用法学习: 1. burn out I. If a fire burns out, it stops producing flames because nothing remains that can burn. If a fire burns itself out, it stops burning because there is nothing left to burn. Fire officials let the fire burn itself out 火烧完了. II. If something such as a motor burns out, it stops working because of damage from heat: It looks like the starter motor 引擎烧坏了 on the car has burned out. III. If you burn yourself out, you make yourself exhausted or ill by working too hard. He might burn himself out and go to an early grave. burnt-out = burned-out I. Burnt-out vehicles or buildings have been so badly damaged by fire that they can no longer be used. ...a burnt-out car. II. If someone is burnt-out, they exhaust themselves at an early stage in their life or career because they have achieved too much too quickly. But everyone I know who kept it up at that intensity is burnt out. burnout 身心俱疲 the state of having no energy or enthusiasm because of working too hard, or someone who shows the effects of this state. If someone suffers burnout, they exhaust themselves at an early stage in their life or career because they have achieved too much too quickly. We have found there is much more burnout and sickness among those who don't get help. The drummer walked in looking like a rock and roll burnout. The term "burnout" was coined in the 1970s by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. He used it to describe the consequences of severe stress and high ideals in "helping" professions. Doctors and nurses, for example, who sacrifice themselves for others, would often end up being "burned out" – exhausted, listless, and unable to cope. Nowadays, the term is not only used for these helping professions, or for the dark side of self-sacrifice. It seems it can affect anyone, from stressed-out careerists and celebrities to overworked employees and homemakers. burn off I. = burn up. If someone burns off energy, they use it. to use up energy or get rid of fat from your body by doing physical activity. Swimming can help you burn off 燃烧卡路里 those unwanted calories. This will improve your performance and help you burn off calories. II. To burn off something unwanted means to get rid of it by burning it. The bushfire actually helped to burn off 烧光 a lot of dead undergrowth. to remove something by burning it They managed to burn off the excess wax. 2. A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a wildfire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A controlled burn may also refer to the intentional burning of slash and fuels through burn piles. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for foresters. Hazard reduction or controlled burning is conducted during the cooler months to reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of serious hotter fires. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some desirable forest trees, and reveals soil mineral layers which increases seedling vitality, thus renewing the forest. Some cones, such as those of lodgepole pine and sequoia, are serotinous, as well as many chaparral shrubs, meaning they require heat from fire to open cones to disperse seeds. In industrialized countries, controlled burning is usually overseen by fire control authorities for regulations and permits. 3. be minded to do something 准备, 计划, 打算 formal to want or intend to do something. If someone is minded to do something, they want or intend to do it. The Home Office said at that time that it was minded to reject his application for political asylum. If the Americans were so minded then they could take sanctions against them. At about this time the plaintiff became suspicious that the appellants were minded to sell the property at Westbourne Grove. 新闻: The radio broadcaster and former Wallabies coach has been a staunch 坚定的 supporter of Folau and his right to express his religious beliefs. straw purchase 代买, 代购 noun US a criminal act in which something, especially a firearm, is bought by one person on behalf of another who is legally unable to make the purchase themselves. A straw purchase or nominee purchase is any purchase wherein an agent agrees to acquire a good or service for someone who is unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service themselves, and the agent transfers the goods or services to that person after purchasing them. In general, straw purchases are legal except in cases where the ultimate receiver of goods or services uses those goods or services in the commission of a crime with the prior knowledge of the straw purchaser, or if the ultimate possessor is not legally able to purchase the goods or services. In some jurisdictions, straw purchases are legal even if the end user is not legally able to purchase the good or service himself or herself. 4. 捡到的护照当ID: This is gonna sound rather weird and I hope you take it the right way but for the last year and two months I've been using your passport as a means of ID([miːnz] I. A means of 办法, 途径, 手段 doing something is a method, instrument, or process which can be used to do it. Means is both the singular and the plural form for this use. The move is a means to fight crime. The army had perfected the use of terror as a means of controlling the population. Business managers are focused on increasing their personal wealth by any available means. II. You can refer to the money that someone has as their means. ...a person of means. He did not have the means to compensate her. live beyond your means 入不敷出 If someone is living beyond their means, they are spending more money than they can afford. If someone is living within their means, they are not spending more money than they can afford. The more gifts she received, the more she craved, until he was living beyond his means. It is far better to pay off old debts steadily by living within your means. by means of If you do something by means of a particular method, instrument, or process, you do it using that method, instrument, or process. This is a two year course taught by means of lectures and seminars. The trailer was connected to the car by means of a complicated system of hoses, pipes and rods. not by any means = by no means = by no manner of means You use expressions such as 'by no means', 'not by any means', and 'by no manner of means' to emphasize that something is not true. This is by no means out of the ordinary. They were not finished, however, not by any means. a means to an end 一种方式, 一种手段 If you say that something is a means to an end, you mean that it helps you to achieve what you want, although it may not be enjoyable or important itself. We seem to have lost sight of the fact that marketing is only a means to an end.) because I wasn't 18," Sam said to Joe in a message sent on Instagram. 5. The National Rifle Association (NRA 枪支协会) is accusing its longtime public relations firm of "fomenting" ( foment [fouˈment] If someone or something foments trouble or violent opposition, they cause it to develop. They accused strike leaders of fomenting violence.) an "executive coup" attempt, and the gun group is suing the agency for $40 million in damages, alleging a "total breach of contract" in the wake of what it calls "misleading, defamatory[dɪˈfæməˌtɔri]" leaks of confidential documents. The lawsuit, filed in Virginia state court on Wednesday, is the latest salvo ( [sælvoʊ] I. 一轮射击. A salvo is the firing of several guns or missiles at the same time in a battle or ceremony. They were to fire a salvo of blanks 打空枪, after the national anthem. II. A salvo of angry words is a lot of them spoken or written at about the same time. His testimony, however, was only one in a salvo of new attacks. ) in the battle between the NRA and Ackerman McQueen, which has long crafted 打造 the gun group's public image. The decades-long partnership began to sour last summer, in the wake of threats from regulators to challenge the NRA's nonprofit status. Scrambling to 着急的, 急着 get its finances in order, the NRA sought to audit Ackerman McQueen's books. When the agency stonewalled 不理会 instead of cooperating, the NRA sued for access to its financial records. This legal action precipitated 猝发, 触发, 导致 a power struggle at the NRA's annual convention in Indianapolis this April. LaPierre survived the leadership challenge and North was turned out as ( turn out 赶出去, 踢出去 to force someone to leave a place, especially their home Our landlord turned us out on the street. turn someone out of something: If they don't pay, they could be turned out of the house.) president. According to the legal complaint, "the conspiracy led by AMc had a malicious, singular purpose: to derail inquiries by the NRA into AMc's business and accounting practices." The litigation asserts that "escalating salvos" over access to financial records "culminated in an extortion threat delivered by an employee, Lt. Col. Oliver North" timed 掐准了时间, 卡着时间 to the NRA's annual convention. The NRA asserts that all of its controversial expenditures "were proper," and that the PR firm knew this "full well" because "it was deeply involved in their incurrence (incur If you incur something unpleasant, it happens to you because of something you have done. The government had also incurred huge debts. She falls in love and incurs the wrath of her father. ...the terrible damage incurred during the past decade. )." The counterclaim 反诉 sheds new light on the power struggle that has roiled ( roil Something that roils a state or situation makes it disturbed and confused. Times of national turmoil generally roil a country's financial markets. ) the gun world. And it helps explain why the NRA's outside counsel has been drawn into the firefight. NRA spokespeople like Dana Loesch routinely appear on TV in the aftermath of mass shootings to insist that the real enemy is the pernicious 毒害的 ( [pərnɪʃəs] adj If you describe something as pernicious, you mean that it is very harmful. I did what I could, but her mother's influence was pernicious. There is a pernicious 病态的, 有害的 culture of excellence: everything has to be not merely good but the best.) influence of the entertainment industry and that the solution is the sale of more guns, not fewer. The NRA's primary goal was to improve marksmanship 射击技术. In those early days, there was no strident ( [straɪdənt] I. [disapproval] 直截了当的, 毫不掩饰的. 不管不顾的. 毫无顾忌的, 不顾忌别人感受的. If you use strident to describe someone or the way they express themselves, you mean that they make their feelings or opinions known in a very strong way that perhaps makes people uncomfortable. ...the unnecessarily strident tone of the Prime Minister's remarks. Demands for his resignation have become more and more strident. He was arrested in 1984 on suspicion of being a spy–a charge he stridently denies. In the late 1920s the party began to adopt a more stridently nationalistic posture. II. If a voice or sound is strident, it is loud, harsh, and unpleasant to listen to. She tried to laugh, and the sound was harsh and strident. He could hear Hilton's strident voice rising in vehement argument with Houston. ) insistence on the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms. The NRA was simply concerned with training hunters to shoot and promoting responsible gun ownership. The US Army donated surplus rifles to their cause and the state of New York even funded the construction of their first rifle range at Creedmoor, Long Island. 6. If It Bleeds, It Leads: Understanding Fear-Based Media: News programming uses a hierarchy if it bleeds, it leads. Fear-based news programming has two aims. The first is to grab the viewer's attention. In the news media, this is called the teaser. The second aim is to persuade the viewer that the solution for reducing the identified fear will be in the news story. partial I. not complete. You use partial to refer to something that is not complete or whole. He managed to reach a partial agreement with both republics. ...a partial ban on the use of cars in the city. ...partial blindness. a partial withdrawal from enemy territory. a partial refund. II. [not usually before noun] supporting one person, group, or opinion more than any others when you should be fair to all those involved. Someone who is partial supports a particular person or thing, for example in a competition or dispute, instead of being completely fair. I might be accused of being partial. She is criticized by some others for her one-sidedness and partiality. It is important that historians are not partial. partial toward 偏向, 偏心: The referee was clearly partial toward the other side. be partial to 特别爱好, 特别喜欢, 偏好, 偏爱 to like something very much. He's partial to sporty women with blue eyes. [+ to] Mollie confesses she is rather partial to pink. I am partial to baking cookies. partiality [pɑːrʃiælɪti] He has a great partiality for chocolate biscuits. How can he drink Champagne when your mother is hardly cold 尸骨未寒? I think he's just really partial to that. I'm very partial to bacon and eggs. impartial 不偏不向的. 没有偏心的. According to most impartial observers, including the Bank of England, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a no-deal Brexit would deliver a crushing blow to the UK economy and more than likely tip it into a deep economic recession. The UK's global supply chains would be disrupted and both domestic and foreign investors would take flight over worries about Britain's diminished access to Europe's single market, which consumes around half of UK exports. at this (or that) rate 像这样的话, 老是这样的话, 这样下去的话 if matters continue in this or that way. used to say what will happen if things continue to happen in the same way as now. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that. I'll never make a detective at this rate, will I. At this rate, we won't be home until midnight. At this rate we won’t ever be able to afford a holiday. "at this rate, I won't have a job to go back to". 7. To mete out 施加 (惩罚)
a punishment means to order that someone should be punished in a
certain way. to give or order a punishment or make someone receive cruel
or unfair treatment. To mete out a punishment 惩恶扬善, 伸张正义 means to order that someone should be punished in a certain way. This provided an illustrative example of how justice was meted out to the local population at the time. In the past, schoolteachers regularly meted out physical punishment to their pupils. His father meted out punishment with a slipper. Regarded as one of the most reserved and polite players in the England side, Ali admits the pressure of a first overseas Ashes series got to him but said the abuse meted out to him on the field took him aback. People say Shetland discovered that double agent and meted out their own brutal form of justice.
You can not wake a person who's pretending to be asleep. Don't reason with people who are unreasonable. You cannot reason people out of something they were not reasoned into = You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into. You can't reason with crazy, can't argue with stupid 宁和明白人吵架, 不和糊涂人说话. 宁和明白人吵场架, 不和糊涂人说句话. Stupid people try to bring you down to their level.
伊朗局势Is the United States heading for war with Iran?: There are two competing narratives [nærətɪv](I. A narrative is a story or an account of a series of events. ...a fast-moving narrative. Sloan began his narrative with the day of the murder. It's a moving narrative of wartime adventure. a first-person/third-person narrative. a gripping/compelling narrative. II. 描述. 叙述. 叙事. Narrative is the description of a series of events, usually in a novel. Neither author was very strong on narrative. ...Nye's simple narrative style. III. 说法. 说辞. a particular way of explaining or understanding events: There was pressure on academics to construct narratives of the period that were positive. Both sides in the conflict have a narrative of victimhood. the grand narratives of nation, race, and faith.). The first, which is favoured by US President Donald Trump's administration, is that Iran is up to no good. Preparations are said to have been seen for a potential attack on US targets, though few details have been revealed publicly. The US has moved reinforcements to the region; it is reducing its non-essential diplomatic personnel in Iraq; and it is reportedly dusting off war plans 作战计划. The message to Tehran is clear: any attack on a US target from whatever source, be it Iran or one of its many proxies or allies in the region, will be met by a significant military response. The second narrative lays the blame for this crisis squarely at Washington's door. Iran - not surprisingly - holds to this view 持这种观点, but so too do many domestic critics of the Trump administration's approach. Indeed, to varying degrees many of Mr Trump's key European allies share some of these concerns. According to this narrative, the "Iran hawks" in the Trump administration - people like National Security Adviser John Bolton, or Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - sense an opportunity. Their goal, this narrative argues, is regime change 政权更替 in Tehran. And if maximum economic pressure does not work then they believe, military action is not ruled out in the appropriate circumstances. These two narratives reflect different interpretations of the reality and, as so often, they play up certain facts 夸大事实 and ignore others to make their case( play up I. British if children play up or play someone up 作妖. 找事. 调皮捣蛋, they behave badly in a way that they think is funny. Patrick often plays up when he knows I'm in a hurry. I'm exhausted! The children have been really playing up this afternoon. II. [transitive] to try to persuade people to believe that something is more important than it is. If you play up something, you emphasize it and try to make people believe that it is important. The media played up the prospects for a settlement. His Japanese ancestry has been played up by some of his opponents. The newspapers have really played up the government's poor election results. III. [intransitive/transitive] to cause difficulties or pain for someone. If something such as a machine or a part of your body is playing up or is playing you up, it is causing problems because it is not working properly. The engine had been playing up. It was his back playing him up. The printer's playing up again. My back's been playing me up all day. play up to someone to behave in a very friendly or polite way to someone because you want them to like you or to do something for you. He took great pains to play up to Joan's mother.). But perceptions here matter just as much as reality. Indeed, in many ways they produce the reality. And that reality is that a conflict between the US and Iran - albeit by accident rather than design 意外还是故意 - is more likely today than at any time since Mr Trump took office. Tensions in the Middle East are certainly mounting. Iran, its economy suffering from the re-imposition of US sanctions that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, is pushing back. It has warned that it may no longer abide by the restrictions on its nuclear activities. The arrival of Mr Trump was a turning point. The president pulled the US out of the nuclear deal a year ago and embarked upon a policy of maximum pressure against Tehran. Iran has had enough. It is pushing the Europeans to do more to help its ailing economy and threatening if they do not - and it is hard to see what they can do - it will go ahead and breach the nuclear deal. That would only give the Trump administration additional ammunition. Much now depends upon the dynamics inside the Trump administration and also on Tehran's assessment of what is going on there. The president himself has sought to play down the idea that his officials are divided regarding Iran, and reports indicate that he has little enthusiasm for war. His opposition to military entanglements abroad is well-known. However Mr Trump is unlikely to back down if US forces or facilities are attacked. However this is not necessarily the way things may be seen in Tehran. Might Iran think that it can play off ( play off if two or more teams or players who have the same number of points in a competition play off, they play a game or games to see who is the winner. The 16 finalists will play off to see who will win the championship. play someone off against someone 对立, 对台戏 (pit someone against someone) if you play two people off against each other, you try to cause an argument between them because you think that this will give you more power or control in a situation. ) Mr Bolton against his boss; raising tensions enough for the national security adviser's perceived designs to be revealed perhaps precipitating ( precipitate [prɪ'sɪpəteɪt] verb I. 导致. 触发. 促使, 促发 If something precipitates an event or situation, usually a bad one, it causes it to happen suddenly or sooner than normal. The recent killings have precipitated the worst crisis yet. A slight mistake could precipitate a disaster. Such headaches can be precipitated by certain foods as well as stress. II. [intransitive/transitive] chemistry if a solid substance precipitates, or if something precipitates it, it becomes separate from the liquid that it is in and drops to the bottom of the container. III. [intransitive] science to rain, snow, hail, etc. adj. [prɪ'sɪpətət] A precipitate action or decision 仓促决定, 仓促行为 happens or is made more quickly or suddenly than most people think is sensible. I don't think we should make precipitate decisions. Many of our current problems have been caused by precipitate policy making in the past. Somebody hired from another country is not likely to resign precipitately. He hurried precipitately away.) his downfall? If that is Tehran's assessment, then it is a high-risk strategy. While Washington's key Middle Eastern allies - Israel and Saudi Arabia - may be applauding from the sidelines, Mr Trump's European partners are uneasy at the way things are heading. Spain, Germany and the Netherlands have all taken steps to suspend military activities in the region alongside the Americans, citing the rising tensions. This is not the moment to rehearse what a conflict between Iran and the US would look like. But comparisons between such a conflict and the 2003 Iraq war are unhelpful. Iran is a very different proposition ( I. If you describe something such as a task or an activity as, for example, a difficult proposition or an attractive proposition, you mean that it is difficult or pleasant to do. Making easy money has always been an attractive proposition. Even among seasoned mountaineers this peak is considered quite a tough proposition. II. A proposition is a statement or an idea which people can consider or discuss to decide whether it is true. The proposition that democracies do not fight each other is based on a tiny historical sample. III. 提议. 提案. In the United States, a proposition is a question or statement about an issue of public policy which appears on a voting paper so that people can vote for or against it. I voted 'yes' on proposition 136, but 'no' on propositions 129, 133 and 134. IV. A proposition is an offer or a suggestion that someone makes to you, usually concerning some work or business that you might be able to do together. You came to see me at my office the other day with a business proposition. I want to make you a proposition. verb. If someone who you do not know very well propositions you, they suggest that you have sex with them. He had allegedly tried to proposition a colleague. ..unwanted sexual propositions. ) to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. A full-scale invasion of Iran is not going to be on the cards. Rather, this would be an air and maritime conflict with a huge dose of asymmetry in Iran's responses. It could set the whole region ablaze. There were those who predicted a major foreign policy catastrophe when Mr Trump took office. Instead, there is an unfolding and multi-dimensional crisis that has many elements and the Iran situation illustrates them all: an antipathy 敌意, 不喜欢 to international agreements; an over-reliance on regional allies with their own agendas to pursue; rising tensions with long-standing Nato partners; and, above all, an inability to determine and to prioritise Washington's real strategic interests. With the revival of great power competition, when the US is seeking to re-orientate its deployments and to bolster its armed forces to face a rising China and an emboldened Russia, where should Iran rate in Washington's strategic priorities? Does the Iran threat really merit a major conflict? Many US strategic pundits would say no. Many accept that containing Tehran and, yes, threatening severe reprisals if US interests are attacked, may be necessary. But the steady drumbeat towards war is not. And one thing should be clear. There is no "drift" towards war. That suggests an involuntary process that people can do little about. If there is a conflict then it will be down to conscious decision-making, to the calculations and miscalculations of the Iranians and the Americans themselves.
Sunday, 26 May 2019
incinerate 烧毁 VS incarcerate 关押入狱 VS incarnate 化身 VS lacerate 切伤 VS altercation 争吵 (incision VS slashing VS abrasions ) alternating current 交流电(alternator交流发电机) VS altercation 口角, 争吵, 冲突 VS alteration 修补衣服, 修改衣服
用法学习: 1. One more feature about the Chinese Buddhist monks is that they practice the burning marks on their scalp, finger or part of the skin on their anterior side of the forearm with incense as a sign of ordination. In Thailand and Burma, it is common for boys to spend some time living as a monk in a monastery. Most stay for only a few years and then leave, but a number continue on in the ascetic 修行的, 清修的 ( [əˈsetɪk] living a very simple life, especially for religious reasons. ) life for the rest of their lives. Other austerities 苦修, 苦行, 修行 include meditation in seated or standing posture near river banks in the cold wind, or meditation atop hills and mountains, especially at noon when the sun is at its fiercest. Such austerities are undertaken according to the physical and mental limits of the individual ascetic. Jain 耆那教 ascetics are (almost) completely without possessions. unfathomable 不可想象的, 难以想象的 impossible to explain or understand. If you describe something as unfathomable, you mean that it cannot be understood or explained, usually because it is very strange or complicated. For some unfathomable reason, there are no stairs where there should be. How odd life was, how unfathomable, how profoundly unjust. If you use unfathomable to describe a person or the expression on their face, you mean that you cannot tell what they are thinking or what they intend to do. [literary] ...a strange, unfathomable 猜不透的 and unpredictable individual. ...the dark eyes that right now seemed opaque and unfathomable. 3. Primates [ˈpraɪˌmeɪt] are split into two suborders, the Strepsirrhini, or wet-nosed primates, and the Haplorhini, or dry-nosed primates. chimpanzee 黑猩猩. gorilla 大猩猩. ape 类人猿. Chimpanzees (genus Pan) are the closest living relative of humans, genus Homo. Its arms are longer than its legs, and their armspan is 1 1/2 times their body length. They have broad flat feet which are better suited for walking than the feet of orangutans. They knuckle-walk on all fours, but can walk bipedally for short distances when their hands are otherwise occupied. They have black fur, form social groups, and have a bony ridge 眉棱, 眉骨 over their eyes. Gorillas (genus Gorilla) are the largest living primates. They are the second closest living relative to humans after the chimpanzees. Gorillas are covered in dark hair ranging from black to reddish black; adult males are known as "silverbacks" because the hair on their backs down to their hips turns silver grey with age. Gorillas have pronounced prognathism, meaning their lower jaw protrudes further than their upper jaw (think bulldogs), a pronounced ridge over their eyes, and a sagittal crest, which is a ridge of bone running from front to back on the top of the skull. Hominoidea (然人们常把猿猴并称, 有时候将猴也称为猿, 而猿有时也会称为猴, 不过他们在生物学上是不同的动物. 两者的主要区别在于猴有尾巴, 而猿没有) is composed of tailless anthropoid primates. It's split into two families, the lesser apes Hylobatidae, and the great apes Hominidae. We are great apes; the great apes are also called hominids. dry-hump 干操 verb vulgar slang simulate sexual intercourse with (someone). bun fight [ˈbʌnfʌɪt] I. tea party or other function, typically of a grand or official kind. II. a petty squabble or argument. a heated argument or exchange. "a public bunfight has arisen between the authors of the report". Every morning there's a bun fight for seats 抢座位 in the library. shelving 屁股藏毒, 携毒 Inserting a foreign item into the rectum. Usually in regards to recreational drugs. A discreet and effective way of taking them. "I haven't got much left, so I guess I'll shelve the rest". "When it comes to taking drugs it's all about shelving". "He passed out early so we shelved him a gurner to get him keen again." "Urrrrgh, I definitly shelved too much MXE last night". can't see past the end of (one's) nose So preoccupied with oneself and one's situation as to be unaware or uncaring of other people or the bigger picture in life. Jim is so concerned about getting ahead in business that he can't see past the end of his nose. I can see past the front 看破表面 and understand the real you. 4. 丢护照: Another said: "Only I would manage to leave my passport in my bag that got put in the hold(Checked baggage (hold luggage) refers to the items of luggage delivered to an airline or train for transportation in the hold of an aircraft or baggage car of a passenger train, which means it is inaccessible to the passenger during the flight or ride. The opposite of checked baggage is carry-on baggage.), so I am stuck at passport control with no passport." "Bags going into the hold are tagged before customers go through the boarding gate where they must show their passport," a spokesperson said. Ryanair has previously said the new rules were a consequence of passengers abusing the two free bags policy and "coming with the kitchen sink 该带的, 不该带的都带了"(everything but the kitchen sink 所有可以想到的 British everything that can be conceived of. Almost everything, whether needed or not. She must have brought everything but the kitchen sink along on the trip, and how she lifted her suitcase, I do not know. kitchen-sink used to describe plays, films, and novels that are about ordinary people's lives: a kitchen-sink drama.). 句子: The Warners are a middle-class white couple who fostered 收留 ( I. to help something to develop over a period of time. This approach will foster an understanding of environmental issues. Overuse of antibiotics may foster the spread of drug-resistant bacteria. II. [intransitive/transitive] to take care of a child as part of your family for a period of time because the child's parents cannot take care of them. ) her at age four and are about to adopt 收养 her. 5. 足球: Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk has stamped talisman 幸运星 ( [ˈtælɪsmən] an object that someone believes has special powers, especially the power to protect them from bad things. A talisman is an object which you believe has magic powers to protect you or bring you luck. ) Tim Cahill and uncapped 初次入选的((of a player) never having been chosen as a member of a particular sports team, especially a national one. not selected for a representative team The team is made up largely of uncapped players.) teenage gun Daniel Arzani as players who can "make a difference" at the World Cup. fare I. [countable] the money that you pay for a trip. She had argued with a cab driver after refusing to pay her fare. air/bus/train/taxi fare: Have you given the kids their bus fare? II. [countable] a passenger in a taxi. LA cabbie Max Durocher is the type of person who can wax poetic about other people's lives, which impresses U.S. Justice Department prosecutor Annie Farrell, one of his fares, so much that she gives him her telephone number at the end of her ride. One night, Max picks up a well dressed man named Vincent, who asks Max to be his only fare for the evening. For a flat fee of $600, plus an extra $100 if he gets to the airport on time. III. [uncountable] formal the type of food that is available, especially in a restaurant or café. More traditional fare can be found at the Plaka restaurant. IV. [singular/ uncountable] mainly journalism used for referring to what someone or something usually does or has. The magazine contained the usual fare of celebrity romances and beauty tips. 6. 金正恩的身高: His son, Kim Jong-un, is commonly reported as being 170cm tall - but many believe that figure could be wishful thinking and a fabrication. And a small band of eagle-eyed experts claim to have evidence North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is vertically challenged and wears platform shoes 增高鞋. Unconfirmed rumours abound that Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, stood 157cm and favoured lifts in his shoes to boost his height. There was also evidence that the soles of Kim's shoes appeared to be doctored by about 2.54cm. signatory 签字人: Leonard: Ba-ba-ba-ba. Are you sure you want to include him in this? Sheldon: Include me in what? Is there a plot 阴谋 afoot(being planned, or starting to happen. Plans are afoot to build a new mall.)? I'll have no truck with plots (have/ hold/ want truck with = have truck and trade with 不想扯上关系, 不想和...打交道 idiomatic To have dealings with; to truck with. to be unwilling to accept someone or something or to be involved with them. If you say that you will have no truck with someone or something, you are refusing to be involved with them in any way. He would have no truck with deceit. As an American, she had no truck with the painful formality of English life. They have no truck with the idea of social equality. You shouldn't have any truck with them. They cheat. I've had no truck with them for some time. ). Penny: No, you're right. No, there's, there's no plots, no trucks, no feet. So what other annoying habits shall we discuss? Sheldon: Uh, we don't discuss anything. Leonard is the signatory to the Roommate Agreement. As such, he bears responsibility for all your infractions (a situation in which someone breaks a law or rule. ) and must pay all fines. Leonard: Fines? Sheldon: Yes. If Penny's going to be spending nights here again, you'll need to set up an escrow 履约保证 ( [ˈeskrou] money, property, or a legal document that is kept by someone until a particular thing has happened. in escrow kept by someone until a particular thing has happened. ) account. Sign here. Movie -collateral: Finally cornered at one end of the train, Max decides to make a final stand, in which he and Vincent engage in a shootout. In the final moments of their confrontation, the subway car momentarily goes dark as they exchange gunfire, the pitch darkness rendering Vincent's advantage of experience and marksmanship useless. Vincent, fatally wounded, slumps into a seat as Max and Annie look on.
incinerate 烧毁 VS incarcerate 关押入狱 VS incarnate 化身 VS lacerate 切伤 VS altercation 争吵 (incision VS slashing VS abrasions ) alternating current 交流电(alternator交流发电机) VS altercation 口角, 争吵, 冲突 VS alteration 修补衣服, 修改衣服: 1. incinerate [ɪnˈsɪnəˌreɪt] 烧毁 to burn something completely. When he couldn't be woken, his body was incinerated 焚尸, 焚烧尸体, 尸体防火烧掉 at a property near Casino in northern NSW. He bashed the young mum's head in with a metal fire hydrant 防火栓, just two months after Mr Dufty was killed. The Brisbane Supreme Court heard he could not remember the event due to his illicit drug use. Lava spewing from Hawaii volcano incinerates everything in its path. 2. incarcerate (inˈkɑ:səˌreit) I. To put into jail. II. To shut in; confine. [ɪnˈkɑrsəˌreɪt] 关押, 锒铛入狱 to put someone in prison. If people are incarcerated, they are kept in a prison or other place. If the child does not agree to undertake the therapy or is found to still be a risk of harm to other children, they will incarcerate them in a youth detention facility. They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. It can cost $40,000 to $50,000 to incarcerate a prisoner for a year. incarcerate someone in something to imprison someone in something. The sheriff incarcerated Lefty in the county jail. He had wanted to incarcerate Max in the jail too. 3. incarnate adj. [in'kɑrnit, -neit; v. -neit] adj (usually immediately postpositive) I. 化身. possessing bodily form, esp the human form: a devil incarnate. an incarnate spirit. a villain who is evil incarnate邪恶化身. II. personified or typified: stupidity incarnate. III. (Botany) (esp of plant parts) flesh-coloured or pink. vb (tr) I. to give a bodily or concrete form to. II. to be representative or typical of. III. To realize in action or fact; actualize. a community that incarnates its founders' ideals. 4. lacerate [ˈlæsəreɪt] to make a deep cut in someone's flesh. laceration [ˌlæsəˈreɪʃ(ə)n] a deep cut in someone's flesh. She had lacerations to her head and back. 5. incision [ɪnˈsɪʒ(ə)n 手术刀口 I. a surgical cut made in skin or flesh. "an abdominal incision". "a surgical incision". II. a mark or decoration cut into a surface. "a block of marble delicately decorated with incisions". "the incisions were made on the underside of the jar". 6. slashing [ˈslaʃɪŋ] vigorously incisive or effective. "a slashing magazine attack on her". "a slashing attack by the newspapers". 7. altercation [ɒltəˈkeɪʃ(ə)n] 争吵 ( alternating current an electric current that reverses its direction many times a second at regular intervals, typically used in power supplies. ) noun a noisy argument or disagreement, especially in public. a loud argument or disagreement: According to witnesses, the altercation between the two men started inside the restaurant. "I had an altercation with the ticket collector". 8. abrasions 划伤, 刮伤, 擦伤 ( abrasion [əˈbreɪʒ(ə)n] I. the process of scraping or wearing something away. "the metal is resistant to abrasion". "diamond's extreme resistance to abrasion". II. an area damaged by scraping or wearing away. "there were cuts 割伤 and abrasions to the lips and jaw". 9. alteration [ˌɔltəˈreɪʃ(ə)n] I. [uncountable] the process of making a change in the appearance or form of something. the action or process of altering or being altered. "careful alteration of old buildings". Alteration of the apartment without the landlord's permission is forbidden. a. [countable] a change in the appearance or form of something. The editor made a few minor alterations to the text. Have you noticed any alteration in her behavior? II. [countable] a small change made to a piece of clothing to make it fit correctly. I'm having some alterations made to the dress. alternate vb [ˈɔːltə(r)neɪt] adj [ ɔːlˈtɜː(r)nət] adj. I. happening or coming one after another, in a regular pattern. alternate periods of good and bad weather. a pattern of alternate red and green stars. II. happening on one day, week etc, but not on the day, week etc that immediately follows. I go and visit him on alternate weekends. III. American alternative 替代的 You'll have to find an alternate route. v. I. [intransitive] if one thing alternates with another, they happen or come one after another, in a regular pattern that keeps being repeated. alternate with 频繁切换: Wet days alternated with dry ones. a. if someone or something alternates between two things, they keep changing between them. alternate between: His mood alternates between joy and despair. II. [intransitive/transitive] to choose one thing or situation and then another, and keep repeating that pattern. Lay the shapes on the fabric, alternating the colours. alternate something with something: The course allows students to alternate work with education. She alternated blues and gospel songs throughout the evening. The White House has alternated between tough talk and silence. alternative 替代性的, 非传统的 adj. I. different from something else and able to be used instead of it. We are now looking for an alternative method. Alternative ways of getting there will be investigated. II. not traditional. an alternative lifestyle. Electricity companies were criticized for failing to develop alternative energy sources. n. something that you can choose instead of something else. Can you suggest an alternative? There was no alternative but to close the road until February. alternative to 替代方案: The treatment is offered as an alternative to surgery. alternative fact a mistatement of the truth, a lie; most any statement of fact issued by President Trump and his staff. Trump's latest alternative facts are that over a million supporters attended his inauguration, and that the American people don't care whether or not he releases his tax records.
incinerate 烧毁 VS incarcerate 关押入狱 VS incarnate 化身 VS lacerate 切伤 VS altercation 争吵 (incision VS slashing VS abrasions ) alternating current 交流电(alternator交流发电机) VS altercation 口角, 争吵, 冲突 VS alteration 修补衣服, 修改衣服: 1. incinerate [ɪnˈsɪnəˌreɪt] 烧毁 to burn something completely. When he couldn't be woken, his body was incinerated 焚尸, 焚烧尸体, 尸体防火烧掉 at a property near Casino in northern NSW. He bashed the young mum's head in with a metal fire hydrant 防火栓, just two months after Mr Dufty was killed. The Brisbane Supreme Court heard he could not remember the event due to his illicit drug use. Lava spewing from Hawaii volcano incinerates everything in its path. 2. incarcerate (inˈkɑ:səˌreit) I. To put into jail. II. To shut in; confine. [ɪnˈkɑrsəˌreɪt] 关押, 锒铛入狱 to put someone in prison. If people are incarcerated, they are kept in a prison or other place. If the child does not agree to undertake the therapy or is found to still be a risk of harm to other children, they will incarcerate them in a youth detention facility. They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. It can cost $40,000 to $50,000 to incarcerate a prisoner for a year. incarcerate someone in something to imprison someone in something. The sheriff incarcerated Lefty in the county jail. He had wanted to incarcerate Max in the jail too. 3. incarnate adj. [in'kɑrnit, -neit; v. -neit] adj (usually immediately postpositive) I. 化身. possessing bodily form, esp the human form: a devil incarnate. an incarnate spirit. a villain who is evil incarnate邪恶化身. II. personified or typified: stupidity incarnate. III. (Botany) (esp of plant parts) flesh-coloured or pink. vb (tr) I. to give a bodily or concrete form to. II. to be representative or typical of. III. To realize in action or fact; actualize. a community that incarnates its founders' ideals. 4. lacerate [ˈlæsəreɪt] to make a deep cut in someone's flesh. laceration [ˌlæsəˈreɪʃ(ə)n] a deep cut in someone's flesh. She had lacerations to her head and back. 5. incision [ɪnˈsɪʒ(ə)n 手术刀口 I. a surgical cut made in skin or flesh. "an abdominal incision". "a surgical incision". II. a mark or decoration cut into a surface. "a block of marble delicately decorated with incisions". "the incisions were made on the underside of the jar". 6. slashing [ˈslaʃɪŋ] vigorously incisive or effective. "a slashing magazine attack on her". "a slashing attack by the newspapers". 7. altercation [ɒltəˈkeɪʃ(ə)n] 争吵 ( alternating current an electric current that reverses its direction many times a second at regular intervals, typically used in power supplies. ) noun a noisy argument or disagreement, especially in public. a loud argument or disagreement: According to witnesses, the altercation between the two men started inside the restaurant. "I had an altercation with the ticket collector". 8. abrasions 划伤, 刮伤, 擦伤 ( abrasion [əˈbreɪʒ(ə)n] I. the process of scraping or wearing something away. "the metal is resistant to abrasion". "diamond's extreme resistance to abrasion". II. an area damaged by scraping or wearing away. "there were cuts 割伤 and abrasions to the lips and jaw". 9. alteration [ˌɔltəˈreɪʃ(ə)n] I. [uncountable] the process of making a change in the appearance or form of something. the action or process of altering or being altered. "careful alteration of old buildings". Alteration of the apartment without the landlord's permission is forbidden. a. [countable] a change in the appearance or form of something. The editor made a few minor alterations to the text. Have you noticed any alteration in her behavior? II. [countable] a small change made to a piece of clothing to make it fit correctly. I'm having some alterations made to the dress. alternate vb [ˈɔːltə(r)neɪt] adj [ ɔːlˈtɜː(r)nət] adj. I. happening or coming one after another, in a regular pattern. alternate periods of good and bad weather. a pattern of alternate red and green stars. II. happening on one day, week etc, but not on the day, week etc that immediately follows. I go and visit him on alternate weekends. III. American alternative 替代的 You'll have to find an alternate route. v. I. [intransitive] if one thing alternates with another, they happen or come one after another, in a regular pattern that keeps being repeated. alternate with 频繁切换: Wet days alternated with dry ones. a. if someone or something alternates between two things, they keep changing between them. alternate between: His mood alternates between joy and despair. II. [intransitive/transitive] to choose one thing or situation and then another, and keep repeating that pattern. Lay the shapes on the fabric, alternating the colours. alternate something with something: The course allows students to alternate work with education. She alternated blues and gospel songs throughout the evening. The White House has alternated between tough talk and silence. alternative 替代性的, 非传统的 adj. I. different from something else and able to be used instead of it. We are now looking for an alternative method. Alternative ways of getting there will be investigated. II. not traditional. an alternative lifestyle. Electricity companies were criticized for failing to develop alternative energy sources. n. something that you can choose instead of something else. Can you suggest an alternative? There was no alternative but to close the road until February. alternative to 替代方案: The treatment is offered as an alternative to surgery. alternative fact a mistatement of the truth, a lie; most any statement of fact issued by President Trump and his staff. Trump's latest alternative facts are that over a million supporters attended his inauguration, and that the American people don't care whether or not he releases his tax records.
Friday, 24 May 2019
adfadfa
用法学习: 1. tide someone over to supply someone for a short time with something that is lacking. to help someone through a difficult period, especially by lending them money Could you lend me £10 to tide me over till next week? Can you lend me some money to tide me over till next month? Clarkson, who was finishing her second studio album at that time, recorded "Breakaway" to tide her fans over until the first single from her new album was released. However, the song's success prompted its inclusion on Clarkson's second album where she decided to name the album after the song. get [the hell] out of Dodge (US, idiomatic) To leave, especially to leave a difficult or dangerous environment with all possible haste. To leave or depart from a place, especially quickly or with marked urgency. A reference to Dodge City, Kansas, the clichéd setting of cowboy and western films from the early to mid-1900s. It looks like things are getting pretty tense in here, let's get out of Dodge! With our creditors becoming increasingly aggressive, we decided to just get the hell out of Dodge and leave it all behind. Usage notes: Often used with the hell as an intensifier. (See also the hell out of.) Etymology: An allusion to Dodge City, Kansas, a busy cattle town in the late 19th century. Possibly inspired by the radio and television series Gunsmoke (1952-1975). 2. corporate [ˈkɔːpərət] noun a company, especially a large one He has managed design teams in large corporates in Australia. adj. I. relating to large companies, or to a particular large company. Corporate means relating to business corporations or to a particular business corporation. ...top U.S. corporate executives. ...the U.K. corporate sector. ...a corporate lawyer 企业律师. This established a strong corporate image 企业形象, 公司形象. Our corporate headquarters are in Madrid. a powerful group that represents corporate America (=big businesses in the U.S.). Some companies are introducing ethics into their corporate culture in a big way. II. formal shared by or including all the members of a group. Is there a corporate identity shared by all Asian countries? pierce/lift the corporate veil legal to treat the rights and duties of a company as being the same as the rights and duties of its shareholders. In order for the corporate veil to be pierced there must be some skulduggery, in the absence of which the legal personality of the company will remain intact. skulduggery [skʌldʌgəri] 欺骗 Skulduggery is behaviour in which someone acts in a dishonest way in order to achieve their aim. secret activities that are intended to trick or cheat people. political intrigue and skulduggery. ...accusations of political skulduggery. wiki: Usually a corporation is treated as a separate legal person, which is solely responsible for the debts it incurs and the sole beneficiary of the credit it is owed. Common law countries usually uphold this principle of separate personhood, but in exceptional situations may "pierce" or "lift" the corporate veil. A simple example would be where a businessman has left his job as a director and has signed a contract to not compete with the company he has just left for a period of time. If he sets up a company which competed with his former company, technically it would be the company and not the person competing. But it is likely a court would say that the new company was just a "sham", a "cover" or some other phrase, and would still allow the old company to sue the man for breach of contract. corporate ladder The hierarchy of authority and earning power within a large business or corporation, likened to the rungs of a ladder. Usually used with some variable verb or phrase referring to ascension. Although you're starting at an entry-level position, this company prides itself on giving employees the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder if they prove their abilities and determination. She proved early on that she had unique business smarts, and she's been making her way up the corporate ladder ever since. corporate welfare bum A corporation or executive who makes money (or is thought to make money) through tax breaks or legal loopholes. Primarily heard in Canada. These corporate welfare bums can afford to pay the taxes, but they just get their accountants to make it so they don't have to. tax break 税务减免, 减税: a reduction in the tax that you must pay. If the government gives a tax break to a particular group of people or type of organization, it reduces the amount of tax they have to pay or changes the tax system in a way that benefits them. Today they'll consider tax breaks for businesses that create jobs in inner cities. a tax break for college students. corporation [ˌkɔrpəˈreɪʃ(ə)n] 大企业, 大公司 I. a large company or business organization. ...multi-national corporations. ...the Seiko Corporation. American tobacco corporations. II. British the local government of a city. In some large British cities, the corporation is the local authority that is responsible for providing public services. ...the corporation's task of regenerating 900 acres of the inner city. 3. scrumptious [skrʌmpʃəs] 好吃的, 美味的 adj If you describe food as scrumptious, you mean that it tastes extremely good. ...a scrumptious apple pie. slanderous [slɑːndərəs , slæn-] 诽谤的 adjective A spoken statement that is slanderous is untrue and intended to damage the reputation of the person that it refers to. He wanted an explanation for what he described as 'slanderous' remarks. scurrilous [ˈskʌrɪləs] 故意抹黑的 ( slanderous, scandalous, defamatory, low ) I. making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation. Scurrilous accusations or stories are untrue and unfair, and are likely to damage the reputation of the person that they relate to. Scurrilous and untrue stories were being invented. ...scurrilous rumours. "a scurrilous attack on his integrity". "a scurrilous attack on her character". II. humorously insulting. "a very funny collection of bawdy and scurrilous writings". scurry [skʌri , US skɜːri] I. When people or small animals scurry somewhere, they move there quickly and hurriedly, especially because they are frightened. [written] The attack began, sending residents scurrying for cover. [+ for] The rats scurry around, searching for scraps of food in the rubbish. II. If people scurry to do something, they do it as soon as they can. Pictures of starving children have sent many people scurrying to donate money. scandalous [skændələs] I. Scandalous behaviour or activity is considered immoral and shocking. They would be sacked for criminal or scandalous behaviour. He spoke of scandalous corruption and incompetence. He asked only that Ingrid stop behaving so scandalously. II. Scandalous stories or remarks are concerned with the immoral and shocking aspects of someone's behaviour or something that has happened. Newspaper columns were full of scandalous tales. A jealous colleague could spread scandalous gossip about you. III. You can describe something as scandalous if it makes you very angry and you think the people responsible for it should be ashamed. It is absolutely scandalous that a fantastic building like this is just left to rot away. ...a scandalous waste of money. ...scandalously over-priced Beaujolais Nouveau. scrupulous [skruːpjʊləs] I. Someone who is scrupulous takes great care to do what is fair, honest, or morally right. You're being very scrupulous, but to what end? I have been scrupulous about telling them the dangers. [+ about] The Board is scrupulous in its consideration of all applications for licences. [+ in] He is scrupulously fair, and popular with his staff. Namibia has scrupulously upheld political pluralism. II. Scrupulous means thorough, exact, and careful about details. Both readers commend Knutson for his scrupulous attention to detail. The streets and parks were scrupulously clean. Hillsden scrupulously avoided any topic likely to arouse suspicion as to his motives. scruples [ˈskruːpəlz] doubts or hesitation as to what is morally right in a certain situation. a man with no moral scruples. He had no scruples about appropriating other people's property. It took time to overcome my scruples. unscrupulous [ʌnskruːpjʊləs] 恬不知耻的, 臭不要脸的, 无耻的 If you describe a person as unscrupulous, you are critical of the fact that they are prepared to act in a dishonest or immoral way in order to get what they want. These kids are being exploited by very unscrupulous people. ...the unscrupulous use of hostages. 4. beyond compare If you describe something as beyond compare, you mean that it is extremely good or extremely great. [literary, emphasis] She was a storyteller beyond compare. ...riches beyond compare. without a murmur 毫无怨言的 If someone does something without a murmur, they do it without complaining. demur [dɪˈmɜr] If you demur, you say that you do not agree with something or will not do something that you have been asked to do. Hunt asked me to take over the whole operation. At first I demurred. The doctor demurred, but Piercey was insistent. without demur 没有抱怨, 没有抗议, 没有反对 If you do something without demur, you do it immediately and without making any protest. His plan was accepted without demur. without ceremony 随意的 in a quick, informal, and sometimes impolite way. Dumping the report on his desk without ceremony, she turned and walked out. without fail I. 从不间断. used for emphasizing that something always happens in the same way or at the same time. He calls me every Sunday night without fail. II. used for emphasizing that someone must do something. I want to see you here at 8 o'clock without fail! 4.
obelisk 方尖碑: An obelisk [ˈɒbəlɪsk] is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Obelisks played a vital role in their religion and were prominent in the architecture of the ancient Egyptians, who placed them in pairs at the entrance of the temples. The obelisk symbolized 象征着 the sun god Ra, and during the religious reformation of Akhenaten it was said to have been a petrified ray of the Aten, the sundisk. It was also thought that the god existed within the structure. Obelisks were set in pairs, at the entrances of temples, and to some Old Kingdom tombs and closely related to the cult of the Sun God Ra also known as Atum. Obelisks symbolized the stability and the creative force of Atum. Obelisks were believed to act as magical protection to the monuments such as temples and tombs. Around 30 B.C., after Cleopatra "the last Pharaoh" committed suicide, Rome took control of Egypt. The Ancient Romans were awestruck 惊呆了 by the obelisks, and looted the complex to the extent that they destroyed walls at the Temple of Karnak to haul out obelisks. There are now more than twice as many obelisks that were seized and shipped out by Rome as remain in Egypt. A majority were dismantled during the Roman period over 1, 700 years ago and the obelisk were sent in different locations. The largest standing and tallest Egyptian obelisk is the Lateran Obelisk in the square at the west side of the Lateran Basilica in Rome at 105.6 feet (32.2 m) tall and a weight of 455 metric tons (502 short tons). Not all the Egyptian obelisks in the Roman Empire were set up at Rome. Herod the Great imitated his Roman patrons and set up a red granite Egyptian obelisk in the hippodrome of his new city Caesarea in northern Judea. This one is about 40 feet (12 m)tall and weighs about 100 metric tons (110 short tons). It was discovered by archaeologists and has been re-erected at its former site. In 335 A.D., Constantine I ordered the removal of two of Karnak's obelisks. One was sent to Constantinople, the Eastern Emperor Theodosius took the obelisk and had it set up in a hippodrome, where it has weathered Crusaders and Seljuks and stands in the Hippodrome square which is now called Istanbul. This one stood 95 feet (29 m) tall and weighing 380 metric tons (420 short tons). Its lower half reputedly also once stood in Istanbul but is now lost. The Istanbul obelisk is 65 feet (20 m) tall. The other was transported to Rome and is probably the most well-known 25 metres (82 ft), 331-metric-ton (365-short-ton) obelisk at Saint Peter's Square in the world. The obelisk had stood since AD 37 on its site and on the wall of the Circus of Nero, flanking St Peter's Basilica: "The elder Pliny in his Natural Historyrefers to the obelisk's transportation from Egypt to Rome by order of the Emperor Gaius (Caligula) as an outstanding event. The barge that carried it had a huge mast of fir wood which four men's arms could not encircle 合拢, 围起来. One hundred and twenty bushels of lentils were needed for ballast. Having fulfilled its purpose, the gigantic vessel was no longer wanted. Therefore, filled with stones and cement, it was sunk to form the foundations of the foremost quay of the new harbour at Ostia." Re-erecting the obelisk had daunted even Michelangelo, but Sixtus V was determined to erect it in front of St Peter's, of which the nave 大殿 ( The nave of a church is the long central part where people gather to worship. ) was yet to be built. He had a full-sized wooden mock-up 模型 erected within months of his election. Domenico Fontana, the assistant of Giacomo Della Porta in the Basilica's construction, presented the Pope with a little model crane of wood and a heavy little obelisk of lead, which Sixtus himself was able to raise by turning a little winch with his finger. Fontana was given the project. The obelisk, half-buried in the debris of the ages, was first excavated as it stood; then it took from 30 April to 17 May 1586 to move it on rollers to the Piazza: it required nearly 1000 men, 140 carthorses, and 47 cranes. The re-erection, scheduled for 14 September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, was watched by a large crowd. It was a famous feat of engineering, which made the reputation of Fontana, who detailed it in a book illustrated with copperplate etchings, which itself set a new standard in communicating technical information and influenced subsequent architectural publications by its meticulous precision. Before being re-erected the obelisk was exorcised. It is said that Fontana had teams of relay horses to make his getaway if the enterprise failed. When Carlo Maderno came to build the Basilica's nave, he had to put the slightest kink in its axis, to line it precisely with the obelisk.
Theresa May announces she will resign on 7 June: Theresa May has bowed to intense pressure from her own party and named 7 June as the day she will step aside as Conservative leader, drawing her turbulent three-year premiership to a close. Speaking in Downing Street, May said it had been "the honour of my life" to serve as Britain's second female prime minister. Her voice breaking 声音哽咽, she said she would leave "with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love". The prime minister listed a series of what she said were her government's achievements, including tackling the deficit, reducing unemployment and boosting funding for mental health. But she admitted: "It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret 憾事 to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit." May's announcement came after a meeting with Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench Tory 1922 Committee, which was prepared to trigger a second vote of no confidence in her leadership if she refused to resign. Her fate was sealed after a 10-point "new Brexit deal", announced in a speech on Tuesday, infuriated Tory backbenchers and many of her own cabinet – while falling flat with 反响平平( go down a storm) the Labour MPs it was meant to persuade. The leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, resigned on Wednesday, rather than present the Brexit bill to parliament. In particular, they rejected May's promise to give MPs a vote on a second referendum as the Brexit bill passed through parliament, and implement the result – which they felt came too close to endorsing the idea. The prime minister will remain in Downing Street, to shoulder the blame for what are expected to be dire results for her party from Thursday's European elections – and to host Donald Trump when he visits. The 1922 Committee will set out the terms of a leadership contest, to kick off on 10 June, which is expected to last perhaps six weeks. The former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is the frontrunner to be Britain's next prime minister, but more than a dozen senior Tory figures are considering throwing their hats into the ring. In the cabinet, Rory Stewart has already said he will stand, while Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt and Sajid Javid are all likely contenders 竞争者. May's departure came after three years of wrangling with Brexiters on her own backbenches about what future relationship with the European Union they would be prepared to accept. That became considerably more difficult when she lost her majority at the 2017 general election, after spearheading what was widely regarded as a disastrous campaign, promising "strong and stable leadership in the national interest". Brexit is likely to dominate the race to succeed May, with time increasingly tight for a new team to set out any new direction before the deadline of 31 October for Britain's departure from the EU. May's longtime friend Damian Green, the former first secretary of state, defended her record on Friday. He said: "All prime ministers, in the end, take responsibility for what happens on their watch, but I think that it's undeniable that suddenly and unexpectedly becoming prime minister after the seismic shock of the Brexit referendum meant that she was dealt an extremely difficult hand to play(play the hand (one) is dealt 因地制宜的做事, 兵来将挡, 水来土掩, 竭尽所能 To use the resources which one actually has available; to operate realistically, within the limits of one's circumstances. To accept, deal with, and make the most of one's current situation or circumstances; to make use of that which one is afforded or has available. I know you feel unsatisfied with your life at the moment, but we all have to play the hand we're dealt. Just keep working hard and things are bound to improve! I never asked to be responsible for the business, but I'm going to play the hand I was dealt.). And the truth is that having an election a year later, which cut the Conservative party's majority, then [made it] impossible." Green told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The fact that parliament has not been able to get a Brexit deal through has led to the impatience, bordering into contempt, for the political class and the amount of hostility and borderline violence is something we have not known for a very very long time." A legacy of failure: Theresa May was a disaster as Prime Minister: Three years after voters in the UK mandated their government to take Britain out of the European Union, Theresa May's failure to do so has finally caught up with her 承受不住, 受不了了, 不堪重负( someone needs to get out more 多出去走走 If you say that someone needs to get out more, you mean that they are boring or that they are spending too much time concentrating on one particular thing. I found myself reading The Inner Game Of Tennis the other day (I really do need to get out more). get to somebody/something to make someone feel annoyed or upset. to cause feelings, esp. suffering or disgust, in someone: The heat was beginning to get to me so I went indoors. I'm under a lot of pressure at work, and sometimes it gets to me a bit. Don’t let things get to you. get to thinking/wondering something informal to start thinking something He got to thinking how disappointed his parents would be. catch up to (something or someone) To make up the difference between oneself and someone or something, so as to be at an equal level, status, or point of progress. If we speed up, we might be able to catch up to the car ahead of us! You're going to have to study really hard to catch up to the rest of the class. catch someone/something up = catch up with someone I. to go faster so that you reach the person or vehicle in front of you. We left before them, but they soon caught us up again. catch up with: If you hurry, you should catch up with them at the bridge. II. to improve in order to reach the same standard or rate as someone or something. He's missed so much school that he's going to find it hard to catch up. catch up with: Pressure grew for salaries to catch up with inflation. III. [intransitive] to do something that should have been done before. The deadline's tomorrow. How are we ever going to catch up in time? catch up on: I just want to go home and catch up on some sleep. catch up with: Staff are struggling to catch up with the backlog. IV. [intransitive] to talk to someone you have not seen for some time and find out what they have been doing. Come over tomorrow and we can catch up. catch up with: I'll catch up with you another time, Kevin. It'll give them a chance to talk and catch up with all their news. V. When people catch up with someone who has done something wrong, they succeed in finding them in order to arrest or punish them. The law caught up with him yesterday. VI. If something catches up with you, you are forced to deal with something unpleasant that happened or that you did in the past, which you have been able to avoid until now. How can I crack the habit of being a procrastinator. I'm the worst procrastinator and it's really starting to catch up to me (一般说 catch up with me: cause me problems: the consequences of my actions – procrastination, in this case – are starting to cause problems in my life. ). Although he subsequently became a successful businessman, his criminal past caught up with him. catch me up it's a phrase that means you should fill me in, you say it when you're missing out on something and you want to be filled in. "Have you heard the gossip?" "No not yet, catch me up". procrastinator 拖拖拉拉的人, 做事总是拖后的人 A procrastinator is a person who delays or puts things off — like work, chores, or other actions — that should be done in a timely manner. A procrastinator is likely to leave all the Christmas shopping until December 24th. break the habit of 戒掉习惯, 戒掉毛病 (catch a habit, take up [a habit/ doing something], take up the habit of. 染上习惯, 沾染上毛病, 染上癖好) a. To give up (a habit). to get rid of (a habit). To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate. I've got to break this habit I have of biting my nails. to break silence; to break one's sleep 打扰睡眠; to break one's journey. I had won four games in a row, but now you've broken my streak of luck. b. To cause to give up a habit: They managed to break themselves of smoking. If you are in the habit of doing something 有...的习惯, you do it regularly or often. If you get into the habit of doing something, you begin to do it regularly or often. They were in the habit of giving two or three dinner parties a month. I got into the habit of calling in on Gloria on my way home from work. break the mould 打破传统, 打破藩篱, 破旧出新, 破旧立新 If you say that someone breaks the mould, you mean that they do completely different things from what has been done before or from what is usually done. Memorial services have become tedious and expected. I would like to help break the mould. When they first started, they said they were going to break the mould of British politics. break a/the code 破解密码 To determine or decipher a secret code. It is imperative that we break the enemy code and access their plans. She definitely broke the code on my phone—her picture is suddenly my new background! catch up with someone I. to find and arrest someone who has committed a crime after searching for them or chasing them. The police will catch up with you sooner or later. IV. to begin to have an effect on someone (take its/a toll on). 开始影响到, 开始显现效果, 开始有影响. The lack of sleep caught up with her, and she began to doze off. "With hindsight 现在来看, 回头来看, 回头看来, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid and as a result the quality of execution has suffered," chairman Paul Pindar said, as he apologised to shareholders for disappointing performance over the last year. A challenging market in Britain caught up to it 抵不过, 抵抗不过, 抵抗不住 and the company was forced to issue a revenue warning in February. With the retail landscape 零售市场, 零售环境, 零售业 changing rapidly, the 31-year-old building will likely soon be subject to a major redevelopment as the commercial realities of the site catch up to it 无奈, 无法对抗. The extremely valuable but underutilised airspace above the centre will one day cause it's redevelopment. catch me up it's a phrase that means you should fill me in, you say it when you're missing out on something and you want to be filled in. "Have you heard the gossip?" "No not yet, catch me up". catch up to (something or someone) To make up the difference between oneself and someone or something, so as to be at an equal level, status, or point of progress. Banzai skydive: the act of throwing a parachute out of a plane and trying to catch up to it mid fall, put it on, and deploy it before hitting the ground. If we speed up, we might be able to catch up to the car ahead of us 追上, 赶上! You're going to have to study really hard to catch up to the rest of the class). "I have done my best," she said in an emotional statement on the steps of Downing Street. But as she admitted, it wasn't enough. Her predecessor, David Cameron, quit the morning after 52% of the UK voted to leave the EU, having presided over his own political miscalculation 失算, 误算, 误判. Under her leadership, the Conservative Party has gone from being seen as the natural party of government to the exploding clown car of politics(A clown car is a prop in a circus clown routine, which involves an implausibly large number of clowns emerging from a very small car.). Worse than being unable to govern, the Conservative's mishandling of Brexit has led to the public humiliation of the UK's oldest and most successful political organization, suffering electoral losses to a rival party that didn't exist six weeks ago. May had previously said that she would stand down if her deal was approved, letting someone else take control of the next stage of Brexit. It turns out that top-to-bottom rejection of her deal and her leadership from pretty much everyone involved in politics would also do the trick. May's legacy will be defined by failures, public humiliations and catastrophic political miscalculations. Some of these were out of her hands. Some were the result of poor advice from those she chose to surround herself with. Some were because of the unprecedented political crisis that would come to dominate her time in Downing Street. But much of it was her own fault. Many of her decisions had a directly negative impact on her ability to lead. The problem for May wasn't just that British politics has been deadlocked for the best part of three years, but that she repeatedly engineered ways to erode her own authority. By the time she accepted her number was up, she had lost the confidence of MPs, members of her own party and even her own Cabinet. Before taking the job, May had long been tipped for high office. In 2002, while serving as chair of the Conservative Party, May addressed the faithful at their annual party conference. At the time, the Conservatives had been out of power for five years. Tony Blair had successfully won over some traditional conservative voters and the party had an image problem. This also meant it had an electoral problem: "Our base is too narrow and so, occasionally, are our sympathies. You know what some people call us -- the nasty party," May said. The speech went down a storm ( go down a storm 引起热烈反响, 好评如潮, 反响热烈, 反响强烈 fall flat 反响平平 be enthusiastically received by an audience. "the film went down a storm at Cannes". ) and paved the way for a new era. In 2005, the party would elect David Cameron as leader. Cameron knew the importance of May's support, so made her a close ally and, along with other Tory moderates, oversaw a sweeping 全面的, 彻底的, 彻头彻尾的 modernization of the party. It would come to be a party that believed in helping communities, the "Big Society", and would eventually be the party that legalized same-sex marriage in the UK. Cameron became Prime Minister in 2010, albeit as leader of a coalition government with the center-left Liberal Democrats. Again, knowing May's importance and her appeal to the more conservative members of the party's base, he made her Home Secretary. May was always considered one of the toughest members of Cameron's Cabinet. As Home Secretary, she accused the Police Federation -- the association that represents rank-and-file police officers in the UK -- of "crying wolf" over budget cuts. She presided over a policy of creating a "hostile environment" for illegal immigrants. She even took on the EU on matters ranging from immigration to the deportation of high-profile terrorists. She was a force to be reckoned with 不可忽视的力量(someone who is strong and cannot be ignored When he won his first three matches, the other players realized that he was a force to be reckoned with.) and seen as one of the cornerstones of conservatism in a coalition compromised by liberals. It was a shock to some when in 2016, May announced that she would be backing David Cameron's Remain campaign. But her decision to do so, it turned out, was a masterstroke ( 巧计 妙计, 妙招A masterstroke is something you do which is unexpected but very clever and which helps you to achieve something. The company played a masterstroke in promoting her to be director of innovation. ) in triangulation ( a key manoeuvre in the endgame in which the king moves thrice in a triangular path to leave the opposing king with the move and at a disadvantage ). When Cameron resigned in the wake of the result of the Brexit referendum, May was seen as a safe pair of hands. She backed Remain, but her track record in the Home Office meant she was tough enough to stand up to the EU. She was the best candidate to unite two sides of the Conservative Party that voted for different things. However, from the moment she became Prime Minister, she began alienating people whose loyalty she would later regret not being able to depend upon. In the months that followed May's ascension to the top job, her Brexit position 立场 hardened. Rather than reach across the political divide within her own party, the Prime Minister's embrace of Brexit was similar to that of the evangelism of a born-again Christian. Her new, ardent Brexiteer persona won her support on her own backbenches and in the Brexit-supporting media. The Daily Mail, an anti-EU newspaper, declared that May would "crush the saboteurs 坏事者, 破坏者, 搞破坏的人 ( [ˌsæbəˈtɜr] A saboteur is a person who deliberately damages or destroys things such as machines, railway lines, and bridges in order to weaken an enemy or to make a protest. In Britain, people who try to stop blood sports such as fox hunting are also referred to as saboteurs. The saboteurs had planned to bomb buses and offices. ...a confrontation between huntsmen and saboteurs.)" who sought to frustrate Brexit. While her new position as the defender of Brexit Britain won her some friends, it put off those who wanted a softer Brexit or no Brexit at all. But May and her advisors didn't seem to realize how she was seen outside of the Brexit bubble. This new confidence led to May and her inner circle making their first catastrophic mistake. In June 2017, despite having made little progress on Brexit plans, May held a snap election, convinced she could to increase her parliamentary majority of 13 to something north of 100. A result like that would have given May an unassailable ( unassailable [ʌnəseɪləbəl] If you describe something or someone as unassailable, you mean that nothing can alter, destroy, or challenge them. That was enough to give her an unassailable lead. His legal position is unassailable. Liverpool football club are still looking unassailable. ) position from which to push through her Brexit strategy. Her plan backfired. A limp election campaign in which May seldom appeared in public -- and seemed hellbent on avoiding any members of it -- made her look out of touch and power-hungry. The opposition Labour Party took advantage. It managed to position itself not only as the more pro-Europe option, but its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, seemed more human. The Conservatives emerged as the largest party in Parliament, but May was stripped of her working majority. From then, May couldn't catch a break. Less than a week after her unnecessary humiliation, Britain was struck by tragedy. The fire that ripped through Grenfell Tower in London left 72 people dead and a community shattered. May's response was widely criticized. She visited the site, but didn't meet with any of the survivors. It made her look cold and unsympathetic. While no one seeks to use a disaster like this for political gain, May's woes were compounded 加重 by images of Corbyn hugging survivors. Even the Queen put on a better show. Worse for May was that the Grenfell tragedy came to be viewed by many as the result of Conservative policies under David Cameron. Whether this was true or not didn't matter: Labour was on the side of the people; May simply didn't care. Less than a week after Grenfell, the UK was struggling with another tragedy. A British man with a history of violence and fascination with anti-Islam ideas drove a van into a crowd of Muslims, leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque in London after evening prayers. When May visited the scene of the attack, she was heckled by bystanders. The political atmosphere in the country was becoming febrile 神经兮兮的, 神经过敏的([fiːbraɪl] adj Febrile behaviour is intensely and nervously active. The news plunged the nation into a febrile, agitated state.). May's authority was under increasing pressure. Her election failure had forced her to sack her political advisers and enter into a supply and confidence agreement ( A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation or budget (supply) votes, by either voting in favour or abstaining. However, parties and independent members normally retain the right to otherwise vote in favour of their own policies or on conscience on legislative bills. A coalition government is a more formal arrangement than a confidence-and-supply agreement, in that members from junior parties (i.e. parties other than the largest) gain positions in the cabinet, ministerial roles and may be expected to hold the government whip on passing legislation. ) with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, who in theory prop up her minority government. May was forced to face the music at the annual conference of her Conservative Party in October 2017. Her now infamous speech, in which she suffered a coughing fit, was confronted by a stage invader who handed her a P45 (the UK equivalent of a pink slip) was topped off with the set falling apart behind her. It came after days of mutiny from within her party, which numerous of the not-so-faithful publicly saying that it was time for May to go. At this point, one might be tempted to feel sorry for the PM. But hold on a second. Sure, she can't help a cough, a stage invader or bad set design. It's very unlucky. But she could have avoided her fate of having to stand before a room of people utterly sick of her. It was around this time that her Brexit plan started to go badly. Meeting after meeting in Brussels resulted in EU officials and leaders publicly admonishing the UK's Brexit negotiators. Over time, May's Brexit position softened as talks with the EU became friendlier and common ground was reached. But this is where May made another political error. While talks had been going well in Brussels, May's Brexit plan was still a secret to many in London. It did not matter that the government and EU officials agreed on obscure but important details, whether the British public or political class would accept it was another thing altogether. That failure to carry a divided House of Commons with her resulted in a deal being agreed that parliament came to detest. And that's why, every time it was put to a vote, it failed. This created problems for May both in London and on the continent. Over time, EU leaders simply stopped believing anything she said. The same goes for Brexiteers, who once saw her as their champion. The low point of trust in her own party perhaps came at a meeting of hardline Brexiteers last year, when members of her own party were heard chanting "Theresa the appeaser," a reference to former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, infamous for striking a deal with Adolf Hitler in 1938. Outside of Brexit, her time in the Home Office came back to haunt her more than once. First, the Windrush scandal. Her "hostile environment" policy had created legislation which required immigrants to prove their status by providing paperwork when trying to do everyday things like renting an apartment or taking a job. Unintentionally, this hit a generation of immigrants from the Caribbean, who came to the UK in the post-war years to make up for a shortage in the workforce. Many of them were without paperwork and suddenly faced the threat of deportation, despite having lived in the country for decades. Public outrage once again made May look out of touch and unsympathetic. It also meant that one of her arch-loyalists, Amber Rudd, was forced to quit as Home Secretary, the government department that oversees immigration. Other decisions made during her earlier period in Cameron's government have caused problems for May. The UK's knife crime crisis has been blamed on cuts to police budgets she implemented. While the veracity ( Veracity is the quality of being true or the habit of telling the truth. We have total confidence in the veracity of our research. [+ of] He was shocked to find his veracity questioned. ) of this claim is unclear, defending a policy of cutting police funding while parents are seeing their children murdered is not a good look. But it was her mishandling of Brexit and poor political decisions that made governing impossible for May. At the end of March, the PM made her final move. She told her Conservative lawmakers that if they backed her deal, she would go. May was throwing the kitchen sink at Brexit -- and staking her entire career on it. It didn't work. Nothing May could offer was enough to avoid her final humiliation, as her own party tried to change its own rules to force her from office. Another British Conservative politician, the divisive Enoch Powell, once said: "All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure." While May might be in good company on that front, it's hard to think of another politician whose legacy will be so defined by catastrophe.
obelisk 方尖碑: An obelisk [ˈɒbəlɪsk] is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Obelisks played a vital role in their religion and were prominent in the architecture of the ancient Egyptians, who placed them in pairs at the entrance of the temples. The obelisk symbolized 象征着 the sun god Ra, and during the religious reformation of Akhenaten it was said to have been a petrified ray of the Aten, the sundisk. It was also thought that the god existed within the structure. Obelisks were set in pairs, at the entrances of temples, and to some Old Kingdom tombs and closely related to the cult of the Sun God Ra also known as Atum. Obelisks symbolized the stability and the creative force of Atum. Obelisks were believed to act as magical protection to the monuments such as temples and tombs. Around 30 B.C., after Cleopatra "the last Pharaoh" committed suicide, Rome took control of Egypt. The Ancient Romans were awestruck 惊呆了 by the obelisks, and looted the complex to the extent that they destroyed walls at the Temple of Karnak to haul out obelisks. There are now more than twice as many obelisks that were seized and shipped out by Rome as remain in Egypt. A majority were dismantled during the Roman period over 1, 700 years ago and the obelisk were sent in different locations. The largest standing and tallest Egyptian obelisk is the Lateran Obelisk in the square at the west side of the Lateran Basilica in Rome at 105.6 feet (32.2 m) tall and a weight of 455 metric tons (502 short tons). Not all the Egyptian obelisks in the Roman Empire were set up at Rome. Herod the Great imitated his Roman patrons and set up a red granite Egyptian obelisk in the hippodrome of his new city Caesarea in northern Judea. This one is about 40 feet (12 m)tall and weighs about 100 metric tons (110 short tons). It was discovered by archaeologists and has been re-erected at its former site. In 335 A.D., Constantine I ordered the removal of two of Karnak's obelisks. One was sent to Constantinople, the Eastern Emperor Theodosius took the obelisk and had it set up in a hippodrome, where it has weathered Crusaders and Seljuks and stands in the Hippodrome square which is now called Istanbul. This one stood 95 feet (29 m) tall and weighing 380 metric tons (420 short tons). Its lower half reputedly also once stood in Istanbul but is now lost. The Istanbul obelisk is 65 feet (20 m) tall. The other was transported to Rome and is probably the most well-known 25 metres (82 ft), 331-metric-ton (365-short-ton) obelisk at Saint Peter's Square in the world. The obelisk had stood since AD 37 on its site and on the wall of the Circus of Nero, flanking St Peter's Basilica: "The elder Pliny in his Natural Historyrefers to the obelisk's transportation from Egypt to Rome by order of the Emperor Gaius (Caligula) as an outstanding event. The barge that carried it had a huge mast of fir wood which four men's arms could not encircle 合拢, 围起来. One hundred and twenty bushels of lentils were needed for ballast. Having fulfilled its purpose, the gigantic vessel was no longer wanted. Therefore, filled with stones and cement, it was sunk to form the foundations of the foremost quay of the new harbour at Ostia." Re-erecting the obelisk had daunted even Michelangelo, but Sixtus V was determined to erect it in front of St Peter's, of which the nave 大殿 ( The nave of a church is the long central part where people gather to worship. ) was yet to be built. He had a full-sized wooden mock-up 模型 erected within months of his election. Domenico Fontana, the assistant of Giacomo Della Porta in the Basilica's construction, presented the Pope with a little model crane of wood and a heavy little obelisk of lead, which Sixtus himself was able to raise by turning a little winch with his finger. Fontana was given the project. The obelisk, half-buried in the debris of the ages, was first excavated as it stood; then it took from 30 April to 17 May 1586 to move it on rollers to the Piazza: it required nearly 1000 men, 140 carthorses, and 47 cranes. The re-erection, scheduled for 14 September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, was watched by a large crowd. It was a famous feat of engineering, which made the reputation of Fontana, who detailed it in a book illustrated with copperplate etchings, which itself set a new standard in communicating technical information and influenced subsequent architectural publications by its meticulous precision. Before being re-erected the obelisk was exorcised. It is said that Fontana had teams of relay horses to make his getaway if the enterprise failed. When Carlo Maderno came to build the Basilica's nave, he had to put the slightest kink in its axis, to line it precisely with the obelisk.
Theresa May announces she will resign on 7 June: Theresa May has bowed to intense pressure from her own party and named 7 June as the day she will step aside as Conservative leader, drawing her turbulent three-year premiership to a close. Speaking in Downing Street, May said it had been "the honour of my life" to serve as Britain's second female prime minister. Her voice breaking 声音哽咽, she said she would leave "with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love". The prime minister listed a series of what she said were her government's achievements, including tackling the deficit, reducing unemployment and boosting funding for mental health. But she admitted: "It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret 憾事 to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit." May's announcement came after a meeting with Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench Tory 1922 Committee, which was prepared to trigger a second vote of no confidence in her leadership if she refused to resign. Her fate was sealed after a 10-point "new Brexit deal", announced in a speech on Tuesday, infuriated Tory backbenchers and many of her own cabinet – while falling flat with 反响平平( go down a storm) the Labour MPs it was meant to persuade. The leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, resigned on Wednesday, rather than present the Brexit bill to parliament. In particular, they rejected May's promise to give MPs a vote on a second referendum as the Brexit bill passed through parliament, and implement the result – which they felt came too close to endorsing the idea. The prime minister will remain in Downing Street, to shoulder the blame for what are expected to be dire results for her party from Thursday's European elections – and to host Donald Trump when he visits. The 1922 Committee will set out the terms of a leadership contest, to kick off on 10 June, which is expected to last perhaps six weeks. The former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is the frontrunner to be Britain's next prime minister, but more than a dozen senior Tory figures are considering throwing their hats into the ring. In the cabinet, Rory Stewart has already said he will stand, while Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt and Sajid Javid are all likely contenders 竞争者. May's departure came after three years of wrangling with Brexiters on her own backbenches about what future relationship with the European Union they would be prepared to accept. That became considerably more difficult when she lost her majority at the 2017 general election, after spearheading what was widely regarded as a disastrous campaign, promising "strong and stable leadership in the national interest". Brexit is likely to dominate the race to succeed May, with time increasingly tight for a new team to set out any new direction before the deadline of 31 October for Britain's departure from the EU. May's longtime friend Damian Green, the former first secretary of state, defended her record on Friday. He said: "All prime ministers, in the end, take responsibility for what happens on their watch, but I think that it's undeniable that suddenly and unexpectedly becoming prime minister after the seismic shock of the Brexit referendum meant that she was dealt an extremely difficult hand to play(play the hand (one) is dealt 因地制宜的做事, 兵来将挡, 水来土掩, 竭尽所能 To use the resources which one actually has available; to operate realistically, within the limits of one's circumstances. To accept, deal with, and make the most of one's current situation or circumstances; to make use of that which one is afforded or has available. I know you feel unsatisfied with your life at the moment, but we all have to play the hand we're dealt. Just keep working hard and things are bound to improve! I never asked to be responsible for the business, but I'm going to play the hand I was dealt.). And the truth is that having an election a year later, which cut the Conservative party's majority, then [made it] impossible." Green told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The fact that parliament has not been able to get a Brexit deal through has led to the impatience, bordering into contempt, for the political class and the amount of hostility and borderline violence is something we have not known for a very very long time." A legacy of failure: Theresa May was a disaster as Prime Minister: Three years after voters in the UK mandated their government to take Britain out of the European Union, Theresa May's failure to do so has finally caught up with her 承受不住, 受不了了, 不堪重负( someone needs to get out more 多出去走走 If you say that someone needs to get out more, you mean that they are boring or that they are spending too much time concentrating on one particular thing. I found myself reading The Inner Game Of Tennis the other day (I really do need to get out more). get to somebody/something to make someone feel annoyed or upset. to cause feelings, esp. suffering or disgust, in someone: The heat was beginning to get to me so I went indoors. I'm under a lot of pressure at work, and sometimes it gets to me a bit. Don’t let things get to you. get to thinking/wondering something informal to start thinking something He got to thinking how disappointed his parents would be. catch up to (something or someone) To make up the difference between oneself and someone or something, so as to be at an equal level, status, or point of progress. If we speed up, we might be able to catch up to the car ahead of us! You're going to have to study really hard to catch up to the rest of the class. catch someone/something up = catch up with someone I. to go faster so that you reach the person or vehicle in front of you. We left before them, but they soon caught us up again. catch up with: If you hurry, you should catch up with them at the bridge. II. to improve in order to reach the same standard or rate as someone or something. He's missed so much school that he's going to find it hard to catch up. catch up with: Pressure grew for salaries to catch up with inflation. III. [intransitive] to do something that should have been done before. The deadline's tomorrow. How are we ever going to catch up in time? catch up on: I just want to go home and catch up on some sleep. catch up with: Staff are struggling to catch up with the backlog. IV. [intransitive] to talk to someone you have not seen for some time and find out what they have been doing. Come over tomorrow and we can catch up. catch up with: I'll catch up with you another time, Kevin. It'll give them a chance to talk and catch up with all their news. V. When people catch up with someone who has done something wrong, they succeed in finding them in order to arrest or punish them. The law caught up with him yesterday. VI. If something catches up with you, you are forced to deal with something unpleasant that happened or that you did in the past, which you have been able to avoid until now. How can I crack the habit of being a procrastinator. I'm the worst procrastinator and it's really starting to catch up to me (一般说 catch up with me: cause me problems: the consequences of my actions – procrastination, in this case – are starting to cause problems in my life. ). Although he subsequently became a successful businessman, his criminal past caught up with him. catch me up it's a phrase that means you should fill me in, you say it when you're missing out on something and you want to be filled in. "Have you heard the gossip?" "No not yet, catch me up". procrastinator 拖拖拉拉的人, 做事总是拖后的人 A procrastinator is a person who delays or puts things off — like work, chores, or other actions — that should be done in a timely manner. A procrastinator is likely to leave all the Christmas shopping until December 24th. break the habit of 戒掉习惯, 戒掉毛病 (catch a habit, take up [a habit/ doing something], take up the habit of. 染上习惯, 沾染上毛病, 染上癖好) a. To give up (a habit). to get rid of (a habit). To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate. I've got to break this habit I have of biting my nails. to break silence; to break one's sleep 打扰睡眠; to break one's journey. I had won four games in a row, but now you've broken my streak of luck. b. To cause to give up a habit: They managed to break themselves of smoking. If you are in the habit of doing something 有...的习惯, you do it regularly or often. If you get into the habit of doing something, you begin to do it regularly or often. They were in the habit of giving two or three dinner parties a month. I got into the habit of calling in on Gloria on my way home from work. break the mould 打破传统, 打破藩篱, 破旧出新, 破旧立新 If you say that someone breaks the mould, you mean that they do completely different things from what has been done before or from what is usually done. Memorial services have become tedious and expected. I would like to help break the mould. When they first started, they said they were going to break the mould of British politics. break a/the code 破解密码 To determine or decipher a secret code. It is imperative that we break the enemy code and access their plans. She definitely broke the code on my phone—her picture is suddenly my new background! catch up with someone I. to find and arrest someone who has committed a crime after searching for them or chasing them. The police will catch up with you sooner or later. IV. to begin to have an effect on someone (take its/a toll on). 开始影响到, 开始显现效果, 开始有影响. The lack of sleep caught up with her, and she began to doze off. "With hindsight 现在来看, 回头来看, 回头看来, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid and as a result the quality of execution has suffered," chairman Paul Pindar said, as he apologised to shareholders for disappointing performance over the last year. A challenging market in Britain caught up to it 抵不过, 抵抗不过, 抵抗不住 and the company was forced to issue a revenue warning in February. With the retail landscape 零售市场, 零售环境, 零售业 changing rapidly, the 31-year-old building will likely soon be subject to a major redevelopment as the commercial realities of the site catch up to it 无奈, 无法对抗. The extremely valuable but underutilised airspace above the centre will one day cause it's redevelopment. catch me up it's a phrase that means you should fill me in, you say it when you're missing out on something and you want to be filled in. "Have you heard the gossip?" "No not yet, catch me up". catch up to (something or someone) To make up the difference between oneself and someone or something, so as to be at an equal level, status, or point of progress. Banzai skydive: the act of throwing a parachute out of a plane and trying to catch up to it mid fall, put it on, and deploy it before hitting the ground. If we speed up, we might be able to catch up to the car ahead of us 追上, 赶上! You're going to have to study really hard to catch up to the rest of the class). "I have done my best," she said in an emotional statement on the steps of Downing Street. But as she admitted, it wasn't enough. Her predecessor, David Cameron, quit the morning after 52% of the UK voted to leave the EU, having presided over his own political miscalculation 失算, 误算, 误判. Under her leadership, the Conservative Party has gone from being seen as the natural party of government to the exploding clown car of politics(A clown car is a prop in a circus clown routine, which involves an implausibly large number of clowns emerging from a very small car.). Worse than being unable to govern, the Conservative's mishandling of Brexit has led to the public humiliation of the UK's oldest and most successful political organization, suffering electoral losses to a rival party that didn't exist six weeks ago. May had previously said that she would stand down if her deal was approved, letting someone else take control of the next stage of Brexit. It turns out that top-to-bottom rejection of her deal and her leadership from pretty much everyone involved in politics would also do the trick. May's legacy will be defined by failures, public humiliations and catastrophic political miscalculations. Some of these were out of her hands. Some were the result of poor advice from those she chose to surround herself with. Some were because of the unprecedented political crisis that would come to dominate her time in Downing Street. But much of it was her own fault. Many of her decisions had a directly negative impact on her ability to lead. The problem for May wasn't just that British politics has been deadlocked for the best part of three years, but that she repeatedly engineered ways to erode her own authority. By the time she accepted her number was up, she had lost the confidence of MPs, members of her own party and even her own Cabinet. Before taking the job, May had long been tipped for high office. In 2002, while serving as chair of the Conservative Party, May addressed the faithful at their annual party conference. At the time, the Conservatives had been out of power for five years. Tony Blair had successfully won over some traditional conservative voters and the party had an image problem. This also meant it had an electoral problem: "Our base is too narrow and so, occasionally, are our sympathies. You know what some people call us -- the nasty party," May said. The speech went down a storm ( go down a storm 引起热烈反响, 好评如潮, 反响热烈, 反响强烈 fall flat 反响平平 be enthusiastically received by an audience. "the film went down a storm at Cannes". ) and paved the way for a new era. In 2005, the party would elect David Cameron as leader. Cameron knew the importance of May's support, so made her a close ally and, along with other Tory moderates, oversaw a sweeping 全面的, 彻底的, 彻头彻尾的 modernization of the party. It would come to be a party that believed in helping communities, the "Big Society", and would eventually be the party that legalized same-sex marriage in the UK. Cameron became Prime Minister in 2010, albeit as leader of a coalition government with the center-left Liberal Democrats. Again, knowing May's importance and her appeal to the more conservative members of the party's base, he made her Home Secretary. May was always considered one of the toughest members of Cameron's Cabinet. As Home Secretary, she accused the Police Federation -- the association that represents rank-and-file police officers in the UK -- of "crying wolf" over budget cuts. She presided over a policy of creating a "hostile environment" for illegal immigrants. She even took on the EU on matters ranging from immigration to the deportation of high-profile terrorists. She was a force to be reckoned with 不可忽视的力量(someone who is strong and cannot be ignored When he won his first three matches, the other players realized that he was a force to be reckoned with.) and seen as one of the cornerstones of conservatism in a coalition compromised by liberals. It was a shock to some when in 2016, May announced that she would be backing David Cameron's Remain campaign. But her decision to do so, it turned out, was a masterstroke ( 巧计 妙计, 妙招A masterstroke is something you do which is unexpected but very clever and which helps you to achieve something. The company played a masterstroke in promoting her to be director of innovation. ) in triangulation ( a key manoeuvre in the endgame in which the king moves thrice in a triangular path to leave the opposing king with the move and at a disadvantage ). When Cameron resigned in the wake of the result of the Brexit referendum, May was seen as a safe pair of hands. She backed Remain, but her track record in the Home Office meant she was tough enough to stand up to the EU. She was the best candidate to unite two sides of the Conservative Party that voted for different things. However, from the moment she became Prime Minister, she began alienating people whose loyalty she would later regret not being able to depend upon. In the months that followed May's ascension to the top job, her Brexit position 立场 hardened. Rather than reach across the political divide within her own party, the Prime Minister's embrace of Brexit was similar to that of the evangelism of a born-again Christian. Her new, ardent Brexiteer persona won her support on her own backbenches and in the Brexit-supporting media. The Daily Mail, an anti-EU newspaper, declared that May would "crush the saboteurs 坏事者, 破坏者, 搞破坏的人 ( [ˌsæbəˈtɜr] A saboteur is a person who deliberately damages or destroys things such as machines, railway lines, and bridges in order to weaken an enemy or to make a protest. In Britain, people who try to stop blood sports such as fox hunting are also referred to as saboteurs. The saboteurs had planned to bomb buses and offices. ...a confrontation between huntsmen and saboteurs.)" who sought to frustrate Brexit. While her new position as the defender of Brexit Britain won her some friends, it put off those who wanted a softer Brexit or no Brexit at all. But May and her advisors didn't seem to realize how she was seen outside of the Brexit bubble. This new confidence led to May and her inner circle making their first catastrophic mistake. In June 2017, despite having made little progress on Brexit plans, May held a snap election, convinced she could to increase her parliamentary majority of 13 to something north of 100. A result like that would have given May an unassailable ( unassailable [ʌnəseɪləbəl] If you describe something or someone as unassailable, you mean that nothing can alter, destroy, or challenge them. That was enough to give her an unassailable lead. His legal position is unassailable. Liverpool football club are still looking unassailable. ) position from which to push through her Brexit strategy. Her plan backfired. A limp election campaign in which May seldom appeared in public -- and seemed hellbent on avoiding any members of it -- made her look out of touch and power-hungry. The opposition Labour Party took advantage. It managed to position itself not only as the more pro-Europe option, but its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, seemed more human. The Conservatives emerged as the largest party in Parliament, but May was stripped of her working majority. From then, May couldn't catch a break. Less than a week after her unnecessary humiliation, Britain was struck by tragedy. The fire that ripped through Grenfell Tower in London left 72 people dead and a community shattered. May's response was widely criticized. She visited the site, but didn't meet with any of the survivors. It made her look cold and unsympathetic. While no one seeks to use a disaster like this for political gain, May's woes were compounded 加重 by images of Corbyn hugging survivors. Even the Queen put on a better show. Worse for May was that the Grenfell tragedy came to be viewed by many as the result of Conservative policies under David Cameron. Whether this was true or not didn't matter: Labour was on the side of the people; May simply didn't care. Less than a week after Grenfell, the UK was struggling with another tragedy. A British man with a history of violence and fascination with anti-Islam ideas drove a van into a crowd of Muslims, leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque in London after evening prayers. When May visited the scene of the attack, she was heckled by bystanders. The political atmosphere in the country was becoming febrile 神经兮兮的, 神经过敏的([fiːbraɪl] adj Febrile behaviour is intensely and nervously active. The news plunged the nation into a febrile, agitated state.). May's authority was under increasing pressure. Her election failure had forced her to sack her political advisers and enter into a supply and confidence agreement ( A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation or budget (supply) votes, by either voting in favour or abstaining. However, parties and independent members normally retain the right to otherwise vote in favour of their own policies or on conscience on legislative bills. A coalition government is a more formal arrangement than a confidence-and-supply agreement, in that members from junior parties (i.e. parties other than the largest) gain positions in the cabinet, ministerial roles and may be expected to hold the government whip on passing legislation. ) with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, who in theory prop up her minority government. May was forced to face the music at the annual conference of her Conservative Party in October 2017. Her now infamous speech, in which she suffered a coughing fit, was confronted by a stage invader who handed her a P45 (the UK equivalent of a pink slip) was topped off with the set falling apart behind her. It came after days of mutiny from within her party, which numerous of the not-so-faithful publicly saying that it was time for May to go. At this point, one might be tempted to feel sorry for the PM. But hold on a second. Sure, she can't help a cough, a stage invader or bad set design. It's very unlucky. But she could have avoided her fate of having to stand before a room of people utterly sick of her. It was around this time that her Brexit plan started to go badly. Meeting after meeting in Brussels resulted in EU officials and leaders publicly admonishing the UK's Brexit negotiators. Over time, May's Brexit position softened as talks with the EU became friendlier and common ground was reached. But this is where May made another political error. While talks had been going well in Brussels, May's Brexit plan was still a secret to many in London. It did not matter that the government and EU officials agreed on obscure but important details, whether the British public or political class would accept it was another thing altogether. That failure to carry a divided House of Commons with her resulted in a deal being agreed that parliament came to detest. And that's why, every time it was put to a vote, it failed. This created problems for May both in London and on the continent. Over time, EU leaders simply stopped believing anything she said. The same goes for Brexiteers, who once saw her as their champion. The low point of trust in her own party perhaps came at a meeting of hardline Brexiteers last year, when members of her own party were heard chanting "Theresa the appeaser," a reference to former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, infamous for striking a deal with Adolf Hitler in 1938. Outside of Brexit, her time in the Home Office came back to haunt her more than once. First, the Windrush scandal. Her "hostile environment" policy had created legislation which required immigrants to prove their status by providing paperwork when trying to do everyday things like renting an apartment or taking a job. Unintentionally, this hit a generation of immigrants from the Caribbean, who came to the UK in the post-war years to make up for a shortage in the workforce. Many of them were without paperwork and suddenly faced the threat of deportation, despite having lived in the country for decades. Public outrage once again made May look out of touch and unsympathetic. It also meant that one of her arch-loyalists, Amber Rudd, was forced to quit as Home Secretary, the government department that oversees immigration. Other decisions made during her earlier period in Cameron's government have caused problems for May. The UK's knife crime crisis has been blamed on cuts to police budgets she implemented. While the veracity ( Veracity is the quality of being true or the habit of telling the truth. We have total confidence in the veracity of our research. [+ of] He was shocked to find his veracity questioned. ) of this claim is unclear, defending a policy of cutting police funding while parents are seeing their children murdered is not a good look. But it was her mishandling of Brexit and poor political decisions that made governing impossible for May. At the end of March, the PM made her final move. She told her Conservative lawmakers that if they backed her deal, she would go. May was throwing the kitchen sink at Brexit -- and staking her entire career on it. It didn't work. Nothing May could offer was enough to avoid her final humiliation, as her own party tried to change its own rules to force her from office. Another British Conservative politician, the divisive Enoch Powell, once said: "All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure." While May might be in good company on that front, it's hard to think of another politician whose legacy will be so defined by catastrophe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)