76.problematic: involving problems and difficult to deal with有问题的，常常可以在不同场景中灵活翻译，比如“困难重重”“难以处理”。

Driving in Beijing can be quite problematic.

Acquiring an adequate vocabulary has been highly problematic for most learners.

Ride-sharing services remain problematic.

A population-planning document released last year acknowledged that the low birth rate was problematic.

English diphthongs(双元音) are particularly problematic for Chinese students to master.

1.counterproductive: achieving the opposite result of the one that you want 产生相反效果的、事与愿违的、适得其反的

Discipling children is well-meaning and necessary, but being too strict with them may be counterproductive.

2.occasional: happening sometimes but not often or regularly 偶尔的

occasion：场合、时机、特别时刻   occasionally 偶尔地

同义词：sometimes、from time to time、every now and then

Johnny Chan is a formidable(强大的、令人惊叹的) poker player and only loses very occasionally.

Lucy is especially good at traditional Chinese landscape painting, but occasionally she does oils too.

3.seasonal:happening, expected, or needed during a particular season节令性的、季节性的

seasonal fruit

Many tourist destinations have high season and low season, and tend to hire a decent amount of seasonal labor during high season.

4.uphill: something that is very difficult to do and needs a lot of effort and determination.副词、形容词；上坡的，艰难的，费力的

同义词：difficult, hard, tough, demanding

uphill经常修饰struggle, battle, task, climb, fight等词

Whenever the Chinese national football team plays a European team, it is going to be an uphill battle.

Alibaba has been widely regarded as an e-commerce giant. Although it seemed like an uphill task for Pinduoduo to stand out, it dealt tactfully with the hard realities and went public merely three years after its launch.

To improve IELTS from Band 6 to Band 8 within two months is an uphill struggle/task to anyone.

5.downhill: if a situation goes downhill, it gets worse

be all downhill (from here)       be downhill all the way (from here)

We have got the toughest part done, and it will be downhill all the way form here.

同义词：go/slide/head downhill, get/become/ worse, worsen, deteriorate, go from bad to worse

It has been a tough year for many companies. Many went downhill before going bankrupt.

Some celebrity couples seemed to have an enviable（令人羡慕的） marriage, but their relationships slid downhill and ended in divorce.

6.apt: suitable or right for a particular situation 恰当的、贴切的

同义词：appropriate, suitable, fitting

What an apt caption! 

An apt description of xx.

Flowers are an apt gift for nearly any occasion.

7.bearable: If an unpleasant situation is bearable, you can accept or deal with it.

Love makes life more bearable.

Technology has made lone-distance relationships more bearable.

8.synonymous: alike in meaning or significance

Las Vegas is synonymous with gambling.

A is synonymous with B.

Christmas has always been synonymous with festive decorations, gifts, and Santa Claus.

9.approachable: easy to talk or to deal with

approachable是approach的形容词形式，能够被接近的，接地气

friendly，approachable

Although she is an A-list celebrity, she remains approachable and down-to earth.

10.universal:existing everywhere or involving everyone

同义词：common, popular, prevalent

全民xx：universal health care／universal values

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

It is a universal truth....

China has made remarkable progress towards universal literacy.

11.understandable: to be expected, natural, reasonable, or forgivable 易懂的（同义词comprehensible）可以理解的

可在understandable前加perfectly, totally来增强语气

It's perfectly(totally) understandable. Thank you anyway.

It's understandable that you have so much work to do towards the end of the year and cannot help me. Thank you anyway.

It's understandable that you are a few minutes late. The traffic is horrible today.

12.much-needed: needed to a great extent

一般后边接support, assistance, improvement, boost, reform等词

The economic success China has achieved in the past four decades is attributed larger to the adoption of the much-needed reform initiated by Deng Xiaoping.

Tokyo will hold the 2020 Olympics, which will provide a much-needed boost to local economy.

13.alarming: make you feel worried or frightened 令人担忧的、令人惊慌的

同义词：worrying、disturbing,同样，加ly变为副词形式

The Chinese sturgeon is disappearing at an alarming rate.

Domestic violence is alarmingly widespread in Turkey.当我们想说某个现象很普遍，而这种普遍性令人担忧的时候就可以直接说alarmingly widespread

It is alarming that ...

It is particularly disturbing that suicide has been on the rise in American in the last few years.

14.educated: have been well taught受过教育的、有教养的、对...熟知的

The economist correspondents and editors are highly educated thinkers and writers.

Americans are not particularly educated on their history.

be educated on

The public should be educated on the pros and cons of gene editing.

15.mindful: remembering a particular rule or fact and thinking about it when you are making decisions about what to do 记着的、留神的

mindful便正式，可以在写作中使用，替换“with x in mind”和“realizing x”

With the poor road conditions in mind, Eric reduced his speed to 20mph.

Eric was mindful that the road conditions were poor and reduced his speed to 20mph.

Mindful of the poor road conditions, Eric reduced his speed to 20mph.

The traffic is horrible today.

Mindful of the limited budget, the marketing team made a detailed analysis of the project and allocated the funds accordingly.

16.springboard: something that helps you to become successful,跳板

A is a springboard for/to B

A fluent command of English is a springboard to professional success.  springboard是个可数名词，在使用时要注意主谓一致。

Many students take the Postgraduate Admission Test on the grounds that a master's degree provides a springboard for greater success.

Studying abroad is regarded as a springboard for immigration.

17.ground: a reason for what you say or do ,or for being allowed to say or do something地面、理由、根据，ground当“理由”时，一般都会以复数形式grounds出现。

She has valid grounds for accusing him of sexual harassment.

Gene editing has drawn widespread public criticism on ethical grounds.

on the grounds of/that, 因为...的理由，以...为根据

He turned down the invitation on the grounds that his English was not good enough.

18.cornerstone: the basic part of something, on which everything depends基石，比喻事情的基础

Trust, love and mutual respect are cornerstones of marriage.

同义词：building block(积木), foundation, bedrock

Artificial intelligence technologies are becoming cornerstones of our daily lives.

19.antidote: something that helps to improve（改善）the effects of something bad or negative解毒药，缓解作用，有效手段

Some people believe that alcohol can offer a quick antidote to depression.

It seems that music serves as a powerful antidote to worries. Music provides the perfect antidote to loneliness and boredom.

This is the vaccination(疫苗，这里表示预防措施) against day-to-day firefighting and an antidote for the imbalance many people bring upon themselves.

Working out is a powerful antidote to anxiety.

20.hitch: an unexpected difficulty, obstacle, delay, etc.故障、障碍

The plan was executed（执行） without a hitch(非常顺利).

同义词：obstacle、hinderance

A slight hitch can lead to a deadly disaster.

a technical hitch技术故障，a legal hitch法律问题，a slight/minor/major hitch

There was a slight technical hitch which delayed the plane's take-off.

Jay Chou's concert in Beijing went off without a hitch.