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 2 — Matthew Cuthbert Is Surprised
第二章 马修大吃一惊
段落 5-12
Matthew encountered the stationmaster locking up the ticket office preparatory to going home for supper, and asked him if the five-thirty train would soon be along.
“The five-thirty train has been in and gone half an hour ago,” answered that brisk official. “But there was a passenger dropped off for you — a little girl. She’s sitting out there on the shingles. I asked her to go into the ladies’ waiting room, but she informed me gravely that she preferred to stay outside. ‘There was more scope for imagination,’ she said. She’s a case, I should say.”
“I’m not expecting a girl,” said Matthew blankly. “It’s a boy I’ve come for. He should be here. Mrs. Alexander Spencer was to bring him over from Nova Scotia for me.”
The stationmaster whistled.
“Guess there’s some mistake,” he said. “Mrs. Spencer came off the train with that girl and gave her into my charge. Said you and your sister were adopting her from an orphan asylum and that you would be along for her presently. That’s all I know about it — and I haven’t got any more orphans concealed hereabouts.”
“I don’t understand,” said Matthew helplessly, wishing that Marilla was at hand to cope with the situation.
“Well, you’d better question the girl,” said the station-master carelessly. “I dare say she’ll be able to explain — she’s got a tongue of her own, that’s certain. Maybe they were out of boys of the brand you wanted.”
He walked jauntily away, being hungry, and the unfortunate Matthew was left to do that which was harder for him than bearding a lion in its den — walk up to a girl — a strange girl — an orphan girl — and demand of her why she wasn’t a boy. Matthew groaned in spirit as he turned about and shuffled gently down the platform towards her.
马修遇到了正在锁售票处的门、准备回家吃晚饭的站长，便问他五点半的火车是否快进站了。
“五点半的火车半小时前就开走了，”站长轻快地回答，“不过好像有一个旅客被留了下来交给你个小女孩，她正坐在外面的鹅卵石上。我让她去女士候车室，但是她很认真地告诉我她更愿意待在外面。她说‘那儿有比较开阔的天地，有更多想象的空间’，真是一个古怪的孩子，不过我还得告诉你，她有一个箱子。”
“我要接的不是一个女孩。”马修一脸茫然，“我到这儿来是接一个男孩的，他应该在这儿。亚历山大·斯潘塞太太会从新斯科舍省把他带过来交给我的。”
站长吹了一声口哨。
“我猜一定是出了什么差错，”他说，“斯潘塞太太和那个女孩一起下的火车，她把女孩交给我，说你和你妹妹从孤儿院收养了她，你很快就会到这里来接她。除此之外我就什么都不知道了——我可没把其他孤儿藏在这里。”
“这究竟是怎么回事？”马修惊慌失措地说道，他此刻真希望玛瑞拉就在身边，帮他解决这个问题。
“那么，你最好去问那个女孩，”站长漫不经心地说，“我想她一定能够解释清楚——她好像特别能说，这点很肯定。也许孤儿院没有你要的那种类型的男孩了。”
说完，肚子早已饿瘪的站长便急匆匆地跑走了，留下了不幸的马修，来做这件对他来说是比在太岁爷头上动土更困难的事——走近一个女孩，一个陌生的女孩，一个无父无母的女孩，而且还要询问她为什么不是一个男孩。马修的心里暗自叫苦，转身顺着月台慢吞吞地、轻手轻脚地向她走去。
重点用词
preparatory to: in preparation for 准备
along: on hand, available, there 在那里；存在；
jauntily : sprightly in manner or appearance : lively 活泼地；举止或外表上活泼地
beard a lion in its den : 习语：confront or challenge someone on their own ground 在太岁爷头上动土
段落 13-18
She had been watching him ever since he had passed her and she had her eyes on him now. Matthew was not looking at her and would not have seen what she was really like if he had been, but an ordinary observer would have seen this: A child of about eleven, garbed in a very short, very tight, very ugly dress of yellowish-gray wincey. She wore a faded brown sailor hat and beneath the hat, extending down her back, were two braids of very thick, decidedly red hair. Her face was small, white and thin, also much freckled; her mouth was large and so were her eyes, which looked green in some lights and moods and gray in others.
So far, the ordinary observer; an extraordinary observer might have seen that the chin was very pointed and pronounced; that the big eyes were full of spirit and vivacity; that the mouth was sweet-lipped and expressive; that the forehead was broad and full; in short, our discerning extraordinary observer might have concluded that no commonplace soul inhabited the body of this stray woman-child of whom shy Matthew Cuthbert was so ludicrously afraid.
Matthew, however, was spared the ordeal of speaking first, for as soon as she concluded that he was coming to her she stood up, grasping with one thin brown hand the handle of a shabby, old-fashioned carpet-bag; the other she held out to him.
“I suppose you are Mr. Matthew Cuthbert of Green Gables?” she said in a peculiarly clear, sweet voice. “I’m very glad to see you. I was beginning to be afraid you weren’t coming for me and I was imagining all the things that might have happened to prevent you. I had made up my mind that if you didn’t come for me to-night I’d go down the track to that big wild cherry-tree at the bend, and climb up into it to stay all night. I wouldn’t be a bit afraid, and it would be lovely to sleep in a wild cherry-tree all white with bloom in the moonshine, don’t you think? You could imagine you were dwelling in marble halls, couldn’t you? And I was quite sure you would come for me in the morning, if you didn’t to-night.”
Matthew had taken the scrawny little hand awkwardly in his; then and there he decided what to do. He could not tell this child with the glowing eyes that there had been a mistake; he would take her home and let Marilla do that. She couldn’t be left at Bright River anyhow, no matter what mistake had been made, so all questions and explanations might as well be deferred until he was safely back at Green Gables.
从马修经过她身边的那一刻起，那女孩就一直在看着他，现在她专注地盯着马修。马修没有看她，就算瞧了，也不会注意到她究竟长什么样。但是从一个普通人的眼光来看：她是一个十一岁左右的孩子，穿着一件很短、很紧、很难看的黄灰色棉绒裙，戴着一顶褪色的棕色水手帽，帽子下一直拖到后背的是两条粗粗的红发辫子。她的脸又小又白又瘦，布满雀斑，眼睛和嘴巴却很大，一双眼睛在某些眼神和状态下看上去是绿色的，而在另外一些眼神和状态下又是灰色的。
这只不过是一个普通人所能看到的一切，更加细心的人或许还会注意到她的下巴长得很尖、很凸出；大大的眼睛中充满锐气与活力；可爱甜美的嘴唇极富于表情；前额宽大而饱满；简而言之，有眼力的观察者也许会得出这样的结论：害羞的马修·卡斯伯特荒唐地害怕着的这一个举目无亲的小女孩，身上蕴含着一种与众不同的气质。
然而，马修面临着一个严峻的考验——先开口说话，因为当她猜想他正向她走来时，便立刻站了起来，瘦瘦的、被晒黑了的双手一手提着一个破旧的老式毯制手提包，另一只手伸向了他。
“我猜你就是绿山墙的马修·卡斯伯特先生吧？”她以一种独特的清澈甜美的声音说，“非常高兴见到你。我正担心你不来接我了，我想象了所有可能发生的导致你不来的情形。我已经决定如果今晚你不来接我的话，我就沿铁轨走到转弯处那棵大洋樱桃树下，爬上去，钻进树里，在那儿待上一宿。我一点儿都不害怕，月光下，睡在一棵开满白花的洋樱桃树中，将是多么美妙的一件事啊！你觉得呢？你可以想象成正躺在一座大理石建成的城堡里，不是吗？而且我确信你明天早晨也一定会来接我，如果你今晚不来的话。”
马修笨拙地握住那只骨瘦如柴的小手，当即他就决定了该怎么做。他不能告诉面前这个忽闪着大眼睛的孩子，这是一个错误，他要把她带回家，让玛瑞拉告诉她。不管是发生了怎样的错误，她都不能被丢在这儿，因此所有的问题和解释也都会被推迟到他安全返回绿山墙后再说。
重点用词
garb： dress in distinctive clothes. 穿衣服
wincey: plain or twilled fabric with wool weft and cotton or linen warp that is used especially for warm shirts, skirts, pajamas. 裙子
decidedly： unquestionably； free from doubt or wavering 毫无疑问
scrawny： /ˈskrɑː.ni/ unpleasantly thin, often with bones showing 瘦骨嶙峋的，皮包骨头的
