The Young Outlaw or, Adrift in the Streets
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CHAPTER II. — SAM'S EARLY LIFE.

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 Three years before the meeting described in the previous chapter Sam Barker became an orphan1, by the death of his father. The father was an intemperate2 man, and no one grieved much for his death. Sam felt rather relieved than otherwise. He had received many a beating from his father, in his fits of drunken fury, and had been obliged to forage3 for himself for the most part, getting a meal from one neighbor, a basket of provision from another, and so managed to eke4 out a precarious5 subsistence in the tumble-down shanty6 which he and his father occupied.
 
Mr. Barker left no will, for the good and sufficient reason that he had no property to dispose of. So, on the day after the funeral, Sam found himself a candidate for the poorhouse. He was a stout7 boy of twelve, strong and sturdy in spite of insufficient8 food, and certainly had suffered nothing from luxurious9 living.
 
It was a country town in Connecticut, near the Rhode Island border. We will call it Dudley. The selectmen deliberated what should be done with Sam.
 
"There isn't much for a lad like him to do at the poorhouse," said Major Stebbins. "He'd ought to be set to work. Why don't you take him, Deacon Hopkins?"
 
"I do need a boy," said the deacon, "but I'm most afeard to take Sam. He's a dreadful mischievous10 boy, I've heerd."
 
"He's had a bad example in his father," said the major. "You could train him up the way he'd ought to go."

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1 orphan QJExg     
n.孤儿；adj.无父母的
参考例句：
  • He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
  • The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。
2 intemperate ibDzU     
adj.无节制的，放纵的
参考例句：
  • Many people felt threatened by Arther's forceful,sometimes intemperate style.很多人都觉得阿瑟的强硬的、有时过激的作风咄咄逼人。
  • The style was hurried,the tone intemperate.匆促的笔调，放纵的语气。
3 forage QgyzP     
n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻
参考例句：
  • They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
  • Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。
4 eke Dj6zr     
v.勉强度日，节约使用
参考例句：
  • They had to eke out a livinga tiny income.他们不得不靠微薄收入勉强度日。
  • We must try to eke out our water supply.我们必须尽量节约用水。
5 precarious Lu5yV     
adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的
参考例句：
  • Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
  • He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。
6 shanty BEJzn     
n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子
参考例句：
  • His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
  • I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。
8 insufficient L5vxu     
adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的
参考例句：
  • There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
  • In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。
9 luxurious S2pyv     
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。
10 mischievous mischievous     
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。
11 attentively AyQzjz     
adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神
参考例句：
  • She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 riotous ChGyr     
adj.骚乱的；狂欢的
参考例句：
  • Summer is in riotous profusion.盛夏的大地热闹纷繁。
  • We spent a riotous night at Christmas.我们度过了一个狂欢之夜。
13 confidentially 0vDzuc     
ad.秘密地，悄悄地
参考例句：
  • She was leaning confidentially across the table. 她神神秘秘地从桌子上靠过来。
  • Kao Sung-nien and Wang Ch'u-hou talked confidentially in low tones. 高松年汪处厚两人低声密谈。
14 crumb ynLzv     
n.饼屑，面包屑，小量
参考例句：
  • It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
  • Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。
15 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦
参考例句：
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。
16 brute GSjya     
n.野兽，兽性
参考例句：
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。
17 immortal 7kOyr     
adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的
参考例句：
  • The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
  • The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！
18 bout Asbzz     
n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛
参考例句：
  • I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
  • That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。
19 horrified 8rUzZU     
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句：
  • The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
  • We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。
20 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦
参考例句：
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 benighted rQcyD     
adj.蒙昧的
参考例句：
  • Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened,heed only one side and you will be benighted.兼听则明，偏信则暗。
  • Famine hit that benighted country once more.饥荒再次席卷了那个蒙昧的国家。
22 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人；守卫者，保护者
参考例句：
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
23 rectified 8714cd0fa53a5376ba66b0406599eb20     
[医]矫正的，调整的
参考例句：
  • I am hopeful this misunderstanding will be rectified very quickly. 我相信这个误会将很快得到纠正。
  • That mistake could have been rectified within 28 days. 那个错误原本可以在28天内得以纠正。
24 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同
参考例句：
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
25 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克
参考例句：
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

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