用法学习: 1. Snow and freezing temperatures hit NSW's Blue Mountains: Parts of New South Wales have received a dumping of snow, just days before winter is officially over. The freezing conditions have created dangerous driving conditions for motorists, with black ice forming on some roads. Black ice is a thin coating of transparent ice on roads, which is often invisible to motorists. The ice hinders both the grip of car tyres and the effectiveness of brakes. "Allow that extra distance between yourself and the car in front of you," Mr Clarke said. "Slow down. And if you think you've slowed down enough, it doesn't hurt to take it down a bit further." Transport for New South Wales said it had sent out crews on Tuesday night to lay salt 撒盐 (rub salt into the wound) to try to prevent black ice. "The Northern Tablelands also received a light dusting ( dust verb. I. 撒上薄薄一层 (sprinkle). to put a thin layer of powder on something. If you dust something with a fine substance such as powder or if you dust a fine substance onto something, you cover it lightly with that substance. Lightly dust the fish with flour. Dust and blend blusher on the apples of your cheeks. Dry your feet well and then dust between the toes with baby powder. dust something with something: Dust the pan with flour. a thin layer a light dusting of grey on his hair. II. 擦灰尘. to wipe the dust off the surface of something such as furniture. When you dust something such as furniture, you remove dust from it, usually using a cloth. I vacuumed and dusted the living room. She dusted, she cleaned, and she did the washing-up. I'm very fortunate in that I don't have to do the washing-up or the dusting. I'll just dust the table. Elaine has already mopped the floor and dusted. dust down to wipe dust or dirt off the surface of something. dust off I. to get something ready to use that you have not used for a long time. I'm dusting off my old skills and returning to work. II. to wipe dust or dirt off the surface of something Would you dust off the shelves? crop-dusting 空中施药 the process of using aircraft to drop chemicals onto crops to kill insects. dust noun. I. Dust is very small dry particles of earth or sand. Tanks raise huge trails of dust when they move. He reversed into the stockade in a cloud of dust. II. Dust is the very small pieces of dirt which you find inside buildings, for example on furniture, floors, or lights. I could see a thick layer of dust on the stairs. The rooms were empty of furniture and dust lay everywhere. III. Dust is a fine powder which consists of very small particles of a substance such as gold, wood, or coal. The air is so black with diesel fumes and coal dust, I can barely see. to bite the dust If you say that something has bitten the dust, you are emphasizing that it no longer exists or that it has failed. In the last 30 years many cherished values have bitten the dust. The allegation has caused one lecturer's career to bite the dust. when the dust settles If you say that something will happen when the dust settles, you mean that a situation will be clearer after it has calmed down. If you let the dust settle before 风平浪静 doing something, you let a situation calm down before you try to do anything else. Once the dust had settled Beck defended his decision. I think we need to let the dust settle and see what's going to happen after that. to gather dust If you say that something is gathering dust, you mean that it has been left somewhere and nobody is using it or doing anything with it. Many of the machines are gathering dust in basements. The album is finally being released in October after gathering dust for over a year. )," Helen Kirkup from the Bureau of Meteorology said. 2. stack noun. I. A stack of things is a pile of them. There were stacks of books on the bedside table and floor. II. If you say that someone has stacks of something, you mean that they have a lot of it. If the job's that good, you'll have stacks of money. verb. I. If you stack a number of things, you arrange them in neat piles. to arrange things so that they are placed one on top of another She began stacking dishes on the serving cart. Cardboard boxes were stacked ceiling high. Mme Cathiard was stacking the clean bottles in crates. They are stacked neatly in piles of three. He ordered them to stack up pillows behind his back. ...plates of delicious food stacked up on the counters. a. to fill a machine or space by putting things in it on top of each other. They went down to a small yard stacked high with garbage. b. to put things so that they are standing one beside another She was examining the paintings stacked against the wall. c. to make planes fly above or below other planes while waiting to land. d. stacking coupons 多个折扣一块用: When done correctly, learning how to stack coupons can drive the cost of your grocery and household items down. Sometimes, you can even get items for free by stacking coupons! As the term suggests, "stacking coupons" means using more than one coupon towards the purchase of the same item or items. Manufacturer coupons limit you to one coupon per item purchased. Therefore, the only "stacking" you can correctly do is using a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon, and NOT another manufacturer coupon. II. If someone in authority stacks an organization or body, they fill it with their own supporters so that the decisions it makes will be the ones they want it to make. They said they were going to stack 塞满, 填满 the court with anti-abortion judges. The committee is stacked with members from energy-producing states. the odds/cards/things are stacked against sb used for saying that you are likely to fail, often because people are being unfair. If you say that the odds are stacked against someone, or that particular factors are stacked against them, you mean that they are unlikely to succeed in what they want to do because the conditions are not favourable. The odds are stacked against civilians getting a fair trial. Everything seems to be stacked against us. stacked adj. If a place or surface is stacked with objects, it is filled with piles of them. Shops in Ho Chi Minh City are stacked with goods. ...his house has 20 rooms stacked with paintings. chimney stack = chimney-stack A chimney stack is the brick or stone part of a chimney that is above the roof of a building. be stacked against you if something is stacked against you, it is unfair and will probably cause you to fail The evidence seems stacked against me. blow your top/stack to suddenly become very angry The boss will blow his top when he hears about this.
关于Servance: In 1994, Ben Stiller codified the generation X ethos into celluloid ( celluloid [ˈseljəˌlɔɪd] I. a thin clear plastic material used in the past for making film for cameras. II. celluloid used for making movies. You can use celluloid to refer to films and the cinema. King's works seem to lack something on celluloid. the latest celluloid star to brave the stage. celluloid ceiling the fact that women are under-represented as directors, producers, etc. in the film industry. ) with Reality Bites, which he directed and co-starred in as the film's villain. We know he's the villain because he works in an office and earns a real living, a marked contrast to the film's four underemployed, holier-than-thou [ˌhoʊliər ðən ˈðaʊ] hipster ( holier-than-thou [ˌhoʊliər ðən ˈðaʊ] 自以为高尚的 characterized by an attitude of moral superiority. behaving as if you are morally better than other people, in a way that annoys them "they had quite a critical, holier-than-thou approach". ) protagonists. The tragic uncoolness of office life would go on to define the Gen X film-making of the 90s; Fight Club, Office Space, The Matrix, and even Good Will Hunting hinged on its main characters rejecting the yuppie, office-bound lifestyle in favor of a more authentic existence. Stiller has never left his generation far behind, as his 2013 remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty similarly warned of getting stuck in a soul-crushing office job. But he has returned to his generation's ground zero with Severance, a hit series on AppleTV+ produced by Stiller (he also directed six of its nine episodes) that presents a uniquely dystopian ( dystopian [dɪsˈtoʊpiən] 乱世似的, 末世似的 Dire; characterized by human suffering or misery. relating to the idea that life is or can be extremely bad. an imaginary place where everything is as bad as it can be dystopian fiction/novels. The movie is set in a dystopian future. Kafkaesque [ˌkæfkəˈesk] 离奇古怪的, 荒诞不经的, 荒唐的, 荒谬绝伦的, 荒诞离奇的, 怪诞的 complicated, confusing, and threatening. of, characteristic of, or like the writings of Kafka; specif., surreal, nightmarish, confusingly complex, etc. wiki: Kafka's work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers. It has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include the short story "The Metamorphosis" and novels The Trial and The Castle. The term Kafkaesque has entered English to describe situations like those found in his writing. euphoric [juˈfɔrɪk] 狂喜的, 狂激动的 adj. If you are euphoric, you feel intense happiness and excitement. feeling extremely happy, usually for a short time only It had received euphoric support from the public. euphoria [juːˈfɔːriə] 狂欢 a feeling of great happiness that usually lasts for a short time only. Euphoria is a feeling of intense happiness and excitement. There was euphoria after the elections.After the euphoria of yesterday's celebrations, the country will come down to earth today. The news prompted a wave of euphoria. ) view of office life. Its success with a new generation shows how the values of Gen X continue to reverberate through the years. At its core, it's another mystery box show ( It's a show you toy with as it toys with you. Good mystery-box shows make this pleasurable, dazzling with inventive plots and compelling settings or characters, something to ground you as you dive into the unknown. They are not merely mysterious, or obtuse. Mystery Box is the term that Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams uses to explain the structure of a good mystery story: you drop people into the middle of a mystery-in-progress that leaves them wanting to know answers in both directions.), like Lost or True Detective (or any episode of Black Mirror), that teases the viewer with a big reveal. In this case, it's a search for the true nature of Lumon's work. The characters, led by Adam Scott's newly promoted department chief, start to rebel against their confinement and their faux-friendly managers, while they speculate on what the data they're processing actually represents. With these shows, the mystery is the engine that powers the plot, but the world and its characters are the real fascination. What keeps people watching Severance is its hilarious and terrifyingly astute ( US [əˈstut] UK [əˈstju:t] 精明的. 善于审时度势的. 头脑精明的. 反应快的. 头脑冷静的. 迅速判断形势的 精明的. 利益至上的. having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage. If you describe someone as astute, you think they show an understanding of behaviour and situations, and are skilful at using this knowledge to their own advantage. She was politically astute. He made a series of astute business decisions. "an astute businessman". good at judging situations and people quickly and able to use this knowledge for personal benefit. quickly and critically discerning. shrewd or crafty. It soon became clear that they had chosen astutely. With characteristic astuteness 性格精明, he spoke separately to all those involved. ) insights into the absurdism of corporate culture 公司文化. Listen to the god-like reverence ( reverence [ˈrev(ə)rəns] 崇敬, 尊敬 a strong feeling of respect and admiration for someone or something. Reverence for someone or something is a feeling of great respect for them. ...showing a deep reverence for their religion. They spoke of the old man with reverence. reverence for: a reverence for tradition. ) Lumon employees are required to espouse ( espouse [ɪˈspaʊz] 支持 to give your support to an idea, principle, or belief. the policies espoused by the government of Japan. ) for the company's deceased founder, Kier Egan. Note the meaningless prizes that management offers its employees, from pencil erasers, toy finger traps, and waffle parties, for various levels of achievement. The most recent episode marked the debut of the "music dance experience" offered by middle manager Mr Milchik (Tramell Tillman) to the series' four central workers just as the group is on the precipice [ˈpresəpɪs] of rebellion. It's a sanctioned, five-minute dance party with their choice of music (they go with Defiant Jazz) that, for a few minutes at least, calms their restless spirits. With these Kafkaesque notes, series creator Dan Erickson deftly 熟练的 captures 捕捉到 the oppressiveness of modern office life. It's persuasive and terrifying at once 即, 又( I. immediately Bake for 35 minutes and then serve at once. The women met at a party and became good friends at once. II. 同时 at the same time Kolya, a movie from the Czech Republic, is at once extremely funny and sad. ). When the music comes on, you want to dance, even though you know it's a trick to keep you in your place. Stiller's generation may have viewed those who worked for corporations as sell-outs, but today's generation of white-collar workers have a more evolved antipathy 反感, 厌恶 towards the office. The attitude of Lumon's employees towards its management – a growing suspicion that explodes into contempt – reflects current realities in which businesses cling to their employees with desperation and workers are realizing the scope of their own power. Although the final two episodes of Severance's initial run have not yet aired, it has garnered enough buzz that a second season is surely in the offing ( in the offing likely to happen or appear soon. going to happen soon. If you say that something is in the offing, you mean that it is likely to happen soon. A general amnesty for political prisoners may be in the offing. With an election in the offing, the mayor is getting nervous. "there are several initiatives in the offing" ). 文章2: "What's Kafkaesque," he said in an interview in his Manhattan apartment, "is when you enter a surreal world in which all your control patterns, all your plans, the whole way in which you have configured your own behavior, begins to fall to pieces, when you find yourself against a force that does not lend itself to the way you perceive the world( lend itself (oneself) to 适合... to be adapted to, useful for, or open to. to be good or suitable for (a purpose). to be good for a particular use. to be suitable for being used in a particular way None of her books really lends itself to being made into a film. The book really lends itself to being turned into a film. Her voice lends itself well to (singing) opera. The topics lend themselves to classroom discussion. ). "You don't give up, you don't lie down and die. What you do is struggle against this with all of your equipment, with whatever you have. But of course you don't stand a chance. That's Kafkaesque." The word has become the "representative adjective of our times," Mr. Karl says in his recently published book, "Franz Kafka: Representative Man" (Ticknor and Fields) and subtitled "Prague, Germans, Jews and the Crisis of Modernism." Mr. Karl devotes the entire epilogue 后记 ( [ˈepɪˌlɑɡ] an extra part added at the end of a novel, long poem, or other piece of writing. ) to this elusive subject. 'Tells Us What We Are' "Kafkaesque," the author says, "defines us. It's the one word that tells us what we are, what we can expect, how the world works. And to find out what that means, you read Kafka. You read 'The Metamorphosis,' which is about a man who wakes up as a big bug, and then you know."
Severance: 1. goings-on 正在发生的破烂事 irregular or reprehensible happenings or conduct. If you describe events or activities as goings-on, you mean that they are strange, interesting, amusing, or dishonest. The girl had found out about the goings-on in the factory. ...strange goings-on between Cantrell and his men. 片段: Friend 2: So you walk in at 9:00 a.m., and then suddenly it's 5:00, and you're leaving? Well, they stagger us a little, so... They stagger you? And then, conversely (conversely [kənˈvɜrsli] [ˈkɑnˌvɜrsli] 相反的, 反过来说
You say conversely to indicate that the situation you are about to
describe is the opposite or reverse of the one you have just described.
used for introducing a sentence, or part of a sentence, which says
something that is the opposite of the other part. When the press was biased towards the political right, television coverage tended to lean to the left. Conversely, if the press swung heavily to the left, television would have to redress the balance by leaning to the right. Some wrong answers were marked right and, conversely, some right answers had been rejected. In real life, nobody was all bad, nor, conversely, all good. on the contrary 正相反 = contrary to popular belief
You use on the contrary when you have just said or implied that
something is not true and are going to say that the opposite is true. It is not an idea around which the Community can unite. On the contrary, I see it as one that will divide us.), when you're at work, you can't access outside memories. So, in effect, that version of you is trapped there. Ricken: Well, uh... I mean, not trapped, but... Mark: But what? No, no. I'm curious. What were you gonna say? But not trapped, but what? What were you saying? So I suppose we know where you fall on the congressional goings-on. Okay, I think we may be missing the point here. Yeah. The point is that Mark made a decision. And that decision was controversial, ethically and socially. Morally. Scientifically. But, Mark, I stand behind you without reservation. 2. A trust fall is a team-building exercise in which a person deliberately falls, trusting the members of a group (spotters) to catch them. There are many variants of the trust fall. In one type, the group stands in a circle, with one person in the middle with arms folded against his chest and falls in various directions, being pushed by the group back to a standing position before falling again. In another variant, a person stands on an elevated position (such as a stage, stepping stool or tree stump) and relies on multiple people to catch them. This variant is potentially more dangerous and often leads to injuries. Furthermore, while the fall may establish trust in the exercise, "there is little evidence that this trust spills over into day-to-day life". 片段: Mr. milchick: Hello, Refiners. Ooh, sweet. Melon bar. Hi, Mr. Milchick. Helly, welcome. I'm agog at ( agog [əˈɡɑɡ] excited and interested. If you are agog, you are excited about something, and eager to know more about it. The city was agog with rumours last night that the two had been executed. "I remember at one point being agog at Brad," Cox said of his time on the "Troy" set. ) how well I can tell you're already fitting in. The office feels whole 感觉圆满. Now, let's get this party started. Well, uh, my name is Irving, as you all know. And I've worked here for three years, and something about me is that I know all nine core Lumon principles. Awesome. What's your favorite? All nine. But today, I think I'd say, "cheer". Great. Uh-oh! Uh, no trust fall today, Irv. 3. Waiter: Mm-hmm. So, Lumon? Yeah. Like half this town. And half of me. That was a joke. It was funny. Yeah. Um, I'm in the archives division, sort of a corporate historian, apparently. Mmm. Um, so a lot of sensitive material, hence the... ( Clicks tongue ) So you don't know... who you work with, or what you do, or... or anything? Yeah, that's the idea. What if you snuck in a note? You can't sneak notes. So... You could have a girlfriend at Lumon... Thank you. ...and not know it. And if you met someone out here, you wouldn't know it in there. Like, you could get married and have kids, and just forget they exist for eight hours every day, for your whole life. That doesn't mess with your head? I think for some people, it's the point. Date: So, as a local, this just feels like a reasonable temperature to you? Mark: Well, technically, I'm from Ganz. And you're one to talk 你还好意思说, 你还说呢. Isn't Minnesota, like, crazy cold with the lakes? Yes. Minnesota was very cold the one time I visited from my home in Montana. Oh, so... so those are different places. Uh-huh. So do you live in Lumon housing? You make it sound like dorms or something. ( Both chuckle ) No, I just meant that there's... I live in Baird Creek. And, yes, they happen to be subsidized by the company that employs me. 4. Petitioner 1: Excuse me, do you have a moment for children's brain health? Petitioner 2: And legalized severance in the workplace? Oh, nice. The WMC's out and about 出来晃, 招摇撞骗 ( active; doing the things you usually do: The doctor says she's making a good recovery, and she should be out and about in a few days' time.). Who? The Whole Mind Collective. They're great. Petitioner 1: Most severed workers don't see the sun their whole lives. Uh, excuse me, do you have a moment for children's brain health? Passerby: We're all good 我们不需要. You folks have a moment for children's brain health? We do. Great! We're trying to get a measure on ( have/take/get the measure of (someone) = take someone's measure assess the character or abilities of (someone or something). to have or get a good understanding about what is needed to defeat or deal with (someone one is competing against). to understand what someone is really like so that you can decide how to deal with them or defeat them. to assess the nature, character, quality, etc, of someone She seems to have got the measure of the champion. She failed to take the measure of her opponent. "he's got her measure—she won't fool him". 关于measure on a ballot: In the United States, a ballot measure is a law, issue, or question that appears on a statewide or local ballot for voters of the jurisdiction to decide. This page provides an overview of the different types of ballot measures in the U.S., which can be (a) placed on the ballot through citizen initiative petitions; (b) referred to the ballot by the state legislature or local government body; or (c) automatically placed on the ballot with no action from a legislature or governing body via a state law or constitutional provision requiring such a ballot measure. There have been statewide ballot measures in each of the 50 states. Citizens can collect signatures to place measures on the ballot in 26 states. Every state but Delaware requires voters to ratify 批准 proposed state constitutional amendments—changes to a state's constitution. Citizens can collect signatures to place laws on the ballot in 26 states. There are various types of citizen-initiated ballot measures, which are outlined in the following sections. Ballot initiatives may take the form of either the direct or indirect initiative. Under the direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a vote after enough signatures are submitted. Under the indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the state legislature, and then only put to a popular vote if not enacted by the legislature. 用例 What it takes to put a measure on the ballot: Armed with a clipboard full of petition pages, Kristi Hargrove was on a mission. Surveying the sprawling grass of Denver's Washington Park, she dodged around crowds of volleyball players and zeroed in on people on the sidelines, starting conversations with a simple question: "Are you a Colorado voter?" An hour later, she'd gathered over 30 signatures, bringing Initiative 63 — which aims to set aside tax money for teacher salaries — that much closer to the fall ballot. "This is not my comfort zone by any stretch," Hargrove said. "The first day I was shaking so hard, I couldn't even hold the petition board. But it's gotten easier." Initiative campaigns have until Monday to turn in petitions for the state to verify in order to get their issues on the ballot. With that deadline looming, some grassroots efforts have spent recent weeks in a sprint for signatures. Though nearly every person Hargrove approached agreed to sign, she said it will still be difficult for volunteers to meet the state's requirements of at least 124,632 valid signatures. The campaign did hire some paid collectors, but they ended that effort weeks ago. Each signature cost about $6, according to the registered agent for the initiative's issue committee. That price might seem high. But political consultant Rick Ridder said initiatives should budget around $2 million if they want to be sure of getting on the ballot. His firm, RBI Strategies & Research, has led a number of campaigns for progressive issues. Ridder said a campaign has to start with either a large group of passionate people, or a lot of money – and ideally it has both. Even if polling shows that enough people might vote yes to make an initiative worth it, there's a long process to actually get on the ballot. First the language goes to nonpartisan analysts at the General Assembly who ensure the language of the initiative matches proponents' intent. After that, the measure is handed off to the Title Board, which judges whether it meets the rules for ballot initiatives and sets its final title. At each of these steps, proponents may have to make changes large and small to meet the legal criteria. That process can create a time crunch to finally get all the necessary signatures – many initiatives only get approval to begin collecting in June. Ridder said at this point, it comes down to math: organizers should shoot for at least 210,000 signatures to have a comfortable cushion, since the state always throws some out in the verification process. At the rate of 30 signatures an hour, that comes out to about 7,000 hours of petition gathering. Getting there requires a lot of paid workers, or an army of volunteers. RBI consults on the Natural Medicine Health Act, which would legalize psychedelic mushrooms and has already qualified for the ballot. That campaign has raised about $2.7 million, according to recent filings, and Ridder said paid circulators collected most of its signatures. There is a competing measure also trying to make the ballot, one that would decriminalize plant-based psychedelic substances without legalizing them. In contrast to NMHA, it's an all-volunteer effort. It's rare for a purely volunteer campaign to get the number of signatures needed, said Josh Penry, a principal at 76 Group, a conservative political consulting firm. While a grassroots component is crucial for most campaigns, successful initiatives generally also have money. "Ballot initiatives become a marriage of opinion leaders," he said. "Then there has to be a marriage with individuals or organizations who can resource up 提供资源 a campaign." Despite these odds, citizens who feel passionately about various issues still make their pushes for the ballot. That's the case with the volunteers trying to make abortion illegal in nearly all circumstances in Colorado. Organizer Angela Eicher said she ran into issues when she reached out to prominent opponents of abortion rights, asking them to support Initiative 56. "There's a lot of resistance of, 'Well, no, that's not the right strategy,' or 'We don't like how this is worded, or that is worded,'" she said. "Our main resistance 最大阻力 so far has actually come from pro-life leaders, which is so comical, but so frustrating." ) the ballot to keep mega-corporations like Lumon from continuing to force legalized severance on our state. They're forcing it now? That's what they're lobbying for. And Jame Eagan is trying to sever kids... Okay, well, what about the self-mutilating types who do it willingly 自愿做的? I mean, I heard that some of them are so deluded they don't even know they're victims. I also heard that if you're severed, you go to two separate hells. Is that true? Hey, man, you wanna benefit off forced labor, that's up... Hey, man. Forced labor? ...then that's up to you. fucking really? Hey! Yeah. Forced labor? Okay. Really. So people can just, like, self-imprison? Are you captive right now? No, seriously, because your past self chose to walk you down here to be an infantilizing ( infantilize [ɪnˈfæntəlaɪz] 把人当小孩子一样戏耍 [ɪnˈfæntəlaɪz] to treat someone like a child. to encourage or force someone to behave like a child The language of corporate memos seeks to infantilize its recipients. Politicians and the media have conspired to infantilize the American public. All this glittery girliness encourages the infantilization of women. ) prick to people. Severance is subjugation (subjugate [ˈsʌbdʒʊɡeɪt] 欺压, 制服, 压迫
to defeat a place or a group of people and force them to obey you. a.
If someone subjugates a group of people, they take complete control of
them, especially by defeating them in a war. People in the region are fiercely independent and resist all attempts to subjugate them. ...the brutal subjugation of native tribes. b. If your wishes or desires are subjugated to something, they are treated as less important than that thing. Health, common sense, and self-respect are subjugated to 让位于 the cause of looking 'hot'. Just 50 years later, England was again subjugated by the Normans. The so called war on drugs really did a lot to divide the police force and the public, especially those who are poor and/or disenfranchised or historically subjugated such as Blacks and Hispanics. subjugation [ˌsʌb.dʒəˈɡeɪ.ʃən] I. the act of defeating people or a country and ruling them in a way that allows them no freedom: They are bravely resisting subjugation by their more powerful neighbours. II. the act of treating a person or their wishes or beliefs as less important than other people or their wishes or beliefs: The subjugation of women is a central theme in her work.), asshоlе. Oh, oh, that's nice language for a... What... What are you? Twelve? Are you 12 years old? Are you even in high school yet? 5. Nothing scary yet. Nothing scary yet. Oh, God! A four! Don't fuck around. I told you, you'll understand when you see it, so just be patient. What even are these numbers? Like, do we even know what we're supposedly cleaning? My theory? The sea. The sea? Yeah. Think about it. Okay, if our outies are up there severing their brains, shit must have gotten pretty bad. Famine, plagues, et cetera. So what is a desperate humanity to do? Populate the sea? Populate the sea. But first, they gotta send probes down to the sea to clean up all the deadly eels and shit, 'cause we can't cohabitate with that. So we send the probes down, they send us the data coded, we sense what's eels, and then we tell the probes what to blow up. This is the leading theory? Nah, Irv thinks we're cutting swear words out of movies. But what is it? Like, what... what are we actually workin' on down there? I don't know. I thought without severance it would make more sense, but... They separate us from the other departments. We don't even know how many there are. But I've been reintegrated for two weeks now. I've been mapping out the floor. I hid the original for you when I left. 6. Ms. cobel: Mark. So you're a doula ( A doula [ˈdulə] ( a woman who gives help and support to another woman before, during, and after the birth of her baby. a woman who is trained to provide support to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period of time following the birth Doulas work in homes, hospitals and birth centers. ) is a trained, non-medical companion who assists a woman before, during and after childbirth. A doula provides support and advocacy, mediating between the woman and her maternity-care providers. They also serve as advocates and a 'voice' for the mother if she feels she needs it. A doula is a trained companion who is not a healthcare professional and who supports another person through a significant health-related experience, such as childbirth, miscarriage, induced abortion or stillbirth, or non-reproductive experiences such as dying. )? Date: A midwife, actually. Hmm. And how many deliveries have you, I don't know, seen? 7. My apologies. No, I think it's fascinating. I mean, I wish I could do it. I'd just always be thinking about, you know, the other one. Well... ( Stammers ) ...there is no other one. It's me. I do the job. I just don't grasp the visceral element ( Visceral feelings 本能的, 发自肺腑的, 发自内心的, 内心深处的 are feelings that you feel very deeply and find it difficult to control or ignore, and that are not the result of thought. I never overcame a visceral antipathy for the monarchy. ...the sheer visceral joy of being alive. vocabulary: When something's visceral, you feel it in your guts. A visceral feeling is intuitive — there might not be a rational explanation, but you feel that you know what's best, like your visceral reaction against egg salad. Your hatred of mice may not be rational, but it is visceral, and every time you see one, you feel like you're going to faint. And when you had to decide whether you were going to stay in Florida or move to Texas, even though you had a good job in Orlando you had a visceral feeling that Texas would be the right choice . . . and it turned out you were meant to be a rancher! Visceral can also mean "relating to the viscera," with viscera being your organs. ). What does it feel like? Well, it's simple. One's memories are bifurcated ( bifurcate 分支, 两叉, 岔开, 分叉 [ˈbaɪfərˌkeɪt] to divide into two separate parts, especially parts that go in different directions. If something such as a line or path bifurcates or is bifurcated, it divides into two parts which go in different directions. A single furrow may bifurcate and form a letter Y. ...the bifurcation between high art and popular culture. splay [spleɪ] 叉开的, 四散分开的
to stretch or spread something, especially your body or part of your
body, in a way that often looks strange. If things splay or are splayed,
their ends are spread out away from each other. He splayed his fingers across his face.His fingers splay out in a star shape. He was on his stomach, his legs splayed apart. She was splayed out across the couch. splayed spread out or turned out the
splayed legs of a stool. He was on his stomach, his legs splayed apart.
Tears flooded through his splayed fingers. The woman in the photo was
wearing a long pleated skirt, one foot splayed out to the side. He was
born with a hip deformity that caused severely splayed feet. ), so when you're not at work, you have no recollection of what it is you do there. Did I get that right, Mark? 片段: I'm proud of you for taking that job. I really am. And I think she would've been too. I know she would've been. I just feel like forgetting about her for eight hours a day isn't the same thing as healing. You wanna crash here, since you're already here? No. Why? Your house smells like pregnancy. Mmm. Uh, yeah, I'm just not grasping the visceral element of it. 片段: Whoa, what's happening? Great to see you. Your orientation's been so much fun. Uh, where am I? Okay, so sometimes when a new hire 新员工, 新来的 is adjusting to a severed space, we help by bringing them here to the stairwell, to experience the transition viscerally. Oh, no. I'm trying to leave? No, no. It's all part of the process. If you wanna spin around and head back in, that should be that ( Diam's does not like the idea of integrating. "If you're French, you're French and that should be that 就没有问题了, 就好了, 仅此而已, 就是这样," she said. "Telling a 12-year-old boy that he needs to integrate is putting a doubt in his mind. It's telling him: You're not really from here." She admits that she is stereotyping the other France. 例子: Roy can only think of one solution, since there's no star that shines in the night sky that will lead you to a dentist: knocking on doors until he finds one. Eventually, they are successful in locating a pleasant woman who recognizes Roy and is happy to help out. She confirms that this is some terrible breath, and she soon susses out that Phoebe has dry mouth from the antihistamines she's been taking to deal with her cat allergies, and dry mouth leads to bad breath. The dentist suggests getting rid of the cat, but the very protective Keeley is having none of it. So Phoebe gets a prescription for some medication, and that should be that 原本就是这样了, 原本就到此为止了. But Roy being Roy, he's not quite done yet. What does he need? Poster board and markers. ). Not a problem. Wanna give it another shot? Maybe with a little oomph [ʊmf] ( [informal, approval] enthusiasm, or energy. If you say that someone or something has oomph, you mean that they are energetic and exciting. 'There's no buzz, there's no oomph about the place,' he complained. )? Wow. You're an inquisitive [ɪnˈkwɪzətɪv] ( 好奇宝宝, 问题多的. An inquisitive person likes finding out about things, especially secret things. Barrow had an inquisitive nature. Bears are very inquisitive and must be kept mentally stimulated. Molly looked at Ann inquisitively. 'Where do you want to go?' I liked children, loved their innocence and their inquisitiveness. a. eager to learn about a lot of different things. an intelligent and inquisitive young man. b. asking a lot of questions about things, especially things that people do not want to talk about an inquisitive reporter. ) one. I don't wanna be in there, do I? You're learning that you do. Hey, when we heard you were coming here, it was like a miracle. It's amazing what you're doing. 8. Uh, it's been weird since Petey left. I mean, you know, he... he was... He set the tone. If Petey were the tone-setter you're lionizing ( lionize [ˈlaɪəˌnaɪz] 夸为, 尊为, 尊崇为, 偶像似的崇拜 (idolatrous [ʌɪˈdɒlətrəs] 偶像崇拜似的) to treat someone as though they are famous or important. If someone is lionized, they are treated as if they are very important or special by a particular group of people, often when they do not really deserve to be. By the 1920's, he was lionised by literary London. The press began to lionize him enthusiastically. In 1936, Max Schmeling had been lionised as boxing's great hope. ) him as, he'd still be here. What does that mean? Are you gonna make me throw my mug at you? I... ( Stammers ) Why would you... Get MDR to its numbers. Okay. Mark? What I just did was something I knew that you could handle and grow from. It was very painful for me. I hope that you'll let it help you. 9. Mark! It's an emergency. Mark, sighing: Okay. Uh, all right... I was going to get Mr. Milchick, but I thought it best not to break the chain of command 逐层上报, 越级上报. It's just raining contraband 禁运品 today. What do you mean? It doesn't matter. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Passage 31, page 110. "Be content in my words, and dally ( dally to be very slow in doing something. a. If you dally 慢吞吞的, you act or move very slowly, wasting time. The bureaucrats dallied too long. He did not dally over the choice of a partner. dilly-dally verb. to waste time. b. If someone dallies with you, they have a romantic, but not serious, relationship with you. In the past he had dallied with lots of attractive women. dally with someone old-fashioned to have a short sexual relationship with someone. dally with something to consider an idea or course of action but not in a serious way. She had often dallied with the thought of leaving him. ) not in the scholastic ( scholastic [skəˈlæstɪk] education I. 学业上的. 学业方面的 connected with schools, teaching, or studying. Your scholastic achievement or ability is your academic achievement or ability while you are at school. ...the values which encouraged her scholastic achievement. scholastic achievement. II. connected with scholasticism. ) pursuits of lesser men." No books except the handbook. I know. Irving: What are you doing? His ego's pissed 自尊心受打击 'cause Helly called him out for boot-licking ( bootlick 舔屁股 behave obsequiously towards (someone) in order to gain favour. "several senior party officials stampeded to bootlick her". booty I. uncountable mainly literary valuable goods that are taken illegally or by force, especially in a war. Booty 抢来的东西, 战争劫掠品 is a collection of valuable things stolen from a place, especially by soldiers after a battle. Troops destroyed the capital and confiscated many works of art as war booty. II. countable American informal a person's bottom. III. uncountable humorous valuable goods that you have obtained, for example by shopping. She couldn't wait to get her booty 买来的东西, 战利品 home and try it on. booty call mainly American informal an invitation to have sex. I want a romantic relationship, no booty calls or one-night stands. ). My ego's fine. I'm just trying to... Damn. Mark, what is this? Maybe it's another Petey message. Flip through 翻翻看, 翻一遍, 翻一翻(书). See if my name's anywhere. I bet it's a loyalty test 测试忠诚. Remember the spicy candy? I'll be turning this in to Milchick. What? Why? It's booty. It's booty with your name on it. Excellent decision, Mark. This is an idolatrous text ( idolatrous [ʌɪˈdɒlətrəs] (lionize [ˈlaɪəˌnaɪz] 夸为, 尊为, 尊崇为) adj. I. 偶像崇拜的 relating to or practising idolatry; idol-worshipping. "idolatrous religions". II. showing extreme admiration or reverence for something. having or showing excessive admiration or devotion "America's idolatrous worship of the auto". ) that should be brought to him immediately. So what's their space like? Stalactites ( stalactite [stəˈlækˌtaɪt] 钟乳石 a long pointed piece of rock that hangs down from the roof of a cave, formed by chemicals in water drops that have fallen over many years. A stalactite is a long piece of rock which hangs down from the roof of a cave. Stalactites are formed by the slow dropping of water containing the mineral lime. ) and shit? No, it's nice. Burt's fostered 打造, 营造 a really welcoming environment ( Since the group disbanded in 2005, Williams has released several solo albums and fostered a successful musical theatre career across Broadway and the West End. ). He understands the spirit of Lumon. 10. You're such a hypocrite, lecturing me on following the rules. I wasn't lecturing you. I'm just trying to keep you out of the break room. I can't believe Petey was a mapper. Let me see it. He's got wellness, management, perpetuity... Everywhere we know of. This must've taken him weeks. Why aren't we supposed to map the office? It's an Eagan rule. "Render not my creation in miniature." Why? What the fuck is this? They look like houses, right? That's how houses look. Yeah, exactly, because these are random, bored doodles 涂鸦, 瞎写乱画. Well, maybe they're on the outside and Petey found a way to get to them. So why would they be on a map of the severed floor? It could be a thing. You don't know. It's not a thing. Clearly he was trying to tell you something. Uh, no. Go lick a boot, Mark. You're more loyal to this place than to your friend. I'm loyal to how it felt around here before you showed up. You mean when Petey was here? Yeah, because there was balance. We could have fun and work without the whole goddamn department imploding. The work is bullshit. The work is mysterious and important. And we deal with the uncertainty it brings us in the way that Kier would've wanted. Together, as a family. I could not, with a razor to my throat, be less interested in being your family. Your best friend left this for you, and you don't give a shit. 11. My delts ( delts [delts] 三角肌 informal deltoid muscles. the thick muscle forming the rounded contour of the outer edge of the shoulder and acting to raise the arm. shaped like a Greek capital delta, Δ; triangular. ) are embarrassingly good today. My outie does muscle shows for sure. If your outie did muscle shows, you wouldn't have to work here. I'm sorry, do you know how much muscle shows pay? No, none of us can know that. Irving: I imagine it's a tiered 分层级的 system. Perhaps there are monetary prizes for gold, silver and bronze. Dylan: No, uh, my guess is that they do it piecemeal per muscle. So... Irving: No, I don't think so. Dylan: Best delt, 30 bucks. Best ab, 20 bucks. Biceps are a little flashier, 75 bucks. I would think lats ( latissimus dorsi muscles. [ləˈtɪsɪməs ˈdɔːrsaɪ] 背阔肌 The pair of muscles are commonly known as "lats", especially among bodybuilders. The latissimus dorsi is the largest muscle in the upper body. ) carry a high value. They're considered very attractive in muscle-building circles. And in society at large. Dylan: Lats are bullshit, dude... Irving: The center of a good physique 好身材. Dylan: You are alone on this one, Irv... You've never noticed my lats? ...I assure you. Never once. Irving: You don't understand why my posture's ramrod straight. You see how... 12. Hey, uh, just in case you find this relevant for some reason, the code detectors can read messages hidden inside the body as well. Also, when that happens, it's Milchick's job to extract the message from you. And when he asks how long ago you ingested it, I really can't recommend honesty enough. It's easier for you both if he knows which end to start from. Another good try though. Mm-hmm. Go shut down your workstation. We're taking a trip. 13. I can tell you that right now, young boy. All eight CEOs have been of the Eagan lineage 这一脉的. A line dating back to the founder. I have a mnemonic [nɪˈmɑnɪk] 口诀 ( a sentence or short poem that you use for helping you to remember something. A mnemonic is a word, short poem, or sentence that is intended to help you remember things such as scientific rules or spelling rules. For example, 'i before e, except after c' is a mnemonic to help people remember how to spell words like ' believe' and ' receive'. ...mnemonic devices. ) poem to help you remember their names. I authored it myself, and of course, it falls outside corporate canon, and it's poetically imperfect, to be sure. There's a slant rhyme in the second verse, of "Ambrose" to "ban those," which was necessary to further the narrative, but regrettable. Ambrose is sometimes unfairly maligned as a black sheep in the annals ( annals [ˈæn(ə)lz] 编年史 I. the official records of an organization, arranged according to their date. If something is in the annals of a nation or field of activity, it is recorded as part of its history. He has become a legend in the annals of military history. the annals of something 全史 the whole history of something an event unprecedented in the annals of war. II. Annals is used in the titles of journals of a particular field of academic research. It was published in the 'Annals of Internal Medicine'. ) of the family. What's this? Irving: And it certainly wasn't my intent to slight him further, but I think you'll find... 14. Burt. Hi. I trust that your session was good. Great, very restorative. Wa... You two know each other? We were just admiring some Lumon artwork together, very briefly. Remember, we'll have those new handbook totes soon. So exciting. Thanks for the tip. You got business 出来有事, 有事做, 有工作, or you out for a stroll 出来散步? Dylan. Dylan: What? I think you guys are cool, and I'm just wondering what you're up to. It's rare seeing you out of your hole. Egg drop challenge in the team-building space. Tight department like us gotta keep our synergy ( synergy [ˈsɪnərdʒi] the extra energy or effectiveness that people or businesses create when they combine their efforts Profitability is expected to benefit from synergies between the two operations.) up. Egg drop challenge. You buy this fucking shit? And what are you guys doing? Felicia. Perpetuity wing visit. Uh, this is Helly, our new refiner. This is... Welcome, Helly. Well, we should get back. Can't leave the nest empty. 15. salutation [ˌsæljəˈteɪʃ(ə)n] I. a standard word or phrase that is used at the beginning of a letter, for example "Dear Sirs" or "Dear Julia". The salutation of a letter is the phrase that is used at the beginning of it, such as 'Dear Sir' or 'Dear Mr Rodd'. II. formal 打招呼. a word or phrase that is used for saying hello to someone. Salutation or a salutation is a greeting to someone. Jackson nodded a salutation. The old man moved away, raising his hand in salutation. 片段: The Board would like you to speak first. Oh, yes. Of course. Salutations. So the search for Kilmer continues. I will say this. Not to be alarmist, but prior to his departure, there were some troubling signs of possible... reintegration. So, the Board is conveying pretty strongly that the severance procedure is provenly irreversible 不可逆转的, 不可逆的. Yes... And that this knowledge should be a given for a person managing a severed floor. Yes, of course. While, of course, getting MDR to their projected numbers by the quarterly deadline in three weeks. Yes, of course. ( Chuckles ) We are quickly rekindling our yield down here with our nimble new refiner. And for what it's worth, I'd like... The Board has concluded the call. 16. There's seriously a two-person department? Like, they only ever see each other? For the most part. It's lonely, I suspect. And unnatural. Perverse. O&D is nice. No, they're not. Nor do they share our values. Kier sorted the departments by virtue. Macrodats are clever and true, while O&D's more cruelty-centered. How many departments are there? Probably 30. Around five. No one's quite sure. O&D tried a violent coup on the others decades ago, and that's why they reduced them down to two. And that's why they keep us all so far apart now. That's an absolute fiction. Did they ever kill anyone? Nope. There was no coup. No one killed anyone. Helly: Then why don't we ever hang out? I mean, I'm 99% sure there was no coup. If they come back and attack us, I think we should kill Mark. Oh, yeah? Yeah. So they think we're crazy with nothing to lose. Smart. That's smart. Like, I'm imagining them rounding a corner, and we're all blood-soaked, and I'm wearing your face, and they're like, "Whose face is that?" And I'm like, "The last person who fuckеd with us." And that's just feeling like a really powerful image to me. Just... Seems like they'd recognize my face. Maybe if you wore it inside out? 17. It's an unnatural state for a person to have no history. History makes us someone. Gives us a context. A shape. But waking up on that table, I was shapeless. But then I learned that I work for a company that has been actively caring for mankind since 1866. Look. Look. Each of these is a real smile from someone on the outside. Someone Lumon Industries has helped. And they rotate these through. The true number of smiles may well be in the millions. So what are we, like, a dental company? chuckling: No. My point is you're part of a history now. A noble one. What's that in your, uh, pocket, Mark? Hmm? Oh, um... I, um... Oh, God, Mark. Still, hmm? It's... for fun. It's the perpetuity wing. It's the Eagans. It's the living soul of Lumon and everything she stands for, not a bingo match. Look, Kier said, "Keep a merry humor ever in your heart." chuckles: Oh. Did you give one to the trainee? Hmm? Of course, you did. I... She's starved for meaning here. So, of course, you'd pervert our founder's message with jokes and impiety ( impiety [ɪmˈpaɪɪtɪ] I. lack of reverence or proper respect for a god. II. any lack of proper respect. III. an impious act. impious [ɪmpiəs] & [ɪmˈpaɪəs] adj 亵渎的, 大不敬的 If you describe someone as impious, you mean that they show a lack of respect for religious things. showing a lack of respect for a god or religion. ). That's definitely what she needs from her department chief. Hey, I didn't want to be department chief. I didn't ask for Petey to disappear and for...
