List 44 Flashcards
somnambulist
somnambulistN. /梦游症患者/sleepwalker. The most famous somnambulist in literature is Lady Macbeth; her monologue in the sleepwalking scene is one of the highlights of Shakespeare’s play.
somnolent
somnolentADJ. /催眠的；半睡半醒的/half asleep. The heavy meal and the overheated room made us all somnolent and indifferent to the speaker.
sonorous
sonorousADJ. /醒目的/resonant. His sonorous voice resounded through the hall.
sophistry
sophistryN. /似真实假的/seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning. Instead of advancing valid arguments, he tried to overwhelm his audience with a flood of sophistries.
soporific
soporificADJ. /催眠的/sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness. Professor Pringle’s lectures were so soporific that even he fell asleep in class. also N.
sordid
sordidADJ. /肮脏；卑鄙/filthy; base; vile. The social worker was angered by the sordid housing provided for the homeless.
sovereign
sovereignADJ. /君主的；至高无上的/efficacious; supreme or paramount; selfgoverning. Professor Pennywhistle claimed his panacea was a sovereign cure for all chronic complaints. In medicine the sovereign task of the doctor is to do no harm. Rebelling against the mother country, the onetime colony now proclaimed itself a sovereign state. also N.
spangle
spangleN. /衣服上亮晶晶的小金属饰件/small metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation. The thousands of spangles on her dress sparkled in the glare of the stage lights.
sparse
sparseADJ. /稀少的；稀疏的/not thick; thinly scattered; scanty. No matter how carefully Albert combed his hair to make it look as full as possible, it still looked sparse.
spartan
spartanADJ. /刚毅的；朴素的；纪律严格的；斯巴达的/avoiding luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined. Looking over the bare, unheated room, with its hard cot, he wondered what he was doing in such spartan quarters. Only his spartan sense of duty kept him at his post.
spasmodic
spasmodicADJ. /断断续续的；间歇的/fitful; periodic. The spasmodic coughing in the auditorium annoyed the performers.
spat
spatN. /争论；口角；扇巴掌/squabble; minor dispute. What had started out as a mere spat escalated into a full-blown argument.
spate
spateN. /爆发；大洪水；一大群的/sudden flood or strong outburst; a large number or amount. After the spate of angry words that came pouring out of him, Mary was sure they would never be reconciled.
spatial
spatialADJ. /空间的/relating to space. NASA is engaged in an ongoing program of spatial exploration. When Jay says he’s studying spatial relations, that doesn’t mean he has relatives in outer space.
spatula
spatulaN. /压舌板；抹刀；批灰刀/broad-bladed instrument used for spreading or mixing. The manufacturers of this frying pan recommend the use of a rubber spatula to avoid scratching the specially treated surface.
spawn
spawnV. /孵化；下蛋/lay eggs. Fish ladders had to be built in the dams to assist the salmon returning to spawn in their native streams. also N.
spendthrift
spendthriftN. /挥霍的人/someone who wastes money. Easy access to credit encourages people to turn into spendthrifts who shop till they drop.
splice
spliceV. /绑定的；联合的/fasten together; unite. Before you splice two strips of tape together, be sure to line them up evenly. also N.
sportive
sportiveADJ. /嬉戏的；玩闹的/playful. Such a sportive attitude is surprising in a person as serious as you usually are.
spry
spryADJ. /充满生气的；活泼的；敏捷的/vigorously active; nimble. She was eighty years old, yet still spry and alert.
spurious
spuriousADJ. /伪造的，欺骗的/false; counterfeit; forged; illogical. The antique dealer hero of Jonathan Gash’s mystery novels gives the reader tips on how to tell spurious antiques from the real thing. Natasha’s claim to be the lost heir of the Romanoffs was spurious: the only thing Russian about her was the vodka she drank!
spurn
spurnV. /放弃；拒绝/reject; scorn. The heroine spurned the villain’s advances.
squabble
squabbleN. /争吵/minor quarrel; bickering. Children invariably get involved in petty squabbles; wise parents know when to interfere and when to let the children work things out on their own.
squalor
squalor N. /肮脏；悲惨；贫穷/filth; degradation; dirty, neglected state. Rusted, broken-down cars in its yard, trash piled up on the porch, tar paper peeling from the roof, the shack was the picture of squalor. squalid,ADJ.
squat
squatADJ. /矮壮的；又短又厚的；蹲着的/stocky; short and thick. Tolkien’s hobbits are somewhat squat, sturdy little creatures, fond of good ale, good music, and good mushrooms.
staccato
staccatoADJ. /断奏；断唱/played in an abrupt manner; marked by abrupt sharp sound. His staccato speech reminded one of the sound of a machine gun.
stagnant
stagnantADJ. /静止的；单调的/motionless; stale; dull. Mosquitoes commonly breed in ponds of stagnant water. Mike’s career was stagnant; it wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he! stagnate,V.
staid
staidADJ. /沉静的；安静的/sober; sedate. Her conduct during the funeral ceremony was staid and solemn.
stalemate
stalemate N. /僵局/deadlock. Negotiations between the union and the employers have reached a stalemate; neither side is willing to budge from previously stated positions.
stalwart
stalwartADJ. /坚定的；强壮的/strong, brawny; steadfast. His consistent support of the party has proved that he is a stalwart and loyal member. also N.
stamina
staminaN. /毅力；意志力/strength; staying power. I doubt that she has the stamina to run the full distance of the marathon race.
stanch
stanchV. /止血；血流变检测/check flow of blood. It is imperative that we stanch the gushing wound before we attend to the other injuries.
stanza
stanzaN. /节；段落（诗的）；盘（棋的）/division of a poem. Do you know the last stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner”?
steep
steepV. /浸泡，弄湿；陡坡；悬崖/soak; saturate. Be sure to steep the fabric in the dyebath for the full time prescribed.
stellar
stellarADJ. /星体的；恒星的/pertaining to the stars. He was the stellar attraction of the entire performance.
stem
制止流出/check the flow. The paramedic used a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from the slashed artery.
stem from
V. /起因于/arise from. Milton’s problems in school stemmed from his poor study habits
stifle
V. /使窒息；扑灭/suppress; extinguish; inhibit. Halfway through the boring lecture, Laura gave up trying to stifle her yawns.
stigma
耻辱；耻辱的标记；柱头；气门/token of disgrace; brand. I do not attach any stigma to the fact that you were accused of this crime; the fact that you were acquitted clears you completely
stigmatize
V. /打烙印；污蔑/brand; mark as wicked. I do not want to stigmatize this young offender for life by sending her to prison.
stilted
ADJ. /夸大的；充气的；虚胖的；踩高跷的/bombastic; inflated. His stilted rhetoric did not impress the college audience; they were immune to bombastic utterances.
stint
stint N. /供应；分配；限量分配/supply; allotted amount; assigned portion of work. He performed his daily stint cheerfully and willingly. alsoV.
stint
stintV. /紧缩，节省/be thrifty; set limits. “Spare no expense,” the bride’s father said, refusing to stint on the wedding arrangements.
stipend
stipendN. /薪金；津贴/pay for services. There is a nominal stipend for this position.
stodgy
stodgyADJ. /乏味的；保守的/stuffy; boringly conservative. For a young person, Winston seems remarkably stodgy: you’d expect someone his age to show a little more life.
Stoic
StoicADJ. impassive; unmoved by joy or grief. I wasn’t particularly stoic when I had my flu shot; I squealed like a stuck pig. also N.
stolid
stolidADJ. /乏味的；单调的；冷漠的/dull; impassive. The earthquake shattered Stuart’s usual stolid demeanor; trembling, he crouched on the no longer stable ground.
stratagem
stratagemN. /计谋；战略/deceptive scheme. We saw through his clever stratagem.
stratify
stratifyV. /分门别类；分类；分层/divide into classes; be arranged into strata. As the economic gap between the rich and the poor increased, Roman society grew increasingly stratified.
stratum
stratumN. /地层；社会阶层/layer of earth’s surface; layer of society. Unless we alleviate conditions in the lowest stratum of our society, we may expect grumbling and revolt.
strew
strewV. /散开；随意散开；散播/spread randomly; sprinkle; scatter. Preceding the bride to the altar, the flower girl will strew rose petals along the aisle.
striated
striatedADJ. /有细条纹的/marked with parallel bands; grooved. The glacier left many striated rocks. striate,V.
stricture
strictureN. /责难；非难；限制/restriction; adverse criticism. Huck regularly disobeyed Miss Watson’s rules and strictures upon his behavior: he wouldn’t wear shoes, no matter what she said.
strident
stridentADJ. /刺耳的；尖锐的；坚持不懈的/loud and harsh; insistent. Whenever Sue became angry, she tried not to raise her voice; she had no desire to appear strident.
stringent
stringentADJ. /严厉的；迫切的/binding; rigid. I think these regulations are too stringent.
strut
strutN. /大摇大摆；高视阔步/pompous walk; swagger. Looking at his selfimportant strut as he swaggered about the parade ground, I could tell Colonel Blimp thought highly of himself. alsoV.
strut
strutN. /支柱/supporting bar. The engineer calculated that the strut supporting the rafter needed to be reinforced. (secondary meaning)
stultify
stultifyV. /使徒劳；使显得愚笨；拆台，办难堪/cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate or hinder. His long hours in the blacking factory left young Dickens numb and incurious, as if the menial labor had stultified his brain.
stupor
stuporN. /冷漠；漠不关心/state of apathy; daze; lack of awareness. In his stupor, the addict was unaware of the events taking place around him.
stymie
stymieV. /从中作梗；桩子；障碍物/present an obstacle; stump. The detective was stymied by the contradictory evidence in the robbery investigation. also N.
suavity
suavityN. /柔和；愉快；温和/banity; polish. The elegant actor is particularly good in roles that require suavity and sophistication.
subdued
subduedADJ. /屈服的；柔和的；减弱的/less intense; quieter. Bob liked the subdued lighting at the restaurant because he thought it was romantic. I just thought it was dimly lit.
