1.strange [streindʒ]

adj. 陌生的,奇怪的

例句與用法:
Do you know why she is so strange to him?
你知道她為什么對他如此冷淡嗎？
It's strange for her to be so rude.
真奇怪，她竟然會如此粗暴無禮。
He stood in a strange street.
他站在一條陌生的街道上。

2.upset [ʌp'set]

adj. 煩亂的,不高興
v. 顛覆,推翻,擾亂,使心煩意亂,使不舒服

例句與用法:
She had a major emotional upset.
她情緒上受到了沉重的打擊。
Her refusal to help quite upset the applecart.
她不肯幫忙，計畫也就落空了。
Last-minute changes caused a great deal of upset.
出現的臨時變動造成一片混亂。

3.stay [stei]

n. 停留,停止,依靠
v. 停留,留宿,制止

例句與用法:
I don't think he's sufficiently dedicated to stay the course.
我認為他不夠堅定，不會堅持到底的。
I stayed late at the party last night.
昨晚我在晚會上呆到很晚。
The temperature has stayed hot this week.
本周氣溫一直都很熱。

4.away [ə'wei]

adv. 遠離,離開

例句與用法:
He cut away a dead branch.
他砍掉一根枯干的樹枝。
He lives 3 miles away from here.
他住在離這里三哩的地方。
I hope to get away early in the morning.
我希望一早就動身離開。

5.Nine years is a long time...:主語為"a long time"，也可以把"nine years"看成一個整體概念，因而be動詞用"is"。同理，如果the United States作主語時，謂語動詞也應該用單數。例如：The United States is a gighly developed country.（美國是一個高度發達的國家。）