His second call was to the Albrittons, old friends from church who lived an hour away. Luther spilled his guts¹, and by the time he finished Riley Albritton was roaring with laughter. "It's Luther," Riley said to someone in the background, probably Doris. "Blair just called. She'll be home tonight." And with that, Doris or whoever it was broke into hysterics.
Luther wished he hadn't called. "Help me out here, Riley," he pleaded. "Can you guys stop by?"
"Sorry, bud. We're going to the MacIlvaines for dinner. They invited us a bit earlier, you know."
"All right," Luther said and hung up.
The phone rang immediately. It was Nora, her voice as edgy² as Luther'd ever heard it. "Where are you?" she demanded.
"Well, I'm in the kitchen. Where are you?"
"I'm sitting in traffic on Broad, near the mall."
"Why are you going to the mall?"
"Because I couldn't park at the District, couldn't even get in off the street. I've bought nothing. Do you have a tree?"
"Yes, a real beauty."
"Are you decorating it?"
"Yes, I have Perry Como crooning 'Jingle³ Bells' in the background while I'm sipping⁴ eggnog and trimming our tree. Wish you were here?"
"Have you called anyone?"
"Yes, the Lairds and Albrittons, neither can make it."
"I've called the Pinkertons, Harts, Malones, and Burklands. They're all busy. Pete Hart laughed at me, the bore."
"I'll beat him up for you." Spike⁵ was knocking on the door. "I gotta get busy."
"I guess you'd better start calling the neighbors," she said, her hyper voice faltering⁶.
"Why?"
"To invite them."
"Not in a million years, Nora. I'm hanging up now."
"No word from Blair."
"She's on an airplane, Nora. Call me later."
Spike's borrowed wagon

点击收听单词发音  

1 guts
v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠
参考例句：
I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。 Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 edgy
adj.不安的；易怒的
参考例句：
She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。 He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

3 jingle
n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵
参考例句：
The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。 The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。

4 sipping
v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句：
She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。 She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

5 spike
n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效
参考例句：
The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。 They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

6 faltering
犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的
参考例句：
The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。 I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

7 wagon
n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车
参考例句：
We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。 The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

8 bucks
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句：
They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。 They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 license
n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许
参考例句：
The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。 The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

10 revoked
adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句 A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

11 banished
v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。 He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 debris
n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片
参考例句：
After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。 Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

13 hemlock
n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉
参考例句：
He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。 Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。

14 strands
n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 ornaments
n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。 Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 ornament
v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物
参考例句：
The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。 She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

17 strings
n.弦
参考例句：
He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。 She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

18 popcorn
n.爆米花
参考例句：
I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。 He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

19 sprinter
n.短跑运动员，短距离全速奔跑者
参考例句：
He is more a sprinter than a swimmer. 他是短跑健将，而不是游泳选手。 来自辞典例句 The sprinter himself thinks he can run the race at 9.4 seconds. 这位短跑运动员自认为可以用9.4秒跑完比赛。 来自互联网

20 sprint
n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过
参考例句：
He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。 The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

21 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

22 sergeant
n.警官，中士
参考例句：
His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。 How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

23 hawking
利用鹰行猎
参考例句：
He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。 We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

24 benevolent
adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的
参考例句：
His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

25 smirk
n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说
参考例句：
He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。 She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。

26 cuffs
n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口 The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

27 swirling
v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

28 delinquents
n.（尤指青少年）有过失的人，违法的人( delinquent的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The robbery was committed by a group of delinquents. 那起抢劫案是一群青少年干的。 来自《简明英汉词典》 There is today general agreement that juvenile delinquents are less responsible than older offenders. 目前人们普遍认为青少年罪犯比成人罪犯的责任小些。 来自辞典例句

29 brat
n.孩子；顽童
参考例句：
He's a spoilt brat.他是一个被宠坏了的调皮孩子。 The brat sicked his dog on the passer-by.那个顽童纵狗去咬过路人。

30 moron
n.极蠢之人，低能儿
参考例句：
I used to think that Gordon was a moron.我曾以为戈登是个白痴。 He's an absolute moron!他纯粹是个傻子！

31 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。

32 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。

33 binoculars
n.双筒望远镜
参考例句：
He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。 If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜，我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。