Word Study

somehow; consider, pinch; snap; rummage; spray; ashamed; attach; demonstrate; tone, clear

1. somehow

adv. in a way not specified, understood, or known

* I know what we are doing is legal, but somehow it doesn’t feel right.

Compare: anyhow, anyway

anyhow: in whatever way or manner; however; nevertheless

*They came anyhow they could—by boat, train, or plane.

*It sounds crazy, but I believe it anyhow.

anyway: in any way or manner; whatever; nevertheless; regardless

*Get the job done anyway you can.

*It was raining but they played the game anyway.

2. consider

v. 1. to think carefully about

*All things considered, the reform is a success.

2. to think or deem to be; to regard

* She considers waste to be criminal.

3. to take into account; to bear in mind

* Her success is not surprising if you consider her excellent training.

4. to show consideration for

* She failed to consider the feelings of others.

3. Pinch

v. 1. to squeeze or bind (a part of the body) in such a way as to cause discomfort or pain

* These shoes pinch my toes

2. to nip; to wither

* buds that were pinched by the frost

* a face that was pinched with grief

4. snap

v. 1. to take photograph

* The reporter snapped the governor as she was getting into her car.

2. to speak abruptly or sharply

* He snapped at the child.

5. rummage

1. v. to make an energetic, usually hasty search

* He rummaged in/through all the drawers, looking for a pen.

2. n. a thorough search among a number of things or a confusion of miscellaneous articles

* I had a rummage about/around the house, but I couldn’t find my certificate anywhere.

6. Spray

1. v. to disperse (a liquid) in a mass or jet of droplets

* The pipe burst and the water was spraying everywhere.

2. n. water or other liquid moving in a mass of dispersed droplets, as from a wave

* Can you feel the spray from the waterfall?

7. Ashamed

adj. feeling shame 感到羞愧的，惭愧的

* You should feel ashamed of what you have done.

shameful: adj. causing shame; disgraceful 导致羞愧的；可耻的

shameless: adj. without shame; feeling no shame厚颜无耻的

* shameful conduct

* shameless exploiter

Phrase and Expressions

pitch in; take one’s word for it; resort to; come to one’s aid; for one’s sake; feel cornered; have no choice but to do; make it up to sb.; come up with; on one’s part; break up

1. pitch in

to set to work vigorously; to join forces with others; to help or cooperate

* If we all pitch in, it shouldn’t take too long.

* After we had seen the video everyone started pitching in with comments on its fault.

pitch into: to attack with words or criticize

pitch up: to arrive in a place

* He pitched into me as soon as he arrived, asking where the report was.

* He finally pitched up two hours late.

2. take one’s word for it = take sb. for his word to believe what sb. says is true

* If he says there’s $500 in the envelop then I’ll take his word for it.

* He said he would give me a job and I just took him for his word.

3. resort to

* to use sth. for help, because you cannot find any other way of acting

* I had to resort to violence to get my money

4. Come to one’s mind

to help or support

* An anonymous millionnaire has come to the company’s aid by lending it the money it needs to keep it in business.

* He gets about with the aid of a walking stick.

* She went to the aid of a man trapped in his car.

* The concern was in aid of famine relief.

5. for one’s sake = for the sake of

1. because of

Let’s not disagree for the sake of a few pounds.

2. for the purpose of

* Let’s say, just for the sake of argument/ for argument’s sake, that prices rise by 3% this year.

3. used to emphasize requests or orders and when you are angry or have lost patience

* For God’s/Christ’s sake, turn that music off.

* For Goodness’s/Pete’s/heaven’s/pity’s sake don’t let her know what I told you.

6. Feel concerned

to feel forced into a situation where it’s hard to escape

* I felt cornered at the party when he bore me to death about his difficult childhood.

1. wh-noun clause

I just don’t see what’s wrong with a white person marrying a black person, that’s all. (Para. 7)

He squeezed to see how deep the wound was. (Para. 18)

Well, that’s what you said, didn’t you? (Para. 23)

2. the way + clause

He knew that she was too angry to be actually reading it, but she didn’t snap through the pages the way he would have done. (Para. 40)

When he was done the kitchen looked new, the way it looked when they were first shown in the house. (Para. 42)