97个提升英文水平的单词 – Part II

上周介绍了97个“97个提升英文水平的单词”的第一部分，一共是20个词儿。今天就再说20个单词。

据说，英文单词的难度不是和其长度有关，而是和其首字母有关：a开头的最简单，z开头的最难。

这次的20个单词从i到v，难度不小。

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impudent

rude, shameless

Jenna’s impudent behavior toward her teachers showed more than rudeness; it showed that she truly did not respect them.

incendiary

causing or capable of causing fire; stirring up trouble

The unrest and fighting at our high school is not likely to die down soon, given the incendiary nature of your last opinion column.

incipient

beginning to appear or be noticed

A week after he had planted the grass seeds, incipient blades could be seen poking up through the soil.

incorrigible

unable to be corrected or reformed

Alicia’s parents feared she was absolutely incorrigible when she as a teenager, but once she married and had her own children she settled down.

inveterate

established for a long time; habitual

An inveterate gambler, Jake would bet on anything, including how lng he could go without making a bet.

methodical

done in an orderly, systematic way

Refusing to be hurried, despite the looming deadline, Susan wrote the report in her usual methodical fashion.

multifarious

having many different parts or forms; numerous and varied

The multifarious animals in the rain forest represent a startling diversity of live.

obdurate

not easily moved to pity or sympathy

The obdurate headmaster seemed deaf to the complaints of the students about the ridiculous rules; nothing could get him to change his mind.

ostentatious

showy; pretentious

The first thing Gwen wanted to do with her lottery winnings was move into a bigger, more ostentatious house to make all her friends jealous.

perfidious

marked by extreme treachery

In his closing statement, the prosecutor claimed that there was no crime more perfidious than killing a family member for financial gain.

phlegmatic

having a calm, sluggish temperment; unemotional

Although a certain degree of calmness is a good thing, Mark is so phlegmatic that he almost never reacts to anything.

pithy

relating to the central part of something; economically phrased

Since we haven’t had lunch yet, we’d appreciate it if you made your sales pitch as pithy as possible.

profligate

immorally wasteful

Kevin was noted for his profligate ways: he spent excessively and seemed to enjoy wasting money and throwing out perfectly good items rather than recycling or donating them.

quotidian

daily; customary

One of the advantages to a one-hour session with her analyst is that it elevates her petty, quotidian problems to high drama, worthy of professional involvement.

sardonic

bitterly sneering; mocking

Rochester was sardonic, mocking any weaknesses he found in others with no consideration of their feelings.

saturnine

of a gloomy temperament

Once cheerful and effervescent, she alarmed everyone when she became terminally ill and sank into a long, saturnine depression.

squalid

having a dirty or lowly appearance

It is a sad fact that millions of people live in squalid conditions with no plumbing, no waste disposal, no electricity, and few, if any, luxuries.

timorous

full of fear

The timorous eyes of the child revealed his reluctance to leave his mother in order to spend the day with his kindergarten class.

untenable

indefensible, or impossible to maintain

Only after the invention and refinement of the microscope was the idea of spontaneous generation rejected as untenable.

vindictive

seeking revenge; marked by a desire to hurt

The war was caused not by a clash of ideals but by the king’s vindictive urge to punish his enemies.