When I left the skating rink I felt sort of hungry, so I went in this drugstore and had a Swiss cheese sandwich and a malted, and then I went in a phone booth. I thought maybe I might give old Jane another buzz and see if she was home yet. I mean I had the whole evening free, and I thought I'd give her a buzz and, if she was home yet, take her dancing or something somewhere. I never danced with her or anything the whole time I knew her. I saw her dancing once, though. She looked like a very good dancer. It was at this Fourth of July dance at the club. I didn't know her too well then, and I didn't think I ought to cut in on her date. She was dating this terrible guy, Al Pike, that went to Choate. I didn't know him too well, but he was always hanging around the swimming pool. He wore those white Lastex kind of swimming trunks, and he was always going off the high dive. He did the same lousy old half gainer all day long. It was the only dive he could do, but he thought he was very hot stuff. All muscles and no brains. Anyway, that's who Jane dated that night. I couldn't understand it. I swear I couldn't. After we started going around together, I asked her how come she could date a showoff bastard¹ like Al Pike. Jane said he wasn't a show-off. She said he had an inferiority complex. She acted like she felt sorry for him or something, and she wasn't just putting it on. She meant it. It's a funny thing about girls. Every time you mention some guy that's strictly² a bastard--very mean, or very conceited³ and all--and when you mention it to the girl, she'll tell you he has an inferiority complex. Maybe he has, but that still doesn't keep him from being a bastard, in my opinion. Girls. You never know what they're going to think. I once got this girl Roberta Walsh's roommate a date with a friend of mine. His name was Bob Robinson and he really had an inferiority complex. You could tell he was very ashamed of his parents and all, because they said "he don't" and "she don't" and stuff like that and they weren't very wealthy. But he wasn't a bastard or anything. He was a very nice guy. But this Roberta Walsh's roommate didn't like him at all. She told Roberta he was too conceited--and the reason she thought he was conceited was because he happened to mention to her that he was captain of the debating team. A little thing like that, and she thought he was conceited! The trouble with girls is, if they like a boy, no matter how big a bastard he is, they'll say he has an inferiority complex, and if they don't like him, no matter how nice a guy he is, or how big an inferiority complex he has, they'll say he's conceited. Even smart girls do it.

点击收听单词发音  

1 bastard
n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子
参考例句：
He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。 There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

2 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。

3 conceited
adj.自负的，骄傲自满的
参考例句：
He could not bear that they should be so conceited.他们这样自高自大他受不了。 I'm not as conceited as so many people seem to think.我不像很多人认为的那么自负。

4 tuxedo
n.礼服，无尾礼服
参考例句：
Well,you have your own tuxedo.噢，你有自己的燕尾服。 Have I told you how amazing you look in this tuxedo?我告诉过你穿这件燕尾服看起来很棒吗？

5 atheist
n.无神论者
参考例句：
She was an atheist but now she says she's seen the light.她本来是个无神论者，可是现在她说自己的信仰改变了。 He is admittedly an atheist.他被公认是位无神论者。

6 putrid
adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的
参考例句：
To eat putrid food is liable to get sick.吃了腐败的食物容易生病。 A putrid smell drove us from the room.一股腐臭的气味迫使我们离开这房间。

7 cane
n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的
参考例句：
This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。 English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

8 dough
n.生面团；钱，现款
参考例句：
She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。 The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

9 witty
adj.机智的，风趣的
参考例句：
Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。 He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

10 smacked
拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。 She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

11 bastards
私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙
参考例句：
Those bastards don't care a damn about the welfare of the factory! 这批狗养的，不顾大局！ 来自子夜部分 Let the first bastards to find out be the goddam Germans. 就让那些混账的德国佬去做最先发现的倒霉鬼吧。 来自演讲部分

12 Nazis
n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义
参考例句：
The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 mitt
n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手
参考例句：
I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。 Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

14 scouts
侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员
参考例句：
to join the Scouts 参加童子军 The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

15 squad
n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组
参考例句：
The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。 A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

16 lieutenant
n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员
参考例句：
He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。 He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。