Chapter 18

Excuse me? Vanessa glared at her older sister, too furious to say anything. Then Arlo blew his nose again, his chest heaving with sobs¹. Vanessa was sort of worried he might be having a heart attack or something.  ?Dad?? ?We just had no idea you were so ?artistic² ,? Gabriela faltered³. ?No idea.? It wasn't exactly a compliment, but Vanessa hadn't exactly been fishing for compliments. Her films were so dark and weird⁴, hardly anyone ever really liked them. Arlo grabbed the remote and switched the TV on again. They'd been watching the reinterpretation⁵ she'd done of a scene fromWar and Peace, starring none other than Dan. The camera followed a scrap⁶ of dirty paper being blown by the wind through Madison Square Park at sunset and then settled on Dan, lying collapsed⁷ on a park bench. It zoomed⁸ in on his face, and Vanessa's heart dropped into her knees. ?Can we turn that off now?? she pleaded. But no one paid any attention. ?It's not just that you can tell a story,? Arlo gushed⁹, entranced. ?But the way you do it, like a painter.? He turned his teary, bloodshot eyes to Vanessa. ?You put us all to shame.? ?She got into NYU early, too, cuz she's so freakin' good,? Ruby¹⁰ burbled proudly. Vanessa's face burned. ?Shut up.? Gabriela wrapped a tentative, kimonoed arm around her shoulder. ?We're so proud of you, Eggplant,? she whispered, using the endearing name Vanessa hadn't heard since she was a baby. Then Arlo came over and hugged the both of them, his face damp with tears. Ruby reached out to rub his back, and soon the four of them were wrapped in a group hug even the hippiest of hippies couldn't top. It was totally un-Vanessa, but it wasn't like anyone was filming it or anything. ?Jordy's going to come stay with us for a while this summer. Is that all right?? Gabriela murmured while they were still hugging. Ruby snorted. ?I don't think she minds what you do with Jordy.? ?Oh, I thought you liked him,? her mother said. ?I do,? Vanessa faltered. And Jordy was nice while he lasted. ?I just?? ?She likes that Dan friend of hers from the picture a bit better,? Arlo interrupted, as if reading her mind. ?He's really got something.? Ruby giggled¹¹, and Vanessa kicked her in her leather pants. Yeah, Dan definitely had something, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was.
 Her.
 gossipgirl.net Disclaimer: All the real names of places, people, and events have been altered or abbreviated¹² to protect the innocent. Namely, me.  hey people! Isn't it great to be back? Isn't it great to be back andstill not know where we're going to school next year? Isn't it great to be back when it feels like our lives are hanging in the balance and we're all going completely bonkers? Well, here's a little something to look forward to: Calling all boys You know you want to meet me, and here's your chance. Tomorrow is our first day back at school, and the weather is supposed to be unseasonably warm and beautiful. As soon as school lets out, you'll find me lying on a red blanket, soaking up the sun on the grass in Sheep Meadow. You are all welcome to join me, and you are also all welcome to bring snacks and beverages¹³. No pretzels or Gatorade, please. Sorry, girls, but this is a boys-only invite. Boys have never been as good at waiting as we are, and you know what they say?the best things come to people who wait.  Your e-mail  Q:Dear GG, You know that crazy girlN met in rehab? Well, I live down the road from her, and we went to Greenwich Saints together until she got kicked out. Anyway, I heard my parents talking about how she was in jail in Sun Valley for indecent exposure, and it's so crazy because her mom was in South America and had no idea she was even there so that kidC 's parents had to bail¹⁴ her out, too, even though they didn't even know her.
 ?Conngurl  A:Dear Conngurl, That would explain a lot, I guess. And I have to say,C 's parents deserve a medal for their generosity¹⁵. Personally, I think she might have benefited from a few extra nights in the slammer. But what I really want to know is?what did they give her to wear in her jail cell??
 ?GG  Q:Dear GossipGurl, ok, so i'm not a stalking pervert¹⁶, but i did sort of follow this boy i have a total crush on down to s's building and then sat on the met steps in the rain, waiting for him to come out, which he didn't until way after dark and now i have a really bad cold. i feel so stupid.
 ?atishoo  A:Dear atishoo, That's a little sad. Although I know which boy you're talking about, and had I spotted¹⁷ him on the street I probably would've done the same thing. What hasS got that we haven't? Don't answer that?we're jealous enough of her as it is. BTW, I have a cold, too!  ?GG  Q:Dear GG, I heard college acceptance letters are coming late this year because the schools can't decide whether to increase class size or just reject people. They're having a secret forum¹⁸ about it this week.  ?ino  A:Dear ino, I don't talk to people who spread stupid rumors¹⁹ about college acceptance letters. We're all paranoid enough as it is.  ?GG  Sightings Bin²⁰ theWicker Garden buying an adorable yellow cashmere bunny rabbit?probably the first cashmere item ever she didn't a) buy for herself or b) steal.N staring up atB 's building on Seventy-second Street like it had all the answers. Don't count on it, sweet pea.J and her gangly girlfriend stalking that poor boy from theSmale School again. What is it with those two?D on theL train toWilliamsburg .D not getting off theL train in Williamsburg.V filming new grass growing inCentral Park ?I'm not kidding, she's that serious about her work.  P.S. I won't totally spoil it for you, but has anyone seenC lately? He has a new little friend, and I'm dying to know where it came from. It's so exotic! See you in the park, boys!! You know you love me. gossip girl

1 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

2 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。

3 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

4 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

5 reinterpretation   

n.重新解释，纠正性说明

参考例句：

• The ancient "Book of Songs" needs a reinterpretation for the young people.对青年人来说，古代的《诗经》需要做新的解释。
• Optimists are also skilled at using the psychological defense of "reinterpretation" of events.乐观者长于使用对事件“重新解释”的心理防御。

6 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 zoomed   

v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Traffic zoomed past us. 车辆从我们身边疾驰而过。
• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gushed   

v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• Oil gushed from the well. 石油从井口喷了出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Clear water gushed into the irrigational channel. 清澈的水涌进了灌溉渠道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 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。

11 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》

12 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.。

13 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

14 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

15 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

16 pervert   

n.堕落者，反常者；vt.误用，滥用；使人堕落，使入邪路

参考例句：

• Reading such silly stories will pervert your taste for good books.读这种愚昧的故事会败坏你对好书的嗜好。
• Do not pervert the idea.别歪曲那想法。

17 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

18 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

19 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。