The Miss Alans did go to Greece, but they went by themselves. They alone of this little company will double Malea and plough the waters of the Saronic gulf¹. They alone will visit Athens and Delphi, and either shrine² of intellectual song--that upon the Acropolis, encircled by blue seas; that under Parnassus, where the eagles build and the bronze charioteer drives undismayed towards infinity³. Trembling, anxious, cumbered with much digestive bread, they did proceed to Constantinople, they did go round the world. The rest of us must be contented⁴ with a fair, but a less arduous⁵, goal. Italiam petimus: we return to the Pension Bertolini.

George said it was his old room.

"No, it isn't," said Lucy; "because it is the room I had, and I had your father's room. I forget why; Charlotte made me, for some reason."

He knelt on the tiled floor, and laid his face in her lap.

"George, you baby, get up."

"Why shouldn't I be a baby?" murmured George.

Unable to answer this question, she put down his sock, which she was trying to mend, and gazed out through the window. It was evening and again the spring.

"Oh, bother Charlotte," she said thoughtfully. "What can such people be made of?"

"Same stuff as parsons are made of."

"Nonsense!"

"Quite right. It is nonsense."

"Now you get up off the cold floor, or you'll be starting rheumatism⁶ next, and you stop laughing and being so silly."

"Why shouldn't I laugh?" he asked, pinning her with his elbows, and advancing his face to hers. "What's there to cry at? Kiss me here." He indicated the spot where a kiss would be welcome.

He was a boy after all. When it came to the point, it was she who remembered the past, she into whose soul the iron had entered, she who knew whose room this had been last year. It endeared him to her strangely that he should be sometimes wrong.

"Any letters?" he asked.

"Just a line from Freddy."

"Now kiss me here; then here."

点击收听单词发音  

1 gulf
n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂
参考例句：
The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。 There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 shrine
n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣
参考例句：
The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。 They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

3 infinity
n.无限，无穷，大量
参考例句：
It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。 Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。

4 contented
adj.满意的，安心的，知足的
参考例句：
He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。 The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

5 arduous
adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的
参考例句：
We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。 The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

6 rheumatism
n.风湿病
参考例句：
The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。 The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。

7 saluted
v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂
参考例句：
The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。 He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hiss
v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满
参考例句：
We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。 Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

9 cypresses
n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Green and luxuriant are the pines and cypresses. 苍松翠柏郁郁葱葱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Before them stood a grove of tall cypresses. 前面是一个大坝子，种了许多株高大的松树。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

10 lavishes
v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
Playing computer games all day lavishes parents' hard-earned money. 整天玩电脑游戏浪费父母的血汗钱。 来自互联网 The development of space exploration lavishes the limited public funds. 发展太空探索会浪费有限的公共资金。 来自互联网

11 prone
adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的
参考例句：
Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。 He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

12 hypocrisy
n.伪善，虚伪
参考例句：
He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。 He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

13 alienated
adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）
参考例句：
His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。 The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 dignified
a.可敬的，高贵的
参考例句：
Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。 He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

15 cynical
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的
参考例句：
The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。 He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

16 countless
adj.无数的，多得不计其数的
参考例句：
In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。 I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

17 vendor
n.卖主；小贩
参考例句：
She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。 He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

18 catching
adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住
参考例句：
There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。 Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

19 obstinate
adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的
参考例句：
She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。 The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

20 dozing
v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡
参考例句：
The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。 He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

21 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。

22 desultory
adj.散漫的，无方法的
参考例句：
Do not let the discussion fragment into a desultory conversation with no clear direction.不要让讨论变得支离破碎，成为没有明确方向的漫谈。 The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn.警察漫不经心地拦着不让他们靠近谷仓。

23 undo
vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销
参考例句：
His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。 I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

24 muddle
n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱
参考例句：
Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。 Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

25 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。

26 marvel
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事
参考例句：
The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。 The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

27 withered
adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。 The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

28 requited
v.报答( requite的过去式和过去分词 )；酬谢；回报；报复
参考例句：
I requited him for his help with a present. 我送他一份礼以答谢他的帮助。 来自辞典例句 His kindness was requited with cold contempt. 他的好意被报以 [遭致] 冷淡的轻蔑。 来自辞典例句

29 attained
（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）
参考例句：
She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。 Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

30 Mediterranean
adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的
参考例句：
The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。 Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。