Mar 18, 2016 - Gamesmanship

Vocabulary

1. sportsmanship n. 运动员风范（不伤人，或伤人后主动停止比赛）

2. puff n. 短促的气流或呼吸；泡芙；过分赞扬的评论；衣服聚集的布料；粉扑 v. 短促地喘气；使膨胀、隆起；虚假或夸大的广告宣传；抽（烟、雪茄、烟斗等）

   out of puff 喘不上气

3. aristocrat n. 贵族

4. found 是 find 的过去式

   同时 found 也是一个单独的单词 v. 建立 （过去式 founded）

5. seduce v. 诱惑

   reduce v. 减少

   deduce v. 推论、推断

   detect v. 探测

   conduce v. 导致或有助于（某结果）（不及物）

   conduce to = lead to

   introduce v. 介绍

   produce n. 农产品

6. fair n. 商品交易会、展销会、（评比农畜产品的）集市

7. embed v. 嵌入

   A is embedded in B

8. sour on v. 对（某事物）失去兴趣

   sour adj. 酸的；怨恨、失望的；土壤酸性的；石油、天然气含硫量高的 n. 酸酒 v. 使变酸

9. overshadow v. 投下阴影、遮盖

10. humiliate v. 羞辱

11. vassal n. 附庸国、臣服者（没必要记，很不常用）

12. criss-cross v. n. adj. adv. 纵横交错

13. ditch n. 道沟、沟渠 v. 修建沟渠；（非正式）丢弃

    scrap v. 废弃；小的打架或争吵 n. 废料、边角料；小的打架或争吵

    scrape v. 刮掉（去污）；刮擦（碰伤）；挤过、擦过；刮削数据 n. 刮擦的动作或行为；刮宫术；尴尬或困境

14. courtesy n. 礼貌、客套话

15. on the heels of = after

16. can v. 装罐（把某物装进罐子里封存，引申出搁置、停掉、解雇的意思） n. 罐子

17. whittle v. 一点点地削（木头）、雕刻（木头）、削减

18. torpedo n. 鱼雷；电射线 v. 用鱼雷击沉、彻底毁坏、完全摧毁

19. bow out 谢幕、退出

20. autocrat n. 独裁者

21. vanity n. 虚荣、无用

22. overrun v. 大量分布或占据、泛滥；超过限制（时间、花费） n. （花费）超支；（空间、位置上）超限、滑脱；（引擎运转速度）超速、飞车

23. affiliate v. 附属、成为隶属机构、成为会员组织

    A affiliate itself with B 即A成为B的附属，B比A大

24. whopper n. 极大的东西、巨无霸、汉堡王的皇堡

    whopping adj. 庞大的

25. spoil v. 破坏（价值或质量）；宠坏 treat someone (often a child) too indulgently, sometimes worsening their character；极度渴望（spoil for sth.）；n. 脏物、战利品；废料（发掘产生的）

26. circus n. 马戏团；竞技场（古罗马圆形那种）

27. wane and wax 起起浮浮、阴晴圆缺

    wane vi. 衰落、（月亮）亏缺（不及物）

    wax n. 蜡 v. 打蜡；（月亮）变满月

28. paint v. 画画

    taint n. 污点 v. 沾污

29. cripple v. 使残废、使严重丧失能力；使跛、使成瘸子 n. 残疾人

    crippling adj. 造成严重后果的；残疾的

30. rip v. 撕裂；快速移动；（从CD或DVD）复制到硬盘；栅格化（图片） n. 长的裂口；河、海交汇形成的湍急水流；光栅处理器

    rip up 撕碎了

    sb. is ripped 肌肉发达的（腹肌撕裂的）

31. impose v. 强加（不受欢迎的）；利用（他人善意）

32. Spartan adj. 斯巴达的；对舒适与奢华不关心的 n. 斯巴达人

33. radical adj. 根本的、彻底的、完全的；激进派的（即要求彻底变革的）；（语言）词根的；（数学）开根号的；（植物）根部的 n. 激进派；（化学）带电荷的原子团（根）；（语言）词根；（数学）根号

34. concede v. 承认（本来否认的事情，确认为真）；（投降或屈服某个占有的东西）割让、让出

    recede vi. 退去、后退、减退

    precede v. 在…之前、先于 A precede B

    proceed v. 继续进行

    proceeds n. 收益、所得款项

35. tinker with 修改、修补

    tinker n. 修理金属器皿的人；修补的动作 v. 漫不经心地修理某物（通常收效甚微）

36. white elephant n. 昂贵而无用的东西、累赘

37. bear v. 承担重量、支持；忍受（痛苦、困难）；（正式）携带；（正式）生（小孩）；（向具体的方向）转并前进 bear left 向左转； n. 熊；笨重的人；认为股市下跌的人

38. designate v. 任命 adj. 已任命但未上任的

    delegate n. 代表 v. 授权、委托（通常是低级别的人）

39. extinguish v. 熄灭、扑灭

    extinguisher n. 灭火器

40. plead vi. 乞求、恳求（不及物）；（法律）辩护

    plead with sb. 恳求某人

    plead guilty 认罪

Aug 13, 2016 - TOPSy-turvy

Notes

1. meant 是 mean 的过去分词

   This means sth.

   This is meant to do sth.

2. promise sb. sth.

   call A B

   dub A B

3. as long as 作连词时，是“只要”的意思

4. prove 系动词

   this proved popular

   也可以当普通动词

   this is proved to be popular

Vocabulary

1. merit n. 优点、价值 v. 值得、配得上

2. roar v. 咆哮、轰鸣

3. catch on 变得流行（不及物）

   the idea caught on. 这个想法变得流行。

4. means-testing 一种政府或其他机构根据个人或家庭收入来确定其是否有资格获得某种福利或补助的程序

   means n. 方法、手段；财力

   单复数同形，与mean区分开，不是一个词

5. behemoth n. 庞然大物、巨兽

6. spring up 突然生长或出现

   sprung up

   spring from 源自于 = come from

   spring v. 弹跳起来；起源于、产生于；（木材）变形或开裂 n. 春天；弹簧；跳跃；泉水；甲板变形凸起

7. stanch v. 止住（流血）

8. very adv. 非常地 adj. 实际的、确切的

9. lean v. 移动到倾斜的位置 n. 倾斜；瘦肉部分 adj. 苗条；（一个活动或一段时间）没有回报、没有营养的、微不足道的；（燃料混合物）空气含量高的

10. fury n. 狂怒

    furious adj. 狂怒的

11. pupil n. 小学生（英国）、学生（非英国语境）

12. amount to 等于 = equal

13. In essence 本质上说 = in another word/in other words

14. mediocrity n. 平庸（常用于贬义）

    mediocre adj. 平庸的

15. gentleman’s Cs 同情分（本来会挂掉的）

16. fare vi. 表现（不及物）（sb. fared adv.） n. 交通工具费用

17. stipend n. 助学金

Dec 3, 2016 - Eyes at the border

Notes

1. Every day more than 8,000 containers flow through the Port of Rotterdam. But only a fraction are selected to pass through a giant x-ray machine to check for illicit contents.

   为什么 a fraction 后是 are，因为这里是省略，原本是a fraction of containers are

   a fraction of n. 是量词，A of B 一般核心词是 A，量词除外，A是量词时，核心是B

2. It takes time for sb. to do sth. It 是形式主语

   = sb. spend time doing sth.

3. Imagine searching an image of a room three metres by 14 metres crammed to the ceilingwith goods.

   by 在这里表示 乘，是一种对面积的表达方式

4. A paper the group presented at the Imaging for Crime Detection and Prevention conference in Madrid last week showed that in tests, the system spotted nine out of ten hidden metallic objects.

   A paper the group 看到两个名词，一定要快速反应，这是省略了that的定语从句，第一个名词 A paper 后面还有谓语 showed

5. Assuming that 分句，主句.

   assuming that = if

6. Dr Breckon thinks intelligent scanning systems will at first operate in the background at airports, for instance rechecking bags in case human inspectors have missed something.

   in case 连词 意思是以防万一

7. get one’s hands on 真正接触、真正使用

Vocabulary

1. conceal v. 隐藏、藏匿、掩饰

2. container n. 集装箱、容器（用来盛放或运输的物品的物品）

   Rotterdam 鹿特丹（曾经世界上最大的港口之一，现依然是欧洲第一大港）

3. fraction n. 分数、小数；小部分、少量、一点儿；（化学）馏分（混合物液体如石油，加热蒸馏时，不同成分沸点不同，一个特定温度范围收集到的液体就称为一个“馏分”

   a fraction of n. 很少的某物

4. illicit adj. 非法的 = illegal、unlawful

5. content（名词重音在后，形容词动词重音在前） n. 内容、内容物；满足 adj. 满意的 v. 使满足

   be content with 对…满意

6. suspect v. 怀疑 n. 嫌疑犯 adj. 可疑的

   suspicious adj. 可疑的 = doubful/dubious/skeptical

7. object n. 物体；对象；宾语 v. 反对

   objective adj. 客观的 n. 目标；（望远镜或显微镜）物镜（靠近观察目标的镜头）

   objection n. 反对

   objectify v. 物化；（将抽象的）具象化

   objectification n. 物化；（抽象的）具象化

8. cram v. 挤满、塞满；考前短时间高强度学习

   cram for an exam 突击准备考试（填鸭式学习）

9. hide v. 隐藏

   过去式：hid

   过去分词：hidden

10. flag n. 旗子；（运动比赛中）用旗子做的标记；（计算机）标记变量；铺路的平石板；鸢尾花 v. 标识；（足球运动）举旗表示犯规；用旗装饰；（人）疲倦、虚弱、没热情

11. false positive 假阳性（本质是检测出了问题，但实际没问题）

12. integrate v. 融合

    integrate A into/with B = combine A with B

    integration of A into/with B

13. anomaly n. 异常

    a-/ab- 前缀 表反义 abnormal

    a- 前缀 表状态 awake asleep afloat（飘着的）

14. hunch v. 耸肩驼背 n. 直觉；驼背的姿势或物体；厚厚一坨

15. discrepancy n. 差异 = difference

16. weary adj. 疲劳的、疲倦的 v. 使疲惫

    • wear v. 穿戴；磨损；消磨（时间）wearing half the day；使船转向，背对风向 n. 穿戴（抽象概念）；（特定类型的）衣服；磨损

    • wear out 磨损、筋疲力尽、消耗殆尽

    • tear v. 撕扯 如 tear up 撕碎；（激动地）快速移动；（内心）拉扯、挣扎、纠结 n. （撕扯造成的）小洞或小缝；眼泪

    • wear-and-tear 磨损

    • 相似的词与过去式、过去分词

      原型	过去式	过去分词
      wear	wore	worn
      tear	tore	torn
      bear	bore	born
      swear	swore	sworn

17. crawl v. 爬；（非正式）卑躬屈膝；挤满了、爬满了（常指被昆虫覆盖或人群拥挤到令人反感）be crawling with sth./sb.；（计算机）爬取数据 n. 爬的动作；自由泳；（电视屏幕底部）带状区域（用于滚动播放新闻或广告）

18. cabin n. 客舱；小木屋（通常在偏远地方） v. 限制（在狭窄的范围）

    cabin bag 客舱行李，如背包、小尺寸登机箱

    hold bag 货舱（cargo hold）行李，如大尺寸行李箱

19. out- 前缀 表示超过

    outwit/outsmart 在智慧上超过

    outperform 在表现上超过

    outweigh 在重量上超过

    outlive 活过（活的时间上超过）

Oct 27, 2025 - Dark Energy experiment may change understanding of the Universe

Questions

1. b

2. a,fluctuate(s),cb

3. in itself, what(would) require

Dictation

1. The discovery of dark (force), (in) 1998, was in itself a shocking discovery.

   • The discovery of Dark Energy in 1998 was in itself a shocking discovery.

2. Up until(,) then(,) the view had been (that) (off) the Big Bang, the expansion of the Universe would eventually slow down under the force of gravity.

   • Up until then, the view had been that after the Big Bang, the expansion of the Universe would eventually slow down under the force of gravity.

3. But (the) observations found that they were accerlerating away from each other because of an unknown force.

   • But observations found that they were accelerating away from each other because of an unknown force.

4. More shocking still, would be confirmation that this dark energy force fluctuates, (and) suggested by (this) new results.

   • More shocking still would be confirmation that this Dark Energy force fluctuates, as suggested by these new results.

5. That’s because it can’t be expained, and (what) require a completely new theory of (cosmonology).

   • That’s because it can’t be explained and would require a completely new theory of cosmology.

6. The evidence (is) not reached the threshold of (the) discovery yet, but the evidence has been (announcing), so much (sold) that some of the (most) conservative and respected scientist(s) involved in the program are describing (the) (result) as a dramatic moment, which may lead to a (paradiam) shift in our understanding of the Universe.

   • The evidence has not reached the threshold of a discovery yet, but the evidence has been mounting, so much so that some of the most conservative and respected scientists involved in the programme are describing these results as a dramatic moment, which may lead to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Universe.

Vocabulary

1. the Big Bang - 宇宙大爆炸理论 a scientific theory about how the Universe began and expanded

2. accelerate - v. 加速 get faster

3. fluctuate - v. 波动的（数字上下变化的）to change continuously between one thing and another

4. cosmology - n. 宇宙学 the study of the origin and nature of the Universe

   cosmos n. 宇宙；一种菊科的植物

5. threshold - n. 门槛；阈值、临界点 the level at which something starts to happen

6. mount - v. 爬上去；组织或发起（一项运动或大的行动）；变大或变多 grow larger；安装；n. 底座（放置照片或宝石用于展示）；支架（相机或枪、炮的）；可供骑乘的马；山

7. paradigm shift - a major change in how people think about something

   paradigm n. 范例、范式

Transcript

The discovery of Dark Energy in 1998 was in itself a shocking discovery. Up until then, the view had been that after the Big Bang, the expansion of the Universe would eventually slow down under the force of gravity. But observations found that they were accelerating away from each other because of an unknown force.

More shocking still would be confirmation that this Dark Energy force fluctuates, as suggested by these new results. That’s because it can’t be explained and would require a completely new theory of cosmology.

The evidence has not reached the threshold of a discovery yet, but the evidence has been mounting, so much so that some of the most conservative and respected scientists involved in the programme are describing these results as a dramatic moment, which may lead to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Universe.

Nov 01, 2025 - Why some people believe AI is human

Questions

1. bace

2. bba(c)ca

3. sentience, probability, hallucinate, sceptical, cognitive bias

Vocabulary

1. consciousness n. 意识

   conscious adj. 有意识的

2. sentience - n. 知觉 to have feelings and be alive

   sentient adj. 有知觉的、有感知力的

3. probability - n. 可能性、概率 how likely something is to happen

4. genuine adj. 真的、真正的

5. interaction - n. 交互、互动 an act of communication

6. tendency - n. 趋势；倾向 something that often happens

7. hallucinate - v. 产生幻觉 something falsely stated to be true by AI

8. replicate v. 复制、仿造 adj. 复制的 n. 复制品、仿品

9. cognitive bias - 认知偏差 the subjective way that someone understands a situation

10. sceptical - adj. 持怀疑态度的 distrusting

11. grief n. 悲伤

12. inability - n. 无能、无力 not being able to do something

13. cultivate - v. 培育、培植（作物）；培养（能力、技能）to develop or help grow

14. relate to - understand how someone feels