英文名著精讲:The Kite Runner 追风筝的人(6)

descendants n. 后代，后裔
They are the descendants of Queen Victoria.
他们是维多利亚女王的后裔。
Etiquette has been passed down from him to his descendants.
他的后裔，一向以礼仪传家。

barely adv. 几乎不；刚刚；勉强
He is so weak that he can barely stand up.
他身体虚弱几乎站不起来。
I had barely started speaking when he interrupted me.
我刚刚开始讲话，他便打断了我。
We had barely enough money to last through the weekend.
我们的钱只能勉强维持到周末。

ancestry n. 祖先
Many of the early settlers in America had English ancestry.
许多早期美国移民的祖先都是英国人。

sneak v. 偷偷摸摸地做，偷偷地拿、带
He sneaked a chocolate from the box.
他从盒子里偷拿了一块巧克力。
I'll see if I can sneak him in after dark.
我看天黑后能否让他偷偷地溜进去。
I can sneak you out without being noticed.
我能把你偷偷地带出去，别人了现不了。

stunned adj. 震惊的，惊讶的
One woman was stunned as, ironically, the ladybirds seemed to be attracted to her canary yellow VW Beetle.
一名妇女被震惊的，讽刺的是，瓢虫似乎是吸引她的淡黄色大众甲壳虫。
Stunned by the market response, lawmakers regrouped and added new items to the bill to win votes.
被市场反应所震惊的议员们随后再次集结，向救助计划加入新内容以期获得支持。

persecute v. 迫害
They persecute those who do not conform to their idea.
他们迫害那些不信奉他们思想的人。
They came to America after being persecuted for their religious beliefs.
他们是在他们因宗教信仰而受到迫害之后来到美洲的。

rise v. 反抗
The king's cruelty excited the people to rise against him.
那个国王的残酷激起了人民起来反对他。

quell v. 压制，平息
Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.
已派士兵去镇压动乱。
The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.
不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

snicker v. 切窃笑
The shuffle and snicker become the comedian's trademark.
搅和与窃笑成为那个戏剧演员的标志。

martyr n. 烈士，殉道者
He is a martyr of his country.
他为国捐躯。
He was posthumously accepted as a martyr.
他被追认为烈士。

heritage n. 遗产，继承物
It is the heritage of all human beings.
这都是整个人类继承的东西。

taunt v. 辱骂，嘲弄
But in England if the palm faces inward it's a taunt, especially if executed with an up-ward jerk of the fingers.
可在英国，做该手势时如果掌心向内，特别是还同时把手指往上伸的话，则表示对人的辱骂。

suspect v. 怀疑，猜想
They suspected an ambush.
他们怀疑有埋伏。
I suspect he was lying by the boy's abnormal behaviour.
从那个男孩的反常举动中,我怀疑他在撒谎。

restore v. 回复，还原，复原
The new manager's job is to restore the company to profitability.
新经理的工作是让这家公司能恢复盈利状况。
I feel quite restored to health after my holiday.
假期过后，我觉得健康恢复得相当不错。

blemish v. 玷污，损害
His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he had taken bribes.
报纸上一篇文章说他受贿，他的声誉因此受到玷污。

retaliate v. 报复，回敬
He was waiting for an opportunity to retaliate.
他在伺机报复。
He slapped his sister, who retaliated by kicking him.
他打了妹妹一巴掌，他妹妹回敬他一脚。

tormentor n. 使人痛苦的人或物
Vowing revenge, he got hold of a gun and tracked down his tormentor.
他发誓要报仇，弄了一把枪，跟踪着殴打他的人而去。

immune adj. 免疫的
I'm immune to smallpox as a result of vaccination.
我接种过疫苗了,所以对天花有免疫力。

anesthesiologist n. 麻醉学家，麻醉师
The anesthesiologist told me I was the calmest person he'd ever seen.
麻醉师告诉我说，我是他所见到的最镇定的人。