用法学习: 1. blurt sth out 脱口而出, 不假思索的说 (blurred lines. slur one's speech) to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because you are excited or nervous: He blurted everything out about the baby, though we'd agreed to keep it a secret for a while. She suddenly blurted out, "I can't do it!" Late one evening, Gianni blurted out that he loved her. suit (someone or something) to (someone or something) To match, adapt, or tailor someone or something to someone or something. Often used in passive constructions. Our team of technicians are suited to any technical emergency that comes your way. We can't just suit the job to you because you don't like certain aspects of it—if you aren't happy here, you can find another place to work. suited for something appropriate for something. Do you think I am suited for this kind of work? Those clothes are not suited for outdoor work. scream [out] intransitive/transitive to state something in a loud way that is difficult to ignore, or to be immediately obvious. If a word or image screams (out), it gets attention because it is very big or easy to notice: "Latest Plane Disaster!" screamed the newspaper headlines the next day. "Devil Dogs," the headlines screamed. It was the kind of shirt that screamed vulgarity. It's a badly written essay, and the grammatical mistakes just scream out at you. scream/yell bloody murder American English informal to protest in a loud very angry way She was furious, screaming bloody murder at the manager! a scream informal someone or something that is very funny The film was a scream! 2. attain [əˈteɪn] I. 达到. 取得. to succeed at achieving something, especially after much effort. If you attain something, you gain it or achieve it, often after a lot of effort. Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. Not all athletes attain this standard of physical fitness. Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal was closed from October 1956 until March 1957. Israel fulfilled some of its objectives, such as attaining freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran, which Egypt had blocked to Israeli shipping since 1950. II. to reach a particular age, amount, or level. On attaining the age of 20 she will inherit the remainder of the estate. The adult female attains a length of four inches. III. If you attain a particular state or condition, you may reach it as a result of natural development or work hard to attain this state. ...attaining a state of calmness and confidence. ad-hoc [ad ˈhɒk] (1. 有贬义: 临时拼凑的解决方案, 办法. 临时起意的事情. 2. 目的单一的meeting, 或专门目的的产品. 3. 有时也含有信手拈来的, 不计较, 随意的, 不挑剔的褒义. ) adv. when necessary or needed. "the group was constituted ad hoc". adj. created or done for a particular purpose as necessary. "the discussions were on an ad hoc basis". But it seems clear the intention is to both narrow the definition and application of rights. Pompeo said that the commission's goal is to exclude "ad hoc" rights. While he does not elaborate on what "ad hoc" rights are, he attacks "politicians and bureaucrats" who "create new rights", and many of the members of the commission appear to have been selected in no small part 很大程度上因为 because they also want to roll back human rights. wiki: Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally "to this". In English, it generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. vocabulary: If you call an ad hoc meeting of your knitting buddies, it means the meeting was formed for one particular reason — to knit. Anything ad hoc is either done for one specific purpose, or in an impromptu, last-minute way. Ad hoc comes from the Latin words meaning "for this." Often the term is used as a criticism, in the sense that something done ad hoc is done hastily and can be ill thought out, serving only to address a problem in the short term. Government programs are often described as ad hoc, for example. But the term can also imply 暗含 a sense of ingenuity( ingenuity [ˌɪndʒəˈnuəti] 创意, 创新, 天才 the ability to solve problems in new and clever ways. Ingenuity is skill at working out how to achieve things or skill at inventing new things. Inspecting the nest may require some ingenuity. ingenuous [ɪnˈdʒenjuəs] 纯洁的. 纯真的. 天真无邪的, 天真, 爱相信人的, 轻信的, 性格纯良的 someone who is ingenuous believes everything that people tell them, especially because they have not had much experience of life. If you describe someone as ingenuous, you mean that they are innocent, trusting, and honest. He seemed too ingenuous for a reporter. With ingenuous sincerity, he captivated his audience. Somewhat ingenuously, he explains how the crime may be accomplished. He smiled, eyes ingenuously wide. ingenue = ingénue [ˈænʒəˌnu] 天真少女 noun. An ingenue is a young, innocent girl in a play or film, or an actress who plays the part of young, innocent girls. I don't want any more ingenue roles. disingenuous [ˌdɪsɪnˈdʒenjuəs] 不坦诚的, 不诚实的, 不厚道的, 不诚恳的
Someone who is disingenuous is slightly dishonest and insincere in what
they say. not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows
less about something than one really does. "he was being somewhat disingenuous as well as cynical". It would be disingenuous to claim that this is great art. He disingenuously remarked that he knew nothing about strategy. congenital [kənˈdʒenɪt(ə)l] 胎里带的, 先天的, 先天性的, 天生的, 生来就有的 (但不一定是父母继承来的) (genetic 基因决定的. is hard-wired 天生的, 与生俱来的 into her DNA. )
I. a congenital medical condition is one that a person has had since
they were born. A congenital disease or medical condition is one that a
person has had from birth, but is not inherited. ...congenitally deaf patients. When John was 17, he died of congenital heart disease.
II. 骨子里的. A congenital characteristic or feature in a person is so
strong that you cannot imagine it ever changing, although there may seem
to be no reason for it. He was a congenital liar and usually in debt. I admit to being congenitally lazy. ingenious [ɪnˈdʒiniəs] 天才的, 创新的 I. an ingenious plan, piece of equipment, etc. uses new and clever
ideas. Something that is ingenious is very clever and involves new
ideas, methods, or equipment. ...a
truly ingenious invention. Gautier's solution to the puzzle is
ingenious. The roof has been ingeniously designed to provide solar
heating. an ingenious device for opening bottles. II. someone who is ingenious is good at inventing things and solving problems in new ways. ), of impromptu brilliance, or of something happily care-free and devoid of fuss. Like your ad hoc knitting event!
Cambodian satellite city near Phnom Penh destroying wetlands with 1 million at risk of flooding, report finds: A damning new report shows a multi-billion-dollar satellite city near Phnom Penh threatens to pave over 填平 ( to cover an area of ground by paving it Many of the region's orchards have been paved over.) vital wetlands and unleash 释放 ( I. to do or to cause something that has a very powerful or harmful effect. The new tax laws have unleashed a storm of criticism. If you say that someone or something unleashes a powerful force, feeling, activity, or group, you mean that they suddenly start it or send it somewhere. Then he unleashed 爆发 his own, unstoppable, attack. The officers were still reluctant to unleash 放出, 派出 their troops in pursuit of a defeated enemy. ...the fury unleashed by the church schools' proposals. II. to allow someone or something to be free when they were previously strictly controlled. lash [out] at (someone or something) I. To beat, flail, or strike someone or something violently or wildly. The wind lashed at our windows so hard that I thought they might actually break at one point. The warden lashed at the prisoners with a whip for failing to move quickly enough. II. To criticize, rebuke, or react to someone or something with sudden, intense anger. "The boss lashed at the intern for mixing up the documents for the year-end audit. The senator lashed out at reporters for continuing to question his role in the controversy. ) untreated sewerage 排污 [ˈsuərɪdʒ] into the Mekong River, putting more than 1 million people at risk of dangerous floods and water pollution. The project further threatens to upend 颠倒, 搞乱 ( If you upend something, you turn it upside down. He upended the can, and swallowed. ...upended flower pots. ) the livelihoods 生计, 生存, 生活 of hundreds of people and contribute to unsustainable sand dredging, according to the report, Smoke on the Water, released on Monday by human rights and land rights groups Equitable Cambodia, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, Licadho and the Cambodia Youth Network. "Should the wetlands be lost, wastewater will be unleashed upon fish populations and the communities that are dependent upon these rivers for water and food," the report reads. The destruction of the wetlands is continuing unabated 不停歇的, and this research suggests that devastating human rights abuses and environmental impacts may follow if the current trends continue. The wetlands are also described as a natural purifier 天然的净化器 for the city's sewerage, and although there is a $26 million man-made wastewater plant in the works through Japanese aid, it will treat less than 2 per cent of all wastewater entering the wetlands, the report said. He called on the Government to be more transparent and to fix the social and environmental impacts of the project. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said he did not see the flooding or people being evicted from their homes, and told the ABC the report was "fabricated", without offering evidence. Mr Siphan said the Government was building a canal 河道 to divert rainwater from the city to alleviate flooding and pointed to the wastewater plant. The forced evictions and human rights issues stemming from that development continue to reverberate ( reverberate [rɪˈvɜrbəˌreɪt] 回音, 回响 I. if a sound reverberates, it is repeated many times as it hits two opposite surfaces. When a loud sound reverberates through a place, it echoes through it. The sound of the tank guns reverberated through the little Bavarian town. A woman's shrill laughter reverberated in the courtyard. A loud knocking on the door suddenly reverberated around the apartment. II. if something such as a room reverberates, it seems to shake slightly because of a loud sound that is repeated many times. reverberate with: The room reverberated with the sound of her laughter. III. formal to have an effect that spreads over a wide area or lasts for a long time. You can say that an event or idea reverberates 余响 when it has a powerful effect which lasts a long time. The controversy continued to reverberate around the television industry. The news sent shock waves through the community that reverberate to this day. The country's financial problems could reverberate throughout the global economy.) today. The report opens with a remark from deeply-revered [rɪˈvɪr] Cambodian architect, the late Vann Molyvann, who is credited with building some of Phnom Penh's once-enviable public works.
Pompeo claims private property and religious freedom are 'foremost' 最重要的 human rights - 'Trump is tearing apart America': how the world sees the US protests: US secretary of state seeks to refocus US human rights efforts as he launches report by government commission. Mike Pompeo has sought to redefine the US approach to human rights by giving preference to private property and religious freedom as the foremost "unalienable ( unalienable 不可被剥夺的 adj that cannot be taken away or denied. The Declaration of Independence says people have unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ) rights" laid down by America's Founding Fathers. Pompeo, launching a draft report by a Commission on Unalienable Rights he established a year ago, also claimed that a proliferation ( [prəˌlɪfəˈreɪʃ(ə)n] I. a sudden increase in number or amount. the proliferation 扩散, 大量出现, 暴增 of weapons of mass destruction. II. a large number of a particular thing. a proliferation 大量的 of talk shows. ) of human rights asserted by different US and international institutions had the effect of diluting [daɪˈluːt] those rights he viewed as the most important. "Many are worth defending in light of our founding; others aren't," Pompeo said at a launch ceremony in Philadelphia. He did not specify which rights he thought were superfluous ( superfluous [sjʊˈpɜrfluəs] 可有可无的 not needed or wanted. Something that is superfluous is unnecessary or is no longer needed. My presence at the afternoon's proceedings was superfluous. I rid myself of many superfluous belongings and habits that bothered me. Charlie gave him a look that made words superfluous. They were superfluous to requirements (=not required). surplus [ˈsɜrpləs] I. more of something than is necessary. Keep one cup of the liquid and throw away the surplus. Canada has a surplus of 过量的, 超量的 hospital beds. II. economics an amount of money or goods that is left because a country or business has more than it needs. Congress is debating whether to spend the budget surplus. ), but the state department during his tenure has been aggressive in opposing references to reproductive and gender rights in UN and other multilateral documents. In the report launched on Thursday, the authors – a mix of academics and activists – said they could not agree on the application of human rights standards to issues like "abortion, affirmative action, and capital punishment, to name a few". The state department presentation was quickly criticised by human rights activists for seeking to establish a hierarchy [ˈhaɪəˌrɑrki] of human rights( hierarchy [ˈhaɪəˌrɑrki] I. 分级. 等级分明. 等级森严. 层级. a system for organizing people according to their status in a society, organization, or other group. the management/Church/social hierarchy. He reached a high level within the Soviet political hierarchy. A hierarchy is a system of organizing people into different ranks or levels of importance, for example in society or in a company. Like most other American companies with a rigid hierarchy 等级森严, workers and managers had strictly defined duties. She rose up the Tory hierarchy by the local government route. Even in the desert there was a kind of social hierarchy. II. the group of people who control an organization Candidates are chosen by the party hierarchy. III. 分个高低次序. 划个优先级 a series of things arranged according to their importance. A hierarchy of ideas and beliefs involves organizing them into a system or structure. The notion of 'cultural imperialism' implies a hierarchy of cultures, some of which are stronger than others. man's hierarchy of needs. ), in which some were more important than others, and for presenting human rights advocacy as distinctively American. The Trump administration's own human rights record has come under scrutiny for its policy of separating immigrant children from their parents and holding them in cages and its response to nationwide protests driven by anger over police treatment of black Americans. Donald Trump has also sought to intimidate journalists, frequently referring to the press "the enemy of the people". Pompeo did not mention freedom of the press in his remarks, but he repeatedly attacked the New York Times, accusing it of purveying ( purvey 供给, 供应 [pərˈveɪ] to provide information, ideas, or products. If you purvey something such as information, you tell it to people. ...one who would, for a hefty fee, purvey strategic advice to private corporations. If someone purveys goods or services, they provide them. They have two restaurants that purvey dumplings and chicken noodle soup. purvey something to someone: These writers purveyed an important message to the people. vocabulary: Use the verb purvey to describe the activities of businesses that supply things like food, like the bakery that purveys the best bread in the city. Purvey, which rhymes with survey, is something that a restaurant or store does: offer us food or supplies that we pay for, like the airport shop that purveys books, magazines and other things that travelers need for their flights. A second meaning refers to spreading an idea 散播, 鼓吹, 传播 — like gossip — usually to a large audience, like when someone purveys embarrassing details about your dating life. Ouch. purveyor A purveyor of goods or services is a person or company that provides them. ...purveyors of gourmet foods. purveyors of gourmet foods. ) Marxist ideology. The secretary of state has been rebuked 谴责 by human rights groups for his selectivity in applying norms( norm I. countable something that is usual or expected. Computer-generated images will become an accepted norm in movies. the norm 正常行为, 正常的: If you say that a situation is the norm, you mean that it is usual and expected. Families of six or seven are the norm in Borough Park. There will be more leases of 15 years than the present norm of 25 years. These children live in communities where failure is the norm. Fast cars have become the norm. II. singular 正常标准. an average standard or level. A norm is an official standard or level that organizations are expected to reach. ...an agency which would establish European norms and co-ordinate national policies to halt pollution. the norm: Students who fall below the norm should be encouraged to improve. III. norms 行为准则, 行为准则, 行为规范. 正常行为 plural standards of behavior that are accepted in a particular society. Norms are ways of behaving that are considered normal in a particular society. ...the commonly accepted norms of democracy. ...a social norm that says drunkenness is inappropriate behaviour. Each culture develops its own social norms. ). He has for example, been a staunch supporter of the Saudi monarchy, in the face of evidence of atrocities 暴虐行径, 残酷, 残暴 ( atrocity [əˈtrɑsəti] a cruel and violent act, often in a war. An atrocity is a very cruel, shocking action. Those who committed this atrocity should be tried and punished. The recent atrocities have been condemned by religious leaders all over the world. Some of the worst atrocities in the Yugoslav war took place at a farm near Sarajevo. acts of extreme cruelty, esp against prisoners or civilians in wartime atrocities committed against civilians. atrocious [əˈtroʊʃəs] adj. I. 质量极差的. 烂透了的. If you describe something as atrocious, you are emphasizing that its quality is very bad. I remain to this day fluent in Hebrew, while my Arabic is atrocious. The food here is atrocious. He had written the note from memory, word perfect, and spelled atrociously. II. 残暴残酷的. If you describe someone's behaviour or their actions as atrocious, you mean that it is unacceptable because it is extremely violent or cruel. The judge said he had committed atrocious crimes against women. The treatment of the prisoners by their captors is atrocious and breaks all international laws. III. 天气糟糕的. If you say that weather conditions are atrocious, you mean they are very bad, for example that it is extremely cold, wet, or windy. ...closed roads and atrocious weather: snow in the mountains, torrential rain elsewhere. ) from its war in Yemen, its use of torture and the murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The commission report refers to Saudi Arabia as a "flagrant [ˈfleɪɡrənt] human rights abuser". Pompeo, who is widely believed to harbour ambitions to run as a religious conservative candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, infused 注入 Thursday's launch event with a heavily religious tone, beginning with an invocation ( an act of asking for help from a god or a person who has power. An invocation is a request for help or forgiveness made to a god. ...an invocation for divine guidance. a. countable a prayer, especially at the beginning of a public ceremony. An invocation is a prayer at a public meeting, usually at the beginning. Please stand and pledge the flag, after which Dr. Jerome Taylor will give the invocation. ) by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. "America is fundamentally good, and has much to offer the world, because our founders recognized the existence of God-given unalienable rights, and designed a durable system to protect them," Pompeo said in his own remarks. "As the report emphasises, foremost among these rights are property rights and religious liberty. No one can enjoy 'the pursuit of happiness 追求幸福' if you can't own the fruits of your labor! And no society can retain its legitimacy – or a virtuous character – without religious freedom. Our founders knew faith was also essential to nurture the private virtue of our citizens." Pompeo acknowledged historical US failings, including slavery and the dispossession ( dispossess [ˌdɪspəˈzes] 驱逐. 掠夺 to take something valuable such as land away from someone. If you are dispossessed of something that you own, especially land or buildings, it is taken away from you. ...people who were dispossessed of their land under apartheid. They settled the land, dispossessing many of its original inhabitants. Droves of dispossessed people emigrated to Canada. The dispossessed are people who are dispossessed. ...the plight of the poor and the dispossessed. ) of Native Americans, but he argued that those wrongs had been remedied and was scornful of those who argued that they represented enduring flaws. "The rioters pulling down statues thus see nothing wrong with desecrating 亵渎 monuments to those who fought for unalienable rights – from our founding to the present day," he said in reference to a flurry of incidents involving the defacing 玷污, 涂鸦, 毁坏 and pulling down of monuments. The attacks have focused on leaders and symbols of the Confederacy but have sometimes targeted statues of other historical figures. Human rights groups were critical of the attempt to give preference to some rights at the expense of others, pointing out that America's Founding Fathers emphasised property rights at a time when that included owning other human beings, through slavery and 18th-century legal interpretations of marriage. "There is this idea that there's a proliferation of rights that undermines all rights, and that's simply not the case," said Amanda Klasing, acting director of women's rights at Human Rights Watch. "You're not seeing a proliferation of rights; you're seeing a fuller protection of all rights for all people. And I think that says something, that it is seen as threatening to Pompeo and the state department. "In Pompeo's speech he actually named-checked a press outlet in a threatening way several times," Klasing added. "I don't remember freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press in any way taking a significant role in his articulation of the most important human rights … and I find that worrisome and somewhat anachronistic ( anachronism [əˈnækrəˌnɪzəm] something that is no longer suitable for or relevant to modern times. She regards the marriage ceremony as a quaint anachronism. )." Tarah Demant, director of the gender, sexuality and identity programme at Amnesty International USA, said: "The US government cannot unilaterally redefine which human rights will be respected and which will be ignored. "The US state department's effort to cherry-pick rights in order to deny some their human rights is a dangerous political stunt that could spark a race to the bottom 比谁更烂 by human rights-abusing governments around the world." Donald Trump is on an Orwellian mission to redefine human rights: It has long been abundantly clear Trump has no respect for human rights. Now Pompeo wants to build a new framework to justify the rollback of protections. That is the only way to understand Pompeo's new Commission on Unalienable Rights. In launching the group Pompeo explicitly stated that the purpose of the commission is to start from scratch in defining human rights. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Pompeo described part of the commission's mandate: It will "address basic questions: What are our fundamental freedoms? Why do we have them? Who or what grants these rights?". Another commissioner praised the United Arab Emirates and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's autocratic power grab( autocratic [ˌɔtəˈkrætɪk] ruling with complete power. His autocratic government has reduced the nation to poverty and desperation. a. telling people what to do without caring what they think. an autocratic boss/management style. ).
The commission chair, Mary Ann Glendon, opposes reproductive rights and
marriage equality. While the Trump administration seeks to redefine
human rights, it is clearly ignoring the UN Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR), which itself built on the fundamental freedoms
enshrined in America's own bill 法案 of rights. Developed by a commission
composed of members from around the world and chaired by Eleanor
Roosevelt, the declaration was forged in the wake of the second world
war and adopted without dissent by the UN general assembly. A truly
historic breakthrough – with countries of all political leanings and
cultures backing a common definition of rights – the declaration has
been a global north star ever since. Of course, there are some very real debates about human rights. One of them revolves around economic and social rights – such as the right to housing – enshrined in the UDHR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (which the US has not ratified), but which the US ascribes to ( ascribe something to something 归结于 to believe something is the cause of something else. Their defeat was ascribed to a poor defense. ascribe something to someone/something 归因 to believe that something is a typical quality of someone or something. He ascribes melodramatic behavior to teenagers in general. ascribe something to someone to believe that a particular person wrote a book or a piece of music, painted a picture, etc. so that people generally accept this to be true a work ascribed to Homer. ) only unevenly. And there has long been a debate about the best way to secure human rights at home and abroad. But the arc of American history 历史轨迹 has trended towards increased protection for human rights at home and a growing recognition of supporting human rights around the world. But the Trump team doesn't appear to want to participate in these debates in good faith. Trump has a very clear anti-human rights agenda, and the Trump administration has been actively attempting to undermine human rights at home and abroad. The administration has worked to roll back protections for LGBTQ individuals. It has attacked the reproductive rights of women. It has treated – and spoken about – migrants and refugees as less than human. It is trying to revoke protections for those who want to apply for asylum in the US. It launches dangerous attacks on the media and free speech. Trump personally defends the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's brutal repression. The list goes on and on and on. What's more, the Trump administration wants to gaslight Americans into believing that this new commission is necessary because the fight to expand rights protections somehow gives cover to other countries to abuse the language of human rights to defend their repression. Pompeo speciously ( specious [ˈspiʃəs] 听上去有道理的, 貌似正确的, 似是而非的 seeming to be true but in fact wrong. a specious argument. Something that is specious seems to exist or be true, but is not real or true. It is unlikely that the Duke was convinced by such specious arguments. vocabulary: Use specious to describe an argument that seems to be good, correct, or logical, but is not so. We live on the earth, therefore the earth must be the center of the universe has been proven to be a specious theory of the solar system. Specious is pronounced "SPEE-shuhs." Something that is specious is attractive in a deceptive way, and if you follow the word's etymology, you'll see why. In Middle English, this adjective meant "attractive," from Latin speciōsus "showy, beautiful," from speciēs "appearance, kind, sort." Latin speciēs is also the source of English species. supercilious [ˌsupərˈsɪliəs] 高人一等的
a supercilious person behaves as if they think they are better or more
important than everyone else. If you say that someone is supercilious,
you disapprove of them because they behave in a way that shows they
think they are better than other people. His manner is supercilious and arrogant. Her eyebrows were arched in supercilious surprise. a supercilious manner/smile/attitude. superfluous [sʊˈpɜrfluəs] 可要可不要的, 不是必须的, 可有可无的 not needed or wanted. Something that is superfluous is unnecessary or is no longer needed. My presence at the afternoon's proceedings was superfluous. I rid myself of many superfluous belongings and habits that bothered me. Charlie gave him a look that made words superfluous. They were superfluous to requirements (=not required). vocabulary: When something is so unnecessary that it could easily be done away with, like a fifth wheel on a car or a fifth person on a double date, call it superfluous. Superfluous (soo-PER-floo-uhs) means "more than required." Use it when pointing out something that could be removed without detracting from the quality of something: "For a climb over a glacier, the very thickest shoes are absolutely necessary; beyond these, all else seems superfluous to me," wrote the adventurer Charles Stoddard in 1899. The word comes from Latin and literally means "overflowing": super ("over") + fluere ("to flow"). So you can think of a superfluous addition as flowing over the boundaries of what's needed. fallacious [fəleɪʃəs] adj If an idea, argument, or reason is fallacious, it is wrong because it is based on a fallacy. Their main argument is fallacious. rapacious [rəˈpeɪʃəs] 贪得无厌的, 贪婪的 never satisfied until you have taken everything that you can take. If you describe a person or their behaviour as rapacious, you disapprove of their greedy or selfish behaviour. He had a rapacious appetite for bird's nest soup. ...a rapacious exploitation policy. Rapacious developers soon bought up the land. rapacious appetites. vocabulary: Something rapacious is out to devour — anything, and little can stand in its way. A rapacious landlord is out for more rent, and a rapacious eater is only satisfied at the all-you-can-eat 吃不饱的, 吃不够的 buffet. A 17th-century word, from the Latin rapere, "to snatch," rapacious originally described the people and animals who often preyed on weaker creatures and devoured them, by eating them or by ruining them through some scandal. Modern-day companies even get the label rapacious when their appetites for profit seem to devour "lesser" interests, like the environment and employee benefits. sagacious [səˈɡeɪʃəs] 有智慧的, 目光远大的, 有远见的 wise and able to make good practical decisions. vocabulary: Use the formal adjective sagacious to describe someone who is wise and insightful like an advisor to the president or a Supreme Court justice. Someone like an inspirational leader or an expert in a field who seeks knowledge and has foresight can be described as sagacious. If you comment on something at a deeper level, you are making a sagacious observation. The word is a descendent of Latin sagus "prophetic" and is related to the Old English word seek. Synonyms include discerning, insightful and another formal word perspicacious. auspicious [ɔˈspɪʃəs] 吉祥的, 好兆头的 showing signs that suggest that something is likely to be successful. This is not an auspicious time to be opening a new factory. voracious [vəˈreɪʃəs] 没有够的, 欲求不满的, 求知欲强烈的
I. 管不饱的, 吃不饱的, 填不饱的 食量大的. 吃不饱的. wanting or devouring great quantities
of food. a voracious person or animal eats a large amount of food, "a voracious appetite". In
a new interview with The Times, the 33-year-old Aussie supermodel
admits she's a "nerd" (big surprise - doesn't every gorgeous celeb?), a
voracious reader (current bedtime reading: "a book by the Dalai Lama
about joy") and an ultra-traditionalist when the lights go out. a voracious person/animal 食量大的, 吃得多的 eats a large amount of food. II. 欲求不满的. 贪得无厌的. very keen to learn or to do something. a voracious appetite for something: She has always had a voracious appetite for reading. She reads voraciously. III. willing to do anything in order to get money or gain an advantage. the voracious music industry. avarice [ˈævərɪs] 贪婪, 贪欲 a strong feeling that you want to have a lot of money and possessions and keep them for yourself. avaricious ['ævərɪʃəs] 利欲熏心的 adj. An avaricious person is very greedy for money or possessions. He sacrificed his own career so that his avaricious brother could succeed. Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector. ...the band's voracious appetite for fun. He read voraciously. Gone Girl: I am so much happier now that I'm dead. Technically, "missing. " Soon to be presumed dead. Gone. And my lazy, lying, cheating, oblivious husband will go to prison for my murder. Nick Dunne took my pride and my dignity and my hope and my money. He took and took from me until I no longer existed. That's murder. Let the punishment fit the crime. To fake a convincing murder, you have to have discipline. You befriend a local idiot. Harvest the details of her humdrum life ( humdrum [ˈhʌmˌdrʌm] 单调的, 枯燥的, 无聊的 adj. boring because nothing new or interesting ever happens. If you describe someone or something as humdrum, you mean that they are ordinary, dull, or boring. ...a lawyer, trapped in a humdrum but well-paid job. The new government seemed rather humdrum. vocabulary: Something humdrum is dull, tedious, and totally boring. If a regular old photography class sounds too humdrum, you might instead sign up for Underwater Photography of Marine Predators. Don't forget your wetsuit! Anything that you can call humdrum is so severely lacking in variety and excitement that it's sure to make you hum and drum your fingers out of boredom. Humdrum is an adjective to describe the unglamorous monotony 单调的 of everyday routines. It's the same old thing, again and again, over and over. Humdrum can also mean predictable, mind-numbing and not very challenging 日复一日简单重复的 — hopefully the complete opposite of your social life. ). And cram her with stories about your husband's violent temper.
Secretly create some money troubles. Credit cards, perhaps online
gambling. With the help of the unwitting. bump up your life insurance.
Purchase getaway car. veracity [vəˈræsəti] 真实性 Veracity is the quality of being true or the habit of telling the truth. We have total confidence in the veracity of our research. He was shocked to find his veracity questioned. The Intercept had contacted the NSA on May 30 and sent copies of the documents in order to confirm their veracity. veracious [vəˈreɪʃəs] 真实准确的, 诚实的 I. truthful or true. habitually truthful or honest He is a veracious person. II. accurate; precise. ) said: "Rights claims are often aimed more at rewarding interest groups and dividing humanity into subgroups. Oppressive regimes like Iran and Cuba have taken advantage of this cacophonous ( cacophony [kəˈkɑfəni] an unpleasant mixture of loud sounds. cacophonous [kə'kɒfənəs] 巨大噪音的 If you describe a mixture of sounds as cacophonous, you mean that they are loud and unpleasant. ...the cacophonous beat of pop music. ) call for 'rights', even pretending to be avatars of freedom." You read that right: the secretary of state is blaming people who work to protect human rights for supposedly helping authoritarian regimes. And this is the Orwellian ( Orwellian [ɔrˈweliən] 极权政治, 政府控制一切的 relating to a political system in which the government controls every aspect of people's lives. of or like the society portrayed by Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-four, in which a totalitarian state exercises almost total control over the public and private activities of the citizens. ) goal of the Trump administration. They want everyone to believe that what they are doing is in support of laudable 值得夸赞的, 值得夸奖的 ( [ˈlɔdəb(ə)l] deserving to be praised or admired. One of Emma's less laudable characteristics was her jealousy. a laudable aim/effort/performance. ) goals – freedom, democracy, security, choose your own lofty noun ( lofty [ˈlɔfti] I. a lofty building or structure is very tall. A lofty building or room is very high. ...a light, lofty apartment in the suburbs of Salzburg. Victorian houses can seem cold with their lofty ceilings and rambling rooms. The town hall's lofty tower dates from the fourteenth century. II. lofty goals or principles 高尚的, 高大上的 deserve to be admired because they are based on high moral standards. Few people can meet his lofty standards. lofty ideals/ambitions. A lofty ideal or ambition is noble, important, and admirable. It was a bank that started out with grand ideas and lofty ideals. Amid the chaos, he had lofty aims. III. If you say that someone behaves in a lofty way 高傲的, 目空一切的, you are critical of them for behaving in a proud and rather unpleasant way, as if they think they are very important. ...the lofty disdain he often expresses for his profession. ...lofty contempt. 'We supply financial information to selected clients,' Crook said loftily. ...loftily indifferent to the world outside. ). They make racist and antisemitic comments against others while claiming that they are somehow fighting antisemitism and defending Israel. They tear away children from their parents and place them in cages and claim that it is all a deterrent to protect those same migrants from the dangers of the journey to the United States. In his novel about a fictional totalitarian regime, 1984, George Orwell memorably wrote that one of the regime's mottos is: "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." The Trump administration is doing its best to make this kind of gaslighting a reality in America. Don't be surprised if one of the conclusions of this new commission is "human rights is repression".
