用法学习: 1. pressing I. Demanding immediate attention; urgent: a pressing need. II. Very earnest or persistent; insistent: a pressing invitation. bring you/something to your/its knees to defeat or stop someone or something Severe oil shortages could bring our economy to its knees. They played a great game and brought our local basketball champs to their knees. on one's uppers informal Extremely short of money: Joe invited us out to lunch because we were both on our uppers. hang up one's ****(stripper/soccer's) heels. hang up your boots 挂靴, 退休 to permanently stop playing a sport. retire, call it a day. After a disastrous season it is rumoured that Gregory may hang up his boots once and for all. hang up one's spurs (A short spike or spiked wheel that attaches to the heel of a rider's boot and is used to urge a horse forward.) To retire from something. Lola was the only stripper over thirty at the club. I told her it was time to finally "Hang up your spurs". hang up one's spikes 挂靴, 挂战靴. 退役. IV. 扣球. (volleyball)
An attack from, usually, above the height of the net performed with the
intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off
the hands of the opposing block. pack it in 退役, 挂靴, 挂拍, 卷铺盖. to stop doing an activity or job. After
another 11-hour day of campaigning, Kerns is ready to pack it in. Most
professional athletes want to pack it in before they lose their ability
to play well. 2. have friends in high places 身居要职, 身居显位, 手眼通天, 高官 important people whom you can ask for support and help in getting what you want. to know important people who can help you get what you want. If you want to get to see the mayor, it helps to have friends in high places. If you have friends in high places, you know people in powerful positions in business or government. For example: You'll need friends in high places if you want to get to the top. Martin mightn't be the most brilliant man, but he'll do well because he's got plenty of friends in high places. high places positions and offices of influence and importance: a scandal in high places. 3. blow your own trumpet (British & Australian) also blow/toot your own horn( give them the toot鸣喇叭) (American & Australian) to tell other people how good and successful you are. Anyone will tell you she's one of the best journalists we've got, although she'd never blow her own horn. Film promotion 电影宣传 is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes called the press junket or film junket, film promotion(junket I. [countable] informal a journey or meeting that people say is for business but is really for pleasure. II. [uncountable] a sweet food made from milk that was popular in the past. ) generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns, merchandising and media, and interviews with the key people involved with the making of the film, like actors and directors. As with all business it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal about half the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors. 5. drop the ball (American informal) to make a mistake, especially by doing something in a stupid or careless way. to fail to keep working to reach a goal. To fail in one's responsibilities or duties, or to make a mistake, especially at a critical point or when the result is very negative. Public schools have pretty much dropped the ball on arts education. Etymology: based on games like football in which all play stops if the ball is dropped. For god's sake don't drop the ball - we're relying on you. "For the last two years, she has dropped the ball in the looks department. Maybe I am shallow, but I think that has affected our relationship in more ways than one." "Does she know about how you feel, have you let that on". "She just brush me off, she doesn't want to talk about it". let on (to someone about something) to allow other people to know about something. He wasn't going to let on that there was any crisis in his family. Usage notes: usually said about something you want to be a secret. let on something to pretend something. She let on that she was a college graduate. He looked quite tired, but that wasn't how he let on. in more ways than one Used to indicate that a statement has more than one meaning: Shelley let her hair down in more ways than one. There is more than one way to skin a cat 条条大路通罗马 There is more than one way of achieving an aim. You can always find more than one way to do something. Jill: How will we fix the sink without a wrench? Jane: There's more than one way to skin a cat. Our first approach didn't work, but we'll figure out some other way. There's more than one way to skin a cat. fly/show/wave the flag 支持, 代表 to support or to represent your country (often + for ) In the absence of any other Italian film directors, Mr Infascelli bravely flew the flag for his country. Why are you always flying the flag for those people?. 6. 白宫主厨娶MSNBC主播: The wedding had media figures rubbing elbows with politicians in a juxtaposition ( juxtapose [ˌdʒʌkstəˈpəuz] 排排站, 并排而坐, 站在一起 to place things together or describe things together so that people can see how they are different.) seldom seen outside of the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Reuters reported cable news figures sitting together with White House staffers. hope [intransitive/transitive] to want and expect something to happen or be true. hope (that): I just hope she's pleasant to him on his birthday. hope for: It wouldn't be sensible to hope for immediate success. The best they can hope for is to get temporary accommodation. hope and pray (that): We can only hope and pray that Stephen is alive. hope to do something: The university is hoping to raise £3,000,000. He hopes to sell his art to a major museum. half hope/hoping (that): used about your feelings when you are not sure whether you want something or not. She waited at the station, half hoping that he would not show up. hope against hope to hope that something will happen or be true, even though you know it is very unlikely. We are hoping against hope that some people may have survived. 'Wing and a prayer' If you do something on a wing and a prayer, you try to do something and hope you'll succeed even though you have very little chance of success. [come in/arrive] on a wing and a prayer if you do something on a wing and a prayer, you do it hoping that you will succeed although you are not prepared enough for it With scarcely any funding and a staff of six, they operate on a wing and a prayer. Finally we could see the plane through the smoke, coming in on a wing and a prayer. 7. angle I. to make something point in a particular direction, especially one that is not directly in front of you. Angle the mirror so that you can see behind you. a. to make a ball move in a direction that is not straight in front of you. To change direction rapidly. The five ball angled off the nine ball but failed to reach the pocket. Little john blasted an angled shot well wide of the goal. II. to do or write something in a way that makes one thing seem more important than others, or gives special emphasis to one opinion. Our efforts have been angled very much towards improving customer service. III. (transitive, informal) To present or argue something in a particular way or from a particular viewpoint. How do you want to angle this when we talk to the client? From a different angle If you look at something from a different angle, you look at it from a different point of view. get a new angle on something It means he got some new information that gave him a different point of view or that he thought of a new way to look at the issue. The new information or way of thinking might or might not have changed his mind about the matter. Later on he got a new angle on the matter. angle for something to try to make someone give you something without asking for it directly. If someone is angling for something, they are trying to get something without asking for it directly: He's clearly angling for a job/an invitation. She didn't want Ron thinking that she was angling for sympathy.
lumber VS lump: lumber I. [transitive] to give someone a job or responsibility that they do not want. lumber someone with( "get stuck with" or "get saddled with" ) 脱不开身, 脱不了身, 被纠缠住, 丢不开, 丢不掉, 抛不开. 不情愿的被拖住: I'm sorry you've been lumbered with all the dirty jobs. II. [intransitive] to walk slowly because of being large and heavy. 用例: We've all got one - the friend with the impossibly glamorous name that leaves the Peters, Katherines and Margarets among us feeling somewhat, well, frumpy感觉自己老土. Sometimes life (or in this case parents) isn't fair. But it's not as if the first name you get lumbered with at birth actually has an impact on your success in later life. Is it? lump 堆叠, 堆积, 堆起来(lump things together, be lumped in with被等同, 被混为一谈, 被划等号) 不分青红皂白的混在一起, 混杂在一起, 混为一谈, 混淆, 归为一类, 当作同类 put in an indiscriminate mass or group. to put people or things into the same group, although they do not really belong together. They're lumping together all of these children. 新闻用例: Lobbyists don't want to be lumped in with the corrupt和腐败者混为一谈, association tells Charbonneau Commission: The association representing Quebec's lobbyists says it is concerned its members are being lumped in with crooks who try to illegally influence government officials. It said: without questioning your office or your work, it must be acknowledged that the important reverberations that (this work) has produced could create a certain confusion among members of the public between lobbying, which is perfectly legitimate合理合法的, and the corruption and collusion that you are investigating. The association adds, however, that it is "confident" that Justice Charbonneau's eventual recommendations will make a clear distinction between the two types of behaviour.The memo was one of 72 briefs sent the inquiry over the past 12 months from stakeholder groups responding to a call for suggestions on how to tackle Quebec's corruption problem. lump it very informal to accept a situation, even though you do not like it or agree with it. like it or lump it: You can like it or lump it, but I've got to work.
外星人?: A mysterious object with flashing lights spotted hovering over Melbourne's south-east last night was probably more adolescent ( adolescent [ˌædəˈles(ə)nt] I. changing into a young man or woman. II. 幼稚的玩笑. silly, and considered typical of a young person. adolescent humour. III. relating to the period of adolescence. ) than alien in origin, according to an expert. The object with flashing red, green and blue lights was seen over Carnegie for more than an hour from 9pm in the most recent of a series of sightings over the suburb. But Perry Vlahos from the Astronomical Society of Victoria said he had tracked down similar lights three weeks ago and it appeared to be a drone(drone I. an aircraft that does not have a pilot but is controlled from the ground. II. a low continuous sound. the drone of the planes overhead.) or gyrocopter with LED lights attached. "I'm sure if you stood under it you would hear some teenagers having a laugh at everyone else's expense," he said. "If there is intelligent life in the galaxy I don't believe we've been visited by it," Mr Vlahos said. "But if somebody is going to make an extraordinary claim about that, I'd like to see extraordinary evidence, not just a shaky image on a camera phone."
Dream wedding! Princess Mary wakes her husband Crown Prince Frederik up with a quick nudge 捅了捅 in the ribs after he nods off ( doze off, snooze, power nap 打瞌睡 ) during A-list nuptials: Their own 'I do's' were over a decade ago, so perhaps it's understandable if Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have forgotten the excitement of a wedding day. But sitting in the crowd to see actress Flora Montgomery wed her groom Soren Jessen in Northern Ireland on Sunday, Prince Frederik struggled to keep his eyes open - first blinking rapidly before appearing to nod off altogether. Luckily, Tasmanian-born Princess Mary was on hand to give her sleepy husband a helpful nudge and wake him up. And despite her 46 year-old husband's little snooze, attending the
nuptials no doubt brought back some tender memories for Princess Mary
and Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik. The nuptials were a highlight of Northern Ireland's high society social calendar, held on the bride's family estate at Greyabbey. She married her restaurateur partner Soren Jessen in the lavish ceremony. The royal couple certainly seemed to still have the look of love带着爱意的看着对方 earlier in the day, with Princess Mary, 42 gazing adoringly at her husband as they made their way to the ceremony in the village of Greyabbey. 图片的附带说明: Before taking what appeared to be a power nap, Prince Frederik looked to be deep in thought. It wasn't all snoozing for the Prince, who perked up 兴高采烈, 咧嘴笑 during different parts of the ceremony. Watchful eye: With her hand on her husband's. Dream wedding: Crown Prince Frederik strained as he valiantly tried to resist nodding off 抵抗睡意( valiant [ˈvæliənt] very brave and determined, especially in a difficult situation. ) at Sunday's wedding. Wake up, Fred! Princess Mary puts a discreet hand on Fred's knee as he appears to doze off during a wedding.
Boyhood Movie: A heartfelt musing on growing up成长(muse [intransitive] to think about something in a careful slow way. muse on/about/over: He mused on his relationship with his own father. a. [transitive] to say something in a way that shows that you have been thinking carefully about it.) and the passage of time时间流逝, Boyhood follows the lives of Mason (Coltrane), his sister Samantha (Linklater's daughter Lorelei Linklater) and their parents (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette). Coltrane did not watch any footage of the film during the 12 years of shooting, and said it was "confronting" to finally watch himself age, haircut by haircut, growth spurt 猛长, 猛蹿, 蹿个子 ( Is your baby suddenly clamoring for more food? He may be going through a growth spurt. Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction to enable fertilization. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads( The gonad [ˈɡəunæd]生殖腺 is the organ that makes gametes. The gonads in males are the testicles or testes, and the gonads in females are the ovaries. ): the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. The male "growth spurt" also begins later, accelerates more slowly, and lasts longer before the epiphyses fuse. Although boys are on average 2 cm shorter than girls before puberty begins, adult men are on average about 13 cm (5.2 inches) taller than women. Most of this sex difference in adult heights is attributable to a later onset of the growth spurt and a slower progression to completion, a direct result of the later rise and lower adult male levels of estradiol. spurt n. I. a sudden strong flow of a liquid. II. a sudden increase in something, for example speed or development. Many children have a growth spurt (=a period when they grow more quickly) in their teens. put a spurt on (=suddenly start to run or do something much faster than before): She put a spurt on and reached the gate before him. III. 猛增 a sudden short period when you feel an emotion strongly. a spurt of amusement/anger/violence. in spurts only at some times within a period, not continuously. The standard of his work has improved in spurts. v. I. [intransitive/transitive] 喷涌而出. if a liquid spurts from something, it comes out in a sudden strong flow. Blood spurted from the wound. II. [intransitive] to move somewhere or to do something suddenly and quickly, using a lot of energy. He spurted to the top of the hill. spurt something out to eject something in a stream. The octopus spurted its ink out as the scuba diver approached it. It spurted out all its ink. spurt out (of someone or something) and spurt (out) (from someone or something) to squirt out of someone or something; to erupt in a stream out of someone or something. Hot lava spurted out of the volcano. Hot lava spurted out from the volcano. The blood spurted out from Walter where he had been slashed. Blood spurted from the wound. The fountain had a carved fish with water spurting from its mouth. ) by growth spurt. "It was a huge turning point in my life, seeing that for the first time. There was definitely a lot of emotion情绪复杂," he told ABC News Online. "At first it was just about watching myself and seeing myself at all different ages. Now, it's easier to watch as a movie. There is something about seeing it all together in context that is comforting. "It is so beautiful and strange to now be showing it to people. It was part of my life for so long, it's become a part of me, so to be sharing it with people is very surreal." The now-19 year old said the film did not restrict his life, and he was free to experiment with clothes, haircuts and piercings, many of which filtered through to Mason. "Richard has an incredible balance of very specific structure and incredible vision, where he knows very much what he wants and never wavers from that," Coltrane said. "But he also is very open to collaboration and a constantly evolving, very organic way of telling stories." That collaboration was evident when cast and crew members came together for a few weeks every summer, workshopping scripts before shooting that year's worth of scenes. Like Coltrane, the cast members returned each year for shoots, though they were under no contractual obligation to do so. "When you work with anybody you become bonded, but when you work with someone over the massive amount of time that we were spending, and just the type of intimate, emotional nature of the story, we became very much like family," he said. "There was an incredible energy on set. It's really rare to be in an environment where everyone is there purely because they want to be there. "No-one was making any kind of money, so it really was a labour of love. He said it was a "blessing" to have enough time to become "lost" in the film, but noted that the enormity ( [ɪˈnɔ:(r)məti] I. 严重性, 重大性. 重大意义 [uncountable] the fact that something is morally wrong, or the degree to which it is morally wrong. enormity of: They were desperate to conceal the enormity of what they had done. a. [countable] an action that is morally wrong. II. [uncountable] used to mean the extremely large size of something, although some people consider this to be incorrect. enormity of: He considered the enormity of the task he had been given. ) of the project did not fully dawn on him until he saw the completed project. "For most of the project and most of the time working on the film, the end goal 终极目标 of it was so far away that I didn't think about it, it was just a life project that I was participating in," he said. "There is something really comforting about having a story that is so intimate and tender but is just about the magic of the mundane."
