Eg: They are too badly off to have a holiday.
In fact most people are better off than they were five years ago. 反义:well off 2. worn-out
1) adj. worn of used until no longer usable or effective 2) thoroughly exhausted; spent eg: He wore a pair of worn-out shoes. I was worn-out after the long journey. 3. pick out
1) to choose or select
2) to discern from the surroundings ; distinguish eg: They picked out the best piece of silk. They picked out their cousins from the crowd. 4. cut off
1) to separate from others; isolate 2) to stop suddenly; discontinue
eg: When the city was cut off, everyone know that the total defeat was certain. They cut off our food supply. The telephone operator cut us off.
Unit 4 Body Language Word usage:
1. major 1) adj. more important or serious than other things
2) v. major in sth. to study sth. as your main subject at university 3) n. a subject you major in. The house needs major repairs. He is a major writer.
Her major subject is chemistry. Alice majors in economics. His major is history.
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2. represent v. 1) to act officially for another person or group of people 2) to be a sign for another thing
3) to describe or show a person or thing in a particular way They said that they represented the committee. The dove represents peace.
What does X represent here?
3. curious adj. 1) [never before a noun] eager to know sth. or to learn about sth. 2) odd or strange
The boy was curious about everything he saw. We were curious about where she’d gone. I heard a curious noise last night.
4. experience 1) n. a) [U] knowledge or skill which comes from doing or feeling sth.
for a long time rather than from books
b) [C] sth. that happens to you and has an effect on your mind and
feelings
2) vt. to feel or to be influenced by sth. that happens She had no experience of life at all.
Have you had any experience of teaching English? Please tell us about your experiences in Africa. I had a rather odd experience the other day.
We have experienced many defeats, but we believe that we will succeed.
5. introduce v. make (a person) know to others; bring into use I introduced John to Mary last year, and now they are married. Would you please introduce yourself?
Potatoes were introduced into Europe from South America.
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6. approach 1) vt. come nearer to; set to do
2) n. the act of coming nearer; access
Silently we approached the enemy’s camp.
The time is approaching when we will have to leave.
The approach of winter brings cold weather.
7. express 1) vt. put into words; show feelings;
2) n. fast train or delivery; a rapid, efficient system for the delivery of goods
and mail
He can not express how he felt about the matter. Could you express yourself in English? Send the letter by express.
8. action n. deed or conduct; process of doing Actions speak louder than words.
We are tired of talking about the problem---now is the time for action. The police had to take firm action to deal with the case.
9. general adj. involving or applying to all persons or things of a group or category;
concerning the overall aspects of a subject
There is a general feeling that this law isn’t working properly. The school gives a good general education.
Worry about high food prices has now become fairly general.
10. avoid v. keep away from; prevent I avoided him as much as possible. They all avoided mentioning that name. She braked suddenly and avoided an accident.
11. comedy n. amusing play or film; amusing incident
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One of his new comedies is to be presented. Do you prefer comedy or tragedy?
There will be a comedy show in TV this evening.
12. misunderstand v. unable to understand the correct meaning; misinterpret His intentions were misunderstood. He misunderstood what I said.
They pretended to misunderstand my complaint.
13. similar adj. showing resemblance; resembling but not the same; of the same kind
or amount
His problem is similar to yours.
My view is similar to hers. They had similar opinion.
14. expression n. communication of an idea, emotion, etc.; the manner that expresses
feeling
I sent them flowers as an expression of thanks. There was no expression on her face. \
15. agreement n. accord or harmony of opinion and way of thinking; treaty My parents are in agreement on what color to paint the house. The three sides reached an agreement to stop the war. We are in agreement with their decision.
16. chest n. part of the body wrapped by ribs and the breastbone; big strong box for
storing things in; treasury of a public institution.
He has a severe pain in the chest. He’s got a weak chest.
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I keep the tea in a chest.
18. gesture n. movement of the body to express an idea, intentions or attitude. v. to make a gesture.
We hold a party for our new colleagues as a gesture of friendship. Handshake is a gesture of friendship.
She was gesturing so excitedly that I knew something was wrong.
19. adult 1) n. group-up or mature person 2) adj. grow-up or mature He'd spent all his adult life in the army. Sam is a rather adult child.
In this sense, children and adults have equal rights.
20. punish v. to inflict penalty on
Motorists should be severely punished for speeding. The teacher punished her students for cheating in the exam. He has never been punished by his parents.
Unit 5 Theme parks Word usage:
1. theme n. topic of discussion; main idea or topic in literary works, musical
piece, etc.
The main theme of discussion was press censorship. The theme of the poem is love and peace.
Our school themes must be written in ink and on white paper.
2. amuse v. entertain, make time pass pleasantly A clown's job is to amuse the spectators.
It was too rainy to play outside, so she amused herself with a book.
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