Day 1 读书笔记

Select suitable reading materials and embark on my reading adventure

The book I picked for myself is Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, whose author Sheryl Kara Sandberg (born August 28, 1969), is an American technology executive, activist. She is the Harvard-educated chief operating officer of Facebook and a self-avowed feminist who wants to transform the role of women in the workplace. 

Though parts of her book are regarded as helpful to virtually every professional woman navigating the workplace. But . . . considering her social status as an incredibly wealthy — reportedly worth hundreds of millions — white, married woman, so is too often tone-deaf to her voice of privilege. This makes it hard to close the distance between lucky her and the women who could most benefit from her advocacy. It’s a problem that plays out time and again in “Lean In.”

More problematic is the fact that Sandberg’s advice is also pitched so relentlessly at straight, presumably white, mostly college-educated women who are or want to be partnered and have children. While clearly that amounts to a huge swathe of American women, would it have killed her to include some sections on how her advice might differentially apply to women of color, single moms, older women, or the nonstraight? The book is written for middle class professionals, so it’s not surprising that it offers little for working class women. But Sandberg’s failure to recognize and address the diverse needs and interests her female professional readership is a serious limitation of her book.

I myself find this book really enlightening though. Identifying women’s problematic behaviors is helpful — there are moments reading this book when my head snapped back and I said to myself, “Oh, so that’swhat it is!” Sandberg is an engaging story-teller and she deploys personal anecdote to judicious effect. When you see that gender-specific confidence problems etc. plague even her, you start to realize how significant these problems are for women as a class. Which is why, when she gives you the tools to attack these problems, it can feel powerful.

Below are some quotes form this book that I want to share:

"Womenhold themselves backin ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising their hands, and bypulling backwhen they should beleaning in."

Hold themselves back: 限制自己、自我束缚

Pulling back: 退缩

Leaning in: 勇往直前

"Men are continually applauded for beingambitiousand powerful and successful, but women who display these sametraitsoften pay a social penalty. Female accomplishments come at a cost."

Applauded: 被赞赏

Ambitious: 有野心的、有事业心的

Traits: 特质

Accomplishments: 成就

Come at a cost: 付出代价

"Success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively for women."

Likability: 受欢迎程度、讨人喜欢的程度

Correlated: 相关联、有互相关系

“I realized that searching for a mentor has become the professional equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming. Once again, we are teaching women to be dependent on others.”

Searching for: 寻找

Mentor: (职场)导师

Equivalent: 等同

Prince Charming: 白马王子

Dependent: 依靠、依赖

“When looking for a life partner, my advice to women is to date all of them: the bad boys, the cool boys, the commitment-phobic boys, the crazy boys.”

Life partner: 人生伴侣

Date: 约会

Bad boys: 坏男孩儿

Cool boys: 酷男孩儿

Commitment-phobic boys: 不做承诺的男孩儿

Crazy boys: 疯狂的男孩儿

“When it comes time to settle down,find someone who wants an equal partner. These men existand, trust me, over time, nothing is sexier.”

Settle down: 定下来

Equal: 平等的

Exist: 存在

Nothing is sexier: 这是最性感、最吸引人的

Day3-5 《经济学人》精读

Britain’s missing middle

The leaders of both main parties have turned away from adecades-old vision of an open, liberal country

英国《经济学人》周刊6月3日发表题为《中间派淡出英国政坛》的封面文章称，保守派和工党的领导人虽然分列左右两派，但都希望拉起英国通往世界的吊桥。无论是左派还是右派胜出，落败的都将是自由主义。

BRITAIN last voted in a general election just two years ago.Back then, the country was a bridge between the European Union and Barack Obama’s America. Its economy was on the mend after years of squeezed living standards. Scottish independence had just been ruled out. Labour’s most controversial policy was a plan to cap energy prices, denounced as “Marxist” by the Tories[1],who went on to win.

英国上一次大选投票是短短两年前。那时，这个国家是欧盟和奥巴马领导的美国之间的桥梁。其经济在生活水平受挤压多年后逐渐好转。苏格兰独立的可能性刚刚被排除。工党最有争议的政策是设定能源价格上限计划，保守党人斥之为“马克思主义”，他们进而赢了。

mend

/mend/ noun

IDM on the ‘mend (informal) getting better after an illness or injury; improving after adifficult situation康复；好转；改善；改进

My leg is definitely on themend now.

我的腿正在明显地好转。

Does he believe theeconomy's really on the mend?

他相信经济确实在复苏吗？

Today Britain finds itself in a different era. The vote for Brexithas committed it to leaving its biggest trading partner and snuggling closer to others, including a less-welcoming America. The economy has held up better than many feared but growth is slowing; investors are jittery. The unionis fraying again. Real wages have stagnated. Public services are stretched. Political parties have responded in radically different ways. All have replaced their leaders. Jeremy Corbyn[2] has taken Labour to the loony left, proposing the heaviest tax burden since the second world war. The Conservative prime minister, Theresa May, promises a hard exit from the EU. The Liberal Democrats[3] would go for a soft version, or even reverse it.

如今，英国所处的时代已然不同。英国脱欧投票结果使之必须离开其最大的贸易伙伴，而向其他国家、包括不像从前那么受欢迎的美国靠拢。经济的维持状况比许多人担心的要强，但增长速度在减缓；投资者紧张不安。联合局面再次受到削弱。实际工资停滞不前。公共服务捉襟见肘。

snug∙gle

/ˈsnʌgl/ verb ~ (up to sb/sth) [+adv./prep.]

to get into, or to put sb/

sth into, a warm comfortable position, especially close to sb（使）依偎，紧贴，蜷伏

[V]

The child snuggled up to hermother.

孩子依偎着母亲。

He snuggled down under thebedclothes.

他躺下以后盖上被子，很舒服。

jittery

[ADJ-GRADED]If someone isjittery, they feel nervous or are behaving nervously.[INFORMAL]

International investorshave become jittery about the country's economy.

loony

[lu:ni]

loonies, loonier, looniest

1.[ADJ-GRADED(disapproval)]If you describe someone's behaviour or ideas as loony, you meanthat they seem mad, strange, or eccentric.[INFORMAL]

What's she up to? She's asloony as her brother!

//...loony feminist nonsense.

2.[N-COUNT (disapproval)]Ifyou refer to someone as a loony, you mean that they behave in a way that seemsmad, strange, or eccentric.[INFORMAL]

At first they all thought Iwas a loony.

fray

/freɪ/ verb

1.if cloth frays or sth

frays it, the threads in it start to come apart（使织物边沿）磨损，磨散

[V]

The cuffs of his shirt werefraying.

他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

This material frays easily.

这布料容易磨损。

[VN]

It was fashionable to fraythe bottoms of your jeans.

曾经时兴把牛仔裤磨毛。

2.if sb's nerves or

TEMPER  frays or sth frays them, the person starts to get irritated

or annoyed（使）烦躁，恼火

[V]

As the debate went on,tempers began to fray.

随着辩论的继续，火气就上来了。

[also VN]

frayed adj.

frayed denim shorts

磨损的牛仔短裤

Tempers were getting veryfrayed.

脾气变得暴躁起来。

IDM ˌfray at/ around the

'edges/ 'seams to start to come apart or to fail开始卷边；脱线脚；分崩离析；失败

Support for the leader wasfraying at the edges.

对这位领导人的拥护已开始瓦解。

fray /freɪ/ noun

the fray [sing.] a fight, a

competition or an argument, especially one that is exciting or seen as a test

of your ability打斗，竞争，争辩（尤指激烈或视为检验能力的）

They were ready for thefray.

他们准备好了争斗。

to enter/ join the fray

加入争辩

At 71, he has now retiredfrom the political fray.

他现年71岁，已经退出了政治角逐。

The party leaders could hardly differ more in their style and beliefs. And yet a thread links the two possible winners of this election.Though they sit on different points of the left-right spectrum, the Tory and Labour leaders are united in their desire to pull up Britain’s drawbridge to the world. Both Mrs May and Mr Corbyn would each in their own way step back from the ideas that have made Britain prosper—its free markets, open borders and internationalism. They would junk a political settlementt hat has lasted for nearly 40 years and influenced a generation of Westerngovernments (see page 15). Whether left or right prevails, the loser will beliberalism.

各党竞选回避自由主义

各政党领导人的风格和信念相去甚远。然而，有一根主线将此次选举的两个可能获胜者连接起来。保守派和工党的领导人虽然分列左右两派，但都希望拉起英国通往世界的吊桥。梅和工党领袖科尔宾将以各自的方式避免宣扬让英国走向繁荣的理念——自由市场、开放的边界和国际主义。他们会抛弃延续了将近40年、影响了整整一代西方国家政府的政治解决办法。无论是左派还是右派胜出，落败的都将是自由主义。

drawbridge

/ˈdrɔːbrɪdʒ $ ˈdrɒː-/BrEAmEnoun [countable]

1. a bridge that can bepulled up to stop people from entering a castle, or to let ships pass

2. pull up the drawbridge

a) to stop being involvedin something:

Perhaps we should just pull up the drawbridgeand let them get on with it.

b) to stop more peoplecoming into a country, joining an organization etc

Labour, the conservative party

Mr Corbyn poses as a radical but is the most conservative—andthe most dangerous—candidate of the lot. He wants to take the railways, water and postal service back into public ownership. He would resurrect collective pay-bargaining and raise the minimum wage tothe point where 60% of young workers’ salaries are set by the state. His tax plan takes aim at high earners and firms, who would behave in ways his costings ignore. University would be free, as it was until the 1990s—a vast subsidy for the middle class and a blow to the poor, more of whom have enrolled since tuition fees helped create more places.

科尔宾摆出一副激进的样子，却是最保守——也是最危险——的人选。他想让铁路、水和邮政服务重归公有。他将重振集体薪酬谈判制度，提高最低工资，乃至年轻工人60%的工资由国家订立。他的税收计划瞄准高收入者和企业。

resurrect /ˌrezəˈrekt/ verb[VN]

1.to bring back into use

sth, such as a belief, a practice, etc., that had disappeared or been forgotten重新应用；恢复使用；使复兴SYNREVIVE

2.to bring a dead person

back to life起死回生；使复活

On Brexit, Labour sounds softer than the Tories but it spolicy comes to much the same. It would end free movement of people, precluding membership of the single market. Mr Corbyn is more relaxed than Mrs May about migration, which might open the door to a slightly better deal on trade. But his lifelong opposition to globalisation hardly makes him the man tonegotiate one.

关于英国脱欧，工党的论调听起来比保守党要温和，但其政策大同小异。它将终止人员的自由流动，排除加入单一市场的可能性。科尔宾在移民问题上的态度比梅要宽松一些，这也许会给达成稍好的贸易协议敞开大门。但他一贯反对全球化，因而恐怕不可能谈妥那样一份协议。

preclude

[prɪklu:d]

precludes, precluding,precluded

1.[VERB]If somethingprecludes an event or action, it prevents the event or action fromhappening.[FORMAL]

[V n/-ing]At 84, John feelshis age precludes too much travel...

[V n/-ing]He would rebuffenquiries in such a way as to preclude any further discussion.

Syn:prevent

2.[VERB]If somethingprecludes you from doing something or going somewhere, it prevents you fromdoing it or going there.[FORMAL]

[V n from -ing/n]Aconstitutional amendment precludes any president from serving more than twoterms...

[V n from -ing/n]In somecases poor English precluded them from ever finding a job.

Syn:prevent

No economic liberal, Mr Corbyn does not much value personal freedomeither. An avowed human-rights campaigner, he has embraced left-wing tyrants such as Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro (a “champion of social justice”), wholocked up opponents and muzzled the press. Mr Corbyn has spent a career claiming to stand for the oppressed while backing oppressors.

avowed

[əvɑʊd]

1.[ADJ: ADJ n]If you are anavowed supporter or opponent of something, you have declared that you supportit or oppose it.[FORMAL]

She is an avowed vegetarian.

Derived word:avowedly [əvɑʊɪdli]

[ADV] [usu ADV adj/-ed]He remained for some years avowedly radical in his political outlook.

2.[ADJ: ADJ n]An avowedbelief or aim is one that you have declared formally or publicly.[FORMAL]

//...the council's avowedintention to stamp on racism.

muzzle

/ˈmʌzL; ˈmʌz$l/ N[C]

1. the nose and mouth of an

animal, especially a dog or horse〔尤指狗或马等动物的〕鼻口部，吻

2. a cover that you put

over a dog’s mouth to stop it from biting people〔防止狗咬人而套在狗口部的〕口套

3. the open end of a gun,

where the bullets come out枪口

muzzle

V[T]

1. to prevent someone from

saying what they think in public使缄默，封住…的嘴；钳制…的言论；同gag :

an attempt by the

government to muzzle the country’s media政府欲使国内媒体保持缄默的企图

2. to put a muzzle over a

dog’s mouth so that it cannot bite people给〔狗〕戴口套

Candidate of nowhere

The Tories would be much better than Labour. But they, too, would raise the drawbridge. Mrs May plans to leave the EU’s single market, once cherished by Tories as one of Margaret Thatcher’s greatest achievements. Worse, she insists on cutting net migration by nearly two-thirds. Brexit will makethis grimly easier, since Britain will offer fewer and worse jobs. Even then, she will not meet the target without starving the economy of the skills itneeds to prosper—something she ought to know, having missed it for six years as home secretary.

保守党会比工党要好得多。但他们也会拉起吊桥。梅打算退出欧盟的单一市场，而那曾被保守党视为玛格丽特·撒切尔夫人的最大成就之一。更糟糕的是，她坚持要将移民数量减少近三分之二。脱欧将使之变得更加容易实现，因为英国能提供的就业岗位将越来越少、越来越差。

Her illiberal instincts go beyond her suspicion of globally footloose “citizens of nowhere”. Like Mr Corbyn she proposes newrights for workers, without considering that it would make firms less likely to hire them in the first place. She wants to make it harder for foreign companiesto buy British ones.

Her woolly “industrial strategy” seems to involve picking favoured industries and firms, as when unspecified “support and assurances” were given to Nissan after the carmaker threatened to leave Britainafter Brexit. She has even adopted Labour’s “Marxist” policy of energy-pricecaps.

她反对自由主义的本能远远不只表现在以怀疑的眼光看待在全球范围内任意行走的“无归属公民”。跟科尔宾一样，她提议给予工人新的权利，却未考虑到这样做会使企业变得根本不太可能雇用他们。她希望增加外国公司收购英国企业的难度。她混乱的“工业战略”似乎包括对行业和公司有所偏向，比如当有日产公司扬言要在英国脱欧后退出英国，而她则因此表示将给予该汽车制造商详情不明的“支持和保证”。

illiberal

[ɪlɪbər(ə)l]

[ADJ-GRADED

(disapproval)]If you describe someone or something as illiberal, you are

critical of them because they do not allow or approve of much freedom or choice

of action.不容言论（或行动）自由的；不开明的

//...the sort of illiberallegislation which could only be justified by a serious emergency...

His views are markedlyilliberal.

footloose

[f'ʊtlu:s]

1.[ADJ-GRADED]If you

describe someone as footloose, you mean that they have no responsibilities or

commitments, and are therefore free to do what they want and go where they

want.行动无拘无束的；自由自在的

People that are single tendto be more footloose.

Ant:tied down

2.[PHRASE: usu v-linkPHR]If you describe someone as footloose and fancy-free, you mean that they arenot married or in a similar relationship, and you therefore consider them tohave very few responsibilities or commitments.

In the eyes of the public,a divorced man is footloose and fancy-free.

woolly

/ˈwʊli/ adj.

(NAmE also wooly)

1.covered with wool or with

hair like wool有毛覆盖的；毛状物覆盖的

woolly monkeys

毛茸茸的猴子

2.(informal, especially

BrE) made of wool; like wool毛制的；毛的；似毛的SYNWOOLLEN

a woolly hat

毛质的帽子

3.(of people or their

ideas, etc.人或思想等) not thinking clearly; not clearly expressed糊涂的；混乱的；模糊的SYNCONFUSED

woolly arguments

混乱的论点

And though she is in a different class from Mr Corbyn, thereare also doubts about her leadership. She wanted the election campaign to establish her as a “strong and stable” prime minister. It has done the opposite. In January we called her “Theresa Maybe” for her indecisiveness. Now the centre piece of her manifesto, a plan to make the elderly pay more for socialcare, was reversed after just four days. Much else is vague: she leaves the door open to tax increases, without setting out a policy. She relies on aclosed circle of advisers with an insular outlook and little sense of how the economy works. It does not bode well for the Brexit talks. A campaign meant to cement her authority feels like one in which she has been found out.

虽然她和科尔宾来自不同阶层，但她的领导力也受到质疑。她希望借此次竞选确立其“强大而稳定”的首相形象。结果正相反。我们因其优柔寡断而称她为“特雷莎·也许”。其他许多内容含糊不清：她在加税问题上未制定政策，留下余地。她依赖一个眼光狭隘、不懂经济运作的封闭的顾问圈子。这对英国脱欧来说不是个好兆头。此次竞选的本意是要巩固她的权威，却让人觉得她在这个过程中被揭穿了。

reverse

/rɪˈvɜ:s; NAmE rɪˈvɜ:rs​/verb

CHANGE TO OPPOSITE转化为对立面

1. [VN] to change sth

completely so that it is the opposite of what it was before颠倒；彻底转变；使完全相反

to reverse a procedure/process/ trend

彻底改变程序╱过程╱趋势

The government has failedto reverse the economic decline.

政府未能扭转经济滑坡的趋势。

It is sometimes possible toarrest or reverse the disease.

有时可以阻止病情发展或使病情彻底好转。

2. [VN] to change a

previous decision, law, etc. to the opposite one撤销，废除（决定、法律等）SYNREVOKE

The Court of Appealreversed the decision.

上诉法庭撤销了这项裁决。

3. [VN] to turn sth the

opposite way around or change the order of sth around使反转；使次序颠倒

Writing is reversed in amirror.

镜子里的字是反的。

You should reverse the order of these pages.

你该把这几页的顺序颠倒过来。

insular

/ˈɪnsjələ(r); NAmE ˈɪnsələr​/adj.

1.(disapproving) only

interested in your own country, ideas, etc. and not in those from outside只关心本国利益的；思想偏狭的；保守的

The British are oftenaccused of being insular.

英国人常被指责为思想偏狭。

2. (technical术语) connected with

an island or islands海岛的；岛屿的

the coastal and insularareas

沿海和岛屿区域

in∙su∙lar∙ity /ˌɪnsjuˈlærəti;NAmE -səˈl-​/ noun [U]

bode

[boʊd]

bodes, boding, boded

[VERB]If something bodes

ill, it makes you think that something bad will happen in the future. Ifsomething bodes well, it makes you think that something good willhappen.（对某人╱某事）是吉兆，是凶兆[FORMAL]

[V adv for n]She says theway the bill was passed bodes ill for democracy...

[V adv]Grace had dried hereyes. That boded well.

cement

/sɪˈment/ noun

[U]

1a grey powder made by

burning  CLAY and  LIME that sets hard when it is mixed

with water. Cement is used in building to stick bricks together and to make

very hard surfaces.水泥

2the hard substance that is

formed when cement becomes dry and hard（干燥后硬化的）水泥

a floor of cement

水泥地板

a cement floor

水泥地板

—see also CONCRETE ,  MORTAR

3a soft substance that

becomes hard when dry and is used for sticking things together or filling in

holes胶合剂；胶接剂；粘固粉

dental cement (= forfilling holes in teeth)

补牙用的粘固粉

4(formal) something that

unites people in a common interest（使有共同利益者联合起来的）纽带，凝聚力

values which are the cementof society

使社会具有凝聚力的价值观念

cement

/sɪˈment/ verb

[VN]

1 [often passive] ~ A and B

(together) to join two things together using CEMENT , glue, etc.（用水泥、胶等）粘结，胶合

2to make a relationship, an

agreement, etc. stronger加强，巩固（关系等）SYNSTRENGTHEN

The President's visit wasintended to cement the alliance between the two countries.

总统的访问是为了加强两国的联盟。

It is a dismal choice for this newspaper, which sees little evidence of our classical, free-market liberal values in either of the mainparties. We believe that, as it leaves the EU, Britain should remain open: tobusiness, investment and people. Brexit will do least damage if seen as anembrace of the wider world, not simply a rejection of Europe. We want agovernment that maintains the closest ties with the EU while honouring the referendum, and that uses Brexit to reassert the freedom of Britain’s markets and society—the better to keep dynamic firms and talented people around. In their different ways, both Labour and the Tories fail this test.

这在本刊看来是一次令人沮丧的抉择，因为没有证据表明任何一个主要政党奉行我国传统的自由市场自由主义价值观。我们认为，在退出欧盟时，英国应该保持开放：对企业、对投资、对人民。如果把英国脱欧看作对更广阔世界的接纳而非纯属厌弃欧洲，那它造成的损害就会最小。我们希望政府在尊重公投结果的同时与欧盟保持最密切的联系，利用英国脱欧重新彰显英国市场和社会的自由度——那更有利于留住富有活力的企业和才华横溢的人才。

No party passes with flying colours[4]. But the closest is the Liberal Democrats. Brexit is the main task of the next government and they want membership of the single market and free movement. (Their second referendum would probably come to nothing, as most voters are reconciled to leaving the EU.) They are more honest than the Tories about the need to raise taxes for public services; and more sensible than Labour, spreading the burden rather than leaning only on high-earners. Unlike Labour they would reverse the Tories’ most regressive welfare cuts. They are on the right side of other issues: for devolution of power from London, reform of the voting system and the House of Lords, and regulation of markets for drugs and sex.

没有哪个政党成功地通过考验。但最接近于过关的是自由民主党。英国脱欧是下届政府的主要任务，而他们希望保留单一市场成员资格，希望自由流动。他们比保守党要诚实，认为有必要为了公共服务而加税；比工党要明智，分散负担而不是单纯依靠高收入者。与工党不同，他们将逆转保守党的大多数递减式福利削减。他们在其他问题上立于右侧：关于权力从伦敦下放，关于投票制度和上议院改革，关于毒品和性交易市场的监管。

reconcile

/ˈrekənsaɪl/ verb [VN]

1. ~ sth (with sth) to find

an acceptable way of dealing with two or more ideas, needs, etc. that seem to

be opposed to each other使和谐一致；调和；使配合

an attempt to reconcile theneed for industrial development with concern for the environment

协调工业发展的需要和环境保护之间关系的努力

It was hard to reconcile hiscareer ambitions with the needs of his children.

他很难兼顾事业上的抱负和孩子们的需要。

2. [usually passive] ~ sb

(with sb) to make people become friends again after an argument or a

disagreement使和解；使和好如初

The pair were reconciledafter Jackson made a public apology.

杰克逊公开道歉之后，这两个人又言归于好了。

He has recently beenreconciled with his wife.

他最近已经和妻子和好了。

3.~ sb/ yourself (to

sth) tomake sb/ yourself accept an unpleasant situation because it is notpossible to change it将就；妥协SYNRESIGN YOURSELF TO

He could not reconcilehimself to the prospect of losing her.

他一想到有可能失去她，就觉得难以忍受。

rec∙on∙cil∙able /ˌrekənˈsaɪləbl/adj.

regressive

/rɪˈgresɪv/ adj.

1.becoming or making sth

less advanced退化的；倒退的；退步的

The policy has beencondemned as a regressive step.

这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2.(technical术语) (of taxes税收) having less

effect on the rich than on the poor递减的（对富人的影响比对穷人的小）

devolution

[di:vəlu:ʃ(ə)n, dev-]

[N-UNCOUNT: oft N of

n]Devolution is the transfer of some authority or power from a central

organization or government to smaller organizations or government departments.（中央政府向地方政府的）权力下放，权力转移，分权

//...the devolution ofpower to the regions...

We are talking aboutdevolution for Scotland.

Like the other parties, they want to fiddle with markets by, say, giving tenants first dibs on buying their property.Their environmentalism is sometimes knee-jerk, as in their opposition to new runways and fracking. The true liberals in the party jostle with left-wingers, including Tim Farron, who is leading them to a dreadful result. But against a backward-looking Labour Party and an inward-looking Tory party about to compound its historic mistake over Brexit, they get our vote.

fid∙dle

/ˈfɪdl/ verb

1. [V] ~ (with sth) to keep

touching or moving sth with your hands, especially because you are bored or

nervous（尤指厌烦或紧张地）不断摸弄，不停摆弄

He was fiddling with hiskeys while he talked to me.

和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。

2. [VN] (informal) to

change the details or figures of sth in order to try to get money dishonestly,

or gain an advantage篡改；伪造；对…做手脚

to fiddle the accounts

篡改账目

She fiddled the books (=changed a company's financial records) while working as an accountant.

她当会计时对账簿做了手脚。

3. [V] (informal) to play

music on the  VIOLIN拉小提琴

PHR V ˌfiddle a'bout/

a'round to spend your time doing things that are not important虚度光阴；瞎混

ˌfiddle a'bout/ a'roundwith sth | 'fiddle with sth

1.to keep touching sth or

making small changes to sth because you are not satisfied with it不断摆弄；不停对…作小修小改

I've been fiddling aboutwith this design for ages.

我不断地修改这个设计已经好长时间了。

2.to touch or move the parts

of sth in order to try to change it or repair it拨弄，摆弄（为改变或修理某物）

Who's been fiddling withthe TV again?

谁又在摆弄电视机了？

fid∙dle /ˈfɪdl/ noun

(informal)

1. [C] =  VIOLIN

2. [C] (BrE) something that

is done dishonestly to get money欺诈；骗钱行为；骗局SYNFRAUD

an insurance/ tax, etc.fiddle

保险、纳税等骗局

3. [sing.] (BrE) an act of

moving sth or adjusting sth in order to make it work修理；调整；摆弄

4. [sing.] (BrE) something

that is difficult to do难事

IDM be on the ‘fiddle (BrE) to be doing sth dishonest to get money搞骗钱勾当

play second ‘fiddle (to sb/ sth) to be treated as less important than

sb/ sth; to have a less important position than sb/ sth else当第二把手；居次要地位；当副手

—more at  FIT adj.

dibs

dibs /dɪbz/

PLURAL NOUN

informal

1. (usually in phrase have first dibs) The right to share or choose something.

The trouble for equityinvestors is that the debtholders have first dibs over the initial £2.9b of anyvaluation, and possibly even more than that as Marconi will need to retain someof its cash for working capital purposes.

knee-jerk

ADJ[only before noun仅用于名词前]

a knee-jerk reaction,

answer etc is what you feel or say about a situation from habit, without

thinking about it本能反应的，自动作出反应的；

同automatic :

A victim’s knee-jerk

reaction to the crime is often revenge.受害人对罪案的本能反应常常是报复。

fracking

frack|ing /ˈfrakɪŋ/

NOUN

[mass noun]

The process of injectingliquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc. so as to forceopen existing fissures and extract oil or gas:

fracking has created ashale gas boom in the United States

Also called hydraulicfracturing.

Companies that practicefracking have not disclosed the names of chemicals they use in the past becausethey say they are "trade secrets."

jostle

[ʤɒs(ə)l]

jostles, jostling, jostled

1.[VERB]If people jostleyou, they bump against you or push you in a way that annoys you, usuallybecause you are in a crowd and they are trying to get past you.

[V n]You get 2,000 peoplejostling each other and bumping into furniture...

[V prep/adv]We spent anhour jostling with the crowds as we did our shopping...

[V to-inf]She was cheeredand clapped by tourists who jostled to see her. [Also V way adv/prep, V nprep/adv]

2.[VERB]If people or thingsare jostling for something such as attention or a reward, they are competingwith other people or things in order to get it.

[V for n]//...thecontenders who have been jostling for the top job...

[V for n]There is a widespread of stories jostling for coverage on today's front pages.

compound verb

/kəmˈpaʊnd/ [VN]

1. [often passive] to make

sth bad become even worse by causing further damage or problems使加重；使恶化

The problems werecompounded by severe food shortages.

严重的食物短缺使问题进一步恶化。

2.be compounded of/ from

sth (formal) to be formed from sth由…构成（或形成）

The DNA molecule iscompounded from many smaller molecules.

脱氧核糖核酸分子是由许多更小的分子组成的。

3. [often passive] (formal

or technical术语) to mix sth together混合；掺和；拌和

liquid soaps compoundedwith disinfectant

用消毒剂混合制成的皂液

4 (finance财) to pay or charge

interest on an amount of money that includes any interest already earned or

charged支付，收取（复利）

Backing the open, free-market centre is not just directedtowards this election. We know that this year the Lib Dems are going nowhere. But the whirlwind unleashed by Brexit is unpredictable. Labour has been on the brink of breaking up since Mr Corbyn took over. If Mrs May polls badlyor messes up Brexit, the Tories may split, too. Many moderate Conservative and Labour MPs could join a new liberal centre party—just as parts of the left and right have recently in France. So consider a vote for the Lib Dems as a down-payment for the future. Our hope is that they become one element of a party of the radical centre, essential for a thriving, prosperous Britain.

支持开放的、奉行自由市场的中间派不仅仅针对此次选举。我们知道今年自由民主党不会有收获。但英国脱欧掀起的旋风是不可预测的。工党自科尔宾接管以来濒临瓦解。如果梅在民意调查中成绩欠佳或搞砸了英国脱欧，那么保守党可能也会分裂。许多温和的保守党和工党议员也许会加入一个新的自由主义中间党派，就像前不久法国部分左派和右派人士所做的那样。所以，不妨把投票支持自由民主党看作为未来缴纳首付。我们希望他们成为一个激进中间派政党的组成部分，那对于英国的繁荣昌盛至关重要。

whirlwind

[(h)wɜ:(r)lwɪnd]

whirlwinds

1.[N-COUNT]A whirlwind is atall column of air which spins round and round very fast and moves across theland or sea.

2.[N-COUNT: usu sing, withsupp, usu N of n]You can describe a situation in which a lot of things happenvery quickly and are very difficult for someone to control as a whirlwind.

I had been running aroundsouthern England in a whirlwind of activity...

He had been swept aside inthe whirlwind of reform and anarchy.

3.[ADJ: ADJ n]A whirlwindevent or action happens or is done much more quickly than normal.

He got married after awhirlwind romance.

... a whirlwind tour ofFrance.

[1]Tory

(pl. -ies)

(in the UK) a member or supporter of the ConservativeParty

（英国）保守党党员；保守党支持者

a member of the English political party opposing theexclusion of James II from the succession. It remained the name for members ofthe English, later British, parliamentary party supporting the establishedreligious and political order until the emergence of the Conservative Party inthe 1830s

托利党党员（反对排斥詹姆士二世继承王位的英格兰政党成员；19世纪30年代保守党出现以前，支持现存宗教和政治制度的英格兰及后来英国的议会党成员一直沿用此名）。比较Whig（义项）

[2]JeremyBernard Corbyn杰里米·科尔宾(/ˈkɔːrbɪn/;born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has served as Leader of theLabour Party and Leader of the Opposition since 12 September 2015. He has beenthe Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983.

[3]自由民主党（TheLiberal Democrats，常缩写为LibDems），是英国的自由主义政党。自由民主党成立于1988年，由自由党和短暂存在的社会民主党合并而成（两党于合并前就已结为政治同盟数年）。

[4]With flying colours

Ships serve scientific and cultural needs, as well asthe transportation of goods, and resolving political and national conflict. Inthe past, without the use of modern communication devices, a ship's appearanceupon the immediate return to the port could communicate how the crew fared atsea. Ships that were victorious in their endeavors, for example, an encounterwith an enemy ship, would sail into port with flags flying from the mastheads.On the other hand, a ship that had been defeated, if still afloat, would beforced to "strike her colours", or to take them down, signifying herdefeat. Although the time period is estimated roughly into the Age ofDiscovery, prior to the 18th century these phrases were used solely as nauticalterms, and afterward they began to be used in the vernacular figuratively tosignify any kind of triumph. Also, another phrase, "go down with flyingcolours" or "go down with colours flying" was used to express acommitment; in other words, a resolute crew fighting, even until their shipsinks. A variant of this phrase gives virtually the same meaning, "Nailyour colours to the mast". If the colours, or the flag is nailed onto themast, it cannot be lowered. There is effectively no way to express submission.

Usage

These phrases have been used many times in literaryworks, even in modern-day writings. "With flying colours" has manyvariations preceding it, such as to pass..., came out..., and came through...,but all have the same meaning derived from the literal allusion, to betriumphant or victorious, honorable or to be publicly successful. "Go downwith colours flying" and "Nail your colours to the mast" areused similarly to the nautical allusion, and are phrases to express persistenceor stubbornness.

"Sailing under false colours", stayingconsistent with its nautical origin, is another way to express deception, or tomislead or mystify.

The bitcoin bubble

Virtual vertigo

Are bitcoins like tulips, gold or the dollar—or something else entirely?

MARKETS frequently froth and bubble, but the boom in bitcoin, a digital currency, is extraordinary. Although its price is down froman all-time high of $2,420 on May 24th, it has more than doubled in just two months. Anyone clever or lucky enough to have bought $1,000 of bitcoins in July 2010, when the price stood at $0.05, would now have a stash worth $46m. Other cryptocurrencies[1] have soared, too, giving them a collective market value of about $80bn.

froth1

/frɔθ; frɒθ/ N

1. [singular单数,U] a mass of small BUBBLES on the top of a liquid〔液体表面的〕泡沫；同foam :

‘Excellent beer,’ he said,

wiping the froth from his mouth. “好啤酒。”他擦去嘴边的泡沫说道。

2. [singular单数, U] small white BUBBLES of SALIVA around a person’s

or animal’s mouth〔人或动物嘴里流出的〕白沫

3. [U] talk or ideas that

are attractive but have no real value or meaning〔吸引人的〕空谈，空想：

The book has too much froth

and not enough fact.这本书空话太多，事实很少。

froth2

V[I]

1. also又作froth up if a liquid froths, it produces or

contains a lot of small BUBBLES on top起泡沫：

When you first open the

bottle the beer will froth for a few seconds.刚打开瓶盖时，啤酒会起几秒钟的泡沫。

2. if someone’s mouth

froths, SALIVA comes out as small white BUBBLES吐白沫

3.froth at the mouth a) to have SALIVA coming out of your mouth as small white BUBBLES口吐白沫

b)informal to be extremely

angry【非正式】七窍生烟

stash1

/stæʃ; stæʃ/ V[T always +adv/prep] informal

to store something secretly

or safely somewhere【非正式】储藏，存放，藏匿：

stash sth away

He has money stashed away

in the Bahamas.他把钱藏在巴哈马。

[+ in/under ]

You can stash your gear in

here.你可以把你的装备存放在这里。

stash2

N[C]

an amount of something that

is kept in a secret place, especially money, weapons, or drugs一批贮藏物〔尤指钱、武器或毒品〕;

同horde :

Mike went into the bedroom

to check on his stash.迈克进房间去查看他藏的东西。

[+ of ]

a stash of drugs藏匿的一批毒品

Ascents this steep are rarely sustainable. More often than not, the word “bitcoin” now comes attached to the word “bubble”. But the question ofwhat has driven up the price is important. Is this just a speculative mania, or is it evidence that bitcoin is taking on a more substantial role as a medium of exchange or a store of value? Put another way, is bitcoin like a tulip[2], gold or the dollar—or is it something else entirely?

specu∙la∙tive

/ˈspekjələtɪv; NAmE alsoˈspekjəleɪtɪv/ adj.

1.based on guessing or on

opinions that have been formed without knowing all the facts推测的；猜测的；推断的

2.showing that you are

trying to guess sth揣摩的；忖度的；试探的

She cast a speculative lookat Kate.

她带着疑问的眼神看了凯特一眼。

3.(of business activity商业活动) done in the hope of making a profit but involving

the risk of losing money投机性的；风险性的

mania /ˈmeɪniə/ noun

1. [C, usually sing., U] ~

(for sth/for doing sth) an extremely strong desire or enthusiasm for sth, often

shared by a lot of people at the same time（通常指许多人共有的）强烈的欲望，狂热，极大的热情SYNCRAZE

He had a mania for fastcars.

他是个飞车狂。

Football mania is sweepingthe country.

足球热正风靡全国。

2. [U] (psychology心) a mental illness in which sb has an  OBSESSION about

sth that makes them extremely anxious, violent or confused躁狂症

Start with the case that this is nothing more than a virtual tulip mania, a speculative hysteria in which a rising price encourages ever more buyers, no matter what the asset is. Bitcoin’s recent trajectory certainly seems manic. Retail investors have piled in. Many already familiar with bitcoin investing have moved on to bet on alternatives, such as Ethereum, and “initialcoin offerings” (ICOs), in which firms issue digital tokens of their own.

pile in also又作pile into sth phr v

if people pile in, they get into a vehicle very quickly拥进，挤进，蜂拥进入：

Pierre came to pick them up, and they all piled in.皮埃尔开车来接他们，他们一拥而上。

token /ˈtəʊkən; NAmE ˈtoʊ-​/ noun

1.a round piece of metal or plastic used instead of money tooperate some machines or as a form of payment（用以启动某些机器或用作支付方式的）代币，专用辅币

a parking token

停车专用辅币

2. (BrE) a piece of paper that you pay for and that sb canexchange for sth in a shop/ store代价券

a￡20 book/record/ gift token

价值20英镑的书券╱唱片券╱礼物券

3.a piece of paper that you can collect when you buy aparticular product and then exchange for sth赠券；礼券

Collect six tokens for a free T-shirt.

收集到六张礼券可以换一件T恤衫。

4.something that is a symbol of a feeling, a fact, an event,etc.（感觉、事实、事件等的）象征，标志，表示，信物SYNEXPRESSION ,  MARK

Please accept this small gift as a token of our gratitude.

区区薄礼，以表谢忱，请笑纳。

IDMby the same 'tokenfor the same reasons由于同样的原因；同样地

The penalty for failure will be high. But, by the sametoken, the rewards for success will be great.

失败就要付出沉重的代价，同样，成功就会获得很大的回报。

token

/ˈtəʊkən; NAmE ˈtoʊ-​/ adj.

[only before noun]

1.involving very little effort or feeling and intended onlyas a way of showing other people that you think sb/ sth is important, whenreally you are not sincere装样子的；装点门面的；敷衍的

The government has only made a token gesture towards helpingthe unemployed.

政府只不过是做做样子表示了一下对失业者的帮助。

There was one token woman on the committee (= a woman who isincluded in the group to make it look as if women are always included, althoughthat is not true).

委员会中有一位装点门面的女性委员。

2.done as a symbol to show that you are serious about sthand will keep a promise or an agreement or do more later象征性的；作为标志的

The government agreed to send a small token force to thearea.

政府同意派遣一小支象征性的部队到那一地区。

a one-day token strike

一天的象征性罢工

3.(of a small amount of money小额款项) that you pay or charge sb only as a symbol,because a payment is expected象征性的（付款或费用）SYNNOMINAL

We charge only a token fee for use of the facilities.

我们对使用这些设施只收取象征性的费用。

It looks like a scammers’ paradise, yet unliketulips, bitcoins have real uses. They now buy everything from pizzas to computers. So if a tulip isn’t the right analogue, how about gold? Bitcoin scertainly seem to bear more than a passing resemblance. Goldbugs mistrust governments and their money printing tendencies; so too do bitcoinesseurs: no central bank is in charge of bitcoin. But a store of value should not bounce around as much as this one does: bitcoin swung from more than $1,100 in late 2013 to less than $200 a year later, before climbing, in fits and starts, to its current dizzying heights.

scam

scam /skam/

NOUN

informal

A dishonest scheme; afraud:

an insurance scam

Why can't they just contentthemselves with diet scams and insurance fraud?

This will focus on mitigatingthe risk of fraud, hacking, identity theft, scams and schemes.

Then (of course) there areall the scams and frauds being perpetrated through the Net.

SYNONYMS

fraud, swindle, fraudulentscheme, racket, trick, diddle

informal con, con trick,flimflam, gyp, kite

British informal ramp,twist

North American informalhustle, grift, shakedown, bunco, boondoggle

Australian informal rort

VERB

(scams, scamming, scammed)

[with object]

Swindle:

a guy that scams oldpensioners out of their savings

It seems the scammers are trying to get increasingly clever, and it's an interesting social engineering trick to try to get people to let down their guard by first warning them abouta scam - and then scamming them anyway.

And now investigators haveto figure out whose claims are legit and who is scamming the system.

However these rules will not stop you from being scammed as a scam is more psychological than anything else.

DERIVATIVES

scammer

/ˈskamə/

NOUN

May we humbly request yourimmediate and urgent attention to tell you the story of a Nigerian e-mailscammer convicted of wire fraud in Houston, Texas?

Considering the extent to which the scammers go for these scams, all this is likely to do is drive themfurther underground.

If state laws say one thingto stop a scam, can the scammers simply move online?

swing

/swɪŋ/ verb

(swung, swung /swʌŋ/)

HANG AND MOVE摆动

1.to move backwards or

forwards or from side to side while hanging from a fixed point; to make sth do

this（使）摆动，摇摆，摇荡

[V]

His arms swung as hewalked.

他边走边摆着双臂。

A set of keys swung fromher belt.

她腰带上挂着的一串钥匙摆来摆去。

As he pushed her, she swunghigher and higher (= while sitting on a swing).

随着他推她，她在秋千上越荡越高。

[VN]

He sat on the stool,swinging his legs.

他坐在凳子上晃动着两条腿。

2. [+adv./prep.] to move

from one place to another by holding sth that is fixed and pulling yourself

along, up, etc.纵身跃向；荡向；悬吊到

[VN]

He swung himself out of thecar.

他纵身跳下车。

[V]

The gunshot sent monkeysswinging away through the trees.

枪声一响，猴子纷纷在树丛中飞跃荡走。

MOVE IN CURVE弧线运动

3. [+adv./prep.] to move or

make sth move with a wide curved movement（使）弧线运动，转弯，转动

[V]

A line of cars swung out ofthe palace gates.

一队汽车拐出了宫门。

[VN]

He swung his legs over theside of the bed.

他把两腿移过来放下床。

[V-ADJ, VN-ADJ]

The door swung open.

门开了。

She swung the door open.

她把门推开。

TURN QUICKLY迅速转向

4. [+adv./prep.] to turn or

change direction suddenly; to make sth do this（使）突然转向，突然转身

[V]

The bus swung sharply tothe left.

公共汽车猛地拐向左边。

[VN]

He swung the camera aroundto face the opposite direction.

他猛地将照相机转了个方向对着反面。

TRY TO HIT试图击中

5. ~ (sth) (at sb/ sth) to

try to hit sb/ sth（挥动某物）朝…打去

[V]

She swung at me with theiron bar.

她挥着铁棍朝我打来。

[VN]

He swung another punch inmy direction.

他朝着我这边又挥了一拳。

CHANGE OPINION/ MOOD改变意见╱情绪

6. ~ (from A) (to B) | ~

(between A and B) to change or make sb/ sth change from one opinion, mood, etc.

to another（使）改变（意见、情绪等）

[V]

The state has swung fromRepublican to Democrat.

这个州原先支持共和党，现在倒向了民主党。

His emotions swung betweenfear and curiosity.

他时而害怕，时而好奇。

The game could swing eitherway (= either side could win it).

这场比赛胜负未卜。

[VN]

I managed to swing themround to my point of view.

我设法使他们转而接受了我的观点。

DO/ GET STH做；获得

7.(informal) to succeed in

getting or achieving sth, sometimes in a slightly dishonest way（有时略微不正当地）获得，搞到，办成

[VN]

We're trying to swing it sothat we can travel on the same flight.

我们正在想法子，好坐上同一个航班。

[VNN]

Is there any chance of youswinging us a couple of tickets?

你有没有可能帮我们弄几张票？

OF MUSIC音乐

8. [V] to have a strong

rhythm有强劲的节奏；节奏感强

OF PARTY聚会

9. [V] (informal) if aparty, etc. is swinging, there are a lot of people there having a goodtime热闹；令人开心

IDM swing the 'balance=  TIP THE BALANCE/ SCALES  at  TIP  v.

swing both 'ways(informal) to be  BISEXUAL (= sexually

attracted to both men and women)双性恋；既喜欢异性也喜欢同性

ˌswing into ‘action to start doing sth quickly and with a lot of energy立即行动起来；马上大干起来

ˌswing the ‘lead (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) (usually used in the

progressive tenses通常用于进行时) to pretend

to be ill/ sick when in fact you are not, especially to avoid work装病偷懒

I don't think there'sanything wrong with her—she's just swinging the lead.

我认为她没有什么病，只不过是在装病偷懒而已。

ORI The lead was a weight

at the bottom of a line that sailors used to measure how deep water was when

the ship was near land. 'Swinging the lead' was thought to be an easy task, and

came to mean avoiding hard work. * lead是船靠近陆地时水手测量水深用的水铊。swinging the lead被认为是件轻松的工作，逐渐变成"逃避干重活"的意思。

—more at  ROOM n.

PHR Vˌswing 'by |

'swing by sth(NAmE, informal) to visit a place or person for a short time进某处一会儿；短暂拜访；看望某人一下SYNDROP BY

I'll swing by your house onthe way home from work.

下班回家路过时我要到你家来一下。

swing/swɪŋ/ noun

MOVEMENT运动

1 [C] a swinging movement

or rhythm摆动；挥动；转动；强劲节奏

He took a wild swing at theball.

他对准球猛地挥拍一击。

the swing of her hips

她臀部的扭动

OF OPINION/ MOOD意见；情绪

2 [C] a change from one

opinion or situation to another; the amount by which sth changes改变；改变的程度

He is liable to abrupt moodswings (= for example from being very happy to being very sad).

他的情绪易于大起大落。

Voting showed a 10% swingto Labour.

投票显示10%的人转而支持工党。

HANGING SEAT秋千

3 [C] a seat for swinging

on, hung from above on ropes or chains秋千

The kids were playing onthe swings.

孩子们在荡秋千。

IN GOLF高尔夫球

4 [sing.] the swinging

movement you make with your arms and body when you hit the ball in the game of

GOLF挥杆动作

I need to work on my swing.

我需要改进我的挥杆动作。

MUSIC音乐

5 [U] a type of

JAZZ with a smooth rhythm, played especially by big dance bands in

the 1930s摇摆乐（流行于20世纪30年代）

JOURNEY行程

6 [sing.] (NAmE) a quick

journey, especially one made by a politician, in which sb visits several

different places in a short time（尤指从政者在多处逗留的）短期快速行程

a three-day campaign swingthrough California

为期三天的加利福尼亚巡回竞选旅程

IDM get in/ into the

'swing (of sth)(informal) to get used to an activity or a situation andbecome fully involved in it熟悉（某种情况）；融入（某种活动或环境之中）

go with a 'swing(BrE)

1(of a party or an activity聚会或活动) to be lively and enjoyable热闹有趣；气氛热烈

2(of music音乐) to have a strong rhythm有强劲的节奏

in full ‘swing having reached a very lively level在热烈进行中；处于兴盛阶段

When we arrived the partywas already in full swing.

我们赶到时，聚会已进入高潮。

ˌswings and 'roundabouts(BrE, informal) used to say that there are

advantages and disadvantages whatever decision you make（表示无论如何决定都有利有弊）有得必有失

If you earn more, you paymore in tax, so it's all swings and roundabouts.

赚的越多，缴的税也越多，所以有得必有失

fits and starts

我看书的时候，总是看一会儿，要干别的事儿了，就把书放下，等有时间了，再回来看，看看又放在一旁。形容这种情况，英语里有个特别合适的习惯用语，叫fits and starts。

Fits有阵发和突发的意思。Fits and starts这个习惯用语的意思是时断时续的，间歇的，一阵阵的。所以说，象我这种一会儿拿起书来看，一会儿又放下，时断时续的，就可以说是fits and starts.

有时候这种时断时续也是被逼无奈，让我们听听下面这个母亲的故事。

例句-1：When I was a kid,my mom dreamed of going to college. But raising a family didn't allow her tocomplete her coursework on a regular schedule; there was a lot of stopping andstarting again. Although it took her seven years, after numerous fits andstarts, she finally earned her degree.

这个人回忆说：我还小的时候，上大学是妈妈的梦想，但是因为要带孩子，所以她没办法按时完成学业；她的大学生活总是开始了又停下，停下再开始。虽然断断续续前后总共用了七年的时间，但她最终还是拿到了大学毕业证书。

这就叫有志者事竟成。大家都知道，美国的民权运动前后经历的几十年，非洲裔美国人为了争取跟白人同等的权利，多年不懈努力。美国社会今天的种族状况不是一蹴而就，而是经过了断断续续的运动和停顿。It was a series of fits and starts.

在使用这个习惯用语的时候，前面一般都要加上in或者是by.我可以说自己读书是in fits

and starts;或者说刚才那个妈妈选修大学的课程是by fits and starts.

Fits and starts这个习惯用语历史悠久，可以追溯到十四世纪后期，开始的时候只是by fits,是大约100年后加上"and starts"。现在很多人都在网上有自己的博客，我们看看下面这个人的感触。

例句-2：Like a lot of myfriends, I have my own blog. The problem is I'm not as consistent as they areabout keeping it. I'll write every day for a week or so, then I won't, thenI'll write some more...I guess it's because my ideas come in fits and starts.

他说：我跟很多朋友一样，也有自己的博客，但问题是，我没办法象他们那样坚持每天写。我会坚持一个星期，然后停一段时间，然而再拾起来。这大概是因为我的灵感也是时有时无的吧。

他刚才用的是in fits and starts.其实在这里，我们也可以用by fits and starts.两种说法都可以。我有个朋友，先生是搞室内装修的。几年前买了栋旧房子，开始自己整修，但是由于工作忙，只能by fits and starts，断断续续，结果干了五年才算大功告成。

Rather than being just a form of digital gold, bitcoin aspires to loftier goals: to be a means of exchange like the euro, yen or the dollar. Regulators are starting to take bitcoin seriously. Some of the price surge can be explained by Japan’s decision to treat bitcoin more like any other currency. Yet the bitcoin system is operating at its limits and its developers cannot agree on how to increase the number of exchanges the system is able to handle. As a result, a transaction now costs nearly $4 in fees on average and takes many tedious hours to confirm. For convenience, a dollar bill beats it hands down.

lofty /ˈlɒfti; NAmE ˈlɔ:fti​/adj. (loft∙ier, lofti∙est) (formal)

1.(of buildings, mountains,

etc.建筑物、山等) very high and impressive巍峨的；高耸的

lofty ceilings/ rooms/towers

高高的顶棚；屋顶高的房间；高耸的塔楼

2. [usually before noun]

(approving) (of a thought, an aim, etc.思想、目标等) deserving praise because of its high moral quality崇高的；高尚的

lofty ambitions/ ideals/principles

崇高的抱负╱理想╱原则

3.(disapproving) showing a

belief that you are worth more than other people傲慢的；高傲的SYNHAUGHTY

her lofty disdain for otherpeople

她对别人不屑一顾的傲慢态度

loft∙ily /-ɪli/ adv.

lofti∙ness noun

Not so dotty

If bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies are unlike anything else, what are they? The best comparison may be with the internet andthe dotcom boom[3] it created in the late 1990s. Like the internet, cryptocurrencies both embody innovation and give rise to more of it. They are experiments in themselves of howto maintain a public database (the “blockchain”[4]) without anybody in particular, a bank, say, being in charge. Georgia, for instance, is using the technology to secure government records (see page 57). And blockchains are platforms for further experiments. Take Ethereum[5], for example. It allows all kinds of projects, from video games to online markets, to raise funds by issuing tokens—essentially private money that can be traded and used within these projects. Although such ICOs need to be handled with care, they could also generate intriguing inventions. Fans hope that they will give rise to decentralised upstarts taking aim at today’s oligopolistic technology giants, such as Amazon and Facebook.

dotty

[dɒti]

dottier, dottiest

[ADJ-GRADED]If you say thatsomeone is dotty, you mean that they are slightly mad or likely to do strange things.[mainlyBRIT, INFORMAL]

She was obviously going abit dotty.

intriguing

/ɪnˈtri:gɪŋ/ adj.

very interesting because of

being unusual or not having an obvious answer非常有趣的；引人入胜的；神秘的

These discoveries raiseintriguing questions.

这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。

an intriguing possibility

令人不解的可能性

He found her intriguing.

他觉得她很迷人。

in∙tri∙guing∙ly adv.

decentralize

de|cen¦tral|ize /diːˈsɛntrəlʌɪz/

(also decentralise)

VERB

[with object] (often asadjective decentralized)

1.Transfer (authority) fromcentral to local government:

Canada has one of the most decentralizedgovernments in the world

In short-term regimes, theneed to shift production goals rapidly makes decentralized authority difficult.

If there is no way for theman on the spot to make use of this sort of information, which would beavailable to a central planner, then there may be no advantage indecentralizing decision-making authority.

2.Move departments of (alarge organization) away from a single administrative centre to otherlocations:

new technology allows companies todecentralize large factories

[no object]: he argues that giant corporationsmust decentralize

To execute on so manyfronts, he has decentralized the organization and delegated a lot ofdecision-making.

upstart

[ʌpstɑ:(r)t]

upstarts

[N-COUNT (disapproval)]Youcan refer to someone as an upstart when they behave as if they are important,but you think that they are too new in a place or job to be treated asimportant.

Many prefer a familiarauthority figure to a young upstart.

//...an upstart who hadcome from nowhere.

oligopoly

oli|gop¦oly /ˌɒlɪˈɡɒp(ə)li/

NOUN

(plural oligopolies)

A state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers orsellers.

With limited competition,or oligopolies, the various players within a particular industry will mostlikely have different cost structures.

This may seem like a dangerous way to generate innovation. Investors could lose their shirts[6]; a crash in one asset class could spread to others, creating wobbles in the financial system. But in the case of cryptocurrencies such risks seem limited. It is hard to argue that those buying cryptocurrencies are unaware of the risks. And since they are still a fairly self-contained system, contagion is unlikely.

con∙ta∙gion

/kənˈteɪdʒən/ noun

1. [U] the spreading of a

disease by people touching each other接触传染

There is no risk ofcontagion.

没有接触传染的风险。

2. [C] (old use) a disease

that can be spread by people touching each other接触性传染病

3. [C] (formal) something

bad that spreads quickly by being passed from person to person（不良事物的快速）传播，蔓延，扩散

If there is such a thing as a healthy bubble, this is it. To be sure, regulators should watch out that cryptocurrencies do not become even more of a conduit for criminal activity, such as drug dealing. But they should think twice before coming down hard, particularly on ICOs. Being too spiky would not just prick a bubble, but also prevent a lot of the useful innovation that is likely to come about at the same time.

spiky

/ˈspaɪkɪ; ˈspaɪki/ ADJ

1. hair that is spiky is

stiff and stands up on top of your head〔头发〕竖起的：

short black spiky hair一根根竖起的黑色短发

2. having long sharp points带尖刺的，有刺的：

a spiky cactus带刺的仙人掌

3. BrE informal easily

offended or annoyed【英，非正式】暴躁的，易怒的

[1]网上有些地方的翻译是「加密电子货币」。倒也没错，但我觉得有点冗长。也有用「密码货币」和「加密货币」的。cryptocurrency这个词来自cryptography + currency的组合。cryptography译成「密码学」应该没有疑问。「加密」则对应encryption。所以，我倾向于「密码货币」这个比较直接的翻译。

密码货币指不依托任何实物，使用密码算法的数字货币，现指代英文Cryptocurrency（意指比特币类数字货币，且包括比特币）。

比如比特币、莱特币、比特股等，是一种依靠密码技术和校验技术来创建，分发和维持的数字货币。密码货币的特点在其运用了点对点技术且每个人都有发行它。

密码货币分为开放式采矿型密码数字货币（以比特币为代表）和发行式密码数字货币。

[2]郁金香泡沫

18世纪，荷兰人掀起投资郁金香的热潮，一些机敏的投机商大量囤积郁金香，推动郁金香价格上涨，随着价格上涨，普通群众觉得它会一直涨下去，继续博傻接盘。最后郁金香在三年时间内上涨数百倍，远远超出郁金香可能的观赏价值。然后在两个月内，郁金香价格下跌1000倍。

这件事告诉我们，群体的无意识和投机狂欢是怎样表现出来的，人类的群体非理性会达到怎样的程度。

比特币与它的相同点在于：

1.大家都为投资去买一个实际上并无实用价值的东西。郁金香观赏价值并不大，比特币实际上不可能作为长效的支付手段。

2.参与者基本都是非专业人士。郁金香泡沫多由小贵族推动，郁金香商人在其中扮演囤积角色。比特币大玩家扮演囤积和煽风点火角色。

[3]Thedot-com bubble (also known as the dot-com boom, the tech bubble, the Internetbubble, the dot-com collapse, and the information technology bubble) was ahistoric economic bubble and period of excessive speculation that occurredroughly from 1997 to 2001, a period of extreme growth in the usage andadaptation of the Internet by businesses and consumers. During this period,many Internet-based companies, commonly referred to as dot-coms, were founded,many of which failed.

During 2000–2002, the bubble collapsed. Somecompanies, such as Pets.com and Webvan, failed completely and shut down.Others, such as Cisco, whose stock declined by 86%, and Qualcomm, lost a largeportion of their market capitalization but survived, and some companies, suchas eBay and Amazon.com, later recovered and surpassed their dot-com-bubblestock price peaks.

[4]Ablockchain– originally block chain – is a distributed database that is used tomaintain a continuously growing list of records, called blocks. Each blockcontains a timestamp and a link to a previous block. A blockchain is typicallymanaged by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol forvalidating new blocks. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant tomodification of the data. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot bealtered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the collusionof the network. Functionally, a blockchain can serve as "an open,distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficientlyand in a verifiable and permanent way. The ledger itself can also be programmedto trigger transactions automatically."

The first blockchain was conceptualised by SatoshiNakamoto in 2008 and implemented the following year as a core component of thedigital currency bitcoin, where it serves as the public ledger for alltransactions. The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the firstdigital currency to solve the double spending problem, without the use of atrusted authority or central server. The bitcoin design has been theinspiration for other applications.

数据区块链是比特币金融系统中的重要概念，记录了整个比特币网络上的交易记录数据，并且这些数据是被所有比特币节点共享的，通过数据区块，我们可以查询到每一比比特币交易的历史

[5]Ethereum（以太坊）是一个平台和一种编程语言，使开发人员能够建立和发布下一代分布式应用。Ethereum可以用来编程，分散，担保和交易任何事物：投票，域名，金融交易所，众筹，公司管理，合同和大部分的协议，知识产权，还有得益于硬件集成的智能资产。

[6]To keepone's shirt on/To lose one's shirt

我们穿的各种服装在美国的日常用语当中占有很大的地位。鞋子、袜子、手套等名称都是一些习惯用语的组成部份。今天我们要讲两个由衬衣，也就是shirt这个字组成的俗语。首先,我们要讲的是：To keep one‘s shirt on。To keep one's shirt on用中文来说，那就是："穿着你的衬衣。""穿着你的衬衣"听起来是个好主意，可是，它到底是什么意思呢？有的时候，这是劝告别人要有耐心，不要太紧张了。例如，一个妻子对她的丈夫讲：

例句-1:"Keep your shirt on, Harry; we have plenty of time to catch thetrain."

她说："哈里，你别太紧张了，我们还有好多时间，足够我们赶到火车站去的。"

可是to Keepone's shirt on在更多的场合下，是指要保持冷静，在对情况有足够了解以前不要发火。比如说，有一天，我们曾在以前的课文中提到的那位丈夫晚了三个小时回家吃晚饭。一到家，他就看到他的太太火冒三丈，马上就要大发雷霆。于是，他马上就对太太说：

例句-2:"Honey, keep your shirt on, please! I'm sorry, but the boss made me worklate at the office."

他说："亲爱的，请你千万别发火。我很抱歉。可是，我的老板给了我好多活，我不得不在办公室加班嘛。"

下面我们要解释的一个和shirt这个字有关的习惯用语是：To lose one's shirt。Lose这个字的意思当然就是丢掉，或失去什么东西。一个人要是丢了他的衬衫，他回到家里恐怕那要比那个晚了三小时才回家吃晚饭的丈夫碰到的麻烦要多得多。可是，tolose one's shirt实际上并不是真的指丢了衬衫。它的确切意思是某个人失去了他所有的一切。我们来举个例子吧：

例句-3:"Did you hear what happened to Joe? He's lost his shirt, the poor guy --invested all his money in a fancy restaurant and it just went out ofbusiness."

这句话翻成中文就是说："你有没有听到关于乔的事？这回，他可真是丢掉了一切，真可怜。他把所有的钱都投资在一家豪华的餐馆里。而这家餐馆不久前倒闭了。"

下面是另一个说明tolose one's shirt在日常生活中是怎么用的例子:

例句-4:"Be careful of salesmen who call on the phone and offer to sell you landon the beach down in Florida. You can lose your shirt because the chances arethe land is under water at high tide."

这句话的意思是："对那些通过电话来鼓动你买弗罗里达州靠海滨的土地的推销员，你得十分小心。你要不小心就有可能会损失一切，因为这些地很可能就是那些在涨潮的时候会被水淹没的地。"