Friday, 29 May 2020

play it off; induce/deduce; induct/deduct; infer/imply

用法学习: 1. maze [meɪz] I. countable 迷宫 an arrangement of closely connected paths separated by tall bushes or trees. The paths often do not lead anywhere, and you have to use your memory and skill to get through. A maze is a complex system of passages or paths between walls or hedges and is designed to confuse people who try to find their way through it, often as a form of amusement. The palace has extensive gardens, a maze, and tennis courts. a. singular a set of many small streets, paths, etc. that is easy to get lost in. A maze of streets, rooms, or tunnels is a large number of them that are connected in a complicated way, so that it is difficult to find your way through them. The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. ...a maze of dimly-lighted, brown-carpeted corridors. II. countable a children's game in which you have to find a way through a complicated structure. III. singular a set of closely connected but complicated rules, issues, ideas, etc. You can refer to a set of ideas, topics, or rules as a maze when a large number of them are related to each other in a complicated way that makes them difficult to understand. The book tries to steer you through the maze of alternative therapies. ...the maze of rules and regulations. a maze of new legislation. mace [meɪs] I. A mace is an ornamental stick carried by an official or placed somewhere as a symbol of authority. a decorated stick carried by an official on special occasions. a. a weapon used in the Middle Ages consisting of a stick with a round top part covered with sharp points. II. Mace is a spice, usually in the form of a powder, made from the shell of nutmegs. the crushed shell of nutmeg, used for adding flavor to food. Mace is a spice. III. Mace is a substance that causes tears and sickness, and that is used in sprays as a defence against rioters or attackers. prance [præns] to walk or move in a lively confident way that may seem silly or annoying to other people. If someone prances around, they walk or move around with exaggerated movements, usually because they want people to look at them and admire them. He was horrified at the thought of having to prance about on a stage in tightsHe made a fool of himself, prancing around on stage like that. a. if a horse prances, it walks with lively steps, raising its legs high in a way that is not natural. When a horse prances, it moves with quick, high steps. Their horses pranced and whinnied. ...as the carriage horses pranced through the bustling thoroughfares. ...a prancing light-footed mare named Princess. 2. seek out 寻求 If you seek out someone or something or seek them out, you keep looking for them until you find them. Now is the time for local companies to seek out business opportunities overseas. Ellen spent the day in the hills and sought me out when she returned. to look for someone or something, especially for a long time until you find him, her, or it: While he was at the library, Steve decided to seek out some information on the history of the area. seeing things 做梦, 梦见东西 If you are seeing things, you are imagining that things are happening when they are not: I could have sworn I saw Marie come in just now. I must have been seeing things. seeing-to the act of hitting someone repeatedly and hard: They threatened to give him a good seeing-to. affronted [əˈfrʌntɪd] experiencing an insult. He pretended to be affronted, but inwardly he was pleased. Reggie reacted with the same affronted horror Midge had felt. affront [əˈfrʌnt] 侮辱 to insult someone or to make them shocked and angry. Bert was deeply affronted by the remark. If something affronts you, you feel insulted and hurt because of it. When he refuses, and asks that she not come any closer, she then, in a tone that can only be described as whiny and affronted — wait, no, more like the audible version of a child sticking out their tongue in defiance — threatens to call the police. His reforms had so affronted many of his natural supporters in England. He pretended to be affronted, but inwardly he was pleased. Reggie reacted with the same affronted horror Midge had felt. If something is an affront to you, it is an obvious insult to you. It's an affront to human dignity to treat people so poorly. She has taken my enquiry as a personal affront. Millions of Amy Coopers They could be your boss or your neighbor or your teacher, if disturbed on the wrong day: This Memorial Day, she unleashed her dog in a part of Central Park where dogs are supposed to be on leashes. As it tore through the planting, she encountered a black male bird-watcher who asked her to follow the rules lest they scare the birds away. What occurred next — recorded by the bird-watcher, 57-year-old Christian Cooper (no relation), on his phone from several feet away — was one of the most malicious and deliberate performances of victimization I have ever seen. The video is chilling not because it shows a woman losing her shit but because it revealed that she was aware of the injustices and the systemic ( [sɪˈstemɪk] ) racism that threatens black lives and was willing to weaponize it in a heartbeat so that she and her rambunctious dog could have a place to play unchallenged 没有人管的. It's a familiar scene. White women have been manipulating the justice system since its inception. (Generations of whippings 挨鞭子 for looking and lynchings for whistling and incarcerations for false rape accusations all support this.) But is this not the purpose for which the public service was designed — to defend the vulnerabilities and, in this case, inconveniences of white women? Amy seemed to know so, with her charge forward 冲向前, her knowing smirk 得意的笑. The triumphant announcement that she'd call the cops. The engineered 装出来的 ( If you engineer an event or situation, you arrange for it to happen, in a clever or indirect way. He could stand no more and engineered an escape. LeBlanc's rise was not entirely a consequence of talent but was engineered by her maternal grandfather. to arrange for something to happen, especially in a useful and skillful way Government officials managed to engineer a meeting between the two ambassadors. ) octaves of panic in her voice when they picked up. The practiced calculus: How can I stoke this man's greatest fear and the police's worst instincts? Her mastery of whiteness was something to behold. 3. doggone ['dɔɡˌɡɔn] used when you are annoyed or surprised I can't get this doggone machine do what it's supposed to do. People sometimes use doggone to emphasize what they are saying, especially when they are annoyed. [US, informal, emphasis] He's just doing his doggone job. compound [kəmˈpaʊnd] I. to pay interest both on an amount of money as well as on the interest that has been added to it. II. to make a problem or difficult situation worse. To compound a problem, difficulty, or mistake 复杂化 means to make it worse by adding to it. Additional bloodshed and loss of life will only compound the tragedy. The problem is compounded by the medical system hereTheir problems are compounded by the fact that Mary's just lost her job. III. to mix two or more substances together in order to make a new substance or product. compound [ˈkɑmˌpaʊnd] adj. I. made up of two or more parts. a compound leaf. II. ​linguistics a compound noun, adjective, or verb is a combination of two or more words. compound ​‌[ˈkɑmˌpaʊnd] noun. I. countable ​chemistry 化合物 a chemical substance that consists of two or more elements that together form a molecule. Each different compound has a fixed ratio of elements. For example the water compound (H2O) consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom Name the parts of this chemical compound. Water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. a. countable/uncountable something that consists of two or more substances mixed together. an old herbal compound used for treating headaches. II. countable a combination of things. If something is a compound of different things, it consists of those things. Salt in its essential form is a compound of sodium and chlorine. John and Steve working together? That's a lethal compound 致命组合. III. countable an enclosed area where a particular group of people live, or where people such as soldiers and prisoners can exercise. A compound is an enclosed area of land that is used for a particular purpose. Police fired on them as they fled into the embassy compound 建筑群. ...a military compound. IV. 复合词. countable ​linguistics a combination of two or more words that is used as a single word. The three main types of compound are noun compounds (for example 'bus stop'), adjective compounds (for example 'self-centered'), and verb compounds (for example to 'windsurf'). 4. 道歉声明: At the time these comments were made, I was a very immature, close-minded and insular ( insular ​[ˈɪnsələr] US [ˈɪnsjələr] adj I. [disapproval] 封闭的, 顽固的, 不愿接受新鲜事物的. not interested in meeting anyone outside your own group or country, or not interested in learning new ideas or ways of doing things. If you say that someone is insular, you are being critical of them because they are unwilling to meet new people or to consider new ideas. ...the old image of the insular, xenophobic Brit. insularity [ɪnsjʊlærɪti,US -sə-] But at least they have started to break out of their old insularity. II. relating to islands. ) 20-year-old. I have grown and matured a lot in the last six years. I am not the person I was back then. alopecia [ˌæləˈpiʃə] 秃头, 秃子, 秃头症, 脱发症 a condition in which someone's hair falls out. loss of hair, esp on the head; baldness. Jealousy is a curse. A rub and tug massage (oily joint) 色情按摩房, 按摩店 can also be thought of as a sensual or even an erotic massage. ... The purpose of such a massage is to ultimately aid in the release, therefore allowing the client to have a true orgasmic experience. These experiences are what releases tension, and restores the body and mind to a calm relaxed state. 5. play something off as something else 装作若无其事的样子, 故作镇定, 故作淡定 pretend something bad was intentional or on purpose. He fell but played it off as though it was a dance move. 歌词: And we should be together babe. But we're not. I play it off, but I'm dreaming of you. And I'll try to keep my cool, but I'm feenin'. "Play it off" in this context means to try and act casual, I believe, or to downplay the influence of something. "Play it off" means to act like something doesn't bother you or that something didn't happen. "I just played if off as if her comment didn't hurt my feelings." "I tripped over my own shoe laces but played it off and kept on walking." "I saw you giving me that angry stare; I just played it off like I didn't see you." To play it off is when you do something embarrassing in front of other people and act like you meant to do it. We leaned out of the car to wave at Sam; however, Sam was not in the car, so we played it off by sticking our hands on top of the car. At an orchestra concert, I put my violin up too early so I played it off by scratching my chin with it. play someone off bring people into conflict or competition for one's own advantage. "top footballers were able to play clubs off against each other to gain higher pay". play someone off against someone 离间 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. play off British English if people or teams play off, they play the last game in a sports competition, in order to decide who is the winner.  The top two teams will play off at Twickenham for the county title. play off somebody/something American English to deliberately use a fact, action, idea etc in order to make what you are doing better or to get an advantage. The two musicians played off each other in a piece of inspired improvisation. 6. feel your age 感觉自己老了, 意识到自己不年轻了 to realize that you are becoming older and less able or willing to do things that younger people do. to realize that you are no longer young: Become aware that one is growing older and less energetic. Everybody there looked under 20 and I really felt my age. act/behave one's age (idiomatic) To be mature and not childish. Act your age and stop fiddling with that pen - you're showing us up. get the bug for 上瘾了, 入迷了, 欲罢不能了 to become keen on/enthusiastic about' something. A friend took me motor racing a couple of times and I found I really got the bug for it and, after that, I went to every race of the season. My boyfriend was into salsa dancing but I didn't think I could do it because I'm no good at dancing. But I took a course of 10 lessons and got the bug for it – we're local salsa champions now!

不堪重负, 岁月不饶人, 受不了了: 1. Penny: It was a letter explaining that your dad wasn't who he said he was. Eventually, his other life caught up to him(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), and the only way to keep you and your mom safe was to leave. 2. 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. 3.  catch的词组: catch up USA to engage in more (work, sleep, etc.) so as to compensate for earlier neglect. to do something that should have been done before. The deadline's tomorrow. How are we ever going to catch up 赶上期限, 赶上截止日期 in time? catch up on: I. to do something that should have been done before. to do something you did not have time to do earlier: She's staying late at the office to catch up with/on some reports. I just want to go home and catch up on some sleep 补觉, 补睡. II. to learn or discuss the latest news: Let's go for a coffee - I need to catch up on all the gossip. catch up with: I. to do something that should have been done before. Employees are struggling to catch up with the backlog 干不完堆积的工作. 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 very hard to catch up. Pressure grew for salaries to catch up with inflation 跟上, 赶上通货膨胀. 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. play catch-up fall behind continually with work or financial matters. to try to reach the same standard, stage, or level as others after you have fallen behind them: They raced ahead into new markets, leaving other companies to play catch-up 在后面追, 跟跑, 跟着跑, 追赶脚步. "I'm always playing catch-up with my homework 补作业, 补交". catch-up 补的(补课, 补训) adj. used to describe something that helps you reach the same standard or stage as others, usually after you have missed something such as lessons or opportunities to practise: catch-up exercises/sessions. catch question = trick question: If someone asks you a trick question, they ask you a question which is very difficult to answer, for example because there is a hidden difficulty or because the answer that seems obvious is not the correct one. 4. (one's) age is catching up to one 岁月不饶人 (one is) starting to feel old. Her age is catching up to her.

induce VS deduce VS infer VS imply, induct VS deduct: 1. infer 推理, 推断, 得出结论 I. To conclude from evidence or premises. II. To reason from circumstance; surmise: We can infer that his motive in publishing the diary was less than honorable. III. To lead to as a consequence or conclusion: "Socrates argued that a statue inferred the existence of a sculptor" (Academy). IV. To hint; imply. infer something from something to reach a conclusion from something; to deduce facts from something, such as someone's words, a situation, etc. What can we infer from the experience we have just had? You should not infer anything from Sue's remarks. Infer is sometimes confused with imply, but the distinction is a useful one. When we say that a speaker or sentence implies something, we mean that it is conveyed or suggested without being stated outright: When the mayor said that she would not rule out a business tax increase, she implied (not inferred) that some taxes might be raised. Inference, on the other hand, is the activity performed by a reader or interpreter in drawing conclusions that are not explicit in what is said: When the mayor said that she would not rule out a tax increase, we inferred that she had been consulting with some new financial advisers, since her old advisers were in favor of tax reductions. The Big Bang Theory: Zack: Oh, I see. You guys are inferring that I'm stupid. Sheldon: That's not correct. We were implying it. You then inferred it. 2. induce [ɪnˈdus] I. 导致, 引导. to cause something, especially a mental or physical change. To induce a state or condition means to cause it. Doctors said surgery could induce a heart attack. ...an economic crisis induced by high oil prices. Both treatments were effective in inducing remission of the disease. They hoped their work would induce social change. chemically induced mood changes. The pickets 纠察员, 纠察队 induced many workers to stay away.  Her illness was induced 导致, 引致 by overwork II. medical 药物引产. to make a woman start giving birth to a baby rather than waiting for her to start having it naturally. If a doctor or nurse induces labour or birth, they cause a pregnant woman to start giving birth by using drugs or other medical means. He might decide that it is best to induce labour. ...if there are obvious medical reasons for induction. III. If you induce someone to do something, you persuade or influence them to do it. I would do anything to induce them to stay. More than 4,000 teachers were induced to take early retirement. induce someone to do something to persuade someone to do something, especially something that you think is wrong or stupid. I can't think what induced her to marry him. Nothing would induce me to go back. inductive 引导式的, 推而广之的, 有个例推广到广义的 Inductive reasoning is based on the process of induction. formal reasoning from particular facts or ideas to a general rule or law. II. science 引导似的 relating to electrical or magnetic force that is produced by induction. inductive learning = induction 给你几个实例, 从而推出普适意义的定理) the learning that occurs when learners are given a rule and then apply it in practice. the process of working out rules on the basis of examples Generally, I try to use inductive learning techniques which lead to greater automaticity in the student. In deductive learning students get a grammatical rule with examples before they practice a structure. inductive 引导式的, 推而广之的, 有个例推广到广义的 Inductive reasoning is based on the process of induction. formal reasoning from particular facts or ideas to a general rule or law. II. science 引导似的 relating to electrical or magnetic force that is produced by induction. inductive reasoning 归纳推理 (由现有的信息, 观察, 总结归纳出结论, 结论可能是错的. 比如: 100% of life forms that we know of depend on liquid water to exist. Therefore, if we discover a new life form it will probably depend on liquid water to exist.): Inductive reasoning, also known as induction or informally "bottom-up" logic, is a kind of reasoning that constructs or evaluates general propositions that are derived from specific examples. Inductive reasoning contrasts with deductive reasoning, in which specific examples are derived from general propositions. Inductive reasoning is probabilistic概率的; it only states that, given the premises, the conclusion is probable. Unlike deductive arguments, inductive reasoning allows for the possibility that the conclusion is false, even if all of the premises are true. Instead of being valid or invalid, inductive arguments are either strong or weak, which describes how probable it is that the conclusion is true. A classical example of an incorrect inductive argument was presented by John Vickers: All of the swans we have seen are white. Therefore, all swans are white. 3. deduce vt. 推论, 演绎, 推断, 得出结论, 引导, 下结论 On the basis of evidence we deduced that he was guilty. Because there was no cloud, he deduced that it was going to be a cold night. The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding. deduce [dɪdjuːs, US -duːs] 推导, 推断, 推论, 推理 (有信息推导出结论或者结果) to know something as a result of considering the information or evidence that you have. arrive at (a fact or a conclusion) by reasoning; draw as a logical conclusion. If you deduce something or deduce that something is true, you reach that conclusion because of other things that you know to be true. Alison had cleverly deduced that I was the author of the letter. The date of the document can be deduced from references to the Civil War. She hoped he hadn't deduced the reason for her visit. Whether or not Sherlock Holmes ever said "Elementary, Watson" is debatable. What's not in question is Holmes's keen powers of observation that made him a master of deductive reasoning 逻辑推理. He was able to deduce, or draw, specific conclusions from general principles. “I deduce that it was the butler with the lamp stand." deductive considering carefully the information or evidence that you have in order to find the solution to a question or problem. deductive reasoning. deductive learning 举一反三: 给你一个定理, 把定理应用到实际中去. deductive reasoning 演绎推理: Deductive reasoning involves drawing conclusions logically from other things that are already known. She didn't seem at all impressed by his deductive powers. 由结论推断, 推演到一般情况的演绎方式, 如: An example of a deductive argument: All men are mortal. Aristotle is a man. Therefore, Aristotle is mortal 三段式演绎推理. The first premise states that all objects classified as "men" have the attribute "mortal". The second premise states that "Aristotle" is classified as a "man" – a member of the set "men". The conclusion then states that "Aristotle" must be "mortal" because he inherits this attribute from his classification as a "man". 福尔摩斯: However, I did notice a worrying trend in a recent episode of lessening his deductive 推理的, 推断的 powers 推理能力 and in essence having him just follow clues as any normal detective. I hope with all sincerity that this series doesn't cheapen into 蜕变为 a regular detective show with gimmicky moments highlighting his powers. i.e. Solving the crime as anyone would through normal police procedure and filling the gaps with inane 超愚蠢的 ( [ɪˈneɪn] completely stupid. an inane grin. He bombarded the lecturer with inane questions. innate [ˈɪˌneɪt] 天生的, 与生俱来的 an innate quality or ability is one that you have always had. His innate sense of justice made him popular with his workforce. ) deductive 推理的 showcases (I. 展示, 展现, 表现. an event that emphasizes the good qualities of someone or something. The NCAA championships are a showcase for talented players heading for the NBA. II. a box or piece of furniture with glass sides that is used for putting objects on show in a museum or store. verb: to show someone or something in a way that attracts attention and emphasizes their good qualities a comedy sketch that showcases their unique style of humor. ). deductible adj. I. 可以推断出来的. II. 可减去的. 可扣除的. taken away from the total amount of money on which you pay tax. noun. an amount of money that someone has to pay toward the cost of something when an insurance company is going to pay the rest of the cost. tax-deductible 需要扣税的, 可扣税的 tax-deductible costs can be taken away from your total income before you pay tax on what remains. reductive 简而概之的, 简化的, 简单化的, 把复杂的事情说的很简单似的, 省略很多细节的 [formal, disapproval] describing or explaining something in such a simple way that you miss important details. If you describe something such as a theory or a work of art as reductive, you disapprove of it because it reduces complex things to simple elements. ...a cynical, reductive interpretation. seductive I. sexually attractive. Greg's voice was smoky and seductive勾引人的, 勾人的. a seductive dress. II. attractive and likely to persuade you to do something that may be harmful or wrong. The arguments seem seductive 诱惑人的 at first. 4. induct (物理上 induct = induce ) vt. 使正式就任, 就职 [orientation入职引导] (be inducted to/into/as) Mr. John was inducted into the office of governor. She was inducted into hall of fame. induct someone into something 引入名人堂 I. to conscript someone into the armed services; to bring a nonvolunteer into the armed services. They inducted 征召 Wally into the army in a little ceremony. II. to draft someone into something. They inducted a number of new members into the group. III. to install someone in an office or position. Lorre was inducted 引入, 引进 into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in March 2012. They inducted her into the presidency. The college inducted a new president into office last week. 5. deduct 扣除, 减去 subtract or take away (an amount or part) from a total. to take an amount or number from a total. When you deduct an amount from a total, you subtract it from the total. The company deducted this payment from his compensation. Up to 5% of marks in the exams will be deducted for spelling mistakes. My employer deducted ten pounds from my wages this week. The cost of the breakages will be deducted from your pay. deduct (something) from (something else) to subtract an amount from another amount. Nothing will be deducted from your pay without your consent. Are you going to deduct this from your income taxes? Mr. Wilson deducted the discount from the bill. Poor plumbing deducts from除去, 拿去 the value of the house. 6. induce VS deduce关于 induce和deduce: deduce 基于很多信息的, 耗很长时间的推理, infer 只是一下子的, 随口的推断, induce 是基于行为patter来推断将会继续 To deduce suggests a more prolonged logical process. You are given a lot of detailed information and deduce further information from the logical overlap between the given data. It's contrasted with induction, where you observe patterns and conclude that the patterns will continue - we know by induction that the sun will rise tomorrow. If we were to examine the action of interplanetary laws and the present position of the sun, the stars and the planets, we might deduce that the sun will rise tomorrow. implyVS infer: Inferring is the psychological activity of drawing conclusions from premises. Only people can infer. So don't say: This argument infers that... . What the argument does is imply or entail a conclusion. It doesn't infer it. In addition to arguments implying things, sometimes we talk about people implying things. In this usage, implying is an activity, but it's a different activity than inferring. For instance: Sarah implied that I was a fool. means that Sarah suggested that I was a fool, without explicitly saying so. But in the primary usage of these words, implying is something premises and arguments do: they imply their conclusions. And inferring is something people do. People infer by looking at the evidence and deciding what hypothesis that evidence best supports. We have said that the central concern of logic is the evaluation of arguments. In general, for the purposes of this course arguments will fall into two kinds: deductive and inductive. (As noted before there are other kinds of logic not fitting well into either category: e.g., modal logics, logic of commands, some multi-value logics, to name a few.). A. It is sometimes argued that in deduction the particular is inferred from the general, as in: All organisms have RNA. (This fruit fly is an organism.) Therefore, this fruit fly has RNA. B. And it is sometimes said that in induction the general is inferred from the particular, as in: A red-eyed fruit fly has RNA. A white-eyed fruit fly has RNA. A Hawaiian fruit fly has RNA. Therefore, all fruit flies have RNA.

Thursday, 28 May 2020

Pickling, Brining, Marinating, and Curing; herbs VS spices VS seasoning VS condiment;

用法学习: 1. 报业没落: The underestimation of the internet revolution was summed up by comments from a prominent newspaper editor in the mid-1990s who emphatically ( emphatically [emˈfætɪkli] I. If you say something emphatically, you say it in a forceful way which shows that you feel very strongly about what you are saying. 'No fast food', she said emphatically. Mr Davies has emphatically denied the charges. II. You use emphatically to emphasize the statement you are making. Making people feel foolish is emphatically not my strategy. Politics is most emphatically back on the agenda. ) told me the internet was a "fad" and scoffed at suggestions that consumers would switch to little-known digital start-ups who brazenly sought to cut the grass of ( cut someone's grass ) traditional publishers. Over the past 20 years, since newspaper proprietors ( proprietor [prəˈpraɪətər] someone who owns a business. The proprietor of a hotel, shop, newspaper, or other business is the person who owns it. ...the proprietor of a local restaurant. a hotel proprietor. He was the sole proprietor with total management control. sole proprietor someone who is the exclusive owner of a business. My friend is the sole proprietor of a hotel. ) began seeing the threat of the internet materialise, metropolitan print editions have gradually shrunk to the size of suburban and regional papers in line with the demise of traditional print advertising that had been taken for granted. 2. self-righteous 自以为道德高尚的, 自以为正义的, 正义化身似的 showing that you are too proud of your own moral behavior or beliefs, especially in a way that annoys other people. If you describe someone as self-righteous, you disapprove of them because they are convinced that they are right in their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour and that other people are wrong. He is critical of the monks, whom he considers narrow-minded and self-righteous. ...self-righteous reformers. ...her smug self-righteousness. Can I bum a cigarette? scrounge [skraundʒ] [informal, disapproval] If you say that someone scrounges something such as food or money, you disapprove of them because they get it by asking for it, rather than by buying it or earning it. Williams had to scrounge enough money to get his car out of the car park. The government did not give them money, forcing them to scrounge for food. They are just scroungers. bludge [blʌdʒ] ​Australian​ informal to get things from other people without paying for them. freeload 蹭吃, 蹭喝, 蹭住 to impose upon another's generosity or hospitality without sharing in the cost or responsibility involved. After college, he freeloaded off his parents for several years before finally moving out. The OC: Dawn: I want you out of my house. I want you out! Ryan: (desperate) But Mom…where am I going to go? A.J.: You heard your mother, man. Get your stuff and get out. Ryan: Hey, this isn't your house, man. A.J: Oh, you're a tough guy now? Dawn: A.J., don't. Ryan, just get out. Ryan: Why don't you worry about your own kids, A.J? Instead of freeloading off my mom? fat check 丰厚的收入, 丰厚的薪水 a large sum of income. Damn son, that's a fat check. Why don't you accept that job? It's a fat check, isn't it? anti-Semitic = antisemitic [ˌænti səˈmɪtɪk] anti-Semitic people, opinions, writings, etc. show hatred or prejudice toward Jewish people. Semitic [səˈmɪtɪk] I. someone who is Semitic belongs to the group of people originally from the Middle East that includes Jews and Arabs. II. relating to the language or culture of Semitic people. flair (flɛə) I. A natural talent or aptitude; a knack. If you have a flair for a particular thing, you have a natural ability to do it well. ...a friend who has a flair for languages. a flair for interior decorating. II. Instinctive discernment; keenness: a flair for the exotica. III. Distinctive elegance or style: served us with flair 从容地, 优雅地, 不慌不忙的. If you have flair 优雅的, you do things in an original, interesting, and stylish way. Their work has all the usual punch 威力, panache [pəˈnæʃ] 娴熟, 游刃有余 and flair 优雅, 从容 you'd expect. I hear the beta crew had a good run. Everybody pulled their weight 各尽其职. 12 shills, hundred-count each. Almost 40 grand. Go out with a flair 闲庭信步似的 从容地, 优雅地, 不慌不忙的. have a flair for something to have a talent for doing something; to have a special ability in some area. Alice has quite a flair for designing. I have a flair for fixing clocks. punch verb. I. If you punch someone or something, you hit them hard with your fist. After punching him on the chin she wound up hitting him over the head. He punched the wall angrily, then spun round to face her. He was hurting Johansson with body punches in the fourth round. ...the awesome range of blows which have confirmed him as boxing's hardest puncher 重击手. In American English, punch out means the same as punch. 'I almost lost my job today.'—'What happened?'—'Oh, I punched out this guy.'. In the past, many kids would settle disputes by punching each other out. II. If you punch the air 振臂欢呼, 高举欢呼, 举拳欢呼 you put one or both of your fists forcefully above your shoulders as a gesture of delight or victory. At the end, Graf punched the air in delight, a huge grin on her face. III. If you punch something such as the buttons on a keyboard, you touch them in order to store information on a machine such as a computer or to give the machine a command to do something. Mrs. Baylor strode to the elevator and punched the button 击键. IV. If you punch holes in something, you make holes in it by pushing or pressing it with something sharp. I took a ballpoint pen and punched a hole in the carton. noun. I. A punch is a tool that you use for making holes in something. Make two holes with a hole punch 穿孔机. II. If you say that something has punch, you mean that it has force or effectiveness. My nervousness made me deliver the vital points of my address without sufficient punch 缺少力度. Hurricane Andrew may be slowly losing its punch 冲击力, 威力, but its winds are still around 100 miles an hour. III. Punch is a drink made from wine or spirits mixed with things such as sugar, lemons, and spices. prowess [praʊɪs] Someone's prowess is their great skill at doing something. He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. The best and the brightest pupils competed to demonstrate their intellectual prowess. panache [pəˈnæʃ] 娴熟, 游刃有余 an impressive way of doing something that shows great skill and confidence. The first few songs are played with typical panache. If you do something with panache, you do it in a confident, stylish, and elegant way. The BBC Symphony Orchestra played with great panache. Her panache at dealing with the world's media is quite astonishing. 3. An employee stock option (ESO) 员工认股权 is a label that refers to compensation contracts between an employer and an employee that carries some characteristics of financial options. Employee stock options are commonly viewed as a complex call option on the common stock of a company, granted by the company to an employee as part of the employee's remuneration package. Regulators and economists have since specified that ESOs are compensation contracts. These nonstandard contracts exist between employee and employer, whereby the employer has the liability of delivering a certain number of shares 股份 of the employer stock, when and if the employee stock options are exercised by the employee. The contract length varies, and often carries terms that may change depending on the employer and the current employment status of the employee. In the United States, the terms are detailed within an employer's "Stock Option Agreement for Incentive Equity Plan ( equity [ˈekwəti] I. uncountable ​formal a fair and reasonable way of behaving toward people, so that everyone is treated in the same way. a political campaign for pay equity. Equity is the quality of being fair and reasonable in a way that gives equal treatment to everyone. We base this call on grounds of social justice and equity. a. ​legal a branch of law that developed alongside the common law and that is used to obtain a fair result when common law does not provide a solution. There are numerous unwritten rules pertaining to the principles of equity. II. 净资产. uncountable ​business the value of a property after you have taken away the amount left to pay on the mortgage (=money borrowed to buy it). In finance, your equity is the sum of your assets, for example the value of your house, once your debts have been subtracted from it. To capture his equity, Murphy must either sell or refinance. ...a Personal Equity Plan. a. the value of a company's shares. equities plural ​business company shares that can be bought and sold on a stock market. negative equity 负资产 If someone who has borrowed money to buy a house or flat has negative equity, the amount of money they owe is greater than the present value of their home. gear to prepare something or make it suitable for a particular situation, group, or use. gear toward: The museum is geared toward children. gear something to do/doing something: The committee is not geared to carrying out regular school inspections. gear for: We were geared for the visit and are disappointed that it was canceled. gear up to prepare yourself, or to prepare something for an activity or event. The town is gearing up for the carnival this weekend. gear yourself up: Most banks have geared themselves up for an electronic future. The tobacco companies are gearing up to fight the new tax. gearing  = capital gearing (US leverage) accounting, British the ratio of a company's debt capital to its equity capital. In finance, leverage, referred to as gearing in the United Kingdom and Australia, is any technique involving the use of debt (borrowed funds) rather than fresh equity in the purchase of an asset, with the expectation that the after-tax profit to equity holders from the transaction will exceed the borrowing cost, frequently by several multiples⁠ ⁠— hence the provenance of the word from the effect of a lever in physics, a simple machine which amplifies the application of a comparatively small input force into a correspondingly greater output force. Normally, the lender (finance provider) will set a limit on how much risk it is prepared to take and will set a limit on how much leverage it will permit, and would require the acquired asset to be provided as collateral security for the loan. For example, for a residential property the finance provider may lend up to, say, 80% of the property's market value, for a commercial property it may be 70%, while on shares it may lend up to, say, 60% or none at all on certain volatile shares. equity 股权, 股份 VS stock options 认股权: The term Equity can mean stock or shares. It is often used to refer to stock options as well. Stock options give you the right to buy a certain number of shares at a certain price after a certain amount of time. They do not represent ownership unless your right to buy them has vested.)". Essentially, this is an agreement which grants the employee eligibility to purchase a limited amount of stock at a predetermined price. The resulting shares that are granted are typically restricted stock. There is no obligation for the employee to exercise the option, in which case the option will lapse. 4. have your limits 有底线 spoken to have a set of rules about what is reasonable behaviour, and to not accept behaviour that does not follow these rules. I have my limits. You will not use that kind of nasty language in class. know your limits 知道自己深浅 informal to know what you are good at doing and what you are not good at. I know my limits. I'm not an administrator. keep/hold your end up to continue to deal with difficulties bravely and successfully. perform well in a difficult or competitive situation. "Michael had to keep his end up against attacks". at one's limit 到极限了: [well-being] I'm at my limit. I'm very tired and I think I can't go on without taking a vacation. I need a break. [self-control] I'm at my limit. If this guy comes here again and provoke me, I'll punch him. I can't stand it anymore. [money] I'm at my limit. I can't spend any more money. If I do, I'll get into debt. [drinking alcoholic beverages] No more man, I'm at my limit. [watching stupid television shows] That show is so stupid. I'm at my limit. 4. multitude [mʌltɪtjuːd , US -tuːd] I. A multitude of things or people is a very large number of them. There are a multitude of small quiet roads to cycle along. Being inactive can lead to a multitude of health problems. II. You can refer to a very large number of people as a multitude. ...surrounded by a noisy multitude. A cheering multitude greeted the team. ...the multitudes that throng around the Pope. Victoria Police said the search and rescue unit was grateful for the multitude 数量级 of community volunteers who had joined the search effort. III. You can refer to the great majority of people in a particular country or situation as the multitude or the multitudes. the ordinary people who have no power or influence. 普通民众. 大众. 老百姓. The hideous truth was hidden from the multitude 大多数人, 公众. It is our task to convince the multitudes that we are pursuing a lawful hobby in a lawful way. Can you imagine what effect that will have on the multitude? a multitude of 大量的 a very large number of people or things. The city's museums offer a multitude of cultural possibilities. cover​/​hide a multitude of sins ​to hide a lot of faults or problems. This carpet hides a multitude of sin. severity [sɪˈverəti] ( severe [sɪˈvɪr] ) I. the seriousness of something bad or unpleasant. severity of: The severity of the storm was less than expected. II. the degree to which something is strict or extreme. severity of: She was surprised by the severity of the sentence he was given. III. an unfriendly attitude and a lack of humor. The tone of Helen's voice approached severity. IV. the degree to which something is plain and not attractive in its style. gravity I. Gravity is the force which causes things to drop to the ground. Arrows would continue to fly forward forever were it not for gravity, which brings them down to earth. II. The gravity 严重性, 严重程度 of a situation or event is its extreme importance or seriousness. I‘m sure you can appreciate the gravity of the situation. Offenders should be punished in proportion to the gravity of their offenses. They deserve punishment which matches the gravity of their crime. Not all acts of vengeance are of equal gravity. III. The gravity 严肃近 of someone's behaviour or speech is the extremely serious way in which they behave or speak. There was an appealing gravity to everything she said. a serious attitude. He was criticized for his lack of gravity. magnitude [ˈmæɡnəˌtud] I. uncountable great size, importance, or effect. If you talk about the magnitude of something, you are talking about its great size, scale, or importance. An operation of this magnitude is going to be difficult. These are issues of great magnitude. No one seems to realise the magnitude of this problem. We hadn't grasped the magnitude 级别, 量级 of the task we were facing. We were up against a world crisis of considerable magnitude. 'I don't think anyone can kind of comprehend the magnitude of what's happened,' she said. a. size, either great or small. II. countable 地震级别. the strength of an earthquake, measured with numbers from 1 to 10, where 10 is the most powerful. III. countable ​astronomy the brightness of a star, shown as a number. order of magnitude 几个量级, 级别 I. a level in a system for measuring things, in which each level is ten times higher than the one before. You can use order of magnitude when you are giving an approximate idea of the amount or importance of something. America and Russia do not face a problem of the same order of magnitude as Japan. Processing speeds exceed those of five years ago by several orders of magnitude. a. used to refer to the amount or degree of something. Next year's profits are expected to be of the same order of magnitude as last year's. grave [ɡreɪv] noun. I. the place where a dead body is buried in a deep hole in the ground. A tomb is a structure above the ground that contains a dead body. He's never even visited his mother's grave. II. the grave ​literary death His secret will go with me to the grave (=I will die without telling anyone). beyond the grave: It seemed like he heard a voice from beyond the grave (=the voice of a dead person). (as) silent/quiet as the grave completely silent As soon as the boss entered, the room was as silent as the grave. an early grave death before the natural age that you would expect She's drinking herself into an early grave. grave adj. I. 严重的. so serious that you feel worried. A grave event or situation is very serious, important, and worrying. He said that the situation in his country is very grave. I have grave doubts that the documents tell the whole story. The situation is very grave and appears to be deteriorating. a. used for emphasizing how serious something is. They had gravely 极大地 impaired the credibility of the government. The report expressed grave concerns 严重关切 about the safety of meat production. I have grave doubts that he'll ever become a doctor. in grave danger (of): The peace process is in grave danger of collapsing. II. looking very serious and worried. A grave person is quiet and serious in their appearance or behaviour. William was up on the roof for some time and when he came down he looked grave. Anxiously, she examined his unusually grave face. 'I think I've covered that business more than adequately,' he said gravely. a grave 严肃的表情 expression/face. 5. conjecture [kənˈdʒektʃər] uncountable the development of a theory or guess based on information that is not complete. A conjecture is a conclusion that is based on information that is not certain or complete. That was a conjecture, not a fact. There are several conjectures. The future of the province remains a matter of conjecture. purely conjecture (=a guess): The cause of the crash is purely conjecture at this point. a. countable a theory or guess based on information that is not complete. If his conjecture was correct, the mixture should explode in a few moments. verb. When you conjecture, you form an opinion or reach a conclusion on the basis of information that is not certain or complete. He conjectured that some individuals may be able to detect major calamities. This may be true or partly true; we are all conjecturing here. don't resist 别拒捕, 别抵抗, 别抗拒. resist: I. to oppose or fight against someone or something. The judge resisted pressure to lengthen the sentence. The ANC had previously resisted calls for such a meeting. resist arrest: One protester was injured while resisting arrest 抗拒被捕, 挣扎. Antibodies help us resist infection. If you resist someone or resist an attack by them, you fight back against them. The man was shot outside his house as he tried to resist arrest. When she had attempted to cut his nails he resisted. II. intransitive/ transitive ​often in negatives to stop yourself from doing something that you would very much like to do. It's difficult to resist a challenge like that. resist doing something: She couldn't resist asking him about his date. resist (the) temptation 抵住诱惑: He was unable to resist the temptation of taking the wallet. If you resist doing something, or resist the temptation to do it, you stop yourself from doing it although you would like to do it. Students should resist the temptation to focus on exams alone. She cannot resist giving him advice. III. transitive to not be affected or harmed by something. If someone or something resists damage of some kind, they are not damaged....bodies trained and toughened to resist the cold. Chemicals form a protective layer that resists both oil and water-based stains. The bomb shelters are designed to resist heat 抵抗毒气 and toxic fumes. IV. If you resist something such as a change, you refuse to accept it and try to prevent it. The Chancellor warned employers to resist demands for high pay increases. They resisted our attempts to modernize the distribution of books.

 seasoning 调料 (包括盐和other spices) (falvour): Seasoning is salt, pepper, or other spices that are added to food to improve its flavour. salt, pepper, or other spices that you add to food to improve the taste. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Mix the meat with the onion, carrot, and some seasoning. ...seasonings such as coriander, chives and ginger. condiment (烹制后加入的) 调味品 A condiment is a substance such as salt, pepper, or mustard that you add to food when you eat it in order to improve the flavour. spice I. a substance made from plants and added to food to give it a particular flavor. a blend of spices such as coriander and cumin. a spice jar. A spice is a part of a plant, or a powder made from that part, which you put in food to give it flavour. Cinnamon, ginger, and paprika are spices. ...herbs and spices. ...a row of spice jars.  II. extra interest or excitement. She needed something to put the spice back into her marriage. III. artificial cannabis What we can say for definitive is that spice is a significant problem in a number of prisons and it is rising. IV. If you spice something that you say or do, you add excitement or interest to it. They spiced their conversations and discussions with intrigue. ...a boring film spiced with the occasional funny moment. Her publisher wants her to spice up her stories with sex. ...a discovery which spiced the conversation up quite a bit. IV. Spice is something which makes life more exciting. Variety is the spice of life! To add spice to the debate, they disagreed about method and ideology. herbs VS spices: Herbs come from the leafy and green part of the plant. Spices are parts of the plant other than the leafy bit such as the root, stem, bulb, bark or seeds. Examples of herbs include basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley and mint. ... Spices are usually dried before being used to season foods. cumin [kʌmən, ˈkumən, ˈkju-] 孜然

Pickling, Brining, Marinating, and Curing? Before there were CBD seltzers and cauliflower pizza crusts and tie-dye Frappuccinos and zoodles, and even before things like refrigerators and chest freezers and even ice boxes, humans had to eat. And surrounded by meats and fish and fruits and vegetables and other delicious stuff that gets decidedly un-delicious after a short time in the hot sun, our ancestors had to get creative. They had to figure out how to preserve it: to keep it fresher for longer, to make it taste good even after hanging out for days or weeks or months or years. They started pickling, brining, marinating, and curing — methods that we still use today, even if we don‘t actually understand the differences between them. But before we start stocking our pantries, we need to talk about salt and acid. Salt and acid are the two major mediums in which food can be preserved; they’re the things that keep it from spoiling, and in many cases, the things that transform the food into something wholly new. When we talk about preserving (and/or flavoring) with salt, we're talking about brining; when we talk about preserving (and/or flavoring) with acid, we’re talking about marinating. A classic brine is a mixture made of salt and water, and it can be used to preserve and/or flavor pretty much anything: vegetables, fruits, meats, fish. (You may also see foods "dry-brined 干腌制, 腌渍," which means they’re covered in salt, not immersed in salt water.) Brining meat for a few hours or days before cooking it makes for a juicier and more tender final product; the salt disrupts the structure of the muscle filaments, allowing the meat to absorb more liquid (and therefore lose less moisture while cooking) and keeping the proteins from coagulating as densely as they would naturally (and therefore preventing the meat from getting too tough). Brining fish for a short period of time has a similar effect, but you'll also see fish brined for much longer; stuff like lox, anchovies, and salt cod are brined for weeks or months. In those cases, the salt transforms the fish into entirely new ingredients; the salt inhibits the bad bacteria from proliferating and aids in the proliferation of new savory compounds, creating more complex flavors and aromatics where there were none before. A marinade, on the other hand, relies on acid to do its job. Acids — such as vinegar, wine, fruit juices, and buttermilk — are great at killing microbes, making marination another great form of preservation. Marinades, like brines, also provide flavor, and like their salty cousins, they weaken a piece of fish or meat's muscle tissue and allow it to retain more moisture when cooked. So where does pickling come into this? According to food scientist Harold McGee, a pickle is a food preserved through immersion in a brine (as in brining) or a strong acid (as in marinating). So: pickles can be brined, or marinated, or both! In order to be considered a pickle, however, the food must be preserved through either method, not just flavored; a steak that's marinated just before grilling isn't really a pickle, for example. Though you'll see it in other contexts, the term "pickling" is most often used to refer to preserved vegetables and fruits: think bread-and-butter pickles, olives, preserved lemons, kimchi, and sauerkraut, just to name a few. But when it comes to pickling, salt and acid (usually vinegar) have very different uses. Pickles that are brined, such as the aforementioned sauerkraut, kimchi, and preserved lemons, are also fermented; the salt encourages certain good microbes to flourish, while preventing the growth of other microbes that cause the food to go bad. The characteristics of the pickle depend on the salt concentration, fermentation length, and temperature — as well as the actual thing being pickled, of course. Pickles that are dunked in acid, on the other hand, are unfermented; the vinegar stops the growth of the spoilage-causing microbes and helps to flavor whatever is being pickled, without stimulating the microbe growth that causes food to ferment. Pickling in acid is a lot faster and gives you more control over the texture of the final product, but the flavor that develops is a lot less complex. And what about curing? Curing refers to any way of preserving food and preventing spoilage: it can mean brining, pickling, or marinating (as well as smoking, which isn't on today's lesson plan). If you're doing something to food in order to make it last longer — short of, like, hiding a package of Oreos in the back of your pantry so that they're out of your line of sight — you're curing it. SO, to debrief: Brining = preserving and/or flavoring with salt. Marinating = preserving and/or flavoring with acid. Pickling = preserving with salt (fermented pickles) or preserving with acid (unfermented pickles). Curing = all of the above.