surpass v.凌駕
同excel, outdo, exceed
Tommy studied so hard that he surpassed all the other students in his class.
湯米非常用功，因此成績比班上的其他同學(xué)都好。
thrall n.奴隸
同slave, serf, bondsman
The peasant farmers were the thralls of the lord of the castle.
這些農(nóng)夫是這個(gè)城堡的主人的奴隸。
timid adj.膽怯的
同fearful, cowardly, shy
The tiny kitten was very timid, and too afraid to approach us.
這只小貓非常膽小，不敢靠近我們。
unassuming adj.謙虛的
同modest, retiring, reversed, humble
Don't be fooled by his unassuming manner; he is really a very proud man.別被他謙虛的態(tài)度騙了，其實(shí)他是個(gè)很驕傲的人。
valiant adj.勇敢的
同dauntless, brave, courageous, gallant, valorous
The doctor's valiant efforts finally saved the child's life.
醫(yī)生無畏的努力終于挽救了孩子的生命。
wan adj.蒼白的
同pale, pallid, colorless, bloodless, ashen
Tony looked so wan and tired that I knew something must be wrong.
托尼看起來是如此的蒼白與疲憊，我知道一定出事了。
yoke n.軛；束縛
同bond, chain, link, tie, union
The farmer put a yoke on the oxen's necks and began to plow his fields.農(nóng)夫把軛套在牛的脖子上，開始耕田。
Exercise: Fill in the blanks.
1. The _____ spread of the disease caused panic among the people of the country.
2. Although she was _____ to go, Tina came to the Assassin concert with me.
3. There were many _____ in organizing the business conference, but we finally succeeded.
4. Allan, who is anything but _____, often strikes up conversations with complete strangers.
5. Although she is a very accomplished pianist, she has a very _____ personality.
解答：1. Rampant 2. Reluctant 3. Setbacks 4. Timid 5. unassuming