He tore open the envelope and read the letter quickly. It ran thus:

“Dear Bernard:

“I write this with great anxiety, for I don’t know if you are living or dead. Yesterday I met Septimus Snowdon, who is the same disagreeable bully¹ as ever, and he said, ‘Well, I have some news for you about your friend Bernard Brooks².’ I was rather surprised at this, for I didn’t suppose you would be very likely to write to him. Still I asked, ‘Have you heard from him?’ ‘No,’ he answered disdainfully. ‘I wouldn’t have any correspondence with a fellow like him. But he isn’t likely to write any more letters.’ ‘Why not?’ I asked. ‘Because he’s dead, that’s why,’ snapped Septimus, and I saw that he seemed pleased. ‘I don’t believe it,’ I returned. ‘Where do you get your information?’ ‘You’ll have to believe it,’ he said. ‘Pa received a letter from his guardian³, Mr. Cornelius McCracken, of New York, saying that his death had been reported to him by the gentleman in whose company he went to Europe. I believe he wrote that he had met with an accident in Marseilles.’ Now I had a good deal of doubt about the correctness of this statement, for I knew from your own letters that you parted with Professor Puffer in London, and were not likely to be in Marseilles with him. I asked Septimus some further questions, but he seemed to have no more information.

“‘Well,’ said Septimus sneeringly⁴, ‘are you going to put on mourning for your great friend Bernard?’ ‘I might,’ I answered, ‘if I believed him to be dead, but I don’t believe it.’

“‘You’ll never see him again,’ said Septimus positively5

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点击收听单词发音  

1 bully
n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮
参考例句：
A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。 The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

2 brooks
n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 guardian
n.监护人；守卫者，保护者
参考例句：
The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。 The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

4 sneeringly
嘲笑地，轻蔑地
参考例句：
Guan and Zhang had nothing more to say, But they walked away sneeringly. 关羽、张飞无话，冷笑着走了。

5 positively
adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实
参考例句：
She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。 The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

6 guardians
监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者
参考例句：
Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。 The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

7 palatial
adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的
参考例句：
Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。 He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

8 embarked
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事
参考例句：
We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。 She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

9 spires
n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》 White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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