East of Eden; ice age;

用法学习: 1. slender reed 靠不住的, 不可靠的依靠, 杯水车薪 = broken reed = bruised reed A person, fact, or resource on which one can rely only to a limited extent. Some source of support that proves to be extremely limited, weak, or unreliable. For all his boastful talk, he ended up being little more than a slender reed when the situation became challenging. The idea that voters' opinions will shift enough between now and election day is but a slender reed of hope that her campaign is clinging to at the moment. It was on this slender reed of evidence that the prosecution built their entire case. A weak and unreliable support. This metaphor dates from biblical times, appearing in both Old and New Testaments. In the former, in the books of Isaiah and 2 Kings, it was applied to Egypt, which was variously described as a "broken" or "bruised" reed, not to be trusted if the Assyrians made war on the Hebrews. The term persisted into the mid-twentieth century but is heard less often today. punitive [ˈpjuː.nɪ.tɪv] 惩罚性的 I. LAW formal or specialized intended as a punishment: punitive action. The UN has imposed punitive sanctions on the invading country. punitive damages She is suing the newspaper for $5 million punitive damages, claiming they knew the article about her was untrue. punitive action/measures The company will not take punitive action against the striking workers. The UN has imposed punitive sanctions on the invading country. II. used to describe costs that are so high they are difficult to pay, and that are often used to punish someone or limit their activities: The president has threatened to impose punitive import duties/tariffs on a variety of foreign goods. punitive damages 惩戒性的损失补偿 money that is paid to someone by a person or organization who has been responsible for causing them some injury or loss as a punishment rather than as compensation (= to pay for the injury or loss): She is suing the newspaper for $5 million punitive damages, claiming they knew the article about her was untrue. He's asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorneys' fees. 2. lick verb. I. When people or animals lick something, they move their tongue across its surface. She folded up her letter, licking the envelope flap with relish. The dog rose awkwardly to his feet and licked the man's hand excitedly. Kevin wanted a lick of Sarah's lollipop. II. If you lick someone or something 战胜, 打败, you easily defeat them in a fight or competition. He might be able to lick us all in a fair fight. The Chancellor's upbeat message that the Government had licked inflation for good was marred by more job losses. To solve or overcome a problem: It can also mean you have successfully dealt with or figured out a difficult challenge. We had a tough bug in the code, but I think we've licked it. To punish or beat physically: Older or regional slang uses "to give someone a licking" to mean administering a physical thrashing or beating. III. When flames of a large fire lick somewhere or something, the fire begins to reach that place or thing and the flames touch it lightly and briefly. The fire sent its red tongues licking into the entrance hall. The apex of the flames licked the crimson sky. noun. I. A lick of something is a small amount of it. It could do with a lick of paint to brighten up its premises. II. A lick is a short piece of music which is part of a song and is played on a guitar. A lick is also a short section in a piece of jazz, which the musician invents while they are playing. ...the screeching licks of heavy metal guitar. 3. obtuse I. 愚蠢的, 理解不了的. 听不懂话的. stupid and slow to understand, or unwilling to try to understand: I'm not trying to be obtuse, but I don't get it. The answer's obvious - or are you being deliberately obtuse 装傻的? II. (of an angle) more than 90° and less than 180°, or (of a triangle) containing an angle of more than 90° and less than 180°. craven [ˈkreɪ.vən] 胆怯的, 胆小如鼠的, 怯懦的, 懦弱的 formal disapproving very cowardly (= not at all brave):  They condemned the deal as a craven surrender. ...his craven obedience to his employers. a craven act of terrorism. Politicians are too craven to tackle this problem. a person who is not at all brave and who is too eager to avoid danger, difficulty, or pain: I thought I was brave but I am a coward, a craven. 4. hoi polloi [ˌhɔɪ pəˈlɔɪ] 农民, 下等人, 老百姓 The term hoi polloi refers to the common people, the masses, or ordinary citizens, often used in a somewhat snobbish, dismissive, or humorous way by people who consider themselves of higher status. If someone refers to the hoi polloi, they are referring in a humorous or rather rude way to ordinary people, in contrast to rich, well-educated, or upper-class people. Monstrously inflated costs are designed to keep the hoi polloi at bay. Anthony will be in the VIP lounge where he doesn't have to mix with the hoi polloi.

 Ice Age: 1. did not 我没有. did too 你有: "Did too" is an American slang for "Yes, you did". As best as we know "too" stands instead of "indeed/so" and implies an affirmative statement! It's much shorter to use in spoken English! Since it is shorter (hence quicker to say), people tend to use it in arguments (as in the example you gave). Brother: Mom, Linda kissed a boy at school today! Sister: Did not! Brother: Did too. What are they? Who cares? They're fun! Play nice! Mommy, he's not sharing! Aren't you going to do something? Why? My kid had it first. Did not! Did, too! Did not! Liar, liar, fur on fire! What is the matter with you? I'm a single mother with three kids. I could use a little compassion! 2. this instant 现在, 立刻马上 immediately. used when telling someone, especially a child, to do something immediately. Come here this instant! "Stop that noise this instant (= now)!" We must contact the hospital this instant, and help her to get home. Get down from there this instant! As for rushing off this instant, there's really no need. "Give it back to me this instant!" she shouted. Okay, come on. Spit him out 吐出来. Mmm-mmm. If you don't spit out Little Johnny, we're leaving the playground this instant! 3. be the picture of health, innocence, etc. = a picture of sth/the picture of sth = image of health to look very healthy, innocent, etc. One who is or looks especially healthy, robust, of full of vitality. I can't believe there's anything seriously wrong with him - he's the picture of health. My grandmother is nearly 70 and smokes two packs of cigarettes a day, but somehow she's still the picture of health. It's amazing how having a bit of a tan can make someone a picture of health. My dad adopted a really healthy lifestyle in his 20s, so he's the image of health now in his 60s. You use picture to describe what someone looks like. if you say that someone is a picture of health or the picture of misery, you mean that they look extremely healthy or extremely miserable. We found her standing on a chair, the picture of terror, screaming hysterically. He lay propped on pillows, looking the picture of health, his skin tanned, his jaw firm. Today, Ryan Carroll is a picture of health. Note: Other words can be used instead of health to emphasize how someone looks. He was hardly a picture of elegance. Day after day she came and sat with us and looked a picture of misery. 4. barf [bɑːf] = honk (VOMIT) UK slang = puke slang = regurgitate = throw (something) up informal very informal I. to vomit: He got drunk and barfed all over the carpet. The smell was so disgusting it made me want to barf. I think I'm gonna barf. Some children tell us that they eat until they start to barf. All I know about babies is that they cry, barf, and poop a lot. noun. the substance that comes out of your mouth when you vomit: It smells like barf in here. You may need to have a barf bucket handy.  Okay, come on. Spit him out 吐出来.  One, two… Don't make me say "three"! There we are. A picture of health. That's not Little Johnny. Well, better than nothing. Oh! Madison! Come on, barf him up. barf up = barf out: To expel something by vomiting. Oh great, the cat just barfed up a hairball. When I had food poisoning, it felt like I barfed up everything I'd ever eaten in my entire life. Ugh, I hate that burning acid feeling you get in your throat after you barf something up. Barfed on by a plant. 5. They'll be nothing but bones in three minutes. Well, maybe five for the fat one. MANNY: I'm not fat! I feel tingly (tingy I. 刺刺的感觉. causing a tingle (= a feeling as if a lot of sharp points are being put lightly into your body): The massage had left me with a pleasant tingly sensation. If you get a strange tingly feeling in your nose, there is no need to worry. A feeling like light, sharp points touching the body, often felt in the fingers, hands, toes, or feet. It can also describe a numbing or buzzing reaction on the tongue caused by spices like Sichuan peppercorns. II. feeling an emotion such as excitement or fear very strongly. A pleasant or nervous flutter of excitement, goosebumps, or anticipation. "going tingly with anticipation". When I first came here, it gave me a kind of tingly feeling that something special had happened here. "I get a tingly feeling before every major championships," she said.). Don't say that when you're pressed up against 挤在一起 me. Not that kind of tingly. I can feel it, too. 6. I'm really sorry. This place is totaled( total adj. I. very great or of the largest degree possible. You can use total to emphasize that something is as great in extent, degree, or amount as it possibly can be. You were a total failure if you hadn't married by the time you were about twenty-three. There was an almost total lack of management control. Why should we trust a total stranger? I have total confidence that things will change. Young people want something totally different from the old ways. The fire totally destroyed the top floor. total secrecy. a total disregard for their feelings. total silence. The organization of the event was a total shambles (= very bad). The collapse, when it came, was total. verb. I. to have as a complete amount, or to calculate this. If several numbers or things total a certain figure, that figure is the total of all the numbers or all the things. The unit's exports will total $85 million this year. They will compete for prizes totalling nearly £3000. This is the eighth volume in the series, which totals 21 volumes in all. We totalled (up) the money we had each earned, and then shared it equally between the three of us. When you total a set of numbers or objects, you add them all together. They haven't totalled the exact figures. II. mainly US (UK write off 报废) to damage a vehicle so badly that it cannot be repaired. to damage (a vehicle) beyond repair. His son totaled the pickup when it was ten months old. III. to damage something extremely badly. The company hasn't just jeopardized its brand; it may have totaled it. IV. (transitive) slang to kill or badly injure (someone). ). And we didn't wreck it. We're losing our touch跟不上时代了, bro. Well, the important thing is that no one got hurt. Except for that guy. And those three. And her. I told you to take them back, and you kept them! Now look what they've done! Okay, granted, we do have some discipline issues. Eating kids is not a discipline issue! But he spit them out. Well, that's super. Let's give him a gold star! Kid of the week! They don't belong here, Sid. Whatever they are, wherever you found them, take them back. Manny! I'm not getting rid of my kids! 7. That's the third false alarm this week. All right, show's over, break it up 散伙, 散开, 分散, 回去吧! Break it up! I see someone else who has a bun in the oven! I'm not pregnant! That's too bad. You'd make a wonderful mother! Manny, I know you're excited. I am, too. But you're getting a little carried away. Okay, okay! Boy, you're starting to sound like Diego. 8. Now? Can I look now? Easy. Don't freak out the baby. The baby's fine. It's the freaked-out daddy I'm worried about. No peeking! Voilá! Playground for Junior! Wow. It's amazing! Manny. I made it myself. Our family. Hey, why aren't I up there? EDDIE: You can be on ours. You'd fit right in! Thanks! Of course, it's still a work in progress. A few rough edges here and there. I don't believe it. You're trying to baby-proof nature. Baby-proof nature? Get out of here. That's ridiculous. Manny, this is the world our baby's gonna grow up in. You can't change that. Of course I can. I'm the biggest thing on Earth! Okay, Big Daddy. I can't wait to see how you handle the teen years. 8. So, listen, Ellie thinks there's something bothering you. I told her… Actually, I've been thinking that soon it might be time for me to head out. Okay. So I'll just tell her that you're fine. It was nothing. Look, who are we kidding, Manny? I'm losing my edge. I'm not really built for chaperoning play dates. What are you talking about? Having a family, that's huge, and I'm happy for you, but that's your adventure, not mine. So you don't want to be around my kid? No, no, no. That's… You're taking this the wrong way. No, go. Go find some adventure, Mr. Adventure Guy. Don't let my boring domestic life hit you in the butt on the way out. Isn't Ellie supposed to be the one with the hormonal imbalance? Manny, wait! No one has to leave. 9. Sid, I know what you're going through. You're gonna have a family, too, someday. You're gonna meet a nice girl with low standards, no real options or sense of smell… What Manny means to say is… No, I get it. I'll take them back. You have your family, and I'm better off alone, by myself. A fortress of solitude. In the ice forever! A lone, lonely loner! That's a lot of aloneness. SID: Precisely! Sid, wait! No! No, it's okay. He'll bounce back 会没事的. It's one of the advantages of being Sid.

East of Eden: 1. You're shooting to miss 故意射不中, 故意射偏, 故意打不中(deliberately aiming or firing a weapon, projectile, or shot so that it misses the target on purpose.). Adam. Not at all. You can hit a target in practice, but you can't hit a deer? If I wasn't around, what would you do? Swallow your distaste 忍下不喜欢 or starve( distaste 非常讨厌, 厌恶 a dislike of something that you find unpleasant or unacceptable: distaste for His distaste for publicity of any sort is well known. She looked at the advertisement with distaste before walking quickly on. She has a distaste for hot, humid weather. distasteful [dɪsˈteɪst.fəl] 不喜欢的 I. unpleasant and unacceptable: He found the subject of their conversation very distasteful. Some of the ads are particularly distasteful. Cutting a player from a team is a distasteful task for any coach. tasting unpleasant: The butterflies use passion flowers (Passiflora) as host plants - a diet that makes caterpillars and adults distasteful to predators. aversion [əˈvɜː.ʃən] 反感 (a person or thing that causes) a feeling of strong dislike or of not wishing to do something: I felt an instant aversion to his parents. She has a deep aversion to getting up in the morning. Greed is my pet aversion (= the thing I dislike most of all). antipathy [ænˈtɪp.ə.θi] 恶心, 极度反感 a feeling of strong dislike, opposition, or anger: antipathy between Despite the deep antipathies between them, the two sides have managed to negotiate an agreement. antipathy to He is a private man with a deep antipathy to the press. antipathy towards I must admit that I felt antipathy towards you. Declarations of racial antipathy against ethnic minorities will not be tolerated. His letters show a deep and intense antipathy toward workers. antipathetic [ˌæn.ti.pəˈθet.ɪk] showing or feeling a strong dislike, opposition, or anger: antipathetic attitudes towards smokers. Even those normally antipathetic to anything new approve of the design of the new railway station. distaste for, aversion to, antipathy to/toward. Dislike = "I don't like it." (everyday, mild). Distaste = "It offends my taste." (refined, mild). Aversion = "I need to avoid it." (avoidance). Antipathy = "I'm deeply against it." (hostility). )? Oh, planning on going somewhere? Soon as the army will take me. If I could hold Father off a year, we could enlist together. I think I could face it with you by my side. How will you shoot at men when you won't even kill for our supper? I'll volunteer for detail(A "detail 小分队" is a smaller group tasked to do something. For example. I'm a Platoon Sergeant and I want a group to unload ammo from a truck. I inform my Squad leader to form a "detail" (a working party) from the larger Squad to be tasked and form this Detail to get it done. A Company, Platoon, Squad are all permanent groups your assigned to. If you get assigned to a "Detail", its a temporary group with a specific task that ends when the task ends. It's a noun to refer to the smaller working party. Instead of saying where is that group of men assigned to unload that truck you say "Where is that Detail". It can also be used as a verb. "Joe was detailed to Mess Duty". In the army, a detail is a temporary group of soldiers assigned to a specific, short-term task that sits outside their normal, everyday job. Common Types of Details - Work details: Cleaning barracks, taking out trash, or landscaping the base. Kitchen patrol (KP): Assisting mess hall staff with food prep, serving, or washing dishes. Guard or security details: Manning an entry gate, monitoring a perimeter, or standing watch (picket duty). Specialized or liaison details: Driving a vehicle for a commander or acting as a liaison officer (LNO). Branch details (Officer Corps): A career program where a newly commissioned officer serves in a combat arms branch (like Infantry or Armor) for a few years before transitioning to their primary branch (like Intelligence or Finance). ), or I'll assist medical. 2. Adam shot us a rabbit 打了个兔子. Hey, don't lie. It was Charles, of course. Quiet. Your father has a visitor from the GAR. Just before dawn, he drew up a new plan. Buford would defend to the west. I delivered the orders myself. Two days later, we had victory at Gettysburg. Wow. And I'd heard Buford had acted on his own. Small men 小人物 like me play our part. Not to be remembered but to turn the tides 逆转形势 toward good. I must say, Mr. Trask, your work with our veterans has been impressive. Washington will be grateful for your spirit of service. Will the boys and I be accompanying you to Washington, sirs? No. My time there will be taken up with business. Do you intend for your boys to soldier like their father? When Adam finishes school next month, I will enlist him in the cavalry. And Charles… Charles will remain here on the farm to look after the place.  

mercantilism; detective Bergerac; 借款, 借钱, 借贷, 申请贷款;

用法学习: 1. mercantilism [ˈmɜː.kən.tɪ.lɪ.zəm] 重商主义 Also called mercantile [ˈmɜː.kən.taɪl] system economics. a theory prevalent in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries asserting that the wealth of a nation depends on its possession of precious metals and therefore that the government of a nation must maximize the foreign trade surplus, and foster national commercial interests, a merchant marine, the establishment of colonies, etc. merchant [ˈmɜː.tʃənt] 贩子, 贩卖商 I. a person whose job is to buy and sell products in large amounts, especially by trading with other countries: wine merchant. grain merchant. II. UK informal disapproving someone who is involved in or enjoys something that is unpleasant or annoying to others: gossip merchant 八卦贩子 These internet gossip merchants (= people who discuss people's private lives) need to think about the effect they have on people's lives. speed merchant In his youth he was something of a speed merchant (= he drove too fast). III.  a business that sells directly to the public either from a store or through the internet: Experienced merchants said that the fee structure for accepting cards is confusing. Local merchants experienced a revenue boost in the lead up to Thanksgiving. Most online merchants will email you an order confirmation with details of your purchase. wiki: Mercantilism, in its simplest form, is all about bullionism (Bullionism [ˈbʊliən] is an economic theory that defines wealth by the amount of precious metals owned. Bullionism is an early and perhaps more primitive form of mercantilism. bullion gold or silver 金条 in the form of bars: gold bullion. ), or the theory that a nation's wealth is measured in terms of how much precious metal, particularly gold and silver, it possesses. Mercantilist authors were concerned with the movement of money, however, more than with the hoarding of it. They felt that money needed to move through the economy to induce trade and economic activity, a concept different from that of simply amassing wealth 积累财富. This focus on money's role, specifically precious metals, mirrors modern discussions of the money supply and its implications for economic growth, i.e., how money supply expansion can stimulate economic activity. However, with the advent of fiat money [ˈfiː.æt] (money not backed by a physical commodity. Fiat money or fiat currency 法定货币 is a type of government-issued currency, generally created by a central bank, authorized by government regulation to be legal tender but not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat money generally does not have intrinsic value nor a use value. It has value only because the individuals who use it (as a unit of account or, in the case of currency, a medium of exchange) agree on its value. They trust that it will be accepted by merchants and other people as a means of payment for liabilities. Fiat money is an alternative to commodity money 商品货币 (which is a currency that has intrinsic value because it contains, for example, a precious metal such as gold or silver which is embedded in the coin). Fiat also differs from representative money (which is money that has intrinsic value because it is backed by and can be converted into a precious metal or another commodity). Fiat money can look similar to representative money (such as paper bills), but the former has no backing, while the latter represents a claim on a commodity or a tradable investment, and can be redeemed to a greater or lesser extent. Representative money or receipt money is any medium of exchange, physical or digital, that represents something of value, but has little or no value of its own (intrinsic value). More specifically, the term representative money has been used variously to mean: A claim on a commodity, for example gold and silver certificates. In this sense, it may be called "commodity-backed money". Any type of money that has face value greater than its value as material substance. In this sense, most types of fiat money are a type of representative money. ) and floating exchange rates, the importance of specie (gold and silver) in economic systems has diminished. Progressively, the focus shifted from the handling of money to the implementation of industrial policies that placed greater economic goals, e.g., stimulating general prosperity and supporting technological and industrial advancement, above the financing of war. 2. countervailing [ˈkaʊn.təˌveɪ.lɪŋ] 对抗的, 抵消的, 制衡的 having equal force but an opposite effect. A countervailing force, power, or opinion is one which is of equal strength to another one but is its opposite or opposes it. countervailing force 制衡力量 There was nobody strong enough to lead an effective countervailing force against the dictator. a countervailing argument. Their strategy is greatest in effect when there is no countervailing power. "The non-profit sector injected a countervailing element of stability during long periods of political disorder." inopportune [ɪˈnɒp.ə.tʃuːn] 让人尴尬的, 不合适的, 不方便的, 不恰当的 happening or done at a time that is not suitable or convenient. happening or done at a time that is not suitable or convenient. If you describe something as inopportune or if you say that it happens at an inopportune time, you mean that it happens at an unfortunate or unsuitable time, and causes trouble or embarrassment because of this. The dismissals came at an inopportune time.  Difficulties seem to crop up at the most inopportune times. inopportune moment I'm sorry, you've called at an inopportune moment. inopportune time Her decision to leave couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. opportune happening at a time that is likely to produce success or is convenient. happening at a time which is likely to give success or which is convenient: You couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time. opportune moment This seems to be an opportune moment for reviving our development plan. it is opportune to Would it be opportune to discuss the contract now? 3. How tobacco cartels send black market profits offshore: Australia's illicit tobacco trade has become so lucrative that criminal overlords have built a secret pipeline suspected of smuggling tens of millions of dollars in profits overseas. For years, state and federal investigators have fought a public battle to extinguish the conflict marked by hundreds of firebombings, underworld assassinations and the murder of an innocent Melbourne woman by bumbling ( bumbling ( = UK ham-fisted) 毛头小伙子, 毛手毛脚的, 没技巧的, 糊涂的, 不精明的, 愚蠢的, 拙手笨脚的, 做事不牢靠的, 不靠谱的, 笨手笨脚的 confused and showing no skill. confused, esp. in the way someone moves or speaks. If you describe a person or their behaviour as bumbling, you mean that they behave in a confused, disorganized way, making mistakes and usually not achieving anything. ...a clumsy, bumbling, inarticulate figure. I've never seen such bumbling incompetence! The players look like bumbling idiots on the field. He specialized in playing bumblingly comic villains. At one point, the bumblingly vague character confides to her audience: "You were meant to laugh there." ) foot soldiers 跑腿的, 小卒子. There were hopes that Hamad's arrest and imprisonment earlier this year would destabilise his violent campaign but it appears to have had little impact, with terrifying violence continuing to spill onto suburban streets across the country. The ABC can reveal money was allegedly siphoned 虹吸 out of the country by figures like the bagman (bagman I. British informal a travelling sales representative. II. slang, mainly US a person who collects or distributes money for racketeers. III. informal, mainly Canadian a person who solicits money or subscriptions for a political party. IV. Australian history a tramp or swagman, esp one on horseback. V. = bagswinger Australian slang someone who takes money for a bookmaker.). Law enforcement sources say he travelled up and down Australia's east coast, collecting duffel bags and boxes stuffed with cash. The bagman has since been charged after being busted with millions of dollars in his hire car. Bust unlikely to stem tide, sources say. He pleaded guilty to dealing with the proceeds of crime but denied playing any active role, telling the judge it was his "first time" doing business interstate and that he believed the money in his car was from legal tobacco sales. Sources told the ABC the bagman's conviction will do little to stem the flow of money being funnelled out of Australia. The Albanese government has ramped up enforcement as it continues to resist calls to cut the tax on tobacco, introducing a raft of bills and new laws to punish illegal importation. The federal government was earlier this week touting 吹嘘, 吹捧 the sharp rise in legal tobacco purchases in Queensland following the state government's introduction of stronger powers in November to shut businesses found to be selling illicit tobacco. Assistant Minister for Customs Julian Hill said the Queensland results showed strong laws and enforcement were "helping turn the tide" on Australia's illicit tobacco trade. Victoria gave new powers to inspectors and police last month to shutter (shutter 永久关闭, shut 暂时关闭) businesses caught selling illicit tobacco, with 61 stores since closed for breaches. They said the government's changes would capture "soldiers" but not "generals" like Hamad, who relied on contract criminals, often children, to do his bidding from afar. "We need to make it an organisational priority to disrupt the chain," the source said. "We always get the small fish. We don't investigate hard enough to get the bosses. Never the big ones. 4. truculent [ˈtrʌk.jə.lənt] 急着争辩的, 抢着说的, 总是抢话的 If you say that someone is truculent, you mean that they are bad-tempered and aggressive. unpleasant and likely to argue a lot. having a bad state of mind, or behaving in a threatening manner: He was a truculent bully. a truculent teenager. He was truculent and difficult to deal with. 'Your secretary said you'd be wanting a cleaner,' she announced with her usual truculence. Although the plaintiff seemed at times frustrated or truculent when speaking, I regarded this as an expression of her anxiety and the stress of representing herself in such a painful matter. At no point did I doubt the authenticity of her efforts, both in making submissions and cross-examining Mr Osbourne. impute [ɪmˈpjuːt] 归结到, 怪罪, 归罪于 I. to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable, esp a criminal offence) to a person. If you impute something such as blame or a crime to someone, you say that they are responsible for it or are the cause of it. to say that someone is responsible for something that has happened, especially something bad, or that something is the cause of something else: I impute your success to nepotism. For purposes of the company's violations, the conduct of its officials and employees may be imputed to the firm. It is grossly unfair to impute blame to the United Nations. II. to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown. to calculate something when you do not have exact information, by comparing it to something similar: imputed costs/data/income 估算. The Treasury imputes a notional income from such interest-free loans of 8% a year. inculpate [ˈɪnkʌlˌpeɪt] ( = not culpable, outculpate) (transitive) to incriminate; cause blame to be imputed to. to incriminate; cause blame to be imputed to. inculcate 灌输 If you inculcate an idea or opinion in someone's mind, you teach it to them by repeating it until it is fixed in their mind. to fix beliefs or ideas in someone's mind, especially by repeating them often: We have tried to inculcate a feeling of citizenship in youngsters. The aim is to inculcate business people with an appreciation of different cultures. Great care was taken to inculcate the values of nationhood and family. inculcate something into someone Our coach has worked hard to inculcate a team spirit into the players. inculcate something in someone I have tried hard to inculcate decent values in the children. They were kept apart from other people in an effort to inculcate unquestioning obedience. 

借钱, 借贷 (float a loan, raise a loan, advance someone some money): 1. Chandler: If you need money, will you please just let me loan 借钱 you some money? 2. advance verb. I. [transitive] to help something progress and become more developed or successful. They use the Internet as a tool to advance their research. He will do anything to advance his career. We are working to advance the cause of world peace. II. [transitive] formal to suggest something for people to consider. She advanced the theory that children learn more from their friends than from their parents. III. [transitive] 借钱. to give or lend someone money before the usual time or before they do something. I asked the school to advance the funds for my trip. advance someone something: The bank is refusing to advance him any money. IV. [intransitive] business to increase in value. Stock market trading advanced slightly today. noun. I. [countable/uncountable] progress or an instance of progress in science, technology, human knowledge etc. In spite of all its advances, medical science still knows little about the brain. advance in: major advances in computer technology. the advance of something: ethical questions raised by the advance of genetic engineering. II. [countable] a payment for work that is given before the work is complete. The author has signed a publishing deal for an advance of £500,000. 电视剧Stranger Things: I need an advance 我需要先付工资, 预付工资.  I was thinking two weeks. I need this phone and two weeks' advance 两星期的提前支付. a. an amount of money that is paid to someone before the usual time. I asked for an advance on next month's salary. wiki: An advance payment 预付款, or simply an advance, is the part of a contractually due sum that is paid or received in advance for goods or services, while the balance included in the invoice will only follow the delivery. Advance payments are recorded as a prepaid expense in accrual accounting for the entity issuing the advance. Advanced payments are recorded as assets on the balance sheet. As these assets are used they are expended and recorded on the income statement for the period in which they are incurred. Insurance is a common prepaid asset, which will only be a prepaid asset because it is a proactive measure to protect business from unforeseen events. III. [countable] a forward movement towards someone or something, especially by an army. The rebels continued their advance on the capital city. IV. advances [plural] an attempt to have a sexual relationship with someone, especially when they do not want it. make advances: Evans denied making sexual advances to her. in arrears (advance) I. late in making a regular payment. Your mortgage payment is a month in arrears. II. British taxes and salaries that are paid in arrears are paid at the end of a period of time. If they are paid at the beginning of a period of time, they are paid in advance. adj. I. done, obtained, or announced before a particular time or event. We require 30 days' advance notice 提前通知 if you wish to cancel your membership. There was no advance warning before the earthquake hit. advance reservations/tickets. II. sent to a place before a larger group that will arrive later. an advance party/team/unit. 3. float someone a loan 借款, 借钱, 借贷, 申请贷款 US informal to allow someone to borrow money from you. float a loan 借贷 I. To receive a loan of money from someone or some institution. I had to float a loan to pay for the medical expenses. Thankfully they were able to float a loan and implement the repairs and upgrades the health inspector had demanded. Most people have to float a loan to pay for college in this country. II. To give, or arrange for someone to give, a loan of money to someone else. I'd be happy to float you a loan to help get your business off the ground. The house needs a lot of work, so they're looking around at creditors who might be willing to float them a loan. No bank is going to float you a loan if they have reason to think you're not gonna pay it! float verb. I. If something or someone is floating in a liquid, they are in the liquid, on or just below the surface, and are being supported by it. You can also float something on a liquid. They noticed fifty and twenty dollar bills floating in the water. ...barges floating quietly by the grassy river banks. They'll spend some time floating boats in the creek. float down We spent a lazy afternoon floating down the river. float along It feeds by simply floating along the water and scooping up fish. float out to He tossed the bottle into the waves and watched it float out to sea. float something on something The children enjoy floating their boats on the pond in the park. Fluffy white clouds were floating across the sky. II. Something that floats lies on or just below the surface of a liquid when it is put in it and does not sink. III. Something that floats in or through the air hangs in it or moves slowly and gently through it. The white cloud of smoke floated away. ...the sun's rays lighting up the dust floating in the air. figurative The sound of piano-playing floated out through 飘出 the open window. IV. If a sound or smell floats 环绕, 萦绕 to a place quite far away, it can be heard or smelled there. Sublime music floats on a scented summer breeze to the spot where you lie on the lush grass. The smells of delicious foods floated all around him. V. If you float somewhere, you walk there very lightly and gracefully. Caroline floated up the aisle on her father's arm. VI. If you float a project, plan, or idea, you suggest it for others to think about. float an idea/proposal/suggestion The partnership idea was floated at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last year. The French had floated the idea of placing the diplomatic work in the hands of the U.N. VII. If a company director floats their company, they start to sell shares in it to the public. He floated his firm on the stock market. The advisers decided to float 60 per cent of the shares. It was touted as the biggest float 上市 since Telstra in the 1990s, but the share market float of data centre operator Firmus is in trouble before it has even hit the share market. The bookbuild for the float closed today. There are several new businesses looking to float. float (sth) on the stock market/stock exchange etc. The group is planning to float on the New York Stock Exchange later this year. float at $3/200p/ etc. (a share) The stock was floated at 233p a share last July and closed up 3.75p last night at 286.25p. Last January the chief executive said he would only float the company if there was a "dramatic" revival in the market. VIII. If a government floats its country's currency or allows it to float, it allows the currency's value to change freely in relation to other currencies. ...the decision to float their currency. Argentina decided to let its currency float freely against the dollar. 59 per cent of people believed the pound should be allowed to float 自由兑换 freely. IX. to move smoothly and attractively: She sort of floats around, like a ballet dancer. X. to move or act without purpose: float around 游荡, 晃荡 Since he lost his job, he's just floated around doing nothing. float about UK Since he lost his job, he's just floated about doing nothing. float someone's boat to be what someone likes or is interested in: Motor racing doesn't really float my boat. be floating on air to be very happy: When he got his exam results he was floating on air. noun. I. 浮子. A float is a light object that is used to help someone or something float. II. A float is a small object attached to a fishing line which floats on the water and moves when a fish has been caught. III. A float 花车 is a truck on which displays and people in special costumes are carried in a festival procession. IV. A float 找零, 零钱 (petty cash) is a small amount of coins and notes of low value that someone has before they start selling things so that they are able to give customers change if necessary. a small amount of money kept by someone who works in a bar, etc., used for giving customers their change. V. (mainly UK also flotation 上市) a situation in which a company offers shares for sale on a stock market for the first time: The stock has been one of the great out-performers of recent times, rising more than 90% since the company's float 11 years ago. The planned flotation of the new Internet portal has been postponed. a $90 billion/£350 million, etc. float Bank of China is poised to file for $8 bn float. Shares are currently below their 330p-a-share float price. Companies must file an initial registration statement under the Exchange Act before commencing a public float. 4. hit up someone to ask someone for something, esp. money: She tried to hit me up for a loan till payday, but I didn't have any money to give her. He was hitting up everyone for money 四处借钱, 到处找人借钱. As Vulture's Jen Chaney said in her final post for the series: "We all pretty much know who did the dicks: Christa Carlyle." But even people close to the cast and crew weren't sure. As star Jimmy Tatro said, "I have some pissed off friends that hit me up 找到我 afterwards: 'Who did it man?!' I'm like, 'Did you watch the whole thing?' 'Well, yeah.' 'Then you should know!'". 5. raise a loan/mortgage/stake 获得贷款, 筹集到资金 means to obtain or secure a loan — i.e. to successfully borrow money. "The company raised a loan to fund the new equipment." "He raised a loan against the property.". TV Series - Bergerac: Rachini says Julien was there three weeks ago and he didn't have a good night. On Tuesday night, Julien called and asked if she could raise him a stake 贷款给他. The call occurred at 8:22 p.m. and lasted seven minutes. Rachini told him they had reached the end of their friendship. As they leave, Jim says she just drove a bus through 戳破 Arthur's alibi. When was Julien last here? Three weeks ago. Let's just say he did not have a good night. OK, was that when you told him you were calling in his debt 收账, 收款, 要求还款? No. That was Tuesday night. He called, asked if I could raise him a stake. Said he'd got a sure tip on the horses and if it came in ( 后边有解释. if the tip came in, my horse comes in, the bet came in (paid off, came through)), he could clear his debts. So he called you? When was this? Here we go. 8.22pm, seven-minute call. Is that a landline number? Old school. We're gonna need that. If I'm not under caution, I don't need to give you anything. But I'll tell you what. I'll take a screenshot and send it over. Did you give him the stake? He already owed me 250. Even I have my limits. So you threatened him? I said we'd reached the end of our friendship. How he chose to interpret that is up to him. can drive a truck through something = could drive a truck through (something) 漏得像筛子( memory/mind like a sieve If you have a memory or mind like a sieve, you forget things very easily. Milwaukee Bucks' Defense Is Leaking Like A Sieve: 足球: Gutless. Lose a goal and they give up. Defence is like a sieve. No tracking back, anticipation nil. Do these players want to play for Hibs or just the money? tracking back 回防: In soccer, tracking back means when an attacking or midfield player sprints or runs back toward their own goal to help defend after their team loses possession. ) Could easily show or exploit the flaws in something. If you can drive a truck through something such as an agreement, contract or argument, it has serious weaknesses or faults. Oh please, I could drive a truck through that lawyer's incoherent argument, and I plan to do just that in court tomorrow. I really thought we had a sound take on the issue. But apparently the other debate team could drive a truck through it—and boy did they. Are you seriously trying to justify plagiarizing that paper? Well, I could drive a truck right through that argument—where should I start? In my view, Miller's fiscal plan is so thin you could drive a truck through it. Note: You can also say that something has weaknesses big enough to drive a truck through. Clearly, there were loopholes in the system big enough to drive a truck through. stake noun. I. a share in something, esp. a financial share in a business, or an emotional investment in something. a share or a financial involvement in something such as a business: acquire/buy/sell a stake (in sth). increase/raise/reduce a stake (in sth). He holds a 20% stake in the company. Parents have a large stake in their children's education. hold a stake in/of He holds (= owns) a 40 percent stake in/of the company. have a stake in something If you have a stake in something, it is important to you because you have a personal interest or involvement in it: Employers have a stake in the training of their staff. a 15%/3%/10%, etc. stake His 22% stake makes him the retailer's biggest shareholder. have/hold/own a stake (in sth) The Chief Executive has a controlling stake in the company worth €58m. II. the amount of money that you risk on the result of something such as a game or competition. In an activity or competition, the stakes are the costs or risks involved in competing: The City continued to play for high stakes in shares of the airline. Given the high stakes for both hardware makers and software suppliers, neither side is likely to give up easily. Global competition has raised the stakes of doing business. high-stakes She spent two weeks in Las Vegas playing high-stakes blackjack at the casinos. the stakes [plural] In an activity or competition, the stakes are the reward for the person who wins or succeeds in it: The team is playing for enormous stakes - the chance to play in the final. the Stakes used in the names of horse races in which the prize money is provided by all the owners of the horses that are competing in the race: The Twixt Stakes is held at Laurel Park Racecourse. the beauty, popularity, etc. stakes UK a situation where someone is judged on how much of a particular quality they have: in the beauty, popularity, etc. stakes 颜值不高, 不受欢迎, 欢迎度不高 The prime minister is not very high in the popularity stakes (= he is not very popular) at the moment. III. a strong stick or metal bar with a pointed end: Stakes in the ground marked the outline of the new building. The stakes are pushed or hammered into the ground and can be used for supporting a plant or forming part of a fence. the stake 木桩, 木柱 in the past, a wooden post to which people were tied before being burned to death as a punishment: burned at the stake 耻辱柱 In medieval Europe, people accused of heresy were often burned at the stake. verb. I. to risk an amount of money: stake something on something 赌上 At the roulette table, he staked $10,000 on number 21. II. to hold up and support something by fastening it to stakes: Tomato plants should be staked 爬架子, 搭架子 (luffa trellis 丝瓜架) soon after they are planted. (A tomato trellis is a support structure designed to keep plants growing vertically. This practice improves airflow, prevents pests, and increases fruit yields. Popular methods include the Florida Weave, Single-Stem String Trellising, and traditional Tomato Cages or Stakes.). III. to risk harming or losing something important: He has talent and ambition, and I'd stake my reputation on his success. at stake if something like money, a job, or someone's reputation is at stake, it is in danger of being lost because of a particular situation: The company's reputation is at stake and they need to act quickly and decisively. Up to 300 jobs are thought to be at stake at head office. stake a/your claim to state that you have a right to something and that it should belong to you: Foreign companies across a range of sectors seek to stake a claim in China's fast-growing economy. stake a claim to/for/on sth to announce that something belongs to you: Stacy staked her claim to her uncle's fortune. Various countries are trying to stake their claims to the oil under the polar ice cap. stake something out 监视 I. to watch a place continuously in order to catch criminals or to see a famous person. to secretly watch a place, esp. for illegal activity: A group of reporters staked out the hallway, hoping to catch the singer on her way out. The police staked out the hotel where the two terrorists were reported to be staying. II. to establish or make clear your opinion or position on something: Two of the president's chief advisers have staked out opposite positions 表明立场 on this issue. New software companies are going to find it hard staking out a position 占据一席之地 in an already crowded market. III. to claim ownership of or a particular interest in something: All politicians will stake out lowering taxes as their very own idea. stake somewhere/something out 占据, 占地方 to mark the limits of an area or a piece of land with wooden sticks in order to claim that you own it. to show clearly that you claim the right to own, control, or use a particular area, for example by putting personal things there: Each gang in the city has staked out its territory and defends it from other gangs. They arrived early for the concert and staked out a place 占地盘, 占地方 at the front of the queue. stake someone to something 提供, 供应 to provide someone with a particular thing or with what is needed to get it: The governor has promised to stake the city's homeless to what they need for a fresh start. go to the stake for something 冒风险, 冒险, 以身涉险 to defend an action, opinion, or belief despite the risks that are involved: She was prepared to go to the stake for her views. pull up stakes 搬家, 拔寨 US informal (UK up sticks) to take all the things that you own and go and live in a different place: This is the fourth time in five years that we've had to pull up stakes. stake something on something 赌上... to risk harming or losing something important if an action, decision, or situation does not have the result you want or expect: I think she'll be head of this company in five year's time - I'd stake my reputation on it. equity stake the part of a company that a person or organization owns, represented by the number of shares they have: Investors provide capital in exchange for equity stakes. take/acquire/have an equity stake (in sth) The investment bank intends to take an equity stake in the firm as part of its involvement with the takeover. a small/large/significant equity stake. raise/up the stakes I. 增加赌注. 增加筹码. to increase the amount of money or valuables hazarded in a gambling game. to increase the prize or reward in a competition or any activity in which you are competing: The fight promoters have decided to raise the stakes in order to attract better competitors. The stakes were raised this year, meaning that poker players were competing for almost $5 million in prize money. She refused to pay unless the tournament organizers upped the stakes for women. Another couple upped the stakes by offering over £3.5m for the property. A shortage of housing has raised the stakes for estate agents. II. to make a situation more urgent or more difficult to ignore. to increase the costs, risks, or considerations involved in taking an action or reaching a conclusion. the Libyan allegations raised the stakes in the propaganda war between Libya and the United States. The stowaways are trying to raise the stakes by refusing to eat until they are given money and aid. The president has upped the stakes by sending troops to the border. This legal decision could raise the stakes for all similar employment cases. Stiffer sentences have raised the stakes for drug traffickers. The supermarket's special offers have upped the stakes in this retail war. stowaway 逃票者, 偷渡者: A person who hides on a vehicle to get a free ride is a stowaway. If your cat sneaks into the back seat of your car and travels to school with you, she's a stowaway too! The verb phrase stow away came first, meaning "conceal," from stow, or "stash." By the 1840s, stowaway was being used as a noun to mean "clandestine traveler." Anyone who sneaks onto a boat, plane, or train and hides out during the trip, stowing themselves someplace secluded, can be described as a stowaway. raise I. to increase the amount, level, or quality of something: The Bank of England was expected to raise the cost of borrowing after higher than expected inflation figures. raise salaries/prices/taxes 提价, 涨工资, 涨税 There is increasing pressure on exporters to raise prices in foreign markets. raise awareness/standards/quality 提高意识, 提高标准, 提高品质 The new government is pledging to raise standards in education. II. 提出问题. 融资. 筹集资金. to cause to exist: Her answers raised doubts/fears/suspicions in my mind. This discussion has raised many important issues/problems. The announcement raised a cheer/laugh 引起欢呼, 引起哄堂大笑. I want to raise (= talk about) two problems/questions with you. I want to start my own business if I can raise (= obtain) the money/cash/capital/funds. raise concerns/doubts/fears to mention something that you are worried or not sure about so that it can be examined and dealt with: The company announced a package of reforms to address concerns raised by shareholders. raise issues/objections/questions 提出反对, 提出疑问, 提出质疑. formal The chapel was raised (= built) as a memorial to her son. to manage to get money to invest in a business, project, property, etc.: raise capital/funds/money We will raise funds for reconstruction by disposing of assets. The share issue in the coffee company aims to raise €5m from investors eager to invest in ethical concerns. raise a loan/mortgage/stake 获得贷款, 筹集到资金 means to obtain or secure a loan — i.e. to successfully borrow money. "The company raised a loan to fund the new equipment." "He raised a loan against the property.". II. 养育, 养大. to take care of a person, or an animal or plant, until they are completely grown: Her parents died when she was a baby and she was raised by her grandparents. The lambs had to be raised by hand (= fed milk by people) when their mother died. The farmer raises (= breeds) chickens and pigs. The soil around here isn't good enough for raising (= growing) crops 种植庄稼. III. If you raise another player in a game of cards, you risk more money than that player has risked: I'll raise you. I'll raise you $50. IV. to end or stop: They agreed to raise/lift the trade embargo if three conditions were met. After three weeks the siege was raised. V. to communicate with someone, especially by phone or radio: I've been trying to raise Jack/Tokyo all day. VI. to prepare an invoice (US:  "issue an invoice" or "send an invoice". "making out an invoice" is natural and correct too — it means to write up or prepare an invoice. "Can you make out an invoice for this order?" "I'll make out an invoice and send it over." It's the same construction as: "make out a cheque" — write a cheque. "make out a receipt" — write up a receipt. "raise a purchase order", "raise a credit note". In fact "raise" is commonly used across all business/financial documents in Commonwealth English. It carries the sense of formally creating or initiating a document in a business context. "Raise a cheque" is particularly common in corporate/accounting settings — e.g. an accounts department would say "I'll raise a cheque for that payment" rather than "write a cheque", which sounds more personal/informal. ): The exporter raises an invoice 开发票 in the usual way on the overseas buyer. "I'll raise an invoice for that work today." "Please raise an invoice for the full amount." VII. to make or arrange a phone call, especially to discuss technical help, business, etc.: If you have a technical fault, you can raise a call using the in-house system. call in I. 催款, 要求还款, 催账, 催收账, 收款. 收账. 收贷 to call for payment; collect. call in a loan/debt to officially tell someone to pay back money you lent them The bank can call in the loan at any time. The family struggled because her father was unwilling to call in the debts owed to him. II. to call upon for consultation; ask for help. Management called in an independent engineering firm to determine the cause behind the roof collapse. III. to inform, report, or request by telephone. The electric company will reward customers with a credit if they call in their own meter readings. Your doctor can call in the prescription to your local pharmacy. IV. to participate in a meeting or a radio or television program by telephone. The listeners who call in to my talk show about science ask the most intriguing questions. V. to visit. We were instructed to call in to the office later to pay and complete the formal paperwork. call in on sb to visit a person or place while you are on your way to somewhere else Could you call in on Mum on your way home? VI. to withdraw from circulation. The country's leader issued a proclamation calling in 召回(recall) all gold coins and gold certificates. VII. to telephone somewhere, especially the place where you work, to tell them where you are, what you are doing etc Rachael called in sick (=telephoned to say she was too ill to come to work).  come in I. to enter a room or building: Do you want to come in for a cup of tea? Hi, come in - great to see you! II. (of a bus, train, plane, etc.) to arrive at a particular place: Hasn't his train come in yet? Our flights came in within an hour of each other (Our flights landed back to back). "The train came in 进站 late (got in late, pulled in late)." "What time does your flight come in?" "The ship came in early this morning." III. (of a product) to become available: We are waiting for new stock to come in 到货. He has the book on order and expects it to come in 到货 next week. IV. (of a law, rule, or system) to be introduced and start to be used: Many thousands of people have given up smoking since this legislation came in 生效. It will be several months before the new rules come in. V. 变流行. to become fashionable or popular. When a new idea, fashion, or product comes in, it becomes popular or available. It was just when geography was really beginning to change and lots of new ideas were coming in. I wouldn't be sorry to see proportional representation come in. Flared trousers 喇叭裤 first came in during the 1970s. As with so many other fashions, the trend for dressing down at work seems to be going out almost before it has come in. VI. When news or information comes in, it is received: Reports are just coming in 信息/消息/新闻/报道开始进来 of a major accident on the motorway. VII. If you have money coming in, you receive it as income: With Dave unemployed, we don't have much money coming in at the moment. If more funding comes in, we may be able to restore some of our services. VIII. to become involved in a situation, story, or plan: We need expert advice, and that's where you come in 出场. His character doesn't come in until about halfway through the film. to become involved in a situation, plan, or discussion. If you ask where something or someone comes in, you are asking what their role is in a particular matter. Rose asked again, 'But where do we come in, Henry?' Finally, he could do no more, which is where Jacques came in. come in on sth 参与进来, 加入 If someone comes in on a discussion, arrangement, or task, they join it. Can I come in here too, on both points? He had a designer come in and redesign the uniforms. Can I come in on that issue? IX. to begin playing or singing as part of a piece of music, either for the first time or after a pause: My favourite part of the song is that moment when the horns come in. The soloist has a long wait before coming in again. The DJ has to cue up the second piece of music so it comes in on the first beat of a bar. X. When the sea or the tide comes in 涨潮, the water moves forwards to cover more of the beach. (of the ocean tide) to be rising to a higher level: By the time we got to the beach the tide had come in. come in first, second, etc. to finish a race in first, second, etc. position: Burns came in second in the 100 metres. XI. to prove to be. it came in useful. come in handy If something comes in handy, it is useful in a particular situation. That key will come in handy if you lock yourself out. The $20 check came in very handy. come in useful If an object or skill comes in useful, it can help you achieve something in a particular situation. come in from the cold = come in out of the cold I. (espionage) Of a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory. II. (figurative) To gain widespread acceptance in a group or society, especially where there was not any before. Long an outsider in Western politics, Portugal came in from the cold after the 1974 Carnation Revolution. Return to shelter and safety, be welcomed into a group. Bill was fed up with traveling on his own for the company and hoped they'd let him come in from the cold. After years of not being invited to join, Steve was finally asked to come in out of the cold.

gravity

用法学习: 1. Moisture management or moisture-wicking 吸汗( Moisture wicking is a fabric's ability to pull sweat away from your skin and move it to the outside of the clothing so it can evaporate quickly. wick noun. 烛芯. 灯芯. a piece of string in the centre of a candle, or a similar part of a light, that supplies fuel to a flame. verb. 吸汗 to absorb liquid from something and remove it. If a material wicks moistur 吸干, it moves it from the inside to the surface. The fabric naturally wicks moisture away from the skin. These special fabrics wick moisture from athletes' skin to keep them comfortable. get on someone's wick UK old-fashioned informal to annoy someone. If you say that someone or something gets on your wick, you mean that they annoy and irritate you. The Professor was beginning to get on Molly's wick. ) is a functional property in textiles that enables them to transfer moisture from the skin, by capillary 毛细血管 ( [kəˈpɪl.ər.i] a very thin tube, especially one of the smaller tubes that carry blood around the body. the smallest of the tubes that carry blood around the body. Capillaries are tiny blood vessels in your body. This damage results in broken capillaries and pigmentation. ) action through the fabric, spreading it over a large external surface area, which helps in drying quickly. The property is one of the most important for thermal comfort of textiles. Moisture-wicking clothes adsorb the liquid sweat on the skin and spread it along the surface of the fibres by capillary attraction to the external surface of the clothing, which is exposed to drier air, and where it evaporates more quickly, in comparison with a clothing item which absorbs and retains the water in the fibres. Hence it avoids mass retention of the moisture and the associated feeling of dampness 感觉潮潮的. The transport of liquid water through an unsaturated textile is a combination of wetting and wicking, and diffusion of absorbed water through the fibre. Without wetting, there can be no wicking as the contact angle between water and fibre will have no tendency to pull the water along the contact surface. Capillary flow in the plane of the fabric is called in-plane wicking, transverse wicking, or horizontal wicking. Capillary flow orthogonal to the plane of the fabric may be called transplanar wicking, transplanar uptake, or transplanar flow. Several factors are known to influence wicking in a fabric. These include the arrangement of the fibres, the material of the fibres, the composition of the liquid, the shape and alignment of the wetted surface, the geometry of the channels through which wicking occurs, and absorption of the liquid into the material of the fibres. Ambient temperature and humidity also influence the rate of fluid transfer by wicking. The migration of moisture through multiple layers of clothing or through plated fabric is more complicated and is affected by the order of layers with different wicking and absorptive characteristics. 2. (one's) jam 最爱, 最爱的歌曲, 最爱干的事, 最爱做的事 I. A song that one loves or likes a lot. Yo, this is my jam! Turn it up! A: "This dumb song is your jam?" B: "Yes, and clearly you have no taste." Look at Mom dancing with her friends over there. This must be their jam! II. Something one particularly prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about. I knew classic literature was your jam, so I thought you might like this book I found. Thank you for the invitation, but long-distance cycling just isn't really my jam. Baking's not my jam—I don't like having to measure every little thing so precisely. jam I. to be, or make something, unable to move: The door jammed behind me and I couldn't get out. jam something open He jammed the window open with a piece of wood. be jammed shut The lid of the box was jammed shut. II. to stop radio signals from reaching the people who want to receive them: Foreign radio broadcasts were regularly jammed. jam radar The aircraft carried equipment designed to jam enemy radar. jam a signal These are handheld devices that can jam satellite signals. III. to play jazz or rock music with other people informally without planning it or practising together. IV. to push something forcefully or with difficulty into something else: jam something into something She jammed the boxes into the back of the car. V. to fill a place completely: be jammed with The centre of town was jammed with 挤满了, 塞满了 cars moving at a very slow pace. be jammed solid 堵死了 UK The motorway was jammed solid (= the traffic could not move) all morning. what more do you want - jam on it? UK informal used to say that someone should be grateful for what they have or have been offered, and not demand something better: They've given him a holiday in Italy. What more does he want - jam on it? jam tomorrow 海市蜃楼 something good that is promised but never happens. said to mean that people are being promised that they will have something in the future, although they cannot have it now. The City simply does not believe it. It has been promised jam tomorrow too many times before by the company. As children we were always being promised jam tomorrow, if only we would be patient. 3. grandstanding 演戏给人看, 做戏, 政治作秀, 博取眼球, 哗众取宠, 炫耀卖弄 ( play to the gallery, seek to please the crowd, grandstanding, demagoguery) acting or speaking in a way intended to attract the good opinion of other people who are watching. acting or speaking in a way intended to attract attention and to influence the opinion of people who are watching. Grandstanding means behaving in a way that makes people pay attention to you instead of thinking about more important matters: Experts criticized the program as mere grandstanding by corporations and local officials. The political temptation to engage in grandstanding should be resisted. 惺惺作态: put on an act 装模作样, 演戏给别人看. pose装腔作势, 故作姿态. attitudinize 装模作样, 故作姿态. put on airs 摆架子, 装腔作势. play the hypocrite装伪君子, 惺惺作态. make a show of ...故意做样子给人看. She's just putting on an act. Stop posing and be yourself. He put on airs to impress the guests. 如果强调"假装善良/正经"的那种惺惺作态, 也常用 sanctimonious 或 hypocritical. sanctimonious 惺惺作态, 假惺惺 装腔作态, 伪善 [disapproval] If you say that someone is sanctimonious, you disapprove of them because you think that they are trying to appear morally better than other people. He writes smug, sanctimonious rubbish. You sanctimonious little hypocrite! She displays none of the sanctimoniousness often associated with spirituality. attitudinize = attitudinise [ˌætɪˈtjuːdɪˌnaɪz] 装腔作势, 摆态度 verb to adopt a pose or opinion for effect; strike an attitude. To cause (someone or something) to assume an attitude or pose; to pose, to posture. To assume an attitude or pose, especially one which is affected, exaggerated, or unnatural; to posture, to posturize; also, to excessively practise adopting attitudes or poses. posture [ˈpɑs·tʃər] 架势, 姿势 noun. I. the way in which someone usually holds their shoulders, neck, and back, or a particular position in which someone stands, sits, etc.: She's got very good/bad posture. adopt a posture 摆姿势 (拍照的姿势更多用pose, posture指自然的习惯性的姿态) He always adopts (= moves into) the same posture for the cameras. He always strikes the same pose for the cameras. He always poses the same way for the cameras. He always adopts the same pose for the cameras. assume a posture She assumed (= moved into) the posture of a fencer: legs apart, knees bent. a position of the body, or the way in which someone holds the body when standing, sitting, or walking. Your posture is the position in which you stand or sit. You can make your stomach look flatter instantly by improving your posture. Exercise, fresh air, and good posture are all helpful. Sit in a relaxed upright posture. Newton sat back in a reclining posture. She's got good/bad posture 站姿, 坐姿. II. a way in which a government or other organization thinks about and/or deals with a particular matter. A posture is an attitude that you have towards something. The military machine is ready to change its defensive posture to one prepared for action. None of the banks changed their posture 立场 on the deal as a result of the inquiry. posture on 姿态 For the third time this week the opposition has attacked the government's posture on defence. The tone of the feminist speakers suggested they were adopting a somewhat defensive posture. verb. 假惺惺的姿态. [formal, disapproval] to behave in a way that is intended to attract attention and interest, or to try to make people believe something that is not true. to act falsely in order to attract attention or achieve an effect. You can say that someone is posturing when you disapprove of their behaviour because you think they are trying to give a particular impression in order to deceive people. She says the President may just be posturing. Any calls for a new U.N. resolution are largely political posturing 政治作秀. There's been a lot of posturing on both sides. This trial turned into a carnival, with everybody posturing and playing to the camera. Businesses were co-operating across regional divides while the politicians postured. In the end, it simply looked like you were posturing. Posturing male politicians were favourites for the artists' cartoons. pose [pəʊz] verb. I. to cause something, especially a problem or difficulty: pose a threat Nuclear weapons pose a threat to everyone. pose a risk The pollution levels can pose long-term risks to health. pose a problem The mountain terrain poses particular problems for civil engineers. II. to ask a question, especially in a formal situation such as a meeting. to cause something, esp. a problem or difficulty. To pose a question is to bring attention to a problem, often in the form of a question: Does this defendant really pose a threat to the community?Joanna poses the question, "How do we accomplish these goals?" pose a question Can we go back to the question that Helena posed earlier? III. to move into and stay in a particular position, in order to be photographed, painted, etc.: pose for We all posed for our photographs next to the Statue of Liberty. IV. to pretend to be something that you are not or to have qualities that you do not have, in order to be admired or attract interest: He doesn't really know a thing about the theatre - he's just posing 他在装 (imposter syndrome)! noun. I. a particular position in which a person stands, sits, etc. in order to be photographed, painted, etc.: strike a pose He struck (= moved into) an elegant pose. As an artist's model you have to hold a pose for hours at a time. II. an occasion when someone pretends to have qualities that they do not have: She likes to appear as if she knows all about the latest films and art exhibitions, but it's all a pose 装的, 装出来的 (= she's pretending and it's not true). 4. Thinking in centuries 居安思危, 考虑长远, 做长远打算 means making decisions with an intergenerational outlook, prioritizing long-term stability, institutional continuity, and deep civilization over short-term trends. This concept—famously reflected in the phrase "the church thinks in centuries"—contrasts sharply with the modern pressure of business quarters, election cycles, and rapid digital news cycles. The Catholic Church is a corporation. The Catholic Church is arguably the first corporation. It is definitely the first corporation-turned-country. Corporate entities live forever. The Catholic Church, as a corporate entity, has independent identities & agendas. It can think in the terms of the lifetime of a nation, which spans multiple generations. The contemporary consternation ( consternation [ˌkɒn.stəˈneɪ.ʃən] 担忧, 震惊, 害怕 a feeling of worry, shock, or confusion. a feeling of strong annoyance and anger, usually because of something bad that you cannot change or that is completely unexpected. The power failure caused consternation among local officials. His decision caused consternation in the art photography community. Sam stared at him in consternation. fill someone with consternation The prospect of so much work filled him with consternation. to someone's consternation To his consternation, when he got to the airport he found he'd forgotten his passport. vocabulary: Consternation is a noun that can stop you in your tracks because it means "a sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay." If you have a sense of consternation you have become afraid, disoriented, or completely befuddled. It comes from the Latin roots con- and -sternare, which means "spread out." Picture all of your thoughts strewn about, nothing makes sense and you might experience a state of consternation. Like the nightmare about the class you forgot to go to in high school and now you have to take the final exam! constellation [ˌkɒn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən] I. 星系. any of the groups of stars in the sky that seem from earth to form a pattern and have been given names. II. a group of famous or admired people all together in one place: At our annual ceremony we had a whole constellation of movie stars and directors. ) over priest-abuse of children is just one of many scandals over many centuries. The Church has, and can, weathered the storm of such controversies in the past; there is little reason to think they won't do so again--it has a proven track record in this regard. Core Dimensions of Century-Scale Thinking: Intergenerational Stewardship: Viewing current resources, infrastructure, and knowledge not as transient property, but as a legacy to pass down across multiple generations. Institutional Resilience: Designing systems and rules that can survive political shifts, economic crises, and leadership changes by moving deliberately and relying on well-tested precedents. Doctrinal and Cultural Coherence: Balancing necessary day-to-day adaptations with a strict adherence to foundational principles, ensuring that small changes evolve slowly into stable, enduring norms. 5. 法国学生抗议示威: the use of an eye 失去了一只眼: Hundreds of schools have been forced to close and more than 6,000 people have been taken into police custody over the past few weeks, most of them minors with no previous criminal records. Students, teachers and policemen have been injured. One student in the north-east city of Lens lost his hand after reportedly picking up a grenade and another in Tours, the use of an eye. A 16-year-old boy injured during a high school blockade in Tours has lost the use of his right eye, the city prosecutor said on Friday. tin-eared 置若罔闻的 I. 音痴. 音盲. 缺乏音乐及语言鉴赏力的 showing an inability to appreciate (= to enjoy and make good judgments about) music or the way that words sound. an inability to perceive differences in musical sounds He has promised that by the time the World Cup finals come around next year his tin-eared team will be able to sing the national anthem. Even if you can make sense of the terrible plot, you will hate the tin-eared dialogue. If someone has a tin ear, they are not able to appreciate (= to enjoy and make good judgments about) music or the way that words sound: We are very different. He is a wonderful musician and I have a tin ear. She tells a good story, but has a tin ear for language. Many television directors have tin ears and use music unsympathetically in their shows, but luckily the ones I've worked with have been good. II. 不敏感. 反应迟钝的. 言行罔顾他人的感情 showing an inability to understand people's feelings as expressed in what they are saying or doing. If someone has a tin ear, they are not good at understanding people's feelings as expressed in what they are saying or doing. an insensitivity to subtlety in verbal expression Some London-based journalists and politicians are developing a tin ear for the mood of the general public. Businesses are often tin-eared when hearing complaints. Critics say the government's response has been slow and tin-eared. Initially much of it was focused on the far-left LFI party and its presence at the barricades. The party, led by Jean-Luc Melenchon, who's expected to do well in the country's presidential election next spring, has repeatedly defended both the students' right to protest and his party's right to be there. There's also been a lot of focus on the need for a firm 强硬 police response and the cost of the protest. Damage to schools in the greater Paris region alone is estimated at 7 million euros ($7.84 million). tin hat I. = hard hat. a metal hat worn by soldiers to protect their heads. a steel helmet worn by military personnel for protection against small metal fragments. tin foil hat = tinfoil hat used when talking about people who believe in conspiracy theories (= the belief that events or situations are the result of secret plans by powerful people), especially to refer to something that protects them from these secret plans: Let's take off our tinfoil hats for a minute. Do you seriously believe that NASA would be hiding something like that? The tinfoil hat types are really only wrong in that they think we are watching them specifically. Note: a hat made from one or more sheets of tin foil or aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, often worn in the belief or hope that it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control, and mind reading. The notion of wearing homemade headgear for such protection has become a popular stereotype and byword for paranoia, persecutory delusions, and belief in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. "Tin foil" is a common misnomer for aluminium foil in English-speaking countries; packaging metal foil was formerly made out of tin before it was replaced with aluminium. 报道: There was an initial concession 让步 over the fees at technological high schools that had been planned for 2027 but this has now been removed from the government's budget. "The government's response has been irresponsible and it confirms exactly why the students are angry, because they are never heard," said Manes. "They are responding only with repression." French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu rejected accusations that the government had ordered police to repress 镇压 the protests. The protesters do now have the government's full attention, especially after a spike in violence late last week, when the interior minister noted a shift from student protest to urban violence and some 2,000 people were taken into custody in a single day. On Friday, Edouard Geffray, the education minister, met with student leaders. No agreement was reached, however, and the student leaders called for a massive turnout 更大的人群, 更多的人数 on Tuesday immediately afterward. The government's response is being hampered(hamper I. 拖累. 妨碍, 阻碍 If someone or something hampers you, they make it difficult for you to do what you are trying to do. to make an action intended to achieve something more difficult: High winds hampered efforts to put out the fire. I was hampered by a lack of information. Fierce storms have been hampering rescue efforts and there is now little chance of finding more survivors. The bad weather hampered rescue operations. II. 礼品大篮子, 大礼包, 礼品篮子. A hamper is a basket containing food of various kinds that is given to people as a present. a luxury food hamper. III. 有盖大篮子 A hamper is a large basket with a lid, used especially for carrying food. a picnic hamper. IV. = UK laundry basket = clothes basket a container used for carrying dirty clothes and bed sheets and for storing them while they are waiting to be washed. ) by the poor state 财政状况 of the public finances. It is trying to pass a 2027 budget that narrows the deficit to around 5 percent of GDP, a feat that can only be achieved by painful belt-tightening 勒紧裤腰带. The unrest has fired the starting gun 发令枪, 打响第一枪( Lu said Singapore, as one of the richest countries in the world, had fired the starter's gun on a race to provide it with clean energy over the coming decades. starting gun = starter gun a special gun used to signal the beginning of a race. The official fired the starting gun and the runners were off. As soon as she heard the starting gun, she took off running. wiki: A starting pistol or starter pistol is a blank handgun or, more recently, an electronic toy gun or device with a button connected to a sound system that is fired to start track and field races and with the change to electronic devices, competitive swimming races. Traditional starter guns cannot fire real ammunition without first being extensively modified: Blank shells or caps are used to prevent expelling projectiles, and only a small amount of smoke can be seen when shot. In most places, trying to modify the replica is illegal. ) on what promises to be a vicious race between the far right and far left for the presidency, with much of the center floundering in the polls. For the far left, the pupils are a natural constituency. For the government, they're a source of disorder and of spending pressure at the worst possible moment. wiki(英国指用于运输食物的篮子, 如picnic hamper. 美国指用来拿来拿去的脏衣服篮子. laundry basket是用来放脏衣服的. 农业上指用来采摘瓜果背在背上的篮子. ): A hamper refers to a set of related basket-like items. In primarily British usage, it refers to a wicker basket, usually large, that is used for the transport of items, often food. In North America, the term generally refers to a household receptacle, often a basket, for clean (out of the dryer or off the line) or dirty clothing, regardless of its composition, i.e. "a laundry hamper". Typically a laundry hamper is used for storage and will be sturdier, taller and have a lid while a laundry basket is open and used mainly for transport. In agricultural use, a hamper is a wide-mouthed container of basketwork that may often be carried on the back during the harvesting of fruit or vegetables by hand by workers in the field. The contents of the hamper may be decanted ( decant I. to pour wine out of one container and into another so that the sediment is left behind. II. informal to move someone from one place to another. ) regularly into larger containers or a cart, wagon, or truck. The open ventilation and the sturdiness(sturdy 结实耐用的, 坚固的 strong and not easily hurt, damaged, or affected by what happens. sturdy legs/shoes/plants. ) offered by a hamper has made it suitable for the transport of food, hence the use of the picnic hamper. At one time it was common for laundry services to leave a large basketwork container with a lid which is now commonly referred to as a clothes hamper. The same type of container would be used to return clean clothing, which would be put away by the laundry service and the empty container left in place of the full container for later pickup. Charitable hamper: There is a long tradition of community and social philanthropy and charity related to hampers, in which persons or community groups donate to needy people a hamper of food, clothing, toiletries, cleaning products, or other household necessities, to assist with their family economy. Christmas hamper: A Christmas hamper is a traditional gift containing small nonperishable food items, particularly seasonal favorites such as fruitcake or plum pudding, chocolate, nuts, jams, biscuits, honey, smoked or dried meats, and cheese. Some hampers containing tea, coffee, or cocoa might also include a cup and saucer, often seasonally themed or personalized. Luxury hampers may also contain high-end items such as tins of caviar or small bottles of wine. A "fresh hamper" contains perishable 易腐烂的 items such as fruits, baked goods, or flowers. The tradition of the Christmas hamper may be intended as a special holiday meal for people who might otherwise have no memorable meal to mark the occasion, or for people such as students or shut-ins who are unable to join their families for Christmas. In the US, the Christmas hamper is more usually called a gift basket and does not necessarily contain food items. Non-food gift baskets are frequently themed, such as baskets containing luxury bath items including scented soaps and towels, or beauty baskets with skincare products, perfumes, or lotions. These gift baskets are also popular for occasions other than Christmas. Commercial hampers: A number of companies exist that sell ready-made food hampers or provide customers the service of compiling a custom hamper for them, which may involve company staff going shopping for requested specific items on behalf of individual customers. Such hampers are popular gift items in the UK and Ireland. Hamper companies usually link their services to certain occasions, most particularly Christmas, and provide options for payment across the year. Grocers, delis and supermarkets may also stock ready-made hampers, though mostly just on a seasonal basis, and with a selection generally limited to items stocked by the store or sourced from their own suppliers. 6. light on one's feet 脚步轻快的 I. capable of moving in a quick and graceful way. If you are light on your feet, you move quickly and gracefully: She's very light on her feet. I'm not quite as light on my feet as I used to be. II. able to move or change quickly, especially in different situations: Smaller firms are lighter on their feet 反应迅速, 应对敏捷 and able to make decisions more quickly. The novel is funny and moving and light on its feet. He's very light on his feet for such a big person. As the finale of models filed 鱼贯而入 backstage, the designer came out to take his bow, light on his feet as he waved to the audience before running back to his team, arms wide open ready for whatever comes next. 7. Spotlight: The Spotlight team initially believes that they are following the story of one priest who was repeatedly reassigned to different parishes, but deduces that many other priests in Massachusetts have been similarly shuttled 转移 from parish to parish, suggesting a broader cover-up. As the team realizes the sheer scale of the investigation, it begins to take a toll on their lives. Rezendes pushes to get the story out quickly to prevent rival newspapers from preemptively publishing under-researched work that the Archdiocese can explain away 找理由; and Robinson's network of affluent Catholic friends pressures him to compromise the investigation to protect the Church. When the September 11 attacks occur, the team is forced to temporarily de-prioritize their investigation. Garabedian informs Rezendes that there are publicly available court documents tying the cover-up to Cardinal Law himself, including a letter from Bishop John Michael D'Arcy warning Law of Geoghan's abuse. At Baron's direction 指示, 授意, Robinson urges the team to continue researching the case, emphasizing that Law can write off anecdotal priests as bad apples and that the Church's systematic cover-ups must be exposed. 

gravity (grave) 后果严重, 影响深远 VS severity 严重性, 级别 (severe): Severity [sɪˈvɛrɪti] refers to the intensity, harshness, or degree of something undesirable — how severe something is. It's about the magnitude or extent of a problem, condition, or consequence. Gravity refers to the seriousness, importance, or weightiness of a situation — how grave or solemn something is. It emphasizes the significance and the weight of consequences.

Aspect - Severity - Gravity
Focus - Intensity, harshness, degree - Seriousness, weight, importance
Emphasis - How bad/extreme something is - How consequential/serious something is
Tone - More clinical, measurable - More solemn, moral, or judicial
Common contexts - Medical symptoms, weather, punishment, pain - Crimes, errors, situations, matters, concerns
Implies - Extent of harm or intensity - Weight of importance or consequence

Severity: "The severity of her migraine kept her bedridden for days." "The severity of the storm surprised forecasters." "Punishment should match the severity of the offense."

Gravity: "He didn't grasp the gravity of the situation." "The gravity of the crime shocked the nation." "She spoke with the gravity of someone delivering bad news."

Overlap and Nuance: In some contexts, the words can overlap — a "severe" problem is often also a "grave" one. But the nuances differ: Severity answers: How intense or extreme is it?Gravity answers: How serious or consequential is it? A paper cut can have severity (it hurts a lot), but it lacks gravity (it's not a serious matter). Conversely, a diplomatic insult may lack physical severity but carry enormous gravity because of its political consequences. Quick Rule of Thumb: Use severity when describing how intense or harsh something is (pain, weather, symptoms, punishment). Use gravity when describing how serious or weighty something is (a mistake, a crime, a situation, a decision).

serious VS grave VS solemn (somber [ˈsɒm.bər] 悲伤气氛的) VS severe:  

Core Distinctions
Word    Core Meaning    Emphasis    Typical Contexts
Serious    Important, not trivial; potentially harmful    Importance + possible negative consequence    Problems, matters, injuries, expressions, tone
Grave    Very serious, weighty, potentially disastrous    High stakes + danger + moral weight    Crimes, errors, situations, concerns, consequences
Solemn    Formal, dignified, earnest; lacking humor    Tone + demeanor + ritual importance    Promises, occasions, vows, expressions, ceremonies
Severe    Harsh, intense, extreme in degree    Intensity + harshness + strictness    Pain, weather, punishment, symptoms, criticism

Serious 严肃的, 需要认真对待的: Focus: Importance; not to be taken lightly. Implies: A real problem or risk exists, but not necessarily catastrophic. Tone: Neutral to concerned; can be used broadly. Examples: "This is a serious matter we must address." "She has a serious expression." "He suffered serious injuries."

Grave 严峻的, 后果严重的, 影响深远的: Focus: Weightiness; high consequence; potential for disaster. Implies: Danger, moral gravity, something deeply consequential. Tone: Somber, foreboding, often formal. Examples: "The situation is grave; we may not recover." "He made a grave error in judgment." "This is a grave threat to national security."

Solemn 庄严的, 庄重的, 不可以轻佻的: Focus: Tone and demeanor; seriousness of manner, not necessarily of consequence. Implies: Dignity, formality, earnestness; absence of levity. Tone: Formal, reverent, ceremonial. Examples: "She made a solemn promise." "The ceremony was a solemn occasion." "He spoke in a solemn voice."

Severe 严重的, 程度高的: Focus: Intensity, harshness, extremity. Implies: Something is extreme in degree; can be painful, strict, or damaging. Tone: Clinical, descriptive, or disciplinary. Examples: "She has severe migraines." "The region faced severe drought." "He received a severe punishment."

Serious vs. Grave: Both mean "not trivial". Grave is stronger — implies danger, disaster, or moral weight; serious is broader and milder.
Serious vs. Solemn: Both can describe a person's expression    Serious = not joking; solemn = formal, dignified, often ritualistic. 
Grave vs. Solemn: Both can describe a tone or occasion    Grave = weighty because of consequences; solemn = weighty because of formality/reverence
Severe vs. Serious: Both can describe problems or injuries    Severe = extreme in intensity; serious = important/not trivial (a serious injury may or may not be severe)
Severe vs. Grave: Both can describe a situation    Severe = harsh/extreme; grave = consequential/dangerous
Serious → This matters; don't ignore it. A serious problem = important, needs attention
Grave → This is dangerously important; the stakes are high. A grave problem = potentially disastrous, high stakes. 
Solemn → This is formal, dignified, and earnest. A solemn occasion = formal, dignified, respectful.
Severe → This is extreme, harsh, or intense. A severe problem = extreme, intense, harsh.

somber [sɒmbər] = sombre 庄严肃穆的, 带悲伤气氛的 I. If someone is somber, they are serious or sad. Spencer cried as she described the somber mood of her co-workers. II. Somber colors and places are dark and dull. His room is somber and dark.

levity [ˈlev.ə.ti] 不庄重, 不严肃 Levity is behaviour that shows a tendency to treat serious matters in a non-serious way. humour or lack of seriousness, especially during a serious occasion. amusement or lack of seriousness: a brief moment of levity amid the solemn proceedings. a moment of levity. At the time, Arnold had disapproved of such levity. 

 gravity I. Gravity is the force which causes things to drop to the ground. Arrows would continue to fly forward forever were it not for gravity, which brings them down to earth. II. centre of gravity. III. The gravity of a situation or event is its extreme importance or seriousness 重要意义, 重大程度, 严重性, 严肃性, 重要性. They deserve punishment which matches the gravity of their crime. Not all acts of vengeance are of equal gravity. The gravity of what happened hit her after she wakes up the next monring. One roommate said she could not remember Doe saying yes to anything that occurred while another roommate said it appeared Doe was "in shock," the roommate told investigators, "not really understanding the gravity of what she was saying." IV. The gravity of someone's behaviour or speech is the extremely serious way in which they behave or speak. a serious attitude. He was criticized for his lack of gravity 轻佻, 不庄重, 不严肃. There was an appealing gravity 严肃, 庄重, 不苟言笑 to everything she said. 

 grave: noun. I. a place in the ground where a dead person is buried: mass grave Most of the victims' bodies were found in a mass grave. unmarked grave He was buried in an unmarked grave in the prison cemetery. a grave digger. He visits his mother's grave every Sunday. adj. seriously bad. urgent and very bad; serious: It was the gravest political crisis of his career. a grave situation. She is gravely ill. Hassan glanced at his watch, pursed his lips, and nodded gravely.

severity [sɪˈvɛrɪti] 多严重, 严重程度, 严重性 I. seriousness. The degree of something undesirable; badness or seriousness. In the weeks after the alleged gang rape, interviews with Doe, her roommates and her sorority big sister describe a 20-year-old sophomore realizing the severity of the night‘s events and understanding them as an alleged assault, according to the Times. The severity of the offence merits a long prison sentence. Even the doctors were shocked by the severity of his injuries. I don't think you quite understand the severity of our financial problems. Amy: So, after I started dating Sheldon, I met Leonard, and then everybody else, and they've all been so wonderful to me. Lucy: That's really nice to hear. Amy: Maybe next week, we could all get together. Raj: Oh, Lucy, you don't have to answer that. Don't put her on the spot. She hates that. Am I right? Tell her how much you hate being put on the spot. Go ahead, tell her. Amy: Ignore him. He's a little nervous 'cause he doesn't think I understand the severity of your social anxiety. Raj: What the? Are you crazy? You can't talk about social anxiety to someone who has social anxiety. It makes them socially anxious! Amy: Excuse me, but I'm a neurobiologist. I think I'm a little more qualified than you to understand what's not working in your girlfriend's brain! II. the quality of being very unkind or unpleasant: He spoke with great severity. The severity of the punishment should match the seriousness of the crime. III. the quality of being extremely painful, difficult, etc.: You can't imagine the severity of the heat here during the summer. 

severe ([sɪˈvɪr] I. a severe problem is very serious and worrying. Overcrowding in California schools is pretty severe. The reforms have caused severe economic hardship for the poorest members of the population. a. a severe pain, injury, or illness is serious and unpleasant. One of the passengers had suffered severe bruising and serious cuts. II. severe weather is extremely unpleasant and likely to cause harm or damage. Severe thunderstorms are forecast for Tuesday night. III. very strict or extreme. The country has come under severe criticism for its human rights record. The most severe penalty he could get is ten years in prison. a. strict and giving strong punishments when rules are not obeyed. She was equally severe on students who were late for class. IV. unfriendly and not smiling. a severe expression. V. extremely plain in style in a way that is not attractive. a severe hairstyle. VI. needing a lot of effort, skill, or ability. They face a severe test of character against a vastly superior team.