The Elements of Styles

Question 1

muddle (v)

Answer 1

• to put things in the wrong order or mix them up
• to confuse somebody
• muddle along: to continue doing something without any clear plan or purpose
• muddle through: to achieve your aims even though you do not know exactly what you are doing and do not have the correct equipment, knowledge, etc; lúng túng
• a state of mental confusion
• tình trạng lộn xộn, làm lộn xộn, làm rối

1. Don’t do that—you’re muddling my papers.
2. Slow down a little—you’re muddling me.
3. We can’t just keep muddling along like this.
4. We’ll muddle through somehow.
5. Can you start from the beginning again—I’m in a muddle.

Question 2

burst (n)

Answer 2

• a short period of a particular activity or strong emotion that often starts suddenly
• an occasion when something bursts; the hole left where something has burst
• a short series of shots from a gun
• sự xuất hiện đột ngột, sự nổ tung, sự bùng lên

1. a sudden burst of activity/energy/anger/enthusiasm
2. a burst in a water pipe
3. frequent bursts of machine-gun fire

Question 3

summon (v)

Answer 3

• to order somebody to appear in court
• to arrange an official meeting
• to call for or try to obtain something
• gọi đến, triệu tập

1. to summon assistance/help/reinforcements
2. He was summoned to appear before the magistrates.
3. She summoned the waiter.

Question 4

condolence (n)

Answer 4

• sympathy that you feel for somebody when a person in their family or that they know well has died; an expression of this sympathy
• lời chia buồn với người vừa có người thân mất

1. to give/offer/express your condolences
2. Our condolences go to his wife and family.
3. a letter of condolence

Question 5

feeble (adj)

Answer 5

• very weak
• not effective; not showing determination or energy
• yếu đuối, nhu nhược, lờ mờ, không rõ

1. The heartbeat was feeble and irregular.
2. a feeble argument/excuse/joke
3. Don’t be so feeble! Tell her you don’t want to go.

Question 6

compendium (n)

Answer 6

• a collection of facts, drawings and photographs on a particular subject, especially in a book
• bản tóm tắt, bản trích yếu

1. I pray that this compendium is not complete, because it appears that the U.S. only launched 15 rockets last year.
2. While not new to publishing (release in 1996), this book is a necessary swear word compendium for any English lover.

Question 7

recalcitrant (adj)

Answer 7

• unwilling to obey rules or follow instructions; difficult to control
• hay cãi lại, hay chống lại, cứng đầu

1. a recalcitrant child
2. Angus called his recalcitrant attention back to order

Question 8

tuck (v) (away)

Answer 8

• to push, fold or turn the ends or edges of clothes, paper, etc. so that they are held in place or look neat
• to put something into a small space, especially to hide it or keep it safe or comfortable
• to cover somebody with something so that they are warm and comfortable
• be tucked away: to be located in a quiet place, where not many people go
• gấp nếp, chui vào, rúc vào, thu gọn lại

1. The shop is tucked away down a backstreet.
2. She tucked a blanket around his legs.
3. She tucked up her skirt and waded into (lội) the river.

Question 9

bob (v) (up)

Answer 9

• to move or make something move quickly up and down, especially in water
• bob up: to come to the surface suddenly
• nhấp nhô, nhảy nót, lắc lư, lắc nhẹ

1. Tiny boats bobbed up and down in the harbour.
2. She bobbed her head nervously.
3. The dark head of a seal bobbed up a few yards away.

Question 10

sardonically (adv)

Answer 10

• showing that you think that you are better than other people and do not take them seriously
• nhạo bán, mỉa mai, biểu thị sự khinh thường

1. a sardonic smile
2. He looked down at her sardonically.

Question 11

pith (n)

Answer 11

• a soft dry white substance inside the skin of oranges and some other fruits
• the essential or most important part of something
• phần cốt yếu, phần ruột, nghị lực

1. With a sharp knife, remove as much white pith from the lemon peels as is possible.
2. the pith of her argument

Question 12

audacious (adj)

Answer 12

• willing to take risks or to do something shocking
• recklessly daring
• táo bạo

1. an audacious decision
2. To address this set of challenges we will need bold - even ‘audacious’ - policies.

Question 13

spectacle (n)

Answer 13

• a performance or an event that is very impressive and exciting to look at
• make a spectacle of yourself: to draw attention to yourself by behaving or dressing in a ridiculous way in public
• cảnh tượng, quan cảnh, kính đeo

1. a pair of spectacles
2. The carnival parade was a magnificent spectacle.
3. The sunset was a stunning spectacle.

Question 14

relish (n)

Answer 14

• to get great pleasure from something; to want very much to do or have something
• great enjoyment or pleasure
• a cold thick spicy sauce made from fruit and vegetables that have been boiled, that is served with meat, cheese, etc.
• đồ gia vị, sự hứng thú, điều gây hứng thú
• nếm, thưởng thức

1. She savoured (thưởng thức) the moment with obvious relish.
2. I don’t relish the prospect of getting up early tomorrow.

Question 15

lapel (n)

Answer 15

• one of the two front parts of the top of a coat or jacket that are joined to the collar and are folded back
• ve áo

1. to wear a flower in your lapel
2. He grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket.

Question 16

husky (adj)

Answer 16

• sounding deep, quiet and rough, sometimes in an attractive way
• big, strong and sexually attractive
• vạm vỡ, khàn khàn

1. She spoke in a husky whisper.
2. The suspect is described as a husky African-American man, average height, age 25 to 35.

Question 17

conspiratorial (adj)

Answer 17

• connected with, or like, a conspiracy (âm mưu)
• suggesting that a secret is being shared
• bí ẩn, bí hiểm

1. ‘I know you understand,’ he said and gave a conspiratorial wink.
2. These individuals, who happen to be Jewish, do not act together in any kind of conspiratorial manner.

Question 18

sting (n)

Answer 18

• the sharp pointed part of an insect or creature that can go into the skin leaving a small, painful and sometimes poisonous wound
• any sharp pain in your body or mind
• nốt đốt, vết cắt, vết thương lòng, nọc độc

1. The scorpion has a sting in its tail.
2. She felt the sting of tears in her eyes.
3. He smiled at her, trying to take the sting out of his words (= trying to make the situation less painful or difficult).

Question 19

lash (n)

Answer 19

• a hit with a whip, given as a form of punishment
• the thin leather part at the end of a whip
• lông mi, dây buộc ở đầu roi, quất bằng roi, sự xỉ vả, đả kích

1. her long dark lashes
2. They each received 20 lashes for stealing.
3. to feel the lash of somebody’s tongue (= to be spoken to in an angry and critical way)
4. The lash struck him across the back.

Question 20

brevity (n)

Answer 20

• the quality of using few words when speaking or writing
• the fact of lasting a short time
• tính khúc chiết, sự vắn tắt, sự ngắn ngủi của cuộc sống

1. The report is a masterpiece of brevity.
2. For the sake of brevity, I’d like to make just two points.
3. the brevity of human life

Question 21

peculiar (adj)

Answer 21

• strange or unusual, especially in a way that is unpleasant or worrying
• belonging or relating to one particular place, situation, person, etc, and not to others
• kỳ dị, khác thường

1. There was something peculiar in the way he smiled.
2. He has his own peculiar style which you’ll soon get used to.

Question 22

stance (n)

Answer 22

• the opinions that somebody has about something and expresses publicly
• the way in which somebody stands, especially when playing a sport
• thái độ, lập trường, thế đứng trong thể thao

1. What is the newspaper’s stance on the war?
2. Widen your stance (= move your feet wider apart) for greater stability when hitting the ball.

Question 23

doctrine (n)

Answer 23

• a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, a political party, etc
• a statement of government policy
• học thuyết, học thuyết chủ nghĩa

1. He was deeply committed to political doctrines of social equality.
2. the Monroe Doctrine

Question 24

tonsillectomy (n)

Answer 24

• a medical operation to remove the tonsils
• cắt bỏ amidan

1. At a hospital, the accused mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole was recovering from a tonsillectomy.

Question 25

poise (n)

Answer 25

• a calm and confident manner with control of your feelings or behaviour
• the ability to move or stand in an elegant way with good control of your body
• tư thế đĩnh đạc, dáng đứng cân bằng

1. His performance was full of maturity and poise.
2. She seemed embarrassed for a moment but quickly recovered her poise.

Question 26

comical (adj)

Answer 26

• funny or amusing because of being strange or unusual
• hài hước, kỳ cục, lố bịch

1. The effect of having characters that are always comical is one of levity (khinh suất), and in the scheme of gravity of such a world you feel the void of intelligent people.

Question 27

porch (n)

Answer 27

• a small area at the entrance to a building, such as a house or a church, that is covered by a roof and often has walls
• cổng vòm, hành lang

1. His front porch is part of his castle, and I would appreciate respect.
2. One other thing … apparently Palin’s porch is some sort of 8th wonder of the world.

Question 28

sensuous (adj)

Answer 28

• giving pleasure to your senses
• suggesting an interest in sexual pleasure
• làm hài lòng giác quan, kích dục

1. I’m drawn to the poetic, sensuous qualities of her paintings.
2. his full sensuous lips

Question 29

mannerism (n)

Answer 29

• a particular habit or way of speaking or behaving that somebody has but is not aware of
• too much use of a particular style in painting or writing
• thói cầu kỳ, kiểu cách, phong cách viết/vẽ riêng

1. nervous/odd/irritating mannerisms
2. Sometimes I base part of characters on friends; for instance, a certain mannerism or personality trait.

Question 30

lassitude (n)

Answer 30

• a state of feeling very tired in mind or body; lack of energy
• sự mệt nhọc, uể oải

1. I was overcome by lassitude.
2. A kind of lassitude compelled him to play this game.

Question 31

convalescence (n)

Answer 31

• a period of time when you get well again after an illness or a medical operation; the process of getting well
• sự hồi sức sau khi bệnh

1. You need four to six weeks’ convalescence.

Question 32

adornment (n)

Answer 32

• to make something/somebody look more attractive by decorating it or them with something
• sự tô điểm, trang hoàng

1. Gold rings adorned his fingers.
2. A plain necklace was her only adornment.

Question 33

indispensable (adj)

Answer 33

• too important to be without
• không thể thiếu được, tối quan trọng

1. Cars have become an indispensable part of our lives.
2. She made herself indispensable to the department.
3. A good dictionary is indispensable for learning a foreign language.

Question 34

ornate (adj)

Answer 34

• covered with a lot of decoration, especially when this involves very small or complicated designs
• trang trí công phu, trang sức lộng lẫy

1. a mirror in an ornate gold frame
2. This style is a little too ornate for my taste.

Question 35

casbah (n)

Answer 35

• a castle on high ground in a North African / Middle East city or the area around it
• cung điện ở Bắc Phi / Trung Đông

1. Come with me to the casbah and we will make beautiful music.
2. For decades, his home base has been that casbah of the Northeast Corridor, Westport, Conn.

Question 36

primo (adj)

Answer 36

• the principal part of a duet
• best, first-class
• phần chủ đạo

1. The 2001 flick is kind of primo and really stands the test of time in pop culture’s current fascination with pop music and gossip.

Question 37

collegian (n)

Answer 37

• a college student or recent college graduate
• a member of a college, particularly of a literary institution so called; a student in a college
• nhân viên trường đại học, sinh viên đã tốt nghiệp

1. Junior CB Patrick Peterson also will return kickoffs for the first time as a collegian.
2. Several schools also give parents calendars detailing the dates of spring break and exam schedules, along with tips on supporting a collegian with care packages.

Question 38

horde (n)

Answer 38

• a large crowd of people
• bầy người, bộ lạc du cư

1. There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer.
2. Football fans turned up in hordes.

Question 39

rein (n)

Answer 39

• a long narrow leather band that is attached to a metal bar in a horse’s mouth (= a bit ) and is held by the rider in order to control the horse
• give/allow somebody/something free/full rein
• • | give/allow free/full rein to somethingto give**: somebody complete freedom of action; to allow a feeling to be expressed freely
• dây cương, sự kiềm chế

1. It was time to hand over the reins of power (= to give control to somebody else).
2. The vice-president was forced to take up the reins of office.
3. When I paint I just give my imagination free rein.

Question 40

deliberately (adv)

Answer 40

• done in a way that was planned, not by chance
• slowly and carefully
• có tính toán, chủ tâm, thận trọng

1. She’s been deliberately ignoring him all day.
2. He packed up his possessions slowly and deliberately.

Question 41

colloquialism (n)

Answer 41

• a word or phrase that is used in conversation but not in formal speech or writing
• câu nói thông tục

1. “African-American vernacular” is simply a colloquialism, meaning it is unacceptable in any formal situation.

Question 42

slipshod (adj)

Answer 42

• done without care; doing things without care
• cẩu thả, tùy tiện

1. The work was done in a slipshod manner.

Question 43

mutilation (n)

Answer 43

• to damage somebody’s body very severely, especially by cutting or tearing off part of it
• to damage something very badly
• làm cho tàn tật, tổn thương

1. The body had been badly mutilated.
2. Intruders slashed and mutilated several paintings.
3. Thousands suffered death or mutilation in the bomb blast.

Question 44

snobbery (n)

Answer 44

• the attitudes and behaviour of people who are snobs
• sự màu mè, tính trưởng giả, học làm cao

1. The snobbery is hateful, but you can see that Kipling - the poet of Empire would have no sympathy for Gordon Brown’s idea.
2. Your East Coast intellectual and social snobbery is leaking out around the mask, old buddy.

Question 45

scrawl (n)

Answer 45

• to write something in a careless untidy way, making it difficult to read
• scrawl something (across/in/on/over something)
• scrawl across/in/on/over something
• a careless untidy way of writing; something written in this way
• chữ viết nguệch ngoạc, mảnh giấy ghi vội vàng

1. Her signature was an illegible scrawl.
2. The paper was covered in scrawls.
3. I tried to read his directions, scrawled on a piece of paper.
4. Someone had scrawled all over my notes.

Question 46

plight (n)

Answer 46

• a difficult and sad situation
• cảnh ngộ khốn khổ tuyệt vọng, lời thề nguyền giữa đôi trai gái

1. the plight of the homeless
2. The African elephant is in a desperate plight.
3. The term is similar to a mid-life crisis, but it refers to the plight of students in school or right out of college trying to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

Question 47

coffin (n)

Answer 47

• a box in which a dead body is buried or cremated
• quan tài, tàu ọp ẹp

1. A procession of mourners slowly followed the coffin.

Question 48

reef (n)

Answer 48

• a long line of rocks or sand near the surface of the sea
• a part of a sail that can be tied or rolled up to make the sail smaller in a strong wind
• đá ngầm, mép buồm, mạch quặng

1. a coral reef (rặng san hô)
2. Fishing on the reef is only a rich man’s pleasure.
3. The reef is razor sharp, the waves as deep steep, a mountainous blue, curved clear walls of glass.

Question 49

erode (v)

Answer 49

• to gradually destroy the surface of something through the action of wind, rain, etc; to be gradually destroyed in this way
• to gradually destroy something or make it weaker over a period of time; to be destroyed or made weaker in this way
• xói mòn, ăn mòn

1. The rocks have eroded away over time.
2. Her confidence has been slowly eroded by repeated failures.
3. the erosion of the coastline by the sea

Question 50

garment (n)

Answer 50

• a piece of clothing
• áo quần, vỏ ngoài, bọc ngoài

1. a strange shapeless garment that had once been a jacket
2. woollen/winter/outer garments

Question 51

halloo (v)

Answer 51

• used to attract somebody’s attention
• used in hunting to tell the dogs to start chasing an animal
• hú hú, xuỵt xuỵt

1. At the same moment there was a “halloo” outside, and a woman burst open the door, turning quickly to shut out behind her the onrush of the shower and the biting cold of the wind.
2. He raised his voice in a long “halloo” and rapped three times on the table.

Question 52

innocuous (adj)

Answer 52

• not intended to offend or upset anyone
• not harmful or dangerous
• không độc hại, vô thưởng vô phạt, tẻ nhạt

1. It seemed a perfectly innocuous remark.
2. an innocuous substance

Question 53

dictatorial (adj)

Answer 53

• connected with or controlled by a dictator
• using power in an unreasonable way by telling people what to do and not listening to their views or wishes
• độc tài

1. dictatorial behaviour
2. Putin accused the United States of pursuing what he called a dictatorial foreign policy.

Question 54

antagonistic (adj)

Answer 54

• showing or feeling opposition
• antagonistic (to/toward(s) somebody/something)
• trái ngược, đối lập, tương phản

1. In the first case, you can call the antagonistic principle “the existing order,” in the second, “antiquated prejudice.”
2. These color-pairs are known as antagonistic or complementary colors.