a very different kind of homework

So what do you want to film first?? Daniel Humphrey asked his best friend and girlfriend of six weeks, Vanessa Abrams. Dan attended renowned¹ Upper West Side boys school Riverside Prep, while Vanessa attended Constance Billard, but they had gotten permission to collaborate² on a special senior project calledMaking Poetry . Vanessa, a budding film director, was going to film Dan, a budding poet and occasional star of Vanessa?s films, writing and revising his poems. Not exactly box-office-smash material, but Dan was so cute in a scruffy³, rumpled⁴, angst-ridden-artist sort of way that people would probably want to see it anyway. ?Just sit down at your desk and write something in one of those black notebooks like you always do,? Vanessa instructed, peering through the lens of her digital video camera to see if the light was okay. ?Can you clear some of that shit off your desk?? Dan swept his arm over the desk and sent pens, paper clips, scraps⁵ of paper, rubber bands, books, empty packs of unfiltered Camels, matchbooks, and empty Coke cans crashing to the brown-carpeted floor. They were filming in Dan?s room because that was where he usually worked. Besides, it was a straight shot through the park from Constance Billard on East Ninety-third Street between Fifth and Madison to Dan?s apartment building on West Ninety-ninth Street and West End Avenue. ?And maybe take your shirt off, too,? Vanessa suggested.Making Poetry was going to be about the artistic⁶ process, illustrating⁷ that whatdoesn?t go into the work is just as important as what does. There would be lots of shots of Dan crumpling⁸ up paper and throwing it angrily across the room. Vanessa wanted to show that writing?or creating anything, for that matter?wasn?t just a mental exercise: it wasphysical . Plus, Dan had these great little muscles in his back that she couldn?t wait to get on film. Dan stood up and peeled off his plain black T-shirt, tossing it onto his unmade bed where the Humphreys? fat old cat, Marx, lay asleep on his back like a furry⁹ beached whale. Everything about the apartment Dan shared with his father, Rufus, an editor of lesser-known Beat poets, and his little sister, Jenny, was unmade, falling apart, or at the very least completely covered with cat hair and dust bunnies. It was a large, bright, high-ceilinged apartment, but it hadn?t been properly cleaned in twenty years, and the crumbling¹⁰ walls were gasping¹¹ for a new coat of paint. Dan and his father and sister rarely threw anything away, either, so the sagging¹² furniture and scratched wooden floors were strewn with old newspapers and magazines, out-of-print books, incomplete decks of cards, used batteries, and unsharpened pencils. It was the kind of place where your coffee got cat hair in it the minute you poured it, which was a problem Dan dealt with constantly because he was completely addicted¹³ to caffeine. ?Do you want me to face the camera?? he asked, sitting down on his worn wooden desk chair and swiveling it toward Vanessa. ?I could hold the notebook in my lap and write like this,? he demonstrated. Vanessa knelt down and squinted¹⁴ through the camera lens. She was wearing her gray pleated Constance Billard uniform with black tights, and the brown shag carpet felt bristly against her knees. ?Yes, that?s nice,? she murmured. Oh, just look how pale and smooth Dan?s chest was! She could see every rib¹⁵, and that nice line of tawny¹⁶ peach fuzz that ran up his belly¹⁷ to his navel! She inched forward on her knees, trying to get as close as possible without ruining the frame. Dan bit the end of his pen, smiled to himself, and then wrote,She?s got a shaved head, she wears black all the time, she needs a new pair of combat boots, and she hates to wear makeup¹⁸. But she?s the kind of girl who believes in you and secretly gets your best poem published in The New Yorker. I guess you could say I love her. It was probably the corniest thing he?d ever written, but it wasn?t like he was going to publish it in his ?Greatest Works? or anything. Vanessa inched forward some more, trying to capture the fervent¹⁹ white of Dan?s knuckles²⁰ as he scribbled²¹ away. ?What are you writing?? She pressed the record-sound button on her camera. Dan looked up, grinning at her through his messy bangs, his golden brown eyes shining. ?It?s not a poem. It?s just a little story about you.? Vanessa felt her whole body warm up. ?Read it out loud.? Dan scratched his chin self-consciously and then cleared his throat. ?Okay. ?She?s got a shaved head . . . ,?? he began, reading what he?d written. Vanessa blushed as she listened and then dropped the camera on the floor. She walked on her knees over to where Dan was sitting, pushed his notebook out of the way, and laid her head in his lap. ?You know how we?re always talking about having sex but we?ve never done it?? she whispered, her lips brushing the rough cloth of his army-green cargo²² pants. ?Why don?t we do it right now?? Beneath her cheek she felt Dan?s thigh²³ muscle tighten²⁴. ?Now?? He looked down and traced his finger along the edge of Vanessa?s ear. She had four piercings in each ear, but none of them had earrings²⁵ in them. He took a deep breath. He?d been saving sex for a moment when it seemed poetic²⁶ andright . Maybe that time wasright now , a spontaneous moment. It seemed especially apt and ironic²⁷ when in exactly an hour he?d be back at Riverside Prep, sitting in last-period AP Latin, listening to Dr. Werd read Ovid in his over-the-top Latin-nerd accent. Introducing double-free-period sex?the latest offering on the spring curriculum. ?Okay,? Dan agreed. ?Let?s do it.?

1 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

2 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

3 scruffy   

adj.肮脏的，不洁的

参考例句：

• Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛，但神态老练世故。
• His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。

4 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

5 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 illustrating   

给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• He upstaged the other speakers by illustrating his talk with slides. 他演讲中配上幻灯片，比其他演讲人更吸引听众。
• Material illustrating detailed structure of graptolites has been etched from limestone by means of hydrofluoric acid. 表明笔石详细构造的物质是利用氢氟酸从石灰岩中侵蚀出来。

8 crumpling   

压皱，弄皱( crumple的现在分词 )； 变皱

参考例句：

• His crumpling body bent low from years of carrying heavy loads. 由于经年累月的负重，他那皱巴巴的身子被压得弯弯的。
• This apparently took the starch out of the fast-crumpling opposition. 这显然使正在迅速崩溃的反对党泄了气。

9 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

10 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

11 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

12 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

13 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

14 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

15 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。

16 tawny   

adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色

参考例句：

• Her black hair springs in fine strands across her tawny,ruddy cheek.她的一头乌发分披在健康红润的脸颊旁。
• None of them noticed a large,tawny owl flutter past the window.他们谁也没注意到一只大的、褐色的猫头鹰飞过了窗户。

17 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

18 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

19 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

20 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

22 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

23 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

24 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

25 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

27 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。