B5L4 Butterflies & Elephants
By Jessica Li
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Reading
Paragraph I
∆ Some people were giggling, _____ others were
quietly attentive.
while
∆ _____(A) To wear (B) Wore (C) Wearing my
white polka-dot dress, I stood onstage.
(C)
∆ represent (V) = be on behalf of sb
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Ex. Ben represented his boss to attend the meeting.
= Ben attended the meeting on behalf of his boss.
∆ give a speech = address
Victoria was assigned to give a speech/ address in a
rally.
∆ fear of public speaking
stage fright
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Paragraph II
∆ Little did the audience know that as I stood there
looking “all together,” my heart was actually beating
like a drum.
V1 +Ving (主動)/ PP (被動)
Ex. Bathed in the warm sunshine, Mary sat by the
window reading her favorite novel “The Help.”
Ex. The poor girl stood still paralyzed by the
deafening gunshot.
look “all together” = look the same/ look calm
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∆ have butterflies in one’s stomach
feel nervous
Ex. I had butterflies in my stomach as I was waiting
for my turn to have a vaccine shot.
∆ The thundering herd was threatening to trample me
thoroughly.
a pack of wolves
a school of dolphins
a swarm of mosquitoes
a herd of cattle
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∆ N + fill + 地方.
Ex. It is tranquil by the lake. And I feel peaceful.
Tranquility fills the lake, making me feel
peaceful.
∆ light-hearted (a)= timid
The thrilling roller coaster in the Universal
Studio isn’t meant for the light-hearted.
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Paragraph III
∆ Aware of the heads bobbing in the sea of faces
before me, I began my speech.
When I was aware of -----, I began ----EX. 知道生物多樣性即將在10年內減少一半，
她加入綠色和平組織為環保的重要性發聲。
Aware of the fact that biodiversity will reduce by
50%, she joined Green Peace to voice the
importance of environmental protection.
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∆ A few phrases tumbling out quickly, the tremor in my
voice was noticeable.
S + Ving/ PP, S + V.
The speaker standing still onstage, the audience
kept ridiculing her cracking voice.
∆ a growing sense of confidence began to build
build confidence
∆ ease (V) make sth less unpleasant, painful, severe
The building of the new highway can help ease the
traffic congestion on holidays.
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Paragraph IV.
∆ potential downfall = possible failure
Paragraph V.
∆ Outwardly paralyzed with horror and humiliation, I
frantically/ hurriedly plotted what I should do next.
Although I was standing still with horror and
humiliation, I hurriedly made a secret plan in my
mind.
∆ Time seemed to stand still, crystallizing a moment ---
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making me understand that the moment
was an opportunity to me --- to show my
intent to the audience.
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Paragraph VI.
∆ I chose neither of my first two quick solutions.
(1) to run off the stage in despair or (2) wait for
the power to return to the microphone
∆ forced out het hot anxiety in my lungs to make room
for what I intended to do
force out = drive out
Move away the stuff on your desk so we can
make room for the laptop.
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Paragraph VII.
∆ --- as if I were a bird, singing for the very first time
∆ It reached far into the recesses / the deepest parts
of the upper balcony, where I could see people no
longer bobbing in front of me, but sitting fascinated -.
∆ recess (n) break
Ex. Some senior students make good use of the
recess to continue with their studies regardless of
the noises around them.
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Paragraph VIII.
∆ Then, all of the students shouted and cheered, the
large room vibrating with applause.
∆ be bursting with N = be filled with N
∆ master + difficulty = conquer difficulty
∆ a big extra dose of unforeseen adversity
a big unexpected difficulty
∆ this loud cheering was a new kind of elephant ___
(thunder) in my ears.
thundering
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Paragraph IX.
∆ In an instant = At a moment
∆ sweep over sb = suddenly affect sb strongly
A wave of tiredness swept over her at the end of
a day.
∆ feel a glow of N = have a strong pleasant feeling
about N
feel a glow of contentment/ pleasure/ pride
Ex. I felt a glow of great pleasure when learning that
I was admitted to NTU.
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∆ (inside of me) (existed/ was) ( a young woman once
tested.)
(s)+ v + (prep. 地方) = (prep. 地方) + v + (s).
Ex. On the grass lay a boy fiddling his smartphone.
a young woman (who was once) tested
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Vocabulary
1. Despite/ In spite of + N
Despite/ In spite of the fact that + S+V.
Despite the fact that a blizzard was
coming, the traveler insisted on flying back
to his homeland.
∆ persist in N = never stop Ving
In order to achieve his goal, he persisted
in studying hard for a whole year.
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2. considerable (a) great
considerably (adv) greatly
considerate (a) thoughtful
Ex. The blackout had shut down the
factory for more than 6 hours and thus
caused ____ loss, amounting to millions of
dollars.
considerable
Ex. It is a stereotype to see the males who
tend to be ____ as homosexuals.
considerate
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Ex. The need for sleep varies ___ from
person to person.
considerably
∆ be under consideration = under discussion
Ex. The proposal about the restoration of
the old school building is currently under
consideration.
∆ take sth into consideration/ account
Ex. The applicants’ experiences and
qualifications will be taken into consideration
when the decision is made.
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3. conquer (V)
conquest (N)
There are several ways to conquer fear, one
of ___ (A) them (B) that (C) which is to
face it directly.
(C) which
The conquest of my stage fright built
confidence in me and I started to participate
in more speech contest.
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4. trample (V) step heavily
tread (V) trod, trodden, treading
Ex. Careful and don’t ____ in that puddle
(水坑).
tread
Ex. When the movie caught fire, several
people were nearly ____ to death in a rush
for the exits.
trampled
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Ex. During the recession, I decided to ____
water under a better job came along.
tread (making no progress when you
are waiting for sth)
Ex. Regrettably, the government _____ on
people’s right and didn’t permit anyone to
voice any complaint.
trampled
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5. thoroughly (adv) completely
thorough (a) complete, detailed
The situation is a thorough mess.
Ex. She is very thorough and conscientious.
(一絲不苟)
6. vein (N) 血管/靜脈
artery (N) 動脈
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7. tumble (V)
Roger flew into a rage, and harsh words
began to tumble out of his mouth, which
then led to a heated argument with his
friends.
9. glare (V) (N)
Frank gave his younger sister a hostile
glare after she broke his favorite model
airplane on purpose/ deliberately.
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10. strangle (V) to kill a person by pressing
the neck, to stop sth from developing
The thief tried to strangle the woman to
death with a thick rope. Fortunately, she
made a narrow escape (僥倖逃過一劫) and
reported the incident to the police.
The country’s aging population is the most
crucial factor that is strangling the country’s
industrial development.
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11. inanimate (a)
animate (a) (V) make sth/sb more lively
animated (a) lively
animation (n) animated film = cartoon
Ex. It was an ____ conversation
because I and Carolina had a lot in
common.
animated
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Ex. Humans, horses, and trees are
examples of ____ beings.
animate
Ex. Pixar is a computer ____ studio, which
has earned 27 Academy awards.
animation
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12. outwardly (adv)
outward (a)
Outwardly, James P. Sullivan may appear
serious and distant, but he is actually a
humorous and warm-hearted person.
--------------------------------We should never judge
other people based strictly
on their outward
appearance.
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13. paralyze (V)
paralyzed (a)
The blackout last night paralyzed many
parts of the city. To make matters worse,
dozens of residents got stuck in elevators,
and some were seriously injured.
14. frantically (adv)
frantic (a)
Despite the frantic efforts of all the
members of the medical team, they were
unable to save the patient.
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15. despair (N) (V)
The sudden collapse of his business
empire sent the CEO of the company into
the depths of despair.
--------------------------------------------------------The infertile couple despaired of having
their own children, so they decided to
adopt one.
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16. intent (N) = intention
intent (a) showing strong interests and
attention.
Ex. The woman denied possessing drugs
with intent to supply.
∆ to all intents and purposes = almost
Ex. The two items are, to all intents and
purposes, identical.
∆ an intent gaze
Ex. The investigator gave the fingerprint
left on a glass an intent gaze.
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∆ be intent upon N = intend to VR/ focus on
Ex. I was so intent on my work that I didn’t
notice the time.
Ex. The exposition (公開) of the tape is
intent upon ruining the politician’s reputation.
17. obstacle (N) barrier, adversity, difficulty
A lack of empathy often becomes a serious
obstacle to effective communication
between members of the opposite sex.
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19. boom (V) in a loud and deep voice, prosper
boom (N) loud deep voice/ 熱潮
∆ voice + boom out
EX. Texas is beginning to boom because of
the discovery of oil shale (油頁岩).
Ex. The only way to satisfy the golf boom is
to build more courses.
∆ booming housing market
stock market
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20. vibrate ≤ quake= rock (V)
vibration (n)
quake (n)
∆ vibration mode
Ex. Please turn your cellphone to the
vibration mode when you are attending a
conference.
Ex. A devastating earthquake rocked the
village last night and all the houses were
flattened in seconds.
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21. dose (n) an amount of sth unpleasant
(n) an amount of drug
(v) take drugs
dosage (n) 劑量
∆ a dose of bad luck / failure / frustration /
downfall ----Ex. The doctor prescribed a dose of
painkiller for my sore back/ backache.
Ex. The man was heavily dosed with
painkiller to ease his migraine (偏頭痛).
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Ex. Do not exceed the recommended
dosage because it may cause side effects,
such as kidney failure.
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