For twenty minutes Mr. Polly busied himself about the house, making his preparations very neatly¹ and methodically.

He opened the attic² windows in order to make sure of a good draught³ through the house, and drew down the blinds at the back and shut the kitchen door to conceal⁴ his arrangements from casual observation. At the end he would open the door on the yard and so make a clean clear draught right through the house. He hacked⁵ at, and wedged off, the tread of a stair. He cleared out the coals from under the staircase, and built a neat fire of firewood and paper there, he splashed about paraffine and arranged the lamps and can even as he had designed, and made a fine inflammable pile of things in the little parlour behind the shop. “Looks pretty arsonical,” he said as he surveyed it all. “Wouldn’t do to have a caller now. Now for the stairs!”

“Plenty of time,” he assured himself, and took the lamp which was to explain the whole affair, and went to the head of the staircase between the scullery and the parlour. He sat down in the twilight⁶ with the unlit lamp beside him and surveyed things. He must light the fire in the coal cellar under the stairs, open the back door, then come up them very quickly and light the paraffine puddles⁷ on each step, then sit down here again and cut his throat.

He drew his razor from his pocket and felt the edge. It wouldn’t hurt much, and in ten minutes he would be indistinguishable ashes in the blaze.

And this was the end of life for him!

The end! And it seemed to him now that life had never begun for him, never! It was as if his soul had been cramped⁸ and his eyes bandaged from the hour of his birth. Why had he lived such a life? Why had he submitted to things, blundered into things? Why had he never insisted on the things he thought beautiful and the things he desired, never sought them, fought for them, taken any risk for them, died rather than abandon them? They were the things that mattered. Safety did not matter. A living did not matter unless there were things to live for. . . .

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1 neatly
adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地
参考例句：
Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。 The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

2 attic
n.顶楼，屋顶室
参考例句：
Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。 What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

3 draught
n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计
参考例句：
He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。 It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

4 conceal
v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽
参考例句：
He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。 He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

5 hacked
生气
参考例句：
I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。 I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

6 twilight
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。

7 puddles
n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。 The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到处是一坑坑的积水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cramped
a.狭窄的
参考例句：
The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。 working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

9 agog
adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地
参考例句：
The children were all agog to hear the story.孩子们都渴望着要听这个故事。 The city was agog with rumors last night that the two had been executed.那两人已被处决的传言昨晚搞得全城沸沸扬扬。

10 prey
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
参考例句：
Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。 The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

11 flicker
vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现
参考例句：
There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。 At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

12 nettle
n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼
参考例句：
We need a government that will grasp the nettle.我们需要一个敢于大刀阔斧地处理问题的政府。 She mightn't be inhaled as a rose,but she might be grasped as a nettle.她不是一朵香气扑鼻的玫瑰花，但至少是可以握在手里的荨麻。

13 smack
vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍
参考例句：
She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。 I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

14 smacked
拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。 She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

15 charred
v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦
参考例句：
the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸 The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 salmon
n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的
参考例句：
We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。 Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

17 streaked
adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹
参考例句：
The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句

18 stinking
adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透
参考例句：
I was pushed into a filthy, stinking room. 我被推进一间又脏又臭的屋子里。 Those lousy, stinking ships. It was them that destroyed us. 是的！就是那些该死的蠢猪似的臭飞船！是它们毁了我们。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

19 ablaze
adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的
参考例句：
The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。 Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

20 backwards
adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地
参考例句：
He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。 All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

21 ewer
n.大口水罐
参考例句：
The ewer is in very good condition with spout restored.喷口修复后，水罐还能用。 She filled the ewer with fresh water.她将水罐注满了清水。

22 obstinate
adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的
参考例句：
She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。 The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

23 frantic
adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的
参考例句：
I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。 He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

24 rattled
慌乱的，恼火的
参考例句：
The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。 Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

25 rattle
v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓
参考例句：
The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。 She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

26 providence
n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝
参考例句：
It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。 To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

27 conversed
v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 )
参考例句：
I conversed with her on a certain problem. 我与她讨论某一问题。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 She was cheerful and polite, and conversed with me pleasantly. 她十分高兴，也很客气，而且愉快地同我交谈。 来自辞典例句

28 intermittently
adv.间歇地；断断续续
参考例句：
Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学 The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

29 bawled
v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物）
参考例句：
She bawled at him in front of everyone. 她当着大家的面冲他大喊大叫。 My boss bawled me out for being late. 我迟到，给老板训斥了一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》