用法学习: 1. divisive [dɪˈvaɪsɪv] 有分歧的, 有争议的 likely to cause arguments between people。 Something that is divisive causes unfriendliness and argument between people. Abortion has always been a divisive issue. A referendum would be divisive. a divisive issue. divisiveness 分歧 We live in a world that seems ever more full of rancor and divisiveness. division [dɪvɪʒən] I. 分裂. The division of a large unit into two or more distinct parts is the act of separating it into these parts. ...Czechoslovakia's division into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. [+ into] II. The division of something among people or things is its separation into parts which are distributed among the people or things. The current division 区分, 分法, 分割法儿 of labor between workers and management will alter. 3. 除法. Division is the arithmetical process of dividing one number into another number. I taught my daughter how to do division at the age of six. IV. A division is a significant distinction or argument between two groups, which causes the two groups to be considered as very different and separate. The division between 分歧, 对立 the prosperous west and the impoverished east remains. [+ between/among]. rancor = rancour [ˈræŋkər] 愤怒, 仇恨 a feeling of hate or anger that continues for a long time. Rancour is a feeling of bitterness and anger. 'That's too bad,' Teddy said without rancour. schism [skɪzəm , sɪz-] 分立, 分裂, 嫌隙, 分歧, 意见不统一 When there is a schism, a group or organization divides into two groups as a result of differences in thinking and beliefs. ...the great schism which divided the Christian world in the 11th century. The church seems to be on the brink of schism. an occasion when one group divides into two groups because of a disagreement. chasm [ˈkæzəm] 意见不一 I. a very big difference that separates one person or group from another. If you say that there is a chasm between two things or between two groups of people, you mean that there is a very large difference between them. ...the chasm that divides the worlds of university and industry. ...the chasm between rich and poor in America. chasm between: a widening chasm 区分, 分歧 between town and country. II. 裂缝. a very deep crack in rock or ice. 2. 八卦小报关于Sussex的报道: LIKE all Americans, Meghan Markle will have grown up imagining that princesses live in fairy-tale castles and spend all day riding around on golden unicorns, smiling kindly at muddy 浑身泥的 plebs 老百姓 ( [pleb] an insulting word for an ordinary person. This word shows that the speaker thinks ordinary people are not important or intelligent.). While they maintain a veneer of just-in-it-for-the-drama 不嫌事大, 凑热闹 neutrality 中立, it's also clear that some of the papers' sympathies lie with Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the Windsors, evidenced especially by the Daily Mirror's front page: "They Didn't Even Tell the Queen." Elsewhere, journalists criticized the move as "selfish" and "an atrocious lapse of judgment 失算." One subject of tabloid 八卦小报 intrigue, for example, has been the timing of the announcement: It happened the day before Kate Middleton's 38th birthday, thus furthering the narrative that the Sussexes are family thunder-stealers 抢风头 of the highest order, between this and announcing their pregnancy at Princess Eugenie's wedding in 2018. Therefore, when Kate was photographed driving a car on Thursday—a very normal thing to do, even on one's birthday—the Mirror turned that into, "Birthday girl Kate Middleton snapped looking deep in thought after Megxit bombshell." She looked "less than impressed," the story noted, failing to mention that Kate merely continuing to exist and make facial expressions doesn't actually give us all that much insight into how she's feeling about her brother-in-law and his wife's future plans. Nevertheless, the Sun went with a very similar narrative (headline: "Crappy Birthday"), writing that "Kate Middleton looked in no mood to party today as her 38th birthday was wrecked 被毁掉了 by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell decision 爆炸性新闻 to step down as senior royals." The evidence, again, being just the one picture of Kate driving. Woman driving, or "stony-faced" 面无表情的 woman "showing the strain 显示克制 (self-restraint)" ( restraint [rɪˈstreɪnt] 克制 I. a measure or condition that keeps someone or something under control. "decisions are made within the financial restraints of the budget". the action of keeping someone or something under control. "a policy of restraint in public spending". deprivation or restriction of personal liberty or freedom of movement. "he remained aggressive and required physical restraint". II. unemotional, dispassionate, or moderate behaviour; self-control. "he urged the protestors to exercise restraint". III. calm and controlled behaviour: He showed admirable restraint, and refused to be provoked. The security forces exercised (= used) great restraint by not responding to hostile attacks and threats. IV. something that limits the freedom of someone or something, or that prevents something from growing or increasing: government spending restraints. Lack of space is the main restraint on the firm's expansion plans. During the recession, the government opted for a policy of pay/wage restraint rather than a reduction in public investment. keep/place sb under restraint to keep a violent person in a way that prevents them from moving freely: The two prisoners were kept under restraint while they were transported between prisons. restrain [rɪˈstreɪn] I. to prevent someone or yourself from doing something. Please restrain yourself from coughing during the performance. II. to physically control the movements of a person or animal. The passenger had to be restrained by four members of the cabin crew.) after some shocking family news? A matter of interpretation. 3. fanatic [fənætɪk] 狂热分子 noun. I. If you describe someone as a fanatic, you disapprove of them because you consider their behaviour or opinions to be very extreme, for example in the way they support particular religious or political ideas. [disapproval] I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian. II. If you say that someone is a fanatic, you mean that they are very enthusiastic about a particular activity, sport, or way of life. Both Rod and Phil are football fanatics. adj. Fanatic means the same as fanatical. maniac [ˈmeɪniæk] I. INFORMAL someone who behaves in a stupid and dangerous way. Slow down! You're driving like a maniac 疯子. 精神病. 神经病. II. INFORMAL someone who is considered strange because they have an extremely strong enthusiasm for something. a religious maniac. III. someone who behaves in an extremely excited and confused way because they are mentally ill. a homicidal maniac 精神错乱的人. lunatic [ˈlunətɪk] 精神病, 疯子 I. someone who behaves in an extreme or dangerous way. If you describe someone as a lunatic, you think they behave in a dangerous, stupid, or annoying way. [informal, disapproval] Her son thinks she's an absolute raving lunatic. Some lunatic was driving on the wrong side of the road. II. old-fashioned an offensive word for a person who has a mental illness. adj. 精神不正常的人. 疯子. extreme, or dangerous. If you describe someone's behaviour or ideas as lunatic, you think they are very foolish and possibly dangerous. ...the operation of the market taken to lunatic extremes. ...a country spurned until now by all except the more lunatic of journalists and adventurers. lunatic ideas. 4. Who killed Garrett Philips: Caught on camera, Hillary was railroaded into ( railroad 强逼 to force someone to do something that they do not really want to do railroad someone into (doing) something: We were railroaded into accepting the deal. railroad something through 强行通过. 强加于人 if someone with power or influence railroads something through, they make someone else accept it, although they do not really want to. They hope to railroad the treaty through before June.) a chilling interrogation on his first visit to Potsdam police station the morning after the crime, despite repeated assurances that he was there to help catch the killer - and not to be treated as a suspect. A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". 单词: Skewers 烤串 are used while grilling or roasting meats and fish, and in other culinary applications. skew I. suddenly change direction or position. "the car had skewed across the track". II. make biased or distorted in a way that is regarded as inaccurate, unfair, or misleading. "the curriculum is skewed towards the practical subjects". If something is skewed, it is changed or affected to some extent by a new or unusual factor, and so is not correct or normal. The arithmetic of nuclear running costs has been skewed by the fall in the cost of other fuels. Today's election will skew the results in favor of the northern end of the county. Policies are definitely more skewed towards 偏向于 economic growth than before. ...a handful of schools which constitute a skewed and highly selective sample. divest [dɪˈvest] 剥夺, 褫夺, 斥夺 to take away someone's power, rights, or authority. divest yourself of something I. 宽衣. 脱衣. to take off something that you are wearing. If you divest someone of something that they are wearing or carrying, you take it off them or away from them. ...the formalities of divesting her of her coat. As he ran from the field, he divested himself of his helmet and gloves. He divested himself of his jacket. II. to get rid of something, for example by selling it. The owner had already divested herself of the property. III. 抽身. 撤离. If you divest yourself of something that you own or are responsible for, you get rid of it or stop being responsible for it. The company divested itself of its oil interests. IV. If something or someone is divested of a particular quality, they lose that quality or it is taken away from them. ...in the 1960s, when sexual love had been divested of sin. They have divested rituals of their original meaning. Divested of the hype surrounding its launch, the show can now emerge as a classic. 5. keep your powder dry 时刻准备好 If you keep your powder dry, you remain ready to take action if necessary. He must keep his powder dry for the really important issues. Note: The powder referred to here is gunpowder. The expression comes from a story about the English leader Oliver Cromwell. He is said to have ended a speech to his soldiers, who were about to cross a river and go into battle, by saying: 'Put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry.' 新闻: Teenagers at the Cobham Youth Justice Centre near Penrith made their way onto the roof this afternoon and were seen smashing what appeared to be skylights 天窗. balmy [ˈbɑmi] I. 和煦的. 温暖的. 暖洋洋的. warm and pleasant. Balmy weather is fairly warm and pleasant. ...a balmy summer's evening. a balmy night. balmy weather. II. old-fashioned crazy. The definition of balmy is something that is soothing and pleasant feeling, often medicinal( medicinal [məˈdɪsən(ə)l] I. 治愈的. capable of treating an illness. the use of herbs as medicinal remedies. II. 有益于身心健康的. often humorous considered good for your physical or mental health. a medicinal brandy. ). An example of something that is balmy is aloe vera. Balmy is defined as something that is moderate and pleasant. An example of balmy weather is a beautiful day at the beach. 6. elevator和lift 电梯, 直梯. escalator 扶梯, 滚梯, 扶手梯. A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving sidewalk, moving pavement, people-mover, travolator 平梯, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distance. Moving walkways can be used by standing or walking on them. by the same token used to mean that something you are about to say is also true, for the same reasons as what has just been said: I don't think that prices will go up but, by the same token, I don't see them going down either. You use by the same token to introduce a statement that you think is true for the same reasons that were given for a previous statement. If you give up exercise, your fat increases. By the same token, if you expend more energy you will lose fat. 8. reminiscent [ˌremɪˈnɪs(ə)nt] I. reminding you of people or experiences in your past. reminiscent of: sights and smells reminiscent of childhood. II. similar to something else. reminiscent of: a style reminiscent of a Hitchcock film. III. MAINLY LITERARY full of thoughts of the past. She had a reminiscent look on her face as she gazed at him. obtuse [əbˈtjuːs] I. Someone who is obtuse has difficulty understanding things, or makes no effort to understand them. someone who is obtuse does not understand explanations or situations quickly. 反应迟钝的. 装傻充愣的 I think he was being deliberately obtuse. I've really been very obtuse and stupid. Naivety bordering on obtuseness helped sustain his faith. II. An obtuse angle 钝角 is between 90° and 180°. Compare acute angle. spirit 顺走, 捎带脚拿走, 顺手牵羊 to take someone or something away suddenly but without being noticed. He spirited gun out of his house. Protesters were spirited away before they could cause a disruption. If someone or something is spirited away, or if they are spirited out of somewhere, they are taken from a place quickly and secretly without anyone noticing. He was spirited away and probably murdered. His parents had spirited him away to the country. It is possible that he has been spirited out of the country. portray [pɔː(r)ˈtreɪ] I. to show or describe someone or something in a particular way. portray someone as something: Opponents portray the president as weak and ineffectual. portray someone in a good/bad light (=make them seem good or bad): The newspapers want to portray the project in the worst possible light. a. to show something by featuring it in a movie, book, play, etc. The book portrays Caribbean society against a background of the French Revolution. II. If an actor portrays a person, they play the part of that person in a movie, play, etc. decomposing [ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzɪŋ] 腐烂的 adj (of organic matter) in the process of decaying. "decomposing fungi". When things such as dead plants or animals decompose, or when something decomposes them, they change chemically and begin to decay. ...a dead body found decomposing in a wood. The debris slowly decomposes into compost. The fertiliser releases nutrients gradually as bacteria decompose it. The body was too badly decomposed 高度腐烂, 高度腐败 to be identified at once. 9. 发微博: I'm sure you will all understand how imperative it is to ( I. formal extremely important and urgent. Long-term investing is risky, and careful planning is imperative. it is imperative 必须的 (that): It is imperative that these claims are dealt with quickly. it is imperative to do something: It was imperative to maintain peace and stability in the region. II. formal an imperative voice or way of speaking is confident and determined and shows that you expect to be obeyed. III. linguistics the imperative form of a verb expresses an order to do something. ) take some time away from social media. incisive [ɪnˈsaɪsɪv] I. expressed in a clear and direct manner. incisive comments. II. showing the ability to think clearly and quickly. You use incisive to describe a person, their thoughts, or their speech when you approve of their ability to think and express their ideas clearly, briefly, and forcefully. ...a shrewd operator with an incisive mind 头脑清晰的, 头脑清楚的, 大脑清楚的. She's incredibly incisive, incredibly intelligent. cerebral [ˈserəbrəl] US: [səˈribrəl] adj. I. If you describe someone or something as cerebral, you mean that they are intellectual rather than emotional 智力方面的, 而不是感情方面的. demanding or involving careful thinking and mental effort rather than feelings: She makes cerebral films that deal with important social issues. Washington struck me as a precarious place from which to publish such a cerebral newspaper. II. Cerebral means relating to the brain. ...a cerebral haemorrhage. mind-bending I. If you describe something as mind-bending, you mean that it is difficult to understand or think about. ...mind-bending debates about the nature of life. II. Mind-bending means the same as mind-altering. ...mind-bending drugs. cerebral palsy a medical condition affecting someone's control over their movement and speech, usually caused by damage to their brain before or during birth. An ice pick 冰刀 is a tool used to break up, pick at, or chip at ice. In shape it resembles a scratch awl for wood. Before modern refrigerators, ice picks were a ubiquitous household tool used for separating and shaping the blocks of ice used in iceboxes. Within the means of the law 法律允许的范围内. within (one's) means Without exceeding one's budget; without going into debt or spending more money than one has. You need to start living within your means and avoid making so many frivolous purchases. live beyond/within your means to have a way of life in which you spend more money than you earn/less money than you earn. totalitarian [toʊˌtæləˈteriən] 中央集权的, 极权主义. A totalitarian political system is one in which there is only one political party which controls everything and does not allow any opposition parties. Totalitarians are people who support totalitarian political ideas and systems. They feared that totalitarians might yet conquer the entire world. prompt = on time? prompt I. immediate, or quick. A prompt action is done without any delay. It is not too late, but prompt action is needed. ...an inflammation of the eyeball which needs prompt treatment. Prompt action is required. Staff should be prompt in dealing with complaints. II. happening or arriving at exactly a particular time. The meeting got off to a prompt start at ten o'clock. If you are prompt to do something, you do it without delay or you are not late. You have been so prompt in carrying out all these commissions. 按时的. 准时的. 不延迟的. We didn't worry because they were always so prompt with their rental payment. sedentary [ˈsed(ə)ntəri] 好静不好动的, 不爱运动的 I. involving a lot of sitting and not much exercise. sedentary lifestyles. a sedentary office job. Someone who has a sedentary lifestyle or job sits down a lot of the time and does not take much exercise. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle has been linked with an increased risk of heart disease. II. formal not moving to different areas his life style is very sedentary. he doesn't exercise at all. blurred = blurry I. difficult to see clearly, or causing difficulty in seeing something clearly. ...a blurry picture of a man. blurred photographs. blurry 模糊不清的 vision. a blurred shape/outline. II. difficult to understand or remember clearly. blurred memories. blurred distinctions. emphatic [emˈfætɪk] I. 坚决坚定的. said or shown in a very strong, clear way. He refused my offer with an emphatic shake of the head. a. making your meaning very clear because you have very strong feelings about a situation or subject. emphatic about: He was pretty emphatic about me leaving. emphatic that: The president was emphatic that there would be no negotiating with the terrorists. II. 不容置疑的. with a very clear result that no one can argue about. an emphatic win/victory/defeat. carte blanche [kɑːrt blɒnʃ] 授权 If someone gives you carte blanche, they give you the authority to do whatever you think is right. They gave him carte blanche to make decisions. She was given carte blanche with the redecoration. complete freedom to act as one wishes. "the architect given carte blanche to design the store". vitriol [vɪtrioʊl] If you refer to what someone says or writes as vitriol, you disapprove of it because it is full of bitterness and hate, and so causes a lot of distress and pain. The vitriol he hurled at members of the press knew no bounds. He has been no stranger to controversy and vitriol during a tumultuous political career. oblivious I. not aware of or concerned about what is happening around one. "she became absorbed, oblivious to the passage of time". followed by 'to' or 'of') lacking conscious awareness of. 'oblivious of the mounting pressures for political reform". "oblivious to the risks she ran". II. failing to keep in mind. oblivious 健忘的, 爱忘事的 old age. When we think of the adjective oblivious, it is usually in situations
that involve being totally unaware of what's staring us right in the
face. It can also mean being forgetful and absent-minded. The cartoon
character Mr. Magoo is a perfect example of someone who is oblivious;
his eyesight is so bad that he always gets himself into various scrapes
and mishaps. For example, Mr. Magoo mistakes an airplane for a theater
and instead of watching a movie, he takes a seat on a departing
airplane! 10. 记者说法儿: Meghan Markle has perhaps inevitably been described as a social climber 有野心的人, 向上爬的人 by royal biographer Andrew Morton, who has written a book about her. The term, which is often unfairly applied to any woman who marries a man with wealth or social status, was implied as Morton compared Markle to a "modern day Becky Sharp", the ruthless, social climbing anti-heroine of Vanity Fair who uses her charm to fascinate and seduce wealthy men. "She is a great networker, she is always wanting to move up the social pecking order." juxtapose [ˈdʒʌkstəˌpoʊz] 鲜明对比 to place things together or describe things together so that people can see how they are different. If you juxtapose two contrasting objects, images, or ideas, you place them together or describe them together, so that the differences between them are emphasized. The technique Mr Wilson uses most often is to juxtapose things for dramatic effect. Contemporary photographs are juxtaposed with a sixteenth century, copper Portuguese mirror. ...art's oldest theme: the celebration of life juxtaposed with the terror of mortality.
Cancel Culture 导致年轻男孩自杀: To young, politically motivated people of all persuasions ( I. [uncountable] the process of persuading someone to do or believe something. Only after much persuasion from Ellis had she agreed to hold a show at all. She was using all her powers of persuasion to induce the Griffins to remain in Rollway. We achieve much more by persuasion than by brute force. powers of persuasion: Using her powers of persuasion 三寸不烂之舌, 舌灿莲花, 游说的功夫, she got him to help. II. 信仰. [countable] formal a set of political or religious beliefs. If you are of a particular persuasion, you have a particular belief or set of beliefs. It is a national movement and has within it people of all political persuasions. governments of every political persuasion. III. [singular] humorous a particular type of person or thing. people of the male persuasion. ) – we implore 恳请 you to seek kind and wise mentors who will guide you, and not use you or wash their hands of you 利用完就甩 ( wash your hands of someone or something to refuse to have anything more to do with someone or something. If you wash your hands of someone or something, you refuse to be involved with them any more or to take responsibility for them. He seems to have washed his hands of the job. You can't start a fight and then just wash your hands of it.) when you no longer serve their purposes 没用, 对他们没用, 失去价值, 没有用处. The Twitter mob responded so quickly and with such intensity that pausing 稍微停一下, 稍缓一下 to consider some of those other factors, like his young age or potential frame of mind, didn't happen. Public shaming is not a new phenomenon by any stretch 从各个角度来讲, 无论怎么说 ( by any stretch of the imagination = not by any stretch of the imagination 无论怎么牵强附会, 无论如何, 不管怎样 If you say that something is not true or possible by any stretch of the imagination, you are emphasizing that it is completely untrue or absolutely impossible. Her husband was not a womanizer by any stretch of the imagination. ), but as Russell Blackford, a writer, philosopher and lecturer at the University of Newcastle explained, civilisations 文明 moved away from it "partly in recognition of 承认, 认同 its cruelty". The explosion in growth of social media platforms over the past decade has seen its return, but Dr Blackford describes it as a very new form of shaming. "These types of mobs are just devastating for people and I don't think those who participate in them fully understand just how destructive 具有破坏里的, 破坏性的 they can be," Dr Blackford said. "One of the things that worries me is the sheer glee and cruelty that can be shown by these mobs when they're out to destroy people." There have been countless examples of Twitter mobs "cancelling" or "deplatforming" ( no-platforming a policy of refusing to allow people or groups whose views are regarded as unacceptable to speak at a debate or meeting. I don't believe that no-platforming is a great way to deal with repugnant views. no-platform = deplatform to refuse to allow people or groups whose views are regarded as unacceptable to speak at a debate or meeting. In April 1974 the National Union of Students passed a motion no-platforming openly racist and fascist organizations. no-platform somebody from something: The meeting decided to no-platform me from a debate on whether or not prostitution is harmful to women. Deplatforming 拉黑, also known as no-platforming, is a form of political activism or prior restraint by an individual, group, or organization with the goal of shutting down controversial speakers or speech, or denying them access to a venue in which to express their opinion. Tactics used to achieve this goal among community groups include direct action, and Internet activism. It is also a method used by social media and other technology companies to selectively suspend, ban, or otherwise restrict access to their platform by users who have allegedly violated the platform's terms of service, particularly terms regarding hate speech. Banking and financial service providers, among other companies, have also denied services to controversial activists or organizations, a practice known as financial deplatforming. The term deplatforming also refers generally to tactics, often organized using social media, for preventing controversial speakers or speech from being heard. Deplatforming tactics have included disruption of speeches, attempts to have speakers disinvited to a venue or event, and various forms of personal harassment including efforts to have an individual fired or blacklisted. ) those who commit some kind of moral indiscretion. "Any second chance someone gets comes much, much later. But that aside, there can be a sheer psychological impact that can make any redemption almost beside the point 不相干, 微不足道, 不值得一提 ( not relevant or important to the subject you are discussing. If you say that something is beside the point, you mean that it is not relevant to the subject that you are discussing. Brian didn't like it, but that was beside the point. Stephen had certainly lied to her, but that was beside the point.). "I'm actually surprised more people haven't (died by) suicide over these kinds of things. People have lost their jobs, there have been devastating effects on families, and on and on it goes." "In the old days, there might've been a newspaper story locally, a student might've been reprimanded 责罚 at their university, their organisation might've been disavowed 划清界限 ( to say firmly that you have no connection with someone or something or no responsibility for them. If you disavow something, you say that you are not connected with it or responsible for it. Dr. Samuels immediately disavowed the newspaper story.), there might be personal criticism, someone might take them aside. "There are a range of ways that have always been used to hold people to account. We've now added these extra dimension where some people actually want the total destruction of that person. There's a difference between calling out bad behaviour and piling on someone 墙倒众人推 in a way that isn't sensible 失去理智的, she said, like instances of "doxxing" ( dox [dɒks] search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent. "hackers and online vigilantes routinely dox both public and private figures". Doxing or doxxing 人肉 (from dox, abbreviation of documents) is the Internet-based practice of researching and broadcasting private or identifying information (especially personally identifying information) about an individual or organization. The methods employed to acquire this information include searching publicly available databases and social media websites (like Facebook), hacking, and social engineering. It is closely related to Internet vigilantism and hacktivism. Doxing may be carried out for various reasons, including to aid law enforcement, business analysis, risk analytics, extortion, coercion, inflicting harm, harassment, online shaming, and vigilante versions of justice. ). Doxxing refers to the widespread sharing of personal and identifying information about someone – their workplace, address, family members and so on – with malicious intent.
