站_跳_惊跳起来
Text B Never Let a Friend Down
Language study:
1. let down: disappoint; fail to help
He never lets us down when we are in trouble.
When he was sent to prison, he really felt he had let his parents down. 2. peer: look carefully or with difficulty
He peered at the computer screen and asked about the figures.
The judge peered over his glasses at the jury.
The driver was peering into the distance trying to read the road sign. 3. uneasy: feeling anxious or uncertain
I feel a bit uneasy about asking her to do me such a big favor.
His parents are uneasy about his future.
4. in search of: try to find
I’m at present in search of a house.
They went to Australia in search of gold.
5. scrape a living: only earn enough money to provide oneself with food, clothing
and housing
He settled in Paris, where he scraped a living writing short stories and magazine
articles.
6. set off / out: start (a journey)
What time will we have to set off tomorrow?
Jenny set off down the road on her new bike.
They’ve set off on a journey round the world.
7. get rid of: destroy; become free of
I used weedkiller to get rid of the weeds in the garden.
Such criminals ought to be got rid of.
8. stuff: matter; material
There’s sticky stuff all over the chair.
I am tired of people trying to sell me stuff I don’t need.
I don’t like the stuff your dress is made of.
9. soak: become or make completely wet
The wind had blown the rain into the bedroom and soaked the bed.
The children came in soaked through, so we put them in a hot bath. 10. swing: turn (something) round quickly
She heard a sudden noise behind her, and swung round to look behind her.
Jack swung the car round so that it was facing the other way. 11. head: go in a particular direction
We were heading toward Nanjing when our truck broke down.
I was heading out of the room when she called me back.
They are heading for disaster if they aren’t careful.
12. struggle to one’s feet: get up with great effort
cf. get / rise / spring / jump / start to one’s feet 站/跳/惊跳起来
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bring sb. to his feet 扶某人站起来
13. drag: pull (sth. or sb.) along with effort and difficulty
Pick the chair up instead of dragging it behind you!
A team of horses dragged the big log out of the forest. 14. extent: area or length; amount; degree
We don’t know the extent of his injuries (= how bad his injuries are).
Mary’s teacher was impressed by the extent of her knowledge (= how much she
knew).
To some / a certain extent( = Partly), she was responsible for the accident.
The car was damaged to such an extent that it could not be repaired. 15. in bad/good shape: in bad / good physical condition
She’s been working too hard and she’s in bad shape.
She had a major operation last week, so she’s not in very good shape at the
moment.
16. despair: the feeling that there is no hope and that one can do nothing to improve a
difficult or troubling situation
He was filled with despair when he read the examination questions.
They are in despair about the money they’ve lost.
He sank into despair after his business failed.
17. hang on: persevere; keep doing sth.
It’s hard work, but if you hang on long enough you’ll succeed.
Cf. wait
Sally is on the other phone --- would you like to hang on?
hold tight onto sth.
The girl hung on to her mother’s hand as they crossed the street.
He hung on until the rope broke.
18. odds: (pl.) the possibility that a particular thing will or will not happen
Judging by how ill she looked yesterday, I think the odds are she won’t be coming
today.
If you drive a car all your life, the odds are that you’ll have an accident at some
point.
What are the odds on him being late again?
19. draw on: use part of a supply of
Like most writers, she draws on personal experience in her work.
We can draw on company funds if we need more money for the project.
He had to draw on his savings to buy a new bike.
20. rescue: n. & v.
A rescue team is trying to reach the trapped miners.
The lifeboat rescued the sailors from the sinking boat.
She was rescued from a burning building.
21. highlight: n. the best or most exciting or interesting part
The highlight of our trip to New York was going to the top of the Empire State
Building.
We’ll show you a film of the highlights of the football match.
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vt. give special attention to
The report on the accident highlights the need for considerable improvements in
safety.
Could you read through this for me and highlight the important points?
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