Words & Expressions
1. perturbed/pərˈtɜːrbd/, adj. worried about something that has happened or will happen
eg. William looked a little perturbed.
perturbed by/at/about
He didn’t seem perturbed by the noises outside.
perturbed that
He was perturbed that she didn’t look happy.
perturb, verb[transitive]: My unexpected arrival didn’t perturb him in the least.
2. underestimated/ˌʌndərˈestɪmeɪt/, to think or guess that something is smaller, cheaper, easier etc than it really is. OPP:overestimate
underestimate how/what
We underestimated how long it would take to get there.
underestimate the importance/extent/effect/power etc of something
Never underestimate the power of the press.
3. swerve/swɜːrv/, to make a sudden sideways movements while moving forwards, usually in order to avoid hitting something; [usually in negatives] formal to change from an idea, course of action, purpose etc
swerve violently/sharply
The car swerved sharply to avoid the dog.
swerve across/off/into etc
The bus swerved off the road.
swerve from
He would never swerve from the truth.
4. fissure/ˈfɪʃə$-ər/, noun, a deep crack, especially in rock or earth.
Just ahead of us there was a huge fissure.
5. astride/əˈstraɪd/ adv/prep. a.with one leg on each side of something; b. on both sides of a river, road etc.
--a photograph of my mother sitting astride a horse
--The ancient town of Bridgwater, astride the River Parrett, is an ideal touring centre.
6. scoop, [always + adverb/preposition], a. to pick something up or remove it using a scoop or a spoon, or your curved hand; b.to be the first newspaper to print an important news report; c. BrE. to win a prize or award
--She bent down and scooped up the little dog.
Cut the tomato in half and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon.
--Time and again, we have scooped our rivals.
--Britain scooped the top prize in the over-50s category.
scoop, noun[countable] a. an important or exciting news story that is printed in one newspaper or shown on one TV station before any of the others know about it; b. a round deep scoop for serving food, for example ice cream or mashed potato; c. (also scoopful) an amount of food served with a scoop; d. AmE. informal: information about something
a journalist looking for a scoop
scoop of
two scoops of ice cream
the inside scoop(=special information that other people do not have)on the markets
what’s the scoop?(=used to ask for information or news)
7.ominously/'a:mɪnəs/adj. making you feel that something bad is going to happen
‘How long will she be ill?’ he asked. There was an ominous silence.
The car is making an ominous rattling sound.
ominously, adv.The sky looked ominously dark.
8. not the least/not in the least/not the least bit, none at all, or not at all
I tried to convince them, but they weren’t the least interested.
I’m not in the least afraid of you anymore.
His voice was alert, not the least bit sleepy.
9.give way
a)to be replaced by something else, give way to
Stone has given way to glass and concrete.
My anger gave way to depression.
b)to agree to do what someone else wants, instead of what you want, especially after a lot of discussion or argument
Despite growing pressure, the Minister of State refused to give way.
give way to
Maria seemed to despise him for giving way to her.
c)to break because of too much weight or pressure
The floor’s rotten and likely to give way.
d)BrE, to stop or slow down when you are driving, in order to allow other vehicles to go first =yield AmE.
In Britain, give way to cars coming from the right.
10. charge at 冲向
eg. Bruce charged at the pool, but in the middle, the car came to a grinding halt.
grind to a halt/come to a halt
He charged at me with his head down and both fists flying.
Sentences
Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes, Bruce was not in the least perturbed.
It was not that Bruce always underestimated difficulties. He simply had no sense of danger at all. No matter what the conditions were, he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go.