NB: the meaning given for each word is contextual meaning, that is to say it is the specific meaning of the word within the context of the story. Some of these words have other meanings not shown here.
| Word | Part of Speech | Contextual Meaning | Example Sentence | |
| arithmetic | noun | mathematics (adding, multiplying etc) | Don't ask me to add the numbers; I'm terrible at arithmetic. | |
| aroma | noun | scent | The aroma at the spa was of roses and vanilla. | |
| bulbous | adjective | large and round | Santa Claus has a bulbous nose and belly. | |
| cask | noun | wooden container | We filled the cask with wine and put it in the cellar. | |
| claret | noun | French red wine | You should always serve a nice claret with a juicy steak. | |
| concealed | verb - past | hid | Franco concealed his love notes under his pillow. | |
| contempt | noun | feeling that a person or thing is worthless | Jane's contempt for her ex-husband is unfair on her kids. | |
| cultivated | adjective | educated about art | My husband is very cultivated because his grandmother was into classical music and painting. | |
| dabbed | verb - past | touched lightly | Mary dabbed her extra lipstick off with her napkin. | |
| decent | adjective | pretty good | At least wear a decent shirt because you are going to be photographed from the waist up. | |
| denouncements | noun | accusations | The thief rejected the denouncements even though he was caught stealing on camera. | |
| elegant | adjective | attractive, graceful, simple | I need a long elegant dress to wear to my graduation ceremony. | |
| entertained | verb | hosted a party | Whenever my parents entertained their college friends we always had a BBQ and badminton tournament. | |
| excessively | adverb | with extra effort than necessary | Chrisie called me so excessively that I didn't want to be friends with her. | |
| fathomless | adjective | deep, incomprehensible | Astronomers are constantly trying to search the fathomless depths of space. | |
| flung | verb - past | threw wildly | The bride flung her bouquet of flowers behind her. | |
| fumes | noun | strong smell that makes it hard to breathe | The petrol fumes at the garage always give me a headache. | |
| game | noun | hunted birds and other animals (for food or sport) | The only game I enjoy eating is duck. | |
| gazed | verb - past | looked at intently with wide eyes | The couple sat on the beach and gazed at the sunset. | |
| genuine | adjective | real | This movie is not a genuine documentary. | |
| glances | noun | looks that last only a short moment | Before we started dating we used to exchange glances from our desks. | |
| grief-stricken | adjective | upset because of a loss | I was grief-stricken when my dog got run over by a car. | |
| harvest | noun | season when crops are ready to pick | During the harvest the whole family goes out to work in the corn fields. | |
| heaven forbid | interjection | expressing a strong wish that something does not happen | Heaven forbid that we ever get hit by one of these terrible hurricanes! | |
| humiliating | adjective | causing embarrassment | It was humiliating when they made me stand up and make a speech. | |
| idyllic | adjective | peaceful, perfect | It was an idyllic afternoon with all of the kids away at school. | |
| immigration | noun | permanent movement of someone from one country to another | The rules of immigration say that I need a permit to work in this country. | |
| impassively | adverb | without expression, not showing emotion | The young teen stood impassively while the policeman put handcuffs on him. | |
| insinuations | noun | suggestions about someone (without proof) that are not nice | I broke up with Bob because of the insinuations he made about me and my ex-boyfriend. | |
| intention | noun | aim or plan | Alice's intention was to rent a guitar, not to buy one. | |
| loathed | verb - past | hated | I loathed my grade nine French teacher because he gave us so much homework. | |
| lunged | verb - past | moved forward suddenly and quickly | The child lunged at the birthday cake before we could remove the candles. | |
| peasant | noun | poor person who usually lives off the land | My ancestors were peasants who used to beg for food when their crops wouldn't grow. | |
| pedigree | noun | record of ancestry, line of relatives | We only breed dogs of excellent pedigree. | |
| poised | verb - past | prepared to act | The fashion model was poised at the foot of the walkway. | |
| raconteur | noun | a skilful storyteller | There is always one raconteur in the family who makes everyone laugh at the dinner table. | |
| ravishing | adjective | very beautiful, entrancing | Brides always look ravishing on their wedding days. | |
| reasoned | verb - past | analyzed and formed judgement logically; tried to persuade by giving good reasons | I reasoned with my father to extend my curfew. | |
| reputation | noun | opinions or beliefs that others have about a person or thing | Mark has a reputation for dating more than one woman at a time. | |
| resorted to | verb - past | did because nothing else worked | There were no size ten skates so Marie resorted to wearing men's. | |
| root | noun | early stage, cause | Janice's mother-in-law is the root of her marital problems. | |
| shuddered | verb - past | trembled or shook because of cold or fear | Andrea shuddered when she heard the loud scream. | |
| telegram | noun | (formerly) mail sent electronically and delivered in printed form on paper | During the war she learned of her son's injuries by telegram. | |
| termagant | noun | a bad-tempered, noisy woman | The termagant was hassling her husband about forgetting to make her coffee. | |
| veal | noun | the meat of a young cow | Samantha doesn't eat veal because she's a vegetarian. | |
| vigorous | adjective | strong, energetic | The vigorous builders had the house finished in one week. | |
| vintage | noun | top wine, usually wine from a specific year | They're serving a 1975 vintage to mark their anniversary. | |
| vineyard | noun | place where grapes are grown | We worked in the vineyard until all of the grapes had been picked. | |
| visibly | adverb | easily seen | She stood visibly in front of the window, so I knew she was home. | |
| welled up | verb - past | filled up (often with liquid) | Her eyes welled up with tears when he asked her to marry him. | |
| winepress | noun | machine or equipment used to squeeze the juice out of grapes | We'll need a winepress if we want to make juice out of these grapes. | |
上一篇：英语小故事下载The Winepress 下一篇：The Winepress - Vocabulary Test