听美文故事记6级单词08-03

3. Waiting for the Breeze

Lying in bed by an open window and listen.“No air conditioning？How can you sleep?”a friend asks, horrified¹．I've just revealed that my family has decided² to shut the air conditioner off and trim our electric bill.

　　“Nobody opens a window,day or night,”warns another friend, whose windows have been painted shut for a decade.“This is the 1990s．It's not safe.”

　　On this first night of our cost-cutting adventure,it's only 85 degrees．we're not going to suffer, but the three kids grumble³ anyway. They've grown up in 72-degree comfort,insulated from the world outside.

　　“How do you open these windows?” my husband asks．Jiggling the metal tabs, he finally releases one. A potpourri⁴ of bug⁵ decorates the sill. As we spring the windows one by one, the night noises howl outside and in.“It's too hot to sleep,”my 13-year-old daughter moans.

　　“I'm about to die from this heat,”her brother hollers down the hall.“Just try it tonigt.”I tell them.

　　In truth I'm too tired to argue for long.　My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs⁷ outside that remind me of childhood.The neighbor's dog howls．Probably a trespassing⁸ squirrel．It's been years since I've taken the time to really listen to the night.

　　I think about Grandma,who lived to 92 and still supervised Mom's gardening until just a few weeks before she died.

　　And then,I'm back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood.

　　I move my pillow to the foot of Grandma's bed and angle my face toward the open window.I flip⁹ the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.

　　Grandma sees me thrashing.“If you'll just watch for the breeze,”she says,“you'll cool off and fall asleep.”

　　She cranks up the Venetian blinds．I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to flutter.

　　Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus ,neighbors, porch-sitting late, speak in hazy¹⁰ words with sanded edges that soothe¹¹ me.

　　　　“MOM,DID Y0U HEAR THAT?”my seven-year-o1d blurts¹²．“I think it was an owl⁶ family.”

　　“Probably” I tell him.“Just keep listening…”

　　Without the droning air condition,the house is oddly peaceful,and the unfiltered night noises seem close enough to touch.

　　I hope I'm awake tonight when the first breeze sneaks¹³ in.

1 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

2 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。

3 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。

4 potpourri   

n.混合之事物；百花香

参考例句：

• As tobacco cigarette burns,a potpourri of 4000 chemicals is released,including carbon monoxide and hydrocyanic acid.当烟被点燃时，融合了四千种化学品的气体被释放出来，其中包括一氧化碳和氢氰酸。
• Even so,there is a slight odour of potpourri emanating from Longfellow.纵然如此，也还是可以闻到来自朗费罗的一种轻微的杂烩的味道。

5 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

6 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

7 choirs   

n.教堂的唱诗班( choir的名词复数 )；唱诗队；公开表演的合唱团；（教堂）唱经楼

参考例句：

• They ran the three churches to which they belonged, the clergy, the choirs and the parishioners. 她们管理着自己所属的那三家教堂、牧师、唱诗班和教区居民。 来自飘（部分）
• Since 1935, several village choirs skilled in this music have been created. 1935以来，数支熟练掌握这种音乐的乡村唱诗班相继建立起来。 来自互联网

8 trespassing   

[法]非法入侵

参考例句：

• He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
• Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。

9 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

10 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

11 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

12 blurts   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He blurts out all he hears. 他漏嘴说出了他听到的一切。 来自辞典例句
• If a user blurts out an interesting idea, ask "What problem would that solve for you?" 如果用户不假思索地冒出一个有趣的想法，则询问他：“这可以解决哪些问题？” 来自互联网

13 sneaks   

abbr.sneakers (tennis shoes) 胶底运动鞋（网球鞋）v.潜行( sneak的第三人称单数 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• Typhoid fever sneaks in when sanitation fails. 环境卫生搞不好，伤寒就会乘虚而入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Honest boys scorn sneaks and liars. 诚实的人看不起狡诈和撒谎的人。 来自辞典例句