1. gossip

1. n. [U] conversation about unimportant subjects, especially people’s private lives （尤指关于人们私生活的）闲言，流言

e.g. 1. On Sundays all the men gather in the square to exchange local gossip. 

每到星期天，男人们就聚集在广场上，说一些当地的新闻。

2. You miss a lot of office gossip when you have a day off work.

一天不上班，你就会错过办公室里的许多小道消息。 

2.  vi. to talk about other people or about things that are not important 闲聊；说长道短

e.g. 1. To say nothing to people to their faces but to gossip behind their backs, or to say nothing at a meeting but to gossip afterwards.

当面不说，背后乱说；开会不说，会后乱说。 

2. We gossip about them and vice versa. 

我们议论他们，他们也议论我们。 

2. highbrow                 

a. (of a book, film etc) very serious and may be difficult to understand（书籍、电影等）严肃的，高雅的，深奥难懂的，阳春白雪的

e.g. 1. They only attend highbrow events such as the ballet or the opera.  

他们只参加高雅的活动，例如观看芭蕾舞或歌剧。

2. Opera has developed a reputation as a cultivated, highbrow sort of entertainment.

歌剧作为一种文雅且高雅的娱乐形式而声名远扬。

3. proportion                        

n. [C] a quantity of sth. that is a part or share of the whole 部分；份儿

e.g. On average, fathers spoke less than mothers did, but they did not differ in the length of utterances or proportion of questions asked. (CET4-2009-12) 

平均来看，父亲说的话比母亲说的要少，但是从表达的长度或者提问的多少来看，父亲和母亲之间没有什么区别。

 4. dramatically                        

ad. in a sudden and surprising way or in a way that is easy to notice  突如其来地；引人注目地

e.g. 1. Accounting and banking have changed dramatically in the light of recent developments in computers.

由于当今计算机的飞速发展，会计和银行业发生了急剧的变化。

2. Infant mortality has been dramatically reduced because of modern medicine. 

现代医学使得婴儿死亡率极大地降低了。

Word family: drama n.          dramatic a. 

5.focus group 

n. [C] a group of people who are asked their opinions about a particular product or subject 焦点小组；目标群体

e.g. 1. Focus group is an efficient technique to gain a diverse range of insights about users’ needs, which may be particularly suitable for designers.  

焦点小组访谈是一种高效的方法，对用户需求能够获得广泛的了解，可能会对设计者特别适合。

2. Ask your focus group if they believe in your brand and why.

询问你的目标群体是否信任你的品牌并问明缘由。

6.initially                 

ad. at the beginning 开始；最初；首先

e.g. 1. Though initially he had seemed an ordinary kid, his zeal had set him apart.  

虽然他最初看起来好像只是个普普通通的小孩，但他的热情使他与众不同。

2. Initially, he thought the new concept was nonsense.

最初他认为这一新概念是一派胡言。

Translate the following sentences:

1. Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. (CET4-2000-01)

有些研究表明，道路上画的分道线最初能将驾驶员的平均速度降低一半。

2. 她的科学界同行最初对这一理论持有强烈的怀疑态度。

This theory was initially received with great scepticism by her fellow scientists.

7.semantics                                 

n. [U] 1. the meaning of words and phrases 语义e.g. 

1. The issue involves much more than manners and political semantics.

这个问题所涉及的远远不止态度和政治语义。

2. Such quibbling over semantics may seem petty stuff.

像这类对语义问题的争论可能显得无足轻重。 

2. the study of words and their meaning 语义学

e.g. My ideas on semantics needed more careful exploration.

    我关于语义学的一些想法需要更仔细的研究。

8.stigma                

n. [sing, U] a feeling that sth. is wrong or embarrassing in some way 羞耻；耻辱

e.g. 

1. Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma. 

做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。

2. Wider knowledge of the disease removed some of the stigma from it. 

对这种疾病更多的了解减少了一些耻辱感。

3. There is still a lot of stigma attached to suicide. 

自杀仍然被看作是一种很不光彩的举动。

Word family: stigmatize v.

9. unwritten              

a. known or understood by everyone but not written down or official 未写下的；不成文的

e.g. 1. Sometimes the unwritten rules govern our lives and behaviour more strongly than the written ones.

有时不成文的规定比成文的规定更有力地规范着我们的生活和行为。

2. There’s no caretaker in the block and according to some unwritten law the ground floor tenant is responsible for keeping the common entrance clean.  

这个街区无专人看管，但根据某个不成文法，一楼的住户负责清扫大门。 

10.stage whisper  n. [C] a way of speaking in which you pretend to talk very quietly but can be heard clearly by other people 故意让大家都能听见的悄悄话

e.g. 1. At the table, the man addressed his friend in a stage whisper.  

在餐桌上，那个人用有意让别人听得见的低语对他的朋友讲话。

2. My wife said she was cold in a stage whisper that was intended to make them turn the heating up.  

我妻子用有意让别人能听见的耳语说她很冷，意思是要他们把暖气开大点。

11. animated       a. lively or active 活跃的；有活力的

e.g. 1. This question set off an animated discussion.  

这个问题引起了热烈讨论。 

2. It was strange to see these Prague streets, usually so animated, now completely empty and deserted.

看到通常很有生气的布拉格的街道现在变得空无一人，真是奇怪。

12.high-pitched                     

a.  a high-pitched voice or sound is very high 声调高的；尖声的

e.g. 1. Dogs usually use high-pitched barks when they are separated from their owners and a lower, harsher bark when strangers approach or the doorbell rings, according to an animal behaviourist at the university.  

该大学一位动物行为主义学者认为，当狗和主人分离时，通常它们的叫声会尖锐； 反之，一旦发现有陌生人接近或者门铃响起时，它们则会发出一种更低沉、更刺耳的狂吠声。

2. The words sliced through the room in a high-pitched voice and everyone stopped what they were doing. 

高亢锐利的说话声划过房间的上空，每个人都停下手头的工作。

13.scandalous     a. sth. that is scandalous is shocking because it involves immoral or dishonest behaviour 丑恶的；可耻的

e.g. 1. How in the world did he ever get mixed up in this scandalous affair?  

他到底是怎样卷入到这件丑闻中去的？

2. Isadora Duncan, the dancer from San Francisco, gloried in an enlightenment which others thought scandalous.  

来自旧金山的舞蹈家伊莎多拉·邓肯则醉心于别人认为丢脸的启蒙活动。

Word family: scandal n.

14. sniff          1. vi. to criticize sth., or suggest it is not good enough for you 对…嗤之以鼻；轻蔑地批评

e.g. At first he sniffed at her foreign ways.

       起初他对她的外国作风嗤之以鼻。

Her achievement is not to be sniffed at.

   不可批评她的的成绩。

“Is that all you want to say?” she sniffed.

   “这就是全部你想要说的？”她轻蔑地说。

2. v. to breathe in noisily through your nose, for example because you have been crying 以鼻吸气；嗅；闻 

e.g. When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes.

   珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。

15.informant      n. [C]  (fml) 

1. a person who furnishes linguistic or cultural information to a researcher 资料提供人（尤指为研究者提供语言、风俗资料的人）

e.g. 1. Could you be my language informant for Dutch?

你愿意作荷兰语的资料提供人吗?

2. They got the information from the literature resource and key informants. 

他们从文献资料和一些主要的资料提供人处得到了这个信息。 

2. sb. who secretly gives information about sb. to the police or sb. in authority 检举人；告密者

e.g. 1. The police chief says the informant is being kept in protective custody. He will be questioned by the FBI. 

警官说该告密者已经保护性拘留，他将会受联邦调查局的审问。

2. Once the report is verified, the relevant supervision and administration department of food safety shall reward the informant. 

举报经查证属实的，有关的食品安全监督管理部门应当对举报人给予奖励。

Word family: inform v.    information n.

16. speculate         vi.

1. (on / about) to consider or discuss why sth. has happened or what might happen 思索；猜测；推测

 e.g. 1. We can only speculate about why he did it.

我们只能猜测他做这件事的理由。

2. We can only speculate on the reasons for his sudden resignation.

我们只能猜测他突然辞职的原因。

2. to take the risk of investing your money in a company in the hope that you can make a big profit later by selling the shares that you buy 投机，做投机买卖

e.g. 1. Ned had speculated in gold and lost heavily. 

内德曾做过黄金投机买卖，损失惨重。

2. I was told her husband got much by speculating in shares / stocks.

我听说她丈夫靠股票的投机买卖赚了很多钱。

Word family:

speculation n.    speculative a. 

17.motive      n. [C] the reason you do sth.  缘由；动机

e.g. 1. Greed was his only motive for stealing.  

    贪婪是他盗窃的唯一动机。

2. The police could not find a motive for the murder.

    警察找不到谋杀的动机。

3. How do you explain the motives behind his actions?

     你怎么解释他的行为是出于什么动机？

18.exhaustive        a. thorough or complete; including every possible element 彻底的；完全的

e.g. 1. An exhaustive investigation of the facts proves the contrary.  

彻底地调查事实后发现情况正好相反。

2. Although criminologists have conducted exhaustive research regarding the subject, little evidence exists to support the claim.  

虽然刑事学家就这一课题做了详尽的研究，几乎没有证据能支持这种说法。 

19.appreciative      a. showing that you enjoyed sth. or that you are grateful 表示赞赏的；感激的 

e.g.1. He was sincerely appreciative of their support.

他真诚地感谢他们的支持。 

2. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.  

黑暗会使他更珍惜视力，寂静会教导他享受声音。

Word family: appreciate v. appreciation n.

20.reciprocate        v. (fml) to do or give sth., because sth. similar has been done or given to you 回报；回应

e.g. Your visit gives me the chance to reciprocate some of the kindness and hospitality that was extended to me and my colleagues during our visit to Paris in March this year.  

你们的来访使我有机会一尽地主之谊，答谢你们在我和我的同事今年三月访问巴黎期间的盛情款待。

Word family: reciprocation n. 

Translate the following sentences into Chinese:

1. Although she did not reciprocate his feelings, she did not discourage him.

尽管她没有回应他的感情，她也没有使他丧失信心。

2. Some people who has been “given face” feels that he or she has received a favour. In turn, he or she has to reciprocate the favour so that the other party will not lose face.  

在有些人看来，人家“给了面子”，自己便是得了人情，因此必须投桃报李，以便使对方也不失面子。

21. effeminate     a. an effeminate man looks, behaves, or speaks like a woman （男子）女人气的

e.g.1. He spoke in an effeminate voice.

他讲起话来一副娘娘腔。

2. There’s nothing effeminate about ballet — you have to be incredibly fit to dance.

芭蕾并不女孩子气——你得要有十分健康的体魄才能跳好。

22.decidedly         ad. 

1. in a way that is impossible to doubt and easy to see 确实无疑地；显然

e.g. 1. He made all the other players on the field look decidedly ordinary.

他使场上所有其他运动员都黯然失色。

2. He looked decidedly uncomfortable.

他看上去确实很不舒服。

2. in a way that shows you are very certain about sth. 坚决地；果断地

e.g. “I think we should do it,” said Peter, decidedly.

       “我想我们应该做，”彼得果断地说。

23.camp               a. (of a man) behaving in a way that does not follow traditional ideas about male behaviour, especially in order to attract attention（尤指男子为引人注意而行为）忸怩作态的，稀奇古怪的；坎普

e.g. While it’s not true that camp taste is homosexual taste, there is no doubt a peculiar affinity and overlap. (Susan Sontag)

尽管不能说坎普趣味就是同性恋趣味，但毫无疑问这两者之间存在着某种特别的契合和重叠之处。（苏珊·桑塔格）

24. etiquette      n. [U] a set of rules for behaving correctly in social situations 社交礼仪

e.g. 1. The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.

如今的礼仪规则不那么严格了。

2. One of the most common dilemmas of international etiquette is what to bring as a gift when you’re invited to someone’s home for dinner.

国际礼仪中最常见的一个窘境是：当你应邀到某人家中去吃晚饭时，应带何种礼物。 

25.expletive    n. [C] (fml) a rude word that you use when you are angry, annoyed, or upset that might offend some people 秽语；骂人的话

e.g. 1. The station bleeped out the expletives from the taped interview.  

电台把采访录音中骂人的话抹掉了。

2. He uttered several vigorous expletives when he dropped the iron on his foot.  

他的熨斗掉下砸在脚上，他骂了几句难听的脏话。

26.masculine      a. with qualities considered typical of men 男子气概的；男子汉的

e.g. 1. A year ago some Arabic countries launched a campaign against “masculine women”. 

一年以前，一些阿拉伯国家曾发起一项旨在对抗“男性气概女子”的运动。

2. Our new teacher is a young man, outstandingly handsome and robust, very masculine.

我们的新老师是个小伙子，非常英俊、强健，特别具有男子汉的气质。

27.to the effect that: used for showing that you are giving a general idea of what sb. said instead of their actual words 大意是；大致是

e.g. 1. He made a declaration to the effect that he would soon resign.

他发表了声明，大意是他很快就要辞职。 

2. He left a note to the effect that he would not be returning.

他留下一张字条，大意是说他不回来了。

3. He made some comments to the effect that my essay was a little light on analysis.

他作了一些评论，大意是我的文章分析不够深刻。