用法学习: 1. bash up [British, informal] If someone bashes you up, they attack you violently and injure you. damage something. "I was getting my face bashed up on the rugby field every week". The two sisters bashed each other up when their relationship turned sour. I've been bashed up by people with baseball bats. injure someone by striking them repeatedly. "they dragged the student out of his car and bashed him up". Reform would make the airport more resilient and reliable for the good of all the airlines and customers ... It's not about bashing up a particular group, it's just what we can do to make the industry more efficient. ram raid: Ram-raiding is a type of burglary in which a heavy vehicle is driven into the windows or doors of a building, usually a department store or jeweller's shop, to allow the perpetrators to loot it. District Chief
Superintendent Chris Hodgeman said a small group of recidivist offenders
had ramped up their activity across Townsville. Lyn Pollard said she
was shocked to see the destruction caused at her daughter's snack bar
after it was ram raided. Bollards [ˈbɒlɑːd,ˈbɒləd] 桩子. 柱子 are installed in front of a shop to deter ram-raiders. A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive vehicles from colliding or crashing into pedestrians and structures. a. Bollards are short thick concrete posts that are used to prevent cars from going on to someone's land or on to part of a road. b. Bollards are strong wooden or metal posts on the side of a river or harbour. Boats are tied to them. recidivist [rɪˈsɪdɪvɪst] 重犯, 一犯再犯, 屡教不改的人 a criminal who continues to commit crimes even after they have been punished. A recidivist is someone who has committed crimes in the past and has begun to commit crimes again, for example after a period in prison. Six prisoners are still at large along with four dangerous recidivists. Their basic criticism was that prisons do not reduce the crime rate, they cause recidivism. 2. masthead (imprint in UK): In US it's a printed list, published in a fixed position in each edition, of its owners, departments, officers, contributors and address details. masthead (flag or nameplate in US): "the masthead" is a publication's designed title as it appears on the front page. In American usage, a publication's masthead is a printed list, published in a fixed position in each edition, of its owners, departments, officers, contributors and address details, which in British English usage is known as imprint. In the UK and many other Commonwealth nations, "the masthead" is a publication's designed title as it appears on the front page: what, in American English, is known as the nameplate or "flag". demonstrable [dɪˈmɒnstrəble] in a way that is clearly apparent or capable of being logically proved. A demonstrable fact or quality can be shown to be true or to exist. The road safety programme is having a demonstrable effect on road users. Despite its demonstrable speed and safety, the boat failed to become popular. ...demonstrably false statements. "the policies followed so far have demonstrably failed". acute [əˈkjuːt] I. You can use acute to indicate that an undesirable situation or feeling is very severe or intense. The war has aggravated an acute economic crisis. The report has caused acute embarrassment to the government. The labour shortage is becoming acute. If a bad situation is acute, it causes severe problems or damage: She felt acute embarrassment/ anxiety/ concern at his behaviour. The problem of poverty is particularly acute in rural areas. Bradley described in acute detail
what he alleged had occurred. Hadley told listeners he had met "some
time ago" with former employee Webster, who made allegations in "acute
detail". Hadley said this masthead's reporting concurred with
what Webster told him. He said since hearing the accusations from the
former employee his relationship with Jones ended. "From the day I spoke to Bradley our relationship was basically severed, given it had already been strained over other matters not related to the allegations made by Bradley.". Facebook knows, in acute detail, that its platforms are riddled with flaws but hasn't fixed them. II. An acute illness (chronic) 急性病 is one that becomes severe very quickly but does not last very long. Compare chronic. ...a patient with acute rheumatoid arthritis. ...an acute case of dysentery. II. If a person's or animal's sight, hearing, or sense of smell is acute, it is sensitive and powerful. In the dark my sense of hearing becomes so acute. III. If you say that someone is acute 敏锐的 or has an acute mind, you mean that they are quick to notice things and are able to understand them clearly. used to describe intelligence, senses, etc. that are very good, accurate, and able to notice very small differences: acute eyesight/hearing. an acute sense of smell. a woman of acute intelligence/judgment. Into her nineties, her thinking remained acute and her character forceful. His relaxed exterior hides an extremely acute mind. Everything he writes demonstrates the acuteness of his intelligence. IV. An acute angle ( obtuse angle) 锐角 is less than 90°. V. An acute accent is a symbol that is placed over vowels in some languages in order to indicate how that vowel is pronounced or over one letter in a word to indicate where it is stressed. You refer to a letter with this accent as, for example, e acute. For example, there is an acute accent over the letter 'e' in the French word 'café'. unqualified I. If you are unqualified, you do not have any qualifications, or you do not have the right qualifications for a particular job. She was unqualified for the job. Unqualified members of staff at the hospital were not sufficiently supervised. II. 无保留的. 完全的. Unqualified means total or unlimited. not limited in any way; to the largest degree possible: We achieved a lot but I wouldn't say that the project has been an unqualified success. The proposal has the unqualified support of the entire committee. The event was an unqualified success. They have given almost unqualified backing to the government. At the time, I offered Bradley my unqualified support and I asked him what he wanted me to do next. I offered to speak to the then-station owner and then-station chairman, or perhaps act as a support person. Bradley said he had too much to lose and he’d be crushed by making such an allegation. He asked me to promise I would never reveal what we had discussed without his express permission. 3. usual fare 常见食物, 常见东西: the usual types of food or activities that are available or done in a particular place. For example, "The street food market offers the usual fare of tacos, tamales, and aguas frescas.". Then there is the usual fare of drugs and prostitution. Thicker and darker than the usual fare, they have a richer, nuttier taste as well. These tests usually include extra components so that running, swimming, and pullups are all assessed in addition to situps, pushups, and the usual fare. standard fare I. (countable, literally) 常规票. The usual price for travel by air, rail, or another means of transport. II. (Britain, Ireland, countable, by extension) The price charged to passengers who travel without buying tickets in advance on certain public transport systems (especially British bus and tram systems) (penalty fare). A standard fare is a higher than normal fare issued to passengers caught without a ticket. The system is used by public transport in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Standard Fares are not the same as Penalty Fares which are used on certain National Rail and Transport for London services and also on Nottingham Express Transit. Passengers caught travelling on the Edinburgh Trams without a valid ticket are issued a £10 standard fare. Passengers caught travelling on the Manchester Metrolink without a valid ticket are issued a £100 Standard Fare which is reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. Failure to pay the standard fare is a criminal offence. A penalty fare, standard fare, or fixed penalty notice is a special, usually higher, fare charged because a passenger using public transport did not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules. It should not be confused with an unpaid fares notice. Penalty Fares are incurred when a ticket or a rail pass cannot be produced on request. If, for example a mobile device is inoperative and the ticket cannot be displayed a Penalty Fare can be issued. Contrary to popular belief, Penalty Fares cannot solely be avoided if tickets are purchased before commencing the journey; the offence under the (British) Railway Byelaws has nothing to do with purchase of tickets, it consists solely in the failure to produce a ticket and, where necessary a Rail pass, at the time of request. Evidence of ticket purchase other than the ticket itself, is not relevant to the offence. Penalty fares are a civil debt, not a fine, and a person whose penalty fare is paid is not considered to have committed a criminal offence. Penalty fares are used to discourage casual fare evasion and disregard for the ticketing rules without resorting to (in the case of railways in Great Britain) the drastic and costly step of prosecution under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 or other laws dealing with theft and fraud. More egregious fare avoiders can still be prosecuted and fined or imprisoned if convicted. III. (uncountable, literally) Menu items or dining options which are regularly available in a restaurant or other place where food is served. IV. (uncountable, idiomatic, by extension) Something which is normal, routine, or unexceptional; something which is commonly provided or encountered. 4. vernacular I. The vernacular is the language or dialect that is most widely spoken by ordinary people in a region or country. the form of a language that a particular group of speakers use naturally, especially in informal situations: His lively vernacular style goes down well with younger viewers. The folk tale is told in a vernacular dialect. The Spanish I learned at school is very different from the local vernacular of this Mexican village. Many Roman Catholics regret the replacing of the Latin mass by the vernacular. ...books or plays written in the vernacular. To use the vernacular of the period, Peter was square. Most of these new sermons were recorded in literary Sanskrit rather than in vernacular language. The table sugar used in everyday vernacular is itself a disaccharide sucrose comprising one molecule of each of the two monosaccharides D-glucose and D-fructose. II. 当地建筑风格. Vernacular architecture is the style of architecture in which ordinary people's houses are built in a particular region. a local style in which ordinary houses are built: For most houses concrete is the vernacular. We can adapt the house types to fit the vernacular. ...the island's vernacular architecture. ...the untouched vernacular buildings in superb limestone. babble verb. I. 叽叽呱呱. 叽叽喳喳说个不停. If someone babbles, they talk in a confused or excited way. to talk or say something in a quick, confused, excited, or silly way: The children babbled excitedly among themselves. She was babbling something about her ring being stolen. Momma babbled on and on about how he was ruining me. They all babbled simultaneously. 'Er, hello, viewers,' he babbled. II. 咕嘟咕嘟的冒泡. If a stream babbles, it makes a low murmuring or bubbling sound. (of a stream) to make the low, continuous noise of water flowing over stones: They rested a while by a babbling brook. ...a brook babbling in the distance. noun. You can refer to people's voices as a babble of sound when they are excited and confused, preventing you from understanding what they are saying. Kemp knocked loudly so as to be heard above the high babble of voices. They began to curse and shout in a babble of languages. 5. gusto If you do something with gusto, you do it with energetic and enthusiastic enjoyment. great energy, enthusiasm, and enjoyment that is experienced by someone taking part in an activity, especially a performance: with gusto: Everyone joined in the singing with great gusto. Hers was a minor part, but she played it with gusto. Leonard: Sheldon, I got you your tangerine chicken. I hope you're hungry. Sheldon: Well, of course I'm hungry. And as I have no plans to eat with any other team, I will consume my tangerine chicken with the appropriate gusto. empathetic [empəθetɪk] Someone who is empathetic has the ability to share another person's feelings or emotions as if they were their own. ...an empathetic listener. An empath is a person highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of those around them. empath [ˈem.pæθ] 能共情的人 Empaths feel what another person is feeling at a deep emotional level. Their ability to discern what others are feeling goes beyond empathy, which is defined simply as the ability to understand the feelings of others. (especially in science fiction stories) a person who has an unusually strong ability to feel other people's emotional or mental states: I think Barry is actually an empath, one of those people who is able to absorb and reflect the feelings of others. psych out If you psych out your opponent in a contest, you try to make them feel less confident by behaving in a very confident or aggressive way. They are like heavyweight boxers, trying to psych each other out and build themselves up. thought-out 考虑周全的. 精心筹划的 adj produced or arrived at through mental effort and especially through careful and thorough consideration. If something is carefully/well/badly thought out, it is carefully/well/badly planned: To me the whole idea seems to be badly thought out. a well-thought-out plan. a thought-out plan. mind your p's and q's 注意言行 old-fashioned to make an effort to be especially polite in a particular situation. meaning "mind your manners", "mind your language", "be on your best behaviour", or "watch what you're doing". I have to mind my p's and q's when I'm with my grandmother. gingko [ˈgɪŋkoʊ] 银杏 The genus name is regarded as a misspelling of the Japanese pronunciation gin kyo for the kanji 銀杏 meaning "silver apricot", which is found in Chinese herbology literature such as 日用本草 (Daily Use Materia Medica) (1329) and Compendium of Materia Medica 本草綱目 published in 1578. Despite its spelling, which is due to a complicated etymology including a transcription error, "ginkgo" is usually pronounced /ˈɡɪŋkoʊ/, which has given rise to the common alternative spelling "gingko". The spelling pronunciation /ˈɡɪŋkɡoʊ/ is also documented in some dictionaries. the exception not the rule = the exception rather than the rule not common or usual. not often done, seen, or happening. rare. Friendly customer service seems to be the exception rather than the rule nowadays. the exception that proves the rule If you are making a general statement and you say that something is the exception that proves the rule, you mean that although it seems to contradict your statement, in most other cases your statement will be true. Dury was the exception that proves the rule that you can't make serious points with funny lyrics. 6. A surgical strike 精准打击 is a military attack which is intended to damage only a legitimate military target, with no or minimal collateral damage to surrounding structures, vehicles, buildings, or the general public infrastructure and utilities. A swift and targeted attack with the aim of minimum collateral damage to the nearby areas and civilians is a surgical strike. Neutralization of targets with surgical strikes also prevents escalation to a full-blown war. Surgical strike attacks can be carried out via air strike, airdropping special ops teams or a swift ground operation or by sending special troops. Precision bombing 精准炮轰 is another example of a surgical strike carried out by aircraft – it can be contrasted against carpet bombing 地毯式袭击, the latter which results in high collateral damage and a wide range of destruction over an affected area which may or may not include high civilian casualties. live out your dreams/fantasies 践行理想, 实践梦想 to do something that you really wanted but did not think was possible: They are living out their show-biz dreams. If you live out a dream or idea, you do the things that you have thought about. He began living out his rock n roll fantasy during his last year in law school. I suppose some people create an idea of who they want to be, and then they live it out. live up to something 践行许诺 to be as good as something. If someone or something lives up to what they were expected to be, they are as good as they were expected to be. Sales have not lived up to expectations this year. Had he lived up to his promise, he would have made a fortune in sponsorship money. The concert was brilliant - it lived up to all our expectations. to give steadfast support to Once elected, she lived up to her campaign promise to balance the state's budget. 7. smooch [smuːtʃ] verb. I. kiss and cuddle amorously. to kiss, hold, and touch someone in a sexual way: Didn't I see you smooching with Mark at Kim's party? "the young lovers smooched in their car". II. 贴身漫舞. British dance slowly in a close embrace. When two people are smooching, they are dancing slowly and very close together to slow, romantic music: The dance floor was full of middle-aged couples smooching to slushy ballads. "in the slow numbers she gave him no encouragement to smooch with her". noun. I. a kiss or a spell of amorous kissing and cuddling. "he moved in for a big smooch". I was so embarrassed when I walked in on them having a smooch on the sofa. II. a slow, romantic dance: Kate had a smooch with a very attractive young man at the Christmas party. smidgen = smidgeon = smidgin [informal] A smidgen is a small amount of something. a very small amount: Could I have a smidgen more wine? It was five years since I'd last seen him, but he hadn't changed a smidgen. ...a smidgen of tobacco. ...a smidgeon of luck. She arrives a smidgen ahead of time. besmirch [bɪ'smɜːrtʃ] verb If you besmirch someone or their reputation, you say that they are a bad person or that they have done something wrong, usually when this is not true. to say bad things about someone to influence other people's opinion of them: His accusations were false, but they served to besmirch her reputation. People were trying to besmirch his reputation. preen [priːn] Verb. I. [disapproval] If someone preens themselves 装扮自己, 打扮自己, they spend a lot of time making themselves look neat and attractive; used especially if you want to show that you disapprove of this behaviour or that you find it ridiculous and amusing. to spend time making yourself look attractive: Roald always spends ages preening (himself) before he goes out. 50% of men under 35 spend at least 20 minutes preening themselves every morning. Bill preened his beard. preen yourself to feel very proud or satisfied with yourself because of an action or quality: preen yourself on something The government is publicly preening itself on the latest trade figures. preen yourself for doing something The company preened itself for having taken on so many new employees last year. I preened myself at my own foresight 先见之明 in buying the work while the artist was still unknown. He strides around the office preening himself and puffing his chest out. She preened herself a little at the description of her "flawless skin". II. If someone preens, they think in a pleased way about how attractive, clever, or good at something they are. She stood preening in their midst, delighted with the attention. He preened himself on the praise he had received. ...a preening prize fighter about to enter a ring. III. When birds preen their feathers, they clean them and arrange them neatly using their beaks. If a bird preens or preens itself, it cleans and arranges its feathers using its beak. Rare birds preen themselves right in front of your camera. 8. impish [ˈɪmpɪʃ] 调皮捣蛋的 adj. If you describe someone or their behaviour as impish, you mean that they are rather disrespectful or naughty in a playful way. showing a child's pleasure in enjoying yourself and making trouble: At 70, he still retains his impish grin. Gillespie is well known for his impish sense of humour. He smiled at me impishly. bandage 包扎 verb. I. If you bandage a wound or part of someone's body 包扎, you tie a bandage around it. Apply a dressing to the wound and bandage it. ...a bandaged hand. I bandaged the leg up and gave her aspirin for the pain. II. bind (a wound or a part of the body) with a protective strip of material. "bandage the foot so that the ankle is supported". noun. a strip of woven material used to bind up a wound or to protect an injured part of the body. "her leg was swathed in bandages". take the long view 往长远看 to think about the effects that something will have in the future instead of in the present: If you take the long view, of course, you can regard staff training as an investment for the company. hamstring [hæmstrɪŋ] noun. A hamstring is a length of tissue or tendon behind your knee which joins the muscles of your thigh to the bones of your lower leg. Webster has not played since suffering a hamstring injury in the opening game. verb. If you hamstring someone (to cripple someone or something), you make it very difficult for them to take any action. to limit the amount of something that can be done or the ability or power of someone to do something: The company was hamstrung by traditional but inefficient ways of conducting business. If he becomes the major opposition leader, he could hamstring a conservative-led coalition. illustrious [ɪlʌstriəs] adj If you describe someone as an illustrious person, you mean that they are extremely well known because they have a high position in society or they have done something impressive. famous, well respected, and admired: She comes from an illustrious political family that includes two former Cabinet ministers. ...the most illustrious scientists of the century. ...his long and illustrious career. Mr Keenan said Hoskins' illustrious career extended beyond the track. 9. 影评: In films like Personal Shopper, A Ghost Story and even Tár, echoes from the beyond become symbols of modern malaise [məˈleɪz] 萎靡不振, 心神不宁, 疲惫, 疲软, 疲累 ( a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or unease whose exact cause is difficult to identify. a general feeling of being ill or having no energy, or an uncomfortable feeling that something is wrong, especially with society, and that you cannot change the situation: They claim it is a symptom of a deeper and more general malaise in society. We were discussing the roots of the current economic malaise. "a general air of malaise". Many think there's a growing moral malaise in society. ), entwined with the droning rhythms ( drone verb I. If something drones, it makes a low, continuous, dull noise. Above him an invisible plane droned through the night sky. ...a virtually non-stop droning noise in the background. ...the constant drone of the motorways. ...the droning of a plane far overhead. II. [disapproval] If you say that someone drones, you mean that they keep talking about something in a boring way. Chambers' voice droned, maddening as an insect around his head. The droning murmur of the doctor's voice in the bedroom had ceased. The minister's voice was a relentless drone 轰鸣. Drone on means the same as drone. Aunt Maimie's voice droned on 喋喋不休, 滔滔不绝. Daniel just drones on about American policy. noun. I. [disapproval] People who do not contribute anything to society or to an organization are sometimes described as drones. A few are dim-witted drones, but most are talented, frustrated, wasted people. II. A drone is a male bee. III. A drone is a type of aircraft that does not have a pilot and is controlled by someone on the ground. Drones frequently pass over this region. ) of everyday life. The latest feature from English director Andrew Haigh (45 Years; Weekend) is disinterested in atavistic [ætəvɪstɪk] 原始的, 亘古存在的 (Atavistic feelings or behaviour 亘古而生的, 根深蒂固的 seem to be very primitive, like the feelings or behaviour of our earliest ancestors. happening because of a very old habit from a long time ago in human history, not because of a conscious decision or because it is necessary now: ...an atavistic fear of snakes. an atavistic fear of the dark. ) terrors, while offering a more tender embrace of the dead. Unfolding like a metaphysical therapy session, All of Us Strangers centres on Adam, a reclusive, middle-aged screenwriter struggling to write about his childhood — until a chance encounter 偶遇 sees him mysteriously reunited with his long-deceased parents. A loose adaptation of Strangers, the 1987 novel by Taichi Yamada, the film opens on a faceless, near-vacant high-rise on the outskirts of London. As one of the building's two inhabitants, Adam (Andrew Scott) has resigned himself to a sequestered existence ( sequestered [sɪkwestərd] 与世隔绝的. A sequestered place is quiet and far away from busy places. A sequestered place is peaceful because it is far away from people: I found a sequestered spot in the park and lay down with my book. sequester verb. I. = sequestrate in UK. Sequester means the same as sequestrate. to take temporary possession of someone's property until they have paid money that is owed or until they have obeyed a court order Everything he owned was sequestered. II. If someone is sequestered 隔离 somewhere, they are isolated from other people. to keep people, especially a jury, together in a place so that they cannot be influenced by other people, by newspaper reports, etc. This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months. III. to separate and store a harmful substance such as carbon dioxide in a way that keeps it safe: He said all coal plants should be closed until they find a way to sequester the carbon dioxide they emit. A growing forest sequesters carbon and gives off oxygen. ), his days spent drifting between a blank page on his laptop, reheated take-out food and tapes of British pop performances from his childhood. A fire alarm brings Adam out of his stupor and face to face with Harry (Paul Mescal), the other, younger occupant of the building, who arrives at his door with a dwindling ( growing less in size, intensity, or number until there is nothing or almost nothing left; diminishing or shrinking gradually. a dwindling number of passengers. the country's dwindling population. a dwindling workforce. their dwindling supplies of food. his dwindling band of supporters. ) bottle of liquor in his hand, searching for any kind of company he can get. "There's vampires at my door," Harry drawls ( [drɔːl ] 拉着长音 If someone drawls, they speak slowly and not very clearly, with long vowel sounds. to speak in a slow way in which the vowel sounds are made longer and words are not separated clearly: [ + speech ] "Hey, what's the rush? Slow down, baby!" he drawled. 'I guess you guys don't mind if I smoke?' he drawled. He has a deep voice and he drawls slightly. ...Jack's southern drawl. a slow way of speaking in which the vowel sounds are made longer and words are not separated clearly: a southern/Texan/mid-Atlantic drawl. ) with a glint in his eye. The delicate romance that soon emerges is counterpoised ( counterbalance = counterpoise to have an equal but opposite effect on something so that it does not have too much of a particular characteristic. to have an equal but opposite effect on something in a positive way, so that it does not have too much of a particular characteristic: Investment in forestry projects is intended to counterbalance the effects of carbon emissions. Short-term losses in revenue will be counterbalanced by new business opportunities. The ugliness of the resort is counterbalanced by the excellence of the skiing. counterbalance to sth Internet lobby groups have been a welcome counterbalance to the power of the multinationals. ) by another momentous encounter: When Adam journeys to his childhood home in south London, seeking inspiration, he inexplicably finds his parents waiting for him. 10. momentous [məˈmɛntəs] 关系重大的 adj. of great importance or significance, especially in having a bearing on future events. If you refer to a decision, event, or change as momentous, you mean that it is very important, often because of the effects that it will have in the future. ...the momentous decision to send in the troops. "a period of momentous changes in East–West relations". French opposition leaders see Attal's appointment as hardly momentous, even counterproductive. interminable [ɪnˈtəːmɪnəbl] 无休无止的, 没完没了的 adj continuing for too long and therefore boring or annoying. If you describe something as interminable, you are emphasizing that it continues for a very long time and indicating that you wish it was shorter or would stop. ...an interminable meeting. He talked to me interminably about his first wife. an interminable delay. his interminable stories. By appointing Gabriel Attal … Emmanuel Macron wants to cling to his popularity in opinion polls to alleviate the pain of an interminable end to his reign. vocabulary: Use interminable to describe something that has or seems to have no end. Your math class. Your sister's violin recital. A babysitting job where five kids are going through your purse and the parents didn't leave a number. Something that is interminable is often boring, annoying, or hard to bear, such as an interminable noise. A near synonym [sɪnənɪm] is incessant, which also refers to something unpleasant that continues without stopping. It descends from the Latin prefix in-, "not," terminare, "to end," and the suffix -abilis, "able to." Latin terminare is also the source of the English verb terminate, "to end" and the corresponding noun termination, "an act of ending something." 法国新上任总理 young and gay: By appointing Gabriel Attal … Emmanuel Macron wants to cling to his popularity in opinion polls to alleviate the pain of an interminable end to his reign. The shakeup appears designed to reinvigorate 注入活力, 搞活, 活跃 ( revitalise 显得有活力 verb To revitalize something that has lost its activity or its health means to make it active or healthy again. to give new life, energy, activity, or success to something: Japanese investment has revitalized this part of Britain. This hair conditioner is excellent for revitalizing dry, lifeless hair. ...the revitalized Democratic Party. ...a revitalizing mid-afternoon treat. ) Macron's centrist government ahead of European Parliament elections in the spring, to shore up his legacy and, potentially, to cultivate 培养, 培植 a successor. Macron wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "I know I can count on your energy and your commitment to implement the rearmament ( Rearmament is the process of building up a new stock of military weapons. What followed was a vast rearmament programme that created massive growth. ) and regeneration project that I have announced." Attal said in a tweet that he was honored and would work "with strength, humility and without taboos in service of the French people." An early spokesperson for Macron's centrist political movement and for the government during the pandemic, Attal is considered "charismatic [ˌkarɪzˈmatɪk] and pugnacious ( pugnacious [pʌɡˈneɪʃəs] 好斗的, 好争斗的, 好吵架的 ( belligerent [bɪ'lɪdʒərənt] ) adj. Someone who is pugnacious is always ready to quarrel or start a fight. wanting to start an argument or fight, or expressing an argument or opinion very forcefully: I found him pugnacious and arrogant. ...the pugnacious little Scouse striker who terrorised defences across the North West in a prolific playing career. vocabulary: Pugnacious means ready for a fight. If you're pugnacious, you might find it hard to make friends. On the other hand, you might be a very successful professional boxer one day. Your brother is a pugnacious thug — always ready to use his fists to settle arguments, and he has the strength to do so. That's the literal sense of pugnacious. You can use pugnacious figuratively, too. When two candidates face off in a debate during a close election, one or the other might be pugnacious. He looks to pick a fight with his opponent and is willing to say almost anything, no matter how outrageous, to make his opponent look bad. belligerent [bɪ'lɪdʒərənt] I. A belligerent person is hostile and aggressive. ...the belligerent statements from both sides which have led to fears of war. He was almost back to his belligerent mood of twelve months ago. 'Why not?' he asked belligerently. He could be accused of passion, but never belligerence. II. The belligerents 交战双方 in a war are the countries or groups that are fighting each other. The belligerents were due, once again, to try to settle their differences. )," said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, in a written analysis. 11. wry [raɪ] adj. I. If someone has a wry expression, it shows that they find a bad situation or a change in a situation slightly amusing. showing that you find a bad or difficult situation slightly funny: a wry smile/comment. Matthew allowed himself a wry smile. She cast a wry glance in her grandmother's direction. She studied him for the longest time, looking wryly amused. II. A wry remark or piece of writing refers to a bad situation or a change in a situation in an amusing way. The play is a rueful, wry observation about the way we are all subject to the ravages of time. There is a wry sense of humour in his work. As Carr wryly notes, 'Being freed up sounds a lot more pleasant than being fired. vocabulary: A wry sense of humor 自嘲式的 is a sarcastic one. You were late for work, stepped into a mud puddle, and you forgot your lunch. If your co-worker asks how your morning is going, you can reply with a wry tone, "Perfectly perfect." The original use for the adjective wry was to describe something that was bent or twisted, so a sprained ankle could be described as "a wry ankle." Today, the word wry is often used to describe less tangible twists. Wry humor and wry wit both describe a sense of humor that is a little twisted from the norm. rueful [ruːfʊl] 后悔的, 遗憾的
adj If someone is rueful, they feel or express regret or sorrow in a
quiet and gentle way. feeling sorry and wishing that something had not
happened: He turned away with a rueful laugh. Hence,
the rueful regret often expressed by policy professionals that many
people in poor communities lack confidence, that is, confidence
comparable to those used to exercising personal and collective power. in a way that shows that you are feeling sorry and wishing that something had not happened: "I wish we'd started six months earlier," he said ruefully. She shook her head and smiled ruefully. Pat ruefully admitted that she was to blame. He spoke ruefully of what he described as his wasted life. "Both campaigns failed," she said ruefully. vocabulary: If your elaborate magic trick goes awry, and instead of pulling a rabbit out of an audience member's shoe(pull a rabbit out of the hat do something unexpected but ingeniously effective in response to a problem. "everyone is waiting to see if the king can pull a rabbit out of the hat and announce a ceasefire". ), you set the shoe on fire, you might give a rueful smile. Rueful means "apologetic" or "remorseful." The adjective rueful sincerely expresses regret, but it manages to do it with a hint of humor. Rueful shows up a lot in descriptions of remorseful grins or apologetic smiles. If you're sorry about something you've done but you can still laugh at yourself a little bit, you feel rueful. The word itself comes from the verb to rue, which means "to regret."
gluten VS glucose 葡萄糖 VS lactose 乳糖: gluten [gluːtən] 麦麸, 麸质 Gluten is a substance found in cereal grains such as wheat. a protein that is contained in wheat and some other grains: a gluten-free diet. The gluten causes damage to the intestinal wall. Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. The term gluten usually refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins that naturally occur in many cereal grains, and which can trigger celiac disease in some people. The types of grains that contain gluten include all species of wheat (common wheat, durum, spelt, khorasan, emmer and einkorn), and barley, rye, and some cultivars of oat; moreover, cross hybrids of any of these cereal grains also contain gluten, e.g. triticale. Gluten makes up 75–85% of the total protein in bread wheat. Glutens, especially Triticeae glutens, have unique viscoelastic ( [ˌvɪskəʊɪˈlæstɪk] (of a solid or liquid) exhibiting both viscous and elastic behaviour when deformed. viscous [vɪskəs] 粘稠的, 黏稠的 adj. A viscous liquid is thick and sticky. ...dark, viscous blood. ) and adhesive properties, which give dough its elasticity 弹性, helping it rise and keep its shape and often leaving the final product with a chewy texture. These properties, and its relatively low cost, make gluten valuable to both food and non-food industries. lactose [læktoʊs] 乳糖 Lactose is a type of sugar which is found in milk and which is sometimes added to food. glucose 葡萄糖 Glucose is a type of sugar that gives you energy. a type of sugar that is found in plants, especially fruit, and supplies an important part of the energy that animals need Jam manufacturers regard the use of glucose as quite correct.
swallow VS swift: The swallows (燕子), martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The term "swallow" is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the barn swallow. A number of European and North American species are long-distance migrants 候鸟; by contrast, the West and South African swallows are nonmigratory. Their legs are short, and their feet are adapted for perching rather than walking, as the front toes are partially joined at the base. Swallows are capable of walking and even running, but they do so with a shuffling, waddling gait. The leg muscles of the river martins (Pseudochelidon) are stronger and more robust than those of other swallows. The river martins have other characteristics that separate them from the other swallows. The structure of the syrinx is substantially different between the two subfamilies; and in most swallows, the bill, legs, and feet are dark brown or black, but in the river martins, the bill is orange-red and the legs and feet are pink. Species breeding in temperate regions ( I. Temperate [ˈtɛmp(ə)rət] 气候温和的 is used to describe a climate or a place which is never extremely hot or extremely cold. (of weather conditions) neither very hot nor very cold: a temperate climate. The Nile Valley keeps a temperate climate throughout the year. II. If a person's behaviour is temperate, it is calm and reasonable, so that they do not get angry or lose their temper easily. If someone's behaviour is temperate, it is calm and controlled. His final report to the President was far more temperate and balanced than the earlier memorandum. III. Temperate plants grow naturally in places where the weather is neither very hot nor very cold. ) migrate during the winter when their insect prey populations collapse. Species breeding in more tropical areas are often more sedentar ( sedentary [sedəntri] 久坐的. 不爱活动的. 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. ), although several tropical species are partial migrants or make shorter migrations. In antiquity ( antiquity [æntɪkwɪti] I. ancient times. especially those before the Middle Ages. Antiquity is the distant past, especially the time of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. ...famous monuments of classical antiquity. The town was famous in antiquity for its white bulls. a town that dates from antiquity. II. the quality of being ancient. a castle of great antiquity. III. antiquities plural. relics or monuments (such as coins, statues, or buildings) of ancient times. Antiquities are things such as buildings, statues, or coins that were made in ancient times and have survived to the present day. ...collectors of Roman antiquities. a museum of Greek antiquities. IV. matters relating to the life or culture of ancient times. the study of Germanic antiquities. The antiquity of something is its great age. ...a town of great antiquity. It indicates the antiquity of the tradition. V. the people of ancient times. records left by antiquity. in actuality You can use in actuality to emphasize that what you are saying is true, when it contradicts or contrasts with what you have previously said. In actuality, we've found that leaders appreciate the training. ), swallows were thought to have hibernated in a state of torpor ( torpor [tɔːrpər] Torpor is the state of being completely inactive mentally or physically, for example because of illness or laziness. He had slumped into a state of torpor from which nothing could rouse him. The sick person gradually falls into a torpor. ), or even that they withdrew for the winter under water. Aristotle ascribed hibernation not only to swallows, but also to storks ( We all know how babies are made. The stork can be seen flying over rooftops with a little cloth bundle before landing at the doorstep of a happy couple who then unwrap their precious, smiling newborn—right? This myth was once a common story to tell children who were deemed too young to be told anything different. Storks have been associated with babies and family for centuries. In Greek mythology, they were associated with stealing babies after Hera turned her rival into a stork, and the stork-woman attempted to steal her son. In Egyptian mythology, the soul of a person—the ba—was usually represented by a stork. The return of a stork meant the return of the soul, at which point the person could become animated again. In Norse mythology, the stork represented family values and commitment to one another. In several mythologies, storks are also a symbol of fidelity and monogamous marriage because storks are widely believed to mate for life. In truth, they don't actually mate for life, but do have a tendency to return to the same nests every year and usually mate with the same partner. Hans Christian Andersen popularized the fable in The Storks, a short story he wrote in the 19th century. In the story, storks flying above a village are teased by a young boy and get their revenge by delivering a dead baby to the child’s family. In this version of the story, the storks plucked babies from a pond where they were dreaming, to deliver them to families of good children. Another popular version of the story was that babies were found in caves called Adeborsteines—which, in German, literally means “stork stone.” Adeborsteine can also refer to stones from which babies would “hatch”; black and white stones that children threw over their heads to tell the storks that they wanted a sibling; or stones that babies were laid upon to dry after they were pulled from the sea.) and kites. Swallows are excellent flyers and use these skills to feed and attract mates. Some species, such as the mangrove swallow, are territorial, whereas others are not and simply defend their nesting sites. In general, the male selects a nest site, and then attracts a female using song and flight and (dependent on the species) guards his territory. The size of the territory varies depending on the species of swallow; in colonial-nesting species, it tends to be small, but it may be much larger for solitary nesters. Outside the breeding season, some species may form large flocks, and species may also roost ( 休养生息 When birds or bats roost somewhere, they rest or sleep there. When birds roost, they go somewhere to rest or sleep: The birds enjoy roosting on lofty perches such as barn roofs. Cormorants nest, roost, and hunt in large flocks. The peacocks roost in nearby shrubs. noun. a place, such as a branch of a tree, where birds rest or sleep: In the city, pigeons roost on the ledges of buildings. At the close of day, the bird flies to its roost. come home to roost = chickens come home to roost If bad or wrong things that someone has done in the past have come home to roost, or if their chickens have come home to roost, they are now experiencing the unpleasant effects of these actions. Appeasement has come home to roost. Politicians can fool some people some of the time, but in the end, the chickens come home to roost. rule the roost If you say that someone rules the roost in a particular place, you mean that they have control and authority over the people there. Today the country's nationalists rule the roost and hand out the jobs. ) communally. This is thought to provide protection from predators, such as sparrowhawks and hobbies. These roosts can be enormous; one winter-roosting site of barn swallows in Nigeria attracted 1.5 million individuals. Nonsocial species do not form flocks 结群, 成群, but recently fledged chicks may remain with their parents for a while after the breeding season. If a human being gets too close to their territory, swallows attack them within the perimeter of the nest. Colonial species may mob predators and humans that are too close to the colony. The swifts 雨燕 are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially 表明上, 外表上 similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae. Resemblances between swifts and swallows are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar life styles based on catching insects in flight. Swifts born in Beijing's old imperial palaces travel 16,000 miles every year to southern Africa and back again without touching ground, and over a lifetime clock up enough miles to get halfway to the moon. New research suggests that after they leave their nests for the first time, the birds spend up to three years in the air, eating, drinking and mating on the wing. They come down to earth only to rear their own chicks, having already made a 16,000-mile round trip to their winter homes at least twice. Over the course of their lives, the average Beijing swift will travel nearly 124,000 miles. "That this tiny bird – that can fit into a human hand – travels to southern Africa and back every year without landing once, is simply awe-inspiring 叹为观止的 and proof that the natural world is the greatest source of inspiration there is," said Terry Townshend, founder of Birding Beijing. The birds have been visitors to the Chinese capital for hundreds of years, nesting in its gatehouses ( gatehouse A gatehouse is a small house next to a gate on the edge of a park or country estate. Four main gatehouses punctuate the wall. ) and palace eaves ( eave [iːvz] 檐下 The eaves of a house are the lower edges of its roof. There were icicles hanging from the eaves.). They are so closely associated with the city that a subspecies carries its old English name, the Peking swift or Apus apus pekinensis.
