Domestic
adj. 家庭的
The cramped kitchen didn’t bother Alexa because she was not particularly domestic, but the televI sion predicament certainly did.
Animated
adj. 活跃的
In her dreams, she was playing in the water with little Coco, swimming with the ease and grace of these beautiful, animated creatures.
Limitation
n.局限
With all of these limitations on communication with her friends back home, Alexa felt like her coveted friendships were slipping away.
Covet
v.妄想
With all of these limitations on communication with her friends back home, Alexa felt like her coveted friendships were slipping away.
Deliberate
v.深思熟虑
Alexa deliberated and decided that she would send an e-mail to Laurie every day.
Cultivate
v.培养
If they could keep in touch by cultivating an e-mail relationship, Alexa wouldn’t feel so desolate.
Desolate
adj. 孤独凄凉的
If they could keep in touch by cultivating an e-mail relationship, Alexa wouldn’t feel so desolate.
Wary
adj. 小心翼翼的
she was wary of this long absence from Laurie because she didn’t want her role as Laurie’s best friend to be usurped by someone else in her absence.
Usurp
v. 篡夺
She was wary of this long absence from Laurie because she didn’t want her role as Laurie’s best friend to be usurped by someone else in her absence.
Consign
v.把…置于
Alexa consigned herself to write to Laurie diligently.
Debatable
adj. 有争议的
I’m not going to be spending much time with her, though—it’s not even debatable.
Comrade
n. 同志情谊
Your best friend and comrade - Alexa
Flourish
n. 夸张动作
Alexa hit Send with a flourish and almost immediately felt a tinge of regret.
Denounce
v. 谴责
Alexa reread it and realized that she had denounced virtually everything.
Disgruntled
adj. 不满的，不高兴的
Next time, she thought, instead of writing from such a disgruntled perspective, she would try to find the positive and make her letters more upbeat.
Emphatically
adv. 强调地
“And be especially careful on that bike!” Alexa’s mother added emphatically as she gave her an affirming hug.
Affirming
adj. 确认的
“And be especially careful on that bike!” Alexa’s mother added emphatically as she gave her an affirming hug.
Assert
v. 断言
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be fine.” Alexa asserted.
Upstart
n. 发迹者
It always seemed a challenge to start something new and be the young upstart in an unfamiliar place.
Hospitable
adj. 友好的，好客的
She appreciated Janine’s hospitable welcome.
Elaborate
v. 详尽阐述
“Yes,” Alexa replied. “My father is a molecular biologist and I’ve done a few experiments with DNA in his laboratory at Cornell.” Alexa didn’t elaborate with any details.
Protocol
n.实验计划
“I’m sure the protocol is very similar. Here is the protocol we’re using for dolphin cells.”
n. 条约，协议
Empowering
v. 授权
Alexa knew from her previous experience in the lab that it felt empowering to complete an experiment independently.
Impulsively
adj.冲动地
“What harm would it do if I just went for a ride to take a look around this island?” Alexa thought impulsively.
Omnipresent
adj. 随时随地都在的
Alexa continued past the security building and then she could see the main gate with the two omnipresent guards looming in the distance.
Authoritatively
adv. 专断地，权威地
The guard, posted authoritatively at the gate, had clearly seen her.
Impetuous
adj. 鲁莽的
She felt a tingle of excitement at her impetuous escape.
Parched
adj. 渴
Alexa realized she had not brought anything to drink with her and she was already parched.
Ubiquitous
adj. 随处可见的
There was little commercial activity in this small town—the ubiquitous McDonalds’ franchise had yet to penetrate this isolated island.
Franchise
n. （公司授予的）特许经销权，获得许权的商业机构
There was little commercial activity in this small town—the ubiquitous McDonalds’ franchise had yet to penetrate this isolated island.
Encampment
n.营地
It looked more like a threadbare encampment than a neighborhood of sturdy houses.
Perspective
n. 观点
From her perspective, it appeared so miserable and deprived.
Deprived
adj.贫困的
From her perspective, it appeared so miserable and deprived.
Mendicant
n. 乞丐
An elderly mendicant sitting in front of the general store held out his cup to her, beseeching her to contribute.
beseech
v. 恳求
An elderly mendicant sitting in front of the general store held out his cup to her, beseeching her to contribute.
Subsist
v. 维持生活
But she couldn’t help but ponder what it must be like to subsist on a handful of coins like that which was in the beggar’s cup.
Penurious
adj. 贫穷的
The children, however, seemed oblivious to their penurious circumstances.
Patrons
n. 顾客
The patrons sitting outdoors at an open-air café eyed her suspiciously.
Ethnicity
n. 种族特点
Alexa felt so conspicuous—not only was she a different ethnicity than the townspeople, she was an outsider.
Ostracize
v. 排斥
She had the distinct sense of feeling ostracized by their direct gaze.
Scurry
v. 疾走
Delighted, she scurried toward the translucent water, which was a beautiful shade of turquoise.
Translucent
adj. 半透明的
Delighted, she scurried toward the translucent water, which was a beautiful shade of turquoise.
Serendipitously
adv. 机缘巧合地
It was a spectacularly beautiful cove that she had discovered serendipitously.
Decadent
adj.放纵的
The sensation was decadent—the water was warm and refreshing.
Archaic
adj. 古老的， 过时的
Just as she was about to take the plunge, she noticed a small, archaic boat motoring its way toward the pier.
Dingy
adj. 肮脏破旧的
It was a dingy metal rowboat with an outboard engine, operated by a young man seated in the back of the boat.
Unintelligible
adj. 不可理解的
Even though she had taken one year of Spanish, his words were unintelligible.
Deflect
v. 转移，使….偏斜
Alexa put her hand above her eyes like a visor to deflect the blinding sunshine.
Lithe
adj. 柔韧的
His black hair was long, almost to his shoulders, and his body deeply tanned and lithe.
Exorbitantly
adv. 过高地，过度地
All of a sudden she felt exorbitantly self-conscious—and very glad she hadn’t plunged into the water a moment ago.
Extricate
v. 使脱离
She decided it was time to extricate herself from this situation.
Evade
v. 躲避
It’s just silly to evade precisely the person you want to get to know, she thought.
Perspicacity
n. 洞察力
But, having the perspicacity to realize that her actions were silly, she vowed emphatically that next time, she would be braver.
Proximity
n. 接近
As she approached the proximity of the Puerto Marino compound, she again had a nervous feeling in her stomach.
Divulge
v. 泄露
Alexa decided that she would not divulge her indiscretion to her.
Indicretion
n. 不检点行为
Alexa decided that she would not divulge her indiscretion to her.
Discretionary
adj. 自由决定的
It was discretionary information.
Feigned
n. 假装
“Oh, it wasn’t that difficult.” Alexa feigned a smile.
Efficatiously
adv. 有效地
I’m glad you’re able to work both independently and efficaciously.
Inundate
v. 使不胜负荷
I am just inundated with field work.
Forage
v. 搜寻
Janine lifted a rack of boxes out of the liquid nitrogen and foraged among the boxes with heavily gloved hands.
Corrosive
adj. 腐蚀性的
Then they donned protective gloves and glasses to add a mixture of phenol and chloroform, the corrosive chemicals that are used to break open the cells and release the DNA.
Lull
n. 间歇
There was a lull in the conversation as Alexa held the tube up to the light as both women peered intently through the test tube.
Propensity
n. 习性
It’s in control of virtually everything about us—our eye color, our hair color, even our propensity to succumb to debilitating diseases.
Debilitate
v. 使虚弱
It’s in control of virtually everything about us—our eye color, our hair color, even our propensity to succumb to debilitating diseases.
Bequeath
v. 把…传下去
DNA is like a silent and elusive dictator, bequeathing the characteristics that make us who we are.
Invigorate
v. 使…精神焕发
It had been an invigorating morning of science and adventure.
Soluble
adj. 可溶的
The top layer was what they wanted—this was the aqueous solution containing the soluble DNA.
Dénouement
n. （小说，戏剧的）结局
“Now for the dénouement!” Janine declared dramatically.
Coalesce
v.合并
A delicate and thin white string had coalesced in the tube.
Enigmatic
adj. 难以捉摸的
The white DNA in the tube had a hint of a translucent blue color to it, which only added to its enigmatic aura.
