#字词篇
1. But if anyone ever accuses Gramma of showing favorites, she gets all defensive.
show favorites这里应该是“差别对待”,“偏爱…”
get defensive: counter the points put forward by the person conversely ‘attacking’ on your own behalf.
造句:For my brother, showing favorites is a kind of privilege because he can trick me under my parents' wings.
2. I had to sit there and choke down every bite so Grandpa's feelings wouldn't be hurt.
choke down: to eat something, even though it is hard to swallow or tastes bad.
造句:My mom put too much vinegar in lunch today, and I had to choke down every bite in order not to hurt her feelings.
3. At 10:00, I wad ready for bed. Bur Rodrick called the couch, and that meant I had to sleep with Grandpa again.
called the couch: "called" here means "to claim". It's a casual way of saying that the person laid claim to the use of the couch first, often by saying something like "I call the couch" or "(I've got) dibs on the couch."
造句:My brother called the couch tonight so I had to make a bed on the floor.
#句子篇
The thing that really stinks is that I caught heat from Mom when she saw my drawings, because she said they were "disturbing." And that's why I was only allowed to watch G-rated movies for the rest of the year.
the thing really stinks 表示“……非常糟糕”,我们之前也见过这类表达,还可以说the thing really sucks
catch heat from somebody: to be the target of someone's anger
G-rated movie: General Audiences, with all ages admitted.
顺便我们可以多了解一下美国电影的movie ratings system:
The ratings assigned by the MPAA – the Motion Picture Association of America, a group made up of the large studios -- are simple. However, how a film gets that rating is less simple.
G Rating: General Audiences, with all ages admitted.
PG Rating: Parental Guidance, as some material may not be suitable for children.
PG-13 Rating: Parental Guidance-13, with parents strongly cautioned, as some material may not be suitable for children under 13.
R Rating: Restricted, with no one under 17 admitted without an accompanying parent or guardian.
NC-17 Rating: No one under 18 admitted.
This Film is Not Yet Rated: You’ll also see the phrase“This Film is Not Yet Rated”in ads, and that means exactly what it says. While the finished film has yet to be rated by the MPAA, they have given their approval -- indicated by the red or green color of the "band" preceding it -- as to where exactly that advertisement and trailer can be shown (green is for all audiences, red is for mature audiences). Meanwhile, while it's utterly voluntary for a film to be submitted to the MPAA for a rating, and while a film can be released without an MPAA rating, many chain/mall theaters refuse to show unrated films. There are also significant restrictions on how an unrated film can be advertised as well.
造句:The thing that really sucks is that I caught heat from my mom when she found I was watching scary movies.
#作文篇
My parents were very busy when I was young, so basically I was brought up by my grandparents. My grandma was a professional housewife then, and she could cook the most mouthwatering food in the world. Obedient and chubby as I was, I was adored by all of our neighbors every time I showed up. I danced for every one who wanted me to dance, and I sang for every one who could really appreciate my songs. And my grandma always smiled during my whole performance.
Today I had lunch at my grandma's. As usual, she did what I loved most, and piled them on my plate. Suddenly all of my happy childhood memories came to alive, and I found that nothing had changed: the same wooden table, the same bowls and spoons, a little girl and her smiling grandma...
#其他知识点
be up front about something: if you are up front about something, you act openly or publicly so that people know what you are doing or what you believe
someone is somebody's favorite表示某人是某人的心头好