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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
BUT there was no hilarity1 in the little town that same tranquil2 Saturday afternoon. The Harpers, and Aunt Polly's family, were being put into mourning, with great grief and many tears. An unusual quiet possessed3 the village, although it was ordinarily quiet enough, in all conscience. The villagers conducted their concerns with an absent air, and talked little; but they sighed often. The Saturday holiday seemed a burden to the children. They had no heart in their sports, and gradually gave them up.
In the afternoon Becky Thatcher4 found herself moping about the deserted5 schoolhouse yard, and feeling very melancholy6. But she found nothing there to comfort her. She soliloquized:
"Oh, if I only had a brass7 andiron-knob again! But I haven't got anything now to remember him by." And she choked back a little sob8.
Presently she stopped, and said to herself:
"It was right here. Oh, if it was to do over again, I wouldn't say that -- I wouldn't say it for the whole world. But he's gone now; I'll never, never, never see him any more."
This thought broke her down, and she wandered away, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Then quite a group of boys and girls -- playmates of Tom's and Joe's -- came by, and stood looking over the paling fence and talking in reverent9 tones of how Tom did so-and-so the last time they saw him, and how Joe said this and that small trifle (pregnant with awful prophecy, as they could easily see now!) -- and each speaker pointed10 out the exact spot where the lost lads stood at the time, and then added something like "and I was a-standing just so -- just as I am now, and as if you was him -- I was as close as that -- and he smiled, just this way -- and then something seemed to go all over me, like -- awful, you know -- and I never thought what it meant, of course, but I can see now!"
Then there was a dispute about who saw the dead boys last in life, and many claimed that dismal11 distinction, and offered evidences, more or less tampered12 with by the witness; and when it was ultimately decided13 who DID see the departed last, and exchanged the last words with them, the lucky parties took upon themselves a sort of sacred importance, and were gaped14 at and envied by all the rest. One poor chap, who had no other grandeur15 to offer, said with tolerably manifest pride in the remembrance:
"Well, Tom Sawyer he licked me once."
But that bid for glory was a failure. Most of the boys could say that, and so that cheapened the distinction too much. The group loitered away, still recalling memories of the lost heroes, in awed16 voices.
When the Sunday-school hour was finished, the next morning, the bell began to toll17, instead of ringing in the usual way. It was a very still Sabbath, and the mournful sound seemed in keeping with the musing18 hush19 that lay upon nature. The villagers began to gather, loitering a moment in the vestibule to converse20 in whispers about the sad event. But there was no whispering in the house; only the funereal21 rustling22 of dresses as the women gathered to their seats disturbed the silence there. None could remember when the little church had been so full before. There was finally a waiting pause, an expectant dumbness, and then Aunt Polly entered, followed by Sid and Mary, and they by the Harper family, all in deep black, and the whole congregation, the old minister as well, rose reverently23 and stood until the mourners were seated in the front pew. There was another communing silence, broken at intervals24 by muffled25 sobs26, and then the minister spread his hands abroad and prayed. A moving hymn27 was sung, and the text followed: "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
As the service proceeded, the clergyman drew such pictures of the graces, the winning ways, and the rare promise of the lost lads that every soul there, thinking he recognized these pictures, felt a pang28 in remembering that he had persistently29 blinded himself to them always before, and had as persistently seen only faults and flaws in the poor boys. The minister related many a touching30 incident in the lives of the departed, too, which illustrated31 their sweet, generous natures, and the people could easily see, now, how noble and beautiful those episodes were, and remembered with grief that at the time they occurred they had seemed rank rascalities, well deserving of the cowhide. The congregation became more and more moved, as the pathetic tale went on, till at last the whole company broke down and joined the weeping mourners in a chorus of anguished32 sobs, the preacher himself giving way to his feelings, and crying in the pulpit.
There was a rustle33 in the gallery, which nobody noticed; a moment later the church door creaked; the minister raised his streaming eyes above his handkerchief, and stood transfixed! First one and then another pair of eyes followed the minister's, and then almost with one impulse the congregation rose and stared while the three dead boys came marching up the aisle34, Tom in the lead, Joe next, and Huck, a ruin of drooping35 rags, sneaking36 sheepishly in the rear! They had been hid in the unused gallery listening to their own funeral sermon!
Aunt Polly, Mary, and the Harpers threw themselves upon their restored ones, smothered37 them with kisses and poured out thanksgivings, while poor Huck stood abashed38 and uncomfortable, not knowing exactly what to do or where to hide from so many unwelcoming eyes. He wavered, and started to slink away, but Tom seized him and said:
"Aunt Polly, it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck."
"And so they shall. I'm glad to see him, poor motherless thing!" And the loving attentions Aunt Polly lavished39 upon him were the one thing capable of making him more uncomfortable than he was before.
Suddenly the minister shouted at the top of his voice: "Praise God from whom all blessings40 flow -- sing! -- and put your hearts in it!"
And they did. Old Hundred swelled41 up with a triumphant42 burst, and while it shook the rafters Tom Sawyer the Pirate looked around upon the envying juveniles43 about him and confessed in his heart that this was the proudest moment of his life.
As the "sold" congregation trooped out they said they would almost be willing to be made ridiculous again to hear Old Hundred sung like that once more.
Tom got more cuffs44 and kisses that day -- according to Aunt Polly's varying moods -- than he had earned before in a year; and he hardly knew which expressed the most gratefulness to God and affection for himself.
1 hilarity | |
n.欢乐;热闹 | |
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2 tranquil | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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3 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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4 thatcher | |
n.茅屋匠 | |
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5 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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6 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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7 brass | |
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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8 sob | |
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣 | |
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9 reverent | |
adj.恭敬的,虔诚的 | |
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10 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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11 dismal | |
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的 | |
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12 tampered | |
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 );篡改;(用不正当手段)影响;瞎摆弄 | |
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13 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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14 gaped | |
v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 );张开,张大 | |
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15 grandeur | |
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
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16 awed | |
adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 toll | |
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟) | |
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18 musing | |
n. 沉思,冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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19 hush | |
int.嘘,别出声;n.沉默,静寂;v.使安静 | |
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20 converse | |
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反 | |
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21 funereal | |
adj.悲哀的;送葬的 | |
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22 rustling | |
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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23 reverently | |
adv.虔诚地 | |
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24 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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25 muffled | |
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
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26 sobs | |
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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27 hymn | |
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌 | |
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28 pang | |
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷 | |
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29 persistently | |
ad.坚持地;固执地 | |
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30 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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31 illustrated | |
adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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32 anguished | |
adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式) | |
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33 rustle | |
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
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34 aisle | |
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道 | |
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35 drooping | |
adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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36 sneaking | |
a.秘密的,不公开的 | |
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37 smothered | |
(使)窒息, (使)透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 ); 覆盖; 忍住; 抑制 | |
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38 abashed | |
adj.窘迫的,尴尬的v.使羞愧,使局促,使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39 lavished | |
v.过分给予,滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40 blessings | |
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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41 swelled | |
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
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42 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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43 juveniles | |
n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 );扮演少年角色的演员;未成年人 | |
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44 cuffs | |
n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打,拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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