historic VS historical

historic和historical这两个词都是形容词,但是要注意两者的意思是有区别的:

  • historical表示与历史相关的,比如historical figure 历史人物,historical books 历史书籍等;
  • historic特别表示有历史重大意义的,更多强调重要性。

historic 英[hɪˈstɒrɪk] 美[hɪˈstɔːrɪk] important or likely to be important in history 历史上著名(或重要)的; 可名垂青史的; 有历史意义的。

  1. historic buildings 历史建筑
  2. a historic day/moment 历史性的一天/一刻
  3. In a historic vote, the Church of England decided to allow women to become priests. 在一次历史性的投票中,英国教会决定允许妇女成为牧师。
  4. It is also the case that historic preservation virtually never operates this way either. 历史保护实际上也从来没有这样做过。
  5. This battle is of historic meaning. 这一战具有历史意义。
  6. China’s takeover of Hong Kong was a historic event. 中国收回香港是一件具有历史意义的大事。
  7. The small symbols on this map denote historic places and museums. 这个地图上的小记号表示史迹兴博物馆。
  8. The historic strike gave an enormous impetus to the whole American labor movement. 这次历史性的罢工对整个美国的劳工运动起了很大的推动作用。
  9. a historic occasion/decision/day/visit/victory 历史性的时刻/决定/日子/访问/胜利

historical 英 [hɪˈstɒrɪkl] 美 [hɪˈstɔːrɪkl] connected with studying or representing things from the past 与历史有关的,有关历史研究的,历史学的,历史题材的

  1. You must place these events in their historical context. 必须把这些事件同它们的历史环境联系起来看。
  2. The building is of historical importance. 这栋建筑有重要的历史研究价值。
  3. I have been doing some historical research. 我一直在进行史学研究。
  4. Was Robin Hood a historical figure? 罗宾汉是历史人物吗?
  5. People wore historical costumes for the parade. 人们穿著古装参加游行。
  6. Historical people, situations, or things existed in the past and are considered to be a part of history. 历史上的人、情况或过去存在的事物,被认为是历史的一部分。
  7. Let’s look at this from a historical standpoint. 让我们从历史的观点来看待这一切。
  8. We will deal with events in historical sequence. 我们将按照历史上的先后顺序研究这些事件。
  9. The historical aspect formed the main theme of her essay. 她的论文的主题是由历史观点贯穿起来的。

entertainment VS recreation VS amusement VS pastime

Entertainment is something that holds your attention. The word recreation is usually used to describe something you participate in. But if you just sit and watch (or listen), then it’s entertainment. Amusement is the feeling one gets from being entertained.

三个单词都有娱乐的意思,区别在于:entertainment指以娱悦别人为目的的娱乐节目,你没有参与其中,只是作为观众或者听众在观看或者收听节目(如:电影、电视剧、表演等);recreation指工作之外的闲暇时间做的一些放松身心的休闲活动或体育运动,侧重点在于你主动参与其中;amusement多指游艺游玩项目,如游乐场、主题公园等娱乐场所,也能泛指entertainment相关的一些娱乐项目; pastime指用来“pass time 消磨时间”的娱乐活动或爱好,比如打扑克牌、钓鱼等等。

natural causes

natural causes 自然因素, 自然原因,一般与die of/from连用,表示自然死亡,非人为原因死亡,老、病死亡都算自然死亡;自然死亡( A natural cause of death is anything that isn’t a non-natural cause of death. When people kill themselves, are killed by someone else or die as the result of  an accident, that’s considered non-natural. Any other cause is “natural.” 除自杀,被人杀害,事故死亡等不属于自然死亡,其他都是自然死亡。)

例句:

  • They have found that most older people who lose spouses from natural causes recover much more quickly than we have come to expect.  他们发现大多数因为自然原因失去伴侣的老年人从悲痛中恢复过来要比我们所预期的更快。
  • It was not a time and place for coroners and newspapers, and I suppose it was agreed that he had died from natural causes or I should have been told, and should remember. 那个时候,没有验尸官,也没有报纸,我猜想当时人们一致同意是自然的原因导致了他的死亡,或者说,我应该这样被告知并且记住。
  • Speaking to The Economist in St Paul, Minnesota, he recently explained that the earth might be warming, but that it is unclear “to what extent that is the result of natural causes. 最近在明尼苏达圣保罗市接受经济学家杂志访问时他表示,地球可能是在变暖,但是其中的“自然因素所占比例”还尚不明确。

The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night at 10:25PM at the age of 81. Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.

其他一些词汇:

  1. sad 悲伤的,难过的
  2. pass away 去世
  3. at the age of 在…岁时
  4. peacefully  安详地,无痛苦地
  5. hospice 临终安养院
  6. surrounded 围绕;环绕;(使)包围,围住;与…紧密相关(文中指的是在家人的陪伴中去世)

at your service

at your service 听候吩咐;乐意效劳;愿为您服务

酒店或餐厅服务员经常会说的一句话,当你在餐厅用餐,或住酒店有事找服务员时,他们通常都会先说这句话。

另外,古代的臣子、仆人接受国王、主人的任务时,理解成愿为您效劳(效力,效忠),剧本里常这样用的。

有时候,也表示对对象的尊敬,表示愿意帮忙。

You can use ‘at your service‘ after your name as a formal way of introducing yourself to someone and saying that you are willing to help them in any way you can. 当你在向别人介绍自己时,可以在名字后面加上这句话,来表示你愿意尽你所能帮助他们,是一种正式用法。例如: She bowed dramatically. ‘Anastasia Krupnik, at your service,’ she said. 她深鞠一躬,说道“阿纳斯塔西娅·克鲁普尼克,乐意为您效劳!”

下面是一些例句:

  1. I am glad to be at your service.
  2. I am honored to be at your service.
  3. We are at your service!
  4. I have to be at your service.
  5. If you need to know anything else, I’m at your service.
  6. Always at your service.
  7. Should you need any assistance, our cruise directors and tour managers are always at your service and ready to go the extra mile.

side hustle

今天学习的短语是side hustle ,这个是什么意思呢?很多翻译软件和网站上面翻译成了“侧推”,这完全是在瞎扯淡!它真正的意思是“副业”。

We’ve all dreamed of handing in our notice, emptying the contents of our snack drawer, and striking out on our own with a celebratory fist pump — like Judd Nelson in the final scene of The Breakfast Club.

  • hand in one’s notice/give in one’s notice – If you hand in your notice or give in your notice, you tell your employer that you intend to leave your job soon within a set period of time. 提交离职申请/离职通知书
  • snack drawer – 装零食的抽屉
  • strike out – 自立谋生; 删去;划掉; 猛击;猛打;猛烈抨击;失败;不成功
  • fist pump – a gesture of triumph or affirmation in which the forearm is raised with fist clenched, then swung downward toward the body in a vigorous pumping motion一种庆祝胜利或肯定的姿势,前臂举起,握紧拳头,然后以有力的泵送动作朝身体向下摆动
  • the final scene – 最后一幕

If you’re one of the over 44 million Americans who have a side hustle, this distant dream can seem more attainable. But, between work, play, and seeing family and friends, it can be hard to imagine turning that extra pocket money into a steady income, let alone a flourishing business.

  • have a side hustle – 有副业干
  • distant dream – 遥远的梦想
  • attainable – 可达到的;可获得的
  • be hard to – 很难…
  • pocket money – 零用钱;小额私用款; (父母给孩子的)零花钱
  • a steady income – 一份稳定的收入
  • let alone – 更别提,不打扰,不惊动
  • a flourishing business – 生意兴隆

onboarding

onboarding是什么意思?先看下面英文定义:

Onboarding refers to the mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective organizational members and insiders. 就是员工入职培训的意思,也可以表示产品等刚开始使用,如果产品介绍中写easy onboarding,就是说这个产品使用起来很简单、容易上手。

Surprisingly, many organizations shortchange the resources and time to develop an effective employee onboarding process. Maybe they understand the opportunity that effective onboarding presents, but they just haven’t made a compelling case for change to upper management. Or, maybe they don’t understand how solid onboarding practices allow:

  • new employees to become more productive sooner
  • organizations to scale and meet growth objectives
  • HR  professionals to address a skills gap present in their workforce

其他一些词汇:

  1. shortchange少找零钱,欺骗
  2. employee onboarding process员工入职流程
  3. compelling令人信服的
  4. upper management高层管理人员

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. 上帝赐予我们生命,上帝也夺走我们的生命。西方国家葬礼上牧师一般都要说这句话,感叹人的一生十分短暂。

(注:giveth = gives taketh = takes 这是古英语的第三人称单数的写法。)

Source:

This phrase has its origins in Job 1:21 of the King James Version of the Bible. 原话来自《圣经》:In the 21st verse of the first chapter of the book of Job:

And [Job] said, ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD’.

It is Job’s pious reaction to the news of the death of all of his children and the loss of all of his property.

Job suffers tremendous trials, such as those described by GWB. And yet, he maintains his faith in God. The meaning of this phrase as it is popularly used is something like this:

We must accept with humility and faith whatever happens to us in life, both good and bad, because life itself is a gift from God. He gives to us and He takes from us according to His own plan.

Surely this expression has been used by many, but the words have been altered slightly to a more colloquial use. As you might imagine, it is a sentiment commonly expressed at funerals.

Meaning:

words used in funeral services about the transience of life’s benefits

shed light on

在2020年2月11日的美国新罕布什尔州民主党初选中,民主党华裔候选人杨安泽(Andrew Yang)感觉胜利无望,遂宣布退选。19日,美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)突然宣布,杨安泽将以政治评论员的身份加入CNN,这一消息随后得到杨安泽本人的确认。而杨安泽入驻CNN后的首秀,就是参与评论即将开始的拉斯维加斯民主党辩论。

19日,CNN首先在推特上公布了欢迎杨安泽加入的消息。 随后杨安泽转发了这条推特,表示自己将参与CNN对拉斯维加斯民主党辩论的评论,并正式回应了入驻CNN这一消息:

“I’m excited to join CNN to help shed light on the election and the candidates’ experiences. Learned a lot these past months and am glad to contribute to the public discussion.”

“我很高兴加入CNN并帮助分析选举和候选人的经历。过去几个月中我学到很多,并愿意为公众讨论贡献力量。”

shed light on (同义throw light on)
英 [ʃed laɪt ɒn] 美 [ʃed laɪt ɑːn]
阐明;解释;将…弄明白;照亮

可以直接用shed/throw light on something,也可以在light之前加上一些形容词灵活使用,如加上some来使用,shed some light on something / throw some light on something,疑问句中一般用做shed any light on something / throw any light on something。

下面是一些例句:

  1. Can economic theory shed any light on this? 经济学理论能解释这一点吗?
  2. The notion of surplus wage also throws new light on the ongoing ‘ anti-capitalist ‘ protests. 剩余工资的观念也从新的角度阐明了正在进行的“反-资本主义”的抗议。
  3. But scientists say research has helped shed even more light on what made taylor ‘s beauty so rare. 但是,科学家们说,研究可以帮助我们更清楚地了解是什么让泰勒的美如此非同寻常。
  4. This trend sheds light on one of the central mysteries of the recovery : why so many people have left the labour force . 这种趋势揭示了光在中央经济复苏的奥秘之一:为什么如此多的人已经不再算是劳动力。
  5. Firstly, this paper reviews foreign and domestic research on practical teaching and shed light on China’s teaching status and problems. 本文首先综述了国内外有关实践教学及其保障体系的研究,分析了我国高校当前实践教学的现状和问题。
  6. Two recent, unanimous Supreme Court decisions have shed light on the meaning of this vague exemption. 两个最近的 、 意见一致的最高法院的判决为这一模糊例外的含义作了说明。

tax-cut bill 减税法案

tax-cut bill 减税法案
tax cut减税

例句:

1. In the original tax-cut bill passed by the House in November, the top income tax rate remained unchanged at 39.6%.

2. There are at least five separate parts of the House legislation — which I call a “tax cut” bill because it sure isn’t “tax reform” — that will benefit Trump and his family.

3. There are at least five separate parts of the House legislation — which I call a “tax cut” bill because it sure isn’t “tax reform” — that will benefit Trump and his family. I originally had only three, which I called the Trump Tax Trifecta, but then my Washington Post colleagues sent me two others. So now Trump has a five-fecta.
House 众议院 (House of Representatives)
Trifecta [traɪ’fektə] (赛马赌博的)三连胜式

badly off

badly off [ˈbædli ɔf]
贫困的,境况不好的 (比较级:worse off 最高级:worst off)

1. The average working week in Japan is 42.3 hours, compared with 41.6 in the UK, so they are not too badly off.
日本每周平均工作时间为42.3小时,和英国的每周41.6小时相比,他们的情况并不算太糟。

2. She was quite badly off for a while after her husband died.
丈夫去世后的一段时期内她很贫困。

badly off for 缺少,缺乏,供应不足

1. The refugees are badly off for blankets, and even worse off for food.
难民需要毯子,更需要食物。

2. I am badly off for meeting a friend.
我立刻得走,见个朋友。

3. Even now some universities are badly off for English teachers.
即使现在有些大学英语教师也很缺。