“I have a letter here from Mary Jane, my dear,” announced Aunt Hannah at the
luncheon1 table one day.
“Have you?” Billy raised interested eyes from her own letters. “What does she say?”
“She will be here Thursday. Her train is due at the South Station at four-thirty. She seems to be very grateful to you for your offer to let her come right here for a month; but she says she's afraid you don't realize, perhaps, just what you are doing—to take her in like that, with her singing, and all.”
“Nonsense! She doesn't refuse, does she?”
“Oh, no; she doesn't refuse—but she doesn't accept either, exactly, as I can see. I've read the letter over twice, too. I'll let you judge for yourself by and by, when you have time to read it.”
Billy laughed.
“Never mind. I don't want to read it. She's just a little shy about coming, that's all. She'll stay all right, when we come to meet her. What time did you say it was, Thursday?”
“Half past four, South Station.”
“Thursday, at half past four. Let me see—that's the day of the Carletons' 'At Home,' isn't it?”
“Oh, my grief and conscience, yes! But I had forgotten it. What shall we do?”
“Oh, that will be easy. We'll just go to the Carletons' early and have John wait, then take us from there to the South Station. Meanwhile we'll make sure that the little blue room is all ready for her. I put in my white
enamel2 work-basket yesterday, and that pretty little blue case for
hairpins3 and curling
tongs4 that I bought at the fair. I want the room to look homey to her, you know.”
“As if it could look any other way, if you had anything to do with it,” sighed Aunt Hannah, admiringly.
Billy laughed.
“If we get
stranded5 we might ask the Henshaw boys to help us out, Aunt Hannah. They'd probably suggest guns and swords. That's the way they
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收听单词发音
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1
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 |
参考例句： |
- We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
- I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。
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2
enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 |
参考例句： |
- I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
- He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。
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3
hairpins
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| n.发夹( hairpin的名词复数 ) |
参考例句： |
- The price of these hairpins are about the same. 这些发夹的价格大致相同。 来自互联网
- So the king gives a hundred hairpins to each of them. 所以国王送给她们每人一百个漂亮的发夹。 来自互联网
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4
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 |
参考例句： |
- She used tongs to put some more coal on the fire.她用火钳再夹一些煤放进炉子里。
- He picked up the hot metal with a pair of tongs.他用一把钳子夹起这块热金属。
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5
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 |
参考例句： |
- He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
- I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。
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6
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 |
参考例句： |
- Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
- Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。
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7
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） |
参考例句： |
- \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
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8
dirge
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| n.哀乐，挽歌，庄重悲哀的乐曲 |
参考例句： |
- She threw down her basket and intoned a peasant dirge.她撂下菜篮，唱起庄稼人的哀歌。
- The stranger,after listening for a moment,joined in the mournful dirge.听了一会儿后这个陌生人也跟著唱起了悲哀的挽歌。
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9
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 |
参考例句： |
- a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
- When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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10
ragtime
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| n.拉格泰姆音乐 |
参考例句： |
- The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
- African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。
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11
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 |
参考例句： |
- They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
- Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
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12
rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） |
参考例句： |
- The lake rippled gently. 湖面轻轻地泛起涟漪。
- The wind rippled the surface of the cornfield. 微风吹过麦田，泛起一片麦浪。
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13
interfere
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| 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。
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14
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 |
参考例句： |
- He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
- The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
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pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 |
参考例句： |
- He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁，一副忧虑的样子。
- He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。
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16
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 |
参考例句： |
- Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
- He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。
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elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 |
参考例句： |
- Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
- Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。
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18
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 |
参考例句： |
- He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子，一声不响地干了起来。
- The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。
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19
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
- The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。
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20
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 |
参考例句： |
- He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
- She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
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21
countenance
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| 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。
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