用法学习: 1. derelict [ˈdɛrɪlɪkt] I. 荒废的. in a very poor condition as a result of disuse and neglect. a derelict site. be left derelict Even in cities where land is scarce and expensive, substantial amounts of it are left derelict. become derelict Some of these buildings have become so derelict that they require complete reconstruction. lie derelict mainly UK The entire site has lain derelict since the 1970s. fall derelict mainly UK The houses were abandoned and eventually fell derelict. stand derelict UK The theatre has been left to stand derelict. "a derelict Georgian mansion". II. North American shamefully negligent of one's duties or obligations. failing to do what you should do, especially in your job: derelict in If we do nothing, then we're derelict in our responsibility to protect our people. derelict in your duty We have the right to vote out board members who are derelict in their duty 不尽职尽责. The report refers to "grossly derelict" actions by past directors. "he was derelict in his duty to his country". Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the postponement "outrageous", "evasive" and "derelict". the long and the short of it 总之, 总的来讲, 总而言之 informal said when you want to explain the general situation without giving details: The long and the short of it is that they are willing to start the work in January. sensory 感官的 connected with the physical senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight.
Sensory means relating to the physical senses. ...sensory information passing through the spinal cord. ...our body's sensory system. Lam remembers how surreal her orchestral debut felt, describing it as "an incredible sensory experience 感官体验". black eye I. discoloration of the skin around the eye, resulting from a blow, bruise, etc. an area of skin around the eye that has gone dark because it has been hit: He had a fight at school and came home with a black eye. II. 污点, 耻辱. 羞耻. a mark of shame, dishonor, etc. something that damages someone's or something's reputation; a bad reputation: These slums are a black eye to our town. The problem is something of a black eye for what has been the biotechnology industry's most successful product. He described recent incidents of sexual harassment as "a black eye for the university." That incident was perceived as a black eye for the Trump administration. III. 臭名昭著, 坏名声. 恶名. damaged reputation. to make someone or something look bad; to damage someone's or something's reputation. That food critic's negative review really gave my restaurant a black eye. They let me keep my job after I got caught, but the transgression gave me a black eye for the rest of my career. Yeah, if you're a general manager, trading your ace pitcher for next-to-nothing will certainly give you a black eye! Inaccurate hurricane predictions gave forecasters a black eye. Your behavior will give the family a black eye. 2. US whistleblower accuses Trump officials of willfully ignoring court orders: A former lawyer with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has published a whistleblower complaint accusing officials of intentionally ignoring court orders that might impede US President Donald Trump's campaign for mass deportation. On Tuesday, representatives for Erez Reuveni filed a 35-page letter of complaint detailing the lawyer's allegations against the Trump administration. It offers a look at the debates and divisions unfolding behind the scenes at the Justice Department, as it defends Trump's efforts to arrest and rapidly deport non-citizens, a process that has spurred concern about rights violations. Discouraging clients from engaging in illegal conduct is an important part of the role of lawyer. Mr Reuveni tried to do so and was thwarted, threatened, fired and publicly disparaged 公开诋毁 for both doing his job and telling the truth to the court. Still, as the news of the complaint circulated on US media, members of the Trump administration sought to frame Reuveni's claims as those of a "disgruntled former employee". He accused Reuveni and media outlets like The New York Times, which published a copy of Reuveni's complaint, of attempting to sabotage Bove's chances of being confirmed as a circuit court ( I. 巡回法庭. Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; The term "circuit court" is derived from the English custom of itinerant courts whose judges periodically travelled on pre-set paths - or circuits - to hear cases from different areas. In the past, judges used to "ride circuit" — traveling around a geographic area to hear cases. The term stuck, even though today most courts are fixed in location. II. In US, Federal Circuit Courts (U.S. Courts of Appeals). These are intermediate appellate courts in the federal system — just below the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. is divided into 13 circuits:11 regional circuits (e.g., 9th Circuit, 2nd Circuit), The D.C. Circuit, The Federal Circuit (specialized cases like patents), They review decisions from federal district courts (trial courts). They do not hold trials; they handle appeals only. On the American frontier, a judge often travelled on horseback along with a group of lawyers. Abraham Lincoln was one such attorney who regularly rode the circuit in Illinois, along with Circuit Judge David Davis. In more settled areas, a stagecoach would be used. Eventually, the legal caseload in a county would become great enough to warrant the establishment of a local judiciary. Most of these local judicial circuits (that is, in terms of the actual routes travelled by judges) have been thus replaced by judges regularly stationed at local courthouses, but in many areas, the legacy term remains in use. ) judge. "This is disgusting journalism," he wrote. "Planting a false hit piece the day before a confirmation hearing is something we have come to expect from the media, but it does not mean it should be tolerated." Democrats, meanwhile, seized the complaint as evidence of malfeasance in the Trump administration. 3. Residents say Waymo robotaxis are driving them mad. Can AI and humans coexist?: The back-up beeping 倒车滴滴声 is the main issue for people who live around the lots in Santa Monica. And that is a stipulation of federal law: all autonomous electric vehicles — just like large delivery trucks — must beep when they're backing up for the safety of the pedestrians around them. One exasperated and under-slept local questioned the need: pointing out that robots can see just as clearly when they're going backwards as forwards, that they're not piloted by a human straining to 极力的, 费劲的, 尽力的 look over their shoulder, and they're programmed not to hit any human who might walk in their way. Robots, under current California law, can't get traffic tickets. State legislators are currently mulling a bill 考虑一个提案 that would, among other things, "Require the individual car violating the law to be assessed fines and points in the same manner as a human driver." But would a $300 ticket be as strong a disincentive to a corporation that owns a robot as it is to a human driver who is paying out of their own, much smaller pocket? It's nearing midnight as the young man scurries through a dark alley. He wears a mask and overalls and is armed with a roll of duct tape. As he nears his target – a driverless robot taxi – he tears off some tape to disable the futuristic car's sensors. The man and others call themselves "stackers," and most nights you'll find them, faces masked from security cameras, on a mission. They stand in the way of robotaxis, so the cars are forced to line up in a stack in an alley and can't access two charging lots near downtown Santa Monica that Waymo opened in January, with little fanfare and apparently zero prior public awareness. "We'll try lasering the next one," one stacker says to another. "We're just running some routine experiments to see what it takes to properly stack a Waymo. We just want the Waymos to stop beeping at night," he says. "They're really disturbing us. They're disturbing our neighbors." They've become very popular with riders, but very unpopular with some residents who say human beings are kept awake at night by the robots' honking, flashing lights and back-up beeps, as well as the general hubbub generated by the robots' human attendants, who plug them in to charge and vacuum them between rides. "Like some of the other neighbors reported, I've had like phantom beeps during my drowsy days." Santa Monica officials say the back-up beeping isn't loud enough to violate the city's noise ordinance. But Stacker One points to another local law saying there can be no "business support operations" between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. within 100 feet of a residence. "And there's no mention of an exception that says if you get a robot to yell for you, you're allowed to do that at night," he says. In the face of complaints, Waymo says it has bought quieter vacuums for the humans who clean the robotaxis, limited the speed they drive in the alleys to 10 mph and limited the late-night use of the lot that was drawing the most complaints. The company has also planted some bamboo, hoping to muffle 掩盖 the noise of both the robotaxis and their human attendants. "We strive to be good neighbors," a Waymo spokesperson told CNN. "We are in ongoing conversation with the city's Department of Transportation and are actively working with the agency as we explore and implement mitigations that address neighbors' concerns." But the lots continue to operate, and the robots continue to beep when they back up. 4. Touts employ overseas workers to bulk-buy gig tickets: Ticket touts 黄牛党 are employing teams of workers to bulk-buy 批量购买, 大量购买 tickets for the UK's biggest concerts like Oasis and Taylor Swift so they can be resold for profit, a BBC investigation has found. We uncovered some touts are making "millions" hiring people overseas, known as "ticket pullers 抢票人", with one telling an undercover journalist his team bought hundreds of tickets for Swift's Eras tour last year. Our reporter, posing as a would-be tout, secretly recorded the boss of a ticket pulling company in Pakistan who said they could set up a team for us and potentially buy hundreds of tickets. Shortly after pre-sale, where a limited number of fans could buy Oasis tickets when they went on sale in August, tickets for their UK gigs were being listed on resale websites like StubHub and Viagogo for more than £6,000 - about 40 times the face value of a standing ticket. We found genuine fans missed out or, in desperation, ended up paying way over the odds ( over the odds 花费大价钱 British above what is generally considered acceptable, especially for a price. more than something is really worth. more than is expected, necessary, etc I got paid over the odds for that job. It's a nice enough car but I'm sure she paid over the odds for it. "you could be paying over the odds for perfume". ) as touts have an army of people working for them to buy tickets for the most in-demand 需求高的 (= high-demand 热门的, 火爆的) events as soon as they go on sale. Ali, the boss of the ticket pulling company, boasted to our undercover reporter that he'd been successful at securing tickets for popular gigs. "I think we had 300 Coldplay tickets and then we had Oasis in the same week - we did great," he told us. Ali claimed he knew of a UK tout who made more than £500,000 last year doing this and reckons others are "making millions". Our research found pullers buy tickets using illegal automated software and multiple identities which could amount to fraud. Another ticket pulling boss, based in India, told BBC Wales Investigates' undercover reporter: "If I'm sitting in your country and running my operations in your country, then it is completely illegal. "We do not participate in illegal things because actually we are outside of the UK." A man who worked in the ticketing industry 票务行业 for almost 40 years showed us how he infiltrated a secret online group that claims to have secured thousands of tickets using underhand methods. Reg Walker said members of the group could generate 100,000 "queue passes" - effectively allowing them to bypass the software that creates an online queue for gigs. He told the BBC's The Great Ticket Rip Off programme this was the equivalent of "100,000 people all of a sudden turning up and pushing in front of you in the queue". He added: "If you are a ticketing company and an authorised resale company, and someone decides to list hundreds of tickets for a high-demand 热门的 ( = in-demand) event... my question would be, where did you get the tickets?There's no due diligence." Fans are usually limited to a handful of tickets when buying from primary platforms such as Ticketmaster. Touts often list their tickets on resale websites and one former Viagogo employee alleged he had seen some profiles with thousands of tickets for sale. "They [touts] buy in bulk most of the time in the hope of reselling and making a profit," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I don't know how they get their hands on them but I know that at some point they would have bought tickets in bulk in serious numbers. "You're not allowing a lot of people to get access because you're hoarding the tickets." Another potentially illegal practice in the UK is "speculative selling 投机购买", where touts list tickets for resale without owning them. There is no guarantee these touts will actually secure a ticket and "speculative selling" was one of the reasons two touts were jailed for fraud in 2020. The exact seats appeared to be for sale at the same time on both Ticketmaster, the original point of sale, and Viagogo. After we presented our evidence to Viagogo, it said: "Listings suspected to be in contravention of 相抵触 our policy( contravention the act of doing something that a law or rule does not allow, or an instance of this. an action that is against a law or rule, or that is not what you promised or were expected to do: (a) contravention of sth The use of unguarded candles is a contravention of the 1981 Hotels & Boarding House Act. be in contravention of sth We are trying to understand in what way we may have been in contravention of the law. Council may serve a contravention notice if the builder fails to submit plans before starting construction work. in contravention of By accepting the money, she was in contravention of company regulations. These are all blatant contraventions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights. contravene to do something that a law or rule does not allow, or to break a law or rule. to not obey a rule or law, or to not do what you promised: The toy manufacturer contravened safety codes by using toxic paints on its dolls. The company knew its actions contravened international law. ) have been removed from the site." The UK government is looking at measures to try and tackle the issue, but evidence of the challenges faced can be seen in the Republic of Ireland. In 2021, laws were introduced there to stop the resale of tickets above face value, but the BBC found this being flouted. Capping 上限, 封顶 resale prices of tickets and regulating resale platforms was one of Sir Keir Starmer's manifesto pledges ahead of last year's general election. Now he is prime minister, the UK government has held a consultation with proposals including a price cap that ranges from the original price to 30% above face value, introducing larger fines and a new licensing regime. But Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the UK government's cross-party Culture, Media and Sport committee said: "It's a minefield for people who just want to buy tickets for an event they want to enjoy. "This evidence proves that there is not enough activity going on either from the government, in some cases from the police and certainly from some of these really big online organisations to be able to clamp down on this sort of activity." The Conservative MP said this investigation highlighted "what a lot of consumers are already seeing that there is a whole world of, in some cases illegal, but in all cases immoral activity going on in the ticketing sphere". "People are having to pay over the odds because others quite often are operating outside of the UK to make an absolute killing on buying up tickets, selling them at a huge premium and in some cases selling tickets that don't exist at all," she added. 5. milieu [miːlˈjɜː] 社会背景, 社会环境 pl milieux or milieus the people, physical, and social conditions and events that provide the environment in which someone acts or lives. the people and the physical and social conditions and events that provide a background in which someone acts or lives. Your milieu is the group of people or activities that you live among or are familiar with. They stayed, safe and happy, within their own social milieu. His natural milieu is that of the arts. the Irish-Catholic milieu of Chicago. a cultural milieu. It is a study of the social and cultural milieu in which Michelangelo lived and worked. lube = lube something up I. to use a substance such as oil to make a machine or device operate more easily, or to prevent a surface from sticking, rubbing, or feeling dry. Lube moving parts with oil. New seals were applied and the unit lubed and reassembled. Ask the doctor to lube up the speculum before your pelvic examination. II. 准备好. to prepare something or someone or make a process happen easily and without problems: The purpose of a support act is to lube the audience for what comes next. Shows like this encourage consumption and help to keep the economy lubed up. allude to someone/something 影射, 暗指, 间接提到 to mention someone or something without talking about him, her, or it directly. to mention someone or something in a brief or indirect way: She mentioned some trouble that she'd had at home and I guessed she was alluding to her son. She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. He alluded to problems with the new computers. cloak-and-dagger 神秘离奇的, 诡秘的, 偷偷摸摸的, 偷着进行的, 神神秘秘的, 遮遮掩掩的 used to describe an exciting story involving secrets and mystery, often about spies, or something that makes you think of this: I'm tired of all these cloak-and-dagger (= secretive) meetings - let's discuss the issues openly. A cloak-and-dagger activity is one which involves mystery and secrecy. She was released from prison in a cloak-and-dagger operation yesterday. They met in classic cloak-and-dagger style beside the lake in St James's Park. smoke and mirrors 故布迷阵, 迷雾, 掩人耳目, 耍花招 irrelevant or misleading information serving to obscure the truth of a situation. Something that is described as smoke and mirrors is intended to make you believe that something is being done or is true, when it is not: The new budget isn't smoke and mirrors; it's an honest attempt to reduce the deficit. be getting on 变老, 老大不小了, 上年岁了 informal I. (also = US informal be getting up there) I. to be getting old: Uncle Meades getting on in years – he's 76. I wonder how old he is now? He must be getting on. II. UK informal If you say it's getting on, or time is getting on, you mean it is becoming late: It's getting on - we'd better be going. getting on for UK = US going on almost: He must be getting on for 80 now. get on UK to continue doing something, especially work: I'll leave you to get on then, shall I? take something in your stride = US take something in stride 无所谓, 不当一回事, 坦然接受, 直面问题 to deal with a problem or difficulty calmly and not to allow it to influence what you are doing: When you become a politician, you soon learn to take criticism in your stride. I used to get very insecure about my fake eye, now I can take it in my stride, sometimes it even serves as a conversation piece. to calmly deal with something unpleasant and not let it have an effect on you: Somehow the kids took all the confusion in stride. conversation piece 话题 I. something (such as a novel or unusual object) that stimulates conversation. an unusual object that causes people to start talking. something, esp an unusual object, that provokes conversation. Blackmore added a strap lock to the headstock of this guitar as a conversation piece to annoy and confuse people. Snows signature sense of humor and playfulness transforms each t-shirt and messenger bag from wearable to conversation piece. Scott called the film a conversation piece. II. (esp in 18th-century Britain) a group portrait in a landscape or domestic setting. III. a play emphasizing dialogue. 6. It remains unclear when the couple will legally wed 合法结婚 (or if they already have, prior to this week, in the US). A spokesperson for the mayor's office in Venice told CNN on Thursday that the city has not received an official request from the couple, meaning the events this week will be ceremonial and not legally binding 没有法律效力. Chicago Gay Beach in the 1980s: In a grassy outcrop (= outcropping 凸出地面的岩石 a large rock or group of rocks that sticks out of the ground. an area of bedrock (= solid rock that supports the earth above it) that can be seen at the surface of the earth. An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. ) along Lake Michigan's deep blue waters, two young men pictured in a color slide photograph relax on towels, shirtless and curled against each other 蜷缩着枕在彼此的腿上. Along the rocky ledges, other men chat and sunbathe, bicycles and shoes abandoned on the ground. A vintage Cherry Coke can — one of the image's only markers of time 时代的标记 — gives the intimate scene a subtle feeling of an idyllic advertisement, and a sense of nostalgia. The lakefront stretch was a haven until the early 2000s, when it was demolished and refortified 加固 to prevent coastal flooding. Pockets ( I. a group, area, or mass of something that is separate and different from what surrounds it. A pocket of something is a small area where something is happening, or a small area which has a particular quality, and which is different from the other areas around it. He survived the earthquake after spending 3 days in an air pocket. The army controls the city apart from a few pockets of resistance. pocket 一小块地方, 小地块 of Among the staff there are some pockets of resistance to the planned changes (= some small groups of them are opposed). pocket of turbulence The pilot said that we were going to encounter a pocket of turbulence (= an area of violently moving air). II. a space between the teeth and the gums (= the firm pink flesh inside the mouth, covering the bones into which the teeth are fixed) that can contain bacteria that cause disease: periodontal pocket Studies show that people with deep periodontal pockets between their teeth and gums should have them cleaned by a dental hygienist every 3-4 months. In periodontitis, gums pull away from the teeth and form spaces (called "pockets") that become infected. III. You can use pocket in a lot of different ways to refer to money that people have, get, or spend. For example, if someone gives or pays a lot of money, you can say that they dig deep into their pocket. If you approve of something because it is very cheap to buy, you can say that it suits people's pockets. It really is worth digging deep into your pocket for the best you can afford. ...ladies' fashions to suit all shapes, sizes and pockets 各阶层. You would be buying a piece of history as well as a boat, if you put your hand in your pocket for this one. We don't believe that they have the economic reforms in place which would justify putting huge sums of Western money into their pockets. IV. the amount of money that someone has for spending: deep pockets You need deep pockets (= a lot of money) if you're involved in a long law suit. out of your own pocket 用自己的钱 I paid for my ticket out of my own pocket (= with my own money), but I can claim the cost of it back from my employer. verb. I. If someone who is in possession of something valuable such as a sum of money pockets it, they steal it or take it for themselves, even though it does not belong to them. Dishonest importers would be able to pocket the VAT collected from customers. II. If you say that someone pockets 收入囊中 something such as a prize or sum of money, you mean that they win or obtain it, often without needing to make much effort or in a way that seems unfair. He pocketed more money from this tournament than in his entire three years as a professional. III. If someone pockets something, they put it in their pocket, for example because they want to steal it or hide it. Anthony snatched his letters and pocketed them. He pocketed a wallet containing £40 cash from the bedside of a dead man. ) where gay men could be open and relaxed in the US were rare, and the disease, ignored by the government for years, only stigmatized the community further during a time of peril. "I feared the life of gay men would be forced back underground and hidden away, as it was for centuries," he added. 7. loop in 加进来, 包含进来, 包括进来 include someone in a conversation discussion etc. I'll start looping you in on our email exchanges with them. To make or keep one informed about something, such as a plan or project. We've hired a new intern to help you with data entry, so be sure to loop her in about the current project. I'll need to go loop in the rest of the team regarding these changes. matriculate [məˈtrɪk·jəˌleɪt] 招收进来, 被录取 to be formally admitted to study at a university or college. to be formally admitted to study at a university or college. Are you just auditing the course or have you matriculated? In some countries, if you matriculate, you register formally as a student at a university, or you satisfy the academic requirements necessary for registration for a course. I had to matriculate if I wanted to do a degree. The head decided I should have another go at matriculation. drastic 风云突变的 I. (especially of actions) severe and sudden or having very noticeable effects. (of a change) severe and sudden; extreme: In the desert there's a drastic change in temperature from day to night. drastic measures. Many employees have had to take drastic cuts in pay. Our lives changed drastically when dad died and we had to move. He is not under pressure from his own electorate to do anything drastic. a drastic decline/drop/reduction in sth. take drastic action/measures/steps The company is taking drastic action to reduce its debt by $14.3 billion. drastic changes/cuts in sth. The manufacturer will also report drastically reduced turnover of £3.5m in the year to this month. 8. 上有老, 下有小 sandwich generation, 人到中年: Many Australians are caring for dependant kids and sick parents, and the
physical and mental health impact is significant. What can be done
about it? Also a parent to two teenage boys, Ms Foundis is a member of the "sandwich generation": people reaching middle age who switch constantly between intergenerational caregiving, paid work, and their own lives. A sandwich generation-focused survey from Violet — an NGO focused on planning for end-of-life care — has heard hundreds of respondents detail their struggles and pressures in supporting parents, children and being able to find time for themselves. One woman described it as a "continual trade-off" between caring for a parent and living her own life, as many others said caring for their own children was made difficult by the needs of aging parents. Another described the extreme mental health aspects of being a full-time carer for a son living with psychosis while also caring for her 98-year-old mother as being "insurmountable". Ms Foundis likened 比作, 比喻 her myriad of roles and responsibilities to more of a "soup" than a sandwich. "There are some days where it feels very chunky and messy and unpalatable; and other days when it's actually a really nourishing thing because it's multigenerational," she said. Demographer Bernard Salt told 702 ABC Radio Sydney that parents in their 50s like Ms Foundis were the most squeezed generation. "People aren't as enabled to go into the workforce and to establish their own household 组自己的小家, 组自己的家庭 earlier," Mr Salt said. 9. Boeing Crisis: Whistleblowers who worked on the aircraft have raised numerous concerns about production standards 生产标准. Some have claimed that potentially dangerously flawed 严重问题的 aircraft have been allowed into service – allegations the company has consistently denied. It was on a chilly December morning in 2009 that a brand-new aircraft edged out onto the runway 缓缓驶上跑道 at Paine Field airport near Seattle and, as a cheering crowd looked on, accelerated into a cloudy sky. The flight was the culmination 结晶 ( the point at which an event or series of events ends, having developed until it reaches this point: the culmination of Winning first prize was the culmination of years of practice and hard work. culmination to The book was a fitting culmination to his career. ) of years of development and billions of dollars worth of investment. Not long after the aircraft entered service 开始服役, however, there were serious problems. In January 2013, lithium-ion batteries caught fire aboard a 787 as it waited at a gate at Boston's Logan International Airport. In 2019, he told the BBC that workers at the plant had failed to follow strict procedures 严格程序 intended to track components through the factory, potentially allowing defective parts to go missing. In some cases, he said, workers had even deliberately fitted substandard parts from scrap bins to aircraft in order to avoid delays on the production line. He also maintained that defective fixings were used to secure aircraft decks. Screwing them into place produced razor-sharp slivers of metal, which in some cases accumulated beneath the deck in areas containing large amounts of aircraft wiring. An audit by the FAA also confirmed that metal shavings 金属碎屑 were present beneath the floors of a number of aircraft. In 2011, she had complained to regulators about substandard parts 不符合规定的部件, 劣质部件 being deliberately removed from quarantine bins and fitted to aircraft, in an attempt to keep the production line moving. Ms Kitchens, who left Boeing in 2016, also claimed employees had been told to overlook substandard work, and said defective wiring bundles, containing metallic shavings 金属屑 within their coatings, had been deliberately installed on planes – creating a risk of dangerous short-circuits. The quality engineer said that while working on the 787 in late 2020, he had seen the company introduce shortcuts in assembly processes 组装过程, in order to speed up production and delivery of the aircraft. These, he said, "had allowed potentially defective 有问题的零件 parts and defective installations 有问题的安装 in 787 fleets". He also noted that on the majority of aircraft he looked at, tiny gaps in the joints between sections of fuselage had not been properly rectified. This, he said, meant those joints would be prone to "premature fatigue failure over time" and created "extremely unsafe conditions for the aircraft" with "potentially catastrophic" consequences. Boeing insists that "claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate". It says: "The issues raised have been subject to rigorous examination 严格审查 under US Federal Aviation Administration oversight. This analysis has validated that the aircraft will maintain its durability and service life over several decades, and these issues do not present any safety concerns." "I really think production problems are more of a short-term concern," he says. "For the past few years, there's been far greater oversight 更好的监管监督 of 787 production. "For older planes, I think any serious problems would have shown up by now." However, he stresses that the cause of the recent tragedy is still unknown – and that it is vital the investigation moves forward quickly, so that any problems, whether they lie 问题在于 with the aircraft, the airline or elsewhere, can be resolved. 10. The ACT first raised the age of criminal responsibility 形式能力年龄, 刑事责任年龄 to 12 in November 2023. It has now been increased to 14. The move has been supported by advocates and experts but there are concerns services will be stretched too thin. The ACT will make history tomorrow as the first Australian jurisdiction to raise to 14 the age at which a child can be held responsible for a crime. Rather than facing charges, children will be referred to a therapeutic support panel to help address the causes of their offending. There will be exceptions for serious crimes, including murder,
intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm and specific sexual
offences. But already-stretched services in the territory warn that without more funding, they will struggle to support the volume of children diverted their way. National Children's commissioner Anne Hollonds commended the ACT's approach, at a time when she said the political will to raise the age had mostly disappeared. Mr McKenna said the ACT Law Society had ongoing concerns about how police would frisk search and detain young people under the age of 14. "The last thing we want is to have some sort of alternative regime that's quasi-policing without the charge, that still allows them broad, sweeping powers to – in all but name (除了名字不一样实质相同, 就差没有名分) ( in all but name = in everything but name existing in a particular state but not formally recognized as such. existing as a fact but not officially described that way. If you say that a situation exists in all but name, you mean that it is not officially recognized even though it exists. ...the group, which is now a political party in all but name. It's the end of the doctrine in all but name. She is vice-president in all but name. "these polytechnics had been universities in all but name for many years". ) – arrest and detain young people for periods of time or harshly search them," he said. The Canberra PCYC, which runs intensive crime diversionary programs for young people in the ACT, said it was not prepared for the influx 涌入 of referrals it was expecting to receive. Chief executive Cheryl O'Donnell said police had advised the organisation it would be "slammed", rapidly adding to the more than 220 children aged between 12 and 14 already on its waitlist. "There is concern [among organisations] because the financial resources haven't been put into services that are available so that they can actually increase the intake of young people," Ms O'Donnell said. 11. collapse I. to fold something into a smaller shape, usually so it can be stored, or (especially of furniture) to fold in this way: All chairs collapse 椅子可折叠 for easy storage. II. (of people and business) to suddenly be unable to continue or work correctly: Lots of people lost their jobs when the property market collapsed. Talks between management and unions have collapsed. Share prices collapsed (= became lower suddenly) after news of poor trading. to suddenly fail or become unable to continue: the system/economy/government, etc. collapses Without computers the whole economic system would collapse. a company/bank/industry, etc. collapses The bank collapsed after an alleged massive fraud. talks/negotiations collapse. III. to fall down suddenly because of pressure or having no strength or support: Thousands of buildings collapsed in the earthquake. collapse under someone's/something's weight The chair collapsed under her weight. figurative He thought his whole world had collapsed when his wife died. to suddenly fall to a much lower level: prices/shares collapse 崩盘, 崩塌, 崩溃. Share prices collapsed after news of poor trading. Construction jobs were lost as the property market collapsed. IV. If someone collapses, they fall down because of being sick or weak: He collapsed and died of a heart attack. She felt her legs give way and she collapsed to the floor. noun. the sudden failure of a system, organization, business, etc.: collapse of I don't know what caused the collapse of her marriage. A poor economy has caused the collapse of thousands of small businesses. on the brink of collapse Negotiations between the two countries are on the brink of collapse (= very soon going to fail). on the verge of collapse The economy was on the verge of collapse. mental collapse He suffered a mental collapse after ten years' teaching. nervous collapse She had a nervous collapse and was unable to return to work. suffer a collapse After years of frustration and intense hard work, he suffered a total collapse. II. the sudden falling movement of a person or structure that has become too weak to stand: He was taken to hospital after his collapse on the pitch. the collapse of a building during the earthquake. 12. smarmy 虚假的, 做作的 ingratiating and wheedling in a way that is regarded as insincere or excessive. extremely polite or helpful or showing a lot of respect in a way that is annoying or does not seem sincere: She was trying to be friendly, but she just seemed smarmy and insincere. "a smarmy, unctuous reply". hammily 表演过火的, 用过劲, 用力过度 adverb in a way that is unnatural and uses too much emotion. in a hammy or overacted manner hammily acted by the leading actor - utterly unconvincing. The actor hammily portrays a retiring schoolteacher who offers one last piece of heartfelt advice for his departing class. Even though many of the performances are hammily done, the sappy romantic comedy is one of my favourite films. ham it up 表演过火, 举止做作 informal I. to perform or behave in a false way, especially in a way that is too obvious or that makes people laugh. to show expressions or emotions more obviously than is realistic: Here's a picture of Philip hamming it up for grandma when he was three. II. (idiomatic, acting) To deliberately exaggerate one's emotions or movements, or to overact or act hammily. You can count on him to ham it up for the camera. camp it up 忸怩作态的, 做作的, 女性化的, 动作夸张 to act with exaggerated speech or gestures. to behave in a camp manner. If a performer camps it up, they deliberately perform in an exaggerated and often amusing way. He camped it up, he told bad taste jokes and endless anecdotes with no point at all. He really camped it up on stage. Make an extravagant, affected, or vulgar display. Amateur actors often camp it up, trying to be more dramatic. Originating in the 1950s as slang for flamboyant behavior stereotypically associated with gay men, this term began to be used more loosely by about 1970. amp someone up 激励, 鼓舞 to get someone excited: She amped up the crowd. amp something up 加大, 加强, 添油加醋 to make something stronger, more extreme, or more exciting: They are amping up the pressure on their opponents. If you're ready to amp up the adventure, you can climb up via the waterfall. He amped up 夸大, 夸张 his story to make it sound more exciting than it is. ramp something up I. If a business ramps up its activity, it increases it: The company announced plans to ramp up production 提高产量, 提高生产力 to 10,000 units per month. To stay competitive, they'll have to ramp up product development 扩大产品开发 as well as cut prices. II. to increase the speed, power, or cost of something: Announcement of the merger is expected to ramp up share prices over the next few days. Mitsubishi has ramped up the speed of its new microcontrollers. ramp up pressure The authorities are ramping up the pressure on those who illegally tap into water supplies. to increase activity or the level of something: The company announced plans to ramp up production to 10,000 units per month to meet demand. On Monday, he ramped up his criticism, saying lawmakers who had campaigned on cutting spending but backed the bill "should hang their heads in shame!" ramp up prices/spending/dividends As the publisher's profits soared, the dividend to shareholders was ramped up 27%. III. to talk about a company's shares in a way that makes people think they are worth more than they really are: Investors should be wary of comments posted on financial chat sites which may just be trying to ramp up share prices. ramp-up: a large increase in activity or in the level of something: They saw a ramp-up in orders. As assemblers are needed to support the production ramp-up, the total number of jobs is expected to grow to around 20. twig 猛醒, 意识到 (catch on, the penny drops) verb. UK informal to suddenly realize something. If you twig, you suddenly realize or understand something. Then I twigged that they'd been planning this for a while. By the time she'd twigged what it was all about, it was too late. Then he twigged what I meant. She's six months pregnant, and he still hasn't twigged. noun. 小树枝. A twig is a very small thin branch that grows out from a main branch of a tree or bush. a small, thin branch of a tree or bush, esp. one removed from the tree or bush and without any leaves: We gathered some dry twigs to start the fire. clock I. 录得. to take a particular time exactly to do or complete something: He clocked ten seconds 跑了 in the 100 metres (= he ran it in ten seconds). If something or someone is clocked at a particular time or speed, their time or speed is measured at that level. He has been clocked at 11 seconds for 100 metres. 170-mile-an-hour winds were clocked on a mountaintop in North Carolina. II. to show or reach a particular speed or distance on a measuring device: The police clocked him doing 80 mph in a 50 mph area. Jim's car has clocked (= travelled) 40,000 miles in less than two years. III. to hit someone, especially on the head or face: Then the other guy turned round and clocked him (one) (= hit him). IV. 注意到. If you clock something, you notice or see it. I walked past that gate hundreds of times before I clocked it. V. To recognize; to assess, register. I'd already clocked her as someone who couldn't reliably be believed when she spoke. And now this too! VI. (transitive, informal) To identify (someone) as having some attribute (for example, being trans or gay). Once my transition was complete I considered moving to London, where I felt there was less chance of being clocked 被认出来 and a larger support network. VII. (British, slang) To falsify the reading of the odometer of a vehicle. I don't believe that car has done only 40,000 miles. It's been clocked 篡改. 13. the last chance saloon 最后成功的机会, 最后的机会 informal British a difficult situation in which there is one final chance to put it right. a final opportunity to be successful or to be accepted after a number of failures: Everyone knew the company was in the last chance saloon. The minister warned the press that they were drinking in the last chance saloon. "he has put his job on the line and is drinking in the last chance saloon". Bruce Lehrmann's last chance saloon: We found the despised party boy hiding at the end of the Earth - and he's shacked up with a single mum who has a LOT to say to local haters. saloon [səˈluːn] I. = AM, use sedan. A saloon or a saloon car is a car with seats for four or more people, a fixed roof, and a boot that is separated from the rear seats. II. A saloon is a place where alcoholic drinks are sold and drunk. III. The saloon or saloon bar in a pub or hotel is a comfortable bar where the drinks are more expensive than in the other bars. predate 时间上比...早 to have existed or happened before another thing. If you say that one thing predated another, you mean that the first thing happened or existed some time before the second thing. To designate a date earlier than the actual one; to move a date,
appointment, event, or period of time to an earlier point (contrast
"postdate".) The Chinese use of Pascal's Triangle predates its discovery by Blaise Pascal. These cave paintings predate any others which are known. These burial mounds predated the arrival of Europeans in North America. His troubles predated the recession. The monument predates the arrival of the druids in Britain. I want you to predate the registration (把注册日期提前). II. to kill and eat another animal: Some species of bat predate small mammals. Possums will predate on baby birds and eggs. backdate 追溯, 回溯 I. to make something, especially a pay increase, effective from an earlier time. to make something effective from a date earlier than the present date: They got a pay rise in March that was backdated to January. They agreed that the pay increase would be backdated to July. Those signing up before October will have their pension payments backdated. Those signing up before October will have their pension payments backdated. II. to put a date on a document that is earlier than the date when you wrote it: The jury's verdict recognized that backdating options with intent to deceive is a crime. backdate a cheque. post-date to write a date on a document, especially a cheque, that is later than the date on which you are writing it: If you cannot trust the salesman to wait until the date on a cheque before presenting it, then post-dating it is pointless. We always pay our credit card bill by post-dated cheque for encashment on the due date. a postdated letter of resignation. II. UK to make something such as a payment become effective at a later date: be post-dated The company has a lot of orders that were postdated until January. III. to happen or exist after something: The new terms and conditions, which postdate the time you used your card, state that if you make a charge in a currency other than sterling, that charge will be converted into sterling. 14. small man 小人 used metaphorically to describe someone who is considered petty, narrow-minded, or lacking in importance or significance. You are a small man 你真是小人. little man I. 普通人. 平常人 = little guy. a man of no importance or significance. the common or ordinary person. An ordinary man of no particular fame or accomplishment; especially, everyone who is an underdog by the nature of not being rich or powerful. an ordinary person who is not wealthy, famous, or powerful a politician who portrays himself as a friend of the little man. Who's going to look out for the little man as insurers increasingly weasel out of paying claims? II. a tradesman or artisan operating on a small scale. III. the small, ordinary investor, as opposed to big investment institutions. IV. (colloquial, endearing, term of address) A young boy. And how are you, my little man? Little man here is going to pour the milk himself. Watch how well he does it! The Napoleon complex 矮子情节, also known as Napoleon syndrome and short-man syndrome, is a purported condition normally attributed to men of short stature, with overly aggressive or domineering social behavior. It implies that such behavior is to compensate for the subject's physical or social shortcomings. Both commonly and in psychology, the Napoleon complex is regarded as a derogatory social stereotype. The Napoleon complex is named after Napoleon Bonaparte, the first emperor of the French, who was estimated to have been 5 feet 2 inches tall (in pre–metric system French measures), which equals around 1.67 metres, or just under 5 feet 6 inches in imperial measure. 15. clerical error [ˈklɛrɪkl] 文员的错误 an error made in copying or writing. clerical [ˈklɛrɪkl] 文员的 I. concerned with or relating to work in an office, especially routine documentation and administrative tasks. relating to the type of work usually done in an office, or to the work of a clerk. relating to work done in an office: a clerical job (= a job performing general office duties). a clerical error (= a mistake made in the office). "a clerical assistant". II. relating to the clergy. "he was still attired in his clerical outfit". bid informal I. a sentence or term of imprisonment. a stint in jail. I did my first bid at seventeen for assault, robbery, and burglary in the first degree. The sexual abuse of a child for years in the family home at the hands of her own mother and stepfather "defies any humanity", a judge has said. In a case in which the mother's own lawyer described as "confronting" and "disturbing", the girl was abused from the age of eight until her teens to "satisfy" her stepfather, who is now enduring a long bid in jail. II. an offer of a particular amount of money for something that is for sale: make a bid I made a bid of $150 for the painting. put in a bid She put in a bid of £69,000 for the flat, which was accepted. III. an offer to do something when you are competing with other people to do it: Sydney made a successful bid to host the Olympic Games. I gave the job to the contractors who made the lowest bid 竞价, 标的 (= who offered to do the work for the lowest amount of money). IV. an attempt to achieve or get something: bid for Her bid for re-election was unsuccessful. takeover bid The company has managed to fight off a hostile takeover bid (= an attempt by another company to take control of it). verb. I. to offer a particular amount of money for something that is for sale and compete against other people to buy it, especially at a public sale of goods or property: She knew she couldn't afford it, so she didn't bid. bid for 竞标, 出价 The communications group has shown an interest in bidding for the company. bid something for something A foreign collector has bid $500,000 for the portrait. What am I bid for this fine vase? II. If two or more people bid for a job 竞争上岗, they compete with each other to do the work by offering to do it for a particular amount of money: bid for The department is trying to ensure fairer competition among firms bidding for city contracts. III. If someone bids to do something, they compete with other people to do it: Paris is bidding 申办 竞选 to host the next Olympics. IV. (in some card games) to say, before play starts, how many points you expect to win in a particular game: Before you decide how to bid, you need to evaluate how strong the hand of cards you are holding is. She bid three diamonds. V. (过去式bid/bade, 过去分词bidden) to give a greeting to someone, or to ask someone to do something: They bade her good morning. bid someone/something farewell I must now bid you farewell (= say goodbye to you). literary She bade her hopes farewell (= she stopped being hopeful). [ + object + (to) infinitive ] He bade (= asked) them (to) leave at once.
