The moor¹ was hidden in mist when the morning came,and the rain had not stopped pouring down. There couldbe no going out of doors. Martha was so busy that Maryhad no opportunity of talking to her, but in the afternoonshe asked her to come and sit with her in the nursery.

　　She came bringing the stocking she was always knittingwhen she was doing nothing else.

　　"What's the matter with thee?" she asked as soon as theysat down. "Tha' looks as if tha'd somethin' to say.""I have. I have found out what the crying was,"said Mary.

　　Martha let her knitting drop on her knee and gazedat her with startled eyes.

　　"Tha' hasn't!" she exclaimed. "Never!""I heard it in the night," Mary went on. "And I gotup and went to see where it came from. It was Colin.

　　I found him."Martha's face became red with fright.

　　"Eh! Miss Mary!" she said half crying. "Tha' shouldn'thave done it--tha' shouldn't! Tha'll get me in trouble.

　　I never told thee nothin' about him--but tha'll get mein trouble. I shall lose my place and what'll mother do!""You won't lose your place," said Mary. "He was glad I came.

　　We talked and talked and he said he was glad I came.""Was he?" cried Martha. "Art tha' sure? Tha'

　　doesn't know what he's like when anything vexes³ him.

　　He's a big lad to cry like a baby, but when he'sin a passion he'll fair scream just to frighten us.

　　He knows us daren't call our souls our own.""He wasn't vexed," said Mary. "I asked him if I should goaway and he made me stay. He asked me questions and Isat on a big footstool and talked to him about Indiaand about the robin⁴ and gardens. He wouldn't let me go.

　　He let me see his mother's picture. Before I left him Isang him to sleep."Martha fairly gasped⁵ with amazement⁶.

　　"I can scarcely believe thee!" she protested.

　　"It's as if tha'd walked straight into a lion's den².

　　If he'd been like he is most times he'd have throwed himselfinto one of his tantrums and roused th' house. He won'tlet strangers look at him.""He let me look at him. I looked at him all the timeand he looked at me. We stared!" said Mary.

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 den
n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室
参考例句：
There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。 The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

3 vexes
v.使烦恼( vex的第三人称单数 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论
参考例句：
Her continuous chatter vexes me. 她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 His continuous chatter vexes me. 他唠叨不休，真烦死我了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 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。

5 gasped
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要
参考例句：
She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。 People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 amazement
n.惊奇，惊讶
参考例句：
All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。 He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

7 agitated
adj.被鼓动的，不安的
参考例句：
His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。 She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

8 apron
n.围裙；工作裙
参考例句：
We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。 She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

9 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 raved
v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说
参考例句：
Andrew raved all night in his fever. 安德鲁发烧时整夜地说胡话。 来自《简明英汉词典》 They raved about her beauty. 他们过分称赞她的美。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 brace
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备
参考例句：
My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。 You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

12 fretted
焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的
参考例句：
The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝，有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学 The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。

13 afterward
adv.后来；以后
参考例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。 Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

14 hearth
n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面
参考例句：
She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。 She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

15 rubies
红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色
参考例句：
a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链 The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

16 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。

17 chirps
鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾
参考例句：
The linnet chirps her vernal song. 红雀吱喳鸣叫着她春天的歌。 She heard nothing but the chirps and whirrs of insects. 除了虫的鸣叫声外，她什么也没听见。

18 badgers
n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊
参考例句：
Badgers had undermined the foundations of the church. 獾在这座教堂的地基处打了洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》 And rams ' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood. 5染红的公羊皮，海狗皮，皂荚木。 来自互联网

19 otters
n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮
参考例句：
An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网

20 dreary
adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的
参考例句：
They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。 She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

21 burrows
n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻
参考例句：
The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句 A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

22 squeaking
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者
参考例句：
Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 hideous
adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的
参考例句：
The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。 They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

24 obstinately
ad.固执地，顽固地
参考例句：
He obstinately asserted that he had done the right thing. 他硬说他做得对。 Unemployment figures are remaining obstinately high. 失业数字仍然顽固地居高不下。

25 ponies
矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑
参考例句：
They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。 She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。

26 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。