A month later a leisurely¹ and dusty tramp, plump equatorially and slightly bald, with his hands in his pockets and his lips puckered² to a contemplative whistle, strolled along the river bank between Uppingdon and Potwell. It was a profusely³ budding spring day and greens such as God had never permitted in the world before in human memory (though indeed they come every year), were mirrored vividly⁴ in a mirror of equally unprecedented⁵ brown. For a time the wanderer stopped and stood still, and even the thin whistle died away from his lips as he watched a water vole run to and fro upon a little headland across the stream. The vole plopped into the water and swam and dived and only when the last ring of its disturbance⁶ had vanished did Mr. Polly resume his thoughtful course to nowhere in particular.

For the first time in many years he had been leading a healthy human life, living constantly in the open air, walking every day for eight or nine hours, eating sparingly, accepting every conversational⁷ opportunity, not even disdaining⁸ the discussion of possible work. And beyond mending a hole in his coat that he had made while negotiating barbed wire, with a borrowed needle and thread in a lodging⁹ house, he had done no work at all. Neither had he worried about business nor about time and seasons. And for the first time in his life he had seen the Aurora¹⁰ Borealis.

So far the holiday had cost him very little. He had arranged it on a plan that was entirely

点击收听单词发音  

1 leisurely
adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的
参考例句：
We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。 He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

2 puckered
v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱，像要哭了。 His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸，眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 profusely
ad.abundantly
参考例句：
We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。 He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。

4 vividly
adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地
参考例句：
The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。 The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

5 unprecedented
adj.无前例的，新奇的
参考例句：
The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。 A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

6 disturbance
n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调
参考例句：
He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。 You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

7 conversational
adj.对话的，会话的
参考例句：
The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。 She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

8 disdaining
鄙视( disdain的现在分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做
参考例句：

9 lodging
n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍
参考例句：
The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。 Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

10 aurora
n.极光
参考例句：
The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。 Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

11 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。

12 postal
adj.邮政的，邮局的
参考例句：
A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。 Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

13 manoeuvre
n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动
参考例句：
Her withdrawal from the contest was a tactical manoeuvre.她退出比赛是一个战术策略。 The clutter of ships had little room to manoeuvre.船只橫七竖八地挤在一起，几乎没有多少移动的空间。

14 lapse
n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效
参考例句：
The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。 I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

15 sage
n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的
参考例句：
I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。 The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

16 sleek
adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢
参考例句：
Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。 The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

17 brass
n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器
参考例句：
Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。 Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

18 jingling
叮当声
参考例句：
A carriage went jingling by with some reclining figure in it. 一辆马车叮当驶过，车上斜倚着一个人。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 Melanie did not seem to know, or care, that life was riding by with jingling spurs. 媚兰好像并不知道，或者不关心，生活正马刺丁当地一路驶过去了呢。

19 waggons
四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车
参考例句：
Most transport is done by electrified waggons. 大部分货物都用电瓶车运送。

20 ward
n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开
参考例句：
The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。 During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

21 misty
adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的
参考例句：
He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。 The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

22 clumps
n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声
参考例句：
These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 milky
adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的
参考例句：
Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。 I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

24 denned
vi.穴居（den的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
A fault once denned is twice committed. 一次不认错，必定再犯错。 来自互联网

25 behold
v.看，注视，看到
参考例句：
The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。 The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

26 prow
n.(飞机)机头，船头
参考例句：
The prow of the motor-boat cut through the water like a knife.汽艇的船头像一把刀子劈开水面向前行驶。 He stands on the prow looking at the seadj.他站在船首看着大海。

27 pensive
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的
参考例句：
He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁，一副忧虑的样子。 He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。

28 remarkable
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。 These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

29 unfamiliar
adj.陌生的，不熟悉的
参考例句：
I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。 The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

30 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。

31 racing
n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的
参考例句：
I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。 The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

32 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。

33 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。

34 awaken
vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起
参考例句：
Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。 Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

35 sprouting
v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出
参考例句：
new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶 They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分

36 lichenous
adj.青苔的
参考例句：
The tombstone was lichenous and crumbling. 墓碑长满了地衣，已在崩落。 来自辞典例句

37 fronds
n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 )
参考例句：
You can pleat palm fronds to make huts, umbrellas and baskets. 人们可以把棕榈叶折叠起来盖棚屋，制伞，编篮子。 来自百科语句 When these breezes reached the platform the palm-fronds would whisper. 微风吹到平台时，棕榈叶片发出簌簌的低吟。 来自辞典例句

38 marvelled
v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 hoisted
把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。 The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

40 beech
n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的
参考例句：
Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。 Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

41 insignificant
adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的
参考例句：
In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。 This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

42 variant
adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体
参考例句：
We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。 In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

43 inevitable
adj.不可避免的，必然发生的
参考例句：
Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。 The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。