The dinner itself was chatter¹ about a jumble² of places, personalities³, plans, most of which had nothing to do withanything that Clyde had personally contacted here. However, by reason of his own charm, he soon managed toovercome the sense of strangeness and hence indifference⁴ in some quarters, more particularly the young womenof the group who were interested by the fact that Sondra Finchley liked him. And Jill Trumbull, sitting besidehim, wanted to know where he came from, what his own home life and connections were like, why he haddecided to come to Lycurgus, questions which, interjected as they were between silly banter⁵ concerning differentgirls and their beaus, gave Clyde pause. He did not feel that he could admit the truth in connection with hisfamily at all. So he announced that his father conducted a hotel in Denver--not so very large, but still a hotel.

　　Also that he had come to Lycurgus because his uncle had suggested to him in Chicago that he come to learn thecollar business. He was not sure that he was wholly interested in it or that he would continue indefinitely unlessit proved worth while; rather he was trying to find out what it might mean to his future, a remark which causedSondra, who was also listening, as well as Jill, to whom it was addressed, to consider that in spite of all rumorsattributed to Gilbert, Clyde must possess some means and position to which, in case he did not do so well here,he could return.

　　This in itself was important, not only to Sondra and Jill, but to all the others. For, despite his looks and charmand family connections here, the thought that he was a mere⁶ nobody, seeking, as Constance Wynant hadreported, to attach himself to his cousin's family, was disquieting⁷. One couldn't ever be anything much more thanfriendly with a moneyless clerk or pensioner⁸, whatever his family connections, whereas if he had a little moneyand some local station elsewhere, the situation was

点击收听单词发音  

1 chatter
vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战
参考例句：
Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

2 jumble
vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆
参考例句：
Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。 The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。

3 personalities
n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )
参考例句：
There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。 Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

4 indifference
n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎
参考例句：
I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。 He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

5 banter
n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑
参考例句：
The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。 She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。

6 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 disquieting
adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The news from the African front was disquieting in the extreme. 非洲前线的消息极其令人不安。 来自英汉文学 That locality was always vaguely disquieting, even in the broad glare of afternoon. 那一带地方一向隐隐约约使人感到心神不安甚至在下午耀眼的阳光里也一样。 来自辞典例句

8 pensioner
n.领养老金的人
参考例句：
The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。 It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

9 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 infringing
v.违反（规章等）( infringe的现在分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）
参考例句：
The material can be copied without infringing copyright. 这份材料可以复制，不会侵犯版权。 The media is accused of infringing on people's privacy. 人们指责媒体侵犯了大家的隐私。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 genial
adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的
参考例句：
Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。 He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

12 clatter
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声
参考例句：
The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。 Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。

13 intrigue
vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋
参考例句：
Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。 The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

14 softened
（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰
参考例句：
His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。 The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

15 vein
n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络
参考例句：
The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。 The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

16 tingled
v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
My cheeks tingled with the cold. 我的脸颊冻得有点刺痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The crowd tingled with excitement. 群众大为兴奋。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 trot
n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧
参考例句：
They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。 The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

18 obstructing
阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止
参考例句：
You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。 He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

19 temperaments
性格( temperament的名词复数 )； （人或动物的）气质； 易冲动； （性情）暴躁
参考例句：
The two brothers have exactly opposite temperaments: one likes to be active while the other tends to be quiet and keep to himself. 他们弟兄两个脾气正好相反， 一个爱动，一个好静。 For some temperaments work is a remedy for all afflictions. 对于某些人来说，工作是医治悲伤的良药。

20 courteous
adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的
参考例句：
Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。 He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

21 graceful
adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的
参考例句：
His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了! The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

22 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。

23 innocence
n.无罪；天真；无害
参考例句：
There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。 The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

24 physically
adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律
参考例句：
He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。 Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

25 flustered
adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
The honking of horns flustered the boy. 汽车喇叭的叫声使男孩感到慌乱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. 她太紧张了，都忘记了该如何作答。 来自辞典例句

26 aloofness
超然态度
参考例句：
Why should I have treated him with such sharp aloofness? 但我为什么要给人一些严厉，一些端庄呢？ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说 He had an air of haughty aloofness. 他有一种高傲的神情。 来自辞典例句

27 sonorous
adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇
参考例句：
The sonorous voice of the speaker echoed round the room.那位演讲人洪亮的声音在室内回荡。 He has a deep sonorous voice.他的声音深沉而洪亮。

28 melancholy
n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的
参考例句：
All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。 He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

29 bland
adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的
参考例句：
He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。 This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

30 deceptive
adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的
参考例句：
His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。 The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

31 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。

32 nostrils
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。 The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

33 fragrance
n.芬芳，香味，香气
参考例句：
The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。 The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

34 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。

35 simplicity
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
参考例句：
She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。 The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

36 athletic
adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的
参考例句：
This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。 He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

37 laurels
n.桂冠，荣誉
参考例句：
The path was lined with laurels.小路两旁都种有月桂树。 He reaped the laurels in the finals.他在决赛中荣膺冠军。

38 mutual
adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的
参考例句：
We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。 Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

39 momentary
adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的
参考例句：
We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。 I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

40 athletically
adv.竞赛地，运动比赛地，具运动员风范地
参考例句：
Tall, athletically built, but with a slight, shy stoop to his shoulders. 高个子，运动员身材，但有点轻微的水蛇腰。 来自互联网 She does not hate sports on TV, she is athletically biased. 她不讨厌体育频道，只是对运动有些偏见。 来自互联网

41 tune
n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
参考例句：
He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。 The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

42 glided
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔
参考例句：
The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。 They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

43 sentimental
adj.多愁善感的，感伤的
参考例句：
She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。 We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

44 eddying
涡流，涡流的形成
参考例句：
The Rhine flowed on, swirling and eddying, at six or seven miles an hour. 莱茵河不断以每小时六、七哩的速度，滔滔滚流，波涛起伏。