The ensuing December days brought to Clyde some pleasing and yet complicating¹ and disturbing developments.

　　For Sondra Finchley, having found him so agreeable an admirer of hers, was from the first inclined neither toforget nor neglect him. But, occupying the rather prominent social position which she did, she was at first ratherdubious as to how to proceed. For Clyde was too poor and decidedly too much ignored by the Griffithsthemselves, even, for her to risk any marked manifestation⁴ of interest in him.

　　And now, in addition to the primary motivating reason for all this--her desire to irritate Gilbert by being friendswith his cousin--there was another. She liked him. His charm and his reverence⁵ for her and her station flatteredand intrigued⁶ her. For hers was a temperament⁷ which required adulation in about the measure which Clydeprovided it--sincere and romantic adulation. And at the very same time he represented physical as well as mentalattributes which were agreeable to her--amorousness without the courage at the time, anyhow, to annoy her toomuch; reverence which yet included her as a very human being; a mental and physical animation⁸ which quitematched and companioned her own.

　　Hence it was decidedly a troublesome thought with Sondra how she was to proceed with Clyde without attractingtoo much attention and unfavorable comment to herself--a thought which kept her sly little brain going at nightsafter she had retired⁹. However, those who had met him at the Trumbulls' were so much impressed by her interestin him that evening and the fact that he had proved so pleasing and affable, they in turn, the girls particularly,were satisfied that he was eligible¹⁰ enough.

　　And in consequence, two weeks later, Clyde, searching for inexpensive Christmas presents in Stark's for hismother, father, sisters, brother and Roberta, and encountering Jill Trumbull doing a little belated shoppingherself, was invited by her to attend a pre-Christmas dance that was to be given the next night by Vanda Steele ather home in Gloversville. Jill herself was going with Frank Harriet and she was not sure but that Sondra Finchleywould be there. Another engagement of some kind appeared to be in the way, but still she was intending to comeif she could. But her sister Gertrude would be glad to have him escort her--a very polite way of arranging forGertrude. Besides, as she knew, if Sondra heard that Clyde was to be there, this might induce her to desert herother engagement.

点击收听单词发音  

1 complicating
使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。 In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

2 dubious
adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的
参考例句：
What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。 He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

3 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 manifestation
n.表现形式；表明；现象
参考例句：
Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。 What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

5 reverence
n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬
参考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。 We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

6 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。

7 temperament
n.气质，性格，性情
参考例句：
The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。 Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

8 animation
n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作
参考例句：
They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。 The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

9 retired
adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的
参考例句：
The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。 Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 eligible
adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的
参考例句：
He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。 Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 misgivings
n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧
参考例句：
I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。 Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 lured
吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。 Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

13 tardy
adj.缓慢的，迟缓的
参考例句：
It's impolite to make a tardy appearance.晚到是不礼貌的。 The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。

14 treacherous
adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的
参考例句：
The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。 The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

15 sufficiently
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。 The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

16 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。 His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

17 portend
v.预兆，预示；给…以警告
参考例句：
Black clouds portend a storm.乌云为暴风雨的前兆。 What do these strange events portend?这些奇怪的事件预示着什么？

18 attentiveness
[医]注意
参考例句：
They all helped one another with humourous attentiveness. 他们带着近于滑稽的殷勤互相周旋。 来自辞典例句 Is not attentiveness the nature of, even the function of, Conscious? 专注不正是大我意识的本质甚或活动吗？ 来自互联网

19 concealing
v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善，我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》 SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定，还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产

20 necessitated
使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Recent financial scandals have necessitated changes in parliamentary procedures. 最近的金融丑闻使得议会程序必须改革。 No man is necessitated to do wrong. 没有人是被迫去作错事的。

21 dubiously
adv.可疑地，怀疑地
参考例句：
"What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26） He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句

22 eventual
adj.最后的，结局的，最终的
参考例句：
Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。 Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

23 reassured
adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 promptly
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。 She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

25 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。

26 unaware
a.不知道的，未意识到的
参考例句：
They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。 I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

27 deigning
v.屈尊，俯就( deign的现在分词 )
参考例句：
She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。 He passed by without deigning to look at me. 他走过去不屑看我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 alluring
adj.吸引人的，迷人的
参考例句：
The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。 Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。

29 alluringly
诱人地，妩媚地
参考例句：
She turned and smiled alluringly at Douglas. 她转过身对道格拉斯报以迷人的一笑。 来自柯林斯例句

30 yearningly
怀念地，思慕地，同情地； 渴
参考例句：
He asked himself yearningly, wondered secretly and sorely, if it would have lurked here or there. 她急切地问自己，一面又暗暗伤心地思索着，它会不会就藏匿在附近。 His mouth struggled yearningly. 他满怀渴望，嘴唇发抖。

31 intensity
n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度
参考例句：
I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。 The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

32 feverishly
adv. 兴奋地
参考例句：
Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。 The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。

33 presumption
n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定
参考例句：
Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。 I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

34 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。

35 intriguingly
参考例句：
Intriguingly, she gave to the music a developed although oddly malleable personality. 最神奇的是，她的音乐具有成熟却又很奇怪地极富可塑性。 来自互联网 Intriguingly, the patients brains were riddled with tangles, but not amyloid plaques. 有趣的是，患者的大脑中充满了各缠结，但并没有粉斑。 来自互联网

36 slated
用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。 Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

37 devoted
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。 We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

38 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。

39 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

40 presumptuous
adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的
参考例句：
It would be presumptuous for anybody to offer such a view.任何人提出这种观点都是太放肆了。 It was presumptuous of him to take charge.他自拿主张，太放肆了。

41 disposition
n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署
参考例句：
He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。 He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

42 awfully
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。 I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

43 deserted
adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的
参考例句：
The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。 The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

44 confession
n.自白，供认，承认
参考例句：
Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。 The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

45 ardent
adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的
参考例句：
He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。 Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

46 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。