We must now return to Rose, whom we left confined in the cellar. Now, a cellar is not a very pleasant place, and Rose had a
dismal1 time of it. She was
considerably2 frightened also, when, as she sat on the lower step of the cellar stairs she saw a large rat running rapidly past. It is not to be wondered at that Rose was alarmed. I know many persons much older who would have done
precisely3 what she did under the circumstances, namely, scream with all their might.
The little girl's scream brought Mrs. Waters to the door at the head of the stairs.
"What are you howling at?" she demanded, roughly.
"I just saw a big rat," said Rose. "Do let me come up; I'm afraid he'll bite me."
"Most likely he will," said Mrs. Waters. "But I can't let you come up. You've acted too bad. Next time you'll find it best to behave. And, mind you don't yell again! If you do, I'll come down and give you something to yell for."
Saying this, she slammed the door, and returned to her work, leaving Rose in a very unhappy state of mind. She sat in
momentary4 expectation of the reappearance of the rat, thinking it very likely it would bite her, as Mrs. Waters had told her. She began to cry quietly, not daring to scream, lest Mrs. Waters should carry out her threat and give her a whipping.
At the end of an hour—it seemed more like a day to Rose—Mrs. Waters came to the door, and said, "You can come up now, if you can make up your mind to behave yourself."
Rose needed no second invitation. She ran upstairs hastily, under the impression that the rat might pursue her, and breathed a sigh of relief when she was fairly out of danger.
Fanny was sitting at the table, eating a piece of apple-pie.
"No," answered Rose.
"I wish they had. It would have been such fun to hear you holler."
"You're a mean girl," said Rose, indignantly.
"Hoity-toity! What's all this?" demanded Mrs. Waters. "Have you begun to call Fanny names already?"
"She said she wished the rats had bitten me," said Rose.
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收听单词发音
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1
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 |
参考例句： |
- That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
- My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
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2
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 |
参考例句： |
- The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
- The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。
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3
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 |
参考例句： |
- It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
- The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
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4
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 |
参考例句： |
- We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
- I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
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5
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 |
参考例句： |
- He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- His enemies maliciously conspired to ruin him. 他的敌人恶毒地密谋搞垮他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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6
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 |
参考例句： |
- 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
- She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）
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7
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 |
参考例句： |
- Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
- The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。
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8
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 |
参考例句： |
- Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
- He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
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9
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 |
参考例句： |
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
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10
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 |
参考例句： |
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
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11
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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12
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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13
landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 |
参考例句： |
- I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
- The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。
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14
outlay
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| n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费 |
参考例句： |
- There was very little outlay on new machinery.添置新机器的开支微乎其微。
- The outlay seems to bear no relation to the object aimed at.这费用似乎和预期目的完全不相称。
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15
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) |
参考例句： |
- We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
- That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。
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16
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 |
参考例句： |
- They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
- The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
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17
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 |
参考例句： |
- The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句
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18
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 |
参考例句： |
- She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
- She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。
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19
gal
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| n.姑娘，少女 |
参考例句： |
- We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
- What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？
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20
mendicant
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| n.乞丐；adj.行乞的 |
参考例句： |
- He seemed not an ordinary mendicant.他好象不是寻常的乞丐。
- The one-legged mendicant begins to beg from door to door.独腿乞丐开始挨门乞讨。
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21
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) |
参考例句： |
- They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
- His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。
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22
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 |
参考例句： |
- He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
- The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。
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