Language Study

●Word Study

Eligible / entitle / presume / tackle / unruly / assortment / bewildered / compliment / courtesy / cultivated

1. assortment

n. a collection containing a variety of sorts of things

Examples:

●This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.

●She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.

adj. of various different sorts

Examples:

●The meat is served with salad or assorted vegetables.

●She opened the top volume of the assorted books on the sofa.

2. bewildered

adj. completely confused, unable to make a decision about something or to understand it.

Examples:

●The human mind stands bewildered in the presence of its own creation.

v. to confuse somebody

Examples:

●The big city bewildered the old woman from the countryside.

●I was bewildered by the maze of streets in the city.

3. compliment

n. a polite remark that you say to someone to show that you like their appearance, appreciate their qualities, or approve of what they have done.

v. to tell somebody that you like or admire something they have done, their appearance, etc.

Examples:

●You can do no harm by paying a woman compliments.

●She complimented him on his excellent German.

4. courtesy

n. a. politeness, respect, and consideration for others

b. services that are provided free of charge by an organization to its customers, or to the general public

Examples:

●He is a gentleman who behaves with the utmost courtesy towards ladies.

●A courtesy shuttle bus operates between the hotel and the town.

5. cultivated

adj. a. having a high level of education and showing good manners

b. used to grow crops

c. grown on a farm, etc. in order to be sold

Examples:

●These cultivated individuals have been imbued with a sense of social purpose.

●The land around here has never been cultivated.

6. eligible

adj. a. Having the right to do or obtain something

b. (of a person) desirable or suitable as a partner in marriage

Examples:

●Almost half the population are eligible to vote in today's election.

●He is the most eligible bachelor in Korea.

7. entitle

v. a. to give somebody the right to have or to do something

b. to give a title to a book, play, etc.

Examples:

●If the warranty is limited, the terms may entitle you to a replacement or refund...

●They are entitled to first class travel...

●He read a novel entitled “Book Thief”.

8. presume

v. a. to suppose that sth. is true, although you do not have actual proof.

b. to accept something is true until it is shown not to be true.

Examples:

●Let’s presume he had told the truth.

●An accused man is presumed innocent until he is proved guilty.

9. tackle

v. a. to make a determined effort to deal with a difficult problem or situation

b. the equipment used to do a particular sport or activity, esp. fishing

Examples:

●The government is determined to tackle inflation.

10. unruly

adj. difficult to control or manage

Examples:

●It's not good enough just to blame the unruly children.

●Phrases and Expressions

List:

to one’s name / to throw in / fair and square / to live off / Let bygones be bygones / on top of sth. / to get sth. out of the way

1. to one’s name

prep. phrase (often with negative) have in one’s possession 某人名下

Examples:

●Jimmy hadn’t a bean to his name.

●I have just two evening dresses to my name.

2. throw in

v. to add (something extra) at no additional cost 额外奉送; 免费外加

Examples:

●You can have the piano for $200, and I will throw in the stool as well.

●They were offering me a weekend break in Paris — with free beer thrown in.

3. fair and square

a. honestly and according to the rules 诚实，光明正大

b. exactly in the place you were aiming for 不偏不斜 ，正中目标

Example:

●We won the election fair and square.

●I hit the target fair and square

Safe and sound    安全

Odds and ends    零星物品

Now and then   不时

Wear and tear    磨损严重

Down and out    穷困潦倒

Skin and bone    皮包骨

Heart and soul     全心全意

4. live off

v. to rely on sth. or sb. to provide you money 靠…过日子

Examples:

●He lives off a vegetable garden.

●She still lives off her parents.

5. Let bygones be bygones

●to decided to forget about the disagreements that happened in the past

过去的事就让它过去吧

Examples:

●Let bygones be bygones. Tomorrow is another day.

6. on top of sth.

●in addition to sth. 除……之外

Examples:

●He lost his job and on top of that his wife left him

●On top of his accident, he caught pneumonia.

7. get sth. out of the way

v. to finish sth. first so that you can do sth. else 处理掉某事

Examples:

●I got my required course out of the way, and now I can study the things I am really excited about.

8. get out

v. to publish 出版

Examples:

●He gets out two short stories this year.

9. get sth. straight

●to make s situation clear, to make sure that you or sb. else understands the situation 搞清楚，了解

Examples:

●Get straight to the point. Don't beat about the bush.

●Let’s get this straight — you really had no idea where he was?

10. next to nothing

●very little 几乎没有

Examples:

●I paid next to nothing for this coat.

●We may get something in total, but averaging it out, each of us will get only next to nothing.

●Word Building

List:

●suffix – bility

●Compound words

●Grammar

Rhetorical questions

Definition

Rhetoric questions are those you use to express a strong feeling, opinion or impression without expecting an answer.

Example:

Are we living in the Middle Ages, Mr. Van Dusen?

Rhetorical questions

Positive yes-/no-question form. (making a negative assertion)

Eg. Do you plan to put pearls in oysters for them, too?

Negative yes-/no- questions form (making a positive assertion)

Eg. Don’t you want to open it first?

Positive wh- question form. (making a negative assertion)

Eg. What do you want with a chair with only three legs?

Negative wh- questions form (making a positive assertion)

Eg. Why don’t you just go on home and give the money to your mother?

Statement/Command+do you/will you/are you/is it, etc. (making a request, suggestion/offering help, etc.)

Eg. Keep an eye on Clay, will you?