用法学习: 1. 儿童故事节选: They shaded their eyes 手搭凉棚 against the sun手打凉棚 as they looked for the tiny bees flying to their hives in the tree-tops. Uncle stopped the truck in a clear place 开阔的地方 on high ground, not far from the swamp, and we all jumped out. "Snake, look out everyone, stand back." The dogs got really excited and raced ahead冲上前去. I was first to see the huge pig sleeping in the shade, and I made a sign 示意, 做个手势 to the others. At the same time the pig saw us and started to move towards us. We all stopped dead in our tracks( stop dead in one's tracks Fig. to stop completely still suddenly because of fear, a noise, etc. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard the scream. The deer stopped dead in its tracks when it heard the hunter step on a fallen branch. ), and Uncle lifted his gun and took careful aim小心瞄准. He shot it in the head and it just dropped. But we didn't get too close to it yet, because we knew it might only have been stunned打晕了. And, sure enough, the pig wasn't dead. It jumped up and started to charge us冲过来 while Uncle was reloading. The piglets were really frightened and might have run away, but the dogs had them cornered堵住他们, 围在角落里. Cousin-brother and I were carrying the little pigs, which wasn't easy because they were heavy and struggling挣扎不已, and another baby one ran behind crying for its brothers and sisters. 2. Taken at face value表面上看, its lyrics extol 赞颂, 赞扬( [ikˈstəul｝ To praise highly; exalt. ) the virtues of the Young Men's Christian Association. In gay culture from which the group sprang, the song was implicitly understood as celebrating the YMCA's reputation as a popular cruising and hookup spot, particularly for the younger gay men to whom it was addressed. Willis, the group's lead singer and lyricist who is straight, said through his publicist that he did not write YMCA as a gay anthem but as a reflection of young urban black youth fun at the YMCA such as basketball and swimming. That said, he has often acknowledged his fondness for double entendre. Willis says that he wrote the song in Vancouver, British Columbia. 3. grass cutter one who steals their friends ex-boyfriends, when the friend still isn't over them. One who muscles in on you( muscle in on something to force a way into someone's business or other relationships in order to control them. Russell
was the governor's closest friend, and he didn't like it when someone
tried to muscle in on that relationship. These people pretended to be my
friends, but they just wanted to muscle in on my life. ) whilst you are trying to pick up. Usually involves putting you down 贬低你 to make themselves look good. A person who sleeps with or hooks with another person's
boyfriend/girlfriend. That person 'cut' someone's else grass; they did
their job for them. Mary is the biggest grass cutter. She was totally hitting on john who she knows I'm still not over him.
Jill: I totally cut Emma's grass last night... Sarah: what, you got
with her boyfriend jack? Jill: yep..shes gonna hate me. Sarah: You're
such a grasscutter! 4. Angelina Jolie has preventive预防性的 double mastectomy( 乳房切除术.[mæ'stɛktəmi] the surgical removal of a breast. ) due to cancer fears. The actress was tested to see whether she carried the 'faulty' gene that increases a woman's risk of developing breast and ovarian 卵巢 cancer. "My doctors estimated that I had an 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of ovarian ([ou'vɛəriən]) cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman," Ms Jolie wrote in a op-ed (Of or being a newspaper page, usually opposite the editorial page, that features signed articles expressing personal viewpoints.) piece published in The New York Times. "Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could." "Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people's hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness无力感. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action."
The head of the breast cancer risk management clinic at the Peter
MacCallum Cancer Centre, Kelly-Anne Phillips, said about one in five
Australian women found to have the breast cancer gene mutations 基因突变 went ahead with a preventative mastectomy. "Having a risk-reducing mastectomy is the most effective way of reducing risk,"
she said. "It can take her from an 80 per cent risk of breast cancer to
a… lower risk than an average woman." Chief executive of Cancer
Australia Helen Zorbas said outcomes from reconstructive breast surgery 胸重建手术 could be "extraordinary", with no obvious outward signs从外边完全看不出来 when a woman was in clothing or swimwear. "However, women I have met who have chosen not to have reconstruction are equally happy with their decision in terms of their mastectomy because they have reduced their anxiety and concern about their risk
of breast cancer," she said. Despite the mastectomies and subsequent
breast reconstruction being a difficult process, Ms Jolie said she was
pleased she had gone through with it. Women without breasts post-cancer surgery may feel less attractive, less feminine. Angelina Jolie's operation helps to blow that myth out of the water打破神秘感(blow something/somebody out of the water to destroy or defeat something or someone completely. They came to court with fresh evidence that would, they said, blow the prosecution's case completely out of the water. (Alludes to a torpedo or other weapon striking a ship and causing a
great explosion that makes pieces of the ship fly out of the water.) ), says Alice Arnold, who calls on women "to reclaim our breasts for ourselves". Twenty-five years ago my favourite aunt died of breast cancer. The word 'breast' was hardly spoken, or if it was, it was in hushed tones(hushed 压着嗓子 adj. in a softened tone; quiet, low, soft, subdued, low-pitched. At first we spoke in hushed voices. "muted trumpets"; "a subdued whisper"; "a quiet reprimand". a hush fell over someone or something 忽然安静了起来 Fig. a sudden silence enveloped something or a group. As the conductor raised his arms, a hush fell over the audience. The coach shouted and a hush fell over the locker room. hush someone up I. to make someone quiet. Please hush the children up. I have a telephone call. Hush up those kids! II. Sl. to kill someone. The gang was afraid the witness would testify and wanted to hush him up. Mr. Big told Sam to hush up Richard. hush something up Fig. to keep something a secret; to try to stop a rumor from spreading. We just couldn't hush it up. We wanted to hush up the story, but there was no way to do it. hush money Fig. money paid as a bribe to persuade someone to remain silent and not reveal certain information. Bob
gave his younger sister hush money so that she wouldn't tell Jane that
he had gone to the movies with Sue. The crooks paid Fred hush money to
keep their whereabouts secret. hush up to be quiet; to get quiet; to stop talking. You talk too much. Hush up! I want you to hush up and sit down! ).
Why? Because the breast was considered a sexual organ and in those days
we didn't talk about sexual organs or cancer. Of course since then research has come on in leaps and bounds ( by/in leaps and bounds 蹭蹭的生长 if progress or growth happens in leaps and bounds, it happens very quickly. Ashley's reading has come on in leaps and bounds since she's been at her new school. Leaders of the organization say their membership is growing by leaps and bounds. grow by leaps and bounds to become larger quickly. Since we had that good rain, my tomatoes have grown by leaps and bounds. That boy has grown by leaps and bounds this year. ). These advances have come about through medical progress and through awareness. 5. A gazette([gə'zɛt] 公开宣布. 正式宣布.)
is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.
Gazette is a loanword from the French language. In English, the
transitive verb to gazette means "to announce or publish in a gazette";
especially where gazette refers to a public journal or a newspaper of
record, such an officially published announcement being known as a
"gazettal". E.g., "Lake Nakuru was gazetted as a bird sanctuary in 1960, then was upgraded to National Park status
in 1968." British Army personnel decorations, promotions, and officer
commissions are "gazetted" in the London Gazette, the "Official
Newspaper of Record for the United Kingdom".
关于莽撞, 鲁莽的用词: 1. foolhardy 冲动的, 鲁莽的, 莽撞的 Unwisely bold or venturesome; rash. 2. Magnussen has been criticised for his brashness( brash I. 不经大脑的. 不假思索的. impetuous or rash. Hasty and unthinking; impetuous. II. insensitive or tactless. IV. impudent or shameless.). 3. Blockhead move大头症行为 sees contestant hospitalised: Sydney tough-cookie Madison Coppock, 24, was taken to hospital because of a self-admitted blockhead move(自己也觉得愚蠢的行径. blockhead: A person regarded as very stupid; a dolt. a stupid person.); she pushed herself too hard in the first week of The Block Sky High's competition. "I think we got the challenge first thing in the morning ( (the) first thing (in the morning) [每天]第一件事 before doing anything else The first thing tomorrow, you'll have to cancel our reservations. White had a habit of playing his trumpet first thing in the morning, which really irritated his neighbors. ) and we worked all the way through to the next morning, not stopping to have a drink of water or to eat or sleep. I was more worried about ticking all the things off my to-do list," she said. "I started getting signs of dehydration( [di:'haidreit]) the next morning, with all the toxicity I was vomiting lots." She said because of all the work she felt they had to do she only managed to squeeze in a doctor's appointment, which provided medication that helped her for a couple hours. But she got progressively worse and she was taken to hospital. "The nurses treated me straight away, they said I was dangerously dehydrated and that I had to stop." Forced to take a couple of days bed rest卧床休息, after several bags of drip-fed fluids输液,
it meant her husband of three-years, Jarrod Coppock, was left to finish
the room without her. "We did a lot more than anybody else did. I
almost did a day's more organising, ordering furniture, than the other teams. Basically it didn't disadvantage us." Thankfully for the Coppocks there was no elimination at the end of the challenge. "That's why I knew it had nothing to do with stress," Madi said about her getting ill. "That was a really important lesson to learn so early on in the show, not just for me but for the others in the show. Having just that small thing go wrong 一点点不对 meant people realised that the need to eat and sleep and stay healthy is more important that the show." She said Jarrod was torn about not being able to go with her to the hospital, as well as having to manage the job on his own. "He was really distressed. We didn't have any tradies( TRADIES are the biggest spenders in Australia, outlaying more than doctors and lawyers
each month on food, medical expenses, childcare and schooling. A
national survey into Australians' financial health has also revealed
that cashed-up 有钱的, 富裕的 tradespeople ( cash up I. (idiomatic) 总账. to count the money taken by a business at the end of the day. II. (intransitive, idiomatic) to earn money. cashed up adj. Austral informal having plenty of money. cash out
I. (US)To reconcile at the end of a shift; to compare receipts of items
sold to records of credit card, check and cash placed into the drawer,
verifying that correct change was given out by the clerk. cash out (something) to sell something you bought as an investment Most
of the early investors cashed out as the business became increasingly
complicated. You should avoid cashing out your retirement plan. cashed up bogan 暴发户: (Australia) A person who is, or is perceived to be, unsophisticated or of a lower class background but achieving a high salary, who spends money on flashy or trashy items to fulfil their aspirations of higher social status. The stereotype includes having speech and mannerisms that are considered to denote poor education and uncultured upbringing, which is reflected反映 in their bad taste possessions and lifestyles. nouveau riche 暴发户 [ˌnu:vəu'ri:ʃ]
One who has recently become rich, especially one who flaunts newly
acquired wealth. (often plural and preceded by the) a person who has
acquired wealth recently and is regarded as vulgarly ostentatious or
lacking in social graces. ), who are predominantly men and often self-employed, are the most guilty of "binge shopping". The survey also found tradies love to shop, with 17 per cent admitting they go on "buying binges", though women still outpace超过 men overall in their urge to splurge - 26 per cent to 14 per cent. It is men, not women, who are the big credit card bingers - males aged 18 to 69 have larger monthly repayments on average than women. "I'm buying meals every day from cafes or takeaway shops because you don't always have a fridge available, and having an esky with ice blocks冰块 to keep things cold is just a pain,"
the 28-year-old from Connells Point said. "It's much easier to buy
food, but it does become expensive." Ms Stewart said there was a clear aversion反对 to debt along with a growing awareness that credit had to be repaid. "This is reinforced by the relatively small number of people who are using credit cards or loans to pay regular expenses, around 7 per cent," she said. "People are trying to live within their means, containing spending on credit and paying off large debts when they are due." Findings show only one in 20 workers regularly uses credit cards as a cash-out facility, while more than half always pay the total balance on time to avoid extra fees.), we were doing it all ourselves while everybody else had them, but we didn't know that at the time. He had so much to do, so he was stressed about that, stressed about me going off to hospital and not being there. It was one of the hardest times on The Block."
新世代的孩子们I screen, you screen: the rise of children using technology: Baby boomers, and even members of Generation X, most likely spent the long days of the summer school break hanging out at the beach, the local pool or bike riding around the streets with friends. The Millennials ( [mil'lɛniəl] ) 00后? Not so much. Parents of today reckon they can't get these digital natives ( A digital native is a person who was born during or after the general introduction of digital technologies and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its concepts. Alternatively, this term can describe people born during or after the 2000s, as the Digital Age began at that time; but in most cases, the term focuses on people who grew up with the technology that became prevalent in the latter part of the 20th century and continues to evolve today. Other discourse identifies a digital native as a person who understands the value of digital technology and uses this to seek out opportunities for implementing it with a view to make an impact. A digital immigrant is an individual who was born before the existence of digital technology and adopted it to some extent later in life. ) away from their screens and out of the house, even when the sun is shining. But is that really such a bad thing? Experts have been warning that overuse of technology is having a dire effect on ( dire I. Warning of or having dreadful or terrible consequences; calamitous. foreboding disaster; ominous: a dire economic forecast; dire threats. II. Urgent; desperate: in dire need; dire poverty. ) young people, destroying their ability to interact in the "real world", purportedly exposing them to all sorts of cyber nasties恶心事 such as gaming addiction and limiting their attention span to that of a goldfish. But many experts are now starting to talk about a flipside that is surprisingly, and reassuringly, positive. Karen Vered, associate professor of screen and media at Flinders University, says parents need to take a more relaxed view about social media in particular and accept that this is how most young people now communicate. "I think it's a bit of a beat-up ( beat-up I. Damaged or worn because of neglect or heavy use. dilapidated; broken-down. II. (Australia, UK, New Zealand) 胡编烂造的指控, 疯狗乱咬. An artificially or disingenuously manufactured outcry, usually in the media. Few areas of science journalism are more susceptible to frothy beat-ups than stem cell research. "It has been suggested that this is a vicious book, a poisonous book, that it's a disgrace to have written it," Mr Barry said at today's book launch. "That's a total beat-up". beat somebody up I. to strongly criticize someone. The candidates spent the time beating each other up instead of talking about how to improve the economy. Usage notes: sometimes used in the form beat up on someone: Sanchez beat up on Brown for problems with street repairs. II. to easily defeat someone. The Rangers beat up Kansas city, 7-3. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of beat someone up (to hurt someone badly). take a beating to be beaten, bested, or defeated. to be defeated or to lose a lot of money. The Knicks really took a beating in last night's game. The company took a beating last year, losing $50 million in profits. The candidate took a beating in the primaries. The team took quite a beating.) to say it's this thing that we need to worry about," says Vered. The chief executive of the Young and Well Co-operative Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, Jane Burns, agrees that using technology responsibly can be a wonderful experience for youngsters. "Social media can lead to a greater depth in their relationships, there's a potential to take action or advocate for people or issues they care about," Burns says. "They can become citizens of the digital world, they get many more opportunities to volunteer. This never would have happened 10 or 20 years ago." Far from using social networking sites such as Facebook or Instagram just to post selfies or find out where the best parties are happening, Associate Professor Burns says young people are using social media to push worthy causes促进有益的事业. "You often hear about young people being apathetic [ˌæpəˈθɛtɪk] 没有同情心的 and not taking action on issues that they should care about," she says. "That's actually not the case. It might not be in the old traditional way where you shake a tin on the corner of the street ( a tin ear (informal) if someone has a tin ear, they do not have a natural ability to understand or enjoy music. Even to someone with a tin ear like mine, their singing sounded pretty awful.) but they are out there in the digital space raising awareness and raising money for causes. I think they are using technology to take on responsibility in a big way at a much younger age." She says young people have embraced crowd-funding sites such as Pozible to support their causes, citing the case of one young person bankrolling a documentary ( n. I. A roll of paper money. II. Informal One's ready cash. tr.v. To underwrite the expense of (a business venture, for example). to provide the capital for; finance. ) about chronic fatigue syndrome. Another used money raised online to replace his friend's stolen laptop. Attempting a "digital detox" over summer might, for some, feel like a noble aspiration but potentially difficult to pull off. Statistics from the Raising Children Network show more than one-third of students in years 7-10 say social networking is "very important" to them. Almost 95 per cent of teens aged 12-16 years have used a social networking site. Of that group, 93.4 per cent have used Facebook. Mission Australia's annual youth survey found that young people were spending large swathes ( swath (swɔ:θ) / swathe I. a. The width of a scythe stroke or a mowing-machine blade. b. A path of this width made in mowing. c. The mown grass or grain lying on such a path. II. Something likened to a swath; a strip. cut a swath I. To create a great stir, impression, or display: "He cut a bold and even sacrificial swath across American politics" (Gail Sheehy). II. To extend in distinctive physical length and width: "the surprising 17th Arrondissement, which cuts a generous swath across northwest Paris" (Jean Rafferty). ) of time on social media sites, with the results showing one in five people aged 15-19 were devoting at least 20 hours a week to social networking. Facebook and YouTube are the dominant social media platforms for Australians aged between 14 and 24, with 70 per cent of people in this age bracket年龄范围内, 年龄组里 visiting the sites in an average week, according to Roy Morgan Research. The research, published in November, also found strong growth among young people for other sites such as Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Social media sites and internet forums have also become a place where young people turn to find advice about issues they are uncomfortable discussing in person. "They really try to find out from their peers how would you cope with a relationship breakup, how would you cope with some of the issues young people struggle with as they go through those adolescent years. This is especially important for young people who are vulnerable," says Burns. "Generally what young people find, when they are connecting to services and other peers, they find other young people are going through the same thing. "It creates a very supportive environment for young people to raise those questions that they don't normally feel very comfortable raising with their parents 提出问题, health professionals or with their peers face to face." However, she says bullying remains a constant concern. We need to keep reminding young people about looking out for their friends注意自己的朋友 online and having respectful relationships just as we do offline because we know that just telling someone not to do something doesn't change their behaviour. Adults seem to forget that." Associate Professor Vered agrees that families can use technology to start a debate. "It is timely for parents to talk to kids about what to post and what not to post," she says. Sharing photos of summer holiday activities on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter provides an opportunity to talk about appropriate and inappropriate posting. "Use the medium in a fun way," she says. "Go through the photos together instead of making social media a secret society that's hidden from the parents. Make it a family activity." Middle-aged parents raised in a pre-internet era can be excused for their bafflement at the plethora[ˈplɛθ(ə)rə] of sites being used by their children but they should not be fearful. "Not every family is savvy on this stuff. There are lots of parents who wouldn't have a clue. This is an opportunity to learn and let your kid be the expert." However, when it comes to screens, free-to-air television still rules, with 90 per cent of 14-24-year-olds watching in an average week. So, if parents are concerned about the amount of time their child devotes to technology they should lead by example, says Dr Michael Nagel, associate professor of education at the University of the Sunshine Coast. There's nothing to be gained ( Nothing ventured, nothing gained 不入虎穴焉得虎子. If you do not take risks, you will never accomplish anything. Bill: Should I ask my boss for a promotion? Jane: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I think I'll audition for a part in that play. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.) from telling children to turn the TV off if their parents spend much of summer glued to the cricket, he says. "Parents have to disengage as well. There is something very alluring 吸引人的 about screens." Dr Nagel is concerned that overuse of screens is leading to an increased disconnection in real life. He recalls seeing a family sitting at a restaurant not talking to each other because they were immersed in their respective devices. The latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has identified internet gaming disorder as a condition. "It is similar to gambling addiction or alcohol addiction," Dr Nagel says. "Increasingly we are seeing young people showing those patterns of behaviour那种行为. They are disengaging 脱离 from the real world. It's not necessarily a positive thing."
黑莓提告好莱坞明星 - BlackBerry has found itself a new adversary: BlackBerry (BBRY) has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Typo, a startup backed by "American Idol" host Seacrest that sells a $99 tactile keyboard which snaps on to Apple iPhones. Seacrest and marketing executive Laurence Hallier co-founded Typo. The Typo Keyboard has been available for pre-order since the company debuted in December. The device is slated to come out later this month -- but not if BlackBerry can help it. In a press release about the lawsuit, Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry's general counsel, called Typo "a blatant infringement against BlackBerry's iconic keyboard." "We are flattered by the desire to graft 移植, 嫁接 our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations," he added. We're only three days into 2014, and the Seacrest/Typo lawsuit is already the second bit of news about BlackBerry and celebrities this year. BlackBerry announced on Thursday that it will part ways with Alicia Keys, who served as the company's "creative director" for just twelve months.
