Kite runner | eighteen to nineteen -
Here is another cleché my creative writing teacher would have scoffed at; like father, like son.虎父无犬子
vocabulary
1.swathwed
swathe1 /sweɪð $ swɑːð, swɒːð, sweɪð/ (also swath /swɒθ $ swɑːθ/) noun [countable]
1 a long thin area of something, especially land
swathe of
The bomb had left a swathe of the town centre in ruins.
A swathe of sunlight lay across the floor.
2 a long thin area of grass or plants that has been cut down
We cut a swathe through the dense undergrowth.
3 → cut a swathe through something
Examples from the Corpus
swathe
• This time the front door was open and a swathe of sunlight lay across the red-tiled floor.
• Only the water itself, its wildly fluctuating level carving a swathe of devastation along the shore, betrays the deception.
• He took out his knife and cut a swathe to the hollow.
• They cut a swathe through the massed black-clad warriors, and then turning swiftly trampled back over their disorganized ranks.
• It was like a smile, it was like a little Eden of thoughtful pleasure: a swathe of allotments.
• a swathe of beige cloth
• Great swathes of the world don't even have electricity or roads, let alone an information superhighway.
• The fire had destroyed huge swathes of land.
• She would start nearest to the door and work her way along the jostling, glistening, pouring swathes of colours.
• This effectively excludes vast swathes of the planet's population.
cut a swathe through
• They cut a swathe through the massed black-clad warriors, and then turning swiftly trampled back over their disorganized ranks.
swathe2 verb [transitive] literary
to wrap or cover something in something
women swathed in expensive furs
The moon was swathed in mist.
Grammar
Swathe is usually passive.
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
swathe
• As a cool breeze swathed his sweat-drenched body he realized they had taken his clothes.
• She was swathed in a red silk dress that fitted where it touched.
• He is swathed in chains, from which hang trophies - namely the heads of his victims, hanging by their hair.
• They were the Mien, whose blue-turbaned women were swathed in dark robes accented with red wool ruffs.
• Her attraction to him had hardly been swathed in subtlety.
• No clouds swathed it, no breeze cooled him.
• Brown and white bunting swathed the edges of the small stage
2.smothers
smoth‧er /ˈsmʌðə $ -ər/ verb [transitive]
1 to completely cover the whole surface of something with something else, often in a way that seems unnecessary or unpleasant
smother something with/in something
noodles smothered in garlic sauce
2 to kill someone by putting something over their face to stop them breathing → suffocate
A teenage mother was accused of smothering her 3-month-old daughter.
3 to stop yourself from showing your feelings or from doing an action SYN stifle
The girls tried to smother their giggles.
4 to give someone so much love and attention that they feel as if they are not free and become unhappy
I don’t want him to feel smothered.
5 → smother somebody with kisses
6 to make a fire stop burning by preventing air from reaching it
We used a wet towel to smother the fire.
7 to get rid of anyone who opposes you – used to show disapproval
They ruthlessly smother all opposition.
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
smother
• I had to end it with Tim - I felt like I was being smothered.
• Nancy smothered a smile.
• The story - and, apparently, the memory - had been smothered by greater horrors.
• Caliph Marwan Ibn al-Hakam: smothered by his wife, Umm Khalid.
• When she was 18, she smothered her 11-month-old daughter.
• It smothered him like dense mist.
• Though prawns are low in calories, they are then smothered in a dressing loaded with them.
• One girl in the ambulance was smothered in blood.
• The streets of the resort were clotted with cars and smothered in the smell of fried food and sun tan lotion.
• The Phillies' Curt Schilling smothered the Blue Jays, 5-0.
• I grabbed a blanket and tried to smother the flames.
• If the victim's clothes are burning, use a blanket to smother the flames.
• He flipped and stirred, measuring lumps of rice on to plates which he then smothered with a brownish stroganoff.
smother something with/in something
• My steak arrived, smothered in onions and gravy.
3.marigolds
mar‧i‧gold /ˈmærəɡəʊld $ -ɡoʊld/ noun [countable]
a plant with yellow or orange flowers
Examples from the Corpus
marigold
• Flowers, especially marigolds, are also left at the grave.
• All foliage on leggy marginals such as marsh marigolds should also be cut back.
• A blue and red hand-painted signboard is hung over the entrance and a garland of marigolds placed around it.
• He's wearing a garland of marigolds and carrying a bowl of yellow rice grains.
• When I was settled, a shepherd brought a handful of marigolds which he strewed around me, then backed away.
• One vacation she was given a holiday job in the palace gardens, pricking out marigolds.
• His hair was marigolds or candle flames.
• His portrait and chair have been garlanded with marigolds and strewn with crimson rose petals.
4.samovar
sam‧o‧var /ˈsæməvɑː $ -vɑːr/ noun [countable]
a large metal container used in Russia to boil water for making tea
Examples from the Corpus
samovar
• We finished with an ice-cream sweet and mugs of hot tea from the samovar on the table.
• He forgot about the Opera House, the samovar, and home.
5.reorient
dis‧or‧i‧en‧ting /dɪsˈɔːrientɪŋ/ (also disorientating /dɪsˈɔːriənteɪtɪŋ/ British English) adjective
1 making someone not know where they are or which direction they should go
a disorientating maze of corridors
2 confusing you and making you not certain about what is happening around you
Lack of sleep can be disorienting.
—disorient (also disorientate British English) verb [transitive]
—disorientation /dɪsˌɔːriənˈteɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]
6.gulp
gulp1 /ɡʌlp/ verb
1 (also gulp down) [transitive] to swallow large quantities of food or drink quickly SYN bolt
She gulped down her breakfast and ran for the bus.
2 [intransitive] to swallow suddenly because you are surprised or nervous
I gulped when I saw the bill.
3 (also gulp in) [transitive] to breathe in large amounts of air quickly
We rushed outside and gulped in the sweet fresh air.
4 → be gulping for air
→ gulp something back
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
gulp
• Mandy read the test questions and gulped.
• The nine-member group gulped, almost in unison.
• Moray eels squirm right to the water's edge and greedily gulp down the feast.
• Then the fox tossed his head and gulped down the Gingerbread Man.
• The first he gulped down; the second, savored.
• The springer spaniels, who gulp down what the children leave, will probably outlive next door's parrot.
• She gulped for breath, her eyes only inches from his.
• Steve swam up to the surface and gulped in air.
• It seemed to parch his mouth as he gulped it down.
• He seemed to gulp the air before speaking, like the fish his complexion called to her mind.
gulp2 noun [countable]
1 a large amount of something that you swallow quickly, or the action of swallowing
gulp of
He took a huge gulp of brandy.
in one gulp/at a gulp
Charlie drank the whisky in one gulp.
2 a large amount of air that you breathe in quickly
gulps of fresh air
Examples from the Corpus
gulp
• He lifted his glass to his lips, draining it at a gulp.
• He was eating a mess of pottage and taking deep gulps of wine from a large ornamental cup.
• Finally he took a desperate gulp of air, then another, then broke into an enormous sob.
• She was breathing in great gulps, but still there wasn't enough air.
• I downed it in one gulp.
• So Unwired created a software language to display text in short gulps.
• No black striped bill had we seen, or slurring gulps heard.
took ... gulp
• Peach shuddered, and took a gulp of her milk.
• She took the double whisky he offered her and greedily took a gulp.
• He always laughed noiselessly, his jaw snapping up and down as he took in great gulps of air.
• Finally he took a desperate gulp of air, then another, then broke into an enormous sob.
• He took a gulp and handed his cup to her.
• Helen took a gulp of tea, and felt herself begin to rally.
• I took a grateful gulp of the champagne and looked round.
• Turning was in the air and Taylor, as usual, took great heaving gulps of it
7.bolting
bolt1 /bəʊlt $ boʊlt/ noun [countable]
1 LOCK a metal bar that you slide across a door or window to fasten it
2 SCREW a screw with a flat head and no point, for fastening things together
3 → a bolt from/out of the blue
4 → bolt of lightning
5 → make a bolt for it
6 WEAPON a short heavy arrow that is fired from a crossbow
7 CLOTH a large long roll of cloth
→ have shot your bolt at shoot1(24), → the nuts and bolts of something at nut1(6)
Examples from the Corpus
bolt
• Atop a mountain he slew his daughter, then was immediately struck dead by a bolt of lightning.
• One spring morning two anchor bolts were inserted in the footings that were to receive the first steel column.
• There was a sound of soft footsteps, of chains being loosened and bolts drawn back.
• The skies darkened and lightning bolts split the sky.
• He went around for about ten months with this big metal bolt going in here and coming out here!
• Respect established climbing traditions in ethical matters such as the use of chalk, pitons, bolts etc.
• Investigators could not check the bolts because they had fallen into the sea.
Related topics: Food, Household
bolt2 verb
1 [intransitive] to suddenly run somewhere very quickly, especially in order to escape or because you are frightened
The horse reared up and bolted.
Kevin had bolted through the open window.
see thesaurus at run
2 [transitive] (also bolt down) to eat very quickly SYN gobble
He bolted down his breakfast.
3 [transitive] to fasten two things together using a bolt
bolt something to something
The cell contained an iron bedframe bolted to the floor.
bolt something together
The boxes were made of heavy panels of metal bolted together.
4 [transitive] to lock a door or window by sliding a bolt across
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
bolt
• One of the horses got into a panic and bolted.
• When police approached him to ask him some questions, he bolted.
• My husband always bolts all the doors before going to bed.
• I bolted down my breakfast and was out the door by 8:00.
• He was whisked away as his audience bolted for the exits.
• Suddenly a fox bolted from beneath a hedge.
• His brutish, stupid face was blotchy with fear now and his eyes were bolting from his head.
• The dog bolted into the road, into the oncoming traffic.
• Louie wailed, bolting off the steps into his house.
• A low hissing filled the room as she bolted out and slammed the door.
• Before I could say a word, she turned and bolted out the front door.
• All the doors were locked and bolted so I climbed out through the kitchen window and dropped into a bed of lavender.
• Jason bolted the door and closed all the curtains.
• Rules and codes bolting the social structure tightly into place.
• A thin steel cord was bolted to the beam that supported the boxcar roof.
bolt something to something
• A wrought-iron bench was bolted to the patio.
bolt3 adverb
→ sit/stand bolt upright
Examples from the Corpus
bolt
• He sat bolt upright and kept his eyes on the table in front of him.
• Suddenly I sit bolt upright, feeling a familiar stab of panic that can mean only one thing: the videos!
From Longman Business Dictionary
bolt /bəʊltboʊlt/ noun [countable]
a large roll containing many metres of cloth
8.churned
Kite runner | eighteen to nineteen -
churn1 /tʃɜːn $ tʃɜːrn/ verb
1 [intransitive] if your stomach churns, you feel sick because you are nervous or frightened
My stomach was churning on the day of the exam.
2 [intransitive, transitive] (also churn up) if water, mud etc churns, or if something churns it, it moves about violently
We watched the ocean churn.
3 [intransitive] if a machine, engine, wheel etc churns, it or its parts begin to move
I pressed the gas pedal, and slowly the wheels began to churn.
4 [transitive] to make milk by using a churn
→ churn something out
→ churn somebody/something up
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
churn
• He was now churning out drawings at a tremendous rate.
• Once he mastered the formula, he could churn out scripts, finishing one in a record 24 hours.
• Lowe knew the sects and the papers they churned out were going nowhere.
• My mind churned with countless plots and schemes, conjuring up acts of untold terror and devastation.
• This crowd must churn with pseudonyms, with noms de guerre.
churn2 noun
1 [countable] a container used for shaking milk in order to make it into butter
2 (also milk churn) [countable] British English a large metal container used to carry milk in
3 [uncountable] the number of people who stop buying or using a company’s products or services during a particular period
Examples from the Corpus
churn
• An ice cream churn on a plow was more or less all that a crop sprayer was in its earlier inception.
• I sat 60 foot under the stage, rooting my feet into the wooden earth, smelling the butter in the churn.
• The milk was turning in the churn, but the butter would not come.
From Longman Business Dictionary
churn1 /tʃɜːntʃɜːrn/ noun [uncountable]
the number of customers who stop buying a service from a supplier in a particular period of time, either because they stop using the service or because they change to another supplier SYN TURNOVER
ISP churn rates average 4% to 8% a month.
churn2 verb
→ churn something → out
→ See Verb table
9.animosity
an‧i‧mos‧i‧ty /ˌænəˈmɒsəti $ -ˈmɑː-/ noun (plural animosities) [countable, uncountable]
strong dislike or hatred SYN hostility
animosity between
There is no personal animosity between the party leaders.
animosity towards/against
She felt a certain amount of animosity towards him.
Examples from the Corpus
animosity
• What compels the players is equal portions of intrastate rivalry and animosity.
• Even if animosity worked miracles in bringing about good grades, would it be worth it?
• David's brother told reporters that the family felt no animosity towards anyone over David's death.
• We have no animosity toward anyone.
• Whether it was talking to travellers or just listening to the lads, whether I felt warmth or animosity did not matter.
• The two leaders have done very little to disguise their personal animosity.
• I had tried to resolve animosities.
• The animosity between parents who are getting a divorce can often cause great suffering to their children.
• He looked at her without animosity and for a moment her knees weakened.
animosity towards/against
• Like the woman who wears it? wondered Cassie, surprised at the strength of her animosity towards Bella Latimer.
• Whitlock had found his animosity towards Mobuto beginning to waver as the day progressed.
• But the travellers who'd come to Castlemorton from all over the country, couldn't understand the local animosity towards them.
• There seems to be no animosity towards foreigners on the part of the ordinary citizen.
• Mr Adams's brother James said the family hold no animosity towards anyone over David's death.
• I spent all afternoon full of animosity towards him - and then he died in that freak accident.
• There was thus little in the second reign to stir up renewed animosity towards the Woodvilles.
10.gorges
gorge1 /ɡɔːdʒ $ ɡɔːrdʒ/ noun [countable]
1 a deep narrow valley with steep sides
2 → feel your gorge rise
Examples from the Corpus
gorge
• I saw a creek at one point, visible at the bottom of a gorge.
• There was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, an almost sheer thousand-foot gorge with several sites for high dams.
• Town and canton rose in importance after the early thirteenth century when the bridging of the Schollenen gorge opened up the Cotthard.
• The wind blowing down the gorge was causing the boat to swing back and forth like a pendulum.
• It is well worth visiting just as a tourist or to do the five-hour walk along the bottom of the gorge.
• He built four massive towers, two on each side of the gorge, to support four cables.
gorge2 verb
1 → gorge yourself (on something)
2 → be gorged with something
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
gorge
• In the months to come, Mr Clinton will undoubtedly go on gorging.
• He knew he would gorge himself on curry and dal and then want to sleep.
• Moms warn daughters of what comes of gorging on chips or chocolate.
• We enjoyed good wines at 75p a litre and gorging on fresh sardines and salads bought in the local market.
• Just because we appear to be gorging ourselves on war coverage doesn't mean to say that we swallow it whole.
gorge3 adjective British English spoken informal
extremely beautiful or attractive
11.protruding
pro‧trude /prəˈtruːd $ proʊ-/ verb [intransitive] written
to stick out from somewhere
protrude from
The envelope was protruding from her bag.
Register
In everyday English, people usually say stick out rather than protrude:
The envelope was sticking out of her bag.
His front teeth stick out.
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
protrude
• She injured herself on a screw that protruded 2 inches out of the bench.
• The largest stone can be seen protruding above the level of the river.
• The tip of the envelope was just protruding from her bag.
• It had entered his open mouth, a clear six inches protruding from the back of his neck.
• A few that remain protrude from the side and top, synthetic stalactites in a cavern of the sea.
• A copper strip protruded from the top and ran vertically down through the center.
• I noticed a metal pipe protruding from the wall.
• It was rather small and it had been hung, quite casually, on a nail protruding from the wall.
• The snag was blamed on a shuttle bolt that protruded into the reel mechanism but was overlooked in the pre-flight engineering analysis.
• Murray was much worse: both legs broken and bone protruding through his pelt.
• These bronze fastenings protrude through the keel and would have secured the main station frames of the hull.
protrude from
• A tuft of gray hair protruded from beneath her knit hat.
13.cursory
cur‧so‧ry /ˈkɜːsəri $ ˈkɜːr-/ adjective
done very quickly without much attention to details
cursory glance/look
Even a cursory glance at the figures will tell you that sales are down.
cursory examination/inspection
a cursory examination of the evidence
—cursorily adverb
Examples from the Corpus
cursory
• Even the most cursory glance showed me the crowd did look awfully grand.
• Was it what they used to call love, that cursory groping devoid of excitement?
• He takes a cursory look inside, then hurries back to the cabin.
• A cursory perusal of my file of pupils' pursuits in both primary and secondary schools shows similar experiences and reflections.
• None the less, a cursory review of the facts should ease their agitation.
• Police arrived within minutes and conducted a cursory search of the property.
• After a cursory search the carrier was waved through.
• He placed her letter, typewritten on white paper and cursory, to one side.
cursory glance/look
• Patients and workers alike gave the Governor and his visitors only cursory glances.
• A busy place at which most tourists cast no more than a cursory glance and pass on.
• A cursory look at behavior in organizations suggests that Machiavelli is still active among us, doling out advice.
• A cursory glance at the literature in this field reveals the importance of suspicions concerning gossiping groups of women.
• Consequently, that child may be studying with a teacher who has given only a cursory glance at these spiraled curriculum guides.
• He takes a cursory look inside, then hurries back to the cabin.
• Even the most cursory glance showed me the crowd did look awfully grand.
• He gave us a cursory glance, then resumed his watch on the highway.
15.redemtion
re‧demp‧tion /rɪˈdempʃən/ noun [uncountable]
1 the state of being freed from the power of evil, believed by Christians to be made possible by Jesus Christ
2 the act of exchanging a piece of paper worth a particular amount of money for money, goods, or services
3 → past/beyond redemption
4 technical the exchange of shares, bonds etc for money
—redemptive /-tɪv/ adjective
Examples from the Corpus
redemption
• He is a man of miracles and redemption, crime and defiance.
• After his last movie bombed, this script is Brown's shot at redemption.
• But it is important to consider set-up charges and early redemption penalties.
• The yield to the purchaser then depends on the difference between the price he paid for the bill and its redemption value.
• Elsewhere, even such fragile respite is rare, the production deleting all possibilities of redemption or relief.
• Clinton, with no more elections to win, seeks only redemption.
• State redemption centers pay 5 cents for every two recyclable containers.
• Do we have here an expression of the belief that the redemption of nature is integrally bound up with man's redemption?
• The Corinthian women acted as though their redemption had caused them to transcend their created sexuality.
From Longman Business Dictionary
re‧demp‧tion /rɪˈdempʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]
1an occasion when shares, bonds etc are exchanged for cash from the organization that sold them and made them available
The table sets out the amount payable on redemption.
the redemption value of a security
Analysts expect another large volume of early redemptions of municipal bonds.
2the act of paying off a loan or debt
the redemption of a mortgage
→ see also equity of redemption, yield to redemption
16.dilapidated
di‧lap‧i‧dat‧ed /dɪˈlæpɪdeɪtɪd/ adjective
a dilapidated building, vehicle etc is old and in very bad condition → derelict
—dilapidation /dəˌlæpəˈdeɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
dilapidated
• Some of the old homes in Newville are well kept, but others are dilapidated.
• When she turned left around the corner of the house, a dilapidated building came into view.
• Maidstone rented a tiny apartment at the top of a very dilapidated building in the Vomero.
• It was housed in old and dilapidated buildings between Holborn and the Strand.
• A search of the outside store revealed two folding canvas garden chairs, dilapidated but useable.
• The infirmary and stables had become dilapidated during the wars, having been occupied by enemy cavalry, and were empty.
• We stayed in an old, dilapidated hotel with a leaky roof.
• Jesse was raised in a large, dilapidated house on the East Side.
• a dilapidated house
• Labour has pledged to cancel the City Technology College programme to release £100 million immediately for repair and decoration of dilapidated schools.
• Unless your home is totally dilapidated, steer clear of a complete redecoration prior to selling: it will arouse suspicion.
• The villages on the road for Tabor looked less dilapidated than Prague.
17.cringed
cringe /krɪndʒ/ verb [intransitive]
1 to move away from someone or something because you are afraid
A stray dog was cringing by the door.
She cringed away from him.
2 to feel embarrassed by something you have said or done because you think it makes you seem silly → wince
cringe at
She cringed at the sound of her own voice.
It makes me cringe when I think how stupid I was.
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
cringe
• His blunt personality leaves even his supporters cringing.
• Also, she peppered her lectures with unscientific statements that made doctors cringe.
• But they cringe at the idea that some one else may benefit at their expense.
• My voice was calm, but inside I cringed away from her.
• The pair cringed in embarrassment as the president, speaking through an interpreter, paid them the world's most unlikely compliment.
• People cringed in terror as the shells hit the city around them.
• During it all, nothing has made me cringe more than the sound of an approaching bike.
• His watch said that it was nine-thirty, and he cringed to think of the time he had lost.
makes ... cringe
• Tender flesh the color of pearls makes her cringe.
• It makes me cringe into the smelly upholstery of his battered armchair.
1.Made me see how my entire life, long before the winter of 1975, dating back to when that singing Hazara women was still nursing me, had been a cycle of lies, betrayals, and secrets.
1*comment
sometimes only when we look forward could let it go.
2.But in its stead, I felt like a man who awakens in his own house and finds all the furniture rearranged, so that every familar nook and cranny looks foreign now.
2*comment:
私以为这个和心理学的某一个现象有关，求解释。
3.On the rickshaw ride back to Rahim Khan's apartment, I remembered Baba saying that my problem was that someone had always done my fighting for me.
imitate:
On the rickshaw ride back to senior school, I remembered my friend saying that my problem was that I always looked like absentminded.
4.Something in my stomach churned and twisted.
imitate:
4. Late at night, having been going through long disorder diet. Something in my stomach churned and twisted.
5.Farid gave me another dismassive look, this one with a hint of barely suppressed animosity, and went back to smoking his cigarette.
comment:
动作描写。
6.The arid, imposing mountains sat along deep gorges and soard to jagged peaks.
7.He was a Tajik, a lanky, dark man with a weather-beaten face, narrow shoulders, and a long neck punctuated by a protruding Adam's apple that only peeked from behind his beard when he turned his head.
comment:
profile.
8.I was afraid I'd change my mind. I was afraid I'd deliberate, ruminate, agonize, rationalize, and talk myself into not going.
comment:
so much to be afraid that we supposed not to worry too much to disturb our heart.
imitate
8.
I was afraid I'd change my mind. I was afraid I'd recognize, realize, memorize, over excite, and talk myself into not loving.
9.I cringed inside.
comment:
brief but meaningful.
10.It occurred to me that, in a different world, those boys wouldn't have been too hungry to chase after the car.
imitate.
10.It occurred to me that, in a different world, those people wouldn't have been too thirsty to chase after the wine.
comment:
not exactly understanding.
18.Summary
Amir finally learnt the truth that Hassan was half brother so much so Baba seemed to love and care him more for Hassan was his son as well, then Amir decided to end the cycle, Amir told Rahim Khan he was going to Kabul.
19.
In the car driven by Farid, Amir felt sick again, they communicated, and arrived Wahid's. Wahid's hosted Amir and asked his intention then Amir tell the truth, made it clear that he was not coming for selling property but to find his half-brother's son. Kids in the house stared at Amir's wrist, but he finally figured it out it was not the watch they wanted but the food, before leaving he planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress.
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