2014.01.07 word (week18-2)

1.consol(v.)

[+ obj] : to try to make (someone) feel less sadness or disappointment
▪ She consoled [=comforted] him after his wife died. ▪ Nothing could console her after his death.

 — often + with ▪ I consoled myself with the thought that things could be much worse.

 

2.conspicuous(a.)

[more conspicuous; most conspicuous]

1) : very easy to see or notice
▪ There were a number of conspicuous changes to the building. ▪ The sign was placed in a very conspicuous spot/position. ▪ The bird has a conspicuous red head. ▪ She felt very conspicuous in her pink coat. ▪ He was uncomfortable about his conspicuous weight gain. ▪ The President was conspicuous by his absence at the peace talks. [=his absence was very noticeable; people had expected him to be there and noticed that he wasn't] 

2) : attracting attention by being great or impressive
▪ The business was a conspicuous success. ▪ conspicuous bravery

 

3.corporeal(a.)

[more corporeal; most corporeal] formal : having or consisting of a physical body or form
▪ corporeal existence ▪ the corporeal nature of matter

4.credulous(a.)

[more credulous; most credulous] : too ready to believe things : easily fooled or cheated
▪ Few people are credulous enough to believe such nonsense. ▪ a credulous audience

 

5.decent(a.)

[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. ▪ I apologized for the damage to his car, and he was pretty decent [=understanding] about it.

2) : good enough but not the best : adequate or acceptable
▪ She's a decent [=fairly good] tennis player. ▪ They can't afford decent [=adequate] housing.

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] ▪ We were asked to wait a decent interval [=wait for an appropriate amount of time] before making the announcement.

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? ▪ Can I come in? Are you decent?

 

2014.01.06 word (week18-1)

1.amoral(a.)

[more amoral; most amoral] : having or showing no concern about whether behavior is morally right or wrong
▪ amoral politicians ▪ He is an amoral, selfish person pursuing his own goals. ▪ a cynical and amoral way of competing for business

2.pathetic(a.)

[more pathetic; most pathetic] 1) : causing feelings of sadness and sympathy
▪ I could hear her pathetic [=pitiful] cries for help. ▪ The blind, old dog was a pathetic sight.

2) informal + disapproving : very bad, poor, weak, etc.
▪ The team was pretty bad last year, but this year they're downright pathetic. ▪ The story he told was a pathetic attempt to cover up a lie. ▪ a pathetic excuse ▪ His car is a pathetic piece of junk.

 *pathetically  (adverb )
▪ The child cried pathetically.

3.alienat(v.)

[+ obj] 1 ) : to make (someone) unfriendly : to cause (someone) to stop being friendly, helpful, etc., towards you
▪ He alienated most of his colleagues with his bad temper. ▪ Her position on this issue has alienated many former supporters.

2) : to cause (someone) to feel that she or he no longer belongs in a particular group, society, etc.

 — + from ▪ Her position on this issue has alienated her from many voters. ▪ His drug problems have alienated him from his parents.

 

4.compatible(a.)

[more compatible; most compatible] 1) : able to exist together without trouble or conflict : going together well
▪ compatible colors ▪ two people with compatible personalities ▪ My roommate and I are very compatible. [=we get along very well] ▪ Our tastes are not compatible. [=we like very different things] ▪ a policy that is compatible with my beliefs [=that agrees with my beliefs]

2 ) of devices and especially computers : able to be used together
▪ compatible computers ▪ compatible systems ▪ This printer is compatible with most PCs.

 

5.competent(a.)

[more competent; most competent] 1)  : having the necessary ability or skills : able to do something well or well enough to meet a standard
▪ a competent [=capable] teacher ▪ She is a competent [=adequate] portrait painter but she excels with landscapes.

2) law : able to take part in a trial
▪ The defendant was declared competent to stand trial. ▪ a competent witness

 

 

 

 

2013.01.03 word (week17-5)

1.symbiosis(n.)
1)  biology : the relationship between two different kinds of living things that live together and depend on each other [count]
 — usually singular ▪ The bacteria exist in a symbiosis with the plant's roots. [noncount] ▪ The bird lives in symbiosis with the hippopotamus.

2) formal : a relationship between two people or groups that work with and depend on each other [count] — usually singular ▪ There is a symbiosis between celebrities and the media. [noncount]

 ▪ Their professional association was one of symbiosis.

 

2.symmetry(n.)

[noncount] : the quality of something that has two sides or halves that are the same or very close in size, shape, and position : the quality of having symmetrical parts
▪ the symmetry of the human body ▪ The building has perfect symmetry.

 

3.anaesthesia(n.)

[noncount] medical : loss of feeling in a person's body or part of the body through the use of drugs
▪ The patient was given an injection to induce anesthesia.

▪ patients who are under general anesthesia [=patients who have been given drugs that make them unconscious and unable to feel pain]

 

4.atrophy(n.)

[noncount] medical : gradual loss of muscle or flesh usually because of disease or lack of use
▪ The doctor is concerned about possible atrophy of the shoulder muscles.

— often used figuratively ▪ emotional/intellectual atrophy [=loss of emotional/intellectual strength]

 

5.chromatic(a.)

music : of or relating to a musical scale that has all semitones
▪ chromatic harmonies/notes ▪ the chromatic scale

2013.01.02 note:The Literature Experience: responding to literature (week17)

1. Hansel and Gretel:

"Hansel and Gretel"is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic witch living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children save their lives by outwitting her.


*brat:死嬰仔
*pabble:小石頭&bread crumbs (using them to lay the trail)


*the characters who learned something from experience:
→stepmother( She locked the children in  the house after they found the road to return home successfully at the first time.)
→Gretel(knowing the witch is blind and pretending she does not understand what she means)


*maternal love:
→ witch: still preparing meals for Hansel and Gretel
→ Gretel: rescuing her brother


*climax: knowing what thing they really need ?(Gretel finally realizes she has to protect the only thing she has, and it is her brother, Hansel.)


*resolution: they become rich; their stepmother is dead




2. To kill a Mocking Bird is about growing up
*“Boo” Radley: one of the outcast


3disagreeable-looking:不討喜，討人厭的長相


4. The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been produced.


*main character: Mary Lennox(She had a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. →the sour expression不討喜的表情)


*So when she was a sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way, and when she became a sickly, fretful, toddling thing she was kept out of the way also.


*by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived

5. why mosquitoes buss in people's ears
*one of the conflicts is that the day cannot come
*the themes it focuses on
1)denail
2)greeting
3)the story telling
4)King Lion (leadership)


6.Rapunzel:是由格林兄弟用采風的方式改寫而成的


7.Klimt
Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's primary subject was the female body;^[1] his works are marked by a frank eroticism.

→Danae(golden shower)

8.the wonderful wizard of oz
*heroine:女主角/cyclone:熱帶氣旋
*wizard: Oh, no, my dear; I am really a very good man; but I am a very bad wizard. I must admit.




9.the adventure of Tom Sawyer
*spare the rod and spile the child:不打不成器
*colloquial literature




10 迷路的詩-- 楊照


11.想飛的十五歲

2014.01.02 word (week17-4)

1.submerge(v.)
1) [+ obj] : to make (someone or something) go under the surface of water or some other liquid : to cover (someone or something) with a liquid
▪ After boiling the broccoli, submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking process. ▪ The town was submerged by the flood.

2)  [no obj] : to go underwater
▪ We watched as the divers prepared to submerge.

3) [+ obj] : to make (yourself) fully involved in an activity or interest
▪ After his sister died, he submerged [=immersed] himself in his work. ▪ She's a marvelous actress who submerges herself totally in her roles.

4) [+ obj] : to keep (emotions, opinions, etc.) from being openly shown or expressed
▪ It's a job where you'll have to submerge [=suppress] your ego and do what you're told. ▪ The passion is there in the music, though it's often submerged.

*submerged ( adj.)
▪ Some seals can stay submerged for an hour. ▪ tales of a submerged city in the Mediterranean Sea

 

2.succumb(v.)

[no obj] somewhat formal

1) : to stop trying to resist something
▪ They will pressure you, and you must try not to succumb.

 — often + to 

▪ Try not to succumb to the pressure. ▪ It's easy to succumb [=give in] to the temptation to oversimplify this kind of problem.

2) : to die
▪ The patient eventually succumbed.

— usually + to 

 ▪ He succumbed to his injuries. [=he died because of his injuries] ▪ She fought a good fight but finally succumbed to cancer.

 

3.suffocate(v.)

1)

a [no obj] : to die because you are unable to breathe
▪ Don't put that pillow over her face—she could suffocate.

b [+ obj] : to kill (someone) by making breathing impossible
▪ She was afraid that thick pillows and blankets could suffocate [=smother] the baby. 

2)  [no obj] : to be uncomfortable because there is not enough fresh air — usually used as (be) suffocating ▪ We were suffocating in the stuffy boardroom.

 

4.surreptitious(a.)

: done in a secret way
▪ She had a surreptitious relationship with her employee. ▪ a surreptitious glance

*surreptitiously ( adv.)
▪ He contacted her surreptitiously.

*surreptitiousness noun [noncount]

 

5.synchronous(a.)

formal + technical : happening, moving, or existing at the same time
▪ synchronous developments/movements

2014.01.01 word (week17-3)

1.assortment(n.)

[count] : a group or collection of different things or people
▪ an assortment of vegetables ▪ The book has a wonderful assortment of characters. ▪ You can choose from a wide assortment of options.

 

2.collateral

(n.)

[noncount] : something that you promise to give someone if you cannot pay back a loan
▪ She put up her house as collateral for the loan. [=she agreed that she would give up her house if she did not repay the loan]

(a.)

formal : related but not in a direct or close way
▪ collateral relatives ▪ the collateral effects of the government's policies

 

3.commensurate(a.)

formal : equal or similar to something in size, amount, or degree
▪ The increase in demand caused a commensurate [=proportionate] increase in prices. ▪ Her new position came with a commensurate level of responsibility.

— often + with ▪ The punishment should be commensurate with the offense.

* commensurately (adv.)
▪ a luxury hotel with commensurately high prices

 

 

4.correspond(v.)

[no obj] 1) : to be similar or equal to something
▪ In some countries, the role of president corresponds to that of prime minister. ▪ the joints on a horse that correspond to the human knees

2) : to have a direct relationship to or with something
▪ Each number corresponds to a location on the map. ▪ His statements do not correspond to/with the facts. [=do not match the facts] ▪ We'll revise the schedule to correspond with the school calendar.

3)  somewhat formal : to write to someone or to each other
▪ We haven't corresponded in years. [=we have not written letters/e-mails to each other for years]

— often + with ▪ She still corresponded regularly with friends she met in college.

 

5.obloquy(v.)

[noncount] formal 1)  : harsh or critical statements about someone
▪ a victim of hatred and obloquy

2) : the condition of someone who lost the respect of other people
▪ For years they endured the obloquy [=shame] that follows scandal.