Part I Words
1. pelt v.
(of rain) to fall very heavily 倾泻,下得很大
e.g. After a day of pelting rain, the lights of the inn were the most welcoming sight she has seen.
如果用作动词,可以说the rain pelted down last night.
2. solicitous a.
If someone is solicitous, they are entirely set in motion caring for you. Your neighbors are solicitous if they try to help your family out all the time. Use this word too if you're eager to do something. A good student will be solicitous to appear interested in what the teacher says — even when it's not that interesting.
e.g. She asked,solicitously, "warm, hot, or boil-a-lobster?"
3. rumination n.
If someone asks you to make a difficult decision — like what to have for dinner — it might lead to rumination, or a long period of deep thought.
e.g His ruminations were interrupted by an enormous clattering...
4. detached a.
showing lack of emotional involvement 不带感情的,冷漠的
e.g. She told them. her voice oddly calm and detached...
Part II Sentences
1. The unicorn's unshod hooves were not meant for rocky road, nor was its back meant to carry riders...
我觉得可以学习一下这里not meant for\ not meant to do的用法,比如可以说,The wall over there is not meant for your posters.即那面墙可不是让你用来贴海报的。
2. The door to the inn was opened, flooding the grey world with warm yellow light.
大雨倾盆,四周一片黑暗,而忽然远处出现了一个小屋,敞着门,门里暖融融的光倾泻而出。
这里第二个小分句里的flood真可谓是点睛之笔。
3. ...and enough hot water for a tub that'll melt the chill from your bones.
这里melt the chill from your bones用得太棒了,记下来感觉冬天就可以用了。
Part III
The star and the unicorn traveled for a long time, so the unicorn was worn out and famished. In the pelting rain, the star found the inn built by the witch-queen and went in cheerfully. The witch-quenn arranged a hot tub for the star solicitously, which made the star feel like heaven.
Meanwhile, Primus and Tristran arrived. Primus entered the inn, when Tristran attended to the horses in the stable. The witch-queen attempted to poison Tristran, but with the help of the unicorn, he did not fall into the trap. Tristran went into the inn to tell Primus the news, but before Primus fought back, the witch-queen killed him with her knife. Suddenly, the unicorn entered the inn and sent the "husband" and "daughter" in the inn to their ends. After this, it used its horn to injure the witch-queen severely at the cost of its own life. Before the witch-queen got them, Tristran used the remaining candle and managed to escape with the star.
Part IV
今天这一章里有特别温馨的场景描写,也有让人忍俊不禁之处,但在小屋里血腥的一场打斗把一切都毁了——Primus被女巫杀了,unicorn也为了救星星女死了,虽然Tristran和星星女终于逃了出来,但失去朋友的伤痛不是可以抛之脑后的。接下来的故事应该和复仇有关,期待明天的阅读。