“True, Brother Crane,” said the minister, but he looked puzzled. He had no idea what the deacon was driving at.

“Do you think, parson, the parish is progressin’ as it should? Do you think the people are as much interested in religion as they’d ought to be?”

“Is there any parish of which that can be said, Brother Crane?”

“Well, perhaps not; but it seems to me there’s a good deal of spiritooal indifference¹ in the church to-day.”

“More than there used to be?”

“That’s the point I am comin’ to. To my mind the congregation is gettin’ less and less spiritooally-minded.”

“I am very sorry if this is the case. I had not{148} noticed it. The congregations keep up very well, and the people are attentive² to the services.”

“Mebbe, mebbe; they’d appear to be so out of respect for you, parson; but as I move about the village, of course I hear what’s said.”

“Admitting that things are as you say, what remedy do you suggest?”

“That’s the p’int! That’s the p’int I was comin’ at; but I don’t hardly like to answer that question.”

“Why not?” asked the minister, innocently.

“Because it might hurt your feelin’s, parson.”

“I will not allow my feelings to stand in the way, so be kind enough to answer the question frankly³ and candidly⁴.”

“Then, if I must say it,” replied the deacon, watching under his shaggy eyebrows⁵ to see what effect his words would have upon Mr. Fenwick, “if I must say it, some of the people are sayin’ it might be well for the parish to have a younger minister!”

Mr. Fenwick started as if he had been struck. He was utterly

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点击收听单词发音  

1 indifference
n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎
参考例句：
I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。 He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

2 attentive
adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的
参考例句：
She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。 The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

3 frankly
adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说
参考例句：
To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。 Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 candidly
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。

5 eyebrows
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。 His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

6 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

7 stifle
vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止
参考例句：
She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。 It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

8 tremor
n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震
参考例句：
There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。 A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

9 disaffected
adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的
参考例句：
He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。 Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

10 agitated
adj.被鼓动的，不安的
参考例句：
His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。 She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

11 commendable
adj.值得称赞的
参考例句：
The government's action here is highly commendable.政府这样的行动值得高度赞扬。 Such carping is not commendable.这样吹毛求疵真不大好。

12 unwilling
adj.不情愿的
参考例句：
The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。 His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

13 conscientious
adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的
参考例句：
He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。 He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

14 faltered
（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃
参考例句：
He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。 "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

15 portentous
adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的
参考例句：
The present aspect of society is portentous of great change.现在的社会预示着重大变革的发生。 There was nothing portentous or solemn about him.He was bubbling with humour.他一点也不装腔作势或故作严肃，浑身散发着幽默。

16 complacent
adj.自满的；自鸣得意的
参考例句：
We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。 She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

17 broached
v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体
参考例句：
She broached the subject of a picnic to her mother. 她向母亲提起野餐的问题。 来自辞典例句 He broached the subject to the stranger. 他对陌生人提起那话题。 来自辞典例句

18 opposition
n.反对，敌对
参考例句：
The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。 The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

19 afterward
adv.后来；以后
参考例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。 Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

20 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 tartly
adv.辛辣地，刻薄地
参考例句：
She finished by tartly pointing out that he owed her some money. 她最后刻薄地指出他欠她一些钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Kay said tartly, "And you're more Yankee than Italian. 恺酸溜溜他说：“可你哪，与其说是意大利人，还不如说是新英格兰人。 来自教父部分

22 stringency
n.严格，紧迫，说服力；严格性；强度
参考例句：
Bankers say financial stringency constitutes a serious threat to the country. 银行家们说信用紧缩对国家构成了严重的威胁。 来自辞典例句 The gaze were filled with care, stringency, trust, and also hope! 有呵护，有严格，有信任，更有希望！ 来自互联网

23 despondent
adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的
参考例句：
He was up for a time and then，without warning,despondent again.他一度兴高采烈，但忽然又情绪低落下来。 I feel despondent when my work is rejected.作品被拒后我感到很沮丧。