THE MORNING came with daily cares and bustle¹. Every one got up and began to move about and to talk; dressmakers came again; again Marya Dmitryevna went out and they were summoned to tea. Natasha kept uneasily looking round at every one with wide-open eyes, as though she wanted to intercept² every glance turned upon her. She did her utmost to seem exactly as usual.

After luncheon—it was always her best time—Marya Dmitryevna seated herself in her own arm-chair and drew Natasha and the old count to her.

“Well, my friends, I have thought the whole matter over now, and I'll tell you my advice,” she began. “Yesterday, as you know, I was at Prince Bolkonsky's; well, I had a talk with him…He thought fit to scream at me. But there's no screaming me down! I had it all out with him.”

“Well, but what does he mean?” asked the count.

“He's crazy…he won't hear of it, and there's no more to be said. As it is we have given this poor girl worry enough,” said Marya Dmitryevna. “And my advice to you is, to make an end of it and go home to Otradnoe…and there to wait.”

“Oh no!” cried Natasha.

“Yes, to go home,” said Marya Dmitryevna, “and to wait there. If your betrothed³ comes here now, there'll be no escaping a quarrel; but alone here he'll have it all out with the old man, and then come on to you.”

Count Ilya Andreitch approved of this suggestion, and at once saw all the sound sense of it. If the old man were to come round, then it would be better to visit him at Moscow or Bleak⁴ Hills, later on; if not, then the wedding, against his will, could only take place at Otradnoe.

“And that's perfectly⁵ true,” said he. “I regret indeed that I ever went to see him and took her too,” said the count.

“No, why regret it? Being here, you could do no less than show him respect. If he wouldn't receive it, that's his affair,” said Marya Dmitryevna, searching for something in her reticule. “And now the trousseau's ready, what have you to wait for? What is not ready, I'll send after you. Though I'm sorry to lose you, still the best thing is for you to go, and God be with you.” Finding what she was looking for in her reticule, she handed it to Natasha. It was a letter from Princess Marya. “She writes to you. How worried she is, poor thing! She is afraid you might think she does not like you.”

点击收听单词发音  

1 bustle
v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹
参考例句：
The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。 There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

2 intercept
vt.拦截，截住，截击
参考例句：
His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。 Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

3 betrothed
n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。 His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 embroidery
n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品
参考例句：
This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。 This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

8 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。

9 aglow
adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地
参考例句：
The garden is aglow with many flowers.园中百花盛开。 The sky was aglow with the setting sun.天空因夕阳映照而发红光。

10 passionate
adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的
参考例句：
He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。 He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。