Article: Dr Fry Flashcards

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1
Q

Adamant

But Fry is adamant that certainly the last two of these perceived problems can be torn to pieces.

A

堅持(不易被改變想法)/ 堅信

adjective

UK /ˈæd.ə.mənt/ US /ˈæd.ə.mənt/

impossible to persuade, or unwilling to change an opinion or decision:
[ + that ] I’ve told her she should stay at home and rest but she’s adamant that she’s coming.
Synonym
intransigent formal disapproving

Synonym
adamant

intransigent
adjective formal disapproving
UK /ɪnˈtræn.sɪ.dʒənt/ /ɪnˈtrɑːn.sɪ.dʒənt/ US /ɪnˈtræn.sə.dʒənt/

refusing to change your opinions or behaviour:
Unions claim that the management continues to maintain an intransigent position.

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2
Q

democratised

democratised maths communication

A

democratize 使作決策時民主化
verb [ T ] (UK usually democratise)
UK /dɪˈmɒk.rə.taɪz/ US /dɪˈmɑː.krə.taɪz/

to make countries or organizations use democratic ways of making decisions:
It’s about time we democratized the organization of this company.

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3
Q

Contentious

A

contentious 具爭議性的
adjective
UK /kənˈten.ʃəs/ US /kənˈten.ʃəs/

causing , involving, or likely to cause disagreement and argument:

a contentious decision/policy/issue/subject

The proposal is highly contentious.
The couple were in the middle of a contentious divorce.

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4
Q

Savvy

After making the audience a little bit more savvy on what mathematics can say about online dating, how to find a soulmate and how to avoid divorce, she ended her talk with these words: “I hope that…a little bit of insight into the mathematics of love can persuade you to have a little bit more love for mathematics.”

A

noun [ U ] informal. verb 動詞)

知道, 了解

n.(noun 名詞)

機智, 頭腦, 理解, 悟性
UK /ˈsæv.i/ US /ˈsæv.i/

practical knowledge and ability:

business savvy
She’s very intelligent, but hasn’t got much savvy.

having or showing practical knowledge and experience:
Teenagers are savvier about handling their digital information than adults.

practical knowledge and ability:
She has a lot of marketing savvy.

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5
Q

Internalise

And I think that boys tend to be better at blaming outwards, so when they are finding the subject hard they are better at saying that the subject is hard, and instead, in my experience, I found that girls tend to internalise that and say that it’s them.

Opposite
= externalise

A

internalize 接受而變成自己性格的一部份
verb [ T ] formal (UK usually internalise)
UK /ɪnˈtɜː.nəl.aɪz/ US /ɪnˈtɝː.nəl.aɪz/

to accept or absorb an idea, opinion, belief, etc. so that it becomes part of your character:
He had not expected the people so readily to internalize the values of democracy.

PSYCHOLOGY specialized 使向內/ 收藏/ 收斂
If you internalize your emotions or feelings, you do not allow them to show although you think about them:
Many women tend to internalize their anxiety and distress.

Opposite
externalize
verb [ T ] PSYCHOLOGY specialized (UK usually externalise)
UK /ɪkˈstɜː.nəl.aɪz/ US /ɪkˈstɝː.nəl.aɪz/

to express feelings, especially bad feelings, such as anger:
You have to learn to externalize your anger.

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6
Q

Preconception

People come with the preconception that maths is difficult, irrelevant and uninteresting,” she acknowledges.

Fry admits that the idea that maths is “difficult” is the hardest preconception about her subject to tackle. “You can’t pretend otherwise,” she admits. But that too can be overcome.

A

先入為主/ 偏見

preconception
noun [ C ]
US /ˌpri·kənˈsep·ʃən/

an idea or opinion formed before enough information is available to form it correctly:
Many people still have preconceptions about how Native Americans live.

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7
Q

Leagues

I think there are mathematicians who are leagues ahead of me, in terms of their ability.”

A

league
noun [ C ]
UK /liːɡ/ US /liːɡ/
league noun [C] (SPORT)

B1
a group of teams playing a sport who take part in competitions between each other:

A league is also a group in which all the players, people, or things are on approximately the same level:
His new movie is just not in the same league as his last one (= not as good as the one before).

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8
Q

Frightening

Fry remembers her kindness, and her ability to create a learning environment where maths wasn’t frightening.

A

frightening
adjective
UK /ˈfraɪ.tən.ɪŋ/ US /ˈfraɪ.tən.ɪŋ/

B1
making you feel fear:
a frightening thought
a frightening film
It is frightening to think what might happen if she left him.
Synonyms
fearsome formalscary 
informal terrifying

terrifying
adjective
UK /ˈter.ə.faɪ.ɪŋ/ US /ˈter.ə.faɪ.ɪŋ/

B2
very frightening:
a terrifying experience/ordeal

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9
Q

Demystify

One way to demystify maths’ difficulty is to explain how democratic it is: it’s difficult for everyone – even for Fry, as surprising as that may be. The difference is that she enjoys the challenge.

Opposite
Mystify

A

demystify 簡化使容易理解
verb [ T ]
UK /ˌdiːˈmɪs.tɪ.faɪ/ US /ˌdiːˈmɪs.tə.faɪ/

to make something easier to understand:
What I need is a book that will demystify the workings of a car engine for me.

Opposite
Mystify

mystify 做一些令人費解之事
verb [ T often passive ]
UK /ˈmɪs.tɪ.faɪ/ US /ˈmɪs.tə.faɪ/

to confuse someone by being or doing something very strange or impossible to explain:
I was mystified by her decision.
Most Americans are totally mystified by the English game of cricket.

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10
Q

Recount

She told me, ‘I think you should do a maths and theoretical physics degree, and then we talk about afterwards,’” Fry recounts.

A

講述

recount
verb [ T ] formal
UK /rɪˈkaʊnt/ US /rɪˈkaʊnt/
recount verb [T] (DESCRIBE)

to describe how something happened, or to tell a story:
He recounted his adventures since he had left home.
[ + question word ] He was fond of recounting how he had played professional football when he was 19.

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11
Q

Never occurred to me
Recalls

But I went to an all-girls school, and so engineering just wasn’t on the table. It just literally never came up. I didn’t really realise it was possible.

“It just never occurred to me,” she recalls.

A

occur to sb 沒有想過(這個念頭)
— phrasal verb with occur verb
UK /əˈkɜːr/ US /əˈkɝː/
-rr-

If a thought or idea occurs to you, it comes into your mind:
The thought did occur to me.
[ + that ] It never even occurred to us that he hadn’t been invited.
Does it ever occur to you that I might want to be on my own sometimes?

recall 憶述
verb [ T ]
US /rɪˈkɔl/
recall verb [T] (REMEMBER)

to bring the memory of a past event into your mind:
I can vividly recall our first kiss.
[ + that clause ] He recalled that he had sent the letter over a month ago.
[ + question word ] Can you recall what happened last night?

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12
Q

Contender

There’s not much that can be compared to the excitement of Formula 1, but the Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution are a fair contender.

A

代表人物/ 表表者
contender
noun [ C ]
US/kənˈten·dər/

someone who is qualified to compete to win something or to achieve a position of leadership: :
He is a top contender for Senate majority leader.

leading contender
Our car industry, not least in my home country, is a leading contender in the fields of development, research, performance, the environment and safety.

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13
Q

Household name

The first series was held by Michael Faraday, and over the years they have hosted Nobel Prize winners and household names - the likes of Sir David Attenborough or Carl Sagan.

A

家傳戶曉

household name
noun [ C ]
UK /ˌhaʊs.həʊld ˈneɪm/ US /ˌhaʊs.hoʊld ˈneɪm/

a famous person that most people know of:
He was a household name in the 1950s.

household name
noun [ C ] MARKETING
UK US

the name or brand of a product that is very well known:
The vacuum cleaner is the leading brand in the market and a household name.

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14
Q

Multidisciplinary
Humanities

For Fry, the best approach to tackle the topic in schools is multidisciplinary, where maths goes hand in hand with the humanities.

A

包含各種學科的
multidisciplinary
adjective
UK /ˌmʌl.ti.dɪs.əˈplɪn.ər.i/ US /ˌmʌl.tiˈdɪs.ə.plɪ.ner.i/

involving different subjects of study in one activity:
a multidisciplinary course

humanity noun (SUBJECTS)
人文學科

(the) humanities [ plural ]

the study of subjects such as literature, language, history, and philosophy:
I’ve always been more interested in the humanities than the sciences.

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15
Q

Humanity

A

humanity
noun
UK /hjuːˈmæn.ə.ti/ US /hjuːˈmæn.ə.t̬i/
humanity noun (PEOPLE)

C1 [ U ]
people in general:
The massacre was a crime against humanity.
More examples
Bombing civilians is a crime against humanity .
The environmental impact of these policies affects all of humanity.

humanity noun (KINDNESS)

C2 [ U ]
understanding and kindness towards other people:
If only he would show/display a little humanity for once.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
humanity noun (BEING HUMAN)

C2 [ U ]
the condition of being human:
There is a sense of common humanity that unites people of all nations.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

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16
Q

En masse

A few weeks back, maths teachers responded en masse to a tweet by the Mathematical Association asking them to indicate the hardest problem the profession is faced with

A

全體地

en masse
adverb
UK /ˌɒ̃ ˈmæs/ US /ˌɑ̃ː ˈmæs/

If a group of people do something en masse, they do it together and at the same time:
The shop’s 85 workers have resigned en masse.

17
Q

Bashing

Asked what she thought about their complaints, Fry joins the Roman numerals bashing.

A

bashing
noun
UK /ˈbæʃ.ɪŋ/ US /ˈbæʃ.ɪŋ/

[ U ]評擊
strong criticism of a particular type of person or thing:
There’s been a lot of banker-bashing lately.

[ U ]
a physical attack on someone:
recent incidents of gay-bashing

[ U ] mainly UK
(also a bashing [ S ])
the act of hitting something hard:
All steaks will benefit from a bashing, as this breaks up the muscle fibres that comprise most of the meat.

羅馬數字numeral
noun [ C ]
UK /ˈnjuː.mə.rəl/ US /ˈnuː.mə.rəl/

a symbol that represents a number

18
Q

Wrath

And Roman numerals don’t even get the worst of Fry’s wrath. It’s circle theorems that bear the brunt.

A

wrath
noun [ U ] formal or old-fashioned
UK /rɒθ/ US /rɑːθ/

extreme anger:
The people feared the wrath of God.

wrathful
adjective
UK /ˈrɒθ.fəl/ US /ˈrɑːθ.fəl/

very angry, or often feeling strong anger:
It is not in Mr Freeman’s nature to be wrathful or jealous.
His hero-worship turns into wrathful jealousy.

Wrathfully

19
Q

Algebra

Fry says that while there are some things, such as algebra, that may feel pointless when you learn them but then go on to become “unimaginably powerful” (her words), circle theorems are not one of those.

A

代數

algebra
noun [ U ]
UK /ˈæl.dʒə.brə/ US /ˈæl.dʒə.brə/

a part of mathematics in which signs and letters represent numbers

20
Q

Deadbeats

no matter how good a teacher you are, or how interesting you make the subject, you will never win over a large percentage of kids or adults. They are deadbeats and always will be.

A

賴債不還的人, 游手好閑者

deadbeat
noun [ C ] mainly US informal
UK /ˈded.biːt/ US /ˈded.biːt/

a person who is not willing to work, does not behave in a responsible way, and does not fit into ordinary society:
He’s a real deadbeat who’s never had a proper job.
[ as form of address ] Come off it, deadbeat, you’re never going to get anywhere.

a person or company that is not willing to pay debts or accept responsibility

deadbeat
adjective [ before noun ] mainly US informal
UK /ˈded.biːt/ US /ˈded.biːt/

not willing to pay debts or accept responsibilities:

21
Q

Pertinent

If you are asking your teachers to persuade students that this subject is relevant, pertinent and interesting…and then you teach them bloody circle theorems…” she says, with a baffled face, before apologising to anyone who likes them.

A

pertinent
adjective formal
UK /ˈpɜː.tɪ.nənt/ US /ˈpɝː.tən.ənt/

relating directly to the subject being considered:
a pertinent question/remark
Chapter One is pertinent to the post-war period.

Synonyms
apposite formal apropos formal relevant

Opposite
irrelevant
Compare
impertinent

apposite
adjective formal
UK /ˈæp.ə.zɪt/ /ˈæp.ə.zaɪt/ US /ˈæp.ə.zɪt/

suitable and right for the occasion:
an apposite phrase/quotation/remark
The film starts in a graveyard, an apposite image for the decaying society which is the theme of the film.

apropos
adverb, preposition formal
UK /ˌæp.rəˈpəʊ/ US /ˌæp.rəˈpoʊ/

used to introduce something that is related to or connected with something that has just been said:
I had an email from Sally yesterday - apropos (of) which, did you send her that article?
Apropos what you said yesterday, I think you made the right decision.

22
Q

With a baffled face

Synonym
Flummox
Bewilder

A

一臉困惑

baffle
verb [ T ]
UK /ˈbæf.əl/ US /ˈbæf.əl/

to cause someone to be completely unable to understand or explain something:
She was completely baffled by his strange behaviour.
Synonym
flummox informal

Puzzle and confused

flummox
verb [ T ] informal
UK /ˈflʌm.əks/ US /ˈflʌm.əks/

to confuse someone so much that they do not know what to do:
I have to say that last question flummoxed me.
Synonyms
bafflebewildermystifypuzzle

bewilder
verb [ T ]
UK /bɪˈwɪl.dər/ US /bɪˈwɪl.dɚ/

to confuse someone:
The instructions completely bewildered me.
Synonyms