IT WAS DARK by the time Prince Andrey and Pierre drove up to the principal entrance of the house at Bleak¹ Hills. While they were driving in, Prince Andrey with a smile drew Pierre's attention to a commotion² that was taking place at the back entrance. A bent³ little old woman with a wallet on her back, and a short man with long hair, in a black garment, ran back to the gate on seeing the carriage driving up. Two women ran out after them, and all the four, looking round at the carriage with scared faces, ran in at the back entrance.

“Those are Masha's God's folk,” said Prince Andrey. “They took us for my father. It's the one matter in which she does not obey him. He orders them to drive away these pilgrims, but she receives them.”

“But what are God's folk?” asked Pierre.

Prince Andrey had not time to answer him. The servants came out to meet them, and he inquired where the old prince was and whether they expected him home soon. The old prince was still in the town, and they were expecting him every minute.

Prince Andrey led Pierre away to his own suite⁴ of rooms, which were always in perfect readiness for him in his father's house, and went off himself to the nursery.

“Let us go to my sister,” said Prince Andrey, coming back to Pierre; “I have not seen her yet, she is in hiding now, sitting with her God's folk. Serve her right; she will be put to shame, and you will see God's folk. It's curious, upon my word.”

“What are ‘God's folk'?” asked Pierre.

“You shall see.”

Princess Marya certainly was disconcerted, and reddened in patches when they went in. In her snug⁵ room, with lamps before the holy picture stand, there was sitting, behind the samovar, on the sofa beside her, a young lad with a long nose and long hair, wearing a monk's cassock. In a low chair near sat a wrinkled, thin, old woman, with a meek⁶ expression on her childlike face.

“Andrey, why did you not let me know?” she said with mild reproach, standing

点击收听单词发音  

1 bleak
adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的
参考例句：
They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。 The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

2 commotion
n.骚动，动乱
参考例句：
They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。 Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

3 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。

4 suite
n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员
参考例句：
She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。 That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

5 snug
adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房
参考例句：
He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。 She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

6 meek
adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的
参考例句：
He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。 The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

7 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 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。

9 favourably
adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably
参考例句：
The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。 The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

10 luminous
adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的
参考例句：
There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。 Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

11 imploringly
adv. 恳求地, 哀求地
参考例句：
He moved his lips and looked at her imploringly. 他嘴唇动着，哀求地看着她。 He broke in imploringly. 他用恳求的口吻插了话。

12 ironical
adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的
参考例句：
That is a summary and ironical end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。 From his general demeanour I didn't get the impression that he was being ironical.从他整体的行为来看，我不觉得他是在讲反话。

13 habitual
adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的
参考例句：
He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。 They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

14 intimacy
n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行
参考例句：
His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。 I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

15 crafty
adj.狡猾的，诡诈的
参考例句：
He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。 He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

16 embarrassment
n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫
参考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。 Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

17 nibbled
v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬
参考例句：
She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 sipping
v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句：
She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。 She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

19 conversationally
adv.会话地
参考例句：
I am at an unfavourable position in being conversationally unacquainted with English. 我由于不熟悉英语会话而处于不利地位。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The findings suggest that happy lives are social and conversationally deep, rather than solitary and superficial. 结论显示，快乐的生活具有社会层面的意义并与日常交谈有关，而并不仅仅是个体差异和表面现象。 来自互联网

20 worthy
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。 There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

21 blessing
n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿
参考例句：
The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。 A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

22 benefactor
n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人
参考例句：
The chieftain of that country is disguised as a benefactor this time. 那个国家的首领这一次伪装出一副施恩者的姿态。 The first thing I did, was to recompense my original benefactor, my good old captain. 我所做的第一件事, 就是报答我那最初的恩人, 那位好心的老船长。

23 bass
n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴
参考例句：
He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。 The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

24 relics
[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸
参考例句：
The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。 Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

25 nay
adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者
参考例句：
He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。 Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

26 vouchsafed
v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺
参考例句：
He vouchsafed to me certain family secrets. 他让我知道了某些家庭秘密。 The significance of the event does, indeed, seem vouchsafed. 这个事件看起来确实具有重大意义。 来自辞典例句

27 trickle
vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散
参考例句：
The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。 The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

28 attentively
adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神
参考例句：
She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 monks
n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。 He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 beseeching
adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 )
参考例句：
She clung to her father, beseeching him for consent. 她紧紧挨着父亲，恳求他答应。 来自辞典例句 He casts a beseeching glance at his son. 他用恳求的眼光望着儿子。 来自辞典例句

31 bestowed
赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。 He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

32 regained
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地
参考例句：
The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。 She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

33 gathering
n.集会，聚会，聚集
参考例句：
He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。 He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

34 bounty
n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与
参考例句：
He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。 We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

35 penitence
n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过
参考例句：
The thief expressed penitence for all his past actions. 那盗贼对他犯过的一切罪恶表示忏悔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Of penitence, there has been none! 可是悔过呢，还一点没有！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

36 reassured
adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》