Howl must have come back while Sophie and Michael were out. He came out of the bathroom while Sophie was frying breakfast on Calcifer, and sat gracefully¹ in the chair, groomed² and glowing and smelling of honeysuckle.
“Dear Sophie,” he said. “Always busy. You were hard at work yesterday, weren’t you, in spite of my advice? Why have you made a jigsaw³ puzzle of my best suit? Just a friendly inquiry⁴, you know.”
“You jellied it the other day,” said Sophie. “I’m making it over.”
“I can do that,” said Howl. “I thought I showed you. I can also make you a pair of seven-league boots of your own if you give me you size. Something practical in brown calf⁵, perhaps. It’s amazing the way one can take a step ten and half miles long and still always land in a cow pat.”
“It may have been a bull pat,” said Sophie. “I daresay you found mud from the marshes⁶ on them too. A person my age needs a lot of exercise.”
“You were even busier than I realized, then,” said Howl. “Because when I happened to tear my eyes from Lettie’s lovely face for an instant yesterday, I could have sworn I saw your long nose poking⁷ round the corner of the house.”
“Mrs. Fairfax is a family friend,” said Sophie. “How as I to know you would be there too?”
“You have an instinct, Sophie, that’s how,” said howl. “”Nothing is safe from you. If I were to court a girl who lived on an iceberg⁸ in the middle of an ocean, sooner or later-probably sooner-I’d look up to see you swooping⁹ overhead on a broomstick. In fact, by now I’d be disappointed in you if I didn’t see you.”

点击收听单词发音  

1 gracefully
ad.大大方方地；优美地
参考例句：
She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。 The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

2 groomed
v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗
参考例句：
She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。 Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 jigsaw
n.缕花锯，竖锯，拼图游戏；vt.用竖锯锯，使互相交错搭接
参考例句：
A jigsaw puzzle can keep me absorbed for hours.一副拼图就能让我沉醉几个小时。 Tom likes to work on jigsaw puzzles,too.汤姆也喜欢玩拼图游戏。

4 inquiry
n.打听，询问，调查，查问
参考例句：
Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。 The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 calf
n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮
参考例句：
The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。 The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

6 marshes
n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。 We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 poking
n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢
参考例句：
He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。 He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

8 iceberg
n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人
参考例句：
The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。 The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

9 swooping
俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The wind were swooping down to tease the waves. 大风猛扑到海面上戏弄着浪涛。 And she was talking so well-swooping with swift wing this way and that. 而她却是那样健谈--一下子谈到东，一下子谈到西。

10 flickering
adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的
参考例句：
The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。 The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

11 wringing
淋湿的，湿透的
参考例句：
He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。 He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。

12 duel
n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争
参考例句：
The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。 Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

13 severely
adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地
参考例句：
He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。 He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

14 dueling
n. 决斗, 抗争(=duelling) 动词duel的现在分词形式
参考例句：
More light-hearted But somewhat puzzled, Vladimir prepared to meet Eugene on the dueling ground. 弗拉基米尔心里轻松了一些，但仍感到有些困惑，在这种心情下，他准备去决斗场地迎战叶甫盖尼。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学 They had been dueling for hours and finally called a draw. 他们一直决斗了数小时，最后打成平局。

15 desperately
adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地
参考例句：
He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。 He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

16 skull
n.头骨；颅骨
参考例句：
The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。 He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

17 mumbled
含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。 George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

18 hearth
n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面
参考例句：
She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。 She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

19 tragic
adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的
参考例句：
The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。 Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

20 trudged
vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。 He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 laden
adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的
参考例句：
He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。 Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

22 suede
n.表面粗糙的软皮革
参考例句：
I'm looking for a suede jacket.我想买一件皮制茄克。 Her newly bought suede shoes look very fashionable.她新买的翻毛皮鞋看上去非常时尚。

23 gasped
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要
参考例句：
She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。 People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

24 awed
adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 velvet
n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的
参考例句：
This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。 The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

26 ingratitude
n.忘恩负义
参考例句：
Tim's parents were rather hurt by his ingratitude.蒂姆的父母对他的忘恩负义很痛心。 His friends were shocked by his ingratitude to his parents.他对父母不孝，令他的朋友们大为吃惊。

27 imploringly
adv. 恳求地, 哀求地
参考例句：
He moved his lips and looked at her imploringly. 他嘴唇动着，哀求地看着她。 He broke in imploringly. 他用恳求的口吻插了话。

28 glowered
v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He just glowered without speaking. 他一言不发地皱眉怒视我。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He glowered at me but said nothing. 他怒视着我，却一言不发。 来自辞典例句

29 hovering
鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫
参考例句：
The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。 I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

30 heartily
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。 The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

31 eyebrows
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。 His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

32 skidded
v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区
参考例句：
The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。 The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

33 dome
n.圆屋顶，拱顶
参考例句：
The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。 They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

34 hopping
n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式
参考例句：
The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。 I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

35 flickered
（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。 These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。