Miss Merrick, however ungenerous she might have been to others, had always maintained Elmhurst in a fairly lavish⁵ manner. There were plenty of servants to look after the house and gardens, and there were good horses in the stables. Whenever her health permitted she dined in state each evening in the great dining-room, solitary⁶ and dignified⁷, unless on rare occasions her one familiar, Silas Watson, occupied the seat opposite her. "The boy," as he was contemptuously called, was never permitted to enter this room. Indeed, it would be difficult to define exactly Kenneth Forbes' position at Elmhurst. He had lived there ever since his mother's death, when, a silent and unattractive lad of eight, Mr. Watson had brought him to Jane Merrick and insisted upon her providing a home for Tom Bradley's orphaned⁸ nephew.

 

She accepted the obligation reluctantly enough, giving the child a small room in the left wing, as far removed from her own apartments as possible, and transferring all details of his care to Misery⁹ Agnew, the old housekeeper¹⁰. Misery endeavored to "do her duty" by the boy, but appreciating the scant11

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1 rambling
adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的
参考例句：
We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。 It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

2 mansion
n.大厦，大楼；宅第
参考例句：
The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。 The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

3 den
n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室
参考例句：
There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。 The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

4 tangled
adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。 A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

5 lavish
adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍
参考例句：
He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。 The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

6 solitary
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。 The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

7 dignified
a.可敬的，高贵的
参考例句：
Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。 He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

8 orphaned
[计][修]孤立
参考例句：
Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。 He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

9 misery
n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦
参考例句：
Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。 He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

10 housekeeper
n.管理家务的主妇，女管家
参考例句：
A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。 She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

11 scant
adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略
参考例句：
Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。 Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

12 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

13 longing
n.（for）渴望
参考例句：
Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。 His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

14 incompetent
adj.无能力的，不能胜任的
参考例句：
He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。 He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

15 stature
n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材
参考例句：
He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。 The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

16 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。

17 sullen
adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句：
He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。 Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

18 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

19 literally
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。 Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

20 dependence
n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属
参考例句：
Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。 He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

21 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。

22 animation
n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作
参考例句：
They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。 The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

23 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。

24 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。

25 admiration
n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕
参考例句：
He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。 We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

26 geniality
n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快
参考例句：
They said he is a pitiless,cold-blooded fellow,with no geniality in him.他们说他是个毫无怜悯心、一点也不和蔼的冷血动物。 Not a shade was there of anything save geniality and kindness.他的眼神里只显出愉快与和气，看不出一丝邪意。

27 fixed
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。

28 grove
n.林子，小树林，园林
参考例句：
On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。 The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

29 briefly
adv.简单地，简短地
参考例句：
I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。 He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

30 margins
边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数
参考例句：
They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。 To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

31 depicted
描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述
参考例句：
Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。 They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

32 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。

33 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。

34 musing
n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式
参考例句：
"At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记 She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

35 shrugged
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。 She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 humiliated
感到羞愧的
参考例句：
Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。 He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

37 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。

38 softening
变软，软化
参考例句：
Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26） He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

39 scramble
v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料
参考例句：
He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。 It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

40 tempted
v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）
参考例句：
I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。 I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

41 fawning
adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好
参考例句：
The servant worn a fawning smile. 仆人的脸上露出一种谄笑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Then, what submission, what cringing and fawning, what servility, what abject humiliation! 好一个低眉垂首、阿谀逢迎、胁肩谄笑、卑躬屈膝的场面！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

42 malicious
adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的
参考例句：
You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。 Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

43 wont
adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯
参考例句：
He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。 It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

44 vouch
v.担保；断定；n.被担保者
参考例句：
They asked whether I was prepared to vouch for him.他们问我是否愿意为他作担保。 I can vouch for the fact that he is a good worker.我保证他是好员工。

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