VOA慢速英语:Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

come out出来

例句：Come out and get some fresh air.
      出来吸点新鲜空气。

      Why is it that you've come out against the proposal he put forward?
      为什么你要反对他提出的建议呢?

gain strength力量增加

例句：To guarantee our future stability we must ensure that the institutions which protect the rights and the safety and  security of our citizens continue to gain in strength.
       要维持社会稳定，就必须加强保障市民权利和社会治安的机制。

2.The author, who published only the one novel, is still alive but rarely speaks publicly.

rarely, seldom,hardly,scarcely, barely 的用法和区别

rarely,很少地，难得地，少见地
　　seldom,表示频率，很少，不常，反义词often
　　hardly 几乎不，简直不= almost not ,强调困难
　　scarcely = hardly 几乎不，简直没有，仅仅，刚刚,用在be/助动词后，强调数量和程度的不足
　　barely 仅仅，刚刚，几乎不能，强调勉强够数

3.But she based the characters on real people she knew growing up.

base on使建立在…基础上,立足

例句：We must base ourselves on the interests of the people.
      我们一定要从人民的利益出发。

      One should always base one's opinion on facts.
      我们应总是把自己的观点建立在事实的基础上。

4.Since then, Monroeville has changed a lot.

a lot，a lot of

a lot 副词 如：thanks a lot
a lot of只能修饰可数名词
a lot of=lots of 许多的 可以修饰可数名词和不可数名词
a lot是表示程度的一个词组 thanks a lot 多谢 know a lot about China 对中国了解很多