VOA慢速英语:What Does It Mean to Be Stumped?

短语讲解：

1. There are many stories of early settlers of America: the people who moved westward and opened up new territory.

open up 打开; 开发
例句：After a few drinks he began to open up a bit.
他喝了几杯酒话就多起来了。

2. So, they moved west, cutting their way through difficult terrain, searching for a good place to live and farm.

search for 搜索，搜寻
例句：The search for peace also means the search for justice.
寻求和平也意味着寻求正义。

3. When they found it, they took out their axes and cut down trees.

cut down 减少; 裁短
例句：The article is too long and should be cut down by half.
这篇稿子太长, 得砍去一半。

4. This means they did not know how to get rid of the tree stumps from the ground.

get rid of 除掉，去掉
例句：I have rather a bad cough that I can't get rid of.
我咳嗽得相当厉害，老也不好。