Chapter9 进阶词 名词
advent (n.) 来临,出现 [同] arrival appearance
But with the advent of the drip-dry shirt and the frozen breakfast burrito,it became possible for any fellow,no matter how dometical1y challenged,to get out of the house on his own. (TIME,May 6,1996,P.53)
但是,伴随着随洗随干的免烫衬衫及冷冻的墨西哥馅饼早餐的出现,任何一个再不会做家事的家伙,都能够靠着一己之力打点一切,然后出门上班。
animosity (n.) 敌意,仇恨 [同]hostility
It is almost entirely the product of animosity between two men leading rival parties who are deeply jealous of each other.(TIME,Mar. 27,1995,p.36)
这可以说全是两个敌对团体的龙头老大互相仇视所造成的,双方都深深地忌恨对方。
antecedent (n.) 前例,先声 [同]precursor
In 1937,working in his kitchen,Stibitz cobbled together a primitive adding device out of drycell batteries,metal strips from a tobacco can,flashlight bulbs and telephone wires.Many consider it the earliest antecedent to the digital computer.(TIME,Feb. 13,1995,P.23)
1937年斯蒂比兹在厨房里,以数节干电池、香烟罐上取下的数条铁片、数个闪光灯泡、数根电线,草草制成一部原始的计算机;许多人认为这是数字电脑的先驱。
▲adding device计算机;to cobble together草草制成
aura (n.) 气氛,光晕 [同]air
Redford’s festival created an aura that welcomed young directors and persuaded Hollywood to do the same. (TIME,June 17,1996,p. 45)
雷德福德影展制造了欢迎年轻导演加入的氛围,也促使好莱坞效法。
behemoth (n.) 庞然大物,组织庞大的机构 [同]monster
The deal may spur more competition for Microsoft,but it removes the threat that the government will try to break up the behemoth. (TIME,July 25,1994,P.13)
这笔交易或许会给微软公司带来更多的竞争,但也解除了政府欲拆散这个庞大公司的威胁。 bulwark (n.) 防御工事,提防
One country’s louse,of course,is another’s bulwark against [fill in the ism:communism,nationalism,imperialism,capitalism].(TIME,Sept.23,1996,p. 35)
当然,对一个国家来说是恶棍的人,对另一个国家可能就是对抗〔什么主义自己填:共产主义、民族主义、帝国主义、资本主义〕的长城。 ▲louse (n.) 虱,卑鄙的人
bump (n.) (路面等的)隆起部分,喻困难
Says Christensen of Thailand’s progress from low tech to high:“It’s a long journey.There will be bumps along the way.”(TIME,Aug.5,1996,p. 42) 克里斯坦森说,泰国由低科技提高到高科技的过程:“是一条漫长的旅程,沿路将会有许多困难。”
carnage (n.) 大屠杀 [同] slaughter
The once shabby alleys leading to Provincial Government Plaza,site of the worst carnage in 1980,are now lined with trendy boutiques,while a sprawling shopping mall has just opened under the plaza.(TIME,Dec. 11,1995,p. 20)
通往省政府广场(1980年屠杀最惨烈的地方)的巷弄一度凋敝不堪,现在两旁排列着时髦的服饰精品店,而一条杂乱的商品街也刚在广场地下开业。
▲shabby (a.) 残破的,破旧的;trendy (a.)时髦的
catalyst (n.) 触媒,催化剂
But the innocence and trust of the young that most adults celebrate and nurture are powerful catalysts for the sexual fantasies of pedophiles.(TIME,Sept.2,1996,p. 41)
孩子的天真无邪与对人的信赖,向来为大部分成人所歌颂且悉心培育,却也是刺激恋童癖人士产生性幻想的两大诱因。
censure (n. v.) 责难 (n.) condemn (v.) condemnation
As he demonstrated in the award-winning This Boy’s Life(1989),Wolff knows exactly how to find and then walk the line between self-censure and self-pity,(TIME,,Oct.31,1994,p. 81)
正如沃尔夫在1989年获奖的《这男孩的一生》一书中所展示的,他清楚地知道自责与自怜之间的界线,并懂得如何悠游其间。
charisma (n.) (使大众信服的)超群魅力 [同]magnetism
Because of his high profile and charisma,and because of his own admission that he engaged in numerous unprotected sexual encounters,Johnson has probably done as much to educate the public about AIDS as anybody.(TIME,Feb.12,1996,p.40)
由于他的高知名度以及独特的超群魅力,加上他公开承认有过数不清的危险的性行为,约翰逊对普及艾滋病教育的贡献绝不比别人来得少。 ▲high profile高知名度
chic (n.) 流行 (a.) 时髦的
Now Chinese chic has become Hollywood’s latest mania.Ang Lee is an Oscar front runner for his first studio film,Sense and Sensibility. (TIME,Jan. 29,1996,p. 40)
好莱坞最近流行中国热,李安第一次替制片公司拍的《理智与感情》,就让他成为奥斯卡奖的热门人选。 ▲front runner比赛中最有可能的夺标者; studio (n.) 电影制片公司
conglomerate (n.) 大型综合企业
Few American communities of any size have more than a single newspaper,which is frequently owned by a distant conglomerate. (TIME,Feb. 10,1997,p. 56)
美国乡镇不论大小,大都只有一份报纸,而且往往归远方的报业集团拥有。
contingency (n.) 突发状况 [同]possibility eventuality
The doctor,who is something of a gadget freak,was equipped for any contingency.(TIME,Sept.23,1996,P.43) 这位爱好小器械成癖的医生备有应付任何突发状况的装备。
▲freak (n.) [与修饰语连用](……的)爱好者
contraption (n.) 奇妙的设计 [同]gadget
For quick acceleration and hill climbing,the turbine is linked to a flywheel,an energy-produring and energy-storing contraption that is at least as old as the first potter’s wheel.(TIME,Sept.23,1996,p. 41)
为了瞬间加速或爬坡,涡轮机还连接飞轮。飞轮是一种可以制造与储存能量的奇妙装置,其历史与最初的陶工旋盘一样久远。
corridor (n.) 人口密集地带
It was for Asia the celestial event of the decade:total eclipses…occur somewhere on the globe every one to two years,but rarely are they visible along such a densely populated corridor. (TIME,Nov.6,1995,p.21)
对亚洲来说,这是近10年来的天文盛事:全球每一两年就会发生日全食,但很少像这样发生在人口稠密地区。
coup (n.) 大成功,大成就
In an impressive coup,she was on the September cover of both Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.(TIME,Dec.26,1994,P.157)
她登上《时尚》、《哈泼》两份杂志的9月号封面,是她个人生涯中令人赞叹的巨大成功。
dearth (n.) 缺乏 [同]lack
And though Hou is proud of his films,he thinks the dearth of commercial films is hurting Taiwan cinema.(TIME,Jan.29,1996,p. 43)
侯孝贤虽以他的电影为荣,但也认为商业电影的缺乏正损害着台湾的电影业。
detractor (n.) 恶意批评者,诽谤者 [同]critic
Barbie may not be everyone’s favorite companion—detractors love to hate her plastic perfection—but the fashion doll with the impossible figure has long been the most popular girl at Mattel.(TIME,Nov. 11,1996,p. 36)
芭比娃娃也许不是所有人心爱的玩伴——批评者喜欢攻击她塑料制的完美造型——但这个身材只应天上有的时装洋娃娃,长久以来一直是美泰儿公司最受欢迎的女孩。
dominion (n.) 支配
The deal immediately raised questions about whether Gates who has near monopoly control of the PC software industry and is moving aggressively into computer networking,is planning to extend his dominion into graphic images as well.(TIME,Oct.23,1995,P.66)
这项交易立刻就引起了一些疑问:是否盖茨在几乎已独占个人电脑软件工业以及积极进入电脑网络领域之后,还打算控制图形图像领域?
downsizing (n.) 公司裁员缩编
He(Major)eased off on the giant welfare cuts and industrial downsizing.(TIME,May 12,1997, p. 35)在大幅削减福利支出和企业界的裁员缩编上,梅杰放慢了脚步。▲to ease off 缓和
episode (n.) 插曲,事件
Although civilian rule was restored to South Korea in 1993,the wound inflicted by the Kwangju episode has yet to heal.(TIME,Dec. 11,1995,P.20)
韩国已在1993年恢复文人统治,但是光州事件所造成的创伤仍有待抚平。
errand (n.) 差使,跑腿
His father, a carpenter,died when Paavo was 12,and the boy,eldest of five children,had to quit school and work as an errand runner,pushing a heavy wheelbarrow through the streets.(TIME,June 24,1996,p. 66)
帕沃的父亲是位木匠,在他12岁那年就去世了,而他是家里5个小孩中的老大,因此必须辍学并找了份跑腿工作,推着很重的独轮车在街上跑。
ethnic group 少数民族
According to several statistical measures of intelligence,people of Asian and especially Chinese descent consistently outscore other racial and ethnic groups.(TIME,Sept.11,1995,p. 60)
根据几项智力测验的统计显示:亚裔,尤其是华裔,在各项测验里领先其他少数民族,绝少例外。▲outscore (v.) (表现)比……出色
excursion (n.) 出游,涉人
Crichton’s other major excursion into cutting-edge science involves the trendy field of complexity… (TIME,Oct.2,1995,P,45)
克赖顿所涉足的尖端科学领域还包括今日最风行的“复杂理论”。
▲cutting-edge (a.)尖端的,最先进的;trendy (a.)最时髦的,走在流行尖端的
fad (n.) 一时的流行,时尚 [同]craze
Her legacy can be seen in every presidential candidates who discuss their marital problems on TV to the fad for crash diets. (TIME, June 17, 1996, p.27)
她的影响力所及,从在电视上大谈自己的婚姻问题的总统候选人,到风行一时的快速减肥食谱,无所不包。▲crash (a.)速成的
feat (n.) 事迹,成就 [同]accomplishment
It’s worth noting that establishing growth at a company the size of IBM—with$72 billion in sales last year,it is the 18th largest on the planet—is no mean feat.(TIME,NOV.4,1996,p. 49)
值得一提的是,像IBM这种规模的公司—去年以720亿美元营业额排名世界第18大企业—要促使其发展绝非易事。▲ no mean了不起的,不容易的
fold (n.) 控制范围,原意为“羊圈”
Republicans want to slash that rate(of Medicare)dramatically. Bill Clinton’s advisers believe this is the issue that will bring elderly Americans back to the Democratic fold next year. (TIME,May 22,1995,P.36)
共和党想大幅削减(医疗保健方面)预算比例,克林顿的顾问深信,此举正可使美国老人于明年选举时重回民主党怀抱。
forum (n.) 公开讨论场所
She helped bring such topics as child abuse,homosexuality and marital dysfunction out of the closet and into the public forum.(TIME,June 17,1996,P.27)
她把虐待儿童、同性恋与婚姻障碍这些原属私下密谈的议题搬出来供大众讨论。
▲to bring-out of the closet把……从隐秘状态转为公开;dysfunction (n.) 机能障碍
fray (n.) 争论,争吵,骚动
Members of the NASA-led team arrived in Washington fully prepared to enter the fray. (TIME,Aug. 19,1996,P.41)
由美国航空和航天总署领导的研究小组,有备而来抵达华盛顿,准备投入这场论战。
gadget (n.) 精巧的小器械 [同] appliance
To see about this technology for myself,I spent some time using one gadget,Philips Magnavox’s WEBTV.(TIME,Mar. 10,1997,P.49)
为了亲身体验这项科技成果,我花了些时间使用其中一种机型,即飞利浦Magnavox牌的网络电视。
gambit (n.) 手段,招式 [同]ploy tactic
Specter’s pro-choice gambit may be less appealing when women are reminded of his role as Anita Hill’s grand inquisitor during the Clarence Thomas hearings.(TIME,Mar. 13,1995,P.66)
在克拉伦斯·托马斯听证会上,有人提醒妇女们,斯佩克特曾是安尼塔·希尔一案的大法官,这可能会使他所走的支持堕胎这步棋的功效大打折扣。
▲pro-choice (a.)赞成堕胎的,相反词是pro-life
geek (n.) 电脑狂,怪胎
Programmers who find the market for Windows software increasingly crowded and unprofitable see fresh opportunities to make their mark in Java.“The geeks are buzzed…It’s like a whole world just opened up to us.”(TIME,Jan.22,1996,p. 42)
程序设计师发现,视窗软件的市场愈来愈饱和,且愈来愈无利可图,但在“爪哇”程序里,他们看到了能够占有一席之地的新商机。“电脑玩家都为之疯狂,就好像整个世界在我们眼前敞开一样。” ▲to make one’s mark 扬名,成功
glut (n.) 过量,供过于求 [同]surplus
The House of Representatives last week passed a series of legal-reform bills intended to discourage frivolous lawsuits,of which there is alleged to be a glut.(TIME,Mar.20,1995,p.13)
上星期众议院通过了一系列司法改革法案,以遏止人们打一些无关紧要的官司,据说人们打官司已到了泛滥的地步。 ▲frivolous (a.)无意义的,不重要的
gorge (n.) 作呕,厌恶
In the interest of participatory journalism,I swallowed my rising gorge and tried(Doom computer game)again.(TIME,Dec. 18,1995,p. 60)
为了写一篇亲身感受的报道,我硬是咽下了那愈来愈强的厌恶感,再玩一遍“毁灭战士”电脑
游戏。 ▲in the interest of为了;journalism (n.) 新闻写作
hacker (n.) 黑客,电脑程序专家
The transformation that has set Microsoft on the road to a Net-based future has also completed Gates’ beatification as not just a great hacker but also a world-class CEO.(TIME,Sept.16,1996,P.41)
让微软转轨,迈上通往以网络为主的未来世界的道路,此举也完成了盖茨个人的神话,使他不仅是超级“黑客”,更是世界级的总裁。
▲beatification (n.) (天主教)以教令宣告某死者因功德已升天列入“真福品位”,有资格受到大家的尊崇。
hardler (n.) 处理者,经手人
Some captured radio operators,ordered by the North Vietnamese to ask for more agents,managed to signal to their CIA handlers with code words that they were being held.(TIME,June 24,1996,P.25)
有些被北越俘虏的无线电发报员,被北越命令发出增派情报员的要求,但他们成功地以密码告知中央情报局联络人他们被俘的消息。
haven (n.) 避难所 [同]refuge
Meanwhile,NATO Defense Ministers approved a plan of intensified retaliation against Bosnian Serb violations of cease-fire and safe-haven agreements,a move that some fear may only widen the war.(TIME,Oct.10,1994,p. 19)
同时,北约国防部通过了为防止波斯尼亚的塞尔维亚人破坏停火和安全避难区协议而制定的加强报复计划,只是此举恐怕只会更加扩大战争。
heretic (n.) 异端
He has been called a fascist,a heretic and shenjingbing,a lunatic.(TIME,Feb. 20,1995,P. 61) 他一直被称作法西斯分子、异端和神经病。
holdout (n.) 拒不合作者,拒不参加者
The R.S.V.P.s are in,and 196 of the 197 nations invited to Atlanta have said yes.(Even
holdout North Korea is wavering.)(TIME,Jan. 8,1996,P. 13)
根据收到的回函,受邀的197个国家里,已经有196个答应参加亚特兰大奥运会(连唯一说不的北朝鲜也开始犹豫了)。
▲R.S.V.P.法文répondez s’il vous pla î t(请回复)的缩写,即“回函”之意;waver (v.) 意志动摇,犹豫不决
hook-up (n.) 连线装置
MCI and the Japanese telephone company KDD donated an estimated$20 million to the cost of the 45-megabit-per-second data hook-up.(TIME,Mar. 11,1996,p. 35)
MCI公司和日本电话公司KDD捐赠了约2000万美元来建设这条每秒可传45兆位资料的连线装置。
iconoclast (n.) 反抗或破除传统者
Yet this unbending iconoclast lived a life of such relentless personal rectitude and brought such unmatched excellence to his many Olympic races that he won far more of our experts’ votes as the greatest Olympian than any other athlete.(TIME,June 24,1996,p.66)
但是这个个性不屈不挠、打破传统的人,终其一生过着严谨的清廉生活,且在多项奥运比赛项目中创造出无与伦比的成绩,所以获得我们专家最多选票,荣膺“最伟大的奥运选手”。
▲unbending (a.)坚定的,不屈不挠的;relentless (a.)不屈不挠的;rectitude (n.) 操行端正,正直
indignity (n.) 屈辱 [同] humiliation
This son of a Georgia sharecropper endured unspeakable indignities and taunts to become baseball’s first black player.(TIME,Apr. 28,1997,p. 100)
这个佐治亚州佃农的儿子,忍受了无法言喻的屈辱和嘲讽,才成为第一位黑人棒球选手。
▲taunt (n.) 嘲笑,奚落
insurgent (n.) 叛军 [同] rebel
Politicians had no credibility with slap-together committees of insurgents.(TIME,Mar. 24,1997,p. 29) 政治人物在乌合之众的叛军委员会之前毫无可信度。
▲to slap together草草拼凑,slap-together是其形容词义
interlocutor (n.) 对话者
Without America,Great Britain and France cannot sustain the political balance in Western Europe;Germany would be tempted by nationalism;Russia would lack a global interlocutor. (TIME,Mar. 14,1994,p. 73)
没有美国,英、法无法维持西欧的政治均势,德国将为民族主义所诱而步入歧途,俄罗斯将缺少一位全球级的对话伙伴。
juggernaut (n.) 可怕、不可抗拒的力量
Many Americans see Japan’s economic juggernaut as a continuation of war by other means.(TIME,Dec. 2,1991,p. 70)
许多美国人认为日本可怕的经济力量是以另一种形式延续的战争。
lever (n. )手段,方法
The U.S. has abandoned the trade weapon as a lever to improve human rights in China.(TIME,June 13,1994,p. 13) 美国已不再以贸易武器作为改善中国人权的手段。
minimalism (n.) 简约主义
One could even argue that Klein’s elegant take on minimalism has came to define the look of the late 20th century in the U.S.(TIME,June 17,1996,p.18)
我们甚至可以说,克莱因对简约主义的优雅尝试,已经主宰20世纪晚期美国人的穿着。
▲take (n.) (俚语)尝试,努力
nausea (n.) 恶心,反胃
The FDA has approved the first-ever vaccine for hepatitis A,which afflicts up to 150,000 Americans annually with fever,aches,nausea and vomiting.(TIME,Mar.6,1995,P .25)
美国食品和药物管理局已批准了有史以来第一个甲肝疫苗,美国每年有15万人染上肝炎,伴随发烧、疼痛、反胃、呕吐的症状。
nostalgia (n.) 乡愁,怀旧之情
Popular for its satirical tone,All My Children tried to capitalize on viewer nostalgia last January,when it celebrated its 25th anniversary.The show spent a week reviewing in flashback its quarter century on the air.(TIME,May 29,1995, P.73)
因讽刺风格而备受欢迎的电视节目《我的孩子》,今年1月欢度25周年,并试图利用观众的怀旧情绪替节目造声势。该节目花了一星期播放过去25年中的回顾片段。
▲review (v.) 回顾;flashback (n.) (小说、戏剧等)倒叙
novice (n.) 初学者,新手 [反] old hand
While some nations immediately supported the idea,others completely missed the point of Malamud’s vision:to make the fair a public-works project that focuses on what the Internet can offer expert or novice.(TIME,Mar.11,1996,p. 35)
有些国家二话没说就表态支持,有些国家却完全没有抓到马拉默德的着眼点:就是要使这个博览会成为一个公共工程,此工程重点在国际互联网能为专家或新手提供什么服务。
omniscience (n.) 全知
(Deep)Blue’s omniscience will make it omnipotent. It can play-fight-with the abandon of an immortal.(TIME,Feb.26,1996, P.42)
电脑“深蓝”的无所不知将使它无所不能,它可凭借其永不消失的豪情而恣意嬉戏,尽情作战。
▲abandon (n.) 放纵,无拘无束
outlay (n.) 费用,支出
But those hoping for new or even replenished foreign-aid outlays should not hold their breath;there will be little money to throw at problems.(TIME,Nov. 18,1996,p. 33)
但是如果你希望有新的对外援助经费,甚或只是补足差额,你也不应该期望过高,因为没什么钱可用以解决这些问题。 ▲to hold one’s breath(因焦急或兴奋地等待而)屏息
paranoid (n.) 被迫害妄想狂者,偏执狂者
Andy Grove,the Intel CEO,…has distilled the essence of competing in a high-tech world down to a single sentence:“Only the paranoid survive.”(TIME,Sept.16,1996,p. 41)
英特尔总裁葛罗夫把高科技界竞争的真缔浓缩成一句话:“只有偏执狂才能生存。”
▲distill (v.) 蒸馏,提炼
pariah (n.) 被社会唾弃者 [同] outcast
For decades South Africa was an international sports pariah.(TIME,Aug. 19,199,p. 51)
数十年来南非一直是国际体坛的弃儿。
pestilence (n.) 瘟疫 [同] plague
Soon the bikini was causing international incidents.France’s Mediterranean neighbors reacted as if some pestilence were spreading.Italy and Spain forbade bikinis on their beaches.(TIME,July 1,1996,p. 54)
没多久,比基尼惹出一些国际事件来。法国的地中海邻国的反应仿佛它是瘟疫。意大利和西班牙都禁止境内的海滩出现比基尼。
pilgrimage (n.) 朝圣之旅,长途旅程
They(Religions)tell us that something is waiting for us on the other side,that death may be a pilgrimage and not a destination,that the afterlife is a warm awakening after the fretful dream of life.(TIME,Aug. 8,1994,p. 68)
各种宗教告诉我们,某物在彼岸等着我们;死亡代表的是一条长途旅程的开始,而非终结;来世是一场温馨的苏醒,脱离充满烦恼的如梦现世。 ▲fretful (a.)苦恼的
ploy (n.) 策略,手法
It was a familiar ploy for Sun’s Joy,who helped foster the growth of the Internet itself in the early 1980s by shipping free Internet Protocol software with every Sun computer. (TIME,June 22,1996,p. 44)
这个策略对太阳公司的乔伊来说一点也不陌生,他曾在80年代初期,在每部太阳公司出产的电脑当中,载入免费的国际互联网所需的通讯协议软件,借此促进国际互联网的增长。
precursor (n.) 先驱,前辈;预兆,前兆 [同] forerunner
Under the tutelage of Dan Leno,London’s most beloved comedian and a precursor of Charlie Chaplin,Lizzie became a star…(TIME,May 29,1995,p.52) 丹·莱诺是伦敦最受喜爱的喜剧演员,也是卓别林的前辈,利齐就是在丹·莱诺调教下,成为熠熠明星。
prowess (n.) 好本事,英勇
Japanese corporations were quick to seize the chance of putting their technological prowess on show.(TIME,Mar. 11,1996,P.35)
日本企业抢先抓住机会,将他们的科技本领拿出来展示一番。
pundit (n.) (常出现于媒体的)专家,权威 [同] expert
Some pundits speculate that many computers are obsolete before they’re even designed,which goes a long way toward explaining why the ATM at my grocery store never works.(TIME,Nov. 11,1996,p. 16)
有些专家推测,许多电脑在被设计出来之前就已经过时了,这个原因颇能够解释为什么在我买东西的那家日用品商店里的自动提款机从来没有正常过。
▲to go a long way toward… 对……大有作用,大有帮助
qualm (n.) 良心不安
They have no qualms about bestowing their inner life on a dozen members of the next generation. (TIME,Mar. 10,1997,p. 41)
他们对于将自己的内心思想分赠与十数个下一代成员一点也不觉良心不安。
rancor (n.) 怨恨,伤痛 [同] bitterness
The nuclear material was made in Russia,and both Washington and Almaty(Kazakhstan’s capital)knew they had to gain Moscow’s approval for the unprecedented transfer.It did come,and apparently without rancor,in June. (TIME, Dec.5,1994,P. 38)
这些核物质是俄国所制造,而华盛顿和阿拉木图双方都知道:这个前所未有的转让行动,必须获得莫斯科首肯;今年6月莫斯科真地答应了,而且显然答应得不带任何怨恨。
rebuke (n.) 斥责,训诫 [同]reprimand
In a surprising and embarrassing rebuke to the Justice Department,a federal judge rejected the government’s antitrust settlement with Microsoft,the world’s largest computer software company.(TIME,Feb.27,1995,P.11)
一名联邦法官对司法部作出了一份令该部意外又难堪的谴责性判决,判决中驳回了政府与世界最大电脑软件公司微软的反托拉斯协议。
redoubt (n.) 避难所,庇护所 [同]haven
In the past decade,an economic megaboom on this offshore Nationalist Party redoubt has produced one of the world’s largest nest eggs of foreign-exchange reserves.(TIME,Dec.25,1995/Jan. 1,1996,p. 54) 过去10年,这个国民党的海上避难所,经历超级经济繁荣,已积累出全球数一数二的外汇储备。
remnant (n.) 残余物
The setting [of the wedding] was one of the wild,unspoiled sea islands off Georgia—to visitors,they seem like remnants of the New World as it was before its discovery.(TIME,Oct. 7,1996,p. 42) 佐治亚州外海上有数座未遭人为破坏的原始海岛,婚礼的地点就在其中一座海岛上;在访客眼中,这些海岛就像是新大陆还未被发现前的几块净土。▲unspoiled (a.)未丧失原有自然美的
reprimand(n.v.)斥责,训诫 [同](v.)admonish
The Navy claims it punished Meyer with a letter of reprimand that effectively ended his career.(TIME,Aug. 15,1994,p.37) 海军当局声称已以一纸训诫函惩罚了梅尔,而且事实上梅尔也因这纸训诫函结束了海军生涯。
rigor (n.) 折磨,严厉
A committee of Taiwanese curators and university scholars…examined the works that were ready to be crated and requested that certain pieces considered too fragile to withstand the rigors of travel be withdrawn. (TIME,Apr. 1,1996,p.47)
由台湾各博物馆馆长与大学学者组成的一个委员会,检视这些即将装箱的宝物,要求把其中一些被认为太脆弱而不堪旅途折腾的作品撤下来。
▲curator (n.)(博物馆等的)馆长;crate(v.)用箱子装
scourge (n.) 天谴,灾难
Earlier this century,breakthroughs in antibiotics inspired similarly confident predictions that the ancient scourges (infectious diseases) would soon be eradicated.(TIME,May 27,1996,p. 67)
在本世纪早期,抗生素方面的突破,引发了同样乐观的预测,以为自古以来人类认为是天灾的一些流行病即将被消灭。▲eradicate (v.) 根除,消灭
shackles (n.) 束缚
As for Ted Turner,the merger liberates his lofty ambition from the shackles of cash-strapped circumstance.(TIME,July 29,1996,p. 43)
对特纳而言,这次合并使他得以一展雄心壮志,不再受资金短缺的束缚。
▲merger (n.) (组织的)合并;lofty (a.)祟高的
spin-off (n.) 副产品
The film,which links Michael Jordan with Bugs Bunny,Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes stable,has generated more than 200 spin-off items that Warner is hoping will eventually pull$1 billion.(TIME,Dec.2,1996,p. 70)
这部结合了迈克尔·乔丹、兔宝宝、达菲鸭与华纳“疯儿调”卡通系列中其他动物的电影,已衍生出两百多种副产品,华纳公司希望靠这些副产品最后能赚进10亿美元。
▲stable (n.) 属同一主人的物品
swap (n.) 交换,互惠资金
Electronic Arts,a leading producer of games for personal computers and video-game machines,announced it will acquire Broderbund Software in a$400-million stock swap.(TIME,Feb.21,1994,P.15)
制造个人电脑和影像游戏机所用游戏软件的主要厂商电子艺术公司,宣布它将以总值4亿美元的股票交换,买下“波德邦”软件公司。
tabloid (n.) 专报耸动新闻、配有大量图片的小报 [反]broadsheet
But public male heterosexuality,like water seeking its own level,has settled down in the tabloid bottomlands, where it does its best to provide low entertainment,(TIME,Sept.23,1996,P.60)
就像水往低处流一样,有关男性公众人物的异性恋消息,已沦落到小报“报屁股”,那里充斥着低级趣味。
thrall (n.) 控制,奴役
If nothing else, the sense of crisis and impending doom that Asahara cultivated has kept his followers in his thrall.(TIME,Apr. 3,1995,P.30)
别的不提,(奥姆真理教教主)麻原真晃营造出的危机意识与末日即将到来的气氛,就已让他的教徒唯他俯首是从。 ▲impending (a.)即将发生的
traction (n.) 原意为轮胎抓地力,引申为攻击的把柄
Dole has even been unable to find traction on defense spending. (TIME,Sept. 2,1996,P.23)
多尔甚至一直未能在国防支出上找到可大做文章的地方。
trauma (n.) 创伤
What does seem clear is that pedophilia,like many sexual disorders,may have at its root some childhood sexual trauma.(TIME,Sept.2,1996,p. 41)
看来很清楚的是,恋童癖患者与其他许多种性错乱者相同,他们的病症可能都源于童年时的性创伤.
twist (n.) 创新之举,新发展
The 1996 world’s fair is no exception,but it also has a decidedly eve-of-the-21st-century twist:the whole event happens in cyberspace.(TIME,Mar. 11,1996,p. 3 5)
1996年的世界博览会也不例外,但这次确实有一项21世纪前夕的创新之举:整个博览会是在电脑网络上举行的。
variant (n.) 变体,变种
Over the years,there have been women wrestlers,including a renowned nun,and a variant so bloody that the sport was briefly banned.(TIME,Sept.30,1996,P.29)
漫长的历史中曾有过女子相扑,其中还出过一位著名的比丘尼选手,及另一种极血腥的变相相扑,因而一度遭到短期的禁止。
venue (n.) 会场,地点
If New York City is the premier venue for political fund raising,Bob Dole appears to be its unchallenged star.(TIME,Apr. 17,1995,P.13)
如果说纽约市是募集政治捐款的最佳地点,那么多尔似乎就是纽约市无人能及的募款高手。
volatility (n.) 反复无常,不稳定 [同]instability
And the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange,though the world’s 15th largest,is plagued by volatility and frequent rumors of trading by politically linked parties.(TIME,Dec.4,1995,p. 26)
吉隆坡的股票市场虽是全球排名第15,可是变化太厉害,而且时常因政商勾结交易的传闻而饱受伤害。
write-off (n.) (债务)勾销
In November 1994 the corporation(Sony)took a$3.2 billion write-off for five years of studio mismanagement.(TIME,Feb.24,1997,p. 42)
1994年11月,索尼公司拿出32亿美元,一笔勾销了电影部门五年来因经营不善而欠下的债务。 ▲studio (n.) 电影制片厂