Anna came in with hanging head, playing with the tassels¹ of her hood². Her face was brilliant and glowing; but this glow was not one of brightness; it suggested the fearful glow of a conflagration³ in the midst of a dark night. On seeing her husband, Anna raised her head and smiled, as though she had just waked up.

"You're not in bed? What a wonder!" she said, letting fall her hood, and without stopping, she went on into the dressing⁴ room. "It's late, Alexey Alexandrovitch," she said, when she had gone through the doorway⁵.

"Anna, it's necessary for me to have a talk with you."

"With me?" she said, wonderingly. She came out from behind the door of the dressing room, and looked at him. "Why, what is it? What about?" she asked, sitting down. "Well, let's talk, if it's so necessary. But it would be better to get to sleep."

Anna said what came to her lips, and marveled, hearing herself, at her own capacity for lying. How simple and natural were her words, and how likely that she was simply sleepy! She felt herself clad in an impenetrable armor of falsehood. She felt that some unseen force had come to her aid and was supporting her.

"Anna, I must warn you," he began.

"Warn me?" she said. "Of what?"

She looked at him so simply, so brightly, that anyone who did not know her as her husband knew her could not have noticed anything unnatural⁶, either in the sound or the sense of her words. But to him, knowing her, knowing that whenever he went to bed five minutes later than usual, she noticed it, and asked him the reason; to him, knowing that every joy, every pleasure and pain that she felt she communicated to him at once; to him, now to see that she did not care to notice his state of mind, that she did not care to say a word about herself, meant a great deal. He saw that the inmost recesses⁷ of her soul, that had always hitherto lain open before him, were closed against him. More than that, he saw from her tone that she was not even

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1 tassels
n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰
参考例句：
Tassels and Trimmings, Pillows, Wall Hangings, Table Runners, Bell. 采购产品垂饰，枕头，壁挂，表亚军，钟。 来自互联网 Cotton Fabrics, Embroidery and Embroiders, Silk, Silk Fabric, Pillows, Tassels and Trimmings. 采购产品棉花织物，刺绣品而且刺绣，丝，丝织物，枕头，流行和装饰品。 来自互联网

2 hood
n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖
参考例句：
She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。 The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

3 conflagration
n.建筑物或森林大火
参考例句：
A conflagration in 1947 reduced 90 percent of the houses to ashes.1947年的一场大火，使90%的房屋化为灰烬。 The light of that conflagration will fade away.这熊熊烈火会渐渐熄灭。

4 dressing
n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料
参考例句：
Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。 The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

5 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。

6 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。

7 recesses
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭
参考例句：
I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 perturbed
adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
I am deeply perturbed by the alarming way the situation developing. 我对形势令人忧虑的发展深感不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Mother was much perturbed by my illness. 母亲为我的病甚感烦恼不安。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 animated
adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的
参考例句：
His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。 We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

10 enunciated
v.（清晰地）发音( enunciate的过去式和过去分词 )；确切地说明
参考例句：
She enunciated each word slowly and carefully. 她每个字都念得又慢又仔细。 His voice, cold and perfectly enunciated, switched them like a birch branch. 他的话口气冰冷，一字一板，有如给了他们劈面一鞭。 来自辞典例句

11 bent
n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
参考例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。 We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 joints
接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）
参考例句：
Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。 Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

13 droll
adj.古怪的，好笑的
参考例句：
The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。 He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.

14 agitated
adj.被鼓动的，不安的
参考例句：
His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。 She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

15 jealousy
n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌
参考例句：
Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。 I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

16 impunity
n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除
参考例句：
You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。 The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

17 positively
adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实
参考例句：
She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。 The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

18 hairpins
n.发夹( hairpin的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The price of these hairpins are about the same. 这些发夹的价格大致相同。 来自互联网 So the king gives a hundred hairpins to each of them. 所以国王送给她们每人一百个漂亮的发夹。 来自互联网

19 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。

20 severed
v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂
参考例句：
The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》 We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 chastisement
n.惩罚
参考例句：
You cannot but know that we live in a period of chastisement and ruin. 你们必须认识到我们生活在一个灾难深重、面临毁灭的时代。 来自辞典例句 I think the chastisement to him is too critical. 我认为对他的惩罚太严厉了。 来自互联网

22 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

23 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

24 tranquil
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的
参考例句：
The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。 The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

25 appalled
v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的
参考例句：
The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。 They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 interval
n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息
参考例句：
The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。 There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

27 brilliance
n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智
参考例句：
I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。 The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。