics.他对政治是个门外汉。

29 profess
v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰
参考例句：
I profess that I was surprised at the news.我承认这消息使我惊讶。 What religion does he profess?他信仰哪种宗教？

30 radical
n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的
参考例句：
The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。 She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

31 incumbent
adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的
参考例句：
He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。 It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

32 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。

33 disposition
n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署
参考例句：
He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。 He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

34 persistence
n.坚持，持续，存留
参考例句：
The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。 He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

35 witty
adj.机智的，风趣的
参考例句：
Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。 He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

36 perseverance
n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠
参考例句：
It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。 Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

37 complaisance
n.彬彬有礼，殷勤，柔顺
参考例句：
She speaks with complaisance.她说话彬彬有礼。 His complaisance leaves a good impression on her.他的彬彬有礼给她留下了深刻的印象。

38 passionate
adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的
参考例句：
He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。 He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

39 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。

40 irritation
n.激怒，恼怒，生气
参考例句：
He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。 Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。