用法学习: 1. gracious adj. I. If you describe someone, especially someone you think is superior to you, as gracious, you mean that they are very well-mannered and pleasant. She is a lovely and gracious woman. II. If you describe the behaviour of someone in a position of authority as gracious 礼貌的, 有礼的, you mean that they behave in a polite and considerate way. She closed with a gracious speech of thanks. Hospitality at the Presidential guest house was graciously declined. III. You use gracious to describe the comfortable way of life of wealthy people. He drove through the gracious 富足的 suburbs with the swimming pools and tennis courts. goodness gracious Some people say good gracious or goodness gracious in order to express surprise or annoyance. Good gracious, look at that specimen will you? je ne sais quoi [ˌʒə nə seɪ ˈkwɑː] 说不清, 道不明的, 说不出来的 French for 'I don't know what': a pleasing quality that cannot be exactly named or described: Although he's not conventionally attractive, he has a certain je ne sais quoi that makes him popular with the ladies. 2. Massive explosion rocks Lebanon's capital Beirut, killing 78, and at least one Australian: Foreign Minister Marise Payne said some embassy staff were hit by flying glass when the building's windows were blown out. The afternoon blast destroyed homes, offices and other buildings around the port district. Officials said they expected the death toll to rise further as emergency workers dug through rubble 瓦砾, 碎石 to rescue people and remove the dead. Dozens of ambulances ferried 运送 the injured from the port area, where the wounded lay on the ground. Thick smoke billowed 浓烟滚滚 ( billow I. to be filled with air and
swell out like a sail. When something made of cloth billows, it swells
out and moves slowly in the wind. The curtains billowed in the breeze. Her pink dress billowed out around her. ...the billowing sails. The sheets billowed on the clothes line. billow out: His cloak billowed out behind him. II. if smoke or steam billows, it rises or moves in clouds. When smoke or cloud billows, it moves slowly upwards or across the sky. ...thick
plumes of smoke billowing from factory chimneys. Steam billowed from
under the bonnet. ...billowing clouds of cigarette smoke. Smoke was billowing from the campfire. bellow [ˈbeləʊ] I. intransitive/ transitive to shout very loudly. If someone bellows, they shout angrily in a loud, deep voice. 'I didn't ask to be born!' she bellowed. She prayed she wouldn't come in and find them there, bellowing at each other. He bellowed information into the mouthpiece of the phone. I was distraught and let out a bellow of tearful rage. 'I can't hear you!' he bellowed. II. intransitive to make the deep sound that a bull and some other large animals make. When a large animal such as a bull or an elephant bellows, it makes a loud and deep noise. A heifer bellowed 嚎叫, 嗥叫, 吼叫 in her stall. noun. A bellows is or bellows are a device used for blowing air into a fire in order to make it burn more fiercely. ...two stone forges, each equipped with bellows. ) after a large white cloud and shock wave erupted from port warehouses near central Beirut, shattering windows, overturning 翻起来 vehicles and blowing in doors and smashing masonry across the city. Video taken by residents showed a fire raging 熊熊燃烧 at the port, sending up a giant column of smoke 烟柱, illuminated by flashes. Local TV stations reported that a fireworks warehouse was involved. The fire then appeared to catch at a nearby building, triggering a more massive explosion, sending up a thick cloud and a shock wave over the city. On another street, a woman with a bloodied face looked distraught 茫然失措的, staggering through traffic with two friends at her side. Many have lost jobs, while the worth of their savings has evaporated as the currency has plunged in value against the US dollar and many have been thrown into poverty. However she said locals, weary from political instability 政治动荡 and the coronavirus pandemic, were not showing signs of panic. "After the economic crisis, corona and now this, everybody is tired, nobody was crying," she said. Beirut was already reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections. President Michel Aoun said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures. 3. Sydney schoolboys allegedly 'gloated' about 'horrific' random attack: Nine schoolboys charged over "a vile, horrific" attack of a man in inner-Sydney last week allegedly "gloated" about the crime in a WhatsApp group chat, a court has heard. NSW Police Prosecutor Kai Jiang said the boy showed some remorse during a police interview, but argued against his release. "It was active participation in a group chat post the alleged incident, where they have shown to be gloating about the injuries inflicted — almost proud of their involvement and infliction of violence," he said. "They took humour 觉得好玩 to the serious injuries inflicted, and it's likely the complainant will be traumatised for life. "The injuries inflicted are permanent and at the extreme level of seriousness, resulting in permanent disfigurement to the complainant's face and a high likelihood of removal of his eye." The boy's father, who was in court, fiddled with his hands and looked at the ground when a photograph of the man's injuries was presented to Magistrate Hogg during the bail hearing. The teen's lawyer conceded it was "an extremely serious matter", but argued any risk to the community could be mitigated by a house arrest arrangement and 24-hour parental supervision. "This young person was actively seeking to avoid arrest by police for a number of days, and is in a group conversation with the offenders, gloating about the offences, discussing plans to avoid arrest and taking revenge against any co-offenders who speak with the police," he said. "This is distinctly contradictive of remorse." 4. a modicum of something [ˈmɒdɪkəm] 一丁点的, 一点点的, 少许的, 些许的 a small amount of something, especially a good quality. A modicum of something, especially something that is good or desirable, is a reasonable but not large amount of it. I'd like to think I've had a modicum of success. ...a modicum of privacy. an actor without even a modicum of talent. Yet it was the determination of police and a DNA breakthrough that finally brought some modicum of justice to the case. Queensland nurse denied bail on drug and sexual assault charges after allegedly pursuing women via dating apps: Police alleged a woman aged in her early 20s went to a Mary Street apartment late last month, where she was given a stupefying drug ( stupefying [ˈstjuːpɪˌfaɪɪŋ] 让...目瞪口呆的, 惊呆的 If something stupefies you, it shocks or surprises you so much that you cannot think properly for a while. ...a life of almost stupefying indolence. ...a violent slap on the side of the head, which stunned and stupefied him. a. making you unable to think clearly, for example because you are very bored. b. making you feel extremely surprised or shocked. stupefied adj Primrose, stupefied by tiredness, began to wail that she was hungry. vocabulary: Don't be embarrassed if the magician's tricks stupefy you. It means you're amazed. Who doesn't want to be stopped in his tracks sometimes? Stupefy looks a lot like stupid. But intelligence has nothing to do with being stupefied, which comes from Latin and means "to make stunned." Anyone can be stupefied by something scary, mysterious, or just plain remarkable. Think of tourists visiting New York City for the first time. They stare up at the skyscrapers, lost in wonder. Taking that moment to let themselves be amazed? Nothing stupid about it, unless they step on someone's foot, of course. ) and sexually assaulted. The man was remanded in custody ( remand [rɪˈmɑːnd] to tell someone who has committed a crime to return to court for trial on a particular day. If a person who is accused of a crime is remanded in custody or on bail, they are told to return to the court at a later date, when their trial will take place. Carter was remanded in custody for seven days. Both were remanded on bail by Wrexham magistrates until March 24. be remanded in custody (=kept in prison until your trial): All five men were remanded in custody until Wednesday. be remanded on bail ( = allowed to go home until your trial after someone promises to pay money): The defendant is remanded on bail until the trial begins. noun. Remand is used to refer to the process of remanding someone in custody or on bail, or to the period of time until their trial begins. The remand hearing is often over in three minutes. This will mean more remand prisoners being held in police cells. She has already served a year on remand.) and is due to face court again via video link on August 24. Superintendent Fleming said the alleged offences could have happened to up to five women any time in the past two years. "It's intimate imagery of people in a really vulnerable position. The lack of consent is what the allegation is," he said. "It's a complete breach of trust is what's being alleged here." "But also is there something bigger here that we need to look at — the behaviour, we will allege, is predatory and as the regional crime intelligence coordinator in Brisbane, yes, this behaviour does concern me." 5. uncontested [ˌʌnkənˈtestɪd] 没人质疑的, 没有怀疑的, 没有反对声音的, 没人反对的 if something is uncontested, no one opposes it or disagrees with it. not having been challenged, called into question, or disputed. In this bitterly fought case, almost nothing is uncontested. It passed on an uncontested voice vote. no contest I. a plea by which a defendant in a criminal prosecution accepts conviction but does not plead or admit guilt. "he pleaded no contest 不抗争 to two misdemeanour counts".
II. a decision by the referee to declare a boxing match invalid on the
grounds that one or both of the boxers are not making serious efforts. III.
used for emphasizing that it is obvious who will win in a situation
where different people, companies, teams etc are competing. used to say
that someone or something is the best of its kind. I think you're the best rider here, no contest 没有争议, 没争议, 毫无争议的. Jessie is the fastest, no contest. IV. if a victory is no contest, it is very easy to achieve. unopposed [ˌʌnəˈpəʊzd] 没有竞争对手的, 没人挑战的, 没有反对的, 没有竞争的 if someone does something unopposed, no one competes against them or tries to stop them. In something such as an election or a war, if someone is unopposed, there are no opponents competing or fighting against them. The council re-elected him unopposed as party leader. Armoured cars drove unopposed into the heart of the city. Mbeki ran unopposed for the post of deputy president. Verbal warning 口头警告 is a form of warning given orally by the management, when a person breaches certain norms or policies in the organization. Verbal warning is a disciplinary action towards employees who have done some wrong work or malpractice. g banger = G-String Under wear site high up the arse. Attractive on Females. not so much on males. Look at that Bitch's G-Banger man. Ridin High. A visible panty line (VPL) 内裤轮廓, 内裤线 ( the line of someone's underwear which can be seen through trousers They are backless knickers designed to eliminate visible panty line. ) is the situation when the outline of a person's underpants is visible through the outer clothing. The underwear may be seen as a ridge or depression in the clothes, or as a result of the clothing material being sufficiently clingy or transparent. 6. stir somebody/something up I. to deliberately try to cause arguments or bad feelings between people John was always stirring up trouble 惹是生非 in class. Dave's just trying to stir things up because he's jealous. II. to make small pieces of something move around in the air or in water The wind had stirred up a powdery red dust. III. to cause (someone) to feel a strong emotion and a desire to do something. To incense, agitate, or anger someone. He's just attempting to stir up his followers and distract from the scandal. Nothing stirs my students up as much as when I assign homework over the weekend. The speech stirred up the crowd. I heard you both the other day raising your voices, I think you stir him up and lead him on. He should stir the patient up once in a while and try to make him go through the engram. 7. infodemic [ˌɪnfəʊˈdemɪk] 假消息满天飞 the spread of incorrect information, especially online. 'We're not just fighting an epidemic; we're fighting an infodemic', said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. CoronaCheck is RMIT ABC Fact Check's weekly email newsletter dedicated to fighting the misinformation infodemic surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. put one on one's guard 提高警惕 to make one wary or cautious. The menacing growl by the watchdog put me on my guard. Every time the boss comes around, it puts me on my guard. drop/lower/let down your guard 放松警惕 I. to relax and trust people, even though this means that you might let yourself be upset or do the wrong thing. If someone does not do this, you can say that their guard is up. She was not ready to let down her guard and confide in him. II. to stop being careful, for example in a game or when you are being attacked. We cannot afford to drop our guard. call the shots = call the tune to be in the position of being able to make the decisions that will influence a situation. rule the roost 说了算 If you say that someone rules the roost in a particular place, you mean that they have control and authority over the people there. If you say that someone rules the roost in a particular place, you mean that they have control and authority over the people there. Today the country's nationalists rule the roost and hand out the jobs. Today the country's nationalists rule the roost and hand out the jobs. cock of the walk/roost/rock 走路骄傲的, 傲然的, 走路跩的 a man who is too confident and thinks he is better than everyone else. a man who thinks he is stronger, cleverer, or more successful than the rest of his group. a person who asserts himself or herself in a strutting pompous way. roost 鸟巢, 蝙蝠巢穴 when birds or bats roost, they go somewhere to rest or sleep. A roost is a place where birds or bats rest or sleep. verb. When birds or bats roost somewhere, they rest or sleep there. The peacocks roost in nearby shrubs. someone's chickens come home to roost = something comes home to roost 开始浮现, 恶果初现, 报应来了, 恶果显现 used for saying that bad actions or mistakes from the past have unpleasant results in the present. If bad or wrong things that someone has done in the past have come home to roost, or if their chickens have come home to roost, they are now experiencing the unpleasant effects of these actions. Appeasement has come home to roost. Politicians can fool some people some of the time, but in the end, the chickens come home to roost. It's only now that the real problems in London are coming home to roost. 打针 take/get/give the/an injection = get/give/take a shot (输液 take/give the/ drip): If you're in a bar with your friends, "take a shot" can mean have a drink (usually of hard liquor like tequila). If you're in a hospital, "take a shot " can mean to have an injection or a vaccine. If you're playing sports, "take a shot" can mean to hit or shoot a ball. If you're talking to someone about something you want to do or about an opportunity you've been given, "take a shot" would mean to give it a try or to do it. 8. avowed [əˈvaʊd] 公开承认的, 公开宣称的 adj. that has been asserted, admitted, or stated publicly. If you avow something, you admit it or declare it. ...a public statement avowing neutrality. She avows that she will take any paying work. "an avowed atheist". A spokesman for Mr Biden, an avowed Catholic, said his faith "is at the core of who he is". bunch (sth) up If material bunches up, or if someone bunches it up, it moves into tight folds: Your shirt's all bunched up at the back. bunch-up 裤子支帐篷 To come or gather together. You may be able to disguise the erection if you sit down and casually bunch your pants up in the crotch area. Curb Your Enthusiasm: It is not long into the series though that we realize that Larry David is his own worst enemy. He is accused of having an adultery-implying erection because of his extremely baggy trousers that bunch up when he sits down; feuding with a shoe salesman; getting blamed for a newspaper typo after submitting an obituary for Cheryl's aunt; reacting offensively to drinking from his friend's mother's glass; and unintentionally causing someone to believe that his uncle is an incestuous pedophile. Although this season has no major arc, there is a small one of Larry trying to obtain a bracelet to give to Cheryl and another small two-episode arc involving Larry and Cheryl trying to have a wire that runs through their backyard removed. Epstein says excessive bagginess or excessive bunching at the crotch are clear signs that a pair of jeans do not fit properly. If you're still not sure, however, he says you can tell jeans are too tight if the back inseam is leaning in favor of the left or right cheek. If your jeans are bunching near your feet, that's the first sign you need to re-evaluate your size. bunch up/together = bunch somebody/something up/together to move closer and form into a group; to make people or things do this. If people or things bunch up or bunch together, or if you bunch them up or bunch them together, they move close to each other so that they form a small tight group. They were bunching up, almost treading upon each other's heels. People were bunched up at all the exits. If they need to bunch aircraft more closely together, they will do so. The sheep bunched together as soon as they saw the dog. to move close together to form a tight group: The monkeys bunched together in their cage. We were all bunched up at the back of the room. 9. Generically, the term pomp and circumstance 庄重, 隆重的仪式, 盛大仪式 ( impressive formal activities or ceremonies. Celebration accompanied by traditional formalities and ceremony. Please, there's no need for all this pomp and circumstance. I'm just an ordinary guest who has come to enjoy the performance like everyone else. In the wake of the tragedy, the Queen's trip was not accompanied by the usual pomp and circumstance. the ceremonial formality surrounding a public event. ) describes a ceremony of grandeur, a very formal celebration. However, in the United States the term pomp and circumstance almost exclusively refers to graduation ceremonies 毕业典礼 (graduation ceremony, commencement ceremony, convocation or invocation ceremony) from high school or university. This is derived from the fact that the musical work Edward Elgar's Land of Hope and Glory from his Pomp and Circumstance March Number 1 is played at most graduation ceremonies in the United States. Land of Hope and Glory is a popular patriotic British song, usually sung at the first night of The Proms. Written in 1902, the work was first played at a graduation ceremony in the United States at Yale in 1905. The phrase pomp and circumstance was first used by Shakespeare in his play Othello: "Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!" Pomp and circumstance is clearly in the air, and area schools and their graduates are preparing for that ceremony where diplomas will be presented to those who have completed their college, high school and grade school graduation requirements. Thursday's hour-long graduation, set inside a large tent at the garden center, came with all the pomp and circumstance of a college graduation. Though the St. Mark's ceremony didn't involve the same pomp and circumstance as her sister Kate Middleton and Prince William's royal wedding, it still demanded its own fairy-tale fashion moment: a bespoke Giles Deacon dress and custom Robinson Pelham tiara, which glimmered prettily as she walked down the aisle. 11. Foxtel 表现: This year Foxtel was hit by a sporting hiatus that suspended a decent portion of its offering, bar 除...之外 Australian horse racing which was allowed to continue unabated 不收任何影响的, 继续下去 ( [ˌʌnəˈbeɪtɪd] unable to be stopped or controlled. If something continues unabated, it continues without any reduction in intensity or amount. The fighting has continued unabated for over 24 hours. ...his unabated enthusiasm 不受影响的, 不受干扰的 for cinema. Fighting continued unabated for several hours. ). Interestingly enough, News' emerging sports streaming service Kayo appears to be a whole lot more resilient. After shedding around 135,000 subscribers by May, Kayo managed to bounce back with a fury ( fury [ˈfjʊəri] noun. I. a feeling of very strong anger that usually does not last very long. Fury is violent or very strong anger. She screamed, her face distorted with fury and pain. with fury: She was speechless with fury. fury at: Workers expressed their fury at the tax increases. fly into a fury (=suddenly become very angry): Rob flew into a fury and left the room. II. the noise and force of a strong wind, storm, or flood. in a fury 盛怒之下 If you are in a fury, you are very angry. I had reacted in a fury of grief. He rose to his feet in a fury to leave no doubt about where he stood on the issue. a fury of something 一阵慌乱中的 a state of very busy activity or strong feeling. She was listening with such a fury of concentration that she did not notice Arthur had left. In a fury of frustration and fear Nina bit his hand. do something like fury to do something with a lot of energy and determination. hell hath no fury (like a woman scorned) used for saying that a woman who cannot make someone love her can be extremely angry. ) as Australians sought some much-needed sporting reprieve ( [rɪˈpriːv] I. 推迟. 延期. to stop or delay something bad that was going to happen. A reprieve is a delay before a very unpleasant or difficult situation which may or may not take place. It looked as though the college would have to shut, but this week it was given a reprieve. II. to officially decide not to kill someone who was going to be killed as a punishment. If someone who has been sentenced in a court is reprieved, their punishment is officially delayed or cancelled. Fourteen people on death row for murder have been reprieved. A man awaiting death by lethal injection has been saved by a last minute reprieve. noun. I. a decision to stop or delay something bad that was going to happen. II. an official decision not to kill someone who was going to be killed as a punishment. ) from their homebound humdrum ( [ˈhʌmdrʌm] 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. ). 12. toey [ˈtəʊɪ] adj Australian slang I. (of a person) nervous or anxious. Agitated, anticipatory, excited (sometimes specifically sexually so), nervous. II. (of a person) eager for sexual activity; aroused. Geez the Richmond boys were looking a bit toey 发情的, 性致勃勃的 during the song then. Vlastuin couldn't keep his hands off Chol's privates and there was a lot of heavy petting when they came together after the song. 性骚扰事件: That Mabior Chol footage is pretty rank ( [ræŋk] I. complete: used for emphasizing how bad or obvious something is. He is a rank amateur. II. with a strong unpleasant smell or taste. You can describe something as rank when it has a strong and unpleasant smell. The kitchen was rank with the smell of drying uniforms. ...the rank smell of unwashed clothes. III. mainly literary growing and spreading too much. rank vegetation. rank outsider 陪跑的人. 黑马 someone who no one expects to win a race or competition. The rank outsiders beat the defending champions by one goal to nil. the rank and file all the members of a group or organization except the leaders or officers. If one of the people in a competition is described as a rank outsider, they are considered to have very little chance of winning. The union's message is popular with the rank and file. ) on a couple of levels. He's clearly pissed off and uncomfortable. Meanwhile, schoolkids are taught that sort of thing can send u to jail. Former AFL player Joel Wilkinson hit out on social media, believing Chol would have felt pressure not to out his teammates or shine a bad light on the club. join the ranks of X, join sb's ranks = join the ranks If you experience something, usually something bad, that other people have experienced, you can say that you have joined their ranks. Last month, 370,000 Americans joined the ranks 加入大军, 加入队伍 of the unemployed. Many have now joined Amnesty's growing ranks of prisoners of conscience. to break ranks If you say that a member of a group or organization breaks ranks, you mean that they disobey the instructions of their group or organization. 'Even the President's staunchest supporters have some issues where they simply must break ranks,' says Senator Lott. She broke ranks with her father's old party when she stood as an independent. close ranks 团结起来, 抱团, 互相支持, 共同面对批评 If you say that the members of a group close ranks, you mean that they are supporting each other only because their group is being criticized. Conservative MPs intend to put aside their differences over Europe and close ranks behind the Prime Minister. Institutions tend to close ranks when a member has been accused of misconduct. to pull rank [disapproval] If you say that someone in authority pulls rank, you mean that they unfairly force other people to do what they want because of their higher rank or position The Captain pulled rank and made his sergeant row the entire way. 13. Peripheral [pəˈrɪf(ə)rəl] I. connected with something but not a necessary or important part of it. A peripheral activity or issue is one which is not very important compared with other activities or issues. Companies are increasingly keen to contract out 外包 peripheral activities like training. ...peripheral and boring information. Science is peripheral to that debate. The Marshall Plan did not include Britain, except peripherally. The talks made progress on peripheral issues, but failed to resolve the main dispute between the two sides. peripheral to: We made some discoveries about the immune system that were peripheral to our search for a vaccine. II. peripheral areas 边缘地区, 边远地区 of a town or country are far from the central area.Peripheral areas of land are ones which are on the edge of a larger area. ...peripheral regions beyond the reach of powerful rulers. ...urban development in the outer peripheral areas of large towns. noun. Peripherals 附属设备 are devices that can be attached to computers. ...peripherals to expand the use of our computers. ... peripheral products for the basic computer. Peripheral vision 扫射, 扫到, 余光, 眼角余光
( all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision. your ability to see things to the side of you when you look straight ahead. I was taking it slowly when I caught a flash of red on the edge of my peripheral vision. The sailor must have caught my sudden motion in his peripheral vision: he looked up suddenly, and dimensions shifted again. This allows them to maintain the same panoramic peripheral vision over a wide range of light levels. I made do with peripheral vision, which, after all, is the next best thing. Use your peripheral vision widely when moving from place to place.) is typically defined as everything you see off to the side of your
central focus while you are looking straight ahead. It is essentially
your ability to see things without moving your eyes or turning your
head. 14. mental case 疯子, 精神病, 脑子不正常的人: An insane person; a nutcase. a crazy person. a person suffering from neurosis. neurotic, psychoneurotic. neurotic [njʊˈrɒtɪk] 杞人忧天的, 过分担心的, 过分害怕的, 无道理的害怕的 I. extremely worried about something unimportant in a way that does not seem reasonable to other people. If you say that someone is neurotic, you mean that they are always frightened or worried about things that you consider unimportant. He was almost neurotic about being followed. There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour. A neurotic is someone who is neurotic. II. suffering from neurosis. neurosis [njʊˈrəʊsɪs] 杞人忧天病 a mental illness that makes you behave in an unusual way or makes you worry all the time about something unimportant. Neurosis is a mental condition which causes people to have unreasonable fears and worries over a long period of time. He was anxious to the point of neurosis. She got a neurosis about chemicals and imagined them everywhere doing her harm. basket case: I. 慌得一批. someone who is extremely nervous or anxious and is therefore unable to organize their life: By the end of the course I was a complete basket case. One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, stress or exhaustion. She was a complete basket case the morning of her wedding. II. 一锅粥. 乱成一团. An institution or country in a bad condition or difficult situation (economically, financially or otherwise). This country is a financial basket case 一团糟, a country so broke that it should be a perfect warning to lenders. Some countries are breadbaskets, others basket cases. 15. "to mean someone well" = mean well to someone 对...是好意 means "to have good intentions towards someone" Less common is the expression "to mean someone ill 心存不善的 = mean someone harm" (to have bad intentions toward them). "I mean you no harm". "I am sure your mother-in-law means well but she interferes terribly". "It is probably best to assume that most people mean (you) well otherwise you may become paranoid." "I am sure he means ill to John. He scowls at him every time they pass by each other". To mean someone well is to hope that they with escape harm and do well. If not everyone means me well, then someone means me harm (= wants to hurt me or wants me to be hurt). well-meaning 出于好意的, 心存善意的 adj. She’'s very well-meaning, but she only makes the situation worse.
Ellen Show: The cracks in this veneer 假象 ( = facade, semblance)( veneer [vɪˈnɪə]
I. If you refer to the pleasant way that someone or something appears
as a veneer, you are critical of them because you believe that their
true, hidden nature is not good. 虚饰(表不满), 假面. A deceptive, superficial show; a façade: a veneer of friendliness. For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack. He managed to acquire a thin veneer of knowledge to mask his real ignorance. His veneer of politeness concealed a ruthless determination冷酷无情的狠心. He was able to fool the world with his veneer of education. Feminists make a great deal of noise when it concerns America's #1 sitcom, Charlie is labelled as misogynist and sexist under a thin veneer of comedy. II. Veneer is a thin layer of wood or plastic that is used to improve the appearance of something. 饰面薄板 The wood was cut into large sheets of veneer. Democracy in Egypt was only a veneer 徒有其表, 假象. 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. Much like Instagram filters, these tools give a veneer of professionalism to even the most fresh-faced video maker. Kardashian's Snapchat video cuts through that veneer 揭开这层表面 — throwing doubt on what your BFF Taylor Swift is telling you, making you wonder, well, if Taylor could lie about that conversation with West, what else could she be lying about? ) started off thin and narrow. But the cracks have spread over the past year, and became glaringly obvious during a memorable, uncomfortable interview on her show in November; months later, former employees began speaking up about what a terror it was to work on the show. The discourse ( discourse noun. I. Discourse is spoken or written communication between people, especially serious discussion of a particular subject. ...a tradition of political discourse 探讨, 讨论. II. A discourse is a serious talk or piece of writing which is intended to teach or explain something. Hastings responds with a lengthy discourse on marketing strategies. discourse (up)on someone or something to lecture about someone or something. I would like to discourse upon this matter awhile. The committee chose to discourse on Tom and his latest fiasco rather than deal with the budgetary problems it faces.) kept growing. Celebrities chimed in, some defending DeGeneres and some affirming ( [əˈfɜː(r)m] I. formal 公开声称. 公开宣称. 公开支持. to state that something is true or that you agree with it, especially in public. If you affirm that something is true or that something exists, you state firmly and publicly that it is true or exists. The courts have affirmed that the act can be applied to social media. ...a speech in which he affirmed a commitment to lower taxes. 'This place is a dump,' affirmed Miss T. The ministers issued an affirmation of their faith in the system. The school affirmed its commitment to its students. The minister affirmed that she would support any pro-European policy. If an event affirms something, it shows that it is true or exists. Everything I had accomplished seemed to affirm that opinion. The high turnout was an affirmation of the importance that the voters attached to the election. II. formal to support something or make it stronger. The company chose a name that would affirm its French identity. III. formal to show respect for and approval of someone, especially in public. IV. legal to promise to tell the truth in a court of law without swearing on a holy book. ) what former staffers had said. Dakota Johnson's confrontational interview left a big crack in Ellen's facade. A pivotal moment in the dismantling ( dismantle [dɪsˈmænt(ə)l] I. = disassemble 拆解, 拆散. 拆毁. to separate the parts of something such as a machine so that they no longer form a single unit. All the furniture is easy to dismantle and transport. If you dismantle a machine or structure, you carefully separate it into its different parts. He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads. II. to end a political or economic system or get rid of an institution. To dismantle an organization or system means to cause it to stop functioning by gradually reducing its power or purpose. ...opposition to the president's policy of dismantling apartheid. Public services of all kinds are being dismantled. There were fears that the new government would try to dismantle the state education system. ) of DeGeneres's persona as TV's friendliest talk show host happened in November during an interview with actress and celebrity scion Dakota Johnson. The interview, like most of DeGeneres's interviews, seemed to be casual, as if DeGeneres and Johnson were old friends. But this typical pattern was subverted and dove into awkward territory when DeGeneres asked Johnson about why she wasn't invited to Johnson's recent 30th birthday party. The implication 暗示, 暗含的意思: Dakota Johnson is too cool for nice Ellen, or maybe she's even a mean girl. "Why didn't I go?" DeGeneres asked out loud, admitting defeat 承认输了, 认输. "Oh yeah, I had that thing." To keep the ball in her joking court, she added, "[The party] was probably in Malibu. That's too far for me to go to." Through admonishing ( admonish [æd'mɒnɪʃ, ədˈmɑnɪʃ] [formal]
I. 正告. 郑重警告. If you admonish someone, you tell them very seriously that
they have done something wrong. to tell someone that you do not approve
of what they have done. Sometimes
he gave them a severe admonishment. They admonished me for taking risks
with my health. She admonished him gently, 'You should rest, not talk
so much.' II. to advise someone to do something. admonition [ˌædməˈnɪʃ(ə)n] 警告 a warning about someone's behaviour. Leaking gas near that valve is admonitory for us to check those connections. premonish to warn beforehand, to forewarn We have been premonished of the incoming attack, so we could prepare ourselves. premonition
[ˌpreməˈnɪʃ(ə)n] bad feeling, gut feeling, foreboding, hunch, second sight 预警, 不祥预感, 强烈预感 (have a hunch, have a nagging feeling, something is nagging at him. ) a strong feeling that something is going to happen, especially
something bad. If you have a premonition, you have a feeling that
something is going to happen, often something unpleasant. He had an unshakable premonition that he would die. ...a real, genuine premonition of bad news. have a premonition of/that: He had a premonition of imminent disaster. We're
having a premonition. Ignore that super-daddy Hugh Jackman and Shawn
hang out together, but to us Shawn looks like the perfect casting for a
young Wolverine! We're going to call it now. Shawn Mendes has to play
the rugged role in the inevitable remake. His famous smile can make fans faint, scream and hyperventilate for miles around. admonition [ˌædməˈnɪʃ(ə)n] a warning about someone's behavior. An admonition is a warning or criticism about someone's behaviour. She ignored the admonitions of her mother. premonitory 预警 ( [prɪˈmɒnɪtəri] premonition [ˌpreməˈnɪʃ(ə)n], premonish = forewarn 预警告) premonitory signs 预警信号 or symptoms 预兆 tell you that something bad and more serious is likely to happen. Equally
if not more important to preventing successful suicide is paying
attention to premonitory signs of suicidal intent and taking appropriate
action to diffuse it. preadmonition [ˌpriːædməˈnɪʃən] 预警, 预先警告 n. a forewarning, premonition; the act of admonishing in advance. intuitive [ɪnˈtjuːɪtɪv] adj. I. what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning; instinctive. If you have an intuitive idea or feeling about 第六感, 预感 (gut feeling, hunch)( premonition [ˌpreməˈnɪʃ(ə)n] (预警 premonitory 预警的 forewarning ) a strong feeling that something is going to happen, especially something bad. It's not a premonition. It's just a dream that means nothing. have a premonition of/that: He had a premonition of imminent disaster. second sight 天眼, 第三只眼 ESP, an additional sense beyond the five normal ones, clairvoyance. I
think she must have the second sight, because she always knows where
I've been. He was seized with a fit of second-sight. Nor less availed
his optic sleight, / And Scottish gift of second-sight. ) something, you feel that it is true although you have no evidence or proof of it. He's very intuitive 神神道道的. A positive pregnancy test soon confirmed her intuitive feelings. "his intuitive understanding of the readers' real needs". II. (chiefly of computer software) easy to use and understand. predominate 占主要, 占主导地位
I. If one type of person or thing predominates in a group, there is
more of that type of person or thing in the group than of any other. In
older age groups women predominate because men tend to die younger. All
nationalities were represented–but the English predominated. II. When a feature or quality predominates, it is the most important or noticeable one in a situation. Much sociological research on religion was based on societies in which a single religion overwhelmingly predominated. ) Johnson, DeGeneres was caught fibbing ( fib [fɪb] 扯谎, 说瞎话, 撒谎 to tell a lie about something that is not important. If someone is fibbing, they are telling lies. He laughs loudly when I accuse him of fibbing.) and inadvertently drew attention to her controversial hangout with Bush. For DeGeneres, who has built her career on being seen as authentically nice, her fib tarnished her reputation even more than watching a game with George W. Bush did. Granted, there's no fact-checking when it comes to those stories on Twitter. But the allure of ( [əˈlʊə(r)] [əˈljʊə(r)] a special, exciting, and attractive quality that someone or something has. sexual allure. the allure of gambling 魅力, 吸引力, 魔力. The allure of something or someone is the pleasing or exciting quality that they have. It's a game that has really lost its allure. ) finding a disconnect of DeGeneres's onscreen persona and her real-life actions drove people to the thread. Over 71,000 people liked Porter's tweet, more than 18,000 retweeted, and a little more than 2,900 replied to it. Exacerbating [ɪɡˈzæsə(r)beɪt] matters, DeGeneres tweeted on April 9 that quarantine was like "being in jail." The comparison was called out for being inappropriate, lacking in self-awareness, and from a place of privilege. It was after the reports of DeGeneres's treatment of her staff that shifted the narrative 改变舆论 into something more serious. There's a difference between not gauging the Johnson joke and not paying your staff. Her staff's horror stories about their salaries, drove the narrative beyond gossip of Ellen not being the Ellen on her show, and into the territory of DeGeneres's competence as a boss and the consequences of her actions. The stories about abuse and caustic workplaces seem like symptoms of a bigger problem — an industry with little to no oversight or protections for its workers. DeGeneres's brand is about being so relentlessly kind and so interminably ( interminable [ɪnˈtɜː(r)mɪnəb(ə)l] 又臭又长的, 冗长的 continuing for a long time in a boring or annoying way. If you describe something as interminable, you are emphasizing that it continues for a very long time and indicating that you wish it was shorter or would stop. ...an interminable meeting. He talked to me interminably about his first wife. an interminable journey/speech/meeting. ) inoffensive that you didn't have to worry about Ellen ever being problematic. Some celebrities are even lauded for snapping and showing brief, maybe chaotic moments of vulnerability because it affirms 表明, 说明, 佐证 their humanity.
澳洲俚语( give sb shit, take shit from sb, give sb shit 欺负 (give sb a hard time; ); get the shits, give sb the shits, get the shits 惹恼;): give someone crap/shit for something 欺负, 腻腻歪歪的 It means criticizing them (perhaps even excessively) for something they said or did. to give someone a hard time, give them guff. something like complained, admonished, criticized. I hope people haven't been giving you too much crap about the Creek Secrets post. This school is desperate for drama. The world is full of fake, crappy people. guff [informal, disapproval] If you say that what someone has said or written is guff, you think that it is nonsense. vocabulary: Guff is foolishness — it's when you behave or speak in an meaningless or objectionable way. You might dismiss a controversial article by calling it a bunch of guff. Sometimes guff is defined as "lies," but it can also be simply ridiculous ideas or speech. Your teacher might dismiss your excuse for being late to class by saying, "That story's just a bunch of guff!" The informal guff gets its sense of "empty talk" from its original meaning, "puff of air." An unrelated but interesting kind of guff is the Scottish meaning, "an unpleasant smell." take crap/shit from anyone 忍受被欺负 to let someone treat you badly. give somebody shit spoken not polite to insult someone or criticize them. get the shits Australian, used in accordince with with someone to get angry, pissed off, snakey, dirty. When Ryan Adams or Pete Murray get rotation on triple J , I most definitely...get the shits. giving me the shits to annoy or bother someone to the point where they can't stand it anymore. Related to 'getting shitty' with someone or something. Similar to annoying the crap out of someone or driving them up the wall. Also sometimes used to refer to a case of diarrhoea or 'the runs' or 'the trots' 拉肚子. Stop it Barry, you're giving me the shits! This thing gives me the shits. Watch it, I'm starting to get the shits with you mate! This job really gives me the shits. shit me aussie slang for annoyed, mad or being pissed off I can't remember the status comment I was gonna write, its shits me. kids just won't listen, they shit me. Stop annoying me, you're giving me the shits. feed someone a load of crap 说了一顿谎, 说了一通谎言 that means lying.
TikTok 收买: Gardiner points to the growing pressure on tech companies that have any links to China, citing the Trump administration's years-long campaign against Huawei as an example. "That's going to make American companies think twice about purchasing or being purchased by Chinese entities in the tech space," she said. "I think that does have a chilling effect 寒蝉效应 on the merger landscape." Ultimately, though, Bialos says if all the parties involved in the deal agree to cut the government in, there's not much anyone can do about it. Microsoft, seen as the frontrunner so far to purchase TikTok, said it would be open to "providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury." It's a slippery slope with the potential to fundamentally change how business is done in the United States. After days of whiplash ( I. uncountable a serious injury affecting your neck, caused when the vehicle that you are in is hit from behind by another vehicle, which makes your head move violently. Whiplash is a neck injury caused by the head suddenly moving forwards and then back again, for example in a car accident. His daughter suffered whiplash and shock. Four police officers were taken to hospital with whiplash injuries. II. countable a hit from a whip. ) over the future of TikTok, President Donald Trump said he would allow an American company to acquire the short-form video app — with a catch. Trump on Monday set September 15 as the deadline for TikTok to find a US buyer, failing which 失败的话, 做不到的话 he said he will shut down the app in the country. In an unusual declaration, Trump also said any deal would have to include a "substantial amount of money" coming to the US Treasury.
Beirut explosion raises fresh concern about Newcastle's much larger ammonium nitrate stockpile: The deadly Beirut blast that killed more than 100 people has driven fresh calls 引发呼吁 for a large ammonium nitrate stockpile and plant in Newcastle, storing up to four times the amount reportedly detonated in the blast, to be relocated away from residents. "It's a totally inappropriate place to have such a dangerous material produced and stored, and it's something we've been complaining about for many, many years. Many people would be killed and injured if we had an accident at Orica." Mr Craig said he understood the risk in Australia was much lower, but the catastrophic [ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk] consequences of any accident were too great. Community groups in other neighbouring suburbs such as Mayfield and Tighes Hill have also strongly expressed their concern over the plant's proximity for many years following several major ammonium nitrate explosions around the world. In a statement, Orica said thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate is stored at the site on any given day, but stringent practices 严格程序 are in place to ensure its safe storage and handling. "Ammonium nitrate storage areas are fire resistant 防火的 (Soundproofing 隔音的) and built exclusively from non-flammable 不易燃 materials," the statement said. "There are no flammable sources within designated exclusion zones around these areas." The company said operations on Kooragang Island were highly regulated under numerous state and federal standards, and the facility holds a Major Hazard Facility licence. "In order for this licence to be obtained the site's safety management systems, security arrangements, and emergency response procedures undergo a strict auditing and verification process by SafeWork NSW," it said. "We regularly undertake site-wide emergency response exercises, including an annual exercise with the local emergency services. Professor of engineering and explosion expert Priyan Mendis from the University of Melbourne said the risk of explosion in an Australian facility was low, but cannot be discounted 排除, 驳斥 noun [ˈdɪsˌkaʊnt] verb. [dɪsˈkaʊnt] (
If you discount an idea, fact, or theory, you consider that it is not
true, not important, or not relevant. to consider that something is not
important, possible, or likely. discount the possibility: Police have discounted the possibility that this was a terrorist attack. However, traders tended to discount the rumor. This theory has now been discounted. ). "The ammonium nitrate has to be triggered, something like a fire has to happen. "But given the scale of the event in Lebanon I think Orica needs to review things and reassess what would happen here. Orica is licensed to produce up to 385,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate a year, of which the bulk is used to produce explosives for the Hunter's coal mining industry. The Kooragang Island plant has a controversial history in Newcastle, after a leak of carcinogenic chemical hexavalent chromium in the air over Stockton in 2011. It has also been identified as the source of elevated levels of pollution and dangerous PM2.5 particles in Stockton, an issue which the company said it is working to address. The NSW Environment Protection Authority said it regularly inspected Orica's facility to ensure compliance with licence conditions. "Recent inspections have not identified any significant concerns with respect to chemical storage at ammonium nitrate storage facilities," it said in a statement.
steady VS stable: 1. Stable means that whatever you are talking about is calm/consistent/not changing at the exact moment. Steady means it is calm/consistent/not changing for an extended period of time. 2. An unstable object 容易倾斜的 will tip over easily. A stable object will not tip over easily. Stability is a state of balance. If you disturb a stable object, it will return to its balanced position unaided 自动的, 独自的, 一个人的, 只手的, 不借助外力的( adv. without help. If you do something unaided, you do it without help from anyone or anything else. There had been at least thirteen previous attempts to reach the North Pole unaided. She brought us up completely unaided. ...the smallest speck of matter visible to the unaided eye. Jack had difficulty dressing unaided. ). A child's swing is stable - it will always swing back down to its lowest point. Norway's economy, if disturbed by a change in world oil prices, will settle down afterwards of its own accord, without intervention. The speed of my car is steady at the moment - it is not increasing or decreasing. If I apply the brakes, the speed will decrease. If I stop braking, the speed of my car will not go back to its previous value. The speed was steady but it was not stable. So one would not normally use the word "stable" to describe a speed. 3. To me, stable 结实稳定的, 不会轻易变化或者移动的 means not likely to move or change; fall or collapse. Make sure the ladder is stable before you climb up it. I grew up in a loving, stable family. Steady 长时间持续的保持在同一水平的, 保持同一状态的 is balanced and stable; regular and lasting. Hold the ladder steady while I climb up it. We've had a steady stream of customers all day. John is going steady with Jan (dating her regularly). 4. 举例: Norway's economy must be stable, in that changes in the world climate will not throw it much off course, but I can see Vachcow's point that someone might want to say it was steady, to indicate that it didn't seem to be changing much at the moment. The word steady is used quite freely by BE speakers. I have a friend whose school report said that her behaviour had been quite excellent except for certain signs of unsteadiness in the dormitory (the girl behaves badly, wilfully, irresponsibly and annoyingly). willful (US) = UK wilful [ˈwɪlfəl] I. 故意的. done deliberately in order to cause damage or harm. If you describe actions or attitudes as wilful, you are critical of them because they are done or expressed deliberately, especially with the intention of causing someone harm. Wilful neglect of our manufacturing industry has caused this problem. He admitted wilful misconduct in public office by disclosing a report to a journalist. He seems to have wilfully misunderstood. II. 有主意的. determined to do what you want and not caring if you upset other people. If you describe someone as wilful, you mean that they are determined to do what they want to do, even if it is not sensible. Francesca was a lively child, quite wilful and demanding. The new foster parents couldn't cope with her wilfulness. a willful child. 5. 形容电梯间歇性颤抖的话(steadily, smoothly, 或者spasmodic): spasmodic [spæzˈmɒdɪk] I. 时断时续的. 断断续续的. 抽搐似的. happening for short periods and not often. spasmodic flashes of lightning in the distance. Something that is spasmodic happens suddenly, for short periods of time, and at irregular intervals. He managed to stifle the spasmodic sobs of panic rising in his throat. My husband's work was so spasmodic. The tremor occurred in Bucharest, where buildings trembled spasmodically for forty-five seconds or so. II. caused by or relating to the spasm of a muscle. sporadic [spəˈrædɪk] I. = intermittent 偶发的, 偶尔的, 断断续续的, 时断时续的. not regular or frequent. Sporadic occurrences of something happen at irregular intervals. ...a year of sporadic fighting over northern France. The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard. The distant thunder from the coast continued sporadically. He attends school sporadically. The explosions were only sporadic now. sporadic showers 零星小雨. II. medical a sporadic disease appears in separate areas of a country or region with no clear connection between the cases.
What is the 'sovereign citizen' movement? A growing movement of people who believe that laws do not apply to them threatens police and law enforcement around the world, experts and officials say. So-called sovereign citizens believe they are immune from government rules and in some cases - including recently in Australia and the US - have violently confronted police. Coronavirus mitigation measures, including mandatory social distancing and mask wearing, may also be fuelling the anti-government conspiracy and spreading its message to a global minority that view the deadly pandemic as a hoax. Who are 'sovereign citizens'? The FBI has described the movement, which lacks any organisational structure, as "domestic terrorism" in the US and calls followers "anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or 'sovereign' from the United States". The ideology hatched in the 1970s and grew out of Posse Comitatus, a US anti-government group that contained many followers who were anti-Semitic and believed governments were controlled by Jews. It rose in prominence in the 1990s alongside the militia [məˈlɪʃə] movement, says Mark Pitcavage, a researcher at the Anti-Defamation League who has followed the movement for over 20 years. In the late 1990s, the ideology reached Canada through anti-tax groups, before later going to Australia and then the UK and Ireland, says Mr Pitcavage. In Australia, police this week attributed a "dangerous" rise in people resisting lockdown orders - sometimes violently - to the sovereign citizen movement. Victoria Chief Police Commissioner Shane Patton said on Tuesday that officers have been forced "to smash the windows of cars and pull people out to provide details" after they have refused to answer questions or show documents. In Singapore, a country known for adherence to rules, a viral video in May this year showed a 40-year-old woman refusing to don a face mask, telling people "I'm a sovereign… This is something people are not going to know what it is". "It means I have nothing to do with the police, it means I have no contract with the police. They have no say over me," said the woman, who was later sent to a mental health facility. In the US, suspects of violent crimes - including a man accused of beheading his landlord in a rent dispute last week - have claimed to be immune from prosecution as sovereign citizens. One of the ideology's most famous adopters was Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, who filed endless frivolous ( [ˈfrɪvələs] I. = flippant behaving in a silly way in situations where you should be behaving in a serious or sensible way. If you describe someone as frivolous, you mean they behave in a silly or light-hearted way, rather than being serious and sensible. I just decided I was a bit too frivolous to be a doctor. II. 无意义的. lacking any real purpose or importance. frivolous complaints. If you describe an activity as frivolous, you disapprove of it because it is not useful and wastes time or money. The group wants politicians to stop wasting public money on what it believes are frivolous projects.) lawsuits against the government in the years before the 1995 attack on a federal office building which killed 168 people. The sovereign citizen movement is different from the militia movement, which puts more emphasis on paramilitary weapons training and organisation, experts say. Sovereign citizens - which also go by many other names including constitutionalists, common law citizens, freemen, and non-resident aliens - favour legal arguments. QAnon is a bizarre conspiracy cult that has surged in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic. It also differs from the QAnon conspiracy theory ( QAnon ([kjuːəˈnɒn]) is a far-right conspiracy theory detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged "deep state" against U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters. The theory began with an October 2017 post on the anonymous imageboard 4chan by someone using the name Q, who was presumably an American individual initially, but probably later became a group of people, claiming to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States. Anons: In its most basic sense, an "anon" 匿名发帖人 refers to any anonymous or pseudonymous internet poster. The concept of anons "doing research" and claiming to disclose otherwise classified information, while a key component of the QAnon conspiracy theory, is by no means exclusive to it. Before Q, a number of so-called anons also claimed to have special government access. "Q" is a reference to the Q clearance used by the U.S. Department of Energy. QAnon believers commonly tag their social media posts with the hashtag #WWG1WGA, signifying the motto "Where We Go One, We Go All". Q clearance or Q access authorization is the Department of Energy (DOE) security clearance required to access Top Secret Restricted Data, Formerly Restricted Data, and National Security Information, as well as Secret Restricted Data. Access to Restricted Data is only granted on a need-to-know basis to personnel with appropriate clearances. A Q Clearance is equivalent to a United States Department of Defense Top Secret clearance. "For access to some classified information, such as Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) or Special Access Programs (SAPS), additional requirements or special conditions may be imposed by the information owner even if the person is otherwise eligible to be granted a security clearance or access authorization based on reciprocity." Anyone possessing an active Q clearance is always categorized as holding a National Security Critical-Sensitive position (sensitivity Level 3). Additionally, most Q-cleared incumbents will have collateral responsibilities designating them as Level 4: National Security Special-Sensitive personnel. ) which believes President Donald Trump is saving the world from evil, because sovereign citizens view all government figures, including Mr Trump, as illegitimate. What do sovereign citizens believe? There are a multitude of theories that followers believe, experts say, cautioning that it is hard to determine the number of believers worldwide due to a lack of structure. The general ideology is based on the belief that the original government set up by the US founders, which most adherents refer to as "common law", was slowly and secretly replaced by an illegitimate government sometime in the 1800s. Followers around the world make similar claims about their own governments - or the British Royal Family as is the case with Australia, says Mr Pitcavage. They believe there is a legal way to opt out of the current legal system that comes through filing documents and ending what they view as "contracts" with the government, such as driving licences and other identity documents. Adherents are told by "redemption gurus" that they can use phrases, which they believe to have legal meaning, to "divorce themselves" from the illegitimate government, says Mr Pitcavage. They often print out and carry documents which they claim prove their status. "And once you do that, once you have regained your sovereignty, none of the laws, rules, taxes, court orders, anything of the illegitimate de facto government have any more power or justification over you whatsoever." Followers resist all government laws and regulations, no matter how trivial, and in the US often file lengthy legal battles against the government, which critics refer to as "paper terrorism". They sometimes film encounters with police using the phrases that they believe protect them, including "am I being detained?" They have occasionally set up "common law courts" and issued bogus arrest warrants for US officials. Some have been arrested with fake car registration plates they have issued to themselves, or have even printed their own currency believing the dollar to be invalid. Mr Pitcavage says it's common to find European followers cite the US criminal code, which has no legal bearing there. Some followers believe it possible to access a secret government-held fund once they become sovereign. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which oversees federal tax payments in the US, says on its website that the notion of "secret accounts assigned to each citizen is pure fantasy". Some think that "by filing a series of complex, legal-sounding documents, the sovereign can tap into that secret Treasury account for his own purposes," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups. Followers are often struggling financially or are people who cannot tolerate government bureaucracy, says Mr Pitcavage. "The sovereign citizen movement, through its pseudo-legal theories and tactics, tells them who to blame - it's the illegitimate government, it's the illegitimate banking system, it's this and that. And then offers them ways out."
