用法学习： 1. give you a run for your money to be as good at something as someone who is known to be extremely good. He was a very good actor and could have given any professional a run for his money. 2. "In Hollywood there's a lot of insider secrets to keeping your career going and I feel like a fraud感觉像是个骗子, my name in fact is not even Ashton," he told the audience. 3. Now you're cooking with gas! It means now you understand what I'm talking about. bounce up and down 上下颠簸, 颠个不停 to spring up and down due to natural elasticity or from being jostled or thrown. The ball bounced up and down for an amazingly long time. I bounced up and down in the back of that truck for almost an hour. If the cap fits (wear it) (British, American & Australian) also If the hat/shoe fits (wear it). (American) something that you say to tell someone that if they are guilty of something bad, they should accept criticism. Look, I didn't say who was to blame for this mess - but if the cap fits, wear it. put your thinking cap on to start to think seriously about how to solve a problem. Let me put my thinking cap on and see if I can come up with an answer. set one's cap at I. (idiomatic) To choose a man as a potential husband (for a girl). II. (idiomatic, more generally) To choose something as a goal. How he has escaped marriage until now I cannot tell: the number of caps set in his direction would furnish a warehouse. 3. shit out of luck 太不走运了 (idiomatic) Completely out of luck; in unfortunate circumstances such that all options for achieving one's goal are exhausted; unlucky; screwed. There are no tickets left. I guess we're shit out of luck. slammed批评, 指责 him: Jon Slattery: Sun slammed for mocking Roy Hodgson's speech. Adam说be slammed也可以用于指mock某人, take the piss out of sb. cheesy pick-up/chat-up line. Almost four in ten women have gone out with a man who approached them using a cheesy line, with one in ten even going on to have a long-term relationship with them. Don't I know you from somewhere? gullible [ˈgʌləbəl] adj 容易被骗的, 容易上当的, 好骗的. easily taken in or tricked. 4. set
someone's teeth on edge I. Fig. [for a scraping sound] to irritate
someone's nerves. That noise sets my teeth on edge! Tom's teeth were set
on edge by the incessant screaming of the children. what's the world coming to 这世界怎么变成这样了 I am shocked and disappointed. something that you say which means that life is not as pleasant or safe as it was in the past. What's the world coming to when you can't leave your house for five minutes without someone trying to break in and rob you? What's the world coming to when you can't leave your house for five minutes without someone trying to break in and rob you? 5. Fig. [for a person
or an idea] to upset someone very much. to annoy you or make you feel nervous or uncomfortable. Jason
used his knife to scratch our initials into the wall, which was nice to
do but made a noise that set my teeth on edge. Her overbearing manner usually
sets my teeth on edge. The very thought of doing that set her teeth on
edge. on edge I. Lit. on something's own edge. Can you stand a
dime on edge? You should store these crates on edge, not lying flat. II.
Fig. nervous 神经兮兮的. nervous or worried. You're
always on edge waiting for an important call, because you don't really
know when that phone will ring. Usage notes: often used in the forms set
you on edge or put you on edge: The accident set us on edge for several
days. I have really been on edge lately. Why are you so on edge? push/drive somebody over the edge (blow up 勃然大怒, 发飙) (informal) if an unpleasant event pushes someone over the edge, it makes
them start to behave in a crazy way. She had been driven over the edge
by the separation from her husband.See also: edge, push. over the
edge I. Fig. excessive; out of control. His performance was over the edge.
Too long, too dirty, and too loud! II. into a condition of extreme emotional or
mental suffering. I worry that someone as upset as she is could easily be
pushed over the edge and cause herself great harm. on the edge I. Fig.
very anxious and about to become distraught; on the verge of becoming
irrational. (be ~; live ~.) to be in an uncertain situation or one that could cause harm. 生活在刀刃上. I do not
believe a person has to live on the edge in order to be a creative
artist. After the
horrible events of the last week, we are all on the edge. II. to be very poor. Too many children live on the edge, without proper food or medical care. live dangerously to not worry about the risks involved in your actions. She always felt a powerful attraction to men who lived dangerously. 6. it escapes me I. I do not notice something. If there was something important in that package, it certainly escaped me. II. I do not remember something. I knew his name a minute ago, but now it escapes me. escape someone's notice 没注意到, 没得到注意. Fig. to go unnoticed; not to have been noticed. (Usually a way to point out that someone has failed to see or respond to something.) I suppose my earlier request escaped your notice, so I'm writing again. I'm sorry. Your letter escaped my notice. Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape. Prov. Truly expert criminals are never caught. Everyone's making such a fuss because they convicted that bank robber, but he must not have been a very dangerous criminal. Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape. avenue of escape 生路 Fig. the pathway or route along which someone or something escapes. The open window was the bird's only avenue of escape from the house. Bill saw that his one avenue of escape was through the back door. 7. hypothetical [,haipə'θɛtikəl], hypothetic adj I. having the nature of a hypothesis. a hypothetical situation假想情况. II. assumed or thought to exist. III. existing only as an idea or concept. 假想中的. a time machine is a hypothetical device. n. I. A hypothetical circumstance, condition, scenario, or situation: OK, let's consider this possibility then just as a hypothetical. hypothesis [hai'poθisis] I. A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation. II. Something taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation; an assumption. III. The antecedent of a conditional statement. 8. you haven't lived 你白活了, 没活过 (humorous) if you tell someone they haven't lived if they have not experienced something, you mean that this experience is very pleasant or exciting and they should try it. You've never been to a Turkish bath? Oh, you haven't lived! you haven't lived until something (spoken) also you haven't lived till something you will be sorry if you do not try this. You haven't lived until you've got a personal trainer to work out with. have to live with something to have to endure something. I have a slight limp in the leg that I broke last year. The doctor says I'll have to live with it. We don't like the carpeting in the living room, but since money is so tight we'll have to live with it. live like a king to live in a very comfortable way with all the luxuries you want. He lived like a king for six months, drinking champagne and driving a Porsche, until the money finally ran out. live large 生活奢侈 to live in luxury; to spend time in grand style. George loved to live large, dining at fine French restaurants. live to tell the tale 存活过来, 活下来, 幸存下来 to still be alive after a dangerous or frightening experience. I should imagine very few people have fallen from that height and lived to tell the tale. I had dinner with her and lived to tell the tale. live under the same roof (with someone) 同一屋檐下 Fig. to share a dwelling with someone. (Implies living in a close relationships, as a husband and wife.) I don't think I can go on living under the same roof with her. She was quite happy to live under the same roof with him. words/thoughts to live by 人生警句, 警世名言 useful philosophical or spiritual expressions. Thank you for your expression of gratitude. You gave us words to live by. [You] Live and learn活到老学到老. (American) something that you say when you have just discovered something that you did not know. I had no idea they were related. Oh well, you live and learn. learn to live with something 学会忍耐 Fig. to learn to adapt to something unpleasant or painful. Finally the doctor told Marion that she was going to have to learn to live with her arthritis. The floor plan of the house we bought is not as spacious as we had thought, but we will learn to live with it. live/lead a dog's life Fig. to lead a drab or boring life. Poor Jane really leads a dog's life. I've been working so hard. I'm tired of living a dog's life. live on your nerves (British & Australian) to always be very anxious. She doesn't sleep or eat well. I get the feeling she's really living on her nerves. live on borrowed time Fig. to exist only because of good fortune; to live on when death was expected. The doctors told him he was living on borrowed time. You are living on borrowed time, so make the best of it.
Villainize, vilify, demonize及其用例: 1. villainize 妖魔化, 贬低, 自贬, 说坏话, 丑化, 诋毁. 妄自菲薄(sell yourself short), 看做坏人, 当作坏人, 带有色眼镜看人 To represent as a villain. To debase; degrade; defame; revile; calumniate. demonize, demonise ['di:mə,naiz] vb (tr) I. to make into or like a demon. II. to subject to demonic influence. III. to mark out or describe as evil or culpable. the technique of demonizing the enemy in the run-up to war. wartime propaganda that demonizes the enemy. vilify ['vili,fai] To make vicious and defamatory statements about. to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malign. He has been vilified in the tabloid press. canonize, canonise ['kænə,naiz] I. To declare (a deceased person) to be a saint and entitled to be fully honored as such. II. To include in the biblical canon. III. To include in a literary canon. IV. To approve as being within canon law. V. To treat as sacred; glorify. Canonization (or canonisation) is the act by which the Catholic Church or Eastern Orthodox Church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process. Later, different processes, such as the two methods used by the Roman Catholic Church the Eastern Orthodox Church were developed. 2. Karen Ignagni, president of the insurers' trade group, expressed regret that Obama in recent weeks decided to "villainize" her industry for premium increases necessitated不得已而为之的 by rising medical costs, which she said the legislation mostly fails to address. necessitate [ni'sɛsi,teit] vb (tr) I. to cause as an unavoidable and necessary result. II. (usually passive) to compel or require (someone to do something). 3. There are serious problems with our education system today--with the way that schools and school districts and students and parents take teachers who enter the education field full of life 满怀热情, 满腔热情( = full of spirt) and hope满怀希望 and a desire to change the world and positively impact kids, and beat the life out of them( 撞得头破血流. 和beat the shit out of sb. 一样, 只是更中听点. ) and villainize them and blame them for everything--and those need to be brought to light. beat somebody to within an inch of their life 打的半死不活的, 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. bring someone or something to light 被曝光 Fig. to present or reveal someone or something to the public. to discover facts, often about something bad or illegal (usually passive). When their accounts were examined, several errors were brought to light. The newspaper story brought the problem to light. I have brought some interesting facts to light in my article. 4. Another example is Walmart who is easy to villainize and at times has without zero doubt deserved it but nevertheless the monster conglomerate has incorporated social responsibility in a way that has made every big box retailer pay attention. A big-box store (also supercenter, superstore, or megastore) 超级大卖场 is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The store may sell general dry goods in which case it is a department store, or may be limited to a particular specialty (such establishments are often called "category killers") or may also sell groceries, in which case some countries use the term hypermarket. Category killer is a term used in marketing and strategic management to describe a product, service, brand, or company that has such a distinct sustainable competitive advantage that competing firms find it almost impossible to operate profitably in that industry (or in the same local area). The existence of a category killer eliminates almost all market entities, whether real or virtual. Many existing firms leave the industry, thereby increasing the industry's concentration ratio. The definition most often associated with the term is a big-box retail chain (such as Home Depot, Best Buy or Toys "R" Us) that is focused on one or few categories of merchandise and offers a wide selection of merchandise in these categories at relatively low prices. The emergence of such stores has taken a toll on specialised local stores in the same market (such as toys), but also affected many larger department stores. An example of a category killer business is eBay. The online auction site has a near-monopoly because buyers and sellers naturally gravitate to 倾向于 the largest, most liquid market. As a result, the site has almost no competition and has forced similar auction sites (like those run by Yahoo!) into a very small portion of the market. Jupiter Communications has estimated that eBay earned 90% of all revenues in the consumer-to-consumer auction market in the year 2000. 5. From Glee: "No, it's not. I cheated… on the one person that I love more than anything in this world. I hurt him; so, of course he's not gonna trust me. He's never gonna forgive me!" His tone became low again. I had to convince Blaine that things weren't over yet; that he still had a chance… One that I didn't. "Even if he doesn't, you ought to forgive yourself! You gotta stop…" All the thoughts in my head 思绪纷乱 made it rather hard to find the right words. "What's the word when you make someone into a villain?" I asked, sheepishly(I. 怯怯的. 弱弱的, 怯生生的. Embarrassed, as by consciousness of a fault. abashed or embarrassed, esp through looking foolish or being in the wrong: a sheepish grin. II. Meek or stupid. resembling a sheep in timidity or lack of initiative.). "Villanize?" The boy answered with a 'Sam, you're so dumb sometimes' face. I knew I wasn't the smarter kid around, ok? "Well, yeah, you gotta stop villanizing yourself! Yeah, you hurt Kurt, that wasn't cool, so you're trying to make it right纠正错误. But exiling放逐 yourself to Dalton won't fix anything于事无补…". "I just wanna stop feeling like… I'm a bad person…". Blaine's face looked worn out. 6. Why do people like to villainize those who help others just because they like to help? My husband and I have been helping an elderly couple for a couple of years now. Doing yard work and helping around the house when asked. We have met both of their sons and we got along quite well and I have enjoyed spending time working their gardens, buying flowers to plant and keeping the weeds out. We don't go into their home unless asked for a specific purpose and work hard to not bother them which they have said they love having us come and we are free to move about the property as we like. Today I drive in with more flowers for the back as I was asked to do so the butterfly's would come and visit in the back where they like to sit and not just stay in the front yard. Well, their daughter-in-law was there and just leaving with the grandchildren. I had never met her and was pleased to do so. She on the other hand was down right cold非常冷淡的 and demanded to know why I was out there. She continued by saying I needed to respect them and that her in-laws are very nice people. Thankfully the lady I came to help walked up but her daughter-in-law continued and I looked right at the elderly woman and asked if I was doing anything they didn't like or want me to do. She said no other than possibly coming out too early in the morning (around 9am which I always asked about first) and that we were welcome to come and move about the property as we wished. Well, the daughter-in-law took her away to talk in private and I waited for a while before finally just putting the flowers in the back and leaving. As I was, another car was entering the drive and a police officer was coming as well. Neither stopped me, but I have no idea what just happened. We have been helping them for a couple of years. Have met their children and have never accepted payment for any of the work we have done or for the supplies. I am a stay-at-home mom so after I take my children to school, I have time and enjoyed helping them especially since we don't have the space for a garden or any family close by to help and visit with when we can. What happened here? I am very hurt by the whole thing and am not sure what to do at the moment. When I introduced myself 自我介绍 I said I didn't know if she had heard anything about me or not (since I had been around for a while and had met her husband, their oldest son, on several occasions.) She said, "oh, I have heard about you" in a very cold, nasty way; which is even more confusing to me. When the elderly woman came over, I thought I would get an idea of what was going on, but I didn't. She wanted to see my children and opened the door to the car herself. Introduced them to her daughter-in-law who stayed at a distance 远远的站着 in a defensive pose with hateful looks on her face. Thank you all for being so wonderful and supportive. I am not sure why someone gave a thumbs down, but I really appreciate all the great answers and don't feel any one deserves anything but a thumbs up. She apologized for her daughter-in-law's behavior and said it was completely uncalled for没来由的 and that she hopes if my feeling were hurt that this would help some. Also, that she likes having us come out and considers us friends which I do consider her and her husband as well. So, that also helped a lot. Thank you all!
新闻片段: 1. Woman gnawed on by her cats after she died from natural causes: Mrs Veal was known to be something of a reclusive深入简出, 不和人打交道的 after becoming estranged from her husband. 2. August 13 is International Left Handers Day, a 24-hour romp marked by fun, festivities, and collective prayers for pens that don't smudge污迹 while you're writing "Mrs. Keanu Reeves" in the margins on your notebook. But not everyone is greeting this day with smiles. As a group of Left Handers and their allies marched down Broadway on a rain-soaked Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Morris, a Brooklyn resident who declined to give his full name, rolled his eyes翻白眼. "It's not that I have anything against lefties," he told us. "I don't care what hand you use to write; just don't use it in my backyard." 3. Qantas faces a reduction in flights to Dubai during a three-month period next year due to urgent repairs to the runways at the world's second-busiest international airport. It has emerged that Dubai Airport told Qantas in late April that it proposed halving the number of flights it could operate there while major construction work was carried out on two runways. The runway closures also threaten to reduce the number of flights that Qantas' alliance partner, Emirates, can operate between its home base and Australia. Between them, Qantas and Emirates control 控制市场份额 more than half of the market share of passengers who fly between Australia and Europe. With it showing the strain from an influx of large aircraft such as A380s, the airport is carrying out extensive repair work from next May, including laying 180,000 tonnes of asphalt on its northern runway. This period takes in the busy European summer. Qantas has been lobbying Dubai officials to retain all of its 28 weekly landing slots 登机口, 着落口, 登机位 during construction, and senior executives are in the city this week to again press the point游说. The airline has ruled out diverting flights to other airports such as Dubai's Jebel Ali, which is still under construction and only recently began taking passenger flights. Since the draft proposal was released, Qantas said the number of landing slots it could use had risen, but it declined to put a figure on it. The airline emphasised that it was "much closer" to gaining the 28 weekly slots it needs to operate its twice daily return services to London via Dubai. Qantas International acting chief executive Narendra Kumar said it was in talks with its alliance partner, Emirates, and the airport "about minimising the impact the runway works will have on our operations". Mr Kumar said he expected Qantas to have its allocation of landing slots for the three-month period finalised in the next few weeks. Emirates declined to say what impact it would have on Australia-Dubai flights, but conceded that it would have to reduce operations across its network to reflect a drop in the airport's capacity. Any disruption during the busy northern hemisphere summer - when Australians flock to Europe - will be a boost to Qantas' rivals. Richard Woodward, a Qantas A380 captain and vice-president of the pilots union, said Dubai Airport was facing the consequences 面对后果 of a rapid increase in flights, especially large aircraft such as A380s which placed more pressure on runways. Large long-haul planes flying to Dubai already carry more fuel - an arrival allowance - in case they are put in a holding pattern( holding pattern n. I. A usually circular pattern flown by aircraft awaiting clearance to land at an airport. II. Informal 等待模式. A state of waiting or delay; a static situation: environmental groups that wish to put oil exploration into a holding pattern.). 4. Australia's home-lending market, dominated by four major banks, is ripe for a shake-up as investors rediscover their appetite for mortgage-backed securities, setting the scene for more competition(set the scene (for something) I. 创造了条件. to make something possible or likely to happen. The recent resignation of two cabinet members has set the scene for a pre-election crisis. II. to describe a situation so that people can understand what is happening. Let me just set the scene briefly and my colleague will add some details later.), an explosion of new issues and lower rates. This, in turn反过来, could help take some pressure off the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which last week cut interest rates to a record low in a bid to shore up the economy as the country's decade-long mining boom cools. Australia's home loan market is notoriously cosy, with four banks controlling 90 percent of the A$262 billion mortgages written last year. These banks have faced criticism over their reluctance to pass on the full benefits of lower official interest rates to their customers. This is a big issue in Australia where most home loans carry variable interest rates. Among the biggest home loan companies that disappeared were RAMS and Australian Mortgage Securities, which were bought by Westpac and GE Capital, respectively. Weaker ones such as Allco went into receivership. The fallout would have been worse后果可能会更严重 if it was not for the government debt agency (AOFM) putting in place a programme to buy RMBS to help mortgage lenders survive. The AOFM ended its programme earlier this year now that RMBS spreads have fallen to levels low enough for mortgage lenders to fund themselves again. 5. Inventor Glenn Martin began working on the jetpack in his Christchurch garage more than 30 years ago, inspired by childhood television shows such as Thunderbirds and Lost in Space. He aimed to create a jetpack suitable for everyday use by ordinary people with no specialist pilot training. His jetpack consists of a pair of cylinders containing propulsion fans attached to a free-standing carbon-fibre frame. The pilot backs into the frame, straps himself in and controls the wingless jetpack with two joysticks. The jetpack comes with a rocket-propelled parachute if anything goes wrong. The company has been fine-tuning the prototype to turn it into an aircraft that is safe and easy to use. The latest prototype, the P12, incorporated huge design improvements over earlier versions. 'Changing the position of the jetpack's ducts has resulted in a quantum leap in performance over the previous prototype, especially in terms of the aircraft's manoeuvrability,' Mr Coker said. The company is preparing a specialised version of the jetpack designed for the military and first-responder emergency crews such as firefighters.
