Good ev'nin', Mis' Priest.I jest stepped in to tell you Good-bye.Yes, it's all over.All my things is packedAn' every last one o' them boxesIs on Bradley's teamBein' hauled over to th' depot1.No, I ain't goin' back agin.I'm stoppin' over to French's fer to-night,And goin' down first train in th' mornin'.Yes, it do seem kinder queerNot to be goin' to see Cherry's Orchard3 no more,But Land Sakes! When a change's comin',Why, I al'ays say it can't come too quick.Now, that's real kind o' you,Your doughnuts is always so tasty.Yes, I'm goin' to Chicago,To my niece,She's married to a fine man, hardware business,An' doin' real well, she tells me.Lizzie's be'n at me to go out ther for the longest while.She ain't got no kith nor kin2 to Chicago, you knowShe's rented me a real nice little flat,Same house as hers,An' I'm goin' to try that city livin' folks say's so pleasant.Oh, yes, he was real generous,Paid me a sight o' money fer the Orchard;I told him 'twouldn't yield nothin' but stones,But he ain't farmin' it.Lor', no, Mis' Priest,He's jest took it to set and look at the view.Mebbe he wouldn't be so stuck on the viewEf he'd seed it every mornin' and night for forty yearSame's as I have.I dessay it's pretty enough,But it's so pressed into meI c'n see't with my eyes shut.No. I ain't cold, Mis' Priest,Don't shut th' door.I'll be all right in a minit.But I ain't a mite4 sorry to leave that view.Well, mebbe 'tis queer to feel so,An' mebbe 'taint5.My! But that tea's revivin'.Old things ain't always pleasant things, Mis' Priest.No, no, I don't cal'late on comin' back,That's why I'd ruther be to Chicago,Boston's too near.It ain't cold, Mis' Priest,It's jest my thoughts.I ain't sick, only --Mis' Priest, ef you've nothin' ter take yer time,An' have a mind to listen,Ther's somethin' I'd like ter speak aboutI ain't never mentioned it,But I'd like to tell yer 'fore7 I go.Would you mind lowerin' them shades,Fall twilight's awful grey,An' that fire's real cosy8 with the shades drawed.Well, I guess folks about here think I've be'n dret'ful onsociable.You needn't say 'taint so, 'cause I know diff'rent.An' what's more, it's true.Well, the reason is I've be'n scared out o' my life.Scared ev'ry minit o' th' time, fer eight year.Eight mortal year 'tis, come next June.'Twas on the eighteenth o' June,Six months after I'd buried my husband,That somethin' happened ter me.Mebbe you'll mind that afore thatI was a cheery body.Hiram was too,Al'ays liked to ask a neighbor in,An' ev'n when he died,Barrin' low sperrits, I warn't averse9 to seein' nobody.But that eighteenth o' June changed ev'rythin'.I was doin' most o' th' farmwork myself,With jest a hired boy, Clarence King, 'twas,Comin' in fer an hour or two.Well, that eighteenth o' JuneI was goin' round,Lockin' up and seein' to things 'fore I went to bed.I was jest steppin' out t' th' barn,Goin' round outside 'stead o' through the shed,'Cause there was such a sight o' moonlightSomehow or another I thought 'twould be pretty outdoors.I got settled for pretty things that night, I guess.I ain't stuck on 'em no more.Well, them laylock bushes side o' th' houseWas real lovely.Glitt'rin' and shakin' in the moonlight,An' the smell o' them rose right upAn' most took my breath away.The colour o' the spikes10 was all faded out,They never keep their colour when the moon's on 'em,But the smell fair 'toxicated me.I was al'ays partial to a sweet scent,An' I went close up t' th' bushesSo's to put my face right into a flower.Mis' Priest, jest's I got breathin' in that laylock bloomI saw, layin' right at my feet,A man's hand!It was as white's the side o' th' house,And sparklin' like that lum'nous paint they put on gate-posts.I screamed right out,I couldn't help it,An' I could hear my screamGoin' over an' overIn that echo be'ind th' barn.Hearin' it agin an' agin like thatScared me so, I dar'sn't scream any more.I jest stood ther,And looked at that hand.I thought the echo'd begin to hammer like my heart,But it didn't.There was only th' wind,Sighin' through the laylock leaves,An' slappin' 'em up agin the house.Well, I guess I looked at that handMost ten minits,An' it never moved,Jest lay there white as white.After a while I got to thinkin' that o' course'Twas some drunken tramp over from Redfield.That calmed me some,An' I commenced to think I'd better git him outFrom under them laylocks.I planned to drag him in t' th' barnAn' lock him in ther till Clarence come in th' mornin'.I got so mad thinkin' o' that all-fired brazen11 trampAsleep in my laylocks,I jest stooped down and grabbed th' hand and give it an awful pull.Then I bumped right down settin' on the ground.Mis' Priest, ther warn't no body come with the hand.No, it ain't cold, it's jest that I can't abear thinkin' of it,Ev'n now.I'll take a sip12 o' tea.Thank you, Mis' Priest, that's better.I'd ruther finish now I've begun.Thank you, jest the same.I dropped the hand's ef it'd be'n red hot'Stead o' ice cold.Fer a minit or two I jest laid on that grassPantin'.Then I up and run to them laylocksAn' pulled 'em every which way.True es I'm settin' here, Mis' Priest,Ther warn't nothin' ther.I peeked13 an' pryed all about 'em,But ther warn't no man therNeither livin' nor dead.But the hand was ther all right,Upside down, the way I'd dropped it,And glist'nin' fit to dazzle yer.I don't know how I done it,An' I don't know why I done it,But I wanted to git that dret'ful hand out o' sightI got in t' th' barn, somehow,An' felt roun' till I got a spade.I couldn't stop fer a lantern,Besides, the moonlight was bright enough in all conscience.Then I scooped14 that awful thing up in th' spade.I had a sight o' trouble doin' it.It slid off, and tipped over, and I couldn't bearEv'n to touch it with my foot to prop15 it,But I done it somehow.Then I carried it off be'ind the barn,Clost to an old apple-treeWhere you couldn't see from the house,An' I buried it,Good an' deep.I don't rec'lect nothin' more o' that night.Clarence woke me up in th' mornin',Hollerin' fer me to come down and set th' milk.When he'd gone,I stole roun' to the apple-treeAnd seed the earth all new turnedWhere I left it in my hurry.I did a heap o' gardenin'That mornin'.I couldn't cut no big sodsFear Clarence would notice and ask me what I wanted 'em fer,So I got teeny bits o' turf here and ther,And no one couldn't tell ther'd be'n any diggin'When I got through.They was awful days after that, Mis' Priest,I used ter go every mornin' and poke16 about them bushes,An' up and down the fence,Ter find the body that hand come off of.But I couldn't never find nothin'.I'd lay awake nightsHearin' them laylocks blowin' and whiskin'.At last I had Clarence cut 'em downAn' make a big bonfire of 'em.I told him the smell made me sick,An' that warn't no lie,I can't abear the smell on 'em now;An' no wonder, es you say.I fretted17 somethin' awful 'bout6 that handI wondered, could it be Hiram's,But folks don't rob graveyards18 hereabouts.Besides, Hiram's hands warn't that awful, starin' white.I give up seein' people,I was afeared I'd say somethin'.You know what folks thought o' meBetter'n I do, I dessay,But mebbe now you'll see I couldn't do nothin' diff'rent.But I stuck it out,I warn't goin' to be downedBy no loose hand, no matter how it come therBut that ain't the worst, Mis' Priest,Not by a long ways.Two year ago, Mr. Densmore made me an offer for Cherry's Orchard.Well, I'd got used to th' thought o' bein' sort o' blighted,An' I warn't scared no more.Lived down my fear, I guess.I'd kinder got used to th' thought o' that awful night,And I didn't mope much about it.Only I never went out o' doors by moonlight;That stuck.Well, when Mr. Densmore's offer come,I started thinkin' 'bout the placeAn' all the things that had gone on ther.Thinks I, I guess I'll go and see where I put the hand.I was foolhardy with the long time that had gone by.I know'd the place real well,Fer I'd put it right in between two o' the apple roots.I don't know what possessed19 me, Mis' Priest,But I kinder wanted to knowThat the hand had been flesh and bone, anyway.It had sorter bothered me, thinkin' I might ha' imagined it.I took a mornin' when the sun was real pleasant and warm;I guessed I wouldn't jump for a few old bones.But I did jump, somethin' wicked.Ther warn't no bones!Ther warn't nothin'!Not ev'n the gold ring I'd minded bein' on the little finger.I don't know ef ther ever was anythin'.I've worried myself sick over it.I be'n diggin' and diggin' day in and day outTill Clarence ketched me at it.Oh, I know'd real well what you all thought,An' I ain't sayin' you're not right,But I ain't goin' to end in no county 'sylumIf I c'n help it.The shiv'rin' fits come on me sudden like.I know 'em, don't you trouble.I've fretted considerable about the 'sylum,I guess I be'n frettin' all the time I ain't be'n diggin'.But anyhow I can't dig to Chicago, can I?Thank you, Mis' Priest,I'm better now. I only dropped in in passin'.I'll jest be steppin' along down to French's.No, I won't be seein' nobody in the mornin',It's a pretty early start.Don't you stand ther, Mis' Priest,The wind'll blow yer lamp out,An' I c'n see easy, I got aholt o' the gate now.I ain't a mite tired, thank you.Good-night.
<a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiform.html>蘇州作文培訓(xùn)</a>
1 depot
n.倉(cāng)庫(kù)，儲(chǔ)藏處；公共汽車站；火車站
參考例句：
The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽車站離這兒只有幾個(gè)街區(qū)。 They leased the building as a depot.他們租用這棟大樓作倉(cāng)庫(kù)。
2 kin
n.家族，親屬，血緣關(guān)系；adj.親屬關(guān)系的，同類的
參考例句：
He comes of good kin.他出身好。 She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的親戚家里去了。
3 orchard
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n.果園，果園里的全部果樹，(美俚)棒球場(chǎng)
參考例句：
My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果園果實(shí)累累。 Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹樓周圍都是茂密的果園。
4 mite
n.極小的東西；小銅幣
參考例句：
The poor mite was so ill.可憐的孩子病得這么重。 He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。
5 taint
n.污點(diǎn)；感染；腐壞；v.使感染；污染
參考例句：
Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.應(yīng)盡可能把他們從經(jīng)濟(jì)的腐蝕中解脫出來(lái)。 Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的敗壞在年輕人之間蔓延。
<a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiform.html>蘇州閱讀寫作培訓(xùn)</a>
6 bout
n.侵襲，發(fā)作；一次(陣，回)；拳擊等比賽
參考例句：
I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一陣緊張。 That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的發(fā)作使她虛弱了。
7 fore
adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部
參考例句：
Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飛機(jī)的前部。 I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能夠未卜先知。
8 cosy
adj.溫暖而舒適的，安逸的
參考例句：
We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我們?cè)跔t火旁聊天度過(guò)了一個(gè)舒適的晚上。 It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上溫暖而又舒適，西蒙簡(jiǎn)直不想下床了。
9 averse
adj.厭惡的；反對(duì)的，不樂意的
參考例句：
I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸煙，但我不反對(duì)偶爾抽一支雪茄。 We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我們不喜歡這么吵鬧的環(huán)境。
10 spikes
n.穗( spike的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋釘；尖狀物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人稱單數(shù) )；偷偷地給某人的飲料加入（更多）酒精（ 或藥物）；把尖狀物釘入；打亂某人的計(jì)劃
參考例句：
a row of iron spikes on a wall 墻頭的一排尖鐵 There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 監(jiān)獄墻頭裝有一排尖釘，以防犯人逃跑。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
11 brazen
adj.厚臉皮的，無(wú)恥的，堅(jiān)硬的
參考例句：
The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那無(wú)恥的女子沖著給她判刑的法官高聲大笑。 Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承認(rèn)失敗，而是寧肯厚著臉皮干下去。
12 sip
v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量
參考例句：
She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜飲一口雞尾酒。 Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊麗莎白呷了一口熱咖啡。
13 peeked
v.很快地看( peek的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞 )；偷看；窺視；微露出
參考例句：
She peeked over the top of her menu. 她從菜單上往外偷看。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》 On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾兩次透過(guò)墻縫窺視他。 來(lái)自辭典例句
14 scooped
v.搶先報(bào)道( scoop的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞 )；（敏捷地）抱起；搶先獲得；用鏟[勺]等挖（洞等）
參考例句：
They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他們搶先報(bào)道了這件事。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》 The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 車輪攪起的石塊，在車身下發(fā)出不吉祥的錘擊聲。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
15 prop
vt.支撐；n.支柱，支撐物；支持者，靠山
參考例句：
A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用東西支撐住隧道壁好使它不會(huì)倒塌。 The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府無(wú)意扶持不景氣的企業(yè)。
16 poke
n.刺，戳，袋；vt.撥開，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行動(dòng)散慢
參考例句：
We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她會(huì)插上一手。 Don't poke fun at me.別拿我湊趣兒。
17 fretted
焦躁的，附有弦馬的，腐蝕的
參考例句：
The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒風(fēng)穿過(guò)枯枝，有時(shí)把發(fā)臟的藏紅花吹刮跑了。 來(lái)自英漢文學(xué) The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 這位太太看問題深刻的名聲在折磨著他。
18 graveyards
墓地( graveyard的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )； 垃圾場(chǎng)； 廢物堆積處； 收容所
參考例句：
He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。 "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，萬(wàn)古青蒙蒙。 來(lái)自英漢 - 翻譯樣例 - 文學(xué)
19 possessed
adj.瘋狂的；擁有的，占有的
參考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像著了魔似地猛然沖出房門。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行為舉止像是魔怔了。
《Off the Turnpike》添加時(shí)間：2024-12-14；更新時(shí)間：2025-03-09
