Lesson 36 A chance in a million 【单词列表】

credulous [ˈkredjuləs] adj. 轻信的

【派】credulously 轻信地

【例】He is credulous of rumors.

   他容易相信谣言。

improbable [imˈprɔbəbəl] adj. 不大可能的

obscure [əbˈskjuə] adj. 不起眼的,v. 遮掩,模糊

【搭】obscure origin 卑微的出身

* * *

A: Why didn't you find it yesterday?

B: It's in an obscure corner, and I didn't notice it.

A:你为什么昨天没找到它?

B:它在一个不起眼的角落,我没有注意到。

* * *

maidservant [ˈmeidˌsəːvənt] n. 女仆,女佣

presume [priˈzjuːm] v. 假定

【派】presumption 假定,认定

【搭】presume on 利用

【例】We must presume innocence until we have evidence of guilty.

   除非我们有罪证,否则我们应做无罪推定。

wicked [ˈwikid] adj. 坏心眼的,居心叵测的

【派】wickedly 坏心眼地

【扩】splenetic 恶意的

【例】He denied that he had done anything wicked.

   他否认做过任何邪恶的勾当。

plot [plɔt] v. 密谋

downfall [ˈdaunfɔːl] n. 倒台,垮台

【构】down(向下)+fall(落下,垮台)=downfall(倒台)

【扩】collapse 垮台

【例】The crisis led to the downfall of the then government.

   危机导致当时的政府倒台了。

naive [nɑːˈiːv] adj. 天真的

* * *

A: The cheater boasted that he could turn stone into gold.

B: She is so naive as to believe such a lie.

A:那个骗子吹嘘道,他能点石成金。

B:她竟然幼稚得连这种谎言都相信。

* * *

unacceptable [ˌʌnəkˈseptəbl] adj. 不能接受的

【例】His proposal is unacceptable.

   他的建议无法接受。

conspire [kənˈspaiə] v. (事件)巧合促成

【派】conspirator 共谋者

【扩】push through 促成

* * *

A: They conspired to bring about the meeting of Jack and Susan.

B: They are so enthusiastic.

A:他们共同促成了杰克和苏珊的会面。

B:他们真热心。

* * *

incredible [inˈkredəbəl] adj. 难以置信的

【构】in(表示否定的前缀)+credible(可信的)=incredible(难以置信的)

【扩】unbelievable 难以置信的

* * *

A: That's incredible. You made it in such a short time.

B: Through sustained effort, of course.

A:真是难以置信。这么短的时间你就完成了。

B:当然得通过不懈的努力。

* * *

resemblance [riˈzembləns] n. 相似

【扩】similarity 相似,类似

* * *

A: There is a strong resemblance between Mike and Andy.

B: But they have different characters.

A:迈克和安迪相貌特别相似。

B:但是个性不像。

* * *

scorn [skɔːn] n. 嘲弄,挖苦

acquaint [əˈkweint] v. 使了解

【派】acquaintance 认识

【搭】acquaint oneself with 了解

【例】They entreat me to acquaint her with it.

   他们一定要我把这件事告诉她。

reunite [ˌriːjuːˈnait] v. 使团聚

assume [əˈsjuːm] v. 假定,认为,采用

【扩】adopt 采用,收养  presume 假定

credulous

/ˈkredʒələs/adj. 轻信的
JIf you describe someone as credulous, you have a low opinion of them because they are too ready to believe what people tell them and are easily deceived. 轻信的

adjective [原级]轻信的;因轻信而产生的 - quack doctors charming money out of the pockets of credulous health-hungry citizens.  ...

improbable

🇬🇧/ɪmˈprɒbəbl/ 🇺🇸/ɪmˈprɑːbəbl/adj. 不大可能的
Something that is improbable is unlikely to be true or to happen. 不大可能的

adjective [原级]不大可能的,未必确实的;不可信的;未必会发生的 - If you describe something as improbable, you mean it is strange, unusual, or ridiculous.

obscure

🇬🇧/əbˈskjʊə(r)/ 🇺🇸/əbˈskjʊr/adj. 不起眼的
If something or someone is obscure, they are unknown, or are known by only a few people. 鲜为人知的

adjective [原级]难以说清楚的(remain obscure),模糊的;鲜为人知的(an obscure maidservant),默默无闻的(an obscure little village);未被查实的,不确定的;费解的,晦涩的 - Something that is obscure is difficult to understand or deal with, usually because it involves so many parts or details.

verb [vt. 及物动词]遮掩,遮蔽;使费解 - If one thing obscures another, it prevents it from being seen or heard properly.

verb [vt. 及物动词]遮掩,遮蔽;使费解 - If one thing obscures another, it prevents it from being seen or heard properly.

noun [抽象名词]某种模糊的或不清楚的东西 - Her poetry is full of obscure literary allusion.

maidservant

🇬🇧/ˈmeɪdsɜːvənt/ 🇺🇸/ˈmeɪdsɜːrvənt/n. 女仆,女佣
a female servant 女佣人

noun [专属名词]女佣,女仆 - You look like my old maidservant at this time.

presume *

🇬🇧/prɪˈzjuːm/ 🇺🇸/prɪˈzuːm/v. 假定
If you presume that something is the case, you think that it is the case, although you are not certain. 推测

verb [vt. 及物动词]料想,(不肯定地)认为;假设,设想;(法律上或官方)假定,推定;擅自,冒昧;意味着;<正式>擅作主张,冒昧 - If you say that someone presumes to do something, you mean that they do it even though they have no right to do it.

wickedly

/ˈwɪkɪdli/adv. 心眼坏地,居心叵测地
in a way that is morally bad or evil: The villain laughed wickedly from the tower where he was keeping the princess hostage.

adverb [方式副词]恶劣地;居心叵测地 - He that lives wickedly can hardly die honestly.

plot

🇬🇧/plɒt/ 🇺🇸/plɑːt/v. 密谋
A plot is a secret plan by a group of people to do something that is illegal or wrong, usually against a person or a government. 阴谋

noun [抽象名词]阴谋,密谋;情节;(专用的)小块地;(表现两个变量关系的)图表;<美>图表,地图;<美>底层平面图 - The plot of a film, novel, or play is the connected series of events which make up the story.

verb [vt. 及物动词]密谋,暗中策划;(在地图上)画出,标出;构思(情节);绘制(曲线);绘制(图表);在图表上标记,布置;用图表说明;计划,制订 - If people plot to do something or plot something that is illegal or wrong, they plan secretly to do it.

downfall

/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/n. 倒台,垮台
The downfall of a successful or powerful person or institution is their loss of success or power. 垮台

noun [抽象名词]垮台;衰败;落下;大雨 - The thing that was a person's downfall caused them to fail or lose power.

naive

/naɪˈiːv/adj. 天真的
If you describe someone as naive, you think they lack experience and so expect things to be easy or people to be honest or kind. 幼稚的

adjective [原级]天真的,幼稚的;(艺术风格)朴素的,原始的;缺乏阅历的,轻信他人的 - It's naive to think that teachers are always tolerant.

adverb [方式副词]幼稚地 - ...naively applying Western solutions to Eastern problems.  …

unacceptable

/ˌʌnəkˈseptəbl/adj. 不能接受的
If you describe something as unacceptable, you strongly disapprove of it or object to it and feel that it should not be allowed to continue. 不能接受的

adjective [原级]不能接受的;不受欢迎的 - It is totally unacceptable for children to swear.

conspire

🇬🇧/kənˈspaɪə(r)/ 🇺🇸/kənˈspaɪər/v. (事件)巧合促成
If two or more people or groups conspire to do something illegal or harmful, they make a secret agreement to do it. 合谋

verb [vt. 及物动词]密谋,共谋;共同导致 - If events conspire to produce a particular result, they seem to work together to cause this result.

incredible

/ɪnˈkredəb(ə)l/adj. 不可思议的
If you describe something or someone as incredible, you like them very much or are impressed by them, because they are extremely or unusually good. 极好的

adjective [原级]不可思议的,难以置信的;惊人的,极大的,极多的;了不起的,极好的 - If you say that something is incredible, you mean that it is very unusual or surprising, and you cannot believe it is really true, although it may be.

resemblance

/rɪˈzembləns/n. 相似
If there is a resemblance between two people or things, they are similar to each other. 相似之处

noun [抽象名词]相似,相像;相似点,相似之处;相似物 - There was a remarkable resemblance between him and Pete.

scorn

🇬🇧/skɔːn/ 🇺🇸/skɔːrn/n. 嘲弄,挖苦
If you treat someone or something with scorn, you show contempt for them. 轻蔑; 鄙视

noun [抽象名词]蔑视,轻视;嗤之以鼻的态度;<古> 被鄙视的人 - Researchers greeted the proposal with scorn.

verb [vt. 及物动词]鄙视,嘲笑;拒绝,不屑于做;批评,抨击 - If you scorn someone or something, you feel or show contempt for them.

acquaint

/əˈkweɪnt/v. 使了解
If you acquaint someone with something, you tell them about it so that they know it. If you acquaint yourself with something, you learn about it. 使了解

verb [vt. 及物动词]使熟悉,使了解 - Have steps been taken to acquaint breeders with their right to apply for licenses?

reunite

🇬🇧/ˌriːjuˈnaɪt/ 🇺🇸/ˌriːjuˈnaɪt/v. 使团聚
If people are reunited, or if they reunite, they meet each other again after they have been separated for some time. 重聚

verb [vt. 及物动词](使)团聚,(使)重聚;(使)再结合,(使)重新团结 - If a divided organization or country is reunited, or if it reunites, it becomes one united organization or country again.

assume *

🇬🇧/əˈsjuːm/ 🇺🇸/əˈsuːm/v. 假定,认为
to voluntarily take upon oneself. assume a risk. to take over (the debts or obligations of another) as one's own.

verb [vt. 及物动词]假定,假设,认为;装出,做出;承担,就职;呈现,具有;夺取,篡夺 - We were wrong to assume she'd agree.