"I WON'T!" SAID MARY

They found a great deal to do that morning and Marywas late in returning to the house and was also in sucha hurry to get back to her work that she quite forgotColin until the last moment.

　　"Tell Colin that I can't come and see him yet," she saidto Martha. "I'm very busy in the garden."Martha looked rather frightened.

　　"Eh! Miss Mary," she said, "it may put him all outof humor when I tell him that."But Mary was not as afraid of him as other people wereand she was not a self-sacrificing person.

　　"I can't stay," she answered. "Dickon's waiting for me;"and she ran away.

　　The afternoon was even lovelier and busier than the morninghad been. Already nearly all the weeds were clearedout of the garden and most of the roses and trees hadbeen pruned¹ or dug about. Dickon had brought a spadeof his own and he had taught Mary to use all her tools,so that by this time it was plain that though the lovelywild place was not likely to become a "gardener's garden"it would be a wilderness² of growing things before thespringtime was over.

　　"There'll be apple blossoms an' cherry blossoms overhead,"Dickon said, working away with all his might.

　　"An' there'll be peach an' plum trees in bloom against th'

　　walls, an' th' grass'll be a carpet o' flowers."The little fox and the rook were as happy and busyas they were, and the robin³ and his mate flewbackward and forward like tiny streaks⁴ of lightning.

　　Sometimes the rook flapped his black wings and soared awayover the tree-tops in the park. Each time he came backand perched near Dickon and cawed several times as if hewere relating his adventures, and Dickon talked to himjust as he had talked to the robin. Once when Dickonwas so busy that he did not answer him at first, Soot⁵ flewon to his shoulders and gently tweaked his ear with hislarge beak⁶. When Mary wanted to rest a little Dickonsat down with her under a tree and once he took his pipeout of his pocket and played the soft strange little notesand two squirrels appeared on the wall and looked and listened.

　　"Tha's a good bit stronger than tha' was," Dickon said,looking at her as she was digging. "Tha's beginningto look different, for sure."Mary was glowing with exercise and good spirits.

点击收听单词发音  

1 pruned
v.修剪（树木等）( prune的过去式和过去分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分
参考例句：
Next year's budget will have to be drastically pruned. 下一年度的预算将大幅度削减。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 wilderness
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠
参考例句：
She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。 Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

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 streaks
n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹
参考例句：
streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发 Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 soot
n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟
参考例句：
Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。 The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

6 beak
n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻
参考例句：
The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。 This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

7 exultantly
adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地
参考例句：
They listened exultantly to the sounds from outside. 她们欢欣鼓舞地倾听着外面的声音。 来自辞典例句 He rose exultantly from their profane surprise. 他得意非凡地站起身来，也不管众人怎样惊奇诅咒。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 condescended
屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲
参考例句：
We had to wait almost an hour before he condescended to see us. 我们等了几乎一小时他才屈尊大驾来见我们。 The king condescended to take advice from his servants. 国王屈驾向仆人征求意见。

11 obstinate
adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的
参考例句：
She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。 The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

12 clench
vt.捏紧（拳头等），咬紧（牙齿等），紧紧握住
参考例句：
I clenched the arms of my chair.我死死抓住椅子扶手。 Slowly,he released his breath through clenched teeth.他从紧咬的牙缝间慢慢地舒了口气。

13 sneered
讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。 It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

14 ferociously
野蛮地，残忍地
参考例句：
The buck shook his antlers ferociously. 那雄鹿猛烈地摇动他的鹿角。 At intervals, he gritted his teeth ferociously. 他不时狠狠的轧平。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 astonishment
n.惊奇，惊异
参考例句：
They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。 I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

19 invalids
病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The invention will confer a benefit on all invalids. 这项发明将有助于所有的残疾人。 H?tel National Des Invalids is a majestic building with a golden hemispherical housetop. 荣军院是有着半球形镀金屋顶的宏伟建筑。

20 pampered
adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The lazy scum deserve worse. What if they ain't fed up and pampered? 他们吃不饱，他们的要求满足不了，这又有什么关系？ 来自飘（部分） She petted and pampered him and would let no one discipline him but she, herself. 她爱他，娇养他，而且除了她自己以外，她不允许任何人管教他。 来自辞典例句

21 ails
v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳
参考例句：
He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

23 spine
n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊
参考例句：
He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。 His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

24 hunch
n.预感，直觉
参考例句：
I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。 I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

25 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。

26 crookedness
[医]弯曲
参考例句：
She resolutely refused to believe that her father was in any way connected with any crookedness. 她坚决拒绝相信她父亲与邪魔歪道早有任何方面的关联。 The crookedness of the stairway make it hard for the child to get up. 弯曲的楼梯使小孩上楼困难。

27 hysterical
adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的
参考例句：
He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。 His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。