List 1

1. a girl taken aback /əˈbæk/
   the girl was shocked or surprised by something.
   Roland was taken aback by our strength of feeling.

taken a+back: you are so afraid that you keep moving back.

2. Rats abandon a sinking ship

• if you abandon a place, thing, or person, you leave the place, thing or person permanently or for a long time, especially when you should not do so.
• if you abandon an activity or piece of work, you stop doing it before it is finished.
• if you abandon an idea or way of thinking, you stop having that idea or thinking in that way.

he claimed that his parents had abandoned him.
the authorities had abandoned any attempt to distribute food in an orderly fashion.
Logic had prevailed and he had abandoned the idea.

3. drink with wild abandon/əˈbændən/

• if you say that someone does something with abandon, you mean that they behave in a wild uncontrolled way and do not think or care how they should behave.
• if you abandon yourself to an emotion, you think about it a lot and feel it strongly, especially when other people might think you are wrong to do that.

he has splashed dollars around with gay abandon.
we are scared to abandon ourselves to our feelings in case we seem weak or out of control.
with gay abandon 意思是 “以激情奔放的放纵方式”，gay 含 “尽情” 的意思。
with wild abandon “以无法无天的放纵方式”，wild 指 “缺乏管教的”，也含 “尽情” 的意思。

synonym:
verb: abandon, leave, desert/ˈdezət/, forsake; give up, relinquish, surrender, yield
noun: wildness, recklessness/ˈrekləsnəs/

4. Never abase/əˈbeɪs/ yourself

• if you abase yourself, you behave in a way that shows that you accept something or someone else is much more important than you are.

the crowds in the square, abasing themselves in front of the gleaming glass statue/ˈstætʃuː/.

5. feel abashed in public/əˈbæʃt/

• ab+ash[dust]
• if you are abashed, you feel ashamed and embarrassed.

he seemed abashed and secretly delighted 暗自心喜 at Dan's gift.
synonym:
adjective: embarrassed/ɪmˈbærəst/, ashamed, chagrined/ˈʃæɡrɪnd/, disconcerted
/ˌdɪskənˈsɜːtɪd/, dismayed, humiliated/hjuːˈmɪlieɪtɪd/, mortified/ˈmɔːtɪfaɪd/, shamefaced
/ˌʃeɪmˈfeɪst/, taken aback.

6. wait for the flood to abate

• if something bad or undesirable abates, it becomes much less strong or severe.

SYNONYMS:
verb: decrease, decline, diminish, dwindle. fade, lessen, moderate, relax, slacken, subside, weaken

7. its abbreviated name

• make something shorter

synonyms:
shorten, abridge, compress, condense, contract, cut, reduce, summarise

8. the abdicated king

• if a king or queen abdicates, he or she gives up being king or queen
• if you say that someone has abdicated responsibilities for something, you disapprove of them because they have refused to accept responsibilities for it any longer.

the last french king was Louis Philippe, who abdicated in 1848.
many parents simply abdicated their all responsibilities to their children.
there had been a complete abdication of responsibility
SYNONYMS:
verb: quit, relinquish, resign, renounce, surrender

9. abduct a child.

• if someone was abducted by another person, he or she is taken away illegally, usually using force.

He was on the way to the airport when his car was held up and he was abducted by four gunmen.
SUNOYMS:
verb: abduct, kidnap, seize, snatch

10. aberrant reactions of youths

• aberrant means unusual and not socially acceptable/

this disgusting aberration of nature needs no motivation to devour helpless children in their beds

11. abet a crime

• if one person abets another, they help or encourage them to do something criminal or wrong.
  -to abet something, especially something bad or undesirable, means make it possible

his wife was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for aiding and abetting him.
the media have also abetted the feeling of unreality.

12. stop in abeyance
    if something is in abeyance, it is not operating or being used at the present time

The Russian threat is, at the least, in abeyance.
SYNONYMS:
verb: shelved, pending, suspend

14. abhor careless attitude
    if you abhor something , you hate it very much,especially for moral reasons.

he is a man who abhorred violence and was deeply committed to reconciliation/ˌrekənsɪliˈeɪʃ(ə)n/
SYNOYMS:
verbs:hate abominate detest loathe hatred, shudder at

15 a world without abhorrence

they are anxious to show(急于展示) their abhorrence of racism.

16.cannot abide the loud noise

• if you cannot abide something, you dislike something very much.

I can't abide people who cannot make up their mind(下定决心)
tolerate, accept,bear, endure, put up with, stand, suffer

17.abide by the rules
if you abide by a law, agreement or decision, you don what it say you should do

18.the abiding love

• abiding feeling, memory, or interest is one that you have for a long time.

he had genuine and abiding love of the craft[他对这门手艺有真诚和持久的热爱]
SYNONYMS:
everlasting， continuing, eduring, lasting , permanent, persistent, unchanging.