每天10个托福词汇精解。
有趣，不枯燥。用英语解读英语，学单词和它相关的文化。
（此系列文章适合英语六级以上读者）
barb
Whether it is a spike on the wire atop a security fence or a mean remark someone said about you, a barb can hurt. When you encounter either kind of barb, you should stay away.
n. v. 倒钩，倒刺；伤人的话；
不管是篱笆上带着倒刺的网，还是谁对你说了伤人的话，你都应该离他们远远的。
Barbs也是一种鱼。
因为wikipedia说 Barbs是一种ray-finned fish，不理解什么是ray-finned fish，就有了上图——发现原来在鲨鱼、三文鱼、人类之间，三文鱼和人类更近，而不是三文鱼和鲨鱼。
dwindle
What do love, money, and the earth all have in common? All can dwindle, or shrink away, if we don't handle them properly.
The word dwindle has a wonderfully descriptive, almost childlike sound to it, as though it belongs in a nursery rhyme. That might help you remember the meaning, which is to shrink away gradually, like the Cheshire Cat in "Alice in Wonderland," who dwindles away until nothing is left but his grin.
vi. vt. 减少，变小
爱，金钱，地球，有什么共同点呢？他们都可以变少或者变小，如果你没有好好把握它们。
Dwindle有一个完美的表现它词义的同音。爱丽丝梦游仙境中的Cheshire Cat就总是在消失时最后留下它的笑脸。
render
Render is a synonym of make -- technically it means "cause to become." An illness might render you unable to walk, or a shocking site might render you speechless.
Another basic meaning of the verb render is to give, present, or perform something: you could render assistance to someone in need, for example. And a specialized sense is to formally declare a verdict in a court case.
v. n. 致使，提供，回报；援助；提交；裁决；粉刷；融化（以去除杂质）
Render是make的同义词 -- 理论上来讲，它是“致使什么实现”的意思。生病可能导致你无法行走，一个shocking site可以让你瞠目结舌。
Render的另外一个基本词义是，给，授予，或者执行什么事情，比如，你可以为某人提供帮助。Render还有一个偏专业类的词义，对一个按键正式地宣布裁定。
vaporize
To vaporize is to evaporate and turn into gas. If you're watching a sci-fi movie, it probably means to vanish quickly or be utterly obliterated by a phaser gun.
As the structure of the word suggests, vaporize means "turn into vapor." Sometimes this means just turning into gas, like when boiling water turns into steam and rises into the atmosphere. Other times, something more concentrated is left behind, like when maple sap is boiled down into syrup. And in the greenhouse (or grocery store produce section), to vaporize is also to spray your green things with a light coating of mist.
vi. vt. 蒸发
Vaporize是让什么蒸发变成气体的意思。你看科幻电影时，vaporize什么东西很可能意味着用phaser gun把什么东西彻底的消灭。
就像这个词的结构表达出来的，vaporize的意思是把什么变成vapor。有时这个是说把什么变成气体，就像水烧开以后会变成蒸汽进入到空气中。也有时，蒸发之后留下浓缩物，就像枫树液加热蒸发后变成枫糖浆。而在花房或者超市的生鲜部门，to vaporize是说给青菜喷上一层薄薄的水雾。
undertake
When you undertake a task or challenge, you attempt to accomplish it. If you want to undertake a verbal challenge right now, try saying "sushi chef" ten times quickly without messing up.
Way back in the 13th century, undertake meant "seize" or "entrap." Of course, the meaning has shifted significantly since then, and we hope you don't feel entrapped when you decide to undertake a project. However, undertake does convey a level of commitment and involvement that's somewhat stronger than the words try or attempt might suggest.
vt. 承担，保证；从事；同意；试图
当你undertake一个任务或者挑战时，你是在试图去完成它。如果你要undertake一个语言挑战，那么就赶紧试试快速连续准确地说十次“sushi chef”。
回到13世纪，undertake的意思是抓住或者使陷入。当然，它的词义从那时开始已经有明显地改变，也希望你在用它表达承担一个项目的时候不必感到困扰。不过，undertake的确也表达了一层承诺和参与的意思，与try和attempt相比，它更有力量。
twist
When you twist something, you turn it in a different direction. You might twist off a bottle cap, or you might even twist the plot of a story you are writing.
A kite's tail twists in the wind, curling around itself, and a baker twists a piece of dough into a pretzel shape. You can also twist out of someone's grasp (to escape your godmother's cheek pinching), or twist your ankle hurrying away. As a noun, twist means a bent and curved shape, like the twist of a curl or a twist of soft-serve ice cream. In a book or movie plot, a twist is a shocking development.
v. n. 使弯曲，拧；扭伤；歪曲；缠绕；合股线
当你twist什么东西，你是把它转到另外一个方向。你可以拧开瓶盖，也可以扭转你正在写的故事情节。
风筝的尾巴在风中缠绕，面包师把面团拧成结。你也可以挣脱某人的魔爪（比如逃脱想捏你脸的干妈），或者你把自己脚踝扭伤了。作为名词，twist是弯曲或者拧着的形状，就像卷发或者甜筒。对书或者电影来说，一个twist可以说是一个让人震惊的剧情扭转。
girder
A girder is any of the many beams used in buildings and bridges that provide support and actually hold them up.
If you've ever seen a building going up, you know the first thing they do is put up a steel or wood skeleton that will eventually take the weight of the roof, the siding, the floors, and all the rooms inside. That skeleton is made of girders. Bridges also are made with girders, but they usually remain visible long after the steel beams in buildings have been covered by glass, brick, and wood.
n. 大梁，纵梁
Girder是用在建筑物或者桥梁中支撑其他梁的或者把其他梁固定在一起的那个大梁或者纵梁。
如果你曾经见过一个建筑物的建造过程，那你应该知道建造者首要的事情就是建造铁的或者木头的骨架来支撑房顶，侧墙，楼梯和里面的所有房间。这个骨架就是由girders做起来的。桥梁的建造也要girders，不过建造完成后往往还可以被看到。
skeletal
Use the adjective skeletal to describe anything that relates to a skeleton or anything without a lot of "flesh," like the skeletal remains of a bird or the skeletal outline of a paper that is missing all the details.
adj. 骨骼的，像骨骼的，骨瘦如柴的
形容词skeletal，一般用在描述与血肉不相关的事情上，比如一只鸟的尸骨或者一篇遗失了所有细节的论文框架。
scurry
Scurry means to move quickly, at a frenzied pace, and often also implies the urge to hide. When you come upon a mouse in your house, chances are it will scurry away.
Think of scurry this way -- anything you describe someone as scurrying, you're comparing them to a mouse. When you say troops scurried back behind their defensive lines, you're insulting them. When you say children scurry around searching for eggs during an Easter egg hunt, you think they're cute.
v. n. 急赶，碎步急跑
Scurry是快速移动的意思，以狂乱的脚步。Scurry经常暗指急于隐藏的意思。如果你在房子周围遇到了一只老鼠，很大概率它会急忙scurry away。
举两个例子帮助你理解——你描述任何事情是scurrying的时候，你都是在把这件事情和老鼠相比较。当你说军队scurried back到防御线后时，你是在辱骂他们。当你说小盆友们在scurry around复活节彩蛋的时候，你觉得他们特别可爱。
tableland
a relatively flat highland
n. 高原，台地
既然tableland是高原的意思，那么和plateau是什么区别呢？请看下图，简而言之，没有区别。
