Mr. Selwyn, the lawyer who has already been introduced to the reader, sat in his office with a pile of papers before him, when a knock was heard at the door. His clerk being absent, he arose and opened it. A lady stood before him.
“Will you enter, madam?” he said.
“Is this Mr. Selwyn?” she asked.
“That is my name, madam.”
“My name will probably be familiar to you. I am Mrs. Lindsay.”
“I am glad to see you, madam. Will you be seated?”
She sat down, and the lawyer regarded with interest the client whom he now saw for the first time. She was still young, less than forty probably, and, though her face bore the impress of sorrow, she was still beautiful.
230“I suppose you have no news for me,” she said.
“I am sorry to say that I have as yet no trace of the child. Margaret Walsh is on the
lookout1 for her, and, as you have made it worth her while, I do not doubt that she will eventually find her for you.”
“Do you think my child is still in the city?” asked Mrs. Lindsay, anxiously.
“I have no doubt of it. A child, bred as she has been, does not often leave the city voluntarily, unless in the case of those children who are from time to time carried away to homes in the West, through the agency of the Children’s Aid Society.”
“But may she not be of the number of these?”
“I thought it possible, and have accordingly inquired particularly of the officers of the society whether any child answering to her description has been under their charge, and I am assured that this is not the case. She is probably earning a living for herself somewhere in the streets, though we cannot tell in what way, or in what part of the city. Having run away from Mrs. Walsh, whom I suspect she did not like, she probably keeps out of the way, to avoid falling again into her hands.”
231“It is terrible to think that my dear child is compelled to wander about the streets homeless, and no doubt often suffering severe privations,” said Mrs. Lindsay, with a sigh.
“Have good courage, madam,” said the lawyer. “I am convinced that we shall find her very soon.”
“I hope indeed that your
anticipations2 may be realized,” said the mother. “But I have not yet told you what brings me to New York at this time.”
Mr. Selwyn bowed and assumed an air of attention.
“It is not pleasant,” said Mrs. Lindsay, after a slight pause, “to speak ill of a relative; but I am obliged to tell you that the worst
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收听单词发音
1
lookout
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n.注意,前途,瞭望台 |
参考例句: |
- You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
- It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
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2
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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3
foe
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n.敌人,仇敌 |
参考例句: |
- He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
- A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌,友是友,必须分清界限。
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4
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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5
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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6
astounded
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v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词);愕然;愕;惊讶 |
参考例句: |
- His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
- How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话?我感到大为震惊。
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7
perfidy
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n.背信弃义,不忠贞 |
参考例句: |
- As devotion unites lovers,so perfidy estranges friends.忠诚是爱情的桥梁,欺诈是友谊的敌人。
- The knowledge of Hurstwood's perfidy wounded her like a knife.赫斯渥欺骗她的消息像一把刀捅到了她的心里。
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8
testimony
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n.证词;见证,证明 |
参考例句: |
- The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
- He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。
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9
worthy
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adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 |
参考例句: |
- I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
- There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
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10
authorized
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a.委任的,许可的 |
参考例句: |
- An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。
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11
derive
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v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自 |
参考例句: |
- We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
- We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。
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12
disappearance
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n.消失,消散,失踪 |
参考例句: |
- He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
- Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
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13
motive
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n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 |
参考例句: |
- The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
- He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
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14
gambling
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n.赌博;投机 |
参考例句: |
- They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
- The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。
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15
situated
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adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 |
参考例句: |
- The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
- She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。
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16
derived
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vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 |
参考例句: |
- Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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17
decided
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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。
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18
ascertained
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v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I ascertained that she was dead. 我断定她已经死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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19
attained
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(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) |
参考例句: |
- She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
- Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。
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20
prone
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adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的 |
参考例句: |
- Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
- He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。
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21
repudiate
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v.拒绝,拒付,拒绝履行 |
参考例句: |
- He will indignantly repudiate the suggestion.他会气愤地拒绝接受这一意见。
- He repudiate all debts incurred by his son.他拒绝偿还他儿子的一切债务。
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22
conceal
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v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 |
参考例句: |
- He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方,他只好隐瞒身份。
- He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。
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23
penetrated
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adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的
动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 |
参考例句: |
- The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
- They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。
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24
contented
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adj.满意的,安心的,知足的 |
参考例句: |
- He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
- The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。
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25
trespass
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n./v.侵犯,闯入私人领地 |
参考例句: |
- The fishing boat was seized for its trespass into restricted waters.渔船因非法侵入受限制水域而被扣押。
- The court sentenced him to a fine for trespass.法庭以侵害罪对他判以罚款。
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26
devoted
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adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 |
参考例句: |
- He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
- We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
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