The dead ringer ------when things look exactly the same
On April 29,British newspaper The Times released information about a young British woman missing in Australia:"Witnesses told The Sydney Morning Herald that they saw a woman who was a dead ringer for Ms Embleton at Sydney bar later that day.


Oh,my God,Zhang ZiYi is a dead ringer for Gong Li.

Once upon a time in china's history, there is such saying as : dont talk about national affairs. Nowadays dead ringers for it are seen on various media : dont talk about politics.

useful!

Expurgate

Expurgate:remove matter thought to be objectionable from a book etc. or remove such matter



The letters ......show Bronte dissuaded him from pursuing his case by sending him a 1,400-word sketch,expurgated of the offending passages.
--- Reported by Reuters

It is said that Bronte(夏绿蒂.勃朗特)(1816-1855)ｈａｄ　ｂｅｅｎ　warned by the principal of her school for using her school as the backgroud of her novel ,Jane Eer.In order to dissuade him from pursuing his case she sent a sketch expurgated of the offending passages.But in the end , neither she did rewrite her novel nor he sued her.The novel remained its original but the letter written by Bronte remained until now.In this article,the writer used three words to describe rewrite----rewrite,amend and expurgate.Most of us are familiar with the former two words but the last one is strange and even we know it maybe do not really know how to use it correctly and properly.So I feel it is a good way to expand our vocabulary by reading especially by comparing reading.

annieyu 说:

Expurgate:remove matter thought to be objectionable from a book etc. or remove such matter



The letters ......show Bronte dissuaded him from pursuing his case by sending him a 1,400-word sketch,expurgated of the offending passages.
--- Reported by Reuters

It is said that Bronte(夏绿蒂.勃朗特)(1816-1855)ｈａｄ　ｂｅｅｎ　warned by the principal of her school for using her school as the backgroud of her novel ,Jane Eer.In order to dissuade him from pursuing his case she sent a sketch expurgated of the offending passages.But in the end , neither she did rewrite her novel nor he sued her.The novel remained its original but the letter written by Bronte remained until now.In this article,the writer used three words to describe rewrite----rewrite,amend and expurgate.Most of us are familiar with the former two words but the last one is strange and even we know it maybe do not really know how to use it correctly and properly.So I feel it is a good way to expand our vocabulary by reading especially by comparing reading.

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Annie ,if you found some mistakes in my posts, please let me know. I will amend, rewrite or even expurgate them. thanks.

harvey66 说:

Annie ,if you found some mistakes in my posts, please let me know. I will amend, rewrite or even expurgate them. thanks.

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I would like to say the same words to you!I I am just wondering how can you speak out what I wanted to say? It is said that British and US scientists are developing an "emotionally aware"computer.It can read a person's thoughts by analyzing a combination of facial movements that represent underlying feelings.Have you got it already if it is true you should apply for patent at once.

annieyu 说:

Have you got it already if it is true you should apply for patent at once.

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and when my patent is admitted I will treat you to dinner with my bonus.

harvey66 说:

and when my patent is admitted I will treat you to dinner with my bonus.

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You are so mean for this wonderful idear rewarded only a dinner?BY the way,you should say when my patent is granted or authorized I will treat you a dinner with my bonus.Admit can not be used here do you admit you are so mean?

annieyu 说:

You are so mean for this wonderful idear rewarded only a dinner?BY the way,you should say when my patent is granted or authorized I will treat you a dinner with my bonus.Admit can not be used here do you admit you are so mean?

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Thank you for your correction.
Authorized is much better.
I dont think I am mean. I remember mean is "bad" word.Maybe you can say I am a cheapskate.

Of course I will give you such a computer as a gift as well. And maybe a trip to the moon if the bonus is much enough. You can see the beautiful planet in the space. If you like the Moon, you can emigrate there. I believe it takes much less time than emigrating to Canada.

harvey66 说:

Of course I will give you such a computer as a gift as well. And maybe a trip to the moon if the bonus is much enough. You can see the beautiful planet in the space. If you like the Moon, you can emigrate there. I believe it takes much less time than emigrating to Canada.

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Ok,that's fine.But I really do not like Moon,why?Because it makes feeling so cold,lonely,and lifeless.Anyway,thanks for your kindness.

harvey66 说:

Thank you for your correction.
Authorized is much better.
I dont think I am mean. I remember mean is "bad" word.Maybe you can say I am a cheapskate.

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derogatory

Thanks for your correction,anyway,because I do know the differenc between the two words ,even I do not know the word "cheapskate",please forgive me ignorance.I will remember this word .

And You refer mean bad word actually your meaning is it is derogatory word .

From now on,I will use coloured tips to emphasize on the tips which there are some new words or some mistakes I have made in order to remind me to read them again .

U-turn your mind

To Harvey66o you prepare to make a u-turn of your mind from a pessimist to an optimist?


On April 23,British newspaper The Sunday Times talked about the British Home Office's urge to add medical details onto ID cards,although the British Government had a previously assured this would not happen because of privacy concerns.But a junior minister "denied the government was now performing a U-turn".

An April 26 Guardian story reported,"After the biggest street protests in decades forced him to stage a U-turn on employment reform last month.Mr.Chirac is keener than ever to be remembered for doing something positive for French prides."

In driving,U-turn refers to performing a 180-degree turn in order to reverse your direction.It is called "U-turn"because the driving path looks like the letter U.In some areas,taking a U-turn is illegal,with signs like "No U-TURN!"

Deriving from that,"u-turn" is now used to mean "a totally different approach"or "an opposite attitude"


Several verbs can be used with the term,such as "stage a u-turn","make a u-turn","pull a u-turn"'"perform a u-turn"or "do a u-turn".Or you can simply use "U-turn" as a verb.
For Example:Hey,Harvey ,It is time to U-turn your mind from pessimism to optimism.

bumper-to-bumper(adjective)一辆接一辆的

There are will be "smart" lanes that enable computer-driven vehivles to travle bumper-to-bumper at high speeds.

bumper-to-bumper traffic 拥塞的交通

annieyu 说:

To Harvey66o you prepare to make a u-turn of your mind from a pessimist to an optimist?

Hey,Harvey ,It is time to U-turn your mind from pessimism to optimism.

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I hope my have the ability to stage such a rapid u-turn. It needs practice.And I think your help is needed too.

harvey66 说:

I hope my have the ability to stage such a rapid u-turn. It needs practice.And I think your help is needed too.

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Oh,You are good at kicking back a ball and furthermore you are good at self-defense too and you are good at playing tricks too.LOL.

football pools

a British gambling system which involved guessing the results of professional football matches.

I think football pools are rampent in China too. am I right ?

Singled out

"We're very sad,we wanted to win but there 's not going to be any witch-hunt.I' m not going to pick on any player."Brazil soccer coach Carrios Alberto Parreira told Reuters on July 2.

"Witch -hunt"is a historical phenomenon from modern Europe,Africa and India.A woman who was unpopular in the community would be singled out,tortured and even executed.

These days , a witch-hunt refers to the act of finding and prosecuting one or a few people who hold different views from a larger group.The search is often conducted by using extreme measures.The actual guilt of the person is often neglected.So a person caught by a witch -hunt is usually unfairly singled out.


That's the case with Parreira's quote.France unexpectedly knocked Brazil out of the World Cup last Sunday.But the coach said he doesn't plan to find any one to blame.

This word is often used in politics.We can use it like this:

The mayor complained that the investigation into the scandal was nothing more than a witch-hunt.(市长抱怨说,对丑闻的调查真正目的不过是为了排除异己


In new China history ,there were full of witch-hunts from Chen Duxiu to Li Lishan ,even Beijin's former major Chen ,I forgot his first name, what a pity if a person was in witch -hunt condition,he needed more courage to fight with a large group even insisted his own ideals.So the democracy is so crucial at this moment for at least we should give people the right to express his opinions freely,openly ---this can ensure the society sound development and limit us from committing the same mistakes.

annieyu 说:

"We're very sad,we wanted to win but there 's not going to be any witch-hunt.I' m not going to pick on any player."Brazil soccer coach Carrios Alberto Parreira told Reuters on July 2.

"Witch -hunt"is a historical phenomenon from modern Europe,Africa and India.A woman who was unpopular in the community would be singled out,tortured and even executed.

These days , a witch-hunt refers to the act of finding and prosecuting one or a few people who hold different views from a larger group.The search is often conducted by using extreme measures.The actual guilt of the person is often neglected.So a person caught by a witch -hunt is usually unfairly singled out.


That's the case with Parreira's quote.France unexpectedly knocked Brazil out of the World Cup last Sunday.But the coach said he doesn't plan to find any one to blame.

This word is often used in politics.We can use it like this:

The mayor complained that the investigation into the scandal was nothing more than a witch-hunt.(市长抱怨说,对丑闻的调查真正目的不过是为了排除异己


In new China history ,there were full of witch-hunts from Chen Duxiu to Li Lishan ,even Beijin's former major Chen ,I forgot his first name, what a pity if a person was in witch -hunt condition,he needed more courage to fight with a large group even insisted his own ideals.So the democracy is so crucial at this moment for at least we should give people the right to express his opinions freely,openly ---this can ensure the society sound development and limit us from committing the same mistakes.

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A little bit pessimistic.
Please dont stage such a U-turn.
This is your words but looks like my tone.

To Harvey: you are so sensitive ,do not worry about this .I am not a moody person.I admire people who can express his opinion in any conditions but I am not this kind person so I imagine what they will experience being in a witch -hunt condition?You can read my tune from my words?HoHo......

Narrow victory

A July 6 Reuters(a British news agency)story on the Mexican presidential election result says,"Felipe Calderon won a razor-thin victory on Thursday in Mexican Presidential election but his leftist rival vowed to contest the result in the courts and on the streets.

"Razor-thin"means "as thin as a razor blade"or "very thin".But here,'win a razor-thin victory"means the election results is very close and Felipe Calderon's victory is not big .(险胜)

Russian news agency Itar-Tass wrote:Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon won the presidential election by a narrow margin,according to the official results published Thursday.

The phrase won by a narrow margin seen in that report on the same day,has an identical meaning.


"Take/have a slight lead in something" is another similar phrase,as in the US news agency AP's story:

Conservative Felipe Calderon had a slight lead in Mexican Predential race this morning,Mexican electoral officials said on Thursday.

In the German World Cup, there were many matches resulted in narrow victory, especially in knockout stage.Maybe that is because the teams laid more emphases on the results rather than the processes.

Bring down the house

New Zealand rock band the Mint Chicks won't soon forget the night they brought the house down---or at least part of it.

to bring down something ---使倒下,崩塌

The developer plans to bring down this old theater to build a shopping mall.


to bring down house ---让观众如醉如痴

This singer ,Li yuchun,can bring down the house just by stanging there.
这歌手,李宇春,随便站在台上就能让观众如醉如痴
a full house--- 满座

karoshi---a japanese word 过劳死

annieyu 说:

karoshi---a japanese word 过劳死

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Funny, the pronounciation is similar in both Chinese and Janpanese.

Whammy

surging energy prices are acting like a double whammy on the country's economy,crimping growth even as they push up inflation,US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said.

美国联邦储备委员会主席伯南克说,暴涨的能源价格是对美国经济的双重打击,刺激通涨又阻碍增长.

Wham 是拟声词,二十世纪八九十年代红极一时的威猛乐队英文即为此词.

thanks, there so many things to learn from you!

follow at heel 紧跟着

I do hope my ME,DM and Pl will follow at heel in next year.

annieyu 说:

follow at heel 紧跟着

I do hope my ME,DM and Pl will follow at heel in next year.

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You put forward a post and I follow at heel.

harvey66 说:

You put forward a post and I follow at heel.

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What a gentleman you are!Thank you so much for your support and encouragement .

annieyu 说:

What a gentleman you are!Thank you so much for your support and encouragement .

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You are welcome.will you mind if I "tag along" .

You are welcome too.Cause I also tag along with you.

round up/down 四舍五入

Nowadays in China,no shops accept cash in fen.A charge of 1.67 yuan will be rounded uo to 1.7 yuan and one of 1.64 yuan rounded down to 1.6 yuan.

Challenge the limits and beyond ...limits

Our human being always want to have a try in challenging our limits but sometimes it goes too far then beyong our limits.So keeping balance is the only solution.

The CIC is so sophisticated that it can always challenge our tolerance limits but never beyond them.

butterflies in the stomach 忐忑不安

Everyone here who has not gotten ME always feels butterflies in stomach.