Let it not be supposed that Lady Eustace during these summer weeks was living the life of a recluse¹. The London season was in its full splendour, and she was by no means a recluse. During the first year of her widowhood she had been every inch a widow, as far as crape would go, and a quiet life either at Bobsborough or Portray² Castle. During this year her child was born, and she was in every way thrown upon her good behaviour, living with bishops’ wives and deans’ daughters. Two years of retreat from the world is generally thought to be the proper thing for a widow. Lizzie had not quite accomplished⁴ her two years before she reopened the campaign in Mount Street with very small remnants of weeds, and with her crape brought down to a minimum; but she was young and rich, and the world is aware that a woman of twenty-two can hardly afford to sacrifice two whole years. In the matter of her widowhood Lizzie did not encounter very much reproach. She was not shunned⁵, or so ill spoken of as to have a widely-spread bad name among the streets and squares in which her carriage-wheels rolled. People called her a flirt⁷, held up their hands in surprise at Sir Florian’s foolish generosity⁸ — for the accounts of Lizzie’s wealth were greatly exaggerated — and said that of course she would marry again.

The general belief which often seizes upon the world in regard to some special falsehood is very surprising. Everybody on a sudden adopts an idea that some particular man is over head and ears in debt, so that he can hardly leave his house for fear of the bailiffs; or that some ill-fated woman is cruelly ill-used by her husband; or that some eldest⁹ son has ruined his father; whereas the man doesn’t owe a shilling, the woman never hears a harsh word from her lord, and the eldest son in question has never succeeded in obtaining a shilling beyond his allowance. One of the lies about London this season was founded on the extent of Lady Eustace’s jointure. Indeed the lie went to state that the jointure was more than a jointure. It was believed that the property in Ayrshire was her own, to do what she pleased with it. That the property in Ayrshire was taken at double its value was a matter of course. It had been declared, at the time of his marriage, that Sir Florian had been especially generous to his penniless wife, and the generosity was magnified in the ordinary way. No doubt Lizzie’s own diligence had done much to propagate the story as to her positive ownership of Portray. Mr. Camperdown had been very busy denying this. John Eustace had denied it whenever occasion offered. The

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1 recluse
n.隐居者
参考例句：
The old recluse secluded himself from the outside world.这位老隐士与外面的世界隔绝了。 His widow became a virtual recluse for the remainder of her life.他的寡妻孤寂地度过了余生。

2 portray
v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)
参考例句：
It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。 Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

3 bishop
n.主教，（国际象棋）象
参考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。 Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

4 accomplished
adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的
参考例句：
Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。 Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

5 shunned
v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。 He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 flirt
v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者
参考例句：
He used to flirt with every girl he met.过去他总是看到一个姑娘便跟她调情。 He watched the stranger flirt with his girlfriend and got fighting mad.看着那个陌生人和他女朋友调情，他都要抓狂了。

8 generosity
n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为
参考例句：
We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。 We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

9 eldest
adj.最年长的，最年老的
参考例句：
The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。 The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

10 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。

11 lieutenant
n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员
参考例句：
He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。 He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 fawn
n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承
参考例句：
A fawn behind the tree looked at us curiously.树后面一只小鹿好奇地看着我们。 He said you fawn on the manager in order to get a promotion.他说你为了获得提拔，拍经理的马屁。

13 nay
adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者
参考例句：
He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。 Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

14 chancellor
n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长
参考例句：
They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。 He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

15 exchequer
n.财政部；国库
参考例句：
In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。 This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。

16 lawsuit
n.诉讼，控诉
参考例句：
They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。 He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

17 costly
adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的
参考例句：
It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。 This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

18 secreted
v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏
参考例句：
Insulin is secreted by the pancreas. 胰岛素是胰腺分泌的。 He secreted his winnings in a drawer. 他把赢来的钱藏在抽届里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 bravado
n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能
参考例句：
Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。 He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

20 mischief
n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹
参考例句：
Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。 He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

21 contrive
vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出
参考例句：
Can you contrive to be here a little earlier?你能不能早一点来？ How could you contrive to make such a mess of things?你怎么把事情弄得一团糟呢？

22 ornament
v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物
参考例句：
The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。 She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

23 gratitude
adj.感激，感谢
参考例句：
I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。 She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

24 assent
v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可
参考例句：
I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。 The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

25 descend
vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降
参考例句：
I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。 We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

26 accosted
v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭
参考例句：
She was accosted in the street by a complete stranger. 在街上，一个完全陌生的人贸然走到她跟前搭讪。 His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. 他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 infinitely
adv.无限地，无穷地
参考例句：
There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。 The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

28 contention
n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张
参考例句：
The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。 The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

29 jewelry
n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝
参考例句：
The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。 Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

30 accusation
n.控告，指责，谴责
参考例句：
I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。 She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

31 ferment
vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱
参考例句：
Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。 The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。