English 4

mediocre  KK: [] not very good; of only average standard: a mediocre musician / talent / performance I thought the play was only mediocre.

mediocirity  the quality or state of being mediocre b : moderate ability or value: His acting career started brilliantly, then sank into mediocrity. 平庸

lackadaisical  KK: [] lacking enthusiasm and effort  He has a lackadaisical approach/attitude to finding a job.

guardedness

paradox a statement containing two opposite ideas that make it seem impossible or unlikely, although it is probably true; the use of this in writing: 『More haste, less speed' is a well-known paradox. It's a work full of paradox and ambiguity.  似非而可能正確的議論

discern  to know, recognize or understand sth, especially sth that is not obvious detect: [vn] It is possible to discern a number of different techniques in her work. He discerned a certain coldness in their welcome. He discerned her plan immediately.

recall   Dick recalls having been in Paris to study music when he was a child.

acting out

inclination  a feeling that makes you want to do sth: He did not show the slightest inclination to leave. My natural inclination is to find a compromise. She lacked any inclination for housework. He had an inclination to talk. (性格上的)傾向;意向;愛好

trait  Jim's two most pleasing traits are generosity and energy.

There're the ones who excel at everything they do. And they do everything.

this is called a beta because we haven't fixed all the bugs we intend to for 1.3, and probably haven't found them all either (can you ever be sure?).

smack  He smacked his son's face.  to hit sb with your open hand, especially as a punishment: I think it's wrong to smack children. Do that again and you'll get your bottom smacked.

buttom = buttocks

How did your job interview go today?  How did something go?詢問事情進展的如何

damp slightly or moderately wet : moist <a damp towel>; also : humid <damp weather>

this is the registration date for the new semester. she is going to sign up for new classes.

elbow grease :(口語)費勁、重活: The job needs a certain amount of elbow grease to apply.

cough 咳嗽

throw up = vomit   she is going to throw up.

captain  隊長.機長.船長

attorney  : one who is legally appointed to transact business on another's behalf; especially : lawyer  律師

What is the woman doing to the boy?他正在對男孩做什麼

wait in line  排隊  there were many people at the bank this morning and I had to wait in line.

balcony  []  You can see the sea from our balcony.陽台

basement 地下室 attic 閣樓,頂樓

hut  []a small, simply built house or shelter: a beach hut a wooden hut (簡陋的)小屋

put up a tent 搭帳棚

pan  平底鍋, wok炒菜鍋(東方人用的)

sore throat   tooth decay   sore back

luncheon  [] lunch的正式用字

hopefully  Hopefully we will be there by six. 但願

slip my mind = forget

chip 洋芋片  go well with...與...很搭配/相得益彰

I love potatoes, and they go well with sandwiches.

fly straight from A to B

toward the end of + 時間 :快到~結束之前  Toward the end of the day, Jack always felt tired.

put together  組裝 Was that bookshelf complicated to put together? Yes. there were too many pieces to figure out.

realistic  representing things as they are in real life: a realistic drawing  a realistic looking spider

play jokes on someone

attend the funeral   on the weekend.

That's too bad...太可惜了,太糟糕了

a class reunion 同學會; a family reunion  change the date

quite an accomplishment for someone 某人的一大成就 Learning Japanese was ~ for you.

I would never...我絕不/絕不會...I would never do that again.

domestic travel <-> travel oversea   domestic airport

superior  上司,長官(n)  He is superior than me.(adj)

carve  雕刻 carve some pumpkins for Halloween.  The statue was carved out of marble.

furious very angry: She was absolutely furious at having been deceived. He was furious with himself for letting things get so out of control. I'm furious that I wasn't told about it.

dawn  清晨,黎明 dusk  黃昏 the time of day when the light has almost gone, but it is not yet dark twilight

leave for 出發 I am going to leave for HK.

poster  海報(貼在公共場所) poster paint = poster color 廣告顏料

bring back good memories.喚起美好的回憶 The photos bring back many good memories.

seating capacity  座位容量

I was too absorbed in the action movie.  Didn't ....所引導的問句意思是"難道...沒"

I usually go hiking in my free time. My teacher was calling away this morning.

late for class; late for work; late for school

pick up sth  (在途中)買點東西  our team was defeated. they lost the game.

They tied with the other team. The game was in a tie and they have to extend the game.

quantile  men in the first quintile of weight (= the heaviest 20% of men)  Lab costs in highest quintile were 82% higher than in lowest quintile

concise  簡明的,簡潔的;簡要的

congenital  (of a disease or medical condition) existing since or before birth: congenital abnormalities Half of all fetuses with the syndrome have a congenital heart defect. 天生的(疾病）

a piece of considerate advice. 體貼的建議  light blob 燈泡　grave 墳墓a burial place

afterward   : at a later or succeeding time : subsequently

ahead of time 提早，提前 If we want to get good seats for the performance, we should reserve them ahead of time.

sprain  : a sudden or violent twist or wrench of a joint關節 with stretching or tearing of ligaments韌帶　also: twist, wrench

dwindle  become gradually less or smaller: dwindling audiences a dwindling band of supporters His fortune dwindled to a few hundred pounds.

get to the bottom of something 追查到底、找出真相  shovel 鏟子　vegetarian dishes 素食菜餚 

prejudice　　n unreasonable dislike of or preference for a person, group, custom, etc., especially when it is based on their race, religion, sex, etc.: a victim of racial prejudice Their decision was based on ignorance and prejudice.（好或壞的)偏見

A lot of care and preparation must go into meeting everyone's requirements.

grant a request.接受請求　in the lead  ex. After running fifty mins in the marathon, Jack was still in the lead.

at the start of   ex. At the start of our business,....               catch up  趕上，追上

by the end  ex. By the end of June next year, I will have graduated from school.

one day (可指過去或未來的)某一天One day, I am going to be the mayor of this city.

what's up-->what you have been doing lately? 最近如何?最近有啥新鮮事?  guest to honor 榮譽嘉賓  package tour

tag along with someone 緊跟著 Must your brother tag along with us everywhere we go?

mingle  with: to come into contact : associate  mingled with the guests 打交際

be obsessed with n./ v-ing 著迷於,執著於  skateboard 滑板  in-line skates直排輪

halfway through  做到一半 My project is halfway through.

perverse  showing deliberate determination to behave in a way that most people think is wrong, unacceptable or unreasonable: a perverse decision

故意作對的

procrastinate   [] : to put off intentionally and habitually People were dying of starvation while governments procrastinated.

I beg your pardon = excuse me  whisper 輕聲細語

wax 蠟 He then coated it with wax.  cotton 棉花  coat  to cover sth with a layer of a substance: cookies thickly coated with chocolate 覆蓋...的表面

be modest about :謙虛 modest 謙虛的,高貴的  you bet!(口)當然   extended warranty  延長保固 He purchased an extended warranty for it.

take a stroll 散步 hang the clothes  hang on =  hold on   hang up the phone 掛電話

hang out  to spend a lot of time in a place: The local kids hang out at the mall    boardroom會議室

this randomized trial was designed as a pilot study to measure the relevancy of search results using three different interfaces for the PubMed search system.

She was a warmhearted, generous old lady

tape measure  捲尺  paint brush油漆刷子  paint roller  油漆滾筒  wheelchair 輪椅

make a face  做鬼臉  a long face不悅的臉色  After knowing that he didn't pass the exam, he pulled a long face.

the boxer knocked out his opponent

he looks awful  =  he look like hell.

dough  [] a mixture of flour [], water, etc. that is made into bread and pastry: Knead the dough on a floured surface.  生麵糰

train  to aim a gun, camera, light, etc. at sb/sth: He carefully trained his gun on the suspect.<trained his camera on the deer> <training every effort toward success>

furious  :very angry     bathing suit = swimsuit     sun dress無袖洋裝  pajamas KK: []睡衣褲 I'd like to buy a pair of pajamas.

on the right track 在正確的路線上/思考方向正確 <-> on the wrong track  I personally think you are on the wrong track.

cinch []  =  a piece of cake  a thing done with ease   It's a cinch.

be gone  離開了/吃光了 they are gone.  the chocolate cookies are almost gone.

throw a party  =  have a party 辦舞會  purse []  a small bag for money錢包  =  wallet  皮包  night falls 天黑

hallway  =  corridor []

daunt 使氣餒  =  dismay  He wasn't daunted by his failure.    daunting 令人氣餒的  righteous  []

commute : to travel back and forth regularly  to travel regularly by bus, train, car, etc. between your place of work and your home

I commute between A and B by train everyday.

quite demanding  My workload is quite demanding. I do not have access to performance realted pay or any other loading to my salary.

The job is quite demanding and the pay is low.

backward 開倒車的,落後的<-> progressive  It's a backward idea to keep foreigners from having internet service.

a few =  some.  few為否定用法,表示幾乎沒有  charm 護身符  lucky charm  幸運符  safe charm 平安符

pay with 以...方式付帳 May I pay with my credit card?

Turn the volume down; otherwise I'll call the police.  二個完整句子

I should have +pp  表示過去該做而未做的事 I should have studied hard last night. I shouldn't have told him the truth.

hang up my clothes  hanger 衣架  Do you need to buy anything in particular?特定的;特別的

put a markup on my face. Do you put on a markup?

pathetic  =  pitiful 

compassion  a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for people who are suffering and a desire to help them: to feel / show compassion  同情

self-imposed  decided by oneself, without being influenced by other people.

derogatory  showing strong disapproval and not showing respect.  insulting: derogatory remarks/comments.

nominal  being sth in name only, and not in reality: the nominal leader of the party  名義上的

dichotomous  : dividing into two parts 分成二類的

percentile  百一分段值  Overall these students rank in the 21st percentile on the tests—that is, they did worse than 79 per cent of all children taking the test.

quartile  四分位數

cornerstone 基石;基礎

collective  done or shared by all members of a group of people; involving a whole group or society: collective leadership / decision-making / responsibility共同的

collectively  We have had a successful year, both collectively and individually.  Collectively, the workspaces are driving caBig's goals.

Federal forecasters predict that $1 in every $5 will be spent on health care by 2015, with costs reaching more than $4 trillion, according to Health Affairs

premium  [] 保險費 health insurance premium

endorse  to say publicly that you support a person, statement or course of action: I wholeheartedly endorse his remarks. Members of all parties endorsed a ban on land mines.  公開表示贊同

onset  the beginning of sth, especially sth unpleasant: the onset of disease / old age / winter  He went to see a doctor at the onset of a fever.

procurement  the process of obtaining supplies of sth, especially for a government or an organization: arms procurement She has responsibility for the procurement of equipment in the company. 採購,獲得

It is hoped that it will be of interest to both novices and professionals in the field.
jargon = term  medical jargon

Taking care of the place you're at while others are gone.  鞏固防守堡壘

linger 排徊　　lingering 排徊不去的

Kuo went to see a doctor Tuesday regarding lingering soreness in the elbow, and a conservative approach to rehabilitation was recommended.

As Sandy was leaving work, she said "hold down the fort" to Jill, who was now working alone.

in charge of   who's in charge of documentation these days? 負責   commodity []日用品,商品  poverty []貧窮
Do you think the investors will oppose spending on R&D?
steer 掌(船)舵/ 帶領  He steered his boat into the harbor.  You are going to steer the company.

This gift is just a token of our gratitude.

What have you been up to lately? 最近在做什麼 I've been working the links to fill a gap.

aftermath 事件結束後的一段時期  There was a time of poverty in the aftermath of the country's civil war.

beef up 加強,增強 You should beef up the part regarding stock options.

At one time 曾經 At one time, his country was well respected

nauseous [] feeling as if you want to vomit: She felt dizzy and nauseous. 想吐的

trauma  [] (medical) an injury: The patient suffered severe brain trauma.

lesion  (medical) damage to the skin or part of the body caused by injury or by illness: skin / brain lesions  (身體/器官)傷害

tech boom  熱潮the tech boommay have come and gone

epicenter  the central point of sth/震央 Executives at the epicenter of the tech boom are needing to drastically alter their lifestyle.

periphery []圓周/周圍  crossroad 十字路口  headquarters  總部

gridlock (usually in politics) a situation in which people with different opinions are not able to agree with each other and so no action can be taken: Congress is in gridlock.   僵局

fissile  [] 易裂的  Fissile wood is not good for making cutting boards.

make inroads into / on sth if one thing makes inroads into another, it has a noticeable effect on the second thing, especially by reducing it, or influencing it: Tax rises have made some inroads into the country's national debt.

emigre  []  逃亡者,流亡者 refugee    移居外國的人 = emigrant

This would, hopefully, send a strong message........       bug spray  wilderness 荒野

tote  to carry something, especially something heavy. We arrived, toting our bags and suitcases.

amenity  something that is intended to make life more comfortable 舒適設施 Many of the houses lacked even basic amenities (= for example, baths, showers, hot water).

pool to ask a large number of members of the public what they think about sth survey: Over 50% of those polled were against the proposed military action.. 民意調查

veteran  [] 富有經驗的人,老兵

pragmatic  solving problems in a practical and sensible way rather than by having fixed ideas or theories realistic: a pragmatic approach to management problems  務實的
exquisite  extremely beautiful or carefully made: exquisite craftsmanship Her wedding dress was absolutely exquisite.  極美的,極精緻的
acreage  英畝數[]    acre 英畝 []  pesticide []殺蟲劑  herbicide  soybean大豆  cotton []
erosion  to gradually destroy sth or make it weaker over a period of time; to be destroyed or made weaker in this way: [vn] Her confidence has been slowly eroded by repeated failures.  逐漸摧毀
to gradually destroy the surface of sth through the action of wind, rain, etc.; to be gradually destroyed in this way wear away: [vn] The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea.  侵蝕
savvy  aving practical knowledge and understanding of sth; having common sense: savvy shoppers  有常識/實務知識的
veterinary  獸醫的  []  veterinarian  獸醫  []  accessary 裝飾品,附屬品
IKEA's 200 stores worldwide feature a three-tier pricing system.  
upscale  : relating to, being, or appealing to affluent consumers; also : of a superior quality 高檔的 upscale products
strap  (公共車輛上的)拉手吊帶  She held onto a strap to steady herself.  皮帶
: to cause to suffer from an extreme scarcity [] <is often strapped for cash> 使嚴重不足 
cash-strapped  沒有很多錢的             scarce   不足的
trendsetter : a person who starts or popularizes a trend.  He hardly comes off as an industry trendsetter.
He attributed his good health to exercise.  把...歸因於 Much of IKEA's success can be attributed to ...
critique  also review  評論(正面口氣的評論) criticize 批評(負面的)
give away 贈送 He gave away all his money to the poor.
saturate  : to satisfy fully : satiate  使飽合
saturate the market : to provide too much of a product so there is more of this product available than there are people who want to buy it.   ex. the market would soon be saturated
commodity  日用品,必需品  resale  零售 profit margin  淨利率,純益率
apiece  :for each one : individually  Americans have five to 10 hats apiece.