The rain continued without a break all the morning. The two teams,after hanging about dismally¹, and whiling the time away withstump-cricket in the changing-rooms, lunched in the pavilion atone² o'clock. After which the M.C.C. captain, approaching Adair,moved that this merry meeting be considered off and himself andhis men permitted to catch the next train back to town. To whichAdair, seeing that it was out of the question that there should beany cricket that afternoon, regretfully agreed, and the firstSedleigh _v_. M.C.C. match was accordingly scratched.

　　Mike and Psmith, wandering back to the house, were met by a dampjunior from Downing's, with a message that Mr. Downing wished to seeMike as soon as he was changed.

　　"What's he want me for?" inquired Mike.

　　The messenger did not know. Mr. Downing, it seemed, had not confidedin him. All he knew was that the housemaster was in the house, andwould be glad if Mike would step across.

　　"A nuisance," said Psmith, "this incessant³ demand for you. That's theworst of being popular. If he wants you to stop to tea, edge away. Ameal on rather a sumptuous⁴ scale will be prepared in the study againstyour return."Mike changed quickly, and went off, leaving Psmith, who was fond ofsimple pleasures in his spare time, earnestly occupied with a puzzlewhich had been scattered⁵ through the land by a weekly paper. The prizefor a solution was one thousand pounds, and Psmith had alreadyinformed Mike with some minuteness of his plans for the disposition⁶ ofthis sum. Meanwhile, he worked at it both in and out of school,generally with abusive comments on its inventor.

　　He was still fiddling⁷ away at it when Mike returned.

　　Mike, though Psmith was at first too absorbed to notice it, wasagitated.

　　"I don't wish to be in any way harsh," said Psmith, without lookingup, "but the man who invented this thing was a blighter of the worsttype. You come and have a shot. For the moment I am baffled. Thewhisper flies round the clubs, 'Psmith is baffled.'""The man's an absolute drivelling

点击收听单词发音  

1 dismally
adv.阴暗地，沉闷地
参考例句：
Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分 He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

2 atone
v.赎罪，补偿
参考例句：
He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。 Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

3 incessant
adj.不停的，连续的
参考例句：
We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。 She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

4 sumptuous
adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的
参考例句：
The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。 We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。

5 scattered
adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
参考例句：
Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 disposition
n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署
参考例句：
He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。 He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

7 fiddling
微小的
参考例句：
He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。 All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

8 ass
n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人
参考例句：
He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。 An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

9 brainstorm
vi.动脑筋，出主意，想办法，献计，献策
参考例句：
The women meet twice a month to brainstorm and set business goals for each other.她们每个月聚会两次，在一起出谋献策，为各自制定生意目标。 We can brainstorm a list of the most influential individuals in the company.我们可以集体讨论，列出该公司中最有影响的人员的名单。

10 jawed
adj.有颌的有颚的
参考例句：
The color of the big-jawed face was high. 那张下颚宽阔的脸上气色很好。 来自辞典例句 She jawed him for making an exhibition of himself, scolding as though he were a ten-year-old. 她连声怪他这样大出洋相，拿他当十岁的孩子似的数落。 来自辞典例句

11 babbled
v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密
参考例句：
He babbled the secret out to his friends. 他失口把秘密泄漏给朋友了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She babbled a few words to him. 她对他说了几句不知所云的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 spotted
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。 Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

13 folly
n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话
参考例句：
Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。 Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

14 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 motives
n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )
参考例句：
to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机 His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

16 zeal
n.热心，热情，热忱
参考例句：
Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。 They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

17 moodily
adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地
参考例句：
Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来，留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句 He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车，既松了一口气，又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网

18 attentively
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》

19 alibi
n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口
参考例句：
Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？ The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。

20 foul
adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规
参考例句：
Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。 What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

21 adorned
[计]被修饰的
参考例句：
The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。 And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

23 dignified
a.可敬的，高贵的
参考例句：
Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。 He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

24 apparently
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。

25 impudence
n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼
参考例句：
His impudence provoked her into slapping his face.他的粗暴让她气愤地给了他一耳光。 What knocks me is his impudence.他的厚颜无耻使我感到吃惊。

26 likeness
n.相像，相似（之处）
参考例句：
I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。 She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

27 flicking
（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）
参考例句：
He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马，之后挥动了缰绳。 There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。