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当前位置:首页 -> 9级英语阅读 - > 原版读物:太阳溪农场的丽贝卡(10)
原版读物:太阳溪农场的丽贝卡(10)
添加时间:2025-02-24 10:34:27 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • X

    RAINBOW BRIDGES

    Uncle Jerry coughed and stirred in his chair a good deal during Rebecca's recital1, but he carefully concealed2 any undue3 feeling of sympathy, just muttering, "Poor little soul! We'll see what we can do for her!"

    "You will take me to Maplewood, won't you, Mr. Cobb?" begged Rebecca piteously.

    "Don't you fret4 a mite," he answered, with a crafty5 little notion at the back of his mind; "I'll see the lady passenger through somehow. Now take a bite o' somethin' to eat, child. Spread some o' that tomato preserve on your bread; draw up to the table. How'd you like to set in mother's place an' pour me out another cup o' hot tea?"

    Mr. Jeremiah Cobb's mental machinery6 was simple, and did not move very smoothly7 save when propelled by his affection or sympathy. In the present case these were both employed to his advantage, and mourning his stupidity and praying for some flash of inspiration to light his path, he blundered along, trusting to Providence9.

    Rebecca, comforted by the old man's tone, and timidly enjoying the dignity of sitting in Mrs. Cobb's seat and lifting the blue china teapot, smiled faintly, smoothed her hair, and dried her eyes.

    "I suppose your mother'll be turrible glad to see you back again?" queried10 Mr. Cobb.

    A tiny fear—just a baby thing—in the bottom of Rebecca's heart stirred and grew larger the moment it was touched with a question.

    "She won't like it that I ran away, I s'pose, and she'll be sorry that I couldn't please aunt Mirandy; but I'll make her understand, just as I did you."

    "I s'pose she was thinkin' o' your schoolin', lettin' you come down here; but land! you can go to school in Temperance, I s'pose?"

    "There's only two months' school now in Temperance, and the farm 's too far from all the other schools."

    "Oh well! there's other things in the world beside edjercation," responded uncle Jerry, attacking a piece of apple pie.

    "Ye—es; though mother thought that was going to be the making of me," returned Rebecca sadly, giving a dry little sob11 as she tried to drink her tea.

    "It'll be nice for you to be all together again at the farm—such a house full o' children!" remarked the dear old deceiver, who longed for nothing so much as to cuddle and comfort the poor little creature.

    "It's too full—that's the trouble. But I'll make Hannah come to Riverboro in my place."

    "S'pose Mirandy 'n' Jane'll have her? I should be 'most afraid they wouldn't. They'll be kind o' mad at your goin' home, you know, and you can't hardly blame 'em."

    This was quite a new thought,—that the brick house might be closed to Hannah, since she, Rebecca, had turned her back upon its cold hospitality.

    "How is this school down here in Riverboro—pretty good?" inquired uncle Jerry, whose brain was working with an altogether unaccustomed rapidity,—so much so that it almost terrified him.

    "Oh, it's a splendid school! And Miss Dearborn is a splendid teacher!"

    "You like her, do you? Well, you'd better believe she returns the compliment. Mother was down to the store this afternoon buyin' liniment for Seth Strout, an' she met Miss Dearborn on the bridge. They got to talkin' 'bout12 school, for mother has summer-boarded a lot o' the schoolmarms, an' likes 'em. 'How does the little Temperance girl git along?' asks mother. 'Oh, she's the best scholar I have!' says Miss Dearborn. 'I could teach school from sun-up to sun-down if scholars was all like Rebecca Randall,' says she."

    "Oh, Mr. Cobb, DID she say that?" glowed Rebecca, her face sparkling and dimpling in an instant. "I've tried hard all the time, but I'll study the covers right off of the books now."

    "You mean you would if you'd ben goin' to stay here," interposed uncle Jerry. "Now ain't it too bad you've jest got to give it all up on account o' your aunt Mirandy? Well, I can't hardly blame ye. She's cranky an' she's sour; I should think she'd ben nussed on bonny-clabber an' green apples. She needs bearin' with; an' I guess you ain't much on patience, be ye?"

    "Not very much," replied Rebecca dolefully.

    "If I'd had this talk with ye yesterday," pursued Mr. Cobb, "I believe I'd have advised ye different. It's too late now, an' I don't feel to say you've ben all in the wrong; but if 't was to do over again, I'd say, well, your aunt Mirandy gives you clothes and board and schoolin' and is goin' to send you to Wareham at a big expense. She's turrible hard to get along with, an' kind o' heaves benefits at your head, same 's she would bricks; but they're benefits jest the same, an' mebbe it's your job to kind o' pay for 'em in good behavior. Jane's a leetle bit more easy goin' than Mirandy, ain't she, or is she jest as hard to please?"

    "Oh, aunt Jane and I get along splendidly," exclaimed Rebecca; "she's just as good and kind as she can be, and I like her better all the time. I think she kind of likes me, too; she smoothed my hair once. I'd let her scold me all day long, for she understands; but she can't stand up for me against aunt Mirandy; she's about as afraid of her as I am."

    "Jane'll be real sorry to-morrow to find you've gone away, I guess; but never mind, it can't be helped. If she has a kind of a dull time with Mirandy, on account o' her bein' so sharp, why of course she'd set great store by your comp'ny. Mother was talkin' with her after prayer meetin' the other night. 'You wouldn't know the brick house, Sarah,' says Jane. 'I'm keepin' a sewin' school, an' my scholar has made three dresses. What do you think o' that,' says she, 'for an old maid's child? I've taken a class in Sunday-school,' says Jane, 'an' think o' renewin' my youth an' goin' to the picnic with Rebecca,' says she; an' mother declares she never see her look so young 'n' happy."

    There was a silence that could be felt in the little kitchen; a silence only broken by the ticking of the tall clock and the beating of Rebecca's heart, which, it seemed to her, almost drowned the voice of the clock. The rain ceased, a sudden rosy13 light filled the room, and through the window a rainbow arch could be seen spanning the heavens like a radiant bridge. Bridges took one across difficult places, thought Rebecca, and uncle Jerry seemed to have built one over her troubles and given her strength to walk.

    "The shower 's over," said the old man, filling his pipe; "it's cleared the air, washed the face o' the airth nice an' clean, an' everything to-morrer will shine like a new pin—when you an' I are drivin' up river."

    Rebecca pushed her cup away, rose from the table, and put on her hat and jacket quietly. "I'm not going to drive up river, Mr. Cobb," she said. "I'm going to stay here and—catch bricks; catch 'em without throwing 'em back, too. I don't know as aunt Mirandy will take me in after I've run away, but I'm going back now while I have the courage. You wouldn't be so good as to go with me, would you, Mr. Cobb?"

    "You'd better b'lieve your uncle Jerry don't propose to leave till he gits this thing fixed14 up," cried the old man delightedly. "Now you've had all you can stan' to-night, poor little soul, without gettin' a fit o' sickness; an' Mirandy'll be sore an' cross an' in no condition for argyment; so my plan is jest this: to drive you over to the brick house in my top buggy; to have you set back in the corner, an' I git out an' go to the side door; an' when I git your aunt Mirandy 'n' aunt Jane out int' the shed to plan for a load o' wood I'm goin' to have hauled there this week, you'll slip out o' the buggy and go upstairs to bed. The front door won't be locked, will it?"

    "Not this time of night," Rebecca answered; "not till aunt Mirandy goes to bed; but oh! what if it should be?"

    "Well, it won't; an' if 't is, why we'll have to face it out; though in my opinion there's things that won't bear facin' out an' had better be settled comfortable an' quiet. You see you ain't run away yet; you've only come over here to consult me 'bout runnin' away, an' we've concluded it ain't wuth the trouble. The only real sin you've committed, as I figger it out, was in comin' here by the winder when you'd ben sent to bed. That ain't so very black, an' you can tell your aunt Jane 'bout it come Sunday, when she's chock full o' religion, an' she can advise you when you'd better tell your aunt Mirandy. I don't believe in deceivin' folks, but if you've hed hard thoughts you ain't obleeged to own 'em up; take 'em to the Lord in prayer, as the hymn15 says, and then don't go on hevin' 'em. Now come on; I'm all hitched16 up to go over to the post-office; don't forget your bundle; 'it's always a journey, mother, when you carry a nightgown;' them 's the first words your uncle Jerry ever heard you say! He didn't think you'd be bringin' your nightgown over to his house. Step in an' curl up in the corner; we ain't goin' to let folks see little runaway17 gals18, 'cause they're goin' back to begin all over ag'in!"

    When Rebecca crept upstairs, and undressing in the dark finally found herself in her bed that night, though she was aching and throbbing19 in every nerve, she felt a kind of peace stealing over her. She had been saved from foolishness and error; kept from troubling her poor mother; prevented from angering and mortifying20 her aunts.

    Her heart was melted now, and she determined21 to win aunt Miranda's approval by some desperate means, and to try and forget the one thing that rankled22 worst, the scornful mention of her father, of whom she thought with the greatest admiration23, and whom she had not yet heard criticised; for such sorrows and disappointments as Aurelia Randall had suffered had never been communicated to her children.

    It would have been some comfort to the bruised24, unhappy little spirit to know that Miranda Sawyer was passing an uncomfortable night, and that she tacitly regretted her harshness, partly because Jane had taken such a lofty and virtuous25 position in the matter. She could not endure Jane's disapproval26, although she would never have confessed to such a weakness.

    As uncle Jerry drove homeward under the stars, well content with his attempts at keeping the peace, he thought wistfully of the touch of Rebecca's head on his knee, and the rain of her tears on his hand; of the sweet reasonableness of her mind when she had the matter put rightly before her; of her quick decision when she had once seen the path of duty; of the touching hunger for love and understanding that were so characteristic in her. "Lord A'mighty!" he ejaculated under his breath, "Lord A'mighty! to hector and abuse a child like that one! 'T ain't ABUSE exactly, I know, or 't wouldn't be to some o' your elephant-hided young ones; but to that little tender will-o'-the-wisp a hard word 's like a lash8. Mirandy Sawyer would be a heap better woman if she had a little gravestun to remember, same's mother 'n' I have."

    "I never see a child improve in her work as Rebecca has to-day," remarked Miranda Sawyer to Jane on Saturday evening. "That settin' down I gave her was probably just what she needed, and I daresay it'll last for a month."

    "I'm glad you're pleased," returned Jane. "A cringing27 worm is what you want, not a bright, smiling child. Rebecca looks to me as if she'd been through the Seven Years' War. When she came downstairs this morning it seemed to me she'd grown old in the night. If you follow my advice, which you seldom do, you'll let me take her and Emma Jane down beside the river to-morrow afternoon and bring Emma Jane home to a good Sunday supper. Then if you'll let her go to Milltown with the Cobbs on Wednesday, that'll hearten her up a little and coax28 back her appetite. Wednesday 's a holiday on account of Miss Dearborn's going home to her sister's wedding, and the Cobbs and Perkinses want to go down to the Agricultural Fair."



    点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

    1 recital [rɪˈsaɪtl] kAjzI   第8级
    n.朗诵,独奏会,独唱会
    参考例句:
    • She is going to give a piano recital. 她即将举行钢琴独奏会。
    • I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took. 在我叙述的35分钟内,他们完全被我吸引了。
    2 concealed [kən'si:ld] 0v3zxG   第7级
    a.隐藏的,隐蔽的
    参考例句:
    • The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
    • I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
    3 undue [ˌʌnˈdju:] Vf8z6V   第9级
    adj.过分的;不适当的;未到期的
    参考例句:
    • Don't treat the matter with undue haste. 不要过急地处理此事。
    • It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms. 最好不要过分看重他的批评。
    4 fret [fret] wftzl   第9级
    vt.&vi.(使)烦恼;(使)焦急;(使)腐蚀,(使)磨损
    参考例句:
    • Don't fret. We'll get there on time. 别着急,我们能准时到那里。
    • She'll fret herself to death one of these days. 她总有一天会愁死的.
    5 crafty [ˈkrɑ:fti] qzWxC   第10级
    adj.狡猾的,诡诈的
    参考例句:
    • He admired the old man for his crafty plan. 他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
    • He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat. 他是个有造诣的政治家,也是个狡黠的独裁者。
    6 machinery [məˈʃi:nəri] CAdxb   第7级
    n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
    参考例句:
    • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast? 广播器材安装完毕了吗?
    • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time. 机器应该随时注意维护。
    7 smoothly [ˈsmu:ðli] iiUzLG   第8级
    adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
    参考例句:
    • The workmen are very cooperative, so the work goes on smoothly. 工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
    • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly. 这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
    8 lash [læʃ] a2oxR   第7级
    vt.系牢;鞭打;猛烈抨击;vi.鞭打;猛击;急速甩动;n.鞭打;眼睫毛
    参考例句:
    • He received a lash of her hand on his cheek. 他突然被她打了一记耳光。
    • With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her. 老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。
    9 providence [ˈprɒvɪdəns] 8tdyh   第12级
    n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝
    参考例句:
    • It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat. 乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
    • To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence. 照你的所作所为那样去行事,是违背上帝的意志的。
    10 queried [ˈkwiərid] 5c2c5662d89da782d75e74125d6f6932   第8级
    v.质疑,对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 );询问
    参考例句:
    • She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事?”琴向觉民问道,她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
    11 sob [sɒb] HwMwx   第7级
    n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣;vi.啜泣,呜咽;(风等)发出呜咽声;vt.哭诉,啜泣
    参考例句:
    • The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother. 孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
    • The girl didn't answer, but continued to sob with her head on the table. 那个女孩不回答,也不抬起头来。她只顾趴在桌子上低声哭着。
    12 bout [baʊt] Asbzz   第9级
    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。
    13 rosy [ˈrəʊzi] kDAy9   第8级
    adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的
    参考例句:
    • She got a new job and her life looks rosy. 她找到一份新工作,生活看上去很美好。
    • She always takes a rosy view of life. 她总是对生活持乐观态度。
    14 fixed [fɪkst] JsKzzj   第8级
    adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
    参考例句:
    • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet? 你们俩选定婚期了吗?
    • Once the aim is fixed, we should not change it arbitrarily. 目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
    15 hymn [hɪm] m4Wyw   第8级
    n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌
    参考例句:
    • They sang a hymn of praise to God. 他们唱着圣歌,赞美上帝。
    • The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn. 合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。
    16 hitched [hitʃt] fc65ed4d8ef2e272cfe190bf8919d2d2   第10级
    (免费)搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 ); 搭便车; 攀上; 跃上
    参考例句:
    • They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
    • We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。
    17 runaway [ˈrʌnəweɪ] jD4y5   第8级
    n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
    参考例句:
    • The police have not found the runaway to date. 警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
    • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse. 他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
    18 gals ['ɡælz] 21c57865731669089b5a91f4b7ca82ad   第12级
    abbr.gallons (复数)加仑(液量单位)n.女孩,少女( gal的名词复数 )
    参考例句:
    • Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing Buffalo Gals. 这时,吉姆手里提着一个锡皮桶,嘴中唱着“布法罗的女娃们”蹦蹦跳跳地从大门口跑出来。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
    • An' dey thinks dey wants mousy lil gals wid bird's tastes an' no sense at all. 他们想要的是耗子般的小姑娘,胃口小得像雀子,一点儿见识也没有。 来自飘(部分)
    19 throbbing ['θrɔbiŋ] 8gMzA0   第9级
    a. 跳动的,悸动的
    参考例句:
    • My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动,身子在不住颤抖。
    • There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。
    20 mortifying [ˈmɔ:təˌfaɪŋ] b4c9d41e6df2931de61ad9c0703750cd   第11级
    adj.抑制的,苦修的v.使受辱( mortify的现在分词 );伤害(人的感情);克制;抑制(肉体、情感等)
    参考例句:
    • I've said I did not love her, and rather relished mortifying her vanity now and then. 我已经说过我不爱她,而且时时以伤害她的虚荣心为乐。 来自辞典例句
    • It was mortifying to know he had heard every word. 知道他听到了每一句话后真是尴尬。 来自互联网
    21 determined [dɪˈtɜ:mɪnd] duszmP   第7级
    adj.坚定的;有决心的;v.决定;断定(determine的过去分词)
    参考例句:
    • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation. 我已决定毕业后去西藏。
    • He determined to view the rooms behind the office. 他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
    22 rankled [ˈræŋkəld] bfb0a54263d4c4175194bac323305c52   第12级
    v.(使)痛苦不已,(使)怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 )
    参考例句:
    • Her comments still rankled. 她的评价仍然让人耿耿于怀。
    • The insult rankled in his mind. 这种侮辱使他心里难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    23 admiration [ˌædməˈreɪʃn] afpyA   第8级
    n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
    参考例句:
    • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene. 他对风景之美赞不绝口。
    • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists. 我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
    24 bruised [bru:zd] 5xKz2P   第7级
    [医]青肿的,瘀紫的
    参考例句:
    • his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
    • She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤,摔得鼻青脸肿。
    25 virtuous [ˈvɜ:tʃuəs] upCyI   第9级
    adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的
    参考例句:
    • She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her. 她是个有道德的女性,人人都尊敬她。
    • My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife. 叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。
    26 disapproval [ˌdɪsəˈpru:vl] VuTx4   第8级
    n.反对,不赞成
    参考例句:
    • The teacher made an outward show of disapproval. 老师表面上表示不同意。
    • They shouted their disapproval. 他们喊叫表示反对。
    27 cringing [krɪndʒŋ] Pvbz1O   第12级
    adj.谄媚,奉承
    参考例句:
    • He had a cringing manner but a very harsh voice. 他有卑屈谄媚的神情,但是声音却十分粗沙。
    • She stepped towards him with a movement that was horribly cringing. 她冲他走了一步,做出一个低三下四,令人作呕的动作。
    28 coax [kəʊks] Fqmz5   第8级
    vt. 哄;哄诱;慢慢将…弄好 vi. 哄骗;劝诱
    参考例句:
    • I had to coax the information out of him. 我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
    • He tried to coax the secret from me. 他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

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