Lesson Eight

Pre-class Work

Read the text a third time. Learn the new words and expressions listed below.

Glossary

airily
adv. not seriously, in a light-hearted way

apron
n. a piece of clothing that covers the front part of one's clothes and ties around one's waist, worn esp. when cooking to keep one's clothes clean

bet
v. (infml) to be sure

bid
v. to ～ farewell to sb.: to say goodbye to sb.

bourgeois
adj. typical of middle-class people; conventional

colony
n. a country or area under the control of a more powerful country

colonial
adj. the adjective form of colony

confess
v. to admit

convention
n. generally accepted practice, esp. with regard to social behavior and attitudes

crusade
n. a struggle for the advancement of an idea, a principle, etc.

crushed
adj. Here: extremely upset or shocked

divine
adj. (infml) very very good

earnest
adj. determined and very serious

enthusiastically
adv. showing a lot of excitement and interest about sth.

establish
v. to find out facts that will prove that sth. is true

exit
v. to go out

forehead
n. the part of the face above the eyes and below the hair

fuss
v. to give too much attention to small, unimportant matters

genteel
adj. (fml or literary) respectable, well-bred

girlishly
adv. behaving like a girl

gown
n. (AmE) a long dress, esp. one worn on formal occasions

grave
n. tomb

hastily
adv. in a quick and hurried way

ideally
adv. in an ideal way

investigate
v. to try to find out the truth about sth. such as a scientific problem

lap
n. the front part of a seated person between the waist and the knees

ma'am
n. a spoken form, abbr. for "madam", (AmE) a polite way of addressing a woman

maid
w. a woman who works as a servant in a private house

miserable
adj. very sad, very unhappy

mythology
n. ancient myths in general 古代神话

naive
adj. simple; childish; uneducated

overseas
adj. existing in a foreign country

partially
adv. not completely; partly

permanent
adj. intended to last for a long time or forever

pompous
adj. trying to make people think you are important, esp. by using very formal and important-sounding words

positively
adv. really, indeed

primitive
adj. belonging to the earliest period of development of life

psychology
n. the scientific study of the human mind and the reasons for people's behavior

puzzled
adj. confused and unable to understand sth.

readjust
v. to make a small change to sth. or to its position

reprimand
n. a severe official scolding

respectable
adj. showing or having socially acceptable standards of behavior

shell-shocked
adj. mentally ill because of the terrible experience of war

shh
int. used for asking for silence or less noise

snoop
v. to secretly look round a place in order to find out sb.'s private affairs

speculatively
adv. thoughtfully

sternly
adv. severely; seriously

stifle
v. to stop; to prevent from happening

sympathetically
adv. in a way that shows sympathy or approval

tribe
n. a group of people of the same race who share the same customs, religion, language, etc., esp. of a fairly low level of civilization 部落

wander
v. to move about (an area) without a clear direction or purpose