After a few years Samuel’s university decided¹ that it had shone long enough in the reflected glory of his neckties, so they declaimed to him in Latin, charged him ten dollars for the paper which proved him irretrievably educated, and sent him into the turmoil² with much self-confidence, a few friends, and the proper assortment³ of harmless bad habits.

His family had by that time started back to shirt-sleeves, through a sudden decline in the sugar-market, and it had already unbuttoned its vest, so to speak, when Samuel went to work. His mind was that exquisite⁴ TABULA RASA that a university education sometimes leaves, but he had both energy and influence, so he used his former ability as a dodging⁵ half-back in twisting through Wall Street crowds as runner for a bank.

His diversion was — women. There were half a dozen: two or three débutantes, an actress (in a minor⁶ way), a grass-widow, and one sentimental⁷ little brunette who was married and lived in a little house in Jersey⁸ City.

They had met on a ferry-boat. Samuel was crossing from New York on business (he bad been working several years by this time) and he helped her look for a package that she had dropped in the crush.

“Do you come over often?” he inquired casually⁹.

“Just to shop,” she said shyly. She had great brown eyes and the pathetic kind of little mouth. “I’ve only been married three months, and we find it cheaper to live over here.”

“Does he — does your husband like your being alone like this?”

She laughed, a cheery young laugh.

“Oh, dear me, no. We were to meet for dinner but I must have misunderstood the place. He’ll be

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 turmoil
n.骚乱，混乱，动乱
参考例句：
His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。 The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

3 assortment
n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集
参考例句：
This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。 She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

4 exquisite
adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的
参考例句：
I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。 I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

5 dodging
n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避
参考例句：
He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。 I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

6 minor
adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修
参考例句：
The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。 I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 sentimental
adj.多愁善感的，感伤的
参考例句：
She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。 We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

8 jersey
n.运动衫
参考例句：
He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。 They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

9 casually
adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地
参考例句：
She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。 I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

10 awfully
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。 I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

11 disapprovingly
adv.不以为然地，不赞成地，非难地
参考例句：
When I suggested a drink, she coughed disapprovingly. 我提议喝一杯时，她咳了一下表示反对。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He shook his head disapprovingly. 他摇了摇头，表示不赞成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 scurried
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。 It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 grill
n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问
参考例句：
Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。 I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

14 accentuated
v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于
参考例句：
The problem is accentuated by a shortage of water and electricity. 缺乏水电使问题愈加严重。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Her black hair accentuated the delicateness of her skin. 她那乌黑的头发更衬托出她洁嫩的皮肤。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 adventurous
adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的
参考例句：
I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。 He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

16 pout
v.撅嘴；绷脸；n.撅嘴；生气，不高兴
参考例句：
She looked at her lover with a pretentious pout.她看着恋人，故作不悦地撅着嘴。 He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted.他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。

17 sobs
啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句：
She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。 She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

18 persistently
ad.坚持地；固执地
参考例句：
He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。 She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

19 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

20 cosmos
n.宇宙；秩序，和谐
参考例句：
Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。 Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

21 parlor
n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅
参考例句：
She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。 Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

22 pretense
n.矫饰，做作，借口
参考例句：
You can't keep up the pretense any longer.你无法继续伪装下去了。 Pretense invariably impresses only the pretender.弄虚作假欺骗不了真正的行家。

23 impatience
n.不耐烦，急躁
参考例句：
He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。 He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

24 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。

25 scrutinized
v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

26 collapse
vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

27 haranguing
v.高谈阔论( harangue的现在分词 )
参考例句：
He continued in his customary, haranguing style. 他继续以他一贯的夸夸其谈的手法讲下去。 来自辞典例句 That lady was still haranguing the girl. 那位女士仍然对那女孩喋喋不休地训斥。 来自互联网

28 slumped
大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句：
Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。 The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

29 simultaneously
adv.同时发生地，同时进行地
参考例句：
The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。 The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

30 physically
adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律
参考例句：
He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。 Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

31 miraculously
ad.奇迹般地
参考例句：
He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。 A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

32 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

33 silhouetted
显出轮廓的，显示影像的
参考例句：
We could see a church silhouetted against the skyline. 我们可以看到一座教堂凸现在天际。 The stark jagged rocks were silhouetted against the sky. 光秃嶙峋的岩石衬托着天空的背景矗立在那里。

34 defender
n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人
参考例句：
He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。 The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。