Weird Butterfly Ceremony

課文：

After years of waiting, Blaise was finally being released from prison. His daughter Iris came to pick him up. Years earlier, they had been in a gang. But now they had both paid for their crimes. Blaise had left the gang and burned his bridges.

release：釋放、解開
prison：監獄
pick up：用汽車載某人
gang：幫派、惡少幫
pay for：為…付出代價
burn one’s bridges：永絕後患、斷了後路、破釜沉舟

“Do you have everything?” Iris asked.

Blaise felt in his pocket for a small bottle of medicine. It was the cure for a rare disease he had. But when Blaise had first taken it, his hand had burst into flames.

Amazingly, the fire didn’t burn him. The medicine gave Blaise the power to make and control fire. This news had spread like wildfire among the prisoners.

rare：罕見的、稀有的
burst into flame：突然冒出火焰、突然起火燃燒
burst：爆炸、突然出現
amazingly：令人驚訝地、令人驚喜地
spread like wildfire：迅速傳開、迅速蔓延

As Blaise was leaving, another prisoner who was being released bumped into him. Blaise recognized him as Mr. Golden. He had been a businessman with money to burn before he became a criminal.

When Blaise reached Iris’s car, he felt in his pocket again. The medicine had vanished.

bump：碰、撞
money to burn：錢多到用不完
vanish：突然不見、消失

文法：
After years of waiting, S + was finally being + p.p.… = After waiting for many years, S + was finally being + p.p.…（經過多年等待後終於…）

特別補充：
blaze：火焰（=fire、flame）
flammable：易燃的（= inflammable）
nonflammable：不易燃的
immune：免疫的、免除的
subtle：不可思議的、微妙的、難捉摸的
trial：試驗、磨難、困難
trial by fire：試煉