1. work out: to understand someone or something 理解；弄懂

E.g. I can’t work out the meaning of the poem. 我弄不懂这首诗的含义。

2. feel/be homesick for: The expression can be followed by a place, a person or a thing, and means to miss somebody, some place, or something.

E.g. We are homesick for the food of our travels. 我们想念旅行时的食物。

I am feeling homesick for my friend Mary. 我想念我的朋友玛丽。

3. Strike a note of: to speak in a particular manner

4. eat one’s way through: a vivid way to say someone continues eating something

E.g.He elbowed his way through the crowd to the bar and ordered a beer.

他挤到吧台前要了一杯啤酒。

Lately, he’s been working his way through a child’s encyclopedia, gathering materials he needed for his essay. 最近，他一直埋头于一本儿童百科全书，收集论文所需要的素材。

5. the salt and the sea: Here the writer uses the salt and the sea to refer to the oyster, which is from the sea and tastes salty with the sea’s flavour.

6. before or since: before that occasion or since that time

7. Cheers: This is a common way to make a toast on formal occasions. Similar ways to express good wishes include “To your health!” and “Good luck!”.