Glossary

Words & phrases

1 storm in a teacup great outrage or excitement about atrivial matter大惊小怪，小题大做

2 condiment  /ˈkɒndɪmənt/ n. a powder or liquid, such as salt orketchup, that you use to give a special taste to food 调料，佐料

3 cast into sharp relief to make something plainly evidentor clearly visible使……凸显

4 no-holds-barred adj. free of restrictions or hamperingconventions不受任何限制的

5 villain of the piece  /ˈvɪlən/someone or something that is seenas being the cause of trouble on particular occasion 元凶，罪魁祸首

6 hefty  /ˈhefti/ adj. large in amount, size, force, etc.(数额、尺寸、力量等）大的，可观的

7 enact /ɪˈnækt/ v. to put into practice (an idea or suggestion) 实行，实施

8 motion n. a formal suggestion made, discussed, and votedon at a meeting动议，提议

9 mount v. to plan, organize, and begin an event or acourse of action 准备，安排，组织开展

10 thwart  /θwɔːt/  v. to prevent someone from doing what they are tryingto do阻挠，阻止

11 saga  /ˈsɑːɡə/ n. a long complicated series of related, usuallynegative, events (通常指负面的）系列事件，一长串事件

12 litmus test /ˈlɪtməs/ something that makes it clear what someone'sattitude, intentions, etc. are 立见分晓的检验办法，试金石

13 bauble /ˈbɔːbl/  n .a small, showy trinket or decoration 小玩意

14 venerate  /ˈvenəreɪt/ v.to respect or worship someone or something崇敬，尊敬

15 heavy-handed adj. taking too much action or extremeaction, especially without thinking about other people's feelings缺乏同情心的，冷酷的，粗暴的

16 flat-footed adj. dealing with situations in a way that isnot sensitive to other people's thoughts or feelings木纳的，不敏感的

17 statutory  /ˈstætʃətri/ adj. fixed or controlled by law法令的，法规的

Business terms

1.   takeover bid a type of corporate action in which anacquiring company makes an offer to the target company's shareholders to buythe target company's shares to gain control of the business. Takeover bids caneither be friendly or hostile.竞价收购

2.   greenmailer n. a corporate raider who buys a large amount of stock from a publicly-traded company and forces it to buy back the stock at a substantial premium in order toavoid a takeover. The corporate raider has no intention of actually buying the target company; it merely seeks to profit from the buyback. 绿票敲诈犯

3.   poison pill tactic used by a companythreatened with an unwelcome takeover bid to make itself unattractive to thebidder(公司为防止被兼并而采取的）“毒丸”防御

4.   dilute  /daɪˈluːt; daɪˈljuːt/ v. to reduce the value (of a shareholding) by issuing more shares in a company without increasing the values of its assets 稀释股份