英语博客(A cup of English):087 Story time part 4, Theo.

　　After Thomas Black discovered the Whitcome grave, the church bell incident loomed¹ large in his mind. He had been ready to dismiss the event entirely², but now he felt as though there was an intruder in the village, a prankster perhaps. Whoever it was, he was not welcome. The uncovering of the grave was deliberate, he was sure, and it had happened just when the village was settling back into its normal routine.
When Thomas walked into his workshop that same afternoon, Jeffrey Mullins, his head carpenter and delivery man, greeted him with, "I see the ladies are chasing after you, boss." Thomas just made a quick questioning nod but said nothing. "Oh, she was a beauty," continued Mullins with a stupidly wide grin, his teeth surprisingly white against his rugged³, tanned face. "Wasn't she Pat?" he called to a man across the room who didn't look up from his work, but who replied in a monotone voice, "Oh yeh, she was a beauty alright, if you like them old, fat, and ugly." Mullins cackled loudly and slapped his thigh⁴. "Someone came to see me?" asked Thomas impatiently. "Yep, she said she'd be in the cafe," said Mullins, turning over a table. "Why couldn't she place an order with either of you?" continued Thomas. "It's not an order she wants boss," replied Mullins eyes wide theatrically⁵, "she's after you."
The cafe was empty when Thomas walked in. He could hear plates being stacked in the kitchen and a radio playing music. The room was warm, and smelled like fresh bread. A lady was sitting at a table in the far corner of the room looking right at him. He walked over, "Ma'm, Thomas Black. You wanted to see me?" She looked at him with beautiful, twinkly light blue eyes that searched his. "I'm sorry to take you away from your work, Mr. Black. But I have something tell you that might interest you. The name is Theo, Theo Whitcome. Please would you join me?" she said, offering him the chair opposite hers.
Thomas said nothing but sat down. "I'm surprised we haven't met. I live on the outskirts⁶ of town; got a few acres with sheep and crops. It's a small farm, but it does me just fine. It used to be bigger mind you..." she trailed off and looked out of the window. The afternoon sun accentuated⁷ the deep lines on her face and made her very grey hair glow. "Yes, I'm a Whitcome. There's no problem with that. But the story about poor Peter is true, you know. He was jilted by the loveliest silly girl in town. Oh, it's no new story, and it happened more than a life time ago. But the heart of that poor young man broke so badly, it destroyed our family. It was the shame of it. It drove most of the Whitcome's away, what with the loss of business and having to sell most of our land. My parents stayed; they were second cousins." Thomas hung on her words. He had completely forgotten about work, and no longer felt any irritation⁸. "So it was you who uncovered the grave?" he asked. "The Whitcome's grave you mean?" asked Theo. Thomas nodded. "Ah! I know the fool who did that," she said banging the table. "There could be more trouble coming to the village, Mr. Black. Do you have an ear that's ready to listen?"

1 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

4 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

5 theatrically   

adv.戏剧化地

参考例句：

• He looked theatrically at his watch. 他夸张地看看表。 来自柯林斯例句

6 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

7 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》

8 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。