现代大学英语3 Unit 2 How Reading Changed My Life 词汇精讲.doc

Unit 2 How Reading Changed My Lifeabateto gradually become less serious or extreme; to make sth less strongl The storm showed no signs of abating.l Steps are to be taken to abate pollution.abatement noun Uakimbo(with) arms akimbo: with your hands on your hips and your elbows sticking outcareerismPursuit of professional advancement as ones chief or sole aimcareerist: someone who considers their career to be more important to them than anything elsecoaxto gently persuade someone to do something(1) coax someone into/out of (doing) something = gently try to persuade them to do itl She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer.l It took some time, but we were finally able to coax him out of quitting.(2) coax sth out of / from sb: to gently persuade sb to do sth or give you sthl The police officer tried to coax vital information from/out of the young prise(1) to consist of particular parts, groups etcl The house comprises three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room.l The committee is comprised of well-known mountaineers. (be comprised of sth.)(2) to form part of a larger group of people or things (= constitute, make up)l Women comprise 44% of hospital medical staff. l Twelve departments comprise this pulsion compela strong and unreasonable desire to do something l He felt a sudden compulsion to tell her the truth.the act of forcing or influencing someone to do something they do not want to dol Owners are under no compulsion to sell their land. under (no) compulsion to do sthcompulsory adj. that must be done because of a law or a rule compulsory education/coursescompulsive adj. (of behaviour) that is difficult to stop or control; (of people) not being able to control their behaviorcompulsive eating/spending/gambling; a compulsive drinker/gambler/liarcorollary (=consequence)something that is the direct result of something elsecorollary of/tol Is social inequality the inevitable corollary of economic freedom?couchn. a long low comfortable seat that two or three people can sit on (sofa)l The sofa is a fertile soil for couch potato.v. to express something in a particular wayl The letter was deliberately couched in very vague terms.contentl He emptied out the contents of his pockets onto the table.l The contents of the document remain secret.l I cant find it in the contents.l He seems to be content with a fairly minor role in the administration.l My apology seemed to content him.l He contented himself with one piece of cake.contented adj. happy and satisfied with your lifediscontentedhearten: v. to make someone feel happier and more hopefull He was by the publics support.l It is to see the determination of these young people.l I feel by her progress.antonym: disheartendoggedTheir success was due to the determination of their coach.Although the men fought on, a sense of hopeless despair engulfed them.equivalentThe large carton is the equivalent of three small ones.Is there a French word that is the exact equivalent of the English word home?This amount of exercise is equivalent to walking about three miles.exclusive: available or belonging only to particular people, and not sharedl The hotel has exclusive access to the beach.l Tune in to our exclusive coverage of Wimbledon. (exclusive report/interview/coverage)l This special offer is exclusive to our readers.exclusivity: the quality of being exclusivefrigatea small fast ship used especially for protecting other ships in wars （小型）护卫舰destroyer: a small fast military ship with guns 驱逐舰cruiser: a large fast ship used by the navy 巡洋舰battleship: the largest type of ship used in war, with very big guns and heavy armour 战列舰aircraft carrier 航空母舰A frigate is larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser.gablethe upper end of a house wall where it joins with a sloping roof and makes a shape like a triangle.A gable wall or gable end more commonly refers to the entire wall, including the gable and the wall below it.guillotinehalehale and hearty: (especially of an old person) strong and healthyhearty: old-fashioned strong and healthyHe was looking hale and hearty on his 80th birthday.installment(1) one of the parts of a story that appears as a series of parts, especially in a magazine, newspaper etcl the first installment of a science fiction trilogy(2) one of a series of regular payments that you make until you have paid all the money you owel the second installment of a loanl Theyre letting me pay for the washing machine by monthly installments.install, installationinterior n./adj.l The car has a surprisingly spacious interior.l Europeans built railroads in the interior of Africa.l Department of the Interiorl The interior doors are made of glass. (interior wall/door)Antonym: exteriorinveterate(1) inveterate liar/smoker etcsomeone who lies a lot, smokes a lot etc and cannot stop(2) inveterate fondness/distrust/hatred etcan attitude or feeling that you have had for a long time and cannot changeinvinciblel Teams like the Bulls are not invincible.l He has an invincible belief in his own ability.latterl the latter half of 1996 (adj.)l He considered his students either geniuses or idiots, and I fell into the latter category. (adj.)l Given a choice between Tahiti and Hawaii, Id prefer the latter. (n.)l He is getting into the latter years of his career. (adj. =later)Antonym: formerlaterl He resigned ten years later.l A later report said the oil fire on the sea was out.l In his later years he wrote very little.晚年他甚少动笔。Antonym: earlierliteracy n.the ability to read and writel a campaign to promote adult literacyl basic literacy skillsliterate: adj. able to read and write (the literate)numerate numrt: able to do calculations and understand simple mathematicsnumeracy the literati(formal) a small group of people in a society who know a lot about literaturelurev. to persuade someone to do something, especially something wrong or dangerous, by making it seem attractive or excitinglure sb into (doing) sthl People may be lured into buying tickets by clever advertising.lure sb back/away (to attract customers, workers, money etc from another company or place)l The bank launched an advertising campaign to lure back its traditional customers.l Its very difficult to lure talent away from Silicon Valley.n. something that attracts people, or the quality of being able to do thislure ofl the lure of easy moneyl Malc wasnt mature enough to resist the lure of drink and drugs.ottomana piece of furniture like a large box with a soft top, used as a seat, for resting your feet on when you are sitting, or for storing thingsparallel adj./n.l Lines AB and CD are parallel.l The railway is parallel with the canal.l She was travelling parallel to her previous route.l Social changes in Britain are matched by parallel trends in some other countries.l Davies has managed to pursue his diverse interests in parallel with his fast-moving career.perplexif something perplexes you, it makes you feel confused and worried because it is difficult to understand (=puzzle)l Janes symptoms perplexed the doctors.l a problem/questionl a expression/look/voiceplummet: to fall suddenly and quickly from a high level or position (=plunge)l In Shanghai share prices have plummeted for the sixth successive day.l Profits plummeted from 49 million to 11 million.l The plane plummeted towards the earth.portray: to show or describe someone or something in a particular wayl Opponents portray the president as weak and ineffectual.l The newspapers want to portray the project in a good/bad light.portrait: a painting, drawing or photograph of a person, especially of the head and shoulders; a detailed description of sb/sthl a full-length portraitl a portrait of working life in Americaprance: to walk or dance with high steps or large movements, especially in a confident wayWe used to prance around our bedroom pretending to be pop stars.She pranced out of the room.prizel He was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistryl He won first prize at the Leeds Piano Competition.v. to consider something to be very important and speciall You threw away all those old magazines I prize so much!pundit: someone who is an expert in a subject, and is often asked to talk to the public about that subjectl If you believe the fashion pundits, well all be wearing pink this year.sanctionv. to officially accept or allow something (approve)l The church refused to sanction the kings second marriage.n. official permission, approval, or acceptancel Apparently, the aide (助手) had acted without White House sanction.n. official orders or laws stopping trade, communication etc with another country, as a way of forcing its leaders to make political changesl US sanctions against North Koreal a resolution to impose sanctions (=start using sanctions) on North Koreal trade/economic sanctionsseducel Leaders are people who can seduce other people into sharing their dream.l The teacher was sacked for seducing female students.l by the prospect of bigger profits, the company expanded too rapidly.l The country had resisted the of mass tourism.l I love dressing up to look .slingto throw or put something somewhere with a careless movement and some force(informal) to make someone leave or go to a placeusually passive to hang something looselyl Dave wore a tool belt slung around his waist.l Henry slung his suitcase onto the bed.l Sling me the keys.l Sam was slung into jail for punching a cop.solacea feeling of emotional comfort at a time of great sadness or disappointment; something that makes you feel better when you are sad or upsetl James sought/found solace in religion.l Mary was a great solace to me after Arthur died.solitaryl Tigers are solitary animals.l a solitary farml He led a solitary life.solitude: when you are alone, especially when this is what you enjoy独居，独处l Carl spent the morning in solitude.subculturesub: 表示“在下面，次一等，副手” subcontinent（sub+continetn大陆） subtropics（sub+tropics热带） subtitle（sub+tropics热带）