Tuesday, 21 May 2013

scanty; fling/hurl; with abandon; low-ball; door in the face method, foot in the door method;

用法学习: 1. scanty I. 不足的, 不够的. 不富余的. 不富裕的, 没钱的. 少见的, 稀少的, 难找到的. Somewhat less than is needed in amplitude or extent. limited; barely enough; meagre, insufficient; inadequate. scanty evidence/supply. The evidence to help decide who should take how much of what is rather scanty. On the other hand, the evidence that the drug is effective appears scanty. Younger women can suffer heavy periods or their periods may become scanty. Scanty knowledge of the cosmetics industry. Records of theatrical performances in elizabethan times are so scanty that no inference can be drawn from them. Scanty clothing is not advisable in public places. II. Sparing; niggardly; parsimonious. 2. Brighton-Le-Sands: In 1885 Thomas Saywell constructed a tramway from Rockdale to Lady Robinson Beach, along Bay Street. He was given a 30 year lease on the line. He also financed and built the public swimming baths, a substantial picnic area, a race course and the Brighton Hotel, on the current Novotel site. It was a huge success and to avoid confusion with避免混淆 the English Brighton, it became known as Brighton-Le-Sands. From 1900, the tramway was electrified and passed into government ownership in 1914. It was closed in 1949, as the Sydney tramway system was slowly wound down( 势衰 wind something down to slow something down; to make something less hectic. Let's wind this party down and try to get people to go home. It's really late. We tried to wind down the party, but it kept running. wind down to start running or operating slower. Things will begin to wind down at the end of the summer. As things wind down, life will be a lot easier. The clock wound down and finally stopped. ). Brighton Baths attracted a large chunk of Sydney's weekend holidaymakers and the racecourse was popular with punters who could cool off after a stressful day at the races. Brighton Hotel was stripped of its licence in 1892 due to violence and reckless behaviour that found expression in the hotel and its surrounding area. It is good to keep in mind that the depression of the 1890s may have had something to do with the crisis. There were many unemployed, and the area was a famous retreat. The area north of the hotel was used during the depression as one of many shanty棚屋(shanty town 贫民窟) sites that spread across Sydney. 3.  I am more inclined to believe that更倾向于... (have the tendency to do sth.) . inclinable [in'klainəbəl] adj I. Having a specified tendency or disposition; inclined: inclinable to laziness. II. Favorably disposed; amenable: inclinable to our urgings. tidbit = titbit 一点八卦消息, 小道消息 n. A choice morsel, as of gossip or food. A tasty morsel (of food, gossip etc.): "The book is chock-full of colorful tidbits about theater and theater people". morsel I. A small fragment or share of something, commonly applied to food. II. A very small amount. a morsel of gossip. 5. A carburetor 化油器 (American and Canadian spelling), carburator, carburettor, or carburetter (Commonwealth spelling) is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes, but not always, shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom. A choke 线圈 is a coil made of thick insulated wire, often wound on a magnetic core, used as a passive inductor which blocks higher-frequency alternating current (ac) in an electrical circuit while passing signals of much lower frequency and direct current by having an impedance largely determined by reactance, which is proportional to frequency. Chokes are typically used as the inductive components in electronic filters. Its inductance is quite large, though its resistance is very small. Thus it consumes extremely small electrical power. This enables it to be used in A.C. circuits to limit the current with extremely small wastage of energy as compared to a resistor. The name comes from blocking—"choking"—high frequencies while passing low frequencies. It is a functional name; the same inductor is often called a "choke" if used to block higher frequencies, but a "coil" or "inductor" if, say, part of a tuned circuit. 6. pool n. I. A grouping of resources for the common advantage of the participants. a combination of resources, funds, etc., for common advantage: a pool of implements for the use of all the workers on the estate; forming a pool of our talents. II. a facility or service shared by a group of people. the persons involved. any communal combination of resources, funds, etc. car pool; a typing pool. II. A group of journalists who cover an event and then by agreement share their reports with participating news media: the White House press pool. v. I. to put together; contribute to a common fund, on the basis of a mutual division of profits or losses; to make a common interest of; as, the companies pooled their traffic. Finally, it favors the pooling of all issues. Let's pool our resources 群策群力 to finish the project quickly. II. (intransitive) to combine or contribute with others, as for a commercial, speculative, or gambling transaction. III. To form pools or a pool: The receding tide pooled in hollows along the shore. IV. To accumulate in a body part: preventing blood from pooling in the limbsfeed the kitty( put money/it in the kitty ) 集资, 集体出钱, 凑钱(Piggy bank 储钱罐, 存钱罐 (sometimes penny bank or money box) is the traditional name of a coin container; usually used by children. The piggy bank is known to collectors as a "still bank" as opposed to the "mechanical banks" popular in the early 20th century. These items are also often used by corporations for promotional purposes. Their shape is most often that of a little pig and many financial services companies use piggy banks as logos for their savings products. There are two words "pig" in English: the animal and earthenware泥土制物件, which is used to make crockery陶器, 瓦器. People often saved money in kitchen pots and jars made of pig, called "pig jars". By the 18th century, the term "pig jar" had evolved to "pig bank". Once the meaning had transferred from the substance to the shape, piggy banks began to be made from other substances, including glass, plaster, and plastic.) Fig. to contribute money. (A kitty here is a small collection of money, a pot, stash or pool.) Please feed the kitty. Make a contribution to help sick children. Come on, Bill. Feed the kitty. You can afford a dollar for a good cause. kitty-corner (American) also kitty-cornered 对角的, 斜对角的 (American) in a direction from one corner of a square to the opposite, far corner (often + to ). You know the building - it's kitty-corner to my office. put it there( give/slap me five) 击掌! (imperative only) (idiomatic) An invitation for the addressee to slap the speaker's palm. 7. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you" (Luke 6:27-28).  "Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling( revile 咒骂 [ri'vail] To assail with abusive language; vituperate. To use abusive language. ); but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing" (1Peter 3:9).  "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good 以德服人" (Romans 12:21). to bite the hand that feeds one 恩将仇报, 以怨报德(Fig. to do harm to someone who does good things for you. (Does not involve biting.) I'm your mother! How can you bite the hand that feeds you? She can hardly expect sympathy when she bites the hand that feeds her.); to return evil for good; to return kindness with ingratitude.

 事故Injured boy may be have been too small for carnival ride: Authorities will investigate claims that a boy who remains in an induced coma after being flung ( fling v. I. 甩出去. To throw with violence or quick movement; to hurl. flung the dish against the wall. II. 丢进. To put or send suddenly or unexpectedly: troops that were flung into battle. to fling someone into jail. III. To throw (oneself) into an activity with abandon and energy and speed. He flung himself into a chair. IV. To cast aside; discard: fling propriety away. She flung away her scruples. n. I. Short, often sexual relationship. I had a fling with a girl I met on holiday. II. An act of unrestrained indulgence. III. An act of throwing, often violently. IV. An act of moving the limbs or body with violent movements, especially in a dance. V. (figuratively) Informal An attempt, a try. A usually brief attempt or effort: You take a fling at it. (as in "give it a fling"). final fling 最后狂欢 Fig. the last act or period of enjoyment before a change in one's circumstances or lifestyle. You might as well have a final fling before the baby's born. Mary's going out with her girlfriends for a final fling. She's getting married next week. throw oneself at someone and fling oneself at someone Fig. to give oneself willingly to someone else for romance. I guess that Mary really likes John. She practically threw herself at him when he came into the room. Everyone could see by the way Tom flung himself at Jane that he was going to ask her for a dateabandon 毫无顾忌, 肆无忌惮, 尽情肆意 n. freedom from inhibitions, restraint, concern, or worry. She danced with abandon. with abandon 毫无保留的, 抛弃一切, 无所顾忌的, 不顾一切的 an action done without concern or an action done carelessly/flippantly. The drunk girl threw off her clothes with abandon, as the alcohol had lowered her inhibitions 克制, 禁忌, 矜持. When "abandon" is used as a noun, as it is in the phrase "love with abandon," it means to do something with total lack of inhibition or restraint. So to love with abandon is to love completely and wholly without limiting yourself at all. "I devote myself with abandon to our new puppy." Or, you might say: "I throw myself with abandon into caring for our new puppy." To throw oneself with abandon into anything means to give oneself over to some activity without reservation 毫无保留的. To throw oneself into something (usually a task) means to begin it with great enthusiasm, setting everything else aside to do it. With abandon usually means that one is abandoning all self-conscious pride -- not caring what others might think -- or abandoning all reluctance 矜持, 不情愿. abandon ship 弃船 I. Lit. to leave a sinking ship. The captain ordered the crew and passengers to abandon ship. II. Fig. to leave a failing enterprise. A lot of the younger people are abandoning ship because they can get jobs elsewhere easily. Rats abandon a sinking ship. and like rats abandoning a sinking ship 树倒猢狲散, 弃之如敝屣 Prov. You can tell when something is about to fail because large numbers of people begin to leave it. (Can imply that the people who leave are "rats," that is, selfish and disloyal.) Jill: The company next door must be going bankrupt. Jane: How do you know? Jill: All its employees are resigning. Rats abandon a sinking ship. desert/leave a sinking ship 树倒猢狲散, 明哲保身, 但求自保. Fig. to leave a place, a person, or a situation when things become difficult or unpleasant. (Rats are said to be the first to leave a ship that is sinking.) I hate to be the one to desert a sinking ship, but I can't work for a company that continues to lose money. There goes Tom. Wouldn't you know he'd leave a sinking ship rather than stay around and try to help) from a carnival ride at the weekend was too short 太矮 to be on the school fete attraction ( fete [feit or fet] I. a festive celebration. II. a day of celebration. III. a religious feast or festival. ). Patrick O'Sullivan, 5, suffered serious head injuries after being thrown 10 metres from a fast-spinning ride called 'The Frisbee' at his primary school fete, west of Brisbane, on Sunday afternoon. Police have confirmed investigators will probe claims aired on Seven News that at 110 centimetres tall, Patrick was too short to ride The Frisbee, which has a 130-centimetre minimum height requirement. Patrick, the grandson of LNP candidate and party scrutineer(In general, a scrutineer is a person who observes any process which requires rigorous oversight严格的, either to prevent the occurrence of corruption or genuine mistakes. It is most commonly known as part of voting in an election, where the scrutineer监票 observes the counting of ballot papers, in order to check that election rules are followed. There are other uses of the concept, such as in motorsport, when a scrutineer is responsible for ensuring that vehicles meet the technical regulations. In some jurisdictions, each candidate or party may have one scrutineer or poll-watcher per constituency or precinct where voting or counting is taking place. In other jurisdictions, such as Australia and Canada, each party is permitted to appoint one scrutineer per ballot box. They are often required to refrain from contact with voters, wearing or displaying political slogans, or otherwise exerting influence on the conduct of the election while it is taking place. Amazon is creating a curated experience (curate ['kjuərit or 'kjuəreit] I. A cleric, especially one who has charge of a parish. curate-in-charge. A cleric who assists a rector or vicar. II. 审查机制, 审查策略, 监管. To act as curator of; organize and oversee. curator [kjuə'reitə] One who manages or oversees, as the administrative director of a museum collection or a library. a curate's egg (s 和egg要连读) 毁誉参半, 有好也有坏, 好坏各半. (British) something which has both good and bad parts. Usage notes: A curate is a priest. There is a joke about a curate who was given a bad egg and said that parts of the egg were good because he did not want to offend the person who gave it to him. Queen's College is something of a curate's egg, with elegant Victorian buildings alongside some of the ugliest modern architecture. Barnes & Noble is going to run their own app store for the Nook Color, distributing and selling applications. It's a "curated" experience, meaning they'll have to approve apps for the store, which developers can start submitting in "early 2011," with apps approved "within weeks" of submission. So the apps that we saw at the launch, like Pandora, is all that'll be available for a couple of months. (They won't disclose how they're splitting revenue with developers but said they're using a "familiar" scheme, so the standard 70/30 probably applies.).) that matches Apple's and, in some respects, exceeds it.) Barry O'Sullivan, underwent surgery on Sunday night and was placed in an induced coma. It was suggested that doctors might try to bring the young boy out of the coma on Monday afternoon. However, by 5pm the prep student's condition had not changed. "There is no change, he still has not come out of the coma," an LNP spokesman said after speaking with Barry O'Sullivan. "It's a slow process and they are not expecting anything to change today." "So it is still a wait and see situation." Barry O'Sullivan struggled to hold back tears 强人眼泪 outside the Mater Children's Hospital, as he spoke of his critically injured "little mate". "At the moment our entire focus is just to get our little mate's eyes open up there and get him back on his feet," he said. "If love and prayers can get him up, then he'll be up by midday." During the emotional press conference on Monday, Mr O'Sullivan said the family did not know the full circumstances of the incident. "His family were there, but didn't witness the event so we don't know anymore," he said. "We're just not going to allow one cubit ( ['kju:bit] n. an ancient measure of length based on the length of the forearm. ) of our energy to be involved in trying to think about what might have been, or what has been. "We're concentrating all our will on getting Paddy on his feet." Patrick is one of four brothers - his siblings are aged 10, eight and three. Witnesses reportedly told police the little boy hit a safety fence and landed on the roof of another stall after being flung off the ride at the Mary MacKillop Catholic School fete. Patrick was flown with his mother Emily to hospital in a critical condition. Workplace Health and Safety officials have taken charge of the investigation and will try to determine how Patrick came free of the ride. Meanwhile, police are appealing for anyone who has mobile phone or video footage of the incident to come forward. Police interviewed the operators of the ride on Sunday and took statements from witnesses and the organisers of the fete. It is unclear whether the little boy slipped under the safety bar or was thrown over it. Investigators will also determine whether Patrick was too small个头太小 or too young 年龄太小 to be on the ride. Phil Durkin of the Australian Amusement Leisure and Recreation Association said rides were inspected by independent engineers on a regular basis. "They comply with WorkCover guidelines. There are daily checklists that are followed everyday," he told 612 ABC Brisbane.

 富豪性侵: Lawyers for the businessman, who denies two charges of having sexual intercourse without consent in January last year, said he will tell his trial that his alleged victim was a willing partner自愿的 who had then "freaked out" and ran off, leaving behind her handbag.  The court heard that a swab taken 取样测试 from the woman's mouth tested negative for male DNA and Mr Cox had told friends the following day that the sex had been consensual. He later returned to the bar to try to establish the woman's identity. Graeme Turnbull, defending, told the jury: "If he is a rapist, is that consistent?" The Voice Recap: Vanessa Williams sang about saving the best for last – a good song for Miss Murphy, if she gets through– take note Ricky – and it was the case tonight, with the final team(最后一个表演的team), Team Ricky, absolutely knocking it out of the park(to do a stellar job. You really knocked that presentation out of the park. When she speaks on the level of her audience, she knocks it out of the park. We knocked this launch out of the park. Make sure to knock your responsibilities out of the park. It's is used in baseball and also sometimes in cricket, it means to hit the ball so hard that it flies out of the stadium/sports ground. So, to "knock it out of the park" means to do something exceptionally well. "It's much different character for him to play, and he really knocked it out of the park." In Baseball or Softball, to achieve a home run by hitting the ball so hard that not even the player who stayed home with his sick kids could catch it. A single hit that is so vicious that its effects are felt for a while afterwards, usually through flying backwards, falling to the ground, writhing in pain, and throwing up. Bonus points if you do it with a baseball bat. Aaron tried to sneak up on me while I was blindfolded, but I kicked him in the groin, which caused him to be knocked out of the park. ). All four artists on his team were standouts. In the biggest surprise of the night, Seal says he's keeping Alex. He has blossomed over the past few weeks, says Seal, and he's rewarding him for it. Who'll get through? Slap me on the bum and call me Joe if it's not Harrison.

 社会学词汇: 1. The low-ball ( 类似于Bait-and-switch ) is a persuasion 游说, 说服 and selling technique in which an item or service is offered at a lower price than is actually intended to be charged, after which the price is raised to increase profits. An explanation for the effect is provided by cognitive dissonance theory. If a person is already enjoying the prospect 前景前途 of an excellent deal and the future benefits of the item or idea, then backing out 退出 would create cognitive dissonance不和谐音, 不一致, which is prevented by playing down ( play something down to try to make something seem less serious than it really is He played down the seriousness of his condition because he didn't want anyone to worry. It's a sensitive issue, and they want to play it down until after the elections. play down to someone to condescend to one's audience. Why are you playing down to the audience? They will walk out on you! Don't play down to the people who have paid their money to see you. ) the negative effect of the "extra" costs. A successful low-ball relies on the balance of making the initial request attractive enough to gain agreement, whilst not making the second request so outrageous 太过分, 太出格, 太过, 荒谬绝伦的 that the customer refuses. First propose an attractive price on an idea/item which you are confident that the other person/buyer will accept. Maximize their buy-in, in particular by getting both verbal and public commitment to this, e.g., a down payment or a handshake. Make it clear that the decision to purchase is of their own free will出于自愿. Change the agreement to what you really want. The person/buyer may complain, but they should agree to the change if the low-ball is managed correctly. Classic low-ball experiment: Cialdini, Cacioppo, Bassett, and Miller (1978) demonstrated the technique of low-balling in a university setting. They asked an initial group of first-year psychology students to volunteer to be part of a study on cognition. The researchers were clear about the meeting time being 7 a.m. Only 24 per cent of the first-year college students were willing to sacrifice and wake up early to support research in psychology. In a second group condition, the subjects were asked the same favour, but this time they were not told a time. Of these, 56 per cent agreed to take part. After agreeing to help in the study, they were told that they would have to meet at 7 a.m. —and that they could back out if they so wished. None backed out of their commitment. On the day of the actual meeting, 95 per cent of the students who had promised to come showed up for their 7 a.m. appointment, which means that, in the end, 53.5% of the subject pool agreed to the experiment. 2. The door-in-the-face (DITF) technique is a compliance (n. 听从, 顺从, 服从. comply vi. to comply with. ) method commonly studied in social psychology. The persuader说客 attempts to convince the respondent to comply by making a large request that the respondent will most likely turn down; much like a metaphorical slamming of a door in the persuader's face. The respondent is then more likely to agree to a second, more reasonable request, compared to the same reasonable request made in isolation. The DITF technique can be contrasted with the foot-in-the-door (FITD) technique, in which a persuader begins with a small request and gradually increases the demands of each request. While the FITD technique differs from DITF, it is also a persuasion technique that increases the likelihood a respondent will agree to the second request. 3. Foot-in-the-door (FITD) technique is a compliance tactic that involves getting a person to agree to a large request by first setting them up by having that person agree to a modest request. The foot-in-the-door technique succeeds owing to a basic human reality that social scientists call "successive approximations". Essentially, the more a subject goes along with small requests or commitments, the more likely that subject is to continue in a desired direction of 朝你要的方向 attitude or behavioral change and feel obligated to go along with larger requests. FITD works by first getting a small 'yes' and then getting an even bigger 'yes.' The principle involved is that a small agreement creates a bond between the requester and the requestee. Even though the requestee may only have agreed to a trivial request out of politeness, this forms a bond which - when the requestee attempts to justify the decision to themselves - may be mistaken for a genuine affinity with the requester, or an interest in the subject of the request. When a future request is made, the requestee will feel obliged to act consistently with the earlier one. The reversed approach - making a deliberately outlandish 荒谬绝伦的 opening demand so that a subsequent, milder request will be accepted - is known as the door-in-the-face technique.