Mr. Spencer entered the house so lately vacated by the old man who had occupied it for forty years.
“The trunk is in your uncle's room,” said the lawyer, “or ought to be. I suppose it has not been moved.”
The two entered the
chamber1. It was a small, poorly furnished apartment, covered with a carpet which, cheap in the first place, was so worn with use that the bare floor showed in spots.
“Your uncle was not very
luxurious2 in his taste,” said Mr. Spencer. “There are plenty of day
laborers3 in town who have as good rooms as this.”
“I suppose he liked laying up money better than spending it,” said Herbert.
“You are right there. This must be the trunk.”
It was a small, black hair trunk, studded with
brass4 nails. Mr. Spencer took a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked it. Lifting the cover he exposed to view a collection of
woolen5 clothes-coats, vests, and pants.
“This is your
legacy6, Herbert,” said the lawyer. “I am afraid you won't find it very valuable. What is this?”
He drew out, and held up to view, a blue cloak of ample proportions.
“Will you try it on?” he said, smiling.
Herbert threw it over his shoulders, and looked at himself in a small seven-by-nine looking-glass which was suspended over the washstand. It came down nearly to his feet.
“I should hardly dare to wear this without
alteration7,” he said; “but there is a good deal of good cloth in it. Mother can cut a coat and vest out of it for me.”
“Here is a blue coat with brass buttons. I remember your uncle used to wear it to church twenty years ago. Of late years he has not attended, and has had no occasion to wear it. Here is a pair of pantaloons; but they are pretty well worn.”
So they went through the list, finding little of value. The last article was a vest.
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收听单词发音
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1
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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2
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 |
参考例句： |
- This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
- The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
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3
laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 |
参考例句： |
- Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
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4
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 |
参考例句： |
- Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
- Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
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5
woolen
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| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 |
参考例句： |
- She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
- There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。
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6
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 |
参考例句： |
- They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
- He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
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7
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 |
参考例句： |
- The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
- He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。
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8
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- She was enveloped in a huge white towel. 她裹在一条白色大毛巾里。
- Smoke from the burning house enveloped the whole street. 燃烧着的房子冒出的浓烟笼罩了整条街。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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9
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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10
mere
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| 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。
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11
leech
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| n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人 |
参考例句： |
- A leech is a small blood-sucking worm and usually lives in water.水蛭是一种小型吸血虫，通常生活在水中。
- One-side love like a greedy leech absorbed my time and my mirth.单相思如同一只贪婪的水蛭，吸走了我的时间和欢笑。
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12
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 |
参考例句： |
- She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。
- Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。
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13
candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 |
参考例句： |
- He has stopped taking heroin now,but admits candidly that he will always be a drug addict.他眼下已经不再吸食海洛因了,不过他坦言自己永远都是个瘾君子。
- Candidly,David,I think you're being unreasonable.大卫，说实话我认为你不讲道理。
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14
depreciation
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| n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低 |
参考例句： |
- She can't bear the depreciation of the enemy.她受不了敌人的蹂躏。
- They wrote off 500 for depreciation of machinery.他们注销了500镑作为机器折旧费。
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15
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 |
参考例句： |
- He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
- You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。
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16
second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 |
参考例句： |
- I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
- They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。
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17
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 |
参考例句： |
- She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
- We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。
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18
forefather
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| n.祖先；前辈 |
参考例句： |
- What we are doing today is something never dreamed of by our forefather.我们今天正在做的是我们祖先所不敢想的。
- These are the customs of forefather hand down to us.这些都是先辈传给你们的习俗。
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positively
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| 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。
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20
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 |
参考例句： |
- The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
- Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
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21
fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 |
参考例句： |
- He was fatiguing himself with his writing, no doubt. 想必他是拼命写作，写得精疲力尽了。
- Machines are much less fatiguing to your hands, arms, and back. 使用机器时，手、膊和后背不会感到太累。
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