A Mathematician's Apology

Question 0

melancholy (adj)

Answer 0

• a deep feeling of sadness that lasts for a long time and often cannot be explained
• u sầu, sầu muộn, u uất

1. A mood of melancholy descended on us.
2. There is a brooding melancholy in his black and white photography.

Question 1

crudity (n)

Answer 1

• the fact of being crude; an example of something crude
• thô sơ, chưa luyện, thô lỗ

1. Despite the crudity of their methods and equipment, the experiment was a considerable success.
2. the novel’s structural crudities
3. The crudity of her language shocked him.

Question 2

statesman (n)

Answer 2

• a wise, experienced, and respected political leader
• chuyên gia có uy tín lớn, chính khách

1. the party’s elder statesman
2. elderly statesman (nhà chính trị lão thành)
3. A statesman is someone who can work with others toward the common good.

Question 3

scorn (n)

Answer 3

• a strong feeling that someone or something is stupid or not good enough, usually shown by the way you speak
• pour/heap scorn on someone/something = to speak about someone or something in a way that shows that you do not respect them or have a good opinion of them
• sự khinh bỉ, khinh miệt

1. Her fellow teachers greeted* her proposal *with scorn.
2. She was unable to hide the scorn in her voice.
3. They had nothing but scorn for his political views.

Question 4

charily (adv)

Answer 4

• not willing to risk doing something; fearing possible problems if you do something
• thận trọng, dè dặt

1. I walked charily around the house for several days, trying not to wince.
2. Now they stretched themselves out on their elbows and began to puff, charily, and with slender confidence.

Question 5

bestow (v)

Answer 5

• to give something to someone, especially to show how much they are respected
• tặng cho, ban cho, cho trọ, để đặt

1. an honorary degree bestowed upon her by the college
2. bestow* the luggage *on the rack
3. bestow someone for the night

Question 6

deteriorate (v)

Answer 6

• to become worse
• xấu đi, hư hỏng đi

1. Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterward.
2. deteriorating weather conditions
3. The discussion quickly deteriorated into an angry argument.
4. a serious deterioration in relations between the two countries

Question 7

deplorable (adj)

Answer 7

• very bad and unacceptable, often in a way that shocks people
• đáng trách, tệ hại

1. They were living in the most deplorable conditions.
2. The acting was deplorable.
3. They behaved deplorably.

Question 8

plunge in/into (v)

Answer 8

• to jump into something, especially with force
• to decrease suddenly and quickly
• to start doing something in an enthusiastic way, especially without thinking carefully about what you are doing
• lao xuống, lao vào, đâm đầu vào, nhúng, thọc

1. She was about to plunge into her story when the phone rang.
2. The earthquake plunged* entire towns *over the edge of the cliffs.
3. The pool was declared open and eager swimmers plunged in.
4. He’s always plunging in at the deep end (= becoming involved in difficult situations without being well enough prepared).

Question 9

dialectical (adj)

Answer 9

• a method of discovering the truth of ideas by discussion and logical argument, and by considering ideas that are opposed to each other
• the way in which two aspects of a situation affect each other
• biện chứng

1. dialectical materialism = duy vật biện chứng
2. One of the structures of thought is called dialectical thinking.
3. This kind of opposition I may be allowed to term dialectical; that of contradictories may be called analytical opposition.

Question 10

startle (v)

Answer 10

• to surprise someone suddenly in a way that slightly shocks or frightens them
• giật mình

1. I didn’t mean to startle you.
2. It startled* me *to find her sitting in my office.
3. She looked at him with startled eyes.
4. She jumped back like a startled rabbit.

Question 11

despise (v)

Answer 11

• to dislike and have no respect for someone or something
• xem thường, coi thường, khinh miệt

1. She despised gossip in any form.
2. He despised himself for being so cowardly.

Question 12

justifiable (adj)

Answer 12

• existing or done for a good reason, and therefore acceptable
• chính đáng, có thể chứng minh là đúng

1. If I was engaging in justifiable self-defense or resisting an actual unlawful arrest, it’s the same situation and nothing like the strawman argument you present.

Question 13

exposition (n)

Answer 13

• a full explanation of a theory, plan, etc.
• an event at which people, businesses, etc. show and sell their goods; a trade fair
• sự phơi bày, vạch trần

1. a clear and detailed exposition of their legal position
2. Yet the whole history of the exposition is a record of discrimination against the colored people.

Question 14

orator (n)

Answer 14

• a person who makes formal speeches in public or is good at public speaking
• người diễn thuyết, nhà hùng biện

1. a fine political orator
2. Colonel Winston, a great orator from the West, was at a convention in Washington as a candidate for Attorney-General.

Question 15

comet (n)

Answer 15

• a mass of ice and dust that moves around the sun and looks like a bright star with a tail
• sao chổi

1. A comet is a relatively small extraterrestrialbody witha nucleus of rock, ice, dust and gases.
2. The tail of a comet is formed directly opposite the comet’s path to or from the Sun.

Question 16

obtrude (v) (sth/yourself) (on/upon someone)

Answer 16

• to become or make something noticed, especially in a way that is not wanted
• bắt ai phải chịu đựng mình, phải chú ý tới mình

1. Music from the next room obtruded upon his thoughts.
2. As a general point of order: If you assume people are not qualified to enter into your theological argument, why do you obtrude it into a different discussion?

Question 17

singularly (adv)

Answer 17

• very; in an unusual way
• rất, khác thường

1. He chose a singularly inappropriate moment to make his request.
2. Songs that somehow blended together in the album gained distinction by emerging singularly from the shuffle.

Question 18

perverse (adj)

Answer 18

• showing deliberate determination to behave in a way that most people think is wrong, unacceptable, or unreasonable
• ngang ngạnh, ngoan cố

1. She finds a perverse pleasure in upsetting her parents.
2. It would be perverse to quit now that we’re almost finished.

Question 19

perceptibly (adv)

Answer 19

• great enough for you to notice it
• that you can notice or feel with your senses
• có thể nhận thấy, cảm nhận được

1. Income per head rose perceptibly.
2. It was perceptibly colder.
3. His voice softened perceptibly.

Question 20

dignified (adj)

Answer 20

• calm and serious and deserving respect
• có phẩm cách, đường hoàng, xứng đáng

1. a dignified person/manner/voice
2. Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence.

Question 21

anodyne (n)

Answer 21

• unlikely to cause disagreement or offend anyone; not expressing strong opinions
• an ủi, làm yên tâm, giảm đau

1. When the world is mad, a mathematician may find in mathematics an incomparable anodyne.

Question 22

savagery (n)

Answer 22

• behaviour that is very cruel and violent
• tính tàn bạo, tình trạng không văn minh

1. The police were shocked by the savagery of the attacks.
2. She replied with a savagery that took him by surprise.

Question 23

humdrum (adj)

Answer 23

• boring and always the same
• nhàm chán, buồn tẻ

1. a humdrum existence/job/life
2. the use of computers to perform humdrum tasks
3. the humdrum business of making money

Question 24

stratum (n)

Answer 24

• a layer or set of layers of rock, earth, etc
• a class in a society
• một lớp đá, một tầng lớp xã hội

1. a thick stratum of flint (đá lửa)
2. Excavated coins can often be dated from other objects in the same stratum.
3. people from all social strata