们有一半员工被解雇了。
<26>grief
grief (n.) ---grieve (v.);
n. 1. [U] extreme sadness 悲伤，忧伤
EG: You mustn't say \person's grief is unique.
你不能说 “我知道你的感受”，因为每个人的悲伤心情都只有自己能体会。
I'd no idea that forgetting his birthday would cause him so much grief. 我没想到忘了他的生日会使他如此伤心。
2. [C] sth. causing great sadness 令人悲伤的事 EG: His marriage was a great grief to his parents. 他的婚姻让他父母尤为伤心。
It was a grief to her that her son had never returned from the war.
她的儿子没能从战场上回来，这是她的伤心事。 It seems that all his tricks will come to grief. 他那些小把戏终究要失败。
He came to grief on the way home. 他在回家的路上惨遭不幸。
<27>trait
n. [C] a particular quality in sb.'s character 品质；特点
EG: One of his less attractive traits is criticizing his wife in public. 他不太好的那些品质中有一点就是当众数落自己的妻子。
His sense of humor is one of his better traits. 他的幽默感是他比较好的性格特点之一。
<28>equate
equate (v.) ---equal (a./ v. / n.) ---equality (n.) ---equation (n.) ---equator (n.);
vt. consider sth. to be the same as sth. else 等同 EG: He equates poverty with suffering. 他把贫穷和痛苦等同起来。
You can't equate the education system of Britain to
that of Germany. 你不能把英国的教育制度和德国的相提并论。
<29>presumably
presumably (ad.)---presume (v.);
ad. used to say that sth. is probably true 大概；可能
EG: She is aware of the difficulties, presumably? 可能她知道存在的困难吧？
Presumably you've heard the news? 你可能已经听到这个消息了吧？
<30>denial
denial (n.) ---deny (v.);
n. [C, U] a statement that sth. is not true 否认
EG: His denial of responsibility for the accident was not convincing. 他否认自己对事故负有责任，这让人难以信服。
Nobody believes their repeated denials of guilt. 他
们再三声言自己无罪，但没人会相信他们。
<31>rational
rational (a.) ---rationalize (v.) ---rationalization (n.);
a. 1. based on reasons rather than emotions 合理的；基于理性的
EG: There must be a perfectly rational explanation for what happened. 对所发生的事一定有一个非常合理的解释。
We need to decide what would be the most rational course of action. 我们需要确定采取什么样的行动是最合理的。
2. being able to think calmly and sensibly 理智的，理性的
EG: She was too sad to be rational. 她太悲伤了，无法保持理智。
Man is a rational being. 人是理性动物。
<32>rationalizationn.
[C, U] the act of rationalizing sth. 合理化
EG: In the press conference, the general gave a rationalization for the retreat of his army. 在记者招待会上，将军解释了他的军队为何撤退。 The child could not provide his parents with a rationalization for his strange behavior. 孩子无法向父母解释自己怪异的行为。
<33>excessive
excessive (n.) ---excess (n. / a.);
a. too much; too great 过多的；过度的
EG: The young man died of excessive drinking. 那个年轻人因为酗酒而身亡。
$5,000 is an excessive price for such a shabby second-hand car. 五千美元买这样一辆破旧的二手车，实在是太贵了。
<34>rationalize