Lesson 2-12

Question 1

osteoporosis

Answer 1

骨質疏鬆（症）
Osteoporosis afflicts many older women.
許多老年婦女深受骨質疏鬆之苦。

Question 2

ostracize

Answer 2

故意避開；排擠，排斥
His colleagues ostracized him after he criticized the company in public.
他公開批評公司之後，同事們對他採取了排斥態度。

Question 3

outcry

Answer 3

吶喊；大聲疾呼；強烈抗議
The release from prison of two of the terrorists has provoked a public outcry.
釋放兩名恐怖分子激起了公眾的強烈抗議。

Question 4

outlandish

Answer 4

稀奇古怪的；不尋常的；難以接受的
an outlandish hairstyle/outfit
古怪的髮型／裝束

Question 5

outstrip

Answer 5

（在數量、程度或成就上）超過，勝過
The demand for food in the war zone now far outstrips supply.
現在戰區對於糧食的需求遠遠超過了供應量。

Question 6

palliate

Answer 6

減輕負面影響
They tried to palliate the hardship of their lives.
他們試圖緩解生活的艱難。

Question 7

palpable

Answer 7

可感知的，易察覺的；觸摸得到的
a palpable effect
明顯的效果

Question 8

paltry

Answer 8

（金錢）微不足道的，無價值的
Student grants these days are paltry.
如今的學生助學金少得可憐。

Question 9

pandemonium

Answer 9

騷動；群情沸騰
Pandemonium reigned in the hall as the unbelievable election results were read out.
令人難以置信的競選結果一宣佈，大廳裡便亂成一片。

Question 10

parabola

Answer 10

parabola

拋物線

Question 11

paranoid

Answer 11

偏執的，多疑的
He started feeling paranoid and was convinced his boss was going to fire him.
他開始疑神疑鬼，確信老闆要解僱他。

Question 12

parody

Answer 12

滑稽模仿作品（指文章、音樂、藝術品、講話等）
He was an 18th-century author who wrote parodies of other people’s works.
他是一位18世紀的作家，專對他人的作品進行滑稽模仿。

Question 13

parsimonious

Answer 13

吝嗇小氣的，過度節儉的
She’s too parsimonious to heat the house properly.
她太節儉了，連給房子供足暖氣都捨不得。

Question 14

paucity

Answer 14

缺乏
There is a paucity of information on the ingredients of many cosmetics.
許多化妝品沒有提供充足的產品成分資訊。

Question 15

peculate

Answer 15

peculate

挪用；盜取

Question 16

pedant

Answer 16

pedant

賣弄學問的人；迂腐的教師；學究

Question 17

pedantic

Answer 17

迂腐的，學究式的，書呆子氣的
They were being unnecessarily pedantic by insisting that Berry himself, and not his wife, should have made the announcement.
他們太拘泥於形式，堅持要求由貝利本人而不是他妻子來宣佈，這實在沒有必要。

Question 18

pedestal

Answer 18

基座，底座
In the riot, the statues were toppled from their pedestals.
在暴亂中，雕像被人從底座上推了下來。

Question 19

pedigree

Answer 19

（動物的）純種系譜
The breeder showed us the dog’s pedigree.
飼養員給我們看了這隻狗的純種系譜。

Question 20

penance

Answer 20

悔過，悔罪；補贖
As a penance, she said she would buy them all a box of chocolates.
為了表示歉意，她說她要給他們每個人都買一盒巧克力。

Question 21

pendulum

Answer 21

擺，擺錘；（尤指）鐘擺
The pendulum in the grandfather clock swung back and forth.
落地鐘的鐘擺來回擺動。

Question 22

perennial

Answer 22

長期存在的；常年的；不斷發生的；反覆的
The film “White Christmas” is a perennial favourite.
《白色聖誕》是一部經久不衰、深受歡迎的影片。

Question 23

perfidious

Answer 23

背信棄義的；不忠貞的
She described the new criminal bill as a perfidious attack on democracy.
她稱新的刑法法案是對民主的肆意踐踏。

Question 24

perigee

Answer 24

（月亮或人造衛星的）近地點
The moon will be at perigee, its closest to the earth, on the 8th of the month.
月球將在本月8日處於近地點，離地球最近。

Question 25

perish

Answer 25

（尤指因意外或遇害）喪生，死亡；湮滅；毀滅
Three hundred people perished in the earthquake.
有300人在此次地震中喪生。

Question 26

persecution

Answer 26

（因種族、宗教、政治理念）迫害；虐待；煩擾，糾纏
They left the country out of fear of persecution.
他們因害怕遭受迫害而離開了這個國家。

Question 27

persiflage

Answer 27

persiflage

戲謔；插科打諢；戲弄；挖苦

Question 28

perspicacious

Answer 28

聰穎的；敏銳的；有洞察力的
His perspicacious grandfather had bought the land as an investment, guessing that there might be gold underground.
他睿智的祖父投資買下了這塊地，認為地下可能有黃金。

Question 29

pertinent

Answer 29

有關的，直接相關的
a pertinent question/remark
切中要害的問題／評論

Question 30

perverse

Answer 30

有悖常理的；任性的
Jack was being perverse and refusing to agree with anything we said.
傑克一意孤行，我們說甚麼他都反對。

Question 31

peter out

Answer 31

逐漸停止；慢慢消失
The fighting which started in the night had petered out by morning.
夜間開始的戰鬥到早上逐漸平息了。

Question 32

philistine

Answer 32

對文化藝術無知的人；沒有文化修養的人
I wouldn’t have expected them to enjoy a film of that quality anyway - they’re just a bunch of philistines!
我根本就不冀望他們喜歡像那樣的一部影片——他們只是些庸俗之輩！

Question 33

phlegmatic

Answer 33

冷靜的，沉著的，鎮定的
As a football player, his great asset was his calm, phlegmatic manner.
作為一名足球運動員，他最大的優點是他在場上沉著冷靜的風度。

Question 34

pillage

Answer 34

（尤指在戰爭中）掠奪，搶劫，劫掠
Works of art were pillaged from many countries in the dark days of the Empire.
在該帝國一手遮天的黑暗時期，許多國家的藝術品被肆意掠奪。

Question 35

pinnacle

Answer 35

極點；頂點，頂峰
By the age of 32 she had reached the pinnacle of her career.
她在32歲時事業達到巔峰。

Question 36

placate

Answer 36

平息，安撫
Outraged minority groups will not be placated by promises of future improvements.
許諾今後進行改善無法安撫憤怒的少數民族團體。

Question 37

placid

Answer 37

寧靜的；平和的
a slow-moving and placid river
平緩寧靜的河流

Question 38

platitude

Answer 38

陳腔濫調；老生常談
He doesn’t mouth platitudes about it not mattering who scores as long as the team wins.
他不會說這樣老掉牙的話；只要球隊贏了，誰進球都不重要。

Question 39

plaudit

Answer 39

讚揚
She’s received plaudits for her work with homeless people.
她因救助無家可歸者而受到讚揚。

Question 40

pledge

Answer 40

誓言；諾言；保證
[ + to infinitive ] All the candidates have given/made pledges not to raise taxes if they are elected.
所有的候選人都保證當選後不增稅。

Question 41

plummet

Answer 41

暴跌，急遽下降
House prices have plummeted in recent months.
房價近幾個月來暴跌。

Question 42

plush

Answer 42

奢侈的，豪華的；舒適的
He took me out to a really plush restaurant.
他帶我去了一家豪華飯店。

Question 43

poignant

Answer 43

令人痛苦的，酸楚的；深深打動人的
The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days.
照片喚起了對美好時光的深情追憶。

Question 44

poise

Answer 44

沉著，泰然自若；平衡
He looked embarrassed for a moment, then quickly regained his poise.
他一時間顯得尷尬，但很快又恢復了平靜。

Question 45

polarize

Answer 45

使兩極分化，使截然對立
The debate is becoming polarized and there seems to be no middle ground.
辯論變得兩極化了，看起來沒有中間立場。

Question 46

pompous

Answer 46

妄自尊大的，自以為是的
He’s a pompous old prig who’s totally incapable of taking a joke.
他是個傲慢自負的老頭，根本開不起玩笑。

Question 47

posthumous

Answer 47

死後發生的
a posthumous award
死後榮膺的嘉獎

Question 48

postulate

Answer 48

假定，假設
[ + that ] It was the Greek astronomer, Ptolemy, who postulated that the earth was at the centre of the universe.
就是希臘天文學家托勒密假定地球是宇宙的中心。

Question 49

precarious

Answer 49

危險的；不牢靠的，不穩的
The lorry was lodged in a very precarious way, with its front wheels hanging over the cliff.
卡車的位置很危險，前輪懸在峭壁上面。

Question 50

precipitate

Answer 50

促成；使突如其來地發生；加速…的發生
An invasion would certainly precipitate a political crisis.
入侵肯定會加劇政治危機。