It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking placeany one could imagine. The high walls which shut itin were covered with the leafless stems of climbing roseswhich were so thick that they were matted together.

　　Mary Lennox knew they were roses because she had seena great many roses in India. All the ground was coveredwith grass of a wintry brown and out of it grew clumpsof bushes which were surely rosebushes if they were alive.

　　There were numbers of standard roses which had so spreadtheir branches that they were like little trees.

　　There were other trees in the garden, and one of thethings which made the place look strangest and loveliestwas that climbing roses had run all over them and swungdown long tendrils which made light swaying curtains,and here and there they had caught at each other orat a far-reaching branch and had crept from one treeto another and made lovely bridges of themselves.

　　There were neither leaves nor roses on them now and Marydid not know whether they were dead or alive, but theirthin gray or brown branches and sprays looked like a sortof hazy¹ mantle² spreading over everything, walls, and trees,and even brown grass, where they had fallen from theirfastenings and run along the ground. It was this hazy tanglefrom tree to tree which made it all look so mysterious.

　　Mary had thought it must be different from other gardenswhich had not been left all by themselves so long;and indeed it was different from any other place she hadever seen in her life.

　　"How still it is!" she whispered. "How still!"Then she waited a moment and listened at the stillness.

　　The robin³, who had flown to his treetop, was stillas all the rest. He did not even flutter his wings;he sat without stirring, and looked at Mary.

　　"No wonder it is still," she whispered again. "I amthe first person who has spoken in here for ten years."She moved away from the door, stepping as softly as if shewere afraid of awakening⁴ some one. She was glad that therewas grass under her feet and that her steps made no sounds.

　　She walked under one of the fairy-like gray archesbetween the trees and looked up at the sprays and tendrilswhich formed them. "I wonder if they are all quite dead,"she said. "Is it all a quite dead garden? I wish it wasn't."If she had been Ben Weatherstaff she could have toldwhether the wood was alive by looking at it, but shecould only see that there were only gray or brown spraysand branches and none showed any signs of even a tinyleaf-bud anywhere.

点击收听单词发音  

1 hazy
adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的
参考例句：
We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。 I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

2 mantle
n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红
参考例句：
The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。 The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

3 robin
n.知更鸟，红襟鸟
参考例句：
The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。 We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

4 awakening
n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的
参考例句：
the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣 People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

5 ivy
n.常青藤，常春藤
参考例句：
Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。 The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

6 moor
n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊
参考例句：
I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。 There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

7 chirped
鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )
参考例句：
So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。 The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

8 alcoves
n.凹室( alcove的名词复数 )；（花园）凉亭；僻静处；壁龛
参考例句：
In the alcoves on either side of the fire were bookshelves. 火炉两边的凹室里是书架。 来自辞典例句 Tiny streams echo in enormous overhanging alcoves. 小溪流的回声在巨大而突出的凹壁中回荡。 来自互联网

9 evergreen
n.常青树；adj.四季常青的
参考例句：
Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。 There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

10 urns
n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮
参考例句：
Wine utensils unearthed include jars, urns, pots, bowls and cups. 发掘出的酒器皿有瓶、瓮、罐、壶、碗和杯子。 来自互联网 Ernie yearned to learn to turn urns. 呕尼渴望学会转咖啡壶。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 sniffed
v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说
参考例句：
When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 delightful
adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
参考例句：
We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。 Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

14 smothering
（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制
参考例句：
He laughed triumphantly, and silenced her by manly smothering. 他胜利地微笑着，以男人咄咄逼人的气势使她哑口无言。 He wrapped the coat around her head, smothering the flames. 他用上衣包住她的头，熄灭了火。

15 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

17 hips
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的
参考例句：
She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。 They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 liking
n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢
参考例句：
The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。 I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

19 drowsily
adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地
参考例句：
She turned drowsily on her side, a slow creeping blackness enveloping her mind. 她半睡半醒地翻了个身，一片缓缓蠕动的黑暗渐渐将她的心包围起来。 来自飘（部分） I felt asleep drowsily before I knew it. 不知过了多久，我曚扙地睡着了。 来自互联网