Unit 2 How Reading Changed My Life

abate

to gradually become less serious or extreme; to make sth less strong

● The storm showed no signs of abating.

● Steps are to be taken to abate pollution.

abatement noun [U]

akimbo

(with) arms akimbo: with your hands on your hips and your elbows sticking out

careerism

Pursuit of professional advancement as one's chief or sole aim

careerist: someone who considers their career to be more important to them than anything else

coax

to gently persuade someone to do something

(1) coax someone into/out of (doing) something = gently try to persuade them to do it

● She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer.

● It took some time, but we were finally able to coax him out of quitting.

(2) coax sth out of / from sb: to gently persuade sb to do sth or give you sth\

● The police officer tried to coax vital information from/out of the young victim.

comprise

(1) to consist of particular parts, groups etc

● The house comprises three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room.

● The committee is comprised of well-known mountaineers. (be comprised of sth.)

(2) to form part of a larger group of people or things (= constitute, make up)

● Women comprise 44% of hospital medical staff.

● Twelve departments comprise this university.

compulsion →compel

a strong and unreasonable desire to do something

● He felt a sudden compulsion to tell her the truth.

the act of forcing or influencing someone to do something they do not want to do

● Owners are under no compulsion to sell their land. [under (no) compulsion to do sth]

compulsory adj. that must be done because of a law or a rule

compulsory education/courses

compulsive adj. (of behaviour) that is difficult to stop or control; (of people) not being able to control their behavior

compulsive eating/spending/gambling; a compulsive drinker/gambler/liar

corollary (=consequence)

something that is the direct result of something else

corollary of/to

● Is social inequality the inevitable corollary of economic freedom?

couch

n. a long low comfortable seat that two or three people can sit on (sofa)

● The sofa is a fertile soil for couch potato.

v. to express something in a particular way

● The letter was deliberately couched in very vague terms.

content

● He emptied out the contents of his pockets onto the table.

● The contents of the document remain secret.

● I can't find it in the contents.

● He seems to be content with a fairly minor role in the administration.

● My apology seemed to content him.

● He contented himself with one piece of cake.

contented adj. happy and satisfied with your life

discontented

hearten: v. to make someone feel happier and more hopeful

● He was by the public's support.

● It is to see the determination of these young people.

● I feel by her progress.

antonym: dishearten

dogged

Their success was due to the determination of their coach.

Although the men fought on, a sense of hopeless despair engulfed them.

equivalent

The large carton is the equivalent of three small ones.

Is there a French word that is the exact equivalent of the English word 'home'?

This amount of exercise is equivalent to walking about three miles.

exclusive: available or belonging only to particular people, and not shared

● The hotel has exclusive access to the beach.

● Tune in to our exclusive coverage of Wimbledon. (exclusive report/interview/coverage)

● This special offer is exclusive to our readers.

exclusivity: the quality of being exclusive

frigate

a small fast ship used especially for protecting other ships in wars （小型）护卫舰

destroyer: a small fast military ship with guns 驱逐舰

cruiser: a large fast ship used by the navy 巡洋舰

battleship: the largest type of ship used in war, with very big guns and heavy armour 战列舰

aircraft carrier 航空母舰

A frigate is larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser.

gable

the upper end of a house wall where it joins with a sloping roof and makes a shape like a triangle.

A gable wall or gable end more commonly refers to the entire wall, including the gable and the wall below it.

guillotine

hale

hale and hearty: (especially of an old person) strong and healthy

hearty: old-fashioned strong and healthy

He was looking hale and hearty on his 80th birthday.

installment

(1) one of the parts of a story that appears as a series of parts, especially in a magazine, newspaper etc

● the first installment of a science fiction trilogy

(2) one of a series of regular payments that you make until you have paid all the money you owe

● the second installment of a loan

● They're letting me pay for the washing machine by monthly installments.

install, installation

interior n./adj.

● The car has a surprisingly spacious interior.

● Europeans built railroads in the interior of Africa.

● Department of the Interior

● The interior doors are made of glass. (interior wall/door)

Antonym: exterior

inveterate

(1) inveterate liar/smoker etc

someone who lies a lot, smokes a lot etc and cannot stop

(2) inveterate fondness/distrust/hatred etc

an attitude or feeling that you have had for a long time and cannot change

invincible

● Teams like the Bulls are not invincible.

● He has an invincible belief in his own ability.

latter

● the latter half of 1996 (adj.)

● He considered his students either geniuses or idiots, and I fell into the latter category. (adj.)

● Given a choice between Tahiti and Hawaii, I'd prefer the latter. (n.)

● He is getting into the latter years of his career. (adj. =later)

Antonym: former

later

● He resigned ten years later.

● A later report said the oil fire on the sea was out.

● In his later years he wrote very little.晚年他甚少动笔。

Antonym: earlier

literacy n.

the ability to read and write

● a campaign to promote adult literacy

● basic literacy skills

literate: adj. able to read and write (the literate)

numerate  ['numərət]: able to do calculations and understand simple mathematics

numeracy

the literati

(formal) a small group of people in a society who know a lot about literature

lure

v. to persuade someone to do something, especially something wrong or dangerous, by making it seem attractive or exciting

lure sb into (doing) sth

● People may be lured into buying tickets by clever advertising.

lure sb back/away (to attract customers, workers, money etc from another company or place)

● The bank launched an advertising campaign to lure back its traditional customers.

● It's very difficult to lure talent away from Silicon Valley.

n. something that attracts people, or the quality of being able to do this

lure of

● the lure of easy money

● Malc wasn't mature enough to resist the lure of drink and drugs.

ottoman

a piece of furniture like a large box with a soft top, used as a seat, for resting your feet on when you are sitting, or for storing things

parallel adj./n.

● Lines AB and CD are parallel.

● The railway is parallel with the canal.

● She was travelling parallel to her previous route.

● Social changes in Britain are matched by parallel trends in some other countries.

● Davies has managed to pursue his diverse interests in parallel with his fast-moving career.

perplex

if something perplexes you, it makes you feel confused and worried because it is difficult to understand (=puzzle)

● Jane’s symptoms perplexed the doctors.

● a problem/question

● a expression/look/voice

plummet: to fall suddenly and quickly from a high level or position (=plunge)

● In Shanghai share prices have plummeted for the sixth successive day.

● Profits plummeted from £49 million to £11 million.

● The plane plummeted towards the earth.

portray: to show or describe someone or something in a particular way

● Opponents portray the president as weak and ineffectual.

● The newspapers want to portray the project in a good/bad light.

portrait: a painting, drawing or photograph of a person, especially of the head and shoulders; a detailed description of sb/sth

● a full-length portrait

● a portrait of working life in America

prance: to walk or dance with high steps or large movements, especially in a confident way

We used to prance around our bedroom pretending to be pop stars.

She pranced out of the room.

prize

● He was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry

● He won first prize at the Leeds Piano Competition.

v. to consider something to be very important and special

● You threw away all those old magazines I prize so much!

pundit: someone who is an expert in a subject, and is often asked to talk to the public about that subject

● If you believe the fashion pundits, we'll all be wearing pink this year.

sanction

v. to officially accept or allow something (approve)

● The church refused to sanction the king's second marriage.

n. official permission, approval, or acceptance

● Apparently, the aide (助手) had acted without White House sanction.

n. official orders or laws stopping trade, communication etc with another country, as a way of forcing its leaders to make political changes

● US sanctions against North Korea

● a resolution to impose sanctions (=start using sanctions) on North Korea

● trade/economic sanctions

seduce

● Leaders are people who can seduce other people into sharing their dream.

● The teacher was sacked for seducing female students.

● by the prospect of bigger profits, the company expanded too rapidly.

● The country had resisted the of mass tourism.

● I love dressing up to look .

sling

to throw or put something somewhere with a careless movement and some force

(informal) to make someone leave or go to a place

[usually passive] to hang something loosely

● Dave wore a tool belt slung around his waist.

● Henry slung his suitcase onto the bed.

● Sling me the keys.

● Sam was slung into jail for punching a cop.

solace

a feeling of emotional comfort at a time of great sadness or disappointment; something that makes you feel better when you are sad or upset

● James sought/found solace in religion.

● Mary was a great solace to me after Arthur died.

solitary

● Tigers are solitary animals.

● a solitary farm

● He led a solitary life.

solitude: when you are alone, especially when this is what you enjoy独居，独处

● Carl spent the morning in solitude.

subculture

sub: 表示“在下面，次一等，副手”

• subcontinent（sub+continetn大陆）

• subtropics（sub+tropics热带）

• subtitle（sub+tropics热带）

• subeditor（sub+editor编辑）

• suboffice（sub+office办公室）

trickle

v. if liquid trickles somewhere, it flows slowly in drops or in a thin stream

● The tears trickled down her cheeks.

v. if people, vehicles, goods etc trickle somewhere, they move there slowly in small groups or amounts

● The first few fans started to trickle into the stadium.

n.

● The water in the stream had been reduced to a trickle.

● a trickle of cars on the highway

undersung

under-: not enough

• underestimate估计不足

• underplay对…轻描淡写

• understate 轻描淡写地陈述

• underpopulated人口稀少的

• underdeveloped不发达的

• undersized不够大的

over-: too much

virtue

(1) an advantage that makes something better or more useful than something else

● Adam Smith believed in the virtues of free trade.

(2) a particular good quality in someone's character

● Among her many virtues are loyalty, courage, and truthfulness.

(3) She became a British resident by virtue of her marriage. (by means of, or as a result of something)

whereas

● Doctors' salaries have risen substantially, whereas nurses' pay has actually fallen.

● Whereas knowledge can be acquired from books, skills must be learned through practice.

现代大学英语3 Unit 2 How Reading Changed My Life 词汇精讲