用法学习: 1. "down the rabbit hole",
a metaphor for adventure into the unknown, from its use in Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland. a bizarre or difficult state or situation. to enter a period of chaos or confusion. A slang expression for a psychedelic
experience. A way into a bizarre world. These mushrooms will take you down the rabbit hole, man. We're down the rabbit hole. Residents are finding themselves helplessly falling down a rabbit hole in their Sisyphean efforts to halt beach erosion. 2. Kevin Rudd moves to end Labor coups as polls show election dead heat: Under the proposal, rank-and-file 普通的 party members will have a direct influence on who leads Labor, substantially eroding the power of ( erode [i'rəud] vb I. 侵蚀. corrode 腐蚀. to grind or wear down or away or become ground or worn down or away. to eat or wear away (metals etc); to destroy gradually. Acids erode certain metals; Water has eroded the rock; Waves eroded the shore. The river eroded a deep valley. The cliffs have eroded over the centuries. II. 削弱. 恶化. to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate jealousy eroded the relationship. The individual's right to privacy is being eroded. Public confidence in the administration eroded. gnaw [nɔ:] vb gnawed ; gnawed, gnawn [nɔ:n] I. 噬虐. 啮咬. (when intr, often foll by at or upon) to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little. The dog gnawed at the bone. II. (tr) to form by gnawing to gnaw a hole. III. to cause erosion of (something). waves gnawing the rocky shore. IV. (when intr, often foll by at) to cause constant distress or anxiety (to). Hunger gnawed at the prisoners. fear that constantly gnawed me. gnaw (away) at someone Fig. to worry someone; to create constant anxiety in someone. The thought of catching some horrible disease gnawed away at her. A lot of guilt gnawed at him day and night. I hear a mouse gnawing away at the wall. The mosquitoes are gnawing at me something awful. gnaw on something to chew on something. (Usually said of an animal.) The puppy has been gnawing on my slippers! This slipper has been gnawed on! corrode [kə'rəud] vb I. 金属发生化学反应. 如氧化, 生锈等导致的腐蚀. (Chemistry) to eat away or be eaten away, esp by chemical action as in the oxidation or rusting of a metal. II. (tr) to destroy gradually; consume his jealousy corroded his happiness. Doubt and mistrust could creep into our lives, corroding personal and professional relationships. ) caucus members and factional leaders within the union movement. The mechanisms outlined in the proposed rule change prevent anyone from just wandering in one day or one night and saying, "OK, sunshine, it's over." They'll ensure that power will never again rest in the hands of a factional few落入少数人手里, 掌握在少数人手里. 3. pitchfork 柴禾叉子 a long-handled hand tool with sharp widely spaced prongs for lifting and pitching hay. prong [proŋ] 叉子的一个齿儿 I. A thin, pointed, projecting part: a pitchfork with four prongs. II. A branch; a fork: the two prongs of a river. clink n. I. (onomatopoeia) The sound of metal on metal, or glass on glass. You could hear the clink of the glasses from the next room. II. (slang) Jail or prison, after the Clink prison in Southwark, London. A prison or a prison cell; a jail: spent the night in the clink. If he keeps doing things like that, he's sure to end up in the clink. III. Stress cracks produced in metal ingots as they cool after being cast. v. To make a clinking sound; to make a sound of metal on metal or glass on glass; to strike materials such as metal or glass against one another. To make or cause to make a light, sharp ringing sound: clinked their wineglasses together in a toast. The hammers clinked on the stone all night. 'In the clink' If someone is in the clink, they are in prison. 4. tied [sb] up kept occupied or engaged; kept busy. How long will you be tied up? I will be tied up in a meeting for an hour. He's tied up with his new book. "she's tied up at the moment and can't see you"; "the phone was tied up for almost an hour". I was tied up in meetings all morning. We were late because traffic tied us up for two hours! tie something up to limit the use of something. All our savings are tied up in buying a house right now. My daughter can tie the phone up for hours.
Tragedy turns to triumph for Andy Murray: AN eight-year-old Andy Murray hid under a table when Thomas Hamilton marched into大步冲进 Dunblane Primary School armed with four guns on a spring day in 1996. Hamilton killed 16 children and one teacher before turning the loaded weapon on himself. Murray knew Hamilton as his scout master. The mass murderer had even ridden in the back seat of the family car. In those horrifying moments, the town of Dunblane, previously known best for its historical connection to the firebrand ( I. 煽动叛乱者. 闹事者. A person who stirs up trouble or kindles a revolt. a person who causes unrest or is very energetic. II. A piece of burning wood. a piece of burning or glowing wood or other material. ) Scottish independence warrior William Wallace, became synonymous with a modern-day tragedy and the site of a grim memorial to the slain at the local cemetery, forever displaying the scars of Britain's worst child massacre. As of 5.11pm on a cloudless Sunday in London, the small cathedral town off Scotland's A9 motorway could start basking in the splendour of the wee scrawny ( scrawny ['skrɔ:ni] I. 瘦的, 皮包骨的, 骨瘦如柴的. very thin and bony; scraggy. II. meagre or stunted scrawny vegetation. wee I. very small; tiny; minute. II. Very early: the wee hours of the morning. the wee/small hours (of the night) I was up till the small hours of Wednesday morning finishing off that report. She was born in the small hours of Saturday morning. III. the act or an instance of urinating. urine. to urinate. Also wee-wee. Don't sweat the small stuff 大惊小怪. (American informal) something that you say in order to tell someone not to worry about things that are not important. Don't sweat the small stuff, Sam. It's just office gossip - no one takes it seriously. make somebody feel small 感觉无足轻重 to say something which makes someone feel not important or stupid As a manager you have to be able to criticize people but you don't want to make them feel small. feel/go hot and cold (all over) (British & Australian informal) to feel that your body is hot and cold at the same time, because you have had a shock. When I suddenly saw him again in the street after all these years, I went hot and cold all over. ) kid who dodged a coward's bullets and became Britain's first male Wimbledon champion in 77 years. Murray defeated Serbia's world ranked No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic in a straight sets victory (6-4, 7-5, 6-4). The tussle ( tussle ['tʌsəl] vb (intr) to fight or wrestle in a vigorous way; struggle. n. a vigorous fight; scuffle; struggle. tussle with someone or something I. to struggle or battle with someone or something. Tim tussled with Roger for a while, and then they made peace. I tussled with the trunk, trying to get it into the attic. II. Fig. to argue or contend with someone, a group, or something. I tussled with my conscience 良心挣扎 all night. We tussled with the committee and won our point.) was more climactic 风云多变的 than the result might suggest - with thunderbolt forehands from both players and a nail-biting finish. It was also a remarkable personal triumph after years of trying for Murray. The last Brit to win Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936 - 15 prime ministers and three monarchs ago. Perry also wore long trousers, making Murray the first British man to win at the All England Club in shorts and score the £1.6 million ($2.6m) prize money. With his childhood memories clouded萦绕不去, Murray began researching the bloodshed at Dunblane only three years ago, and was so affected by the details that he refused to speak about it in public. Privately and belatedly, he grieved. At Wimbledon last year, the Scot unveiled a new ritual after match wins: he stared to the heavens and pointed one or both index fingers, quite often with tears in his eyes. Asked for reasons, Murray repeatedly declined. It was believed he had a terminally ill friend. Incorrect. It was suggested a member of his support crew had a sick child. Wrong. All along, Murray was saluting the victims of Dunblane. In a BBC One documentary aired on the eve of Wimbledon, sitting on his sofa with his dog in his lap, Murray wept when asked about the lost lives. "You have no idea how tough something like that is," he said. "It's just nice being able to do something the town is proud of." His mother, Judy, recalled her breathless dash along Doune Road to the two-storey Dunblane Primary after Hamilton, a 43-year-old unemployed former shopkeeper, had opened fire on a class of five- and six-year-olds in the school's gymnasium. Murray was walking to the gym when the gunshots began; Judy Murray had given Hamilton lifts from the train station when he needed a ride. "Andy's class was stopped when somebody went up, when they heard the noise and discovered what had happened," Judy Murray said. "I was one of hundreds of mums that were queuing up at the school gates waiting to find out what had happened, not knowing if your children were alive or not." Murray has returned to Dunblane Primary to speak to the students and display his tennis gold medal from last year's Olympics. But he has never set foot 踏足 in the gym. "I actually don't go near that part of the building," he said on the eve of Wimbledon. "When I go up to school now, if I'm doing something, I'll do it in the playground or I do it in the new gym." After more than a decade of never mentioning it to Judy, Murray began peppering his mother for details ( pepper I. To season or sprinkle with pepper. II. To sprinkle liberally; dot. his prose was peppered with alliteration. III. To shower with or as if with small missiles. IV. To make (a speech, for example. ) lively and vivid with wit or invective. pepper someone or something with something 雨点般 to shower someone or something with something, such as stones, bullets, etc. The angry crowd peppered the police with stones. The sheriff's posse peppered the bandit's hideout with bullets. ) about the Dunblane shooting in 2010. How could anybody do it? When did they have Hamilton in their car? Why did they have Hamilton in their car? Murray's brother, Jamie, a Wimbledon mixed doubles champion who was also a student at Dunblane Primary, says: "It's nice that, after all the negative publicity负面报道 the town got after what happened so many years ago, that it's able to be shown in a positive light ( in a good light positively Most voters see him in a good light but think he could have done more for the city. ) now. I guess that's a testament 实际证明, 明证, 有价值的证明 to the success (testament I. Something that serves as tangible proof or evidence: The spacious plan of the city is a testament to the foresight of its founders. II. A statement of belief; a credo: my political testament. III. Law A written document providing for the disposition of a person's property after death; a will. last will and testament a will; the last edition of someone's will. The lawyer read Uncle Charles's last will and testament to a group of expectant relatives. Fred dictated his last will and testament on his deathbed. ) that Andy's had." Success has come to Murray only after a hard-fought battle and many disappointments. He still has regrets about his early separation from home when he left high school in Dunblane for Barcelona to focus on his tennis, study at the city's Schiller International School and train at the Sanchez-Casal Academy with Emilio Sanchez. He endured the the pain of his parents' separation and later the public humiliation and personal frustration of losing four straight grand slam finals. Speculation ran rife that he was too volatile ( I. 易发挥的. II.反复无常的, 变化无常的. 多变的.) to win prestigious titles. Previously以前, Murray was the most despised鄙视的, 看不起的 athlete in Britain, gaining approval only when he cried like a big man-baby( A man who acts like a baby. If he doesn't get his way, he becomes crabby and unable to work with. thinks he's always right. Can be angered and upset by anything. Must proceed with caution! If you come into contact with a Manbaby, back away quickly and run like hell. Manbaby's are good at concealing themselves 藏身于 amongst society. They seem normal at first but throw fits not long after dating them. Be wary. Julie: He was bitching about not going to the party because I said I didn't want him to go. Sarah: He needs to stop being such a manbaby. ) after losing to Roger Federer last year at the All England Club. The English had dismissed him as 斥之为, 嗤之以鼻 a surly ( I. gruff. sullenly ill-tempered or rude. II. Threatening, as of weather conditions; ominous: surly clouds filled the sky. ) Scottish git ( git [git] n. Brit slang I. a contemptible person, often a fool. II. a bastard. from (the) git-go(git=get) Sl. from the very start. This kind of thing has been a problem from the git-go. I warned you about this from git-go. Them as has, gits. Rur. Rich people can always get more. The millionaire keeps making more and more money, because he has lots of money to invest. Them as has, gits. Tom: Bill already owns half the property in town, and here the court went and awarded him that vacant lot. Jane: You know how it is—them as has, gits.) from the moment he declared the winner of the 2006 football World Cup in Germany would (with any luck) be "anyone who England are playing". Tabloid newspapers roasted him. At the French Open last year, England's 1977 Wimbledon champion, Virginia Wade, labelled Murray "a drama queen". The consensus 众口一词 was: too right! Players in the locker room regarded Murray as a hypochondriac( [,haipə'kondri,æk] (Psychiatry) a person suffering from hypochondria. hypochondria 疑病症, 怀疑自己有病. 疑心病的 The persistent conviction that one is or is likely to become ill, often involving symptoms when illness is neither present nor likely, and persisting despite reassurance and medical evidence to the contrary. Also called hypochondriasis. ), constantly feigning serious injury in matches to baulk 却步, 使犹豫不前 opponents. When he hobbled through a match( hobble 拖着脚走 to walk or move along haltingly or with difficulty; limp. to walk with a lame awkward movement.) against Finland's Jarkko Nieminen at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal was among the players to laugh at the television coverage. What many did not know was another complication for the fiery Scot: he had been diagnosed at 16 with a bipartite patella膝盖骨, where the kneecap膝盖骨 is two separate bones instead of being fused together during childhood. The result caused Murray considerable pain at times, so it was not surprising that he was often seen clutching握紧, 抓紧 his knees. Murray had long since given up on widespread acceptance广泛认可. The fallout余波 from the World Cup remark still haunted him. He received death threats at Wimbledon in the troubled years. So did his mother. "I opened my locker at Wimbledon and I was getting stuff sent to me that said, 'I hope you lose every match for the rest of your life'," he said. "People within the grounds of Wimbledon were saying stuff to me, too. I felt I hadn't done anything wrong. "After the World Cup thing, I started to understand a bit better how everything worked. I spoke with people about how to deal with it - you need to try to be yourself, but if people don't like you, it's not your problem. Hopefully things will turn around翻过来, 改观. You need to make sure you stay true to yourself and the people around you." The people around Murray at Wimbledon included Ivan Lendl, a tennis legend and great curmudgeon(curmudgeon [kɜ:'mʌdʒən] 坏脾气的人, 吝啬鬼, 守财奴. n. a surly or miserly person. An ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions.). Australia's Pat Cash once had to be physically restrained from throwing punches at him at a tournament. Murray approached Lendl to be his coach at the end of 2011, before he had won a major title of any description(give/provide/issue a description (of): Barry was unable to give the police a description of his attacker. Police have issued a description of the bomber. accurate/detailed description: We need you to provide an accurate description of the situation. answer to the description of someone Fig. to match a particular set of physical or facial characteristics. Chuck answers to the description his sister gave us. The man in police custody answers to the description of the burglar. beggar (all) description to defy description; to be unable to be described. The house was a horrible mess. The place beggared description. Our reaction to the proposal beggars description. We were deeply disturbed for days. blow-by-blow/play-by-play account/description Fig. a detailed description (of an event) given as the event takes place. (This referred originally to reporting on boxing.) I want to listen to a blow-by-blow account of the prizefight. The lawyer got the witness to give a blow-by-blow description of the argument.), let alone the treasure of Wimbledon. Lendl agreed to a meeting in a Chinese restaurant off a deserted highway in Florida. When they put their chopsticks down, Murray had a new coach. Lendl was the dominant player of his era, the long-term world No 1 who won the French, Australian and US Open without grabbing the one he hungered for the most: Wimbledon. Beaten by Cash in the Wimbledon final of 1987, Lendl sat stony-faced面无表情的 while the Australian started the tradition of climbing into the All England Club's grandstand看台 to embrace supporters. The first major triumph of the Murray-Lendl team-up came at the US Open. Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in five wild sets on a Monday evening in New York last year. The emotion on that occasion went through the roof爆棚. Murray had won the tournament 79 years to the day since Perry had succeeded in the city that rarely sleeps. Judy Murray sobbed. Two of Scotland's more famous figures, Sir Sean Connery and Sir Alex Ferguson, had travelled to Flushing Meadows, hugging Murray within an inch of his life ( within an inch of one's life Fig. very close to losing one's life; almost to death. The accident frightened me within an inch of my life. When Mary was seriously ill in the hospital, she came within an inch of her life. beat somebody to within an inch of their life 打个半死 to attack someone so violently that they almost die She was beaten to within an inch of her life on a back street in London.) in the corridor between the court and locker room. Murray nearly vomited while trying to serve out the match and he shed tears, too, when victory was secured. Lendl, however, while living vicariously through his protege门徒( vicarious [vi'kɛərɪəs vai-] adj I. 身临其境的, 感同身受的. obtained or undergone at second hand through sympathetic participation in another's experiences. Felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another: read about mountain climbing and experienced vicarious thrills. II. suffered, undergone, or done as the substitute for another. Endured or done by one person substituting for another: vicarious punishment代人受罚, 代人受过. III. delegated. vicarious authority. IV. taking the place of another. ), was emotionless. Deep inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Lendl calmly walked up to Murray, like Clint Eastwood in the movie Gran Torino, looked him in the eye and said: "I am proud of you. Well done". Nothing more or less再无多余的话. Asked why he was disconnected from the weeping emotion of everyone else in Murray's camp, Lendl replied: "No tears from me. That is for the women." The US Open was a significant notch in their belts, but Wimbledon was the one they wanted. Until then, both men would be dissatisfied. Murray's reaction in New York - understated, almost placid 温和的, 平静的, 不为所动的( placid [ˈplæsɪd] I. (of a person or animal) not easily upset or excited. Undisturbed by tumult or disorder; calm or quiet. having a calm appearance or nature. This horse has a placid nature. II. Satisfied; complacent. III. (esp. of a place or stretch of water) calm and peaceful, with little movement or activity: The placid waters of a small lake. ) - conjured memories of Australia's Pat Rafter winning the same tournament and saying: "I'm still the same sack of crap ( A sack that is full of shit. ) I was yesterday." Only Wimbledon could provide the supreme satisfaction. On Wimbledon's centre court at the weekend, Murray sat alone on the close-cut grass, closed his eyes and dreamed of lifting the most prestigious trophy in the sport. Lendl was front row for Murray's final against Djokovic. They slugged it out ( slug it out to fight something out; to argue intensely about something. to compete against someone or something for first or highest position. Will the rest of the country find these teams interesting enough to watch them slug it out on TV for seven games? Two new mystery novels are slugging it out in the bookstores. They finally went outside to slug it out. We'll just have to sit down in the conference room and slug it out. ) for three hours and nine minutes on the turf that had given Lendl nothing but grief. Finally, it was a serve, a forehand, and Britain's 77-year drought冠军荒 at the All England Club was over. Murray did a Cash by climbing into the bleachers(bleach something out to remove the color or stain from something. Wally bleached his jeans out so they looked more stylish. Can you bleach out this stain? bleacher I. One that bleaches or is used in bleaching. II. An often unroofed outdoor grandstand for seating spectators. Often used in the plural.); the first person he hugged was Lendl, hiding behind sunglasses. Lendl's quivering lips gave it away: he was crying. The Dunblane Hotel was packed to the hilt( (up) to the hilt I. if you do something to the hilt, you do it in the strongest and most complete way that you can. All through the trial, he has backed his wife up to the hilt. They took the new aircraft and tested it to the hilt. II. if you borrow to the hilt, you borrow as much money as you can, often so much that it is difficult to pay it back We can't raise any more money - we're mortgaged up to the hilt as it is. With the government borrowing up to the hilt we can expect tax rises. ). Flower of Scotland filled the air. At the Dunblane Centre, a volunteer told reporters: "We have felt something here today that we have never felt before. It is incredible. Every time there is so much hope, but this was the most special moment of all. His family still lives here. He may have moved away搬走 but he is here regularly. He has never moved out in that sense and he will never abandon Dunblane." Murray embraced his mother in the stands. He did the rounds of everyone else in his players box before turning on his heels( turn on your heel to leave quickly and suddenly. She turned on her heel and went back to her room. Etymology: based on the idea that you could quickly change the direction in which you are moving by literally turning on your heel. ). She ran to him and held him for an extended moment. Not for the first time in the past 17 years, Judy Murray was glad to see her son.
少年炫富'Money-obsessed' teen causes stir online with boasts about wealth(show off, flaunt, flash. If you've got it, flaunt it! (informal) something that you say which means if you have something you are proud of, such as beauty or wealth, you should make it obvious. If I had legs like yours I'd wear really short dresses. If you've got it, flaunt it!)： flash adj. I. Happening suddenly or very quickly: flash freezing. II. Slang Ostentatious; showy: a flash car. I saw the picture of the cobblestone bridge, who that Australia woman got married to, not that flash. III.
Of or relating to figures of quarterly economic growth released by the
government and subject to later revision. IV. Informal relating to or characteristic of the criminal underworld. V. sham or counterfeit. v. tr I. Informal to display
ostentatiously. to flash 炫耀 money around. II. (tr) Informal to show suddenly and briefly. III. (intr) Brit slang to expose oneself indecently. flashy I. Cheap and showy; gaudy. II. Giving a momentary or superficial impression of brilliance. brilliant and dazzling, esp for a short time or in a superficial way. A money-obsessed沉迷于金钱的 teenager has amassed over 120,000 Instagram followers with outrageous boasts about his apparent luxury lifestyle. Param, who goes by the nickname Lavish, is said to be from a wealthy family based in San Francisco and has attracted attention by flaunting his supposed wealth. His Instagram bio reads: "My life is like Louis Vuitton, everyone wants it - You made ur bed so sleep in it peasants农民, 乡下佬." The 17-year-old, who some believe is an internet troll, appears in photos with six different iPhones, a Bentley car, gold watches and a luxury apartment. He claims to only wash his hands with San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water and appears in YouTube videos counting thousands of dollars. Lavish has also taken to trolling celebrities, branding Kim Kardashian "cheap" ( brand n. I. any specific type or variety of something; a distinct style, manner. I didn't appreciate his particular brand of flattery. II. The reputation among some population of an organization, of the products sold under a particular brand name, or of a person. The company still has to do more to build the brand. v. I. (transitive) To stigmatize, label (someone). He was branded a fool by everyone that heard his story. II. (transitive, marketing) To associate a product or service with a trademark or other name and related images. They branded the new detergent "Suds-O", with a nature scene inside a green O on the muted-colored recycled-cardboard box. III. (transitive) To burn the flesh with a hot iron, either as a marker (for criminals, slaves etc.) or to cauterise a wound. When they caught him, he was branded and then locked up. IV. (transitive) To mark (especially cattle) with a brand as proof of ownership. The ranch hands had to brand every new calf by lunchtime. V. (transitive) To make an indelible impression on the memory or senses. Her face is branded upon my memory. ) and "a true peasant". A 17-year-old boy from San Francisco has been showered with criticism for shamelessly showing off his money on Instagram. Though the teenager doesn't give out many details about his life, he proudly describes himself as "arrogant" on his Facebook account. "Calling myself poor is just an insult to you. Bit*h I'm rich, rude, cocky(Overly confident, arrogant and boastful.) and arrogant," the page reads. His social networking profiles are flooded with pictures of expensive gadgets, designer watches, credit cards and wads of currency notes. He also appears to be a fanatic of high end fashion merchandise and regularly posts pictures showing off his Louis Vuitton products. His love for LV is such that he even compares his life to the brand. "My life is like Louis Vuitton, everyone wants it," his Instagram page reads. Just a few days back, he posted a picture of his LV backpack with the caption, "Today you will go to work, and only make half the cost of this backpack." Another picture shows him lying down covered in currency notes with a smug look on his face. Surprisingly Param also appears to have a philanthropic side. The teenager also holds regular giveaways for his followers. One such giveaway messages on his Instagram account reads, "Lavish is giving away 60K all in cash. That's more than yo life's earnings. Winner will be chosen completely at random. Winner will be given cash personally. I can send money to you in another way upon request." Numerous users of the site have criticized Param for being extremely shallow. "I kno all u have is ur money loser get friends," commented a user on one of his photographs. There are other people who have asked him to stop showing off and do something constructive. But few of them sure love Param's lifestyle. Is this rich kid the biggest douchebag傻逼 on Instagram? Little personal
details are known about him, but if
appearances are to be believed表象可信, he's rolling in it. And
he's not afraid to show it. Param popped up online in January this
year, purporting ( I. 宣称, 声称, 自称. To convey, imply, or profess outwardly, often falsely. He purports himself to be an international man of affairs. II. (construed with to) To intend. He purported to become an international man of affairs. man of affairs: A person engaged in commercial or industrial business (especially an owner or executive). ) all types of rudeness and crudeness. If his riches – or
that of his parents – are to be believed, we know a few things. He lives in one huge mother of a crib. Can't help but wonder if he's over-compensating (overcompensate 过度补偿 To pay (someone) too much; compensate excessively.) for something? 尼日利亚炫富阶层: The waiter at the Caliente bar sticks a sparkler into yet another bottle of champagne and hits a siren mounted behind the bar to draw everyone's attention to the sleek Nigerian businessmen who ordered it. Near their table, oil traders, sports stars and politicians' children grind to a hip-hop beat. Most of Nigeria's 150 million citizens may live in desperate poverty, but the West African oil giant also has an elite that revels in "shakara" - the flaunting of success. "Nigerians who have money like to splash it," says Naomi Okaja, whose company imports goods into Lagos, the commercial capital.
