chapter 19

It was only eight o'clock, but the bar was already jammed with people, dressed in the hippest¹ fashions and sipping³ pastel-colored cocktails⁵. Blair didn't care what time it was–she needed a drink. She was sitting in an armchair right near the bar, but the stupid cocktail⁴ waitress was ignoring her, probably because Blair hadn't bothered to dress up. She had worn her faded Earl jeans and a boring black sweater because she was only meeting Serena for a quick drink before she went home to prepare for her night of wild sex with Nate. And she wasn't going to dress up for that, either. Blair had decided⁶ to meet Nate at the door naked. Her face grew hot just thinking about it, and she looked around the room self-consciously. She felt like a loser sitting there all by herself without even a drink. Where was Serena, anyway? She didn't have all goddamned night. Blair lit a cigarette. If Serena doesn't come by the time I'm done with this cigarette, I'm leaving, she told herself sulkily. “Look at her,” Blair heard a woman say to her friend. “Isn't she beautiful?” Blair turned to look. Of course it was Serena. She was wearing blue suede⁷ knee-high boots and a real Pucci dress. Long sleeved with a high neck and a crystal beaded belt, in blues⁸, oranges, and greens. It was super fantastic. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail on top of her head and she was wearing pale blue eye shadow and creamy pink lipstick⁹. She smiled and waved at Blair from across the room, weaving her way through the crowd. Blair watched the heads turn as she passed, and her stomach churned. She was already sick of Serena, and she hadn't even spoken to her yet. “Hi,” Serena said, plunking herself down on a square ottoman beside Blair's chair. Immediately, the cocktail waitress appeared.“Hey Serena, long time no see. How's your brother?” the waitress said. “Hey Missy. Erik's good. He's too busy to call me ever. I think he must have like, eight different girlfriends up there,” Serena laughed. “How are you doing?” “I'm great,” Missy said. “Hey listen, my sister works for a caterer¹⁰, you know, and she said she saw you a few days ago at a party she was working at a gallery in Chelsea. She said that's you in that picture on all the buses. Is that true?” “Yeah,” Serena said. “Pretty crazy, huh?” “You are so rad!” Missy squealed¹¹. She glanced at Blair who was glaring at her. “Anyway, what can I get you girls?” “Ketel One and tonic,” Blair told her, looking her straight in the eye, daring her to card them. “Extra limes.” But Missy would rather lose her job than hassle Serena van der Woodsen for being underage. That's the whole reason for going to hotel bars in the first place: no one ever cards. “And for you, sweetie?” Missy asked Serena. “Oh, I better start with a Cosmo,” Serena said, and laughed. “I need something pink to go with my dress.” Missy hurried away to fetch the drinks, eager to tell the bartender that the girl in the Remi brothers' photo that was all over town was sitting in their bar and they were pals¹²! “Sorry I'm late,” Serena told Blair, looking around. “I thought everyone else would be here with you.” Blair shrugged¹³ her shoulders and took a long drag on her dwindling¹⁴ cigarette. “I thought we could hang out by ourselves for a while,” she said. “No one really comes out until later, anyway.” “Okay,” Serena said. She smoothed out her dress and dug around in her little red purse for her own pack of cigarettes. Gauloises, from France. She tapped one out and stuck it in her mouth. “Want one?” she offered Blair. Blair shook her head no. “They're kind of strong, but the box is too cool, I don't care.” Serena laughed. She was about to light up with a pack of bar matches, when the bartender swooped¹⁵ in with a lighter¹⁶. “Thanks,” she said, raising her eyes to look at him. The bartender winked¹⁷ at her and swiftly stepped back behind the bar. Missy brought them their drinks. “To old times,” Serena said, clinking her glass against Blair's and taking a long sip² on her pink Cosmopolitan¹⁸. She sat back on her stool and sighed with pleasure. “Don't you just love hotels?” she said. “They're so full of secrets.” Blair raised her eyebrows¹⁹ at Serena in silent response, sure that Serena was about to tell her all the wild and crazy things that had happened to her in hotels while she was in Europe or wherever, as if Blair cared. “I mean, don't you always think about what everyone's doing in their rooms? Like, they could be watching pornos and eating cheese doodles, or they could be having kinky sex in the bathroom. Or maybe they're just asleep.” “Uh-huh,” said Blair disinterestedly²⁰, gulping²¹ her drink. She would have to get a little drunk if she were going to make it through the night, especially the naked part. “So what's this about your picture being all over buses and stuff?” Blair said. “I haven't seen it.” Serena giggled²³ and leaned toward Blair confidentially²⁴. “Even if you saw it, you probably wouldn't recognize me. It has my name on it, but it's not a picture of my face.” Blair frowned. “I don't get it,” she said. “It's art,” Serena said mysteriously, and giggled again. She took a sip of her drink. The two girls' faces were only inches apart, and Blair could smell the musky essential-oil mixture Serena had started wearing. “I still don't get it. Is it something dirty?” Blair said, confused. “Not really,” Serena answered with a sly smile. “Lots of people have had theirs done too. You know–celebrities.” “Like who?” Blair said. “Like Madonna, and Eminem, and Christina Aguilera.” “Oh,” Blair said, sounding unimpressed. Serena's eyes narrowed. “What's that supposed to mean?” she demanded. Blair lifted her chin and tucked her straight brown hair behind her ears. “I don't know, it's like you're willing to do anything just to shock people. Don't you have any pride?” Serena shook her head, still staring at Blair. “Like what? What have I done?” she said, frantically²⁵ gnawing²⁶ on her fingernails. “Like getting kicked out of boarding school,” Blair said vaguely²⁷. Serena snorted. “What's so bad about that? Tons of people get kicked out every year. They have so many stupid rules, it's almost impossible not to get kicked out.” Blair pressed her lips together, measuring her words carefully. “I don't mean that, I mean why you got kicked out.” There. She had done it. She had committed herself now. She was going to have to sit and listen to Serena tell her all about the cults²⁸ she had joined, and the boys she'd had sex with, and the drugs she had done. Shit. Don't believe for a minute that she wasn't curious, though. Blair fiddled²⁹ with the ruby³⁰ ring on her finger, turning it round and round. Serena raised her glass at Missy, asking for another drink. “Blair,” Serena said. “The only reason I got kicked out was because I didn't show up at the beginning of school. I stayed in France. My parents didn't even know. I was supposed to fly back at the end of August, but I stayed until the third week in September. I was living in this amazing chateau³¹ outside of Cannes, and it was like, a constant party. I don't think I slept a whole night the entire time I was there. It was like those parties in that house in The Great Gatsby. “There were these two boys, an older brother and a younger one, and I was totally in love with both of them. Actually,” she laughed, “I was even more in love with their father, but he was married.” The Star Lounge DJ switched vibes and began to play a funky³² acid jazz song with a cool beat. The lights dimmed and the candles flickered³³. Serena jiggled her foot to the music and glanced at Blair, whose eyes were glazing³⁴ over.Serena lit another cigarette and inhaled³⁵ deeply. “Anyway, of course I partied a lot at school, but so did everyone else. What the school couldn't deal with was that I didn't even bother to show up at the beginning of the year. I don't blame them, I guess. But to tell you the truth, I really didn't care about going back to school. I was having way too much fun.” Blair rolled her eyes again. She honestly didn't care what the truth was. “Did you ever think about the fact that these are like, the most important years of our lives? Like, for getting into college and everything?” she said. Missy brought Serena's drink, and this time Serena only nodded her thanks. She looked down at the floor, her pinky nail between her teeth. “Yeah, I'm just realizing that now,” she admitted. “I hadn't thought about it before–how I should have been joining teams and clubs. You know, getting really into the school thing.” Blair shook her head. “I feel sorry for your parents,” she said quietly. Serena's eyes were getting big, and her lip was trembling. But she was determined³⁷ not to let Blair make her cry. Blair was just being a bitch, that's all. Maybe she was getting her period. Serena took a huge gulp²² of her drink and wiped her mouth with her cocktail napkin. “So, you never told me what you and Nate did all summer. Did you ever go up to Maine and see that boat he built?” she asked, completely changing the subject. Blair shook her head. “I had tennis camp. It sucked.” “Oh,” Serena said. They drank their drinks in awkward silence. Serena sat up suddenly, remembering something. “Hey,” she said. “You know, some girl actually signed up to help me with my movie? A ninth grader. Her name is Jenny. And she gave me an invitation to that party next week. You know, the one you've been planning?” Touché, girlfriend. Touché. Blair pulled another cigarette out of the pack and stuck it in her mouth. She reached for a match, pausing before she struck it to see if the bartender would leap across the room with a lighter. He didn't. Blair lit the cigarette herself and blew a big cloud of smoke directly into Serena's face.So Serena knew about the party. She had an invitation. Well, she was bound to find out anyway. “The calligrapher,” Blair said, smiling sweetly. “She's good, isn't she?” “Yeah, she did a great job,” Serena said. “And it was really nice of her to notice that mine had the wrong address on it. She said the address you gave her was my dorm room at Hanover.” Blair tucked her hair behind her ears and shrugged her shoulders. “Oops,” she said, feigning³⁸ cluelessness. “Sorry about that.” “So tell me about the party,” Serena said. “What's it for again?” Blair couldn't talk about the cause without smiling self-consciously because it sounded so lame³⁶ and unsexy. That's why she'd named the party Kiss on the Lips. To give it some allure³⁹. “It's for those two peregrine falcons⁴⁰ that live in Central Park. They're an endangered species, and everyone's worried that they're going to die or starve or the squirrels will raid their nests or whatever. So they set up a foundation for them,” she explained. “Don't laugh. I know it's kind of stupid.” Serena blew out a puff⁴¹ of smoke and giggled. “Well, it's not like there aren't people that need saving. I mean, what about the homeless?” “Well, it's as good a cause as any. We wanted something that wasn't too heavy to start the season off,” Blair huffed, annoyed. It was fine for her to laugh at the cause she'd chosen for the party, but Serena had no right. Serena steered⁴² the conversation back on course. “So is the party like, just for us, or is it for parents, too?” she asked. Blair hesitated. “Just . . . us,” she said finally. She downed the rest of her drink and looked at her watch. “Um, I kind of have to take off,” she said. She slid her bag over her arm and picked her pack of cigarettes up off the table. Serena frowned. She had taken her time getting dressed, psyching herself up for a wild night out with her friends. She'd expected a big group–Blair and the other girls, Nate and his gang, Chuck and his boys–all the people they always used to hang out with.

1 hippest   

hip（（衣服、音乐等方面）时髦的，赶时髦的）的最高级形式

参考例句：

2 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

3 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

4 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

5 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 suede   

n.表面粗糙的软皮革

参考例句：

• I'm looking for a suede jacket.我想买一件皮制茄克。
• Her newly bought suede shoes look very fashionable.她新买的翻毛皮鞋看上去非常时尚。

8 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

9 lipstick   

n.口红，唇膏

参考例句：

• Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红，开始往嘴唇上抹。
• Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。

10 caterer   

n. 备办食物者，备办宴席者

参考例句：

• My wife went to a lot of trouble; she called a caterer. 我太太花了很多心血，她找了专办派对的人来。
• The wedding reception has been organized by an outside caterer. 婚宴由外界的饮食公司承办。

11 squealed   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

13 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》

14 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

15 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

16 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

17 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

19 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

20 disinterestedly   

参考例句：

• Few people behave disinterestedly in life. 生活中很少有人能表现得廉洁无私。 来自辞典例句
• He decided the case disinterestedly. 他公正地判决了那个案件。 来自互联网

21 gulping   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸，躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• And you'll even feel excited gulping down a glass. 你甚至可以感觉到激动下一杯。 来自互联网

22 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

23 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 confidentially   

ad.秘密地，悄悄地

参考例句：

• She was leaning confidentially across the table. 她神神秘秘地从桌子上靠过来。
• Kao Sung-nien and Wang Ch'u-hou talked confidentially in low tones. 高松年汪处厚两人低声密谈。

25 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

26 gnawing   

a.痛苦的，折磨人的

参考例句：

• The dog was gnawing a bone. 那狗在啃骨头。
• These doubts had been gnawing at him for some time. 这些疑虑已经折磨他一段时间了。

27 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

28 cults   

n.迷信( cult的名词复数 )；狂热的崇拜；（有极端宗教信仰的）异教团体

参考例句：

• Religious cults and priesthoods are sectarian by nature. 宗教崇拜和僧侣界天然就有派性。 来自辞典例句
• All these religions were flourishing side by side with many less prominent cults. 所有这些宗教和许多次要的教派一起，共同繁荣。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

29 fiddled   

v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 )；篡改；骗取；修理或稍作改动

参考例句：

• He fiddled the company's accounts. 他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He began with Palestrina, and fiddled all the way through Bartok. 他从帕勒斯春纳的作品一直演奏到巴塔克的作品。 来自辞典例句

30 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

31 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

32 funky   

adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的

参考例句：

• The kitchen smelled really funky.这个厨房有一股霉味。
• It is a funky restaurant with very interesting art on the walls.那是一家墙上挂着很有意思的绘画的新潮餐馆。

33 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

34 glazing   

n.玻璃装配业；玻璃窗；上釉；上光v.装玻璃( glaze的现在分词 )；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• You should ensure against loss of heat by having double glazing. 你应装双层玻璃以免散热。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You should ensure yourself against loss of heat by having double glazing. 你应该装双层玻璃防止热量散失。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

37 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

38 feigning   

假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等）

参考例句：

• He survived the massacre by feigning death. 他装死才在大屠杀中死里逃生。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。

39 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

40 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

41 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

42 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》