Spike¹ was on the ladder, leaning precariously² into the tree with a crystal angel in one hand and a fuzzy reindeer³ in the other, when Luther heard a car in the drive. He glanced out the window and saw Nora's Audi sliding into the garage. "It's Nora," he said. Quick thinking led him to believe that Spike's complicity in the tree should be kept a secret.
"Spike, you need to leave, and now," he said.
"Why?"
"Job's over, son, here's the other twenty. Thanks a million." He helped the kid down from the ladder, handed over the cash, and led him to the front door. When Nora stepped into the kitchen, Spike eased onto the front steps and disappeared.
"Unload the car," she commanded. Her nerves were shot and she was ready to snap.
"What's the matter?" he asked, and immediately wished he'd said nothing. It was quite obvious what was the matter.
She rolled her eyes and started to snap, then gritted⁴ her teeth and repeated, "Unload the car."
Luther high-stepped toward the door and was almost outside when he heard, "What an ugly tree!"
He spun⁵, ready for war, and said, "Take it or leave it."
"Red lights?" she said, her voice incredulous. Trogdon had used a strand⁶ of red lights, one solitary⁷ string of them, and had wrapped them tightly around the trunk of the tree. Luther had toyed with the idea of pulling them off, but it would've taken an hour. Instead, he and Spike had tried to hide them with ornaments⁸. Nora, of course, had spotted⁹ them from the kitchen.
Now she had her nose in the tree. "Red lights? We've never used red lights."

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 precariously
adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地
参考例句：
The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上，摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 reindeer
n.驯鹿
参考例句：
The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。 The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

4 gritted
v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关
参考例句：
He gritted his teeth and plunged into the cold weather. 他咬咬牙，冲向寒冷的天气。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The young policeman gritted his teeth and walked slowly towards the armed criminal. 年轻警官强忍住怒火，朝武装歹徒慢慢走过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 spun
v.纺，杜撰，急转身
参考例句：
His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。 Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

6 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。

7 solitary
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。 The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

8 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》

9 spotted
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。 Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

10 touchy
adj.易怒的；棘手的
参考例句：
Be careful what you say because he's touchy.你说话小心，因为他容易生气。 He's a little touchy about his weight.他对自己的体重感到有点儿苦恼。

11 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。

12 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。

13 bouquet
n.花束，酒香
参考例句：
This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。 Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

14 florist
n.花商；种花者
参考例句：
The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。 Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好？

15 outrageous
adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的
参考例句：
Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。 Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

16 tally
n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致
参考例句：
Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。 The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

17 unpack
vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货
参考例句：
I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。 She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

18 trout
n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)
参考例句：
Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。 We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

19 timing
n.时间安排，时间选择
参考例句：
The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。 The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

20 clenched
v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。 She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 bum
n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨
参考例句：
A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。 The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

22 crackers
adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘
参考例句：
That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。 We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 clam
n.蛤，蛤肉
参考例句：
Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀！我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。 The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。

24 rattling
adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词
参考例句：
This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。 At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

25 unpacking
n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）
参考例句：
Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候，乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》 They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 windbag
n.风囊，饶舌之人，好说话的人
参考例句：
Everyone knows he's a real windbag.大家都知道他是个很罗嗦的人。 Did you ever see such a windbag?你有见过这样饶舌的人?

27 democrats
n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。 The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 hush
int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静
参考例句：
A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。 Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

29 ceramic
n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺
参考例句：
The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。 Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

30 holly
n.[植]冬青属灌木
参考例句：
I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。 People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

31 attic
n.顶楼，屋顶室
参考例句：
Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。 What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

32 dreaded
adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。 He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

33 retractable
adj.可收回的；可撤消的；可缩回的；可缩进的
参考例句：
a knife with a retractable blade 弹簧刀 So, any thoughts of what you want for the retractable bed kid? 那么想为那个睡折叠床的小子做什么？ 来自电影对白

34 inevitably
adv.不可避免地；必然发生地
参考例句：
In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。 Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

35 converged
v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集
参考例句：
Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。 People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》