In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. Flashcards
signature capability (signature dish/move)
招牌能力
revolutions of electric meters
电表旋转
cunningly
(adv.) 狡猾地. To do something cunningly is to do it in a crafty, sneaky, and skillful manner.
E.g. You might cunningly distract your parents so your brother can sneak a few extra cookies from the cookie jar.
monthly savings
每月储存
philosopher’s stone
点金石 hypothetical substance that the alchemists believed to be capable of changing base metals into gold
beehive
蜂巢 A beehive is a structure — either made by humans or bees — in which bees live and make honey.
skeptic
(n.) 怀疑派 A skeptic is a person who doesn’t believe something is true unless they see evidence. As a skeptic, you refuse to believe your sister saw a ghost — after all, she can’t prove it.
have a deal
达成约定、协议
this trick guaranteed his employment
这个技巧保证了他的就业
Nawab
“Nawab” usually refers to males and literally means Viceroy; the female equivalent is “Begum” or “Nawab Begum”. The primary duty of a Nawab was to uphold the sovereignty of the Mughal emperor along with the administration of a certain province.The title Nawab was given by the reigning Mughal Emperor to semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of princely states.
Is it safe to drink tube well water?
- Typically, groundwater is naturally clean and safe to drink. Because the soil on top acts as a filter, groundwater is usually free of micro-organisms that may cause disease. However, groundwater can become contaminated if the casings or caps for wells are not installed in the correct way.
a narrow and pitted farm-to-market road
从农场到市场的狭窄坑坑洼洼的道路
buff or saline-white desert
浅黄色或盐白色沙漠
sugarcane
甘蔗
mango orchards
芒果园
clover
三叶草
wheat
小麦
itinerant hawkers
流动小贩
itinerant entertainer
江湖艺人
water pump
水泵
bump along
颠簸
antennas
(n.)天线.
An antenna is a feeler found on the head of a bug. You know, the gross, creepy, pointy things they wave around and use as feelers or sensors. An antenna is also a device that sends radio and television signals.
sway
(v.) 摇曳/ 说服
1. the northerly wind is blowing again now and we will see willow catkins and peach blossoms swaying in the wind.
- His speech did not sway the voters
clank
哐哐啷啷, 叮当作响
the train clanked through the village
handlebars
(n.) 车把手
farmhand
(n.) 农场工人 A farmhand is someone who’s employed by a farmer to work on a farm. Farmhands might help harvest vegetables, feed animals, or drive a tractor.
banyan
(n.) 榕树
shade
(v.) 罩 E.g. Shade your eyes when you step out into the bright sunlight
dangling
(adj.) 悬垂的 E.g. a pair of dangling earrings
warily
(adv.) 谨慎地
haunch
(人的)胯部,臀部
She was sitting/squatting on her haunches. 她坐/蹲著。
(動物的)腰腿肉
a haunch of venison 鹿的腰腿肉
hunch
(n.)直覺;預感
I had a hunch that you’d be here.
直覺告訴我,你會來。
act on/follow a hunch.
依直覺行事。
(v.) 弓(背),彎腰
Stand up straight and don’t hunch your back.
站直,別彎著腰。
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. 当你和矮小的朋友合影时,你会弯腰驼背,这样你就不会高出他们——你会耸起肩膀,弯曲膝盖,并试图让自己看起来更小。
blunt
(adj.) A blunt object is rounded — it isn’t very pointy. A blunt comment is candid — it isn’t very subtle. When we blunt things we make them less lively, sharp, or intense. 钝的物体是圆形的——它不是很尖。 直率的评论是坦率的——它不是很微妙。 当我们钝化事物时,我们会让它们变得不那么活泼、尖锐或强烈。
lever
(n.) 杠杆、手段
(v.) 撬开
She levered the lid off the pot with a screwdriver。
她用螺丝刀撬开锅盖。
fulcrum
(n.)支点
circumventing switches and fuses.
绕开开关和保险丝
pry up flagstone
撬起石板
pry
(v.) 探聽,打聽(隱私)
To pry is to try and find something out that is none of your business. We all hate people who pry, sticking their nose into our personal affairs, and it is an annoying and disrespectful habit.
E.g.
As a reporter, I was paid to pry into other people’s lives.
作為一個記者,我拿取報酬去窺探他人的生活。
I hope you don’t think I’m prying, but has your boyfriend ever lived with anyone before?
我希望你不會覺得我是在窺探你的私生活——你男朋友以前和甚麼人同居過嗎?
in fulfillment of his genius for crude improvisation, the pumps continued to run.
为了发挥他的即兴创作天赋,水泵继续运转。
dowry
(n.)嫁妆
property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage.
E.g. Elizabeth’s dowry was to be $45,000 in diamonds。
伊丽莎白的嫁妆是价值 45,000 美元的钻石
pace
(n.) (移動的)步調;(發生的)速度;節奏
a slow/fast pace 慢/快步
Could you slow down - I can’t keep pace with (= walk or run as fast as) you. 您能走慢一點嗎——我跟不上您。
(n.) 一步;一步之距
The runner collapsed just a few paces from the finish.
那名賽跑選手在距終點線只有幾步之遙的地方倒下了。
light-fingered
(adj.) 有偷窃习惯的,喜欢顺手牵羊的
If you describe someone as light-fingered, you mean that they have a habit of stealing things.
E.g.
a light-fingered burglar who can crack the combination of a bank vault”- Harry Hansen
一个灵巧的窃贼,可以破解银行金库的密码”——哈里·汉森
dresser
(n.)碗柜;餐具橱
(有抽屉、顶部通常配有镜子的)矮衣柜