用法学习: 1. jinx [singular] a force that brings bad luck that often affects someone or something. There seems to be a jinx on that family. a. [countable] someone or something that causes bad luck. wiki: A jinx, in popular superstition and folklore, is: A type of curse带来厄运的诅咒 placed on a person that makes them prey to many minor misfortunes and other forms of bad luck; A person afflicted with a similar curse, who, while not directly subject to a series of misfortunes, seems to attract them to anyone in his vicinity. An object or person that brings bad luck. A penalty that one person can invoke on another when the two of them say the same thing at the same time. The superstition can also be referenced when talking about a future event with too much confidence乌鸦嘴, 话说的太满了带来的厄运. A statement such as "We're sure to win the contest!" can be seen as a jinx because it tempts fate( tempt fate/providence(天道, 天意, 远见, 卓识) I. 自讨苦吃, 自找麻烦. 没事找事 to do something which involves a risk and may cause something unpleasant to happen. to take a foolish risk because you are depending too much on luck. She didn't want to tempt fate by turning down the job and hoping something better would be offered. I always feel it's tempting fate to leave the house without an umbrella. II. to cause bad luck for yourself by talking too confidently about a situation. It's probably tempting fate to say so, but I haven't had a cold all year. I don't think I'll insure my boat. Don't tempt providence. It's best to insure it. providence 天意 a powerful force that some people believe causes everything that happens to us. To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence违背天意. fly in the face/teeth of someone or something 直接冲撞, 直接找茬 Fig. to challenge someone or something; to go against someone or something. This idea flies in the face of everything we know about matter and energy. You had better not fly in the face of the committee.), thereby bringing bad luck. The event itself is referred to as "jinxed". In a similar way, calling attention to good fortune – e.g. noting that a certain athlete is having a streak of particularly good fortune – is thought to "jinx" it(话说的太早, 话说的太满, 不留余地). If the good fortune ends immediately afterward, the jinx is then blamed for the turn of events, often seriously. 2. A pig roast or hog roast烤全猪(pig suckling roast 烤乳猪) is an event or gathering which involves the barbecuing of a whole hog (the castrated male pig or boar, bred for consumption at about 12 months old). Pig roasts in the mainland American Deep South are often referred to as a pig pickin'(A pig pickin' (also known as rolling a pig, pig pull, pig roast or, among the Cajun, "cochon de lait") is a type of party or gathering held primarily in the American South which involves the barbecuing of a whole hog (the castrated male pig or barrow, bred for consumption at about 12 months old). Females, or gilts, are used as well. Boars (full-grown intact males) and sows generally are too large.), although roasts are also a common occurrence in Cuba as well as the non-mainland US state of Hawaii (a luau), with roasts being done in the mainland states by descendants of other areas. A suckling pig (or sucking pig乳猪) is a piglet fed on its mother's milk (i.e., a piglet which is still a "suckling"). In culinary contexts, a suckling pig is slaughtered between the ages of two and six weeks. It is traditionally cooked whole, often roasted烤的, in various cuisines. It is usually prepared for special occasions and gatherings. The meat from suckling pig is pale and tender and the cooked skin is crisp脆脆的, 干脆的 and can be used for pork rinds. The texture of the meat can be somewhat gelatinous(胶状的 [dʒəˈlætinəs] in a wet sticky state between solid and liquid.) due to the amount of collagen 胶原蛋白 ([ˈkolədʒ(ə)n] a type of protein that is often used in skin cream and in plastic surgery because it makes skin look younger. ) in a young pig. 3. knock/slap some sense into someone and knock some sense in 明白事理, 明白怎么回事 to strike one,
making one smarter, or at least obedient. I think his father finally
knocked some sense into him. The accident finally knocked in some sense.
I thought that last week's experience would knock some sense in. hit a/the brick wall or come up against a brick wall If you hit a brick wall or come up against a brick wall, you are unable to continue or make progress because something stops you. if you hit the wall when you are trying to achieve something, you reach a situation where you cannot make any more progress. We've just about hit the wall in terms of what we can do to balance the budget. The enquiry hit a brick wall of banking security. He had a feeling this was one investigation that was going to hit a brick wall sooner or later. All of my investigations about my birth dad hit a brick wall. bad blood (between people) 互相恨对方 unpleasant feelings or animosity between people. (be ~; have ~.). feelings of hate between people because of arguments in the past (often + between ). I don't have bad blood with my ex wife, we just don't talk to each other any more. Police say the arson attack may have been the result of bad blood between the two families. There is bad blood between Fred and Jim. They cannot be civil to one another. There is no bad blood between us. I don't know why we should quarrel. vendetta A bitter, destructive feud, normally between two families, clans or factions, in which each injury or slaying is revenged: a blood feud. 4. springboard I. 跳板. something that helps you to become successful. (figuratively) Anything that gives a person or thing energy or impulse, or that serves to launch or begin something. The opportunity served a springboard to their success. The awards have been a springboard for many young photographers. She really likes springboarding from someone to the next, She doesn't like any space between relationships. ( You can grow seeds in the spaces between the plants. Leave one line space between the paragraphs. ) II. a strong board used for helping you to jump high in sports such as diving (=jumping into water) and gymnastics. guarded adj. 有所防备的, 谨慎的. not giving much information because you do not want someone to know everything about something. Cautious; restrained. Watched over; supervised. Guarded comments. He was being fairly guarded about the details. We view these changes with guarded optimism谨慎乐观. You are so guarded about your phone, you are so protective of your phone, why? guarded rights Those rights laid down by a constitution as being guaranteed to all individuals in the society; human rights. At the time, persons thought that if the fledgling government designed an exclusive list of guarded rights, then whatever rights were not on the list would be compromised by the authorities. 5. That's a good way looking at it 那样想就对了, 心态好. squared away 安排好, 照顾的很好. 照顾到, 安排就绪 arranged or properly taken care of. perfectly arranged or organized. To finish, complete, tidy or put in order. I have almost squared away the last of the paperwork from that job. Just when you think your kids are
squared away and you can relax, one of them decides to do something
crazy. Is Ann squared away in her dorm room yet? I will talk to you when I am squared away. II. (nautical) To square the ships' yards to make her run before the wind, with the wind blowing straight from the stern. 6. born and bred 生于斯, 长于斯 if you were born and bred in a place, you were born and grew up in that place and have the typical character of someone who lives there (often + in ). She was born and bred in Jamaica but now lives in France. He's a Londoner born and bred.
headed to/for, heading to/towards区别: headed for something destined for something. Harry is headed for real trouble. She is headed for a breakdown. be heading/riding for a fall also be headed for a fall to be behaving in a way that is likely to cause problems for you. Greg's riding for a fall - he gets to work late and spends hours talking to his friends on the phone. be/feel light-headed to feel weak and as if you might fall over I feel a bit light-headed. I shouldn't have drunk that second glass of wine. bull-headed 固执的, 顽固的, 固执己见的 someone who is bull-headed is determined to do exactly what they want to do, and does not think about what other people want. He's completely bull-headed. I asked him not to throw out that old table, but he did it anyway. Both are certainly correct and both basically mean the same thing, but
if you want to be precise and analyze them, heading in the right
direction may be more specific to the current situation, like saying: Captain, we're (currently) heading in the right direction and should be arriving the destination shortly. On the other hand, headed in the right direction may have more general meaning expressing a longer time scale, like for example: This
may be a young nation, but it's definitely headed in the right
direction. During the last few years, it has advanced in many areas like
no other country. Eminem's daughter was crowned homecoming queen of the Clinton Township,
Mich., school back in October, and now she's graduated summa cum laude
and is headed to college. summa cum laude [ˌsʌmə kʌm ˈlaudeɪ] 第一名 With the highest of three degrees of praise, as noted on a diploma. She graduated from the university summa cum laud. cum laude [ˌkʌm ˈlaudeɪ] 第三名 a student who receives a degree cum laude from a US college or university has achieved a mark of the third highest level in their degree. magna cum laude [ˌmæɡnə kum ˈlaudeɪ] used for describing the second-highest level of degree at a college or university in the US. 其他见解: Headed means at one point in time. Maybe right now, maybe when they
started out. Heading is continuous, and means as they are traveling,
they are coming in our direction. The form "I am headed" is seldom heard in British English, I consider
it to be an Americanism, though others may dispute this. If an American
speaker were to say "Where are you headed?" the British equivalent would
be simply "Where are you going?" In practice, the meaning is the same. If pressed, I would say that
"headed" is more general (that is, my eventual destination is X) and
"heading" is more immediate (I'm going towards X at the moment). These
distinctions are a personal opinion only! You ought to read them as
having a similar meaning.
新闻片段: 1. 悉尼女孩被家人强迫嫁人: The Sydney teenager was taken captive by her father's family in Syria, and held against her will. When she arrived at her father's home, Ms Farrah said she was "interrogated" by him before being subjected to a humiliating medical examination to determine if she was still a virgin. But, instead of revolting against the plan, Ms Farrah said she "went along with everything" and soon began plotting her escape. When she rang, embassy officials explained to Ms Farrah she would need to wait until she was 18 and deemed an adult if they were to help. Then, on the day before her 18th birthday, she set her daring escape into action逃跑计划付诸行动. Thankfully, things did go to plan按计划而行 and an embassy official was waiting for the courageous teenager outside the hotel. "They started asking who my father was and we had to make up a lie that we were all going to Jordan for a wedding and returning," she said. Eventually, they were waved through挥手放行. 3. The 43-year-old, who is on trial for the murder of his wife Allison, has tearfully told a Brisbane court how he was driven to start the affair after intimacy vanished from his marriage. By 2005 she was taking anti-depressants and the side-effects caused her to gain weight and lose her libido[liˈbi:dəu]. The real estate agent said his formerly energetic and sociable wife changed. "She became much more withdrawn through that period and she was just like a sort of a blurrier image of herself 完全不像她了, 换了个人(a shadow of oneself)," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. He said Allison had really wanted a third child, a son, to continue the Baden-Clay name but he didn't want another child because of the toll it might take on her. "Allison and I hadn't had any sort of physical intimacy for years. It's not an excuse but that's why." In September that year the couple's third daughter was born. Allison was initially shocked that it was not a boy but soon fell in love with the baby, he said.
Rubik's Cube 智力魔方 is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. As of January 2009, 350 million cubes had been sold worldwide making it the world's top-selling puzzle game. It is widely considered to be the world's best-selling toy. In a classic Rubik's Cube, each of the six faces is covered by nine stickers, each of one of six solid colours: white, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow. In currently sold models, white is opposite yellow, blue is opposite green, and orange is opposite red, and the red, white and blue are arranged in that order in a clockwise arrangement. Although the Rubik's Cube reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1980s, it is still widely known and used. Many speedcubers魔方高手 continue to practice it and other twisty puzzles and compete for the fastest times in various categories.
Jesus would have supported gay marriage: Elton John - The top selling musician who has long been one of the world's most prominent gay celebrities also described Pope Francis as a sign of hope. "He's excited me so much by his humanity仁慈," the singer said of the pope. "He's taken everything down to the humility of faith. "He's stripped it down to the bare bones ( bare-bones Cliché limited; stripped down; lacking refinements or extras. This one is the bare-bones model. It has no accessories at all. ) and said it's all basically about love and inclusiveness包容. That has to be encouraged by the Church of England as well." Pope Francis has apparently taken on a more conciliatory tone ( conciliatory [kənˈsɪliət(ə)ri] 结束纷争的, 示好的 trying to end an argument and make people feel less angry. ) towards homosexuals, since his election last year. His comments on gay marriage and other social issues are in sharp contrast to the previous pontiff, Pope Benedict who was famously nicknamed "God's Rottweiler(The Rottweiler [ˈrotwaɪlər] is a large size breed of domestic dog. The dogs were known as "Rottweil butchers' dogs" (German: Rottweiler Metzgerhund) because they were used to herd livestock and pull carts 拉车 laden with butchered meat and other products to market.)".
