by a hear's breadth	by a small margin
to phase out	to withdraw gradually
to glow	to shine without flames
to hoadr	to store to use later
eminence	a state of being famous and distinguished
hence	for that reason
a prodigy	sb with unusual abilities
poised to do sth	ready for action/ about to do sth
to churn out	to produce sth of low quality
a benefactor	sb who gives help
a beneficiary	sb who receives help
conversant with	familiar with/ having knowledge of
to curb	to try to control sth undesirable
to revel about sth	to take great delight
to rave in sth	to talk about sth in an exaggerated but enthusiastic way, to bubble about
to stood	to lower your head and shoulders
to dabble in sth	to get involved in sth
to get the hang of sth	to start learning what the thing is about
rudimentary	basic
daft	not wise
staunch	firm, loyal
a smattering of sth	small knowledge of sth, (usually languages)
devoid of sth	bereft of sth
with hindsight	learning what has happened
to remain poles apart	totally different
tantamaunt to sth	equal to sth
listless	remaining silent
to bump into sb	to meet sb unexpextedly
to inch forward	to move very slowly
unscathed	not hurt (of people)
to prevail on sb	to make sb agree
to dog	to follow
dogged	persistent, determined