Vocabulary Building

unfathomable - adjective
1. incapable of being fully explored or understood: her grey eyes were dark with some unfathomable emotion.
2. (of water or a natural feature) impossible to measure the extent of.
unfathomableness noun
unfathomably adverb.

hood·wink v - to trick someone in a clever way so that you can get an advantage for yourself 欺诈，哄骗

pil·lage - v - iif soldiers pillage a place in a war, they steal a lot of things and do a lot of damage〔军队〕抢劫，劫掠，掠夺（某地）;
 plunder
— pillage n [U]
— pillager n [C]

mu·ral - n- a painting that is painted on a wall, either inside or outside a building 壁画;
 fresco
— mural adj [only before noun 仅用于名词前]

sar·don·ic/ sardonically -	 showing that you do not have a good opinion of someone or something, and feel that you are better than them 【书面】 轻蔑的，嘲讽的，讥讽的:
He looked at her with sardonic amusement. 他带着嘲讽的愉悦神情看着她。

men·da·cious - adj formal - not truthful 【正式】 不真实的，虚假的:
mendacious propaganda 不真实的宣传
— mendaciously adv

rue·ful - adj - feeling or showing that you wish you had not done something 后悔的，悔恨的:
a rueful smile 悔恨的苦笑
— ruefully adv:
He smiled ruefully. 他懊悔地笑了笑。

ex·tri·cate - v - to escape from a difficult or embarrassing situation, or to help someone escape（使）摆脱，（使）脱离:
extricate yourself/sb from sth How was he going to extricate himself from this situation? 他打算怎样摆脱这种局面？
2	 to remove someone from a place in which they are trapped 解救，救出:
extricate sb/yourself from sth Firemen had to extricate the driver from the wreckage. 消防队员得把司机从残骸中救出来。

swar·thy -adj	someone who is swarthy has dark skin〔人〕肤色黝黑的:
a small, swarthy man 一个个子矮小、皮肤黝黑的男人
a swarthy complexion 黝黑的肤色

per·func·to·ry -adj formal	 - 1. a perfunctory action is done quickly, and is only done because people expect it 【正式】 〔行动〕草率的，马虎的; 敷衍的:
She gave him a perfunctory smile. 她对他敷衍地笑了笑。
The applause was perfunctory. 掌声听上去漫不经心的。
— perfunctorily adv

rap·tu·rous
adj [usually before noun 一般用于名词前]
/\ræptʃərəs; ˈræptʃərəs/
1	expressing great happiness or admiration – used especially in news reports 狂喜的，狂热的〔尤用于新闻报道〕:
She was greeted with rapturous applause . 她受到热烈的掌声欢迎。
rapturous reception/welcome He was given a rapturous welcome. 他受到热烈欢迎。
— rapturously adv

shud·der - v -	 to shake for a short time because you are afraid or cold, or because you think something is very unpleasant〔因恐惧、寒冷或认为某事令人不愉快而〕打颤，颤抖:
Maria shuddered as she stepped outside. 玛丽亚走到外面时打了个冷战。
[+ with ] I shudder with embarrassment whenever I think about it. 每当我想到这件事时就会尴尬得直打哆嗦。
[+ at ] She shuddered at the thought that she could have been killed. 想到差点丢了性命，她浑身颤抖。
2	 if a vehicle or machine shudders, it shakes violently〔车辆或机器〕剧烈震动，颤动:
The car shuddered briefly as its engine died. 引擎熄火时，汽车震动了几下。
The train shuddered to a halt . 火车颤动着停下了。

en·thuse - v	/ɪn\θjuz; ɪnˈθjuːz/   - to talk about something in a very interested or excited way 津津乐道地讲述，兴奋地说:
[+ about/over ] Rick was there, enthusing about life in Australia. 里克在那里兴奋地大谈在澳大利亚的生活。
2	 [T usually passive 一般用被动态] to make someone interested in something or excited by it 使〔某人〕对…感兴趣，激起〔某人〕的热情:
be enthused by/with sth The owners were certainly enthused by the offer. 那些业主肯定对这一报价感兴趣。

mo·rose - adj 	- bad-tempered, unhappy, and silent 脾气不好的; 闷闷不乐的; 阴郁的:
Daniel seems very morose and gloomy. 丹尼尔好像闷闷不乐，情绪低落。
— morosely adv:
He stared morosely at the floor. 他闷闷不乐地看着地板。
— moroseness n [U]

mor·ti·fied -adj	 - extremely offended, ashamed, or embarrassed 失面子的; 羞愧的; 难堪的:
mortified to hear/find etc. Nora was mortified to discover that her daughter had been out drinking. 诺拉发现女儿一直在外面喝酒，感到很没面子。
— mortification //mɔrtɪfɪ\keʃən; ˌmɔːtfˈkeɪʃən/ n [U]

pin·ion - v [T always + adv/prep] - to hold or tie someone’s arms or legs very tightly, so that they cannot move freely 抓住; 捆住〔手臂或腿〕:
My arms were pinioned behind me by the policemen. 我被警察反剪了双臂。

neb·u·lous- adj formal 【正式】- an idea that is nebulous is not at all clear or exact 模糊不清的，含糊的;
 vague:
‘Normality’ is a rather nebulous concept. “常态”是个非常含糊的概念。
2	 a shape that is nebulous is unclear and has no definite edges 蒙眬的，轮廓不清的:
a nebulous ghostly figure 幽灵般蒙眬的身影, nebulous white clouds danced gaily in the air above

tan·ta·liz·ing - adj also 又作 -ising BrE 【英】
making you feel a desire to have or do something 逗引人的，撩拨人的:
the tantalizing smell of fried bacon 诱人的煎熏猪肉的味道
— tantalizingly adv:
She was tantalizingly out of reach. 她可望而不可及，撩人心怀。

Fathom - verb
 also 又作 fathom out [T] - to understand what something means after thinking about it carefully 理解;
 work out:  I still can’t fathom out what she meant. 我还是弄不清她的意思。[+ how/why/where etc ] Mark couldn’t fathom why she resented him so much. 马克不明白她为什么那么恨他。

sa·do·mas·o·chis·m - S & M when someone gets sexual pleasure from hurting someone or being hurt（性）施虐狂;（性）受虐狂
— sadomasochist n [C]
— sadomasochistic //sedomæsə\kɪstɪk; ˌseɪdəʊmæsəˈkɪstɪk◄/ adj

be at the end of your tether-  to be so worried, tired etc that you feel you can no longer deal with a difficult or upsetting situation 无计可施; 走投无路; 一筹莫展

It was so quiet that one cld hear the silverfish munching away the pages of a book

Gave a mega-watt smile

ant·sy -  adj
nervous and unable to keep still because you are waiting for something to happen 【非正式】 〔因等待某事发生而〕坐立不安的 ), agitated, impatient, or restless:

a heinous crime 滔天罪行
2	 AmE spoken informal extremely bad 【美，口，非正式】 非常糟的:
The food in the cafeteria is pretty heinous. 这家食堂的饭菜很糟糕。
— heinousness n [U]Ll

ca·pri·cious - 	 likely to change your mind suddenly or behave in an unexpected way 反复无常的; 任性的:
She was as capricious as her mother had been. 她和她母亲当初一样反复无常。
2	 literary changing quickly and suddenly 【文】 变幻无常的，变幻莫测的:
a capricious wind 变幻莫测的风
— capriciously adv

stu·pen·dous /stu\pεndəs; stjuːˈpendəs/
1	surprisingly large or impressive 巨大的; 惊人的; 了不起的;
 magnificent: a stupendous achievement 了不起的成就
— stupendously adv

Hideous - unpleasant

ec·cen·tric - behaving in a way that is unusual and different from most people〔行为〕怪异的，古怪的:
His eccentric behaviour lost him his job. 他那古怪的行为使他丢了工作。
Aunt Nessy was always a bit eccentric. 内茜姑妈总是有点古怪。


he·don·ist. - someone who believes that pleasure is the most important thing in life 享乐主义者
— hedonism n [U]
— hedonistic //hidə\nɪstɪk; ˌhiːdənˈɪstɪk◄/ adj

im·pec·ca·ble 	- without any faults and impossible to criticize 完美的; 无缺点的; 无可指摘的;
 perfect:
She has taught her children impeccable manners . 她把她的孩子教育得举止十分得体。
a bar with impeccable service 服务无可挑剔的酒吧
— impeccably adv:
impeccably dressed 穿着非常得体

in·sid·i·ous -  insidious change or problem spreads gradually without being noticed, and causes serious harm 【正式】 〔变化或问题〕暗中为害的，不知不觉间加剧的:
an insidious trend towards censorship of the press 不知不觉间加剧的实行新闻审查的趋势
— insidiously adv
— insidiousness n [U]

im·pe·ri·ous - giving orders and expecting to be obeyed, in a way that seems too proud 专横的; 飞扬跋扈的; 傲慢的:
She raised her hand in an imperious gesture. 她傲慢地扬起手。
— imperiously adv
— imperiousness n [U]

wan·ton - 	 deliberately harming someone or damaging something for no reason 恣意的，恶意的:
an act of wanton aggression 肆无忌惮的侵略行为

sul·len	 angry and silent, especially because you feel life has been unfair to you 闷闷不乐的，愠怒的:
Bill sat in sullen silence and refused to eat his lunch. 比尔一声不响，闷闷不乐地坐着，不肯吃午饭。
a look of sullen resentment 愤懑的眼神
2	 literary a sullen sky or sea is dark and looks as if bad weather is coming 【文】 〔天空或大海〕灰蒙蒙的，阴沉的

Curt - adj - using very few words in a way that seems rude:
With a curt nod, he turned away and sat down.
 a curt note
—curtly	 adverb
—curtness	 noun [uncountable]

stu·pen·dous   [stoo-pen-duh s, styoo-]
-adjective
1. causing amazement; astounding; marvelous: stupendous news.
2. amazingly large or great; immense: a stupendous mass of information.
He was a man of stupendous strength

in·cre·du·li·ty   [in-kri-doo-li-tee, -dyoo-] incredulous (adj)
-noun
1. the quality or state of being incredulous; inability or unwillingness to believe. - hard to believe bec it's surprising n shocking
Eg. "you told him about that!" n he said incredulously ./ his voice was incredulous .

whole enchilada, Slang. the entirety of something

All at sea - In a state of confusion and disorder.

tête-à-tete  -noun 1. a private conversation or interview, usually between two people.

be in cahoots (with somebody) to be working secretly with another person or group, especially in order to do something dishonest:
The Forest Service and the timber industry were in cahoots.

Armed to the teeth -  heavily armed with deadly weapons. The bank robber was armed to the teeth when he was caught. There are too many guns around. The entire country is armed to the teeth

Relinquish -  to let someone else have your position, power, or rights, especially unwillingly 【正式】 〔尤指不情愿地〕放弃，交出〔职位、权力、权利〕;  give up:
No one wants to relinquish power once they have it. 人一旦有了权就不想放弃。