A young girl sat at a table sewing; there was no one else in the room. When I asked for shelter, she answered brightly and trustingly that she would see, and went into a little room at the side. I called after her as she went that I would be glad only to sit here by the stove till daylight.

A little after the girl came in again with her mother, who was still buttoning her clothes about her. Godkv?ld! Shelter for the night? Well, well, there wasn’t that room in the place they could make me properly comfortable, but I’d be welcome to the bedroom, such as it was.

And where would they sleep themselves?

Why, it was near day now, and the girl’d be sitting up anyhow for a bit with her sewing.

What was she sewing to sit up for all night? A new dress?

No, only the skirt. She was to wear it to church in the morning, but wouldn’t hear of her mother helping¹.

I brought up my sewing-machine, and said jestingly that a skirt more or less was a mere² trifle for a thing like this. Wait, and I’d show them.

Was I a tailor, then?

No. But I sold sewing-machines.

I took out the printed directions and studied them to see how it worked. The girl listened attentively³; she was a mere child; her thin fingers were all blue with the dye from the stuff. There was something so poor-looking about those blue fingers; I brought out some wine and poured out for all of us. Then we go on sewing again — I with the printed paper, and the girl working the machine. She is delighted to see how easily it goes, and her eyes are all aglow⁴.

How old was she?

Sixteen. Confirmed last year.

And what was her name?

Olga.

Her mother stands watching us, and would dearly like to try the machine herself, but every time she comes near, Olga says: “Be careful, mother, you’ll despise it.” And when the spool⁵ needs filling, and her mother takes the shuttle in her hand a moment, the child is once more afraid it may be “despised.”4

4 Foragte, literally

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点击收听单词发音  

1 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 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》

4 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。

5 spool
n.（缠录音带等的）卷盘（轴）；v.把…绕在卷轴上
参考例句：
Can you wind this film back on to its spool?你能把这胶卷卷回到卷轴上去吗？ Thomas squatted on the forward deck,whistling tunelessly,polishing the broze spool of the anchor winch.托马斯蹲在前甲板上擦起锚绞车的黄铜轴，边擦边胡乱吹着口哨。

6 literally
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。 Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 touchingly
adv.令人同情地，感人地，动人地
参考例句：
Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly. 波莉姨妈跪下来，为汤姆祈祷，很令人感动。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Rather touchingly, he suggested the names of some professors who had known him at Duke University. 他还相当令人感动地提出了公爵大学里对他有了解的几个教授的名字。 来自辞典例句

8 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 cosy
adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的
参考例句：
We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。 It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

10 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

11 noted
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。 Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 neatly
adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地
参考例句：
Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。 The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

13 tacked
用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝
参考例句：
He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。 The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

14 royalties
特许权使用费
参考例句：
I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句 Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

15 frayed
adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 inspection
n.检查，审查，检阅
参考例句：
On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。 The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

17 constrained
adj.束缚的,节制的
参考例句：
The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。 I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

18 shuffle
n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走
参考例句：
I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。 Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。