Adrian Urmand had been three days gone from Granpere before Michel Voss found a fitting opportunity for talking to his niece. It was not a matter, as he thought, in which there was need for any great hurry, but there was need for much consideration. Once again he spoke¹ on the subject to his wife.

‘If she’s thinking about George, she has kept it very much to herself,’ he remarked.

‘Girls do keep it to themselves,’ said Madame Voss.

‘I’m not so sure of that. They generally show it somehow. Marie never looks lovelorn. I don’t believe a bit of it; and as for him, all the time he has been away he has never so much as sent a word of a message to one of us.’

‘He sent his love to you, when I saw him, quite dutifully,’ said Madame Voss.

‘Why don’t he come and see us if he cares for us? It isn’t of him that Marie is thinking.’

‘It isn’t of anybody else then,’ said Madame Voss. ‘I never see her speak a word to any of the young men, nor one of them ever speaking a word to her.’

Pondering over all this, Michel Voss resolved that he would have it all out with his niece on the following Sunday.

On the Sunday he engaged Marie to start with him after dinner to the place on the hillside where they were cutting wood. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, in that pleasantest of all months in the year, when the sun is not too hot, and the air is fresh and balmy, and one is still able to linger abroad, loitering either in or out of the shade, when the midges cease to bite, and the sun no longer scorches² and glares; but the sweet vestiges³ of summer remain, and everything without doors is pleasant and friendly, and there is the gentle unrecognised regret for the departing year, the unconscious feeling that its glory is going from us, to add the inner charm of a soft melancholy⁴ to the outer luxury of the atmosphere. I doubt whether Michel Voss had ever realised the fact that September is the kindliest of all the months, but he felt it, and enjoyed the leisure of his Sunday afternoon when he could get his niece to take a stretch with him on the mountain-side. On these occasions Madame Voss was left at home with M. le Cure, who liked to linger over his little cup of coffee. Madame Voss, indeed, seldom cared to walk very far from the door of her own house; and on Sundays to go to the church and back again was certainly sufficient exercise.

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 scorches
烧焦，烤焦( scorch的第三人称单数 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶
参考例句：
I have heard the taste that something scorches. 我闻到了什么东西烧焦的味道。 The atmosphere is becoming thinner and strong sunlight scorches people. 臭氧层越来越薄，阳光越来越灼人。

3 vestiges
残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不
参考例句：
the last vestiges of the old colonial regime 旧殖民制度最后的残余 These upright stones are the vestiges of some ancient religion. 这些竖立的石头是某种古代宗教的遗迹。

4 melancholy
n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的
参考例句：
All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。 He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

5 ascending
adj.上升的，向上的
参考例句：
Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

6 eloquence
n.雄辩；口才，修辞
参考例句：
I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。 The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

7 tempted
v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）
参考例句：
I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。 I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

8 deteriorating
恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。 I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

9 prostrate
v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的
参考例句：
She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。 The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

10 earnings
n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得
参考例句：
That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。 Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 bail
v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人
参考例句：
One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。 She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

12 eloquent
adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的
参考例句：
He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。 These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

13 unreasonable
adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的
参考例句：
I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。 They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

14 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。

15 sobs
啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句：
She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。 She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

16 thoroughly
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。 The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

17 guardian
n.监护人；守卫者，保护者
参考例句：
The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。 The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

18 obedience
n.服从，顺从
参考例句：
Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。 Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

19 drudge
n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳
参考例句：
I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！ I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

20 opposition
n.反对，敌对
参考例句：
The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。 The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

21 acceding
v.（正式）加入( accede的现在分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职
参考例句：
After all, political careers depend acceding tothe demands the central government. 毕竟政治事业是要满足中央政府的要求的。 来自互联网 Shall you have any problem acceding the folders, please let me knows. 如果存取文件有任何问题请和我联系。 来自互联网

22 undoubtedly
adv.确实地，无疑地
参考例句：
It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。 He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

23 folly
n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话
参考例句：
Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。 Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

24 joint
adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合
参考例句：
I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。 We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

25 interfere
v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰
参考例句：
If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。 When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

26 plighted
vt.保证，约定（plight的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
They plighted their troth for the rest of their days. 他们俩盟誓结为终身伴侣。 来自辞典例句 Here and there a raw young lady does think of the friends of her plighted man. 这是阅历不深的的年轻姑娘对她未婚夫的朋友往往会持有的看法。 来自辞典例句

27 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

28 tormented
饱受折磨的
参考例句：
The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。 He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

29 triumphant
adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的
参考例句：
The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。 There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。