Words and Expressions

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1.In fact, the only thing that tipped me off that Christmas was coming was when Rodrick put his wish list up on the refrigerator.

tip sb. off:to give someone a secret warning or piece of information

e.g.① Did you tip him off about Jim?

e.g.② In fact, the only thing that tips me off that my period is coming soon is when  Ping says she gets a stomach-ache.

wish list:心愿单

e.g. Ping told me that she would make wish list during New Year's Eve

2.So I decided to step in and give him some good big-brotherly advice.

step in:插手，干预 （之前也出现过）

big-brotherly:showing the kindness, interest, or love that you would expect a brother to show 大哥哥般的

*big-sisterly:大姐姐般的

*motherly:妈妈般的

*fatherly:慈父般的

e.g. Every time Guan is determine to make dicision of her own, her mother just steps in and gives him some motherly advice even though she is a grown-up now.

3.I said he should just pick three or four medium-priced gifts so he wound end up with a couple of things he actually wanted.

medium-priced:having a price that is neither too high or too low

突然联想到【性价比高的】cost-effective

e.g.①Medium-price chains provide a consistent level of quality and a high standard of facilities, including swimming pools and spas.

e.g.② Because we students doesn't have incomes, so we always want to buy something with high quality but medium-peice.

4.I just thought it would be a really awesome fort for my toy soldiers

fort:a strong building or group of buildings used by soldiers or an army for defending an important place城堡

e.g. I bought a brand-new toy fort for my little brother.

5.But Manny made out like a bandit.

handit:a thief with a weapon, especially one belonging to a group that attacks people travelling through the countryside 土匪

 这里应该是是说他弟弟的愿望都实现了，简直是人生赢家。羡慕嫉妒恨啊

e.g. It was a shame, Mr Tsai says, that the phones made by his Chinese clients came to be known as shanzai, or bandit, phones.（山寨，黑手机）

Sentences

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1.Because if I had to act happy about the kinds of gifts grown-up get, I don't think I could pull it off.

①pull sth. off: to succeed in doing something difficult.

②act+adj/n:to pretend to have feelings, qualities etc that are different from your true ones假装表现得怎么样

*act the fool/act angry

e.g.① Yan acted genius when it came to biology. 

e.g.②Actually, I didn't think he could pull all the stuffs off. Because he is the one who perfers talk than do.(造的这个句子有点像Asking the right questions里的一种谬误的观点==)

2.I guess I didn't do a good job of hiding my disappointment, and my Mom got mad.

e.g. She did a good job of acting happy when she gone out with him. (Actually, she was sick.)

Writing

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Father's day is on the way. My roommates and I were wondering what kind of present were supposed to mail our fathers. One of my roommates said that she wanted to give a bottle of wine to her father as a gift, but she was worried about the quality on Taobao. So she changed her mind. Finally, she dicided to buy a brand-new clip-on tie to her father. As for me, I am going to cook a decent meal for my father. In fact, I don't really good at it. I will keep my fingers crossed for it.

喜欢这段话，喜欢小时候