2013.11.29 word (week12-5)

1.distract(v.)
+ obj] 1) : to cause (someone) to stop thinking about or paying attention to someone or something and to think about or pay attention to someone or something else instead
▪ The students are easily distracted, especially when they're tired.2) : to take (attention) away from someone or something
▪ The local story distracted attention from news of the war overseas.

2.ego(n.)[count] 1) : the opinion that you have about yourself
▪ Winning was good for our egos. = Winning boosted our egos. [=winning made us proud of ourselves]

3.eligible(adj.)

1) : able to be chosen for something : able to do or receive something
▪ I'd like to join but I'm not eligible yet. ▪ eligible voters — often followed by to + verb ▪ She is eligible to be (elected) president. — often + for ▪ He's eligible for health insurance through his employer. ▪ eligible for a loan

2) [more eligible; most eligible] : suitable and desirable for marriage

▪ He's an eligible bachelor. [=an unmarried man who would make a good husband]

4.eloquence(n.)noncount] : the ability to speak or write well and in an effective way 

▪ She spoke with eloquence on the need for better schools.

5.endeavor(n.)[+ obj] formal : to seriously or continually try to do (something)
▪ The school endeavors to teach students to be good citizens.

 

2013.11.28 note: To Kill A Mockingbird (week12)

Note

1. genres of novels:

•  bildungsroman(溫馨勵志小說)
•  detective fiction
•  fatasy/adventure

2. To kill a mockingbird(1926)
 author: Harper Lee
*1961-Pulitzer-Prize-Winning novel
*dealing with the issue of racism
*winning Presedent Medal Prise
*"Mockingbird" is a metaphor.
*as a Southern Gothic novel and a Bildungsroman
* addressing issues of class, courage, compassion, and gender roles in the American Deep South
*The narrative is very tough, because [Lee] has to both be a kid on the street and aware of the mad dogs and the spooky houses, and have this beautiful vision of how justice works and all the creaking mechanisms of the courthouse. Part of the beauty is that she... trusts the visual to lead her, and the sensory.

—Allan Gurganus

Quotations:

*"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summers day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."
→the narrator provides the setting for the story and sets the mood for a quiet and somewhat dull town, which sets the stage for the conflict of Tom's trial.
(There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go.)

* "Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself."
→“We have nothing to fear but fear itself” is the most famous line from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first inaugural speech, made after the 1932 presidential election. From this clue, it is reasonable to infer that the action of the story opens in the summer of 1933, an assumption that subsequent historical clues support. The defeat of the National Recovery Act in the Supreme Court in 1935, for instance, is mentioned in Chapter 27 of the novel, when Scout is eight—about two years older than at the start of the novel.
→It is trying to convey the optomism and hope that those words caused to people of a hard-hit rural town during bad times.
(別自己嚇自己)

*"Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now."
I mumbled that I was sorry and retired meditating upon my crime."
→Scout's first grade teacher makes her feel bad about being able to read, when she should feel proud that she can read and write at such a young age. Scout even apologizes and referred to her ability as a crime. This exchange demonstrates how many people in Maycomb are very small minded in their views.

*"Your father's right,' she said. 'Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

 →In addition to bearing the title of the novel, this passage demonstrates yet again how similar Atticus and Mrs. Maudie are. Both agree quite strongly that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, an animal symbolic of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, as neither has caused harm, and prove only to have pure hearts.

 

Links:
*cross-examination
*The Children Save Atticus
*Boo is a Hero
*What Kind of Man Are You
*All Men Are Created Equal

Major Lessons:

1) Put yourself in other people's shoes.
2)Don't kill mockingbirds (don't kill innocent people)
3)Keep fighting even if you know you'll lose.
4)The world is very unfair.


 

Word

1. Tom Boy:穿著打扮像男孩的女孩
2. rustling:沙沙作響

2013.11.28 word (week12-4)

1.crooked(adj.) [more crooked; most crooked]
1) : not straight
▪ a crooked smile/grin : having bends and curves  

2) : not set or placed straight
▪ The picture is crooked.

3) informal

a : not honest
▪ crooked [=corrupt, dishonest] politicians
b : done to trick or deceive someone

▪ a crooked card game

2.decent(adj.)[more decent; most decent]

1)

a : polite, moral, and honest
▪ I don't understand how so decent a person could be involved with this kind of crime.
b somewhat informal : showing kindness : seeming to care about the feelings or problems of other people
▪ It's really decent [=nice, thoughtful] of them to help us like this.

2) : good enough but not the best : adequate or acceptable
▪ He makes a decent living. = He has a job making/earning decent money.

3) : appropriate or suitable
▪ I know you've got a lot to do, but try to get to bed at a decent hour. [=at a time that is not too late at night]
4) : not using language that offends people : not including behavior or ideas that people commonly find offensive
▪ Please keep your jokes decent—there are children in the room.5) informal : wearing enough clothes : wearing clothes that cover enough of your body so that you are not embarrassed if someone sees you
▪ I can't come to the door right now—I'm not decent. Wait a minute, OK?


3.deem(v.)[+ obj] formal : to think of (someone or something) in a particular way

▪ The building was deemed [=considered, judged] unsafe after the fire.

4.deliberate(v.)[more deliberate; most deliberate]

1) : done or said in a way that is planned or intended : done or said on purpose
▪ I don't think that was a mistake; I think it was deliberate. [=intentional]

2) : done or decided after careful thought
▪ a deliberate choice/decision

3) : slow and careful

▪ She spoke in a clear, deliberate manner/way.

5.discreet (adj.)more discreet; most discreet] 1) — used to suggest that someone is being careful about not allowing something from being known or noticed by many people
▪ She was always very discreet about her personal life.

2) : not likely to be seen or noticed by many people
▪ A photographer followed the bride and groom at a discreet [=unobtrusive] distance

 

2013.11.27 word (week12-3)

1.crooked(adj.) [more crooked; most crooked] 1) : not straight
▪ a crooked smile/grin : having bends and curves  

2) : not set or placed straight
▪ The picture is crooked.

3) informal

a : not honest
▪ crooked [=corrupt, dishonest] politicians
b : done to trick or deceive someone

▪ a crooked card game

2.decent(adj.)[more decent; most decent]

1)

a : polite, moral, and honest
▪ I don't understand how so decent a person could be involved with this kind of crime.
b somewhat informal : showing kindness : seeming to care about the feelings or problems of other people
▪ It's really decent [=nice, thoughtful] of them to help us like this.

2) : good enough but not the best : adequate or acceptable
▪ He makes a decent living. = He has a job making/earning decent money.

3) : appropriate or suitable
▪ I know you've got a lot to do, but try to get to bed at a decent hour. [=at a time that is not too late at night]
4) : not using language that offends people : not including behavior or ideas that people commonly find offensive
▪ Please keep your jokes decent—there are children in the room.5) informal : wearing enough clothes : wearing clothes that cover enough of your body so that you are not embarrassed if someone sees you
▪ I can't come to the door right now—I'm not decent. Wait a minute, OK?


3.deem(v.)[+ obj] formal : to think of (someone or something) in a particular way

▪ The building was deemed [=considered, judged] unsafe after the fire.

4.deliberate(v.)[more deliberate; most deliberate]

1) : done or said in a way that is planned or intended : done or said on purpose
▪ I don't think that was a mistake; I think it was deliberate. [=intentional]

2) : done or decided after careful thought
▪ a deliberate choice/decision

3) : slow and careful 

▪She spoke in a clear, deliberate manner/way.

5.discreet (adj.)[more discreet; most discreet]

1) — used to suggest that someone is being careful about not allowing something from being known or noticed by many people
▪ She was always very discreet about her personal life.

2) : not likely to be seen or noticed by many people
▪ A photographer followed the bride and groom at a discreet [=unobtrusive] distance.

 

 

2013.11.26 word (week12-2)

1.blunder(v.)
no obj]
1) : to move in an awkward or confused way
▪ We blundered along through the woods until we finally found the trail.
— often used figuratively ▪ a nation that is blundering into war

2) : to make a stupid or careless mistake

▪ The government blundered by not acting sooner.

2.conceive(v.)
1) : to think of or create (something) in the mind
[+ obj] ▪ When the writer conceived this role, he had a specific actor in mind to play the part. [no obj] — + of ▪ They conceived of [=thought of, regarded] her as a genius.

2) : to become pregnant
[no obj] ▪ a woman who has been unable to conceive
[+ obj]

▪ a woman who has been unable to conceive a child

3.conceit(n.)
1) [noncount] : too much pride in your own worth or goodness
▪ His conceit has earned him many enemies.

2) [count] literary : an idea that shows imagination
▪ an artistic conceit ▪ a clever conceit

4.comtemplate(v.)

1) a [+ obj] : to think deeply or carefully about (something)
▪ I stopped to contemplate [=ponder] what might have happened.b [no obj] : to think deeply
▪ I'd like some time to just sit and contemplate.

2) [+ obj] : to think about doing (something) : consider
▪ She's contemplating moving to the city. = She's contemplating a move to the city.
3) [+ obj] : to look carefully at (something) 

▪ She stood and quietly contemplated the scene that lay before her.

5.credibility(n.)

[noncount] : the quality of being believed or accepted as true, real, or honest
▪ The new evidence lends credibility to their theory.

2013.11.25 word (week12-1)

1.absentminded (adj.): tending to forget things or to not notice things : having or showing a lack of attention
▪ Her absentminded husband forgot their anniversary.

2.abstraction(n.)1) [noncount] : the act of obtaining or removing something from a source : the act of abstracting something
▪ abstraction of data from hospital records

2) formal : a general idea or quality rather than an actual person, object, or event : an abstract idea or quality
[count] ▪ “Beauty” and “truth” are abstractions.[noncount] ▪ the abstraction [=abstract quality] of his ideas

3) [noncount] somewhat formal : the state of someone who is not paying attention to what is happening or being said : an abstracted state

▪ She gazed out the window in abstraction.

3.accountable(adj.)1) : required to explain actions or decisions to someone
 — usually + to ▪ Political leaders need to be accountable to the people they represent.

2) : required to be responsible for something
▪ If anything goes wrong I will hold you personally accountable!
—

often + for ▪ They hold you accountable for your mistakes.

▪ Each child is accountable [=responsible] for his or her own behavior.

4.analogy(n.)1) [count] : a comparison of two things based on their being alike in some way
▪ He drew/made an analogy between flying a kite and fishing. [=he compared flying a kite to fishing; he said that flying a kite was like fishing]

2) [noncount] : the act of comparing two things that are alike in some way
▪ coining new words by analogy to/with existing ones [=coining new words so that they are formed in a way similar to old ones]

5.articulate(adj.)

[more articulate; most articulate]

1) : able to express ideas clearly and effectively in speech or writing
▪ She's an intelligent and articulate speaker.
2) : clearly expressed and easily understood
▪ The baby is beginning to form articulate words and phrases.

 

2013.11.22 word (week11-5)

1. novice ( n.) 
count] 1) : a person who has just started learning or doing something
▪ He's a novice in cooking.
2 ): a new member of a religious group who is preparing to become a nun or a monk

2.offspring (n.)
[count] 1) : a person's child
▪ The disease can be transmitted from parent to offspring.

2) : the young of an animal or plant

▪ The colt is the offspring of two racing champions.

3.simmer(v.)

1) : to cook (something) so that it is almost boiling for a certain period of time

[+ obj] ▪ Simmer the stew for 40 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

[no obj] ▪ Let the stew simmer (for) 40 minutes.

2) [no obj]

a : to be filled with a strong feeling that is difficult to control or hide

— usually + with

▪ He was simmering with anger/resentment.
b : to be felt strongly by someone without being directly shown or expressed
▪ Anger simmered inside him.

3) [no obj] : to continue for a long time without producing a definite result

▪ The dispute simmered for years before any progress was made.

4) [no obj] : to develop slowly

▪ The idea for my novel simmered in my mind for quite some time.
*simmer down [phrasal verb]

: to become calm after being very angry or excited
▪ After he simmered down, we were able to work out a solution to the problem.

4.textile (n.)
1) [count] : frabic,cloth ; especially : a fabric that is woven or knit

▪ They import fine silk textiles from China.

2) textiles [noncount] : the businesses that make textiles

▪ She made her fortune in textiles. [=the textile industry]

5.wardrobe (n.)[count] 1)
a : a collection of clothes that a person owns or wears

▪ She has quite an extensive wardrobe. [=she has a lot of clothes]
b : the clothes worn by actors in films, plays, etc. ; also : the department that keeps and takes care of the clothes for films, plays, etc.
▪ She went to wardrobe for her fitting.

2) : a room, closet, or chest where clothes are kept

▪ a walk-in wardrobe

2013.11.21 note: Richard Scarry's Best Sing Along Mother Goose Video Ever! (week11)

Note

1. Richard Scarry's Best Sing Along Mother Goose Video Ever!  

plot
Huckle Cat is worried because he can't find Lowly Worm and he dreams he is in Mother Goose Land. Huckle Cat meets almost all of Mother Goose's characters. They lead him on a wild "goose" chase, until he actually meets up with Mother Goose. Huckle Cat wakes to find Lowly Worm in the kitchen baking a pie, the whole time he was dreaming away.

the mother goose included in the video
*Little Jack Horner
Little Jack Horner sat in the corner
Eating his Christmas pie,
He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum
And said "What a good boy am I!
*star light, star bright
The first star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.
*London Bridge Is Falling Down
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Build it up with sticks and stones.
Sticks and stones, sticks and stones.
Build it up with sticks and stones.
My fair Lady...
* Mary Had A Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb,
Little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow...
*Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
To get her poor doggie a bone,
When she got there
The cupboard was bare
So the poor little doggie had none.
*Little Bo Peep
Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn't know where to find them
Leave them alone
And they'll come home
Wagging their tails behind them
*Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon!
*Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet,
Sat on a Tuffet,
Eating her curd and whey.

Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet Away!
*Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty
Sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty
Had a great fall.

All the King's horses,
And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty
Together again.
(All king's horse and men.→國王的人馬)
*Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory Dickory dock.
*The Three Little Kittens  
The three little kittens
They lost their mittens,
And they began to cry
"Oh mother dear
we sadly fear our mittens we have lost"
"What! Lost your mittens? you naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie"
"Meow, meow, meow, meow, we shall have no pie"...
(mitten:手套；a covering for the hand that has a separate part for the thumb only )
*Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn;
Where is that boy
Who looks after the sheep?
Under the haystack
Fast asleep.
Will you wake him?
Oh no, not I,
For if I do
He will surely cry.
*Old King Cole
Old King Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he
He called for his pipe
And he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three
Ev'ry fiddler had a fiddle
And a very fine fiddle had he
Oh there's none so rare
As can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three
(The King Cole Bar in The Devil Wears Prada)
*Sing a song of sixpence
Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;

Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie!

theme
decribing/sorting/naming
(for example:
what is he looks like?
how is he looks?
identity of lowly worm→long/thin/green hat/ one leg)

conflict
I wish I can find lowly.

climax
Old king cole retrieves the identity of lowly worm.


2.themes of children's literature
*lost/found
*dream/adventure
*magic/spell
*friendship/leadership

3. kermit

4.Little Miss Muffet
*tuffet(矮凳)
*a bowl of curds and whey
*spider

5.mocky bird:反舌鳥

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Word

1. ale(n.)
: an alcoholic drink that is similar to beer
[noncount] ▪ a glass of ale [count] ▪ The bar serves two very different ales.








  

2013.11.21 word (week11-4)

1.prune(n.)/ˈpru:n/

[count] : a dried plum that is often cooked before it is eaten
▪ stewed prunes

2.puff(n.)/ˈpʌf/

1 : to breathe smoke from a cigarette, pipe, etc., in and out of the lungs [no obj] ▪ She sat on the porch puffing on a cigarette. ▪ The men spent the evening puffing (away) at cigars. [+ obj] ▪ He puffed [=smoked] a pipe.

2 a : to produce or send out small clouds of smoke or steam [+ obj] ▪ He puffed [=blew] smoke into my face. ▪ The chimney puffed white smoke into the sky. [no obj] ▪ Steam puffed (out) from the pot.
b always followed by an adverb or preposition [no obj] : to move in a particular direction while producing clouds of steam or smoke
▪ We watched the train puff away on its journey west.

3 [no obj] informal a : to breathe loudly especially because of hard physical activity
▪ He was puffing and panting from running.
b always followed by an adverb or preposition : to move or do something while breathing loudly
▪ The bikers puffed up the hill.

4 a [no obj] : to become larger and rounder than normal
— usually + up ▪ Her face puffed up [=swelled] from an allergic reaction to the almonds. b [+ obj] : to make (something) larger and rounder than normal
▪ He puffed his chest and swaggered into the room.
— usually + up ▪ The frog puffed itself up. ▪ He puffed up his chest and swaggered into the room.

3.puppet(n.)/ˈpʌpət/

[count] 1 : a doll that is moved by putting your hand inside it or by pulling strings or wires that are attached to it

2 : a person or an organization that is controlled by another person or organization
▪ a dictator who was perceived as being an American puppet

4.rack(v.)/ˈræk/

[+ obj] 1 : to cause (someone or something) to suffer pain or damage
 — usually used as (be) racked ▪ He was racked with/by jealousy [=he was very jealous] when he saw his ex-wife with another man.
2 US : to put (balls) in a rack for a game of billiards
▪ Rack the balls (up) and we'll play some pool.

*rack up [phrasal verb]: to achieve or get (something) as time passes : accumulate
*rack your brain/brains

: to think very hard in order to try to remember something, solve a problem, etc.
▪ I've been racking my brain, but I can't remember his name.

5.radius(n.)/ˈreɪdijəs/

[count] 1 technical : a straight line from the center of a circle or sphere to any point on the outer edge
▪ Measure the radius of the circle. ; also : the length of this line

2 : an area that goes outward in all directions from a particular place
▪ The new museum is expected to draw people from a wide radius.3 medical : the bone in the lower part of your arm on the same side as your thumb

2013.11.20 word (week11-3)

1.palatable (a.)

[more palatable; most palatable] somewhat formal 1) : having a pleasant or agreeable taste
▪ palatable food ▪ a less than palatable beer

2) : pleasant or acceptable to someone

— usually + to ▪ The play has been rewritten in an attempt to make it more palatable to modern audiences. ▪ Traveling by train is a palatable alternative to driving.

 *palatability (noun) [noncount]

2.scrupulous (a.)

[more scrupulous; most scrupulous]

1) : very careful about doing something correctly
▪ She was always scrupulous about her work. ▪ The work requires scrupulous attention to detail. ▪ They were scrupulous [=meticulous] in their testing.

2) : careful about doing what is honest and morally right
▪ Less scrupulous companies find ways to evade the law.

 

3.tenable(a.)

[more tenable; most tenable] formal : capable of being defended against attack or criticism
▪ The theory is no longer tenable. [=defensible] ▪ a tenable argument

4.depreciate(v.)
1 )
a [+ obj] : to cause (something) to have a lower price or value
▪ These changes have greatly depreciated the value of the house.
b [no obj] : to decrease in value
▪ New cars depreciate rapidly. ▪ The value of the house has depreciated greatly.

2) [+ obj] formal : to describe (something) as having little value
▪ He often depreciates [=disparages, belittles] the importance of his work.

 

5.cipher(n.)

1) technical : a way of changing a message to keep it secret : code [count] ▪ a cipher that can't be decoded [noncount] ▪ The message was written in cipher. [=the message was coded]

2) [count] formal + disapproving : a person who has no power or is not important
▪ She was nothing more than a cipher.

 

2013.11.19 word (week11-2)

1.fidelity(n.)

[noncount]

1)

a : the quality of being faithful to your husband, wife, or sexual partner
▪ She began to doubt her husband's fidelity. [=to wonder if he was having an affair with another woman] ▪ sexual fidelity

 — often + to ▪ his fidelity to his wife

b : the quality of being faithful or loyal to a country, organization, etc.

 — usually + to ▪ No one can doubt his fidelity [=devotion] to his country.

2) : the degree to which something matches or copies something else — + to ▪ The movie's director insisted on total fidelity to the book. [=insisted that the story told in the movie should accurately copy the story told in the book]

3) : the degree to which a device (such as a CD player, radio, or television) correctly reproduces sounds, pictures, etc.
▪ music with much higher fidelity than on cassettes ▪ a printer with outstanding color fidelity [=a printer that produces very accurate colors]

 

2.resolute(a.)

[more resolute; most resolute] : very determined : having or showing a lot of determination
▪ She is a resolute competitor. ▪ He has remained resolute in his opposition to the bill. ▪ a leader with a stern and resolute manner

 

3.abashed(a.)

[more abashed; most abashed] : embarrassed or ashamed
▪ She seemed a little abashed when they asked about her job.

 

4.toxic(a.)

[more toxic; most toxic] : containing poisonous substances : poisonous
▪ a toxic substance/compound ▪ The fumes from that chemical are highly toxic. ▪ Tests will be run to determine if the landfill is toxic. — sometimes used figuratively ▪ a toxic [=very unpleasant] work environment

 

5.mobilize (v.)

1)

a [+ obj] : to bring (people) together for action
▪ The President mobilized [=rallied] his supporters. ▪ They couldn't mobilize enough support to pass the new law.
b [no obj] : to come together for action
▪ Several groups have mobilized to oppose the proposed new law. ▪ They have the ability to mobilize quickly.

2) [+ obj] : to make (soldiers, an army, etc.) ready for war
▪ The government had to mobilize the army quickly. ▪ More than 10,000 troops were mobilized for war. ▪ mobilizing the nation's resources

 

2013.11.18 word (week11-1)

1.ravel(v.)

[no obj] formal + literary : to become divided into separate threads : unravel
▪ The fabric will ravel.

 — raveled (US) or chiefly Brit ravelled adjective
▪ a ravelled edge ▪ a raveled sleeve

2.ballistic(a.)
1) : to become very angry
▪ Dad went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.

2) US : to become very excited
▪ The crowd was going ballistic. [=going wild]

 

3.obtrude(v.)

formal : to become involved with something or to become noticeable in an unpleasant or annoying way [no obj] ▪ She didn't want to obtrude [=intrude] on/upon their conversation. ▪ The historical details in the movie do not obtrude—they enhance the story by making it more realistic. [+ obj] ▪ He was confident at first, but then doubts began to obtrude themselves. [=he began to have doubts]

 

4.opprobrium(n.)

[noncount] formal : very strong disapproval or criticism of a person or thing especially by a large number of people
▪ They're going ahead with the plan despite public opprobrium. ▪ a group of critics who use “romanticism” as a term of opprobrium [=a word that is used to show disapproval]

 

5.antecedent(n.)

1) [count] grammar : a word or phrase that is represented by another word (such as a pronoun)
▪ “John” is the antecedent of the pronoun “him” in “Mary saw John and thanked him.”

2) [count] formal : something that came before something else and may have influenced or caused it
▪ The events were antecedents of/to the war. [=the events helped to cause the war] ▪ the antecedents of rap music [=music that came before and influenced rap music]

3) antecedents [plural] formal : the people in a family who lived in past times
▪ He is proud of his Scottish antecedents. [=(more commonly) ancestors]

 

2013.11.15 word (week10-5)

1.foreboding(n.)
a feeling that something bad is going to happen [noncount] ▪ She was filled with a sense of foreboding. [count] ▪ It seems that her forebodings were justified.

2.forestall(v.)

[+ obj] 1) : to stop (something) from happening or to cause (something) to happen at a later time
▪ Negotiations failed to forestall the conflict. ▪ His comments were meant to forestall criticism of his proposal.

2) : to act before (someone else) in order to prevent something
▪ He forestalled critics by offering a defense of the project.

 

3.preclude(v.)

[+ obj] formal 1) : to make (something) impossible : to prevent (something) from happening
▪ She suffered an injury that precluded the possibility of an athletic career. ▪ Bad weather precluded any further attempts to reach the summit.

2) : to prevent (someone) from doing something

 — + from ▪ The injury precluded her from having an athletic career.

 

4.precocious(a.)

[more precocious; most precocious] of a child : having or showing the qualities or abilities of an adult at an unusually early age
▪ She was a precocious child who could read before she went to school. ▪ A precocious musician, he was giving concerts when he was seven.

 

5.precursor(n.)

[count] somewhat formal : something that comes before something else and that often leads to or influences its development

 — often + of or to ▪ Rhythm and blues was a precursor of rock music. ▪ Small tremors may be precursors to big earthquakes.

2013.11.14 word (week10-4)

1.preemptive(a.)
: done to stop an unwanted act by another group, country, etc., from happening
▪ The country took preemptive action against the perceived enemy. ▪ a preemptive attack/strike by the army

2.premarital(a.)
: happening before marriage
▪ premarital sex ▪ premarital counseling

3.premonition(n.)

[count] : a feeling or belief that something is going to happen when there is no definite reason to believe it will
▪ premonitions of disaster ▪ She had a premonition that he would call.

 

4.preordained (a.)

formal : decided in advance and certain to happen
▪ a preordained conclusion ▪ Although such an outcome is likely, it is by no means preordained. [=it is not certain]

 

5.prerequisite (n.)

[count] : something that you officially must have or do before you can have or do something else : requirement

 — often + for or to ▪ Citizenship is a prerequisite for voting. ▪ The introductory course is a prerequisite for the advanced-level courses. ▪ Having good credit is a prerequisite to applying for a loan.

 

2013.11.14 note: Mother Goose (week10)

Note

1. It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"
It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap- happiest season of all

There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmellows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year
There'll be much mistletoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When love ones are near
It's the most wonderful time of the year
*"Be of good cheer" :要乖喔；要開心!!
*gay happy meetings :極快樂的
*come to call:拜訪你
*marshmallow(n.)→棉花糖

* mistletoe

[noncount] : a plant with yellowish flowers and white berries that is traditionally used as a Christmas decoration

◊Pieces of mistletoe are often hung from the ceiling or in a doorway at Christmastime.

According to tradition, if you stand with someone under a piece of mistletoe, you are supposed to kiss that person.

→for example: the movie, while you were sleeping(Jack and Lucy kiss when they stand underneath the mistletoe.)

 

2.nut cracker(胡桃鉗)

→Decoration of the Christmas

→The Nutcracker Ballet (song)














3.mother goose
The figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. The so-called "Mother Goose" rhymes and stories have formed the basis for many classic British pantomimes. Mother Goose is generally depicted in literature and book illustration as an elderly country woman in a tall hat and shawl, a costume identical to the peasant costume worn in Wales in the early 20th century, but is sometimes depicted as a goose (usually wearing a bonnet).
*nursery rhyme: songs for young children

*lullaby:搖籃曲

4.Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features European folkloric fantasy characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, dwarves, giants, mermaids, and usually magic or enchantments. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables.
*"Puss in Boots"

"Master Cat; or, The Booted Cat",commonly known in English as "Puss in Boots", is a French literary fairy tale about a cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for his penniless and low-born master. The tale was written at the close of the seventeenth century by Charles Perrault (1628–1703).






5.Fable
Fable is a literary genre. A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities such as verbal communication), and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be added explicitly in a pithy maxim.
*Aesop's fable

6.Parable(no personificated animals)
A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of analogy.
*Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son, also known as Two Sons, Lost Son and The Running Father is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament.
* (the word 'prodigal' means 'wastefully extravagant')

7.allegory
*Allegory is a literary device in which characters or events in a literary, visual, or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas and concepts. Allegory has been used widely throughout the histories of all forms of art; a major reason for this is its immense power to illustrate complex ideas and concepts in ways that are easily digestible and tangible to its viewers, readers, or listeners
*an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor
*type:
Northrop Frye discussed what he termed a "continuum of allegory", a spectrum that ranges from what he termed the "naive allegory" of The Faerie Queene, to the more private allegories of modern paradox literature. In this perspective, the characters in a "naive" allegory are not fully three-dimensional, for each aspect of their individual personalities and the events that befall them embodies some moral quality or other abstraction; the allegory has been selected first, and the details merely flesh it out.Many ancient religions are based on astrological allegories, that is, allegories of the movement of the Sun and the Moon as seen from the Earth. Examples include the cult of Horus/Isis.
(The Faerie Queen: implying several virtues through knights' name)

8. paradox literature
In literature, the paradox is an anomalous juxtaposition of incongruous ideas for the sake of striking exposition or unexpected insight. It functions as a method of literary composition - and analysis - which involves examining apparently contradictory statements and drawing conclusions either to reconcile them or to explain their presence.

*for example:(Othello, Act2,Scene 1)

DESDEMONA These are old fond paradoxes to make fools laugh i' th' alehouse. What miserable praise hast thou for her That’s foul and foolish?

DESDEMONA These are stupid old jokes that men tell each other in bars. What horrible thing do you have to say about a woman who’s both ugly and stupid?

IAGO There’s none so foul and foolish thereunto, But does foul pranks which fair and wise ones do.

IAGO No matter how ugly or stupid the woman is, she plays the same dirty tricks that the smart and pretty ones do.

9.

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Crack-Up" (1936)

 

→dilemma

 

 10.pantomine(啞劇→誇張) 

*  The telling of a story without words, by means of bodily movements, gestures, and facial expressions.

*  An ancient Roman theatrical performance in which one actor played all the parts by means of gesture and movement, accompanied by a narrative chorus.

* A traditional British Christmas entertainment for children, usually based on nursery tales and featuring stock characters in costume who sing, dance, and perform skits.

→

11.Christmas controversy(religious v.s secular)
The term "Christmas controversy" refers to the issue surrounding the celebration or acknowledgment of the Christmas holiday (or lack thereof) in government, media, advertising, and various secular environments. The controversy also includes objections to policies that prohibit Christians from forcing unwilling participants to attend religious Christmas ceremonies. In the past, Christmas-related controversy was mainly restricted to concerns of a public focus on secular Christmas themes such as Santa Claus and gift-giving, rather than what is seen by Christians as the real reason for Christmas—the birth of Jesus.

12. The Queen of Hearts
 -from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The Queen of Hearts is a character from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by the writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll. She is a foul-tempered monarch, that Carroll himself pictured as "a blind fury", and who is quick to decree death sentences at the slightest offense. Her most famous line, one which she repeats often, is "Off with their heads!"
The Queen is referred to as a card from a pack of playing cards by Alice, yet somehow she is able to talk and is the ruler of the lands in the story, alongside the King of Hearts. She is often confused with the Red Queen from the sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, although the two are very different.

-The Queen of Hearts (poem)
*William Wallance Denslow: William Wallace "W. W." Denslow (May 25, 1856 – May 27, 1915) was an American illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

-Desperado(eagles)
lyrics:
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
→紅心女王，字面上意思是『撲克牌裡的紅心Q』，在歌詞中象徵有真情的女人。(你知道，你需要的是真正愛你的人)
 

2013.11.13 word (week10-3)

1. proletarian(n.)
 a member of the proletariat
▪He is the father of proletarian literature.

2. provincial(a.)
relating to an area that is governed as part of a country or an empire
▪City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.

17. melancholy(a.)
 sad
 ▪A mood of melancholy descended on us.

4. legacy(n.)
 money or property that you receive from someone after they die
▪An elderly cousin had left her a small legacy.

5. striking(a.)
 very unusual or easily noticed, and therefore attracting a lot of attention
▪There are striking similarities between the two cases.