"I SHALL LIVE FOREVER--AND EVER--AND EVER!"But they were obliged to wait more than a week becausefirst there came some very windy days and then Colinwas threatened with a cold, which two things happeningone after the other would no doubt have thrown him intoa rage but that there was so much careful and mysteriousplanning to do and almost every day Dickon came in,if only for a few minutes, to talk about what was happeningon the moor¹ and in the lanes and hedges and on the bordersof streams. The things he had to tell about otters²'

　　and badgers³' and water-rats' houses, not to mention birds'

　　nests and field-mice and their burrows⁴, were enoughto make you almost tremble with excitement when youheard all the intimate details from an animal charmerand realized with what thrilling eagerness and anxietythe whole busy underworld was working.

　　"They're same as us," said Dickon, "only they have tobuild their homes every year. An' it keeps 'em so busythey fair scuffle to get 'em done."The most absorbing thing, however, was the preparationsto be made before Colin could be transported with sufficientsecrecy to the garden. No one must see the chair-carriageand Dickon and Mary after they turned a certain cornerof the shrubbery and entered upon the walk outsidethe ivied walls. As each day passed, Colin had becomemore and more fixed⁵ in his feeling that the mysterysurrounding the garden was one of its greatest charms.

　　Nothing must spoil that. No one must ever suspectthat they had a secret. People must think that hewas simply going out with Mary and Dickon because heliked them and did not object to their looking at him.

　　They had long and quite delightful⁶ talks about their route.

　　They would go up this path and down that one and crossthe other and go round among the fountain flower-bedsas if they were looking at the "bedding-out plants"the head gardener, Mr. Roach, had been having arranged.

　　That would seem such a rational thing to do that no onewould think it at all mysterious. They would turn intothe shrubbery walks and lose themselves until they cameto the long walls. It was almost as serious and elaboratelythought out as the plans of march made by geat generalsin time of war.

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 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

3 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

4 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

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 privately
adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地
参考例句：
Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。 The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 leniently
温和地，仁慈地
参考例句：
He marked the paper leniently. 他改考卷打分数很松。 Considering the signs he showed of genuine repentance,we shall deal leniently with him. 鉴于他有真诚悔改的表现，我们将对他宽大处理。

10 sufficiently
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。 The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

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 attentively
adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神
参考例句：
She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 nibbling
v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬
参考例句：
We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。 He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 orchards
（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。 Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

15 hoarsely
adv.嘶哑地
参考例句：
"Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。 Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

16 consort
v.相伴；结交
参考例句：
They went in consort two or three together.他们三三两两结伴前往。 The nurses are instructed not to consort with their patients.护士得到指示不得与病人交往。

17 morbid
adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的
参考例句：
Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。 It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。

18 wafts
n.空中飘来的气味，一阵气味( waft的名词复数 )；摇转风扇v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
A breeze wafts the sweet smell of roses. 微风吹来了玫瑰花的芬芳（香味）。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 A breeze wafts the smell of roses. 微风吹送玫瑰花香气。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 trumpets
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花
参考例句：
A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。 A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

20 flute
n.长笛；v.吹笛
参考例句：
He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。 There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

21 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。

22 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。

23 scented
adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)
参考例句：
I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

24 scent
n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉
参考例句：
The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。 The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

25 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。

26 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。

27 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。

28 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》

29 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

30 scents
n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉
参考例句：
The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。 The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》