furious

a. extremely angry; violent

denunciation

n. the act of denouncing; condemnation 譴責，痛斥

scorn

n. strong disrespect; contempt 鄙視，輕蔑

denounce

vt. criticize severely and publicly

castigate

vt. criticize severely

riverfront

n. the part of a city or town on or near a river or harbor area

patronize

vt. be a regular customer, reader, etc. of; give regular business to

insecure

a. anxious and unsure of oneself; not confident

offhand

a. careless or disrespectful in manner; casual

banter

vi. talk in a joking way

contempt

n. a feeling that sth. is of little value or worthless; scorn 輕視，輕蔑

solidarity

n. agreement of interests, aims, or standards

Baptist n. 浸禮會教徒

comprehend

vt. understand

Kluxer

n. a member of the Ku Klux Klan 三K黨成員

sympathizer

n. a person who sympathizes with another persons or is favorably inclined toward a particular belief

antiprefix against; opposed to

refer(to)

vi. mention or speak about

pope

n. head of the Roman Catholic Church（羅馬天主教的）教皇

lover

n. one who is in love with sb. or sth.

southerner

n. a person from a southern region

imponderable

a. unable to be weighed or assessed

suspiciously

ad. distrustfully

pose

vt. put forward fro discussion; state

supervise

vt. keep watch over( work or workers) as the person in charge

forge

vt. make or write(sth. false) to deceive

foolproof

a. that can not go wrong

nigger

n. (derogatory) a Negro

errand

n. a short journey made to get sth. or carry a message

doff vt. take off

respectful

a. having or showing respect

unbookish

a. not inclined to read and study

patron

n. a person who uses a particular shop, hotel, etc, esp. regularly

optical

a. of or relating to light or the sense of light 光學的；視力的

suspicious

a. causing one to suspect; deserving or exciting suspicion

suspicion n.

duck

vt. try to escape by hiding quickly 閃避

hold

a. showing or needing courage

pointedly

ad. in such a way as to make some meaning, reference or application quite unmistakable

doubtful

a. having, showing or causing doubt

title

n. a name given to a book, painting, play, etc.

thumb

vi. turn pages of (a book, etc.) rapidly with a thumb, reading only portions

frown

vi. draw the brows together in deep thought, anger or disapproval

pork

n. meat from pigs

bean

n. a rounded seed of a plant related to peas 豆

jar

vt. have a harsh, unpleasant effect on; shock

sweeping

a. forceful; comprehensive and wide-ranging

raging

a. violent; furious

rage

vi. be furious with anger; act violently

demon

n. an evil spirit

slash

vt. cut with a sweeping stroke of a sword, knife or whip

extol

vt. praise highly

mock

vt. laugh at; make fun of; ridicule

reality

n. the condition or quality of being real; the state of things as they are

weapon

n. an instrument used to attack another or defend oneself from attack

club

n. a heavy stick with one thick end, use as a weapon

conviction

n. a strong feeling or belief about sth.

revel

vi. take very great pleasure(in)

crude

a. in a natural or raw state; unrefined

surge

vi. rise or swell with great force

hunger

vi. have a strong desire or craving

disbelieve

vt. refuse to believe

novel

n. a long story about fictitious people and events

lug

vt. pull along or carry with effort; drag

golf

n. a game played by hitting a small, hard ball with one of a set of clubs around an outdoor course into a series of holes in as few strokes as possible 高爾夫球

mythical

a. not real; imaginary

myth

n. a story that expresses the beliefs and values of a people 神話

revive

vt. bring back to life or consciousness

vivid

a. active, lively

naturalism

n. the showing in art, and literature, of the world and people scientifically and exactly as they are 自然主義

mood

n. the way sb. feels at a certain time 心境，情緒

ream

n. 480 or 500 sheets of paper of the same size and quality 令

sufficiently

ad. in a sufficient manner or to a sufficient degree

sufficient

a. as much as is needed; enough

ignorance

n. the condition of being ignorant; lack of knowledge

Jim Crow

discriminating against Negroes; for blacks only

Phrases & Expressions

aside from

except for; in addition to

on earth

of all possible things; ever (use. used for emphasis after words that ask question)

call down

summon; evoke (sth. upon sb.)

out of the question

not worth considering; impossible

fit into

belong to; be appropriate to

refer to

mention; allude to

address oneself to

give one's full attention to; tackle

on errands

making a short trip to do or get sth. for sb.

slip up

make a mistake

be clear of

be a safe distance away from; free from

call up

call on the telephone

under one's breath

in a whisper

right off

at once; immediately

be through

have reached the end of; be finished with; be done with

run across

find or meet by chance

look up

search for, hunt information about in a dictionary

surge up

rise up in a wave

hunger up

rise up in a wave

nothing less than

nothing short of

beyond one's reach

not capable of being had or got to

Proper Names

Richard Wright 理查德.賴特

Memphis 孟菲斯

Commercial Appeal 《商業呼聲報》

H.L. Mencken H.L. 門肯

Don 唐

A Book of Prefaces 《序言集》

Prejudices 《偏見》

Sinclair Lewis 辛克萊.劉易斯

Main Street 《大街》

Gerald 杰拉爾德

George F. Babbitt 喬治.F.巴比特

Dreiser 德萊塞

Jennie Gerhardt 珍尼.格哈特

Sister Carrie 《嘉莉妹妹》