On Writing Well C19

1.words and expressions

outlandish

Today the outlandish becomes routine overnight.

adj. strange and unusual

• 古怪的，奇异的:

»outlandish clothes

  奇装异服

»Her story seemed so outlandish.

  她的描述似乎太不寻常了。

rattle

How rattled we all become when dealing with banks.

[informal] to make someone lose confidence or become nervous

• 使慌乱，使紧张:

»His mocking smile rattled her more than his anger.

  他那种嘲讽的微笑比他的愤怒更让她感到害怕。

»It was hard not to get rattled when the work piled up.

  工作积了一大堆，哪能不着急呢。

»His confidence was rattled by the accident.

  他的自信因为这场事故动摇了。

phrase rattle sb's cage, [spoken informal] to annoy someone – used humorously

• 惹恼某人〔幽默用法〕:

»Who rattled your cage?

  是谁惹你了？

shed

His own influence hasn't been so easily shed.

verb (past tense and past participle shed) , present participle shedding

1. get rid of 去掉, to get rid of something that you no longer need or want

• 去除，摆脱〔不需要或不想要的东西〕:

»The company is planning to shed about a quarter of its workforce.

  这家公司正计划裁减四分之一的人员。

»The magazine is desperately trying to shed its old-fashioned image.

  这份杂志急于摆脱其守旧的形象。

»a diet to help you shed pounds

  帮助你减肥的食谱

phrase

shed light

a. to make something easier to understand, by providing new or better information

• 〔通过提供新信息等〕使〔某事物〕清楚些（易于理解）:

[+ on ]

»Recent research has shed light on the causes of the disease.

  最近的研究使人们对这种疾病的成因有了更多的了解。

»Investigators hope to shed light on what started the fire.

  调查人员希望找出起火原因。

b. if something sheds light, it lights the area around it

• 发出光线; 照亮，照射:

»The lamp shed a harsh yellow light.

  这盏灯发出刺眼的黄光。

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2.summary

更高级的幽默，这确实太需要智慧了，不是粗鄙的一笑而过的笑话，而是可以反复琢磨的笑话。真渴望变成幽默的人。