What measure of belief her explanation of Evelina's returnobtained in the small circle of her friends Ann Eliza did not pauseto enquire¹. Though she could not remember ever having told a liebefore, she adhered with rigid² tenacity³ to the consequences of herfirst lapse⁴ from truth, and fortified⁵ her original statement withadditional details whenever a questioner sought to take herunawares.

　　But other and more serious burdens lay on her startledconscience. For the first time in her life she dimly faced theawful problem of the inutility of self-sacrifice. Hitherto she hadnever thought of questioning the inherited principles which hadguided her life. Self-effacement for the good of others had alwaysseemed to her both natural and necessary; but then she had taken itfor granted that it implied the securing of that good. Now sheperceived that to refuse the gifts of life does not ensure theirtransmission to those for whom they have been surrendered; and herfamiliar heaven was unpeopled. She felt she could no longer trustin the goodness of God, and there was only a black abyss above theroof of Bunner Sisters.

　　But there was little time to brood upon such problems. Thecare of Evelina filled Ann Eliza's days and nights. The hastilysummoned doctor had pronounced her to be suffering from pneumonia,and under his care the first stress of the disease was relieved.

　　But her recovery was only partial, and long after the doctor'svisits had ceased she continued to lie in bed, too weak to move,and seemingly indifferent to everything about her.

　　At length one evening, about six weeks after her return, shesaid to her sister: "I don't feel's if I'd ever get up again."Ann Eliza turned from the kettle she was placing on the stove.

　　She was startled by the echo the words woke in her own breast.

　　"Don't you talk like that, Evelina! I guess you're on'y tiredout--and disheartened.""Yes, I'm disheartened," Evelina murmured.

　　A few months earlier Ann Eliza would have met the confessionwith a word of pious⁶ admonition; now she accepted it in silence.

点击收听单词发音  

1 enquire
v.打听，询问；调查，查问
参考例句：
She wrote to enquire the cause of the delay.她只得写信去询问拖延的理由。 We will enquire into the matter.我们将调查这事。

2 rigid
adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的
参考例句：
She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。 The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

3 tenacity
n.坚韧
参考例句：
Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。 The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。

4 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。

5 fortified
adj. 加强的
参考例句：
He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。 The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

6 pious
adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的
参考例句：
Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。 Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 tartness
n.酸，锋利
参考例句：
But the antler hunting sword has a good quality.The rigidity,tartness and preservation are not bad. 不过那把鹿角猎刀得品质就很不错得说。硬度、锋利度和保持性都非常得不错。 来自互联网 The bitter tartness that is associated with ginseng is not evident in this tea. 痛苦的锋利，它通常与人参显然没有在这个茶。 来自互联网

8 plumber
n.(装修水管的)管子工
参考例句：
Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？ The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

9 tempt
vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣
参考例句：
Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。 The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

10 shameful
adj.可耻的，不道德的
参考例句：
It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。 We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

11 extremities
n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地
参考例句：
She was most noticeable, I thought, in respect of her extremities. 我觉得她那副穷极可怜的样子实在太惹人注目。 来自辞典例句 Winters may be quite cool at the northwestern extremities. 西北边区的冬天也可能会相当凉。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 supervision
n.监督，管理
参考例句：
The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。 The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

14 humiliation
n.羞辱
参考例句：
He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。 He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

15 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

16 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。

17 coaxes
v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的第三人称单数 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱
参考例句：
One coaxes, the other coerces. 一个唱红脸，一个唱白脸。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Now the analyzer coaxes the virus into revealing itself. 现在的分析者们会诱使病毒显形。 来自互联网

18 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。

19 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

20 terminology
n.术语；专有名词
参考例句：
He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。 The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

21 agitation
n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动
参考例句：
Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。 These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

22 wailed
v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

23 indictment
n.起诉；诉状
参考例句：
He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。 They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

24 avert
v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)
参考例句：
He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。 I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

25 memento
n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西
参考例句：
The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。 My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。

26 amulet
n.护身符
参考例句：
We're down here investigating a stolen amulet.我们来到这里调查一个失窃的护身符。 This amulet is exclusively made by Father Sum Lee.这个护身符是沙姆.李长老特制的。

27 estrangement
n.疏远，失和，不和
参考例句：
a period of estrangement from his wife 他与妻子分居期间 The quarrel led to a complete estrangement between her and her family. 这一争吵使她同家人完全疏远了。 来自《简明英汉词典》