1. galvanize     vt. to shock or affect sb. enough to produce a strong and immediate reaction   使振奋；刺激

e.g.His speech yesterday galvanized many workers into action.

   他昨天的演讲激励了不少工人行动起来。

Her love galvanized him into youth.

      她的爱使他焕发了青春的活力。

The results of the study galvanized residents into action.

      研究结果促使居民采取行动。

Word family:  galvanization  n. 

2. fraught          a.  showing or producing tension or anxiety and with a lot of problems   令人担忧的；问题成堆的

e.g.After his speech, there was a fraught silence.

       他发言后，出现了一阵令人焦虑不安的沉默。

The Taliban is not the only enemy along the fraught  borderlands of the Afghan war. 

          在令人忧虑的阿富汗战争边境沿线，塔利班并不是唯一的敌人。

Next week will be particularly fraught as we’ve just lost our secretary.

       我们的秘书刚刚辞职，下星期特别令人担心。

3. mortarboard           n. [C]   a hat with a stiff square top, worn as a sign of academic achievement. Mortarboards were traditionally worn by teachers 学位帽；方顶帽

4.  slump

1). vt. to cause to fall or bend down 使倒下；使弯垂

e.g. 1. He slumped his lanky frame in an easy chair.

    他那瘦长的身躯一下子倒在安乐椅里。

2. He was slumped sideways in an easy attitude.

     他蜷着身子，随意地斜靠着。

be ~ed in / over etc. sth.: be sitting still in a position that is not upright 垂头弯腰地坐着

e.g. 1. I spent the evening slumped in front of the TV.

    我一晚上都蜷着身子坐在电视机前。

2. They found him slumped over the wheel of his car.

    他们发现他趴在他车子的方向盘上。

2). vi. to be suddenly reduced to a much lower level  暴跌；剧降

e.g.  What caused the price of irons to slump?

     钢铁价格暴跌是什么原因?

5. scion        n. [C]    (literary) a young member of a rich or important family （名门望族的）子孙，后裔

e.g. Fort was a scion of a wealthy stock.       福特是个富家子弟。

Opposite him was a tall , handsome, graceful scion of the Hyundai family, wealthy and privileged and at ease with himself . 

       和他同场竞技的是一个高大英俊、风度翩翩的现代集团世家

       贵公子，腰缠万贯，养尊处优，仪态从容大方。 

6. morph        v.   to develop a new appearance or change into sth. else, or to make sth. do this  （使）变形为；（使）变为

e.g.

1. The computer programmer morphed the image.

    计算机程序员改变了图像。

2. In the video, Michael Jackson morphed into a panther.

    视频中迈克尔·杰克逊变成了豹。

7. grunt                    

1. n. [C] a short low sound made by a person to indicate disgust, approval or disapproval（表示厌恶、不满等的）咕哝声，嘟哝声

e.g.1. He gave a grunt to show his disapproval.

    他嘟哝一声表示不满。

2. He answered the question with boorish grunt.

    他粗鲁地嘟哝着回答问题。

2. v. to say sth. using low short sounds, especially when one does not want to talk  咕哝着说

e.g. She grunted some incomprehensible reply.

         她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

8. testing                   a.  difficult to deal with  难对付的；棘手的

e.g. He didn’t know how to deal with the difficult and testing problem.

      他不知道如何处理这极棘手的难题。

That was really a testing situation.

       那可真是伤脑筋的局势。

The most testing time is undoubtedly in the early months of your return to work.

       最考验人的时候无疑是在你重返工作岗位的头几个月。

9.  revert               v. ( ~ to)  to return to a previous state or way of behaving, often one that is not good  恢复到（原状或原来的行为方式）

e.g.If you revert to your old eating habits, you’ll gain weight again.

      如果你恢复以前的饮食习惯，你又会发胖的。

He reverts to drinking again.      他又开始喝酒了。

After the settlers left, the area reverted to desert.

       早期移民离开之后, 这个地区又变成了一片沙漠。

10. detached         a.   not feeling involved with sb. or sth. in a close or emotional way 冷淡的；超然的

e.g.She had a detached expression on her face.       她一脸的冷淡。

Through all the arguments among other committee members, she kept a detached attitude.

        在其他委员会成员辩论时, 她始终保持超然的态度。

11. recount          vt. (fml)  to say what happened  叙述

e.g.

He recounted to us his childhood adventures.       他向我们讲述了他孩提时代的种种历险。

The story of his life is vividly recounted in this new book. 

       这本新书生动地描述了他的一生。

He then recounted the story of the interview for his first job.

       然后他叙述了有关他第一份工作面试的故事。

12. aimless           a.  without any particular purpose or plan  无目的的

e.g. 1. She said that her life seemed aimless.  她说她的生活好像没有目标。

2. He led an aimless life all his life.  他一辈子浑浑噩噩。

Word family: aimlessly   ad.

                         aimlessness  n. 

13.  comprehensive                               

1. n. [C] a UK school for students of different levels of ability between the ages of 11 and 18 （英）综合学校

e.g. He was educated at the local comprehensive.

        他在当地一家综合学校接受教育。

2. a. including many details or aspects of sth.  综合的；多方面的

e.g. He has a comprehensive knowledge.

        他知识渊博。

This service is often felt to be too comprehensive and too expensive.

       人们常常感到这种服务的内容太多，索价太高。

14. dead-end       a.  

1. lacking opportunities especially for advancement  没有前途的

e.g. It is a dead-end job; I just work in the stores and  there's absolutely no prospect of promotion.

我的工作没有前途，我只是在仓库工作，绝对没有晋升的指望。 

2. closed at the end, leading nowhere  没有出路的

e.g. One of my friends said he chased me all the way into  a dead-end alley, and that I would just disappear without a trace.

我一个朋友说他一路追我进了一个死胡同，可是我就无影无踪地消失了。

15. tricky       a. difficult to deal with  难处理的；棘手的

e.g. That’s a tricky question because there are many things to consider.

       那个问题很棘手，因为有很多事要考虑。

I’m in a rather tricky position; can you help me out?

       我的处境很棘手, 你能帮我吗？

The sudden drop in share prices has set the government a tricky problem.  

       股票价格突然下跌给政府出了一个难题。 

16. proceed       vi.   to make progress by moving to the next stage in a series of actions or events 继续进行（一系列行动或活动的下一阶段）

e.g.1. They will proceed to build another laboratory building.

     他们将着手建造另一座实验大楼。

2. She decided not to proceed with the treatment. 

     她决定不再继续接受治疗了。

17. upcoming   a.  happening soon  即将来临的；即将发生的

e.g. They have made good preparation for the upcoming elections.

      他们已经为即将到来的选举作好了准备。

We shall be attending the upcoming concert.

      我们要去听即将上演的音乐会。

18. cutoff                       

1. n. [C] a level or limit at which sth. stops  截止点；停止点

e.g.  1. 6 p.m. is the cutoff for checking out.

    下午六点是结账期限。

2. The cutoff date for ticket purchases is July 2.

     七月二号是购票的截止日期。

2. a. of or constituting a limit  界限的, 分界的

e.g. The machine will stop when it reaches its cutoff point.

       机器达到断流点时会停下来。

19. psychotherapist    n.[C] sb.  who is trained to treat people with a mental illness by talking to them rather than by giving them drugs  精神治疗医生；心理治疗医生 

Word family:  

psychotherapy  n. 精神疗法；心理疗法

20.transition          n. [C, U] the process of changing from one situation, form, or state to another  过渡；转变；变迁

e.g.Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood.

       青春期是童年与成年之间的过渡时期。

They all support a peaceful transition.

       他们全部都支持和平过渡。

21. crucially     ad. to an extremely important degree 关键性地；至关重要地

e.g. From the nation’s earliest days, farming has had a crucially important place in the U.S. economy. 

    在美国经济中农业历来占据着头等重要的地位。

Crucially, there were more applicants than positions.

        但问题的关键是，申请的人比职位多。

22.  offspring          n. [C] (pl. offspring) sb.’s child or children 子女；子孙；后代

e.g. Tom’s sister came round on Saturday with her numerous offspring.

      星期六汤姆的姐姐带着一大群孩子来到了这里。

Offspring of musical parents, Barry Gray was born in Lancashire, receiving a sound musical education. 

      巴利·格雷出生于兰开夏，作为音乐家的后代，他接受了非

       常扎实的音乐教育。

23. sap             vt.  to weaken or exhaust the energy or vitality of sb.  消耗精力；使虚弱

e.g.1. Her long illness gradually sapped her strength.

    长期患病渐渐地消耗了她的体力。

2. The climb sapped our energy.

    这次的攀登耗尽了我们的精力。

24. advocate                            

1. n. [C] sb. who strongly and publicly supports sb. or sth.  拥护者；提倡者

e.g.1. He is an advocate of peace.

    他是一个拥护和平的人。

2. He was an untiring advocate of economic reform.

    他是个不知疲倦的经济改革的倡导者。

2. v. to publicly support a particular policy or way of doing things  拥护；提倡

 e.g. Our premier advocates higher salaries for teachers.

     我们的总理主张提高教师的工资。

25. antidote     n. [C] 

1. sth. that helps to improve the effects of sth. bad or negative  矫正方法

e.g. The resort offers the perfect antidote to the pressures 

        of modern life. 

         这个旅游胜地是缓解现代生活压力的好地方。 

2. a substance that prevents a poison from having bad effects  解毒药；解毒剂 

e.g. 1. We do not have an effective antidote to this poison. 

     我们没有针对这种毒的有效解毒剂。

2. Do you have the antidote against / for / to snake-bite?

     你有蛇毒解药吗？

26.apathy       n. [U] a feeling of having no interest in or enthusiasm about anything, or of not being willing to make any effort to change things 冷漠；漠然；毫无兴趣

e.g.Such attitudes can only lead to apathy. 

      这样的态度只能导致冷漠。

An apathy in his nature led him to leave events to take their own course.

      他生性冷漠，对一切都听之任之。

27.aerial       a. from a plane  从飞机上的

e.g.There was an aerial attack last night.

       昨晚有一次空袭。

They are going to take a full aerial survey of the mountain area.

      他们将对山区作全面的航空测量。

Aerial photography can provide a lot of valuable information.

        航拍可以提供很多有价值的信息。

28. look on:  to watch an activity or event without taking part in it   旁观

e.g.John took part in the game, but the rest of us just looked on.

       约翰参赛，而我们其余的人只是观看。

They stood looking on while the man was robbed.

        那个人被抢劫时，他们站在那儿袖手旁观。

29. fork out:  (infml) to spend money on sth., especially when you do not want to （尤指不情愿地）付出，花费

e.g.1. They had to fork out $100 to get the car repaired. 

     他们不得不付100美元修理汽车。

2. I had to fork out $30 for a cab home.

     我不得不花30元钱乘出租车回家。

30. turn down:  

1. to refuse to accept an offer or request 拒绝（提议或要求）

e.g.1. We have turned down four applicants already.

    我们已经拒绝了四位申请者。

2. His request for a rise was turned down.

    他要求加薪, 被拒绝了。

2. to reduce the amount of sound, heat, or light produced by a piece of equipment by pressing a button or moving a switch 减少；关小

e.g.1. Can you turn the music down a bit?

    请你把音乐调低点行吗？

2. The theatre lights were turned down.

    舞台灯光暗淡下来。

31. in the same boat: in the same difficult or unpleasant situation  处于同样的糟糕境地

e.g.We’re all in the same boat, so let’s not criticize each other.

      我们现在处境都很糟糕，就不要互相埋怨了。

Making a living is tough these days. But everyone is in the same boat.

      近来挣钱糊口很不容易，不过大家的情况也差不多。