Words & Phrases

- formative

A formative period of time or experience is one that has an important and lasting influence on a person's character and attitudes.

• She was born in Barbados but spent her formative years in east London.
  她出生于巴巴多斯，但是其性格形成的关键期是在伦敦东区度过的。

- adore

1. If you adore someone, you feel great love and admiration for them.

• She adored her parents and would do anything to please them.
  她很爱自己的父母，为让他们高兴愿意做任何事。

2. If you adore something, you like it very much.

• My mother adores bananas and eats two a day...
  我妈妈非常喜欢吃香蕉，每天要吃两根。
• I adore good books and the theatre.
  我爱读好书，也喜欢看戏。

- slaughter

Slaughter refers to the killing of large numbers of animals or people. When cattle are old enough, they're sent to slaughter and their meat is processed and shipped to stores.
The noun slaughter was first used in the 1300s and comes from the Old Norse word slahtr, which also described the mass killing of animals or people.
A verb form came along later, in the 1530s. You might hear slaughter used to describe the killing of large numbers of people in a war, a genocide, or a massacre. It also can be used figuratively to describe a crushing defeat, like the slaughter of your basketball team by your bitter rivals.
If you say that people do something like lambs or like lambs to the slaughter, you mean that they do what someone wants them to do without complaining or fighting.

• We follow their every word like lambs to the slaughter.
  我们对他们完全言听计从。

- dispose of

1. If you dispose of something that you no longer want or need, you throw it away.

• //...the safest means of disposing of nuclear waste...
  处理核废料最保险的方法

2. If you dispose of a problem, task, or question, you deal with it.

• You did us a great favour by disposing of that problem...
  你解决了那个问题，可算是帮了我们一个大忙。

3. To dispose of a person or an animal means to kill them.

• He alleged that they had hired an assassin to dispose of him.
  他宣称他们已雇了刺客来除掉他。

- cop

1. A cop is a policeman or policewoman. [Informal]

• Frank didn't like having the cops know where to find him.
  弗兰克不想让警察知道去哪里可以找到他。

2. If you cop it, someone punishes you or speaks to you angrily because you have done something wrong. [BRIT] [Informal]

• Motel owners and restaurant managers copped it for neglecting their clients.
  汽车旅馆老板和饭店经理因为冷落顾客而受到责骂。

3. If you say that something is not much cop, you mean that it is not very good, and is disappointing. [BRIT] [Informal]

• The Jane's 'Triple X Album' came out in 1986, and wasn't much cop actually.
  简在1986年推出了《XXX》专辑，但事实上并不怎么样。

- serviceble

When something is serviceable, it's useful just the way it is. You might describe your rusty old car as perfectly serviceable if it always gets you where you need to go.
If your eccentric grandmother insists on buying you a full-length fur coat, you could argue that all you need is a serviceable winter jacket — simply one that will do its job and keep you warm. On the other hand, you might long for a beautiful pair of leather boots despite having a serviceable pair of rubber galoshes. Serviceable was spelled the same way in Old English, although it originally meant "willing to be of service," and only later came to mean "usable or useful."

- thaw

When things thaw, they're coming out of deep freeze and warming up. You can thaw a chicken, and a chilly friendship can thaw too.
Anything that thaws is warming up after a frigid or chilly period. The weather thaws when spring hits, especially after a bad winter. When you take food out of the freezer, it thaws. When you have an unpleasant relationship with someone, that can thaw too. A warm, friendly gesture from one person to another can be a sign that their cold relationship is thawing.** When you think of thawing, think "Warming up."**

- season

1. If you season food with salt, pepper, or spices, you add them to it in order to improve its flavour.

• Season the meat with salt and pepper...
  用盐和胡椒粉给肉调味。
  I believe in seasoning food before putting it on the table.
  我认为在把食物端上餐桌前应该先调味。

2. If wood is seasoned, it is made suitable for making into furniture or for burning, usually by being allowed to **dry out **gradually. [be V-ed] [usu passive]

• Ensure that new wood has been seasoned.
  确保新木材已经风干。

3. If a female animal is in season, she is in a state where she is ready to have sex.

- marinade

A marinade is a sauce of oil, vinegar, spices, and herbs, which you pour over meat or fish before you cook it, in order to add flavour, or to make the meat or fish softer.

- dispute

1. [noun] A dispute is an argument or disagreement between people or groups.

• Negotiators failed to resolve the bitter dispute between the European Community and the United States over cutting subsides to farmers.
  谈判者未能消弭欧共体和美国之间在削减农民补贴一事上的争端。

2. [verb] If you dispute a fact, statement, or theory, you say that it is incorrect or untrue.

• He disputed the allegations...
  他对指控表示怀疑。
• Nobody disputed that Davey was clever...
  没有人怀疑戴维是聪明的。
• Some economists disputed whether consumer spending is as strong as the figures suggest.
  一些经济学家怀疑消费性开支是否如数据所显示的那么大。

3. [verb] When people dispute something, they fight for control or ownership of it. You can also say that one group of people dispute something with another group.

• Russia and Ukraine have been disputing the ownership of the fleet...
  俄罗斯和乌克兰一直在争夺舰队的所有权。
• //...a disputed border region.
  有争议的边境地区

4. [phrase] If two or more people or groups are in dispute, they are arguing or disagreeing about something.

• The two countries are in dispute over the boundaries of their coastal waters...
  两国在近海水域分界线上尚存分歧。

5. [phrase] If something is in dispute, people are questioning it or arguing about it.

• All those matters are in dispute and it is not for me to decide them.
  所有这些事项都尚无定论，也不是我可以决定的。

【Usage Note】
Do not confuse dispute and argument. A dispute is a serious argument that can last for a long time. Disputes generally occurr between organizations, political parties, or countries. An argument is a disagreement between people who may or may not know each other.

- unravel

If something such as a plan or system unravels, it breaks up or begins to fail.

• His government began to unravel because of a banking scandal...
  他的政府由于一起金融丑闻而开始瓦解。
• When she returned to America, the marriage unravelled.
  她回到美国的时候，婚姻破裂了。

- reservation

If you have reservations about something, you are not sure that it is entirely good or right.

• I told him my main reservation about his film was the ending...
  我告诉他我主要是对他电影的结尾有保留意见。
• After three days, the strikers' demands were met almost without reservation.
  3天以后，罢工人员的要求几乎全部得到了满足。

- make the cut

To meet or come up to a required standard (from golf where a player must do equal or better than a certain score to continue)

• The young player did not make the cut and was unable to join the team that year.
• Some say if Pluto were discovered today instead of 75 years ago, it woundn't make the cut.

- per annum

A particular amount per annum means that amount each year.

• //...a fee of £35 per annum...
  每年35英镑的费用
• Kenya's population is growing at 4.1 per cent per annum.
  肯尼亚人口正以每年4.1%的速度增长。

- folk/folks

1. You can refer to people as folk or folks.

• Country folk can tell you that there are certain places which animals avoid...
  老乡会告诉你有些地方动物是不会去的。
• //...old folks.
  老年人

2. You can refer to **your close family, especially your mother and father, as your folks **.

• I've been avoiding my folks lately.
  我近来一直在避开家人。

3. You can use folks as **a term of address when you are talking to several people **.

• 'It's a question of money, folks,' I announced...
  “诸位，这是一个钱的问题，”我郑重其事地说。
• This is it, folks: the best record guide in the business.
  就是这个，伙计们，业内最好的唱片指南。

- fledgling

1. A fledgling is a young bird that has its feathers and is learning to fly.

2. You use fledgling to describe a person, organization, or system that is** new or without experience**.

• //...the sound practical advice he gave to fledgling writers.
  他给初出茅庐的作家提出的可靠实用的建议
• //...Russia's fledgling democracy.
  俄罗斯新兴的民主

- outreach

Outreach programmes and schemes **try to find people who need help or advice rather than waiting for those people to come and ask for help **.

• Their brief is to undertake outreach work aimed at young African Caribbeans on the estate.
  他们的任务是为该住宅区年轻的非洲裔加勒比海人提供 外展服务。

- count on

1. If you count on something or count upon it, you expect it to happen and include it in your plans.

• The government thought it could count on the support of the trades unions...
  政府认为可以指望获得工会的支持。
• I'll be back. You can count on it...
  我会回来的。你要相信。
• He is counting on winning seats and perhaps a share in the new government.
  他期望能获得一些席位，或许还能参与新政府的执政。

2. If you count on someone or count upon them, you rely on them to support you or help you.

• Don't count on Lillian...
  别指望莉莲。
• I can always count on you to cheer me up...
  你总能使我振作起来。
• Diana seemed a strong young girl who could be counted upon to produce an heir.
  戴安娜看起来是个年轻健壮的女孩，应该能生下继承人。

- the only game in town

The only alternative

• “The Anglo-Irish Agreement is the only game in town available to political leaders seeking a graceful way out of the Ulster morass”(Boston Globe) “He's the only game in town for the press to write about”(Leonard Garment)
  “英国—爱尔兰合约是政治领导人唯一能找寻的逃离乌尔斯特困境的体面出路”(波士顿环球)“他是该城市唯一一位新闻界能报道的人物”(伦纳德·加门特)

- nurse

If you nurse an illness or injury, you allow it to get better by resting as much as possible.

• We're going to go home and nurse our colds.
  我们打算回家调养感冒。

- hangover

1. the headache and sick feeling that you have the day after drinking too much alcohol

• She woke up with a terrible hangover.
  她醒来时宿醉反应很厉害。

2. ~ (from sth) a feeling, custom, idea, etc. that remains from the past, although it is no longer practical or suitable

• the insecure feeling that was a hangover from her childhood
  她儿时留下的不安全感
• hangover laws from the previous administration
  从上届政府沿袭下来的法律

- persnickety

If you describe someone as persnickety, you think that they pay too much attention to small, unimportant details. [disapproval]

• He is a very rigorous man, very persnickety.
  他是个很严厉的人，非常挑剔。

【拓展】
in BRIT, use 英国英语用 pernickety

- relentless

1. Something bad that is relentless never stops or never becomes less intense.

• The pressure now was relentless.
  压力现在没完没了。
• The sun is beating down relentlessly.
  太阳火辣辣地持续照射着大地。

2. Someone who is relentless is determined to do something and refuses to give up, even if what they are doing is unpleasant or cruel.

• Relentless in his pursuit of quality, his technical ability was remarkable...
  对质量孜孜不倦的追求使他的技能出类拔萃。
• He was the most relentless enemy I have ever known.
  他是我所遇到的最不屈不挠的敌手。

- kick in

If something kicks in, it begins to take effect.

• As discounts kicked in, bookings for immediate travel rose by 15%...
  由于开始实行打折，近期旅行的预订量上升了15%。
• When you're confronted with the problem, emotions kick in, fear kicks in, and you don't always do the rational and thought-out approach.
  当面临这个问题时，人会变得情绪激动、恐惧不安，你不一定总能采取理性且慎重的方法。

- specialty

Someone's specialty is a particular type of work that they do most or do best, or a subject that they know a lot about.

• His specialty is international law...
  他的专业是国际法。
• Both doctors and nurses have increasingly made a specialty of the care of the aged.
  越来越多的医生和护士专门从事老年人的护理工作。

【拓展】
in BRIT, use 英国英语用 speciality

- breed

[usually sing.] a type of person

• He represents a new breed of politician.
  他代表着新一类的政治家。
• Players as skilful as this are a rare breed.
  如此有技巧的演奏者很少见。

- multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is a situation in which a computer or person does more than one thing at the same time.

- tend

If you tend someone or something , you do what is necessary to keep them in a good condition or to improve their condition.

• For years he tended her in her painful illness...
  多年来她一直受到病痛的折磨，都是他在照料。
• He tends the flower beds and evergreens that he has planted in the driveway.
  他打理着他栽在车道两旁的花坛和常青树。

- stray

Little Red Riding Hood strayed from the path and ended up getting eaten by the Big Bad Wolf. When you stray, you wander off without paying attention to where you're going, and sometimes you get in trouble.
Stray can be used as a verb or as a noun.** Your attention may stray when you're tired and listening to a very boring lecture**. You may be the kind of person who brings home strays, the dogs and cats that have wandered away from their homes and are lost and hungry. When you're organizing your sock drawer and you've got one sock without a mate, you might find the stray sock left behind in the dryer.

- screw up

To screw something up, or to screw up, means to cause something to fail or be spoiled.

• You can't open the window because it screws up the air conditioning...
  你不能打开窗户，那样空调就不起作用了。
• Get out. Haven't you screwed things up enough already!...
  滚出去。事情给你搞得还不够糟啊！
• Somebody had screwed up; they weren't there.
  有人把事情搞砸了;他们没在那里。

- rethink

to think again about an idea, a course of action, etc., especially in order to change it

• to rethink a plan
  重新考虑一项计划
• a radical rethink of company policy
  对公司政策的彻底反思

- consensus

A consensus is general agreement among a group of people.

• The consensus amongst the world's scientists is that the world is likely to warm up over the next few decades...
  世界各国科学家一致认为在未来几十年里地球有可能变暖。
• The question of when the troops should leave would be decided by consensus.
  部队应该何时撤离的问题将由大家共同决定。

- patronize

If** someone patronizes you**, they speak or behave towards you in a way which seems friendly, but which shows that they think they are superior to you in some way.[disapproval]

• Don't you patronize me!...
  别在我面前摆出一副屈尊俯就的样子！
• Cornelia often felt patronised by her tutors.
  科妮莉亚常常觉得她的老师们对她摆出屈尊俯就的样子。

- hang up

1. If you hang up or you hang up the phone, you end a phone call. If you hang up on someone you are speaking to on the phone, you end the phone call suddenly and unexpectedly.

• Mum hung up the phone...
  妈妈挂上了电话。
• He said he'd call again, and hung up on me.
  他说他会再打过来，就突然挂断了电话。

2. You can use hang up to indicate that someone stops doing a particular sport or activity that they have regularly done over a long period. For example, when a footballer hangs up his boots, he stops playing football.

- don't / never look a gift horse in the mouth

Since horses' teeth grow over time, checking their length is a way of gauging old age. However, doing such a check would be a sign of mistrust towards the giver. From Middle English texts for “given horse”: No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth. — John Heywood, 1546. The substitution of gift for given occurred in 1663 in Butler's Hudibras, because the iambic tetrameter required a shortening: He ne’er consider'd it, as loth. To look a Gift-horse in the mouth.
**When receiving a gift be grateful for what it is; don't imply you wished for more by assessing its value. **

- publishing

Publishing is the profession of publishing books.

• I had a very high-powered job in publishing.
  我曾在出版业担任要职。

- snob

1. If you call someone a snob, you disapprove of them because they admire upper-class people and have a low opinion of lower-class people. [disapproval]

• Going to a private school had made her a snob...
  上私立学校后，她变得很势利。
• Kenneth is an arrogant, rude, social snob.
  肯尼斯是一个傲慢粗鲁只喜欢结交权贵的势利鬼。

2. If you call someone a snob, you disapprove of them because they behave as if they are superior to other people because of their intelligence or taste. [disapproval]

• She was an intellectual snob.
  她自以为才智高人一等。
• //...a first class food snob.
  自认为饮食方面品位一流的家伙

- vain

If you spend all day admiring yourself in reflective surfaces — mirrors, pools of water, the backs of spoons — people may think you are conceited or vain.
If, to your horror, you have searched everywhere for a reflective surface but can't find one, you have made a fruitless or vain search for a mirror. Vain is from Latin vanus "empty," and in English it originally meant "lacking value or effect, futile"; we still say "a vain attempt" using that sense, and the phrase "in vain" means "without success." Normally, though, vain means "conceited, too proud of oneself." Carly Simon's line "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you" is an excellent illustration of this use.

- insult

If someone insults you, they say or do something that is rude or offensive.

• I did not mean to insult you...
  我不是要故意侮辱你。
• Buchanan said he was insulted by the judge's remarks.
  布坎南说法官的那番话侮辱了他。

- porch

1. A porch is a sheltered area at the entrance to a building. It has a roof and sometimes has walls.

• Is there a light in the porch or garden?
  门廊或花园里有灯吗？

2. A porch is a raised platform built along the outside wall of a house and often covered with a roof. [Mainly AM]

• We'd eat during the hot summer evenings on the front porch.
  在炎热的夏夜，我们会在屋前走廊上吃晚饭。

- rep

See also:holiday rep;[representative]；A rep is a person whose job is to sell a company's products or services, especially by travelling round and visiting other companies. Rep is short for representative.

• I'd been working as a sales rep for a photographic company.
  我一直在一家摄影公司做销售代表。

- vaguely

Vaguely describes action that is unclear. If you vaguely recall meeting someone once before, you barely remember him or her, what you talked about, or even where you met.
The adverb vaguely probably comes from the Latin word vagus, which means “wandering,” or “uncertain.” Its origin is unclear, which is fitting for a word that means "mistily." If you don't want to go to your friend's tuba recital, you can say vaguely, "I think I might have something else to do that night. But if I don't, I'll try to make it."

- despair

Despair is the feeling of not having any hope left. If you just found out that you're having a test in math and you hadn't studied at all, you might feel despair, or despair of any hope that you can pass it.
Despair can also refer to someone or something that causes you to worry or be sad. Unfortunately, some children are the despair of their parents. The verb despair means to lose hope. Despair is from Latin desperare "to be without hope," from the prefix de- "without" plus sperare "to hope," from spes "hope."

- tote

(also 'tote bag) (NAmE) a large bag for carrying things with you

- emboss

[usually passive] ~ A with B | ~ B on A to put a raised design or piece of writing on paper, leather, etc.

• stationery embossed with the hotel's name
  凸印旅馆名称的信笺和信封
• The hotel's name was embossed on the stationery.
  旅馆的名字凸印在信笺和信封上。

- pitch

In baseball, the ball is pitched (thrown). Elsewhere, writers, salesmen, and other folks make pitches (proposals).
There's a long list of pitches, both nouns and verbs. A salesman can give you a sales pitch, when he tells you all the reasons you should buy what he's selling. A high, short golf shot is a pitch. If you are singing the right notes to a song then you are on pitch. A rocking boat is pitching. The only way to know which pitch is meant is to look at the situation and who's using the word.

- big bucks

(NAmE, informal) a large amount of money

• We're talking big bucks (= a lot of money) here.
  我们这当儿谈的可是大买卖。

- sleeve

a part of a piece of clothing that covers all or part of your arm

• a dress with short / long sleeves
  短袖/长袖连衣裙
• Dan rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands.
  丹挽起袖子洗了洗手。

- mortifying

If you say that something is mortifying, you mean that it makes you feel extremely ashamed or embarrassed.

• She felt it would be utterly mortifying to be seen in such company as his by anyone.
  她觉得要是让人看到她和他在一起，会非常没面子。

- wreckage

1. When something such as a plane, car, or building has been destroyed, you can refer to what remains as wreckage or the wreckage.

• Mark was dragged from the burning wreckage of his car.
  马克被人从他着火的汽车残骸中拉了出来。

2. If something such as a plan has failed or been spoilt completely, you can refer to what remains as the wreckage of it.

• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.
  新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

- giantess

In old stories, a giantess is an imaginary woman who is very big and strong.

- frantically

When people act frantically or in an uncontrolled manner, it's best to give them their space. If there's a fire in a building, everyone will be stampeding frantically to the nearest exit. Just try not to get trampled.
The word frantically comes from the Middle English frentik meaning "insane, violently mad," which is just what someone behaving frantically acts like. This word can be used to describe any number of actions. Your mother might be frantically pacing the room if you come home well after your curfew, or you might be frantically running to a class if you're late.

- tome

A tome is a very large, heavy book. [Formal]

- tumble down

• (of a building) old and in a poor condition so that it 8looks as if it is falling down*.

• The outer walls looked likely to tumble down in a stiff wind...
  外墙看起来一刮强风就会倒塌。
• If the foundations are flawed the house will come tumbling down.
  如果地基不牢，房子将会倒塌。

- cast...as...

To cast someone in a particular way or as a particular thing means to describe them in that way or suggest they are that thing.

• Democrats have been worried about being cast as the party of the poor...
  民主党人一直担心被描绘成穷人的政党。
• Holland would never dare cast himself as a virtuoso pianist.
  霍兰永远不敢说自己是位钢琴名家。

- afterlife

The afterlife is a life that some people believe begins when you die, for example a life in heaven or as another person or animal.

- account

In business, a regular customer of a company can be referred to as an account, especially when the customer is another company. [BUSINESS]

• Biggart Donald, the Glasgow-based marketing agency, has won two Edinburgh accounts.
  比加特·唐纳德，这家驻格拉斯哥的营销代理公司已赢得了两个爱丁堡的客户。

- in a/no mood to

If you say that you are in the mood for something, you mean that you want to do it or have it. If you say that you are** in no mood to do something**, you mean that you do not want to do it or have it.

• After a day of air and activity, you should be in the mood for a good meal...
  你在户外活动了一天，应该很想好好吃一顿。
• He was in no mood to celebrate.
  他没心情庆祝。

- go through

When someone goes through a routine, procedure, or series of actions, they perform it in the way they usually do.

• Every night, they go through the same routine: he throws open the bedroom window, she closes it.
  他们每天晚上都要上演这么一出戏：他打开卧室的窗户，她又把它关上。

- knick-knack

(sometimes disapproving) a small decorative object in a house
【SYN】 ornament

- (filling)cabinet

See also:filing cabinet；A cabinet is a cupboard used for storing things such as medicine or alcoholic drinks or for displaying decorative things in.

• He looked at the display cabinet with its gleaming sets of glasses.
  他看着陈列柜,里面摆着几套晶莹剔透的玻璃杯。

- launch into sth | launch yourself into sth

to begin sth in an enthusiastic way, especially sth that will take a long time

• He launched into a lengthy account of his career.
  他开始罗罗嗦嗦地讲述自己的工作经历。

- debut

A debut is a first appearance, a launch, or public introduction. So before you make your big debut at the office, check and make sure you don't have spinach in your teeth.
Perhaps you’ve heard of debutantes making their official debut into society, or actresses and actors making their debut on stage. A fun fact: debut and premiere are often thought to be interchangeable, but they’re not. A debut, as you now know, is a first public appearance. But a premiere, while also a “first,” isn't necessarily live. When a movie opens or an interview is broadcast for the first time, they're called premieres.

- the underdog

The underdog in a competition or situation is the person who seems least likely to succeed or win.

• Most of the crowd were cheering for the underdog to win just this one time.
  人群里的大多数人都在为劣势一方鼓劲，希望他哪怕就赢这一次。
• //...Webb, the underdog in this race.
  在这次比赛中处于劣势的韦伯

- sleeper

A sleeper is 8something that succeeds when no one thought it would*. That low-tech movie about shark attacks that you shot on vacation and edited in your basement? It could be a sleeper if you market it in the right way.
You probably know that sleeper can be used in an obvious sense to refer to someone who is asleep. But you also may hear the word used to describe something that becomes an unexpected success, like "a sleeper of a film" featuring unknown actors that ends up becoming the big summer hit. This sense of the word may have originated in the world of gambling in the nineteenth century. When a card player unexpectedly drew a winning card, the card was called "a sleeper."

- long shot

When a contestant of a competition has no probability of winning, but wins anyhow, it is a longshot.
When you try to guess a result of something, but in fact you don't know at all what will be the outcome of it, that is a longshot, it is a wild guess.

• I guessed the 3 last Superbowl winners, all longshots.

- memoir

A memoir is a book or article that you write about someone who you have known well. [Formal]

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.
  他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。

- maudlin

You can use maudlin to describe something that brings tears to your eyes, or makes you feel very emotional. Tearjerkers like "Forrest Gump" and "Titanic" can be described as maudlin.
Maudlin was a form of the name Mary Magdalene, a character from the Bible represented in paintings as a weeping sinner asking forgiveness from Jesus. Maudlin is often paired with sentimental, or even schlocky, to describe cry-fests, as in "I can't watch another second of that overly-sentimental, maudlin soap opera. Turn that schlock off."

- late bloomer

A late bloomer is a person whose talents or capabilities are not visible to others until later than usual. The term is used metaphorically to describe a child or adolescent who develops slower than others in their age group, but eventually catches up and in some cases overtakes their peers, or an adult whose talent or genius in a particular field only appears later in life than is normal – in some cases only in old age.

• In planet formation, as in adolescence, you've got your late bloomers.
  可能在青春期，你属于那迟开的花朵，某些行星的形成也如此。
• I guess I was a late bloomer. I just need you to care enough about me to try.
  我可真是大器晚成啊! 我只是需要你在乎我, 哪怕只是试着去做

- corny

If you describe something as corny, you mean that it is obvious or sentimental and not at all original. [disapproval]

• I know it sounds corny, but I'm really not motivated by money.
  我知道这听起来像是老生常谈，但我真的不是为了钱。
• //...corny jokes.
  老掉牙的笑话

- porno

A porno is a pornographic movie, a type of film featuring sex and only meant to excite people sexually.
Like romantic comedies, science fiction, westerns, thrillers, and cartoons, a porno is a type of movie — specifically a dirty movie featuring people having sex. Pornos don't have much plot or artistic value: they show sex and are meant to get people in the mood for sex. Many moves have sexual elements but aren't considered pornos. A porno has sex and not much else that would make it worth watching.

- mutter

When you mutter, you mumble under your breath, often in an angry way. You might mutter to yourself as you clean graffiti off your garage, for example.
An irritable teenager might mutter when her parents make her get off the couch and mow the lawn, and your uncle might mutter at the television every night when he watches the news. When someone mutters, she speaks in a low voice, either to herself or to another person. Mutter was originally moteren in the fourteenth century, and it comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, mut, which was most likely imitative — in other words, it sounds like its meaning.

- admit

accept truth
~ (to sth / to doing sth) | ~ (to sb) (that...) to agree, often unwillingly, that sth is true

• She admits to being strict with her children.
  她承认对自己的孩子很严厉。
• Don't be afraid to admit to your mistakes.
  不要怕认错。

- dictate

1. If one thing dictates another, the first thing causes or influences the second thing. [V n] [V wh] [V that]

• The film's budget dictated a tough schedule...
  影片的预算决定了拍摄进度会很紧张。
• Of course, a number of factors will dictate how long an apple tree can survive...
  当然，影响一棵苹果树寿命的因素有很多。
• Circumstances dictated that they played a defensive rather than attacking game.
  比赛形势决定了他们要打防守战而不是进攻战。

2. You say that reason or common sense dictates that a particular thing is the case when **you believe strongly that it is the case and that reason or common sense will cause other people to agree.

• Commonsense now dictates that it would be wise to sell a few shares.
  现在，常识告诉我们卖掉一些股票是明智的。

- comical

Something comical is humorous, amusing, silly, or just plain funny; it makes people laugh.
When you think comical, think** laughter-causing**. Stand-up comedians and comic strips intend to be comical. People like to share comical moments: for example, by posting videos of their pets doing comical things, like a dog going bananas in a water sprinkler. Just like the dog doesn't know it's being funny, people are unintentionally comical too. If a person absorbed in his cell phone conversation falls down a manhole, many will find it comical.

- smash

If you smash something or if it smashes, it breaks into many pieces, for example when it is hit or dropped.

• Someone smashed a bottle...
  有人摔碎了一个瓶子。
• Two or three glasses fell off and smashed into pieces.
  两三只杯子掉了下来，摔得粉碎。

- pound

（of heart / blood）to beat quickly and loudly

• Her heart was pounding with excitement.
  她激动得心脏怦怦直跳。
• The blood was pounding (= making a beating noise) in his ears.
  他听到血液在耳中怦怦搏动的声音。
• Her head began to pound.
  她的头开始怦怦地抽痛。
• **a pounding headache **
  锤击般的头痛

- not particularly

not very much

• The lecture was not particularly (= not very) interesting.
  讲座并不特别精彩。
• 'Did you enjoy it?' 'No, not particularly (= not very much).'
  "你玩得开心吗？" "不很开心。"

- stutter

If you've ever heard a young child stammer and trip over his words, you know what it means to stutter.
Use the verb stutter when someone gets stuck on certain word sounds, either because she's speaking too quickly or eagerly, or because she has an actual speech disorder, also called a stutter. The word itself is somewhat onomatopoeic — a word that sounds like what it means — with its repeated t sounds. Stutter is thought to be related to the Middle Low German word stoten, "to knock or strike against," which is the way a stutterer's words sometimes sound.

- backward

having made less progress than normal; developing slowly

• a backward part of the country, with no paved roads and no electricity
  该国的一个落后地区,没有铺设马路也没有电力
• a backward child
  迟钝儿童 (BrE, informal)
• She's not backward in coming forward (= she's not shy).
  她勇敢地站出来。

- trip

If you trip when you are walking, you knock your foot against something and fall or nearly fall. [V on/over n]

• She tripped and fell last night and broke her hip...
  她昨晚绊倒了，摔坏了髋骨。
• He tried to follow Jack's footsteps in the snow and tripped on a rock...
  他想要跟着杰克在雪中留下的脚印走，却让一块石头绊倒了。
• The cables are all bright yellow to prevent you tripping over them.

电缆都是亮黄色，以防绊倒人。

- plaque★

A plaque is a flat piece of metal or stone with writing on it which is fixed to a wall or other structure to remind people of an important person or event.

• After touring the hospital, Her Majesty unveiled a commemorative plaque.
  女王陛下巡视完这家医院后，为纪念匾揭了幕。

- inn

An inn is a small hotel or pub, usually an old one. [OLD-FASHIONED]

• //...the Waterside Inn.
  水畔客栈

- fret

When you fret, you worry so much about something that it eats away at you. Many people fret about taking standardized tests, but really, they're nothing to sweat.
Fret comes from the Old English word freton which means to devour like an animal. When you fret over something, it consumes your thoughts. If you tell your mother to not fret about you while you're at a sleepover camp, you're telling her to not worry about you too much. Sometimes it means to be agitated though. When you're waiting for the results of an exam, you might fret and wring your hands. In a totally unrelated meaning, a guitar player calls the raised lines on the neck of the guitar that help him play correctly frets.

- groan

A groan a sound of pain or disapproval that doesn't consist of words, usually heard after homework is assigned or bad jokes are told.
People groan for lots of reasons: headaches, stomachaches, traffic jams, and bad news are just a few groan-worthy things that can provoke that moaning, "uuugghhhhh" sound. If someone is complaining about something, you could say she's "moaning and groaning." People like to moan and groan about the weather, politics, and just about everything else.

- dunno

Dunno is sometimes used in written English to represent an informal way of saying 'don't know'.

• 'How on earth did she get it?' — 'I dunno.'
  “她到底怎么得到它的？” ——“我不知道。”

- surly

Someone who is surly behaves in a rude bad-tempered way. [WRITTEN]

• He became surly and rude towards me.
  他变得对我粗暴无礼。

- work up

1. If you work yourself up, you make yourself feel very upset or angry about something.

• She worked herself up into a bit of a state...
  她把自己弄得有点儿紧张。
• Don't just lie there working yourself up, do something about it.
  不要光躺在那儿生气，要做点儿什么。

2. If you work up the enthusiasm or courage to do something, you succeed in making yourself feel it.

• Your creative talents can also be put to good use, if you can work up the energy...
  如果你能让自己精力充沛起来，你的创作才能也能得到很好的发挥。
• Malcolm worked up the nerve to ask Grandma Rose for some help.
  马尔科姆鼓起勇气请罗丝奶奶帮点忙。

3. If you work up a sweat or an appetite, you make yourself sweaty or hungry by doing exercise or hard work.

• You can really work up a sweat doing housework...
  做家务真的会让人大汗淋漓。
• It was around seven when I finished at the library. I wasn't hungry, but I'd worked up a thirst.
  我从图书馆出来时大约是7点。我不饿，但是觉得口渴。

4. If you work up something such as a piece of writing, you spend time and effort preparing it.

• I sketched the layout of a prototype store and worked up a business plan...
  我画出店的布局草图，拟订了一份商业计划。

- clog

~ (up) (with sth) | ~ sth (up) (with sth) to block sth or to become blocked

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic.
  狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• Tears clogged her throat.
  她哽咽了。
• Within a few years the pipes began to clog up.
  没有几年管子就开始堵塞了。

- carton

1. A carton is a plastic or cardboard container in which food or drink is sold.

• //...a two-pint carton of milk.
  一盒两品脱的牛奶

2. A carton is a large, strong cardboard box in which goods are stored and transported. [Mainly AM]

- vindaloo

a very spicy Indian dish, usually containing meat or fish

• lamb vindaloo
  辛辣咖喱羊肉

- as per

If something happens as per a particular plan or suggestion, it happens in the way planned or suggested. [Formal]

• When they reach here they complain that they are not being paid as per the agreement...
  来到这里后，他们抱怨工资没有依照协议发放。
• I approached an Intourist official, as per instructions.
  我按照指示接洽了一位苏联国际旅行社官员。

- galosh

A galosh is a shoe you can wear on a rainy day. Galoshes are usually made of rubber, and sometimes slide on over your regular shoes.
A galosh is one kind of wet-weather footwear, most often made from a stretchy kind of rubber so it can be slipped on to protect your shoes from getting damp. You're most likely to come across this word in its plural form, galoshes, since they come in a pair. Galosh comes from the Middle English, for a sort of clog, from gallica solea, "a Gallic sandal" in Latin.

- fuzzy

- beige

- strenuous

A strenuous activity or action involves a lot of energy or effort.

• Avoid strenuous exercise in the evening...
  晚上不要做剧烈运动。
• These trips were strenuous, and the couple did not enjoy them...
  一路舟车劳顿，这对夫妇玩得并不开心。

- not that

You use not that to **introduce a negative clause that contradicts something that the previous statement implies. **

• His death took me a year to get over; not that you're ever really over it...我用一年时间慢慢接受了他去世的事实，但其实你永远不会真正完全忘掉。
• It occurred to Tom to wonder whether Jane was quite trustworthy. Not that he thought she was in any way politically active.
  汤姆突然想到简是不是值得信任，并不是说他认为简有些热衷于政治。
• 'Not that it matters,' said Tench indifferently.“那并不要紧,”坦奇漠然地说。

- reverent

If you describe some-one's behaviour as reverent, you mean that they are showing great respect for a person or thing.

• //...the reverent hush of a rapt audience...
  一位全神贯注的观众心存恭敬的静默
• Ellen looks almost reverent.
  埃伦看起来近乎虔诚。

- eulogy

At every funeral, there comes a moment when someone who knew the dead person speaks about their life. They are delivering what is known as a eulogy. A eulogy is a formal speech that praises a person who has died.
Usually a eulogy makes the dead person sound a lot more impressive than they really were. A couple of less common synonyms for this kind of "praise the dead" speech are panegyric and encomium. Sometimes the dead person was so unimpressive that there's nothing nice to say. And sometimes they were so awful that the only appropriate speech is a dyslogy that describes their faults and failings.

- insufferable

If something is insufferable, it's unbearable and impossible, like the insufferable humidity of the "rain forest room" at the zoo on a hot summer day.
You can see the word suffer in insufferable — and it's no coincidence. If it's unacceptable or too much to handle, it's insufferable. An egotistic co-worker is insufferable, and so is a blizzard that leaves six-foot drifts against the doors of your house, or insufferable working conditions in many of the factories that produce goods around the world.

- indulgent

Someone who is self-indulgent gives themselves a lot of treats. Parents who are indulgent cave to ever desire their child expresses. Indulgent means lenient, or overly generous.
Indulgent is a word that, here in Puritanical North America, is hard to know how to take. Is it okay to “indulge yourself” as so many spa advertisements suggest? Or is indulgent always associated with excess? You can indulge fantasies of figuring out the answer, or you can give in to an indulgent shrug and move on to another word.

- modestly

• Britain's balance of payments improved modestly last month.
  上个月英国的国际收支差额稍有改善。

• 'You really must be very good at what you do.' — 'I suppose I am,' Kate said modestly.
  “你的工作一定非常出色。”——“也许是吧，”凯特谦虚地说。
• She sat down cautiously on the red canvas cushions, knees modestly together.
  她小心翼翼地在红帆布垫上坐下，膝盖矜持地并拢着。

- jest

A jest is a joke. Are you a playful prankster? A jocular jokester? A witty wisecracker? Then you are definitely well versed in the art of the jest.
To jest means to tease and joke in a playful way — like that "court jester"! Back in medieval times, the court jester was hired to tell funny gestes, or tales. But nowadays he's always cracking jokes and teasing the ladies about their wacky hairdos. All in jest of course. Otherwise the king would have his head.

- counter

A counter is a surface used for making transactions in a store or in a home kitchen for preparing food. In a store, you pay for items at the counter.
When counter is a verb, it means "to speak up in opposition," like when you counter your opponent's argument in a debate. When something conflicts, you can say it "runs counter to," like a fancy car that runs counter to your philosophy of living simply. You can think of this meaning as "in the opposite direction," like "counter-clockwise," meaning the direction that's opposite of clockwise.

- redden

If someone reddens or their face reddens, their face turns pink or red, often because they are embarrassed or angry.[WRITTEN]

• He was working himself up to a fury, his face reddening...
  他勃然大怒，脸涨得通红。
• She reddened instantly...
  她的脸立刻红了。
• Pearson massaged his reddened cheek.
  皮尔逊揉了揉自己泛红的脸颊。

- tub

1. A tub is a deep container of any size. [N of n]

• He peeled the paper top off a little white tub and poured the cream into his coffee...
  他把小白盒上的纸盖撕去，然后把奶油倒进他的咖啡里。
• Shrubs can be grown in tubs or large containers.
  灌木可以种植在盆里或大型容器中。

2. A tub of something is the amount of it contained in a tub.

• She would eat four tubs of ice cream in one sitting.
  她以前常常一次就吃4桶冰激凌。

3. A tub is the same as a bathtub . [Mainly AM]

• She lay back in the tub.
  她向后靠着躺在浴缸里。

- spread

When something is spread, it's stretched or extended as far as it can go. It's a beautiful sight to see a bald eagle spread its wings and fly.
When you spread a picnic blanket on the ground, you open it and stretch it across the grass. You can also see the ocean spread out in front of you, or spread butter on toast, for example. Any way you use it, spread implies an extension across some distance, a stretching of some sort. The expression spread too thin means you are having trouble finding the time and energy to do everything in your life.

- prop

If you prop an object on or against something, you support it by putting something underneath it or by resting it somewhere.

• He rocked back in the chair and propped his feet on the desk...
  他往椅背上一靠，把脚搭在桌子上。
• He propped his bike against the bus.
  他把自行车靠在公共汽车上。

- dopey

1. Someone who is dopey is sleepy, as though they have been drugged.

• The medicine always made him feel dopey and unable to concentrate.
  那种药物总是让他觉得昏昏沉沉的，无法集中注意力。

2. If you describe someone as dopey, you mean that they are rather stupid. [disapproval] [Informal]

- go on about

If you go on about something, or in British English go on at someone, you continue talking about the same thing, often in an annoying way.

• Expectations have been raised with the Government going on about choice and market forces...
  政府不断地宣扬选择权和市场的力量，人们的期望值也因此提高了。
• She's always going on at me to have a baby.
  她一直唠叨着要我生个孩子。

- cutesy

If you describe someone or something as cutesy, you dislike them because you think they are unpleasantly pretty and sentimental.[disapproval] [Informal]

• Macaulay Culkin receives his first screen kiss from cutesy 11-year-old Anna Chlumsky.
  麦考利·卡尔金的银幕初吻来自于忸怩作态的11岁童星安娜·克鲁姆斯基。
• //...cutesy paintings of owls.
  矫饰的猫头鹰画像

- widower

A widower is a man whose wife has died and who has not married again.

- armpit

Your armpits are the areas of your body under your arms where your arms join your shoulders.

- stubbly

If a man has not shaved recently, he has a stubbly chin.

• He had long unkempt hair and a stubbly chin.
  他的头发又长又乱，脸上胡子拉碴。

- curdle

When things curdle, they turn from liquid gradually to solid, forming clumps along the way. If you leave milk out of the refrigerator long enough, it will curdle.
When a liquid curdles, it forms curds, or lumpy solid masses. In some cases this is deliberate, as when you make cheese or tofu. Other times, you might accidentally let something curdle, like a custard or sauce, or a forgotten container of cream at the back of your refrigerator. Curdle was originally crudle, from crud (later curd), "any coagulated substance," or "congeal."

- pass out

If you pass out, you faint or collapse.

• He felt sick and dizzy and then passed out...
  他感到恶心、眩晕，然后就昏了过去。
• She passed out drunk.
  她醉倒了。

- fortify

If you add nutrients to something you fortify it. Food scientists have found ways to fortify cereal, but in addition to vitamins C and D, they usually add a lot of sugar.
If you strengthen your defenses, you fortify them, perhaps by adding more arms or increasing your defensive walls. Sometimes the defenses you fortify will be tangible and sometimes the word is used metaphorically to mean give courage. If a castle was originally vulnerable to attack, the owner might fortify it by adding a moat — and maybe filling it with crocodiles. If you're nervous about giving a speech, you should fortify yourself with a pep talk first.

- dent

If one thing makes a dent in another, it reduces it by a large amount.

• The commission had barely begun to make a dent in the problem...
  委员会几乎还没有在这个问题上取得任何进展。
• I hated to put any dents in his enthusiasm, but I was trying to be realistic.
  我不想打击他的热情，只是试图现实一些。

- disgrace

Use the verb disgrace to say that someone has brought shame upon himself. Your brother might disgrace himself at the family reunion by being rude to your Uncle Bob.
You probably notice that grace makes up a big part of disgrace. Combine this with the dis- prefix, meaning “the opposite of,” and you get a word that involves shame and dishonor. Think of disgrace as a kind of fall from grace — it’s what happens when you do something that causes you to lose favor or damages your reputation. You could disgrace yourself by losing your tennis match badly, or you could disgrace yourself by cheating on an exam.

- nerd

If you say that someone is a nerd, you mean that they are stupid or ridiculous, especially because they wear unfashionable clothes or show too much interest in computers or science. [disapproval] [Informal] [OFFENSIVE]

• Mark claimed he was made to look a nerd.
  马克称自己被搞得像个傻瓜。
• //...the notion that users of the Internet are all sad computer nerds.
  认为因特网用户全是可悲的计算机呆子的看法

- time-honoured

A time-honoured tradition or way of doing something is one that has been used and respected for a very long time.

• The beer is brewed in the time-honoured way at the Castle Eden Brewery.
  伊登堡酿酒厂以传统酿制方式酿造啤酒。

- heritage

Heritage can refer to practices or characteristics that are passed down through the years, from one generation to the next. Researching your family tree would help you gain a sense of your personal heritage.
Heritage is often used to discuss a cultural aspect or tradition that has been passed down through generations. For example, one might speak of an area’s "rich musical heritage.” Heritage can also refer to a** person's ethnic or cultural background**. In a legal sense, heritage is property that you inherit, like a silver teapot your great aunt Sally left to you.

- shuffle

To shuffle is to drag your feet slowly along the ground as you walk. A kid might shuffle reluctantly off to his room only after being told five times that it's bedtime.
Shuffle also means to wiggle around, like if you shuffle uncomfortably in your seat while watching a five-hour movie. If you get lost in the shuffle, you’re lost in the crowd. Another way to use shuffle is to mean "mix up in a random way," as you do with a deck of cards before dealing a hand. Shuffle probably comes from the Low German word schuffeln, which means both "to walk clumsily" and "to deal dishonestly."

- bona fide

Something bona fide is the real deal, the real McCoy, genuine — it's not a fake or a counterfeit.
We talk about things being bona fide when we're interested in how real or genuine they are. A counterfeit hundred dollar bill is not bona fide. When you earn your college diploma you're a bona fide college graduate. If you spend your whole life studying music, you're a bona fide musician. The opposite of bona fide is fake. We also say people make a bona fide effort: they're making a true, sincere attempt to do something.

- gamine

If you describe a girl or a woman as gamine, you mean that she is attractive in a boyish way.

• She had a gamine charm which men found irresistibly attractive.
  她有一种令男人难以抗拒的帅气迷人的魅力。

【拓展】Gamine is also a noun.

• //...a snub-nosed gamine.
  鼻子短平上翘的假小子

- swerve

The noun swerve means a sudden turn off your path. As a verb, it means to move off your original route, possibly to avoid a collision. You can swerve either toward something or away from it.

- morgue

Most hospitals have an area called a morgue, where dead bodies are stored until they are buried or cremated.
After a person dies, that person's body is often placed in a morgue until it can be transported to a funeral home, church, or temple for a memorial service or funeral. Occasionally, a body needs to be identified by relatives, and that often happens in a morgue as well. Another word for morgue is mortuary. The word comes from the French La Morgue, which was one specific building in 1800s Paris. It replaced the much more blunt term "dead house."

- melodramatic

If you're writhing on the floor, howling in pain over the splinter in your finger, you're being a tad melodramatic, that is, exaggerated, affected, or histrionic.
This term was first used in early-19th-century theater, as the adjective form of the noun melodrama, which is a performance piece featuring exaggerated characters with emotional appeal. Outside the theater, melodramatic behavior is also characterized by a kind of performance or exaggeration of emotions, but it's very rarely appreciated or awarded extra points for artistic merit. The common phrase "Quit being so melodramatic!" is a terse way of pointing out to someone that they are overreacting.

- steer

In defining steer, I would steer clear of complicated examples and just say: to steer is to control which direction one is going.
Everyone who owns a car has learned to point his car in the right direction using the steering wheel. It's a bad idea to let your five year-old steer; you might end up in a sandbox. But the use of steer doesn't need to be limited to wheels and handle bars. If you have a friend torn between whether or not to go to college, you can help steer her towards the right decision. The President's job is "to steer the Ship of State."

- badge

Police officers wear a badge — a shiny piece of metal that lets you know they're cops. Badges can also be metaphors — for example, a scar could considered be a badge of honor.
Police officers are the best-known badge-wearers, but lots of employees — especially federal employees — have to wear some kind of badge to work. The badge lets other people know who you are and what you do. Other kinds of badges are not so official. If a football player broke his leg during a big game, the cast could be called a "badge of honor," because of his playing and his toughness. All badges let others know who you are and why you're important.

- heck

1. [EXCLAM] People sometimes say 'heck!' when they are 8slightly irritated or surprised*. [feelings] [Informal]

• Heck, if you don't like it, don't vote for him...
  如果你不喜欢，不要投他的票不就得了。
• Oh, heck. What can I write about?
  真见鬼。我能写些什么呢？

2. People use a heck of to emphasize how big something is or how much of it there is. [emphasis] [Informal]

• They're spending a heck of a lot of money...
  他们正大把大把地花钱。
• The truth is, I'm in one heck of a mess.
  事实上我麻烦大了。

3. You use the heck in expressions such as 'what the heck' and 'how the heck' in order to emphasize a question, especially when you are puzzled or annoyed.[emphasis] [Informal]

• What the heck's that?...
  那到底是什么鬼东西？
• The question was, where the heck was he?
  问题是，他究竟人在哪里？

4. You say 'what the heck' to indicate that you do not care about a bad aspect of an action or situation. [feelings] [Informal]

• What the heck, I thought, I'll give it a whirl.
  管它呢，我想，我就试试吧。

- bastard

Bastard used to be a not nice thing you called a child whose parents weren't married. But now it's a more general insult hurled toward a jerk or bad person. Bastard can also simply mean "fraudulent."
This is a great example of how words change in meaning over time. Today, if you were called a bastard, it probably has nothing to do with whether or not your parents are married: it just means someone doesn't like you (unless they call you a magnificent bastard, which is a compliment). Bastard can also mean phony or fake, like a bastard version of French that is not correct. When you think bastard, think illegitimate.

- hotshot

If you refer to someone as a hotshot, you mean they are very good at a particular job and are going to be very successful.

• //...a bunch of corporate hotshots...
  一群公司精英
• She's a hotshot broker on Wall Street.
  她是华尔街一名业绩斐然的经纪人。

Grammer

- not much of

If you describe something as not much of a particular type of thing, you mean that it is small or of poor quality.

• It hasn't been much of a holiday...
  这简直不像是假日。
• It's not much of a career, you may think.
  你可能想这根本算不上是一份职业

- too much of ... to

too much of a…to do sth 是英语中的一个固定表达，是too…to…句式与much of a…句式的混合用法。much of a…虽然有时也用于肯定句，但更多是用于否定句，如与not, too, never等否定词或是含有否定意义的词语连用。对于初学者来说，可以简单地将too much of a 理解为too，而将其后的名词理解为形容词，即将整个结构理解为“太……”，如：
将too much of a coward理解为“太胆怯”；
将too much of a risk理解为“太危险”或“太冒险”；
将too much of a gentleman 理解为“太绅士”；

• Flouting the law was too much of a risk.
  藐视法律太危险了.
• There is too much of a competitive element in the sales department.
  销售部门竞争太大。
• I was too much of a coward to argue.
  我太胆怯，没有反驳。
• He was too much of a gentleman to ask them for any money.
  他太绅士气了，不好意思向他们要钱。