ONE EVENING the old countess in her bed-jacket, without her false curls and with only one poor wisp of hair peeping out from under her white cotton nightcap, was bowing down on the carpet, sighing and moaning as she repeated her evening prayers. Her door creaked, and Natasha, also in a bed-jacket, ran in, bare-legged, with her feet in slippers¹, and her hair in curl papers. The countess looked round and frowned. She was repeating her last prayer. “Can it be this couch will be my bier?” Her devotional mood was dispelled². Natasha, flushed and eager, stopped suddenly short in her rapid movement as she saw her mother at her prayers. She half-sat down and unconsciously put out her tongue at herself.

Seeing that her mother was still praying, she ran on tiptoe to the bed; and rapidly slipping one little foot against the other, pushed off her slippers and sprang on to that couch which the countess in her prayer feared might become her bier. That couch was a high feather-bed, with five pillows, each smaller than the one below. Natasha skipped in, sank into the feather-bed, rolled over towards the side, and began snuggling up under the quilt, tucking herself up, bending her knees up to her chin, kicking out and giving a faintly audible giggle³ as she alternately hid her face under the quilt and peeped out at her mother. The countess had finished her prayers, and was approaching her bed with a stern face, but seeing that Natasha was playing bo-peep with her she smiled her good-natured, weak smile.

“Come, come, come!” said the mother.

“Mamma, may I speak; yes?” said Natasha. “Come, under the chin, one, and now another, and enough.” And she clutched at her mother's neck and kissed her favourite place on her chin. In Natasha's behaviour to her mother there was a superficial roughness of manner, but she had a natural tact⁴ and knack⁵ of doing things, so that, however she snatched her mother in her arms, she always managed so that she was not hurt, nor uncomfortable, nor displeased⁶ by it.

“Well, what is it to-night?” said her mother, settling herself in the pillows and waiting for Natasha, who had already rolled over twice, to lie down by her side under the bedclothes, to put out her arms and assume a serious expression.

点击收听单词发音  

1 slippers
n. 拖鞋
参考例句：
a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋 He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

2 dispelled
v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。 The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 giggle
n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说
参考例句：
Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。 All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

4 tact
n.机敏，圆滑，得体
参考例句：
She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。 Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

5 knack
n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法
参考例句：
He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。 Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

6 displeased
a.不快的
参考例句：
The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

7 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 knuckle
n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输
参考例句：
They refused to knuckle under to any pressure.他们拒不屈从任何压力。 You'll really have to knuckle down if you want to pass the examination.如果想通过考试，你确实应专心学习。

9 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。

10 knuckles
n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝
参考例句：
He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。 Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 awfully
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。 I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

13 flirting
v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

14 musing
n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式
参考例句：
"At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记 She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

15 virtuous
adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的
参考例句：
She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。 My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

16 extraordinarily
adv.格外地；极端地
参考例句：
She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。 The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

17 graceful
adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的
参考例句：
His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了! The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。