Adrienne wasn’t in the bed when Paul woke on Tues-day morning. He’d seen her crying during the night but had said nothing, knowing that speaking would bring him to tears as well. But the denial left him ragged¹ and unable to sleep for hours. Instead, he lay awake as she fell asleep in his arms, nuzzling against her, not wanting to let go, as if trying to make up for the year they wouldn’t be together.

She’d folded his clothes for him, the ones that had been in the dryer², and Paul pulled out what he needed for the day before packing the rest in his duffel bags. After he showered and dressed, he sat on the side of the bed, pen in hand, scribbling³ his thoughts on paper. Leaving the note in his room, he brought his things downstairs and left them near the front door. Adrienne was in the kitchen, standing⁴ over the stove and stirring a pan of scrambled⁵ eggs, a cup of coffee on the counter beside her. When she turned, he could see that her eyes were rimmed⁶ in red.

“Hi,” he ventured.

“Hi,” she said, turning away. She began stirring the eggs more quickly, keeping her eyes on the pan. “I figured you might want some breakfast before you go.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“I brought a Thermos⁷ from home when I came, and if you want some coffee for the trip, you can take it with you.”

“Thank you, but that’s okay. I’ll he fine.”

She kept stirring the eggs. “If you want a couple of sand-wiches, I can throw those together, too.”

Paul moved toward her. “You don’t have to do that. I can get something later. And to be honest, I doubt if I’ll he hungry anyway.”

She didn’t seem to be listening, and he put his hand on her back. He heard her exhale⁸ shakily, as if trying to keep from crying.

点击收听单词发音  

1 ragged
adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的
参考例句：
A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。 Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

2 dryer
n.干衣机，干燥剂
参考例句：
He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。 There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

3 scribbling
n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下
参考例句：
Once the money got into the book, all that remained were some scribbling. 折子上的钱只是几个字！ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子 McMug loves scribbling. Mama then sent him to the Kindergarten. 麦唛很喜欢写字，妈妈看在眼里，就替他报读了幼稚园。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 scrambled
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞
参考例句：
Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rimmed
adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边
参考例句：
Gold rimmed spectacles bit deep into the bridge of his nose. 金边眼镜深深嵌入他的鼻梁。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Trees rimmed the pool. 水池的四周树木环绕。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 thermos
n.保湿瓶，热水瓶
参考例句：
Can I borrow your thermos?我可以借用你的暖水瓶吗？ It's handy to have the thermos here.暖瓶放在这儿好拿。

8 exhale
v.呼气，散出，吐出，蒸发
参考例句：
Sweet odours exhale from flowers.花儿散发出花香。 Wade exhaled a cloud of smoke and coughed.韦德吐出一口烟，然后咳嗽起来。

9 sniffed
v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说
参考例句：
When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 dabbing
石面凿毛，灰泥抛毛
参考例句：
She was crying and dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. 她一边哭一边用手绢轻按眼睛。 Huei-fang was leaning against a willow, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. 四小姐蕙芳正靠在一棵杨柳树上用手帕揉眼睛。 来自子夜部分

11 constrict
v.压缩，收缩，阻塞
参考例句：
Men and women alike have been constricted by traditional sexual roles.男性和女性同样受到传统性别角色的束缚。 Severe migraine can be treated with a drug which constricts the blood vessels.严重的偏头疼可以用一种收缩血管的药物进行治疗。

12 desperately
adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地
参考例句：
He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。 He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

13 sling
vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓
参考例句：
The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。 By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

14 pouch
n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件
参考例句：
He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。 The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

15 unwilling
adj.不情愿的
参考例句：
The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。 His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

16 revving
v.（使）加速( rev的现在分词 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来
参考例句：
The team are revving up for next week's game. 这个队伍对下周的比赛跃跃欲试。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Since the introduction of new techniques, the production has been revving up. 自从新技术的引进，产量一直都在增加。 来自互联网

17 puffs
n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧
参考例句：
We sat exchanging puffs from that wild pipe of his. 我们坐在那里，轮番抽着他那支野里野气的烟斗。 来自辞典例句 Puffs of steam and smoke came from the engine. 一股股蒸汽和烟雾从那火车头里冒出来。 来自辞典例句

18 petals
n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )
参考例句：
white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣 The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 persistent
adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的
参考例句：
Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。 She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。