渐
=
斩
+
氵
:
Joan of Arc (ji) didn't dispose of her empty water bottles (氵) for a long time. Instead, she just hoarded them in the anthill's bathroom (an4). Today she wants to get rid of the bottles: step by step (渐), little by little (渐) she cuts them down using a lawn mower (斩).
稀
=
希
+
禾
:
John Hope the Educator (希) teaches Marie Curie (xi) about a very rare (稀) species of bacteria in front of the space station (Ø1). It only grows in watery (稀) cereals (禾) which are stored in the vacuum, like in outer space.