Words
Nath had been too preoccupied, and pinning down his attention had been like catching smoke in her hands.
pin down: to make someone unable to move by putting a lot of pressure or weight on them, to define clearly.
仿句: The long-term effect of the problem is hard to pin down.
哥哥明天就要出发了,他终于能走出这个家,面对一个全新的属于自己的世界。他的心思全被第二天的活动占据了,作者把妹妹急于抓住哥哥注意力比喻成想要抓住缠绕于指尖的烟雾。
Look at that, he whispered, with such awe that Lydia sank to her knees beside him and peered out.
sink/fall/drop to your knees: to move so that you are kneeling.
仿句: He pulled out a ring and sank to his knees.
妹妹再次来到哥哥房间,想在他临走之间说些什么,也许是积压在内心的愤怒,也许是对他的依赖,也许是面临即将失去唯一精神支撑的恐惧。可哥哥让她一同欣赏窗外的星空,妹妹终于意识到,他的心思分明早已被美丽而遥远的东西牵走了。
He stretched the elastic straps over his folded clothes in a neat X and clapped the suitcase shut... Nath shut the latches with one finger, then hoisted the suitcase by the handle.
hoist: to raise, lift, or pull something up, especially using ropes.
仿句: They hoisted the canoe onto the roof of the car.
这一系列打包,合上行李箱,关闭锁扣,把箱子拉起来的动作,妹妹看在眼里,却无法想象,哥哥就这样走了。
The tears that had choked off her voice dried away. A slow, burning anger at Nath began to smolder inside her, his parting words ringing in her ears.
smolder: to burn slowly without a flame; to have strong feelings but do not fully express.
仿句: Smoldering with anger, he gulped his bottle of beer.
哥哥在学校参加新生聚会,妹妹忍不住打电话过去,哥哥表现出不耐烦,很快挂掉电话继续喝酒去了。对于妹妹来说,这个举动意味着拒绝,背叛,她从此只能独自承受。
She glared at Jack: one sharp wince, as if she'd splashed water in his eyes.
wince: a facial or bodily expression of pain, disgust, regret.
仿句: He held his breath and winced when a needle pierced his chest.
妹妹Lydia下决心投身Jack的怀抱,把他当作自己最后的救命稻草。他是众人眼里的坏小子也好,他内心并不是表面看上去那样也罢,可万万没想到,Jack竟然喜欢自己的哥哥。他玩弄女孩的坏名声,他的反叛和不羁,全都是他真实感情的幌子。他接触自己,或许只是因为自己是Nath的妹妹。Lydia怒气冲冲地看着Jack,她的脸不自然地抽搐,而Jack像是突然变成了陌生人,笑容里带着嘲讽。
By tomorrow, Marilyn would forget this moment: Lydia's shout, the shattered edges in her tone. It would disappear forever from her memory of Lydia, the way memories of a lost loved one always smooth and simplify themselves, shedding complexities like scales.
shatter: to break suddenly into small pieces.
仿句: A bullet shattered the window glass.
Lydia带着强烈的情绪跑回家,可妈妈一如既往地提到考试复习的事情。Lydia终于决定反抗,她用破碎的声音拒绝了妈妈。沙哑的嘶吼,像是再也没有任何恐惧了一样。也许到了明天,妈妈早已忘记了这个时刻,这个声音。关于Lydia的记忆最终会消退,繁杂冗长的片段像一片片鱼鳞,剥离殆尽。