Day 15 France's next revolution

词汇梳理

一. 主动储备

1.stagnate

to stay the same and not grow or develop

The electronics industry is showing signs of stagnating after 15 years f growth.

stagnant

not growing or developing

a stagnant economy

But the malaise goes well beyond stagnant living standards.

stagnation

Stagnation, both political and economic, has been the hallmark of a country where little has changed fro decades.

SYN: stasis

a stage which does not change

After decades of stasis, it is hardly surprising that French voters want to throw the bums out.

She was bored- her life was in stasis.

2. hallmark

a typical characteristic or feature of a person or thing

Stagnation has been the hallmark of a country where little has changed for decades.

Simplicity is a hallmark of this design.

This explosion bears/has all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack.

3. promise 预示...可能发生

show signs of sth

This year's presidential election promises an upheaval

dark clouds promising showers later

Tonight's meeting promises to be a difficult one. 今晚的会议有可能不容易对付。

4. hold power/seize power/ come/rise to power/in power

5. charisma

a special power which some people have naturally which makes them able to influence other people and attract their attention and admiration

How did a man of so little personal charisma get to be prime minister?

charismatic

describe a person who has charisma

Marine Le Pen, the charismatic leader of the National Front, and Emmanuel Macron, the upstart leader of a liberal movement.

Few were able to resist this charismatic and persuasive leader.

6. hard to exaggerate

The implications of these insurgencies are hard to exaggerate.

7. divide

a difference or separation

The old divide between left and right is growing less important than a new one between open and closed.

cultural/political/racial divide 分歧

SYN: rift

a serious disagreement which separates two people who have been friends and stops their friendship continuing

Repeated terrorist attacks exposed deep cultural rifts in the country.

The marriage caused a rift between the two brothers and they didn't speak to each other for ten years.

8. reverberations (plural)

effects which spread and affect a lot of people

The resulting realignment will have reverberations far beyond France's borders.

This move is likely to have reverberations throughout the health service.

SYN: repercussions (usually plural)

the effect that an action, event or decision has on sth, esp. a bad effect

Any decrease in tourism could have serious repercussions for the local economy.

There are very, very strict career repercussions when you violate these policies, and everybody knows that. (NPR: "Female Marines Joint Fight Against Culture Of Sexism")

9. resurrect

to bring back sth into use or existence that had disappeared or ended

Several members of the party have resurrected the idea of constitutional change. 重新提出

She has been busily trying to resurrect her Hollywood career. 重振事业

She vows to swap the euro for a resurrected French franc.

resurrection

a situation in which sth old or forgotten returns or becomes important again

a resurrection of old jealousies 昔日嫉妒心的再次出现

9. revitalize 复兴

to give new life, energy, activity or success to sth

Japanese investment has revitalized this part of Britain.

OPP: wreck

to destroy or badly damage sth

The explosion shattered nearby windows and wrecked two cars.

Our greenhouse was wrecked in last night's storm.

OPP: sap one's vitality

10. sap

to make sb weaker or take away strength or an important quality from sb, esp. over a long period of time

Constant criticism saps you of your confidence.

Looking after her dying mother had sapped all her energy.

Its vast state has sapped the country's vitality. (energy&strength)

11. proximate cause 直接原因

12. withdraw

remove

Mr Fillon did not withdraw from the race, despite having promised to do so.

The team captain was forced to withdraw from the match due to injury.

to stop talking to other people and start thinking thoughts that are not related to what is happening around you

My cousin frequently withdrew into her own fantasy world.

After the accident, he withdrew into himself and refused to talk to family or friends.

13. sluggish

moving or operating more slowly than usual and with less energy or power

France's economy has long been sluggish.

The housing market has been very sluggish these past few years.

14. absorb 消耗,花去

if sth absorbs money, time etc, it uses a lot of it

Defense spending absorbs almost 20% of the country's wealth.

15. entrepreneurial vim 创业激情

vim

(old-fashioned) energy and enthusiansm

At 87, Minna's still full of vim and vigor.

SYN: vitality

(approving) energy and strength

According to the packet, these vitamin pills will restore lost vitality.

16. malaise

a general feeling of being ill or having no energy, or an uncomfortable feeling that sth is wrong, esp. with society, and that you cannot change the situation

They claim it is a symptom of a deeper and more general malaise in society.

We were discussing the roots of the current economic malaise.

17. jangle one's nerves

to make sb feel annoyed or nervous

Repeated terrorist attacks have jangled nerves.

The constant whine(嘎嘎响) of the machinery jangled his nerves.

18. come/get to grips with sth

to make an effort to understand and deal with a problem or situation

Many of these problems have built up over decades, but neither the left nor the right has been able to get to grips with them.

The government has failed to come to grips with the two important social issues.

19. overhaul 全面改革

when a system or method is changed in order to improve it

France's last serious attempt at ambitious economic reform, an overhaul of pensions and social security, was in the mid-1990s.

an overhaul of the tax system

SYN: economic reform; technological disruption; revolution; revolutionary

20. remedy

a successful way of curing an illness or dealing with a problem or difficulty

But they offer radically different diagnoses of what ails France and radically different remedies.

The best remedy for grief is hard work.

21. ail

to cause difficulty and problems for sb or sth

The government seems to have no understanding of what ails the country.

22. tap into sth

to manage to use sth in a way that brings good result

Both Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen tap into that frustration.

If only we could tap into all that energy and creativity.

People are tapping into the power supply illegally.

23. perilous

extremely dangerous

She describes Islamists as fomenters of terror who make it perilous to wear a short skirt in public.

perilously

She came perilously close to getting herself killed in her attempt to break the world record.

24. staunch (stanch)

(v)to stop sth happening, or to stop liquid, esp. blood, from flowing out

She vows to stanch the flow of immigrants to a trickle.

The country's asylum laws were amended to staunch the flow/flood of economic migrants.

(adj) always loyal in supporting a person, organization, or set of beliefs or opinions

He gained a reputation as being a staunch defender/supporter of civil rights.

He is staunchly pro-trade, pro-competition, pro-immigration and pro-EU.

25. be short on

if sb or sth is short on a particular good quality, they do not have as much of it as you think they should have

Though he has long been short on precise policies.

The proposals were short on detail.

26. trim

reduce the amount or size of sth

He has promised to trim the state payroll by 500,000 workers.

They're trying to trim their costs, so staff who leave are not being replaced.

27. the status quo 现状

(二)被动储备

1. insurgent (n)

(a): sb who is fighting against the government in their own country

(b): sb who opposes political authority

French voters may face a choice between two insurgent candidates.

insurgency (n)

an occasion when a group of people attempt to take control of their country by force

The implications of these insurgencies are hard to exaggerate.

2. realign (v)

 to change your ideas or policies so that they are the same as those of another person or group

Several politicians left the party and realigned themselves with the opposition.

realignment (n)

 The resulting realignment will have reverberations far beyond France's borders.

  This war will inevitably lead to a realignment of/within European politics.

3. throw the bums out 

the literal meaning of bum is a lazy or worthless person. However, in this idiom, it's used metaphorically to refer to ineffective politicians.Thus, we wish to get rid of those worthless members, and replace them with new ones(who we hope will do better)

4. grumble (v)

to keep complaining in an unhappy way

One poll last year found that French people are the most pessimistic on Earth, with 81% grumbling that the world is getting worse.

  Farmers are always grumbling about the weather.

5. evict sb from sth 驱逐

to tell sb legally that they must leave the house they are living in

 evict her father from the party he founded

SYN: expel sb from sth 开除

to officially force sb to leave a school or organization

Two girls were expelled from school fro taking drugs.

The main opposition leader was expelled from her party.    

6. rotate (使)轮流做...; (使)轮换

as power has rotated between the established parties of left and right

Employers may rotate duties to give staff wider experience.

7. standard-bearer (n)

the person or thing that seems to lead a group of people having similar ideas or moral opinions

Mr Everhart wants Caltech to be the standard-bearer for excellence in scientific research of all kinds.

8. foment (v)

to cause trouble and make people start fighting each other or opposing the government

They were accused of fomenting rebellion.

foment revolution/trouble/discord 煽动革命/挑起事端、造成不和

fomenter (n)

She describes Islamists as fomenters of terror.

9. manifesto (n) 宣言

a written statement by a political party, saying what they believe in and what they intend to do

publish a manifesto

10. pitch as

to aim a product at a particular type of organization, group of people etc, or to describe it in a particular way, in order to sell it

Mr Macron is pitching himself as the pro-globalisation revolutionary.

It is pitched as a cheaper alternative to other workstations.

11. beleaguered 困难重重的;饱受批评的;四面楚歌的

experiencing a lot of problems or criticism

the country's beleaguered steel indusrty

12. payroll 工资总支出

13. insular 思想狭隘的;保守的

14. hefty 巨额的 

a hefty loan/fine

15. hitherto 至今

16. nonetheless 尽管

17. for all 尽管

你可能感兴趣的:(Day 15 France's next revolution)