The interesting thing about my Italian class is that nobody really needs to be there. There are twelve of us studying together, of all ages, from all over the world, and everybody has come to Rome for the same reason--to study Italian just because they feel like it. Not one of us can identify a single practical reason for being here. Nobody's boss has said to anyone, "It is vital that you learn to speak Italian in order for us to conduct our business overseas." Everybody, even the uptight¹ German engineer, shares what I thought was my own personal motive²: we all want to speak Italian because we love the way it makes us feel. A sad-faced Russian woman tells us she's treating herself to Italian lessons because "I think I deserve something beautiful." The German engineer says, "I want Italian because I love the dolce vita"--the sweet life. (Only, in his stiff Germanic accent, it ends up sounding like he said he loved "the deutsche vita"--the German life--which I'm afraid he's already had plenty of.)

Italy was different. One critical difference was that, for the longest time, Italy wasn't even a country. It didn't get itself unified

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1 uptight
adj.焦虑不安的，紧张的
参考例句：
He's feeling a bit uptight about his exam tomorrow.他因明天的考试而感到有点紧张。 Try to laugh at it instead of getting uptight.试着一笑了之，不要紧张。

2 motive
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。 He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

3 pandemonium
n.喧嚣，大混乱
参考例句：
The whole lobby was a perfect pandemonium,and the din was terrific.整个门厅一片嘈杂，而且喧嚣刺耳。 I had found Adlai unperturbed in the midst of pandemonium.我觉得艾德莱在一片大混乱中仍然镇定自若。

4 Portuguese
n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语
参考例句：
They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。 Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

5 essentially
adv.本质上，实质上，基本上
参考例句：
Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。 She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 unified
(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的
参考例句：
The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。 The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

8 fortress
n.堡垒，防御工事
参考例句：
They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。 The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

9 humiliated
感到羞愧的
参考例句：
Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。 He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

10 colonized
开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。 The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

11 apathetic
adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的
参考例句：
I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。 You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。

12 coalesced
v.联合，合并( coalesce的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。 The views of party leaders coalesced to form a coherent policy. 党的领导人的各种观点已统一为一致的政策。 来自辞典例句

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 unprecedented
adj.无前例的，新奇的
参考例句：
The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。 A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

17 purgatory
n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的
参考例句：
Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。 Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园，不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。

18 literate
n.学者；adj.精通文学的，受过教育的
参考例句：
Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。 A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。

19 corrupted
（使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏
参考例句：
The body corrupted quite quickly. 尸体很快腐烂了。 The text was corrupted by careless copyists. 原文因抄写员粗心而有讹误。

20 narrative
n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的
参考例句：
He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。 Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

21 luminous
adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的
参考例句：
There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。 Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

22 vernacular
adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名
参考例句：
The house is built in a vernacular style.这房子按当地的风格建筑。 The traditional Chinese vernacular architecture is an epitome of Chinese traditional culture.中国传统民居建筑可谓中国传统文化的缩影。

23 Oxford
n.牛津（英国城市）
参考例句：
At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。 This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

24 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。

25 artistic
adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的
参考例句：
The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。 These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

26 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。 Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

27 ordained
v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定
参考例句：
He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

28 embellished
v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色
参考例句：
The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句

29 cascading
流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流
参考例句：
First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓 Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

30 poetic
adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的
参考例句：
His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。 His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

31 cadences
n.（声音的）抑扬顿挫( cadence的名词复数 )；节奏；韵律；调子
参考例句：
He delivered his words in slow, measured cadences. 他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。 He recognized the Polish cadences in her voice. 他从她的口音中听出了波兰腔。 来自辞典例句

32 administrators
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师
参考例句：
He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句 Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

33 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。