用法学习： 1. let someone (get) off (something) to permit someone to disembark, dismount, or leave something. Please move and let me get off the bus. Let her off! let someone off (easy) 放他一马, 放了他吧, 算了吧, 饶了他吧, 饶过. to release or dismiss someone without punishment. to not punish someone. The judge let the boys off because they hadn't ever been in trouble before. The judge didn't let me off easy. The judge let off Mary with a warning. let something off 释放出, 发出 to release something; to give something off. The engine let some evil smelling smoke off. The flower let off a wonderful smell. 3. peer v. I. to look intently with or as if with difficulty. to peer into the distance. peer about/under/through/over/at II. 若隐若现的. to appear partially or dimly. The sun peered through the fog. The moon peered from behind dark clouds. n. A person who has equal standing with another or others, as in rank, class, or age: children who are easily influenced by their peers. peer in(to something) to stare into something; to look deep into something. I peered into the room, hoping to get a glimpse of the lovely furnishings. I only had time to peer in and then I walked on by. 4. flare I. To flame up with a bright, wavering light. II. To burst into intense, sudden flame. III. a. To erupt or intensify suddenly: Tempers flared at the meeting. His allergies flared up. b. To become suddenly angry. Used with up: He flared up勃然大怒 when she alluded to his financial difficulties. c. To make a sudden angry verbal attack. Used with out: flared out at his accusers. IV. To expand or open outward in shape 张开, 翕张. 开合: a skirt that flares from the waist; nostrils that flared with anger. Her nostrils鼻孔 flared, that means she is still alive. You can talk你就可以说, 只会批评别人, 看不见自己! (British, American & Australian informal) also You should talk! (American informal) something that you say when someone criticizes another person for doing something that they do themselves. 'He's a terrible driver.' 'You can talk!' And you're telling me I'm lazy? You should talk! look who's talking! (also you're a fine one to talk, you are the one to talk!, also you can/can't talk!, US also you should talk!) informal something you say when someone criticizes you for something that they do themselves: I'm lazy? You're a fine one to talk! Dick on the brain A reference used to describe a person who constantly thinks about penis. All you got is a dick on the brain. Rob: "You know Tom, I find he constantly thinks about penis." Luke: "You could say he has dick on the brain.". speak/talk out of turn Fig. to say something unwise or imprudent; to say something at the wrong time. to say something that you should not have said or that you did not have the authority to say. I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn, but somebody had to tell him the facts. Excuse me if I'm speaking out of turn, but what you are proposing is quite wrong. Bob was quite honest, even if he was speaking out of turn. speak/talk the same language 兴趣相投, 臭味相投 if two people speak the same language, they have similar beliefs and opinions, and express themselves in similar ways. There's no use setting up a meeting between the environmentalists and the construction company - they just don't speak the same language. be on the same wavelength if two people are on the same wavelength, it is easy for them to understand and agree with each other. To
my surprise, I found that we were absolutely on the same wavelength
about most of the important issues. I can't discuss anything with her -
we're simply not on the same wavelength. It's all the same to me. (British, American & Australian) also It's all one to me 没啥区别, 都一样. (Australian) something that you say when it is not important to you what happens. 'Would you prefer to go out for a meal or eat in?' 'It's all the same to me.'. 5. Eucalyptus 桉树 ( bark infested ) [,ju:kə'liptəs](platypus ['plætipəs] duck-billed platypus 扁嘴兽, 鸭嘴兽. echidna [i'kidnə] 刺猬 any of the
spine-covered monotreme mammals of the genera Tachyglossus of Australia
and Zaglossus of New Guinea: family Tachyglossidae. They have a long
snout and claws for hunting ants and termites Also called spiny
anteater. ) is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs (including a distinct group with a multiple-stem mallee growth habit) in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. Some eucalyptus species have attracted attention from horticulturists园艺学家, global development researchers and environmentalists because of desirable traits such as being fast-growing sources of wood, producing oil that can be used for cleaning and as a natural insecticide杀虫剂, or an ability to be used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria. Outside their natural ranges, eucalypts are both lauded for their beneficial economic impact on poor populations and criticised for being "invasive water-suckers", leading to controversy over their total impact. On warm days eucalyptus forests are sometimes shrouded in a smog-like mist of vaporised volatile organic compounds (terpenoids); the Australian Blue Mountains take their name from the haze. 6. royal prank后续: The investigation is not expected to affect a looming court stoush ( stoush [stauʃ] Austral and NZ slang vb (tr) to hit or punch. n. fighting, violence, or a fight. ) between 2Day FM and the broadcasting watchdog监管机构, which will be heard in the Federal Court on September 19. It comes at the behest of ( behest [bi'hɛst] n. an authoritative order or earnest request. I called the office at the behest of my assistant. ) Scotland Yard, who asked local authorities to consider "whether any offences were committed under Australian legislation". Legal experts told Fairfax Media she has a strong case and could received "a six or seven figure payout". 7. trooper I. One who endures adversity or hardship with an attitude of stoicism and persistence. He was a real trooper about taking care of the kids for the weekend. II. A cavalry horse; charger. III. A soldier. swear like a trooper (simile) To swear a lot; to utter many swear words. 用例 Maria Carey 受伤: The 43-year-old singer was rushed to hospital after taking a tumble on Sunday (07.07.13) while shooting the music video for her new remix single '#Beautiful' with Jeezy, which is being directed by her husband, 32, who said she acted like a "trooper", despite dislocating脱臼 her shoulder and cracking one of her ribs. He told the 'Today Show' on Tuesday (09.07.13): "She's such a trooper. I was going to rush to the hospital with her, [but she said,] 'You get back in there and finish that video!' trouper I. A member of a theatrical company (a troupe). II. A veteran performer. III. A reliable, hard-working person; usually trooper. 8. If you wanted to go overseas by yourself, there must be a reason for that. You like your own company你喜欢一个人做事. You don't like someone hanging around for three months. Eating your own dog food, also called dogfooding, is a slang term used to reference a scenario in which a company (usually, a computer software company) uses its own product to demonstrate the quality and capabilities of the product. plonk vb (often foll by down) to drop or be dropped, esp heavily or suddenly. He plonked the money on the table. n. Brit, Austral, and NZ informal 便宜酒. alcoholic drink, usually wine, esp of inferior quality. inferior or cheap wine. plonk something down 甩出, 拍出 to slap something down; to plop something down. He plonked a dollar down and demanded a newspaper. He plonked down his beer mug on the bar.
Jerry Maguire电影: Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a glossy ( I. 光洁的, 光滑的. Having a smooth, shiny, lustrous surface: glossy satin. II. 虚有其表的. 浮华的. Superficially and often speciously attractive; showy: glossy trendsetters. ) 35-year-old sports agent working for Sports Management International (SMI). After suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of stress and a guilty conscience, he writes a mission statement ( A mission statement使命报告 is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person, its reason for existing. The
mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell
out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It
provides "the framework or context within which the company's strategies
are formulated." It's like a goal for what the company wants to do for
the world. Effective mission statements start by cogently articulating
the organization's purpose of existence. Mission statements often
include the following information: Aim(s) of the organization; The organization's primary stakeholders: clients/customers, shareholders, congregation, etc.; How the organization provides value to these stakeholders, for example by offering specific types of products and/or services; A declaration of an organization's sole core purpose. A mission statement answers the question, "Why do we exist?") about perceived dishonesty不诚信 in the sports management business and how he believes that the business should be operated. He distributes copies of it, entitled "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business". His honesty touches his co-workers, and they greet him with applause报以掌声, but the management sends Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Jerry's protégé, to fire him. Jerry and Sugar call all of Jerry's clients to try convincing them not to hire the services of the other. Jerry speaks to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), one of his clients who is disgruntled with his contract. Rod tests Jerry's resolve through a very long telephone conversation, culminating in the famed "Show me the money让钱说话, 让我看到钱!" scene. Meanwhile, Sugar secures 抢走, 获得 most of Jerry's previous clients. Though Rod at first feels neglected compared to the superstar Cush, Sugar contacts Matt Cushman (Beau Bridges), Cush's dad, while Jerry is in the lobby with Rod, and re-signs Cush to SMI. A devastated Jerry turns to his fiancée Avery (Kelly Preston) for support, but she rebukes him, and he breaks up with her. He then turns to Dorothy, becoming closer to her young son, Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki), and eventually starts a relationship with her. However, Dorothy contemplates moving to San Diego as she has a secure job offer there. Jerry concentrates all his efforts on Rod, now his only client, who turns out to be very difficult to satisfy. Over the next several months, the two direct harsh criticism towards each other with Rod claiming that Jerry is not trying hard enough to get him a contract while Jerry claims that Rod is not proving himself worthy of the money for which he asks. Jerry marries Dorothy to help them both stay afloat financially and to keep her from moving away. He is emotionally and physically distant during the marriage but is clearly invested in becoming a father to Ray. Although Dorothy loves Jerry, she breaks up with him because she believes that he does not love her. Before the start of a Monday Night Football game between the Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, Sugar tries stealing Rod, but Rod and Jerry rebuke him. The two reconcile和解 soon after. Rod plays well but appears to receive a serious injury when catching a touchdown. He recovers, however, and dances for the wildly cheering crowd. Afterwards, Jerry and Rod embrace in front of other athletes and sports agents and show how their relationship has progressed 关系进一步发展 from a strictly business one 纯粹是工作关系 to a close personal one, which was one of the points Jerry made in his mission statement. Jerry then flies back home to meet Dorothy. He walks in and, in front of her friends, says "Hello." He then speaks for several minutes, telling her that he loves her and wants her in his life, ending with the statement, "You complete me." Dorothy's reply to Jerry is, "You had me at 'hello.'" Rod later appears on Roy Firestone's sports show. Unbeknownst to him, Jerry has secured him an $11.2 million contract with the Cardinals allowing him to finish his pro football career in Arizona. The visibly emotional 动情的 Rod proceeds to thank everyone and extends warm gratitude to Jerry. Jerry speaks with several other pro athletes, some of whom have read his earlier mission statement and respect his work with Rod. The film ends with Jerry, Dorothy, and Ray walking in the park and stumbling across a Little League Baseball game. When the ball lands near them, Ray throws it back. A surprised Jerry then comments on his natural throwing ability (and possible future in sports), much to Dorothy's dismay.
Pass the pegs: Melbourne's stomach-turning suburb drives residents out: Between the dust and the foul stench( I. A strong, foul odor; a stink. II. A foul quality: the stench of corrupt government.), it's been billed as the state's most polluted suburb. Now residents are moving out of Brooklyn, in Melbourne's west, after experiencing 100 days of dust levels as high as those experienced during the Black Saturday bushfires. If they leave their car outside for a day it becomes covered in dust. Some nights the stench is so horrendous they can't sleep. Rosemary Pivelli, who has lived in Nolan Avenue for 50 years, has put her house on the market but prospective buyers ask what the foul smell is. "I can't take it. Sometimes I throw up. We can't take it any more. Something's got to be done." The state opposition is urging the government to step in and put resources into reversing ( reverse I. to turn or set in an opposite direction, order, or position. II. to change into something different or contrary; alter completely. reverse one's policy. ) the suburb's dust and odour problems. Kevin Dunn, who has lived in Almond Avenue for nearly 20 years, said there had always been a smell but the problem had worsened in the past five years to the point it was a daily occurrence( 每天都有的事. recurring problem). "A lot of the problem here is heavy industry – trucks mostly – travelling through the surrounding areas raising a lot of dust, a lot of diesel. "When the Environmental Protection Authority had their crackdown there was an improvement – obviously some companies moved or improved their methods – but there have been recurring problems and it always seems to be the same companies causing it," he said. "If you dust the house, the table for instance, you can come back literally an hour later and run your finger across the top of the table and see the layer of dust that's been deposited积灰. "We are considering moving. My missus is looking at places slightly further out at the moment. It's just not the place that we moved in to 20 years ago.". 另一个pass the peg(夹子)文章: Until Saturday, I 'd never heard about 'Pass the Peg' - ever! And didn't I feel like a right idiot when my husband tells me it's something young people play - well pass me my walking frame, and let me fill you in恶补一下, 科普一下. On Saturday, I was shopping for new luggage, because my suitcase got the death wobbles(Wobble, shimmy, tank-slapper,[1] speed wobble, and even death wobble are all words and phrases used to describe a quick (4–10 Hz) oscillation of primarily just the steerable wheel(s) of a vehicle. Initially, the rest of the vehicle remains mostly unaffected, until translated into a vehicle yaw oscillation of increasing amplitude producing loss of control. ) when I was running the 'one mile dash' through Sydney airport last week for work. At this point, I'm still recovering from my near handbag stealing moment and I'm pretty rattled to tell you the truth, so when the shop lady helpfully offers to take the peg and then throw it in the bin, I don't argue. For the rest of the day, I clutch my handbag tight, thankful I've still got my wallet, phone and lip gloss. I'm like 'ahh, it's in the bin - the bin at the shopping centre!'
Now he starts to get flustered and says to me 'It's pass the peg Anna! Did it have a number on it? Any writing at all?!' Hubs grabs the laptop and proceeds to show me the Pass the Peg project blog - started back in 2010, there were 107 numbered timber pegs released in Ireland to travel the world - as the pegs were anonymously pegged onto unsuspecting people, they were invited to photograph the peg's journey and then send it on to the next 'keeper of the peg' - by pegging it onto someone else, without getting noticed. Instead of me checking whether this was an official peg, I just dismissed it!
手机测评Sony Xperia Z: Dazzling炫目的, 超级炫的, high-resolution screens. Cameras capable of crisp ( crisp I. Firm but easily broken or crumbled; brittle: crisp potato chips. II. Pleasingly firm and fresh: crisp carrot and celery sticks. III. Conspicuously clean or new: a crisp dollar bill. IV. 干脆的. 利索的. Marked by clarity, conciseness, and briskness: a crisp reply. V. clean and orderly; neat. a crisp appearance. VI. clear; sharp. crisp reasoning. burn something to a crisp 烧的糊焦焦的 to burn something totally or very badly. The cook burned the meat to a crisp. By the time I remembered the pizza was in the oven, it was burnt to a crisp.) stills and video. Zippy processors. Pleasing 赏心悦目的 industrial design. Once upon a time曾几何时, those were standout features that helped a smartphone rise above the crowd鹤立鸡群. Today, they're merely a baseline仅仅是个基线. Phones have gotten so good that you can pretty much assume that every major smartphone will be an impressive piece of hardware. That's fabulous news for consumers, but it presents a challenge for phone makers. Especially phone makers that are underdogs in a market utterly dominated by Apple and Samsung. If you haven't given much thought to its phones lately, you've got plenty of company. For years, Sony's phone business was a joint venture with Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson, a sleepy outpost( I. a station established at a distance from an army to protect it from surprise attack突袭. II. the body of troops stationed there. III. a post or settlement in a foreign environment.) that didn't even seem to be trying to keep up with ever-better handsets from other manufacturers. It's not a breakthrough device, but in most respects that matter, it's a darn good smartphone, credible competition for anything else on the market. A Z with 16GB of storage costs $99.99 down首付 and then $24 a month for two years, for a total of $579.99. At that point, you're off the hook解脱了, and if you continue using the Z on T-Mobile, your monthly cost will go down by $24. If there were an award for Most Beautiful Android Phone Ever Made, the Z would be the only serious rival of HTC's One. (Samsung's pleasant-but-pedestrian(I. Of, relating to, or made for pedestrians: a pedestrian bridge. II. Going or performed on foot: a pedestrian journey. III. 平庸的. Undistinguished; ordinary: pedestrian prose. a pedestrian style of writing. ) Galaxy S4 wouldn't be a contender.) It's black, sleek and shiny: the backside as well as the front is made of glass, giving the phone a certain resemblance to Apple's iPhone 4 and 4S. The Z has a streamlined, unfussy look. It's sealed up, without a removable battery, and the only button is the power button, conveniently located on the right-hand edge in a location that sits under a thumb or finger in either hand. At first glance, you might think that it doesn't have a MicroUSB connector, a headphone jack or slots for MicroSD and SIM cards. Actually, they're all there, but they sit behind tiny doors, moored ( moor I. 栓, 绑. 系住. To make fast (a vessel, for example) by means of cables, anchors, or lines: moor a ship to a dock; a dirigible moored to a tower. II. 固定. To fix in place; secure. The freighter moored alongside the wharf. tether ['tɛðə] n. I. a restricting rope, chain, etc., by which an animal is tied to a particular spot. II. the range of one's endurance, etc. at the end of one's tether 忍耐极限 distressed or exasperated to the limit of one's endurance. to be so tired, worried, or annoyed by something that you feel unable to deal with it any more. Usage notes: An animal which is tied up by a rope cannot reach the grass which is further away than the end of the rope and becomes hungry and unhappy. After a day with four screaming kids I'm at the end of my tether. He's out of work, hanging around the house all day and at the end of his rope. drought-stricken farmers at the end of their tether. vb (tr). to tie or limit with or as if with a tether. ) to the phone by miniature cables. That's because of the Z's water-resistant design. Sony says that you can submerge the phone in up to one meter of freshwater for up to half an hour without risking damage to its screen and innards内脏. Spilled soft drinks and other liquid-related accidents won't turn the phone into a doorstop ( 支门. I. A wedge inserted beneath a door to hold it open at a desired position. II. A weight or spring that prevents a door from slamming. II. A rubber-tipped projection attached to a wall to protect it from the impact of an opening door.); you can even shoot underwater video of your kids at the pool. In an at-home ( at-home n. An informal reception in one's home. adj. I. Being, occurring, or functioning in one's home: at-home workers; at-home care. II. Designed for or appropriate for one's home: at-home fashions. ) test, I dunked 沉入, 浸入 the Z in a bucket of water and just left it there, with the screen turned on. The exercise freaked me out — remind me to tell you some time about the time I leaned over a full bathtub with a Sony PDA in my shirt pocket — but when I retrieved the phone and toweled it down, it was just fine. I have a sneaking suspicion 挥之不去的想法 that the Z's waterproofing may be a factor in my least favorite thing about the phone, though: When you play music over the speaker or use the speakerphone, the audio emerges from a crevice ( [ˈkrɛvis] 缝隙. 窄缝. A narrow crack or opening; a fissure or cleft. a narrow fissure or crack; split; cleft. ) on the lower right-hand corner of the handset, almost as if you were listening to it through a crack in a door. I found it tinny, and when I held the phone in my right hand — I'm a southpaw( Slang 左撇子. A left-handed person, especially a left-handed baseball pitcher. ) — my palm neatly covered the crevice, rendering the whole affair nearly inaudible. (The HTC One's frontside speakers remain the gold standard in smartphone sound systems.) Like Samsung, Sony performed major surgery on Android's default camera software and features, but the resulting experience is less gimmicky: It feels more like an excellent point-and-shoot camera that happens to be a phone. The modeless interface lets you capture still photos and video — or both at one time — from the same screen. And the Z is the first phone that can use HDR technology for video as well as stills, a boon in challenging lighting光线不好(boon n. I. A benefit bestowed, especially one bestowed in response to a request. II. A timely blessing or benefit. something extremely useful, helpful, or beneficial; a blessing or benefit. the car was a boon to him. A brisk breeze is a boon to sailors. adj. Convivial; jolly. close, special, or intimate: a boon companion亲密伙伴 to all. ). Elsewhere around the Z's software, Sony, like all hardware makers, has performed a fair share of nips and tucks ( nip and tuck I. 并驾齐驱的. 不分伯仲的. So close that the advantage or lead shifts from one to another and is virtually indeterminable. inconclusive as to outcome; close or just even in a race or comparison or competition. II. plastic surgery to remove wrinkles and other signs of aging from your face; an incision is made near the hair line and skin is pulled back and excess tissue is excised; ) on Google's standard Android experience. It hasn't mangled most of what's good about Android(mangle v. I. To mutilate or disfigure by battering, hacking, cutting, or tearing. II. 搞砸. 破坏掉, 毁掉. To ruin or spoil through ineptitude不胜任 or ignorance: mangle a speech. n. I. A machine for pressing fabrics by means of heated rollers. II. Chiefly British A clothes wringer.), though, and some of its alterations are welcome. For instance, a clever option called Stamina mode preserves battery life by denying background access to most apps when the phone's screen is turned off. You can permit individual access to apps, one-by-one, and tell the Z to automatically switch from standard mode to Stamina when the battery dwindles to a level you specify指定. As on other Android phones, this leads to redundancy and clutter, since most of the Sony offerings overlap 重叠 with Google stuff that's also pre-installed. Still, they're there if you want them, and you can tuck ( I. (tr) to push or fold into a small confined space or concealed place or between two surfaces. tucked the pleats before sewing the hem. to tuck a letter into an envelope. II. 掖一下. 掖进去. 塞起来. (tr) to thrust the loose ends or sides of (something) into a confining space, so as to make neat and secure to tuck the sheets under the mattress. She tucked her scarf into her blouse. III. to make a tuck or tucks in (a garment). IV. (usually tr) to draw together, contract, or pucker. tuck someone in(to) something to place someone into something carefully; to wrap someone in blankets or something similar. Father tucked Jimmy into bed an hour later than he should have. Please tuck in Jimmy. tuck something away I. Lit. 掩映. 藏在. to hide or store something away. Van's house is tucked away at the end of the road. Tuck this away where you can find it later. Can you tuck away this money somewhere? II. Fig. to eat something. The boys tucked away three pizzas and an apple pie. When I was younger, I could tuck away my dinner in no time at all. tuck something up (under something) to place or push something, such as cloth, up under something. Tuck the sheet up under the mattress when you make the bed. Tuck up the sheet under the mattress when you make the bed. tuck in somebody to cover a child comfortably in bed I tucked in Josh and Amy after reading them a story. Who's going to tuck me in while you're gone? ) them (or Google's counterparts) out of the way if you just don't care. More than with an iPhone or most Android phones, I encountered unexpected error messages and other quirks with the Z. They were sporadic and hardly catastrophic, but some were…well, odd. At one point, for instance, when I ratcheted ( ratchet ['rætʃit] v. To cause to increase or decrease by increments. n. A mechanism consisting of a pawl that engages the sloping teeth of a wheel or bar, permitting motion in one direction only. ) the sound up to a hardly-deafening 60 percent of its maximum level, the phone warned me that I might be about to do permanent damage to my ears. If you're a T-Mobile customer or in a position to consider switching换手机, the Xperia Z should be on your smartphone short-list. And even if you're on AT&T, Sprint or Verizon, its arrival merits your attention. The Z is pleasing enough that I hope it's an omen ( omen ['əumən] n. I. a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster. A phenomenon supposed to portend good or evil; a prophetic sign. birds of ill omen. II. prophetic significance. ) of things to come: more nice Sony phones, available on whichever carrier you want.
