vEery use -Detailed Study of the Text

Detailed Study of the Text1. wavy: having regular curvesA wavy line has a series of regular curves along it.The wavy lines are meant to represent water.Here in the text the word describes the marks in wavy patterns on the clay ground left by the broom.*image - 1* (此处加一细曲线图)2. groove: a long narrow path or track made in a surface, esp. to guide the movement of sth.A groove is a wide, deep line cut into a surface.The cupboard door slides open along the groove it fits into.3. homely: simple, not grand, (of people, faces, etc.,) not good-looking, uglyIf someone is homely, they are not very attractive to look at; uased in Am.E.4. awe: Awe is the feeling of respect and amazement that you have when you are faced with sth. wonderful, frightening or completely unknown., wonderThe child stared at him in silent awe.5. confront: to face boldly or threateningly, encounterIf a problem, task, or difficulty confronts you, or you are confronted with it, it iss sth. that you cannot avoid and must deal withI was confronted with the task of designing and building the new system.6. totter: to move in an unsteady way from side to side as if about to fall, to walk with weak unsteady stepsThe old lady tottered down the stairs.7. limousine: A limousine is a large and very comfortable car, esp. one with a glass screen between the front and back seats. Limousines are usually driven by a chauffeur oucf: sedan / saloon is a car with seats for four or more people, a fixed roof, and a boot (the space at the back of the car, covered by a lid, in which you carry things such luggage, shopping or tools) that is separate from the seating part of the carconvertible: a car with a soft roof that can be folded down or removedsports car: a low usu. open car with room for only 2 people for traveling with high power and speedcoupe ku:pei a car with a fixed roof, a sloping back, two doors and seats for four peoplestation wagon (Am E) / estate car (Br.E) a car which has a long body with a door at the back end and space behind the back seats8. gray / grey: used to describe the colour of peoples hair when it changes from its original colour, usu. as they get old and before it becomes white9. tacky: (Am.E, slang) shabby10. overalls: are a single piece of clothing that combines trousers and a jacket. Your wear overalls over your clothes in order to protect them from dirt, paint, etc. while you are workingThe breast pocket of his overalls was filled with tools. (工装裤)11. hog: a. a pig, esp. a fat one for eatingb. a male pig that has been castrated c. a dirty personswine: (old & tech) pigboar o: male pig on a farm that is kept for breedingsow au: fully grown female pig12. sledge hammer: large, heavy hammer for swinging with both hands, a large heavy hammer with a long handle, used for smashing concrete13. barley: 大麦14. pancake: a thin, flat circle of cooked batter (糊状物) made of milk, flour and eggs. usu. rolled up or folded and eaten hot with a sweet or savory filling inside15. sidle: walk as if ready to turn or go the other way If you sidle somewhere, you walk there uncertainly or cautiously, as if you do not want anyone to notice youA man sidled up to me and asked if I wanted a ticket for the match.16. shuffle: slow dragging walkIf you shuffle, you walk without lifting your feet properly off the groundHe slipped on his shoes and shuffled out of the room.If you shuffle, you move your feet about while standing or move your bottom about while sitting, often because you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.I was shuffling in my seat.cf:totter (n.6), sidle(n. 15), shuffle17. blaze: to burn with a bright flameA wood fire was blazing, but there was no other light in the room.n. the sudden sharp shooting up of a flame, a very bright fireThe fire burned slowly at first, but soon burst into a blaze.18. sweet gum tree: a large North American tree of the witch hazel (榛子) family, with alternate maplelike leaves, spiny (多刺的) fruit balls, and flagrant juice美洲金缕梅, 落叶灌木或小乔木. 原产于北美和亚洲. 其分叉小枝从前用为魔杖, 这寻找地下水, 故俗称魔杖.19. dingy: dirty and fadedA building or place that is dingy is rather dark and depressing and does not seem to have been well looked after,.This is the dingiest street of the town.Clothes, curtains, etc. that are dingy are dirty or faded.20. raise: to collect togetherraise an army / raise enough money for a holidayHis wife raised the money by selling her jewellery.Were trying to raise funds to establish a scholarship.21. underneath: (so as to go) under (sth.)The letter was pushed underneath the door.Did you find very much growing underneath the snow?(Here it suggests a repressive and imposing quality in her voice.)22. make-believe: a state of pretending or the things which are pretendedShe lives in a make-believe world / a world of make-believe.Dont be afraid of monster - the storys only make-believe.The little girl made believe she was a princess.23. shove: to push, esp. in a rough or careless wayThere was a lot of pushing and shoving to get on the bus. Help me to shove this furniture aside.If you shove sb. or sth., you push them with a quick, rather, violent movement.He dragged her out to the door and shoved her into the street.24. dimwit: (infml) an ignorant and stupid persondim: faint, not bright wit: intelligence, wisdomat ones wits end: at the end of ones tether25. organdy: (Br. E organdie) very fine transparent muslin (麦斯林纱, 平纹细布) with a stiff finish (最后一层涂饰), very fine rather stiff cotton material used esp. for womens dresses(蝉翼纱, 玻璃纱)26. pump: low shoe that grips the foot chiefly at the toe and the heel27. stare down any disaster in her efforts: face up and defeat any disaster with her effortsstare down: two people looking at each other persistently until one shifts his eye28. flicker: to move backwards and forwards unsteadilyshadows flickered on the wallflickering eyelids29. stumble: to stop and /or make mistakes in speaking or reading aloudto catch the foot on the ground while moving along and start to fallShe stumble at/over the long wordHe stumbled and stopped reading.cf: stammer: to speak or say with pauses and repeated sounds, either habitually or because of excitement, fear, etc.stammererstutter: to speak or say with difficulty in producing sounds, esp. habitually holding back the first consonant.stutterer30. good-naturedly: naturally kind, ready to help, to forgive, not to be angryA person or animal that is good-natured is naturally friendly and does not easily get angry.a good-natured policeman31. mossy: moss: any of several types of a small flat green or yellow flowerless plant that grows in a thick furry mass on wet soil, or on a wet surface32. hook: to catch with or as if with a hookto hook a fish / a rich husbandhooknoseHere: to attack with the horn of the cow33. soothe: to make less angry, excited or anxious, comfort or calm, to make less painfulsoothing wordssoothe ones feelings34. shingle: a small thin piece of building material (such as wood) often with one end thicker than the other for laying in overlapping rows as a covering for the roof or sides of buildingcf: tile; a flat or curved piece of fired clay, stone, or concrete used esp. for roofs, floors, or walls and often for ornamental work35. porthole: also port, a small usu. circular window or opening in a ship for light or air36. shutter: a. one that shutsb. movable cover (wooden panel or iron plate, hinged, or separate and detachable) for a window or door, to keep out light or burglars. cf: Venetian blindsThe shop front is fitted with rolling shutters.c. device that opens to admit light through the lens of a camera37. pasture: land where grass is grown and where cattle feed on it38. furtive: stealthy, If sb. is furtive, he / she behaves as if he / she wants to keep sth. secret or hiddenThey suddenly looked furtive when I got into the room.I watched him furtively pencil a note and slip it between the pages.A woman with furtive look sidled up to me and asked furtively whether I had / wanted receipts.39. hang about: to wait or stay near a place without purpose or activity40. washday: also washing day, the day when clothes are washed41. impressed with her: impressed by her manner,42. well-turned: (of a phrase) carefully formed and pleasantly expresseda well-turned phrase: 恰当的词语43. cute: delightfully pretty and often smallIf you describe sb. as cute you mean that you find them attractive, often in a sexual way44. scald: to burn with hot liquidHe scalded his tongue on / with the hot coffeescalding: boiling or as hot as boilingcourt: If a man courts a woman, he pays a lot of attention to her because he wants to marry her.45. flashy: over-ornamented, unpleasantly big, bright, etc. and perhaps not of good quality Something that is flashy is so smart, bright and expensive that you find it unpleasant and perhaps vulgar a flashy sports car / cheap flashy clothes46. recompose: compose: to make (esp. oneself) calm, quiet, etc.Jean was nervous at first but soon composed herself.47. kinky: (esp. of hair) having kinks kink: a backward turn or twist in hair, a rope, chain, pipe, etc.48. wriggle: to twist from side to side49. loud: attracting attention by being unpleasantly colourful50. rope: (of 2 or more mountain climbers) to be fastened together with the same rope(I think the word here means the plaits or the pigtails are fastened together51. gliding: to move noiselessly in a smooth, continuous manner, which seems easy and without effortglider: a plane without an engine52. something of a(n). : (infml) rather a(n), a fairly goodYou use the expression something of in the following ways. If you say that a person or thing has something of a particular quality, feeling, etc., you mean that they have it to some extent.If you say that a person is something of an actor, something of a poet, etc., you mean that the person can act, write poetry, etc. to some extentDr. Mitra, a scholar and something of a philosopherIf you say that a situation is something of a mystery / a surprise, etc., you mean that it is slightly mysterious, slightly surprisingHe is something of a book collector / a liar / a musician.I am something of a carpenter myself, you know.make sth. of oneself: be successfulHe is a clever boy- I hope hell make sth. of himself.53. peek: (infml) to look at sth. quickly, esp. when one should notThey caught him peeking through the hole at what was going on in the roompeep: to look at sth. quickly and secretlyIts rude to peep at other peoples work.He took a peep at the back of the book to find out the answers to the questions.Peek & Peep are not clearly distinguishable when denoting to see what is concealed, or hidden.peer: to look very carefully or hard, esp. as if not able to see wellShe peered through the mist, trying to find the right path.He peered at me over the top of his glasses.54. stoop: to bend the head and shoulders forwards and down55. cower: to bend low and draw back as from fear, pain, shame, cold etc.56. go through motions with Maggies hand: Here “motions” refer to trying to shake hands with Maggie.If you go through the motions, you say or do sth. that is expected of you without being very sincere or serious about it. Or you pretend to do sth. by making the movements associated with a particular action.The doctor was sure that the man wasnt ill, but he went through the motions of examining him.I can go through the motions of putting imaginary food into my mouth.57. limp: lacking strength or stiffnessn. a way of walking with one foot dragging unevenlyv. to walk with an uneven step, one foot or leg moving less well than the other58. There you are: I told you so.There you are. I knew I was right. Thats what I expected. I knew you couldnt trace it further back.There I was not: You are not right.crop up: arise, happen or appear, unexpectedlySome difficulties have cropped up at work so Ill be late coming home tonight.Literally the sentence in the text could possibly understood as follows:I was not there before the name “Dicie” appeared in our family, so why.But “There I was not” is obviously a quick, short cut answer to “there you are”.59. Model A car: in 1909 Henry Ford mass-produced 15 million Model T cars and thus made automobiles popular in the States. In 1928 the Model T was discontinued and replaced by a new design - the Model A - to meet the needs for growing competition in car manufacturing.Here he thinks she is quaint, attractive because it is strange and something rather old fashioned60. ream: sl. say it, spit it61. out of the way: not blocking space for the forward movement of(Here there must be one misunderstanding either by me or by the editor who explains that as:We overcame the difficulty and managed to pronounce it at last)I will move the chair out of your way.He ran through the crowd, pushing people out of his way.Her social life got in the way of her studies.We got the name out of the way: we finished talking about it, we set the problem aside.When we got topic A out of the way, we discuss topic B.62. trip: If you trip over something, you knock your foot against something when you are walking and lose your balance so that you fall or nearly fall.I tripped and fell.She tripped over a stone.He put each foot down carefully to avoid tripping up.Here: to make a mistake as in a statement or behaviourThis lawyer always tries to trip witness up by asking confusing questions.63. salt-lick shelters: shelters where blocks of rock salt were kept for cattle to lick64. style: The style of a particular person or group is all the general attitudes, likes, dislikes, and ways of behaving that are characteristic of them.Purple is not my style.Raising cattle is not my style: I am not interested in raising cattle.65. gone and married: colloq.66. collard: 宽叶羽衣甘蓝67. go on through the chitlins etc.chitlins: also chitlings, chitterlings: the intestines of hogs esp. when -prepared as food68. greens: green vegetables69. talk a blue streak: speak very fast and very muchblue streak: sth. that moves very fast, a constant stream of worksstreak: thin line or band, different from what surrounds it70. rump: the part of an animal at the back just above the legs. When we eat this part of a cow it is called a rump steak (后腿部的牛排)(humour) of a human being the part of the body one sits on, bottom71. her hand closed over the butter dish: A butter dish is a small rectangular container which you can simply put your hand close over72. if I could have: here if means whether73. churn: a container in which milk is moved about violently until it becomes butter , Am.E a large metal container in which milk is stored or carried from the farm (搅乳器, 盛奶罐)74. clabber: (not found in Longman or Collins) curdle - to form into curds, cause to thicken75. whittle: to cut (wood) to a smaller size by taking off small thing pieces76. dasher: a devise having blades for agitating a liquid or semisolid77. centerpiece: The centerpiece of a set of things that is greatly admired is sth. that you show as the best example of the setThe centerpiece of the modern navy is the nuclear submarine.78. alcove: an alcove is a small area in a room which is formed by one part of a wall being built further back than the rest of the wall. a partially enclosed extension of a room, often occupied by a bed or by seats, 凹室 (see. Oxford)79. to do with the dasher: use the dasher to make sth. artisticIll do sth. artistic with the dasherI dont know what to do with those books, what to use them for, where to put themSomeone who is artistic is able to create or appreciate good painting, sculpture.Something that is artistic relates to art or to artists. A design, arrangement, pattern, etc. that is artistic is beautiful or attractive80. sink: a depression (part of a surface lower than the other parts) in the land surface(The rain collected in several depressions on the ground.)81. rifle: to search through and steal everything valuable out of a placeThe thieves rifled his pockets of all their contents.The burglar rifled the safe.The bad boy rifled the apple tree.Here in the text, the word “rifle” means to look thorough to see what to take, and indicates that Dee was trying to find sth. she did not deserve.82. hung back: be unwilling to act or moveThe bridge looked so unsafe that we all hung back in fear.83. piece: to make by joining pieces together84. quilt: to sew, stitch in layers with padding in between85. Lone Star and Walk Around the Mountain pattern86. scrap: small piece, bita scrap of paperScrap of bread were thrown to the birds.There was not a scrap of food left, weve eaten it all.87. teeny: teeny weeny: also teensy weensy (used esp. to children) very small88. top: the most important or worthiest part of anything89. priceless: of great valuecf: invaluable, priceless, expensive, costly, dear, precious, sumptuous, luxuriousvalueless: worthless, useless90. temper: particular state or condition of the mind with regard to anger, an angry, impatient or bad state of mind John is in a temper today.91. stump: n. the part of a plant, (esp. a tree) remaining attached to the root after the trunk is cutv. put an unanswerable question to, puzzle, perplexIf something stumps you, you cannot think of any solution or answer for itThe question has stumped philosophers since the beginning of time.Its unusual for Jeremy to be stumped for an answer.Youve go me stumped there.92. snuff: tobacco made into powered for breathing into the nose, esp. used in former times93. dopey: doupi showing dullness of the mind or feelings caused or as if caused by alcohol or a drug, sleepy and unable to think clearly, stupid94. hangdog: (of an expression on the face) ashamed, guilty, cowed95. portion: an individuals lot, fate, or fortune, destiny, ones share of good and evilUtter disaster was my portion.What would be my portion on the day the enemy invaded?96. heritage: property that descends to an heir, sth. transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor, sth. possessed as a result of ones natural situation or birth