Bessie worked for Aunt Harriet for three years.

work for ^为…工作

• He's gone to work for the opposition. ^{他去为竞争对手工作了。}
• There's masses of work for her to do. ^{她有一大堆的工作去做。}
• He got work for a while detailing cars. ^{他找到一个清洗汽车的临时工作。}
• I still do a certain amount of work for them. ^{我仍旧为他们做一定数量的工作。}
• Even unpaid work for charity is better than nothing. ^{甚至无偿的慈善工作也好过没事可做。}
• She treats the people who work for her as her equals. ^{她以平等的身份对待为她工作的人。}

During that time she so gained my aunt's confidence, that she was put in charge of the domestic staff.

be in charge of … ^管理…

• Peter is in charge of the company.
• Peter was put in charge of the company. ^被动

Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie's industriousness and efficiency.

could not find words to ... ^{表达“无法描述”}

• I cannot find words to describe the beauty of the West Lake. 
• The beauty of the West Lake is beyond words / description.
• The beauty of the West Lake defies description. ^{(defy v. 使…不可能)} 
• The beauty of the West Lake is more than words can describe. 

industrious ^{adj. 勤劳的}

•  the industrious ant
• She was an industrious and willing worker.  ^{她是个勤劳肯干的工人。}

In addition to all her other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook.

in addition to …  ^{表达“除了…之外，还有…”}

• In addition to headaches, you may develop stomach ulcers as well. ^{除了头痛，你还可能患上胃溃疡。}
• In addition to these arrangements, extra ambulances will be on duty until midnight. ^{除了这些安排以外，另增救护车值班至午夜。}
• In addition to basic salary, there's a list of extra benefits. ^{除了基本工资外，还有一系列额外福利。}
• In addition to intelligence, they also symbolize affluence and wealth. ^{除了智慧，它们也象征着富足和财富。}

except ... / except for ... ^{表达“除了…（排除掉）”}

• Everyone was invited to the party except John. ^{除了约翰，其他人都被邀请参加聚会。}
• Nobody speaks except for one man.^{除了一个人没人说话。}
• I had nothing on except for my socks.^{我除了短袜什么都没穿。}

what is more / what’s more  ^{表达“此外、而且、还”：（副词短语）}

• He could not find his fifty pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm out. 
• You're wrong, and what's more you know it! ^{你错了！而且你明明知道你错了！}
• What's more, it is free! ^{而且，它是免费的！}

expert ^{adj. showing special skill or knowledge 熟练的，专家水平的}

• an expert gardener / driver
• The Japanese are expert at lowering manufacturing costs. ^{日本人在降低生产成本方面很在行。}

She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her 'little weakness'.

play / perform / act (the role / part of) … ^{扮演…的角色}

• He played / performed / acted (the role / part of) Othello.
• She played the role of Juliet in the school play.^{她在学校的戏剧中扮演了朱丽叶的角色。}
• He performed the part of Hamlet with great emotion.^{他非常投入地扮演了哈姆雷特的角色。}
• The actor acts the part of a villain in the movie.^{这位演员在电影中扮演反派角色。}

before ^{1).强调主句的时间很长时,译为“才”}

• It will be a long time before we meet again.
• She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her 'little weakness'.
• Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o'clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.

before ^{2).强调主句的时间很短时,译为“就”}

• I hadn’t waited long before he came. 

before ^{3).有时候翻译成“然后”}

• I shaved before I went to the party.
• Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney. 

weakness ^{含义1. 懦弱, 软弱 [U]}

• So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. ——John F. Kennedy

weakness ^{含义2. 弱点, 缺点 [C]}

• In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, advertisers have made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses.

After being absent from The Gables for a week, my aunt unexpectedly returned one afternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner.

be absent from … ^{不在…某个地方}

• They were pointedly absent from the news conference.^{他们有意缺席了那场新闻发布会。}
• I don't know the reason why you were absent from the meeting.^{我不知道你为什么缺席会议。}
• Love was totally absent from his childhood.^{他童年时根本没有得到过爱。}
• The pictures, too, were absent from the walls.^{那些照片也不在那些墙上了。}

party ^{n. 一群; 一队; 一组}

• a search / rescue party
• a party of tourists / sightseers
• The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter.

prepare / cook / fix dinner ^做晚饭

• She started to prepare dinner early in the evening.^{她傍晚早早就开始准备晚餐了。}
• He loves to cook dinner for his family on weekends.^{他喜欢在周末为家人做晚餐。}
• I’ll fix dinner tonight, so you can relax.^{今晚我来做晚饭，你可以放松一下。}

Not only was the meal well below the usual standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily.

not only … but … ^{表达“不但…而且…”}

• She is not only smart but kind. ^{她不仅聪明，而且善良。}

Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well. 

well ^{adv.a lot, or to a great degree 相当地，颇为，…得多}

• well before / after / over / above / below / worth …
• I don't know how old he is, but he looks well over forty. 
• Pete left the party well before you got there.
• The castle is well worth a visit. 

above / below (the) standard ^{高于/低于标准}

• Your work is above / below (the) standard. 

She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests.

mumble ^{v. to say something too quietly or not clearly enough, so that people cannot hear what is said 小声咕哝}

• He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.

When she came in with the last course -- a huge pudding -- she tripped on the carpet and the pudding went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table with considerable force.

course ^一道菜

• The lunch was excellent, especially the first course. ^{午饭非常好吃，尤其是第一道菜。}
• The main course was roast duck. ^{主菜是烤鸭。}

trip / stumble over / on sth. ^{在…上绊倒}

• He tripped / stumbled over / on a rock. 

flying through ^{飞也似的穿过}

• Chairs and tables went flying into the arcade.
• Seeing a cake flying through the air, a lorry driver who was drawing up alongside the car, pulled up all of a sudden.

narrowly miss ^{勉强错过、险些撞上}

• The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense walk of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her.

Though this caused great mirth among the guests, Aunt Harriet was horrified.

mirth ^{n. [U] (fml.) happiness and laughter 欢笑}

• Her body began to shake with mirth.
• The performance produced much mirth among the audience. 
• That caused considerable mirth amongst pupils.

She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk.

draw / come to / arrive at / reach a conclusion ^得出结论

• After analyzing the data, the scientists were able to draw a conclusion.^{在分析数据后，科学家们得出了结论。}
• After much discussion, they came to the conclusion that the project was feasible.^{经过多次讨论，他们得出了项目可行的结论。}
• The jury arrived at a conclusion after several hours of deliberation.^{陪审团经过数小时的讨论后得出了结论。}
• The investigation reached a conclusion after gathering all the evidence.^{在收集了所有证据后，调查得出了结论。}

bring … to a conclusion ^使…结束

• In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences — most of them wildly improbable.

The guests had, of course, realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had a difficult time trying to conceal their amusement.

catastrophe ^{n.灾难，灾祸；麻烦，困境；惨败}

• The telephone rings and this marks the prelude to an unforeseen series of catastrophes. 
• From all points of view, war would be a catastrophe.  ^{从各个方面来看，战争都会是一场灾难。}
• Early warnings of rising water levels prevented another major catastrophe. ^{提前发出的洪水水位上涨警报防止了又一次的重大灾害。}

have a difficult / hard time doing ^{做某事很困难}

• She had a difficult time adjusting to the new environment. ^{她在适应新环境时遇到了困难。}
• He had a hard time understanding the instructions. ^{他在理解这些指令时很吃力。}

The poor girl was dismissed instantly.

instantly ^{adv.立刻，马上}

• The man was killed instantly. ^{那人立即被杀死了。}
• I was instantly branded as a rebel. ^{我立刻被归为造反者。}
• I recognized it instantly and felt a quiver of panic. ^{我立刻认出它了，感到一阵惊恐的颤抖。}

After her departure, Aunt Harriet discovered that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie's wardrobe.

… of all shapes and sizes ^{各种形状的}

• Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory.

They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!

find one’s way ^{1.（人做主语）找到去…的路；2.（事物做主语）到达……}

• Very few of the fifty pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found their way there.