PART 1 Expressions
1. My heart was pounding.
pound(v.): if your heart or blood is pounding, your heart is beating very hard and quickly
pound with eg. Patrick rushed to the door, his heart pounding with excitement.
She ran, her heart pounding in her chest.
2. I had carved out my niche, and was having a great time.
carve a niche/ carve out a niche/ a career/ a new life: to succeed in getting the job, position, life etc that you want
He carved a niche her himself as a writer.
She carved out a successful career in the film industry.
He moved to Boston to carve out a new life for himself.
3. Guys were gawking at her like she was an animal at the zoo.
gawk: [gɔ:k] （n.） 呆子； (v.) 呆呆地看 to look at sth for a long time, in a way that looks stupid
gawk at = stare at
Don't just stand there gawking at those girls.
4. Everyone pitches in.
pitch in: 1. to join others and pay part of the money towards sth
They all pitched in and the money were collected within a few days.
2. to join others and help with an activity
Everyone pitched in with efforts to entertain the children.
5. This cop was shaking us down for a bribe. “Spot fine” is the euphemism everyone uses.
shake sb down: informal, to get money from sb by using threats 敲诈；勒索
Corrupt officials were shaking down local business owners.
shakedown: (n.) eg. a Mafia shakedown
euphemism: [ˈju:fəmɪzəm]
a polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting sb
euphemistic:(a.) [ˌju:fə'mɪstɪk]
6. We got out and everything was fine, but it rattled us.
rattle: 本意为“发出咯咯的响声”，引申为“使紧张，使不安” informal to make someone lose confidence or become nervous
His mocking smile rattled her more than his anger.
It was hard not to get rattled when the work piled up.
7. I was oblivious.
oblivious：[əˈblɪviəs] unaware, not knowing about or not noticing something that is happening around you
be oblivious to/ of sth eg. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he had hurt her.
seemingly/ apparently oblivious eg. Congress was seemingly oblivious to these events.
8. They've sent him to a decent school; maybe he's even matriculated.
matriculate: [məˈtrɪkjuleɪt] (vt.) 录取学生进大学；(vi) 被录取进大学
matriculated students
Aged only 15, he matriculated at the University of Leopzig.
matriculation (n.)
PART 2 Thoughts
Trevor Noah survived the harsh times in South Africa and turned into a tough and successful person. However, for a child born in a hood in South Africa, he fate is sealed and he will most probably end up being a shoplifter, a drug dealer, or even a killer. I mull over what makes Trevor soar when others sink in the quagmire? Of course, those who were born and raised in a hood could put the blame on the external circumstances. However, the apartheid that once curbed them has already collapsed and they could make positive changes and get themselves out of the mire. In my perspective, it comes down to the way they are educated and the attitude they have cultivated towards life. For those from a hood, the only solution they have been taught to deal with a problem is through alcohol, drug or crimes, and it only produces greater problems. It's a vicious circle: they couldn't foresee a prosperous life, and therefore they do not invest in their future by working honestly and diligently. The bottom line is, if you want to make positive changes and take control of your own life, you have to react positively to the predicaments. What saved Trevor from the typical tragedy that happens to a poor child born in South Africa is the education his mother gave him. He was taught how to positively perceive the problems and never to cop out and run away.
PART 3 Summary
At Sandringham, Trevor made friends with a black boy named Teddy who was no less naughty than him. They were as thick as thieves. On Friday and Saturday nights, they would hang out at Balfour Park shopping mall, which was a few blocks from Trevor's house. One night, they succeeded in stealing alcohol-filled chocolates from a closed stationary shop. They kept going back to steal more until they pushed their luck too far. They were caught red-handed by a mall cop and thus started a chasing race. Trevor escaped and contrived to avoid being recognized. However, Teddy got caught and was expelled from school. Faithful to his friend, Teddy did not turn Trevor in. The police came to the principal with a video footage of the whole process. Ludicrously, the principal and their homeroom teacher mistook Trevor for some white kid as the camera couldn't expose dark and light at the same time and thus picked Trevor as white.
In September of grade twelve, the matric dance was at hand. Trevor was consumed with worries that he wouldn't have a date. Tom, one of Trevor's agents of his CD business, set him up with a mesmerizing girl named Babiki. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Trevor talked his stepfather Abel into lending him a BMW and had Bongani, the other middleman from his CD business give him a makeover. The big night finally came. However, things started to go wrong. First off, Albel got wasted and refused to lend Trevor the BMW. Babiki was pissed off as he was an hour late picking her up. Worse still, Trevor got lost on the way to the dance. Therefore, Babiki was completely incensed and declined to get out of the car. Once again, Trevor was humiliated because of a romantic relationship.To his surprise, it transpired that Trevor could not even converse with Babiki as she could only speak Pedi, a language Trevor had not picked up.
In grade ten, Trevor was given a CD writer by a senior student named Bolo and took over his business of bootleg CDs. With a massive hard drive stuffed with MP3s, Trevor and Bongani began to take gigs in street parties. Hitler, a friend of them, were a great dancer and a star attraction in any party. When he was dancing, people would circled around him and chanted "Go Hit-ler！" Hitler was not an offensive name in black people's tradition as they were oblivious of the history of whites. A confrontation arose when they were invited to play at a cultural day at a white school. The kids were aghast at the chanting of "Go Hit-ler!". A teacher berated them for being nazist but Trevor mistook her for being racist and cussed her out.
Cheese was expensive in South Africa and therefore people would dub a rich person as a "cheese boy". After graduated from high School, Trevor moved to a hood, a place where almost everyone was involved in crimes to some degree. Trevor's life of crime started off selling pirated CDs on the corner, which slowly evolved into hustling. One night when Trevor was DJ'ing a party, a cop shot the monitor of his computer and thus ended his music business. As a result, Trevor and his crew hustled even harder until one of his friend got him a camera. He was consumed with guilt that he had stolen someone's memories. Another night on the way back from a dance competition, Trevor and his friends were pulled over by a cop and framed for illegally possessing a gun. In fact, the cop was trying to shake them down for a bribe. They got out after a friend's dad turned in the fine. Trevor realized that although they hung out with the gangs in the streets, they were always more cheese than hood and had the option to leave.