Unit 1

creep

vi / n

• I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents.
• Back I go to the hotel and creep up to my room.
• The danger remains of western military mission creep.

crescendo

n

• Voices rose in a crescendo and drowned(沒過) him out.
• The advertising campaign reached a crescendo just before Christmas.
• There was a crescendo of press criticism.

crest

n

• The band is riding on the crest of a wave with the worldwide success of their number-one-selling single.
• The hiking party reached the crest of the mountain just as it began to thunder.

crestfallen

adj

• She was crestfallen when she found out she hadn't got the job.
• Cheerful smiles became sullen expressions on the faces of crestfallen scientists and engineers.

cronyism

n

• The mayor has been accused of cronyism.
• Protesters in both countries point to it as the root cause of endemic corruption and cronyism.

crook

vt

• He crooked his finger: "Come forward," he said.
• The road suddenly crooked to the left.

croon

v

• She gently crooned a lullaby(搖籃曲).
• He would much rather have been crooning in a smoky bar.
• "Dear boy," she crooned, hugging him heartily.

culminate

v

• enormous waves culminated and fell with the report of thunder
• Her long acting career culminated when she won the Oscar.

crucial

adj

• Winning this contract is crucial to the success of the company.
• Parents play a crucial role in preparing their child for school.

crumple

v

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire.
• This cloth material crumples very easily.

Unit 2

crutch

n / v

• I can walk without the aid of crutches.
• the crutches for local economy

crux

n

• He said the crux of the matter was economic policy.
• Having a mentor(良師益友) is the crux to the career process.

cryptic

1. adj

• Leave cryptic messages on the typewriters.
• To make such cryptic commands more readable, you can expand history references as you type.

2. adj

• He has issued a short, cryptic statement denying the spying charges.
• puzzled by the cryptic e-mail message left on his computer

culpable

adj

• Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.
• Even if Jackson did grab a syringe and misuse propofol, is Murray culpable for leaving him alone with access to the drug?

cultivate

1. vt

• He has carefully cultivated his reputation.
• She cultivated a taste for fine wines.

2. vt

• The land around here has never been cultivated.
• The people cultivate mainly rice and beans.

cumbersome

adj

• The organization changed its cumbersome title to something easier to remember.
• Although the machine looks cumbersome, it is actually easy to use.
• If you've used this class to handle date/time values, you know how cumbersome it can be to grasp.

cunning

adj

• He was as cunning as a fox.
• Since the nobles are more perceptive and cunning, they always have time to save themselves, seeking the favours of the side they believe will prevail.

curmudgeon

n

• Oh, he had the reputation for being a curmudgeon, and he didn't suffer fools gladly, and often he seemed to have no tolerance for people at all.
• The result should put a smile on the faces of even the dourest of curmudgeons.

cursory

adj

• Burke cast a cursory glance at the menu, then flapped it shut.
• A cursory look at several recent polls shows that too often they are travesties.

curt

adj

• His tone was curt and unfriendly.
• In a curt voice, he ordered the server to bring him a glass of water.
• She was offended by the curt reply to her well-meaning question.

Unit 3

curtail

v

• curtail your holiday
• Spending on books has been severely curtailed.
• The lecture was curtailed by the fire alarm going off.

cynic

n

• Cynics will say that there is not the slightest chance of success.
• A cynic might say that is just a marketing slogan, but I actually believe that.
• A cynic might think that the governor visited the hospital just to gain votes.

dabble

vi

• He dabbles in local politics.
• He dabbled in business.
• For most people, it's not uncommon to dabble in a variety of things before settling on one occupation.

daft

adj

• Don't do anything daft.
• Your idea seems a bit daft to me.
• Judging a stock by its name may not be a daft strategy after all.

dazzling

adj

• The sunshine is dazzling.
• I am alive only when I am with you. When I am alone, the most dazzling sun seems to have lost the brilliance.
• The dazzling light from the digital device dizzied me.

dally

vi

• Don't dally over your meal, we don't want to miss our train.
• You should not dally away your time.

damper

n

• The cold weather put a damper on our plans.
• This puts a damper on anyone’s belief that love is unconditional.
• Official restrictions have put a damper on some games-related corporate and marketing activities.

dandy

n

• It is one thing to call someone a neat and careful dresser. It is another to call that person a dandy, or a clotheshorse, or a boulevardier.
• That dandy was willing to spend all day and hundreds of dollars just to get the perfect pair of shoes.

dank

adj

• a dark dank cave
• Vegetables tended to go bad quickly in the dank cellar.

dapper

adj

• The students all looked very dapper in their uniforms.
• The dapper gentleman drew admiring glances from all over the ballroom.

Unit 4

dappled

adj

• a dappled horse
• The path was dappled with sunlight.

daredevil

adj / n

• His daredevil stunts(絕技) are sure to end in disaster someday.
• A daredevil driver who thinks that drag racing on city streets is a harmless game.
• That little daredevil has broken an arm and an ankle this year alone.

dart

1. vi

• A dog darted across the road in front of me.
• Ingrid darted across the deserted street.

2. n
   The darts flew fast and furiously when the two former lovers bumped into each other at the party.

daunt

vt

• The difficulty did not daunt him.
• She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead.
• Benjamin: Really? Who would have the power to daunt our hero?

dawdle

v

• Stop dawdling! We're going to be late!
• Eleanor will be back any moment, if she doesn't dawdle.

deadpan

n

• It is awkward that he told the joke in his deadpan.
• a deadpan comedy

dearth

n

• There was a dearth of reliable information on the subject.
• Construction had slowed because of a dearth of labourers.

debacle

n

• People believed it was a privilege to die for your country, but after the debacle of the war they never felt the same again.
• What is so sad about this whole debacle is that it was predictable. Predicatable and avoidable.

debark

v

• On Christmas Day, Edwin and Jonas safely debarked at Liverpool and crossed the English Channel to snowy Le Havre, France.
• Jim Walker advises consumers to debark with caution.

debase

v

• Sport is being debased by commercial sponsorship.
• We can sculpt our existence into somethin beautiful, or debase it into ugliness.
• All currencies are based on trust, trust that the issuing authority will not debase the currency.

Unit 5

debilitate

vt

• Prolonged(持續(xù)很久的) strike action debilitated the industry.
• Stewart took over yesterday when Russell was debilitated by a stomach virus.

debris

n

• Emergency teams are still clearing the debris from the plane crash.
• And what did they find in the debris but the waitress, still breathing.

debunk

vt

• His theories have been debunked by recent research.
• Historian Michael Beschloss debunks a few myths.
• As long as there are people who cheat in the name of science, it is necessary to have science police to debunk them.

debut

n

• He will make his debut for the first team this week.
• She made her debut in a 1937 production of "Hamlet."

decadence

n

• The book condemns the decadence of modern society.
• a symbol of the decadence of their once-mighty civilization

detest

v

• They detested each other on sight.
• There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!
• We all have to do things we detest, at one time or another, because we are not free to consult our own wishes only.

decipher

The same as "decode" below.

decode

1. vt

• All he had to do was decode the Morse code and pass it over.
• The HTTP access services decode the information and validate it using a configurable authentication method.

2. vt

• Readers can easily decode the novel's imagery.
• This article is hard to be decoded.

decorous

adj

• He sipped(抿) his drink decorously.
• We were asked to be on our most decorous behavior at the formal event.

decrepit

adj

• The film had been shot in a decrepit old police station.
• My decrepit car barely starts.
• The city has many problems, from its dilapidated schools to urban deprivation and decrepit infrastructure.

Unit 6

default

n

• The company is in default on the loan.
• The corporation may be charged with default on its contract with the government.

defer

1. v

• The department deferred the decision for six months.
• She had applied for deferred admission to college.
• Customers often defer payment for as long as possible.

2. vi

• Patients are encouraged to defer to experts.
• defer her father's wishes

document

v

• Can you document the claims you're making?
• The charges are well documented.

deficiency

n

• Vitamin deficiency in the diet can cause illness.
• The book's major deficiency is its poor plot.
• The disease may be caused by nutritional deficiencies.

devious

adj

• He got rich by devious means.
• Newman was certainly devious, prepared to say one thing in print and something quite different in private.
• The British can be awkward, selfish and devious players of the EU game.

deft

adj

• He finished off the painting with a few deft strokes(筆觸) of the brush.
• her deft command of the language
• Some businesses will come up with deft ways of turning green policies into profits.

defuse

vt

• Local police are trying to defuse racial tension in the community.
• Police administrators credited the organization with helping defuse potentially violent situations.

defy

vt

• defy the court
• I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers.
• She defied her parents and dropped out of school.

dehydrate

1. vt

• Runners can dehydrate very quickly in this heat.
• Normally specimens(樣本) have to be dehydrated.

2. v
   dehydrate one's spirit

deify

vt

• The people deified the emperor.
• materialistic people who deify money

Unit 7

deject

vt

• Taylor was dejected by the outcome but vowed to seek a retrial.
• Dejected by his misfortune, Montana was unsure on how to proceed next.

deleterious

adj

• Some experts worry that if people become too paranoid about online privacy, it could have deleterious effects.
• Moreover, beyond the impact of the violence, time spent playing video games has additional deleterious effects on children's health.
• In fact, there is increasing evidence that excessive intake of certain micronutrients is deleterious.

deliberate

adj

• a deliberate decision
• This can happen for a variety of reasons, and these reasons can be unintended as well as deliberate.
• The speech was a deliberate attempt to embarrass the government.

delicacy

n

• the delicacy of a rose
• lace(蕾絲花邊) of great delicacy
• the delicacy of the young boy's features

delirium

n

• In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times.
• He committed these crimes while in a state of delirium.
• Hagen describes delirium as a dream-life which is inducted not by sleep but by disease.

delusion

n

• I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.
• One man in Australia a couple of years ago was under the delusion that his father was replaced with a robot and cut off his head.

deluge

1. n

• The deluge killed at least 220 people, inundating most of the country and pouring into some of the ancient temples at Ayutthaya.
• Bridges and elevated expressways are filling up with fleets of parked cars, to spare them from the deluge below.

2. n

• There was a deluge of requests for interviews and statements.
• But interviewing and thoroughly evaluating every applicant considering the deluge would be an enormous and expensive undertaking.

delve

v

• Tormented(折磨) by her ignorance, Jenny delves into her mother's past.
• On the next page, we'll delve into the world of ethology.
• We must delve into his mind and find the source of his delusions.

demagogue

n

• Such feelings are inflamed(激起) by demagogues, who wildly exaggerate the threat from a tiny minority of migrants—especially from crime.
• That politician is just a demagogue who preys upon people's fears and prejudices.

demanding

1. adj

• a demanding boss / child
• But he is high-demanding. You know, so that's why the movie is amzing.

2. adj

• The work is physically demanding.
• He tried to return to work, but found he could no longer cope with his demanding job.

Unit 8

demolition

n

• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge.
• the demolition of dangerous buildings

demonstrate

vt

• These results demonstrate convincingly that our work is working.
• The study also demonstrated a direct link between obesity and mortality.

demoralize

1. vt
   Clearly, one of the objectives is to demoralize the enemy troops in any way they can.
2. vt

• Constant criticism is enough to demoralize anybody.
• Your perspective can demoralize you or motivate you, it can get you the results you want or even snatch the opportunities from you.

demotic

adj

• demotic entertainments such as TV soap operas
• Folktale reflects demotic ideas about value.

demur

n / vi

• At first she demurred, but then finally agreed.
• They accepted without demur.
• The doctor demurred, but Piercey was insistent.

denigrate

vt

• He is denigrating the talents and achievements of women.
• Never allow your partner or yourself to denigrate the other.

disingenuous

adj

• It would be disingenuous to claim that this is great art.
• Her recent expressions of concern are self-serving and disingenuous.
• Unity is at best an ideal, at worst a disingenuous political slogan.

denounce

vt

• She publicly denounced the government's handling of the crisis.
• The project was denounced as a scandalous(可恥的) waste of public money.

dent

vt

• It seemed that nothing could dent his confidence.
• Record oil prices have dented consumer confidence.
• Heavy stock falls could dent the current path of any recovery.

denude

vt

• Mining would pollute the lake and denude the forest.
• Excessive logging has denuded the hillside of trees.

Unit 9

deplete

vt

• Food supplies were severely depleted.
• depleting the country of its natural resources
• The lake was depleted of water.

deplore

vt

• Like everyone else, I deplore and condemn this killing.
• Muslim and Jewish leaders have issued statements deploring the violence and urging the United Nations to take action.

deploy

v

• 2000 troops were deployed in the area.
• At least 5000 missiles were deployed along the border.
• Once you compile the code, you need to deploy it in the server to access the service.

deportation

n

• the deportation of the Jews from Spain in 1492
• the deportation of all the illegal immigrant

depose

1. vi

• He deposed before the court that he had seen the defendant enter the building.
• She was nervous when the time to depose before the jury finally arrived.

2. vt

• The president was deposed in a military coup(政變).
• Mr. Ben Bella was deposed in a coup in 1965.

deposit

1. n

• The rain left a deposit of mud on the windows.
• mineral / gold / coal deposits
• underground deposits of gold and diamonds

2. vt

• Millions were deposited in Swiss bank accounts.
• The customer has to deposit a minimum of $100 monthly.

depravity

n

• We responded to the worst kind of depravity with the best of our humanity.
• Mira Sorvino: Trafficking(拐賣) is the worst kind of human depravity that you can imagine.

deprecate

1. vt

• He deprecates TV sitcoms as childish and simpleminded.
• I strongly deprecate the use of violence by the students.

2. vt

• Movie critics tried to outdo one another in deprecating the comedy as the stupidest movie of the year.
• Maybe the girl should learn the art of self-deprecating banter or rephrase her paranoia as a rap.

depreciate

vt

• Shares continued to depreciate on the stock markets today.
• I had no intention of depreciating your contribution.
• Inflation is rising rapidly; the yuan is depreciating.

depressed

adj

• She felt very depressed about the future.
• She's been very depressed and upset about this whole situation.

Unit 10

deprivation

n

• the deprivation of war
• sleep deprivation caused by long work hours
• The long-term consequences of sleep deprivation should be enough to convince anyone to hit the sack(睡覺).

deracinate

vt

• Vines were deracinated by panicked merlot viticulturists.
• At present baicalin roots in wild resource mainly. As a result of absoluteness digging, Scutellaria viscidula Bunge of lots of areas were close to deracinate.

derelict

adj

• He was derelict in his duty.
• The officer was charged with being derelict in his duty.
• The guards were judged derelict in their duty.

deride

vt

• His views were derided as old-fashioned.
• Quite often his sense of superiority makes him deride her opinions.
• No one has the right to deride the disadvantages of handicapped people.

derivative

adj

• His style seems too derivative of Hemingway.
• A number of critics found the film derivative and predictable.
• The borderline-plagiarism marketing copy isn't the only thing that is derivative here.

descend

1. v

• The plane began to descend.
• Things are cooler and more damp as we descend to the cellar(地窖).

2. v

• These lions are especially vulnerable to disease because they descend from as few as a dozen individuals.
• The house has descended through four generations.

divination

n

• If her powers of divination are so great, why doesn't she know what the stock market will do?
• Some say tarot(塔羅牌) was simply a card game like bridge or poker; others say the cards were always used for divination.

desecrate

vt

• She shouldn't have desecrated the picture of a religious leader.
• The seneschal(總管) didn't disagree with that conclusion, but there was another point. "There was no need to desecrate a good man.""

desiccate

vt

• That historian's dryasdust(枯燥無味的) prose desiccates what is actually an exciting period in European history.
• The wind pushed desiccated leaves across the concrete.

designate

1. vt

• Designate someone as the spokesperson.
• For each set, you must designate one primary persona; the others are all secondary.

2. vt

• a man interviewed in one of our studies whom we shall designate as "E"
• This area has been designated as a National Park.
• This floor has been designated a no-smoking area.