We will precede Ben on his visit to the house of Mr. Prescott.
It was an old weather-beaten house, of one story, about half a mile distant from '
Squire1 Newcome's residence. The Prescott family had lived here for five years, or ever since they had removed to Wrenville. Until within a year they had lived comfortably, when two blows came in quick succession. The first was the death of Mrs. Prescott, an excellent woman, whose loss was deeply felt by her husband and son. Soon afterwards Mr. Prescott, a carpenter by trade, while at work upon the roof of a high building, fell off, and not only broke his leg badly, but suffered some internal injury of a still more serious nature. He had not been able to do a stroke of work since. After some months it became evident that he would never recover. A year had now passed. During this time his expenses had swallowed up the small amount which he had succeeded in laying up previous to his sickness. It was clear that at his death there would be nothing left. At thirteen years of age Paul would have to begin the world without a penny.
Mr. Prescott lay upon a bed in a small bedroom adjoining the kitchen. Paul, a thoughtful-looking boy sat beside it, ready to answer his call.
There had been silence for some time, when Mr. Prescott called feebly—
“Paul!”
“I am here, father,” said Paul.
“I am almost gone, Paul, I don't think I shall last through the day.”
“O, father,” said Paul, sorrowfully, “Don't leave me.”
“That is the only grief I have in dying—I must leave you to struggle for yourself, Paul. I shall be able to leave you absolutely nothing.”
“Don't think of that, father. I am young and strong—I can earn my living in some way.”
“I hoped to live long enough to give you an education. I wanted you to have a fairer start in the world than I had.”
“Never mind, father,” said Paul,
soothingly3, “Don't be uneasy about me. God will provide for me.”
Again there was a silence, broken only by the difficult breathing of the sick man.
“There is one thing, Paul, that I want to tell you before I die.”
Paul drew closer to the bedside.
“It is something which has troubled me as I lay here. I shall feel easier for speaking of it. You remember that we lived at Cedarville before we came here.”
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收听单词发音
1
squire
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n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 |
参考例句: |
- I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
- The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。
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2
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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3
soothingly
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adv.抚慰地,安慰地;镇痛地 |
参考例句: |
- The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘,她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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4
spoke
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n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 |
参考例句: |
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
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5
promising
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adj.有希望的,有前途的 |
参考例句: |
- The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
- We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
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6
speculation
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n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机 |
参考例句: |
- Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
- There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。
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7
scanty
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adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 |
参考例句: |
- There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
- The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。
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8
hesitation
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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。
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9
competence
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n.能力,胜任,称职 |
参考例句: |
- This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
- These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。
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10
utterly
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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。
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11
plunged
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v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 |
参考例句: |
- The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
- She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
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12
abruptly
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adv.突然地,出其不意地 |
参考例句: |
- He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
- I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
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13
anticipations
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预期( anticipation的名词复数 ); 预测; (信托财产收益的)预支; 预期的事物 |
参考例句: |
- The thought took a deal of the spirit out of his anticipations. 想到这,他的劲头消了不少。
- All such bright anticipations were cruelly dashed that night. 所有这些美好的期望全在那天夜晚被无情地粉碎了。
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14
unreasonable
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adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的 |
参考例句: |
- I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
- They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
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15
stipulated
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vt.& vi.规定;约定adj.[法]合同规定的 |
参考例句: |
- A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
- Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀,我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句
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16
defraud
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vt.欺骗,欺诈 |
参考例句: |
- He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
- He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。
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17
penitentiary
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n.感化院;监狱 |
参考例句: |
- He worked as a warden at the state penitentiary.他在这所州监狱任看守长。
- While he was in the penitentiary her father died and the family broke up.他坐牢的时候,她的父亲死了,家庭就拆散了。
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18
wretch
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n.可怜的人,不幸的人;卑鄙的人 |
参考例句: |
- You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他,还埋怨他,真不知好歹。
- The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。
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19
outright
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adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的 |
参考例句: |
- If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
- You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
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20
prosper
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v.成功,兴隆,昌盛;使成功,使昌隆,繁荣 |
参考例句: |
- With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管,公司开始兴旺起来。
- It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。
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21
exhausted
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adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 |
参考例句: |
- It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
- Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
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22
drawn
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v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 |
参考例句: |
- All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
- Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
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23
tugging
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n.牵引感v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉,样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
- She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他,一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句
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24
turnovers
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n.营业额( turnover的名词复数 );失误(篮球术语);职工流动率;(商店的)货物周转率 |
参考例句: |
- However, one other thing we continue to have issues with are turnovers. 然而,另外一件我们仍然存在的问题就是失误。 来自互联网
- The Shanghai team took advantage of a slew of Jiangxi turnovers. 上海队利用江西队的频繁失球占了上风。 来自互联网
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25
tempting
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a.诱人的, 吸引人的 |
参考例句: |
- It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
- It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。
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26
pointed
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adj.尖的,直截了当的 |
参考例句: |
- He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
- She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
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27
briefly
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adv.简单地,简短地 |
参考例句: |
- I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
- He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
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28
mischievous
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adj.调皮的,恶作剧的,有害的,伤人的 |
参考例句: |
- He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
- A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。
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29
propensities
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n.倾向,习性( propensity的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- This paper regarded AFT as a criterion to estimate slagging propensities. 文中以灰熔点作为判断煤灰结渣倾向的标准。 来自互联网
- Our results demonstrate that different types of authoritarian regime face different propensities to develop toward democracy. 本文研究结果显示,不同的威权主义政体所面对的民主发展倾向是不同的。 来自互联网
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