gestation period；

用法学习: 1. The Weeping Willow垂柳: Easily recognized by its long drooping 垂下的 branches and leaves, the weeping willow belongs to the Salicaceae family of deciduous trees and shrubs. It is native to China, but, as willow cuttings generally take root 生根 quite easily, it has been cultivated elsewhere for millennia. Legend has it that all of England's weeping willows are descended from a cutting sent to Lady Suffolk from Spain. Though it is widely cultivated for ornamental 装饰目的 purposes, the weeping willow is used by some to serve what function? 2. Gestation 孕育, 怀孕 is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside female viviparous animals. It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time (multiple gestations多胎). The time interval of a gestation is called the gestation period孕期. In human obstetrics, gestational age 孕龄 refers to the embryonic or fetal age plus two weeks. This is approximately the duration since the woman's last menstrual period (LMP) began. For mammals the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. The duration of this period varies between species. 3. toast I. A person receiving much attention or acclaim. (esp formerly) an attractive woman to whom such tributes are frequently made: she was the toast of the town.  the toast of Broadway. II. be toast (informal) to face certain destruction or defeat. to be doomed, ruined, or in trouble: If you come here again, you're toast! Seven reasons why the iPad mini is toast. Seven signs that tell you that after just two years, the iPad mini may be headed for the scrap heap: There's now a feature gap. Last year's mini and Air were neck and neck in terms of processing power and features. Now the iPad Air 2 has crept ahead with a host of new bells and whistles. An even bigger iPad in the wings? If the whispers are correct, Apple will launch the iPad Pro, a 12.9 inch device, early next year, a move that will mean there are effectively two "mini-er" options. Blink 眨眼, 眨一下眼 and you would have missed the announcement. At the launch event in the US overnight, the Apple executive who presented the new 7.9 inch iPad mini 3 spent approximately 29 second talking about it during a 1 hour 20 minute event. 4. secondment [sɪˈkondmənt] 转岗 a period when you are sent by your employer to work for a different organization or a different part of your organization. the detachment of a person from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere. Many people do not realise that it is possible to explore different career possibilities by temporarily changing roles within the same company. This is often known as 'going on secondment转岗' and is especially prevalent in the commercial sector where companies are adept at making the best use of the various skills and interests of their staff. However, some public sector bodies, including universities, do operate secondment systems, although this does not really apply to academic staff, who have been employed because they are an expert in a particular field. 5. Mascara睫毛膏[mæˈskɑ:rə] is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the eyes. It may darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, cake, or cream—the modern mascara product has various formulas; however, most contain the same basic components of pigments, oils, waxes, and preservatives. A mascara tube and a wand applicator往眼上涂的那个棒棒. The Collins English Dictionary defines mascara as "a cosmetic substance for darkening, lengthening, curling, coloring, and thickening the eyelashes, applied with a brush or rod." The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) adds that mascara is occasionally used on the eyebrows as well. topknot 攥,发髻. Breadsticks 面包棍 (grissini, dipping sticks) are generally pencil-sized sticks of crisp, dry bread originating in Turin and the surrounding area in Italy. They are originally thought to have been created in the 14th century; although according to a local tradition, they were invented by a baker in Lanzo Torinese (northern Italy) in 1679. Breadsticks may be offered at the table in restaurants as an appetizer, in some instances or regions they may be a type that is larger than pencil-sized. They may also be combined with ingredients such as prosciutto as an hors d'œuvre. Onesie [ˈwʌnzi]连体衣 is a commonly used word for loose-fitting casual jumpsuits for adults, made of knit cotton (as used in sweatshirts), fleece, or chenille. They are mostly intended as loungewear or sleepwear, but have gained significant popularity as stylish street fashion. pore stripe黑头贴, 鼻贴. Groovy (or, less commonly, "Groovie" or "Groovey". Cool, neat, interesting, fashionable. "Wow, man! This psychedelic wallpaper is totally groovy!" said the hippie. "Have a groovy day, dudes." said the surfer in his latest movie. Marching around the hallways of school while making a racket, the drummer in the marching band said, "60s music is very groovy!" ) is a slang colloquialism popular during the 1960s and 1970s. It is roughly synonymous with words such as "cool," "excellent," "fashionable," or "amazing," depending on context. Nudie Jeans is a Swedish clothing brand originating in Gothenburg and a subsidiary of Svenska Jeans AB, founded in 1999 by Maria Erixsson, a former employee and AD of Lee Europe and Swedish designer JC. As of 2003, the company had 12 employees, revenue of 93 million Swedish kronor and a net income of 13.6 million kronor. 70% of their revenue was generated outside of Sweden. Nudie specialises in raw and prewashed denim jeans, but the company's collection includes many other items of casual clothing & accessories. In 2003, denim jeans comprised 70% of their total sales. 6. ChapStick润唇膏 is a brand name of lip balm manufactured by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and used in many countries worldwide. It is intended to help treat and prevent chapped lips(chap n. a man, especially one that you like. Bill's such a nice chap. Who's the tall, dark-haired chap? v. if your skin chaps, or if it is chapped干裂, 皲裂, 龟裂, it becomes dry and painful, especially because of cold weather.), hence the name. Many varieties also include sunscreen in order to prevent sunburn. Due to its popularity, the term has become a genericized trademark. It popularly refers to any lip balm contained in a lipstick-style tube and applied in the same manner as lipstick. However, the term is still a registered trademark, with rights exclusively owned by Pfizer. As sanity reached tipping point快要失去理智, 快要发疯, the boy climbed onto the sushi-go-round and began hurling California rolls Godzilla-style. Holding up traffic to do a 25-point turn is not a clear indication清楚表明 you wanted the park I just pulled into, so stop tapping on my window. This convenience store is a cover business掩人耳目的公司 for drugs. 7. A cyclops ([ˈsaɪklɒps]; plural cyclopes [saɪˈkloupi:z])第三只眼, 三眼神童, in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead. The name is widely thought to mean "round-eyed" or "circle-eyed". 8. Dominance(dominant trait显性遗传特征) in genetics is a relationship between alleles(An allele 等位基因 (UK [ˈæli:l] or US [əˈli:l]), or allel, is one of a number of alternative forms of the same gene or same genetic locus. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation. However, most genetic variations result in little or no observable variation.) of one gene, in which one allele is expressed over a second allele at the same locus(In genetics, a locus基因座, 基因位 (plural loci) is the specific location of a gene, DNA sequence, or position on a chromosome. Each chromosome carries many genes; humans' estimated 'haploid' protein coding genes are 20,000-25,000, on the 23 different chromosomes. A variant of the similar DNA sequence located at a given locus is called an allele. The ordered list of loci known for a particular genome is called a genetic map. Gene mapping is the process of determining the locus for a particular biological trait.). The first allele is dominant and the second allele is recessive. For genes on an autosome (any chromosome染色体([ˈkrəuməsəum]) other than a sex chromosome), the alleles and their associated traits are autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive. Dominance is a key concept in Mendelian inheritance and classical genetics. Often the dominant allele codes for a functional protein whereas the recessive allele does not. A classic example of dominance is the inheritance of seed shape (pea shape) in peas. Peas may be round (associated with allele R) or wrinkled (associated with allele r). In this case, three combinations of alleles (genotypes) are possible: RR, Rr, and rr. The RR individuals have round peas and the rr individuals have wrinkled peas. In Rr individuals the R allele masks the presence of the r allele, so these individuals also have round peas. Thus, allele R is dominant to allele r, and allele r is recessive to allele R (this use of upper case for dominant alleles and lower case for recessive alleles is a widely followed convention). 9. fashion-forward I. 走在时尚前沿的. 时尚意识超前的. interested in fashion and wearing things that will soon become very fashionable: clothes for fashion-forward teenagers. II. more modern than things that are fashionable now: fashion-forward jeans. H&M is a fashion-forward and affordable brand, which sell all your basics基本的服饰需求. keep something quiet/still [about sth] 保密(keep sth on the quiet) Fig. to keep something a secret. to refrain from talking about someone or something; to keep a secret about someone or something. I'm quitting my job, but my boss doesn't know yet. Please keep it quiet. Okay. I'll keep it still. Please keep quiet about the missing money. Please keep still about it. All right. I'll keep still. You know you can trust me to keep quiet不说, 不谈. The governor has kept quiet about raising taxes. do something on the quiet 偷偷的, 悄悄的, 背着人的 We're doing this deal on the quiet; we don't want anyone to know about it. I'm doing this work on the quiet. I don't want my boss to know I'm doing it because he wants me to put all my energies into working on his special project. on the Q.T. (idiomatic) Quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely. 10. slip-up. 说漏嘴, 脱口而出, 小失误, 犯小错误. An error; an oversight视而不见, 不当一回事. a mistake, blunder, or oversight. to make a careless mistake. When you're a politician everyone is always watching in case you slip up. frizzle[ˈfrɪz(ə)l] 起卷 if heat frizzles something, it makes it dry, hard, and curly. Frizzle (chicken plumage)炸毛公鸡, a curled-feather type of chicken plumage common to certain breeds of domestic chicken. A frizzle refers to a plumage pattern in domesticated chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) characterized by feathers that curl outwards, rather than lying flat as in most chickens. The frizzle type is not a separate breed, but a variety within breeds. Though all breeds of chickens may be frizzled; it is most commonly seen in breeds such as the Cochin, Pekin, and Polish. Chickens with this pattern are sometimes referred to as frizzles. The gene which causes the frizzles' peculiar feathering is a dominant trait显性特征. 11. acrimonious [ˌækrɪˈməuniəs] an acrimonious situation is unpleasant because people feel angry towards each other. angry and bitter. an acrimonious divorce. amicable breakup友好分手. rile someone [up] 惹恼, 激怒 to annoy someone. to get someone excited and angry. He yelled at them and riled them up. They left quite angry. He riles up everyone he talks to. The president's outspoken remarks have riled conservatives. ring true听上去像是真的, 听上去可信(That name does not ring success听上去不会成功, 听上去不会火, 听上去不会红的样子. But it's kind of cool, it's indie小众的. indie films and music are produced and sold by small independent companies. indie rock bands.) Fig. to sound or seem true or likely. (From testing the quality of metal or glass by striking it and evaluating the sound made.) The student's excuse for being late doesn't ring true. Do you think that Mary's explanation for her absence rang true? ring hollow/false 听上去不真实, 听上去不实诚, 听上去不真心 to seem dishonest, not true, or wrong The Rockets sounded like a defeated team - they talked of the possibility of a comeback, but the words rang hollow. Her characters and situations all ring false and her movie just seems painful and pointless. Usage notes: often used in the forms a hollow ring or a false ring (a dishonest or not sincere quality): Her story about the hostages is certainly exciting, but it has a hollow ring. one's ears are ringing耳鸣 Fig. [for someone's ears] to have a ringing sound because of an illness or other condition; very loud music, or some other very loud sound. After the explosion, my ears were ringing for hours. My ears are ringing because I have a sinus infection. have a familiar ring (to it) 耳熟 Fig. [for a story or an explanation] to sound familiar. Your excuse has a familiar ring. Have you done this before? This term paper has a familiar ring to it. I think it has been copied. have a ring to it 听上去还不错, 听上去有趣 if a word or idea has a ring to it, it sounds interesting or attractive (never in continuous tenses) I suppose 'Cathy's Country Cooking' has a certain ring to it. 12. What price [fame/success/victory etc.]? something that you say which means it is possible that the fame, success etc. that has been achieved was not worth all the suffering it has caused What price victory when so many people have died to make it possible? a natural disaster: Protect your property from natural disasters such as flooding. disaster strikes 灾难发生 (=a disaster happens): Disaster struck when the plane's engine exploded shortly after take-off. end in disaster: The expedition ended in disaster, with three people being killed. be a disaster for/spell disaster for (=have a very bad effect on): More bad weather would spell disaster for this year's wheat crop. a disaster waiting to happen used for saying that a situation is likely to develop in a very bad way. The nuclear power station was an environmental disaster waiting to happen. flirt with danger/disaster to do something that you know you should not do and that may cause you serious trouble. prophet of doom/disaster someone who has a very negative view of life and thinks that only bad things will happen. We're going to prove all the prophets of doom wrong and make this business work. 13. If you new pants are too long, you can just take scissors to it裁剪. OK, I'll scissor to it. the corridors of power the highest level of government where the most important decisions are made. His laziness became a legend in the corridors of power. The corridor of uncertainty is a phrase originating from the sport of cricket. It describes an area where a cricket ball can pitch during a delivery: a narrow line on and just outside a batsman's off stump. The name is derived from the opinion that this is the area in which a batsman struggles most to determine whether to play forward or back, or whether to leave the delivery. If a batsman leaves the ball, there's a chance the ball will turn inward and either bowl him or hit him with an increased chance of leg before wicket. If a batsman plays the ball, there's a chance the ball will go to the outside instead, leading to an outside edge that can be easily caught. jab I. 戳. 捅. 推搡. to push something with a sudden straight movement, usually with your finger, your elbow, or a narrow object. That man jabbed me with his umbrella! jab at: She kept jabbing at the letter as she spoke. n. I. a hard straight push with your finger, your elbow, or a narrow object. a. 勾拳. in boxing, a short quick hit with a closed hand. Mueller has a dangerous left jab. II. 预防针. 防疫针. British an injection (=amount of medicine given through a needle) that is intended to stop you from getting a disease. After working for a few months, we still haven't had a jab for ebola. a flu jab. III. a critical comment about someone. jab at: In a sharp jab at the White House he said that the system relied on good faith and honour on both sides. 14. Sorry, we don't take bookings接受预订. clicky clicky is when two people or more are always obnoxious to others around each other. They are always whispering to one another. They are bitches to others when they are together and they talk about people behind their backs. When they are somewhere or out with friends or at a party, they are together most of the time and ignore the others, even if those others, happen to be their best friends. woah.. those two girls are such bitches and are so clicky when they are together. off the mark also wide of the mark wrong or not accurate They said the course would be easy but that turned out to be way off the mark. Usage notes: sometimes used in the phrase not far off the mark (almost right) 差不多, 凑合, 大差不差: If you guessed he was jealous, you would not be far off the mark. His criticisms are way off the mark. Bedini and Curzi were probably not far off the mark in their analysis. step up/raise (one's) game 表现好很多 to step up (improve) one's game (performance). to make an effort to improve the way that you do something: They're going to have to raise their game if they want to stay in the Premiership this season. off one's game 表现不佳, 状态奇差, 不在状态 (idiomatic, by extension) Performing in any activity below one's usual level; behaving in an irregular, inept, or awkward manner; feeling unwell. In or into a condition which reflects unaccustomed poor performance or unwellness in an activity or situation. at the top of one's game Fig. good and as good as one is likely to get. (Usually of sports.) Be performing as well as one can: this film is the work of a director at the top of his game. I guess I was at the top of my game last year. This year, I stink. ahead of the game being early; having an advantage in a competitive situation; having done more than necessary. (be ~; get ~; keep ~; remain ~; Stay ~.) in a good situation to achieve progress. With everyone looking for new business, how does your company stay ahead of the game? Without the full cooperation of my office stafj', I find it hard to stay ahead of the game. If being ahead of the game is important to you and to your business, lease a mobile phone from us. pretentious 狂妄的, 自命不凡的, 炫耀的, 狂妄的. That's a pretentious name for a dog! His response was full of pretentious nonsense. suck up I. SHOWING DISAPPROVAL to be very nice to someone inauthority so that they will treat you well. To try hard to please or impress someone: talk the talk, charm, court, be on your best behaviour, butter up, propitiate, suck up, pander to, kowtow, crawl... more..II. to pick something up by suction, as with a vacuum cleaner, or through a straw. Will this vacuum suck all this dirt up? The vacuum cleaner sucked up all the dirt. suck up to: To adulate or flatter somebody excessively, generally to obtain some personal benefit or favour. Kristen is already sucking up to the new boss. Jimmy sucked up to the English teacher hoping he would get an A. butter up 奉承. 恭维, 说好听的, 说好话 To flatter, especially with the intent of personal gain. He takes every opportunity to butter up the boss. kiss up I. (transitive, idiomatic) to pay false flattery to another, particularly a superior at work, in order to get special attention. Yes, I watched Joe kissing up the boss and was very annoyed when he got my promotion! II. (intransitive, idiomatic) To pay false flattery. He kisses up more than he works. kiss up to (transitive, idiomatic) To pay false flattery to; to flatter in excess. suck it up informal used for saying that someone has to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation even if they do not want to. You can either suck it up and be a man, or every time you get an ache and pain you can go out of the game. suck your teeth British to pull your lips together when you are thinking about something or feel doubt about it. suck it and see British informal used for saying that you have to try something before you can know what it is like or whether it will be successful. be/get sucked in(to) to be unable to stop yourself from getting involved in something bad. Like many unemployed people, Theresa got sucked into a spiral of debts. sucked in I. 活该. You deserve it. negative, said when something bad happens to someone you don't like or disagree with. "What's happened?" "Everyone's heard what she said about the boss, now she's getting the cold shoulder" "Sucked in, she brought it on herself". II. Taunting, usually lighthearted - laugh at a friend's misfortune. "I've got another test tomorrow". "Sucked in!". "Thanks". Would America be sucked into an unwanted war? 15. An association fallacy 以偏概全 is an inductive informal fallacy of the type hasty generalization or red herring which asserts that qualities of one thing are inherently qualities of another, merely by an irrelevant association. The two types are sometimes referred to as guilt by association 株连, 牵连获罪 and honor by association( the attribution of guilt (without proof) to individuals because the people they associate with are guilty). Association fallacies are a special case of red herring, and can be based on an appeal to emotion. The idiom "red herring误导" is used to refer to something that misleads or distracts from the relevant or important issue. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or characters towards a false conclusion. A red herring might be intentionally used, such as in mystery fiction or as part of a rhetorical strategy (e.g. in politics), or it could be inadvertently used during argumentation. 16. psychological thriller心理恐怖片. jumpy I. 坐卧不宁的. 定不下来心的. informal nervous. Nervous and excited. II. a jumpy image or sound keeps moving or being interrupted. buy into something I. BUSINESS to buy part of a business, especially in order to get control of it. Moves to buy into other companies have failed. II. INFORMAL to start to do something that a lot of other people are doing, or to believe something that a lot of other people believe. to completely believe in a set of ideas: I don't buy into all that New Age stuff. You don't buy into all this nonsense, do you? go down in someone's opinion to become less respected by someone than you were before, because of something that you have done. go down mainly American informal to happen. I was nowhere near here when the robbery went down. If you missed what went down last night on the show. He was torn apart by the judges about his dancing. Everyone was perplexed with his weird behavior. II. to become worse. I think the quality of their products has really gone down in the past few years. III. to produce a particular reaction. go down well/badly (with someone): The plan to put rents up has not gone down well with tenants. IV. if food or drink goes down, you swallow it. You need smaller pills that go down more easily. Scavenging 食腐动物 is both a carnivorous and a herbivorous feeding behavior in which the scavenger feeds on dead animal and plant material present in its habitat. The eating of carrion([ˈkæriən] the decaying flesh of dead animals.) from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by consuming the dead animal and plant material. Decomposers and detritivores complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers. Animals which consume feces, such as dung beetles, are referred to as coprovores. Animals that collect small particles of dead organic material of both animal and plant origin are referred to as detritivores. In humans, necrophagy (necrophilia[ˌnekrəuˈfɪliə] 奸尸 the wish to have sex with dead bodies. necro-: Dead (Prefix). -philia 变态癖好 suff. I. Tendency toward: hemophilia. II. Abnormal attraction to: necrophilia. -philia or -phily a combining form occurring in abstract nouns that correspond to adjectives ending in -philic or -philous or nouns ending in -phile. ) is taboo in most societies. Many instances have occurred in history, especially in war times, where necrophagy was a survival behavior. necrophagy 吃腐烂动物尸体 The eating of dead or decaying animal flesh. 17. take orders I. 听命. 听指示. receive and be expected to follow directions or commands; "I don't take orders from you!". II. take customer's orders. Taking customers' orders is a critical activity for any business. It is in your best interest to make ordering as easy as possible. If it is too difficult to order from you, customers will simply go elsewhere to avoid the hassle. reach out (to somebody) 表示关心 to make a special effort to communicate with or help someone I was going through a hard time, and Johnny really reached out to me during that period. He used his dance company as a way of reaching out to African-American youth. reach out 走出去 Fig. to enlarge one's circle of friends and experiences. If you are that lonely, you ought to reach out. Get to know some new friends. I need to reach out more and meet people. reach out (after/for someone or something) 伸手去够 to extend one's grasp to someone or something. Don reached out after Doris, but she slipped away before he could get a good hold on her. Doris reached out for the door, but it slammed closed. outstretch v.t. I. 伸出. to stretch forth; extend: to outstretch one's hand. stretched out as far as possible: A bird was eating crumbs from her outstretched hand. II. to stretch out; expand: The rising population has outstretched the city. III. to stretch beyond: His behavior outstretches my patience. overstretch I. to try to do too much with the money, people etc that are available. Police resources are overstretched in their fight against crime. II. to do more than you are capable of. overstretch yourself: He tends to overstretch himself in his efforts to succeed. hang back (from someone or something) to lag back behind someone or something; to stay back from someone or something, perhaps in avoidance. to wait before doing something. We opened our office at a time when other businesses hung back because of bad economic conditions.  Why are you hanging back from the rest of the group? Come on! Don't hang back!

There's juice, and then there's cold-pressed juice( At what point do you decide to throw it all in 身价财产全投进去 and start a free pressed juice stand? ). This new darling 新宠 of the healthy set is wreaking all sorts of changes( wreak havoc/destruction mainly journalism to cause very great harm or damage. These policies would wreak havoc on the economy. wreak revenge/vengeance mainly literary to punish someone for something bad that they have done to you. He was determined to wreak revenge on her.) on kitchen benchtops and juice shops as people update their appliances. So what's so great about this kind of juice? According to the cold-pressed converted信仰者, these juices contain more vitamins, minerals and enzymes than those made with a traditional centrifugal machine(centrifugal force [ˌsentrɪfju：ɡ(ə)l ˈfɔ:(r)s] 离心力 an effect in which an object that is moving around a central point appears to be moved away from the centre by some force. ). It's all in the method, apparently, as the fresh fruit and vegetables are, as the name suggests, "pressed" so the maximum amount of nectar ( I. a thick juice that comes from some fruits. peach nectar. II. a sweet liquid that some flowers make and that insects and birds drink. nectar of the gods humorous used for saying that a drink tastes extremely good. ) is extracted from the pulp and fibre, leaving a raw and fresh juice. Heidy Jameel, of Sydney's Lucky You Juice Cleanse, says: "When fruit and veg is put through a cold-pressed juicer, the juice retains the maximum amount of nutrients养分." She says that the other style of juicing, involving fruit and veg being sliced by spinning blades, can overheat and oxidise the juice, resulting in nutrient loss - and a less palatable end result. " "Centrifugal juicers make juices that are frothy起沫的 and even chunky一块一块的," Jameel adds. "Cold-pressed juices are the beautiful raw and refined nectar without the fibre."

 悬念(环环相扣而抓人的东西): A hook (suspense excitement or worry that you feel when you are waiting to find out what has happened or what will happen. Hurry up and tell me! The suspense is killing me! The film was a masterpiece of suspense. keep/leave someone in suspense: Please don't keep me in suspense. I need to know! ) is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear 抓人的东西, 环环相扣 of the listener". A hook can be either melodic or rhythmic, and often incorporates the main motif for a piece of music. "The hook is a phrase or word that literally hooks, or grabs, the listener and draws them into the song." A hook is a sentence or phrase in the introduction that "hooks" or draws the reader in. Basically, it makes them want to keep reading. Good luck with the essay. And there is more than one hook in each essay. You'll need; Introductory hook – Set out your main point in sucha way that it intrigues the reader. you're telling what you think before you tell they why you think it. Transitional hook过渡 – End the introduction with a promise that you'll explain this inititially intriguing idea. The reader must want to know what is next. The transitional hook should then come at the end of each following paragraph reminding people what your idea/point/hypothesis is. Reverse hook – this is used to relate the discussion to the transitional hook of the introductory paragraph. Your hooks are used to lead a reader through the collection of idea's that make up your essay - get them right and they should be like path that leads through the essay. 关于hook: My Hollywood agent brought me out to L.A. not long ago to pitch (pitch someone on sth.) a couple of Big Shot TV producers on an idea for a show they wanted me to create. I figured, why not? I flew out there and got into the meeting with Big Shot Producer #1, wearing my expensive jeans, and started telling him about my idea, the same way I'd tell my editor or my agent. About five minutes into my spiel ( spiel [ʃpi:l] the things that someone says on a particular occasion, especially things that are not interesting or sincere because they sound like a prepared speech. ) he cut me off打断我 and said, "Excuse me. No offense, but you've never pitched before, have you?" I confessed 坦承 I hadn't, as if I had to say anything. I don't pitch. I write. He said, "I can tell. That's not how you do it. Why don't you come back in after you meet with the other producers and pitch it again?" You might think that I'd be embarrassed or annoyed, but the truth is, I appreciated his honesty and respected the guy all the more for it. Pitching is a specialized skill that has very little to do with whether you can write. But in Hollywood, the pitch is the currency. If you can't pitch your idea, no one's buying. Why should novelists care about the art of the pitch in Hollywood? Because being able to pitch a movie, or a TV show, is the same skill as being able to come up with the "hook," the "what-if," the premise of that novel you're writing. Or that script. Put it another way: you're in an elevator with one of the most powerful book agents in New York (or wherever), and you have ten seconds to pitch your novel to her so that she'll actually want to read it. Can you do it? Bet you can't. Maybe you're thinking, "Who cares? I'm not going to ever get into an elevator with a powerful agent, and if I did, I'd probably freeze up 吓傻了, 吓呆了 anyway." Maybe. But odds are, at some point you will have to e-mail or snail-mail (Snail mail or smail (from snail + mail)—named after the snail with its slow speed—refers to letters and missives carried by conventional postal delivery services. Also named after the "snail-trail" used to glue the envelope. The phrase refers to the lag-time between dispatch of a letter and its receipt, versus the virtually instantaneous dispatch and delivery of its electronic equivalent, e-mail. It is also known, more neutrally, as paper mail, postal mail, land mail, or simply mail and post. An earlier term of the same type is surface mail, coined retrospectively after the development of airmail. Snail mail penpals are those penpals that communicate with one another through the postal system, rather than on the internet which has become the more common medium. ) a pitch in the form of a letter or a note.