Vocabulary Matters, Culture Interesting - 学习托福词汇,了解北美文化 - 4

因为tutor说这样学单词没有用,建议我换个学法。让我很没有写这个系列文章的动力。

可是过去了一周之后,我依然觉得这个是我记住单词最高效的方法。当我把一个单词研究透彻了,看了很多应用的场景,并且写下来,还把一部分语句翻译成中文,这个过程中一个单词就至少学了10遍,这个记忆的力度远比在单词书的同一个位置去背10词的印象深多了。而且这个过程中,还顺带学到了很多日常生活和美国文化、自然风光等跟多知识点。

那么,就继续坚持每天一篇吧~不过,可以调低下预期,也是跟工作的平衡,每天5个单词为底限吧。另外,也参考tutor的建议,不要从托福词汇书中随机选词,而是结合工作、日常阅读中遇到的高频词且是托福词汇的开始。

OK,以下进入正文。

affluent

You know you're driving through an affluent neighborhood when you see large houses, perfect landscaping, and expensive cars. Use affluent to describe wealthy people or areas.

如果你看到好多大房子,完美的景观,好多豪车,那你就知道自己进了一个affluent街区。你可以用affluent来形容有钱人或者有钱的地区。

adj. n. having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

n. a branch that flows into the main stream

What does an affluent lifestyle look like?
affluent lifestyle living

amenity

Like built-in GPS, seat warmers and four-wheel drive, an amenity is a feature that contributes to comfort or value. Or in another sense, it's the overall pleasantness that results from all those cool features.

Declared the American novelist Edith Wharton, "I despair of the Republic! Such dreariness, such whining sallow women, such utter absence of the amenities, such crass food, crass manners, crass landscape! What a horror it is for a whole nation to be developing without the sense of beauty, and eating bananas for breakfast." As you can see, people throughout time have gotten cranky when they've felt their amenities to be lacking.

就像嵌入式的GPS,加热座椅,四轮驱动,amenity就是让你觉得很舒服或者很有价值的功能或者设施。换句话说,就是所有那些很酷的功能给你带来的舒适感和幸福度。

美国小说家Edith Wharton说,“我对共和绝望透顶了!那么悲凉,那么哀怨憔悴的女人,那么极度缺乏的设施,那么粗制滥造的食物,那么没有礼貌,那么粗鄙的景观!一整个国家的建设中没有美感的加持,这是多么恐怖一件事!还把香蕉作为早餐!”你可以看出来,如果人们的生活中缺少便利的设施,人们会很暴躁。

——我就想对Edith Wharton说,早餐吃香蕉咋了?因为和大猩猩的食物一样,就粗俗了吗?

n. pleasantness resulting from agreeable conditions

pinnacle

Going as far into the sky as you can go on foot, you'll reach the highest point, or pinnacle, of the Himalayas. A successful climb like that might also become the pinnacle, or peak, of your success.

Two synonyms for pinnacle also start with the letter "p," "peak" and "point." A pinnacle can be a physical thing, like the top of a high mountain or the antenna on the very top of a building, or it can be a high point that can't be measured with a ruler, like an achievement or a goal. Whatever the pinnacle is, reaching it is almost always a completion of something where you have gone the highest you can go. "Acme" is a great synonym for pinnacle.

如果你想靠走到最远的最接近天空的地方,那么你就会到达喜马拉雅的一个最高的点,或者一个峰顶。成功的登顶就可以说是成功的pinnacle或者peak。

Pinnacle的两个同义词也都是以字母p开头的,peak和point。A pinnacle可以是一个实体的东西,比如高山的顶峰或者高层建筑的天线塔,或者可以表示无法用尺子来衡量的东西,比如成就或者目标。不管pinnacle是什么,到达pinnacle都是达成一个你最能够触及的地方。Acme也是pinnacle的一个同义词。


这个酒我曾经买了一瓶,喝了一点之后,用来做鱼和炖肉了
这个就是physical pinnacle
建筑中的pinnacle
Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture, glossary是术语, Medieval是中世纪的

rampant

Rampant means wild or out of control. Unruly children might run rampant at the supermarket, knocking cereal boxes off shelves and thoroughly annoying the customers.

If you're running rampant, you're on a rampage. Both come from the French word ramper meaning "to climb, creep" like an animal on hind legs, paws in climbing-mode, or like wild plants such as the kudzu that ran rampant over an old barn until the entire thing was covered. There can also be rampant wildfires that destroy houses in the Southwest, or robots that fun rampant in the lab after the janitor accidentally sets them free.

Rampant是狂野的或者无法控制的意思。没有规矩的小盆友会在超市里run rampant,把cereal盒子打到地上,让人无语。

如果你run rampant,那你就在发怒,on a rampage。这个两个词都来源于法语的ramper,意思是爬,你可以想象一个动物后蹄着地,前爪做攀爬姿态,或者像野葛那样到处疯长,把所有东西都盖住。或者像西南地区不受控制的野火摧毁房屋,或者守卫不小心把实验室里的机器人放出来之后他们就run rampant了。

Heraldic Lion Standing Rampant On Hind Legs Stock Illustration
Weeds have run rampant during the wet summer.
Japanese beetles rampant on leaves,这种小甲虫我们春天会吃的,很好吃
kudzu,野葛,看起来这个东西是可以到处疯长

adj. unrestrained and violent

adj. (of a plant) having a lush and unchecked growth

suspicion

Suspicion is a feeling that something might be true. If your friends seem to be keeping a secret from you, you might have a suspicion that they are planning a surprise party for your birthday.

Suspicion can mean the same as hunch or inkling, like when you have a suspicion that your friend is hiding a flower bouquet behind his back. Suspicion comes from the Latin word suspicere, or mistrust. That's why it can mean a general bad feeling about someone or something, like neighbors who regard all new people with suspicion until they get to know them.

Suspicion是感觉什么东西是真的。如果你的朋友有什么事情对你保密,你可能会怀疑他们在为你准备惊喜生日party。

Suspicion与hunch和inkling是一样的意思,比如你有时会感觉你朋友身后藏着一个。Suspicion来自于Latin语suspicere,或者mistrust。这就是它也可以作为一种通常的对什么人和事情的不好的感觉,比如邻居们在了解一个新搬来的人之前,总是会觉得他们不是很好的人。

希区柯克的这部电影Suspicion中文名是《深闺疑云》

n. an impression that something might be the case 

hunch

When you pose for pictures with short friends, you hunch over so you don't tower above them --- you scrunch up your shoulders, bend your knees, and try to look smaller.

You can also have a hunch, which has nothing to do with scrunching. When you have a hunch about something, you think it might be true. Your dog bolts over the fence, and you have a hunch he's heading for the neighbor who feeds him pâté. Hunch is an odd word of unknown origin, which seems to have originally meant "to push or shove" --- to nudge.

当你和个子比较矮的朋友拍照的时候,你会hunch over,这样你才不会像个塔一样的杵着---你会缩肩、屈膝让自己看起来小一点。

你也可以have a hunch,无关于缩起自己。当你对什么东西have a hunch,你觉得这个东西应该是真的。你的狗跳过篱笆,你会猜想它是要去邻居家找pâté吃。


看起来比较经典的pâté是这种的,具体描述见下方

Pâté is a paste, pie or loaf consisting of a forcemeat that at least contains liver. Common additions include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef, fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). Pâté can be served either hot or cold, but it is considered to develop its best flavors after a few days of chilling.

Pâté 是个肉卷儿,里面必须要有肝脏。一般还会有猪肉,禽肉,鱼肉或者牛肉,肥肉,蔬菜,香草,种子绞成的馅儿,并且还有配上红酒或者白兰地。Pâté 可以热吃也可以冷吃,不过一般都会冷藏几天来增加它的风味。

看起来这玩意我应该喜欢吃才对啊,我得去试试。

感觉后面就演绎了,带着动物肝脏的馅馅儿就可以叫Pâté了

n. an impression that something might be the case

v. n. round one's back by bending forward and drawing the shoulders forward

n. 预感,大块

vt. 耸肩;预感到;弯腰驼背

vi. 隆起;向前移动

bouquet

A bouquet is an arrangement of flowers. A simple bouquet of flowers from your garden makes a lovely centerpiece for your table or a nice hostess gift when you are a guest.

The word bouquet comes from the Old French term meaning "clump of trees." Because it would be difficult for a bride to lug a clump of trees down the aisle at her wedding, thankfully the word now means "a small bunch of arranged flowers." Bouquet can also describe the scent of these flowers, or anything that is a blend of scents, like perfume or wine.

A bouquet就是一束花。从你的小花园里摘的一束花就会是你餐桌上特别美好的装饰品或者也可以是送给客人的来自房主的有诚意的礼物。

Bouquet这个词是来自于古法语,意思是“树丛”。

Bouquet也可以是花香的意思,或者任何东西的混合香味,比如香水,酒。

下面都是美丽的bouquets!

心猿意马想买花


blue, white and orange wedding bouquet
看花束我能一直看下去,我要控制我寄几!

scent

A scent is a smell. Every house has a particular scent that is recognizable to people as belonging to that house.

Scent comes from the Latin sentire meaning "to feel, perceive, sense." The word was originally used in reference to hunting dogs, who track down animals by their scent. If you "pick up a scent," then you have a clue about something. If you wear a perfume, then you leave your scent in the air as you pass. Use scent instead of smell if you want to talk about a distinctively nice odor, like the scent of fresh-cut grass.

Scent是味道。每个房子都有可以被住在房子里的人辨别出来的自己独特的味道。

来自于拉丁语sentire,意思是“去感觉,感知,感受”。这个词最早用在猎犬上,猎犬依靠动物的scent去追踪它们。如果你用香水,那你经过的地方就会留下你的scent。如果你想说一种独特的好闻的味道,那么要用scent这个词,而不要用smell,比如刚刚割完的青草香,就要用the scent of fresh-cut grass。

odor

An odor is anything you can smell --- like a scent or an aroma. If you sniff a sour odor in your gallon of milk, you should probably pour it down the sink instead of drinking it.

Most people are more likely to use the word odor for unpleasant smells, like the odor of your uncle's stinky cigars or the musty odor in your grandmother's attic. You can also use the word odor in a figurative way, to mean a feeling or impression given by something: "The whole bank seemed full of the odor of money and greed." Odor is Latin, meaning "a smell or a scent."

Odor是你可以闻到的任何味道---可以是scent,也可以是aroma芳香。如果你嗅到了牛奶的酸酸的odor,那你要倒掉它。

很多人比较喜欢把odor用来形容不愉快的味道,比如你叔叔的发恶臭的雪茄或者你外婆阁楼上的霉味儿。你也可以把它用作比喻,“银行里充斥着金钱和贪婪的味道”。

Odor是拉丁语。

surveillance

这个不是托福词汇,但是日常生活中也常用的。现代生活脱离不开这个东西。

Many times, a person suspected of something illegal by the authorities is placed under surveillance, meaning he or she is closely watched to see if their suspicions are well-founded.

If you break down the word surveillance you get the prefix sur, from the French word for "over" and the root veiller, meaning "to watch." All of which is a roundabout way of saying that if you are under surveillance, you are being closely watched --- usually by the authorities, and usually not for a good reason! Those surveillance cameras in banks and stores are put there in the hopes of both preventing crimes and recognizing criminals after a crime has been committed.

surveillance camera

n. close observation of a person or group (usually by the police)

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