儒琴英语咀嚼《伤残的树》(The Crippled Tree)一书的用词。《伤残的树》是英籍女作家韩素音自传之一。写她的中国父亲在欧洲留学时与她比利时母亲恋爱结合的故事，以及她在童年时期的生活见闻。韩素音的英文造诣在当代英美文坛堪称一流，其精美、清丽、雅洁的文笔早在西方评论界获得公认。
英语文学词汇 Literature Terms
121. curtain
verb: provide with a curtain or curtains. 提供窗帘
Tibetans crowded the market, their thread caps hung with strings of coral and turquoise which drooped upon their shoulders and curtained their cheeks. (Page 67)
122. heirloom
noun [ C ]/ˈer.luːm/
a valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations
传家宝，祖传之物
Later I learnt that these stalls were the means of selling family heirlooms. Already we were becoming poorer, our handicraft enterprises going bankrupt as a great swelling tide of opium and western manufactured goods…( Page 68)
123. contour
noun [ C ]/ˈkɑːn.tʊr/
an outline, especially one representing or bounding the shape or form of something; the shape of a mass of land or other object, especially its surface or the shape formed by its outer edge
轮廓；外形；曲线
She did not have a perfect face according to Szechuan standards, not the peach like contour, the flying-moth eyebrows, the fine-bridged small nose. (Page 69)
124. propitiate
verb [ T ]/prəˈpɪʃ.i.eɪt/
win or regain the favor of (a god, spirit, or person) by doing something that pleases them;to please and make calm a god or person who is annoyed with you
使息怒；劝解；抚慰
An aunt who thought it fit to propitiate strange gods took my elder brother and myself to the many Buddhist shrines of the city , and we burnt paper money and made offerings, but we were too small to understand what we were doing, kneeling and knocking clappers to call the spirits and beseech our father’s recovery. ( Page 69)
125. vitiate
verb [ T ]/ˈvɪʃ.i.eɪt/
to spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of ; to destroy or damage something
毁坏；破坏；削弱
The cook sliced the new spring vegetables with his finger nails, as did my mother ( iron would vitiate the flavor); …. ( Page 70)
126. refuse
noun [ U ]/ˈref.juːs/
matter thrown away or rejected as worthless; trash.;unwanted waste material, especially material that is regularly thrown away from a house, factory, etc.
（尤指家庭、工厂等固定产生的）废物，废料，垃圾
…the kitchen with its servants’ quarters, courtyard and a well for ordinary water. Refuse was taken out by the western side back door. ( Page 73)
127. tax
verb [T] (NEED EFFORT)
make heavy demands on (someone’s powers or resources); to need someone to make a lot of effort, either physical or mental
使负重担；使大伤脑筋
At one time seventy-five of us lived together in the house of my childhood, without counting the servants and the serving maids. Then it became impossible to stay together, the overcrowding taxed even my mother’s forbearance. ( Page 73）
128. dovetail
verb [ I or T ]/ˈdʌv.teɪl/
to fit together with: to cause something to fit exactly together
（使）咬合；（使）吻合；（使）衔接
In this peopled furnished domain, kin and clan dovetail finely as fine woodwork; not beings as themselves, but beings in relation to the common structure to which we belonged,… ( Page 73)
129. punctilious
adjective /pʌŋkˈtɪl.i.əs/
showing great attention to detail or correct behavior ; very careful to behave correctly or to give attention to details
一丝不苟的；循规蹈矩的
In Third Uncle all is collected, retained and classified, in a tradition of verbal and written handling down, punctilious a d learned. ( Page 76)
130. broach
verb [ T ] /broʊtʃ/
to raise (a sensitive or difficult subject) for discussion; to begin a discussion of something difficult
开始讨论；提出（难题等）
To broach any topic with him is to be instructed on the subject from its inception, be it in palaeolithic times, to the present day. ( Page 77)
