And Jill Finds it outJill worried about it more than he did, for she was a faithful littlefriend, and it was a great trial to have Jack¹ even suspected of doinganything wrong. School is a child's world while he is there, and itssmall affairs are very important to him, so Jill felt that the onething to be done was to clear away the cloud about her dear boy,and restore him to public favor.

　　"Ed will be here Saturday night and maybe he will find out, forJack tells him everything. I do hate to have him hectored so, for Iknow he is, though he's too proud to complain," she said, onThursday evening, when Frank told her some joke played upon hisbrother that day.

　　"I let him alone, but I see that he isn't badgered too much. That'sall I can do. If Ed had only come home last Saturday it might havedone some good, but now it will be too late; for the reports aregiven out to-morrow, you know," answered Frank, feeling a littlejealous of Ed's influence over Jack, though his own would havebeen as great if he had been as gentle.

　　"Has Jerry come back?" asked Jill, who kept all her questions forFrank, because she seldom alluded² to the tender subject when withJack.

　　"No, he's off for the summer. Got a place somewhere. Hope he'llstay there and let Bob alone.""Where is Bob now? I don't hear much about him lately," said Jill,who was constantly on the lookout³ for "the other fellow," since itwas not Joe.

　　"Oh, he went to Captain Skinner's the first of March, chores round,and goes to school up there. Captain is strict, and won't let Bobcome to town, except Sundays; but he don't mind it much, for helikes horses, has nice grub, and the Hill fellows are good chaps forhim to be with. So he's all right, if he only behaves.""How far is it to Captain Skinner's?" asked Jill suddenly, havinglistened, with her sharp eyes on Frank, as he tinkered away at hismodel, since he was forbidden all other indulgence in his belovedpastime.

　　"It's four miles to Hill District, but the Captain lives this side of theschool-house. About three from here, I should say.""How long would it take a boy to walk up there?" went on thequestioner, with a new idea in her head.

　　"Depends on how much of a walkist he is.""Suppose he was lame⁴ and it was sloshy, and he made a call andcame back. How long would that take?" asked Jill impatiently.

点击收听单词发音  

1 jack
n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克
参考例句：
I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。 He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 alluded
提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。 She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

3 lookout
n.注意，前途，瞭望台
参考例句：
You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。 It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

4 lame
adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
参考例句：
The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。 I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

5 propping
支撑
参考例句：
You can usually find Jack propping up the bar at his local. 你常常可以看见杰克频繁出没于他居住的那家酒店。 The government was accused of propping up declining industries. 政府被指责支持日益衰败的产业。

6 hesitation
n.犹豫，踌躇
参考例句：
After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。 There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

7 despatch
n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道
参考例句：
The despatch of the task force is purely a contingency measure.派出特遣部队纯粹是应急之举。 He rushed the despatch through to headquarters.他把急件赶送到总部。

8 tampered
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄
参考例句：
The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句 The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句

9 coaxing
v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应
参考例句：
No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。 It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

10 chuckling
轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时，我能听见他的轻声发笑。 He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

11 labor
n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦
参考例句：
We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。 He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 hurrah
int.好哇，万岁，乌拉
参考例句：
We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。 The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

13 heartily
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。 The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

14 trump
n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭
参考例句：
He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。 The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

15 mighty
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。 The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

16 crestfallen
adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的
参考例句：
He gathered himself up and sneaked off,crushed and crestfallen.他爬起来，偷偷地溜了，一副垂头丧气、被斗败的样子。 The youth looked exceedingly crestfallen.那青年看上去垂头丧气极了。

17 fidelity
n.忠诚，忠实；精确
参考例句：
There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。 His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

18 manly
adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地
参考例句：
The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。 He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

19 discreet
adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的
参考例句：
He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。 It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

20 overdoing
v.做得过分( overdo的现在分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度
参考例句：
He's been overdoing things recently. 近来他做事过分努力。 来自辞典例句 You think I've been overdoing it with the work thing? 你认为我对工作的关注太过分了吗？ 来自电影对白

21 virtue
n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力
参考例句：
He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。 You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

22 obedience
n.服从，顺从
参考例句：
Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。 Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

23 judgment
n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见
参考例句：
The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。 He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

24 gallantly
adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地
参考例句：
He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。 The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。

25 heroism
n.大无畏精神，英勇
参考例句：
He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。 Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

26 mischief
n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹
参考例句：
Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。 He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

27 recess
n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）
参考例句：
The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。 Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

28 pelted
（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮
参考例句：
The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。 The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

29 condemnation
n.谴责; 定罪
参考例句：
There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。 The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

30 hopping
n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式
参考例句：
The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。 I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

31 hearty
adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的
参考例句：
After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。 We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。