lifestyles of the rich and famous

Wednesday after school Dan stood in the lobby of the Plaza¹ Hotel, fiddling² with the collar of his new black Agn?s B. suit jacket and clutching the small red leather-bound book Mystery had given him for Valentine?s Day. He?d been to the Plaza only once before, when he and Vanessa had been in Central Park filming ice skaters and she?d had to use the bathroom. Even in his fancy new suit he felt out of place in such sumptuous³ surroundings. He?d better get used to it. After all, he was about to become a very famous author who had tea with his agent in fancy hotels on a regular basis. Pauper⁴ in a mirrored castle,he thought, forming the beginnings of a poem. ?Daniel!? Dan heard Rusty⁵ Klein shout from across the room. This time she was wearing her red wig⁶ in fat braids on either side of her head, and her immense, six-foot-plus frame was cloaked in an unusual black Japanese geisha robe dotted with tiny white flowers and paired with tall, black suede⁷ stiletto boots?as if she wasn?t already tall enough. Mystery stood at her side looking like a starved ghost in a tattered⁸ plum-colored wrap dress and worn brown leather boots. Her collarbone stuck out from her skinny frame like an airplane wing, and her lips were so chapped, they were completely white. Skeleton princess drifts out on a ray of dust. ?Hey,? Dan greeted them casually⁹, as if he always hung out at the Plaza after school. Inside his white Agn?s B. shirt the silver gravity pen Mystery had given him beat against his pale chest. ?Thank you for the gifts.? Rusty swept him up in a big bear hug, suffocating¹⁰ him with her rank oily-fish perfume and smudging his cheek with orangey-pink lipstick¹¹. ?Mystery and I hadtoo much fun shopping for you, darling! We had toforce ourselves to stop.? Mystery ran her tongue over her yellow teeth. ?We?ve been drinking martinis and deconstructing Kafka like two old ninnies,? she croaked¹², sounding drunk and looking like she hadn?t slept in weeks. She blinked her sleepy gray eyes. ?Now that you?re here I can eat. You starve me.? Bones draped in moth¹³ wings sewn with cobwebs. ?This way,? Rusty chortled, ignoring Mystery?s odd pronouncement. She ushered¹⁴ them through the immense lobby and into a large tearoom full of gilded¹⁵ mirrors, tinkling¹⁶ crystal, and overly perfumed ladies with freshly blown-out hair. The round, white-clothed table had been laid with a silver tea service and a three-tiered silver tray covered with freshly baked scones¹⁸, pots of homemade jam, and tiny cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Two half-empty martini glasses stood on the table, ready to be polished off. ?We?ve been having a little party to celebrate Mystery?s debut¹⁹,? Rusty explained merrily. She sat down and tossed back the remains²⁰ of her drink. The queen of poesy gives a tempting²¹ tug²². Dan sat down next to her and put his red leather book on the table. ?What debut?? Rusty grabbed a blueberry scone¹⁷ and slathered it with butter, shoving the whole thing into her enormous orangey-pink mouth, where it disappeared instantly. ?Good, you brought your observations book. Have you been writing everything down? Remember, nothing is inconsequential!? She winked²³ at Mystery. ?Who knows? It could all add up to a book!? Mystery giggled²⁴ and glanced at Dan. ?I finished my novel,? she confided²⁵ huskily. House on fire! House on fire! Dan rubbed his thumb over the tines of his fork, as he absorbed the information. Mystery had finished writing an entire novel in less than a week and all he?d done was write one crappy Valentine?s Day poem for Vanessa. He couldn?t even bear to read Vanessa?s response after he?d sent the poem to her, that was how badly it sucked. ?But I thought you?d just started it,? he said, feeling weirdly²⁶ betrayed. ?I had. But Sunday night I fell off the plateau and kept gathering²⁷ momentum²⁸, and I just couldn?t stop writing until I finished. I e-mailed it to Rusty at dawn this morning, just as the street cleaners were arriving. She?s already read the whole thing. She says I?m the next Virginia Woolf!? ?I thought you were the next Sylvia Plath,? Dan accused grumpily. Moth princess helps herself to stolen meat. Mystery shrugged²⁹ her thin shoulders and poured a heaping spoonful of sugar into her martini, stirring it pensively³⁰ before picking up the glass with both hands and taking a gulp³¹. ?Anyhoo, let?s talk aboutyou Dannyboy,? Rusty practically shouted. ?Oh, fuck me.? She pulled her hot pink cell phone out of her purse, pushed a few buttons and held it up to her ear. ?Hold on, loves. I have to call my messages.? Dan waited, watching Mystery dunk so many spoonfuls of sugar into her drink that it looked less like a martini and more like a slushy from 7-Eleven. He hadn?t noticed before, but her gnarly, gnawed-on fingernails were as yellow as her teeth. Rusty tossed her cell phone into the middle of the table. ?I think you should write a memoir³²,? she told Dan, reaching for another scone and breaking it in half. ?Memoir of a Young Poet. I love it!? she shouted. ?You?re the next Rilke!? The queen of clowns pulls a pink rabbit out of her hair. Dan tugged³³ on the gravity pen. He wanted to write down something about Mystery?s yellow fingernails in his observation book and how surprising it was that he wasn?t turned off by them. In fact, they turned himon . ?But how can I write a memoir when all I do is go to high school?? he argued miserably³⁴. ?Nothing big has ever happened to me.? He reached for the teapot with trembling hands and poured warm, fragrant³⁵ Earl Grey tea into his white teacup. Ah,caffeine . Rusty tapped the cover of his observation book with her long, orangey-pink fingernails. ?Small things, darling. Small things. And you might want to think about putting off college and writing for a year or two, just like Mystery.? She wiped her mouth with a white cloth napkin, smearing³⁶ it with lipstick. ?I?ve got you signed up with Mystery for a poetry reading at the Rivington Rover Poetry Club tomorrow night. Buckley is already distributing the flyers. It?s very now. All the old poetry clubs are coming back. You?ve got to be able to perform. I?m telling you, poetry is the next rock?n?roll!? Mystery giggled and kicked Dan?s shin under the table like drunken donkey. Dan was tempted³⁷ to kick her back because it kind of hurt, but he didn?t want to be immature³⁸. Rusty snapped her foot-long fingers and the waiter instantly appeared. ?Give these kids anything their little hearts desire,? she directed. ?I have to run, darlings. Mama has a meeting.? She blew kisses at them and then click-clacked across the room in her geisha dress, turning heads with her flaming braids and immense stature³⁹. Mother bird flees the nest, leaving the princess and the pauper with open beaks⁴⁰. Mystery downed the dregs of Rusty?s martini and gazed exhaustedly⁴¹ at Dan with droopy gray eyes. ?Every time Rusty mentions your name I feel the heat creep up my thighs,? she confessed throatily. ?I?ve been drowning in desire all week, but I managed to channel that animal energy into my book.? She giggled. Her teeth looked like they?d been colored in with a yellow crayon. ?Parts of it are totally X-rated.? Pauper turns prince. To coin a phrase, I?m crowning. Dan reached for a cucumber sandwich and shoved it in his mouth, chewing it violently without even tasting it. He was supposed to go home and write his memoir. He was supposed to have a girlfriend. He was supposed to be freaked out by this decidedly insane, yellow-toothed, horny chick. But the truth was, he was horny, too. He?d lost his virginity twice already, and he couldn?t wait to lose it again and again. ?Come on,? Mystery beckoned⁴², holding out her yellow-nailed hand. ?We can get a room and put it on Rusty?s tab.? Dan picked up his observation book and followed her to the front desk. Poetry be damned. He couldn?t resist following this story line to the next chapter.

1 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

2 fiddling   

微小的

参考例句：

• He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
• All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

3 sumptuous   

adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
• We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。

4 pauper   

n.贫民，被救济者，穷人

参考例句：

• You lived like a pauper when you had plenty of money.你有大把钱的时候，也活得像个乞丐。
• If you work conscientiously you'll only die a pauper.你按部就班地干，做到老也是穷死。

5 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

6 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。

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 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

9 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

10 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

11 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。

12 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

13 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

14 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

16 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

17 scone   

n.圆饼，甜饼，司康饼

参考例句：

• She eats scone every morning.她每天早上都吃甜饼。
• Scone is said to be origined from Scotland.司康饼据说来源于苏格兰。

18 scones   

n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• scones and jam with clotted cream 夹有凝脂奶油和果酱的烤饼
• She makes scones and cakes for the delectation of visitors. 她烘制了烤饼和蛋糕供客人享用。 来自辞典例句

19 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

22 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

23 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》

24 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》

25 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 weirdly   

古怪地

参考例句：

• Another special characteristic of Kweilin is its weirdly-shaped mountain grottoes. 桂林的另一特点是其形态怪异的岩洞。
• The country was weirdly transformed. 地势古怪地变了样。

27 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

28 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

29 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》

30 pensively   

adv.沉思地，焦虑地

参考例句：

• Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句
• "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉，真的，"嘉莉幽幽地说，"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

31 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。

32 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

33 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

36 smearing   

污点，拖尾效应

参考例句：

• The small boy spoilt the picture by smearing it with ink. 那孩子往画上抹墨水把画给毁了。
• Remove the screen carefully so as to avoid smearing the paste print. 小心的移开丝网，以避免它弄脏膏印。

37 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

38 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

39 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

40 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

41 exhaustedly   

adv.exhausted（精疲力竭的）的变形

参考例句：

• She sat on the bank exhaustedly, cried And shrank into herself as a little animal. 她无力地在岸边坐下，像只小动物般抱膝蜷缩着黯然哭泣。 来自互联网
• Comes back after the national sports team has been adjusting, but the present feels somewhat exhaustedly. 从国家队回来之后一直在调整，不过现在还是感觉有些疲惫。 来自互联网

42 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》