MISSY'S MOTHER.

Princess Sophia Vasilievna, Missy's mother, had finished her very elaborate and nourishing dinner. (She had it always alone, that no one should see her performing this unpoetical function.) By her couch stood a small table with her coffee, and she was smoking a pachitos. Princess Sophia Vasilievna was a long, thin woman, with dark hair, large black eyes and long teeth, and still pretended to be young.

Her intimacy¹ with the doctor was being talked about. Nekhludoff had known that for some time; but when he saw the doctor sitting by her couch, his oily, glistening² beard parted in the middle, he not only remembered the rumours³ about them, but felt greatly disgusted. By the table, on a low, soft, easy chair, next to Sophia Vasilievna, sat Kolosoff, stirring his coffee. A glass of liqueur stood on the table. Missy came in with Nekhludoff, but did not remain in the room.

"When mamma gets tired of you and drives you away, then come to me," she said, turning to Kolosoff and Nekhludoff, speaking as if nothing had occurred; then she went away, smiling merrily and stepping noiselessly on the thick carpet.

"How do you do, dear friend? Sit down and talk," said Princess Sophia Vasilievna, with her affected⁴ but very naturally-acted smile, showing her fine, long teeth--a splendid imitation of what her own had once been. "I hear that you have come from the Law Courts very much depressed⁵. I think it must be very trying to a person with a heart," she added in French.

"Yes, that is so," said Nekhludoff. "One often feels one's own de--one feels one has no right to judge."

"Comme, c'est vrai," she cried, as if struck by the truth of this remark. She was in the habit of artfully flattering all those with whom she conversed⁶. "Well, and what of your picture? It does interest me so. If I were not such a sad invalid⁷ I should have been to see it long ago," she said.

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 glistening
adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。 Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

3 rumours
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传
参考例句：
The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。 Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

4 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。 His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

6 conversed
v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 )
参考例句：
I conversed with her on a certain problem. 我与她讨论某一问题。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 She was cheerful and polite, and conversed with me pleasantly. 她十分高兴，也很客气，而且愉快地同我交谈。 来自辞典例句

7 invalid
n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的
参考例句：
He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。 A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

8 conceal
v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽
参考例句：
He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。 He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 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。

10 slanting
倾斜的，歪斜的
参考例句：
The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。 The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

11 vividly
adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地
参考例句：
The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。 The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

12 aged
adj.年老的，陈年的
参考例句：
He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。 He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

13 touching
adj.动人的，使人感伤的
参考例句：
It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。 His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

14 superstition
n.迷信，迷信行为
参考例句：
It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。 Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

15 soothe
v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承
参考例句：
I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。 This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

16 scented
adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)
参考例句：
I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 tormenting
使痛苦的，使苦恼的
参考例句：
He took too much pleasure in tormenting an ugly monster called Caliban. 他喜欢一味捉弄一个名叫凯列班的丑妖怪。 The children were scolded for tormenting animals. 孩子们因折磨动物而受到责骂。

18 impatience
n.不耐烦，急躁
参考例句：
He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。 He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

19 nude
adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品
参考例句：
It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。 She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

20 pestles
n.（捣碎或碾磨用的）杵( pestle的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The stone was pecked and ground into cylindrical pestles. 石头被凿开并被磨成一根根圆形的杵。 来自辞典例句

21 horrid
adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的
参考例句：
I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。 The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

22 transparent
adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的
参考例句：
The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。 The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

23 caressed
爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。 He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。

24 susceptible
adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的
参考例句：
Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。 We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。