This summer vacation...Get ready with me!
＊indistinct: not sharply outlined or separable
＊remarkable: unusual or special and therefore surprising and worth mentioning
＊keep sb on their toes: to make sure that someone gives all their attention to what they are doing and is ready for anything that might happen
dramatize:
1)戲劇性地描述；生動地表達to make an event or situation seem more exciting than it really is
Example: The media tends to dramatize things.
2)使戲劇化；改編（小說等）為劇本to change a story so that it can be performed as a play
Example: dramatize a novel
Watching "Audrey Hepburn" Some Useful Quotes
Your feature is very distinct ,your eyes are almost ...Hum...Are you parents Asians?
distinct:
1)different and separate
2)easy to hear ,see,or smell
3)clear and certain
Something about Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn has been topping lists of the world's most beautiful women for the last six decades. For those wanting to emulate the Hollywood star's beauty, her son has now revealed her secrets - a chocolate treat daily and never skipping breakfast.
Luca Dotti has written a book about his mother's life story and included recipes for her favorite foods.
He also shared her secrets for a slimline figure, including a monthly detox and her golden rule for starting the day with a healthy meal.
According to The Telegraph, Luca reveals that his mother never skipped breakfast, no matter where she was in the world.
He said: 'Mum, like any wise family doctor, believed in the virtues of a good breakfast - she never skipped it, not even on her monthly 'detox' day when she ate only plain yogurt and grated apple.'
In the book Audrey at Home, Memories of My Mother's Kitchen, which is published by Harper Design, Luca details the meals that his mother enjoyed most, including baked potatoes and smoked salmon.
He also reveals the harsh upbringing the Hollywood actress had as a child during the Nazi occupation of Arnhem in the Netherlands in 1944-45 and how it affected her attitude to food ever since.
Nazi occupiers starved more than four million people and Audrey escaped death only by a 'hairbreadth' and lost everything that mattered to a young girl: her home, her father vanished, relatives were shot or deported, and her own life was always at risk with the Allied bombing raids.
'We ate nettles and everyone tried to boil grass – in addition to tulips – but I really couldn't stand it,' she said.
Her diet consisted mostly of endive, a leafy, crisp green vegetable, digging up and eating tulip bulbs and drinking enough water to feel full.Surviving the German occupation, at 16 she weighed 88 pounds and suffered from asthma, jaundice, acute anemia and a serious form of edema.
But she survived – unlike 22,000 others who died during the Dutch famine when the Nazis confiscated food and fuel for themselves. The Dutch were left to die from starvation and freeze to death.
'Mum carried the war with her for her entire life,' writes her son Luca Dotti, in a loving tribute to his mother that he calls a 'kitchen table biography'.
He reveals that this lack of food in the early days meant that she never stopped herself from indulging in her favourite foods later in life.
Chocolate was always within arm's reach in a chest of drawers in her living room and a little evening chocolate became a habit throughout her life as well as chocolate cake with whipped cream baked in her kitchen that she made herself.
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James Steerforth
James Steerforth is a character in the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. He is a handsome young man noted for his wit and romantic charm. Though he is well liked by his friends, he proves himself to be lacking in consideration for others.
David Copperfield first meets James Steerforth as a boy attending Salem House boarding school. He is a few years older than David, and is first seen when dealing with a group of younger boys who are taunting David about biting his stepfather. David quickly comes to admire and respect him, as the other boys at the school do, and a friendship begins to develop between the two. As Steerforth is several years older, David looks up to him as a sort of protector. Steerforth is said to be the only boy at the school bold enough to stand up to Mr Creakle, the school's strict headmaster, and to make Mr Creakle feel intimidated.
eccentric: strange or unusual ,sometimes in a humorous way.
Several years later, after moving to London, David encounters Steerforth, and the two resume their friendship. Steerforth takes David to his home in Highgate and introduces him to his mother, Mrs Steerforth, and her companion, Miss Rosa Dartle, an eccentric young woman who resides with the mother at her home. Miss Dartle was Steerforth's carer when he was a boy, and the two have had a troubled relationship, as is seen from the scar on her lower lip which she received from Steerforth throwing a hammer at her.
David later invites Steerforth to Yarmouth to meet Daniel Peggotty, a fisherman who is the brother of his former housekeeper Clara Peggotty. During this visit, Steerforth catches sight of Dan's niece Emily (known by her family as "Little Em'ly"), and becomes attracted to her. Some time later, shortly after visiting Steerforth at his home again, David makes another trip to Yarmouth and learns to his great surprise and dismay that Emily has run off with Steerforth to live a life of luxury in Europe. This news greatly distresses both the Steerforth and Peggotty families.
Emily is regarded as a seductress by Miss Dartle, while Mr Peggotty and his nephew Ham, who was also Emily's fiance, consider Steerforth to have stolen Emily from them. Mr Peggotty leaves home on a quest to find his niece, searching all through Europe for her. Eventually, Emily returns to England, where she is found by her uncle.
A while later, David makes another visit to Yarmouth and is caught in the midst of a great storm. When he reaches Yarmouth, this storm has reached the peak of its ferocity. The storm causes a ship to be wrecked near the coast, with sailors stranded aboard. Eventually all but one lone sailor have been washed away. Ham sees this and attempts to board the ship to rescue the sailor. After reaching the ship, he and the sailor are crushed and killed by a strong wave. Their bodies are afterwards dragged ashore. The sailor whom Ham sought to rescue is found to be Steerforth; his death brings grief and shock to both his mother and Miss Dartle. At this point Miss Dartle confesses that she had always loved Steerfoth and desired to be his wife; she angrily blames Steerforth's associates (including his mother) for having corrupted him and led him to his demise.
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stardust: (something that causes) a pleasant dream-like or romantic feeling
ferocity(=ferocious):frightening and violent:
My Favourite Charles Dickens character: Rosa Dartle from David Copperfield
One persistent cliché of Charles Dickens criticism is that he didn’t understand women, least of all their sexual psychology. It's an accusation to which I always retort: what about the magnificent Rosa Dartle?
She appears in David Copperfield as the orphaned cousin of Steerforth’s father and companion to his mother, standing in marked contrast to the novel’s milquetoast heroines Dora, Agnes and Little Em'ly. Aged about thirty and a spinster, she is described as looking "a little dilapidated", with a strikingly dark and slender figure and a livid scar on her lip (a feature which Dickens makes much of).
An intense and unrequited passion for Steerforth has left her bitter, resentful and savagely sarcastic. Vain as he is, Steerforth still enjoys playfully flirting with her and Dickens masterfully portrays her continuing vulnerability to his insincere attentions, exploring the way that thwarted love can curdle into self-hatred.
Her violent attack on Little Em’ly in Chapter 50 is brilliantly handled and oddly moving - her emotions seem so much more intense and authentic than Em’ly’s pieties that the reader can’t help but sympathise with her. Her ultimate fate is a cruelly ironic one - she is left trapped with Steerforth’s mother, the person most responsible for the degeneration of his moral character.
milquetoast:a shy ,nervous man
curdle:If a liquid curdles, or you curdle it, it gets thicker and develops lumps.
＊For Example:
1.Their screams made my blood curdle with terror. 他們的尖叫聲嚇得我渾身冰涼。
2.The milk has curdled. 牛奶凝結了。
degeneration: the process by which something gets worse
penitentiary: a state or federal prison
uncanny: strange or mysterious; difficult or impossible to explain
infallible: never wrong, failing, or making a mistake
feeble:
1) weak and without energy, strength, and power
2)not effective or good
(a lame/ feeble joke /excuse)
crag: a high, rough of rock that sticks out from the land around it
In the resolute readiness with which you cut your wealth into four shares, keeping but one to yourself, and relinquishing the three others to the claim of abstract justice, I recognized a soul that revelled in the flame and excitement of sacrifice. In the tractability with which ,at my wish, your forsook a study in which you were interested, and adopted another because it interested me; in the untiring assiduity with which you have since you have since persevered in it-in an unflagging energy and unshaken temper with which you have met its difficulties- I acknowledge the complement of the qualities I seek.Jane, you are docile, diligent,disinterested, faithful, constant, and courageous; very gentle ,and very heroic: cease t mistrust yourself- I can trust you unreservedly.As a conductress of Indian schools, and a helper among Indian women, your assistance will be to me invaluable.
unflagging: If a quality, such as energy, interest, or enthusiasm, is unflagging it never becomes weaker
(Making a sentence: He thanked Tony for his unflagging energy and support)
revel: to dance, drink ,sing etc. at a party or in public, especially in a noisy way.
tractable: easy dealt with, controlled,or persuaded.
David Copperfield first meets James Steerforth as a boy attending Salem House boarding school. He is a few years older than David, and is first seen when dealing with a group of younger boys who are taunting David about biting his stepfather. David quickly comes to admire and respect him, as the other boys at the school do, and a friendship begins to develop between the two. As Steerforth is several years older, David looks up to him as a sort of protector. Steerforth is said to be the only boy at the school bold enough to stand up to Mr Creakle, the school's strict headmaster, and to make Mr Creakle feel intimidated.
eccentric: strange or unusual ,sometimes in a humorous way.
Several years later, after moving to London, David encounters Steerforth, and the two resume their friendship. Steerforth takes David to his home in Highgate and introduces him to his mother, Mrs Steerforth, and her companion, Miss Rosa Dartle, an eccentric young woman who resides with the mother at her home. Miss Dartle was Steerforth's carer when he was a boy, and the two have had a troubled relationship, as is seen from the scar on her lower lip which she received from Steerforth throwing a hammer at her.
David later invites Steerforth to Yarmouth to meet Daniel Peggotty, a fisherman who is the brother of his former housekeeper Clara Peggotty. During this visit, Steerforth catches sight of Dan's niece Emily (known by her family as "Little Em'ly"), and becomes attracted to her. Some time later, shortly after visiting Steerforth at his home again, David makes another trip to Yarmouth and learns to his great surprise and dismay that Emily has run off with Steerforth to live a life of luxury in Europe. This news greatly distresses both the Steerforth and Peggotty families.
Emily is regarded as a seductress by Miss Dartle, while Mr Peggotty and his nephew Ham, who was also Emily's fiance, consider Steerforth to have stolen Emily from them. Mr Peggotty leaves home on a quest to find his niece, searching all through Europe for her. Eventually, Emily returns to England, where she is found by her uncle.
A while later, David makes another visit to Yarmouth and is caught in the midst of a great storm. When he reaches Yarmouth, this storm has reached the peak of its ferocity. The storm causes a ship to be wrecked near the coast, with sailors stranded aboard. Eventually all but one lone sailor have been washed away. Ham sees this and attempts to board the ship to rescue the sailor. After reaching the ship, he and the sailor are crushed and killed by a strong wave. Their bodies are afterwards dragged ashore. The sailor whom Ham sought to rescue is found to be Steerforth; his death brings grief and shock to both his mother and Miss Dartle. At this point Miss Dartle confesses that she had always loved Steerfoth and desired to be his wife; she angrily blames Steerforth's associates (including his mother) for having corrupted him and led him to his demise.
 |
| Miss Dartle |
stardust: (something that causes) a pleasant dream-like or romantic feeling
ferocity(=ferocious):frightening and violent:
My Favourite Charles Dickens character: Rosa Dartle from David Copperfield
One persistent cliché of Charles Dickens criticism is that he didn’t understand women, least of all their sexual psychology. It's an accusation to which I always retort: what about the magnificent Rosa Dartle?
She appears in David Copperfield as the orphaned cousin of Steerforth’s father and companion to his mother, standing in marked contrast to the novel’s milquetoast heroines Dora, Agnes and Little Em'ly. Aged about thirty and a spinster, she is described as looking "a little dilapidated", with a strikingly dark and slender figure and a livid scar on her lip (a feature which Dickens makes much of).
An intense and unrequited passion for Steerforth has left her bitter, resentful and savagely sarcastic. Vain as he is, Steerforth still enjoys playfully flirting with her and Dickens masterfully portrays her continuing vulnerability to his insincere attentions, exploring the way that thwarted love can curdle into self-hatred.
milquetoast:a shy ,nervous man
curdle:If a liquid curdles, or you curdle it, it gets thicker and develops lumps.
＊For Example:
1.Their screams made my blood curdle with terror. 他們的尖叫聲嚇得我渾身冰涼。
2.The milk has curdled. 牛奶凝結了。
degeneration: the process by which something gets worse
penitentiary: a state or federal prison
uncanny: strange or mysterious; difficult or impossible to explain
infallible: never wrong, failing, or making a mistake
feeble:
1) weak and without energy, strength, and power
2)not effective or good
(a lame/ feeble joke /excuse)
crag: a high, rough of rock that sticks out from the land around it
In the resolute readiness with which you cut your wealth into four shares, keeping but one to yourself, and relinquishing the three others to the claim of abstract justice, I recognized a soul that revelled in the flame and excitement of sacrifice. In the tractability with which ,at my wish, your forsook a study in which you were interested, and adopted another because it interested me; in the untiring assiduity with which you have since you have since persevered in it-in an unflagging energy and unshaken temper with which you have met its difficulties- I acknowledge the complement of the qualities I seek.Jane, you are docile, diligent,disinterested, faithful, constant, and courageous; very gentle ,and very heroic: cease t mistrust yourself- I can trust you unreservedly.As a conductress of Indian schools, and a helper among Indian women, your assistance will be to me invaluable.
unflagging: If a quality, such as energy, interest, or enthusiasm, is unflagging it never becomes weaker
(Making a sentence: He thanked Tony for his unflagging energy and support)
revel: to dance, drink ,sing etc. at a party or in public, especially in a noisy way.
tractable: easy dealt with, controlled,or persuaded.
"David Copperfield" is my favorite novel by Charles Dickens.
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