用法学习: 1. anecdote [ˈænəkˌdoʊt] 轶事, 奇闻异事 I. a story that you tell people about something interesting or funny that has happened to you. An anecdote is a short, amusing account of something that has happened. Pete was telling them an anecdote about their mother. He has a talent for recollection and anecdote. Joe kept us entertained with anecdotes about his friends. II. Anecdotes are individual accounts of something that are not reliable evidence. The image of the fox as a pest is grossly exaggerated in anecdote and folklore. tinderbox 火柴盒 a dangerous and uncontrolled situation in which violence is likely to happen. If you say that a situation is a tinderbox, you mean that it is very tense and something dangerous or unpleasant is likely to happen very soon. The racial tension in the area makes it a tinderbox ready to ignite. note: A tinderbox, or patch box, is a container made of wood or metal containing flint, firesteel, and tinder (typically charcloth, but possibly a small quantity of dry, finely divided fibrous matter such as hemp), used together to help kindle a fire. A tinderbox might also contain sulfur-tipped matches. Tinderboxes fell out of general usage when friction matches were invented. on tenterhooks 焦虑的等待, 急不可耐的等待, 焦急的等待 ( tenterhook a hook used to fasten cloth on a drying frame or tenter. Tenterhooks or tenter hooks are hooked nails in a device called a tenter. Tenters were wooden frames which were used as far back as the 14th century in the process of making woollen cloth. ) nervous anticipation. in a state of suspense or agitation because of uncertainty about a future event. If you are on tenterhooks, you are very nervous and excited because you are wondering what is going to happen in a particular situation. He was still on tenterhooks waiting for his directors' decision about the job. "he was on tenterhooks waiting for the director's decision". Nation on tenterhooks waiting on Prime Minister to call election. seduce [sɪˈdjuːs] verb. I. entice (someone) into sexual activity. If someone seduces another person, they use their charm to persuade that person to have sex with them. She has set out to seduce Stephen. Her methods of seduction are subtle. ...a slow seduction. "a lawyer had seduced a female client". II. entice (someone) to do or believe something inadvisable or foolhardy. If something seduces you, it is so attractive that it makes you do something that you would not otherwise do. The view of lake and plunging 陡峭的 cliffs seduces visitors. Clever advertising would seduce more people into smoking. ...the seduction of words. The country had resisted the seductions of mass tourism. "they should not be seduced into thinking that their success ruled out the possibility of a relapse". subdue [səbˈdu] I. If soldiers or the police subdue a group of people, they defeat them or bring them under control by using force. Senior government officials admit they have not been able to subdue the rebels. to hold someone and make them stop behaving in an uncontrolled or violent way. It took three police officers to subdue him. II. To subdue feelings means to make them less strong. to control an emotion that you feel. She subdued the urge 克制冲动, 抑制冲动 to run after him. He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears. III. to defeat a place or a group of people, and to take control of them By 47 a.d., the Romans had finally subdued the rebels. 2. musical [mjuːzɪkəl] adj. I. You use musical to indicate that something is connected with playing or studying music. We have a wealth of musical talent in this region. Stan Getz's musical career spanned five decades. London's musical life might become as exciting as Berlin's. Musically there is a lot to enjoy. ...trying to communicate verbally what he can only communicate musically. II. Someone who is musical has a natural ability and interest in music. I came from a musical family 音乐世家. ...a people of extraordinary musicality [ˌmjuzɪˈkæləti] 音乐天赋. III. Sounds that are musical are light and pleasant to hear. He had a soft, almost musical voice. The voice was as musically soft as ever. noun. A musical is a play or film that uses singing and dancing in the story. ...London's smash hit musical Miss Saigon. fete [feɪt] 被尊敬, 被景仰, 被崇拜, 顶礼膜拜 noun. throughout the Caribbean, a huge Carnival party usually with live performers playing Soca music. A fete is an event that is usually held outdoors and includes competitions, entertainments, and the selling of used and home-made goods. verb. to honor or entertain someone at a public celebration. If someone is feted, they are celebrated, welcomed, or admired by the public. Anouska Hempel, the British dress designer, was feted in New York this week at a spectacular dinner. The metamorphosis from anxious wife to feted author was rapid and dramatic. We fete every night in the week before Carnival. Seriously, if you're the Lions, you sign him and start him, the entire media fetes you for your bravery, you earn the eyeballs of a nation that couldn't care less about you, and you simultaneously get to tank ( I. (transitive) slang to defeat heavily. II. (intransitive) informal. to fail, esp commercially. if something such as a product tanks, it fails completely She released a solo single, but it tanked. ) for a first round pick. Or alternatively, he shocks everyone and is good, and it's the most incredible story in sports. There is essentially no business downside to signing him. metamorphosis [ˌmetəˈmɔrfəsɪs] 华丽兑变, 华丽转身 I. When a metamorphosis occurs, a person or thing develops and changes into something completely different. a major change that makes someone or something very different. the metamorphosis of this tiny fishing village into an internationally famous holiday resort. ...his metamorphosis from a republican to a democrat. The employment department has undergone several metamorphoses. II. a major change in the physical form of an insect or other animal as it develops the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. 3. kismet [ˈkɪzmɛt] 天意, 命运 destiny; fate. a force that some people think controls what happens in the future, and is outside human control: It must have been kismet. A few months after accepting the commission, she learned she would be having a baby. "what chance did I stand against kismet?" Kismet is the force which some people believe controls the things that happen to you in your life. Omar and I were meant for each other. It was kismet. spruik [spruk] I. to try to persuade someone to do or buy something, often in a dishonest or exaggerated way. Going "gift-free" has been spruiked in the pages of the Oprah magazine and advocated by Mennonite Christians as a way to rediscover the reason for the season. II. 公开宣传 speak in public, especially to advertise a show. "men who spruik outside striptease joints". III. promote or publicize. "the company forked out $15 million to spruik its digital revolution". Yet not only does their "party" not exist, the pair have made no attempts to actually register it, it can be revealed. That's despite Bosi having been actively spruiking the "party" - which was born out of former Liberal Senator Cori Bernadi's failed "Australian Conservatives" group - since 2019. Since 2020 Bosi has latched on to, and become a central figure in, the so-called "freedom movement", which in 2020 and 2021 involved large anti-lockdown protests. presage [ˈpresɪdʒ] to be a sign that something is going to happen, especially something bad. If something presages a situation or event, it is considered to be a warning or sign of what is about to happen. ...the dawn's loud chorus that seemed to presage 预示 a bright hot summer's day. An artificially strong peso may presage serious problems for the country. In statements that appear to presage AustraliaOne failing to actually register with the AEC, Bosi says the group doesn't need to be registered to run candidates. under/by false pretences 假借...名义, 挂羊头卖狗肉 if you get something under false pretences, you get it by deceiving people. With a false impression created through intentional misrepresentation. I'm afraid you were brought here under false pretenses. I'm not your long-lost brother. You may not have lied directly, but you sold him those paintings under false pretenses—he thinks they're originals! He was accused of obtaining money under false pretences. Bosi raising money under false pretences is particularly concerning given many of his followers are likely vulnerable or troubled. 4. TBBT: Sheldon: I see what you're doing. You accept an invitation to a party at the home of my sworn enemy (mortal enemy, nemesis. sworn I. If you make a sworn statement or declaration, you swear that everything that you have said in it is true. sworn testimony. The committee has begun taking sworn statements from people involved in this matter. The allegations against them were made in sworn evidence to the inquiry. II. If two people or two groups of people are sworn enemies, they dislike each other very much. sworn enemies or friends have expressed strong dislike or friendship for each other. It somehow seems hardly surprising that Ms Player is now his sworn enemy. Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or the forearm, and then the two cuts are pressed together and bound, the idea being that each person's blood now flows in the other participant's veins. ), he tells everyone we're going to be there, and when we don't show, he looks the fool. Fiendishly ( fiendish [findɪʃ] I. very evil. A fiendish person enjoys being cruel. This was a fiendish act of wickedness. a fiendish grin. II. a fiendish plan or idea is very clever but cruel. A fiendish plan, action, or device is very clever or imaginative. ...a fiendish plot. This figure is reached by a fiendishly clever equation. III. a fiendish problem or question is very difficult to solve or deal with. A fiendish problem or task is very difficult and challenging. A rather neat option allows you to design your own fiendish puzzle. ...the fiendish difficulty of the questions. America's trade laws are fiendishly complex. ) clever. Leonard: I was actually thinking about going. Sheldon: And then declaring the party a fiasco and storming out, leaving him humiliated in front of his guests. Love it. Leonard: No, I was gonna grab Raj and Howard and have a good time. Stuart: Oh, great, more guys. It's gonna be another Wil Wheaton sausage-fest. TBBT: Leonard: I'd like to propose a toast. The dream to go up into space is one we all share, and Howard's making that a reality. We're all very proud of you. All: Cheers. Sheldon: That was a lovely toast. Kudos. Leonard: Thank you. Sheldon: Simultaneously, a festival of cloying clichés( cloy to make you feel sick or annoyed by being too sweet or too pleasant. The smell of her cheap perfume soon began to cloy. to make weary or cause weariness through an excess of something initially pleasurable or sweet. to surfeit, or make weary or displeased, by too much of something, esp. something sweet, rich, etc. cloying 甜得发腻的, 和善到让人觉得假的 You use cloying to describe something that you find unpleasant because it is much too sweet, or too sentimental. Her cheap, cloying scent enveloped him. Most TV kids are so cloying. The film is too cloyingly sentimental. a surfeit [ˈsɜrfɪt] of something too much of something Rationing had put an end to a surfeit of biscuits long ago. a surfeit of wine. a surfeit of gossip ). You sicken me 你让我恶心. TBBT: Leonard: I hate to say it, but she did kind of betray you. Sheldon: Interesting. You see betrayal in others, but not yourself. Leonard: Going to Wheaton's party is not betraying you. Sheldon: Oh, of course you would have to believe that 你当然会那么想. Evil always thinks it's doing right 坏人总觉得自己是对的. Excuse me, Stormtrooper. These are the droids you're looking for. Leonard: I'm going to a party. I'm not turning R2-D2 and C-3PO over to the empire! Sheldon: Not yet. Raj: So, what's gonna happen next? Are you and Bernadette going to break up? Howard: I don't know. If we're going to get back together, she's going to have to apologize and accept that I'm a grown man who can make his own decisions. Raj: Then she's going to have to convince your mother to let you go into space. Howard: Obviously. TBBT: Bernadette: Oh, God, you're right. I took our love and threw it under his bus-sized mother. I need to apologize. Penny: Well, that, that's good. I'm glad you came to that. But before you do, let me just ask you a big picture question. Bernadette: What? Penny: Are you a hundred percent positive you love and want to marry Howard Wolowitz? Bernadette: I do, with all my heart. Penny: Got it. Just had to check. 5. sauté [sɔˈteɪ] [soʊˈteɪ] verb. to cook something quickly in a small amount of butter or oil. When you sauté food, you fry it quickly in hot oil or butter. Sauté the chicken until golden brown. ...sautéed mushrooms. noun. a meal made from food cooked quickly in a small amount of butter or oil. "a sauté of squash, potatoes, and corn". a sauté of liver and bacon. wiki: Sautéing or sauteing (UK: [ˈsoʊteɪ.ɪŋ], US: [soʊˈteɪ.ɪŋ] 'jumped, bounced' in reference to tossing while cooking) is a method of cooking that uses a relatively small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Various sauté methods exist. Ingredients for sautéing are usually cut into small pieces or thinly sliced to provide a large surface area, which facilitates fast cooking. The primary mode of heat transfer during sautéing is conduction between the pan and the food being cooked. Food that is sautéed is browned while preserving its texture, moisture, and flavor. If meat, chicken, or fish is sautéed, the sauté is often finished by deglazing the pan's residue to make a sauce. Sautéing may be compared with pan frying, in which larger pieces of food (for example, chops or steaks) are cooked quickly in oil or fat, and flipped onto both sides. Some cooks make a distinction between the two based on the depth of the oil used, while others use the terms interchangeably. Sautéing differs from searing in that searing only browns the surface of the food.
pork barrel VS political particularism VS Cultural pluralism VS Moral particularism (particularism [pəˈtɪkjʊləˌrɪzəm] VS universalism [ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəˌlɪzəm]) 1. Pork barrel, or simply pork, is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English and it indicates a negotiated way of political particularism. 2. In political science, political particularism ( I. exclusive attachment to the interests of one group, class, sect, etc, esp at the expense of the community as a whole. II. the principle of permitting each state or minority in a federation the right to further its own interests or retain its own laws, traditions, etc. III. theology the doctrine that divine grace is restricted to the elect. ) is the ability of policymakers to further their careers by catering to narrow interests rather than to broader national platforms. In a political system governed by particularism ( Cultural pluralism 文化多元 is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, whereby their values and practices are accepted by the dominant culture, provided such are consistent with the laws and values of the wider society. As a sociological term, the definition and description of cultural pluralism has evolved. It has been described as not only a fact but a societal goal.), sooner or later, the
decisive factor of politics becomes ethnic and religious identity and
the interests of the communities defined by these bonds. This stands in
contrast with the ideas and values of political pluralism 政治收买, with its
emphasis on universal rights, separation of religion and the government,
and an ethic of ethnic and religious tolerance. When an elected assembly - supposed to express collective interests - directs funds to a specific recipient (with local and personal Acts in United Kingdom, or earmarks in United States, for example), the parliamentary system is bent to political particularism. This way to legislate it is often characterized by its opponents as the politics of group identity that trumps universal rights and therefore the rights of minorities or any other kind of "other". By the way, it is in direct opposition to the concept of universality of the law and to the trustee model of representation; the practice - in the following countries - is often called pork barrel or earmark or patronage( earmark I. If resources such as money are earmarked for a particular purpose, they are reserved for that purpose. ...the extra money being earmarked for the new projects. The education department has earmarked £6m for the new school. Billions of dollars were earmarked to develop the country's infrastructure. ...money earmarked for environmental purposes. II. If something has been earmarked for closure or disposal, for example, people have decided that it will be closed or got rid of. Their support meant that he was not forced to sell the business which was earmarked for disposal last year. 50 libraries are believed to have been earmarked for closure. ), but these words do not always imply corrupt or undesirable conduct. 3. Rolling out the pork-barrel? Parties' marginal seat spending revealed: While campaign costings and big-ticket pledges( expensive. If you describe something as a big-ticket item, you mean that it costs a lot of money. Supercomputers are big-ticket items. big-ticket items like stereos and DVD players. ) have been hotly debated 热议, both major parties have quietly rolled out well over $60 million in combined promises to voters in the four Liberal-held battleground seats that will likely decide Saturday's election result. Marginal seats have long been gifted with political largesse ( largesse = largess [lɑrˈdʒes] 慷慨, 大方 I. uncountable generous acts of giving presents or money to a large number of people. Largesse is a generous gift of money or a generous act of kindness. ...grateful recipients of their largesse. ...his most recent act of largesse. II. countable money or presents given to a large number of people. ), particularly at election time, but the importance of the Government's four most marginal electorates – Adelaide, Elder, King and Newland – is underlined by a massive spending focus from both parties. 4. Moral particularism 道德专属性 is a theory in meta-ethics that runs counter to the idea that moral actions can be determined by applying universal moral principles 普世的道德标准, 普适的道德标准. It states that there is no set of moral principles that can be applied to every situation, making it an idea appealing to the causal nature of morally-challenging situations. Moral judgements are said to be determined by factors of relevance with the consideration of a particular context. A moral particularist, for example, would argue that homicide cannot be judged to be morally wrong until all the morally relevant facts are known. While this stands in stark contrast to other prominent moral theories, such as deontology, consequentialism and virtue ethics, it finds its way into jurisprudence, with the idea of justifiable homicide for instance. In this case, the morally relevant facts are based on context rather than principle. Critics would argue that even in this case, the principle still informs morally right action.
