chapter 14

“Dude's tired just thinking about it!” Anthony said, pointing at Nate and cackling. Nate laughed and shook his head, trying to shake their words out of his ears. He lay back in the grass and stared at the empty blue sky. If he tilted² his head all the way back, he could just see the rooftops of the penthouses along Fifth Avenue, Serena's and Blair's included. Nate let his chin fall so all he could see was blue sky again. He was too baked to deal with any of this. He tuned³ his friends out and tried to clear his mind completely, his head as empty and blue as the sky. But he couldn't get the images of Serena and Blair out of his mind's eye, floating naked above his head. “You know you love me,” they were saying. Nate smiled and closed his eyes. Disclaimer: All the real names of places, people, and events have been altered or abbreviated⁴ to protect the innocent. Namely, me. hey people! I know it hasn't been long. But I can't resist writing more about N. My new favorite topic. He is so stunningly⁵ beautiful, after all. Even if he is kind of lacking in the balls department. STONED IN CENTRAL PARK Actually, my new favorite topic is the Waspoid–the elite⁶ version of the wasteoid, or stoner boy. Unlike the average stoner wasteoid, the Waspoid isn't into metal or online dungeon⁷ games or skateboarding or eating vegan. He gets cute haircuts and has good skin. He smells nice, he wears the cashmere sweaters his girlfriend buys for him, he gets decent grades, and he's sweet to his mom. He sails and plays soccer. He knows how to tie a necktie. He knows how to dance. He's sexy! But the Waspoid never fully⁸ invests himself in anything or anyone. He isn't a go-getter and he never says what's on his mind. He doesn't take risks, which is what makes it so risky⁹ to fall in love with him.You might have noticed that I'm just the opposite–I never know when to shut up! And I seriously believe that opposites attract. I have to confess, I'm becoming a Waspoid groupie.Apparently¹⁰ I'm not the only one. Your E-mail Dear Gossip Girl,i hooked up majorly with N on a blanket in central park. at least, i think it's the same N . he's all freckley, right? does he smell like suntan lotion¹¹ and weed?–blanketbaby Dear blanketbaby, Hmmm. I bet he does. –GG SIGHTINGS B buying condoms at Zitomer Pharmacy¹². Lifestyles Extra-Long Super-Ribbed! What I want to know is how she knew what size to get. I guess they've done everything but. Afterwards, B made a beeline (no pun intended!) to the J. Sisters salon¹³ for her first Brazilian bikini wax. Ouch. But believe me, it's worth it. Also caught S at the post office, mailing a big package. Barneys baby clothes for her little French tot, maybe? Caught I and K in the 3 Guys Coffee Shop, eating fries and hot cocoa again. They'd just returned those cute little dresses they bought at Bendel's the other day–oh dear, are they getting too fat?–and were discussing other options for what to wear to the Kiss on the Lips party. Too bad it's not a toga party. Vocab Since so many of you have been asking, I'm going to answer the big question that's been baffling you since you found out about the party for the peregrine falcons¹⁵. Okay. According to my handy unabridged dictionary: Falcon¹⁴, n. 1. any of several birds of prey¹⁶ of the family Falconidae, esp. of the genus Falco, usually distinguished¹⁷ by long, pointed¹⁸ wings, a hooked beak¹⁹ with a tooth-like notch²⁰ on each side of the upper bill, and swift agile²¹ flight, typically diving to seize prey: some falcon species are close to extinction²². Peregrine falcon, a globally distributed falcon, Falco perigrinus, much used in falconry because of its swift flight.I'm sure I had you on the edge of your seat about that one. But I'm just trying to keep you in the know–that's my job.See you in the park! You know you love me,? s tries to improve herself “Well, it's wonderful to have you back, dear,” Ms. Glos, Constance's college advisor²³, told Serena. She picked her glasses up from where they were hanging around her neck on a gold chain and slid them onto her nose so she could examine Serena's schedule, which was lying on her desk. “Let's see, now. Mmmm. Yes. Right,” she muttered, reading the schedule over. Serena sat in front of Ms. Glos, with her legs crossed, waiting patiently. There were no diplomas on Ms. Glos's wall, no evidence of any accreditations at all, just pictures of her grandchildren. Serena wondered if Ms. Glos had even gone to college. You would have thought that if she were going to dish out advice on the subject, she could have at least tried it. Ms. Glos cleared her throat. “Yes, well, your schedule is perfectly²⁴ acceptable. Not stellar, mind you, but adequate. I imagine you're making up for it with extracurriculars, yes?” Serena shrugged²⁵ her shoulders. If you can call drinking Pernod and dancing naked on a beach in Cannes an extracurricular. “Not really,” she said. “I mean, I'm not actually signed up for any extracurriculars at the moment.” Ms. Glos let her glasses drop. Her nostrils²⁶ were turning very red and Serena wondered if she was about to have a bloody²⁷ nose. Ms. Glos was famous for her bloody noses. Her skin was very pale, with a yellowish tinge²⁸. All the girls thought she had some terrible contagious²⁹ disease.“No extracurriculars? But what are you doing to improve yourself?” Serena gave Ms. Glos a polite, blank look. Who said she needed improving? “I see. Well, we'll have to get you involved in something, won't we?” Ms. Glos said. “I'm afraid the colleges aren't going to even look at you without any extracurriculars.” She bent³⁰ over and pulled a big looseleaf binder³¹ out of a drawer in her desk and began flipping³² through pages and pages of flyers printed on colored paper. “Here's something that starts this week. 'Feng Shui Flowers, the Art of Floral Design.' ” She looked up at Serena, who was frowning doubtfully. “No, you're right. That's not going to get you into Harvard, is it?” Ms. Glos said with a little laugh. She pushed up the sleeves of her blouse and frowned at the binder as she flipped³³ briskly through the pages. She wasn't about to give up after only one try. She was very good at her job. Serena gnawed³⁴ on her thumbnail. She hadn't thought about this. That colleges would actually need her to be anything more than she already was. And she definitely wanted to go to college. A good one. Her parents certainly expected her to go to one of the best schools. Not that they put any pressure on her–but it went without saying. And the more Serena thought about it, the more she realized she really didn't have anything going for her. She'd been kicked out of boarding school, her grades had fallen, she had no idea what was going on in any of her classes, and she had no hobbies or cool after-school activities. Her SAT scores sucked because her mind always wandered during those stupid fill-in-the-bubble tests. And when she took them again, they would probably suck even worse. Basically, she was screwed. “What about drama? Your English grades are quite good, you must like drama,” Ms. Glos suggested. “They've only been rehearsing this one for a little over a week. It's the Interschool Drama Club doing a modern version of Gone With the Wind.” She looked up again. “How 'bout¹ it?” Serena jiggled her foot up and down and chewed on her pinky nail. She tried to imagine herself alone on stage playing Scarlett O'Hara. She would have to cry on cue, and pretend to faint, and wear huge dresses with corsets and hoop³⁵ skirts. Maybe even a wig³⁶. I'll never go hungry again! she'd cry dramatically, in her best Southern-belle voice. It might be kind of fun. Serena took the flyer from Ms. Glos's hand, careful not to touch the paper where Ms. Glos had touched it. “Sure, why not?” she said. “It sounds like fun.” Serena left Ms. Glos's office as the final class of the day was getting out. Gone With the Wind rehearsal³⁷ was in the auditorium³⁸, but it didn't begin until six so that the students who did sports right after school could still be in the play. Serena walked up Constance's wide central stairwell to the fourth floor to retrieve³⁹ her coat from her locker⁴⁰ and see if anyone wanted to hang out until six. All around her, girls were flying past, a blur⁴¹ of end-of-the-day energy, rushing to their next meeting, practice, rehearsal, or club. Out of habit, they paused for half a second to say hello to Serena, because ever since they could remember, to be seen talking to Serena van der Woodsen was to be seen. “Hey Serena,” Laura Salmon⁴² yelled before diving down the stairs for Glee Club in the basement music room. “Later, Serena,” Rain Hoffstetter said, as she slipped past in her gym shorts, heading for soccer practice. “See you tomorrow, Serena,” Lily Reed said softly, blushing because she was wearing her riding breeches, which always embarrassed her. “Bye,” Carmen Fortier said, chewing gum in her leather jacket and jeans. She was one of the few scholarship girls in the junior class and lived in the Bronx. She claimed she couldn't wear her uniform home or she'd get beaten up.

1 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

2 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

3 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 abbreviated   

adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He abbreviated so much that it was hard to understand his article. 他的文章缩写词使用太多，令人费解。
• The United States of America is commonly abbreviated to U.S.A.. 美利坚合众国常被缩略为U.S.A.。

5 stunningly   

ad.令人目瞪口呆地；惊人地

参考例句：

• The cooks, seamstresses and other small investors are stunningly vulnerable to reversals. 那些厨师、裁缝及其他的小投资者非常容易受到股市逆转的影响。
• The production cost of this huge passenger liner is stunningly high. 这艘船城造价之高令人惊叹。

6 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

7 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 lotion   

n.洗剂

参考例句：

• The lotion should be applied sparingly to the skin.这种洗液应均匀地涂在皮肤上。
• She lubricates her hands with a lotion.她用一种洗剂来滑润她的手。

12 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

13 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

14 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

15 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句

16 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

17 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

20 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

21 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

22 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

23 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

24 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

25 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

27 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

28 tinge   

vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息

参考例句：

• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
• There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.她声音中流露出一丝忧伤。

29 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

30 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

31 binder   

n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工

参考例句：

• The cloth flower snaps on with a special binder.这布花是用一种特殊的粘合剂固定住的。
• Purified water was used as liquid binder.纯净水作为液体粘合剂。

32 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

33 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

34 gnawed   

咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
• The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

35 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

36 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

37 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

38 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

39 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

40 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

41 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

42 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？