高英 Lesson Two Work Your Way Through College 单词.doc

Lesson Two Work Your Way Through College1. menial: menial work is boring, needs no skill, and is not important- a menial job- She did menial tasks about the house.2. remunerative: making a lot of money3. flabby: 1) having unattractive soft loose flesh rather than strong muscles- a flabby stomach2) used to describe something that is weak or not effectiveopposite powerful- intellectually flabby arguments- The bands performance was tired and flabby.4. prodigious: very large or great in a surprising or impressive wayprodigious amounts/quantities of something - Some galaxies seem to release prodigious amounts of energy.- the artists prodigious output5. waive: to state officially that a right, rule etc can be ignored- She waived her right to a lawyer.6. bosh: something that you think is silly, not good, or not true7. contribution: something that you give or do in order to help something be successfulcontribution to/towards- Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution to Quantum Theory.- The school sees its job as preparing students to make a contribution to society. significant/substantial/valuable etc contribution - Wolko made outstanding contributions to childrens medicine.8. epitome: the best possible example of something9. contemporary: someone who lived or was in a particular place at the same time as someone elsesomebodys contemporaries- Oswald was much admired by his contemporaries at the Academy.10. sift: sift through: to examine information, documents etc carefully in order to find something out or decide what is important and what is not- Police are sifting through the evidence in the hope of finding more clues.sift something out phrasal verbto separate something from other thingssift something out from- Its hard to sift out the truth from the lies in this case.11. happenstance: chance, or something that happens by chance12. vestige: 1) a small part or amount of something that remains when most of it no longer existssynonym tracevestige of- The new law removed the last vestiges of royal power.2) the smallest possible amount of a quality or feelingvestige of- Theres not a vestige of truth in the story.13. optical illusion: a picture or image that tricks your eyes and makes you see something that is not actually there14. proverbial: 1) the proverbial somethingused when you describe something using part of a well-known expression- The store had everything including the proverbial kitchen sink.2) relating to a proverb- a proverbial expression3) well-known by a lot of people- His modesty is proverbial.15. a chorus of thanks/disapproval/protest etc: something that a lot of people all say at the same time- The minister was greeted with a chorus of boos. - There was a chorus of agreement from the committee. - More politicians have now joined in the chorus of complaints.16. a means to an endsomething that you do only to achieve a result, not because you want to do it or because it is important- For Geoff, the job was simply a means to an end.17. indomitable: having great determination or courage- an indomitable old lady indomitable spirit/will/courage etc - Alice was a woman of indomitable spirit.18. herculean: needing great strength or determination19. exact: v. 1) formal to demand and get something from someone by using threats, force etcexact something from somebody- I exacted a promise from Ros that she wouldnt say a word.2) exact revenge (on somebody)if someone exacts revenge, they punish a person who has harmed them- Leonard was determined to exact revenge on his wifes killer.3) exact a high/heavy priceif something exacts a high or a heavy price, it has a very bad effect on a person or on a situation- The years of conflict have exacted a heavy price.20. delude: to make someone believe something that is not truesynonym deceive- I was angry with him for trying to delude me.delude somebody/yourself into doing something- It is easy to delude yourself into believing youre in love.- Dont be deluded into thinking your house is burglarproof.21. inculcate: to fix ideas, principles etc in someones mindinculcate something in/into somebody- I try to inculcate a sense of responsibility in my children.- Not all schools manage to successfully inculcate a love of learning. 22. alibi: 1) something that proves that someone was not where a crime happened and therefore could not have done ita perfect/cast-iron/unshakeable etc alibi- He had a perfect alibi and the police let him go.2) an excuse for something you have failed to do or have done wrong23. mediocrity: mediocre: adj. not very goodsynonym second rate- I thought the book was pretty mediocre- .a mediocre student24. reverence: great respect and admiration for someone or somethingreverence for- reverence for tradition25. sluggard: A slothful person; an idler 26. exalt: 1) to put someone or something into a high rank or position2) to praise someone, especially God- Exalt ye the Lord.27. atrophy: if a part of the body at