儒琴英语文学词汇咀嚼《绿山墙的安妮》(Anne of Green Gables)一书的用词。 《绿山墙的安妮》是加拿大作家露西·莫德·蒙哥马利（L. M. Montgomery）1908年的一部小说。这本书适用于所有年龄段，自20世纪中期以来一直被认为是经典的儿童小说。
Chapter 1 — Mrs. Rachel Lynde is Surprised
第一章 林德夫人的疑惑
段落 1：
Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies’ eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde’s Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde’s door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof.
雷切尔·林德太太住在安维利大街向下斜伸进一个小山谷的地方，山谷四周长满桤树和凤仙花，一条小溪横穿而过。溪水源自远处的老卡斯伯特家农场的树林。上游那一段小溪以蜿蜒曲折、湍流迅疾而著称，一潭潭池水和小瀑布阴暗隐秘；但是，流到了雷切尔太太家附近的山谷时，水流却逐渐缓慢下来，变成了一条安静规矩的小河。因为哪怕是一条小溪，只要经过雷切尔·林德太太的家门口，都会放慢脚步，谦恭而有礼貌地通过。也许连它都知道，雷切尔太太这会儿正坐在窗前，用犀利的目光注视着门前过往的一切呢。从小溪到顽童，要是被她发现了任何不同于平常的事儿，她都要想法子探个究竟，不找出其中的原委是绝不罢休的。（ 崇文书局. Kindle Edition. ）
Mrs. Rachel Lynde： 雷切尔·林德太太
Avonlea： 安维利村（加拿大爱德华岛王子岛一个小村子）
dip down： (intr) to slope downwards 向下坡倾斜
hollow : a depressed or low part of a surface especially : a small valley or basin 凹陷的或低的表面，尤指小山谷或盆地
fringe with：n & v: to form a border around the edge of something 边缘有着…; 边缘，外围
alder /ˈɔːl.dɚ/: a tree of the birch family, that usually grows near water 桤木(桦木科桤[qī] 木属植物)
ladies’ eardrops：倒挂金钟 （Fuchsia /ˈfjuː.ʃə/）；像女士耳环的垂花的植物
Cuthbert place ： 卡斯伯特兄妹居住的地方
decency and decorum：/dɪˈkɔːr.əm/ 规矩和端庄
ferret out /ˈfer.ɪt/： to find out a piece of information or find someone or something 搜寻出，搜索出
wherefore: n, for what reason; why 为什么，为何 (比较正式用语）
thereof ：adverb，of or about the thing just mentioned 在其中（正式用语），强调前面提到的事物。
段落 2：
There are plenty of people in Avonlea and out of it, who can attend closely to their neighbor’s business by dint of neglecting their own; but Mrs. Rachel Lynde was one of those capable creatures who can manage their own concerns and those of other folks into the bargain. She was a notable housewife; her work was always done and well done; she “ran” the Sewing Circle, helped run the Sunday-school, and was the strongest prop of the Church Aid Society and Foreign Missions Auxiliary. Yet with all this Mrs. Rachel found abundant time to sit for hours at her kitchen window, knitting “cotton warp” quilts — she had knitted sixteen of them, as Avonlea housekeepers were wont to tell in awed voices — and keeping a sharp eye on the main road that crossed the hollow and wound up the steep red hill beyond. Since Avonlea occupied a little triangular peninsula jutting out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence with water on two sides of it, anybody who went out of it or into it had to pass over that hill road and so run the unseen gauntlet of Mrs. Rachel’s all-seeing eye.
在安维利，有许多人特爱关心邻居的家务事，却不管自家的事；但是雷切尔·林德太太却是个例外，她是一个能干的人，无论是自家事还是邻里事，她都能兼顾到，并总能妥善处理好两者之间的关系。她是一位有名的家庭主妇，家里家外都拾掇得井井有条。她组织了一个缝纫小组，协帮主日学校的工作，她还是教会妇女协会和对外传教辅助机构最强有力的支持者之一。尽管有这么多的事，雷切尔太太仍能抽出时间，一连好几个小时地坐在她家厨房的窗前，一边缝制着棉被，一边时刻盯着门前那条穿过山谷、蜿蜒伸上远处陡峭红色小山的大路。安维利的家庭主妇们常常用敬佩的口吻告诉别人，说她能一口气缝制十六条像那样的棉被。由于安维利占据了一个三角形的小半岛，一直延伸至圣劳伦斯海峡，两边环水，任何进出安维利的人都得经过那条山路，因此谁都逃不脱雷切尔太太的眼睛。 （ 崇文书局. Kindle Edition. ）
by dint of: by means of; as a result of something 由于，凭借
into the bargain: in addition to other facts previously mentioned 此外，而且
Sunday-school 主日学校
wont: accustomed, in the way that someone usually does 惯常; 习惯于
jut out：to (cause to) stick out, especially above or past the edge or surface of something（使）突出；（使）伸出
St. Lawrence：圣劳伦斯河，位于于加拿大和美国的河流，是北美洲中东部的大水系
gauntlet ： /ˈɡɑːnt.lət/，中世纪盔甲上用来保护手的金属手套；引申为：严峻的考验
