Unit 4
1) tend to (l. 1)
a) be likely to; have a tendency to: to: infinitive
People under stress tend to express their full range of potential.
处于压力下的人容易发挥自己全部的潜力
b) to apply one's attention; attend 注意；关心 to: prep
John has no time to tend to his diary. 没有时间留心写日记
Syn: be likely to do
be inclined to do: be [feel] inclined to go by train倾向于坐火车去
2) perennial (l. 10) adj. lasting for a long time or forever; longstanding; lasting or active through the year or through many years 常绿的
perennial ice and snow 终年不化的冰雪 perennial youth 青春常驻
a perennial herb 多年生的草 annual 一年生的 perennial river 四季不枯竭的河流
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3) off the beaten track (l. 11) literally, not on the main highway 人迹罕至的
a beaten track/path: 踏出的路，老路，惯例 has been made by many people walking the same way.
e.g. His colleagues are planning to go somewhere off the beaten track for the summer holidays. 他的同事们正计划到不大有人去的地方度暑假。
follow the beaten track: 墨守陈规；照例
4) rutted roads (l. 14) roads with deep or narrow marks made by the wheels of vehicles
rut: n.&v. a sunken track or groove made by the passage of vehicles. 车辙车轮留下的印迹或沟槽
5) runaway (l. 17) adj. (only before noun) a runaway vehicle or animal has gone out of control
runaway success/inflation etc.: success, inflation that happens quickly or uncontrollably
a runaway person has left the place where they are supposed to be
n. someone, esp. a child, who has left home without telling anyone and does not intend to come back.
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n.逃跑, 逃跑者, 巨大的胜利, 失控的车(或核子反应堆系统) adj.逃亡的, 逃走的
6) run-down (l. 20) adj. in very bad condition
dilapidated; broken-down; shabby; ruined; deserted
7) be exempt from (l. 22) be free from a duty, service, payment, ect. 被免除的
He is exempt from physical education because of poor health.
He is exempt from military service, because of his bad sight. 他由于视力不好而免服兵役 vt. exempt sb. from service in the army免除某人服兵役
income exempt from taxation：免税的收入
a beauty somehow exempt from the aging process：永恒之美
8) quaint (l. 23) adj. odd, esp. in an old-fashioned way
quaint customs 离奇的风俗a quaint old house 一座古雅的老房子
a quaint method一个奇怪的方法
9) slip (l. 30) v. move secretly or unnoticed. It can be used with a number of adverbs or prepositions.
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The wet soap slipped out of my hand.
Her secret slipped out without her knowing.
Days slipped by and he accomplished very little.
Don’t let good opportunities slip through your fingers.
a slip of the tongue / a slip of the pen
10) ghetto (l. 35) n. 少数民族聚居区 In former times, in most European countries, a section of a city inhabited by Jews. In the US today, a thickly (densely/sparsely) populated slum area in a city inhabited predominantly by a minority group.
slum: 贫民窟a thickly populated, squalid (poor) part of a city inhabited by the poorest people.
shantytown: 棚户区 a part of city or town made up of poorly-built huts, cabins, or houses.
hovel: a small, miserable dwelling. 狭小简陋的屋子 an open, low shed. 露天矮棚
11) tenement (l. 36) n. a rundown, low-rental apartment building whose facilities and maintenance barely meet minimum standards; a large building, esp.
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one in the poor part of a city, which is divided into small flats which are rented cheaply. 廉价公寓；租住的房子；公寓
12) glimpse (l. 40) n. a brief, incomplete view or look
I caught a glimpse of our new neighbor. 我们的新邻居我只看过一眼。
vi. to look briefly; glance:
glimpse at the headlines 浏览一下标题
13) assume (l. 47) vt. suppose; take sth. as a fact or as true without proof
assuming conj. on the assumption that; supposing: 假定；假如
Assuming the house is for sale, would you buy it?
14) affluent (l. 47) adj. wealthy; prosperous
15) compound (l. 48) vt. make worse by adding (something) to …(often used in the passive)
Our difficulties were compounded by shortage of petrol supply.
石油供应短缺增加了我们的困难。
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16) existential (l. 62) adj. (formal) relating to existence; based on experience; empirical 存在的；根据经验的；全凭观察和实验的
an existential sentence 存在句 17) magnify (l. 66) vt. make greater in size; enlarge
18) lurid (l. 79) adj. sensational, shocking, staggering
a lurid account of the crime 骇人听闻的犯罪报道
19) dispossessed (l. 82) people who have lost all their possessions
20) cynical (l. 87) adj. scornful of the motives, virtue or integrity of others
21) involvement (l. 91) n. connection
22) articulate (l. 98) vt. express thoughts and feelings clearly and effectively; pronounce distinctly, clearly, and carefully
He was so despondent (disappointed) that he could hardly articulate his distress.
Josephine articulated every word carefully.
23) old rhetoric of reform (l. 101) writings about reform in the past that
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sounded fine and important, but were really insincere and meaningless; reform in the old days that was stated in a language that was fine to hear or read but that really did not mean much 花言巧语；华丽的文词
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