1.strange [streindʒ]

adj. 陌生的,奇怪的

例句与用法:
Do you know why she is so strange to him?
你知道她为什么对他如此冷淡吗？
It's strange for her to be so rude.
真奇怪，她竟然会如此粗暴无礼。
He stood in a strange street.
他站在一条陌生的街道上。

2.upset [ʌp'set]

adj. 烦乱的,不高兴
v. 颠覆,推翻,扰乱,使心烦意乱,使不舒服

例句与用法:
She had a major emotional upset.
她情绪上受到了沉重的打击。
Her refusal to help quite upset the applecart.
她不肯帮忙，计画也就落空了。
Last-minute changes caused a great deal of upset.
出现的临时变动造成一片混乱。

3.stay [stei]

n. 停留,停止,依靠
v. 停留,留宿,制止

例句与用法:
I don't think he's sufficiently dedicated to stay the course.
我认为他不够坚定，不会坚持到底的。
I stayed late at the party last night.
昨晚我在晚会上呆到很晚。
The temperature has stayed hot this week.
本周气温一直都很热。

4.away [ə'wei]

adv. 远离,离开

例句与用法:
He cut away a dead branch.
他砍掉一根枯干的树枝。
He lives 3 miles away from here.
他住在离这里三哩的地方。
I hope to get away early in the morning.
我希望一早就动身离开。

5.Nine years is a long time...:主语为"a long time"，也可以把"nine years"看成一个整体概念，因而be动词用"is"。同理，如果the United States作主语时，谓语动词也应该用单数。例如：The United States is a gighly developed country.（美国是一个高度发达的国家。）