[author] Kate Chopin (1851-1904) was an American writer born in St. Louis, USA. "The Dream of an Hour" appeared originally in Vogue magazine in 1894. Kate Chopin's stories were frequently published in such leading periodicals as the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's and Century, and were subsequently collected in Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadia (1897). （图片：Kate Chopin）

[grammatical point] In -ing clauses, stative verbs usually suggest the idea of reason or cause. (Stative verbs are verbs which refer to actions or states that go on for a long time, or for ever; for example, live, feel, know, be, have.) They are contrasted with dynamic verbs, which refer to actions or events which have clear beginnings and ends; for example, go, cut, drive, put, ruin. Many stative verbs are rarely used in progressive tenses, but the -ing form can be used in participle clauses.
Being unable to help in any other way, I gave her some money.
Not wishing to continue my studies, I decided to become a dress designer.
Living in the country, we had few amusements.

afflict: vt. to cause to suffer on the body or mind; trouble 使身体受痛苦，使苦恼
Poverty is one of the major problems currently afflicting third world countries.

veil: vt. to put a veil over; (figure of speech) conceal 以面纱遮掩，（喻）隐蔽
The negotiations were veiled in secrecy.
　　n. 1) sth. which covers or hides sth. else 遮蔽物，掩饰物
          2) [countable] a covering of thin material or net for the head or face, worn esp. by women , often for religious reasons面纱
A veil of mist covered the trees.
In some countries Muslim women wear veils in public.
cf. headscarf 头巾
　bonnet（婴孩和从前妇女戴的，通常用绳系于下巴的）圆帽
　hood风帽；兜帽（常连在外衣上，不用时可垂在背后）
　helmet头盔，防护帽
　turban（尤指中东、印度等国家和地区包在头上的）缠头巾
　beret 贝雷帽，无檐软帽

[grammatical point] Cleft sentences with it is / was ... that ...
This structure can be used to emphasize almost any part of the sentence.
　It was my mother that threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
　It was yesterday that my mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education.
Note that verbs cannot be emphasized in this way.
When the subject is emphasized, 'who' is possible instead of 'that'.
When the emphasized subject is a pronoun, there is a choice between subject forms and object forms.
　It was I who... 　　It was me who...
Object forms are more common in informal English.

intelligence: information 消息，信息
Nowadays intelligence is becoming more and more important.

assure: vt. to make sb. feel certain of having or gaining sth. 保证得到
We booked early to assure ourselves of getting good seats.
cf.
convince: vt.to cause sb. to believe or feel certain; to persuade sb.使相信，说服，使承认
reassure: vt. to comfort and make (sb. who is anxious ou uncertain) free from fear or uncertainty使安心，使放心
We convinced Mary to go by train rather than plane.
Let me reassure you that all is going well.

hasten: vi. to (cause to ) move or happen fast or faster 急忙，赶快
He hastened home.

forestall: vt. to prevent or defeat ,etc.(a person or their plans)by acting first 先采取行动以阻止；先发制人
We forestalled any attempt to steal the jewels by having them moved to a safer place.