A FATHER had two sons, of whom the eldest¹ was clever and bright, and always knew what he was about; but the youngest was stupid, and couldn’t learn or understand anything. So much so that those who saw him exclaimed: “What a burden he’ll be to his father!” Now when there was anything to be done, the eldest had always to do it; but if something was required later or in the night-time, and the way led through the churchyard or some such ghostly place, he always replied: “Oh! no, father: nothing will induce me to go there, it makes me shudder²!” for he was afraid. Or, when they sat of an evening around the fire telling stories which made one’s flesh creep, the listeners sometimes said: “Oh! it makes one shudder,” the youngest sat in a corner, heard the exclamation³, and could not understand what it meant. “They are always saying it makes one shudder! it makes one shudder! Nothing makes me shudder. It’s probably an art quite beyond me.”

Now it happened that his father said to him one day: “Hearken, you there in the corner; you are growing big and strong, and you must learn to earn your own bread. Look at your brother, what pains he takes; but all the money I’ve spent on your education is thrown away.” “My dear father,” he replied, “I will gladly learn — in fact, if it were possible I should like to learn to shudder; I don’t understand that a bit yet.” The eldest laughed when he heard this, and thought to himself: “Good heavens! what a ninny my brother is! he’ll never come to any good; as the twig⁴ is bent⁵, so is the tree inclined.” The father sighed, and answered him: “You’ll soon learn to shudder; but that won’t help you to make a living.”

Shortly after this, when the sexton came to pay them a visit, the father broke out to him, and told him what a bad hand his youngest son was at everything: he knew nothing and learned nothing. “Only think! when I asked him how he purposed gaining a livelihood⁶, he actually asked to be taught to shudder.” “If that’s all he wants,” said the sexton, “I can teach him that; just you send him to me, I’ll soon polish him up.” The father was quite pleased with the proposal, because he thought: “It will be a good discipline for the youth.” And so the sexton took him into his house, and his duty was to

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1 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。

2 shudder
v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动
参考例句：
The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。 We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

3 exclamation
n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词
参考例句：
He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。 The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

4 twig
n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解
参考例句：
He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。 The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

5 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。

6 livelihood
n.生计，谋生之道
参考例句：
Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。 My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

7 toll
n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)
参考例句：
The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。 The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

8 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。

9 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。

10 din
n.喧闹声，嘈杂声
参考例句：
The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。 They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

11 tolled
鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。 The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。

12 rogue
n.流氓；v.游手好闲
参考例句：
The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。 They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

13 distressed
痛苦的
参考例句：
He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。 The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

14 groaning
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式
参考例句：
She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。 The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

15 wretch
n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人
参考例句：
You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。 The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

16 horrified
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句：
The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。 We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

17 pranks
n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句 He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

18 groaned
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦
参考例句：
He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。 The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 gallows
n.绞刑架，绞台
参考例句：
The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。 Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

20 underneath
adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面
参考例句：
Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。 She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

21 corpses
n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

22 corpse
n.尸体，死尸
参考例句：
What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。 The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

23 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。

24 murmur
n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言
参考例句：
They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。 There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

25 behold
v.看，注视，看到
参考例句：
The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。 The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

26 maiden
n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的
参考例句：
The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。 The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

27 lathe
n.车床，陶器，镟床
参考例句：
Gradually she learned to operate a lathe.她慢慢地学会了开车床。 That lathe went out of order at times.那台车床有时发生故障。

28 carving
n.雕刻品，雕花
参考例句：
All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。 He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

29 shriek
v./n.尖叫，叫喊
参考例句：
Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。 People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

30 fiery
adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的
参考例句：
She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。 His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

31 swarms
蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。 On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

32 scattered
adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
参考例句：
Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

33 rabble
n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人
参考例句：
They formed an army out of rabble.他们用乌合之众组成一支军队。 Poverty in itself does not make men into a rabble.贫困自身并不能使人成为贱民。

34 rout
n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮
参考例句：
The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。 The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

35 beheld
v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟
参考例句：
His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

36 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

37 shuddering
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动
参考例句：
'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记 She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

38 shrieking
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 skulls
颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜
参考例句：
One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。 We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

40 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。

41 beckoning
adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 )
参考例句：
An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句 He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句

42 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。

43 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。

44 anvils
n.（铁）砧( anvil的名词复数 )；砧骨
参考例句：

45 anvil
n.铁钻
参考例句：
The blacksmith shaped a horseshoe on his anvil.铁匠在他的铁砧上打出一个马蹄形。 The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly.订书机上的铁砧安装错位。

46 cleft
n.裂缝；adj.裂开的
参考例句：
I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。 He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。

47 belabored
v.毒打一顿( belabor的过去式和过去分词 )；责骂；就…作过度的说明；向…唠叨
参考例句：
She was belabored by her fellow students. 她被她的男学生嘲弄了。 来自互联网 As his poor donkey became exhausted under the heavy load, the man belabored It'soundly. 当他的可怜的驴子在重担之下变得筋疲力尽时，这个男人还是铮铮有声的鞭打它。 来自互联网

48 abut
v.接界，毗邻
参考例句：
The two lots are abut together.那两块地毗连着。 His lands abut on the motorway.他的土地毗邻高速公路。

49 celebrated
adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
参考例句：
He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。 The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。