In the cold grey dawn the sisters lit their lamp, and read their chapter with an earnestness never felt before; for now the shadow of a real trouble had come, the little books were full of help and comfort; and, as they dressed, they agreed to say good-bye cheerfully and hopefully, and send their mother on her anxious journey unsaddened by tears or complaints from them. Everything seemed very strange when they went down - so dim and still outside, so full of light and bustle¹ within. Breakfast at that early hour seemed odd, and even Hannah's familiar face looked unnatural² as she flew about her kitchen with her night-cap on. The big trunk stood ready in the hall, Mother's cloak and bonnet³ lay on the sofa, and Mother herself sat trying to eat, but looking so pale and worn, with sleeplessness⁴ and anxiety, that the girls found it very hard to keep their resolution. Meg's eyes kept filling in spite of herself; Jo was obliged to hide her face in the kitchen roller more than once; and the little girls wore a grave, troubled expression, as if sorrow was a new experience to them.

Nobody talked much, but as the time drew very near, and they sat waiting for the carriage, Mrs. March said to the girls, who were all busied about her, one folding her shawl, another smoothing out the strings⁵ of her bonnet, a third putting on her overshoes, and a fourth fastening up her travelling bag:

Children, I leave you to Hannah's care and Mr. Laurence's protection. Hannah is faithfulness itself, and our good neighbour will guard you as if you were his own. I have no fears for you, yet I am anxious that you should take this trouble rightly. Don't grieve and fret⁶ when I am gone, or think that you can comfort yourselves by being idle and trying to forget. Go on with your work as usual, for work is a blessed solace⁷. Hope and keep busy; and whatever happens, remember that you never can be fatherless.'

Yes, Mother.'

Meg, dear, be

点击收听单词发音  

1 bustle
v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹
参考例句：
The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。 There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

2 unnatural
adj.不自然的；反常的
参考例句：
Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？ She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

3 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。

4 sleeplessness
n.失眠，警觉
参考例句：
Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

5 strings
n.弦
参考例句：
He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。 She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

6 fret
v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损
参考例句：
Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。 She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

7 solace
n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和
参考例句：
They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。 His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

8 prudent
adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的
参考例句：
A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。 You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

9 despondent
adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的
参考例句：
He was up for a time and then，without warning,despondent again.他一度兴高采烈，但忽然又情绪低落下来。 I feel despondent when my work is rejected.作品被拒后我感到很沮丧。

10 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。

11 lamentation
n.悲叹，哀悼
参考例句：
This ingredient does not invite or generally produce lugubrious lamentation. 这一要素并不引起，或者说通常不产生故作悲伤的叹息。 来自哲学部分 Much lamentation followed the death of the old king. 老国王晏驾，人们悲恸不已。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 omen
n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示
参考例句：
The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。 Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

14 beheld
v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟
参考例句：
His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

15 bodyguard
n.护卫，保镖
参考例句：
She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。 The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

16 devoted
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。 We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

17 omens
n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The omens for the game are still not propitious. 这场比赛仍不被看好。 来自辞典例句 Such omens betide no good. 这种征兆预示情况不妙。 来自辞典例句

18 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。

19 persuasive
adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的
参考例句：
His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。 The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

20 fragrant
adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的
参考例句：
The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。 The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

21 sipped
v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。 I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

22 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。

23 pensively
adv.沉思地，焦虑地
参考例句：
Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句 "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉，真的，"嘉莉幽幽地说，"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

24 consolation
n.安慰，慰问
参考例句：
The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。 This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

25 turnovers
n.营业额( turnover的名词复数 )；失误（篮球术语）；职工流动率；（商店的）货物周转率
参考例句：
However, one other thing we continue to have issues with are turnovers. 然而，另外一件我们仍然存在的问题就是失误。 来自互联网 The Shanghai team took advantage of a slew of Jiangxi turnovers. 上海队利用江西队的频繁失球占了上风。 来自互联网

26 Mandarin
n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的
参考例句：
Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。 Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

27 croak
vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚
参考例句：
Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲，想发发牢骚。 Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。

28 touching
adj.动人的，使人感伤的
参考例句：
It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。 His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

29 poked
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交
参考例句：
She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。 His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 overdo
vt.把...做得过头，演得过火
参考例句：
Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。 The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

31 orphans
孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。 Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

32 prettily
adv.优美地；可爱地
参考例句：
It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back.此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 She pouted prettily at him.她冲他撅着嘴，样子很可爱。

33 scented
adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)
参考例句：
I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

34 scribbled
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下
参考例句：
She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。 He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

35 ornamented
adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 blots
污渍( blot的名词复数 )； 墨水渍； 错事； 污点
参考例句：
The letter had many blots and blurs. 信上有许多墨水渍和污迹。 It's all, all covered with blots the same as if she were crying on the paper. 到处，到处都是泪痕，像是她趴在信纸上哭过。 来自名作英译部分

37 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

38 foam
v./n.泡沫，起泡沫
参考例句：
The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。 The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

39 rinse
v.用清水漂洗，用清水冲洗
参考例句：
Give the cup a rinse.冲洗一下杯子。 Don't just rinse the bottles. Wash them out carefully.别只涮涮瓶子，要仔细地洗洗里面。

40 wring
n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭
参考例句：
My socks were so wet that I had to wring them.我的袜子很湿，我不得不拧干它们。 I'll wring your neck if you don't behave!你要是不规矩，我就拧断你的脖子。

41 wield
vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)
参考例句：
They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。 People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

42 tune
n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
参考例句：
He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。 The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

43 holders
支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物
参考例句：
Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。 It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

44 starch
n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆
参考例句：
Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

45 aprons
围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份）
参考例句：
Many people like to wear aprons while they are cooking. 许多人做饭时喜欢系一条围裙。 The chambermaid in our corridor wears blue checked gingham aprons. 给我们扫走廊的清洁女工围蓝格围裙。

46 housekeeper
n.管理家务的主妇，女管家
参考例句：
A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。 She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

47 liking
n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢
参考例句：
The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。 I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

48 starched
adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
My clothes are not starched enough. 我的衣服浆得不够硬。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The ruffles on his white shirt were starched and clean. 白衬衫的褶边浆过了，很干净。 来自辞典例句

49 wrenched
v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛
参考例句：
The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。 He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

50 wholesome
adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的
参考例句：
In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。 It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。

51 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。

52 serene
adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的
参考例句：
He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。 He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

53 picket
n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫
参考例句：
They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。 Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

54 salute
vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮
参考例句：
Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。 The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

55 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。