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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
ONE of the reasons why Tom's mind had drifted away from its secret troubles was, that it had found a new and weighty matter to interest itself about. Becky Thatcher1 had stopped coming to school. Tom had struggled with his pride a few days, and tried to "whistle her down the wind," but failed. He began to find himself hanging around her father's house, nights, and feeling very miserable2. She was ill. What if she should die! There was distraction3 in the thought. He no longer took an interest in war, nor even in piracy4. The charm of life was gone; there was nothing but dreariness5 left. He put his hoop6 away, and his bat; there was no joy in them any more. His aunt was concerned. She began to try all manner of remedies on him. She was one of those people who are infatuated with patent medicines and all new-fangled methods of producing health or mending it. She was an inveterate7 experimenter in these things. When something fresh in this line came out she was in a fever, right away, to try it; not on herself, for she was never ailing8, but on anybody else that came handy. She was a subscriber9 for all the "Health" periodicals and phrenological frauds; and the solemn ignorance they were inflated10 with was breath to her nostrils11. All the "rot" they contained about ventilation, and how to go to bed, and how to get up, and what to eat, and what to drink, and how much exercise to take, and what frame of mind to keep one's self in, and what sort of clothing to wear, was all gospel to her, and she never observed that her health-journals of the current month customarily upset everything they had recommended the month before. She was as simple-hearted and honest as the day was long, and so she was an easy victim. She gathered together her quack12 periodicals and her quack medicines, and thus armed with death, went about on her pale horse, metaphorically13 speaking, with "hell following after." But she never suspected that she was not an angel of healing and the balm of Gilead in disguise, to the suffering neighbors.
The water treatment was new, now, and Tom's low condition was a windfall to her. She had him out at daylight every morning, stood him up in the woodshed and drowned him with a deluge14 of cold water; then she scrubbed him down with a towel like a file, and so brought him to; then she rolled him up in a wet sheet and put him away under blankets till she sweated his soul clean and "the yellow stains of it came through his pores" -- as Tom said.
Yet notwithstanding all this, the boy grew more and more melancholy16 and pale and dejected. She added hot baths, sitz baths, shower baths, and plunges17. The boy remained as dismal18 as a hearse. She began to assist the water with a slim oatmeal diet and blisterplasters. She calculated his capacity as she would a jug's, and filled him up every day with quack cure-alls.
Tom had become indifferent to persecution19 by this time. This phase filled the old lady's heart with consternation20. This indifference21 must be broken up at any cost. Now she heard of Pain-killer for the first time. She ordered a lot at once. She tasted it and was filled with gratitude22. It was simply fire in a liquid form. She dropped the water treatment and everything else, and pinned her faith to Pain-killer. She gave Tom a teaspoonful24 and watched with the deepest anxiety for the result. Her troubles were instantly at rest, her soul at peace again; for the "indifference" was broken up. The boy could not have shown a wilder, heartier25 interest, if she had built a fire under him.
Tom felt that it was time to wake up; this sort of life might be romantic enough, in his blighted26 condition, but it was getting to have too little sentiment and too much distracting variety about it. So he thought over various plans for relief, and finally hit pon that of professing27 to be fond of Pain-killer. He asked for it so often that he became a nuisance, and his aunt ended by telling him to help himself and quit bothering her. If it had been Sid, she would have had no misgivings28 to alloy29 her delight; but since it was Tom, she watched the bottle clandestinely30. She found that the medicine did really diminish, but it did not occur to her that the boy was mending the health of a crack in the sitting-room31 floor with it.
One day Tom was in the act of dosing the crack when his aunt's yellow cat came along, purring, eying the teaspoon23 avariciously32, and begging for a taste. Tom said:
"Don't ask for it unless you want it, Peter."
But Peter signified that he did want it.
"You better make sure."
Peter was sure.
"Now you've asked for it, and I'll give it to you, because there ain't anything mean about me; but if you find you don't like it, you mustn't blame anybody but your own self."
Peter was agreeable. So Tom pried33 his mouth open and poured down the Pain-killer. Peter sprang a couple of yards in the air, and then delivered a war-whoop and set off round and round the room, banging against furniture, upsetting flower-pots, and making general havoc34. Next he rose on his hind35 feet and pranced36 around, in a frenzy37 of enjoyment38, with his head over his shoulder and his voice proclaiming his unappeasable happiness. Then he went tearing around the house again spreading chaos39 and destruction in his path. Aunt Polly entered in time to see him throw a few double summersets, deliver a final mighty40 hurrah41, and sail through the open window, carrying the rest of the flower-pots with him. The old lady stood petrified42 with astonishment43, peering over her glasses; Tom lay on the floor expiring with laughter.
"Tom, what on earth ails44 that cat?"
"I don't know, aunt," gasped45 the boy.
"Why, I never see anything like it. What did make him act so?"
"Deed I don't know, Aunt Polly; cats always act so when they're having a good time."
"They do, do they?" There was something in the tone that made Tom apprehensive46.
"Yes'm. That is, I believe they do."
"You do?"
"Yes'm."
The old lady was bending down, Tom watching, with interest emphasized by anxiety. Too late he divined her "drift." The handle of the telltale teaspoon was visible under the bed-valance. Aunt Polly took it, held it up. Tom winced47, and dropped his eyes. Aunt Polly raised him by the usual handle -- his ear -- and cracked his head soundly with her thimble.
"Now, sir, what did you want to treat that poor dumb beast so, for?"
"I done it out of pity for him -- because he hadn't any aunt."
"Hadn't any aunt! -- you numskull. What has that got to do with it?"
"Heaps. Because if he'd had one she'd a burnt him out herself! She'd a roasted his bowels48 out of him 'thout any more feeling than if he was a human!"
Aunt Polly felt a sudden pang49 of remorse50. This was putting the thing in a new light; what was cruelty to a cat might be cruelty to a boy, too. She began to soften51; she felt sorry. Her eyes watered a little, and she put her hand on Tom's head and said gently:
"I was meaning for the best, Tom. And, Tom, it did do you good."
Tom looked up in her face with just a perceptible twinkle peeping through his gravity.
"I know you was meaning for the best, aunty, and so was I with Peter. It done him good, too. I never see him get around so since --"
"Oh, go 'long with you, Tom, before you aggravate52 me again. And you try and see if you can't be a good boy, for once, and you needn't take any more medicine."
Tom reached school ahead of time. It was noticed that this strange thing had been occurring every day latterly. And now, as usual of late, he hung about the gate of the schoolyard instead of playing with his comrades. He was sick, he said, and he looked it. He tried to seem to be looking everywhere but whither he really was looking -- down the road. Presently Jeff Thatcher hove in sight, and Tom's face lighted; he gazed a moment, and then turned sorrowfully away. When Jeff arrived, Tom accosted53 him; and "led up" warily54 to opportunities for remark about Becky, but the giddy lad never could see the bait. Tom watched and watched, hoping whenever a frisking frock came in sight, and hating the owner of it as soon as he saw she was not the right one. At last frocks ceased to appear, and he dropped hopelessly into the dumps; he entered the empty schoolhouse and sat down to suffer. Then one more frock passed in at the gate, and Tom's heart gave a great bound. The next instant he was out, and "going on" like an Indian; yelling, laughing, chasing boys, jumping over the fence at risk of life and limb, throwing handsprings, standing15 on his head -- doing all the heroic things he could conceive of, and keeping a furtive55 eye out, all the while, to see if Becky Thatcher was noticing. But she seemed to be unconscious of it all; she never looked. Could it be possible that she was not aware that he was there? He carried his exploits to her immediate56 vicinity; came war-whooping around, snatched a boy's cap, hurled57 it to the roof of the schoolhouse, broke through a group of boys, tumbling them in every direction, and fell sprawling58, himself, under Becky's nose, almost upsetting her -- and she turned, with her nose in the air, and he heard her say: "Mf! some people think they're mighty smart -- always showing off!"
Tom's cheeks burned. He gathered himself up and sneaked59 off, crushed and crestfallen60.
1 thatcher | |
n.茅屋匠 | |
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2 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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3 distraction | |
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 | |
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4 piracy | |
n.海盗行为,剽窃,著作权侵害 | |
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5 dreariness | |
沉寂,可怕,凄凉 | |
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6 hoop | |
n.(篮球)篮圈,篮 | |
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7 inveterate | |
adj.积习已深的,根深蒂固的 | |
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8 ailing | |
v.生病 | |
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9 subscriber | |
n.用户,订户;(慈善机关等的)定期捐款者;预约者;签署者 | |
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10 inflated | |
adj.(价格)飞涨的;(通货)膨胀的;言过其实的;充了气的v.使充气(于轮胎、气球等)( inflate的过去式和过去分词 );(使)膨胀;(使)通货膨胀;物价上涨 | |
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11 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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12 quack | |
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子 | |
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13 metaphorically | |
adv. 用比喻地 | |
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14 deluge | |
n./vt.洪水,暴雨,使泛滥 | |
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15 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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16 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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17 plunges | |
n.跳进,投入vt.使投入,使插入,使陷入vi.投入,跳进,陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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18 dismal | |
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的 | |
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19 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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20 consternation | |
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
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21 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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22 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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23 teaspoon | |
n.茶匙 | |
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24 teaspoonful | |
n.一茶匙的量;一茶匙容量 | |
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25 heartier | |
亲切的( hearty的比较级 ); 热诚的; 健壮的; 精神饱满的 | |
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26 blighted | |
adj.枯萎的,摧毁的 | |
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27 professing | |
声称( profess的现在分词 ); 宣称; 公开表明; 信奉 | |
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28 misgivings | |
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧 | |
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29 alloy | |
n.合金,(金属的)成色 | |
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30 clandestinely | |
adv.秘密地,暗中地 | |
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31 sitting-room | |
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室 | |
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32 avariciously | |
adv.贪婪地,贪财地 | |
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33 pried | |
v.打听,刺探(他人的私事)( pry的过去式和过去分词 );撬开 | |
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34 havoc | |
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱 | |
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35 hind | |
adj.后面的,后部的 | |
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36 pranced | |
v.(马)腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37 frenzy | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
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38 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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39 chaos | |
n.混乱,无秩序 | |
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40 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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41 hurrah | |
int.好哇,万岁,乌拉 | |
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42 petrified | |
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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43 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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44 ails | |
v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 );感到不舒服;处境困难;境况不佳 | |
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45 gasped | |
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
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46 apprehensive | |
adj.担心的,恐惧的,善于领会的 | |
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47 winced | |
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48 bowels | |
n.肠,内脏,内部;肠( bowel的名词复数 );内部,最深处 | |
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49 pang | |
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷 | |
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50 remorse | |
n.痛恨,悔恨,自责 | |
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51 soften | |
v.(使)变柔软;(使)变柔和 | |
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52 aggravate | |
vt.加重(剧),使恶化;激怒,使恼火 | |
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53 accosted | |
v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 );跟…搭讪;(乞丐等)上前向…乞讨;(妓女等)勾搭 | |
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54 warily | |
adv.留心地 | |
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55 furtive | |
adj.鬼鬼崇崇的,偷偷摸摸的 | |
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56 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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57 hurled | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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58 sprawling | |
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着) | |
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59 sneaked | |
v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 );偷偷溜走;(儿童向成人)打小报告;告状 | |
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60 crestfallen | |
adj. 挫败的,失望的,沮丧的 | |
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