【單詞】
1.bend ?n.
（路、管道等的）彎曲處，轉彎處 A?bend?in a road, pipe, or other long thin object is a curve or angle in it.
2.mindfuck ?n./a.
an idea or concept that shakes one's previously held beliefs or assumptions about the nature of reality.
In Eden Park, everyone looked like me, but we couldn’t have been more different. It was the biggest mindfuck I’ve ever experienced.
22 Facts That Are Small But Still A Total Mindfuck
21 greatest mindfuck movies
3.trappings ?n.
the objects, activities, etc., that are associated with a particular condition, situation, or position in life:the visible signs of something;
the possessions, clothes, etc. that are connected with a particular situation, job or social position
Try being a white person who adopts the trappings of black culture while still living in the white community. You will face more hate and ridicule and ostracism than you can even begin to fathom.
They enjoyed all the trappings of wealth.
the trappings of fame/power/success
Despite its democratic?trappings, the country's government was a dictatorship.
4.disavow [?d?s??va?]
If you?disavow?something, you say that you are not connected with it or responsible for it;
to say that you are not responsible for (something):to deny that you know about or are involved in (something)
But when they see you as a fellow tribe member attempting to disavow the tribe, that is something they will never forgive.
He?disavowed?the actions of his subordinates.
She now seems to be trying to?disavow?her earlier statements.
5.sow ?v.
If someone?sows?an undesirable feeling or situation, they cause it to begin and develop;
to cause (fear, doubt, etc.) to affect many people
When apartheid came, colored people defied easy categorization, so the system used them—quite brilliantly—to sow confusion, hatred, and mistrust.
Threats of war have?sown?fear in the region. [=have made many people in the region afraid]
They have been deliberately attempting to?sow?discord. [=to cause people to disagree and argue with each other]
Instead, the session has sowed confusion.
6.eyeball v.
凝視;盯著看 If you?eyeball?someone or something, you stare at them.
You were what the government said you were. Sometimes that came down to a lone clerk eyeballing your face and making a snap decision.
The guard eyeballed him pretty hard despite his pass.
The police?eyeballed?[=eyed] the suspects.
The children were?eyeballing?the desserts.
7 snap ?a. ↑/ ?v. ↓
①(決定、行動等)突然的，倉促的，魯莽的 A?snap?decision or action is one that is taken suddenly, often without careful thought.
I think this is too important for a snap decision...
It's important not to make snap judgments...
②突然精神崩潰;突然失控 If someone?snaps, or if something?snaps?inside them, they suddenly stop being calm and become very angry because the situation has become too tense or too difficult for them.
I knew he had a demon inside him, and I hated that; it terrified me how violent and dangerous he was when he snapped.
He finally snapped when she prevented their children from visiting him one weekend...
She?snapped?under the pressure of the job.
He just?snapped?and started swearing at everybody.
8.mean ?a.
（指人或動物）脾氣極壞的，殘忍的 If you describe a person or animal as?mean, you are saying that they are very bad-tempered and cruel.
not kind to people:cruel or harsh
Very charming when he wanted to be, incredibly funny, but fuck he could be mean.He’d grown up in the homelands, where you had to fight to survive.
...the meanest fighter in the world.
the?mean?stepmother in the fairy tale
9.vent ?v.
發泄,宣泄（情感）If you?vent?your feelings, you express them forcefully.
He wasn’t doing this to teach the kid a lesson. He was just beating him. He was a grown man venting his rage on a twelve-year-old boy.
She telephoned her best friend to vent her frustration...
She?vented?her frustrations by kicking the car.
Don't?vent?your anger on me.
10. on at
不停地（數落、抱怨、糾纏）If you say that someone goes?on?at you, you mean that they continually criticize you, complain to you, or ask you to do something.
At home Abel and my mom got in a huge fight. She was always on him about his temper.
She's been on at me for weeks to show her round the stables...
He used to keep on at me about the need to win...
She hadn't learned to drive, but she had kept going on at him to let her try.
Mummy's always?on at?me about cleaning up my room!
【詞組】
1.assimilate into [??s?m?le?t]
（使）同化；（使）融入 When people such as immigrants?assimilate into?a community or when that community?assimilates?them, they become an accepted part of it.
People are willing to accept you if they see you as an outsider trying to assimilate into their world.
Schools were used to?assimilate?the children of immigrants.
She was thoroughly/completely?assimilated?to/into her new country. [=she had completely adapted to her new country]?
They found it hard to?assimilate?to/into American society.
2.hold out for sth [no passive]
to cause a delay in reaching an agreement because you hope you will gain sth; to not accept an offer because you want a better one
They were second-class citizens, denied the rights of white?people but given special privileges that black people didn’t have, just to keep?them holding out for more.
The union negotiators are holding out for a more generous pay settlement.
They’ve been holding out for an even higher?price.
3.come down to?
(問題、決定等)歸結為 If a problem, decision, or question?comes down to?a particular thing, that thing is the most important factor involved.
You were what the government said you were. Sometimes that came down to a lone clerk eyeballing your face and making a snap decision.
People talk about various reasons for the company's failure, but it all?comes down to?one thing: a lack of leadership.
It's nice to be rich, but?when you come (right) down to?it, it's more important to be healthy and happy.
Walter Crowley says the problem comes down to money...
I think that it comes down to the fact that people do feel very dependent on
their automobile...
What it comes down to is, there are bad people out there, and somebody has to deal with them.
4.peek out
to show slightly:?to be slightly visible
— usually +out
Her slip?peeked out?from beneath her skirt. [=a small part of her slip could be seen beneath her skirt]
Those mixed bloodlines were always lurking, waiting to peek out, and fear of losing their status kept white people in line.
Her feet peeked out from the end of the blanket.
A toe peeked through the hole in his sock.
5.keep sb in line ?↑
Fig. to make certain that someone behaves properly.?
It's very hard to keep Bill in line. He's sort of rowdy.
The teacher had to struggle to keep the class in line.
6.split up
①(使)分手;(使)離婚 If two people?split up, or if someone or something?splits?them?up, they end their relationship or marriage.
I was beginning to think that nothing could ever split us up...
Research suggests that children whose parents split up are more likely to drop out of high school...
②（使）分離;（使）分道揚鑣 If a group of people?split up?or?are split up, they go away in different directions.
Do they give up their white status to go and live as colored people in a colored area? Or would they split up, the mother taking the colored child to live in the ghetto while the father stayed white to make a living to support them?
This situation has split up the family...
Touring the album temporarily split the band up.
7.yearn for/to do
渴望;渴求;向往 If someone?yearns for?something that they are unlikely to get, they want it very much.
to feel a strong desire or wish?for?something or?to do?something
Many colored people lived in this limbo, a true purgatory, always yearning for the white fathers who disowned them, and they could be horribly racist to one another as a result.
He yearned for freedom...
I yearned to be a movie actor.
She yearned to escape from her office job.
8.screw you/her/him?etc. [offensive]
used for expressing your anger
9.have it rough
to have a difficult existence ;ひどい目に遭う
（尤指逆境中的）生活，生活方式You can refer to someone's way of life as an?existence, especially when they live under difficult conditions.
Colored people had it rough. Imagine: You’ve been?brainwashed into believing that your blood is tainted. You’ve spent all your?time assimilating and aspiring to whiteness. Then, just as you think you’re?closing in on the finish line, some fucking guy named Nelson Mandela comes?along and flips the country on its head. Now the finish line is...
Our ancestors had it rough compared to us.
10.brainwash sb into ?v ↑
給…洗腦；向…強行灌輸 If you?brainwash?someone, you force them to believe something by continually telling them that it is true, and preventing them from thinking about it properly.
I'd been brainwashed into believing I was worthless...
We were brainwashed to believe we were all equal.
Does advertising?brainwash?children?
11.flip sth on it's head ↑
Literally, the idea is that of turning something upside-down.
Something "flipped on its head" has been figuratively turned upside down. It has been altered so profoundly that up is down, left is right, and a person's expectations have been completely overwhelmed.
12.throw away
錯過，浪費(機會、優勢或好處) If you?throw away?an opportunity, advantage, or benefit, you waste it, rather than using it sensibly.
Why are you trying to be black? Why do you speak that click-click language? Look at your light skin. You’re almost there and you’re throwing it away.
We should have won. We threw it away.
She?threw away?[=wasted] an opportunity.
You had a chance to do something great, and you?threw?it?away.
13.put on airs
矯揉造作；裝腔作勢；做作 If you say that someone is putting on?airs?or giving themselves?airs, you are criticizing them for behaving as if they are better than other people.
to act in a way that shows you think you are better than other people
I could speak perfect English, and I barely spoke Afrikaans, the language colored people were supposed to speak. So colored people thought that I thought I was better than them. They would mock my accent, like I was putting on airs.
We're poor and we never put on airs.
Some of her old friends have accused her of?putting on?airs since she became wealthy.
She's very rich, but she doesn't?give herself airs.
14.take turns doing
If people?take turns?doing or using something or?take it in turns?to do or use something, they do or use it one after another in order to share the responsibility or opportunity of doing or using it.
One year I got a brand-new bike during the summer holidays. My cousin Mlungisi and I were taking turns riding around the block.
We?take turns?washing the dishes. ?
The kids?took turns?on the swing.
15.skip along/down...
If you?skip?along, you move almost as if you are dancing, with a series of little jumps from one foot to the other.
to move forward in a light or playful way by taking short, quick steps and jumps
I was so happy that a girl had spoken to me that it didn’t fully sink in that they’d stolen my bicycle. I ran back home, smiling and skipping along.
The kids?skipped?happily down the street.
They saw the man with a little girl skipping along behind him...
We went skipping down the street arm in arm...
16.sink in? ↑
終于被充分理解;終于被完全領悟 When a statement or fact?sinks
in, you finally understand or realize it fully.
to become completely known, felt, or understood
I had to tell him what to do over and over before it finally?sank in.
The fact that she's left me still hasn't really?sunk in.
The implication took a while to sink in.
The full scale of the disaster has yet to sink in.
17. (a) thick/thin skin
◇ If you have(a) thin skin, you are easily upset or offended by the things other people say or do.
He has such?a thin skin?that he can't even take a little good-natured teasing.
◇ If you have (a) thick skin, you are not easily upset or offended by the things other people say and do.
She has pretty?thick skin?when it comes to criticism.
If you want to perform publicly, you'll need to?grow a thicker skin. [=become less sensitive to criticism]
By that point I’d developed thick skin. I was used to being bullied. I shrugged it off and went back to picking berries.
18.shrug off ↑
把…不當回事;對…置之不理;對…滿不在乎 If you?shrug?something?off, you ignore it or treat it as if it is not really important or serious.
He shrugged off the criticism...
He just laughed and shrugged it off.
I warned him about the storm but he just?shrugged?it?off.
19.be?beaten to a pulp [p?lp]
把…打得稀巴爛；把…打成重傷 If someone?is beaten to a?pulp or?beaten to pulp, they are hit repeatedly until they are very badly injured.
used to say that someone or something is very badly beaten, mashed, smashed, etc.
When I ran inside I looked like I’d been beaten?to a pulp because I was bawling my eyes out and was covered in red-purple berry?juice.
His face had been?beaten to a pulp?(= very badly beaten).
I tried to talk myself out of a fight and got beaten to a pulp instead by three other boys.
He threatened to?beat them to a (bloody)?pulp.
20.bawl sb's eyes out ↑
To?bawl your eyes out?is to cry loudly especially for a long time.
It's the saddest book I've ever read. I?bawled my eyes out?at the end.
21.burst out doing
to begin doing sth suddenly
突然…起來 If someone?bursts out?laughing, crying, or making another noise, they suddenly start making that noise. You can also say that a noise?bursts out.
In between sobs I told her the story. “These kids…the mulberry tree…they threw berries at me…” When I finished, she burst out laughing. “It’s not funny!” I said.
They both?burst out?[=busted out] laughing.
Then the applause burst out...
Everyone burst out into conversation.
22.beat up
痛打；毆打 If someone?beats?a person?up, they hit or kick the person many times.
“No, no, Trevor,” she said. “I’m not laughing?because it’s funny. I’m laughing out of relief. I thought you’d been beaten up.?I thought this was blood. I’m laughing because it’s only berry juice.”
A gang of bullies threatened to?beat?him?up.
He was?beaten up?badly by the bullies.
23.joke around (with sb)
※1. To act a musingly and without seriousness:?
We didn't mean to appear rude—we were just joking around.
2. To fool someone lightheartedly:?
I was just joking around with you when I said that I cut my hair.
He was more like a big brother than anything.?He’d joke around with me, have fun.
24.in a flash
very quickly and suddenly
Someone would cut us off in traffic. Abel would yell out the window. The other guy would honk and yell back. In a flash Abel would be out of our car, over to theirs, grabbing the guy through the driver’s-side window, screaming in his face, raising a fist.
The weekend seemed to be over in a flash.
The answer came to me like a flash.
I'll be back?in a flash.
The idea came to me?in a flash.
25.cut sb off
to stop (someone) from talking
I started to explain. My mother cut me off. “Don’t tell him,” she said.
I was in the middle of telling a story when she?cut?me?off?[=she interrupted me] to ask about dinner.
He spoke for 12 minutes until his teacher finally?cut?him?off.
26.on?sb's?side
(戰爭、爭論中)支持，站在…一邊 If you are?on?someone's?side, you are supporting them in an argument or a war.
But in that?moment I knew exactly what I had to say to get the monster on my side.
Get that employee on your side and then work together towards a solution...
Some of the younger people seem to be on the side of reform.
He has the Democrats on his side...
27.get back at sb
to do sth bad to sb who has done sth bad to you; to get revenge on sb;
to do something to hurt or upset someone after they have hurt or upset you
We were almost family, and I knew if I made him feel like his family had been insulted, he’d help me get back at the boys.
I'll find a way of getting back at him!
She was trying to get back at him for humiliating her.
28.step in
介入，干預，插手(棘手問題) If you?step in, you get involved in a difficult situation because you think you can or should help with it.
It was?strange, but in that moment I realized that if I said the right things I could?get him to step in and do something.
?He?stepped in?and took charge.
She?stepped in?before a fight could start.
29.laugh off ?[l?f]
對…一笑置之；笑言以對 If you?laugh off?a difficult or serious situation, you try to suggest that it is amusing and unimportant, for example by making a joke about it.
I told him the story, the names they called me, the way they attacked me. My mother kept laughing it off, telling me to get over it, that it was kids being kids, no big deal.
The couple laughed off rumors that their marriage was in trouble...
The injury was serious, but he?laughed?it?off.
30.like hell
with a lot of energy and speed
He jumped?out. I jumped out. As soon as the kids saw me they knew exactly what was?happening. They scattered and ran like hell.
We've been working?like hell?since morning.
When I say “go,” run?like?hell.
31.make a dash for
（為逃離等而)飛速奔向，猛沖向 If you?make a dash for?a place, you run there very quickly, for example to escape from someone or something.
Abel was quick. Good Lord, he was fast. The ringleader had made a dash for it and was trying to climb over a wall.
I made a dash for the front door but he got there before me...
Hand clamped over his mouth, he made a dash for the bathroom.
32.be beholden to sb
欠…人情的；受…恩惠的；對…負有義務的 If you are?beholden to?someone, you are in debt to them in some way or you feel that you have a duty to them because they have helped you.
owing a favor or gift to (someone):having obligations to (someone)
“Trevor, make sure your woman is the woman in your life. Don’t be one of these men who makes his wife compete with his mother. A man with a wife cannot be beholden to his mother.”
We feel really beholden to them for what they've done.
politicians who are?beholden to?special interest groups
She works for herself, and so is?beholden to?no one.
33. be too preoccupied with A that/to do B
thinking about something a lot or too much
If you are?preoccupied, you are thinking a lot about something or someone, and so you hardly notice other things.
She was so preoccupied with teaching me how to be a man that she never taught me how to be a boy.
She is too?preoccupied with?family problems to focus on her work.
He was too preoccupied with his own problems to worry about hers.
【句子】
1.be this close to doing/sth
接近的;快要…的;即將…的 If you are?close to?something or if it is?close, it is likely to happen or come soon. If you are?close to?doing something, you are likely to do it soon.
You’re almost there. You’re so close. You’re this close to being white.
2.thereby
used to introduce the result of the action or situation mentioned；
by means of that act, those words, that document, etc.
Depending on how high your cheekbones were or how broad your nose was, he could tick whatever box made sense to him, thereby deciding where you could live, whom you could marry, what jobs and rights and privileges you were allowed.
He signed the contract,?thereby?forfeiting his right to the property.
Our bodies can sweat, thereby losing heat by evaporation...
Regular exercise strengthens the heart, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack.
