听名著练听力之简爱篇 第25期

PART TWO - THE SCHOOLGIRL
CHAPTER SIX
Life at Lowood Continues

Gradually¹ the sickness left Lowood. I soon discovered that often, there were good sides to all the sad troubles in life. Because so many girls had died, other people learned² of the terrible conditions at the school. Immediately, money was raised to build a new school in a better place, and many [-----1-----] were made. We had warm clothes, softer beds, and good food to eat. The best part was, Mr. Brocklehurst left the school! So Lowood became a truly good place for a girl to get an education. I stayed for eight years, and for the last two years I was a teacher. All that time I was happy, and my dear friend Miss Temple helped me greatly.
But when Miss Temple married and moved away, I decided³ it was time to change my life too. I had been at Lowood for many years, and I wanted to find new [-----2-----]. I decided to find a job as a governess. Soon I received an answer from a woman named Mrs. Fairfax. She wanted a governess for a little girl about eight years old. The school gave me [-----3-----] to go, so I accepted the job. Soon, I thought, I would have a new life. What would it be like?

Vocabulary Focus⁴

governess：家庭女教师。作者本人曾做过家庭女教师，因而可以真实的笔触描写简爱做家庭女教师的生活。当时许多有钱人家为子女请家庭教师，与此同时对很多家境不好的女子，从事家教则是一份体面的职业，她们往往同主人共同生活，地位虽高于奴仆，却不能与主人平起平坐，其报酬也极低
 

1 gradually   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• The roaring sea gradually calmed down.咆哮的大海逐渐平静下来。
• Gradually he became silent.渐渐地他变得沉默寡言了。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 decided   

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。

4 focus   

n.焦点，焦距；vi.聚焦，注视；vt.使聚焦，调焦，集中

参考例句：

• She was the focus of everyone's attention.她是大家注意的焦点。
• The noise made it hard for me to focus on work.噪音让我无法集中注意力工作。