In the church there was all Moscow, all the friends and relations; and during the ceremony of plighting¹ troth, in the brilliantly lighted church, there was an incessant² flow of discreetly³ subdued⁴ talk in the circle of gaily⁵ dressed women and girls, and men in white ties, frockcoats, and uniforms. The talk was principally kept up by the men, while the women were absorbed in watching every detail of the ceremony, which always means so much to them.

In the little group nearest to the bride were her two sisters: Dolly, and the other one, the self-possessed beauty, Madame Lvova, who had just arrived from abroad.

"Why is it Marie's in lilac, as bad as black, at a wedding?" said Madame Korsunskaya.

"With her complexion⁶, it's the one salvation," responded Madame Trubetskaya. "I wonder why they had the wedding in the evening? It's like shop-people..."

"So much prettier. I was married in the evening too..." answered Madame Korsunskaya, and she sighed, remembering how charming she had been that day, and how absurdly in love her husband was, and how different it all was now.

"They say if anyone's best man more than ten times, he'll never be married. I wanted to be for the tenth time, but the post was taken," said Count Siniavin to the pretty Princess Tcharskaya, who had designs on him.

Princess Tcharskaya only answered with a smile. She looked at Kitty, thinking how and when she would stand with Count Siniavin in Kitty's place, and how she would remind him then of his joke today.

Shtcherbatsky told the old maid of honor, Madame Nikolaeva, that he meant to put the crown on Kitty's chignon for luck.

"She ought not to have worn a chignon," answered Madame Nikolaeva, who had long ago made up her mind that if the elderly widower⁷ she was angling for married her, the wedding should be of the simplest. "I don't like such

点击收听单词发音  

1 plighting
vt.保证，约定（plight的现在分词形式）
参考例句：
She has no intention of plighting her troth at the moment. 目前她尚无意于婚嫁。 来自辞典例句 I'm single, and has no intention of plighting his troth yet. 他似乎没有能力养活自己的能力，但他也从来不认为自己有责任这么做。 来自互联网

2 incessant
adj.不停的，连续的
参考例句：
We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。 She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

3 discreetly
ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地
参考例句：
He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇，一个很会讲排场的法国女人。 Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么，有意避开了。

4 subdued
adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。 I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

5 gaily
adv.欢乐地，高兴地
参考例句：
The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。 She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

6 complexion
n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格
参考例句：
Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。 Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

7 widower
n.鳏夫
参考例句：
George was a widower with six young children.乔治是个带著六个小孩子的鳏夫。 Having been a widower for many years,he finally decided to marry again.丧偶多年后，他终于决定二婚了。

8 grandeur
n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华
参考例句：
The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。 These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

9 marvel
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事
参考例句：
The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。 The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

10 envious
adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的
参考例句：
I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。 She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

11 melancholy
n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的
参考例句：
All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。 He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

12 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 dread
vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧
参考例句：
We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。 Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

14 renouncing
v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃
参考例句：
He enraged the government by renouncing the agreement. 他否认那项协议，从而激怒了政府。 来自辞典例句 What do you get for renouncing Taiwan and embracing Beijing instead? 抛弃台湾，并转而拥抱北京之后，你会得到什么？ 来自互联网

15 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。

16 callous
adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的
参考例句：
He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。 She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

17 irrelevant
adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的
参考例句：
That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。 A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

18 awfully
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。 I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。