Lady Lufton had been greatly rejoiced at that good deed which her son did in giving up his Leicestershire hunting, and coming to reside for the winter at Framley. It was proper, and becoming, and comfortable in the extreme. An English nobleman ought to hunt in the county where he himself owns the fields over which he rides; he ought to receive the respect and honour due to him from his own tenants¹; he ought to sleep under a roof of his own, and he ought also — so Lady Lufton thought — to fall in love with a young embryo² bride of his mother’s choosing. And then it was so pleasant to have him there in the house. Lady Lufton was not a woman who allowed her life to be what people in common parlance³ call dull. She had too many duties, and thought too much of them, to allow of her suffering from tedium⁴ and ennui⁵. But nevertheless the house was more joyous⁶ to her when he was there. There was a reason for some little gaiety, which would never have been attracted thither⁷ by herself, but by which, nevertheless, she did enjoy when it was brought about by his presence. She was younger and brighter when he was there, thinking more of the future and less of the past. She could look at him, and that alone was happiness to her. And then he was pleasant-mannered with her; joking with her on her little old-world prejudices in a tone that was musical to her ear as coming from him; smiling on her, reminding her of those smiles which she had loved so dearly when as yet he was still her own, lying there in his little bed beside her chair. He was kind and gracious to her, behaving like a good son, at any rate while he was there in her presence. When we add to this, her fears that he might not be so perfect in his conduct when absent, we may well imagine that Lady Lufton was pleased to have him at Framley Court.

She had hardly said a word to him as that five thousand pounds. Many a night, as she lay thinking on her pillow, she said to herself that no money had ever been better

点击收听单词发音  

1 tenants
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者
参考例句：
A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。 Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

2 embryo
n.胚胎，萌芽的事物
参考例句：
They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。 The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

3 parlance
n.说法；语调
参考例句：
The term "meta directory" came into industry parlance two years ago.两年前，商业界开始用“元目录”这个术语。 The phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.这种说法是指代间谍行为的常用外交辞令。

4 tedium
n.单调；烦闷
参考例句：
We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。 In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。

5 ennui
n.怠倦，无聊
参考例句：
Since losing his job,he has often experienced a profound sense of ennui.他自从失业以来，常觉百无聊赖。 Took up a hobby to relieve the ennui of retirement.养成一种嗜好以消除退休后的无聊。

6 joyous
adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的
参考例句：
The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。 They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

7 thither
adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的
参考例句：
He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。 He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

8 expended
v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽
参考例句：
She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。 The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 philistines
n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子
参考例句：
He accused those who criticized his work of being philistines. 他指责那些批评他的作品的人是对艺术一窍不通。 来自辞典例句 As an intellectual Goebbels looked down on the crude philistines of the leading group in Munich. 戈培尔是个知识分子，看不起慕尼黑领导层不学无术的市侩庸人。 来自辞典例句

10 earnings
n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得
参考例句：
That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。 Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 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。

12 bliss
n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福
参考例句：
It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。 He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

13 intrusive
adj.打搅的；侵扰的
参考例句：
The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。 Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

14 billiards
n.台球
参考例句：
John used to divert himself with billiards.约翰过去总打台球自娱。 Billiards isn't popular in here.这里不流行台球。

15 chatter
vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战
参考例句：
Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

16 folly
n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话
参考例句：
Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。 Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

17 grandeur
n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华
参考例句：
The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。 These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

18 diplomacy
n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕
参考例句：
The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。 This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

19 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。

20 discreetly
ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地
参考例句：
He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇，一个很会讲排场的法国女人。 Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么，有意避开了。

21 discreet
adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的
参考例句：
He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。 It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

22 bonnet
n.无边女帽；童帽
参考例句：
The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。 She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

23 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。

24 abeyance
n.搁置，缓办，中止，产权未定
参考例句：
The question is in abeyance until we know more about it.问题暂时搁置，直到我们了解更多有关情况再行研究。 The law was held in abeyance for well over twenty years.这项法律被搁置了二十多年。

25 defiant
adj.无礼的，挑战的
参考例句：
With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。 He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

26 humbly
adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地
参考例句：
We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。 "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

27 wrath
n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒
参考例句：
His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。 The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

28 prudence
n.谨慎，精明，节俭
参考例句：
A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。 The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

29 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。

30 eloquent
adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的
参考例句：
He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。 These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

31 embarrassment
n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫
参考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。 Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

32 tact
n.机敏，圆滑，得体
参考例句：
She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。 Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

33 meditating
a.沉思的，冥想的
参考例句：
They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。 The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

34 expediency
n.适宜；方便；合算；利己
参考例句：
The government is torn between principle and expediency. 政府在原则与权宜之间难于抉择。 来自《简明英汉词典》 It was difficult to strike the right balance between justice and expediency. 在公正与私利之间很难两全。 来自辞典例句

35 prospects
n.希望，前途(恒为复数)
参考例句：
There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。 They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

36 perfectly
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。

37 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

38 velvet
n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的
参考例句：
This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。 The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

39 chagrin
n.懊恼；气愤；委屈
参考例句：
His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。 Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

40 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。

41 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。

42 flirting
v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

43 injustice
n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利
参考例句：
They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。 All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

44 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。

45 doorway
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。

46 specially
adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地
参考例句：
They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。 The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

47 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。

48 complexion
n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格
参考例句：
Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。 Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

49 antidote
n.解毒药，解毒剂
参考例句：
There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。 Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。

50 intimacy
n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行
参考例句：
His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。 I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

51 sleepless
adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的
参考例句：
The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。 One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。