用法学习: 1. Drinking water or potable [ˈpəʊtəbl] water 饮用水 (potable [ˈpəʊtəbl] Potable water is clean and safe for drinking. Potable comes from the Latin potare, meaning "to drink." The Romans came up with the word and built some of the world's first aqueducts, above-ground channels that brought potable water from the mountains to the cities. ) is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps in which case it is also called tap water. Typically in developed countries, tap water meets drinking water quality standards, even though only a small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation. Other typical uses for tap water include washing, toilets, and irrigation. Greywater may also be used for toilets or irrigation. Its use for irrigation however may be associated with risks. 2. mic drop noun informal US I. an instance of deliberately dropping or tossing aside one's microphone at the end of a performance or speech one considers to have been particularly impressive. "he ruffled some feathers with his acceptance speech and mic drop after winning the Best British Album award". II. used to emphasize that a discussion is at an end after a definitive or particularly impressive point has been made. "Nuff said. Mic drop!" Leonard: What are you guys doing? Sheldon: Oh, well, we decided to use our breakfast time to expand our respective knowledge bases. Leonard: Oh, let me try. Penny: Okay. Leonard: Hmm, atom ( [ætəm] ) of hydrogen, Adam of Maroon 5, mic drop. Sheldon: I'm sorry, who is Mike Drop? Leonard: Oh, hey, Penny, do you want to go to the airport with me later to pick up my mother? apex [eɪpeks] 最高点, 顶点 I. The apex of an organization or system is the highest and most important position in it. At the apex of the party was its central committee. the highest point or most successful part of something: He reached the apex of his career during that period. II. The apex of something is its pointed top or end.the pointed end of an organ: A chest x-ray showed an abnormality in the left lung apex. ...the apex of the pyramid. pinnacle I. 巅峰 the most successfulu'i'yi'o'o'p'pi'u'y or admired part of a system or achievement. If someone reaches the pinnacle of their career or the pinnacle of a particular area of life, they are at the highest point of it. John Major reached the pinnacle of British politics. She was still a screen goddess 银幕女神 at the pinnacle of her career. ...trophies that represent the pinnacle of sporting achievement. By the age of 32 she had reached the pinnacle of her career. II. a small pointed tower on top of a building, or the top part of a mountain: literary The pinnacles of the Himalayas were visible above the clouds. III. A pinnacle is a pointed piece of stone or rock that is high above the ground. A walker fell 80ft from a rocky pinnacle. legality [li:ˈɡæləti] I. 合法性. the fact that something is allowed by the law: Six journalists sought to challenge in court the legality of the ban on broadcasting. the legality of sth Negotiations are taking place between Justice Department officials and White House aides over the legality of the wiretapping program. II. legalities [ plural ] the things that are demanded by law: I'm not sure about the legalities, but I suggest we go ahead with the plan and see what happens. the things that are demanded by law. the legal rules that are involved in something: the legalities of sth A good lawyer should help you understand the legalities of the contract you are signing. I'm not sure about the legalities, but I suggest we go ahead with the plan and see what happens. I was hoping we could skip over the legalities 条条框框, 不走形式, and give me the documents. Hip Toss 过肩摔 The fool grabs the angry lady's arm. This is his last mistake. He sees the blue sky, then the pavement. The fool has been hip tossed. That guy should have kept his stupid fucking face shut, but now he's getting hip tossed through the air. It's probably best though, because that other guy looks like he was going to smash his nose in with a brick. incendiary [ɪnˈsɛndɪəri] adj. I. (of a device or attack) designed to cause fires. Incendiary weapons or attacks are ones that cause large fires. Five incendiary devices were found in her house. ...incendiary attacks on shops. "incendiary bombs". II. tending to stir up conflict. "incendiary rhetoric". noun. I. an incendiary bomb or device. An incendiary is an incendiary bomb. A shower of incendiaries struck the Opera House. "the Holy City was blasted by incendiaries". II. a person who starts fires. "he was an English incendiary, responsible for the burning of three French battleships". sedentary [ˈsɛd(ə)nt(ə)ri] 不动的人, 久坐的, 不活动的人. 久坐不运动的 involving little exercise or physical activity. Someone who has a sedentary lifestyle or job sits down a lot of the time and does not take much exercise. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle has been linked with an increased risk of heart disease. Marilyn leads a more sedentary lifestyle now that she works at home. vocabulary: Scientists believe that one of the causes of the obesity epidemic sweeping the U.S. is our sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary means sitting a lot and refers to a person or job that is not very physically active. If you have a sedentary job, you might want to stand up and stretch every hour or so, and if your doctor says that you are too sedentary 不运动的, she means that it would be healthier for you to exercise more. This adjective has a specialized meaning when referring to certain types of birds that stay in one area and do not migrate. Sedentary comes into English from French sédentaire, which is derived from the Latin word sedēre, "to sit." 3. hold off: I. If you hold off doing something, you delay doing it or delay making a decision about it. to not do something immediately. to stop something from happening, or to be delayed: They're hoping to hold off surgery until he's stronger. I hope the rain holds off until we get home. Let's hold off making a decision until next week. hold off on sth US Holding off on the product release meant missing sales targets for the year. Let's hold off placing the order until we've got more information. They've decided to hold off on buying a car until they're both working. The hospital staff held off taking Rosenbaum in for an X-ray. They have threatened military action but held off until now. II. If you hold off a challenge in a race or competition, you do not allow someone to pass you. He cut through the middle, held off a challenge and scored. III. If rain or a storm holds off, it does not start immediately. hold someone off 挡住, 阻挡, 牵绊, 牵住 to stop someone from attacking or defeating you: How much longer will the resistance fighters be able to hold off the enemy? Sources have confirmed to the ABC that Victorian man Joel Benjamin Stremski died "heroically" in October while holding off Russian troops, in the same month an artillery strike killed former Townsville-based soldier Matthew Jepson. A military colleague said the 21-year-old former soldier from Melbourne was the "last man standing against a horde of Russians" whom he held off "so others could retreat 撤退". 4. backwash noun I. the motion of receding waves. the backward movement of waves, or the backward movement of water caused by something, such as a boat, passing through it: The waterskier was caught in the backwash from a motorboat. "the backwash is reduced in energy by the percolation of water into the shingle". II. The backwash of an event or situation is an unpleasant situation that exists after it and as a result of it. an effect that is not the direct result of something: The economic and political backwash of the war is still being felt. ...the backwash of the tragedy. The Treasury had been blaming the pound's weakness on the backwash from the falling dollar. III. 漱口. 吐回去. The saliva, spit or food particles that have flowed back into a drink after someone has drunk from it. Backwash is the term used for fluid which makes its way from a person's mouth back into a drinking container. When you drink from a bottle or a cup the liquid goes into your mouth and when you stop drinking, some of that liquid can be pushed out of your mouth and back into the container. verb clean (a filter) by reversing the flow of fluid through it. To operate a water filter in the reverse direction in order to clean it. bamboozle [bæmbuːzəl] 骗过. 唬过去, 唬住 (hoodwink) verb To bamboozle someone means to confuse and often trick them. to trick or deceive someone, often by confusing them. Don't get bamboozled by all the jargon. She was bamboozled into telling them her credit card number. He bamboozled Mercer into defeat. He was bamboozled by con men. In them, he wrote that Mr Boris Johnson was often "bamboozled" by the graphs and data and that watching him "get his head round stats is awful". schmooze 说好听话,
混熟脸, 装熟, 巴结 [ʃmuːz] If
you schmooze, you talk casually and socially with someone. to talk with
someone in a friendly and informal way, often with the intention of
gaining an advantage or of persuading them to do something that you
want. I'm not gonna schmooze anybody. I'm gonna let my work speak for itself. So, who do you have to schmooze to get this deal? ...those coffee houses where you can schmooze for hours. 5. dispense 分发 I. If someone dispenses something that they own or control, they give or provide it to a number of people. The
Union had already dispensed £40,000 in grants. The local welfare office
is where government dispenses many of its services. I thought of myself
as a patriarch, dispensing words of wisdom to all my children. to provide something such as a service, especially officially. dispense justice 维持正义, 伸张正义, 维护正义: the failure of the country's authorities to dispense justice.
II. If you obtain a product by getting it out of a machine, you can say
that the machine dispenses the product. if a machine dispenses
something such as food, drink, or money, it gives it to you. For two weeks, the cash machine was unable to dispense 吐钱 出钱 money. The lotion is dispensed by a handy pump action spray. III. When a chemist dispenses medicine 备药, he or she prepares it, and gives or sells it to the patient or customer. Some shops gave wrong or inadequate advice when dispensing homeopathic medicines. Four out of five prescriptions are dispensed free to people who are exempt. Doctors confine themselves to prescribing rather than dispensing. dispense with去除, 祛除, 取消, 去掉 If you dispense with something, you stop using it or get rid of it completely, especially because you no longer need it. Now supermarkets are dispensing with checkouts, making you scan your own groceries. to no longer use someone or something because you no longer want or need them. dispense with the formalities (=to not do things usually done in a social situation in order to do something more important immediately): I think we all know each other, so we can dispense with the formalities. dispense with someone's services (=stop employing them): We have reluctantly decided to dispense with Porter's services after a series of poor results. dispensable 可有可无的, 可替换的(expendable)
more than you need and therefore not necessary; that can be got rid of.
If someone or something is dispensable they are not really needed. All those people in the middle are dispensable. It seemed the soldiers were regarded as dispensable - their deaths just didn't matter. indispensable [ˌɪndɪˈspensəb(ə)l] 必备的, 必有的, 必要的, 不可缺少的, 必不可少的, 不可或缺的
difficult or impossible to exist without or to do something without.
Something or someone that is indispensable is so good or important that
you could not manage without it, him, or her: This
book is an indispensable resource for researchers. His long experience
at the United Nations makes him indispensable to the talks. International cooperation is indispensable to resolving the problem of the drug trade. Barack Obama Offers Trump Advice In Inauguration Letter: 'American Leadership in This World Really is Indispensable. gratuitous [ɡrəˈtuɪtəs] 平白无故的, 可有可无的, 不必要的, 没来由的. 没头没脑的. 无缘无故的. 没来由的 adj
I. not called for by the circumstances. not
necessary, appropriate, or justified. unwarranted. done or shown without
any good reason. If you describe something as gratuitous, you mean that
it is unnecessary, and often harmful or upsetting. There's too much crime and gratuitous violence on TV. ...his insistence on offering gratuitous advice. They wanted me to change the title to something less gratuitously offensive. There's too much gratuitous violence in the movie. a gratuitous insult. a gratuitous assumption. a movie criticized for gratuitous violence. Veteran broadcaster John Laws, a frequent guest on the show, was listening into the lurid conversation as he was set to join the pair to discuss notching up 70 years in his media career but very quickly changed his mind and hung up before he was put to air. "I was talking about a medical procedure! It wasn't gratuitous," Jackie O responded. "But it's the way you talk about the medical procedure. Anyway, I'm not interested," said Laws ( lurid [ˈljurɪd US ˈlʊərɪd] I. full of unpleasant or sexual details that are meant to shock or interest people. Shocking, horrifying. The accident was described with lurid detail. a lurid description/story/headline. presented in vividly shocking or sensational terms. "the more lurid details of the massacre were too frightening for the children". II. 艳丽的. 俗艳的. 大红的. 土气的. 俗气的. a lurid color 扎眼的, 俗艳的 is very bright in an ugly way. III. Being of a light yellow hue. Some paperback novels have lurid covers. The lurid 昏黄的 lighting of the bar made for a very hazy atmosphere. ). II. given unearned or without recompense We mistake the gratuitous blessings of Heaven for the fruits of our own industry. III. costing nothing. It was printed in France at the author's expense, for gratuitous distribution to educators and others. III. not involving a return benefit, compensation, or consideration has 不用偿还的, 单方面的 gratuitous permission to pass over private land. 6. spreadeagle 老鹰展翅似的, 四仰八叉的, 大字型 verb. stretch (someone) out with their arms and legs extended. "he lay spreadeagled in the road". noun. I. the representation of an eagle with outstretched wings, used as an emblem of the US. an emblematic representation of an eagle with its legs and wings extended, used especially as an emblem of the United States. II. an acrobatic skating figure. adj. I. stretched out with one's arms and legs extended. lying or standing with arms and legs outstretched. "prisoners are chained to their beds, spreadeagle, for days at a time". II. DATED loudly or aggressively patriotic about the United States. "spreadeagle oratory". wiki: The spreadeagle (also spelled spread eagle or spread-eagle) is the position in which a person has their arms outstretched and legs apart, figuratively resembling an eagle with wings spread. It is a style that appears commonly in nature and geometry. In human style, it is represented by the letter "X. hold a candle/torch for 心里还有, 心里仍然有, 有感觉 To feel romantic attraction for. Holding a candle is to hold a vigil for someone, to keep them at the center of your thoughts, prayers, etc. It's meaning has extended into romantic imagery. meaning to wait, to stay true, to not persue other romantic options while the other person is away. not hold a candle/stick to 难以望其项背, 比不上, 差远了 (idiomatic) To compare; to be even remotely of the same quality, skill, etc. as another. to compare favorably with (usually used in the negative). Her latest book is readable enough, but it can't hold a candle to her earlier work. She's smart, but she can't hold a candle to her sister. The old computer just doesn't hold a candle to the latest models. Usage notes: Typically used in the negative when something does not compare, as in the example. not be a patch on something 提鞋都不配, 难以望其项背, 比不上, 差得远, 差得多, 差远了 (not in the same league, be in a different league, not as half good/easy/pretty as ) UK informal to be much less good than something: This new washing machine isn't a patch on our old one. put/leave someone in the shade (outshine, outdo, outflank, outmuscle, eclipse, steal someone's thunder, dwarf VS pale/fade into insignificance, pale in comparison VS shaded by VS eclipse VS overshadow) 相形见绌 to be so good that another person or thing does not seem important or worth very much. to be so impressive as to make another person or thing seem unimportant by comparison. a run that put every other hurdler's performance in the shade. Although I thought I'd done well, my sister's exam results put mine in the shade. steal a march on someone 先发制人, 抢先 If you steal a march on someone, you get an advantage over that person by acting before they do: Our rival company managed to steal a march on us by bringing out their software ahead of ours. sink/fall into oblivion 没有人记得, 被遗忘, 被湮没 I. To become lost to obscurity; to not be known or remembered by anyone. The
poet sank into oblivion after the war, only coming back into public
awareness after an archive of his works was discovered in the basement
of an abandoned warehouse in East Germany. He held a rather cynical view
of parenthood, believing that people only had children to avoid sinking
into oblivion. II. 意识模糊. 失去意识. To enter into total unconsciousness. The
last thing I remember was the doctor asking me to count to ten before
the general anesthetic took effect and I sank into oblivion. He was so
utterly exhausted that he sank into oblivion the moment my head hit the
pillow. not half as not nearly as: It wasn't half as good as that other restaurant we went to. It's not half as easy as it looks. bear comparison = stand comparison 敢比, 堪比, 有得一比
to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with
(something else), esp favourably. be of sufficient quality to be likened
favourably to someone or something of the same kind. "our pupils' results will bear comparison with any in Scotland". 7. stick someone with something I. US informal 强塞, 硬塞. to force someone to have or do something that is not very good. to force someone to have or do something less desirable: Big power companies grab cheap supplies and stick everyone else with more expensive ones. Big power companies grab cheap supplies and stick everyone else with more expensive ones. Penny: You deliberately stuck me with Sheldon. Leonard: Well, I had to, you see what he's like. Sheldon (off): Penny! Penny, I'm hungry. Penny: Uh, it's okay, sweetie, good news, Leonard's home! II. to continue doing something or using someone to do work for you, and not stop or change to something or someone else: He said that he was going to stick with the traditions established by his grandfather. He's a good car mechanic - I think we should stick with him. III. to stay close to someone, or to continue to do something: Stick with me, and we'll do lots of interesting things. Once Stephen takes up a hobby, he sticks with it. Be Prepared 时刻准备着: The Scout Motto of the Scout movement is, in English, "Be Prepared", with most international branches of the group using a close translation of that phrase. 8. germ of something a small amount, usually one that develops into something large or important: This was the germ of the story that would later become her wildly successful novel. It's thought that this diary entry was the germ of the book. It was as a result of this conversation that the germ of a new approach emerged. And that, really, was the germ of the whole thesis. germ of an idea the origin of something that develops, esp. a cell from which grain grows or the beginning of an idea: Alejandro's suggestion was the germ of an idea. He found the germ of an idea in an old newspaper. "germ of truth 一丝的道理, 一丝的真实性, 一点点的道理" refers to an idea or concept that contains some truth. "Though his words seemed outrageous, there was still a germ of truth in his opinion.". While decades of research has failed to show any consistent and substantial evidence, there is a "germ of truth" to the stereotypes peddled about birth order and personality traits. retentive [rɪˈtɛntɪv] If you have a retentive memory, you are able to remember things very well. Having power to retain a retentive memory. a soil that is highly retentive of rainwater. Luke had an amazingly retentive memory. anal-retentive I. (Freudian psychology) Preoccupied with achieving perfection, order and control and with collecting, possessing, and retaining objects. II. (by extension) Overly obsessive concerning small details. retention 留存, 保存, 保留 I. the continued use, existence, or possession of something or someone. the ability to keep or continue having something: Officials are focusing on job creation, not job retention. Two influential senators have argued for the retention of the unpopular tax. The retention of old technology has slowed the company's growth. water/heat retention. II. 留人. 留住人才. the ability of a company to keep its employees and stop them from going to work somewhere else: The study found that mentoring programs have a positive impact on teachers and their retention. Health benefits are an important recruitment and retention tool. Both these organizations have improved staff retention by paying great attention to office design. Employee retention is one of the major issues confronting business today. III. an amount of money that is owed to someone for doing work but that is not paid until the work has been completed in a satisfactory way: If a withheld retention 项目尾款 is disputed, the contractor is generally entitled to adjudication (adjudication [əˌdʒuː.dɪˈkeɪ.ʃən] 裁决, 仲裁 the act of judging a case, competition, or argument, or of making a formal decision about something: The legality of the transaction is still under adjudication (= being decided) in the courts. The court withheld adjudication. Everyone has the right to a fair trial and an impartial adjudication. His adjudication was later found to be faulty. Adjudication of the competition is the responsibility of the college. adjudicate [əˌdʒuːdɪˈkeɪʃn] 裁决 to act as judge in a competition or argument, or to make a formal decision about something. If you adjudicate on a dispute or problem, you make an official judgment or decision about it. ...a commissioner to adjudicate on legal rights. The international court of justice might be a suitable place to adjudicate claims. ...unbiased adjudication of cases of unfair dismissal. ...an independent adjudicator. He was asked to adjudicate on the dispute. He was called in to adjudicate a local land dispute. The game was adjudicated a win for Black.). IV. the continued use or possession of something or someone: The city has traditionally favoured the retention of space for business and employment uses, but some residences are now being built. The company denied that there were any problems with its document retention 文档保存 procedures. V. the ability of a company to keep its customers, rather than losing them to competitors: Revenue growth, in turn, is achieved by pursuing growing market segments, by finding new customers, and by improving the retention of existing customers. customer/client retention 留住客户 Customer retention is the key to profitable growth. The unit has a client retention rate of 85%. Customer stickiness 客户粘度 is when a customer chooses to buy a product more than once due to aspects of your value proposition, such as your product quality, convenience, pricing, engagement experience, and other transactional factors. By increasing customer stickiness, you create more value for your business. 9. An atoll ( [ˈæt.ɒl, əˈtɒl -ˈtoʊl] 环礁 ) is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean. With more than 1,000 islands, Maldives is renowned for its white beaches, sun-drenched atolls and high-end resorts, sitting on the equator [ɪˈkweɪtə] in the Indian Ocean, south-west of Sri Lanka.
goof off, dawdle around = lollygag = lallygag, potter around: goof off 游手好闲, 无所事事, 啥也不干, 不干正经事 [mainly US, informal] If someone goofs off, they spend their time doing nothing, often when they should be working. To dawdle, lollygag; to waste time aimlessly or engage in idle activity or inactivity. He sat there goofing off all day instead of working. I saw a few films and generally kind of goofed off all day. The teacher told them to stop goofing off and get back to work. goof-off (US, informal) An idle or work-shy person; a shirker. "Even as adults, people tend to enact the roles in families that they played when they were younger. Like at Christmas gatherings, older siblings might be responsible for organising things, and the younger ones continue to play the role of being the goof-off." dawdle 磨磨唧唧, 游手好闲, 无所事事 I. (transitive) Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose. to dawdle away the whole morning. II. (intransitive) (= dilly-dally) To spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time. III. 慢悠悠的走. To move or walk lackadaisically. If you dawdle, you spend more time than is necessary going somewhere. Eleanor will be back any moment, if she doesn't dawdle. They dawdled arm in arm past the shopfronts. If you dawdle on your daily walk, you won't get as much exercise. lollygag = lallygag 漫无目的的闲晃 (US) to loiter aimlessly. To dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort. lackadaisical [ˌlakəˈdeɪzɪkl] ( = apathetic, nonchalant. apathetic, lazy, lethargic, indifferent) 懒洋洋的, 没兴趣的. 没热忱的. 兴趣缺缺的 I. Showing no interest, vigor, determination, or enthusiasm. lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy. If you say that someone is lackadaisical, you mean that they are rather lazy and do not show much interest or enthusiasm in what they do. Dr. Jonsen seemed a little lackadaisical at times. ...the lackadaisical attitude of a number of the principal players. "taking a lackadaisical approach can jeopardize the success of a project" the lackadaisical look on his face. II. Lazy; slothful; indolent. potter about/around (sth) = US putter around 漫不经心的做事, 悠闲的做事 to spend time in a pleasant, relaxed way, often doing small jobs in your house. If you potter around or potter about, you do pleasant but unimportant things, without hurrying. I was perfectly happy just pottering around doing up my flat. At weekends he would potter around the garden. Sunday is usually spent pottering around the house.
panache VS flair VS punch: panache [pəˈnæʃ] 娴熟, 游刃有余 I. an impressive way of doing something that shows great skill and confidence. a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair: The actor who would play Cyrano must have panache. The first few songs are played with typical panache. If you do something with panache, you do it in a confident, stylish, and elegant way. The BBC Symphony Orchestra played with great panache. Her panache at dealing with the world's media is quite astonishing. II. an ornamental plume of feathers, tassels, or the like, especially one worn on a helmet or cap. flair [flɛə] I. A natural talent or aptitude; a knack: a flair for interior decorating. II. Instinctive discernment; keenness: a flair for the exotica. III. Distinctive elegance or style: served us with flair 从容地, 优雅地, 不慌不忙的. If you have flair 优雅的, you do things in an original, interesting, and stylish way. Their work has all the usual punch 威力, panache 娴熟, 游刃有余 and flair 优雅, 从容 you'd expect. have a flair for something to have a talent for doing something; to have a special ability in some area. Alice has quite a flair for designing. I have a flair for fixing clocks. punch verb. I. If you punch someone or something, you hit them hard with your fist. After
punching him on the chin she wound up hitting him over the head. He
punched the wall angrily, then spun round to face her. He was hurting
Johansson with body punches in the fourth round. ...the awesome range of blows which have confirmed him as boxing's hardest puncher 重击手. In American English, punch out means the same as punch. 'I
almost lost my job today.'—'What happened?'—'Oh, I punched out this
guy.'. In the past, many kids would settle disputes by punching each
other out. II. If you punch the air 振臂欢呼, 高举欢呼, 举拳欢呼 you put one or both of your fists forcefully above your shoulders as a gesture of delight or victory. At the end, Graf punched the air in delight, a huge grin on her face. III. If you punch something such as the buttons on a keyboard,
you touch them in order to store information on a machine such as a
computer or to give the machine a command to do something. Mrs. Baylor strode to the elevator and punched the button 击键. IV. If you punch holes in something, you make holes in it by pushing or pressing it with something sharp. I took a ballpoint pen and punched a hole in the carton. noun. I. A punch is a tool that you use for making holes in something. Make two holes with a hole punch 穿孔机. II. If you say that something has punch, you mean that it has force or effectiveness. My nervousness made me deliver the vital points of my address without sufficient punch 缺少力度. Hurricane Andrew may be slowly losing its punch 冲击力, 威力, but its winds are still around 100 miles an hour. III. Punch is a drink made from wine or spirits mixed with things such as sugar, lemons, and spices. prowess [praʊɪs] Someone's prowess is their great skill at doing something. He's
always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. The best and the
brightest pupils competed to demonstrate their intellectual prowess.
Big Bang Theory: 1. Bernadette: Hey, Raj. Raj: Hey, I got you a little gift. Bernadette: Oh, that's a lot of Girl Scout Cookies. Raj: You know me. I'm from India. I can't resist 受不了, 抵抗不住 children begging. So, how's it going with the title to the house 房子署名? Howard: Great, it's all done. The lawyer tracked down my father and got him to sign it over. I didn't have to meet him, I didn't have to talk to him, I don't even know where he is. Raj: Wow, so you're not curious at all? Howard: Nope. Raj: Hmm. What if he's in prison? What if he's a spy? What if he's in a Beatles cover band? I'm just saying, if he's got your nose and haircut, he'd make a killer Ringo. 2. Guy at door: Hi. Are you Howard Wolowitz? Howard: Yes. Guy: Um, this is a little weird, but a lawyer was trying to contact my father, because his name was still on the title for this house.
