用法学习: 1. central casting 典型的 a nominal casting agency that delivers stereotypes to films or, figuratively, to real life situations. the department of a movie studio responsible for casting actors especially viewed as a source of people who are stereotypical of their role in appearance, behavior, or nature a politician right out of central casting. straight out of central casting. The three authors are straight out of central casting: young, smart, witty and idealistic. Someone who is said to be from/out of central casting is a person whose appearance, behavior, or nature seem to be typical for their job or position. The physics professor looks like he's right out of central casting: his white hair is disheveled, his suit rumpled, and he looks a little lost. "He is a political warrior from central casting. He likes a fight," says former Liberal attorney-general George Brandis. whisker I. The whiskers of an animal such as a cat or a mouse are the long stiff hairs that grow near its mouth. II. You can refer to the hair on a man's face, especially on the sides of his face, as his whiskers. ...wild, savage-looking fellows, with large whiskers, unshaven beards, and dirty faces. III. You can use whisker in expressions such as by a whisker or within a whisker of to indicate that something happened or is true, but only by a very small amount or degree. A new pet census showed that cats now outnumber dogs by a whisker (7 million to 6.9 million). She came within a whisker of taking a gold medal. Unemployment is now a whisker away from three million. by a whisker by a very small amount. by the narrowest margin She won the race by a whisker. Last time she raced against the Brazilian, she won by a whisker. win/lose by a whisker informal to win or lose by a very small amount Schmidt finished second, losing by a whisker in the final event. come within a whisker of (doing) something very close to If you come within a whisker of doing something, you almost do it or it almost happens to you: She came within a whisker of getting fired. Twice now she had come within a whisker of death. Having swept into power with 90 seats – 35 more than Labor – many expected Abbott to reside in The Lodge for at least two terms. Instead, he was gone in less than one, torn down by his own colleagues in a whisker under two years. sanctum [sæŋtəm] I. If you refer to someone's inner sanctum 核心, you mean a room which is private and sometimes secret, where they can be quiet and alone. a private place or room where someone is never interrupted: To see inside one of these rooms is to get a glimpse into the gamer's inner sanctum. His bedroom's his inner sanctum. "It was a dinner at the Ottoman Restaurant here in Canberra and it was really the inner sanctum of people who'd been very much part of our victory over the course of the previous three years," Pyne recalls. "And yes, somebody did raise the issue about only one woman being in the cabinet. And look, Tony Abbott as the new prime minister, he took very badly to being given that advice. And it was a bit of a turning point for me, a very early turning point." II. A sanctum is the holiest place inside a holy building such as a temple or mosque. 2. A Major is that part of a Degree Program of Study which consists of a specified group of courses in a particular discipline(s) or field(s). The name of the Major is consistent with the Degree Subject Area on the institutions Course Reference (and Degree) Inventory (or CRIN). A Major usually consists of 25% or more of total hours required in an undergraduate curriculum as defined by SACSCOC. Majors must consist of at least 30 hours, depending on the overall credits required to earn the credential. A Minor is that part of a Degree Program of Study which consists of a specified group of courses in a particular discipline or field, consisting usually of 15% or more of total hours required in an undergraduate curriculum in that discipline. Minors typically consist of 18 – 22 credits, depending on the overall credits identified to earn the credential in the defined Major requirements in a particular Program of Study. A Concentration 专业方向 is an alternative track of courses within a Major, accounting for at least 30% of the Major requirements. A concentration is a field of study within a chosen major. Areas of concentration can impact your marketability when seeking employment. Many employers do care about your area of concentration in competitive fields. Most college students declare a major and a minor. But what if there's a specific area of study in your major you want to focus on? Introducing concentrations. A concentration is a narrower field of study within a major that allows you to specialize in a deeper level of your field and further customize your learning. If you decide to declare a concentration as an undergraduate or graduate student, expect to take a few extra courses in your field. For example, you might declare a concentration in gender studies while majoring in sociology or in environmental accounting while majoring in accounting. Example: She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne with a concentration in constitutional law, politics and history in 1998. a concentration in molecular biology within a biology major. An Option is an alternative track of courses within a Major, accounting for 50% to 80% of the Major requirements. 3. cheese someone off [British, informal] to annoy someone. annoyed and disappointed with something or someone. If you are cheesed off, you are annoyed, bored, or disappointed. Jean was thoroughly cheesed off by the whole affair. I did get a bit cheesed off with the movie's rather plodding pace. She's a bit cheesed off with her job. Her attitude to the whole thing really cheeses me off! plod I. If someone plods 拖着脚, 缓慢的走, 脚步沉重的, 慢悠悠的, 晃悠悠的, they walk slowly and heavily. to walk taking slow steps, as if your feet are heavy: We plodded through the mud. Despite the wind and the rain, they plodded on until they reached the cabin. Crowds of French and British families plodded around in yellow plastic macs. II. If you say that someone plods on or plods along with a job 磨磨唧唧, you mean that the job is taking a long time. to work slowly and continuously, but without imagination, enthusiasm, or interest: For years, he's plodded away 混时间 at the same dull routine job. Alex is just plodding along 混日子 at school, making very little progress. He is plodding on with negotiations. Aircraft production continued to plod along at an agonizingly slow pace. The plot unfolds at a plodding pace 慢悠悠的速度, 不慌不忙的, 龟速. plodding slow, continuous, and not exciting: I'll try not to bore you with lots of plodding details. The novel is heavy and plodding, with little excitement in it. vocabulary: When you plod, you walk slowly, heavily, and deliberately. You might need to plod through the snow to get to the bus stop on time. Plod evokes a difficulty in walking — like when you trudge through mud or walk slowly up a steep hill. You might plod home at the end of a long day, or plod through an overgrown field on a hot afternoon. You can also use plod figuratively to mean "work on something boring or monotonous." The origin of plod is unknown, but it may have come from the sound of feet on the ground — the sound you make when you plod. glacial [gleɪʃəl] I. made or left by a glacier: glacial deposits. extremely cold: glacial temperatures. a glacial period. II. Glacial means relating to or produced by glaciers or ice. ...a true glacial landscape with U-shaped valleys. ...rising sea levels at the end of the last glacial period. III. [disapproval] If you say that a person, action, or atmosphere is glacial, you mean that they are very unfriendly or hostile. The Duchess's glare was glacial. Inside the jeep the atmosphere was glacial. IV. If you say that something moves or changes at a glacial pace, you are emphasizing that it moves or changes very slowly. glacial pace 龟速 The case is moving forward at a glacial pace. The scenery rolled past at a speed that seemed positively glacial. Change occurs at a glacial pace. V. If you describe someone, usually a woman, as glacial, you mean they are very beautiful and elegant, but do not show their feelings. Her glacial beauty is magnetic. VI. glacial period: a very cold period during the earth's history when large masses of ice covered much of the earth's surface: An ice core dating back 740,000 years has revealed eight ice ages, or glacials, followed by shorter interglacial periods. glacier [glæsiər, US gleɪʃər] A glacier is an extremely large mass of ice which moves very slowly, often down a mountain valley. They show how giant glaciers are dramatically shrinking as the planet heats up. damage one's standing: Such errors have damaged his standing in the so-called 'invisible primary', the battle for the support of his party's elite. But last year's public meltdown badly damaged her standing. "There was far too much influence," veteran Queensland Liberal Warren Entsch says. "And it was a concern that we all had at the time. For some reason or other, from what I could see, he was struggling to operate without Peta there with him." Even Abbott loyalists thought the prime minister's chief of staff was damaging his standing. "One area in which I might offer an observation – and I say this as a person that has a deep regard and respect for Peta Credlin – her interpersonal skills 交际能力, 人际关系 were suboptimal (not as good as possible, not quite optimal.) from time to time," former cabinet minister Eric Abetz says, "and that occasioned unnecessary discontent amongst her colleagues." "The thing is, in the Liberal Party, you're not running an army camp," says former Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly. "Peta's strength — and if you want to say authoritarianism and harsh ways — turned a lot of people against Tony." But for Abbott, criticism of Credlin was rooted in sexism. In an interview with the ABC at the time, Abbott said, "Do you really think … my chief of staff would be under this kind of criticism if her name was P-E-T-E-R as opposed to P-E-T-A." occasion I. To occasion something means to cause it. Her refusal occasioned a lot of trouble. The case occasioned the authorities a lot of worry/The authorities were occasioned a lot of worry by the case. He argued that the release of hostages should not occasion a change in policy. have occasion 有机会, 有必要, 有场合做某事 If you have occasion to do something, it is necessary for you to do it. to need to do something: Of course, as a teacher I had authority, but rarely did I have occasion to use it. We have had occasion to deal with members of the group on a variety of charges. on occasion If something happens on occasion, it happens sometimes, but not very often. He treated them seriously and, on occasion, entertained them hilariously. He translated not only from the French but also, on occasion, from the Polish. sense of occasion If there is a sense of occasion when a planned event takes place, people feel that something special and important is happening. There is a great sense of occasion and a terrific standard of musicianship. to rise to the occasion If you say that someone rose to the occasion, you mean that they did what was necessary to successfully overcome a difficult situation. It was a big day and we rose to the occasion. 4. formulaic 没新意的, 老生常谈的, 套路的, 套话的, 假大空的 [ˌfɔːmjʊˈleɪɪk] [disapproval] containing or consisting of fixed and repeated groups of words or ideas. If you describe a way of saying or doing something as formulaic, you are criticizing it because it is not original and has been used many times before in similar situations. His paintings are contrived and formulaic. The text was dull and formulaic. I acknowledge the traditional owners of this land. I do so not as a formulaic beginning, but as a sincere recognition of the place which the land holds in the lives and culture of our first Australians. vocabulary: Anything formulaic follows a formula or pattern, especially in a mechanical, by-the-numbers 循规蹈矩的, 按部就班的, 机械的 way ( in a mechanical, unthinking way. done according to a plan that has been decided previously, without using your own imagination and ideas: This is painting by the numbers - there's nothing original here. ). A formulaic TV show is predictable and probably similar to lots of other shows. Have you ever noticed how many songs are similar to others? When a song is almost identical to previous songs and it's not very original at all, it's formulaic. This word usually conveys a lack of imagination. If you call a movie formulaic, you're saying it's so much like other movies that it probably didn't need to be made. A formulaic speech follows a pattern that's been used many times before. The opposite of formulaic is original. lifter 自力更生的人 VS leaner 不劳而获的人: As the treasurer told Australians at the time, theirs was a nation of "lifters, not leaners". The age of entitlement was over, he vowed. Even "lifters" need to lean on others occasionally Lean against high performing colleagues, sometimes using your close proximity to them to steal money from their wallets? murmur I. A low, indistinct, continuous sound. An indistinct, whispered, or confidential complaint; a mutter. A murmur is a continuous low sound, like the noise of a river or of voices far away. The piano music mixes with the murmur of conversation. I could hear the murmur of the sea. The clamor of traffic has receded to a distant murmur. The only noise was a delightful backdrop of voices murmuring. They spoke in low murmurs. She gave a little murmur. the murmur of the waves. "There was a growing murmur of dissatisfaction with decisions that were being made." If you murmur something, you say it very quietly, so that not many people can hear what you are saying. He turned and murmured something to the professor. She murmured a few words of support. 'How lovely,' she murmured. Murmuring softly that they must go somewhere to talk, he led her from the garden. A murmur of a particular emotion is a quiet expression of it. The promise of some basic working rights draws murmurs of approval. Already there are murmurs of discontent. II. Medicine heart murmur 心跳杂音, 心脏杂音. An abnormal sound, usually emanating from the heart, that sometimes indicates a diseased condition. A murmur is an abnormal sound which is made by the heart and which shows that there is probably something wrong with it. The doctor said James had now developed a heart murmur. without a murmur If someone does something without a murmur, they do it without complaining. 5. Trim the fat 去芜存菁 to eliminate waste or poorly used resources and focusing those resources where they will improve the business most. To excise or discard elements that are seen as superfluous or unnecessary. A: "Our annual budget is still too high. Surely you can trim the fat a bit more." B: "Sir, there's no more fat to trim—if we cut the budget any further, we won't be able to operate properly." Your story is good and your writing is solid, but you need to trim the fat a bit. There are just so many characters and plot points that aren't meaningful. cull the herd I. Literally, to separate or remove (and usually kill) inferior animals out of a herd so as to reduce numbers or remove undesirable traits from the group as a whole. We had to quickly cull the herd when it came to light that some cows might be carrying an infectious disease. II. By extension, to separate or remove people from a larger group. With so many people applying for a limited number of jobs, employers have had to cull the herd by introducing much stricter criteria and a more elaborate application for hiring. Universities have long used standardized test results as a means of culling the herd of applicants they receive each year. reign of terror a period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, in particular the period of the Terror during the French Revolution. a period during which there is a lot of violence and killing, especially by people who are in positions of power The president last night dismissed the government, accusing it of having unleashed a reign of terror against its political opponents. juice box (果汁盒) I. (US, Canada) A small carton of fruit juice with an attached plastic straw. II (African-American Vernacular, slang, vulgar) The vagina. Leonard: How come scientists don't win free stuff like salespeople do? Howard: ‘Cause we’re not in it for the stuff. We’re in it for the groupies. Sheldon: Personally, I find the notion of external rewards 物质奖赏 demeaning. I pursue science for the intrinsic joy of discovery. Amy: But you always say that you want to win a Nobel Prize. Sheldon: I also say don’t contradict me in front of my friends, but that you don’t remember. Penny: All right, well, let me know if you guys want to go. Raj: I would love to. I do enjoy the complexity of an aged Pinot noir. Leonard: I’m sure that would pair nicely with your fried nuggets of chicken. Amy: Well, it sounds like a nice night. We should go. Sheldon: Wine again? Yeah, no, thank you. I like my grapes the old-fashioned way, in a juice box. Amy: Well, I’m going. You couldn’t stop me from getting a massage at the mall, and you’re not stopping me now. Sheldon: I shouldn’t have to see my girlfriend get groped in public by another man. Amy: And I shouldn’t have to see my boyfriend riding on a train for children around the mall. decal [diːkæl] ( = transfer in UK) a picture or design printed on special paper, that can be put onto another surface, such as metal or glass. Decals are pieces of paper with a design on one side. The design can be transferred onto a surface by heating it, soaking it in water, or pressing it hard. The lecterns had been given new decals. Transfers (in UK) are pieces of paper with a design on one side. The design can be transferred by heat or pressure onto material, paper, or china for decoration. ...gold letter transfers. transfer noun. I. A transfer is a ticket that you get when you leave a bus or train that allows you to go on a different bus or train without paying again. II. Technology transfer 技术转移 is the process or act by which a country or organization which has developed new technology enables another country or organization to use the technology. These countries need capital and technology transfer. If the transfer of technology is potentially beneficial to developing countries, then it is appropriate to consider its cost. verb. I. If you transfer something or someone from one place to another, or they transfer from one place to another, they go from the first place to the second. Remove the wafers with a spoon and transfer them to a plate. He was transferred from Weston Hospital to Frenchay. He wants to transfer some money to the account of his daughter. The person can transfer from wheelchair to seat with relative ease. Arrange for the transfer of medical records to your new doctor. The bank reserves the right to reverse any transfers or payments. II. If something is transferred, or transfers, from one person or group of people to another, the second person or group gets it instead of the first. I realized she'd transferred 情感转移 all her love from me to you. The chances of the disease being transferred 疾病转移 to humans is extremely remote. On 1 December the presidency of the Security Council automatically transfers from the U.S. to Yemen. ..the transfer of power 权利转移, 移交 from the old to the new regimes. III. In professional sports, if a player transfers or is transferred 球员转会 (US = trade) from one club to another, they leave one club and begin playing for another. He transferred from Spurs to Middlesbrough. He was transferred from Crystal Palace to Arsenal. Nobody was expecting his transfer to the Italian club. IV. If you are transferred 工作调动, or if you transfer, to a different job or place, you move to a different job or start working in a different place. I was transferred to the book department. I suspect that she is going to be transferred. Anton was able to transfer from Lavine's to an American company. They will be offered transfers to other locations. V. When information is transferred onto a different medium, it is copied from one medium to another. Such information is easily transferred onto microfilm. ...systems to create film-quality computer effects and then transfer them to film. He has been charged with unauthorised transfer of information from military computers. ...data transfer 数据迁移, 信息迁移. VI. When property or land is transferred, it stops being owned by one person or institution and becomes owned by another. He has already transferred ownership 产权转移, 所有权转移 of most of the works to a British foundation. Certain kinds of property are transferred automatically at death. ...an outright transfer of property. VII. If you transfer or are transferred when you are on a journey, you change from one vehicle to another. He likes to transfer from 倒车 the bus to the Blue Line at 103rd Street in Watts. 1,654 passengers were transferred at sea to a Norwegian cruise ship. 6. reel I. If you say that your brain or your mind is reeling, you mean that you are very confused because you have too many things to think about. His mind reeled at the question. II. If someone reels, they move about in an unsteady way as if they are going to fall. He was reeling a little. He must be very drunk. He lost his balance and reeled back. I stood up and almost fell, reeling against the deck rail. noun. I. A reel is a cylindrical object around which you wrap something such as cinema film, magnetic tape, fishing line, or cotton thread. [mainly British] ...a 30m reel of cable (= spool in US). II. You can talk about a reel as a way of referring to all the scenes in a film which fit onto one reel of film. I shall not reveal the movie's final reel. reel someone/something in mainly US to get control of something or someone, sometimes by offering something in exchange: The article offers tips on how computer users can avoid being reeled in by internet scams. reel from If you are reeling from a shock, you are feeling extremely surprised or upset because of it. I'm still reeling from the shock of hearing of it. It left us reeling with disbelief. rail someone I. To revile or scold in harsh, insolent or abusive language. My boss railed me for showing up late again. She railed me for forgetting our anniversary. He railed me with insults and expletives because…. II. To have have sex with someone. If you just say someone railed someone, a native speaker might assume first that you mean they like had rough sex with someone. He railed her in the back of the car. rail (at or against) to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings. To protest, criticize, or complain angrily about someone or something. I spent a lot of my teenage years railing against my parents, but looking back, I gave them way more grief than they deserved. Employees has formed a picket line outside of the company as they rail against proposed cuts to their pay and pension schemes. We could hear the cook in the kitchen railing against his assistant and wondered if we'd ever get our food. what gives? informal I. (colloquial) used to ask the reason for something. What is wrong? Why is this happening? What is going on? What is the problem or issue? Hey, what gives? My computer just shut off on its own! OK, what gives, Sarah? You've been in a foul mood all day. You've been acting weird all week. What gives? Not even thirty minutes after leaving the shower, my head starts itching. What gives? II. (colloquial) What is happening? What is going on? What gives with you and Martha? III. (colloquial) How are you? 7.
Tesla boss Elon Musk's 'train wreck' performance rattles the faithful: Elon Musk has always been a trailblazer 开路人. Long before he helped spark a revolution in the future of automobiles, he foresaw the need for payment security in a digital world and earned his first fortune 第一桶金 as a co-founder of PayPal. Right now, however, legions of investors are concerned about Musk's increasingly erratic behaviour while his competitors are fearful they may end up following the path he is treading. Much of the concern is focused on Musk's main business, Tesla. And for many, there is a niggling 萦绕于心的, 挥之不去的, 赶不走的 worry that the shift in attitude towards the South African-born tycoon may spread further afield and shake the financial foundations of a technology boom that has driven Wall Street back to record levels. It's been a volatile ride for US technology. During the pandemic, as interest rates plumbed zero, central banks frantically printed money, encouraging cashed-up investors to abandon any concept of risk. Tech stocks headed for the stratosphere ( stratosphere [strætəsfɪər] I. The stratosphere is the layer of the earth's atmosphere which lies between 10 and 50 kilometres above the earth. II. If you say that someone or something climbs or is sent into the stratosphere 外太空层, you mean that they reach a very high level. This was enough to launch their careers into the stratosphere. If oil supplies were ever disrupted, it would send U.S. oil-import bills into the stratosphere. ) and took Wall Street and global investors with them. That boom came to a shuddering halt in 2022 as rate hikes were deployed to kill off an inflationary spike. But then came ChatGPT. Suddenly, the world was agog (agog [əˈɡɑɡ] excited and interested. If you are agog, you are excited about something, and eager to know more about it. The
city was agog with rumours last night that the two had been executed.
"I remember at one point being agog at Brad," Cox said of his time on
the "Troy" set. ) with equal parts wonderment and fear about the future of AI. Tech stocks again headed for the stars in a tech boom Mach II that so far shows little sign of ending. On Thursday night, Tesla shares plunged almost 13 per cent as the erratic boss delivered what some analysts called a "train wreck of a conference call". The crux ( [krʌks] The crux of a problem or argument is the most important or difficult part of it which affects everything else. He said the crux of the matter was economic policy. ) of the issue is the way Tesla has been valued. And it's a salient point(salient [ˈseɪliənt] 明显的, 显而易见的 a salient fact, issue, or feature is one that is especially noticeable or relevant. The salient facts about something or qualities of something are the most important things about them: She began to summarize the salient features/points of the proposal. The article presented the salient facts of the dispute clearly and concisely. The report covered all the salient points of the case. valiant [væliənt] 勇敢的, 不懈的
A valiant action is very brave and determined, though it may lead to
failure or defeat. very brave or bravely determined, especially when
things are difficult or the situation gives no cause for hope: The company has made a valiant effort/attempt in the last two years to make itself more efficient. Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister, inflation rose to 36%. ...a valiant attempt to keep the business going. He suffered further heart attacks and strokes, all of which he fought valiantly. reticent 少言寡语的, 不怎么说话的, 谨言慎行的 unwilling to speak about your thoughts or feelings. Someone who is reticent does not tell people about things. She is so reticent about her achievements. As a reticent sort, the England defender was reluctant to hog the limelight. Pearl didn't mind his reticence; in fact she liked it. He is very reticent about his past. Most of the students were reticent about answering questions. ) for many other technology hopefuls. Believe it or not, but for years, Tesla has been valued by Wall Street as bigger than General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and Toyota combined. That's despite selling only a fraction of the number of cars its competitors produced. It was seen as a window to the future; that it would prosper as old-style petrol-fuelled internal combustion engines became obsolete. Last week, however, Musk unveiled a set of numbers that appeared to show the wheels falling off ( wheels come/fall off informal used to say that someone or something fails in a sudden or unexpected way. The pitcher was doing well for the first four innings, then the wheels fell off in the fifth. ) the well-hyped machine. Tesla's margins ( A profit margin is the difference between the selling price of a product and the cost of producing and marketing it. The group had a net profit margin of 30% last year. ) were being squeezed after it last year repeatedly cut the price of its electric vehicles across multiple markets. Suddenly, Tesla is being seen as an automobile maker and not a technology player. Its once-huge margins are shrinking and investors are becoming tired of the tall tales 画饼 (tall tales: 吹牛, 夸大其词) and inflated forecasts( stories or statements which are difficult to believe because they are so exaggerated or unlikely. Pollard was described as someone whose rich imagination and keen intellect were convincing; some of his college chums believed his tall tales. ) from its charismatic leader. There's a well-thumbed 翻烂了的 ( (of a book, magazine, etc.) having been read often and bearing marks of frequent handling. A book or magazine that is well-thumbed is creased and marked because it has been read so often. Well-thumbed car magazines cluttered his coffee table at home. "a treasured, well-thumbed copy of Pepys". ) playbook many entrepreneurs swear by. Always keep the punters on their toes. Continue buying new businesses and sidelines that may or may not end up being bigger than your main game. Constant expansion and acquisitions never allow anyone to monitor performance. He wanted to nearly double his voting control of Tesla to 25 per cent, a touch more than it was before he sold down to fund his overvalued purchase of Twitter. The desire came with a thinly veiled threat. If he couldn't gain more influence, he'd prefer to develop new technology outside of Tesla. He has plenty of corporate vehicles 途径 with which to pursue this. Musk is no stranger to the field of AI. In fact, he was instrumental in OpenAI's formation before being dumped as a director. His new venture, with its own AI called Grok, is aimed at taking the company head-on. And then there's Neuralink, a firm pioneering technology to implant chips in the human brain and then link them to computers, which could be used to treat disabilities, blindness and paralysis. Musk has had a series of run-ins and bust-ups with many of his closest associates. Early in the piece ( early/later in the piece/game The U.S. came to the table late in the piece and proceeded to throw its weight around. "Say your piece 说了我要说的" refers to stating your opinion, or your "piece" or "part" of the conversation. give one's opinion or make a prepared statement. to give your opinion about a particular matter, although you are aware that other people may not agree with you, or be interested in what you have to say. Each preacher stood for two minutes on a box, said his piece, and stepped down. Just say your piece and then go. "I've said my piece, it's up to you". hold your peace associated with marriage objections and refers to remaining silent and peaceful. ), his partner – whose PayPal system was superior to Musk's X.com money transfer system – resigned over Musk's insistence that the operation use a Microsoft platform, leaving the then-follicly challenged ( follicly With regard to the hair or hair follicles. Chiefly forming compounds. follically challenged: going bald, balding, bald.) South African as sole chief executive. But not for long. When he took his first vacation in years, the board moved against him, ousting him in a coup that resonated through the rest of his career. Since then there has been SpaceX and now xAI. Although stretched in all directions, Musk has been able to hold the empire together. But if Tesla ends up being valued as just another car manufacturer, rather than a futuristic technology play, the wily ( wily [ˈwʌɪli] 狡诈多端的, 狡猾的 (cunning, scheming) If you describe someone or their behaviour as wily, you mean that they are clever at achieving what they want, especially by tricking people. (of a person) intelligent, having a very good understanding of situations, possibilities, and people, and often willing to use tricks to achieve an aim: a wily politician. His appointment as prime minister owed much to the wily manoeuvring of the President. ) entrepreneur may one day find himself as XCEO.
Liberal colleagues reveal inside story of Tony Abbott's brutal demise - A hideous day of embarrassment: It was a victory so crushing 摧枯拉朽, Liberal MPs were spilling over onto the crossbenches. "One of the most emphatic election results of the last 50 years," is how former cabinet minister Greg Hunt describes it. The Coalition's 2013 triumph was spearheaded by Tony Abbott, the relentless conservative warrior who many of his former colleagues still regard as the most effective opposition leader of his generation. "He picked up a brick and he just went after the Labor Party," says Queensland senator James McGrath. "He is a political warrior from central casting. He likes a fight," says former Liberal attorney-general George Brandis. "After the 2014 budget, then the opportunity began to emerge for those who didn't necessarily support Tony's leadership to begin to explore other options," former cabinet minister Greg Hunt says. "And the only other option was Malcolm." A long-time rival of Abbott, the then-communications minister Malcolm Turnbull was biding his time 静候时机, 耐心等待时间. "My view at the time 我的想法, 我的观点, and I've stuck to this, was to do nothing," he says. "I did not want to be seen as doing anything to undermine Abbott's leadership." The Coalition ended 2014 battered and bruised 遍体鳞伤的 but confident things would turn around. "At the beginning of 2015, well, everyone's always cheerful at the beginning of the year," Pyne says. "Until, of course, Australia Day." In what was widely derided as a "captain's call", Abbott bestowed a knighthood on Prince Philip. "That was a shocker," says then-cabinet minister Barnaby Joyce. "This is where you press off on your mobile phone and jump down a wombat hole." "It was just a hideous day of embarrassment," Pyne says. "I thought it was a terrible decision," says then-Liberal senator Marise Payne. "It seemed to me to be very out of tune with 背道而驰 what the rest of the members of the government thought and, frankly, the Australian people." Simpkins was no Turnbull fan. A proud conservative, the West Australian wanted Abbott to succeed. Instead, with the polls stuck in negative territory and the prime minister's judgement under a cloud 存疑, Simpkins decided to lead a revolt against Abbott. "This is not exactly my style to call a spill motion," Simpkins says, "but I'd really sort of had enough at that point. I spoke to Tony and told him I was going to do it. And he said that he wished I wouldn't do it. He said it would damage the country. And I said, 'This has got to go to the party room for a judgement.'" Just days after the knighthood debacle there was a political earthquake that further unnerved Coalition backbenchers. The Queensland LNP government under Campbell Newman was tossed out of office after just one term despite holding a record majority. "The Queensland election sent a shiver up the spine about what was coming for us unless we got our act together," LNP senator James McGrath says. Just over a week later, on February 9, 2015, Simpkins and fellow WA Liberal Don Randall carried out their threat and moved a motion in the Liberal party room to spill Abbott's leadership. It became known as "the empty chair spill". "It was called an empty chair spill because the motion was simply to declare the position of leader vacant and there was no actual challenger," Turnbull says. "Can you believe it? Can you believe it," Russell Broadbent says, "That my party, after all they've seen – the Labor Party tear themselves to pieces – I'm watching them do exactly the same thing." Abbott survived the spill motion by a vote of 61 to 39. It looked like a clear victory but to many in the room it showed that 40 per cent of the parliamentary Liberal Party preferred an empty chair to the prime minister. "There was this stunned rabbit-in-the-headlights response," Ken Wyatt says. Some had expected that Turnbull might have stood against his nemesis. But he knew he didn't have the numbers. "Why didn't I challenge Abbott in February 2015? I certainly could have," Turnbull says. "But my judgement was that it was better not to and to just keep playing a straight bat ( play a straight bat I. [British] to try to avoid answering difficult questions But last Saturday her interviewee played a straight bat, referring all inquiries to his solicitors before driving off. II. [old-fashioned] to do things in an honest and simple way because you have traditional ideas and values Amit, then 14, was very surprised to find that playing a straight bat was not considered all that important in his new school. straight bat: I. The bat when held vertically, or when swung through a vertical arc. II. British informal honest or honourable behaviour. ) … One of my colleagues said to me, 'There's no need for you to do anything. Let him just burn down to the waterline.' In other words, he was on the way out." But then it was revealed that one of his oldest political confidantes had charged taxpayers to charter a helicopter for the short hop from Melbourne to Geelong for a Liberal Party fundraiser. Speaker Bronwyn Bishop agreed to pay back the $5,000 cost and Abbott battled to make the controversy go away. "He was a great mate of Bronwyn's," Broadbent says. "He tried to push through 挺过去 like Abbott does. But that wasn't going to work because it was such an example of extravagance that the Australian people just don't like." "Tony is such a loyal person and he wasn't going to throw Bronwyn under a bus for some short-term political win," Abbott loyalist Craig Kelly says. "So he stuck by her and he stuck by her and he stuck by her. Eventually the pressure became too great." Bishop resigned but the whole affair was the final straw for a core group of Turnbull supporters. "Bronwyn Bishop and the helicopter flight destabilised the government. It destabilised Tony," McGrath says. "[It] allowed MPs and senators who did not have Tony's best interest at heart to start agitating again." McGrath was one of the agitators who had decided to get organised. This rather motley cross-section ( motley [mɒtli] You can describe a group of things as a motley collection if you think they seem strange together because they are all very different. consisting of many different types that do not appear to go together: There's a motley assortment/collection of old furniture in the house we're renting now. The people who turned up for the meeting were a motley crew 各色人等 (= a group consisting of many different types of people). ...a motley collection of vans, old buses, cattle-trucks, and even a fire engine. The volunteers seem a motley crew. ) of the parliamentary party began to meet secretly during sitting weeks at Turnbull's Canberra apartment. "You've got, to start with, Simon Birmingham, Arthur Sinodinos, myself, Wyatt Roy [and] Peter Hendy," Turnbull number cruncher Laundy says. "That was the original nucleus 核心." Nine days after Bishop's resignation, another political bonfire flared that would see more of the party room turn against the prime minister. On August 11, 2015, Liberal MPs held a debate about legalising same-sex marriage. "Tony had adopted a particularly stubborn position on the issue and he was manoeuvring in such a way as to thwart the issue," the then-attorney-general George Brandis says. For some Liberals, including cabinet ministers, the way they saw the prime minister thwarting the issue was by stacking the Liberal Party debate with outsiders who shared his opposition to same-sex marriage. "He called a joint meeting with the Nationals, which was wrong because this was an issue for the Liberal party room," Turnbull says. "Christopher Pyne actually accused him of branch stacking, effectively." The same-sex marriage furore invigorated those attending the regular clandestine meetings at Turnbull's Canberra apartment. By mid-September, Team Turnbull was ready to strike. The group pored over a spreadsheet divided into columns. "[It] identified who was with Turnbull, who was against Turnbull, who may be undecided, who might need to be shored up," Sinodinos says. "It happened very quickly, so within the space of a few hours, we were all being called in to vote," Karen Andrews says. Inside the party room, Abbott declared the leadership vacant and a call for candidates to nominate was declared. The prime minister and his rival stood. "The whip distributes ballot papers," Laundy says. "It's just a blank bit of paper. You write out 'Abbott' or 'Turnbull',". "They then come around with old wooden boxes — it feels like you're in church — and you put your slips in that." It was over in a matter of minutes. Turnbull had prevailed, 54 votes to 44. "I was a little stunned but I felt very good about it," Turnbull says. "I was confident that this would be seen as a new beginning." But for every new beginning, there has to be an ending. "Obviously, Tony was very unhappy about it," Brandis says. "He didn't shake Malcolm's hand to congratulate him … it was tense for a moment and then the party room dispersed." Abbott's prime ministership, which had begun with a thumping majority and predictions of a multi-term reign, was over three days shy of two years. So what went so spectacularly wrong? Many of his former colleagues who were interviewed for Nemesis blame Abbott's longstanding internal rival for undermining him from the very start. "Malcolm Turnbull, obviously, was not there to be a cabinet minister in an Abbott government. That was clear," says Victorian Liberal Michael Sukkar. "He was very desperately seeking to undermine Tony at every opportunity." But others, particularly in the Turnbull camp, subscribe to John Howard's theory that Abbott could not make the transition from lethal opposition leader to successful prime minister. Tony, in his heart of hearts 内心深处( in one's heart of hearts in one's inmost feelings. in your most secret and true thoughts. If you believe or know something in your heart of hearts, that is what you really believe or think, even though it may sometimes seem that you do not. I know in my heart of hearts that I am the right man for that mission. I didn't want to believe it, but in my heart of hearts I knew that it was true. ), is a warrior but a prime minister can't be a warrior," Brandis says. "There were times when it was almost as if the warrior at his heart got the better of the leader of the party he was trying to be." vanquish verb. To vanquish someone means to defeat them completely in a battle or a competition. to defeat an enemy or opponent, especially in war: Napoleon was vanquished at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. The vanquished army surrendered their weapons. A happy ending is only possible because the hero has first vanquished the dragons. With knowledge and wisdom, evil could be vanquished on this earth.
