Many years ago, in a city whose name I cannot now recall, there lived a poor woman, whose husband had died, leaving nothing but a little son. For some time, she continued to support herself, and her son, whom she dearly loved, by working early and late at the spinning-wheel. But, after a while, a heavy misfortune fell upon her: it was no less than the loss of eyesight. So she was obliged to give up her spinning; for now she could distinguish neither the web nor the woof. You can imagine her
distress1 at being deprived so suddenly of seeing the great and beautiful spectacle of fields, flowers,[65] and sky, which every day presents to our gaze. Still, she would not have
heeded2 all this; but she found herself cut off, at the same time, from all means of subsistence.
Meanwhile, her son had grown up into a
stout3, active boy of twelve. He was full of life and
animation4; and that, I suppose, was the reason he had received the name of “Wide-awake.” Now, little Wide-awake had a kind heart as well as
manly5 spirit; and when he saw that his mother, who had worked so hard and so long for him, had become blind, he said to himself, “Now it is my turn to work.”
So he told his mother that he was going to seek for work, and that, after three months, he would faithfully return. But first he sold the spinning-wheel, which was no longer of any use, and one or two other articles, and gave the money to a neighbor, who promised to spend it for his mother as[66] she had need. Then he took a cheerful leave of his mother, and went off with a light heart, though his pockets were empty.
He had not walked far when he overtook an old woman, who was bending beneath the weight of a heavy burden. She was
homely7, and appeared very tired. Wide-awake was passing by, when she called out to him, “Come here, little boy: help me to carry this bundle. I am old, weak, and tired; you are young and strong.”
Wide-awake was very obliging; and, though the old woman’s tone was not the pleasantest in the world, he very willingly took one side of the bundle, and helped her to carry it. The day was hot, and the bundle heavy; but he bore up
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收听单词发音
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1
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 |
参考例句： |
- Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
- Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
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2
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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4
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 |
参考例句： |
- They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
- The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。
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5
manly
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| 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。
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6
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 |
参考例句： |
- The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
- They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
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7
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 |
参考例句： |
- We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
- Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭，好吗？
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8
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 |
参考例句： |
- He stoutly denied his guilt.他断然否认自己有罪。
- Burgess was taxed with this and stoutly denied it.伯杰斯为此受到了责难，但是他自己坚决否认有这回事。
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9
labor
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| 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。
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10
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 |
参考例句： |
- For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
- The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
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11
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 |
参考例句： |
- He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
- Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。
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12
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 |
参考例句： |
- I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
- He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
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13
heartily
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| 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。
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14
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 |
参考例句： |
- There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
- The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。
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15
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 |
参考例句： |
- They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
- I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
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16
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 |
参考例句： |
- He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
- He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。
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17
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 |
参考例句： |
- His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
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18
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 |
参考例句： |
- His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
- He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。
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19
fidelity
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| 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。
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20
kindly
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| 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。
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21
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 |
参考例句： |
- He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
- What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？
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22
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
- He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。
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