The Economist Asia Edition - 17 January 2025

Word Explanation(accurate)

Obituary(讣告)

fling

Without warning, he flung the door open.

1. (v.) fling sb./sth. +adv./prep. to throw somebody/something somewhere with force, especially because you are angry
2. to move yourself or part of your body suddenly and with a lot of force
3. to say something to somebody in an aggressive way
4. (n.) a short period of enjoyment when you do not allow yourself to worry or think seriously about anything
5. a short sexual relationship with somebody

Examples:

1. Someone had flung a brick through the window.
2. She flung herself to the bed.
3. They were flinging insults at each other.
4. He was determined to have one last fling before retiring.
5. We had a brief fling, but it’s over now.

desolate

with desolate wilderness all around.

1. (adj.) (of a place) empty and without people, making you feel sad or frightened
2. very lonely and unhappy
3. (v.) to make somebody feel sad and without hope

Examples:

1. a bleak and desolate landscape
2. The thought that her husband did not want the baby made her feel utterly desolate.
3. She had been desolated by the death of her friend.

slam

But as soon as she left he slammed the door…

1. (v.) to shut, or to make something shut, with a lot of force, making a loud noise
2. to put, push or throw something into a particular place or position with a lot of force
3. to criticize somebody/something very strongly
4. (n.) an act of slamming something; the noise of something being slammed

Examples:

1. I heard the door slam behind him.
2. She slammed down the phone angrily.
3. The government has been slammed for failing to take firm action against drinking and driving.
4. She gave the door a hard slam.

cliff

(n.) a high area of rock with a very steep side, often at the edge of the sea or ocean(峭壁)

instinct

(n.) a natural tendency for people and animals to behave in a particular way using the knowledge and sbilities that they were born with rather than thought or training(本能，直觉)

Examples:

1. His first instinct was to run away.
2. Her instincts had been right.

seduce

1. (v.) seduce sb. to persuade somebody to have sex with you, especially somebody who is younger or who has less experience than you
2. seduce sb. (into sth./into doing sth.) to persuade somebody to do something that they would not usually agree to do by making it seem very attrctive

Examples:

1. The promise of huge profits seduced him into parting with his money.
2. advertisements that seduce us with promise

devastate

1. (v.) devastate sth. to complately destroy a place or an area
2. devastate sb. to make somebody feel very shocked and sad

Example: The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city.

dull

1. (adj.) not interesting or exciting
2. not bright or shiny
3. (sounds) not clear or loud
4. (pain) not very severe, but continuous
5. (person) slow in understanding(迟钝的)
6. 指生意萧条的
7. (v.) to become or be made weaker or less severe
8. to make a person slower or less lively
9. to become or to make something less bright, lean or sharp

Examples:

1. Life in a small town could be deadly dull.
2. a dull grey color/day
3. The gates shut behind him with a dull thud.
4. a dull ache/pain/pupil
5. Don’t sell into a dull market.
6. The heat dulled the enjoyment of the journey.
7. He felt dulled and stupid with the sleep.
8. The endless rain seemed to dull all sound.

flee

(v.) to leave a person or place very quickly, especially because you are afraid of possible danger

Example: She burst into tears and fled.

jealous

1. (adj.) feeling angry or unhappy because somebody you like or love is showing interest in somebody else
2. feeling angry or unhappy because you wish you had something that somebody else has
3. want to keep or protect something that you have because it makes you feel proud

Examples:

1. He’s only talking to her to make you jealous.
2. She’s jealous of my success.
3. They are very jealous of their good reputation.(=they don’t want to lose it)

shallow

1. (adj.) not have much distance between the top or surface and the bottom
2. not showing serious thought, feelings about something

Examples:

1. The fish are found in shallow waters around the coast.
2. This shows how shallow their commitment to the environment really is.

sentimental

1. (adj.) connected with your emotions, rather than reason
2. (often disapproving) producing emotions such as pity, romantic love or sadness, which may be too strong or not appropriate; feeling these emotions too much

Examples:

1. He has a strong sentimental attachment to the place.
2. She’s too sentimental about her cat.

refrigerator

冰箱

adore

1. (v.) adore sb. to love somebody very much
2. to like something very much

Examples

1. It’s obvious that she adores him.
2. Don’t you adore that dress!

Rooted Words

1. adorable (adj.) very attractive; delightful; lovable(可爱的)
2. adoring (adj.) showing great love(表示爱慕的)
3. adoration (n.) great love or worship

dramatic

1. (adj.) sudden, very great and often surprising
2. exciting and impressive
3. connected with the theatre or plays
4. exaggerated in order to create a special effect and attract people’s attention

Examples:

1. The announcement had a dramatic effect on house prices.
2. They watched dramatic pictures of the polic raid on TV.
3. He flung out his arms in a dramatic gesture.

episode

1. (n.) an event, a situation, or a period of time in somebody’s life, a novel that is important or interesting in some way
2. one part of a story that is broadcast on television or radio in several parts

Examples:

1. It was an episode in his life that he was not proud of.
2. The soap opera is ending after 175 episodes.

wrangle

1. (n.) an argument that is complicated and continues over a long period of time
2. (v.) to argue angrily and usually for a long time about something

Examples:

1. He is currently locked in a bitter wrangle with his wife over custody of the children.
2. They’re still wrangling over the financial details.

disguise

1. (v.) to change your appearance so that people cannot recognize you
2. disguise sth. to hide something or change it, so that it cannot be recognized
3. (n.) a thing that you wear or use to change your appearance so that people do not recognize you
4. the art of changing your appearance so that people do not recognize you

Examples:

1. She disguised herself as a boy.
2. She made no attempt to disguise her surprise.
3. She wore glasses and a wig as a disguise.
4. He is a master of disguise.

peasant

1. (n.) a farmer who owns or rents a small piece of land
2. a person who is rude, behaves badly, or has little education

Examples:

1. peasant farming
2. He’s an absolute peasant.

endurance

she realised both the fragility of life and the endurance of love

(n.) the ability to continue doing something painful or difficult for a long period of time without complaining

Example: This event tests both physical and mental endurance.

snowflake

a small soft piece of frozen water that falls from the sky as snow(雪花)

Example: A single snowflake landed on her nose.

The state’s fiscal firepower

fiscal

connected with government or public money, especially taxes(税)

Example: the country’s fiscal system

deficit

1. (n.) the amount by which money spent or owed is greater than money earned in a particular period of time
2. the amount by which something, especially an amount of money, is too smaller or smaller than something else

Examples:

1. The trade balance has been in deficit for the past five years.
2. There’s a deficit of $3 million in the total needed to complete the project.

dismiss

1. (v.) to decide that somebody/something is not important and not worth thinking or talking about
2. to put thoughts or feelings out of your mind
3. to officially remove somebody from their job
4. to send somebody away or allow them to leave(遣散)
5. to say that a tial or legal case should not continue, usually because there is not enough evidence(驳回诉讼等)

Examples:

1. Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks.
2. Dismissing her fears, she climbed higher.
3. She claimed she was unfairly dismissed from her post.
4. At 12 o’clock the class was dismissed.
5. The case was dismissed.

prominent

1. (adj.) improtant or well known
2. easily seen
3. sticking out from something

Examples:

1. He played a prominent part in the campaign.
2. The story was given a prominent position on the front page.
3. prominent cheekbones(the bone below the eye)

shrink

1. (v.) shrink sth. to become smaller, especially when washed in water that is too hot; to make clothes, cloth smaller in this way
2. to become or to make something smaller in size or amount
3. to move back or away from something because you are frightened or shocked
4. (n.) a psychiatrist or psychologist

Examples:

1. My sweater shrank in the wash.
2. The markets for their products is shrinking.
3. He shrank back against the wall as he heard them approaching.
4. She sees her shrink once a week.

export

1. (v.) export sth. to sb. to sell and send goods to another country
2. to introduce an idea or activity to another country or area
3. (n.) the selling and transporting of goods to another country
4. a product that is sold to another country

Examples:

1. The islands export sugar and fruit.
2. American pop music has been exported around the world.
3. Then the fruit is packaged for export.
4. a fall in the value of exports

scheme

1. (n.) a plan or system for doing or organize something
2. a plan for getting money or some other advantaged for yourself, especially one that involves cheating other people
3. (v.)(disapproving) to make secret plans to do something that will help yourself and possibly harm others

Examples:

1. a local scheme for recycling newspapers
2. an elaborate scheme to avoid taxes
3. She seemed to feel that we were all scheming against her.

subsidy

money that is paid by government or an organization to reduce the costs of seervices or of producing goods so that their prices can be kept low(补助金)

Example: to reduce the level of subsidy

speculate

1. (v.) to form an opinion about something without knowing all the details or facts
2. to buy goods, property, shares hoping to make a profit when you sell them, but with the risk of losing money

Examples:

1. We all speculated about the reasons for her resignation.
2. He likes to speculate on the stock market.

renovate

to repair and paint an old building, a piece of furniture so that it is in good condition again

Example: They spent the summer renovating a farmhouse in Kent.

generosity

(n.) the fact of being generous

Example: He treated them with generosity and thoughtfulness.

fraction

1. (n.) a small part or amount of something
2. a division of a number, for example 3/5(分数)

Example: She hesitated for the merest fraction of a second.

enterprise

1. (n.) a company or business
2. a large project, especially one that is difficult
3. the development of business by the people of a country rather than by the government
4. the ability of think of new project and make them successful

Examples:

1. small and medium-sized enterprises
2. a joint enterprise
3. grants to encourage enterprise in the region
4. a man of enterprise

Added Words Explanation

utter

1. (adj.) used to emphasize how complete something is
2. (v.) utter sth. to make a sound with your voice; to say something

Examples:

1. To my utter amazement she agreed.
2. She did not utter a word during lunch.

bleak

1. (adj.) not encouraging or giving any reason to have hope
2. cold and unpleasant
3. exposed, empty, or with no pleasant features

Examples:

1. The future looks bleak for the fishing industry.
2. a bleak winter’s day
3. a bleak landscape/hiilside/moor

exaggerate

(v.) to make something seem larger, better, worse or more important than it really is

Examples: He tends to exaggerate the difficulties.

gesture

1. (n.) a movement that you make with your hands, your head or your face to show a particular meaning
2. something that you do or say to show a particular feeling or intention
3. (v.) to move your hands, head, face as a way of expressing what you mean or want

Examples:

1. He made a rude gesture at the driver of the other car.
2. The government has made a gesture towards public opinion.
3. They gestured that I should follow.

discreet

(adj.) careful in what you say or do, in order to keep something secret or to avoid causing embarrassment or difficulty for somebody

Example: He was always very discreet about his love affairs.

logic

1. (n.) a way of thinking or explaining something
2. sensible reansons for doing something
3. the science of thinking about or explaining the reason for something using formal methods
4. a system or set of principles used in prepareing a computer to perform a particular task

Examples:

1. I fail to see the logic behind his argument.
2. There is no logic in any of their claims.
3. the rules of logic

coherent

1. (adj.) logical and well organized; easy to understand and clear
2. able to talk and express yourself clearly

Examples:

1. a coherent police for the transport system
2. She only became coherent again two hours after the attack.

proper

propriety

(n.) moral and social behaviour that is considered to be correct and acceptable

Example: He complained to his mother that her daughter-in-law(儿媳) had no propriety and said he wanted to divorce her.

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Words Explanation(rough)

pension: 养老金，某些欧洲小旅馆

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Phrases

fall for

fall for sb. to be strongly attracted to somebody; to fall in love with somebody fall for sth. to be stricked into believing something that is not true

Examples:

1. They fell for each other instantly.
2. I’m surprised you fell for that trick.

by far

到目前为止

Example: They are by far the best students in the class.

make sense

logical, understandable, or coherent(有意义)

Example: The numbers made little sense.