Earwaker spent Christmas with his relatives at Kingsmill. His father and mother both lived; the latter very infirm, unable to leave the house; the former a man of seventy, twisted with rheumatism¹, his face rugged² as a countenance³ picked out by fancy on the trunk of a big old oak, his hands scarred and deformed⁴ with labour. Their old age was restful. The son who had made himself a ‘gentleman’, and who in London sat at the tables of the high-born, the wealthy, the famous, saw to it that they lacked no comfort.

A bright, dry morning invited the old man and the young to go forth⁵ together. They walked from the suburb countrywards, and their conversation was of the time when a struggle was being made to bear the expense of those three years at Whitelaw—no bad investment, as it proved. The father spoke⁶ with a strong Midland accent, using words of dialect by no means disagreeable to the son’s ear—for dialect is a very different thing from the bestial⁷ jargon⁸ which on the lips of the London vulgar passes for English. They were laughing over some half grim reminiscence, when Earwaker became aware of two people who were approaching along the pavement, they also in merry talk. One of them he knew; it was Christian⁹ Moxey.

Too much interested in his companion to gaze about him, Christian came quite near before his eyes fell on Earwaker. Then he started with a pleasant surprise, changed instantly to something like embarrassment¹⁰ when he observed the aged

点击收听单词发音  

1 rheumatism
n.风湿病
参考例句：
The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。 The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。

2 rugged
adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的
参考例句：
Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。 The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

3 countenance
n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同
参考例句：
At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。 I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

4 deformed
adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的
参考例句：
He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。 His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。

5 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。

6 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。

7 bestial
adj.残忍的；野蛮的
参考例句：
The Roman gladiatorial contests were bestial amusements.罗马角斗是残忍的娱乐。 A statement on Amman Radio spoke of bestial aggression and a horrible massacre. 安曼广播电台播放的一则声明提到了野蛮的侵略和骇人的大屠杀。

8 jargon
n.术语，行话
参考例句：
They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。 It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

9 Christian
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。 His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 embarrassment
n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫
参考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。 Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

11 aged
adj.年老的，陈年的
参考例句：
He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。 He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

12 heartily
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。 The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

13 battered
adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损
参考例句：
He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。 The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

14 toiler
辛劳者，勤劳者
参考例句：
Says the soul of the toiler to itself, "I shall soon be free. ”那些辛劳一天的人们在对自己说：“总算可以歇口气了。” What do you have in the way of toiler soap? 你们有哪些香皂？

15 diminution
n.减少；变小
参考例句：
They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。 He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

16 genially
adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地
参考例句：
The white church peeps out genially from behind the huts scattered on the river bank. 一座白色教堂从散布在岸上的那些小木房后面殷勤地探出头来。 来自《简明英汉词典》 "Well, It'seems strange to see you way up here,'said Mr. Kenny genially. “咳，真没想到会在这么远的地方见到你，"肯尼先生亲切地说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

17 scrap
n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废
参考例句：
A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。 Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

18 scribbled
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下
参考例句：
She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。 He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

19 charing
n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣
参考例句：
We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. 我们是在伦敦查令十字医院的小教堂里结的婚。 来自辞典例句 No additional charge for children under12 charing room with parents. ☆十二岁以下小童与父母同房不另收费。 来自互联网

20 erratic
adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的
参考例句：
The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。 The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

21 enduing
v.授予，赋予（特性、才能等）( endue的现在分词 )
参考例句：

22 robustness
坚固性，健壮性；鲁棒性
参考例句：
There were other reasons for concern about the robustness of an economic recovery. 人们还有其他一些原因对经济恢复的健全程度表示关心。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件 Robustness analysis attracts more and more attention in these years. 鲁棒性分析是近几年学术界较为关注的问题。 来自互联网

23 temperament
n.气质，性格，性情
参考例句：
The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。 Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

24 abrupt
adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的
参考例句：
The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。 His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

25 intercourse
n.性交；交流，交往，交际
参考例句：
The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。 There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

26 discretion
n.谨慎；随意处理
参考例句：
You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。 Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

27 dire
adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的
参考例句：
There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。 We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

28 laments
n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。 In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

29 folly
n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话
参考例句：
Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。 Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

30 trifling
adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的
参考例句：
They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。 So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

31 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。

32 uncommonly
adv. 稀罕(极，非常)
参考例句：
an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童 My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

33 assented
同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。 "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

34 profusely
ad.abundantly
参考例句：
We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。 He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。

35 apprehension
n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑
参考例句：
There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。 She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

36 staple
n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类
参考例句：
Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。 Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

37 calamity
n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件
参考例句：
Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。 The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

38 portend
v.预兆，预示；给…以警告
参考例句：
Black clouds portend a storm.乌云为暴风雨的前兆。 What do these strange events portend?这些奇怪的事件预示着什么？

39 turbid
adj.混浊的，泥水的，浓的
参考例句：
He found himself content to watch idly the sluggish flow of the turbid stream.他心安理得地懒洋洋地望着混浊的河水缓缓流着。 The lake's water is turbid.这个湖里的水混浊。

40 eloquence
n.雄辩；口才，修辞
参考例句：
I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。 The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

41 joint
adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合
参考例句：
I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。 We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

42 prone
adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的
参考例句：
Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。 He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

43 ripen
vt.使成熟；vi.成熟
参考例句：
I'm waiting for the apples to ripen.我正在等待苹果成熟。 You can ripen the tomatoes on a sunny windowsill.把西红柿放在有阳光的窗台上可以让它们成熟。

44 chattered
（人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤
参考例句：
They chattered away happily for a while. 他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿。 We chattered like two teenagers. 我们聊着天，像两个十多岁的孩子。

45 vivacity
n.快活，活泼，精神充沛
参考例句：
Her charm resides in her vivacity.她的魅力存在于她的活泼。 He was charmed by her vivacity and high spirits.她的活泼与兴高采烈的情绪把他迷住了。

46 refinement
n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼
参考例句：
Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。 Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。

47 proximity
n.接近，邻近
参考例句：
Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。 Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

48 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。

49 supervision
n.监督，管理
参考例句：
The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。 The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

50 assailing
v.攻击( assail的现在分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对
参考例句：
Last-minute doubts were assailing her. 最后一分钟中的犹豫涌上心头。 来自辞典例句 The pressing darkness increased the tension in every student's heart, assailing them with a nameless fear. 黑暗压下来，使每个人的心情变得更紧张。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

51 risky
adj.有风险的，冒险的
参考例句：
It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。 He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

52 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。

53 imploring
恳求的，哀求的
参考例句：
Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。 She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

54 inevitable
adj.不可避免的，必然发生的
参考例句：
Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。 The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

55 runaway
n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的
参考例句：
The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。 He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

56 graceful
adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的
参考例句：
His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了! The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

57 attire
v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装
参考例句：
He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。 Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

58 clattered
发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。 His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。

59 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。

60 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。

61 entreat
v.恳求，恳请
参考例句：
Charles Darnay felt it hopeless entreat him further,and his pride was touched besides.查尔斯-达尔内感到再恳求他已是枉然，自尊心也受到了伤害。 I entreat you to contribute generously to the building fund.我恳求您慷慨捐助建设基金。

62 curiously
adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地
参考例句：
He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。 He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

63 malarial
患疟疾的，毒气的
参考例句：
Malarial poison had sallowed his skin. 疟疾病毒使他皮肤成灰黄色。 Standing water like this gives malarial mosquitoes the perfect place to breed. 像这样的死水给了传染疟疾的蚊子绝佳的繁殖地点。

64 desperately
adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地
参考例句：
He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。 He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

65 monstrous
adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的
参考例句：
The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。 Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

66 follies
罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。 The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。

67 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

68 miserably
adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地
参考例句：
The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。 It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

69 longingly
adv. 渴望地 热望地
参考例句：
He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。 Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情，一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。

70 scrawled
乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
I tried to read his directions, scrawled on a piece of paper. 我尽量弄明白他草草写在一片纸上的指示。 Tom scrawled on his slate, "Please take it -- I got more." 汤姆在他的写字板上写了几个字：“请你收下吧，我多得是哩。”

71 crumpling
压皱，弄皱( crumple的现在分词 )； 变皱
参考例句：
His crumpling body bent low from years of carrying heavy loads. 由于经年累月的负重，他那皱巴巴的身子被压得弯弯的。 This apparently took the starch out of the fast-crumpling opposition. 这显然使正在迅速崩溃的反对党泄了气。

72 purport
n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是...
参考例句：
Many theories purport to explain growth in terms of a single cause.许多理论都标榜以单一的原因解释生长。 Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。

73 interred
v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The body was interred at the cemetery. 遗体埋葬在公墓里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

74 consul
n.领事；执政官
参考例句：
A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。 He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

75 abode
n.住处，住所
参考例句：
It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。 Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！