“No, never in my whole life have I met a woman who can compare with this Marie-Anne! What grace and what dignity! Ah! her beauty is divine!”

So Martial¹ was thinking while returning to Sairmeuse after his proposals to M. Lacheneur.

At the risk of losing his way he took the shortest course, which led across the fields and over ditches, which he leaped with the aid of his gun.

He found a pleasure, entirely² novel and very delightful³, in picturing Marie-Anne as he had just seen her, blushing and paling, about to swoon, then lifting her head haughtily⁴ in her pride and disdain⁵.

Who would have suspected that such indomitable energy and such an impassioned soul was hidden beneath such girlish artlessness and apparent coldness? What an adorable expression illumined her face, what passion shone in those great black eyes when she looked at that little fool d’Escorval! What would not one give to be regarded thus, even for a moment? How could the boy help being crazy about her?

He himself loved her, without being, as yet, willing, to confess it. What other name could be given to this passion which had overpowered reason, and to the furious desires which agitated⁶ him?

“Ah!” he exclaimed, “she shall be mine. Yes, she shall be mine; I will have her!”

Consequently he began to study the strategic side of the undertaking⁷ which this resolution involved with the sagacity of one who had not been without an extended experience in such matters.

His debut⁸, he was forced to admit, had been neither fortunate nor adroit⁹. Conveyed compliments and money had both been rejected. If Marie-Anne had heard his

点击收听单词发音  

1 martial
adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的
参考例句：
The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。 The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

2 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。

3 delightful
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。

4 haughtily
adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地
参考例句：
She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。 Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。

5 disdain
n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑
参考例句：
Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。 A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

6 agitated
adj.被鼓动的，不安的
参考例句：
His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。 She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

7 undertaking
n.保证，许诺，事业
参考例句：
He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。 He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

8 debut
n.首次演出，初次露面
参考例句：
That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。 The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

9 adroit
adj.熟练的，灵巧的
参考例句：
Jamie was adroit at flattering others.杰米很会拍马屁。 His adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers.他对质问者的机敏应答使他赢得了很多追随者。

10 covert
adj.隐藏的；暗地里的
参考例句：
We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。 The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

11 rustic
adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬
参考例句：
It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。 We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

12 growled
v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说
参考例句：
\"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》 He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 perilous
adj.危险的，冒险的
参考例句：
The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。 We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

14 inflamed
adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。 Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 motive
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。 He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

17 insolence
n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度
参考例句：
I've had enough of your insolence, and I'm having no more. 我受够了你的侮辱，不能再容忍了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 How can you suffer such insolence? 你怎么能容忍这种蛮横的态度？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 affront
n./v.侮辱，触怒
参考例句：
Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。 This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。

19 revolving
adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想
参考例句：
The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。 The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

20 frightful
adj.可怕的；讨厌的
参考例句：
How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！ We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

21 chateau
n.城堡，别墅
参考例句：
The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。 The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

22 rascal
n.流氓；不诚实的人
参考例句：
If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。 The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

23 enrolled
adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起
参考例句：
They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 sufficiently
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。 The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

25 recital
n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会
参考例句：
She is going to give a piano recital.她即将举行钢琴独奏会。 I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took.在我叙述的35分钟内，他们完全被我吸引了。

26 calumnies
n.诬蔑，诽谤，中伤（的话）( calumny的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He doesn't care about scandals, slanders, calumnies, aspersions, or defamation. 他不在乎流言蜚语，诽谤，中伤，造谣，诬蔑。 来自互联网 Spreading rumors and calumnies and plotting riots. 造谣诽谤，策动骚乱。 来自互联网

27 farce
n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹
参考例句：
They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。 The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

28 avaricious
adj.贪婪的，贪心的
参考例句：
I call on your own memory as witness:remember we have avaricious hearts.假使你想要保证和证明，你可以回忆一下我们贪婪的心。 He is so avaricious that we call him a blood sucker.他如此贪婪，我们都叫他吸血鬼。

29 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。

30 promptly
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。

31 concealed
a.隐藏的，隐蔽的
参考例句：
The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。 I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

32 potent
adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的
参考例句：
The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。 We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

33 bestow
v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费
参考例句：
He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。 What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

34 linen
n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的
参考例句：
The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。 Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

35 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。

36 saluting
v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂
参考例句：
'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛 He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句

37 heartily
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。 The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

38 lawful
adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的
参考例句：
It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。 We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

39 usurper
n. 篡夺者, 僭取者
参考例句：
The usurper wrested the power from the king. 篡位者从国王手里夺取了权力。 The usurper took power by force. 篡夺者武装夺取了权力。

40 fervent
adj.热的，热烈的，热情的
参考例句：
It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。 Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

41 authenticate
vt.证明…为真，鉴定
参考例句：
We would have to authenticate your relationship with the boy.我们必须证实一下您和那个孩子的关系。 An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting from his imitation.这幅画是凡·高的真迹还是赝品,需由专家来鉴定。