Unit 1

amorphous

adj

• an amorphous cloud mass
• an amorphous mass of cells with no identity at all

anodyne

adj

• Even an anodyne diplomatic statement looks hard.
• States typically like to stick to anodyne messages, like saving wildflowers or animals.

anarchist

n

• West Berlin always had a large anarchist community.
• Anarchist believes that there shall be no government, no army, no civil service, no court, no laws, and that people shall be free to live without anyone to rule them.

anathema

n

• Racial prejudice is anathema to me.
• Violence was anathema to them.

ancillary

1. adj

• This information is supplemented(增補(bǔ)) by ancillary data.
• the need for ancillary evidence

2. adj

• The company hopes to boost its sales by releasing ancillary products.
• Surprisingly, the strongest aspects here are almost ancillary to the theme.

anecdote

n

• It's a humorous anecdote now; but the truth it reveals is less than funny.
• She departed from the text to tell an anecdote.

anemic

adj

• Demand for Boeing's mini-jumbo 777X, which is still in development, has been anemic.
• Loan growth has been anemic since the financial crisis.
• The band played an anemic rendition of a classic love song.

anesthetic

adj / n

• the dentist waited until the anesthetic took effect
• I was anesthetic to their feelings.

animate

1. adj

• an animate dance routine that will really get the blood pumping
• The lecture was about ancient worship of animate and inanimate objects.

2. vt

• The writer's humor animates the novel.
• A smile suddenly animated her face.

animus

n

• His animus toward the U.S. was rooted in a hatred of Israel.
• The truth is that this book is short on reasoned analysis and long on animus, directed at elite universities, at administrators, and more than anything else at the "professoriate," as they call it.

Unit 2

annoy

vt
Mosquitoes annoy us in the summer.

annul

vt

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months.
• Opposition party leaders are now pressing for the entire election to be annulled.

anomalous

adj

• Such serendipity(意外發(fā)現(xiàn)) is anomalous in American history, and unlikely to be repeated.
• For years this anomalous behaviour has baffled(使…困惑) scientists.

anonymous

adj

• The money was donated by a local businessman who wishes to remain anonymous.
• Instance initializers allow you to execute construction code for an anonymous inner class.

antagonize

1. vt

• They were always careful not to antagonize rural voters.
• antagonize a bill

2. vt

• He didn't mean to antagonize you.
• Her comments antagonized many people.

antediluvian

adj

• This antediluvian monetary system has now been replaced by the up-to-date monetary system.
• He has antediluvian notions about the role of women in the workplace.

anterior

adj

• finish the work anterior to the schedule
• the anterior part of the brain

antic

adj

• The clown(小丑) came on with many antic gestures.
• What dares the slave come here, cover'd with an antic face, to fleer(嘲笑) and scorn at our solemnity(莊嚴(yán))?

apathy

n

• They told me about isolation and public apathy.
• Anger is a higher level of consciousness than apathy, so it's a lot better than being numb all the time.
• Such apathy is often put down to tiredness, but a study published recently in Psychological Science suggests there may be more to it than that.

aphorism

n

• The French have an aphorism that you don't appreciate something until you don't have it anymore.
• Friedman also liked to use the aphorism, "Predictions are extremely difficult, especially when they're about the future."

Unit 3

apocalyptic

1. adj

• The reformer's apocalyptic warnings that the nation was running out of natural resources.
• No one listened to her apocalyptic predictions.

2. adj
   The apocalyptic battle led to the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany.

apocryphal

adj

• Most of the stories about him are apocryphal.
• Apocryphal information abounds, blurring the boundary between truth and rumor(謠言).

apoplectic

adj

• The Apple support Web site filled up with complaint messages from apoplectic customers.
• She was apoplectic when she realized she had been cheated.

apostasy

n

• He was look down upon for apostasy.
• His statements revealed his apostasy and he was excommunicated(逐出教會(huì)) from the church.

appall

vt

• The thought of war appalls me.
• The idea of celebrating violence appalls many people.

appeal

1. n

• an appeal to save a library containing priceless manuscripts(手稿)
• The child's mother made an emotional appeal on TV for his return.

2. n
3. They took their appeal to the Supreme Court.

appealing

adj
There was a sense of humour to what he did that I found very appealing.

applause

n

• They greeted him with thunderous applause.
• The audience broke into rapturous applause.

apposite

adj

• What he said is apposite to the case.
• His speech is apposite to the current debate.

appreciable

adj

• The new regulations will not make an appreciable difference to most people.
• There doesn't seem to be any appreciable difference between this piece and that one.

Unit 4

apprehension

1. n

• There is growing apprehension that fighting will begin again.
• There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

2. n

• sudden apprehension of the greatness of mother
• a person of dull apprehension

apprise

v

• He came to apprise us that the work had been successfully completed.
• My friends was eager to apprise me of the fact that my thesis was appraised as worthless.

approbation

n

• The plan has won the approbation of the mayor.
• The company has even received the approbation of its former critics.

appropriate

1. v

• He was accused of appropriating club funds.
• No one should appropriate a common benefit.
• The town has appropriated funds to repair the bridge and work should begin this summer.

2. adj

• The movie is perfectly appropriate to people of all ages.
• Red wine would have been a more appropriate choice with the meal.

apropos

1. adj

• The comment, though unexpected, was apropos.
• The actor announced to reporters that he would only answer to apropos questions about the movie.

2. prep

• Apropos the proposed changes, I think more information is needed.
• All my suggestions apropos the script were accepted.

apt

1. adj

• The words of this report are as apt today as in 1929.
• "Stripe" is an apt name for the cat, since she has striped fur.

2. adj

• She had taught him French and he had been an apt student.
• He is apt at math.

archaic

adj

• The system is archaic and unfair and needs changing.
• "Thou art" is an archaic form of "you are".

archetype

n

• He is an archetype of the successful entrepreneur.
• He is the archetype of a successful businessman.
• House of Commons, the archetype of all the representative assemblies which now meet.

ardor

n

• The difficulty and failure both didn't cool his ardor.
• Lily was head over heels in love with their company's boss and was thinking of marrying him, but the news that he had taken several girls for a ride cooled her ardor.

arduous

adj

• an arduous journey across the mountain
• We must have patience in doing arduous work.
• He never seeks credit for himself, but is always ready to take on arduous tasks.

Unit 5

anthropogenic

adj

• anthropogenic pollutants
• About 22 percent of anthropogenic emissions arise from agriculture, forestry, and other land use.
• Today, anthropogenic climate change is causing mass extinctions.

arrest

1. n / v

• Science cannot yet arrest the proess of aging.
• They failed to arrest the company's decline.

2. v
   She was arrested for drug-related offences.
3. v
   An unusual noise arrested his attention.

arresting

adj

• an arresting image
• At seven feet tall, he's an arresting figure in any crowd.
• an arresting film about tribal(部落的) traditions in Africa

arrhythmic

adj

• arrhythmic pulse(脈搏)
• Anti-arrhythmic drugs control the rhythm of your heart.

arrogance

n

• Her arrogance has earned her a lot of enemies.
• We were shocked by the arrogance of his comments.
• With intelligence, comes confidence. With confidence, comes pride and arrogance.

articulate

1. v

• She struggled to articulate her thoughts.
• He was too drunk to articulate properly.

2. adj

• All we could hear were loud sobs(啜泣), but no articulate words.
• She's an intelligent and articulate speaker.

ascendant

adj

• Radical reformers are once more in the ascendant.
• Her album was catching fire in America and her career was in the ascendant.
• How will Washington shape regional rules when China has emerged as the ascendant power?

ascetic

n / adj

• an ascetic diet
• The monks lived a very ascetic life.
• an ascetic is someone who disciplines the body

aseptic

adj

• an aseptic operating room
• patients with compromised immune systems must be treated in aseptic environments

askew

adj / adv

• His glasses had been knocked askew by the blow.
• They hang a picture askew.
• If so, I wouldn't have fallen down and there wouldn't be so many askew footprints.

Unit 6

aspect

n

• the threatening aspect of the dark sky
• His face has a frightening aspect.

asperity

1. n

• "I told you Preskel had no idea," remarked Kemp with some asperity.
• "...", answered her mother, with an asperity that she had never permitted to herself before.

2. n
   The asperity of the winter had everybody yearning(渴望) for spring.

aspersion

n

• Should you hear my name blackened(抹黑) and maligned, will you credit the aspersion?
• Political opponents and hired guns sling mud and cast aspersions.

aspirant

n / adj

• For Academy of Science aspirants, Algebra 1 is a minimum requirement.
• presidential aspirants
• He is an aspirant youth, so I am willing to help him.

assent

vi / n

• Nobody would assent to the terms they proposed.
• The director has given her assent to the proposals.
• All military operations will require the assent of Iraqis.

assert

vt

• She continued to assert that she was innocent.
• "That is wrong," he asserted.

assertive

adj

• Women have become more assertive in the past decade.
• Men are typically more comfortable with getting their points across and standing up for themselves in a more assertive manner.

assess

1. v
   They assess his house at 15000 yuan.
2. v

• Every homeowner will be assessed a tax according to the value of the property.
• The office will assess a fee if your payment is late.

assiduous

adj

• I know the degree of PhD meant many years of assiduous study and hard work.
• I am a committed and assiduous worker, good at organizing people and always capable of meeting deadlines

assuage

vt

• To assuage his wife's sadness, he took her on a tour of Europe.
• As an envoy(全權(quán)公使), Bush could assuage most of these worries.

Unit 7

astounding

adj

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales.
• The results are quite astounding.

astute

adj

• Astute salesmen know how to invest emotionally.
• She was politically astute.
• It was an astute move to sell the shares then.

asunder

adv

• Our culture is ripped asunder, and there’s not a lot that holds us together anymore.
• From 1861 to 1865, the Civil War tore(tear的過去式) the United States asunder.
• He staggered(蹣跚) away, with his legs very wide asunder.

asylum

n

• The court committed her to a lunatic(瘋?cè)? asylum.
• She was granted asylum after it was made clear that she would be killed if she returned to her native country.

asymmetrical

adj

• She likes to talk about symmetrical and asymmetrical triangles.
• It is strange how, given the symmetry of our external bodies, we are so asymmetrical on the inside.

atone

v

• atone for a crime
• Even death cannot atone for the offence.
• Whatever you've done couldn't atone for the misdeeds.
• He felt he had atoned for what he had done to his son.

atrocious

adj

• The judge said he had committed atrocious crimes against women.
• Murder is an atrocious crime.
• Isn't the weather atrocious?

attenuate

v

• an investment attenuated by inflation
• The drug attenuates the effects of the virus.
• You could never eliminate risk, but preparation and training could attenuate it.

audacious

1. adj

• They have audacious plans.
• an audacious mountain climber
• She made an audacious decision to quit her job.

2. adj
   His audacious writing style is designed to surprise or to startle(使嚇一跳).

augur

n / vt

• Conflicts among the various groups do not augur well for the future of the peace talks.
• An uptick in output does not augur prosperity.
• "I wonder how one augur can see another without laughing" he once said.

Unit 8

authentic

adj

• authentic Chinese food
• I don't know whether the painting is authentic or not.
• She has authentic charm whereas most people simply have nice manners.

authority

1. n

• She's an authority on criminal law.
• He's universally recognized as an authority on Russian affairs.

2. n

• She now has authority over the people who used to be her bosses.
• The students acknowledged the authority of the student council.

autocracy

n

• She ceded all power to her son-in-law who now runs the country as an autocracy.
• In China, the level of civic awareness of citizens is not high, and it dues to the long feudal autocracy and feudal culture. This has seriously hindered the process of China's modernization.

autonomy

1. n

• a campaign in Wales for greater autonomy
• The new government of the Indian state of West Bengal signed an agreement to allow some autonomy to its ethnic Nepali population.

2. n

• giving individuals greater autonomy in their own lives
• In the West, on the other hand, the idea of progress rests on establishing individual autonomy and liberty.

avarice

n

• Avarice drove him into theft.
• Avarice increases with wealth.
• Much of that corruption has been driven by the common temptations of avarice and power.

aver

v

• She averred that she had never seen the man before.
• I can aver that he is telling the truth.
• In spite of all you say, I still aver that his report is true.

averse

adj

• I mentioned it to Kate and she wasn't averse to the idea.
• He's not averse to publicity, of the right kind.
• He was averse to any change.

avid

adj

• He was avid for more information.
• He misses not having enough books because he's an avid reader.

awash

adj

• a movie awash in sentimentality(多愁善感)
• the streets were awash from the heavy rains
• Today, the region is awash with meth(冰毒) because drug dealers have sold it at extremely low prices to create a huge customer base.

awe

n / v

• Diana is in awe of her grandfather.
• I am still awed by David's courage.
• She seemed awed by the presence of so many famous people.

Unit 9

awkward

1. adj

• awkward dance step
• Amy made an awkward gesture with her hands.

2. adj

• awkward solution
• Her awkward handling of seating arrangements resulted in many hurt feelings.

avant-garde

n

• Born in 1952 in Beijing, Mr. Huang has been active and influential in the Chinese avant-garde for decades.
• In 1962 the then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev famously denounced and banned an exhibition of avant-garde artists in Moscow, saying his grandson could paint better.

awry

adj / adv

• All my plans for the party had gone awry.
• She was in a fury(狂怒) over a plan that had gone awry.

axiomatic

adj

• It is axiomatic that life is not always easy.
• It is axiomatic: As energy use rises, people get richer.

babble

v

• I realized I was babbling like an idiot.
• Babies babble before they can talk.

backhanded

adj

• "You throw okay, for a girl" is a bit of a backhanded compliment.
• In a backhanded way, I think a lot of my energy and strength comes from my campaigning, not the food.

badger

vt

• Reporters constantly badger her about her private life.
• She badgered her doctor time and again, pleading with him to do something.

badinage

n

• It was his spirit of humor and badinage that had made him a favorite in his own class.
• When he reached the gate, there was the usual badinage with Charlie.

bait

vt / n

• The hungry rat ravened down the poison bait.
• He baited the trap with a piece of meat.

bale

n

• bring us bale and bitter sorrowings
• relieve spirit from the bale

Unit 10

baleful

adj

• Networks can also have baleful effects.
• Of rubbish mail put in, also be the contribution of baleful software.

balk

1. vt
   The horse couldn't move on, but it had neither been balked nor been frightened.
2. v

• Even biology undergraduates may balk at animal experiments.
• If government-run banks balk at providing additional loans to developers, underground, gray-market lenders are only too happy to step in.

balky

adj

• a balky mule(騾)
• A balky toddler(學(xué)步的小孩) who only seemed to know the word “no” when told to do something.

balderdash

n

• A combat veteran(老兵) himself, he could not believe the balderdash he was hearing from whippersnappers with no war experience at all.
• But this is balderdash. Science is not a monument of received Truth but something that people do to look for truth.

balloon

v

• Their credit card debt ballooned to more than $5,000.
• the ballooning costs of education
• The jail's female and minority populations have both ballooned in recent years.

balm

n

• The place is balm to the soul.
• She shows that laughter is a balm for difficult times.

banal

adj

• The writing was banal but the story was good.
• I find that most educational blogs are either academic blogs full of banal research findings and written in teacherese, or else they are cathartic blogs full of rants and complaints.

bane

n

• Piracy may be the bane of the music industry but according to a new study, it may also be its engine.
• The noisy neighbor's kids are the bane of my peaceful life.

banish

vt

• John was banished from England.
• I was banished to the small bedroom upstairs.

banter

n / v

• As she closed the door, she heard Tom exchanging good-natured banter with Jane.
• He enjoyed exchanging banter with the customers.
• He bantered with reporters and posed for photographers.