Mr. Bennet's property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two thousand a year, which, unfortunately for his daughters, was entailed, in default of heirs male, on a distant relation.

in default of (something):?Due to the absence or lack of something; through the failure of something.?

be entailed on 限定繼承給

respectable: considered to be socially acceptable because of your good character, appearance, or behaviour.

eg. She had a brother settled in London in a respectable line of trade.

contrive: to arrange a situation or event, or arrange for something to happen, using clever planning

eg. And, however bare of news the country in general might be, they always contrived to learn some from their aunt.

lodging: a temporary place to stay

eg. Their lodgings were not long a secret, and at length they began to know the officers themselves.

animation: enthusiasm and energy

eg. And Mr. Bingley's large fortune,?the mention of?which gave animation to their mother, was worthless in their eyes when opposed to the regimentals of an ensign.

effusion: a sudden and uncontrolled expression of strong emotion.

eg. After listening one morning to their effusions on this subject, Mr. Bennet coolly observed,：……

disconcerted: worried by something and uncertain:

eg. Catherine was disconcerted, and made no answer.

slightingly: in a way that insults someone by ignoring them or treating them as if they are not important or do not deserve respect.

eg. If I wished to think slightingly of any body's children, it should not be of my own, however.

becoming(old-fashioned): attractive or suitable for someone:

eg. And I thought Colonel Forster looked very becoming the other night at Sir William's in his regimentals.

compassionate: feeling or showing sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others, and wanting to help them

extort: to get something by force or threats, or with difficulty

eg. She did at last extort from her father an acknowledgment that the horses were engaged.

prognostics: relating to a doctor's judgment of the likely or expected development of a disease or of the chances of getting better

eg. Her mother attended her to the door with many cheerful prognostics of a bad day.

intermission: a short period between the parts of a play, film, concert, etc.

eg. The rain continued the whole evening without intermission.

contrivance: the act of intentionally arranging for something to happen by clever planning, or something that is arranged in this way.

eg. Till the next morning, however, she was not aware of all the felicity of her contrivance.

impute: to say that someone is responsible for something that has happened, especially something bad, or that something is the cause of something else.

eg. I find myself very unwell this morning, which, I suppose, is to be imputed to my getting wet through yesterday.

trifling: a trifling matter or amount of money is small or not important

eg. People do not die of little trifling colds.

benevolence: the quality of being kind and helpful

eg. I admire the activity of your benevolence.

exertion: the use of a lot of mental or physical effort

eg. And, in my opinion, exertion should always be in proportion to what is required.

stile: a set of usually two steps that your climb over in order to cross a fence or a wall, especially between fields.

eg. And Elizabeth continued her walk alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity.

weary: very tired, especially after working hard for a long time

eg. She found herself at last within view of the house, with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise.

contempt: a strong feeling of disliking and having no respect for someone or something

eg. And Elizabeth was convinced that they held her in contempt for it.

complexion: the natural appearance of the skin on a person's face, especially its colour or quality.

eg. The former was divided between admiration of the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion, and doubt as to the occasion's justifying her coming so far alone.

feverish: suffering from fever (= high body temperature)

eg. Miss Bennet had slept ill, and though up, was very feverish, and not well enough to leave her room.

solicitude: the quality of caring about other people's comfort, safety, and how they feel

eg. And Elizabeth began to like them herself, when she saw how much affection and solicitude they showed for Jane.

testify: (of a person) to speak seriously about something, especially in a law court, or to give or provide proof

eg. She only wanted a little pressing to accept it, when Jane testified such concern in parting with her.