kindred spirits connect in rehab

Has everyone heard about the snowstorm? We?re supposed to get four feet by midnight!? Jackie Davis, Nate?s teen group facilitator at the Breakaway Rehabilitation¹ Center, rubbed her hands together as if the idea of being snowed in with all these rich derelicts was her idea of a rocking good time. After Nate had gotten busted² in the park, his father and Saul Burns, the family lawyer, had come to fetch him at the precinct. Nate?s father, a stern, silver-haired navy captain who handled emergencies with crisp, efficient formality, had paid the fine of three thousand dollars and cosigned an agreement that Nate would immediately attend a drug rehabilitation program for a minimum of ten hours per week. That meant Nate was going to have to ride the train out to Greenwich, Connecticut, five days a week for counseling and group therapy. ?Just think of it as a job, son,? Saul Burns had tried to reassure³ him. ?An after-school job.? Captain Archibald hadn?t said anything. It was pretty clear that Nate had disappointed him beyond words. Luckily Nate?s mother had been in Monte Carlo visiting her thrice-divorced sister. When Nate had relayed the sordid⁴ tale over the phone she?d shrieked⁵ and wept, smoked five cigarettes in rapid succession, and then broken her champagne⁶ glass. She was always a little dramatic. After all, she was French. ?All right. Let?s start out by going around the circle,? Jackie instructed in a sunny voice, as if this were the first day of nursery school. ?Tell us your name and explain why you?re here. Keep it short, please.? She nodded at Nate to start, since he was sitting directly to her right. Nate shifted uncomfortably in his Eames chair. All the furniture at the posh Greenwich, Connecticut, rehab clinic was twentieth-century modern, to match the minimalist beige and white d?cor. The floor was cream-colored Italian marble, crisp white linen⁷ curtains covered the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the staff wore beige linen uniforms designed especially by nineties denim⁸ impresario⁹ Gunner Gass, a former patient who was now on the facility?s board. ?Okay. My name?s Nathaniel Archibald, but everyone calls me Nate,? Nate mumbled¹⁰. He kicked at the legs of his chair and cleared his throat. ?I got busted a few days ago buying weed in Central Park. That?s why I?m here.? ?Thank you, Nate,? Jackie interrupted. She smiled a frosty, brown-lipsticked smile and made a note on the pad in her clipboard. ?We prefer it here at Breakaway if you call the substance in question by its true name. In your case, marijuana. If you can use its name consistently, you are making one more step toward your freedom from it.? She smiled at Nate once more. ?Would you like to try again?? Nate glanced self-consciously at the other losers in the group. There were seven of them altogether, three guys and four girls, all staring at the floor, worrying about what they were going to say and looking just as uncomfortable as he felt. ?I?m Nate,? Nate repeated mechanically. ?A narc caught me buyingmarijuana in the park. That?s why I?m here.? Across the circle a girl with dark brown hair that hung down almost to her waist, bloodred lips, and skin so pale it was almost blue gazed at him soulfully, like a coked-up version of Snow White. ?Better,? Jackie said. ?Next.? She nodded at the Japanese girl sitting next to Nate. ?My name is Hannah Koto and I took Ecstasy¹¹ before school two weeks ago and got caught because I laid down on the floor to feel the rug in my trig class.? Everybody laughed except for Jackie. ?Thank you, Hannah, that was fine. Next.? Nate tuned¹² the next two people out, kind of grooving¹³ on the way Snow White was jiggling her foot, like she was keeping time to her own private concert. She was wearing light blue suede¹⁴ boots that looked like they?d never been worn outside. Suddenly it was her turn. ?My name is Georgina Spark. Everyone calls me Georgie. I guess I?m here because I wasn?t very nice to my father before he croaked¹⁵, so I have to wait until I turn eighteen before I can live my life the way I want to.? The rest of the group tittered nervously¹⁶. Jackie frowned. ?Can you name the substance you were found abusing, Georgina?? ?Cocaine,? Georgie answered, letting a curtain of dark hair fall over her face. ?I sold my favorite show horse to buy fifty grams. It was in the papers and everything.New York Post , Thursday, February?? ?Thank you,? Jackie interrupted. ?Next group member please.? Still jiggling her foot, Georgie glanced up through her hair and met Nate?s intrigued¹⁷ gaze with a mischievous¹⁸ bloodred smile. ?Bitch,? she mouthed, obviously referring to Jackie. Nate grinned back and nodded his chin ever so slightly. Saul Burns had told him to treat rehab like an after-school job. Now he had a reason to work hard at it.

1 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

2 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

3 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

4 sordid   

adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的

参考例句：

• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively.他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。
• They lived in a sordid apartment.他们住在肮脏的公寓房子里。

5 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

6 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

7 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

8 denim   

n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤

参考例句：

• She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤，一件白粗布工作服上衣。
• Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。

9 impresario   

n.歌剧团的经理人；乐团指挥

参考例句：

• The impresario will present an expanded series of concerts next season.下个季节将举办一次大型的系列音乐会。
• The impresario had buttoned his astrakhan coat.乐团经理扣好了羔皮外套。

10 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

11 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

12 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》

13 grooving   

n.（轧辊）孔型设计v.沟( groove的现在分词 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• It can be used for cutting ceramics, grooving and beveling. 该切机具备切割、切槽、倒角等功能。 来自互联网
• Top-quality steel blades are used to guarantee smoothness grooving. 选任优质锯齿型开槽刀片，保证开槽光洁度。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 croaked   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢，”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

16 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

17 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

18 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。