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From Angel:

" There was a lot of schadenfreude at the time, and it was bad on so many levels. Justine was torturing me in the press. There were always all these negative articles about Tesla and the stories about SpaceX's third failure. It hurt really bad. You have these huge doubts that your life is not working,? your car is not working, you're going through a divorce and all of those things. I felt like a pile of shit. I didn't think we would overcome it.? thought things were probably fucking doomed."

這是Musk在2008年最困難時的自述。riley began to see Musk's life as a Shakespearean tragedy城侧，想象不到那是多么絕望和痛苦类垦。連Musk這么強(qiáng)大的人都快要熬不住了杭棵，可慶幸的是他沒有放棄车遂，他堅(jiān)持到了最后一刻土铺。然后奇跡發(fā)生了雷激。人生往往就是如此碘裕。你以為不行的時候凑耻，恰恰是個轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)太示，能不能扛過去就決定著你的命運(yùn)柠贤。看到知乎上說“如何走出人生的陰霾类缤？答：多走幾步臼勉。” 就像馬云那句話說的：今天很殘酷餐弱，明天更殘酷宴霸，后天很美好，但是大多數(shù)人死在明天晚上膏蚓。如果感覺很艱難瓢谢，那只要不放棄，你就贏了驮瞧。

From 楚汐：

這里氓扛，特別想談?wù)剬?Elon 和第一任妻子 Justine 婚姻狀況的一點(diǎn)小感想。

你眼前所看到的幸福论笔，未必就是真的幸福采郎。

這話大抵會說出絕大多數(shù)人的心聲吧。之于 ?Elon 和 Justine狂魔，外人看來也是各種羨慕嫉妒恨的吧蒜埋，可是個中滋味只有他倆才能真正體會。

大眾傾向于同情弱者最楷，尤其是女性一方整份，可倘若客觀理性點(diǎn)來看，兩人之間走到這一步其實(shí)還是應(yīng)了那句老話：

兩個人都是有責(zé)任的籽孙。

之于 Elon烈评，大家比較能清楚的看到他在婚姻上的問題，比如：

大男人主義（alpha male）蚯撩；

全身心投入工作而忽視家庭的工作狂础倍；

對妻子的不認(rèn)可：

Elon 曾說過，倘若 Justine 是他的員工的話胎挎，早就被開除了沟启；

對妻子的不尊重：

對 Justine 的工作不以為然，在外人面前不曾維護(hù)妻子犹菇，也不曾給予應(yīng)有的尊重德迹；

說離婚就離婚的決絕：

Justine 曾表示多給彼此一周時間考慮，Elon 卻想也不想的就著手辦理離婚手續(xù)了揭芍，或許有部分原因是因?yàn)樗?dāng)時的公司狀況讓他無暇分散過多精力在婚姻上吧胳搞，但始終未免有點(diǎn)絕情了些，而這也或許是導(dǎo)致 Justine 離婚后還經(jīng)常不依不饒的在媒體上痛說 Elon 的種種不好之處的原因之一吧。

之于 Justine肌毅，其實(shí)有些問題也很明顯筷转，比如：

答應(yīng)求婚的時機(jī)不對：

Justine 是在 1999 年中 Zip2 賣給 Compaq，并且 Elon 開始創(chuàng)立 X.com 的時候?qū)λ響B(tài)悬而，倘若此時他求婚她便會答應(yīng)呜舒，這讓人有點(diǎn)分不清這段婚姻是純愛還是有金錢因素；

提出離婚的時機(jī)不對：

Justine 在 2008 年 Elon 事業(yè)出現(xiàn)大危機(jī)的時候提出離婚笨奠，未免讓人覺得有點(diǎn)心寒袭蝗。即便兩人感情再怎么不好，也過去了這么多年般婆，總不至于非得趕在這個時間點(diǎn)要離婚到腥，做“壓死駱駝的最后一根稻草”吧？這不得不讓人再次聯(lián)想到金錢因素蔚袍；

在博客上“消費(fèi)” Elon 博眼球：

Justine 不考慮這會對 Elon 的個人及公司有多大的破壞性乡范，自顧自的在博客上大寫特寫 Elon 的私生活，引來無數(shù)媒體的關(guān)注页响，希望借助 Elon 的影響力成就自己的寫作生涯篓足；

不夠獨(dú)立自主，逐漸成為Elon的“附屬品”：

這一點(diǎn)或許不能完全怪 Justine闰蚕，畢竟在這樣一個大男子主義、又很強(qiáng)勢连舍、凡事喜歡主導(dǎo)的男人面前要保持自我有點(diǎn)難没陡，但也不能因此而放任自己成為他的“附屬品”。文中可以看出后期的 Justine 有在嘗試尋找自我索赏，但顯然方向有點(diǎn)錯誤盼玄，她想的是借勢 Elon 的光環(huán)來提升自己的地位，而不是提升自我能力潜腻；而一旦這方法不奏效時埃儿，她便開始有怨恨不滿的情緒。

或許 Justine 該聽聽查理·芒格的話：

如果你想獲得你要的東西融涣，那就讓自己配得上它童番。信任、成功和欽佩都是靠努力獲得的威鹿。

當(dāng)然剃斧，這些因素也都只是我個人單從這本書里總結(jié)出來的幾點(diǎn)小感受吧。

其實(shí)兩個人的婚姻走到頭忽你，無外乎一個最根本的問題：缺乏溝通幼东。

從別人的生活中，總結(jié)一些自己用得上的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，也算是看這本書的額外收獲吧根蟹。

From Jane:

Spacex的獵鷹一號三次發(fā)射火箭都以失敗告終脓杉，大家都在焦急的等待著第四次發(fā)射，說實(shí)在的简逮，Elon Musk的錢也僅僅只能應(yīng)付第四次發(fā)射了球散，可以說第四次發(fā)射是背水一戰(zhàn)。通常在這種發(fā)射失敗情況下买决，傳統(tǒng)的航空公司為了降低風(fēng)險不會輕易改變設(shè)計(jì)沛婴，但是Elon Musk堅(jiān)信，盡管保證火箭發(fā)射成功非常重要督赤，但是Spacex不斷革新技術(shù)與保證發(fā)射成功同等重要嘁灯。從這里可以看出，Elon Musk是何等的有遠(yuǎn)見躲舌，有氣魄有膽識之人啊丑婿。一般人在遭遇危機(jī)或失敗時，不免心虛没卸，多半都會求穩(wěn)羹奉，求自保，鮮有人還會往前看约计，想到創(chuàng)新诀拭。從這點(diǎn)來說，我們真的可以好好思考一下這個問題煤蚌。

SpaceX也最終獲得了和NASA合作國際空間站的合約耕挨，獲得了六億美元的款項(xiàng)。就這樣尉桩，SpaceX和Tesla終于度過難關(guān)筒占，一切進(jìn)展順利。Elon Musk百感交集蜘犁，留下了眼淚翰苫，天知道這段日子他是怎么過來的，用他的話說“我竟然沒有機(jī)會為Talulah（他第二任妻子）買圣誕禮物这橙，我跑到大街上奏窑，只有一家賣雜貨的小店還開著門，我在那里能找到最好的東西就是塑料猴子和椰子析恋×颊埽“讀讀下面這段文字，想象一下當(dāng)時的畫面助隧，是不是有些酸楚的感覺筑凫？是啊滑沧，人的一生怎會沒有落難的時候呢？窮困潦倒巍实，十之八九不如意滓技，仿佛真的完了。這時候你會想到什么呢棚潦？哪怕最堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的人都有柔軟的一面令漂，他想到了他的第二任妻子。

“I hadn't had an opportunity to buy a christmas present for Talulah or anything, “he said .”I went running down the fucking street in Boulder , and the only place that was open sold these shitty trinkers , and they were about to close.The best thing I coul find were these plastic monkeys with coconuts.“

這時候其實(shí)仔細(xì)看看Elon Musk的第一段婚姻丸边，我感覺也許在這場失敗婚姻中叠必，第一任妻子也許該承擔(dān)更多的責(zé)任，先不說Justine在大學(xué)時期妹窖，被Elon Musk追求時纬朝，同時就搖擺于學(xué)校幾位極為出色的男士之間，她后來接受Elon Musk的求婚也是當(dāng)時Elon賣掉第一家公司骄呼，得到巨大財(cái)富的時候共苛，其實(shí)她做的最不好的事情就是不甘于自己的平淡的生活，她是個很出色的小說家蜓萄，但是為了更多地關(guān)注隅茎，她總寫一些關(guān)于他們的生活細(xì)節(jié)，犧牲了丈夫的利益嫉沽，把Elon Musk赤裸裸的置于公眾面前辟犀，導(dǎo)致了后面一系列危機(jī)的出現(xiàn)。另外在Elon Musk生活最是低谷的時候绸硕，她仍然和媒體一起羞辱折磨他踪蹬。可以說這里面有愛臣咖，有恨， 有嫉妒漱牵，有人性的陰暗夺蛇。其實(shí)你如果想成功，想得到尊重酣胀，愛或者什么刁赦，任何借口都不是理由，唯有做自己闻镶，靠自己的努力正當(dāng)?shù)娜カ@得甚脉，去爭取。你該得的就是你的铆农。

面對人生這樣的困境牺氨，那么你退縮嗎？你放棄嗎？我們看看Elon Musk怎么做的猴凹。

然而就是在這樣的環(huán)境下夷狰，Elon Musk挺過來了，這也許就是他和大多數(shù)人最不同的地方郊霎。以下是他的兩個公司的投資人兼朋友Gracias對他的評價沼头。他親眼見證一個赤手空拳到美國來打拼，失去了一個孩子书劝，被記者和前妻在媒體上狠狠嘲諷羞辱进倍，自己傾盡心血的公司處于倒閉邊緣的男人。他比我見到的任何人都刻苦购对，并且能夠承受更多的壓力猾昆。他在2008年所經(jīng)受的一切早就讓其他人崩潰了，而他卻生存了下來洞斯，并且非常專注毡庆。正是這種在危機(jī)中依然可以保持專注工作的能力讓Musk在眾多管理者中脫穎而出。在那么大的壓力下大多數(shù)人都會退縮烙如，無法做出這正確的決定么抗。而Elon卻能夠變得更加理性，越困難亚铁，反而越能做出理性清晰的長遠(yuǎn)決定蝇刀。壓力越大，他反而做的越好徘溢。任何目睹她所經(jīng)歷了一切的人吞琐，都對他懷有敬意，我從來沒有見過比他更堅(jiān)毅的人然爆≌舅冢“

He saw a man who arrived in the United State with nothing, who had lost a child, who was being pilloried in the press by reporters and his ex-wife and who verged on having his life's work destroyed.“He has the ability to work harder and encure more stress than anyone I've ever met,”

“What he went through in 2008 would have broken anyone else.He didn't just surive.He kept working and stayed focused”.That ability to stay focused in the midst of crisi stands as one of Musk's main advanges over other executives and competitors.

“Most people who are under that sort of pressure fray,”“Their decision go bad.Elon gets hyperratinal .The harder it still able to make very clear, long-term decisions.”The harder it gets, the better he gets.Anyone who saw what he went through firsthand came away more respect for the guy.I've just never seen anything like his ability to take pain.“

Elon Musk朋友這段充滿感情的評論更多的是從一個優(yōu)秀管理者角度去看待。其實(shí)相對Elon Musk這樣的大起大落曾雕，大風(fēng)大浪奴烙，我們普通人一樣也在生活中遭受著各種磨難。不知道大家的生活怎樣剖张？我覺得我這十幾年漂泊異鄉(xiāng)的感受還真的有些凄苦切诀，當(dāng)初也是兩手空空來到異地，為了愛情放棄一切搔弄，失去了一個孩子幅虑，遭遇了病痛失業(yè)，面對很久不得志的老公顾犹，獨(dú)自帶大了三個兒子倒庵，褒墨，，哄芜，貌亭，，好多像我這樣的家庭主婦這時候多半會去埋怨认臊，感嘆世事不公圃庭，可是這些又有什么用呢？看了余華的《活著》失晴，其實(shí)心塞的同時更多的是看到了一種樂觀剧腻，人對苦難的承受能力和對世界的樂觀態(tài)度。人是為活著本身而活的涂屁，而不是為活著之外的任何事物所活著书在。

我今年43歲了，每次回國拆又，大家都說我看起來年輕儒旬，我媽媽也說我看起來一點(diǎn)兒不老，哈帖族，整日里起早貪黑的人怎么不老呢栈源？也許是我終日和孩子打交道的緣故吧，其實(shí)我的孩子就是我的加油站竖般，每當(dāng)我被生活壓得茍延殘喘甚垦，身心俱疲的時候，我就轉(zhuǎn)向我的孩子涣雕，凝望著孩子們的雙眼艰亮，里面唯有愛和光，他們閃耀的笑容帶著愉悅的熱烈點(diǎn)燃了我挣郭，他們直視著我迄埃，他們把心小心翼翼的放在我的手上，如此輕盈兑障，我甚至不可能有任何念頭去想“以后該怎么辦调俘？”我所見的一切就只有愛。他們告訴了我旺垒，未來是如此充盈著和平與富足，我欣喜地信任著他們肤无，于是我重新找回自己先蒋，做回自己。我覺得我的孩子們才是生活的大智者宛渐，他們眼中閃耀的火光竞漾，包含了大自然根植于每一種生命形態(tài)心中的知識眯搭。它是生命沉默的秘密，無法形之于言語业岁。它就只是了悟鳞仙。它了悟即使最細(xì)微的呼吸，都是對造物主感激之情的表達(dá)笔时。他們對于“活著”報(bào)以微笑棍好，耐心地等候一切苦難的消逝。

Eric分享

一定要掌握的詞

- get a taste of書中出現(xiàn)了3詞允耿，也出現(xiàn)了get a flavor for的同義表達(dá)借笙，這兩個表達(dá)都表示“體驗(yàn)”

- Justine appeared to relish their status even more than Musk. （relish用來替換enjoy）

- pony up在書中出現(xiàn)兩次，還出現(xiàn)了同一表達(dá)cough up, shell out较锡，都是表示“不情愿地花很多錢”

- turn on someone表示“對某人展開攻擊业稼、斥責(zé)”，這個意思在這一章就出現(xiàn)了兩次蚂蕴。

> Reporters who months earlier had been heaping adulation on Musk turned on him.

> Michael Griffin, who had once almost been a cofounder of SpaceX, was the head of NASA and had turned on Musk.

熟詞生義

1?? complex除了表示“復(fù)雜的”低散，還可以表示“建筑群”（書中出現(xiàn)的是這個意思） “情節(jié)”（例如Oedipus complex戀母情結(jié)；persecution complex迫害情結(jié))

2?? It was a stretch on many levels. （stretch在這里表示“牽強(qiáng)” “勉強(qiáng)算是說的過去”）

3?? Musk and some former PayPal executives, having settled their differences, produced Thank you for Smoking and used Musk’s jet in the movie. （differences在這里的意思是disagreements骡楼，settle their differences是“停止?fàn)幷摗埃?/p>

4?? Elon Musk has been called ‘part playboy, part space cowboy,’ an image hardly dispelled by a car collection that has boasted a Porsche 911 Turbo, 1967 Series 1 Jaguar, a Hamann BMW M5 plus the aforementioned McLaren F1… （boast除了表示”吹湃酆牛“的意思外，還常表示“擁有”君编，一般是游泳值得驕傲的成就或者財(cái)產(chǎn)跨嘉。例如我有一臺iPhone 11，I boast an iPhone 11.

5?? The press had picked up on the fact that Musk tended to talk a huge game and then struggle to deliver on his promises in time. （deliver在這里的意思是“履行” “實(shí)現(xiàn)”）

6?? The acquisition also upped Musk’s profile and celebrity, which he could leverage to score meetings with top government officials and to sway suppliers. （之前我們學(xué)到了down可以作為動詞表示“喝下”吃嘿，這里我們學(xué)到了up表示“增加”

7?? Top Gear, a popular British television show, ripped the Roadster apart, making it look as if the car had run out of juice during a road test. （juice在這里等于power祠乃，手機(jī)沒電了就可以說成: My phone has run out of juice.)

# Chapter 11&12

實(shí)用的、你可能沒注意到的表達(dá)

1?? The press had picked up on the fact that Musk tended to talk a huge game and then struggle to deliver on his promises in time. (talk a huge game來自“talk a good game”兑燥，表示“畫大餅”亮瓷，光許諾不作為）

2??It was on the rocks. (on the rocks表示“岌岌可危”降瞳，馬上就要失敗了）

3??During moments of self-reflection, she felt sickened, perceiving herself a trophy wife. （trophy wife嘱支，花瓶妻子，漂亮但是沒有能力）

4?? He was a complete douche. （douche和douche bag意思一樣挣饥，是用來買人的除师。douche bag可以理解為是“婦炎潔”）

5?? The well-connected Lee texted a promoter friend of his, who pulled some strings to get Musk escorted into the VIP area. （pull strings是“找關(guān)系，走后門”）

6?? The more Musk and Riley talked, the more Lee egged them on. （egg在這里是“慫恿”的意思扔枫，書中類似的表達(dá)還出現(xiàn)了goad...into, coax…into）

7?? SpaceX has balls. （balls在這里表示courage）

8?? I have also given the go-ahead to begin fabrication of light six. （give the go-ahead to someone的意思是“允許某人做某事”汛聚，類似的表達(dá)還有g(shù)ive the green light to，這里的go-ahead和green light都是表示“開始做某事的許可”）

9?? If, however, SpaceX could nail the fourth flight, it would instill confidence on the part of the U.S. government and possible commercial customers, paving the way for the Falcon 9 and even more ambitious projects. （nail的意思是“完成”短荐，常見口語表達(dá)I nailed it! 就是“我搞定了”的意思）

字詞學(xué)習(xí)

From Angel:

1. hound

Musk would hound the person responsible about the delays but, typically, he would also do everything in his power to help solve problems.

hound sb, constantly disturb or speak to you in an annoying or upsetting.

【例句】Newcomers are constantly hounding them for advice.

【仿句】The little sister is constantly hounding Tim for telling stories.

2. ins and outs

Two SpaceX marketing executives spent twenty minutes before the launch going through all the technical ins and outs of the launch.

ins and outs, all the detailed points and facts about it. 復(fù)雜詳細(xì)倚舀，（上本書中也出現(xiàn)過）

【例句】 Dietary experts can advise on the ins and outs of dieting.

【仿句】We need more ins and outs about the project.

3. mounting pressure

Earlier in the day, Musk had tried to distract himself from the mounting pressure by going to Disneyland with his brother Kimbal and their children.

mounting pressure, 新的搭配叹哭，可以形容巨大的壓力。mounting指數(shù)量上的多痕貌。

【例句】 He ignored his mounting debts.

【仿句】He tried to distract himself from the mounting problems.

4.mammoth victory

The afterglow of this mammoth victory faded soon after the party ended, and the severity of SpaceX's financial hell became top of mind again for Musk.

mammoth, to emphasize that a task for change is very large and needs a lot of effort to achieve. （改變）巨大的风罩，重大的；（任務(wù)）龐大的舵稠，艱巨的

【例句】This mammoth undertaking was completed in 18 months.

【仿句】This mammoth tank took almost 3 years to achieve.

5. balk/brass

Salzman balked and told Musk to come in the following week at 7 A.M. to present to VantagePoint's top brass.

balk at, you definitely do not want to do it or let it happen. 畏縮超升，回避

syn: baffle, curcumvent, dash, thwart

【例句】 Even biology undergraduates may balk at animal experiments.

【仿句】She balked at the vile weather.

From 楚汐：

Our marriage was having real issues. It was on the rocks.

我們的婚姻開始出現(xiàn)裂痕，我們的關(guān)系變得岌岌可危柱查。

on the rocks,這里相當(dāng)于 in trouble廓俭，口語中表示婚姻出現(xiàn)很多問題，即將破裂唉工；a relationship or business that is on the rocks is having a lot of problems and is likely to fail soon研乒；

例句：Their marriage is on the rocks. [=in trouble]

When Justine let out her political views, one of the men at the table made a crack about her being so opinionated.

當(dāng) Justine 在餐桌上表達(dá)自己的政治觀點(diǎn)時，卻被其中一位男士嘲諷太固執(zhí)己見淋硝。

let out雹熬，表示“說出，表達(dá)”谣膳，reveal a piece of information;

例句：she let out that he'd given her a ride home.

crack竿报，口語中表示“玩笑話”，a joke or rude remark继谚；常見搭配：crack about...

例句：They're always making cracks about their teacher.

opinionated-- 固執(zhí)己見的（貶義）

He's giving us the pillow talk voice, so we all have to huddle around the speakerphone.

他說話的聲音就像在枕邊細(xì)語烈菌，所以我們所有人都得圍著擴(kuò)音器聽他說。

pillow talk, 口語中表示“枕邊細(xì)語”, a conversation between lovers in bed;

例句：Maybe later he'd get the information he was after during pillow talk.

huddle around, 表示“圍在一起”, to come close together in a group;

例句：We huddled around the campfire.

Their pride as engineers and their hopes and dreams were on the line.

on the line-- 與 at risk 同義花履，表示“懸于一線芽世，在此一搏”；in danger of being lost or harmed诡壁；

例句：I have to finish this report by tomorrow. My job is on the line.

[= I will lose my job if I don't finish this report by tomorrow]

It stood tall, looking like a bizarre artifact of an island tribe as palm trees swayed beside it and a smattering of clouds crossed through the spectacular blue sky.

它高高聳立济瓢，周圍的棕櫚樹隨風(fēng)搖擺，湛藍(lán)的天空飄過幾縷云朵妹卿，讓它看起來就像是來自小島部落的某件奇特的藝術(shù)品旺矾。

bizarre, 表示“奇異的”, very unusual or strange;

例句：I just heard the most bizarre story.

a smattering of,名詞, 表示“少許，少量”夺克，a small amount of something箕宙；

例句：She only knows a smattering of German.

The afterglow of this mammoth victory faded soon after the party ended.

（火箭發(fā)射）大功告成所帶來的喜悅之情，隨著慶功派對的結(jié)束也漸漸褪去铺纽。

afterglow, 除了“晚霞扒吁，余暉”的意思之外，還可表示“（大功告成的）喜悅之情”, a pleasant feeling that remains after a successful or emotional event；

mammoth= huge雕崩，巨大的；very large

例：a mammoth [=huge, gigantic] building

例句：Renovating the house is a mammoth undertaking.

serve as a warning of things to come -- 之后一系列事件的預(yù)警

do everything in his power -- 盡他所能

a round of layoff -- 一輪裁員

as 2008 came to an end -- 隨著2008年進(jìn)入尾聲

From 二白：

1.chill out:calm down

原文：Everyone chilled out immediately and started to focus on figuring out what just happened and how to fix it.

造句：Chill out whatever you meet!

2.unabated:without any reduction in intensity or strength.

原文：Falcon 9 development will also continue unabated.

造句：We should keep unabated ambition and desire.

From jane:

1.pony up常指不情愿地）付（款） If you?pony up?a sum of money, you pay the money that is needed for something, often unwillingly.

AS for Tesla,Musk had to go to his existing invesors and ask them to?pony up?for another round of funding ....

People can't even afford topony upfor movie tickets.

4.nail? v.to achieve sth or do sth right, especially in sport?(尤指體育運(yùn)動中)獲得,贏得,擊中:

SpaceX could?nail?the fourth flight, it would instill confidence on the part of US.government....

Henaileda victory inthe semi-finals.

5.instillv.~ sth (in / into sb)to gradually make sb feel, think or behave in a particular way over a period of time? 逐漸灌輸,逐步培養(yǎng)(感受融撞、思想或行為):

SpaceX could? nail the fourth flight, it would?instill?confidence on the part of US.government...

to instil confidence / discipline /fear into sb逐步使某人樹立信心/守紀(jì)律/產(chǎn)生恐懼

We must?instill a sense of responsibility?in?our children.

Instill?the love of learning?in?each student.

From ZHAODAIWEI

All told,?the cargo weighed 375 pounds.

all told: altogether, when everyone or everything has been counted

There must have been eight cars in the accident, all told.

Musk?put up a positive front to?the public as well.

put on/ show/ present a ...front: (hide feelings) behave in a way that is happier, braver etc than you really feel

Jenny didn't want Adam to see how worried she was. So she?put on a brave front.

His arrogance?is just a front. Deep down he's really insecure.

When disciplining children, it is important that parents?present a united front.

Earlier in the day, Musk had tried to distract himself from the?mounting pressure?by going to Disneyland with his brother Kimbal and their children.

In December 2008, Musk?mounted?simultaneous?campaigns?to try to save his companies.

mounting: gradually increasing- often used about things that cause problems or trouble

There was?mounting pressure?on him to resign.

They faced?mounting debts.

The government has come under?mounting criticism?in the press.

(v.) Tension here is?mounting, as we await the final result.

第二句中的mount: to organize an event or a course of action

mount a campaign/ challenge/ search etc:

mount an assault/ attack

Guerrillas have mounted an attack on the capital.

In the meantime, SpaceX simply struggled to make its?payroll.

1. the activity of managing salary payments for workers in a company

2. the total amount of wages paid to all the people working in a particular company or industry

on the payroll: if sb is on the payroll of a company, they are employed by that company

The company now has 350 people on the payroll.

payroll tax: a tax that is taken from sb's wages and given directly to the government =income tax

There was a lot of?schadenfreude?at the time, and it was bad on so many levels.

['?ɑ:dnfr??d?] (n.) 幸災(zāi)樂禍

a feeling of pleasure that you get when something bad happens to sb else

He seemed like a man?on the brink.

on the brink of disaster/ war etc:?in a situation when you are almost in a new situation, usually a bad one

The company had huge debts and was on the brink of collapse.

to the brink of sth

managers who have taken their companies to the brink of disaster

back from the brink of sth

He will go down in history as the leader who pulled us back from the brink(=saved us from disaster).

To give the investors some measure of confidence, Musk made?a last-ditch effort?to raise all the personal funds he could and put them into the company.

a last-ditch attempt/ effort etc: a final attempt to achieve sth before it is too late

The negotiators made a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement.

Musk had cobbled together $20 million, and asked Tesla’s existing investors—since no new investors?materialized—to match that figure.

to happen or appear in the way that you expected

Problems were expected, but they never materialized.

The money we had been promised?failed to materialize.

Salzman balked and told Musk to come in the following week at 7A.M. to present to VantagePoint’s?top brass.

informal,people in positions of high rank in a company, or in the army, navy etc

The top brass are coming in from Washington to see how we do things here.

The meeting was attended by top diplomats and military top brass.

Maybe they’re used to a CEO?buckling, but Elon doesn’t do that.

buckle:

1. if your knees or legs buckle, they become weak and bend

John felt his knees start to buckle.

2. SYNgive in, do sth that you do not want to do because a difficult situation forces you to do it

buckle under the pressure/ strain/ weight

He refused to? buckle.

A weaker person would havebuckled under the weight of criticism.

He saw a man who arrived in the United States with nothing, who had lost a child, who was being?pilloried?in the press by reporters and his ex-wife and who verged on having his life’s work destroyed.

pillory: (n.) 頸首架盼铁；（v.）將...套上頸首架示眾

be pilloried: be publicly criticized by a lot of people, especially in newspapers etc

The education secretary was pilloried by the press for his latest proposals.

From 哇～

1.back channel

Musk reached out through some back channels in Washington and found out that SpaceX might even be a front-runner for the deal.

釋義：a secret or unusual way of passing information to other people傳遞消息的)秘密渠道,特殊途徑，想到了我們常說的走后門

例：Gershon Baskin is an Israeli peace activist who has been involved in other back-channel cease-fire and prisoner exchange negotiations between Israel and Hamas.? New York Times(Jul 25, 2014)

造句： If you can reached out through some back channels, the project can be completed ahead of time.

2.fluctuate/?fl?kt?ue?t/

Musk's weight?fluctuated?widely. Bags fromed under his eyes, and his countenance started to resemble that of a shattered runner at the back end of an ultra-marathon.

to change, especially continuously and between one level or thing and another （尤指持續(xù)）波動尝偎，起伏不定

名詞 fluctuation

Don't worry about tiny fluctuations in your weight...

同義：vary饶火， change, alternate, oscillate, seesaw, shift, swing, , veer, waver

Fluctuate and waver refer less to physical motion than to changes in rate or changes of mind

搭配： + adv./prep.

considerably 大幅波動sharply, widely, wildly 急劇波動；猛烈波動:

Prices have fluctuated wildly in recent years.

constantly, continually

持續(xù)波動致扯；不斷波動:

搭配：PREP

according to 隨… 波動:

Traffic congestion fluctuates according to the time of day.

around 在…上下波動:

between 在…范圍內(nèi)波動:

The number of unemployed fluctuates between two and three million.

另外這個句子都是用名詞做主語來形容Musk當(dāng)時的身心疲憊肤寝，可以背下來。

3.juicy

Musk, though, felt like the 2008 climate with the hatred of bankers and the rich had turned him into a particularly?juicy?target.

informal worth a lot of money同義：lucrative

例：a juicy contract

4.luck into

First it didiculed Musk for officially taking over as CEO of Tesla and replacing Drori, on the grounds that Musk had justlucked intohis past successes.

釋義： take possession of

例：And he is here to tell you that early retirement doesn’t only happen to Powerball winners and those who luck into a big inheritance.

From 小呆貓

??divvy

原句：When the plane landed, the engineers?divvied?up the duties of calling SpaceX’s top executives to tell them about the catastrophe.

朗文釋義：to share something between several people 分抖僵，分享鲤看，分?jǐn)?【非正式】 (divvied, divvying, divvies)

用法：divvy sth ←→ up

例句：We can divvy up the profits between us. ?我們可以分享利潤

造句：The teacher is divvying up candies to the children.

??assault ?& ?exile

原句：They had been separated from their families,assaulted?by the heat, and?exiled?on their tiny launchpad

·朗文釋義：if a feeling, sound, smell etc assaults you, it affects you in a way that makes you ? ? ?uncomfortable or upset literary 使感到難受，困擾 【文】

例句：The noises and smells of the market assaulted her senses. ?市場里的噪音和氣味刺激著她的感 ? ? ?官耍群。

造句：The smell of breakfast in the subway assaults me a lot.

·朗文釋義：exile ?[T usually passive 一般用被動態(tài)]

to force someone to leave their country, especially for political reasons 〔尤指出于政治原因而〕放逐义桂， ? ? 流放〔某人〕

例句：the exiled former president 流亡國外的前總統(tǒng)

用法：exile sb to sth

例句：Several of the leaders were arrested and exiled to France. 好幾位領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人被逮捕并流放至法國。

用法：exile sb from sth

例句：a dictator who was exiled from his home country 被流放異鄉(xiāng)的獨(dú)裁者

造句： I am exiled to a remote university far away from the city center.

Eric連線共讀

今天參加了Eric的共讀蹈垢，? Eric就講了今天看的前四段慷吊，卻是滿滿的畫面感，hoots and whistles描繪出了火箭成功上升時大家的歡呼雀躍曹抬，后面的shattred則表現(xiàn)出了再次失敗后工程師們的粉身碎骨般的絕望溉瓶。這些都是我在閱讀中沒有看到的畫面，以至于我在想：我和Eric讀的是一本書嗎谤民？究其原因堰酿，還是單詞量不夠，見的少赖临，并且書讀的不夠多胞锰。慢慢積累吧，同時多聽聽 Eric講故事兢榨。

語音問題

1.斷句 一到長句子就慌亂的想快點(diǎn)讀完而沒有斷句嗅榕，越急越慢。因?yàn)闆]有讀懂吵聪，所以容易讀錯抖单，打結(jié)。

2.encourage的 ou美音發(fā)的是/?/而不是/?/部默，就像hurry的u的發(fā)音一樣绒怨，這種見到一個就記一個。

如何記表達(dá)

比如書中出現(xiàn)的chill out就是放松的意思块攒，Eric說有一位他的大學(xué)同學(xué)說過I'm chilling. 就是放松閑逛的意思励稳。我則想到了Avril第一本成名專輯里Complicated的歌詞 Chill out what your yelling for, lay back it's all be done before.

這樣一個詞就豐富了起來佃乘，他的意思也理解透徹了。不僅記住了意思驹尼，也會用了