The albatross is the king of the gliders, the class of fliers which harness the air to their purpose, but must yield to its opposition.

be the king / queen of sth. ^{…中最好的/佼佼者}

• He is the new king of pop music.^{他是流行音乐的新一代王者。}
• She’s the reigning queen of crime writers.^{她是犯罪小说作家中的现任女王。}

yield to ^{屈服于/服从于}

One January, I had to officiate at two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years,” as the Bible would say; both yielded to the normal wearing out of the body after a long and full life. ^阅读真题

• First, you must give Helen back to my brother. Second, Troy must submit to my command to fight for me whenever I call. ^{...特洛伊必须服从我的命令，在我召唤时为我而战。}
• They are constantly after the turtles, who peacefully submit to all sorts of indignities.
• The government finally decided to yield to public pressure on the new tax proposal. ^{政府最终决定屈服于公众对新税收提案的压力。}

In the contrary school, the duck is supreme.

school ^{n.流派/学派}

• He belongs to the Impressionist school of painting.^{他属于印象派画派。}
• The policy reflects the thinking of the monetarist school.^{这项政策反映了货币主义学派的思想。}
• Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend.
• The concept of "hundred schools of thought" refers to the philosophical diversity in ancient China.^{“百家争鸣”的概念指的是中国古代哲学思想的多样性。}

the duck is supreme. ⇒ The duck is the king of the contrary school.

It comes nearer to the engines with which man has 'conquered' the air, as he boasts.

come nearer to ^{更像/更接近}

It is similar to the engines with which man has 'conquered' the air, as he boasts. ^替换表达

• Her singing style comes nearer to jazz than traditional blues.^{她的演唱风格更接近爵士乐而非传统蓝调。}
• The duck's flight pattern comes nearer to the engines with which man has 'conquered' the air.^{鸭子的飞行模式更接近于人类'征服'天空所用的发动机。}
• The final product should come nearer to the original design concept.^{最终产品应该更接近最初的设计理念。}

man → he / mankind / the human race → it ^代词指代

• Man has his problems.^{人类（个体）有他自己的问题。}
• Mankind / The human race has its problems.^{人类（整体）有其自身的问题。}
• Although mankind has undergone no general improvement in intelligence or morality, it has made extraordinary progress in the accumulation of knowledge.

boast of / about  ^{吹牛/夸耀}

If, as has been reported, they have protected humans from sharks, it may have been because curiosity attracted them and because the scent of a possible meal attracted the sharks. ^{关系代词在定语从句里做主语}
Things can go wrong on a big scale, as a number of people recently discovered in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney.

• The team boasts of its undefeated season.^{该队夸耀其不败赛季。}
• He always boasts that he was the top student in his class.^{他总是吹嘘自己是班上最好的学生。}
• Often a valley boasted no inn at all.^{通常一个山谷根本就没有旅馆。（物作主语，表示“拥有好的东西”）}
• She constantly boasts about her successful career and wealth. ^{她不断吹嘘她成功的事业和财富。}

Duck, and like them the pigeons, are endowed with steel-like muscles, that are a good part of the weight of the bird, and these will ply the short wings with such irresistible power that they can bore for long distances through an opposing gale before exhaustion follows.

-like ^{像…的（复合形容词）}

• Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.^{美洲狮是生活在美洲的，像猫一样的大型动物。}
• He displays a child-like simplicity in his views on life.^{他对生活的看法表现出孩子般的单纯。}
• The patient reported suffering from flu-like symptoms.^{病人报告出现了流感样的症状。}
• When the woman shook her head in bewilderment, Harry went on to explain that 'myrolite' was a hard, amber-like substance which could be used to remove freckles.
• As is shown in the picture, there is a cobweb-like structure with separate compartments packed in it.

Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused of killing farm animals. ^(CET-4)

a good part of... ^{很大一部分…/很多}

• He earns good money.^{他赚了很多钱。}
• We’ve walked a good distance today.^{我们今天走了很长一段距离。}
• Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport, and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded.

ply sb. with sth. ^{给某人源源不断地提供…}

• The rowers plied the oars tirelessly across the lake.^{划船者不知疲倦地在湖上来回摆动船桨。}
• The waiter plied him with drinks all evening.^{服务员整晚不停地给他提供饮料。（引申义：源源不断地提供）}
• The waiters kept plying the guests with champagne all evening. ^{服务员整个晚上都在不断地向客人们提供香槟。}

bore for long distances ^{穿行很长距离（夸张）}

• I didn’t sleep a wink last night.^{我昨晚一眼都没合。}
• She cried her eyes out when she heard the news.^{听到消息后她哭得眼睛都肿了。}
• The car cost him an arm and a leg.^{这辆车花了他一大笔钱。}

夸张修辞 (hyperbole) ^{增强表达效果}

白发三千丈, 缘愁似个长;危楼高百尺, 手可摘星辰;燕山雪花大如席, 片片吹落轩辕台 ^{中文夸张修辞}

• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.
• Everybody was clapping their hands off.
• I didn’t sleep a wink last night.
• He has a skeleton of a wife.
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.
• a chance in a million
• His anger nearly burst his belly. 
• She cried her eyes out.
• The car cost him an arm and a leg.

For she was beautiful — her beauty made the bright world dim, and everything beside seemed like the fleeting image of a shade. ^{—— P. B. Shelley ‘The Witch of Atlas’}

opposing / adverse / unfavorable gale / wind ^逆风

• Sailors struggled against the adverse wind for days.^{水手们与逆风搏斗了数日。}
• The team faced unfavorable winds in the final leg of the race.^{该队在比赛的最后阶段面临着逆风。}

before ^{才（强调主句时间长）;然后；直到；就(强调主句的时间很短时)}

• I shaved before I went to the party.
• Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney.
• Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o’clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.
• It will be a long time before we meet again.^{我们要过很久才能再次相见。}
• I hadn’t waited long before he came. 
•  …, but I decided to disembark before^{（连词、然后）}I bought anything. ⇒  …, but I decided to disembark before^{（介词、然后）}buying anything.

Marxist convictions plied the Red Army with such irresistible power that they trekked for 25,000 li over snow-capped mountains and grassy swamps before they reached the town of Wuqi, destination of the Long March.^{马克思主义的信念源源不断地给与红军巨大的动力，他们翻雪山、过草地，跋涉两万五干里，直到到达了长征的终点—吴起镇。}