Lesson 23 Bird flight 【单词列表】

albatross ^{n. a large white sea bird} 

the Rime of the Ancient Mariner 《古舟子咏》(《老水手之歌》) It is a poem written by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797–1799.
The Ancient Mariner is an old sailor who shoots and kills an albatross. The other sailors think that this will bring them bad luck, and they force him to wear the dead albatross on a rope around his neck so that they will not be punished for his crime. But all the sailors die, and the Ancient Mariner feels guilty and believes he must tell his story to anyone who will listen, to warn them to be kind to all creatures.

an albatross (around one’s neck) ^{（idiom）摆脱不掉的累赘}

• The scandal is an albatross around the president’s neck. 
• For years, Microsoft has had an albatross around its neck when it comes to its reputation for security. 
• But already the statistics were becoming an albatross around Dhoni's neck. 

sustenance n. 食物，营养，生计； 持续，维持

• The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms.  ^{n. nourishment, food 食物，营养，生计}
• Elections are essential for the sustenance of democracy. ^{n. 持续下去，维持下去}

In 1950, the U.S. spent $12.7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be $1,540 billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite resources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age — say 83 or so. ^{阅读真题（sustain life beyond a certain age 将生命维持到某个年龄以上）}

harness ^{n. 马具；v. 利用自然力}

• There is a great deal of interest in harnessing wind and waves as new sources of power.
• The farmer checked the leather harness before hitching the horse to the cart. ^{农夫在将马套到马车上之前，检查了皮革马具。}

名词动用 ^{（画画、尿尿）}

endow ^{v. 资助；赋予}

• The wealthy businessman promised to endow the new university library. ^{那位富有的商人承诺资助新的大学图书馆。}
• She is endowed with both beauty and brains. Declaration of Independence
• Nature has endowed her with both beauty and intelligence. ^{大自然赋予了她美貌和智慧。}

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ^{―― Thomas Jefferson}

Nature (A) not only gave the Middle Atlantic region fine harbors (B), however (C) endowed it with (D) a first-class system of inland waterways. ^{托福语法改错}

动/滑行：

• She slipped on the icy sidewalk.（她在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。）
• The boat slipped smoothly through the water.（小船在水上平稳地滑行。）

不小心滑倒：

• Be careful not to slip on the wet floor.（小心不要在湿地板上滑倒。）

溜走/悄悄离开：

• He slipped out of the room without anyone noticing.（他悄悄地溜出房间，没人注意到。）

放过/错过：

• I can't believe I slipped the opportunity to meet my favorite actor.（我无法相信我错过了见我最喜欢的演员的机会。）

滑落/掉落：

• The book slipped from her hand and fell on the floor.（书从她手中滑落在地上。）

不慎透露/说漏嘴：

• She slipped and mentioned the surprise party.（她不慎提到了惊喜派对。）

穿上（通常指迅速穿上衣物）：

• He slipped into his jacket and ran out the door.（他穿上外套，跑出了门。）

滑动/放入：

• She slipped the letter into the envelope.（她把信滑进信封。）

差错/疏忽(小错误，失误，疏漏)：

• I made a slip in my calculations.（我在计算中犯了个错误。）
• You’ve made some slips (of the pen) in your report.
• When he was nervous, he would sometimes make a slip of tongue.

跌倒/滑倒：

• The hiker slipped and fell while climbing the mountain.（登山者在攀登山时滑倒了。）

一些常见的短语和表达与 "slip" 有关

• slip of the tongue：口误，说漏嘴。
• slip through the cracks：被忽视，被忽略。
• let something slip：不慎透露某事。
• slip into something more comfortable：换上更舒适的衣物，通常指换睡衣。
• slip a note：写一张纸条。

"slip" 的确切意义取决于上下文，因此在理解和使用时要考虑周围的语境。

adverse ^{adj. 不利的，相反的}

• The new regulation had an adverse impact on small businesses. ^{这项新规定对小型企业产生了不利影响。}
• In the catalog to their first exhibition, they actually invited adverse criticism ― but only because what they feared most was indifference.
• A man without an education, many of us believe, is an unfortunate victim of adverse circumstances, deprived of one of the greatest twentieth-century opportunities.

I played basketball alongside famous players, and the team I now coach, the New York Knicks, has recovered from years of adversity to become a major contender in the 1990s.

omen ^{n. 预兆，征兆}

• There has long been a superstition among mariners that porpoises will save drowning men by pushing them to the surface, or protect them from sharks by surrounding them in defensive formation.
• There has long been a superstition among the Chinese that seeing a magpie will bring you good luck / is a good omen / is an auspicious omen.
• There has long been a superstition among the Chinese that hearing the crowing of a crow is an ominous omen.