1. Words and phrases expressingfeelings and emotions

1)I was in the car when the email popped up in my inbox letting me know I had gotten into my dream school, and I burst into tears of pure joy. (Para. 1)

Morewords and phrases expressing joy:

full of the joys of spring, grin from ear to ear, cheerful, joyful, delightful,pleasant

2)However,when the remaining admissions decisions came out, words can’t begin to describe the excitement I felt when I learned that I was also accepted to HarvardUniversity. (Para.2)

Morewords and phrases expressing excitement:

rejoice with wild excitement, burst with excitement, thrilling, overwhelming

3)Idecided to visit both campuses before making my final decision, and to my surprise, fell in love with Harvard. (Para.3)

Morewords and phrases expressing surprise:

leave open-mouthed, take one’s breath away, unbelievable, shocking, stunning

4)AfterI enrolled at Harvard, I was eager to start the next phase of my life, but anxious at the thought of being across the country so far from home. (Para. 4)

Morewords and phrases expressing anxiety:

butterflies in one’s stomach, worried, longing, yearning, impatient, eager

5)If I ever felt overloaded, I only had to walk down the stairs to see my proctor,or set up a meeting with my academic adviser.  (Para. 7)

More words and phrases expressing tiredness:

worn out, tired, exhausted, fatigued, over-worked, wearied

2. Words and phrases:

1. pop up (Para. 1): to appear in a place or situation unexpectedly

    e.g. Shewas startled when Lisa popped up at the door .

   丽萨突然从门口跳出来把她吓了一跳。

   No one likes those websites that pop up annoying advertisements.

   那些弹出烦人广告的网站是不会有人喜欢的。

    pop out:to appear suddenly and unexpectedly

    e.g. You stick a bill in the vending machine then the change pops out.

2. be set on doing sth.: be determined to do sth.

   e.g. He is set on getting an expensive sports car.

  他下定决心要买台昂贵的跑车。

3. enroll:v. to arrange for yourself or for sb. else to officially join a                course,school, etc; register formally as a participant or member

     e.g. The school reportedly plans to enroll its first class of law students in 2016.

   据报道该校将在2016年招收第一届的法律专业学生。

4. phase (Para. 4):n. a stage in a process of change or development

    e.g. She’s going through a difficult phase.

   e.g. The wedding marked the beginning of a new phase in Emma’s life.

       婚礼标志着艾玛人生新阶段的开始。

    in (or out of) phase: being or happening in (or out of) synchrony or harmony

    e.g. The cabling work should be carried out in phase with the building work.

5. far from  (Para.6): not at all

    e.g. We were far from disappointed when they canceled the banquet invitation.

   当他们取消了宴会邀请的时候，我们一点没觉得失望。

    e.g. Far from declaring victory, the athlete was thinking of what to do if he lost  the game.

6. option(Para. 6):n. (countable) possibility or choice; sth. that you can choose       to have or do

  e.g. Some online eyeglass retailers also provide the option to try on frames       at home before your purchase.

   keep (or leave) one's options open: not commit oneself

   e.g. The player would keep his options open at the end of this season.

   not an option:not feasible

   e.g. Traveling by foot around this area is not an option.

7. declare(Para. 6): v. to say sth. officially or publicly

   e.g.Germanydeclared war on Franceon 1August 1914.

   e.g. The court declared this strike action was illegal.

   法庭宣判这次 罢工不合法。

   e.g. The dinner will consist of four snacks plus six main courses created by    each chef.

  be composed of: be combined together to form a whole

  e.g. Theband is composed of many famous musicians.

9. comprise: include or contain

  e.g. Women comprise 48% of the pharmacy profession and earn 83% as much    as male pharmacists. 

  be made up (of): form or compose

  e.g. These particles can be made up of various elements,including fumes from cars and natural dust particles.

10. kick off (Para. 8):

1) If an event, game, series, or discussion kicks off, or is kicked off, it begins.

e.g. The school’s faculty and students chose Obama to be their commencement speaker to kick off their 50th anniversary celebration.

学校的师生选择了奥巴马总统作为毕业典礼的演讲嘉宾，并以此拉开校庆五十周年的帷幕。

2) when a football (soccer) game or a team, etc. kicks off, the game starts

e.g. Whenthe World Cup kicked off last week, Neymar and Brazil were the stars of the show.

Collocations:

kick in: come into effect

e.g. The education reforms will kick in later this year.

kick against: express resentment at

e.g. The young boy tried hard to kick against the school rules.

kick around (or about) : (of a thing) lie unwanted or unexploited; (of a person) drift idly from place to place

e.g. I kicked around picking up odd jobs.

11. overwhelming (Para. 13):     

1). great in amount

e.g. He was elected president by an overwhelming majority.

他以压倒性多数当选为主席。

2). (of an emotion) very strong

an overwhelming feeling of gratitude

overwhelm : v. (usu. beoverwhelmed)  to have a strong emotional effect on

e.g. I was overwhelmed with guilty.

我内心充满了内疚。