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6 Mark Twain-Mirror of America Mark Twains true name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens(1835-1910),Americas most famous humorist and the author of popular and outstandingautobiographical works,travel books and novels.The first 36 years of his life as a boy in a little town,as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi,as a reporter on the western frontier and as a traveler abroad supplied him with copious material for his best and most successful writings in his later life.1 idyllic:of idyll,a simple happy period of life,often in the country.idyll:a short piece of poetry or prose that describes a happy and peaceful scene or event,esp.of country life.2 cruise:a travel or a trip on a ship and visit lots of places.3 cynical:a cynical person believes that all men are selfish.He sees no good in anything and makes unkind remarks about people and things.cynic:a cynical person.4 obsess:fill the mind continuously,to worry continuously and unnecessarily.be obsessed with sth.:to fill the head with pletely.e.g.He became absolutely obsessed with a girl reporter on television.She is obsessed by the desire to become a great scientist.5 frailty:a weakness of character or behavior.e.g.One of the frailties of human nature is laziness.That chair looks too frail to take a mans weight.6 tramp:a person who has no home or permanent job and very little money.Tramps go from place to place getting food and money by taking occasional job or begging.7 pilot:a person who is trained and specially employed to go on board and guide ships to enter the harbor.a person who is trained to fly an aircraft.8 Confederate States of America(1861-1865):the government established by the southern states of the US after their secession/official separation from the union.9 guerrilla(guerilla):a member of an unofficial fight group which attacks the enemy in small groups unexpectedly.e.g.Song of the Guerrillas10 prospector:a person who examines the land in order to find gold,oil,etc.11 starry:full of stars in the sky,indicating sparkling,glowing,and flashing.starry-eyed:full of unreasonable or silly hopes.12 acid-tongued:if sb.is acid-tongued,he makes unkind or critical remarks.13 digest:a.When you digest food,the food passes through your stomach and is broken down so that your body can use it.b.If you digest information,you think about it,understand it,and remember it.c.A digest is a collection of things that have been written,which are published again in a concise form.e.g.Readers Digest14 adopt:to take and use as ones own.e.g.Congress has adopted the new measures.adopt a name/custom/style of dress,an idea Having no children of their own they decided to adopt an orphan/dog.Pauls mother had him adopted because she couldnt look after him herself.15 navigable:deep and wide enough to allow ships to travel.16 attest:to show to be true,to give proof of,to declare solemnly.e.g.Historic documents and ancient tombstones all attest to this.17 artery:blood vessel(a tube in your body)that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.vein:any of the tubes carrying blood from all parts of the body to the heart blood vessel.18 keel:a long bar along the bottom of a boat or ship from which the whole frame of the boat or ship is built up.19 raft:floating platform made from large pieces of wood,oil-drums,etc,that are tied together.Also rubber raft.20 commerce:the buying and selling of goods,trade.Here:commodities.This is a synecdoche since it involves the substitution of the genus for kind or whole for part.21 lumber:(AmE)tree trunks,logs or planks(a long,usu.heavy piece of board,esp.one that is 2 to 6 inches thick and at least 8 inches wide)of wood that have been cut for use,but only roughly.In BrE,it is the same as timber.22 delta country:Delta is the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet which is shaped like a triangle.Therefore anything in the shape of a delta,esp.a deposit of sand and soil formed at the mouth of some rivers is called a delta.23 molasses:a thick dark to light brown syrup that is separated from raw sugar in sugar manufacture.24 basin:a basin of a large river is the area of land around it.e.g.the Yellow River Basin.25 drain:to flow off gradually or completely,to cause to become gradually dry or empty.Here,metaphor,to concentrate.26 cub:the young of various types of meat-eating wild animals,such as lion,bear.27 cast of characters:the cast of a play or a film consists of all the people who act in it.28 cosmos:the whole universe 29 feud:long-lasting and bitter quarrel or dispute between two people or groups.30 piracy:robbery of ships on the high seas,robbery carried out by pirates,persons who sail the seas stopping and robbing ships.pirate:a robber on the high seas To pirate video compact disk,video tapes,cassettes or books is to copy,publish and sell them without the right to do so.copy right piracy.31 lynch:(esp.of a crowd of people)to attack and put to death,esp.by hanging,(a person thought to be guilty of a crime),without a lawful trial.32 slum:an area of a city where living conditions are very bad and where all the houses are overcrowded and need to be repaired.33 soak up:to draw in by or as if by suction or absorption.If sth soaks up a liquid,it absorbs it.e.g.The soil soaked up a huge volume of water very rapidly.34 teem with:If a place is teeming with animals or people,it is very crowded and the animals or people are moving around a lot.e.g.The water teems with fish.His mind teems with plans.35 flotsam:metaphor rubbish,wreckage such as bits of wood,plastic,and other waste materials that is floating on the sea,parts of a wrecked ship or its cargo found floating in the sea.36 hustler:a person who tries to earn money or gain an advantage from any situation they are in,often by using dishonest or illegal method.37 thug:a person who is very violent and rough,esp.a criminal violent criminal or hooligan,or villain.38 keen:sharp e.g.He handed me a spear with a keen point.(with the 5 senses,the mind,the feelings)good,strong,quick at understanding e.g.My hearing is not as keen as it used to be.He has a keen brain.He is a keen observer.(AmE)wanting to do sth.very much or wanting sth.to happen very much;having a great deal of enthusiasm for sth.e.g.He takes a keen interest in his work.They are keen on art.I am not very much keen on detective stories.39 acknowledge:recognize the fact,agree to the truth.If you acknowledge a fact,you admit that it is true or it exists.e.g.He acknowledge his fault.40 acquaint:know,make familiar with.be acquainted with e.g.You must acquainted yourself with your new duties.I have heard about Jim but I am not acquainted with him.I have no acquaintance there.41 motley:of many different types of people or things,having or composed of many different or clashing elements,varied.suggesting capricious.42 succumb:(fml)stop resisting(temptation,illness,attack,etc);to yield.e.g.He finally succumbed to the temptation to have another drink.43 epidemic:the occurrence of a disease which affects a very large number of people living in an area and which spreads quickly to other people.e.g.an influenza epidemic 44 flirt:if you flirt with the idea of doing or having sth.,you consider doing or having it,without making any definite plans.45 rebuff:If you rebuff sb.or sbs suggestion,you refuse to listen to them or take any notice of what they are trying to say to you,even though they are trying to be helpful.46 broke:completely without money,penniless.bankrupt.47 hone:a stone used to sharpen knives and tools.to sharpen,to hone ones wit 48 scathing:(of speech or writing)bitterly cruel in judgment,harsh,sharp and hurtful;cutting,scornful.49 column:an article by a particular writer,that regularly appears in a newspaper or magazine.columnist:journalist who regularly writes an article commenting on politics,current events,etc for a newspaper or magazine a political columnist.50 reckless:someone who is reckless shows a complete lack of care about danger or about the results of their actions.A reckless person is one who does things without thinking about what the results might be.51 notations:a brief note jotted down,as to remind one of something.52 genius:(pl.geniuses)exceptionally great mental or creative ability.e.g.a man of genius Einstein was a mathematical genius.He is hard-working and able,but no genius.53 celebrated:well-known,famous,stresses reception of public notice or attention and frequent mention.(celebrity)e.g.a celebrated actress,writer,pianist,etc 54 slope:surface that is at an angle of less than 90 to the earths surface or a flat surface,an area of rising or falling ground.55 sore:(of a part of the body)hurting when touched or used;tender and painful;aching,hurting,irritated,serious,severe.e.g.My leg is still very sore.56 debunk:to point out the truth about(over-praised people,things,ideas,etc).57 earnest:determined and serious,perhaps too serious.58 mischievous:(sometimes appreciative)irresponsibly playful,eager to have fun,esp.by embarrassing people or by playing harmless tricks.59 ingenuity:skill and cleverness in making or arranging things ingenious:clever at finding new or simple solutions for complex problems 60 puritan:a person who has rather hard fixed standards of behavior and self-control and thinks any kind of pleasure is unnecessary or wrong.61 panorama:a complete view of a wide stretch of land continuously changing view or scene a thorough representation in words or picture e.g.This book gives a panorama of life in Shenzhen.62 sap:gradually weaken sb/sth by taking away (strength,energy,etc)e.g.I was sapped by months of hospital treatment.Shes been sapped of her optimism.Stop sapping her confidence!Lack of planning is sapping the companys efficiency.energy-sapping63 clamor:a continuous loud strong demand or complaint,din.It usu.implies disturbance and is applicable to a combination of sounds or a scene that is excessively noisy.e.g.The public are clamoring for a change of government.The baby clamored to be fed.64 edge:sharp cutting part of a blade,knife,sword,or some other tool or weapon.e.g.a knife with a sharp edge renew our edges:to remodeling,resharpening our edges,or to recharge the battery.65 haunt:(of a ghost or spirit)to visit a place or a people.It appears in the place or is seen by people and frightens them.e.g.The old house is said to be haunted by a headless ghost.A spirit haunts the castle.This is one of the cafes I used to haunt.The memory still haunts me.This pub is a favourite haunt of artists.66 feed on:be nourished or strengthened by sth e.g.Hatred feeds on envy.因妒生恨 Bitterness fed on the man who Bitterness consumed the man,exhausted,used up all the energy of the man Here a personification or metaphor is involved.67 pad:v.to protect or make sth more comfortable by covering or filling with soft material.e.g.a jacket with padded shoulders He padded the seat of the chair with some foamed plastics.n.anything made or filled with a soft material used to protect sth.or make it more comfortable.e.g.Get a pad to sit/lie on.The football player wore a pad on his knee.a shoulder pad68 glove the gloves are off:sb.is ready for a fight (be)hand in glove:working in close associationHe was found to be hand in glove with the enemy.If you describe sb.as having an iron fist in a velvet glove,you mean that they hide a firm and determined personality behind a gentle and quiet manner.69 satire:satire is ridicule or irony or sarcasm that is used,esp.in plays and novels,to show how foolish or wicked some peoples behaviour or ideas are.70 illusion:the condition of seeing things wrongly An illusion is an idea or belief which you think is true but is in fact false.e.g.The magician made us think he cut a woman in half,but it was an illusion.Perfect happiness is an illusion.Love is a beautiful illusion.71 vanish:to disappear,go out of sight.Vanish implies a complete,often mysterious,and usually sudden passing.It commonly suggests absence of all trace or of any clue.e.g.The mysterious woman passenger vanished.The ship vanished over the horizon.Our hope vanished suddenly.72 crumble:be broken or rubbed into very small pieces.e.g.crumble ones bread,The great empire began to crumble.Their marriage is crumbling.73 lament:If you lament sth.,you express your sadness,regret or disappointment about it.e.g.They lamented the death of their mother.We could hear her laments through the closed door.
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