人教全日制普通高中英语（必修）高三UNIT10-3

Miss Auré1ie lived alone on the farm all her life. She had never thought of marrying, and she had never been in love. At the age of twenty she was asked to marry somebody, but she did not accept, and at the age of fifty she had not yet lived to regret it. So she was quite alone in the world, except for her dog, the negroes¹ who lived with her and worked her crops, the chickens, a few cows, her gun and her religion.
 
      One morning Miss Auré1ie's young neighbor came to her, accompanied by her four small children. She carried the little baby in her arms and dragged the youngest son by an unwilling² hand, while two little girls followed behind. Her face was red from tears. She had been called to a neighboring village to take care of her sick mother while her husband was away in Texas. She came to ask Miss Auré1ie to take care of the children while she was away.
 
      After she had left, Miss Aurélie stood looking at the children, and thought of a plan of how to take care of them. She began by feeding them. If Miss Aurélie's responsibilities³ had begun and ended there, it would have been easy, because there was enough food in the house. But little children are not little pigs: they require and demand attention and care, for which Miss Aurrlie was not prepared. "
 
      She was, indeed, very bad in her management of the children during the first few days. How could she know that the oldest girl always wept⁴ when spoken to in a loud and commanding tone⁵ of voice? She became used to the little boy's love of flowers only after he had picked all the most beautiful ones from the garden to study their botanical⁶ construction.
 
      At night, when she ordered them one and all to bed, they kept standing⁷ before her, as if they didn't understand. Only after Miss Aurélie had given them a bath, told the little boy a bed-time story and sang sweet songs to the little baby, did they all fall asleep. Taking care of a small band of such young children is not easy for a woman of little experience.
 
      Miss Aurélie learnt something every day, and by the end of two weeks she had grown quite used to these things, and she no longer complained. It was also at the end of two weeks that Miss Aurélie, one evening saw the children's young mother coming from the railway station. As she drew near, the young woman's face showed that her home-coming was a happy one.
 
      But her coming, neither announced nor expected, made Miss Aurélie very upset. The children had to be found. Where was the naughty boy? Where were the two girls? As for the baby, she was safe enough in Miss Aurélie's arms; and she had screamed with delight⁸ at sight of the familiar blue wagon⁹ which was bringing her mother back to her. The excitement was all over, and they were gone. How quiet it was when they were gone! Miss Aurélie stood in front of her farm house, looking and listening. She could no longer see the cart¹⁰. She could no longer hear the noise of its wheels, but she could still hear the glad voices of the children in the distance.
 
      She went into the house. There was much work to be done, for the children had made a mess, but she did not immediately start cleaning up. Miss Aurélie seated herself beside the table. She looked around, and then she let her head fall down upon her bended arm, and began to cry. Oh, how she cried! Not softly¹¹, as women often do. She cried very loudly. She did not notice her dog licking¹² her hand.

1 Negroes   

n.黑种人，黑人( Negro的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• White supremacists devise new Methods: To disenfranchise Negroes. 白人至上论者想出新的方法以剥夺黑人的公民权。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Abraham Lincoln called on his people to fight for freedom for all—Negroes and Whites. 亚伯拉罕·林肯号召他的人民为所有的人——黑人和白人的自由而战斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

3 responsibilities   

责任( responsibility的名词复数 )； 职责； 责任感； 责任心

参考例句：

• the disproportion between the extra responsibilities and the small salary increase 额外的责任与小幅增加的薪金之间的不相称
• The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。

4 wept   

（通常因悲伤）哭泣( weep的过去式和过去分词 )； 流泪； 悲哀； 哀悼

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears, and wept freely. 她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• She wept bitter tears over the loss of her lover. 她为失去了恋人而哭泣。

5 tone   

n.语气，音调，气度，色调；vt.（up）增强

参考例句：

• There was a tone of mockery in his voice.他说话的语气含有嘲笑的意味。
• Holmes used an informal,chatty tone in his essays.霍姆斯在文章中语气轻松随便。

6 botanical   

adj.植物学的；n.植物性药材

参考例句：

• I am not very familiar with botanical names.我不太熟悉植物学方面的名称。
• How many stops are there to the Botanical Garden?去植物园要坐几站？

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 delight   

n.高兴，愉快；vt.给（某人）乐趣；使愉快；vi.喜爱

参考例句：

• Your new book is a real delight!你的新书真讨人喜欢！
• He takes delight in annoying me.他以惹我生气为乐。

9 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

10 cart   

n.（二轮或四轮）运货马车，手推车；vt.用马车装载，用手提（笨重物品），强行带走

参考例句：

• We use this to cart the goods.我们用这个来拉运货物。
• Let's go over and help them pull the cart.咱们过去帮他们拉车。

11 softly   

adv.柔和地，静静地，温柔地

参考例句：

• He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
• She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。

12 licking   

n. 殴打，挫败 动词lick的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steak is so delicious that he's licking his lips. 牛排这么香，使得他垂涎欲滴了。
• The little boy is licking the ice-cream cone. 小男孩在舔着冰淇淋蛋卷。