Vocabulary

1. neutral

adj. neither positive nor negative

e.g. Behaviour is never culturally neutral, but always embedded within a shared set of meanings.

Synoyms: impartial/unbias/objective

2. duration

n. the period of time during which something continues to happen or exist

e.g. Periodic crises wrack the capitalist system, and they grow in size and duration.

3. subsequent

adj. happening or coming after something else

e.g. The subsequent rapport between the two principals assisted the transition process.

4. marginally

adv. by only a very small amount

e.g. The measures can only marginally reduce, not eliminate the hazards.

5. vulnerable

(1) adj. weak or easy to hurt physically or mentally

e.g. The virus attacks the immune system, leaving your body vulnerable to infections.

(2) someone who is vulnerable is weak or easy to hurt physically or mentally

e.g. Their constant arguments left her feeling increasingly vulnerable and insecure.

Noun: vulnerability

6. adjacent

adj. next to or near something else

e.g. The house adjacent to ours is under repair.

7. duplicate

(1) vt. create a situation that is exactly like another one

e.g. These two examples duplicate each other.

(2) vt. make an exact copy of something such as a document

e.g. The manager asks the secretary to duplicate the document.

(3) n. an exact copy of sth. that you can use in the same way

e.g. Is this a duplicate or the original?

8. frequency

n. the number of times that something happens during a period of time

e.g. Accidents are happening with increasing frequency.

Adjective: frequent

9. overlap

v. The edge of one fits over the edge of the other

e.g. Our concern and theirs substantially overlap.

Synoyms: imbricate/ lap/ conjunction/ coincide

10. deprivation

n. a situation in which you do not have something that you need or want

e.g. Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.

Verb: deprive

Phrases

1. alive and kicking

(1) still existing, not gone or forgotten

e.g. Traditional jazz is still alive and kicking in New Orleans.

(2) definitely alive

e.g. The carp were alive and kicking when they were dragged out of the river.

2. be bound to

(1) be certain to

e.g. It is inevitable that nationality clothing would be bound to be of fashion.

(2) be obliged by law, circumstances, or duty to

e.g. I'm bound to do what I can to help Sam.

(3) travelling towards a place

e.g.The train is bound for Beijing.

3. crop up

happen suddenly or unexpectedly

e.g. Misprints often crop up in the papers.

Sentences

1. Toast always lands butter side down.

When a piece of toast falls, it is always the side with butter on it that touches the ground.

2. Part of the explanation for bad luck is mathematical, but part is psychological.

The sentence means bad luck is not only a matter of the odds for or against something happening, but of our memories and attitudes.

3. This popular notion would be unlikely to stand the scrutiny of any scientific study, but it must have some basis in experience, otherwise the phrase would never have arisen in the first place.

The sentence means such a notion is well accepted even though it may not be explained scientifically, so it is assumed to be based on some real experience.

4. So badness is much better represented as being on a spectrum rather than something which is there or not there.

The sentence means that badness is not an either/or quality, but a matter of degree, and it exists on a continuum.

5. When it comes to bad things happening in threes, what may be most important of all is the duration and memorability of the first event.

The sentence means that the impact of the first unpleasant event and the length of time we remember it is the critical factor in the origin of the common idea that three bad events often occur together.

6. The timescale has been extended as long as is necessary to confirm the original prophecy.

The idea behind the sentence is that after one bad event, people predict two more and will wait a long time if necessary for them to happen and so to prove the prediction.

7. But it is more likely that a friend will tell you “three bad things have happened to me, isn’ t that typical” than “only two bad things have happened to me, which just proves that the theory doesn’ t work”.

Some times after the second bad event, nothing happens for a long time. We could tell people that our experience shows that the idea that bad luck comes in threes is wrong. But we do not. That seems to be asking for a third piece of bad luck to come along. Instead we wait for the third event and then say the old theory has been proved yet again.

8. ... while the latter is gone in seconds–and indeed is an experience no different from just driving along the open road – the red light forces a change of behaviour, a moment of exertion and stress, and then a deprivation of freedom for a minute or so.

When encountering a green light, the driver drives all the same without making any change, just like driving along a road with no obstructions. However, a red light makes a change, forcing the driver to slow down, which is not what he wants.