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sedate a. calm, serious and formal
e.g. Sheis a sedate old lady; she is caring but never talks much.
The fight against a nuclear powerstation site has transformed a normally sedate town into a battlefield.
v. make calm or sleepy, esp. with a drug
e.g. Thepatient was heavily sedated and resting quietly in bed.
Derivation: sedately (ad.), sedation (n.),sedative (a., n.)
eccentric a. (of people or behavior) unconventional and slightly strange
e.g. Theold gentleman, who lived alone all his life, was said to have some eccentrichabits.
n. a person of unconventional andslightly strange views or behavior
e.g. Theold gentleman enjoyed a colorful reputation as an engaging eccentric.
curb n. (British English: kerb) a line ofraised stones separating the footpath from the road
v./ n. ( place) a control or limit onsth. undesirable
e.g. Poor nutrition can curb a child’s developmentboth physically and mentally.
There will be now curbs ondrunk-driving from next month.
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habituate v. accustomby frequent repetition or prolonged exposure
e.g. Youmust habituate yourself to reading aloud.
By the end of the school term, thestudents had been habituated / accustomed / used to rising at five o’clock.
contortion n. a twisted position or movementthat looks surprising or strange
e.g. Thespectators cannot but admire the contortions of the gymnasts.
Derivation: contort v.cause sth. to twist out of its natural shape and looks strange orunttractive
Comparison: distort, twist, deform, contort & warp
These verbs mean to change andspoil the form or character of sth.
distort
To distort is to alter in shape, as by torsion or wrenching; the termalso applies to verbal or pictorial misrepresentation and to alteration orperversion of the meaning of sth.
e.g. The human understanding islike a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly distorts and discolorsthe nature of things by mingling its own nature with it. (Francis Bacon).
twist
Twist appliesto distortion of form or meaning.
e.g. a mouth twisted with pain
He accused me of twisting hiswords to mean what I wanted them to.
deform
If you deform sth., or if it deforms,its usual shape changes so that its usefulness or appearance is spoiled.
e.g. Great erosion deformed thelandscape.
The earlier part of his discourse wasdeformed by pedantic divisions and subdivisions.
contort
If you contortsth., or if it contorts, ittwists out of its normal shape and looks strange or unattractive.
e.g. a face contorted with rage;
a contorted line of reasoning.
warp
Warp canrefer to a turning or twisting from a flat or straight form.
e.g. The floorboards had warpedover the years.
It also can imply influencing sb.in a way that has a harmful effect on how they think or behave.
e.g. Prejudice warps the judgment.
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bring sth. home to sb.: make sb. realize sth.
e.g. The news report has brought home to usall the plight of the prisoners of war.
Comparison: drive sth. home to sb., hit / strike home
drive sth. home to sb.: make sb. realize sth.,esp. by saying it often, loudly, angrily, etc.
e.g. The professor drove home tothem that they must finish the writing assignment by Friday.
hit / strike home: (of remarks, etc.) have the intended (often painful) effect
e.g. You could see from hisexpression that her sarcastic comments had hit/stricken home.
entertain v. consider an idea, etc. or allow yourself tothink that sth. might happen or be true
e.g.He refusedto entertain our proposal.
entertainideas, doubts, etc
negotiate v.
get overor past (an obstacle, etc.) successfully; manage to travel along a difficultroute
e.g. Theonly way to negotiate the path is on foot.
Frank Mariano negotiates thedessert terrain in his battered pickup.
Practice
那攀登者得攀越一陡峭岩石。
The climber had to negotiate a steep rockface.
那马轻易跳过了栅栏。
The horse negotiated the fence with ease.
coo v. speak in a soft, gentle, andloving way, esp. when expressing surprise
e.g. “Howwonderful to see you again, darling,” she cooed.
The little girl is always cooingover those parrots of hers.
anew adv. (fml.)again or one more time, esp. in a different way
e.g. Thescientists started the experiment anew.
The film tells anew the story ofher rise to stardom.
