On Tuesday morning, I woke before dawn and slid out of bed, doing my best not to wake Jane. After dressing¹, I slipped through the front door. The sky was black; even the birds hadn’t begun to stir, but the temperature was mild, and the asphalt was slick from a shower that had passed through the night before.  Already I could feel the first hint of the day’s coming humidity, and I was glad to be out early.

I settled into an easy pace at first, then gradually quickened my stride as my body began to warm up. Over the past year, I’d come to enjoy these walks more than I thought I would. Originally, I figured that once I’d lost the weight that I wanted, I’d cut back, but instead I added a bit of distance to my walks and made a point of noting the times of both my departure and my return.  I had come to crave² the quiet of the mornings. There were few cars out at this hour, and my senses seemed heightened. I could hear my breath, feel the pressure as my feet moved over the asphalt, watch the dawn as it unfolded—at first a faint light on the horizon, an orange glow over the treetops, then the steady displacement³ of black by gray. Even on dreary⁴ mornings, I found myself looking forward to my walks and wondering why I’d never exercised like this before.  My walk usually took forty-five minutes, and toward the end, I slowed my pace to catch my breath. There was a thin sheen of sweat on my forehead, but it felt good. Noticing the kitchen light at my house was already on, I turned into our driveway with an eager smile.

As soon as I pushed through the front door, I caught the aroma⁵ of bacon wafting⁶ from the kitchen, a scent⁷ that reminded me of our earlier life. When there were children in the house, Jane usually prepared a family breakfast, but our differing schedules in recent years had brought them to an end. It was yet another change that had somehow overtaken our relationship.  Jane

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1 dressing
n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料
参考例句：
Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。 The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

2 crave
vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求
参考例句：
Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。 You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

3 displacement
n.移置，取代，位移，排水量
参考例句：
They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。 The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

4 dreary
adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的
参考例句：
They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。 She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

5 aroma
n.香气，芬芳，芳香
参考例句：
The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。 The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

6 wafting
v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的现在分词 )
参考例句：
But that gentle fragrance was clearly wafting from the window. 但那股淡淡的香气，却分明是从母亲的窗户溢出的。 来自互联网 The picture-like XueGuo, wafting dense flavor of Japan, gives us a kind of artistic enjoyment. 画一般的雪国，飘溢着浓郁的日本风情，给人以美的享受。 来自互联网

7 scent
n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉
参考例句：
The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。 The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

8 poked
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交
参考例句：
She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。 His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 crunched
v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄
参考例句：
Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

12 grouchy
adj.好抱怨的；愠怒的
参考例句：
Grouchy people are always complaining for no reason.满腹牢骚的人总是毫无理由地抱怨。 Sometimes she is grouchy, but all in all she is an excellent teacher.有时候她的脾气很坏，但总的来说她还是一位好老师。

13 liking
n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢
参考例句：
The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。 I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

14 buffet
n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台
参考例句：
Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？ Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

15 tilted
v. 倾斜的
参考例句：
Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。 She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

16 scrutinizing
v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )
参考例句：
His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26） The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来，输入输出管道各就各位，检查着它的目标。 来自互联网

17 wheezing
v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣
参考例句：
He was coughing and wheezing all night. 他整夜又咳嗽又喘。 A barrel-organ was wheezing out an old tune. 一架手摇风琴正在呼哧呼哧地奏着一首古老的曲子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 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？

19 exasperation
n.愤慨
参考例句：
He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。 She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。

20 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。

21 mimicking
v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似
参考例句：
She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。 The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

22 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。

23 prodded
v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳
参考例句：
She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。 He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 gathering
n.集会，聚会，聚集
参考例句：
He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。 He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

25 peeked
v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出
参考例句：
She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》 On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句

26 hazy
adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的
参考例句：
We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。 I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

27 middle-aged
adj.中年的
参考例句：
I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。 The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

28 ravages
劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹
参考例句：
the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难 It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。