L12 Life on a desert island

Words & Expressions

*wretched /ˈretʃɪd/, <literary> extremely bad or unpleasant=miserable

--I was shocked to see their wretched living conditions.

--Life on a desert island is wretched.

*dinghy /ˈdɪŋɡi, ˈdɪŋi/, a small open boat used for pleasure, or for taking people between a ship and the shore.

--a rubber dinghy

*genuinely /ˈdʒenjuɪnli/,

--in a real and sincere way=genuinely concerned/interested/surprised

--used for emphasizing a particular quality=genuinely new information

*imagine

--imagine (that)

Imagine that you have just won a million pounds.

Imagine life without hot water.

--imagine what/how/why etc

Can you imagine what it’s like when it’s really hot out here in Delhi?

--imagine somebody doing something

She could imagine dark-robed figures moving silently along the stone corridors.

--(just) imagine doing something

Imagine doing a horrible job like that!

Just imagine going all that way for nothing!

--imagine somebody/something as something (as=to be)

He didn’t quite dare to imagine himself as a real artist.

--imagine somebody in/with/without etc something

--Somehow, I can’t imagine him without a beard.

--it’s difficult/easy/possible/impossible etc to imagine something

After such a dry summer, it’s difficult to imagine what rain looks like.

*as one of them put it其中一位所说，put=express, to say or write something using words in a particular way

put something well/ cleverly /simply  etc

--The question was well put.

--It is hard to put into words =express how I feel now.

Sentences

Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the opportunity to find out.

an element of truth可信之处

Pronunciations

wretched /ˈretʃɪd/注意词尾不是/t/

opposite/ˈɑːpəzət/ 词首的o，美音a:

desert/ˈdezərt/ noun

desert/dɪˈzɜːrt/ verb