silk / thread / trace / (cuisine) shreds or julienne strips / CL:條|条[tiao2] / classifier: a thread (of cloud, smoke etc), a bit, an iota, a hint (of sth) etc
to drill / to bore / to get into / to make one's way into / to enter (a hole) / to thread one's way through / to study intensively / to dig into / to curry favor for personal gain