用法学习: 1. International studies show children from Asian backgrounds do indeed consistently outperform their western peers, and cultural background is a significant factor. An Australian study by Monash university academics says: "Anglo-celtic Australian parents seem to put less emphasis on 不重视 academic achievement while having more flexible expectations when compared to Chinese or Vietnamese Australian parents". In Britain government figures show black and Asian school-leavers are more likely to go to university than their white peers. For many western parents "Tiger Mom" is a negative stereotype: Asian parents are authoritarian and heartless. They de-emphasise social engagement and force their kids to rote learn ( rote [roʊt] Rote learning or learning by rote 死记硬背, 填鸭式教育 is learning things by repeating them without thinking about them or trying to understand them. He is very sceptical about the value of rote learning. You are merely reciting facts that you have learned by rote. ) instead of thinking critically. Behind harsh teaching methods lies a complex and subtle message of the innate value of education. It's not just about excelling in a particular topic but understanding that education itself is priceless. Books contained knowledge and so they were to be revered 敬畏( [rɪˈvɪr] to have a lot of respect and admiration for someone or something. a professor he once revered but ultimately came to despise. ). It's not harsh to teach that. It instills an automatic and life-long approach to books that acts as a constant reminder of the innate value of education. Countless times my dad pointed out the ruddy ( I. adjective If you describe someone's face as ruddy 红红的, 红扑扑的, 红彤彤的, you mean that their face is a reddish colour, usually because they are healthy or have been working hard, or because they are angry or embarrassed. He had a naturally ruddy complexion. His face is still ruddy and handsome. II. Something that is ruddy is reddish in colour. [literary] ...barges, with their sails ruddy brown from regular dressing of ochre. III. Ruddy is used by some people to emphasize what they are saying, especially when they are angry. [British, old-fashioned, rude, emphasis] He took the paraffin stove on a picnic and the ruddy thing wouldn't work. ) complexion 面容, 肤色 of a road worker, the boredom suffered by the checkout chick, the reasons behind the war on the evening news, the stoop of the old man who had spent a lifetime leaning over a factory conveyor belt. These aren't harsh lessons, they are just a daily drip-feed 一点一滴的, 潜移默化的 ( If you drip-feed money into something, you pay the money a little at a time rather than paying it all at once. ...investors who adopt the sensible policy of drip feeding money into shares. II. medical to give food or medicine to someone who is ill through a special piece of equipment with a tube that goes into their body. ) reminder that a good education can lift you up. For Asians, migrants or not, the sight, experience or memory of poverty is a powerful motivational factor. A good education is a passport 敲门砖 out of poverty through upward social mobility. It is a passport out of a life of hard physical labour. It is a passport out of servitude. Ultimately, it's a passport to a life better than the one lived by your parents. Asian cultural values are not simply about a harsh and uncompromising parenting style, they are about inculcating ( inculcate 灌输 [ˈɪŋ.kʌl.keɪt] to fix beliefs or ideas in someone's mind, especially by repeating them often: Our coach has worked hard to inculcate a team spirit in/into the players. ) children to be aware of the need for a good education. Asians don't worry too much about their kids' complaints today, for they play the long game 看得长远. 美国: Their outsize ( outsize [aʊtsaɪz] 不成比例的 = outsized 1. Outsize or outsized things are much larger than usual or much larger than you would expect. [British] ...an outsize pair of scissors. An outsized photograph hung above her bedroom fireplace. II. Outsize clothes are clothes for very large people. Often outsize 大码的 clothes are made from cheap fabric and look like ugly tents.) presence in higher education — critics charge some universities with enforcing tacit Asian-American quotas — has made their success legend. Growing up, the value of education was ingrained in Ms Krah. Ms Krah, now a mother of two, has passed on that emphasis on education to her children. Sydney-based father Atul Khapli is of a similar mind, stressing education 强调教育 will open opportunities for his young son. 2. Could you sit there? I'm saving this seat for my friend Ross. You mean Dr. Geller? Doctor? I didn't know he had a nickname. Oh, he won't sit here. Only people in white coats sit there. Only people in blue blazers sit here. How come? That's just the way it is. That's crazy. Maybe it's crazy in a perfect world: a world without lab coats and blazers. But you not in a perfect world. You in a museum now. See that scientist? He and I used to play together in grade school, but now. I shared my pudding with you, man! I gave you my Snack Pack! See? He pretend he don't even hear me! Everyone's pretending they don't hear you. I don't know about your jackets and separate tables but Ross is my friend. And if I save him a seat, he will sit in it. Here! I saved you a seat! I'm cool here. I'll catch up with you later. This is saved 这里有人了. Gift shop. 4. bottle blonde a person who dyes their hair blonde. For some reason, he only dates bottle blondes. I saw a picture of her from a few years ago and she had brown hair. I think she's a bottle blonde. nick noun. A nick is a small cut made in the surface of something, usually in someone's skin. The barbed wire had left only the tiniest nick just below my right eye. verb. I. uk informal 偷走. 偷窃. 偷盗(knock off, take off). to steal something: He smashed a window to get in and nicked a load of silver cups. [VERB noun] We used to nick biscuits from the kitchen. I've had my bike nicked again. All right, who's nicked my ruler? II. uk slang 抓现行. 人赃并获. Captured (by police); arrested. If the police nick someone, they catch them for committing a crime: They nicked him for driving at 70 in a 50 speed limit area. III. us informal 抢劫. 被宰了. 挨宰了. 上当了. 被骗了. to cheat someone or to charge someone too much money: $50 for a meal like that - we were nicked! If your bank account balance falls below the minimum, you'll be nicked for a $5 service charge. NICKED means to get a very small cut of the skin. In slang, it means
to have to pay (for) something, (usually a small amount) that was
somewhat unexpected and unappreciated. If you are nicked by someone, they cheat you, for example by charging you too much money. College students already are being nicked, but probably don't realize it. IV. If you nick something or nick yourself, you accidentally make a small cut in the surface of the object or your skin. to make a small cut in a surface or an edge. Paintwork on the corner of a stairway tends to get nicked and scratched. When
I pulled out of the space, I nicked the rear bumper of the car in front
of me. A sharp blade is likely to nick the skin and draw blood. He
dropped a bottle in the kitchen and nicked himself on broken glass. in good nick/in bad nick
Nick is used in expressions such as 'in good nick' or 'in bad nick' to
describe the physical condition of someone or something. His ribs were damaged, but other than that he's in good nick. Tom's house is actually in better nick than mine. snip verb 剪走. 剪掉. (get snipped = vasectomy 绝育手术) to cut something in a short quick movement using scissors. If you snip something, or if you snip at or through something, you cut it quickly using sharp scissors. He has now begun to snip away at the piece of paper. He snipped a length of new bandage and placed it around Peter's chest. noun. If you say that something is a snip, you mean that it is very good value. [British, informal] The beautifully made briefcase is a snip at £74.25. 5. flying visit a very short visit. A flying visit is a visit that only lasts a very short time. Good Cop: You been busy? Always busy. Just making time for a cup of tea. Anything good happened? Routine. Hopefully it'll be a quiet night. Anyway, Dad, just a flying visit 简单和你说几句话. I'll leave you to your book, shall I? You take care out there. Always. flying adj. A flying animal has wings and is able to fly. ...species of flying insects. get off to a flying start If someone or something gets off to a flying start, or makes a flying start, they start very well, for example in a race or a new job. Advertising revenue in the new financial year has got off to a flying start. Hendry made a flying start to the final. pigs might fly If you say 'pigs might fly' after someone has said that something might happen, you are emphasizing that you think it is very unlikely. [humorous, informal, emphasis] 'There's a chance he won't get involved in this, of course.'—'And pigs might fly.' Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as cot death or crib death, is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remains unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usually occurs during sleep. Typically death occurs between the hours of 00:00 and 09:00. There is usually no noise or evidence of struggle. The exact cause of SIDS is unknown. The requirement of a combination of factors including a specific underlying susceptibility, a specific time in development, and an environmental stressor has been proposed. These environmental stressors (an event, experience, etc, that causes stress. something that causes stress (= great worry or emotional difficulty): Constant noise can be a stressor.) may include sleeping on the stomach or side, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke. Accidental suffocation from bed sharing (also known as co-sleeping) or soft objects may also play a role. Another risk factor is being born before 39 weeks of gestation. do a line means to snort a line of cocaine. to inhale a line of cocaine. When you divde the drug Cocaine into even lines with a razor blade and proceed to snort the drug through the nose usually with a rolled bill! "this is so boring..." "lets go do some lines." Let's do a line before we hit the club. In the context given, I'd say it means more generally to fraternise. Similar to how 'have a drink with' doesn't strictly mean 'having a drink', it could be a euphemism for sleeping with. shape-shifter 变形记, 变身 (chiefly in science fiction or mythology) a person or being with the ability to change their physical form at will. an imaginary person or creature that can change into a different shape or form. shape-shifting the ability of an imaginary person or creature to change itself into a different shape or form: In this world, shape-shifting isn't governed by the moon's cycles. It would simply be a cat were it not for its powers of flight and shapeshifting. understrength 缺兵少将, 人员不齐, 缺员 adj (of a team etc.) lacking in number or strength. Manchester United could field an understrength team in the FA Cup. We are already 70 officers understrength in this city and crime is rampant. having less than full or adequate strength or power. an understrength battalion, workforce, etc. understaffed = undermanned = short-staffed 缺人手的, 人手不足的 adj If a shop, business, or organization is understaffed, it does not have enough employees: The hospital was desperately understaffed. 6. delirious [dɪˈlɪrɪəs] adj I. 精神恍惚的. 意识模糊的. 不清醒的. in an acutely disturbed state of mind characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence; affected by delirium. unable to think or speak clearly because of fever or mental confusion: She had a high temperature and was delirious. "he became delirious and couldn't recognize people". II. in a state of wild excitement or ecstasy. extremely happy or excited: The team arrived home to a delirious receptionfrom its fans. "there was a great roar from the delirious crowd". coit = bum hole = butt hole = quoit An Australian slang term for the human sphincter or "asshole". buttocks; backside. James! do your homework! Suck my coit mum! coitus [ˈkəʊɪtəs] formal sexual intercourse. Coitus interruptus, also known as the rejected sexual intercourse, withdrawal or the pull-out method, is a method of birth control in which a man, during sexual intercourse, withdraws his penis from a woman's vagina prior to orgasm (and ejaculation) and then directs his ejaculate (semen) away from the vagina in an effort to avoid insemination. perfect storm 所有厄运都凑一起, 所有的不幸都凑一起, 各种倒霉事一起发生 an extremely bad situation in which many bad things happen at the same time. A perfect storm is an unusual combination of events or things that produce an unusually bad or powerful result. Investors are faced with the perfect storm of slowing economic growth, rising prices and an unstable housing market. 7. Good Cop: how come you let the new girl chase down the villain, Sav? She's keen. You'll be getting yourself a reputation, mate. What's that supposed to mean? Sav, it was a joke. No, I'm asking Phil The Beef, here. What's that supposed to mean? Are you talking about Andy now? Well, I wasn't, but now you come to mention it. It was a joke, Sav. Take a step backwards. He's trying to wind you up 惹你生气, 激怒, that's all. Hit a nerve ( strike/touch/hit a nerve (or a raw nerve) 说到痛处, 说到敏感话题 provoke a reaction by referring to a sensitive topic. to mention something that makes someone upset, angry, or embarrassed, especially accidentally. to upset someone by referring to something that they are sensitive about. She touched a raw nerve when she mentioned that job he didn't get. His criticisms clearly touched a raw nerve. Without realizing, he had touched a raw nerve. a sore point/spot/subject something that makes you upset, angry, or embarrassed when someone mentions it. something that is likely to make someone upset or angry when you talk about it. a subject that someone prefers not to talk about because it makes them angry or embarrassed: Just don't mention it – it's always been a sore point with him. Don't mention her divorce – it's a bit of a sore point. touch a sore spot/point Fig. to refer to a sensitive matter that will upset someone. (Fig. on the notion of touching an injury and causing pain.) I seem to have touched a sore spot. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. When you talk to him, avoid talking about money. It's best not to touch a sore point if possible. be laughing on the other side of your face = laugh out of the other side of your mouth 笑不出来 used to tell someone that, despite being pleased now, they will not be pleased later when things do not happen as expected or planned: She's pleased with her promotion but she'll be laughing on the other side of her face when she sees the extra work. ), did I? You're an arsehole, do you know that? Did I hit a nerve, Sav? Enough of the name-calling 出言不逊, the pair of you! Where are we, the playground!? He started it! Listen to yourself. Enough! Go on! Go on, out! You know what he's like. He's a blunt instrument ( I. any heavy object with a flat or round end, used as a weapon. something such as a hammer, used as a weapon. He had been battered to death with a blunt instrument. II. 简单粗暴的方法. a method that uses too much force, so that, in achieving your aim, it also causes some harm or trouble. A thing, person, method, or resource which is not sufficiently precise or not sufficiently effective for its intended role or use. a method of doing something that does not work very well because it has a lot of other effects that you do not want The exams are a blunt instrument that will reveal little about children's abilities. wiki: A blunt instrument is any solid object used as a weapon, which damages its target by applying direct mechanical force, and has no penetrating point or edge, or is wielded so that the point or edge is not the part of the weapon that inflicts the injury. Blunt instruments may be contrasted with edged weapons, which inflict injury by cutting or stabbing, or projectile weapons, where the projectiles, such as bullets or arrows, are accelerated to a damaging speed. Blunt instruments typically inflict blunt force trauma, causing bruising, fractures and other internal bleeding. Depending on the parts of the body attacked, organs may be ruptured or otherwise damaged. Attacks with a blunt instrument may be fatal. ), and he WAS only joking. Maybe you shouldn't be here. I'm fine. 8. "PCs Rocksavage and Morgan clearly witnessed the suspect named above "attack the victim named above with a sharp blade. "The suspect attempted to run away, but was twatted ( twat [twɒt] I. If someone calls another person a twat, they are insulting them and showing that they do not like or respect them. [informal, offensive, disapproval]. II.Some people use the word twat to refer to a woman's vagina. [informal, very rude] verb. hit or punch (someone). "if my best mate said that I'd twat him". twatted I. (vulgar, slang, Britain) Extremely drunk, intoxicated. II. (vulgar, slang, Britain, in combination) Having a particular sort of vagina or vulva. III. (vulgar, slang, Britain) Extremely or profoundly injured, usually as a result of deliberate action by another party. ) by a car." Phil, what's another word for twatted? In what context?". but was twatted by a car." Was involved in a collision with a vehicle. 9. on tick British English old-fashioned informal if you buy something on tick, you arrange to take it now and pay later. get/buy it on tick 赊账, 欠账 Pay for it Later. Pay for something later. To purchase something on credit. "Tick" is short for "ticket," a note showing one's debt (now an uncommon practice). Primarily heard in UK. I've already spent so much on this trip that I had to buy some last-minute purchases on tick. If you need groceries and won't get paid for another week, just buy them on tick. But I don't have any dough mate, 'Don't worry you can have it on tick' 'yeah mate i'll get it on tick'. note: Tick is probably a short form of ticket and referred to the written note (an IOU 借条, 白条) given by a person borrowing something to the lender as proof that they would pay them back or return the goods. 10. obliterate [əˈblɪtəreɪt] I. 摧毁, 报销. destroy utterly; wipe out. If something obliterates an object or place, it destroys it completely. Their warheads are enough to obliterate the world several times over. Whole villages were obliterated by fire. ...the obliteration of three isolated rainforests. "the memory was so painful that he obliterated it from his mind". a nuclear explosion that would obliterate a city. Helicopter completely obliterated on impact. Pilot likely crashed on NYC building to save countless others. The pilot of a twin-engine helicopter that crash landed onto the roof of a New York building was killed in the collision. a. make invisible or indistinct; conceal or cover. to cover something completely so that it cannot be seen. Then the fog came down, obliterating 掩盖, 遮盖, 遮蔽 everything. "clouds were darkening, obliterating the sun". b. cancel (something, especially a postage stamp) to prevent further use. "the special stamp should be placed on the left-hand side and not be used to obliterate the postage stamp". II. If you obliterate something such as a memory, emotion, or thought 消除记忆, 抹销, you remove it completely from your mind. to remove a thought, feeling, or memory from someone's mind. Nothing could obliterate the memory of those tragic events. There was time enough to obliterate memories of how things once were for him. it's [long] past time to do something 早就该, 老早就该 It is past time for the FAA to ban unnecessary helicopters from the skies over our densely packed urban city. The risks to New Yorkers are just too high. it's about time to do something 是时候做某事了. live something down succeed in making others forget something embarrassing that has happened. "I'd never live it down if Lily got wind of 听说 听到风声 this". never live (something) down To never be able to overcome, reduce, or cause others to forget about something shameful or embarrassing. to make people forget that you made a big mistake or did something very embarrassing in the past: If you show up with green hair, your parents will never let you live it down. I can't believe you got caught because your pants fell down as you ran away. You're never going to live that one down, man. I don't think I'll ever live down the foolish way I behaved during dinner the other night. "I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon," Bieber tweeted. "Tom if you don't take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite?" la-di-da = lah-di-dah (affected, mannered, posh [informal, mainly British], pretentious ) adj If you describe someone as la-di-da, you mean that they have an upper-class way of behaving, which you think seems unnatural and is only done to impress people. [old-fashioned, disapproval] I wouldn't trust them in spite of all their la-di-da manners.
explode, implode; bloated, bursting, compulsion: explode 解说: Anything and anyone can explode — that is, produce a violent, sudden and usually very loud release of energy. Explode's two most common meanings refer to a physically destructive act, most commonly a bomb going off, or metaphorically, as in your parents' sudden fury when they see your end-of-year grades 年终成绩, 考试成绩. Originally explode meant something quite different — to drive an unpleasing actor or group of performers from the stage by clapping and booing. (From the Latin words ex, meaning "out," and plaudere, "to clap one's hands.") Those ancient Greek and Roman crowds were tough. 词典: I. to break up into pieces violently, or to cause something to do this. to burst violently and usually with a loud noise, or to cause this to happen: A bomb exploded nearby. Black holes are left behind by exploding stars called supernovas. fig. Yoga has exploded in popularity as a way to achieve physical and mental health. A bomb exploded at one of the capital's busiest railway stations this morning. He was driving so fast that his car tyre exploded. II. to react suddenly with a strong expression of emotion. to show sudden violent emotion, esp. anger: He exploded in anger when told his luggage had been lost. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" she exploded (= said angrily). The children exploded into giggles (= suddenly started laughing uncontrollably). III. 爆炸式增长. to increase very quickly: The population has exploded in the last ten years. IV. to show something to be wrong. to prove to be false or wrong: She hopes that this book will explode myths about poverty and intelligence. This book finally explodes some of the myths 打破迷思 about the origin of the universe. explode into sth to suddenly change into something powerful or exciting: London's parks have exploded into colour (= become very colourful, because many flowers have opened) in the last week. implode specialized physics to fall towards the inside with force: The vacuum inside the tube caused it to implode when the external air pressure was increased. II. to fail suddenly and completely and be unable to operate: Their economy is in danger of imploding 惨败, 坍塌, 塌陷. His campaign imploded during the summer amid charges of mismanagement and overspending. an economy/industry/market implodes. When contracts for the new bridge were being negotiated, the American steel industry imploded. bloated 肚子撑爆了, 肚胀, 肚子撑死了 adj swollen and rounded because of containing too much air, liquid, or food: a bloated stomach. a bloated (= uncomfortably full) feeling. I'm bloated 撑爆了 as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more. I have to go to the bathroom. come unglued
I. 大爆发 (American informal) 大哭. 崩溃. 再也忍不住. 再也崩不住, 再也憋不住. to lose control of your
emotions. to lose emotional control; to break out into tears or
laughter. When Sally heard the joke, she almost
came unglued. When the bank took away my car, I came unglued and cried
and cried. After Dan's death she just came unglued. II.
(American informal) if a person or something they are trying to achieve
comes unglued, they have problems which cause them to fail. The
negotiations are showing signs of coming unglued, with new questions
coming up every day. The team played well in the first half but came
unglued in the second. compulsion
I. [countable] 强憋着, 硬憋着, 憋不住的. 欲罢不能的. 忍不住. a very strong feeling of wanting to do
something, especially a feeling that you cannot control. an
irresistible urge to behave in a certain way, especially against one's
conscious wishes. "He felt a compulsion to babble on about what had happened". He felt a sudden compulsion 一股冲动 to tell her the truth. II. [uncountable] a legal or other obligation to do something. under compulsion: You are not under any compulsion to make a statement to the police. be bursting with something to have a lot of something or be filled with something. to be teeming with or crammed full of something. The school appears to be bursting with students. a terraced vegetable garden, bursting with produce. The wardrobes were bursting with clothes. John was bursting with ideas and good humour. The shops are bursting with food. be bursting with pride/energy/excitement 心理充满了, 满满的 etc. Your mum's bursting with pride for you. be bursting 憋不住了, 憋死了, 控制不住了, 快尿裤子了 British English informal to need to go to the toilet very soon. to want desperately to urinate. be bursting at the seams 撑爆了 to be so full that nothing else can fit inside. blow a gale 刮大风, 狂风大作 to be very windy (=with very strong winds) I'm not going out – it's blowing a gale out there. blown I. surprising, strange, freaky, weird, or amazing. That's so blown. Dude you look blown. II. get high. I'm gonna go get blown. III. extremely high - under the influence of marijuana. Man I'm blown. IV. So disappointed that it makes you feel sad. (When someone tricks you and you fall for it so hard that you feel stupid.).
