"We won't eat a single thing for a whole day," said Jerry. "I'm kind of curious to see what fasting is like, anyhow. This will be a good chance to find out."

 

"What day will we choose for it?" asked Una, who thought it would he quite an easy punishment and rather wondered that Jerry and Faith had not devised something harder.

 

"Let's pick Monday," said Faith. "We mostly have a pretty FILLING dinner on Sundays, and Mondays meals never amount to much anyhow."

 

"But that's just the point," exclaimed Jerry. "We mustn't take the easiest day to fast, but the hardest—and that's Sunday, because, as you say, we mostly have roast beef that day instead of cold ditto. It wouldn't be much punishment to fast from ditto. Let's take next Sunday. It will be a good day, for father is going to exchange for the morning service with the Upper Lowbridge minister. Father will be away till evening. If Aunt Martha wonders what's got into us, we'll tell her right up that we're fasting for the good of our souls, and it is in the Bible and she is not to interfere², and I guess she won't."

 

Aunt Martha did not. She merely said in her fretful mumbling³ way, "What foolishness are you young rips up to now?" and thought no more about it. Mr. Meredith had gone away early in the morning before any one was up. He went without his breakfast, too, but that was, of course, of common occurrence. Half of the time he forgot it and there was no one to remind him of it. Breakfast—Aunt Martha's breakfast—was not a hard meal to miss. Even the hungry "young rips" did not feel it any great deprivation⁴ to abstain⁵ from the "lumpy porridge and blue milk" which had aroused the scorn of Mary Vance. But it was different at dinner time. They were furiously hungry then, and the odor of roast beef which pervaded

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1 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。

2 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。

3 mumbling
含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。 He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。

4 deprivation
n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困
参考例句：
Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。 Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

5 abstain
v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免
参考例句：
His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。 Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

6 pervaded
v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
A retrospective influence pervaded the whole performance. 怀旧的影响弥漫了整个演出。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The air is pervaded by a smell [smoking]. 空气中弥散着一种气味[烟味]。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 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。

8 graveyard
n.坟场
参考例句：
All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。 Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

9 placidly
adv.平稳地，平静地
参考例句：
Hurstwood stood placidly by, while the car rolled back into the yard. 当车子开回场地时，赫斯渥沉着地站在一边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 The water chestnut floated placidly there, where it would grow. 那棵菱角就又安安稳稳浮在水面上生长去了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

10 pangs
突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛
参考例句：
She felt sudden pangs of regret. 她突然感到痛悔不已。 With touching pathos he described the pangs of hunger. 他以极具感伤力的笔触描述了饥饿的痛苦。

11 awfully
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。 I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

12 hymn
n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌
参考例句：
They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。 The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

13 gasped
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要
参考例句：
She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。 People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 sobbing
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句：
I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。 Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

15 hysterically
ad. 歇斯底里地
参考例句：
The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 She sobbed hysterically, and her thin body was shaken. 她歇斯底里地抽泣着，她瘦弱的身体哭得直颤抖。

16 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

17 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》

18 remorsefully
adv.极为懊悔地
参考例句：
"My poor wife!" he said, remorsefully. “我可怜的妻子！”他悔恨地说。 来自柯林斯例句

19 sneaked
v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状
参考例句：
I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。 She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

20 rankled
v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Her comments still rankled. 她的评价仍然让人耿耿于怀。 The insult rankled in his mind. 这种侮辱使他心里难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 shaft
n.(工具的)柄，杆状物
参考例句：
He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。 This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

22 frail
adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的
参考例句：
Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。 She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

23 pallid
adj.苍白的，呆板的
参考例句：
The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face.月亮从云朵后面钻出来，照着尸体那张苍白的脸。 His dry pallid face often looked gaunt.他那张干瘪苍白的脸常常显得憔悴。

24 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。

25 throb
v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动
参考例句：
She felt her heart give a great throb.她感到自己的心怦地跳了一下。 The drums seemed to throb in his ears.阵阵鼓声彷佛在他耳边震响。

26 choir
n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱
参考例句：
The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。 The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

27 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。

28 tingling
v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )
参考例句：
My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

29 banished
v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。 He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 solitude
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
参考例句：
People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。 They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

31 watchful
adj.注意的，警惕的
参考例句：
The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。 It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。