Bertha Sutherland hurried home from the post office and climbed the stairs of her boarding-house to her room on the third floor. Her roommate, Grace Maxwell, was sitting on the
divan1 by the window, looking out into the
twilight2.
A year ago Bertha and Grace had come to Dartmouth to attend the Academy, and found themselves roommates. Bertha was bright, pretty and popular, the favourite of her classmates and teachers; Grace was a grave, quiet girl, dressed in mourning. She was quite alone in the world, the aunt who had brought her up having recently died. At first she had felt shy with bright and brilliant Bertha; but they soon became friends, and the year that followed was a very pleasant one. It was almost ended now, for the terminal exams had begun, and in a week's time the school would close for the holidays.
"Have some chocolates, Grace," said Bertha
gaily3. "I got such good news in my letter tonight that I felt I must celebrate it fittingly. So I went into Carter's and invested all my spare cash in caramels. It's really fortunate the term is almost out, for I'm nearly bankrupt. I have just enough left to furnish a 'tuck-out' for commencement night, and no more."
"What is your good news, may I ask?" said Grace.
"You know I have an Aunt Margaret—commonly called Aunt Meg—out at Riversdale, don't you? There never was such a dear, sweet, jolly aunty in the world. I had a letter from her tonight. Listen, I'll read you what she says."
I want you to spend your holidays with me, my dear. Mary Fairweather and Louise Fyshe and Lily Dennis are coming, too. So there is just room for one more, and that one must be yourself. Come to Riversdale when school closes, and I'll feed you on strawberries and cream and pound cake and doughnuts and
mince4 pies, and all the delicious, indigestible things that school girls love and careful mothers
condemn5. Mary and Lou and Lil are girls after your own heart, I know, and you shall all do just as you like, and we'll have picnics and parties and merry doings galore.
"There," said Bertha, looking up with a laugh. "Isn't that lovely?"
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收听单词发音
1
divan
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n.长沙发;(波斯或其他东方诗人的)诗集 |
参考例句: |
- Lord Henry stretched himself out on the divan and laughed.亨利勋爵伸手摊脚地躺在沙发椅上,笑着。
- She noticed that Muffat was sitting resignedly on a narrow divan-bed.她看见莫法正垂头丧气地坐在一张不宽的坐床上。
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2
twilight
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n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 |
参考例句: |
- Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
- Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
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3
gaily
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adv.欢乐地,高兴地 |
参考例句: |
- The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
- She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。
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4
mince
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n.切碎物;v.切碎,矫揉做作地说 |
参考例句: |
- Would you like me to mince the meat for you?你要我替你把肉切碎吗?
- Don't mince matters,but speak plainly.不要含糊其词,有话就直说吧。
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5
condemn
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vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑 |
参考例句: |
- Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他,而有些人谴责他。
- We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。
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6
delightful
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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。
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7
awfully
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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。
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8
outfit
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n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装 |
参考例句: |
- Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
- His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
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9
second-hand
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adj.用过的,旧的,二手的 |
参考例句: |
- I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
- They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。
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10
algebra
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n.代数学 |
参考例句: |
- He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
- The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。
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11
rosy
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adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的 |
参考例句: |
- She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作,生活看上去很美好。
- She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。
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12
darted
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v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 |
参考例句: |
- The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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13
wrestled
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v.(与某人)搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 );扭成一团;扭打;(与…)摔跤 |
参考例句: |
- As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
- Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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14
confidential
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adj.秘(机)密的,表示信任的,担任机密工作的 |
参考例句: |
- He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
- We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。
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15
perfectly
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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。
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16
frankly
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adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 |
参考例句: |
- To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
- Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
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17
drudgery
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n.苦工,重活,单调乏味的工作 |
参考例句: |
- People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
- He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。
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