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 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 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. 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. 

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.

cavalcade

用法学习: 1. cavalcade [ˌkæv.əlˈkeɪd] a line of people, vehicles, horses, etc. following a particular route as part of a ceremony. Mr Allan, who trained as a butler in the United Kingdom, said his former boss would have a "cavalcade" of famous people, including many high-profile sports stars, come through his Sydney apartment for lunches, dinners and parties. exhilarating [ɪɡˈzɪləreɪtɪŋ] 让人兴奋的, 令人振奋的, 激动万分的 Exhilarating means making you feel very happy, animated, or elated; thrilling. Causing strong feelings of joy, excitement, or triumph. Comes from the Latin word exhilare, meaning to gladden or make cheerful. Often used to describe thrilling activities like skydiving, winning a close sports game, or experiencing a great adventure. making you feel very excited and happy: An exhilarating sense of new beginnings swept through him. an exhilarating walk in the mountains. gesticulate [dʒesˈtɪk.jə.leɪt] 手舞足蹈, 张牙舞爪 to make movements with your hands or arms, to express something or to emphasize what you are saying. gesticulate wildly There was a man outside the window gesticulating wildly. Defence barrister Clare O'Neill suggested her client would "gesticulate with his hands" when speaking, and regularly greet people with a hug. "He'd touch someone's leg to make a point?" she asked. "I guess I've seen that," Mr Allan replied. 2. institution I. a large and important organization, such as a university or bank. a large and important organization, such as a bank: Traders said a certain institution had been trying to sell a lot of shares. Various City institutions were involved in the deal. Many government institutions 政府机关, 机构 will be affected by the spending cuts. a medical/educational/financial institution. Harvard University is an internationally respected institution. an organization that exists to serve a public purpose such as education or support for people who need help: a charitable/educational/scientific institution. An institution of higher learning is a college or university. ..the Institution of Civil Engineers. Class size varies from one type of institution to another. Some of the most well-known financial institutions are in turmoil. An institution is a large organization such as an insurance company or a bank that has large sums of money to invest on a stock exchange. The financial crisis shook many people's confidence in the institutions that traditionally provided guarantees or insurance against such events. Insurance products shift the responsibility of providing lifetime income from the individual to the institution selling the product, typically insurance companies. An institution is a large organization such as an insurance company or a bank that has large sums of money to invest on a stock exchange. II. mainly disapproving a building where people are sent to be cared for, especially a hospital or prison. An institution is a building where certain people are looked after, for example people who are mentally ill or children who have no parents. Larry has been in an institution since he was four. He visited various penal institutions in the United Kingdom in the late 1930s. III. a custom or tradition that has existed for a long time and is accepted as an important part of a particular society. a custom or practice that has existed for a long time and is accepted as an important part of a society:  I believe in the institution of marriage. ...the institution of the family. the institution of marriage. the venerable institution of marriage. figurative a constant feature or practice. our monthly gathering was an institution 平常事, 再正常不过的事情, 常规, 常有事. Mrs Daly is an institution - she's been with the company for 40 years and knows absolutely everyone. IV. an occasion when a law, system, etc. begins or is introduced. the introduction of a law, system, etc.: Many are now calling for the institution of a quota system in Parliament and other political bodies to ensure equality. The institution of the Freedom of Information Act has had a significant effect. The institution of a new system is the act of starting it or bringing it in. There was never an official institution of censorship in Albania. ...the institution of the forty-hour week. institutionalize I. to send someone, especially someone who is not able to live independently, to live in an institution (= a place such as a hospital). If someone such as a sick, mentally ill, or old person is institutionalized, they are sent to stay in a special hospital or home, usually for a long period. She became seriously ill and had to be institutionalized for a lengthy period. ...institutionalized kids with medical problems. Institutionalization was necessary when his wife became both blind and violent. II. To institutionalize something means to establish it as part of a culture, social system, or organization. The goal is to institutionalize family planning into community life. In the first century there was no such thing as institutionalized religion. ...the institutionalization of social change. establishment I. a business or other organization, or the place where an organization operates: an educational/financial/religious establishment. the establishment 当权者, 权力人士 [S, + sing/pl verb ] (also the Establishment): the important and powerful people who control a country, an organization, or an area of activity, especially those who support the existing situation. the people who have most of the power within government or society or in a particular business or activity: the business/medical/military establishment. the diplomatic/educational/literary establishment. He was convinced that fingerprints could solve the problem of identification in the legal system, but had yet to convince the establishment. She had now risen to the heights of the Establishment that she once despised. If the establishment can get something as important as this wrong, then it is reasonable to assume they could also get a lot of other things wrong. She is not an artist who can be neatly categorized and presented as part of the artistic Establishment. Critics said judges were on the side of the establishment. III. 创建. the process of starting or creating something, for example, an organization. the act of starting or creating something that will last a long time. Since its establishment in the late 1960s the company has grown steadily. establishment of sth. The establishment of new areas of employment is a priority. Since its establishment in 1945, the United Nations has played a dominant role in the development of international law. establishment of The establishment of new areas of employment is a priority. She called for the establishment of nationwide academic standards. IV. An establishment is a particular place of business. a business or other organization, or the place where an organization operates: Visitors come to shop in the fashionable new establishments downtown. an educational/training/religious establishment 公司, 所在地, 院落. What percent of your establishment's total sales are from outside your country? 3. spoken for I. If something is spoken for, it is not available because someone has already bought or asked for it: Most of the best paintings in the exhibition were already spoken for 有人要了, 有人问过了. II. old-fashioned 名花有主. If someone is spoken for, they are not available for a romantic relationship because they are already having one with someone else: Both girls were spoken for. treat/handle someone with kid gloves 小心翼翼地处理 to deal with someone very gently or carefully. To handle with very gentle care, often to the point of coddling. Kid gloves are very soft leather gloves, typically made from the skin of a young goat (a "kid"). I can't stand the way my family always handles us with kid gloves, trying to protect us from every little thing! We'll need to handle the two parties in the merger with kid gloves—both clients are extremely sensitive. They designed their latest smartphone to be very resistant to drops and bumps, so you never feel like you have to handle it with kid gloves. These athletes grow up being treated with kid gloves, and then they don't know how the real world works. 4. A line prosecutor 前线检察官, 第一线的检察官 (领导叫The Executive Chief，在美国领导叫DA - District Attorney, 澳大利叫DPP - Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)) is a front-line attorney who handles the day-to-day courtroom work of prosecuting criminal cases. The term is an informal industry phrase used primarily in the United States to distinguish between the lawyers who actually try cases in court and the executives who manage the office. A summary offence 轻罪 is a minor criminal offence that is dealt with quickly and efficiently without a jury. The legal systems in Australia and the United States handle these minor crimes differently. In Australia: Summary offences are less serious charges that are heard and decided by a single magistrate rather than a judge and jury. Common Examples: Drink driving, minor traffic violations, shoplifting (under a certain dollar value), disorderly conduct, and minor property damage. Prosecution: These cases are frequently handled by Police Prosecutors rather than lawyers from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Maximum Penalty: Usually capped at relatively short prison sentences (often up to two years) or financial fines. In the United States: The US equivalent term for a summary offence is a misdemeanor or an infraction/citation. Misdemeanors: Moderately minor crimes (like petty theft, trespassing, or simple assault) that carry a maximum penalty of up to one year in a local jail. Unlike Australia, defendants in the US sometimes retain the right to a jury trial for misdemeanors. Infractions / Citations 行政处罚: The least serious violations (like jaywalking or speeding). They generally result only in a fine, do not go to a criminal court, and do not result in a criminal record. Citations 表彰, 嘉奖, 通报表扬 countable ​legal​ American I. an official statement ordering someone to appear in a court of law. an official request for someone to appear in a law court: The court issued a contempt citation against city council members who refused to comply with a court order. a citation for reckless driving. II. an official statement praising someone for something they have done. A citation is an official document or speech which praises a person for something brave or special that they have done. His citation says he showed outstanding and exemplary courage. According to the award citation, the 'most tiresome' category salutes the 'celebs we're all sick and tired of'. The award citation described him as 'probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted'. III. a word or piece of writing taken from a written work: All citations are taken from the 2007 edition of the text. infraction an occasion when someone breaks a rule or law. an act of not obeying a rule or law: The candidate had committed an infraction at a previous job. a minor/major/serious infraction. an infraction of sth They admitted no previous wrong-doing but promised to refrain from future infractions of securities laws. an immigration/legal/safety infraction. infraction of Any attempt to influence the judges will be seen as an infraction of the rules. 5. pockmarked I. marked with pockmarks: a pockmarked face. II. 坑坑洼洼的. 有很多坑的. A pockmarked surface has a lot of holes or low areas in it. A surface that is pockmarked has a lot of hollows in it: pockmarked with The old barn was pockmarked with bullet holes. a pockmarked wall. The street used to be packed with shoppers from across the north-east of Scotland. Now, it's pockmarked with empty shops. 6. Cornell rebuts claims about lax 宽松的 punishment: Prosecutors in New York are reopening an investigation into an alleged gang rape of a former Cornell University student after the woman filed a civil lawsuit this month claiming the school did not do enough to protect her. The disturbing allegations about the assault of Doe have already sparked widespread criticism and again put a spotlight on how universities handle student claims of sexual assault. Cornell said in a statement Monday it "supports the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim's story … to be heard by a criminal grand jury." In a September 21 statement, Cornell declined to confirm the individual disciplinary outcomes, citing federal student privacy law. The school said violations of university policy "could lead to sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion," adding, "We will respond in detail through the legal process." Doe's attorney said Cornell expelled two of the seven accused students while the others received lesser punishment, including suspensions, workshops or written assignments. Cornell countered 反驳, 驳斥 that claim Monday, saying there was a range of sanctions for the accused students, including suspensions and expulsions. But "none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement," the university said. "Any suggestion that the University did not impose 尅以处罚 consequential punishments for those involved is false," the statement read. "A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal 最轻微的 consequences(minimum noun. the smallest amount or number allowed or possible. the smallest amount or number allowed or possible: with the minimum of sth They installed the new computer system with the minimum of fuss, so there was no disruption at all to our work. Staff earn a minimum of $15 an hour. He only does the bare minimum of work and shows no enthusiasm at all. be kept to a minimum Wage increases are being kept to a minimum because of the recession. minimum of Let's hope we can get the job done with a minimum of interference. We need a minimum of ten people to play this game. adj. I. used to describe something that is the smallest or least allowed or possible. being the smallest amount or number allowed or possible: You will pay a lot of interest on a credit card if you only pay off the minimum amount each month. A degree is the minimum qualification for a highly-skilled worker's visa. Her lawyer asked the judge to give her the minimum sentence. The basic needs of life are available with minimum effort. Neil and Chris try to spend the minimum amount of time on the garden.  This certificate is the minimum qualification required to teach English in most language schools. minimum age: 18 is the minimum age for entering most nightclubs. adv. at the least. not less than a particular number or amount: She thinks that you should do three exercise classes a week minimum. You have to work here for six months minimum before you qualify for a bonus. If you say that something is a particular amount minimum, you mean that this is the smallest amount it should be or could possibly be, although a larger amount is acceptable or very possible. You're talking over a thousand pounds minimum for one course. to a/the minimum If you say that someone keeps something to a minimum, or to the minimum, you mean that they keep the amount of it as small as possible. Office machinery is kept to a minimum. She has now cut her teaching hours to the minimum. minimal 非常轻微的 adj. very small in amount. Something that is minimal is very small in quantity, value, or degree. The co-operation between the two is minimal. One aim of these reforms is effective defence with minimal expenditure. He was paid, but only minimally. I was minimally successful. The chances of losing money are minimal. The service will be provided for free, or at minimal cost. There were no injuries and damage to the building was minimal. maximal largest or greatest. highest or greatest possible; of or constituting a maximum. 40 degrees centigrade is the maximal temperature at which this chemical reaction will occur. ) in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault." 7. makeup mainly US = UK usually make-up I. colored substances used on your face to improve or change your appearance: put on makeup I put on a little eye makeup. wear makeup She wears a lot of makeup. II. The makeup 组成, 构成 of something or someone is the combination of things that form it. a combination of things that form something: The committee's membership does not reflect the city's racial makeup. They argue that the membership of the Council does not reflect the racial makeup of the city. Organizational ability 组织能力 is not one of the most obvious parts of his makeup. "not one's makeup = "not part of one's makeup" or "against one's makeup 做人原则, 做人准则" typically means that something does not align with a person's character, natural temperament, or general way of being. "Being deceitful is simply not part of his makeup." (Meaning: He is naturally an honest person, and lying is contrary to his character.) In an August interview with Esquire magazine, Pitt admitted while he has struggled with his own demons, his general optimistic outlook on life saved him from self-destruction. "I was never suicidal in any way. It just was not my makeup. In fact, if I have any afflictions, it's probably being a congenital optimist 天生的乐观主义者," Pitt said. "And in that one little period, I just thought — I just couldn't — just didn't see a way out". Pitt said "incredible survival instincts" kicked in and stopped him from acting on his dark thoughts. affliction [əˈflɪk.ʃən] 困扰 something that makes you suffer. An affliction is something that causes physical or mental suffering. Malnutrition is one of the common afflictions of the poor. Hay fever is an affliction that arrives at an early age. afflict [əˈflɪkt] verb. If a problem or illness afflicts a person or thing, they or it suffer from it. If you are afflicted 困扰着, 折磨着 by pain, illness, or disaster, it affects you badly and makes you suffer. It is an illness that afflicts women more than men. a country afflicted by civil war. The organization has been afflicted by political corruption for decades. There are two main problems which afflict people with hearing impairments. 8. docket I. A docket is a certificate or ticket which shows the contents of something such as a parcel or cargo, and proves who the goods belong to.  In British, Australian, and general Commonwealth usage, a docket often refers to a receipt, proof of purchase, or a delivery slip accompanying goods that requires a signature upon arrival. The clerk asked me to sign the docket. II. 运单. an official document describing something that is being delivered or transported and giving details of where it is coming from and where it is going to. an official document describing something that has been sold or taken to a customer: The docket must be signed by the customer as proof of delivery. III. 案件列表. [mainly US] A docket is a list of cases waiting for trial in a law court. a list of cases to be dealt with in a law court, or an agenda in business. In US and general legal terminology, a docket is a formal court record or calendar listing pending cases, trial dates, and a chronological summary of filings. Many cases filed by dissatisfied customers remain on the court docket. The Court has about 1,400 appeals on its docket. But while the Trump administration can continue the program now, the court also said it would hear merits arguments in the case this December, adding a high profile immigration appeal involving the Trump administration to its docket. A decision is expected by July. IV. 待办事项. a list of all the things that someone has to deal with or discuss. Metaphorically, an agenda or a list of tasks/matters to be addressed by an individual or organization (e.g., "what's on your docket for today?"). A reporter's interview is just one of many things on his over-packed docket. shadow docket: Docket means an official schedule, calendar, or chronological list of legal cases pending or handled by a court. Cases on the merits docket go through extensive written legal briefs from both sides, public oral arguments before the justices, and deep deliberation. The court concludes these cases with long, formal, signed written opinions that explain the legal reasoning and establish binding legal precedent (such as Brown v. Board of Education). Shadow docket refers to the U.S. Supreme Court's fast-track process for handling urgent, temporary requests—such as stays or injunctions—to pause or allow lower-court rulings to take effect without waiting for full legal briefings, public oral arguments, or detailed written opinions. The shadow docket (also known as the interim docket, the emergency docket, or the non-merits docket) refers to motions and orders in the Supreme Court of the United States in cases which have not yet reached final judgment, decision on appeal, and oral argument. This term especially refers to stays (A stay of execution 暂缓执行 (Law Latin: cesset executio, "let execution cease") is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed and is similar to an injunction. In cases that the death penalty has been imposed, a stay of execution is often sought to defer the execution of the convicted person. That may occur if new evidence is discovered to exonerate the convicted person or in attempts to have the sentence commuted to life imprisonment. In the United States, all death sentences are automatically stayed pending a direct review by an appeals court. If the death sentence is found to be legally sound, the stay is lifted.) and injunctions (preliminary relief) ( An injunction is an equitable remedy[a] in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable remedy of the "interdict". "When a court employs the extraordinary remedy of injunction, it directs the conduct of a party, and does so with the backing of its full coercive powers." A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties, including possible monetary sanctions and even imprisonment. They can also be charged with contempt of court.), but also includes summary decisions and grant, vacate, remand (GVR) orders(Summary 简略, in law, forms many compounds as an adjective meaning "short, concise": Summary abatement, the abatement of a nuisance without judicial proceeding, even without notice or hearing, often by a destruction of the offending thing or structure. Summary contempt proceeding, a proceeding to adjudicate contempt in the immediate presence of the court, without pleading, affidavit, or formal charges—albeit the accused may be entitled to a hearing or at least opportunity to make an explanation of his conduct under oath. Summary conviction, convicting an accused without giving them the benefit of a jury trial and/or indictment. A grant, vacate, remand (GVR) 发回重审 is a type of order issued by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court simultaneously grants a petition for certiorari, vacates the decision of the court below, and remands the case for further proceedings. An order of this sort is typically appropriate when there has been a change in legal circumstances subsequent to the lower court or agency's decision, such as a change in the law, a precedential ruling, or a confession of error; the Supreme Court simply sends the case back to the lower court to be reconsidered in light of the new law or the new precedent. GVR orders are designed to be efficient and thus are not full explications of the law, and have no precedential effect. GVR orders are usually not explained with lengthy opinions.). The shadow docket is a break from ordinary procedure. Such cases receive very limited briefings and are typically decided a week or less after an application is filed. The process generally results in short, unsigned rulings. In contrast, merits cases take months, include extensive briefing and public oral argument, and result in lengthy written opinions detailing the reasoning of the majority and of any concurring and dissenting justices. Merits Docket vs. Shadow Docket: Traditional cases on the regular "merits docket" take months of transparent filings, public arguments, and deep written justifications. Shadow docket orders can be issued in days or even hours, often with minimal explanation or opaque vote counts. The high court's decisions on its emergency docket are not final decisions on the merits of the case, even if they offer an indication about which way the court is leaning. The legal question at the center of the case revolves around the Convention Against Torture, ratified by the Senate in 1994, that generally bars deportation or extradition to countries where there is a possibility that the migrant might be tortured. The law is vague about how an administration is supposed to make that determination and what process rights are due to the migrant at issue. Lower courts have found the law requires notice to the migrant and demands that officials give the person an opportunity to raise a credible claim of fear that they might be tortured. The Department of Homeland Security said it is enough that officials have received blanket assurances from the country that no one deported there will be tortured. 

How controversial 2000s paedophile-hunting show To Catch a Predator rocked US TV: In November 2004, an incendiary(incendiary [ɪnˈsɛndɪəri] adj. I. (of a device or attack) designed to cause fires. Incendiary weapons or attacks are ones that cause large fires. Five incendiary devices were found in her house. ...incendiary attacks on shops. "incendiary bombs". II. tending to stir up conflict. "incendiary rhetoric". noun. I. an incendiary bomb or device. An incendiary is an incendiary bomb. A shower of incendiaries struck the Opera House. "the Holy City was blasted by incendiaries". II. a person who starts fires. "he was an English incendiary, responsible for the burning of three French battleships". sedentary [ˈsɛd(ə)nt(ə)ri] 不动的人, 久坐的, 不活动的人. 久坐不运动的 involving little exercise or physical activity. Someone who has a sedentary lifestyle or job sits down a lot of the time and does not take much exercise. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle has been linked with an increased risk of heart disease. Marilyn leads a more sedentary lifestyle now that she works at home. vocabulary: Scientists believe that one of the causes of the obesity epidemic sweeping the U.S. is our sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary means sitting a lot and refers to a person or job that is not very physically active. If you have a sedentary job, you might want to stand up and stretch every hour or so, and if your doctor says that you are too sedentary 不运动的, she means that it would be healthier for you to exercise more. This adjective has a specialized meaning when referring to certain types of birds that stay in one area and do not migrate. Sedentary comes into English from French sédentaire, which is derived from the Latin word sedēre, "to sit.") new segment, To Catch a Predator, aired on US television as part of NBC's current affairs show Dateline. It was packaged as 包装成 a regular news report, involving a television crew camping out at a suburban address and waiting for strangers to arrive. Except these weren't any ordinary visitors: they had been lured by a group of digital vigilantes, self-dubbed Perverted Justice, who made it their mission to ensnare would-be paedophiles. A "decoy" – an adult actor masquerading as a teen – was deployed to meet them at the door. Hidden cameras captured their entrance, before the show's presenter Chris Hansen appeared and confronted them with their incriminating digital footprints. Outside, local law enforcement would bide their time to arrest them. To Catch a Predator took the US by storm. Part investigative journalism and part reality TV circus, the series horrified and gripped viewers, soon attracting an average of 7 million watches per episode. Hansen's show blurred the boundaries of reportage, real-life policing and entertainment: "An easy, queasy morality tale of rightful comeuppance 报应 and social humiliation," according to The Guardian's Adrian Horton. Quickly, it was catapulted to the coveted 21:00 viewing slot on US TV, competing with ABC's lauded series Lost. That's where Primetime, a provocative new film about the controversial show, kicks off. However the popularity of Hansen's show arguably spawned 衍生 a new era of sensationalism in reality TV, following the foundational era of "social experiment"-styled shows like Big Brother and Survivor. "To Catch a Predator encapsulates ( encapsulate [ɪnˈkæpsjəˌleɪt] 包含, 涵盖 To encapsulate particular facts or ideas means to represent all their most important aspects in a very small space or in a single object or event. to express something in a short clear form that gives the most important facts or ideas. This letter encapsulates our concerns. A Wall Street Journal editorial encapsulated the views of many conservatives. His ideas were encapsulated in a book called 'Democratic Ideals and Reality'. ...a witty encapsulation of modern America. ) what I call the 'Wild West' era of reality TV," asserts Staples. "Around 2004, we started to see a wave of more extreme, spectacle-driven shows, like the horrifying [cosmetic surgery] makeover show The Swan and the dating show There's Something About Miriam [in which a group of men dated a woman who they were not told was transgender, until a climactic reveal]". To Catch a Predator similarly represents the gradual upping of the ante in the reality genre, where it felt like nothing was off-limits in the pursuit of headlines and ratings. To Catch a Predator's formula always entailed Hansen reading aloud the targets' sexually explicit chat logs word-for-word to them and retorting with witty clapbacks. Before he unveiled himself, the show's unwitting 一无所知的 subjects were also often goaded by the decoys into making risqué comments or even physically exposing themselves. What is possibly most striking about To Catch a Predator, however, is the way in which its lurid content and mocking tone were underscored by the idea that Hansen's team was enacting social justice. "It's a pretty binary good v evil dynamic, even though societally we have also contributed massively… to a world where we, through the media, overtly sexualise young people and teenagers." Predators touches on the hyper-sexualisation at the time of a teenage Britney Spears, for example. One particularly grim case put a spotlight on the show's ethical murkiness 伦理模糊区域, 灰色地带. In 2006, a sting operation was attempted in Texas on assistant district attorney Louis William "Bill" Conradt. But when he failed to show, Hansen's TV crew and the police (with a hastily drawn-up search and arrest warrant) descended upon his home, soon after which Conradt killed himself. Conradt's sister later sued the show for $105 million, and the case was settled out of court. Osit's documentary reveals the extent to which Hansen's team were in cahoots with 勾结, 串通 police, with officers allegedly being paid for featuring in the show and routinely wearing cameras (before the dawn of bodycams) for more compelling footage. Hansen responded to Conradt's death in 2021 by alleging that the attorney possessed child pornography, a claim disputed by Esquire in their report on his suicide. He also said that, while it was "a difficult moment", he didn't "feel responsible" and one could "assume" Conradt "didn't want to face the music". "Every time we put a piece of music underneath something to try to get someone to feel something, we're inside of that," the documentary maker insists. "We're inside of that paradigm of trying to entertain while informing. What happens when eyeballs on our work become a source of revenue? What happens when we're incentivised to tell sordid stories?"

'The tree against hunger 粗柄象腿蕉, 假香蕉' could feed millions. So why is it only cultivated in one place? Nicknames for crops can be highly complimentary. Cotton, for example, has basked in its "White Gold" reputation since the 19th century, while wheat rules across many regions as the "King of Cereals." As monikers go, though, few can match the level of flattery bestowed upon "the tree against hunger," the "banana on steroids" and the "wonder crop." Yet if you live outside of Ethiopia, there is a good chance you have never even heard of the crop's common name: enset. Despite being a staple food for more than 20 million people across the East African country, in terms of global renown 名气 ( the state of being famous. the state of being famous. A person of renown is well known, usually because they do or have done something good. She used to be a singer of some renown. Mailly's work achieved little renown.  an artist of national renown. The region is renowned for its natural beauty. a woman of great renown. Her renown spread across the country.) the plant — capable of growing 10 meters (33 feet) tall — is insignificant 不值得一提的 compared to "the big three" crops that supply more than half the world's calories: rice, wheat and maize. For scientists who closely study enset's qualities, like UK-based conservation biologist James Borrell, it's a case of underappreciation that is both bothersome and baffling. "In terms of being generalist ( I. 通才. 全才. a person who is knowledgeable in many fields of study.(someone who is) not specialized: We need our managers to be generalists 十项全能 - people who understand the pressures of running a business. Children of this age need specialist rather than generalist teachers. a generalist profession. II. 易生长性 an organism able to utilize many food sources and therefore able to flourish in many habitats. offering a range of products or services: Most people ignore the benefits of widely spread generalist investment trusts. ) and adaptable 适应性, it's amazing," Borrell told CNN. "I sound like I'm the poster boy for just how cool enset is, and I sort of am." And yet Borrell had not heard of enset when in 2017, he began work at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, West London, which boasts almost 17,000 species of plants at its 320-acre site. It soon became apparent to Borrell why enset, which belongs to the banana family (Musaceae) of flowering plants, had not previously been on his radar. Though wild enset is native to a range of countries across Africa, from northerly Sudan down to Mozambique on the continent's southeast coast, the crop is used almost exclusively in Ethiopia. Its cultivation range 种植范围 is even narrower, limited to the country's southwestern highland regions. There, anywhere between 1,500 and 3,000 meters (4,921 and 9,843 feet) above sea level, farmers tend rows of what could easily be mistaken for trees, with green leaves up to 5 meters (16 feet) long sprouting from a central spine. Like bananas, though, enset is not a tree but a giant herb, devoid of wood. Its "trunk" is actually a pseudostem of overlapping leaf shafts packed tightly together, and it is this structure that, along with the corm (corm 根茎 the short underground growth of particular plants from which the new stem grows each year. an organ of vegetative reproduction in plants such as the crocus, consisting of a globular stem base swollen with food and surrounded by papery scale leaves. ) — a fleshy underground root resembling a giant tuber — is pulverized( I. To pulverize something means to do great damage to it or to destroy it completely. ...the economic policies which pulverised the economy during the 1980s. A factory making armaments had been bombed and a residential area not far away had been pulverized. II. If someone pulverizes an opponent in an election or competition, they thoroughly defeat them. He is set to pulverise his two opponents in the race for the presidency. III. 齑粉. 磨成粉. 磨粉. If you pulverize something, you make it into a powder by crushing it. to press or crush something until it becomes powder or a soft mass: Seashells were pulverized by the ocean's waves. infml Our team aims to pulverize the competition (= badly defeat them). Using a pestle and mortar, pulverise the bran to a coarse powder. The fries are made from pellets of pulverised potato. ), combined with yeast and fermented in large underground pits. Between three months and two years later, the resulting mixture is used to create a bread-like Ethiopian staple known as kocho. A byproduct of the pulverization process is bulla, a liquid squeezed from the starchy pulp that can be concentrated into a white powder and then rehydrated to make dumplings and porridge. What you won't find being served up, however, are the enset's yellow or orange-colored fruits. While the plant's towering size and resemblance to its more famous banana cousin has earned it the "steroids" nickname, its fruits — filled more by hard black seeds than tasty flesh — are inedible, which is why it's also known as the "false banana." Yet enset is not short on real benefits. High in yield and tolerant 抗干旱, 抗疾病 to drought and disease, just 60 plants can sustain a family of five for a year. What's more, it is a perennial crop capable of being cultivated and living longer than two years without the need to be replanted, whereas the life cycles of most major food and grain crops, including the aforementioned big three, are completed in a single growing season. Enset is so adaptable and climatically versatile that it could be cultivated across large swaths of southern and eastern Africa, a 2021 range modelling study co-authored by Borrell found. Current cultivation areas could be expanded 12-fold to feed as many as 111.5 million more people across sub-Saharan Africa, a region where food and nutritional insecurity is rising despite global agricultural production growth, the study said. What's more, it could feasibly be harvested in many more countries across the globe capable of meeting enset's broad range of tolerated climates. Borrell and his colleagues proved as much in April 2023, when enset flowered for the first time inside Kew Gardens' Temperate House 温室, a 4,800-square-meter (5,741-square-yard) glass home for temperate-region flora, having arrived at the site as a 30-cm (1-foot) tall plant four years prior. "There's lots of examples in history of crops arriving in new places and being dominant," explained Borrell. "So there's absolutely no reason why it (enset) couldn't be important somewhere else." 'Did you know you can eat that?' Yet if enset has been such a hit in part of Ethiopia, why has it barely made a ripple anywhere else? It is a mystery that continues to puzzle even one of the plant's biggest champions. "When a crop is as successful as enset, in a small area, it spreads around the world — maize, rice, potatoes," Borrell said. "I can't think of another crop that is so ubiquitous in the place it comes from, where every farmer grows it in this 300-kilometer (186-mile) region, but you go to Kenya, Tanzania or Uganda and say, 'Did you know you can eat that?' and people just look at you with a blank expression. It is really strange." That is not to say Borrell is short on theories. He believes cultural and historical barriers have conspired to block enset's route out of Africa's second-most populous nation. For starters, Ethiopia strictly regulates the international transfer of plant materials in a bid to guard against biopiracy. A high-profile legal dispute in 2019 over Dutch patents of "superfood" teff 苔麸 — a grain native to the African country that has been used for millennia to make its staple dish, a pancake-like flatbread known as injera — raised the hackles of citizens and officials alike who viewed the case as a custody battle over a national asset. Other countries wishing to cultivate enset could import it from East and Southern Africa, but these wild varieties would be "quite useless" for food, compared to Ethiopia's domesticated crop, according to Borrell. While Kew was permitted to import two enset plants in 2019 on the condition that any material was destroyed after work was completed, the gardens benefited from a 40-year relationship with Ethiopian researchers. Extending that same level of trust to others may take time. "Ethiopia's got plant diversity, and so they're very protective of it," explained Borrell. "We tried to say, 'Look, this is the potential,' but of course, it's basically up to Ethiopia, and they would need to derive some benefit from sharing it." CNN reached out to the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute for comment. Another obstacle is that enset is currently "backbreaking 累死人" to harvest, which is mostly done by female farmers, said Borrell. Mechanized [mɛkənʌɪzd] solutions 机械化的 are in development at several Ethiopian universities but are yet to be rolled out at scale. Cultivation also involves an elaborate methodology developed over centuries by local communities, and turning enset into food requires specialist knowledge. The plant is also something of an acquired taste. While Borrell has relished enset when baked into flatbread and couscous-like dishes, kocho, he admits, can be "hit and miss." With so many factors at play in determining a crop's success, even plain old good fortune is a consideration. "Rice, wheat, maize, potato and sweet potato are awesome, (but) there is nothing inherently different about them compared to loads of other species. If you ran history again, it could be something else that becomes a billion-pound crop," said Borrell. "Once you realize that it's kind of luck why some crops have become as dominant as they are, then you start thinking, 'Wow, there really are probably some untapped opportunities.'" Promoting such underutilized crops more widely may prove critical amid the spiraling impacts of climate change. "We want to make more food, with less impact, under a less predictable climate than has ever been. That's three things that are hard, all together," Borell said. Reliance on a narrow set of crops leaves agriculture far more vulnerable to pests, diseases and changes in environmental conditions. Enset's broad climatic range makes it better suited to environmental changes than other major crops, but there are concerns that Ethiopian farmers — feeling the twin pressures of rising urbanization and globalization — are turning away from the false banana in favor of more profitable commercial crops like wheat, maize and potato. Roughly 60% of more than 400 southwestern farmers interviewed as part of a 2025 study by Kew and partners at Ethiopia's Addis Ababa University said that the area of farmland they dedicated to enset had decreased in recent decades, with many also revealing a pronounced 显著的 decline in household enset consumption. Public promotion of lesser-known crops like enset encourages farmers to resist focusing solely on major commercial crops, said Borrell. At the local level, Kew has run projects that incentivize Ethiopian farmers to maintain crop diversity by compensating them for growing endangered enset varieties. "Before our work, people didn't want to grow enset … That's a loss for the world, not just for Ethiopia," said Borrell. "If you say, 'Hey, we're interested in enset, we think it's awesome, we want to try and help you guys farm better on less land and have a better income,' you're speaking people's language," he added. "It's about saying 'This is really cool, and you guys are the only people in the world that have it. Let's celebrate it.'"