adsfadfa

用法学习: 1. daylight noun. I. 缝隙. 分歧. an appreciable distance or difference between one person or thing and another. "their views on education are so close that it's difficult to see daylight between them".  Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche denied a rift between Justice Department and FBI leadership in a post on X Friday, saying that "the suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo's composition and release is patently false. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.."  II. do the specified thing to (someone) with great severity. "he beat the living daylights out of them". see daylight I. gain public exposure or attention. "old photographs that rarely see daylight". II. begin to understand what was previously puzzling or unclear. "Sam saw daylight 明白过味来了, 回过味了. 'You think he might be your father?'" see the light of day 出世, 首次出现, 问世 I. be born. II. begin to exist or to become publicly known or available.When something sees the light of day, it appears for the first time. If something sees the light of day at a particular time, it comes into existence or is made known to the public at that time. This extraordinary document first saw the light of day in 1966. "this software first saw the light of day back in 1993". verb. I. to use natural light from the sun in a building, rather than artificial light: The paintings will be displayed in large daylit 日光照射的, 自然光照射的, 太阳光照射的 galleries. The space is daylighted and there are also LED lights for night use. II. environment mainly US past tense daylighted to make something open to the air and light again, especially a stream that has been covered over by land, buildings, etc.: The district recently daylighted 重见天日 a creek by digging up a stretch that had been buried beneath a school. There is a plan to daylight the section of the stream that runs through a 30-inch underground pipe. III. transport US past tense daylighted to prevent cars from parking near pedestrian crossings (= places where vehicles stop to let people walk across the road) or road junctions (= places where roads meet) to make it easier for drivers and pedestrians to see the road: Curb extensions should be long enough to "daylight" the crossing, i.e., provide open sight 直接太阳光线 lines to the pedestrian crossing for approaching motorists. IV. US past tense daylighted to make it possible for the public to know about something such as a hidden problem, process, or secret: News coverage of the crisis has daylighted it for the wider community. They have succeeded in daylighting 曝光 a century and a half of voter suppression. 2. finely/highly tuned [to sth] 精调过的, 精心适配过的, 充分适应的 finely tuned feelings, senses, or systems are extremely sensitive and able to react quickly. a species finely tuned to life in the desert. fine-tuned 微调过的, 精心调制过的 I. precisely adjusted for the highest level of performance, efficiency, or effectiveness. a fine-tuned machine. His voice on "Always Late with Your Kisses" rolled along its cordillera of syllables like a fine-tuned sports car. II. improved or refined over time. His story is that of a man with an exquisitely fine-tuned creative imagination. It is one of the many recipes that are treasured family hand-downs or the fine-tuned ideas of Marilyn Lewis. fine-tune 精雕细琢, 精心修改, 精心调配的 all changes to something in order to make it work as well as possible: She spent hours fine-tuning 雕琢 her speech. bust out I. 逃跑. 逃离. 脱逃. slang To escape from a place or thing (often prison). The criminal busted out, but he was caught only a few miles from the prison. You need to stop plotting how you're going to bust out of here. Just do your time and maybe they'll let you out early for good behavior. How exactly do you plan to bust out of here? There are guards everywhere! II. slang To help one to escape from a place or thing (often prison). We can't just leave him here to rot in a jail cell—we have to bust him out 助你脱逃, 帮助脱逃! Don't worry, I'll pull the fire alarm and bust you out of detention. The gang swore they'd bust me out of the slammer, but I haven't heard from them in months. Some friends they are! bust out (of some place) Sl. to break out of some place, especially a prison. Somehow the gangsters busted out of prison and left the country. They busted out together. III. To bring out something for use. Bust out 拿出来 the champagne—we've got an engagement to celebrate! I dove under the counter when the robber busted out a gun. I couldn't see a darn thing until Grandpa busted out his flashlight. IV. To produce or create something very quickly. He's been busting out a new book in his popular sci-fi series nearly every year. No parties for me this weekend. I just need to sit down and bust out 攒出来 this essay. I'm not someone who can just bust out a budget report in a matter of hours—I need days to go through all the data. V. To suddenly perform a particular action. My mother seemed fine this morning but then busted out crying 爆哭, 突然大哭 at the funeral. The kids busted out laughing when the clown fell down on stage. My friends and I love theater, so you can always count on someone busting out into song when we're together. bust out/up laughing US informal to suddenly start laughing: We looked at each other and busted up laughing. VI. To seem to pop out of something, especially clothes that are too small. I'm sorry, but that top just doesn't fit you—you're practically busting out of it 撑爆, 撑裂! I know I'm basically busting out of this old t-shirt from high school, but I don't have any other clothes to wear at my parents' house, OK? She's too chesty to wear a tube top like that. She'd be busting out of it! VII. To dismiss or expel someone from school. The committee evaluating the plagiarism charges ultimately decided to bust the student out of school 驱逐, 开除. After I got in yet another fight at school, the headmaster told me that I had to change my ways or else they'd bust me out. Dude, they're definitely going to bust you out if they realize you fixed the student council election! 3. stand-up I. 竖起来的. 立起来的. erect, upright. stiffened to stay upright without folding over. a stand-up collar. II. performed in, performing in, or requiring a standing position. a stand-up bar. III. especially of, relating to, performing, or being a monologue of jokes, gags, or satirical comments delivered usually while standing alone on a stage or in front of a camera. performed by a single person telling jokes and funny stories on stage: stand-up comedy. a stand-up comedian. IV. 诚实可靠的. 正人君子. marked by a high degree of personal integrity or loyalty. a stand-up guy. loyal; that you can rely on to defend you: He was friendly, passionate, and a stand-up kind of guy. V. If an idea or some information stands up, it is proved to be true or correct: Their evidence will never stand up in court. stand up to Their argument won't stand up to detailed criticism (= when it is studied critically). VI. involving violence or loud shouting, etc.: The two men had had a stand-up row in the pub after the game. I'm just chatting you up 随便和你瞎聊的, 随便聊的. Feeling chatty. Kind of snacky too. snacky = snackish 不吃大餐, 随便吃点, 简单吃点 I. (of food) suitable for eating as a snack (= a small amount of food eaten between meals). If I haven't time for a proper lunch, I pick up something snacky from the store. I don't want a big meal, just something snacky. The bar has a small selection of snacky food. II. = peckish 嘴馋的, 馋嘴的 (of a person) wanting to eat snacks (= small amounts of food eaten between meals). Desiring a snack; peckish. I was a little snacky, so I made some sweet potato fries. It's normal to feel snacky when people start talking about food. track I. to use electronic equipment to check where things such parcels or goods that are being sent somewhere are. To track your order, click on the link below. Postal orders have a security barcode, allowing them to be tracked. II. to record the progress or development of something over a period: The study tracked 跟踪记录 the careers of 1,226 doctors who trained at the Medical School. III. If a film or video camera tracks in a particular direction, it moves along while it is filming: tracking shot The movie ends with a long tracking shot around the deserted house. IV. If a moving part of a recording machine tracks, it gets into the correct position for operating: Our VCR tracks automatically. V. to follow the level of an interest rate, share price, etc.: The mortgage deal will track the Bank of England base rate plus 0.75 percent. Tony is putting £500 a month into a savings account that tracks the FTSE All-Share index. VI. (UK stream) to group and teach together school students with similar abilities who are approximately the same age: We start to track 分流, 分班 the children in the third form. that tracks 一致的, 合理, 在理, 说得通 = it tracks that To be consistent with something (such as other information, expectations, prior experience, etc.); to fit; to make sense. colloquial (originally U.S.). used to say that something is what you would expect, knowing the situation or what has happened before: "He refused to answer any questions." "That tracks." "I went to Myrtle Beach and was extremely disappointed." "Yeah, that tracks." We find that corporate mergers and restructurings are highly personal to the people who are affected, and that tracks because business is 99 percent about people. So he supposedly did this all by himself? I'm not sure that tracks for me (= I don't really believe it). Taking all this into consideration, it tracks that the most popular leisure time activities for young people are easy-entry, immediate-reward pastimes. Jeremiah is extremely upset about the Belly-Conrad thing, which tracks because if a girl I loved dated my brother instead, I would go insane. Apiros isn't a typical gym, which tracks because Austin Einhorn isn't a typical trainer. The phrase "it tracks" is a colloquial idiom meaning that something makes sense or is consistent with expectations. It implies logical consistency and agreement with what is already known or believed to be true. Essentially, it's a way of saying "that makes sense" or "that's what I would expect". Here's a more detailed breakdown. It's used when something aligns with prior knowledge, previous events, or expected outcomes. If someone says, "He didn't show up to the meeting," and another person replies, "That tracks," it means they understand and agree with the reason for the absence, perhaps based on prior knowledge of the person's habits or the situation. Origin: The phrase likely comes from the idea of something following a clear path or line, like a train on tracks, or someone following a trail. 4. To book a tee time (I got a tee time, 我约了打高尔夫), you'll need to find a golf course and then use their booking system, which is often online. You can search for courses by location or name, and then register or log in to their booking system to select your desired date and time. Many courses also allow bookings by phone. You are a saint (champ, life saver) 太好了, 太棒了. If you refer to a living person as a saint, you mean that they are extremely kind, patient, and unselfish. a very good, kind person: She must be a real saint to stay with him all these years. He has the patience of a saint with those kids. My girlfriend is a saint to put up with me 圣人似的, 圣人一样的.

Agent of influence, powerbroker, lobbyists, kingmaker; fealty, Apostasy, heresy;despotism;

用法学习: 1. yardstick [ˈjɑːdstɪk] 基准, 衡量标准 I. a measuring rod a yard long, typically divided into inches. II. a standard used for comparison. a fact or standard by which you can judge the success or value of something. a standard used to compare similar things in order to measure their value or success: a yardstick for sth The firm uses the index as a yardstick for measuring itself against competitors. Productivity is not the only yardstick of success. Productivity is not the only yardstick of success. "league tables are not the only yardstick of schools' performance". a way of measuring how good, accurate, or effective something is: A high salary isn't the only yardstick for success. The only valid yardstick for measuring traffic safety is deaths per miles driven. If you use someone or something as a yardstick, you use them as a standard for comparison when you are judging other people or things. There has been no yardstick by which potential students can assess schools. She had never had a boyfriend before and so had no yardstick by which to compare Charles's behaviour. UN Watch is a Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated mission is "to monitor the performance of the United Nations by the yardstick of its own Charter". virulent [ˈvɪrələnt] 杀伤力强大的, 有杀伤力的 I. (of a disease or poison) extremely severe or harmful in its effects. a virulent illness is very dangerous, and affects people very quickly. A virulent 毒性强的 disease or poison is extremely powerful and dangerous. A very virulent form of the disease appeared in Belgium. ...a particularly virulent strain of the virus. an especially virulent form of malaria. "a virulent strain of influenza". (of a pathogen, especially a virus) highly infective. "Staphylococcus aureus is a common organism whose virulent strains are causing problems". That outbreak currently stands at 14 cases, all of which involve the highly virulent UK strain. II. 极度敌视的. 充满恶意的. bitterly hostile. Virulent feelings or actions are extremely bitter and hostile. Now he faces virulent attacks from the Italian media. Friends spoke of 'a virulent personal campaign' being waged against him. The talk was virulently hostile to the leadership. "his involvement with the temperance movement led to his virulent attack on the drink trade". 2. go off the deep end I. 大怒, 火冒三丈. 发飙. give way immediately to an emotional outburst, especially of anger. to get very angry about something or lose control of yourself. "now don't go off the deep end—I've thought of an idea". II. US 发疯. 疯狂. go mad; behave extremely strangely. If you say that someone has gone off the deep end, you mean that their mind has stopped working in a normal way and their behaviour has become very strange as a result. I'm not sure she believes me. She probably just thinks I've gone off the deep end. "they looked at me as if I had gone off the deep end". "Sips and nibbles ( and bites) 茶点" generally refers to small bites of food and drinks, often served as appetizers or snacks, especially when socializing or entertaining. It can also refer to a specific type of catering service that provides these kinds of food and drink arrangements. "Sips" implies taking small mouthfuls of a drink, while "nibbles" are small bites of food. The phrase is often used to describe the food and drinks offered at parties, receptions, or during casual get-togethers. search party 搜索队, 搜救队 a group of people organized to look for someone or something that is lost. It's a collective effort to locate a lost or missing person, object, or even a specific location. Volunteer search parties were formed and set out into the desert. Let's get going or they'll send out a search party. When they did not return that night, Richard led a search party for them at first light 天一亮 the following morning. A search party found him the next day, dead from exposure. The problem was making her presence known to any search party. I kept that up until dawn, when the search party returned, Esmerelda-less, then I let myself go to sleep. The first look images showcase several of the main members of Primitive War's story. Dressed in camouflage, with their guns drawn, one shot sees the group slowly moving through the dark jungle, keeping an eye out for anyone - or anything - that might wish them ill intent 不怀好意, 图谋不轨. Two other pictures get up-close-and-personal with two of the different men on the search party 搜救队里 as they both look startled by something in front of them. Hotch. I gotta get out of here. Where? I'm gonna hook up with prentiss on the search party. I can't stand around here. Ok. Keep in touch. If you're waiting for someone to call you, they can't. He always calls. I'm telling you, he can't. He always calls! But if there's no service, he can't. showcase 展示 verb I. to show the best qualities or parts of something. to show what someone or something is like, especially their best qualities or features: We wanted a season that would showcase all the different kinds of things we do. The 10 finalists are asked a question before judges decide who best showcased her personality and capabilities. The main aim of the exhibition is to showcase British design. In the opening set, he showcased his own songs. noun. I. a place or event where something, esp. something new, can be shown or performed: The Sundance Film Festival is an especially sympathetic showcase for unusual films. II. a situation or event that makes it possible for the best features of something to be seen: a showcase for sth: The North American International Auto Show is a showcase for new technologies related to driving. The exhibition is an annual showcase for British design and innovation. a showcase of sth The Venice Film Festival has always been the showcase of Italian cinema. The expo will be the largest showcase of green building products ever held. The forum included a technology showcase, during which participants were provided with hands-on demonstrations. 530 acres of land will be transformed into a showcase city. III. 展柜. 展示柜. a container with glass sides in which valuable or important objects are kept so that they can be looked at without being touched, damaged, or stolen. a cabinet, usually of glass, in which objects are kept that are valuable or easily broken: a jeweler's showcase. 3. Sidney Blumenthal: Over time, Blumenthal was viewed as a new type of journalist who eroded the divide between independent journalism and partisan journalism. In the words of reporter Michael Powell in his profile of Blumenthal in The Washington Post, "As the connection between journalists and politicians is umbilical ( umbilical adj. I. anatomy, medical specialized an umbilical cord 脐带 (= the long tube that connects a baby before it is born to its mother's placenta): Premature clamping of the umbilical should be avoided as it can result in brain damage. Foetal ( [ˈfiːtl] = fetal ) blood drains towards the placenta through the umbilical arteries. Resistance to placental flow was created by compression of both umbilical veins. II. relating to the area around the centre of the abdomen (= the lower part of the body): Hernias may occur in the groin area or around the umbilical area. Pain in lesions of the small intestine are localized, always in the umbilical region. III. If one person or thing has an umbilical connection with another 息息相关的, 相互依存的, it is very closely connected with it and often depends on it: He was associated with the party's almost umbilical links with the trade union movement. Entire careers of country artists have been founded on their music's umbilical connection to poor childhoods, picking cotton and hard drinking. noun. a tube that carries something important, for example a tube carrying air to a diver under the sea: All divers working in the North Sea use umbilicals. The company makes umbilicals, tubes that protect and carry cables. cut the (umbilical) cord to end support of someone or something, esp. financial support 断绝关系 He needs to cut the umbilical cord, get away and find his own place in the world. By criticizing his party so strongly, he cut the cord and now has to raise campaign money on his own. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of cut the umbilical cord (to separate a baby that has just been born from the tube 输卵管 that connects it to its mother). Usage notes: An umbilical cord is a long narrow tube of flesh which connects a baby to its mother when it is growing inside her.) in Washington, Blumenthal's political problem, in part, is journalistic. His is a type found far more often on the right in Washington, a partisan warrior who takes a critically sympathetic stance not just toward his issues but his chosen political party as well. Even as a writer at The Washington Post, where Blumenthal worked in the 1980s, he placed a porous 筛子似的 membrane between his political views and his writing. It is the sort of partisan, if also intellectual, engagement that makes mainstream journalists, even those of liberal politics, deeply uncomfortable." 

Malcolm Turnbull hits back at US President Donald Trump, urges world leaders not to act like 'conga line of sycophants' ( Sycophancy, toadying, obsequiousness, Adulation, Fawning, Ingratiation, bootlicking, servile [ˈsɜː.vaɪl] 顺从, 卑躬屈膝, 唯命是从的, supplicant = suppliant 摇尾乞怜者. butter up. subservient, ): Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has doubled down on his attack on Donald Trump, urging world leaders not to behave like a "conga line of sycophants 哈巴狗" when dealing with the US President and calling on Australia's political class to end its "bipartisan gaslighting" of the public. Sycophancy and toadying are de rigueur in Trump's court of self-aggrandizement: It's not exactly news that foreign leaders – much like their counterparts in the United States – have concluded that flattery is a necessary prerequisite to doing business with President Donald Trump. In his first term, Trump seemed practically smitten by the "love letters" he received from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Other leaders pulled out all the stops to make him feel special. But even against that backdrop 在这样的背景下, we've entered new and striking territory. As Trump has undertaken a much more transparently transactional second term and busted a series of norms 打破常规 while politicizing his office, it seems foreign leaders have taken notice of the new paradigm. Despite most of the world's people having remarkably little faith in Trump, these leaders are treating him as an all-conquering hero on the world stage, in escalating terms. So they've turned the obsequiousness 阿谀奉承 up to 11 ( up to eleven (idiomatic, informal, chiefly humorous) Up to or beyond the maximum possible threshold; to an extremely high or strong degree. Usage notes: Often used in the form to turn (something) up to eleven or to crank (something) up to eleven. "Up to eleven", also phrased as "these go to eleven", is an idiom from popular culture, coined in the 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap, where guitarist Nigel Tufnel demonstrates a guitar amplifier whose volume knobs are marked from zero to eleven, instead of the usual zero to ten. ). It seems no amount of sycophancy is deemed over the top, no accolade too premature. Netanyahu was also effusive(effusive [ɪˈfjuːsɪv] 极尽赞美之词的, 热情洋溢的 adj If you describe someone as effusive, you mean that they express pleasure, gratitude, or approval in a very enthusiastic way. showing or expressing gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner. "an effusive welcome". He was effusive in his praise for the general. She was very gushing and very effusive. She greeted them effusively. Biden offered effusive praise 盛赞 for the UAW president, telling Fain, "You've done a hell of a job," and calling him "a leader with a backbone like a ramrod.") after Trump authorized US strikes on Iran. Rutte denied he was calling Trump NATO's "daddy." But his use of the word aligned with Trump allies' well-cultivated image of him as a domineering "daddy" figure dispensing tough love. And the White House and Trump quickly seized upon the remark accordingly. We might never know how intentional Rutte's remark was. But it was a massive gift to the American president that cast NATO in a subservient 顺从的, 听话的 position vis-à-vis ( [ˌviːz.əˈviː] 关于, 对于, 与…相比 I. in relation to: Later I asked him more directly about government’s role vis-a-vis the environment. I need to speak to James Lewis vis-à-vis the arrangements for Thursday. II. in comparison with: What worries us is the competitive edge that foreign companies have vis-à-vis British firms. ) Trump, just as he would prefer. And despite Rutte's efforts to downplay it, Trump clearly isn't about to let him. And that's really the point here. Praising Trump so effusively 大加赞美, 盛赞 might seem harmless. Foreign leaders often heap praise on 褒奖 one another while conducting diplomacy, however disingenuously 不诚恳, because that's what you do. But while some level of that is to be expected, there are gradations( gradation [ɡreɪˈdeɪ.ʃən] 渐变, 层级 a gradual change, or a stage in the process of change: gradation in The gradation in tempo in this piece of music is very subtle. gradation of There are many gradations of color in a rainbow. The artist's interest in light is expressed through gradations of gold to deep oranges. ). At some point, leaders may sacrifice their credibility and rhetorically transfer power to someone who might not always have their interests at heart. The effusive treatment of Trump also can't help but reinforce the transactional nature of his second term. To the extent the flattery actually works on Trump, it's in effect trading policy decisions for his own personal accolades. Qatar's leaders have clearly deduced that giving the aviation-enthusiast Trump a souped-up airplane is a great way to win his affections, even as some Republicans have worried about the strings that are attached and about Trump getting too cozy with a country that has been linked to terrorist groups. But the calculation that you just give Trump what he wants and worry about the rest later is proliferating(to increase a lot and suddenly in number. to increase greatly in number or amount, usually quickly: Amusement and theme parks are proliferating across the country. Small businesses have proliferated in the last ten years. ), as evidenced by the increasing number of institutions bowing to Trump's transparent domestic power grabs. Now, it appears to have resulted in a game of one-upmanship by foreign leaders. Gestures of servility ( servility [sɜːˈvɪl.ə.ti] formal disapproving the quality of being servile (= too eager to serve and please someone else ): She found the servility of the hotel staff embarrassing. The world they want to create is one of constant submission and servility. servile [ˈsɜː.vaɪl] 卑躬屈膝, 唯命是从的 adj. too eager to serve and please someone else in a way that shows you do not have much respect for yourself: As a waiter you want to be pleasant to people without appearing totally servile. ) from administration members and world leaders alike are sickeningly common in the mad king's court: Sycophancy is the coin 货币, 通行证 of the realm. In Donald Trump's court, flattery is the only spoken language. He does not need an executive order to enforce it. Fear is the other side of the coin. Loyalty must be blind. Obedience is safety. Cronyism secures status. His whim is dogma. Criticism is heresy ( [ˈher.ə.si] I. (信奉)异端邪说, (持有)反面观点, 悖论, 信奉异教 (the act of having) an opinion or belief that is the opposite of or against what is the official or popular opinion, or an action that shows that you have no respect for the official opinion. a belief opposed to the official belief of a church and that is considered wrong, or the condition of having such beliefs: The concept of college athletes being paid to play sports was received as nothing short of heresy (= unusual opinions considered completely wrong). Radical remarks like this amount to heresy for most members of the Republican party. She committed the heresy of playing a Lady Gaga song on a classical music station. II. a belief that is against the principles of a particular religion: He was burned at the stake for heresy in the 15th century. ). Debate is apostasy(Apostasy [əˈpɑstəsi] 叛教, 变节, 脱党( a refusal to accept religious or political beliefs anymore. If someone is accused of apostasy, they are accused of abandoning their religious faith, political loyalties, or principles. ...a charge of apostasy. apostatize = apostatise [əˈpɒstəˌtaɪz] verb. to forsake or abandon one's belief, faith, or allegiance. apostate [əˈpɒs.teɪt] someone who has given up their religion or left a political party. apostatical abandoning or renouncing religious faith, political beliefs, or principles. ) in Islam is commonly defined as the conscious abandonment of Islam by a Muslim in word or through deed 口头上或行为上. It includes the act of converting to another religion or non-acceptance of faith to be irreligious, by a person who was born in a Muslim family or who had previously accepted Islam. The definition of apostasy from Islam, and whether and how it should be punished are matters of controversy – Islamic scholars differ in their opinions on these questions. Apostasy in Islam includes within its scope not only the wilful renunciation ( renunciation 放弃, 脱离 [rɪˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃ(ə)n] a statement in which you formally say that you do not believe in something or do not support something, or that you want to give up a right, title, position, etc. His renunciation of power. their renunciation of terrorist tactics. I. The renunciation of a belief or a way of behaving is the public declaration that you reject it and have decided to stop having that belief or behaving in that way. The talks were dependent on a renunciation of violence. II. The renunciation of a claim, title, or privilege is the act of officially giving it up. ...the renunciation of territory in the Mediterranean. III. Renunciation is the act of not allowing yourself certain pleasures for moral or religious reasons. Gandhi exemplified the virtues of renunciation, asceticism and restraint. renounce [rɪnauns] I. If you renounce a belief or a way of behaving, you decide and declare publicly that you no longer have that belief or will no longer behave in that way. You must renounce your old ways of thinking. A substantial minority, unable to renounce Marxism, left to form a new party called Communist Refoundation. II. If you renounce a claim, rank, or title, you officially give it up. He renounced his claim to the French throne. ) of Islam by a Muslim through a declaration of renunciation of the Islamic faith (whether for another religion or irreligiosity 无教派), or (in the absence of a declaration) by specific deed of undergoing the rites of conversion into another religion, but also even denying, or merely questioning, any "fundamental tenet or creed" of Islam, such as the divinity of God, prophethood of Muhammad, or mocking God, or worshipping one or more idols. Different Muslim denominations 教派 and schools of thought 流派 may hold different additional views of what each considers a fundamental tenet of the faith. It does not include individuals who were forced to embrace Islam under conditions of duress, or acts against Islam or conversion to another religion that is involuntary, forced or done as concealment out of fear of persecution or during war (Taqiyya or Kitman).). Expertise is bias. Objectivity is a hoax. Truth is just your opinion. Lies are defended to the death as articles of faith. New ones are manufactured on an industrial scale by his press office for social influencers to spread. Denying facts proves fealty(fealty [ˈfiːəlti] 效忠 ( allegiance ) In former times, if someone swore fealty to their ruler, they promised to be loyal to him or her. a feudal tenant's or vassal's sworn loyalty to a lord. "they owed fealty to the Earl rather than the King". Ser Jorah Mormont is an exiled Northern lord living in Essos. He has sworn fealty to his fellow exile Daenerys Targaryen and helps her adapt to life as a Khaleesi of the Dothraki. II. formal acknowledgement of loyalty to a lord. "a property for which she did fealty".). The rule of law is partisan (partisan [ˈpɑːr.t̬ə.zən] strongly supporting a person, principle, or political party, often without considering or judging the matter very carefully: The audience was very partisan, and refused to listen to her speech. partisan politics. bipartisan [ˌbaɪˈpɑː.tɪ.zæn] supported by or consisting of two political parties: a bipartisan committee. ). Russia is our trusted ally. Britain and France are "random countries". Retribution ( retribution [ˌret.rɪˈbjuː.ʃən] 严惩, 应得的惩罚, 报应 deserved and severe punishment. deserved punishment: He was seeking retribution for the crime committed against him. They fled because they feared retribution for the genocide. She was asked whether a civilian government should seek retribution against military officers involved in human rights abuses. Many saw her death as divine retribution (= punishment by God) for her crimes. retributive [rɪˈtrɪb.jə.tɪv] (formal retributory) relating to, or intended to be, deserved and severe punishment: retributive action/justice 应得的争议. There is speculation that his killing might have been retributive. They did not seek harsh retributory sentences for the protesters once order had been restored. ) is policy. The deeper the submission to madness, the greater his supremacy. The subjugation 降服, 打服, 屈服 (subterfuge 花招, 伎俩, 诡计, 虚情假意) ( I. the act of defeating people or a country and ruling them in a way that allows them no freedom: They are bravely resisting subjugation by their more powerful neighbours. II. the act of treating a person or their wishes or beliefs as less important than other people or their wishes or beliefs: The subjugation of women is a central theme in her work. subjugate I. 让位于. 让步于. to treat yourself, your wishes, or your beliefs as being less important than other people or their wishes or beliefs: She subjugated herself to her mother's needs. Reporters must subjugate personal political convictions to their professional commitment to balance. II. 臣服. 降服. to defeat people or a country and rule them in a way that allows them no freedom. ) is more thorough if the things people are forced to accept are irrational or, better, the reverse of what they had believed. When previously held beliefs are abandoned to conform to their opposite, like the secretary of state Marco Rubio's formerly adamant support of Ukraine, which went to his core as the son of refugees from Castro's Cuba, the more Trump's dominance is demonstrated. Rubio has gone full circle, from his family fleeing one kind of tyranny to Trump sneering at him as "Little Marco" to ambitious embrace of his tormentor. He finds himself as a supplicant (supplicant = suppliant 恳求者, 祈求者, 哀求者. 摇尾巴狗, 摇尾乞怜者 a person who asks a god or someone who is in a position of power for something in a humble way. A supplicant is a person who prays to God or respectfully asks an important person to help them or to give them something that they want very much. He flung himself down in the flat submissive posture of a mere supplicant. supplicate [ˈsʌp.lɪ.keɪt] 恳求, 祈求, 乞求, 跪求 to ask for something in a humble way: I knew I could not go on supplicating for more. supplication the act of asking a god or someone who is in a position of power for something in a humble way: Inside the temple, worshippers were kneeling in supplication.) to Trump complaining about Elon Musk's mindless wreckage of the state department. Formally the ranking constitutional officer of the cabinet, Rubio is below Musk in Trump's hierarchy. Each of the concentric rings ( concentric [kənˈsen.trɪk] 同心圆的 (of circles and rings) being one inside another and having the same center. Concentric circles and rings have the same centre: On a blackboard, he drew five concentric circles. a concentric pattern. ) of Trump's court require different nuances of servility 顺从. At mid-level, the ethos ( ethos: 社会风气, 精神面貌. 道德观. 信仰体系. 品格. Pathos情感. Logos逻辑. An ethos is the set of ideas and attitudes that is associated with a particular group of people or a particular type of activity. the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its attitudes and aspirations. national ethos. The whole ethos of the hotel is effortless service. ...the traditional public service ethos. working-class ethos. ethos of The ethos of the traditional family firm is being threatened. "a challenge to the ethos of the 1960s". ) is to mimic the irrational impulses of the ruler in order to be seen as his willing helper( willing helper/volunteer/partner etc 主动帮忙的人, 心甘情愿的帮手 someone who is eager to help etc and does not have to be persuaded. I soon had an army of willing helpers. ). In 1934, a middle-rank German minister explained that "it is the duty of everybody to try to work towards the Führer along the lines he would wish." "Working toward the Fuhrer" – auf den Führer hinarbeiten – became the governing style 执政风格, or else. At the cabinet level, Rubio's renunciation(renunciation 放弃, 脱离 [rɪˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃ(ə)n] a statement in which you formally say that you do not believe in something or do not support something, or that you want to give up a right, title, position, etc. His renunciation of power. their renunciation of terrorist tactics. I. The renunciation of a belief or a way of behaving is the public declaration that you reject it and have decided to stop having that belief or behaving in that way. The talks were dependent on a renunciation of violence. II.  The renunciation of a claim, title, or privilege is the act of officially giving it up. ...the renunciation of territory in the Mediterranean. III. Renunciation is the act of not allowing yourself certain pleasures for moral or religious reasons. Gandhi exemplified the virtues of renunciation, asceticism and restraint. renounce [rɪnauns] I. If you renounce a belief or a way of behaving, you decide and declare publicly that you no longer have that belief or will no longer behave in that way. You must renounce your old ways of thinking. A substantial minority, unable to renounce Marxism, left to form a new party called Communist Refoundation. II. If you renounce a claim, rank, or title, you officially give it up. He renounced his claim to the French throne.) is an essential conversion to prove subservient allegiance to the Führerprinzip. "The higher one rose in the hierarchy, the more servile one became," wrote Albert Speer, Hitler's war manufacturing minister, in his memoir. At the height of power, in the innermost circle, at the leader's right hand, sits JD Vance, the US vice-president who taunts and threatens on the leader's behalf, demanding obsequious "respect" while slyly deploying his sycophancy to goad the leader(goad [ɡoʊd] 激怒 to deliberately make someone feel very angry or upset so that they react. If you goad someone, you deliberately make them feel angry or irritated, often causing them to react by doing something. He wondered if the psychiatrist was trying to goad him into some unguarded response. Charles was always goading me. His opposition acted as a goad 激励 to her determination to succeed. goad someone into doing something: She was finally goaded into losing her temper. Prosecutors believe Jenelle used the false identity to fool her parents and to goad Marvin into the killing. She was feeding Barbara's delusions, so Barbara ignores the signs that something is amiss here. I think they would be called masterminds. Janelle kind of spurred it. Barbara got it to happen. goad someone on to encourage someone to react by making them feel very angry or upset. goad noun I. A goad is something that makes someone do a particular thing. Ellie uses wit as a goad to try to force people to see what is in front of them. II. A goad is a sharp, pointed stick 牛鞭子. 赶牛棍, 大牛滚, 戳牛棍 that is used for driving cattle.). Upon passing through the gates of Trump's White House, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, entered into a domain that would have been intimately familiar to him. It would have been reminiscent of the claustrophobic despotism 专制( the rule of a despot (= a ruler with unlimited power, often one who is unfair and cruel): After years of despotism, the country is now moving towards democracy. During his reign, he earned a reputation for despotism. despot [ˈdes.pɒt] 专制君主 a person, especially a ruler, who has unlimited power over other people, and often uses it unfairly and cruelly: an evil despot. The king was regarded as having been an enlightened despot. a despotic regime 政权. ) in Ukraine under communism. It would have been a reminder of what was called "the Family" of kleptocratic 自肥的, 窃国的, 受窃国者统治的 (I. (of a leader, politician, government) making themselves or itself rich and powerful by stealing from the rest of the people: At that time the country was ruled by an egocentric kleptocratic tyrant. The movement was originally aimed at kleptocratic regimes in Africa and the former Soviet states. II. (of a society, period of time) in which leaders make themselves rich and powerful by stealing from the rest of the people: He swept into power in December 2002, ending his predecessor's kleptocratic era. ) oligarchs, lackeys and political operatives surrounding the Putin-backed Ukrainian ruler Viktor Yanukovych before he fled the country during the popular uprising of 2014 – a gangster culture that included the US consultant Paul Manafort, also Trump's 2016 campaign manager, whom he would pardon for a host of criminal felonies. A western world shocked at Trump's orchestrated humiliation of Zelenskyy should have seen the staged event as the culmination of hundreds of similar transgressions since he became president again. The difference between the rest of his rampage and his denigration of Zelensky was only in its momentousness. But not even Elon Musk systematically shredding the federal government approached the historic scale of Trump's crime against Ukraine, which reduced the United States through a few insults to the lowest ebb of its international power and prestige since a century ago, when, in a spasm of partisan isolationism, the Senate rejected joining the League of Nations after the first world war. But, for the appalled and disoriented Europeans who must pick up the pieces as they adjust to the reality of an American president discarding them in order to forge a grand alliance with Russia, the revealing signs of Trump's malignancy [məˈlɪɡnənsi] ( malignancy [məˈlɪɡ.nən.si] I. the state of being malignant: The malignancy of these tumours makes them difficult to treat. II. a growth that is likely to get worse and lead to death: Tests revealed a malignancy 恶性增长 that had to be removed. ) have been present in a never-ending series of less than world historical but dramatically squalid scandals(squalid [skwɒlɪd] 肮脏的. 腌臜的 I. A squalid place is dirty, untidy, and in bad condition. He followed her up a rickety staircase to a squalid bedsit (一居室). The migrants have been living in squalid conditions. His death is not being treated as suspicious, but the two teenagers were locked inside the house in what were described as squalid conditions. The 38-member 'Colt' clan was found crammed into rundown caravans, sheds and tents in the state's south in mid-2012 after a conversation about family sex was overheard in a school playground. A member of the incestuous Colt family has been found guilty of raping his niece - who was also his half-sister - in the years before authorities found the clan living in a squalid bush camp. The victim's evidence was 'simply and matter-of-factly 实事求是的, 实话实说的 put' and was powerful and credible given her upbringing and rudimentary education, Judge Gina O'Rourke said. 'She did not try to gild the lily ( gild the lily 画蛇添足, 多此一举, 言过其实, 过犹不及 disapproving to improve or decorate something that is already perfect and therefore spoil it. To embellish or improve something unnecessarily: Should I add a scarf to this jacket or would it be gilding the lily 太过了, 过头了? ) and attribute other acts to the accused,' Judge O'Rourke said. The itinerant ( itinerant [aɪˈtɪnərənt] adj. traveling around frequently, especially in order to get work. An itinerant worker travels around a region, working for short periods in different places. ...the author's experiences as an itinerant musician. itinerant workers. noun. An itinerant is someone whose way of life involves travelling around, usually someone who is poor and homeless. ) family were well-known throughout country New South Wales and South Australia. II. [disapproval] Squalid activities are unpleasant and often dishonest. something that is squalid is unpleasant because it involves dishonest, illegal, or immoral behavior They called the bill 'a squalid measure'. ...the squalid pursuit of profit. rickety [ˈrɪkəti] 摇摇晃晃的, 摇摇欲坠的, 一碰就散架的 ​adj a rickety structure or piece of furniture is likely to break if you put any weight on it, often because it is old. a rickety staircase/table/chair.). "I wouldn't believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized," New York mayor Ed Koch once quipped. Now, Trump tried to erase the infamy of being a figure of ridicule 嘲讽的对象 ( a person who is laughed at or ridiculed After the scandal, she became a figure of ridicule for the press. ) in New York by planting his hooks into the current mayor, Eric Adams. A predator recognizes vulnerability. After ordering the Department of Justice to drop its corruption charges against Adams, Trump's precipitate action prompted the resignation of the acting US attorney for the southern district of New York, Danielle Sassoon, who stated that it was "a quid pro quo" in exchange for supporting the Trump administration's "enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed", and which was followed by the resignations of seven prosecutors from the justice department's public integrity unit, who refused to participate in the deal. With Adams under his heel, Trump next crushed the Republican Senate through the confirmation process of his unqualified collection of quacks for his cabinet. Intimidation and smears did the work of cowing the august senators. Then, through his installation of his largest donor, Elon Musk, as his self-advertised "Dark Maga" overlord, Trump launched the massacre of the entire federal government. Off with their heads everywhere. The purges have no trials 不经过审判(In a legal context, "no trial" means a case will not proceed to a formal trial where evidence is presented and a verdict is reached. This could be due to a plea bargain, where the defendant pleads guilty or no contest to avoid a trial. It could also mean the case is dismissed or settled out of court.). Tick off the execution list of Project 2025. Let the courts slowly try to catch up to the devastation. Trump's repetitive compulsion to create disorder allows him to present himself as its would-be master. He can't temper 调控, 调试, 控制自己的冲动 his impulses. His bedlam ( bedlam [ˈbedləm] 乱局, 乱象,  乱成一团, 乱成一锅粥, 混乱 (精神病院似的) 乱了套 乱成一锅粥, 乱糟糟的, 乱成一团的, 一团乱的 a noisy and confusing place or situation. Bedlam means a great deal of noise and disorder. People often say 'It was bedlam' to mean 'There was bedlam'. The crowd went absolutely mad. It was bedlam. He is causing bedlam at the hotel. There was complete bedlam as everyone rushed for the stores. vocabulary: Bedlam is a scene of madness, chaos or great confusion. If you allow football fans onto the field after the big game, it will be pure bedlam. The term bedlam comes from the name of a hospital in London, "Saint Mary of Bethlehem," which was devoted to treating the mentally ill in the 1400s. Over time, the pronunciation of "Bethlehem" morphed into bedlam and the term came to be applied to any situation where pandemonium prevails. The trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange appears to be bedlam, but the traders insist it's organized chaos 乱中有序. vocabulary: Chaos is a state of extreme confusion and disorder. Putting a dozen dogs and a dozen cats in the same room would probably lead to utter chaos. The word chaos derives from a Greek word meaning "chasm" or "void," which makes sense, given that chaos also refers to the formless state of matter before the cosmos 混沌状态 was created. In math and science, chaos describes a system that will develop in wildly different ways with only tiny changes to the initial conditions.) provides his only arena for self-validation. He must always fabricate scenes for the exaltation ( exaltation [ˌeɡ.zɒlˈteɪ.ʃən] 幸福 a very strong feeling of happiness. Exaltation is an intense feeling of great happiness. The city was swept up in the mood of exaltation. exalt [ɪgzɔːlt] 盛赞, 高度赞誉, 赞美, 赞扬, 表扬 To exalt someone or something means to praise them very highly. However difficult she might have been, this book exalts her as both mother and muse. His work exalts all those virtues that we, as Americans, are taught to hold dear. The poem, which appeared in 1890, is an exaltation of married love. ) of himself through the humiliation of others to confirm that he is strong. Musk magnifies his abuse. In two speeches, one by the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and the other by Vance, the Trump administration shifted the ground under Ukraine ( shift (your) ground 改变论调 to change your opinion. to change position in an argument or situation: He's annoying to argue with because he keeps shifting his ground. shift one's ground/change one's ground If you shift your ground or change your ground, you change the basis on which you are arguing. ) and the western allies to Russian advantage. On 12 February, at the Ukraine Contact Group in Brussels, Hegseth conceded conditions to Russia before any negotiations had begun. He stated the return of occupied territory "unrealistic", opposed Nato membership and rejected US participation in a security force. Two days later, on 14 February, Vance delivered a second shock, reciting the talking points of the far-right parties in Europe in a virtual endorsement a week before the German election of the neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany Party. Some Republicans appear to have a good idea about the agents of influence ( Agent of influence 幕后势力, 幕后力量, 政治掮客, 政策说客, 游说的人 (powerbroker, lobbyists, kingmaker. It also includes Prime Minister Scott Morrison's closest advisers, the lobbyists who represent powerful interest groups or corporations, the groups that wine and dine politicians with gifts or tickets to sporting events and some of the country’s biggest political donors. ) is a controversial term used to describe people who are said to use their position to influence public opinion in one country or decision making to produce results beneficial to another. The term is used both to describe conscious agents operating under the control of an intelligence service and political opponents who may be classed as "useful idiots" that is, someone, completely unaware of how their actions further the interests of a foreign power. A related concept is that of a front organization. Critics have argued that the term can be applied to anyone whose political views are disliked by the user. ) floating around the Trump administration. Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, said after Hegseth's speech, "I don't know who wrote the speech – it is the kind of thing Tucker Carlson could have written, and Carlson is a fool." The former Fox News talkshow host, now with his own podcast, has deep ties to the regimes of Putin and Orbán of Hungary. A fount ( fount [faʊnt] I. the fount 源泉, 来源, 信息源, 知识源泉 of all knowledge, gossip, wisdom, etc. the person or place from which all information on a particular subject comes. If you describe a person or thing as the fount of something, you are saying that they are an important source or supply of it. To the young boy his father was the fount of all knowledge. He's renowned as the fount of all knowledge on the disease. II. a set of letters and symbols in a particular design and size: The new fount is easier to read on a compact page. I usually use Times New Roman fount for my essays. ) of Russian disinformation, he is at the center of a circle that includes Donald Trump Jr and Vance, bonded as lost boys ( "Lost boys" is a term used for young men who have been excommunicated ( excommunicate 开除…的教籍，把…逐出教会 When the Christian Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, excommunicates someone, it refuses to give that person communion and does not allow them to be involved in the Church. ) or pressured to leave polygamous Mormon fundamentalist groups, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Although sometimes officially accused of apostasy [əˈpɒs.tə.si] 叛教 or disobedience, it is thought that they are mainly pressured to leave by older adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are between the ages of 13 and 21. Boys in these groups are commonly raised to not trust the outside world and that leaving their communities is a "sin worse than murder". With little education or skills applicable to life outside of their community of birth, they must learn to live in a society they inherently distrust yet know little about and as a result, some lost boys become homeless or end up in the criminal justice system. The families of banished boys are told that the boys are now dead to them. ), abandoned in childhood, and who persuaded Trump to name Vance as his running mate. Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, a pro-Russian echo chamber, now the national director of intelligence, were brought into their orbit. Tucker Carlson's son, Buckley Carlson, is Vance's deputy press director. Jack Posobiec, a far-right conspiracy monger of Pizzagate ( pizzeria [ˌpiːtsəˈriːə] 披萨店 a place where pizzas are made or sold; a pizza restaurant. "Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner's emails. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police. The personal email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, was hacked in a spear phishing attack in March 2016. WikiLeaks published his emails in November 2016. Proponents 倡导者 of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory falsely claimed the emails contained coded messages that connected several high-ranking Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants with an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring. One of the establishments allegedly involved was the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C. ) and white supremacist, was invited to travel with Hegseth, to whom he is close, and has traveled with the secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent, on his trip in February to Ukraine to meet with Zelensky. In 2017, according to a report of the Atlantic Council, Posobiec was a key player in aiding the Russian "coordinated attempt to undermine Emmanuel Macron's candidacy, with a disinformation campaign consisting of rumors, fake news, and even forged documents; a hack targeting the computers of his campaign staff; and, finally, a leak – 15 gigabytes of stolen data, including 21,075 emails, released on Friday, May 5, 2017 – just two days before the second and final round of the presidential election". In 2024, Posobiec addressed the Conservative Political Action Committee: "Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn't get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it." Making nice with 示好, 交好(make nice US informal to behave in a kind, friendly, or polite way towards someone, especially when you are not being sincere. to make an effort to be nice to someone, especially so that they will like you It's a good idea to make nice with your girlfriend's parents. They need to make nice with each other and get to work. ) Trump has never proved to be a winning strategy. If Zelensky had bent to shine Trump's shoes under his desk, he would still have been in a trap. Obsequious gestures to neutralize Trump have been repeatedly tried and failed 屡战屡败, 屡试屡败. If anyone could cajole Trump, it would have been David Rubenstein, the billionaire founder of the Carlyle Group who built his firm with a bipartisan board. Rubenstein has been a pillar of the Washington community, who cherishes the constitution and has lent the National Archives his copy of the original Bill of Rights, personally paid for the restoration of the Washington Monument, and is a patron of the arts. He recently bought the Baltimore Orioles. Rubenstein wined and dined Donald and Melania Trump, attempted to ingratiate himself and bring them into his charmed circle. Rubenstein's civilizing mission ran aground 搁浅. Rubenstein presented Trump with a golden opportunity to gain the kind of acceptance he had sought for a lifetime. He has nursed his injury over rejection by the great and the good ( the great and the good 要人, 大人物  Worthy, distinguished or important people, especially when gathered together. important people: The great and the good are calling on the government to support the arts. ) in New York, where his crudity, vulgarity and narrow greed constantly undermined his social ambitions. He was also a spectacular failure in the New York real estate market. But Trump still harboured resentment from the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors, when two of the recipients, choreographer Carmen de Lavallade and legendary TV producer Norman Lear, declined to attend a reception at the White House. Trump never appeared at any of the Kennedy Center Honors during his first term. He never came to a single of the thousands of the wide variety of cultural events there, not one. He was not boycotting; he had no interest in theater, music, dance, anything. He is a void 空桶子( noun I. 虚空. a large hole or empty space: She stood at the edge of the chasm and stared into the void. Before Einstein, space was regarded as a formless void. II. a feeling of unhappiness because someone or something is missing: fill the void left Some parents use television to fill the void they have created by not spending enough time with their kids, he said. They tried to describe their attempts to fill the void left by their son's death. adj. I. having no legal authority and therefore unacceptable: declare something (null and) void 宣称无效 The lawyers declared the contract (null and) void. null and void 无法律效力 having no legal force. (of an agreement or contract) having no legal effect and to be considered therefore as if it did not exist: The change in the law makes the previous agreement null and void. The election was declared null and void. no longer legally accepted: declare/make/render sth null and void The original version of her will was declared void. A judge declared all postal votes null and void. II. without; lacking in: He's completely void of charm as far as I can see. verb. to remove the legal force from something, such as a legal agreement. to remove the legal force from an agreement or contract: I'll just void the check and pay you in cash. ). On 12 February, Trump unceremoniously fired its entire board, claimed that the national centerpiece of the performing arts in the capital was "woke" and a "disgrace," denounced Rubenstein, who does "not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture", and announced as his replacement "an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!" Rubenstein was privately stunned and surprised at his shabby treatment. But Trump cared less for Rubenstein's diplomatic approach than for acting out his endless drama of victimization and self-promotion. Trump's interim director inserted at the Kennedy Center, Ric Grenell, a rightwing activist who was universally despised in Germany when he was ambassador there in the first Trump term, declared that to "make the arts great again" the Kennedy Center would stage a biblical pageant about the birth of Jesus. Trump named Melania's former modeling agent, Paolo Zampolli, to the board. He held forth to an Italian newspaper, Il Foglio, about Zelenskyy: "He should rebuild Gaza with all the money he stole." Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy was preceded two days, earlier on 26 February, by his first cabinet meeting that rehearsed scenes of belittlement, disparagement and deprecation. It was a sham cabinet meeting without any proper presentations by the secretaries of their departmental work, a scene of collective submission. (I had been present in many cabinet meetings during the Clinton administration, where informative review and discussion were the regular order 正常程序, 常规(In a legislative context, "regular order" generally refers to the established, traditional process by which a bill progresses through a lawmaking body. This includes committee review, hearings, amendments, and floor consideration. It emphasizes transparency and accountability in the legislative process. In business, "regular order" can refer to the standard procedures for fulfilling customer orders. Regular order within the context of the United States Congress refers to the semi-strict or strict application of committee and subcommittee processes, including public hearing opportunities and the holding of multiple votes. Said processes are designed to promote consensus-based forms of decision making, particularly in terms of fostering accommodations for minority viewpoints. In the context of the broader history of the U.S. Congress, regular order is closely associated with bipartisanship. In contrast to following regular order, the normal Congressional structure and procedural approach can be somewhat bypassed by organizing task forces that the leadership runs, attempting to reduce the ability to propose amendments and otherwise shorten the length of time a measure is discussed. Political reporter Ron Elving, of NPR has remarked that "regular order is not only a process, it is also a state of mind." ).) Trump's meeting was a made-for-TV more-than-hour-long reality show with the cabinet as props, two among the 21 Fox News personalities appointed to administration posts. At his cabinet meeting, Trump began by calling on Scott Turner, the secretary of housing and urban development, the only Black person in his cabinet, a former journeyman ( I. a worker who has a skill that makes them able to do a particular job, and who usually works for someone else. In former times, a journeyman was a worker who had finished learning a trade and who was employed by someone rather than working on his or her own. II. any worker who produces good but not excellent work. If you refer to someone as a journeyman, you mean that they have the basic skill which their job requires, but are not very talented or original. Douglas was a 29-year-old journeyman fighter, erratic in his previous fights. ) professional football player, briefly a far-right Texas state legislator and a motivational speaker. "Thank you God for President Trump," prayed Turner. "So Scott Turner's a terrific young guy," said Trump. Turner is 53 years old. "He is heading up HUD and he's going to make us all very proud, right?" Turner did not speak again in the meeting. Trump introduced Musk, who took control of the meeting, declaring the country would "go bankrupt" if he were not allowed to destroy the government untrammelled 没有阻碍的, 肆无忌惮的, 随意的, 随心所欲的(not deprived of freedom of action or expression; not restricted or hampered. not limited by rules or any other controlling influence: Self-governing schools are untrammelled by education authority rules. "a mind untrammelled by convention". ). He stood above the cabinet secretaries, wearing all black, a T-shirt reading "Tech Support", a black Maga cap, and condescended: "And President Trump has put together, I think, the best cabinet ever, literally." The questions came from the reporters in the room. The nervous cabinet members sat silently, worried about not one but two overlords. Musk was asked questions about his demand that federal employees justify their work every week and wondered how many "you're looking to cut, total". Musk gave no answer. Trump intervened: "We're bloated, we're sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren't doing their job. We have a lot of people that don't exist. You look at social security as an example. You have so many people in social security where if you believe it, they're 200 years old." At the end of the meeting, as the press was led out, Trump jeered, "Thank you. Thank you very much. Pulitzer prize." JD Vance mocked them with a sarcastic rhetorical question: "Sir, how many peacekeepers are you going to send … " Trump joined in: "What will you do? How will it be?" Vance continued his mocking merriment 欢快, 畅快(an occasion when people laugh or have an enjoyable time together. Merriment means laughter. Sounds of merriment could be heard within. Sounds of merriment came from the kitchen. His unusual name has long been a source of merriment among his friends. ). "How will you dress them?" The cabinet members nervously tittered( titter 讪笑 verb to laugh nervously, often at something that you feel you should not be laughing at: A couple of the younger teachers tittered at his dirty jokes. Their performance left the audience tittering with embarrassed laughter. noun. a nervous laugh, often at something that you feel you should not be laughing at: The love scene raised a few titters from a group of 10-year-olds. My joke drew only nervous titters. ). Vance was the king's goad (赶牛用的鞭子) and jester. Trump called to one reporter, "Lawrence. Look at Lawrence. This guy's making a fortune. He never had it so good(have it good 境遇不错, 境况好, 情况好, 过得不错, 活得不错, 很顺利, 顺遂 to be in a favorable position or situation. to be in comfortable circumstances. To be in a very enjoyable, pleasant situation. We sure have it good with a pool in this scorching summer heat! Why were we ever stressed in high school? We had it so good, man—no bills, no kids, no responsibility! The kids have it so good now that their grandparents are here to spoil them! There's no reason for her to be so unhappy. She really has it (pretty) good. He's never had it so good. have it on good/excellent authority 来源可靠 If you say you have it on good authority that something is true, you mean that you believe it is true because you trust the person who told you about it. to know or believe something because you have been told that it is true by someone you trust. Based on some reliable inside information, we have it on excellent authority that the company will soon be making layoffs. She has it on good authority that the playwright will be writing a novel next. I have it on good authority that there's no way this light can cause skin cancer. ). Lawrence, say we did a great job, please. OK? Say it was unbelievable." The tone for the meeting for Zelenskyy was already on display. That day, Trump banned the traditional press pool chosen by the correspondents that cover the White House. From then on, the pool covering him would be selected by Trump's press office. The Associated Press and Reuters would continue to be banished altogether for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, following Trump's order. Those news organisations had failed to meet the threshold of submission. Both Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, one after another, arrived in advance of Zelenskyy to butter up Trump without losing their dignity. They treated him with delicacy (小心翼翼, 小心谨慎 delicacy [delɪkəsi] I. 精致易碎. Delicacy is the quality of being easy to break or harm, and refers especially to people or things that are attractive or graceful. the quality of being easy to damage or looking very easy to damage: Because of their great delicacy, the books cannot be moved. ...the delicacy of a rose. II. If you say that a situation or problem is of some delicacy, you mean that it is difficult to handle and needs careful and sensitive treatment. There is a matter of some delicacy which I would like to discuss. He sensed the delicacy 微妙 of the situation. II. If someone handles a difficult situation with delicacy 谨慎应付, 小心应付, they handle it very carefully, making sure that nobody is offended. acting and speaking carefully so that no one is offended, or the possibility of causing offence: Both countries are behaving with rare delicacy. He's shown considerable delicacy 精细 and tact in feeling the public mood 公众情绪. He raised the matter with great delicacy. delicacy of I don't think you fully appreciate the delicacy of the situation. IV. 美食, 美味, 佳肴, 精致菜肴. A delicacy is a rare or expensive food that is considered especially nice to eat. great delicacy In some parts of the world, sheep's eyes are considered a great delicacy. Smoked salmon was considered an expensive delicacy. We were served course after course of mouthwatering local delicacies. ) as a borderline personality. Yet both corrected Trump's central falsehood that the US had given $350bn to Ukraine while the Europeans gave loans of $100bn for which they were repaid, when in fact the US expended $120bn, most of which went to US weapons manufacturers, and Europe spent $250bn and had not been repaid a euro. Macron touched Trump's sleeve as he corrected him. Starmer gestured in that direction but never made the physical contact. Trump was undeterred in lying about it afterward. Starmer presented the coup de grace 送...上路. 致命一击, (为免除人或动物的痛苦而给予的)慈悲一击(I. a final blow or shot given to kill a wounded person or animal. "he administered the coup de grâce with a knife". II. an action or event that serves as the culmination of a bad or deteriorating situation. an action that ends something that has been gradually getting worse: coup de grâce to Jane's affair was the coup de grâce to her disintegrating marriage. "Howarth delivered the coup de grâce with a penalty two minutes from time". ), a handwritten invitation for a state visit from King Charles III to Donald I, royalty to faux royalty. Trump carefully opened the envelope and held up the letter. "Beautiful man, wonderful man," he said. But there was trouble brewing in paradise when the vision of another man, Vladimir Putin, crossed his mind. His attitude passed from the ecstasy of Charles's letter to the agony of "the Russia hoax". "We had to go through the Russian hoax together," Trump said. "That was not a good thing. It's not fair. That was a rigged deal and had nothing to do with Russia. It was a rigged deal with inside the country and they had to put up with that too. They put up with a lot. It wasn't just us. They had to put up with it with a phoney story that was made up. I've known him for a long time now." Trump's blurted ( blurt something out 脱口而出 to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because you are excited or nervous: He blurted everything out about the baby, though we'd agreed to keep it a secret for a while. She suddenly blurted out, "I can't do it!" Late one evening, Gianni blurted out that he loved her. ) non sequitur [ˌnɒn ˈsek.wɪ.tər] 自我否定的话, 自相矛盾的话 ( a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement. a statement that does not correctly follow from the meaning of the previous statement. A non sequitur is a statement, remark, or conclusion that does not follow naturally or logically from what has just been said. Had she missed something important, or was this just a non sequitur? "his weird mixed metaphors and non sequiturs". ) after non sequitur was the beginning of his self-revelatory statements about his relationship with Putin, whose actual nature he has devoted decades to covering up. Trump said he had known Putin for "a long time". How long he did not say. The "phoney story", which was a true one about Russia's extensive efforts to interfere in the US election on Trump's behalf involving hundreds of contacts between Russian agents and the Trump campaign, was stressful not only for Trump but, according to Trump, also for Putin. They went through the "hoax", the incomplete investigations, "together". The Mueller report concluded with a referral of 10 obstructions of justice committed by Trump to block its inquiry, but they were never prosecuted. The Senate intelligence committee report contained a lengthy section on Trump's sexual escapades ( escapade [ˈes.kə.peɪd] 出格行为 an act involving some danger, risk, or excitement, because it is different from usual or expected behaviour. an act or situation that is exciting because it shows behavior that is not controlled as it usually is: Their escapades sound as if they could be ripped from the pages of "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn." Her latest escapade was to camp outside a department store on the night before the sale.) in Russia creating "compromising information" that could be used by the Russians and "posing a potential counterintelligence threat". Babbling away about his sympathy for Putin, Trump did not understand that he was engaging in an oblique confession. "Russia, if you're listening … " After Trump was shut out of the New York banks, Donald Trump Jr remarked in 2008: "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." Trump's architect Alan Lapidus stated in 2018: "He could not get anybody in the United States to lend him anything. It was all coming out of Russia. His involvement with Russia was deeper than he's acknowledged." Trump turned to Deutsche Bank, the only financial institution willing to do business with him. The bank served as a conduit for Russian money-laundering operations and in 2017 was fined $630m by American and British financial regulators for a $10bn scheme. In 2008, the bank sued Trump for non-payment for $40m on a $640m loan, and Trump counter-sued. Contrary to all normal practices, they settled and continued to do business. But after the January 6 insurrection even Deutsche Bank cut ties with him. His debt to the bank was more than $300m. Trump's plot to switch sides, punish Zelenskyy, ditch the allies and partner with Putin was hatched before Zelenskyy flew to the US grudgingly to sign a deal for raw earth mineral rights in his country. Trump's initial exorbitant insistence on $500bn may have been a ploy to get Zelenskyy to reject the deal out of hand ( reject something out of hand 想都没想就拒绝, 顺手拒绝 I. to reject an idea or suggestion without hesitating and without discussing it first. To dismiss, deny, or refuse someone or something immediately and without due discussion or consideration. She's so stubborn that she just rejected my suggestion out of hand. We'd like to try some alternative treatments. They're a bit unconventional, but please don't reject them out of hand. The company rejected me out of hand because I didn't have any prior experience as a baker. He has rejected out of hand any suggestion that there can be any compromise over the proposals. II. To refuse to accept someone as a friend, relative, or loved one without due discussion or consideration. My grandmother rejected me out of hand when I came out as gay. If someone rejects you out of hand as their friend just because of what you believe in, then that person wasn't a real friend to begin with. out of hand I. out of control: Things got a little out of hand at the party and three windows were broken. He went to see his doctor because he felt his drinking was getting out of hand. II. If you refuse something out of hand, you refuse it completely without thinking about or discussing it: Moving to London is certainly a possibility - I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. ). No rational leader could agree to such terms. Though the details of the next contract are not publicly known, Zelenskyy's acceptance and willingness to negotiate might have come as a surprise. Terminating military and intelligence support for Ukraine required a different pretext. If one pretext doesn't work, another could be contrived, even a flimsy one. After Putin invaded Ukraine, Trump called him a "genius". He has always admired the Russian strongman as a model. He has been hostile to Zelenskyy personally since Trump's "perfect phone call" to him in July 2019 to blackmail him into providing false dirt 黑料 about Joe Biden in exchange for releasing already congressionally authorized missiles: "I would like you to do us a favor, though." Trump's attempt at coercion led to his first impeachment. On 18 February, Trump launched into a tirade of old Russian talking points, that Zelenskyy was a "dictator". You never should have started it," Trump said about the war. And, he added, "I don't think he's very important to be at meetings." Zelenskyy's response that Trump's remarks were "disinformation" helped set the stage for the meeting on 28 February. The meeting was a wide lens 广角镜 on Trump's small mind 小心眼(small-minded 不大气的, 小心眼的, 睚眦必报的, 斤斤计较的 I. having narrow interests, sympathies, or outlook. II. typical of a small-minded person. marked by pettiness, narrowness, or meanness. small-minded conduct. having strong opinions and refusing to consider new or different ideas. If you say that someone is small-minded, you are critical of them because they have fixed opinions and are unwilling to change them or to think about more general subjects. ...their small-minded preoccupation with making money. Helen's small-mindedness bored and disgusted her. He has some very small-minded opinions about immigrants. ), incapable of grasping any ideas and their practical applications, like alliances, coalitions, national sovereignty or the western world. His ignorance of history is fairly complete. He sees the world like a map of Manhattan real estate that his apologists 卫道士, 维护者 ( An apologist is someone who defends a belief, idea, or cause, often one that is unpopular or controversial. They may write or speak in support of it, offering reasons and arguments to justify or explain it. In religious contexts, an apologist might defend their faith against criticism or try to persuade others to accept it. a person who offers an argument in defence of something controversial. "critics said he was an apologist for colonialism". note: Apologetics 护教士 (from Greek ἀπολογία, apología, 'speaking in defense') is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their faith to outsiders were called Christian apologists. In 21st-century usage, apologetics is often identified with debates over religion and theology. ) project as the revival of Great Power politics. He'll take the West Side Highway development. Putin can get an East River stake. Trump is insistent that Ukraine owes the US money. He sees the country is a vulnerable debtor – "you don't have the cards." He may be influenced by his losses and liability stemming from the E Jean Carroll sexual assault and New York state financial fraud cases, where he accrued enormous penalties. Trump once again voiced his identification 认可 with Putin. "Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phoney witch-hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia … You ever hear of that deal?" JD Vance triggered the implosion with his charge that Zelenskyy was "disrespectful". He scolded Zelenskyy for not "thanking the president". He accused him of bringing observers to Ukraine for "a propaganda tour" demand for "respect" was a knowing self-abasement ( self-abasement 自我挖苦, 自贬 the belittling or humiliation of oneself. a humiliation of oneself. the act of behaving in a way that makes one seem lower or less deserving of respect. … regaled the audience with personal stories and songs that didn't stint on comedic self-deprecation while avoiding self-abasement. "he began to apologize with copious tears and self-abasement". the act of making yourself seem less important or less deserving of respect than you are or should be: Some readers may feel that, even in the cause of self-abasement, some things would have been better left unsaid. He has built an entire career on self-abasement. abasement 贬低 the act of causing someone to seem as if they deserve no respect and have no power or importance: These children were abandoned to a life of degradation and abasement. He is obsessed with the abasement of those he perceives as his enemies. abase yourself 自贬, 自我贬低 to make yourself seem to be less important or to not deserve respect. wiki: Self-abasement is humiliating oneself when one feels lower or less deserving of respect. Self-abasement might have a religious aspect for those seeking humility before God, perhaps in the context of monastic or cenobitic lifestyle. It also has a sexual and fetish aspect for those people who enjoy erotic humiliation and other related BDSM practices. Examples of self-abasement practices include self-flagellation, bondage, torture, public humiliation (including online humiliation). self-deprecation the quality of trying to make yourself, your abilities, or your achievements seem less important: She was unconcerned by fame and modest to the point of self-deprecation. self-deprecating = self-deprecatory 自嘲的 [ˌselfˈdep.rə.kə.tər.i] trying to make yourself, your abilities, or your achievements seem less important: a self-deprecating manner/remark. self-deprecating humour/jokes. ) to awaken Trump to Zelenskyy's absence of sycophancy. Vance's ultimatum that Zelenskyy degrade himself revealed his own posture. But Vance is the corrective to ( corrective I. intended to improve a situation. something that improves a situation: corrective to If something is a corrective to a particular view or account, it gives a more accurate or fairer picture than there would have been without it. ...a useful corrective to the mistaken view that all psychologists are behaviourists. This European report on the internet provides a corrective to the usual US-based views. corrective measures/action. intended to improve something: When a problem arises, managers must take swift corrective action to limit the damage it might cause. II. used to refer to something that is intended to cure a medical condition: corrective surgery. intended to improve something or make it right. Corrective measures or techniques are intended to put right something that is wrong. Scientific institutions have been reluctant to take corrective action. He has received extensive corrective surgery to his skull. Corrective measures 校正措施, 矫正措施, 纠偏 must be taken at once. ) Mike Pence, who failed at the critical moment on January 6 ("Hang Mike Pence!"). Vance ingratiated using Zelenskyy to manipulate Trump. Zelenskyy fell into the trap, trying to explain the rudiments of 20th-century history, that the geographic isolation of the US could not protect it. "Don't tell us what we're going to feel," Trump repeated a common Russian talking point: "You're gambling with world war three." Vance jumped in: "Have you said thank you once?" "A lot of times. Even today," said Zelenskyy. In fact, he offered thanks six times in the conversation, with a "God bless you". He brought up how he had given Zelenskyy missiles. He clearly wanted Zelenskyy to exonerate him for the high crime ( I. a crime of infamous nature contrary to public morality but not technically constituting a felony. specifically , an offense that the U.S. Senate deems to constitute an adequate ground for removal of the president, vice president, or any civil officer as a person unfit to hold public office and deserving of impeachment. II. A major crime or wrongdoing, notably one subject to trial before the highest courts which may impose the gravest punishments. Lese majesty used to be a high crime, for which royal or imperial courts often put offenders to death. wiki: The charge of high crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct by officials. Offenses by officials also include ordinary crimes, but perhaps with different standards of proof and punishment than for non-officials, on the grounds that more is expected of officials by their oaths of office. "High," in the legal and common vocabulary of the 17th and 18th centuries of "high crimes," is the activity by or against those who have special duties acquired by taking an oath of office that is not shared with ordinary persons. A high crime can be done only by someone in a unique position of authority, which is political, who does things to circumvent justice. The phrase "high crimes and misdemeanors," used together, was a common phrase when the U.S. Constitution was written and did not require any stringent or demanding criteria for determining guilt. The phrase was historically used to cover an extensive range of crimes.  high treason I. Criminal disloyalty to one's country or a sovereign. II. (law) In some jurisdictions, a criminal offence of treason including features regarded as more severe than ordinary treason. III. (hyperbolic) A betrayal portrayed as especially shocking. Ussage notes: Formerly distinguished from petty treason or petit treason, which was not against the sovereign. petit treason = petty treason (law, archaic) The crime of a subordinate killing a superior (other than the sovereign, which would constitute high treason): a servant killing his master, a wife killing her husband, etc.; and, earlier, certain lesser crimes of subordinates against superiors. ) of his first impeachment. "You got to be more thankful because let me tell you, you don't have the cards with us." And the confrontation wound down. "This is going to be great television. I will say that," said Trump. So the fate of Ukraine and the western alliance turned on the issue of flattery. Despite Trump's obliviousness to history, the scene recalled Edward Gibbon's comment in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: "The emperors, secure from contradiction, were abandoned to ( abandon yourself to something 肆意放纵 to allow yourself to be controlled completely by a feeling or way of living: He abandoned himself to his emotions. They danced all night, abandoning themselves to the atmosphere. When she swims, she abandons herself to the sensation of the water on her skin. I abandoned myself to my fate. We forgot about work and abandoned ourselves to feasting and dancing. ) the intoxication of unlimited power, which their flatterers encouraged with the vilest servility."

Trump Humiliates Little Marco With Petty Power Play: President Donald Trump has gone on a back-slapping victory lap after stealing a clock from his secretary of state, Marco Rubio. During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the president found time between issues such as Gaza and global tariffs to boast about his proposed redesign of the Cabinet Room in the White House. This mainly involves splashing gold leaf around the place to make it look like his Florida residence, Mar-a-lago. Even still, Trump proudly pointed out the tweaks he had already made, drawing attention to the portraits of past presidents that he retrieved from the vault to hang in the room. "I picked it all myself. I'm very proud of it," he said. One moment in particular stood out, as the commander-in-chief revealed that he pulled rank 动用权利 on Rubio to relieve him of a "beautiful" grandfather clock that was stationed in his State Department office. "So as president, you have the power—if I go into the State Department, or Department of Commerce or Treasury—if I see anything that I like, I'm allowed to take it. Can you believe this?" Trump said, prompting laughs from everyone in the room. Trump then earnestly launched into a story about how he forced Rubio— who, in a jab about his height, he dubbed 'Little Marco' during the 2016 presidential campaign—to give up the ornamental timepiece. "I'm in Marco's office [and] I see this gorgeous clock, grandfather clock," a grinning Trump explained, with Rubio awkwardly smiling to his right. "I had to read him the rule and regulation," Trump joked as he delivered the first of two sturdy slaps 重重拍了两下 to Rubio's back. "I said, ‘Marco, I love this clock. Look at it. It's beautiful.'" "He said, ‘What clock?'" Trump said, adding that he tried to cajole Rubio into voluntarily giving up the timepiece. "I tried to talk him into it first, and it sort of worked," the president added, suggesting that he needed to apply more pressure to push the deal over the line. He said he received pushback from Rubio before he was forced to pull rank. "I said, 'Marco, I have the right to do it,'" Trump told the Cabinet Room as he slapped Rubio's back for a second time. Hard. "That's his contribution to the Cabinet Room," Trump concluded. "But, by the way, it's an incredible clock."