2Day FM ratings plunge: Kyle and Jackie O draw audience to Kiis FM: Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O (Henderson) have pulled off a stunning coup, lifting the ratings at their new breakfast radio station, Kiis FM (1065), by a massive six points in the first survey period of the year. The Kiis FM result is almost perfectly mirrored by a 6.6 plunge in the
ratings for the breakfast slot at 2Day FM, Sandilands and Henderson's
former home. Most industry insiders expected Kyle and Jackie O to be outright number one 直接就是第一(实际是与另一节目分享) after they controversially left their long-time home at 2Day FM last year to broadcast on the newly established Kiis FM. Industry insiders are shocked by the scale and speed of the turnaround, which appears to vindicate ( I. to clear from guilt, accusation, blame, etc, as by evidence or argument. II. to provide justification for: his promotion vindicated his unconventional attitude. III. to uphold, maintain, or defend (a cause, etc): to vindicate a claim. ) the investment made by Kiis FM owners, ARN, in Sandilands and Henderson. Kiis FM's ratings turnaround has also extended to its drive show, helmed by Tim Ross, putting on 3.1 points at the expense of 2Day FM's Dan Debuf and Maz Compton. This first ratings result for 2014 has been feverishly anticipated by the industry after the wholesale shuffling of the deck of presenters at the end of last year, in particular, the defection of Sandilands and Henderson. Throw in the fact that industry body Commercial Radio Australia has switched its radio ratings provider from long-time operator Nielsen to GFK and it adds up to one of the most tumultuous (tju:'mʌltʃuəs) 多事之秋, 风云突变的时期 periods in commercial radio in living memory. Network bosses have been busily positioning themselves ( position 铺垫 to put (someone or something) in a position (esp in relation to others) that confers a strategic advantage: He's trying to position himself for a leadership bid. ) in advance of the rating release, in particular 尤其是 Craig Bruce, head of content at Southern Cross Austereo, which owns 2Day FM. Bruce reportedly said last week that it was far from a fair fight公平竞争 between Sandilands and Henderson and their replacements at 2Day FM. Elsewhere in Breakfast, 2UE 954's new pairing John Stanley and Garry Linnell, turned in a very solid result, putting on 0.7 of a point, taking them ahead of 2Day's Jules Lund, Sophie Monk, Merrick Watts and Mel B in the hotly contested slot. The news was not so good for ABC 702's Robbie Buck, who replaced long-time host Adam Spencer at the end of last year. ABC's breakfast show fell 2.4 points to 11.1, as listeners apparently deserted Buck for WSFM, which lifted its share by 3.1. Reigning breakfast king Alan Jones also had his crown somewhat dented with a ratings drop of two points to 15.2.
How I discovered at age 60 that I was irresistible难以抵抗的, 难以抵挡的( I. 难以自制的. Impossible to resist. not able to be resisted or refused; overpowering: an irresistible impulse to sneeze. They feel the case for change is irresistible. He had an irresistible desire to hit her. II. 魅力难当的. Having an overpowering appeal. very fascinating or alluring: an irresistible woman. irresistible beauty.) to men: HE WAS waiting for me in my local London pub, The Bells, in his tight jeans, T-shirt and trainers, looking a little apprehensive ( I. 焦虑的 Anxious or fearful about the future; uneasy. People are still terribly apprehensive about the future. II. Capable of understanding and quick to apprehend. apprehend I. To take into custody; arrest: apprehended the murderer. II. To grasp mentally; understand: a candidate who apprehends the significance of geopolitical issues. Only now can I begin to apprehend the power of these forces. III. To become conscious of, as through the emotions or senses; perceive. IV. to expect with anxiety, suspicion, or fear; anticipate: apprehending violence.). He offered to buy me a drink but that didn't seem right, so I went to the bar and got my own glass of wine. As he warmed to ( warm [up] to someone/something to begin to like someone or something. If you warm to an idea, you start to become interested in or enthusiastic about it. become excited about; "She was not a person who was easy to warm up to. He warmed to the idea of a trip to Antarctica". She's the kind of person you warm to immediately. It might take them a while to warm to the idea. Unfortunately, I had to leave just as the speaker was warming to his theme. Usage notes: sometimes used in the form warm someone up to something (to prepare someone so they will like something): I think you should warm them up to the idea, and not just surprise your parents when they get here. ) our conversation about his work (in accountancy) and his family (from Lancaster), and I told him something of my own life, his shyness began to fade害羞开始渐渐消失 and he smiled more. I liked his informal yet respectful manner. He was bright, thoughtful and knowledgeable. By and large he wasn't interested in girls of his own age. "All they want to talk about is The X Factor and the latest celebrity gossip. After a couple of dates they start putting on the pressure施加压力. They want a proper relationship and commitment." I could see the attraction for him of the older woman老女人多他的吸引力; he didn't have to spell it out ( spell out 明白的说出来, 清楚的说出来, 表达出来 I. informal To clarify; to explain in detail. to say or explain something very clearly because someone has not understood something. spell something out to/for someone: It's frustrating when you have to spell everything out for them. II. to say or write the letters of a word in the correct order. spell (transitive, figuratively) To indicate that (some event) will occur. This spells trouble. At the start of the year, TheFIX exclusively revealed that Taylor Swift had warned bestie Selena Gomez that a reconciliation with Justin Bieber would spell the end of their friendship. And well, she wasn't bluffing! New reports out today say Taylor, 24, is "disgusted" by Selena's decision to take back bad boy Biebs. ). We strolled back to my place. I wondered what the next step in this unfamiliar scenario might be. "What would you like to do now?" I asked, not meeting his eyes不敢看他的眼睛. "We'll do whatever you want to do," he said. Many would say the age gap between us was absurd年龄差太荒唐, 太荒谬了, but I don't think either of us thought about it for a second. And I found his healthy, strong body very appealing. He stayed over that night and fell asleep with his head nestling on my shoulder. And the next morning he left. From then on we saw one another every three weeks or so. I always called him Pup and he generally referred to me as Miss. I loved the vaguely 有那么一点点的 Benny Hill sauciness of it有那么点没大没小(sauncy ('sɔ:si) I. 粗俗的, 粗鲁的. 不雅的. saucy pictures, jokes etc refer to sex in a way that is funny. a saucy postcard. II. Piquant( (ˈpi:kənt) I. food or drink that is piquant has a strong and pleasant flavour. a piquant sauce. II. a quality or situation that is piquant is very exciting and interesting. piquant wit. ); pert( I. a pert girl or young woman is lively, confident, and attractive, especially in a way that shows a lack of respect. II. a pert object is small, attractive, and has a nice shape. a pert nose. ). jaunty(lively and confident): a saucy little hat. a saucy red bow tie. III. old-fashioned a. 目无尊长的, 没大没小的. Impertinent无礼的, 莽撞的 or disrespectful. b. Impertinent in an entertaining way; impossible to repress or control. someone who is saucy shows little respect for people in authority. Don't you get saucy with me! ). My partner and I had split up the previous year, after a 13-year relationship. And not long after that, in July 2012, I had woken up to the depressing realisation that(wake up to something 意识到 to become aware of something important. I wish Dad would wake up to the fact that the car is about to fall apart. ) it was my 60th birthday. Now I was single and 60 and feeling on the scrap heap(throw somebody/something on the scrap heap (informal) to get rid of someone or something that is not wanted or needed any more (usually passive). Many people over forty who can't find a job feel they've been thrown on the scrap heap. Middle-aged unemployed feel 'thrown on the scrap-heap'. "You are never on the scrap heap when it comes to finding love".). It seemed as if it was all over for me(be all over sb informal to be touching someone in a sexual way everywhere on their body: She was all over him, kissing him and stroking him.) — the love and passion, the sex and sensuality. Perhaps from now on I would focus on my relationships with my family. And no matriarch(ˈmeɪtrɪˌɑ:k) ( a woman who dominates an organization, community, etc. ) is more devoted than me. My sons were then aged 35 and 29, and my grandchildren were two and five. Time to move into a granny annex( (v. əˈnɛks, ˈænɛks; n. 'ænɛks, -ɪks) I. to attach, append, or add, esp. to something larger or more important. II. to incorporate (territory) into the domain of a city, country, or state: Germany annexed part of Czechoslovakia. III. to take or appropriate, esp. without permission: planned to annex the private documents for their own use. IV. to attach as an attribute, condition, or consequence. n. I. A building added on to a larger one or an auxiliary building situated near a main one. II. An addition, such as an appendix, that is made to a record or other document. ), maybe? But I decided it wasn't yet time for the scrap heap. Over the coming months, I would discover an army of males in their 20s and early 30s all harbouring fantasies about being with older women. And on the internet and through mobile phone apps, they had found an easy way of making these fantasies come true. By the end of the year, I had slept with 15 men, 11 of whom were in their 20s or 30s. My experiment took me down some shadowy ( I. full of shadows; dark; shady. I watched him from a shadowy corner. II. resembling a shadow in faintness; vague. he shadowy shape of a big barge loaded with logs. III. illusory or imaginary. IV. mysterious or secretive: a shadowy underworld figure. ) and chancy, not always wholesome( I. 健康的, 有益的. wholesome food is food that is good for you. Conducive to sound health or well-being; salutary: simple, wholesome food; a wholesome climate. wholesome home-cooked meals. II. 有益身心的. 高尚的. considered to have a good influence on people, for example because it does not involve sex or drugs. Promoting mental, moral, or social health: wholesome entertainment. wholesome family entertainment. The party are hoping her wholesome image will appeal to voters.), but always thoroughly invigorating rabbit holes( "down the rabbit hole", a metaphor for adventure into the unknown, a bizarre or difficult state or situation, from its use in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. ). When I got divorced for the first time, at the age of 40 after a 17-year marriage, I emerged blinking into the glare of a dating scene radically非常不同 different from that of my youth. After my second long-term relationship ended exactly 20 years later, the scene had spectacularly moved on yet again, thanks to the internet and an array of new technologies. It was a bewildering (bɪˈwɪldə) landscape让人眼花缭乱的风景( bewilder I. To confuse or befuddle, especially with numerous conflicting situations, objects, or statements. II. To cause to lose one's bearings; disorient: The twists and turns弯弯曲曲, 弯弯绕绕 in the cave soon bewildered us.), but I was glad to see how free of stigma online dating had become. It seemed pretty much everyone was doing it. By this stage of my life人生到了这个阶段, I was too battle-scarred 留下阴影的 ( bearing scars received in battle. shadow I. A vestige or inferior form. a remnant or vestige: a shadow of one's past self. shadows of their past achievements. He was a shadow of his former self. II. 庇护, 荫护. Shelter; protection: under the shadow of their corporate sponsor. III. a. A nearby or adjoining region; vicinity: grew up in the shadow of the ballpark. b. A dominating presence or influence: spent years working in the shadow of the lab director. IV. A feeling or cause of gloom or unhappiness. a threatening influence; blight: a shadow over one's happiness. The argument cast a shadow on their friendship. wiki: In Jungian荣格心理分析 psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" may refer to (1) an unconscious aspect of the personality which the conscious ego does not identify in itself. Because one tends to reject or remain ignorant of the least desirable aspects of one's personality, the shadow is largely negative, or (2) the entirety of the unconscious, i.e., everything of which a person is not fully conscious. There are, however, positive aspects which may also remain hidden in one's shadow (especially in people with low self-esteem). Contrary to a Freudian definition of shadow, therefore, the Jungian shadow can include everything outside the light of consciousness, and may be positive or negative. "Everyone carries a shadow," Jung wrote, "and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is." It may be (in part) one's link to more primitive animal instincts, which are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind. According to Jung, the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, is prone to psychological projection, in which a perceived personal inferiority is recognised as a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. Jung writes that if these projections remain hidden, "The projection-making factor (the Shadow archetype) then has a free hand and can realize its object--if it has one--or bring about some other situation characteristic of its power." These projections insulate and harm individuals by acting as a constantly thickening veil of illusion between the ego and the real world.) to believe in knights on white chargers ( a knight in shining armour 勇敢的骑士 or a knight 骑士 on a white charger An idealized or chivalrous (Chivalry (ˈʃivəlrɪ) ) man who comes to the rescue of a woman in a difficult situation. a man who helps someone, especially a woman, who is sad or in trouble. ). But uncomplicated enjoyment? Bring it on. I would pack in as much as I could(pack in I. informal to attract very large audiences. The play was still packing them in after several weeks. II. informal to stop doing something, especially a job. A year ago, she packed in her job to join the band. a. pack it in British informal used for telling someone to stop doing something that is annoying you. III. to fill something with a lot of people or things. The more people they can pack in, the more money they make. IV. to fill a period of time with a lot of activities. He packed in an amazing amount in such a short life. V. British informal to end a sexual or romantic relationship with someone. I'm thinking of packing him in.) while I still had the face, the body and the desire for it. On the advice of a friend, I chose a dating site and gave my age as 54. For my profile photo I chose a black-and-white portrait in which I wore an enigmatic smile. The previous week I had written an article about my favourite poet, Edgar Allan Poe, centring on his most famous poem, The Raven. And so it was that I adopted the username 'Raven'. I wrote: "After a lot of disappointments in love, I now realise that all men are rascals 被宠坏的孩子, 不听话的孩子(I. humorous a child who behaves badly but who you like too much to be angry with. Come back here, you little rascal! II. old-fashioned a dishonest man.), so I'm just looking to have a nice time with people I like." Then I sat back to see how Raven got on. One Saturday morning, I saw a young face among the site's profiles. Dark blond hair and blue eyes, a shy-yet-cheeky grin, a friendly boy-next-door. He was 23, just a baby. I'd forgotten that people on the site can tell when someone inspects查看 their profile. Three minutes later a message pinged (ping To make a sharp, high-pitched, metallic sound.) into my inbox. "Hi Miss Raven. I hope you don't mind me messaging but I noticed you had been looking at my profile so thought I would say hello. And I love women who are older than me." Surprised and pleased又惊又喜, I wrote back saying I thought he was cute and that I was all in favour of younger men. "Are you busy this weekend?," he asked. "Maybe we could get to know each other a bit better ..." And so my liaison with Pup was arranged. Another new young friend, Simon, was 25, slim, sweet-faced and boyish, a little shy. He was an internet entrepreneur and passionate about digital technology. When he mentioned that he still lived at home, I felt a wicked ([wikid] 邪恶的, 缺德的) frisson 颤抖 ([ˈfri:son] a sudden strong feeling of excitement, fear, or pleasure. ) shoot down my cradle-snatching spine(a cradle-snatcher 老牛吃嫩草 someone who has a romantic or sexual relationship with a much younger partner He's three years younger than you? You cradle-snatcher! ). We got on to 谈到 the subject of relationships. "I've never had a serious girlfriend," he admitted. "It's so hard to meet people. That's why we all use dating sites." "What would your friends say about you being out on a date with an older woman?" "It would be a big mark in my favour," he grinned. Later that evening, Simon came home with me. We had a cup of tea (so English) then went up to bed. Increasingly I felt that the big-bellied大肚子的, 大肚皮的, baggage-laden oldsters on the dating site couldn't compete with these tempting young men. It was like looking into a cake shop and seeing all the scrumptious little cupcakes with their colourful swirly tops. Why on earth would you choose the boring old Victoria sponge? But I was about to learn how weird online dating could be. A few weeks later, I was sitting on a bar stool in my local when Max walked in. He was 30 and 6ft. A graphic designer living in the East End. Tall and cool, wearing jeans and a tight-fitting hoodie that showed off his fit young body. I was going to enjoy this date. I gave him what I hoped was an alluring (əˈluəriŋ) 魅惑的 smile. "So ... wanna come up and see my etchings镶画(etch (ɛtʃ) 镶嵌 a picture printed from a piece of metal that has been etched. he etched his name on the table. the event was etched on her memory. )?" He looked confused. Obviously he had never heard the phrase. Wrong generation代沟. "What I mean is, fancy some coffee at my place?" We walked back to my house and it wasn't long before we headed upstairs. In bed, he looked into my eyes and asked: "Are you enjoying this, Mummy?" "Don't say that." He put his hand around my throat and squeezed hard. I was finding it hard to breathe. At long last 好不容易, 长时间的等待 (finally, after difficulty, delay, or irritation. After a lengthy or troublesome wait or delay: At long last the winter was over.) he let go of me. In future I would have to be more cautious. Meeting desirable young men had proved to be surprisingly easy online. But it was to become a whole lot easier. Leafing through(leaf through sth 翻看 to turn pages, briefly looking at them. to quickly turn the pages of a book or a magazine, reading only a little of it: The waiting room was full of people leafing through magazines. We leafed through some old photo albums. The detective leafed through some papers on the desk, looking for clues to my father's disappearance. ) the paper, my attention was grabbed by an article about Tinder, a quick, simple and free mobile-phone app which matched potentially compatible people within a specified radius. In reality, Tinder is a facilitator of casual sexual encounters(facilitator someone who helps a person or organization do something more easily or find the answer to a problem, by discussing things and suggesting ways of doing things: I see my role as that of a facilitator, enabling other people to work in the way that suits them best.) between individuals who fancy each other ... or think they might. I downloaded it and within a few days I had a small stable of fledgling studs 羽毛未丰的小伙子 ready and willing to play. Most were not long out of university, but they couldn't wait to tell me that older women were their fantasy. My first Tinder tryst was with Tom, a tall, dark and dishy( sexually attractive) northern boy of 21 who had recently graduated and was working as an intern in the City. After 45 minutes, we decided not to order a second round at The Bells but have a drink back at mine. Tom left at 9pm. I, meanwhile, had flopped on to the sofa to watch TV when I got a Tinder message from another of my matches, 28-year-old Jon. According to the app he lived only a mile away. "I'd like to come over," he messaged. "You up for that?" I thought for a moment. What the hell. This is the Raven we're talking about. And his photos were captivating迷人的. Jon left sometime after midnight. Not all my men were young. Charles was a man in his mid-fifties with classic good looks标准的帅哥. Swept-back brown hair, hazel栗色 eyes, chiselled face and a gleaming ( 亮的发光的. 干净的发光的. bright and shiny from being cleaned: a gleaming kitchen, gleaming windows. gleam n. a brief or dim indication: Her fair hair had a golden gleam. There was a gleam of hope for a peaceful settlement. a gleam of intelligence. a gleam of hope. saw gleams of daylight through the cracks. v. I. 闪闪发光的. to produce or reflect a small, bright light: He polished the table until it gleamed. II. When eyes gleam, they shine in a way that expresses a particular emotion: His eyes gleamed with/in triumph. intelligence gleamed in his eyes. glean 收集信息 I. to learn small pieces of information by asking questions or watching or listening carefully. Their decisions were based on financial information gleaned from the Internet. II. [intransitive/transitive] 拾麦穗. to pick up small amounts of the crops left in a field after they have been cut and collected by the farmer. glisten (ˈɡlisən)
vb (intr) I. 闪闪发光. 发亮. (of a wet or glossy surface) to gleam by
reflecting light. to give off a sparkling or lustrous reflection of or
as if of a moist or polished surface. wet leaves glisten in the sunlight. The calm sea glistened in the sunlight. Rain made the streets glisten. The streets glistened in the rain. Her
eyes glistened with tears. a long beach of glistening sand. II. (of light) to reflect with brightness: the sunlight glistens on wet leaves. Glisten is a verb meaning that something looks shiny, like it's wet. Rocks on the beach glisten in the sun. And your sister's prom dress, covered in sequins, no doubt will glisten under the disco ball. The word glisten can also be used metaphorically( euphemism隐晦 ). After you tossed and turned throughout the night, in the morning, you could see the perfect solution glisten right in front of you. As a noun, a glisten is a bright shine. When you are driving into the setting sun, the glisten of the sun on the hood of the car makes it hard to see. glare v. I. to look at someone or something in a very angry way. glare at: They glared at each other across the table. II. to shine with a very strong light that makes you feel uncomfortable. The sun glared down, dazzling them. n. [countable] an angry look. 瞪一眼, 瞪人. She gave me a furious glare. Media glare too intense for suspect who turns self in. II. [singular/uncountable] 闪光 an unpleasant bright light that makes you feel uncomfortable. You can put a filter in front of your computer screen to reduce glare. the glare of the midday sun. the glare of publicity/the media 媒体注视, 媒体审视 attention from newspapers and television, especially when you do not want it. Their relationship will be severely tested in the full glare of media publicity. If hijackers are suspected, then the glare of suspicion 怀疑的焦点 will fall again on two passengers who boarded with EU passports stolen in Thailand. ) white Hollywood smile. I clicked on his picture and learned that, unsurprisingly, he was an American expat. He looked every bit the business executive that he said he was. So it was with a gleeful squeal that I found a message from him one morning: "Hi 'Raven', thank you for looking at my profile and sending a wink. I am flattered!" (He's flattered?) He explained that he had divorced his wife the previous year and was attempting to open a new chapter in his life. Charles and I met in the swish bar at Claridge's. He had texted me to say that he would get there a few minutes early, "so that you won't have to wait and have people wonder what an attractive woman is doing alone in a hotel bar". Exceptionally considerate. He sent another text moments before I arrived, saying he was sitting by the window in a dark-blue blazer and light-blue shirt. As if I wouldn't recognise him! I spotted 找到, 发现, 看到 him right away; he was even more handsome than in his photos, and exuded (iɡ'zju:d) 散发着, 发散着 (he exuded confidence. a face that exuded self-satisfaction.) a collegiate 大学生似的 air((kəˈli:dʒiit) I. mainly American relating to colleges, or intended for students at college. collegiate sports. II. consisting of several colleges or parts. the collegiate system at some universities. III. very formal sharing ideas and responsibilities with the people you work with, in a friendly way. ). We had three cocktails apiece (Each by itself; by the single one; to each; as the share of each. These melons cost a shilling apiece. ) and I had little recollection of how we got to my house, only a dim sense of having ridden up and down some Tube火车站 escalators. Then all of a sudden I found myself unlocking the door, climbing up the stairs and dropping down on to my bed, with Charles gently pulling off my shoes. A second date followed a similar pattern, ending at his apartment in Marylebone. The next morning, we got dressed and he said he would walk me to the Tube station. We sat outdoors at a cafe in the morning sun and ordered cappuccinos. Stirring his coffee, Charles told me there was something on his mind: "I've spoken to my ex-wife a couple of times lately." I looked up at him. "We still have matters to sort out还有事情需要解决. Usually we do it by email but I thought I'd call instead. Guess I felt like hearing her voice ... and I still have feelings for her. "It was like I was betraying her, that last time I saw you ... could we see each other without the sex for a while?" he asked. "See how it goes?" He grinned and added: "The sex was great, by the way." "You want us just to be friends," I sighed. Charles gave a weak smile. "I guess so." He gave me a brisk kiss outside the Tube station and I waved him goodbye. My next encounter was with Jake, a 6ft 3in, blond, rugby-playing 22-year-old who lived with his family in South Kensington. He was so well-constructed身材好 that I would defy any red-blooded ( 热血的 behaving like a typical man, especially by being sexually active. ) woman not to drool over 流口水 the Tinder photo of him in his swimming trunks. Then there was Sam, who for me spelled the endgame游戏结束(The final stage of an extended process or course of events.). Our introductory e-conversation, late one night, turned quite ugly. He soon began to doubt my identity, demanding to know what I "really looked like". Then he became insulting about my age. "Shouldn't you be making jam or something?" In the morning, I scrapped 废掉, 关掉 my Tinder account. It had not been designed for the likes of me. I had grown strangely restless over my months of internet dating. I felt an almost constant urge to be looking to see who had been viewing or messaging me; to be checking the mobile for something from my conquests (I use that word with irony) and, if possible, indulge in lengthy, risqué texting sessions, sometimes into the small hours, with any who were around. I had finally twigged ( twig a very small thin branch from a tree or bush. They used twigs and leaves as a base to start the fire. v. I. (colloquial, regional) 理解, 明白, 意识到. 搞清楚. To realise something; to catch on. He hasn't twigged that we're planning a surprise party for him. II. To understand the meaning of (a person); to comprehend. Do you twig me? III. To observe slyly; also, to perceive; to discover. ) how the virtual dating system worked. New connections were constantly forming, leaving earlier ones to dissolve. The hapless were dropped while other options were explored. Everything was built on shifting sand流沙, 虚幻, nothing was solid or reliable or entirely real. The more you wanted to believe in the emotional value of a particular connection, the more likely it was to be merely a mirage仅仅是海市蜃楼. Normal responses to other human beings — involving sentiments such as hope and trust — were deactivated. If you couldn't play this pitiless game, you were in the wrong place. I felt my internet-dating exploits edging towards some sort of culmination(edge To move gradually or hesitantly: The child edged toward the door. culminate n. a. To reach the highest point or degree; climax: habitual antagonism that culminated in open hostility. b. To come to completion; end: Years of waiting culminated in a tearful reunion. v. To bring to the point of greatest intensity or to completion; climax: The ceremony culminated a long week of preparation.). I hadn't expected to find love, I hadn't been searching for it, I wasn't even sure I wanted it. But I felt a vague dissatisfaction because something was not right. I realised I didn't actually care about any of these men. Had all these human beings, even the good and likable ones, become disposable, mere off-the-shelf products? I didn't want to feel like that. It would only be when I crossed paths with 遇上 someone who was genuinely special to me, and for whom I was special, that I could learn to care more profoundly again. And perhaps that day would never come. Then my grand project was brought to a juddering halt(judder to shake violently) by the arrival of an email from my ex- partner, who announced that he would be moving back in with me, thereby wrecking my proud new independence. The decision was taken 'regrettably', for purely financial reasons, because our jointly-owned house was still on the market 18 months after he moved out. As the day of my ex's return neared越来越近, I began to mourn the approaching loss of my liberty. My adventures in dating-land had been the perfect counterpoint ( I. [countable] something that produces a different effect from something else, especially in an interesting or attractive way. II. [uncountable] two or more tunes that are played together to sound like one tune. ) to the other side of me, the side that comprised the softness and unsparing love which I have for my children and grandchildren. But before he arrived, there was time for one last night with one of my erstwhile ( an erstwhile friend, employer 曾经的, 曾经一度的 etc was a friend, employer etc until recently but is not any more. A more usual word is former. ) Tinder boys, who contacted me out of the blue. "Come on over, Jake," I texted. "I'd love to see you."
