How the Other Half Lives

https://www.lexicallab.com/2021/05/how-the-other-half-lives/

Lexical လို့ အသံကြားလိုက်တာနဲ့ Michael Lewis ကို ပြေးမြင်မိကြဖို့ များပါတယ်။ ဒီ Website ဟာ Lexical Approach ကို မူတည်ထားပြီး ELT ကိစ္စတွေ လုပ်ဆောင်နေတာ တွေ့ရပါတယ်။ Innovation, Outcome အစရှိတဲ့ Coursebook တွေလည်း ထုတ်ပါသေးတယ်။ ELT Teacher တွေအတွက် Online Course တွေလည်း ရှိပါတယ်။ သင်တန်းကြေးတွေကတော့ တစ်နာရီ ဘလာဘလာဘလာ။ ;-) အခုလို ဆောင်းပါးတွေကိုလည်း အလျဉ်းသင့်တိုင်း တင်ပေးထားပါတယ်။ B2+ လို့ ဆိုပေမဲ့ ဖတ်ရတာ နည်းနည်း ခက်ခဲသလို ထင်မိပါတယ်။ ကိုယ်တိုင်ပဲ ခံစားကြည့်ပါ။

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1A. how the other half lives = the way that people who are much richer or poorer than you spend their lives; (humorous) sth people say when they see or hear about the lives of people who are richer than them; the way of life of a different social group, especially one much richer than you

1B. bucket down (v) (UK, informal) to rain heavily

It's bucketing down.
It's absolutely bucketing down.
It's been bucketing down all day.
As soon as we were inside, the rain began to bucket down.

syn: pour, pour down, rain heavily, rain very hard, lash down, pelt down, come down in torrents, teem down, torrent,

2. howling (adj) (only before n) (of a storm, etc.) very violent with strong winds (;making a continuous low loud noise)

a howling gale/storm/wind
The howling wind outside sounded like the wailing of lost souls.

3. akin to sth (adj) (formal) similar to

What he felt was more akin to pity than love.
She was wearing something akin to a pineapple on her head.
This game is closely akin to hockey.
The political situation here is more akin to dictatorship than democracy.
Something akin to panic overwhelmed him.

syn: similar to, like, comparable to, allied with, analogous to, kin to

4. onset (n-sing) the beginning of sth, especially sth unpleasant

the onset of disease/old age/winter
The new treatment can delay the onset of disease by several years.
Consult the doctor if there is a very sudden onset of fever.
the abrupt onset of the rainy season in India (= happening very quickly and suddenly)
Symptoms may include the rapid onset of nausea and vomiting.
early/late onset (= happening earlier/later than commonly happens - used especially about serious illnesses)

syn: beginning, start, rise, birth, outbreak, starting point, inception, commencement

5. fat chance (slang?) used for emphasizing that you think sth is extremely unlikely; used to say that you certainly do not think that sth is likely to happen {(a) fat chance (of sth/doing sth) (idiom) (informal) used for saying that you do not believe sth is likely to happen}

I was hoping they might have forgotten my offer. Fat chance!
"Perhaps they'll invite you." "Fat chance (of that)!"
You've got a fat chance of getting there on time.
'They might let us in without tickets.' 'Fat chance of that!'

syn: a fat chance, no chance, (a) slim chance, very little chance, not much chance

6. dodge /dɒdʒ/ (v) to move quickly and suddenly to one side in order to avoid sb/sth

~ sth = He ran across the road, dodging the traffic.
(+adv./prep.) = The girl dodged /dɒdʒd/ behind a tree to hide from the other children.
He ran across the courtyard, dodging a storm of bullets.
~ between/through/into, etc. = Helen clutched Edward's arm as they dodged through the traffic.

7. shower (n) a short period of rain or snow

scattered showers
April showers
We were caught in a heavy shower.
snow showers
wintry showers (= of snow)
Tonight there's a 50% chance of showers.

8. the Geffrye Museum (n) a museum of furniture in east London, England. Most of the museum consists of a series of rooms, each one showing what an ordinary English home would look like in various periods between 1600 and the present day.

9. refurbishment /ˌriːˈfɜːbɪʃmənt/ (informal refurb /ˈriːfɜːb/) (n) the act or process of cleaning and decorating a room, building, etc. in order to make it more attractive, more useful, etc.

The hotel is closed for refurbishment.
This is just one of several planned refurbishments.

syn: renovation, cleaning up, restoration, overhaul, revamping, refitting,

10. somewhat (adv) to some degree; to some degree but not to a large degree

I was somewhat surprised to see him.
The situation has changed somewhat since we last met.
~ larger/higher/newer, etc. = The price is somewhat higher than I expected.
Things have changed somewhat since then.
~ of = What happened to them remains somewhat of a mystery.
To say that I was surprised is somewhat of an understatement.

syn: rather, quite, a little, sort of, kind of, a bit, pretty, fairly, relatively, slightly, moderately, to some extent, to some degree

11. off the beaten track/path = far away from the places that people usually visit and hard to get to; in a place where few people go, far from any main roads and towns

The museum is a little off the beaten path, but is worth the effort.
The farmhouse we stayed in was completely off the beaten track.
a quaint little village far off the beaten track

12. retirement home (British English also old people's home) (n) a place where old people live and are cared for

The couple now live in an old people's home.
She had to go into an old people's home.

13. fall on hard times = to lose your money and start to have a difficult life; to experience great difficulties

The scheme is designed to help children whose parents have fallen on hard times.
The region saw a boom in the 1950s to 1970s but fell on hard times in the 1980s.
He had clearly fallen on hard times.

14. pop + adv./prep. (v) to suddenly appear, especially when not expected {pop into your head/mind = to suddenly think of sth}

The window opened and a dog's head popped out.
An idea suddenly popped into his head.
(computing) The dialog box pops up every time I try to close the browser.
All at once an idea popped into her head.

15. sun yourself (v) to sit or lie in a place where the sun is shining on you

We lay sunning ourselves on the deck.
There were six seals sunning themselves on the rocks.
I sat on the balcony sunning myself.

16. pampered /ˈpæmpəd/ (adj) receiving a lot of care and attention, often so much that it spoils yur character; treated with affectionate and usually excessive indulgence; coddled; spoiled

He was a pampered rich kid who was driven to school in a limousine.
The actress doesn't identify with today's pampered superstars.

17. pamper sb /ˈpæmpə(r)/ (v) (sometimes disapproving) to take care of sb very well and make them feel as comfortable as possible; to look after someone very kindly, for example by giving them the things that they want making them feel warm and comfortable

Pamper yourself with our new range of beauty treatments.
a spoilt and pampered child
She had a whole evening in which to pamper herself.
She spent her childhood as the pampered daughter of a wealthy family.

syn: cosset, spoil, indulge, gratify, baby, pet, humour, pander to, fondle, mollycoddle

18. suck up to sb (informal disapproving) to try to make sb who is in authority approve of you by doing and saying things that will please them

"Why do you think he offered to take all that work home?" "Ah, he's just sucking up to the boss."
She kept sucking up to the teachers.

syn: flatter, toady, truckle, ingratiate yourself with, play up to, curry favour with, pander to, kiss sb's ass, keep in with, lick sb's boots

19. look into sth = to examine sth; to try to discover the facts about sth such as a problem or a crime

A working party has been set up to look into the problem.
I wrote a letter of complaint and the airline has promised to look into the matter.
We're looking into the possibility of merging the two departments.

syn: investigate, study, research, go into, examine, explore, probe, follow up, check out, inspect, look over, delve into, scrutinize, inquire about, make inquiries about

20. destitute /ˈdestɪtjuːt/ (adj) (A) without money, food and the other things necessary for life

When he died, his family was left completely destitute.
The floods thousands of people destitute.
In 1860 Father Murphy set up a home for orphans and destitute children.

syn: penniless, poor, impoverished, distressed, needy, on the rocks, insolvent, poverty-striken, indigent, impecunious, short, penurious, necessitous

(B) the destitute (n-pl) people who are destitute

21. disappear/vanish/be hidden from view = The gun was hidden from view behind the door.
The inside of the house was hidden from view by curtains.

22. shock sb into (doing) sth = She was shocked into action by the desperate situation in the orphanages.
The photographs of starving children shocked people into giving money.

23. muckraking /ˈmʌkreɪkɪŋ/ (n-U) (informal, disapproving) the activity of looking for information about people's private lives that they do not wish to make public

the sort of journalism that specializes in political muckraking
There was so much muckraking about his family life that he decided not to stand for election.
Two of the candidates complained of unfair muckraking during the election campaign.

24. exclusive /ɪkˈskluːsɪv/ (n) an item of news or a story about famous people that is published in only one newspaper or magazine

We feature an exclusive on the mothers whose babies were swapped at birth.
The paper printed a world exclusive on the presidential scandal.
The newspaper published an exclusive about the escape.
a New York Post exclusive about the Kennedy marriage

25. dodgy /ˈdɒdʒi/ (adj) (UK, informal) seeming or likely to be dishonest; dishonest, criminal or not reliable

He made a lot of money, using some very dodgy methods.
I don't want to get involved in anything dodgy.
Travel websites that offer dodgy deals have been uncovered in a worldwide investigation.
One girl thought the men looked dodgy.
dodgy share dealings

syn: suspicious

26. stalk /stɔːk/ (v) (A) ~ (sth/sb) = to move slowly and quietly towards an animal or a person, in order to kill, catch or harm it or them

The lion was stalking a zebra.
He stalked his victim as she walked home, before attacking and robbing her.

(B) ~ sb = to illegally follow and watch sb over a long period of time, in a way that is annoying or frightening

She claimed that he had been stalking her over a period of three years.
He was arrested and accused of stalking the actor over a period of three years.
He had continued stalking her despite a warning from the police.
The suspects complained of being stalked by photographers wherever they went.
She was stalked by an obsessed fan.

27. snap (v) (informal) to take a photograph

~ sth = A passing tourist snapped the incident.
~ (away) = She seemed oblivious to the crowds of photographers snapping away.
Dave snapped a picture of me and Sonia.

28. trick sb into sth | trick sb into doing sth = to make sb do sth by means of a trick

He tricked me into lending him $100.
She tricked me into believing that she was somebody famous.

29. compromising /ˈkɒmprəmaɪzɪŋ/ (adj) if sth is compromising, it shows or tells people sth that you want to keep secret, because it is wrong or embarrasing; likely to damage your good reputation

compromising photos/letter/photograph/picture, etc.
They were discovered together in a compromising situation.
Photographs were published of her in a compromising position/situation with her bodyguard.

30. disposable income /dɪˌspoʊzəb(ə)l ˈɪnkʌm/ (n) money that you have left to spend after you have paid your taxes

disposable  /dɪˈspəʊzəbl/ (adj) (finance) available for use

disposable assets/capital/resources
a person's disposable income (= money they are free to spend after paying taxes, etc.)

31. set sb back (sth) (v) to cost someone a large amount of money

Buying that suit must have set you back.
That new car looks as if it set you back a bit, Geoff.
The frock is going to set you back thousands.

syn: cost

32. quid (n) (pl. quid) (UK,  informal) one pound in money

Can you lend me five quid?
It only costs a couple of quid to get in.
She earns at least 600 quid a week.

33. Oxfam (n) a large charity that helps poor people all over the world; a UK-based organization that works to help people who are extremely poor and suffering

My shoes are new but everything else came from Oxfam.
He always looks as if he buys his clothes from Oxfam.

34. go figure! = used when you tell someone a fact and you then want to say that the fact is surprising, strange or stupid; (informal) an expression of surprise, astonishment, wonder, etc.

It's a terrible movie and it made $200 million. Go figure!
People are more aware of the risks of smoking nowadays, but more young women are smoking than ever. Go figure!
'He didn't even leave a message.' 'Go figure.'