decline= politely refuse an invitation or offer，婉拒，vt

The woman Joe liked declined his invitation to have a meal together.

be swept up in 沉醉于…

Joe was swept up in a romance with a girl from Russia after a few weeks he became a post-graduate student at TFSU.

maelstrom= a situation or state of confused movement or violent turmoil，混乱，可数

The scandal of the president has caused a major media maelstrom.

usurp= take a position of power or importance unlawfully or by force，篡夺，vt

Joe finally made the decision to usurp the throne of his father.

mob= a large crowd of people, especially one that is disorderly and intent on causing trouble or violence.搞事儿团伙，可数

Mobs of gangsters are vandalizing shops around this neighborhood.

granted可以理解为“诚然”

Granted, Joe did sth wrong, but it doesn’t mean he should be punished to death.

Plaster=post,张贴，vt

Joe plastered his self-portraits all over his campus attempting to become well-known.

Beret，贝雷帽，t不发音，可数

One of Joe’s friends wears a beret all the time.

fluorescent,发光的

This kind of fish is fluorescent.

supposed=alleged所谓的

Last year a supposed friend of Joe swindled 2 million dollars out of him.

surreptitiously=secretively偷偷地

Joe surreptitiously taped the phone call between him and his supervisor.

authenticate= prove or show sth to be true, genuine, or valid.证明…是真的，vt

Some experts are invited to authenticate a drawing supposed to be drawn by Picasso. 

the sword of Damocles， 达摩克里斯之剑，王座上面的剑，比喻随时可能发生的危险

The possibility of being unemployed again hangs like the sword of Damocles over Joe’s head.

mortify= cause someone to feel embarrassed，ashamed，or humiliated，使羞愧、窘迫，vt

Joe was mortified being shouted at by his teacher in front of the class.

prattle on about…闲扯…

Joe’s mom likes to prattle on about the history of antiques in her house.

churlish=rude and surly（粗暴的=uncouth）；catty= deliberately harmful，spiteful，恶意的

Joe sometimes seems churlish and catty but he is kind deep inside.

be populated with充斥着...（被…所充斥）

Social media nowadays is populated with rumors.