Highlights from Day27

The Two Faces of Ambition
The pressures to accept defaults start much earlier than we realize. If you consider the individuals who will grow up and make a dent in the universe, the first group that probably comes to mind is child prodigies. These geniuses learn to read at age two, play Bach at four, breeze through calculus at six, and speak seven languages fluently by eight. Their classmates shudder with jealousy; their parents rejoice at having won the lottery. But to paraphrase T. S. Eliot, their careers tend to end not with a bang, but a whimper.

1.make a dent in the universe：语出乔布斯，原话为put a dent in the universe. dent表示印记，凹痕，这个固定搭配表示“在宇宙中留下印记”。

Highlights from Day27

2.prodigy：奇才，神童，young person who has a great natural ability in a subject or skill.

例句：Mozart was a musical prodigy. 莫扎特是音乐神童。

3.breeze through：轻易通过/完成，to achieve something very easily.可以与表达相近含义的sail through做同义替换。

例句：He breezed through the exam. 他毫不费力地通过了考试。

4.shudder：颤抖，打冷战，to shake for a short time because you are afraid or cold, or because you think something is very unpleasant.

例句：I shudder with embarrassment whenever I think about it. 每当我想到这件事就会尴尬得直打哆嗦。

5.rejoice：（比较书面的）喜悦，to feel or show that you are very happy.

例句：His family rejoiced at the news. 听到这个消息，他全家都欢欣鼓舞。