A few minutes later, Paul put his empty cup on the tray, then carried the tray to the kitchen.

Adrienne was still on the phone when he got there, her back toward him. She was leaning against the counter, one leg crossed over the other, twirling a strand¹ of hair between her fingers. From her tone, he could tell she was finishing up, and he set the tray on the counter.

“Yes, I got your note ... uh-huh . . yes, he’s already checked in. There was a long pause as she listened, and when she spoke² again, Paul heard her voice drop. “It’s been on the news all day. . . . From what I hear, it’s supposed to be big. . . Oh, okay. . . under the house?. . Yeah, I suppose I can do that I mean, how hard can it be, right?.

You’re welcome. . . . Enjoy the wedding. . . . Good-bye.”

Paul was putting his cup in the sink when she turned around.

“You didn’t have to bring that in,” she said.

“I know, but I was coming this way anyway. I wanted to find out what we were having for dinner.”

“Are you getting hungry?”

Paul turned on the faucet³. “A little. But we can wait if you’d rather.”

“No, I’m getting hungry, too.” Then, seeing what he was about to do, she added: “Here, let me do that. You’re the guest.”

Paul moved aside for her as Adrienne joined him near the sink. She rinsed⁴ the cups and pot as she spoke.

“Your choices tonight are chicken, steak, or pasta with a cream sauce. I can make whichever one you want, but just realize that what you don’t eat today, you’ll probably eat to-morrow. I can’t guarantee we’ll find a store open this week-end.”

“Anything’s fine, You pick.”

“Chicken? It’s already thawed⁵.”

“Sure.”

“And I was thinking of having potatoes and green beans on the side.”

“Sounds great.”

She dried her hands with a paper towel, then reached for the apron⁶ that was

点击收听单词发音  

1 strand
vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）
参考例句：
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。 The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

2 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 faucet
n.水龙头
参考例句：
The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。 She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

4 rinsed
v.漂洗( rinse的过去式和过去分词 )；冲洗；用清水漂洗掉（肥皂泡等）；（用清水）冲掉
参考例句：
She rinsed out the sea water from her swimming-costume. 她把游泳衣里的海水冲洗掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The clothes have been rinsed three times. 衣服已经洗了三和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 thawed
解冻
参考例句：
The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 apron
n.围裙；工作裙
参考例句：
We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。 She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

7 slung
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往
参考例句：
He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。 He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

8 originality
n.创造力，独创性；新颖
参考例句：
The name of the game in pop music is originality.流行音乐的本质是独创性。 He displayed an originality amounting almost to genius.他显示出近乎天才的创造性。

9 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 pickles
n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱
参考例句：
Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

11 cork
n.软木，软木塞
参考例句：
We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。 Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

12 utensils
器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物
参考例句：
Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。 Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

13 sip
v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量
参考例句：
She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。 Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

14 swirled
v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。 The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。

15 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。

16 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。

17 assorted
adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的
参考例句：
There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。 He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

18 efficiently
adv.高效率地，有能力地
参考例句：
The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。 Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

19 perceptive
adj.知觉的，有洞察力的，感知的
参考例句：
This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。 He is very perceptive and nothing can be hidden from him.他耳聪目明，什么事都很难瞒住他。

20 mused
v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）
参考例句：
\"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》 \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

21 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

22 scout
n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索
参考例句：
He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。 The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

23 jack
n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克
参考例句：
I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。 He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

24 vows
誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿
参考例句：
Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。 The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

25 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。

26 ordeals
n.严峻的考验，苦难的经历( ordeal的名词复数 )
参考例句：
London had stood triumphant through all her ordeals. 伦敦在经历考验之后仍巍然屹立。 来自辞典例句 He's come through some bad personal ordeals. 他个人经历了一些沉痛的考验。 来自辞典例句

27 leftovers
n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜
参考例句：
He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。 She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。