Vocabulary Work 2
Guessing Game
He knew he would win the case because he mastered the law and charmed the jury. He always did, and losses were infrequent (罕见的，稀少的)now. Part of it came from being able to select the cases he had the expertise to（有把握） win. （有专长）

Not about the case. That was fine. It was something else. Something about Allie. But damn, he couldn’t put his finger on it.（染指）

A life like that makes you empty inside, and you’re looking for someone who will magically fill that void. （空虚）

It was so unexpected, yet uplifting, and as the words began to replay in her mind, she realized how sorry she would have been had she decided not to see him again. （意外的）（令人振奋的） In a couple of seasoned moves,（在一些老调的影片中） long since mastered by habit, he had it in the water working its way upstream with himself as the pilot and engine. （控制，引导） He spent the next twenty minutes splitting and stacking（伐木） logs. He did it s easily, his stroke（击打） efficient, and didn’t break sweat. She passed an art gallery on Front Street, almost walked by it in her preoccupation, then turned and went back. （全部精力）（全神贯注，入神）

The artists were either uninspired or lazy, she thought. （没有感觉的）（无灵感的）

After a few minutes of abstraction, she did a rough sketch of the street scene as seen from her room, amazed at how easily it came. （分心） Since she didn’t have a model, she visualized it in her head before starting. And though it was harder than the street scene, it began to take form. （形象化） If anything, his attraction for her had grown stronger overnight, more intense, and it made him feel a little nervous in her presence. （紧张的）（强烈的） Allie was impressed by his agility, knowing that what he had done so quickly and easily was harder than it looked. （灵活）

Passion would fade in time and things like companionship and compatibility would take its place. （包容）

Soon rain began to fail, a light sprinkle at first, then gradually harder.
（小雨）
Noah was in the living room squatting before a fire, doing his best to coax it to life.
（自欺欺人）
A log snapped（断裂）, sending sparks up the chimney, and both of them noticed the smouldering remains, almost burned through.（木头仍然在）（闷烧） Two pine trees bad blown over, though neither had caused much damage, and a few shingles had mown off the shed, but, other than that, the property had escaped unscathed. （完好无损的） His voice caught as he saw what her eyes were telling him. "You're not going to stay, are you?" He smiled weakly. "You want to, but you can't." （捕捉到） Looking at herself, she saw her eyes were still red and puffy.（肿胀）

She imagined him sitting at an old desk, crafting the letter, （细致的写信）somehow knowing this was the end, and she saw what she thought were tearstains on the paper. （泪痕）

…and for a moment she debated reading another, but she knew she couldn’t delay any longer.（挣扎着）（辩论）

Be composed—be at ease with me…（冷静）

My hands are misshapen and grotesque now, and they throb during most of my walking hours. （粗糙的）（畸形丑恶）

She stares at the hardened knots that deform （侵蚀）（使变形）my fingers and caresses（摩擦）（爱抚） them gently. Her hands are still those of an angel. Sometimes she would write the wrong year when she made out her cheques, but again I dismissed（忽视） it as simple mistakes that one makes when thinking of other things.

And tears started to fall. It is a barren （无法治愈的）disease, as empty and lifeless as a desert. It is a thief of hearts and souls and memories. （贫瘠的，空洞的）

"It's a degenerative brain disorder affecting memory and personality. . . there is no cure or therapy . . .（退化的）

They went on, this correspondence of life and love, and I read dozens more, some painful, most heart-warming.（一致）

There is beauty where we sit this afternoon, Allie and I. This is the pinnacle of my life. The birds, the geese, float on the cool water, which reflects bits and pieces of their colours and makes them seem larger than they really are. （幸福）（顶峰）