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neverland1021

【Native Speaker每日综合训练—44系列】【44-09】经管 Muslim
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COPENHAGEN — On a continent where Muslim leaders are decrying a surge in discrimination and aggression, Alisiv Ceran is the terrorist who wasn’t.
de‧cry / dɪˈkraɪ / verb ( past tense and past participle decried , present participle decrying , third person singular decries ) [ transitive ]
formal to state publicly that you do not approve of something SYN condemn

Feeling jittery about a morning exam, he anxiously buried his nose in a textbook: “The United States After 9/11.”
jit‧ter‧y / ˈdʒɪtəri / adjective informal
anxious or nervous OPP relaxed :

A fellow passenger who reported him to police, however, saw only a bearded Muslim toting a mysterious bag and a how-to book on terror.
tote / təʊt $ toʊt / ( also tote around ) verb [ transitive ]
especially American English informal to carry something, especially regularly :

Ceran’s ordeal is a sign of the times in Europe, where Muslims are facing what some community leaders are comparing to the atmosphere in the United States following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
or‧deal / ɔːˈdiːl, ˈɔːdiːl $ ɔːrˈdiːl, ˈɔːrdiːl / noun [ countable ]
a terrible or painful experience that continues for a period of time

After more alleged terror plots were recently disrupted in Norway and Britain, concern over the very real risk posed by homegrown militants is now building to a crescendo among European politicians, the media and the public.
cre‧scen‧do / krəˈʃendəʊ, krɪˈʃendəʊ $ -doʊ / noun ( plural crescendos ) [ countable ]
2 if an activity or feeling reaches a crescendo, it gradually becomes stronger until it is very strong SYN climax :
The campaign reached its crescendo in the week of the election.

Muslim leaders point to a string of high-profile incidents and a renewed push for laws restricting Islamic practices such as circumcision that suggest those fears are crossing the line into intolerance.
cir‧cum‧ci‧sion / ˌsɜːkəmˈsɪʒ ə n $ ˌsɜːr- / noun [ uncountable and countable ]
the act of circumcising someone, or an occasion when a baby is circumcised as part of a religious ceremony .

In Britain, Mayor Boris Johnson was recently quoted as saying “thousands” of Londoners are now under surveillance as possible terror suspects. In Paris last week, a woman in Islamic garb that obscured her face was unceremoniously ejected from a performance of La Traviata at the Opéra Bastille.
garb / ɡɑːb $ ɡɑːrb / noun [ uncountable ]
formal a particular style of clothing, especially clothes that show your type of work or look unusual :
priestly garb

un‧cer‧e‧mo‧ni‧ous‧ly / ˌʌnserəˈməʊniəsli $ -ˈmoʊ- / adverb
in a rough or sudden way, without showing any respect or politeness :

A recent commentary in Germany’s Bild tabloid, for instance, condemned the “disproportionate crime rate among adolescents with Muslim backgrounds” as well as the faith’s “homicidal contempt for women and homosexuals.”
tab‧loid / ˈtæblɔɪd / ( also ˌtabloid ˈnewspaper ) noun [ countable ]
a newspaper that has small pages, a lot of photographs, and stories mainly about sex, famous people etc rather than serious news

hom‧i‧cid‧al / ˌhɒməˈsaɪdl◂, ˌhɒmɪˈsaɪdl◂ $ ˌhɑː- / adjective
likely to murder someone :
a homicidal maniac

The Islamic community has been increasingly challenged for the inability — or unwillingness — of many Muslim immigrants and their children to assimilate into progressive European societies.
as‧sim‧i‧late / əˈsɪməleɪt, əˈsɪmɪleɪt / verb
2 [ intransitive and transitive ] if people assimilate, or are assimilated into a country or group, they become part of that group and are accepted by the people in that group

In recent years, France and Belgium passed laws banning full Muslim veils. Switzerland barred the construction of new mosque minarets.
min‧a‧ret / ˌmɪnəˈret, ˈmɪnəret / noun [ countable ]
a tall thin tower on a MOSQUE , from which Muslims are called to prayer

The current mood, Muslim leaders say, is less a sudden shift than a worsening of a climate that had already been eroding for years.
less a … than a … : be not so much like one thing as another

In Britain, negative sentiments spiked last May after the slaying of a British Army soldier in London by two homegrown radicals.
slay / sleɪ / verb ( past tense slew / sluː / , past participle slain / sleɪn / ) [ transitive ]
1 literary to kill someone – used especially in newspapers

Few countries in the region have seen a fiercer debate over Islam than Denmark, which became the target of Muslim rage in 2006 after the publication of satirical caricatures depicting the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.
sat‧ire / ˈsætaɪə $ -taɪr / noun
1 [ uncountable ] a way of criticizing something such as a group of people or a system, in which you deliberately make them seem funny so that people will see their faults :

“The stigma against Muslims is just getting worse, and I have considered moving across the border to Sweden,” he said.
stig‧ma / ˈstɪɡmə / noun
1 [ countable usually singular, uncountable ] a strong feeling in society that being in a particular situation or having a particular illness is something to be ashamed of

neverland1021

【每日阅读训练第四期——速度越障20系列】【20-20】文史哲
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Start at the Furnace Creek visitor center in Death Valley National Park. Drive 50 miles north on pavement, then head west for another 30 miles on bone-rattling gravel roads.
rat‧tling / ˈrætlɪŋ / adverb : a good exciting story

During the drive—which will take you four hours if you make good time—you’ll pass sand dunes, a meteor crater, narrow canyons, solitary Joshua trees and virtually no evidence of human existence whatsoever.  
can‧yon / ˈkænjən / noun [ countable ]
a deep valley with very steep sides of rock that usually has a river running through it

But soon after cresting the Cottonwood Mountains, you’ll come upon a landscape so out of place even in this geologically bizarre park that it almost seems artificial.
crest 2 verb formal to reach the top of a hill or mountain :

Ranging from the size of a computer mouse to a microwave, each one is followed by a track etched into the dirt, like the contrail behind an airplane.
etch / etʃ / verb
1 [ intransitive and transitive ] to cut lines on a metal plate, piece of glass, stone etc to form a picture or words
con‧trail / ˈkɒntreɪl $ ˈkɑːn- / noun [ countable ]
a line of white steam made in the sky by a plane

The team visited the Racetrack twice a year and meticulously tracked the movements of 30 stones, giving them names (Karen, the largest boulder, was 700 pounds).
me‧tic‧u‧lous / məˈtɪkjələs, mɪˈtɪkjələs / adjective
very careful about small details, and always making sure that everything is done correctly :

They planted wooden stakes around the stones, surmising that if ice sheets were responsible, the ice would be frozen to the stakes, thereby immobilizing the stones.
sur‧mise / səˈmaɪz $ sər- / verb [ transitive ]
formal to guess that something is true, using the information you know already

Enter Ralph Lorenz, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University. In 2006, as part of a project with NASA, Lorenz was setting up a network of miniaturized weather stations in Death Valley.
min‧ia‧tur‧ize ( also miniaturise British English ) / ˈmɪnətʃəraɪz, ˈmɪnɪtʃəraɪz $ ˈmɪniə- / verb [ transitive ]
to make something in a very small size

As the research team studied weather patterns on the Racetrack, they also looked for rocks that seemed to move on their own in other environments. Scanning the scientific literature, Lorenz learned that the buoyancy of ice helped float boulders onto arctic tidal beaches, creating barricades along the shore.
buoy‧an‧cy / ˈbɔɪənsi $ ˈbɔɪənsi, ˈbuːjənsi / noun [ uncountable ]
1 the ability of an object to float

boul‧der / ˈbəʊldə $ ˈboʊldər / noun [ countable ]
a large round piece of rock

bar‧ri‧cade 1 / ˈbærəkeɪd, ˈbærɪkeɪd, ˌbærəˈkeɪd / noun [ countable ]
a temporary wall or fence across a road, door etc that prevents people from going through :

Eventually, Lorenz employed a tried-and-true method for testing his nascent idea: the kitchen-table experiment.
nas‧cent / ˈnæs ə nt / adjective [ usually before noun ] formal
coming into existence or starting to develop :

“Basically, a slab of ice forms around a rock, and the liquid level changes so that the rock gets floated out of the mud,” he explains.
slab / slæb / noun [ countable ]
1 a thick flat piece of a hard material such as stone :

“It’s a small floating ice sheet which happens to have a keel facing down that can dig a trail in the soft mud.”
keel 1 / kiːl / noun
1 on an even keel steady, without any sudden changes

In a way, though, Lorenz’ physical explanation really need not diminish the feeling of awe the sailing stones bring about—it can heighten it.
awe 1 / ɔː $ ɒː / noun [ uncountable ]
1 a feeling of great respect and liking for someone or something :
He felt great awe for the landscape.

As human societies rise and fall, and as cities are constructed and then left to disintegrate, the stones will glide gradually around their playa, turning back and forth.
dis‧in‧te‧grate / dɪsˈɪntəɡreɪt, dɪsˈɪntɪɡreɪt / verb
1 [ intransitive and transitive ] to break up, or make something break up, into very small pieces :

Frozen in ice and nudged by the slightest of breezes, they will endlessly carve mysterious, zigzagging paths into the hard flat ground.
nudge / nʌdʒ / verb
3 [ intransitive always + adverb/preposition ] to move forward slowly by pushing gently

neverland1021

【每日阅读训练第四期——速度越障20系列】【20-15】科技
http://forum.chasedream.com/foru ... &fromuid=614107

former Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson wrote, "The new availability of huge amounts of data, along with the statistical tools to crunch these numbers, offers a whole new way of understanding the world.
crunch 2 verb
3 crunch (the) numbers to do a lot of calculations in order to find an answer :

Correlation supersedes causation, and science can advance even without coherent models, unified theories, or really any mechanistic explanation at all.
co‧her‧ent AC / kəʊˈhɪərənt $ koʊˈhɪr- / adjective
3 if a group is coherent, its members are connected or united because they share common aims, qualities, or beliefs :

People still care about causation, mechanisms, and coherent theories, but in many disciplines, researchers are looking to supplement those traditional elements of science, harvesting gains from the data deluge by, in effect, learning from Google.
deluge 2 verb [ transitive ]
1 [ usually passive ] to send a very large number of letters, questions etc to someone all at the same time SYN flood

I spent a decade learning by osmosis from all the brilliant people around me," says Hunter, who is considered one of the founders of bioinformatics.
os‧mo‧sis / ɒzˈməʊsəs, ɒzˈməʊsɪs $ ɑːzˈmoʊ- / noun [ uncountable ]
1 if you learn facts or understand ideas by osmosis, you gradually learn them by hearing them often  

He has published seminal papers in his field and written a life sciences textbook aimed at non-life scientists: The Processes of Life: An Introduction to Molecular Biology.
sem‧i‧nal / ˈsemən ə l, ˈsemɪn ə l / adjective
1 formal a seminal article, book etc is important, and influences the way things develop in the future :

He was inspired to sign up for "Introduction to Experimental Biology," after squaring away the requirements for his master's degree.
square 3 verb [ transitive ]
square something ↔ away phrasal verb [ usually passive ] American English
to finish something, especially by putting the last details in order :
Get your work squared away before you leave.

neverland1021

【每日阅读训练第四期——速度越障20系列】【20-08】科技
http://forum.chasedream.com/foru ... &fromuid=614107

Grains from Siberian peat bog may be remnants of the biggest Earth impact in recorded history.
peat / piːt / noun
[ uncountable ] a black substance formed from decaying plants under the surface of the ground in some areas, which can be burned as a FUEL , or mixed with soil to help plants grow well

bog 1 / bɒɡ $ bɑːɡ, bɒːɡ / noun
1 [ uncountable and countable ] an area of low wet muddy ground, sometimes containing bushes or grasses → marsh , swamp
2 [ countable ] British English informal a toilet

On 30 June 1908, a powerful blast ripped open the sky near the Podkamennaya Tunguska river in Russia and flattened more than 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
rip 1 S3 / rɪp / verb ( past tense and past participle ripped , present participle ripping )
1 [ intransitive and transitive ] to tear something or be torn quickly and violently :

Hundreds of microscopic magnetic spheres have been found in the 1950s and 1960s in Tunguska soil samples, but there is continuing debate about whether they are the remnants of a vaporized meteor.
mi‧cro‧scop‧ic / ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk◂ $ -ˈskɑː- / adjective
1 extremely small and therefore very difficult to see :

The lack of samples has allowed wild speculation about the cause of the event, with some of the more esoteric explanations invoking antimatter and black holes.
es‧o‧ter‧ic / ˌesəˈterɪk◂, ˌiːsə- / adjective
known and understood by only a few people who have special knowledge about something :

Transmission electron microscopy showed that the carbon grains were finely veined with iron-based minerals including troilite, schreibersite and the iron–nickel alloy taenite.
veined / veɪnd / adjective
having a pattern of thin lines on the surface :

In May, a paper posted to the preprint server arXiv claiming to have found pebbles from the Tunguska meteor was quickly dismissed by field specialists
peb‧ble / ˈpeb ə l / noun [ countable ]
a small smooth stone found especially on a beach or on the bottom of a river :

As such, the trick is arguably closer to ‘disappearances’ staged in Victorian music hall using arrangements of slanted mirrors than to the modern use of substances called metamaterials to achieve invisibility by guiding light rays in unnatural ways.
slant‧ed / ˈslɑːntəd, ˈslɑːntɪd $ ˈslæn- / adjective
1 providing facts or information in a way that unfairly supports only one side of an argument or one opinion – used to show disapproval SYN biased

In principle, metamaterials can create ‘perfect’ cloaking — which makes the cloak itself invisible as well as its contents.
met•a•ma•te•ri•al / ˈmetəməˌtɪəriəl $ -ˌtɪr- / noun [ countable ] technical
an artificial material that has qualities that natural materials do not have

Chen’s coworker Baile Zhang of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, as well as John Pendry at Imperial College London, and their coworkers have shown that a compromise of partial visible-light cloaking of macroscopic objects can be attained using blocks of transparent materials such as calcite crystal, in which light propagates at different speeds in different directions.
prop‧a‧gate / ˈprɒpəɡeɪt $ ˈprɑː- / verb formal
1 [ transitive ] formal to spread an idea, belief etc to many people :

neverland1021

【Native Speaker每日综合训练—44系列】【44-14】文史哲
http://forum.chasedream.com/foru ... &fromuid=614107

And many of the potential successes it can point to—the ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations, the removal of Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons, the promising early days of the Russia “reset” before that took a very unfortunate turn—involved looking the other way on some pretty egregious human rights abuses.
e‧gre‧gious / ɪˈɡriːdʒəs / adjective formal
an egregious mistake, failure, problem etc is extremely bad and noticeable

Obama’s last visit to the country, in 2012, was indeed a historic opening to a place that had spent years as a North Korea-like pariah.
pa‧ri‧ah / pəˈraɪə, ˈpæriə / noun [ countable ]
someone who everyone hates and avoids SYN outcast


In exchange for some sanctions relief, Myanmar’s military leaders allowed landmark elections in 2012 in which longtime democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament.
sanc‧tion 1 / ˈsæŋkʃ ə n / noun
1 sanctions [ plural ] official orders or laws stopping trade, communication etc with another country, as a way of forcing its leaders to make political changes → embargo

In a speech at West Point last May, Obama touted the country’s progress, saying, “Thanks to the enormous courage of the people in that country, and because we took the diplomatic initiative, American leadership, we have seen political reforms opening a once closed society.”
tout 1 / taʊt / verb
1 [ transitive ] to praise something or someone in order to persuade people that they are important or worth a lot :

Things look a bit different now. Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims in the country’s west are being held in camps where a U.N. official recently described conditions as containing an “element of genocide,” and the country’s parliament is considering new restrictions on freedom of religion.
gen‧o‧cide / ˈdʒenəsaɪd / noun [ uncountable ]
the deliberate murder of a whole group or race of people →

And even she, the Nobel Prize laureate and world-famous activist whom Obama will once again meet with on his trip, has disappointed many of her international admirers with her silence on the plight of the Rohingya.
plight 1 / plaɪt / noun [ usually singular ]
a very bad situation that someone is in

“The lady” is, after all, a politician now, and one whose grasp on power is looking ever more tenuous.
ten‧u‧ous / ˈtenjuəs / adjective
1 a situation or relationship that is tenuous is uncertain, weak, or likely to change :

Given that Washington is already pivoting to 2016 politics, Myanmar’s backsliding also doesn’t look great for Hillary Clinton, who, in 2011, was the first senior U.S. official to visit Myanmar in 50 years.
piv‧ot 1 / ˈpɪvət / noun [ countable ]
2 [ usually singular ] ( also pivot point ) the most important thing in a situation, system etc, which other things depend on or are based on

Of course, the story isn’t over. Myanmar’s path to reform was inevitably going to be bumpy, and Obama will no doubt address its recent backsliding during his visit (as he’s being widely urged to do).
bump‧y / ˈbʌmpi / adjective ( comparative bumpier , superlative bumpiest )
1 a bumpy surface is flat but has a lot of raised parts, so it is difficult to walk or drive on it SYN uneven OPP smooth :
a bumpy road

Like DACA, Obama’s forthcoming plan will be based on “prosecutorial discretion,” which affords a president plenty of wiggle room to decide how he wants to enforce the laws that are on the books.
pros‧e‧cu‧tor / ˈprɒsɪkjuːtə $ ˈprɑːsɪkjuːtər / noun [ countable ]
a lawyer who is trying to prove in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime

wig‧gle / ˈwɪɡ ə l / verb [ intransitive and transitive ]
to move with small movements from side to side or up and down, or to make something move like this :

Once Obama leaves office, that prosecutorial discretion will fall to his successor, be that President Hillary Clinton, President Chris Christie, or anyone else.
di‧scre‧tion AC / dɪˈskreʃ ə n / noun [ uncountable ]
1 the ability and right to decide exactly what should be done in a particular situation

Obama could offer what is known as “parole in place” to that group, allowing them to stay in the country legally while the green card process plays out.
Play out: happen

It will affect millions of immigrants directly and millions more indirectly, and it will also set a precedent that the next president will have to grapple with.
grap‧ple / ˈɡræp ə l / verb [ intransitive ]
to fight or struggle with someone, holding them tightly SYN wrestle

neverland1021

【Native Speaker每日综合训练—44系列】【44-20】文史哲
http://forum.chasedream.com/foru ... &fromuid=614107

in‧ter‧sperse / ˌɪntəˈspɜːs $ -tərˈspɜːrs / verb [ transitive usually passive ]
1 be interspersed with something if something is interspersed with a particular kind of thing, it has a lot of them in it :

tes‧ti‧mo‧ni‧al / ˌtestəˈməʊniəl, ˌtestɪˈməʊniəl $ -ˈmoʊ- / noun [ countable ]
1 a formal written statement describing someone’s character and abilities → reference

ru‧bric / ˈruːbrɪk / noun [ countable ]
2 a title under which particular things are mentioned or discussed :
The names were listed under the rubric ‘Contributors’.

Buffy Wicks, the executive director of the super PAC Priorities USA Action, started one sentence with “When Hillary Clinton decides to run…,” dispensing with the façade.
fa‧cade , façade / fəˈsɑːd, fæ- / noun [ countable ]
2 [ usually singular ] a way of behaving that hides your real feelings :

It was an odd event: reporters asked questions about Hillary Clinton’s plans and policy agenda to a group of people who knew as little as anyone about her presumptive campaign and its messaging.
pre‧sump‧tive / prɪˈzʌmptɪv / adjective formal or technical
based on a reasonable belief about what is likely to be true :

In that sense, the Ready for Hillary meeting was the perfect embodiment of the Democrats’ current Hillary problem: everyone in the party seems to be supporting her, and yet nobody can articulate exactly why.
em‧bod‧i‧ment / ɪmˈbɒdɪmənt $ ɪmˈbɑː- / noun
the embodiment of something someone or something that represents or is very typical of an idea or quality

The meeting came at the end of an eventful week—one that only underscored Clinton’s continued reluctance to explain what she might want to do as President.
un‧der‧score / ˌʌndəˈskɔː $ -dərˈskɔːr / verb [ transitive ] especially American English
1 to emphasize the fact that something is important or true SYN underline

It has become a defining issue for U.S. environmentalists, and was one of the most politically charged and significant issues that Clinton faced during her time at State—and yet her memoir, “Hard Choices,” contains not a single mention of Keystone.
mem‧oir / ˈmemwɑː $ -wɑːr / noun [ countable ]
1 memoirs [ plural ] a book by someone important and famous in which they write about their life and experiences :

When the Senate this week debated a bill to force Obama to build the pipeline—rallied by Mary Landrieu, the Democratic senator from Louisiana, who faces a runoff election in December—Clinton still had nothing to say.
rally 2 verb ( past tense and past participle rallied , present participle rallying , third person singular rallies )
1 [ intransitive and transitive ] to come together, or to bring people together, to support an idea, a political party etc

Scrutiny focused on the bulk collection of telephone records, not the content of the conversations or the identities of callers but a database of phone numbers, and the time and duration of calls, that could be examined if there was a reasonable suspicion that a particular number was associated with terrorism,” she writes, with clinical detachment, in assessing the fallout.
fall‧out / ˈfɔːlaʊt $ ˈfɒːl- / noun [ uncountable ]
2 the results of a particular event, especially when they are unexpected :

She offers the usual platitudes about balancing security and liberty but gives no indication of whether she believes that the program under which the N.S.A. collects Americans’ phone records should be continued as is, modified, or scrapped.
plat‧i‧tude / ˈplætətjuːd, ˈplætɪtjuːd $ -tuːd / noun [ countable ] formal
a statement that has been made many times before and is not interesting or clever – used to show disapproval :

But, despite the clear remarks about Ferguson and immigration, Clinton’s views on many crucial issues remain opaque.
o‧paque / əʊˈpeɪk $ oʊ- / adjective [ usually before noun ]
1 opaque glass or liquid is difficult to see through and often thick OPP transparent :

neverland1021

【Native Speaker每日综合训练—45系列】【45-05】经管
http://forum.chasedream.com/foru ... &fromuid=614107

Tablet makers seem to have snapped up a hefty share of the prime-time TV spots as they vie for the holiday gift sales that often deliver a major chunk of annual revenues for retailers and manufacturers. Politicians could glean some tips about negative ad campaigns this season by watching Apple’s competitors dissect the iPad, the 2013 worldwide market leader with 36 percent of units sold.
snap up:
to eagerly take an opportunity to have something as a part of your company, team
vie / vaɪ / verb ( past tense and past participle vied , present participle vying , third person singular vies ) [ intransitive ]
to compete very hard with someone in order to get something

hef‧ty / ˈhefti / adjective [ usually before noun ]
2 a hefty amount of something, especially money, is very large :
a hefty fine

glean / ɡliːn / verb
1 [ transitive ] to find out information slowly and with difficulty

dis‧sect / dɪˈsekt, daɪ- / verb [ transitive ]
2 to examine something carefully in order to understand it :
books in which the lives of famous people are dissected

To get a feel for that market, forecast at $27.3 billion for U.S. tablet sales alone this year by the Consumer Electronics Association, I met with Intel executive Chris Walker at a downtown San Francisco eatery recently.
eat‧e‧ry / ˈiːtəri / noun ( plural eateries ) [ countable ]
especially informal American English a restaurant or other place to eat :

Santa Clara, CA-based Intel is a tech industry stalwart with a strong track record in PCs and servers, and $9.6 billion in net income in 2013.
stal‧wart 1 / ˈstɔːlwət $ ˈstɒːlwərt / noun [ countable ]
someone who is very loyal to a particular organization or set of ideas, and works hard for them :

And it’s not leaving the marketing chores to its tablet partners alone: Intel publishes a magazine-style holiday buying guide to the various tablet models containing its chips, and stages events called Experience Zones at stores where consumers can test-drive the devices in person.
chore / tʃɔː $ tʃɔːr / noun [ countable ]
2 something you have to do that is very boring and unpleasant :

One strategy is to try to please everyone by stuffing into a tablet almost everything you’d find in a laptop. Walker gives a rationale for people to replace their laptops—when they’re a venerable four years old—with one of the smaller, lighter, tablets equipped with detachable keyboards.
ven‧e‧ra‧ble / ˈven ə rəb ə l / adjective
1 [ usually before noun ] formal a venerable person or thing is respected because of their great age, experience etc – often used humorously :