用法学习: 1. top of the line/range 最高端的 adjective US of the best quality or among the most expensive of its kind available. used for describing something that is the most expensive in a group of similar products: a top-of-the-range Mercedes. "top-of-the-line smartphones can replace a laptop". There is no shortage of new top-of-the-range cars belonging to the elite in Harare. It was a new, top-of-the-range model. put on the dog 装逼 us informal to act as if you are more important than you are. ut on (the) dog is an expression that means 'to make a display of wealth or importance, especially by dressing stylishly and flashily'. It's similar in meaning to the later expression put on the ritz. put on the ritz [rɪts] to assume a superior air or make an ostentatious display. To behave extravagantly, lavishly, or self-importantly; to make an ostentatious production or appearance. My wife always feels like she has to put on the ritz whenever my parents come to visit. During the economic boom, you had people from all walks of life putting on the ritz. All that ended when the crash hit, though. Usage Notes: César Ritz, founder of the Hotel Ritz in Paris and Ritz Hotel in London, lent his name to these and other highly fashionable institutions. To behave as if you belonged in such opulent settings and demand that you be treated as if you did would lead to being accused of "putting on the Ritz" or simply being "ritzy." The phrase is best known as the title of a 1929 Irving Berlin song that has been performed by, among other, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Peter Boyle (as the monster in Mel Brooks' movie Young Frankenstein). A similar expression is "putting on the dog," coming perhaps from high collars and jeweled chokers known as "dogs." set sb/sth on sb to make an animal or person attack someone: The security guards set their dogs on the intruders. If you do that again, I'll set my big brother on you! ritzy [rɪtsi] adj. If you describe something as ritzy, you mean that it is fashionable or expensive. [informal] Palm Springs has ritzy restaurants and glitzy nightlife. glitzy [glɪtsi] 外强中干的, 中看不中用的, 银样镴枪头的 adj Something that is glitzy is exciting and attractive in a showy way. bright, exciting, and attractive but with no real value. a glitzy television show. ...Aspen, Colorado, one of the glitziest ski resorts in the world. 2. roller skate 旱地滑冰 n. Roller-skates are shoes with four small wheels on the bottom. A boy of about ten came up on roller-skates. v. If you roller-skate, you move over a flat surface wearing roller-skates. On the day of the accident, my son Gary was roller-skating outside our house. The craze for roller skating spread throughout the U.S. Heelys Sport shoes that have wheels housed in the heel that allow you to walk, run, and roll at any given moment. a brand of training shoe with one or more wheels fixed in the heel part of the sole, used as a fun way of moving along quickly. Admit it, when you see a bunch of kids wearing Heelys roll past you at the mall, deep down you wish there was a version for adults, right? I enjoy riding Heelys. wiki: Heelys, formerly known as Heeling Sports Limited, is a brand of roller shoe (marketed by Heelys, Inc.) that have one or more removable wheels embedded in each sole, similar to inline skates, allowing the wearer to walk, run, or, by shifting their weight to their heels, roll. Braking can be achieved by lowering the back of the foot so that sole contacts the ground. Inline skates are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates typically have two to five wheels arranged in a single line. Some, especially those for recreation, have a rubber "stop" or "brake" block attached to the rear of one or occasionally both of the skates so that the skater can slow down or stop by leaning back on the foot with the brake skate. 3. 老师和学生打游戏被开除 - teacher fired for playing Fortnite with students: A US school teacher who was fired for playing Fortnite with his students has defended his actions, saying he was only trying to "reach" the children on their level. "As a teacher, you reach out the best you can," Belsky said. "These kids talk about video games. I said, 'If you can get this work done, maybe I'll play against you.' I saw their eyebrows go up." The teacher claims he told his students to get parental consent before playing against him. Belsky, 29, was reported to the school principal the next day by the father of the 11-year-old when he heard about the game. "I never had a write-up ( I. 书面警告 Typically it means a written warning of some sort, that would stay on your personnel file for a period of time. Usually this is because you screwed up in a project, or with a colleague. or similar. II. a report or article that makes a judgment about something, such as a play or film: The paper didn't give the show a very good write-up. III. Accounting. 虚报. an increase in the book value of a corporation that is not warranted by the true assets of the corporation. ) in my eight years [of] teaching," Belsky said. He was reassigned and ultimately stood down 辞职(If someone stands down, they resign from an important job or position, often in order to let someone else take their place. Four days later, the despised leader finally stood down, just 17 days after taking office. Profits plunged and he stood down as chairman last January. II. Australian to stop employing someone, often temporarily, because there is not enough work for them. ) with a recommendation finding he had "engaged in inappropriate internet conduct" with the students. The Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District, which oversaw the probe, suggested the Department of Education adjust its social media guidelines to make it clear that teacher-student gaming is forbidden. "School employees shouldn't interact with students online except for school-related reasons," a department spokesperson told the Post. "Mr. Belsky was terminated based on his overall performance, including a review of this case." 4. 皇家问题: What Markle Snr may not have realised was that by publishing the letter, he's jeopardised any chance of meeting his future grandchild, Royal Commentator and author Victoria Arbiter tells 9Honey. "Given Thomas Markle's decision to share his daughter's letter with the media he has proven yet again that he can't be trusted. As things are right now I'd say the likelihood 可能性 of his meeting his new grandchild is slim to none ( slim to none almost none "What are their chances of winning?" "Slim to none." slim adj I. A slim person has an attractively thin and well-shaped body. [approval] The young woman was tall and slim. He is attractive, of slim build, with blue eyes. II. A slim book, wallet, or other object is thinner than usual. The slim booklets describe a range of services and facilities. He published only three slim volumes of verse in his short life. III. A slim chance or possibility is a very small one. There's still a slim chance that he may become Prime Minister. vt. I. 瘦身. If you are slimming, you are trying to make yourself thinner and lighter by eating less food. Some people will gain weight, no matter how hard they try to slim. It makes sense to eat a reasonably balanced diet when slimming. Slim down means the same as slim. Doctors have told Benny to slim down. ...salon treatments that claim to slim down thighs. We live in a society which is obsessed with slimming. II. If an organization slims its products or workers, it reduces the number of them that it has. [business] The company recently slimmed its product line. )." "The rift between Meghan and her family is incredibly sad, but it was preventable. Her father and half-sister in particular have shown that their own self-serving 利己的, 只为自己的 needs come before all else, even at the expense of family." Meghan, 37, goes on to tell her father he has broken her heart, explaining, "Not simply because you have manufactured such unnecessary and unwarranted pain, but by making the choice to not tell the truth as you are puppeteered in this. Something I will never understand." Meghan also takes an aim at her half-sister Samantha Markle who she "barely knows", writing, "You watched me silently suffer at the hand of her vicious lies, I crumbled inside 内心崩溃, 内心崩塌." In the deeply personal message allegedly penned by the Duchess of Sussex, she pleads with her father to "stop lying" and highlighted how his actions had broken her heart into "a million pieces."
rack up sth 债务缠身, 收入囊中, 累积债务, 获利, 获得利润, 获得积分 informal to get or achieve a lot of something: He's racked up debts of over thirty thousand pounds. If a business racks up profits, losses, or sales, it makes a lot of them. If a sportsman, sportswoman, or team racks up wins, they win a lot of matches or races. Lower rates mean that firms are more likely to rack up profits in the coming months. India while not racking up such an impressive score beat Japan 3-0. Australians have racked up billions of dollars of debt by spending money that's not theirs: MEET the Joneses: permanently tanned, always on holiday, constantly posting on social media ... and more likely than not, up to their eyeballs in credit card debt. A NEW car, overseas holidays, trendy clothes and the latest mod-cons ( 现代科技产品 A modern convenience. A labour-saving device or service making a task easier or more efficient to perform that by traditional methods. Often abbreviated to mod con. ) are what many of us spend money on to ensure we can keep up with the Joneses. Jealousy is one of the strongest emotions and it can catch up with us all when we watch on as family and friends jet off on an overseas jaunt (A jaunt is a short journey which you go on for pleasure or excitement. ) or splash out on 大把钱花 the fanciest new European car. But when you dig a little deeper many of these tangible goods — most of which come with hefty price tags 价格不菲 — are on the never-never(on the never-never 分期付款 hire purchase. using a system of payment in which part of the cost of something is paid immediately and then small regular payments are made until the debt is reduced to nothing. I don't like buying things on the never-never because they charge you such a lot in interest. "buying a telly on the never-never" II. imaginary; idyllic (esp in the phrase never-never land). Hire purchase 分期付款 is a way of buying goods gradually. You make regular payments until you have paid the full price and the goods belong to you. The abbreviation HP is often used. [British] ...the serious problem of hire purchase and credit card debts. ...buying a car on hire purchase. in AM, usually use installment plan. ). That little nasty piece of plastic that slips so easily into our wallets and can be swiped 刷卡 within a couple of seconds can leave us with a purchase that can end up costing big if interest kicks in. Australians owe a massive $51.3 billion on credit cards and of this $32.1 billion is revolving debt — that is, debt that is not being paid off during the interest-free period and is attracting exorbitant interest rates of up to 30 per cent. Recently I was chatting to a financial contact about this very topic and how so many Aussies are sucked into spending on credit when he blurted out the following that left me stunned. He had just dealt with a client whose husband, unbeknown to her, racked up more than $100,000 in debt on multiple credit cards. She had no idea and her explanation was simply that he was a "spender and he bought a lot of stuff". While this blew me away that someone's partner could have no idea their other half was spending huge sums of money without them knowing, to make matters worse it was money that wasn't even theirs. Living on credit is effectively a way that gives you an instant pay rise and allows you to have that instant gratification 满足感 of ( I. [uncountable] pleasure, especially because a desire has been satisfied. As human beings, we all want instant gratification. sexual gratification. II. [countable] something that makes you feel pleased and satisfied. You have to delay or defer some gratifications in order to retire early. gratify [grætɪfaɪ] I. If you are gratified by something, it gives you pleasure or satisfaction. [formal] Mr. Dambar was gratified by his response. He was gratified to hear that his idea had been confirmed. They were gratified that America kept its promise. gratifying 令人满意的 adjective We took a chance and we've won. It's very gratifying 让人心满意足的, 志得意满的. ...a gratifying development. He is waiting for them to recognise him and eventually they do, much to his gratification. II. If you gratify your own or another person's desire, you do what is necessary to please yourself or them. [formal] We gratified our friend's curiosity. Every whim will be gratified. ...sexual gratification.) having it all now. For many of the younger generations they are unfamiliar with life without credit; instead if you want something now you just go and get it regardless of whether you've saved up the cash to do so. In most cases credit cards are financial quicksand 无根之萍, 根基不牢, 危险境地 (You can refer to a situation as quicksand when you want to suggest that it is dangerous or difficult to escape from, or does not provide a strong basis for what you are doing. I was about to sink into the quicksand of sin. The research seemed founded on quicksand.) but they are not all bad. When I started my career as a cadet journalist and was getting paid on what most would consider a lower wage, I distinctly remember wanting to deck out my rented apartment in St Peter's in Adelaide in all the latest Freedom furniture. While I was trying to pay rent and juggle saving for a house deposit at the same time I signed up to an in-store finance deal which allowed me to walk away with the goods on the spot and pay them off over a set period. This was a great way for me to accrue everything I needed and after paying off the debt of thousands of dollars in full over a set period of time I escaped any interest charges. For me it was a win-win and then I closed the account and cut up the card when I was done. But unfortunately for many Aussies this isn't the case. We just keep spending hence why the nation has now been left with a whopping credit card debt. With Christmas looming lenders will be pouncing on customers by advertising enticing card deals to get them to sign up and spend. And it's the time of year when many of us are scratching for cash and end up with a debt hangover as we enter the new year. So if you are in credit card trouble, stop spending, take action and get yourself out of it before it gets any worse. The best thing many Aussies can learn to do is switch to living on debit, not credit.
'Don't judge scam victims - catch the unscrupulous scumbags who swindled them': 60 Minutes has a proud history of chasing conmen and fraudsters 诈骗犯 and exposing systemic rip-offs and generally, they all look fairly similar in their modus operandi. Twelve years ago, when we helped the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Squad bust down the doors to internet cafes in suburban Lagos, it was obvious that greed played a large part in snaring 引诱, 诱饵 potential victims. I mean, it's not every day you get an offer of a free $10 million from the cousin of a former president! Similarly, a couple of years later, it was easy to identify the single ingredient that crooks in Malaysia used to ply money out of emotionally starved Australian women in widespread love-scams. Loneliness is a tough path and easily exploited by those who don't have a conscience to begin with. Nevertheless, many were quick to judge hundreds of these victims for what they perceived as simple-mindedness 头脑简单 and outright foolishness 愚蠢 and largely withheld sympathy(
withhold If you withhold something that someone wants, you do not let them have it. [formal] to deliberately not give something to someone. Several nations decided to withhold their support for the treaty. He suggested they withhold payment. withhold something from someone: She was found guilty of withholding information from the courts. Police withheld the dead boy's name yesterday until relatives could be told. Financial aid for Britain has been withheld. The captain decided to withhold the terrible news even from his officers. The withholding of property from the market may cause prices to be higher than normal. uphold I. If you uphold something such as a law, a principle, or a decision, you support and maintain it. Our policy has been to uphold the law. It is the responsibility of every government to uphold certain basic principles. ...upholding the artist's right to creative freedom. II. If a court of law upholds a legal decision that has already been made, it decides that it was the correct decision. The crown court, however, upheld the magistrate's decision 维持原判. ) as a result. While I still believe that was an overly harsh reaction, I am hoping that viewers can, this time around, find some empathy for the plight of literally thousands of Aussies who have been burnt in this newest round of international fraud. The reason I believe they deserve your pity, as a minimum, is the way in which this sting has been perpetrated. From first-hand observation in the Philippines and an opportunity to scrutinise their operational paperwork in their boiler-room 蒸笼似的 workplace, it's clear that this con was clever and well-executed by professionals who were well skilled in the dark arts. The key to the whole sting was the simplicity of the sell; cold-callers, many of them with stockbroking backgrounds, selling shares that didn't exist in legitimate companies. Buyers were told there was a wholesale discount on share bundles and that instant discount on the retail price enticed them to make their first purchase. Then they could monitor the share price on the open market and that meant they continued to believe they really did own the stock. In every other way, it was effectively the same as getting a call from Morgan Stanley or Macquarie Group to begin building a portfolio. The problem of course came when the victim decided to extract dividends 提取分红 or sell the fake shares to cash in 兑现. The point is, the fakes on offer were from blue-chip companies or promising high-tech start-ups – there were no penny dreadfuls ( a cheap, sensational comic or storybook. A cheap paperback book, particularly those concerning lurid depictions of crime in the Victorian era. "penny dreadful comics". wiki: Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing one penny. The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. ) anywhere in the mix. Would-be investors were looking for a healthy margin, but who isn't? Many took a long-term view which could hardly be classified as instant greed. Tragically though, that only helped the con-men prolong the sting and take more of their life savings. And these guys were exceptionally good at continuing the charade with the help of VOIP software and concocted ( concoct [kənkɒkt] I. If you concoct an excuse or explanation, you invent one that is not true. Mr Ferguson said the prisoner concocted the story to get a lighter sentence. II. If you concoct something, especially something unusual, you make it by mixing several things together. Eugene was concocting Rossini Cocktails from champagne and pureed raspberries. ...a specially concocted massage oil. purée I. a cooked food, especially a vegetable or fruit, that has been put through a sieve, blender, or the like. II. a soup made with ingredients that have been puréed. ) websites that convinced their targets they were calling from an Australian office in Sydney which hosted a respectable company. They even used the name of a corporate entity that has only recently been formally de-registered. That's why the simplest of checks failed to pick-up the subterfuge([ˈsʌbtərˌfjudʒ] the use of lies and tricks. Subterfuge is a trick or a dishonest way of getting what you want. Most people can see right through that type of subterfuge. The party has predictably rejected the proposals as a subterfuge. Catherine was tired of his lies and subterfuge.). Should the victims have been more careful, more thorough in their research and less trusting? You bet. But life is not always like that and in a world where we are pushed deeper and deeper into doing all our business on-line, the anonymity of the net only played into the hands of these unscrupulous scumbags. Understandably many of the Aussies who have lost small fortunes were too embarrassed to appear on camera but they come from a diverse range of occupations, including a psychologist, small business owners, farmers, architects, a toxicologist and many retirees. It's estimated that at least $100 million left our shores in calendar year 2018 to end up in the wallets of these scammers. We know for certain that the group we busted had no less than $560,000 sitting in the ANZ bank accounts they were using on the morning of the raid. That money has now been frozen but it begs the question; where are our federal police in all of this? Australia has laws in place that monitor cash transactions larger than $10,000 and we also supposedly monitor trans-national crime across our borders. So, why aren't the AFP involved and how does the ANZ unwittingly allow its accounts to be used to launder money for a gang operating in Manila? At the very least, this is a consumer protection issue that surely should take precedence with our government considering the amounts that have been syphoned via fraudulent misrepresentation. The Philippine National Police have made valiant ( [ˈvæliənt] very brave and determined, especially in a difficult situation. A valiant action is very brave and determined, though it may lead to failure or defeat. Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister, inflation rose to 36%. ...a valiant attempt to keep the business going. He suffered further heart attacks and strokes, all of which he fought valiantly. ) attempts but it is hamstrung 束缚 by a lack of adequate laws, resources and instances of corruption. Given the poor pay and conditions, many officers are often the subject of bribery attempts and sadly, some succumb. However, on the morning of our raid, I witnessed an extraordinary performance by the chief of the regional special operations unit, Colonel Rogarth Campo, who led the push to break open the boiler-room operation. With minutes to spare before the police vans pulled out of the intelligence division compound, he gathered a couple of dozen men around him and announced that if any of them were reported for stealing during the raid, they would be fired immediately. And further, with a quiet menace, he told them that if he saw any of the officers so much as touch the wallets of the scammers when they applied the handcuffs, he would "kill them himself". So, there is no doubt there are committed police who are trying to make a difference and they need our official support, both strategically and inter-governmentally. In our case, the only saving grace for victims is the experience of private investigator Ken Gamble. A veteran of more than two decades in and around Manila, Gamble knows intimately what a dark, dangerous place it is to work in. Despite multiple death threats, he still maintains an office there and is trusted by local authorities. So much so, he's been the recipient of three law enforcement awards by the national police. If anyone can recover some of the lost millions it's this bloke - but he'll need all the help he can get. And a post-script: thanks to Ken's hard work, a warrant of arrest has now been issued for the mastermind behind this boiler-room, Owen Sterling. He's the boss who was lucky enough to be away from his desk when we knocked down the door. Sterling is believed to have fled to Hong Kong.
