``Take a seat, Frank,'' said Mr. Wharton, pointingto a luxurious<sup>1</sup> armchair on one side of the cheerfulgrate fire; ``I will take the other, and you shall tellme all about yourself.''

　　``Thank you, sir,'' said our hero.

　　His confidence was won by Mr. Wharton's kindtone, and he briefly² recounted his story.

　　At the conclusion, Mr. Wharton said:

　　``How old are you, Frank ?''

　　``Fourteen, sir.''

　　``You are a brave boy, and a good boy, and youdeserve success.''

　　``Thank you, sir.''

　　``But I am bound to say that you have a hard taskbefore you.''

　　``I know it, sir.''

　　``Why not let your sister go to the poorhouse for afew years, till you are older, and better able toprovide for her?''

　　``I should be ashamed to do it, sir,'' he said. ``Ipromised my mother to take care of Grace, and Iwill.''

　　``How much do you earn as a cash-boy?''

　　``Three dollars a week.''

　　``Only three dollars a week! Why, that won't payyour own expenses!'' said the old gentleman in surprise.

　　``Yes, sir, it does. I pay fifty cents a week for myroom, and my meals don't cost me much.''

　　``But you will want clothes.''

　　``I have enough for the present, and I am layingup fifty cents a week to buy more when I need them.''

　　``You can't buy many for twenty-six dollars ayear. But that doesn't allow anything for yoursister's expenses.''

　　``That is what puzzles me, sir,'' said Frank, fixinga troubled glance upon the fire. ``I shall have towork in the evenings for Grace.''

　　``What can you do?''

　　``I could copy, but I suppose there isn't muchchance of getting copying to do.''

　　``Then you have a good handwriting?''

　　``Pretty fair, sir.''

　　``Let me see a specimen³. There are pen and inkon the table, and here is a sheet of paper.''

　　Frank seated himself at the table, and wrote hisname on the paper.

　　``Very good,'' said his host, approvingly. ``Yourhand is good enough for a copyist, but you are correctin supposing that work of that kind is hardto get. Are you a good reader?''

　　``Do you mean in reading aloud, sir?''

　　``Yes.''

　　``I will try, if you wish.''

　　``Take a book from the table--any book--and letme hear you read.''

　　Frank opened the first book that came to hand--one of Irving's and read in a clear, unembarrassedvoice about half a page.

点击收听单词发音  

1 luxurious
adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的
参考例句：
This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。 The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

2 briefly
adv.简单地，简短地
参考例句：
I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。 He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 specimen
n.样本，标本
参考例句：
You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。 This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

4 severely
adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地
参考例句：
He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。 He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 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。

6 afterward
adv.后来；以后
参考例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。 Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

7 labors
v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转
参考例句：
He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句 Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

8 intruding
v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于
参考例句：
Does he find his new celebrity intruding on his private life? 他是否感觉到他最近的成名侵扰了他的私生活？ After a few hours of fierce fighting,we saw the intruding bandits off. 经过几小时的激烈战斗，我们赶走了入侵的匪徒。 来自《简明英汉词典》