Four
Aunt Kathie’s parties were always much the same. They had a rather breathless amateurish¹ qualityabout them characteristic of the hostess. Dr. Cloade had an air of holding irritability² in check withdifficulty. He was invariably courteous³ to his guests—but they were conscious of his courtesybeing an effort.
In appearance Lionel Cloade was not unlike his brother Jeremy. He was spare and grey-haired—but he had not the lawyer’s imperturbability⁴. His manner was brusque and impatient—and hisnervous irritability had affronted⁵ many of his patients and blinded them to his actual skill andkindliness. His real interests lay in research and his hobby was the use of medicinal herbsthroughout history. He had a precise intellect and found it hard to be patient with his wife’svagaries.
Though Lynn and Rowley always called Mrs. Jeremy Cloade “Frances,” Mrs. Lionel Cloadewas invariably “Aunt Kathie.” They were fond of her but found her rather ridiculous.
This “party,” arranged ostensibly to celebrate Lynn’s homecoming, was merely a family affair.
Aunt Kathie greeted her niece affectionately:
“So nice and brown you look, my dear. Egypt, I suppose. Did you read the book on the Pyramidprophecies I sent you? So interesting. Really explains everything, don’t you think?”
Lynn was saved from replying by the entrance of Mrs. Gordon Cloade and her brother David.
“This is my niece, Lynn Marchmont, Rosaleen.”
Lynn looked at Gordon Cloade’s widow with decorously veiled curiosity.
Yes, she was lovely, this girl who had married old Gordon Cloade for his money. And it wastrue what Rowley had said, that she had an air of innocence⁶. Black hair, set in loose waves, Irishblue eyes put in with the smutty finger—half-parted lips.
The rest of her was predominantly expensive. Dress, jewels, manicured hands, fur cape7

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1 amateurish
n.业余爱好的，不熟练的
参考例句：
The concert was rather an amateurish affair.这场音乐会颇有些外行客串的味道。 The paintings looked amateurish.这些画作看起来只具备业余水准。

2 irritability
n.易怒
参考例句：
It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。 All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。

3 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。

4 imperturbability
n.冷静；沉着
参考例句：
The imperturbability of the mountains hung upon him like a suit of armor. 高山的宁静象一套盔甲似的罩在他的身上。 You must want imperturbability more than you want approval, control and security. 你必须想要不受侵扰的安宁大于想要赞同、控制和安全。

5 affronted
adj.被侮辱的，被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 )；相遇
参考例句：
He hoped they would not feel affronted if they were not invited . 他希望如果他们没有获得邀请也不要感到受辱。 Affronted at his impertinence,she stared at him coldly and wordlessly. 被他的无礼而冒犯，她冷冷地、无言地盯着他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 cape
n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风
参考例句：
I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。 She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

8 defiant
adj.无礼的，挑战的
参考例句：
With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。 He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

9 insolent
adj.傲慢的，无理的
参考例句：
His insolent manner really got my blood up.他那傲慢的态度把我的肺都气炸了。 It was insolent of them to demand special treatment.他们要求给予特殊待遇，脸皮真厚。

10 flouted
v.藐视，轻视( flout的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
North Vietnam flouted the accords from the day they were signed. 北越从签字那天起就无视协定的存在。 来自辞典例句 They flouted all our offers of help and friendship. 他们对我们愿意提供的所有帮助和友谊表示藐视。 来自辞典例句

11 distraction
n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐
参考例句：
Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。 Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

12 conversationally
adv.会话地
参考例句：
I am at an unfavourable position in being conversationally unacquainted with English. 我由于不熟悉英语会话而处于不利地位。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The findings suggest that happy lives are social and conversationally deep, rather than solitary and superficial. 结论显示，快乐的生活具有社会层面的意义并与日常交谈有关，而并不仅仅是个体差异和表面现象。 来自互联网

13 conversational
adj.对话的，会话的
参考例句：
The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。 She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

14 sneering
嘲笑的，轻蔑的
参考例句：
"What are you sneering at?" “你冷笑什么？” 来自子夜部分 The old sorceress slunk in with a sneering smile. 老女巫鬼鬼崇崇地走进来，冷冷一笑。

15 literally
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。 Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 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。

17 awe
n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧
参考例句：
The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。 The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

18 wren
n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员
参考例句：
A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。 My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

19 immoral
adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的
参考例句：
She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。 It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

20 irritable
adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的
参考例句：
He gets irritable when he's got toothache.他牙一疼就很容易发脾气。 Our teacher is an irritable old lady.She gets angry easily.我们的老师是位脾气急躁的老太太。她很容易生气。

21 outlaw
n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法
参考例句：
The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。 The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

22 killing
n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财
参考例句：
Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。 Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

23 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》

24 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

25 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。

26 superstitious
adj.迷信的
参考例句：
They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。 These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

27 biased
a.有偏见的
参考例句：
a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校 The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

28 grudge
n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做
参考例句：
I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。 I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

29 inevitable
adj.不可避免的，必然发生的
参考例句：
Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。 The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

30 flickered
（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。 These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

31 stranded
a.搁浅的，进退两难的
参考例句：
He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。 I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

32 hearty
adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的
参考例句：
After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。 We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

33 crumbling
adj.摇摇欲坠的
参考例句：
an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子 The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

34 scowled
怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。 The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

35 strictly
adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地
参考例句：
His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。 The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

36 abridged
削减的，删节的
参考例句：
The rights of citizens must not be abridged without proper cause. 没有正当理由，不能擅自剥夺公民的权利。 The play was abridged for TV. 剧本经过节略，以拍摄电视片。

37 fascination
n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋
参考例句：
He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。 His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

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