Collections on Oct. 29 2018
lead a busy, normal, quiet, etc. life
B2 to live a particular type of life:
How many of you lead a secret life?
He was able to lead a normal life, despite the illness.
We certainly don’t lead a life of luxury but we’re not poor either.
by day / by night
The expression by night is typically used to contrast someone’s nighttime activities to their daytime activities, especially when the nighttime activities are unusual or unexpected. You will see it very frequently in the construction X by day, Y by night.
尚未见到 … by day, but … by night
New York by night is very different from New York by day.
Another useful note is that by night can almost always be replaced by at night without altering the acceptability of the sentence, but not vice versa.
revolutionary
noun [ C ] /ˌrev.əˈluː.ʃən.ər.i/
someone who tries to cause or take part in a revolution
fairy godmother
仙女教母
fairy
noun [ C ] /ˈfeə.ri/
an imaginary creature with magic powers, usually represented as a very small person with wings:
Do you believe in fairies?
She used to think there were fairies at the bottom of her garden.
It’s that bit in the story where the fairy grants the little girl three wishes.
Most of the little girls were dressed as fairies or princesses.
fairy noun [ C ] (GAY)
offensive a gay man
princes and princess
/prɪns/ /prɪnˈses/
unleash creativity
For a safe place where one can feel free to unleash creativity and to release the tensions of daily routines.
release the tensions of daily routines
For a safe place where one can feel free to unleash creativity and to release the tensions of daily routines.
consistency
also consistence
noun /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/
[ U ] the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way:
They’ve won a few games this season but they lack consistency.
It’s important to show some consistency in your work.
grant
noun [ C ] /ɡrɑːnt/
an amount of money given especially by the government to a person or organization for a special purpose:
a student/research grant
They gave/awarded her a grant to study abroad for one year.
We got a government grant for setting up our business, but they clawed it all back again in taxes.
FORMAL
the action of granting something.
lives 生活复数
I work with a lot of people who lead secret lives.
off-key 跑调
adverb /ˌɒfˈkiː/
If you sing or play music off-key, you produce notes that are slightly higher or lower than they should be.
tremendous
adjective /trɪˈmen.dəs/
very great in amount or level, or extremely good:
But through a tremendous amount of hard work…
They were making a tremendous amount of noise last night.
She’s been a tremendous (= very great) help to me over the last few months.
You won? That’s tremendous!
She has every right to be proud of her tremendous achievements.
Heart surgery exacts tremendous skill and concentration.
He kicked up a tremendous fuss about having to wait.
medley
noun [ C ] /ˈmed.li/
a mixture of different things, especially tunes put together to form a longer piece of music:
And so tonight I would like to present to you a short medley from “Cinderella.”
a medley of popular tunes
The menu described the dessert as “a medley of exotic fruits”.
dessert
noun [ C or U ] /dɪˈzɜːt/
sweet food eaten at the end of a meal:
a dessert fork/spoon
For dessert there’s apple pie or fruit.
If you make the main course, I’ll make a dessert.
She made a fabulous dessert with alternate layers of chocolate and cream.
A full three-course meal – appetizer, main course and dessert – only cost about $25.
Would you like peaches and cream for dessert?
I’m afraid my cooking skills don’t run to fancy cakes and desserts.
exotic
adjective /ɪɡˈzɒt.ɪk/
unusual and exciting because of coming (or seeming to come) from far away, especially a tropical country:
exotic flowers/food/designs
We only had half an hour to see her before she was whisked off to some exotic location.
Wherever does he get the money from to go on all these exotic journeys?
She has rather a penchant for exotic clothes.
staunch
adjective /stɔːntʃ/
always loyal in supporting a person, organization, or set of beliefs or opinions:
a staunch friend and ally
He gained a reputation as being a staunch defender/supporter of civil rights.
judder
verb [ I ] /ˈdʒʌd.ər/
(especially of a vehicle) to shake violently:
The train juddered to a halt.
The car juddered and came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road.
hurl
verb [ T ] /hɜːl/
to throw something with a lot of force, usually in an angry or violent way:
In a fit of temper he hurled the book across the room.
Youths hurled stones at the soldiers.
hurl abuse, insults, etc. at sb
to shout insults or rude language at someone angrily:
He hurled (a stream/torrent of) abuse at her (= he said a lot of rude and offensive things to her).
I wasn’t going to stand there while he hurled abuse at me!
a stream of
a mass of people or things moving continuously in the same direction.
“there is a steady stream of visitors”
a large number of things that happen or come one after the other.
“a woman screamed a stream of abuse”
a torrent of
noun /ˈtɒr.ənt/
[ S ] a sudden large or too large amount, especially one that seems to be uncontrolled:
He let out a torrent of abuse/angry words.
They are worried that the flow/trickle/stream of tourists could swell into an unmanageable torrent if there are no controls.
We got a torrent of e-mails complaining about the advertisement.
a torrent of criticism/abuse
torrents [ plural ]
large amounts:
torrents of rain
The rain came down/fell in torrents.
We have received torrents of letters/requests/criticism.
a sudden, violent, and copious outpouring of (something, typically words or feelings).
“she was subjected to a torrent of abuse”
choreographer
noun [ C ] /ˌkɒr.iˈɒɡ.rə.fər/
编舞者