用法学习: 1. magnum opus [ˌmaɡnəm ˈəʊpəs] 代表作 a great work especially. the greatest achievement of an artist or writer. A magnum opus is the greatest or most important work produced by a writer, artist, musician, or academic. ...Gadamer's magnum opus 'Truth and Method'. exact [ɪgzækt] adj. I. Exact means correct in every detail. For example, an exact copy is the same in every detail as the thing it is copied from. I don't remember the exact words. The exact number of protest calls has not been revealed. It's an exact copy of the one which was found in Ann Alice's room. Try to locate exactly where the smells are entering the room. The system worked perfectly, exactly as his training and plans had led him to expect. What exactly goes wrong with those suffering from senile dementia? Both drugs will be exactly the same. Barton couldn't remember exactly. II. You use exact before a noun to emphasize that you are referring to that particular thing and no other, especially something that has a particular significance. I hadn't really thought about it until this exact moment. Do you really think I could get the exact thing I want? It may be that you will feel the exact opposite of what you expected. These are exactly the people who do not vote. He knew exactly what he was doing. III. If you describe someone as exact, you mean that they are very careful and detailed in their work, thinking, or methods. Formal, exact 细致的, 一丝不苟的, 精细的, 心细的 and obstinate, he was also cold, suspicious, touchy and tactless. exhaustive 事无巨细的, 应有尽有的, 详尽的, 完全的, 详实的 [ɪgzɔːstɪv] adj. If you describe a study, search, or list as exhaustive, you mean that it is very thorough and complete. This is not an exhaustive list but it shows how many projects are taking place. The author's treatment of the subject is exhaustive. Hawley said these costs were scrutinised exhaustively by independent accountants. ...an exhaustively researched, sensitively written account. verb. When someone exacts something, they demand and obtain it from another person, especially because they are in a superior or more powerful position. Already he has exacted a written apology from the chairman of the commission. They, too, would be likely to exact a high price for their cooperation. II. If someone exacts revenge on a person (take [one's] revenge on. Seek, want/exact, get, have, take, wreak He vowed to take his revenge on the man who had killed his brother. ), they have their revenge on them. She uses the media to help her exact a terrible revenge. III. If something exacts a high price 代价很大, 代价巨大, it has a bad effect on a person or situation. The sheer physical effort had exacted a heavy price. The strain of a violent ground campaign will exact a toll on troops. to be exact You say to be exact to indicate that you are slightly correcting or giving more detailed information about what you have been saying. A small number–five, to be exact–have been bad. I consider myself to be a liberal democrat, or to be more exact, a democratic liberal. wreak [riːk] (wreaked, wrought) I. Something or someone that wreaks havoc or destruction causes a great amount of disorder or damage. Violent storms wreaked havoc on the French Riviera, leaving three dead and dozens injured. Who knows if the volcano might once again wreak destruction? ...the devastation wrought by a decade of fighting. II. If you wreak revenge or vengeance on someone, you do something that will harm them very much to punish them for the harm they have done to you. He threatened to wreak vengeance on the men who toppled him a year ago. wrought [rɔːt] verb If something has wrought a change, it has made it happen. Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany. adj. If something is wrought in a particular material or in a particular way, it has been created in that material or way. ...a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower. vengeance [vendʒəns] Vengeance is the act of killing, injuring, or harming someone because they have harmed you. punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong. the punishing of someone for harming you or your friends or family, or the wish for such punishment to happen: The story features a woman who is evicted from her home and is seeking vengeance. As he cradled his daughter's lifeless body in his arms, he swore (to take) vengeance on her killers. "voters are ready to wreak vengeance on all politicians". He swore vengeance on everyone involved in the murder. She cried aloud to the gods for vengeance for the loss of her daughter. with a vengeance (with gusto 热情的, 激情洋溢的) If you say that something happens with a vengeance, you are emphasizing that it happens to a much greater extent than was expected. It began to rain again with a vengeance. Once Gretchen had left the office, her doubts would return with a vengeance. 2. US: elevator. UK: lift. US: garbage. UK: rubbish. US: sweater. UK: jumper. US: truck. UK: lorry. US: cookies. UK: biscuits. US: line. UK: queue. US: silverware. UK: cutlery. US: French Fries. UK: chips. US: parking lot. UK: car park. keep one's own counsel 憋住. 什么也不说 say nothing about what one thinks or plans. to not say what your opinions are. If you keep your own counsel, you keep quiet about your opinions or intentions. Guscott rarely speaks out, preferring to keep his own counsel. I'd love to know what Anna thinks, but she always keeps her own counsel. "she doubted what he said but kept her own counsel". 3. irreversible [ɪrɪˈvəːsɪbl] 不可逆的, 不可逆转的 adj If a change is irreversible, things cannot be changed back to the way they were before. not able to be undone or altered. "she suffered irreversible damage to her health". She could suffer irreversible brain damage if she is not treated within seven days. The reforms are irreversible. Television has irreversibly changed our perception of the Royal Family. irretrievable [ˌɪrɪˈtriːvəbli] 不可挽回的 adj If you talk about irretrievable damage or an irretrievable situation, you mean that the damage or situation is so bad that there is no possibility of putting it right. What a tragedy if the sport suffers irretrievable damage because this issue is ducked. ...a country in irretrievable decline. Eventually her marriage broke down irretrievably. On Tuesday, the 34-year-old singer submitted a petition in Miami, Florida, to officially end his four-year marriage to the Game of Thrones actress, with documents obtained by E! News showing he stated "the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken." According to TMZ, Joe — who requested the court uphold the prenuptial agreement they signed in April 2019. toiletry [ˈtɔɪlɪtrɪ] 洗漱用品 an object or cosmetic used in making up, dressing, etc. toiletries [tɔɪlətriz] 洗漱用品 Toiletries are things that you use when washing or taking care of your body, for example soap and toothpaste. toiletry bag = UK toilet bag [ˈtɔɪ.lə.tri] 洗漱包 a bag in which you put things for keeping yourself clean and tidy, especially when you are travelling. sponge [ˈspʌndʒ] bag 洗漱包 a small waterproof bag used for carrying your toothbrush, facecloth, soap, etc. when you are travelling. washbag 洗漱包 a small waterproof bag used for carrying your toothbrush, facecloth, soap, etc. when you are travelling: I travel a lot so I have a ready-packed washbag and just put it in the bag. The little soaps, etc. you get from hotels are good for putting in your wash bag when you go away. 4. shoot one's shot 尽力了, 说出来了, 试过了, 努力了 (colloquial) To breezily try to attract a romantic partner, especially when the chances of succeeding are slim; to take a chance. give it one's best shot Make one's hardest or most enthusiastic attempt. I don't know if I can do it, but I'll give it my best shot. shoot one's wad informal I. to spend all one's money. He shot his wad 倾尽所有, 倾其所有, 倾囊, 花光钱财 on a new car. II. to expend all one's energies or resources at one time. She shot her wad writing her first novel and her second wasn't as good. III. vulgar slang (of a man). to have an orgasm. shoot yourself in the foot 搬起石头砸自己的脚 to do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself. have shot your bolt 拼尽全力 to have already achieved all that you have the power, ability, or strength to do and to be unable to do more: He started off the game well but seemed to have shot his bolt by half-time. low-lying 低地, 低洼的, 地势低的 adj. at low altitude above sea level. Low-lying land is at or near sea level: People living in low-lying areas were evacuated because of the floods. "flooding problems in low-lying areas". Low-lying land is at, near, or below sea level. Sea walls collapsed, and low-lying areas were flooded. with reason 理智地 For a ground or cause, justifiably. justifiably; rightly. He turned down their offer, but with reason—he didn't want to move his family to a big city. reason with someone to try to persuade someone to act in a wise way or to change their behaviour or a decision, by explaining why it is a good idea: The police reasoned with the hijackers to at least let the children go free. 5. remand [rɪˈmɑːnd] to send someone accused of committing a crime away from court until their trial begins: He was remanded on theft charges. The accused was remanded in custody (= kept in prison before the trial began) for a week. on remand in custody or on bail awaiting trial or completion of one's trial. The former soldier was on remand awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences, including preparing an act of terrorism and collecting information useful to an enemy. He was allegedly working for a hostile state. be remanded on bail to be allowed to leave a law court after you have been accused of committing a crime to go to a particular place, usually your home, to wait until the trial begins, after paying an amount of money to the court that will not be given back if you do not appear at the trial. 美国现实版越狱 (absconded from prison): The timeline and details of Danelo Cavalcante's escape 逃跑, 逃脱 — including that his August 31 escape followed the same route another prisoner took in May — were released as police from various agencies conducted a wide-ranging search. A tower guard on duty during the breakout 越狱 at the jail in Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania was put on leave as part of the investigation. The escape and search have attracted international attention and became major news in Cavalcante's native Brazil. Acting warden 狱警, 狱卒 of the Chester County Prison Howard Holland played a security video showing the 34-year-old standing in a passageway 过道, 通道 next to the jail yard before bracing his hands on one wall and his feet on another, then "crab-walking" up the walls out of the camera's view. Mr Holland said the prison had brought in a consultant after the May escape and added razor wire 铁丝网 to that area. "What was perhaps overlooked was the fact that addressing the single point of physical countermeasures should have been bolstered by additional means. We are addressing that," Mr Holland said adding the prison was fully staffed when Cavalcante broke out 逃跑. The prison is considering adding officers to the yard during recreation times, as well as caging ( I. confine in a cage. "the parrot screamed, furious at being caged". II. informal put in prison. "five more teenage louts were caged yesterday". ) in the top of those yards, Mr Holland said. The Pennsylvania attorney general's office has taken over the escape investigation, he said. Mr Holland said the inmate who escaped in May was returned within minutes after a tower guard quickly sounded the alarm. By contrast, Cavalcante was only identified as missing after a headcount 清点人数, more than an hour after the video was taken, he said, with a public siren being sounded about 10 am local time. He was awaiting transfer to a state prison at the time. Mr Holland declined to say why the guard, whose name has not been made public, had not noticed Cavalcante hopping from the roof and heading away from the prison's perimeter. Cavalcante received a life sentence last month for killing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in front of her children in 2021. That sighting 行踪 led officials to move the search area farther south after they determined Cavalcante had likely slipped through 溜出去, 逃出去 the original perimeter set by hundreds law enforcement officers, including heavily armed police. 6. nervous wreck 紧张的不成逼样子, 精神紧张, 紧张的不行的 If you say that someone is a nervous wreck, you mean that they are extremely nervous or worried about something. someone who is in bad physical or mental condition: The stress she had been under at work reduced her to a nervous/quivering wreck. She was a nervous wreck, crying when anyone asked her about her experience. wreck I. [informal] If you say that someone is a wreck, you mean that they are very exhausted or unhealthy. You look a wreck. It was embarrassing and sad to see this man reduced to a mumbling wreck. 美网 Alcaraz breezes past Zverev 轻松晋级: On a sweltering 汗流浃背的 ( steamy day 湿热的, muggy ) evening, Alcaraz showed off several aspects of his varied game against Zverev. The powerful forehands that elicit gasps 招来惊叹声 from the crowd. The delicate drop shots. The hammered returns. The all-court speedy coverage 满场跑, 满场飞奔. The willingness to try — and ability to succeed on — shots others wouldn't even consider. scaredy-cat 胆小鬼, 胆小如鼠 someone, especially a child, who is easily frightened. an unduly fearful person Come on, scaredy-cat - it won't bite you! 7. put something up I. 竖起来, 束起来. 扎起来. to raise something, or to fix something in a raised position: Why don't you put up your hood/umbrella? I put my hand up to ask the teacher a question. I put my hair up (= fastened it into a position on the top of my head) for the wedding. II. to build something: They're planning to put a hotel up 搭起, 建起 where the museum used to be. We're going to put up a new fence around our garden. to build a structure in an empty space: They're planning to put a hotel up where the museum used to be. III. to fix an object to a vertical surface: We've put up 挂起 some new curtains in the living room. Posters advertising the concert have been put up 张贴 all over the town. III. mainly UK to increase the price or value of something. We're going to have to put up our hourly rates next year. I see they've put up the price 提价 of fuel again. IV. to provide or lend an amount of money for a particular purpose: The money for the new hospital was put up 出钱 by an anonymous donor. His brother has agreed to put up bail 出资 for him. Dad put $1000 up to help me buy a car. He's looking for an investor to put up €100,000 to market his product. to provide security for a loan: Many banks expect you to put up your house as loan security. V. (PRESERVE FOOD) US to preserve food in glass or metal containers. There is a period of young motherhood when you wash and iron, garden, and put up preserves 制作腌菜. VI. to show or express a particular type of opposition to something. to show or express your feelings about something: I'm not going to let them build a road here without putting up a fight. Little Rory always puts up such a fuss around bedtime. The villagers were unable to put up any resistance to the invading troops. We're not going to let them build a road here without putting up a fight. VII. to suggest an idea, or to make a person available, to be considered: It was Bob who originally put up 提出 the idea of the exhibition. Each party is allowed to put up 推举, 推选 one candidate. William has been put up as a candidate for the committee. Is Chris willing to be put up for election? VIII. to provide someone with a place to stay temporarily: Sally is putting me up 提供住所, 收留 for the weekend. IX. to stay somewhere for the night: We put up at a small hotel for the night. X. to attach something, esp. to a wall: We put up some new pictures in the living room. put up something 举起, 竖起 to raise something to a higher position: I put my hands up. A statue of him was put up in Gramercy Park. put up someone (PROVIDE HOUSING) to provide someone with a place to stay temporarily: Sally is putting me up for the weekend. 8. predicate noun. [ˈpred.ə.kət] In some systems of grammar, the predicate of a clause is the part of it that is not the subject. In 'I decided what to do', 'decided what to do' is the predicate. verb. [ˈpred.ɪ.keɪt] If you say that one situation is predicated on another, you mean that the first situation can be true or real only if the second one is true or real. Financial success is usually predicated on having money or being able to obtain it. be predicated [ˈpred.ɪ.keɪt] on something 以...为前提 If an idea or argument is predicated on something, it depends on the existence or truth of this thing: The sales forecast is predicated on the assumption that the economy will grow by four percent. Their campaign is predicated on the proposition that civil rights are still a major issue. Our justice system is predicated on the assumption that both sides will be competently represented. The future of our business is predicated on a digital economy. These targets are predicated on a large increase in airport capacity. be possessed of something 具有 拥有 to own something or have something as a quality: He was possessed of a large fortune, but sadly no brains to speak of. He was possessed of a dazzling 让人目眩神迷的, 让人意乱情迷的, 摄人心魄的 smile and brooding good looks. She was possessed of a voice of rare beauty. Even his friends would admit that he was possessed of an enormous ego. She is possessed of an exceptional talent for capturing the nuances of daily life and turning them into novels of searing honesty. brooding I. Brooding is used to describe an atmosphere or feeling that makes you feel anxious or slightly afraid. making you feel uncomfortable or worried, as if something bad is going to happen: He stood there in the corner of the room, a dark, brooding presence. The same heavy, brooding silence descended on them. II. If someone's expression or appearance is brooding, they look as if they are thinking deeply and seriously about something, especially something that is making them unhappy. feeling sad, worried, or angry for a long time She kissed him and gazed into his dark, brooding eyes. vocabulary: When you're dwelling on something, you're brooding about it — this can be thoughtful or morbidly obsessed. When you're brooding, you might be depressed about something you just can't stop thinking about — like the lead character in Hamlet. Brooding can also mean you're being extremely thoughtful, contemplative, meditative, musing, reflective, or ruminative — those are all good things. You have to look at the context to see if someone is brooding in a positive or negative way. This is also a word for what chickens and other egg-laying animals do: sitting on eggs to help them hatch. be privy to something 知道内情, 知道内幕 to be told information that is not told to many people: I was never privy to conversations between top management. She relied on support from the close circle of friends who were privy to her diagnosis. Computerized records mean that your doctor is privy to all your medical details. In that role, he was privy to some of the nation's most important military information. There has been an investigation, but I'm not privy to its findings. be pre-programmed 先天反应, 第一反应 If an action seems to be pre-programmed, someone does it without thinking or trying, especially because it is a natural thing that all people do: Our body is biologically preprogrammed to function around our circadian clock. People dislike the idea that politicians use just a set of pre-programmed responses. Domineering behaviour may work with women who have been culturally pre-programmed to accept that sort of thing. I'm not sure that we're all pre-programmed to have a particular type of body shape. We are pre-programmed to respond positively to certain voices. be programmed to do something to always do or think a particular thing, although you do not try to: I'm programmed to wake up at seven. Some people seem to be programmed to like spicy food. As professional athletes, we are programmed never to give up. For years we've been programmed to believe that sports drinks must be healthy. Teenagers are programmed to rebel. be pushing up (the) daisies to be dead: I'll be pushing up the daisies long before it happens. be prone to something/do something 容易遭受, 容易受到 likely to show a particular characteristic, usually a negative one, or to be affected by something bad, such as damage or an illness. I've always been prone to headaches. He was prone to depression even as a teenager. She's prone to exaggerate, that's for sure.
pert VS perky/perked VS sloppy VS floppy VS saggy/sagging: pert adj. I. If someone describes a young woman as pert, they mean that they like her because she is lively and not afraid to say what she thinks. This use could cause offence. used to describe behaviour or qualities, especially in a young woman, that are humorous because they do not show much respect: a pert answer/glance/smile. ...a pert assistant manager. ...pert replies by servant girls. II. If you say that someone has, for example, a pert bottom 小巧的屁股 or nose 小巧的鼻子, you mean that it is quite small and neat, and you think it is attractive. attractively small and firm, as a description of a part of the body: a pert bottom/nose. ...the tiny drops of rain gleaming on her wide forehead and her pert 小巧的 nose. perky adj. If someone is perky, they are cheerful and lively. happy and full of energy: You look very perky this morning. He wasn't quite as perky as normal. She had a perky, independent spirit. perky = perked butt 翘臀 (sagging, droopy 松嗒嗒的, sloppy 松松的). firm or well-toned buttocks. perky boobs, bosoms. perks Perks are special benefits that are given to people who have a particular job or belong to a particular group. ...a company car, private medical insurance and other perks. Having such easy access to some of the best cinema and theatre is one of the perks of living in Sydney. One of the perks of being a student is cheap travel. perk up I. If something perks you up or if you perk up, you become cheerful and lively, after feeling tired, bored, or depressed. If someone perks up or you perk someone up, the person becomes more energetic and happier: She perked up considerably when her sister arrived. He perks up 提高兴致, 提起兴趣. 勾起兴趣. 提起兴致 and jokes with them. ...suggestions to make you smile and perk you up. to become or cause someone to become happier, more energetic, or more active: She perked up as soon as I mentioned that Charles was coming to dinner. He perked up 高兴起来 at the news. Would you like a cup of coffee? It might perk you up. To become more upright His ears perked up 耳朵竖起来, 耳朵支棱起来 when he heard there would be ice cream. II. If you perk something up, you make it more interesting. To make the bland taste more interesting, the locals began perking it up with local produce. Psychological twists perk up an otherwise predictable storyline. to make something more interesting or exciting, or to become this way: The city is trying to perk up the business district by planting trees. III. If sales, prices, or economies perk up, or if something perks them up, they begin to increase or improve. to improve or become more exciting: Prices perked up slightly before the close of trading. House prices could perk up 提高, 提升 during the autumn. Anything that could save the company money and perk up its cash flow was examined. pricked up one's ears = perk up one's ears = pin one's ears back 让...聚精会神的听 To listen attentively. floppy 下垂的, 耷拉的 (floppy pussy = loose, saggy) adj. Something that is floppy is loose rather than stiff, and tends to hang downwards. soft and not able to keep a firm shape or position: a floppy hat. a dog with big floppy ears. He's got floppy blond hair that's always falling in his eyes. ...the girl with the floppy hat and glasses. flop verb. I. If you flop into 跌坐 a chair, for example, you sit down suddenly and heavily because you are so tired. Bunbury flopped down upon the bed and rested his tired feet. She flopped, exhausted, on to a sofa. II. If something flops onto something else, it falls there heavily or untidily. The briefcase flopped onto the desk. His hair flopped over his left eye. III. If something flops, it is completely unsuccessful. The film flopped 惨败 badly at the box office. noun. I. If something is a flop, it is completely unsuccessful. It is the public who decide whether a film is a hit or a flop. sloppy [slɒpi] I. [disapproval] 懒散的. 不认真的. 不当回事的. If you describe someone's work or activities as sloppy, you mean they have been done in a careless and lazy way. not taking care or making an effort: Spelling mistakes always look sloppy in a formal letter. Another sloppy pass like that might lose them the whole game. He has little patience for sloppy work from colleagues. His language is disjointed and sloppy. They lost because they played sloppily. Miss Furniss could not abide sloppiness. II. If you describe someone or something as sloppy, you mean that they are sentimental and romantic 煽情的. expressing feelings of love in a way that is silly or embarrassing: a sloppy love song. It's ideal for people who like a sloppy movie. ...some sloppy love-story. III. very wet or liquid, often in a way that is unpleasant: The batter was a bit sloppy so I added some more flour. She covered his face with sloppy kisses. IV. 湿哒哒的. 湿乎乎的. (of ground, especially a track for racing) very wet and soft: In the show-jumping, accuracy was difficult on the rain-soaked, sloppy ground. Maybe it will rain and the track will be sloppy. V. Sloppy clothes 宽大的 are large, loose, and do not look neat: At home I tend to wear big sloppy sweaters and jeans. saggy = sagging adj. If you describe something as saggy, you mean that it has become less firm over a period of time and become unattractive. Is the mattress lumpy and saggy? Exercise for just 20 minutes a day to firm up even the saggiest bottom. hanging or dropping down to a lower level: I have a lot of saggy skin on my stomach since I lost weight. sagging (of courage, spirits, etc) weakening; flagging. to bolster one's sagging 日益下降的 popularity 一日不如一日的. the president's sagging 不见起色的 ratings. lower or less strong: He said he cut taxes by $9 billion as mayor in an effort to revitalize the city's sagging economy. sagging revenues/demand/sales. flagging 日薄西山的 becoming tired or less dynamic; declining in strength. becoming weaker: flagging energy/enthusiasm. "she wants to revive her flagging career". becoming weaker, slower, or less effective: He's trying to revive his flagging career. Several economists point to flagging demand as a reason that prices haven't risen as expected. Pressure is mounting for a cut in interest rates to revive the flagging economy. We have to find ways to boost our flagging sales.
